Some songs that have come up in the past few days, where I've felt compelled to hit the 'back' button when they've ended and hear them again:
The Monkees: "The Door Into Summer" - One of the great middle-period album tracks, sung by Nesmith. Great 60's imagery like 'King Midas in his counting-house where nothing counts but more.' When Bob Mould first put Sugar together they covered this one live a few times.
Outkast: 'Hey Ya' - boy, this sure was everywhere six months ago, wasn't it? Having not heard it for a few months, it's nice to come back to it and be reminded of the Many Wondrous Ways that This Song Rules.
Los Straitjackets: "Surf Rider" - nothing particularly remarkable about this specific version, but this is the one I have on the machine (from the Delphonic Sounds Today! album from a few years ago of late 90's indy bands covering hits from the Del-Fi catalog). But the song itself is one of the great surf instrumentals, the epitome of cool in a 3-minute package; which I guess explains why it showed up (if I'm remembering right) as the end-credit music in Pulp Fiction.
Portishead: "It's a Fire" - while a lot of the "chill" genre is perfectly pleasant but not particularly memorable (are you listening Lemon Jelly? I'm not sure I am again), this first PH album remains a revelation. The genius production touches and (at the time) groundbreaking sound were the elements that started the initial buzz, but ultimately it was the depth of emotion in Beth's voice and the songwriting that made it a keeper.
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