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A Song for Every Day in December
Feb. 3rd, 2024 11:34 pmAs an artist I listen to an ungodly amount of music - four, five, maybe six hours a day. Some days it’s a struggle to find anything I want to listen to, others I’m overwhelmed by choice. Starting halfway through November I decided to make a note of a significant song (my favourite, one that resonated etc.) in my diary and I’d like to share the first full list, December, here. If anyone wants to listen along, I’d be thrilled.
The 1st
Holy Water by Soundgarden
Superunknown has always been thee Soundgarden album for me, I know it inside out, but I realised that I hadn’t listened to their previous record, Badmotorfinger, in a hot minute. I had to remedy that. I dug out the cd and I was transported to sludgey, grungy bliss. The riffs are so heavy they might just have their own gravitational field. Holy Water in particular treads that wonderful line between noise and melody just right, so that was my pick from the album, though I recommend a full listen for maximum immersion.
The 2nd
Ai No Soretsu - Buck Tick
I’ve been listening to a lot of Buck Tick since the awful news of Atsushi Sakurai’s passing and it’s been a bittersweet experience. There’s a real melancholy knowing that that voice will never sing these songs again, but what a legacy to leave. Ai No Soretsu has such a rich, gothic sound and a grandeur that you rarely find in J-rock today; it’s hard to believe that it’s from 2016 the way it harkens back to the golden age of Japanese goth rock.
The 3rd
Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson
Sometimes a song pops into your head for no other reason than ‘you just thought of it’. This was one such case. I love the wistfulness of 50s easy listening, there’s a simplicity and an earnestness to the emotions expressed. No complex arrangements, no complex lyrics, just simple and honest song writing.
The 4th
Levitate Me - Pixies
I pride myself on being a longtime Pixies fan (I’m forced to remember scrawling WHERE IS MY MIND?? in my high school planner. I thought I was the coolest most cultured kid in the school…gags) but I realised something. I’d never listened to their very first EP. So I put that bad boy on and got exactly what I imagined; weird lyrics, bits of Spanish for no real reason, the quiet-verse-loud-chorus formula, random yelping….you get the picture. It’s classic Pixies and I loved every second.
The 5th
The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song - Jeffrey Lewis
If Jeffrey Lewis has 0 fans, I am dead. I don’t even remember how or when I discovered him but listening to his music was like peering into my own mind and hearing it played back in music form. Well, not this song specifically but my point stands. His storytelling is crazy and his language is funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. Who else writes lyrics like ‘if I was Leonard Cohen
or some other song writing master
I'd know to first get the oral sex
and then write the song after’??
The 6th
Look at You - Screaming Trees
This song is so calming to me. It’s like being serenaded on a warm summer evening while watching the sun go down. Lyrically it’s not particularly happy, but the delivery of the line ‘One by one they fall, it always breaks me down’ somehow makes me feel seen. Like I can keep taking the blows life throws at me somehow. It makes me think of this line from Byron: ‘And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on’.
The 7th
I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free - Nina Simone
I don’t think there’s a song that represents the civil rights movement like this one. The imagery is so simple and clear, and delivered with an innocence that only Nina Simone - that chameleonic singer - could deliver. It’s impossible to listen to lines like…
‘I wish I could give
All I'm longin' to give
I wish I could live
like I'm longing to live’ …. without feeling stirred.
The 8th
Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
Confession time: I’d never actually listened to Tom Tom Club before watching the full Stop Making Sense movie earlier last year. But I absolutely adored this song! The word that comes to mind is breezy - it just puts me in such a positive mood and it’s a great song to soundtrack the start of your day. All the different segments are so fun and harmonious (take note kpop songwriters). Very odd that the supposedly made up language in the middle of the song literally just sounds like Korean though….
The 9th
Stop! In the Name of Love - The Supremes
In my opinion, the best Motown single. Diana Ross just sounds so darn cute on this track, it’s candy-coated pop perfection. I dunno who produced it but it has that Phil Spector wall of sound type of arrangement (for the chorus) but without Phil Spector. Which is always a plus. I wish kpop would look back to 60s style melodies more. Mamamoo did it well…uh Serenade by Boynextdoor is sort of similar…that’s basically it. Don’t forget your roots, people! Do the Kim Sisters mean nothing to you?!
The 10th
Always on my Mind - Pet Shop Boys
Somehow this song just sounds gay. That is a gay synthesiser. That is a gay drum machine. Those vocals sound gay. I accurately predicted that this would be used in the All Of Us Strangers trailer it’s that gay. You may not be surprised to hear that this song makes me think of jc. Anyway.
The 11th
The Box - Johnny Flynn
I have a long history with Johnny Flynn, from noticing him in a kinda lame Cineworld ad, to loving his song for Detectorists, to devouring his many albums, to learning he was an actor too, to watching every single movie he’s in. All this to say: I’m a big fan. This song is a fun folk-y romp, it almost makes me think back to my folk dancing days (don’t ask). This is from my favourite album of his, A Larum (2008), and I recommend it in the strongest possible terms.
The 12th
Victoria - The Kinks
The Kinks are a goated band but people don’t really know them outside the hits (Lola, You Really Got Me etc.). I love all their material but as a Victorian history geek this song feels tailor made to ME specifically. I love the rhythm of this and the classic, wry Kinks lyrics that are so culturally astute they’re often mistaken for being serious by lesser-wits. Which is slightly crazy because the opening line is ‘Long ago, life was clean, Sex was bad, called obscene’. Like sure. This sounds like a song glorifying the days of empire!
The 13th
Clean Up - Shortstraw
I can’t tell you anything about this artist. They’re completely new and barely have any streams on youtube but mark my words: they’re going to become moderately popular in alternative music circles and get a lot of airplay on 6Music. They could even play the John Peel stage at Glasto in a couple years! We’ll see if my predictions come true. But I can only describe this sound as ‘working class indie rap rock’. Shortstraw clearly goes to the idles/sleaford mods/bob vylan school of rock and that’s no bad thing.
The 14th
Oral - Björk & Rosalía
Björk is one of those artists who on paper I should love but in reality I’ve never actually gelled with her music…or her singing. Watch enough Top of the Pops ‘95 and eventually you’ll warm to her a bit, but generally speaking her appeal has evaded me. But pair her with Rosalía and they maximise their joint weirdo slay. Forgive me Björk, I wasn’t familiar with your game.
The 15th
Superwomble - The Wombles
Ok. I don’t have a succinct explanation for this pick, the Superwomble lore is much too complicated for that. So I’ll just say I’m probably the only person under 50 who even knows what the Wombles are.
The 16th
Feel It - Kate Bush
File under: softly sensual songs that make me think of jc (of which there are numerous). I love the vulnerability of the lyrics and the performance, it takes you right into the heat and excitement of the moment. Tell me this isn’t feeding the jc brainworms, I dare you:
‘After the party, you took me back to your parlour
A little nervous laughter, locking the door
My stockings fall onto the floor, desperate for more’
The 17th
Strange Religion - Mark Lanegan
More Mark Lanegan but this time on his own. He’s a poet of the pacific north-west, darkly charismatic and compelling. His music is often very soothing for this exact reason, his world-weary voice just soaks up and carries away all your pain. Strange Religion in particular is elegiac: a song for when you’re feeling blue.
The 18th
Radar Man - Jun Togawa
I love women who make weird music. I cannot get enough of Jun Togawa’s vocal theatrics, it’s almost like she’s switching characters or personas mid-song. Her vocal control is actually insane even if to the average schmuck she might not sound good - bad even. This is a real case of if you get it, you get it. RADAR MAAAANN!!!!
The 19th
Abbey Road Medley - The Beatles
I know it’s trendy to hate the Beatles but I literally do not care. I’m a fan and I won’t deny it. Some of my earliest memories are thinking they were a band from hundreds of years ago purely based on the Sgt Pepper album cover and the fact that I was 4 years old with no concept of time or history. I also knew that I liked what I heard. Fast forward to 2023 and I suddenly got the urge to listen the Abbey Road medley and what can I say that hasn’t already been said? It’s a hell of a way to close your musical career.
The 20th
Drowse - Queen
I think we need to put more respect on Roger Taylor’s name as a songwriter. This is some of the best Queen lyrics period, it totally captures the listlessness of youth and the futility of daydreaming about some unwritten future. Lyrics to die for…
‘There's all the more reason
for laughing and crying
When you're younger
and life isn't too hard at all’
The 21st
The Rip - Portishead
I need to have a conversation with Ningning about Portishead but that’s another matter. The Rip is a perfect electronic song for me, in the same vein as Vienna by Ultravox. It builds up layers of delicious, cold mechanical synth and reveals itself slowly as the beat unfurls. Get this song in a sci-fi movie PRONTO!
The 22nd
I Want a Boy for my Birthday - The Smiths
This is originally by The Cookies but the Smiths’ version gives it a melancholy, queer tinge. The yearning of forbidden love, the innermost urges, the hesitancy…..is it any surprise this is a jc song for me? (But have to give the obligatory ‘fuck Morrissey’ disclaimer, he’s a knob etc.)
The 23rd
Hater’s Anthem - Infinity Song
Oh man, finding these guys was such a delight, I’m a sucker for songs that are playful, funny, and witty, which are qualities they have in spades. As someone with strong hater-tendencies I feel very seen. Also they’re a sibling four-piece which is exceptionally rare these days and I dig it.
‘Just as long I've got my ego
And it tells me I'm superior
I could probably go a lifetime being barely mediocre
I'd still convince myself every time that I'm better’
The 24th
I Was Born (a Unicorn) - The Unicorns
One of the great underrated 2000s alternative/indie bands. Although that’s perhaps underselling them - The Unicorns are pretty weird, their songs a little rougher around the edges than most people on the alt scene at the time. I like the meta-ness of the track and the fun back and forth between the two vocalists (I write the songs / I WRITE the songs / You say I'm doing it wrong / YOU ARE doing it wrong!), it’s just an all round fun, raucous noisy rock song.
The 25th
This is Yesterday - Manic Street Preachers
It was Christmas Day, so naturally I wasn’t listening to too much music but I managed to squeeze in some tunes late in the evening when I was reflecting on the day. Xmas ‘22 wasn’t a great one for me - not because of any family drama but on account of my crippling OCD, so the pressure was on to have a good year. Lo and behold, I had a great day. And this song, which sounds like the auditory equivalent of throwing the windows open after shutting yourself in your house for days on end, was the perfect score for my happiness.
The 26th
Flesh and Bone - Brendan Benson
I was suddenly extremely nostalgic for Skins (seminal angsty British teen drama for all you Yanks) and started watching a bunch of old clips, desperately trying to recreate my feelings the first time I watched it. Needless to say, it didn’t work but I was reminded of what a great soundtrack it had. This wasn’t a song I particularly remembered from the show but the Elliot Smith influence caught my attention. It’s a very pretty acoustic song with a slight 00s British jauntiness that’s hard to put into words.
The 27th
Sacrifice - Thee Oh Sees
I have a real bee in my bonnet about under-3-minute kpop songs. Not because they’re short but because they’re usually phoned in and uninspired. A short song can, however, feel like a pure, concentrate dopamine shot to the brain, much like how I imagine a speedball to feel. I wouldn’t actually know and listening to this hardcore Oh Sees banger is as close to that experience as I’d care to get. That riff is so rhythmic it’s like a gatling gun that gets your foot tapping and your head bobbing, all in less than a minute (!).
The 28th
Queen of Denmark - John Grant
John Grant is one of the great queer singer-songwriters and very few people seem to know who he is. His lyrics are heartfelt and emotionally wrought, yet grounded in pop culture and colloquialisms, often dripping in sardonic humour. He takes the standard singer-songwriter confessional and filters it through the lens of an introspective, self hating middle-aged queen, which gives us some brilliant self aware lines like…
‘I hope you know that all I want from you is sex
To be with someone that looks smashing in athletic wear’
The 29th
Great Big Kiss - Johnny Thunders
I was on a Johnny Thunders/Heartbreakers/New York Dolls kick for about a week and finally settled on this as my song of the day. It’s a cover of an old 60s girl group song by the Shangri-Las (a version which, to me, is a serious SC anthem) but in the hands of Johnny Thunders it becomes a saucy, grimy, raucous rock n’ roll romp and all-round good time. It’s danceable, it’s fun, it’s got a Born to Lose reference thrown in there…what’s not to love?
The 30th
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - Baccara
Listen, I’m a rocker through and through but I can’t deny my love of disco. And this might be the most perfect disco song ever committed to tape. I mean what other track opens with a girl straight up cumming into the microphone? It’s perfect.
The 31st
With or Without You - U2
This is one of those songs that was so overplayed for a time that it almost failed to register with me. Like, yeah, ok it’s with it without you by u2, a commonly dunked on band, what of it? But then I heard it in the finale of The Americans and in that context, it was like hearing it anew. There’s real pathos behind those words, and the melody aches and swells with longing that just bubbles over into your heart. Now I finished The Americans a while ago, but I decided to listen to this song to send off 2023 and it felt appropriately wistful and not too corny. I suppose the moral of the story is U2 are pretty alright.
The 1st
Holy Water by Soundgarden
Superunknown has always been thee Soundgarden album for me, I know it inside out, but I realised that I hadn’t listened to their previous record, Badmotorfinger, in a hot minute. I had to remedy that. I dug out the cd and I was transported to sludgey, grungy bliss. The riffs are so heavy they might just have their own gravitational field. Holy Water in particular treads that wonderful line between noise and melody just right, so that was my pick from the album, though I recommend a full listen for maximum immersion.
The 2nd
Ai No Soretsu - Buck Tick
I’ve been listening to a lot of Buck Tick since the awful news of Atsushi Sakurai’s passing and it’s been a bittersweet experience. There’s a real melancholy knowing that that voice will never sing these songs again, but what a legacy to leave. Ai No Soretsu has such a rich, gothic sound and a grandeur that you rarely find in J-rock today; it’s hard to believe that it’s from 2016 the way it harkens back to the golden age of Japanese goth rock.
The 3rd
Lonesome Town - Ricky Nelson
Sometimes a song pops into your head for no other reason than ‘you just thought of it’. This was one such case. I love the wistfulness of 50s easy listening, there’s a simplicity and an earnestness to the emotions expressed. No complex arrangements, no complex lyrics, just simple and honest song writing.
The 4th
Levitate Me - Pixies
I pride myself on being a longtime Pixies fan (I’m forced to remember scrawling WHERE IS MY MIND?? in my high school planner. I thought I was the coolest most cultured kid in the school…gags) but I realised something. I’d never listened to their very first EP. So I put that bad boy on and got exactly what I imagined; weird lyrics, bits of Spanish for no real reason, the quiet-verse-loud-chorus formula, random yelping….you get the picture. It’s classic Pixies and I loved every second.
The 5th
The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song - Jeffrey Lewis
If Jeffrey Lewis has 0 fans, I am dead. I don’t even remember how or when I discovered him but listening to his music was like peering into my own mind and hearing it played back in music form. Well, not this song specifically but my point stands. His storytelling is crazy and his language is funny and heartbreaking in equal measure. Who else writes lyrics like ‘if I was Leonard Cohen
or some other song writing master
I'd know to first get the oral sex
and then write the song after’??
The 6th
Look at You - Screaming Trees
This song is so calming to me. It’s like being serenaded on a warm summer evening while watching the sun go down. Lyrically it’s not particularly happy, but the delivery of the line ‘One by one they fall, it always breaks me down’ somehow makes me feel seen. Like I can keep taking the blows life throws at me somehow. It makes me think of this line from Byron: ‘And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on’.
The 7th
I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free - Nina Simone
I don’t think there’s a song that represents the civil rights movement like this one. The imagery is so simple and clear, and delivered with an innocence that only Nina Simone - that chameleonic singer - could deliver. It’s impossible to listen to lines like…
‘I wish I could give
All I'm longin' to give
I wish I could live
like I'm longing to live’ …. without feeling stirred.
The 8th
Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
Confession time: I’d never actually listened to Tom Tom Club before watching the full Stop Making Sense movie earlier last year. But I absolutely adored this song! The word that comes to mind is breezy - it just puts me in such a positive mood and it’s a great song to soundtrack the start of your day. All the different segments are so fun and harmonious (take note kpop songwriters). Very odd that the supposedly made up language in the middle of the song literally just sounds like Korean though….
The 9th
Stop! In the Name of Love - The Supremes
In my opinion, the best Motown single. Diana Ross just sounds so darn cute on this track, it’s candy-coated pop perfection. I dunno who produced it but it has that Phil Spector wall of sound type of arrangement (for the chorus) but without Phil Spector. Which is always a plus. I wish kpop would look back to 60s style melodies more. Mamamoo did it well…uh Serenade by Boynextdoor is sort of similar…that’s basically it. Don’t forget your roots, people! Do the Kim Sisters mean nothing to you?!
The 10th
Always on my Mind - Pet Shop Boys
Somehow this song just sounds gay. That is a gay synthesiser. That is a gay drum machine. Those vocals sound gay. I accurately predicted that this would be used in the All Of Us Strangers trailer it’s that gay. You may not be surprised to hear that this song makes me think of jc. Anyway.
The 11th
The Box - Johnny Flynn
I have a long history with Johnny Flynn, from noticing him in a kinda lame Cineworld ad, to loving his song for Detectorists, to devouring his many albums, to learning he was an actor too, to watching every single movie he’s in. All this to say: I’m a big fan. This song is a fun folk-y romp, it almost makes me think back to my folk dancing days (don’t ask). This is from my favourite album of his, A Larum (2008), and I recommend it in the strongest possible terms.
The 12th
Victoria - The Kinks
The Kinks are a goated band but people don’t really know them outside the hits (Lola, You Really Got Me etc.). I love all their material but as a Victorian history geek this song feels tailor made to ME specifically. I love the rhythm of this and the classic, wry Kinks lyrics that are so culturally astute they’re often mistaken for being serious by lesser-wits. Which is slightly crazy because the opening line is ‘Long ago, life was clean, Sex was bad, called obscene’. Like sure. This sounds like a song glorifying the days of empire!
The 13th
Clean Up - Shortstraw
I can’t tell you anything about this artist. They’re completely new and barely have any streams on youtube but mark my words: they’re going to become moderately popular in alternative music circles and get a lot of airplay on 6Music. They could even play the John Peel stage at Glasto in a couple years! We’ll see if my predictions come true. But I can only describe this sound as ‘working class indie rap rock’. Shortstraw clearly goes to the idles/sleaford mods/bob vylan school of rock and that’s no bad thing.
The 14th
Oral - Björk & Rosalía
Björk is one of those artists who on paper I should love but in reality I’ve never actually gelled with her music…or her singing. Watch enough Top of the Pops ‘95 and eventually you’ll warm to her a bit, but generally speaking her appeal has evaded me. But pair her with Rosalía and they maximise their joint weirdo slay. Forgive me Björk, I wasn’t familiar with your game.
The 15th
Superwomble - The Wombles
Ok. I don’t have a succinct explanation for this pick, the Superwomble lore is much too complicated for that. So I’ll just say I’m probably the only person under 50 who even knows what the Wombles are.
The 16th
Feel It - Kate Bush
File under: softly sensual songs that make me think of jc (of which there are numerous). I love the vulnerability of the lyrics and the performance, it takes you right into the heat and excitement of the moment. Tell me this isn’t feeding the jc brainworms, I dare you:
‘After the party, you took me back to your parlour
A little nervous laughter, locking the door
My stockings fall onto the floor, desperate for more’
The 17th
Strange Religion - Mark Lanegan
More Mark Lanegan but this time on his own. He’s a poet of the pacific north-west, darkly charismatic and compelling. His music is often very soothing for this exact reason, his world-weary voice just soaks up and carries away all your pain. Strange Religion in particular is elegiac: a song for when you’re feeling blue.
The 18th
Radar Man - Jun Togawa
I love women who make weird music. I cannot get enough of Jun Togawa’s vocal theatrics, it’s almost like she’s switching characters or personas mid-song. Her vocal control is actually insane even if to the average schmuck she might not sound good - bad even. This is a real case of if you get it, you get it. RADAR MAAAANN!!!!
The 19th
Abbey Road Medley - The Beatles
I know it’s trendy to hate the Beatles but I literally do not care. I’m a fan and I won’t deny it. Some of my earliest memories are thinking they were a band from hundreds of years ago purely based on the Sgt Pepper album cover and the fact that I was 4 years old with no concept of time or history. I also knew that I liked what I heard. Fast forward to 2023 and I suddenly got the urge to listen the Abbey Road medley and what can I say that hasn’t already been said? It’s a hell of a way to close your musical career.
The 20th
Drowse - Queen
I think we need to put more respect on Roger Taylor’s name as a songwriter. This is some of the best Queen lyrics period, it totally captures the listlessness of youth and the futility of daydreaming about some unwritten future. Lyrics to die for…
‘There's all the more reason
for laughing and crying
When you're younger
and life isn't too hard at all’
The 21st
The Rip - Portishead
I need to have a conversation with Ningning about Portishead but that’s another matter. The Rip is a perfect electronic song for me, in the same vein as Vienna by Ultravox. It builds up layers of delicious, cold mechanical synth and reveals itself slowly as the beat unfurls. Get this song in a sci-fi movie PRONTO!
The 22nd
I Want a Boy for my Birthday - The Smiths
This is originally by The Cookies but the Smiths’ version gives it a melancholy, queer tinge. The yearning of forbidden love, the innermost urges, the hesitancy…..is it any surprise this is a jc song for me? (But have to give the obligatory ‘fuck Morrissey’ disclaimer, he’s a knob etc.)
The 23rd
Hater’s Anthem - Infinity Song
Oh man, finding these guys was such a delight, I’m a sucker for songs that are playful, funny, and witty, which are qualities they have in spades. As someone with strong hater-tendencies I feel very seen. Also they’re a sibling four-piece which is exceptionally rare these days and I dig it.
‘Just as long I've got my ego
And it tells me I'm superior
I could probably go a lifetime being barely mediocre
I'd still convince myself every time that I'm better’
The 24th
I Was Born (a Unicorn) - The Unicorns
One of the great underrated 2000s alternative/indie bands. Although that’s perhaps underselling them - The Unicorns are pretty weird, their songs a little rougher around the edges than most people on the alt scene at the time. I like the meta-ness of the track and the fun back and forth between the two vocalists (I write the songs / I WRITE the songs / You say I'm doing it wrong / YOU ARE doing it wrong!), it’s just an all round fun, raucous noisy rock song.
The 25th
This is Yesterday - Manic Street Preachers
It was Christmas Day, so naturally I wasn’t listening to too much music but I managed to squeeze in some tunes late in the evening when I was reflecting on the day. Xmas ‘22 wasn’t a great one for me - not because of any family drama but on account of my crippling OCD, so the pressure was on to have a good year. Lo and behold, I had a great day. And this song, which sounds like the auditory equivalent of throwing the windows open after shutting yourself in your house for days on end, was the perfect score for my happiness.
The 26th
Flesh and Bone - Brendan Benson
I was suddenly extremely nostalgic for Skins (seminal angsty British teen drama for all you Yanks) and started watching a bunch of old clips, desperately trying to recreate my feelings the first time I watched it. Needless to say, it didn’t work but I was reminded of what a great soundtrack it had. This wasn’t a song I particularly remembered from the show but the Elliot Smith influence caught my attention. It’s a very pretty acoustic song with a slight 00s British jauntiness that’s hard to put into words.
The 27th
Sacrifice - Thee Oh Sees
I have a real bee in my bonnet about under-3-minute kpop songs. Not because they’re short but because they’re usually phoned in and uninspired. A short song can, however, feel like a pure, concentrate dopamine shot to the brain, much like how I imagine a speedball to feel. I wouldn’t actually know and listening to this hardcore Oh Sees banger is as close to that experience as I’d care to get. That riff is so rhythmic it’s like a gatling gun that gets your foot tapping and your head bobbing, all in less than a minute (!).
The 28th
Queen of Denmark - John Grant
John Grant is one of the great queer singer-songwriters and very few people seem to know who he is. His lyrics are heartfelt and emotionally wrought, yet grounded in pop culture and colloquialisms, often dripping in sardonic humour. He takes the standard singer-songwriter confessional and filters it through the lens of an introspective, self hating middle-aged queen, which gives us some brilliant self aware lines like…
‘I hope you know that all I want from you is sex
To be with someone that looks smashing in athletic wear’
The 29th
Great Big Kiss - Johnny Thunders
I was on a Johnny Thunders/Heartbreakers/New York Dolls kick for about a week and finally settled on this as my song of the day. It’s a cover of an old 60s girl group song by the Shangri-Las (a version which, to me, is a serious SC anthem) but in the hands of Johnny Thunders it becomes a saucy, grimy, raucous rock n’ roll romp and all-round good time. It’s danceable, it’s fun, it’s got a Born to Lose reference thrown in there…what’s not to love?
The 30th
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - Baccara
Listen, I’m a rocker through and through but I can’t deny my love of disco. And this might be the most perfect disco song ever committed to tape. I mean what other track opens with a girl straight up cumming into the microphone? It’s perfect.
The 31st
With or Without You - U2
This is one of those songs that was so overplayed for a time that it almost failed to register with me. Like, yeah, ok it’s with it without you by u2, a commonly dunked on band, what of it? But then I heard it in the finale of The Americans and in that context, it was like hearing it anew. There’s real pathos behind those words, and the melody aches and swells with longing that just bubbles over into your heart. Now I finished The Americans a while ago, but I decided to listen to this song to send off 2023 and it felt appropriately wistful and not too corny. I suppose the moral of the story is U2 are pretty alright.
