I've been walking these street so long, singing the same old song, that I've grown mighty tired of writing year end reviews. It feels like an obligation now, so to spice up this year's offering, I decided to throw some random lyrics into the mix and see if anyone can identify them. Google has made lyric quizzes much less fun, but if you're not sure which the lyrics are... maybe that'll make it less of a chore. Or maybe I'm a lonely man who's in the middle of something that he doesn't really understand. Who can say?
Speaking of lonely men, and I'm not one to point fingers, but San Francisco's Glenn Donaldson doesn't appear to have much of a social life. Not if the amount of songs he writes, records and puts out on that bandcamp is anything to go by. I've only really listened to one of them - Unwishing Well - but he's put out another four since that one dropped in April this year. Sha-na na-na, sha-na na-na na, get a job, Glenn! Anyway, here's a nice description of that collection which saves me the trouble...
"Crystalizing the tragic self-celebrating kingdoms of fortunate failures, false heroes, music press deities of limitless deceit, hometown dive gods and humanity in the grips of all its romanticized wonder and woe..."
Someone who's giving Glenn a run for his money in the prolific stakes is Willie Nelson who, at 91, seems to be averaging two albums a year. Makes me glad we help the aged and don't just put them in a home. Can't have much fun when they're all on their own... and Willie still seems to be having lots of fun, even if he does feel like the last leaf on the tree...
A couple more old-timers from the country scene are Dave Alvin & Jimmy Dale Gilmore, who put out their second collaborative collection earlier this year. I've been a fan of Jimmy Dale since his foot slipped over the line while he was bowling in The Big Lebowski...
He certainly entered a world of pain that day. Fortunately, he survived, and a quarter of a century later, he's still here...
I had a dream last night, but I forget what it was. Fortunately, I didn't forget to include this little ditty from Brooklyn's Bad Mary in my year end review. It's like a song of love that clings to me...
There's a voice that keeps on calling me. Down the road, that's where I'll always be. So if you want to join me for a while, you'll be glad to know more great songs from 2024 will appear here soon. How soon?
But familiarity is good. It's reassuring. As long as there's a new spin, and nobody gets sued, I don't mind songs that rip off other songs. Let's face it, rock n roll has been devouring its own tail since day one.
Bad Mary are from New York, but that goes without saying. One listen and you can immediately hear Blondie, the Ramones... all those CBGB bands. (By the way, I just discovered that CBGB stands for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, none of which immediately spring to mind when you think of that particular establishment. Who knew?)
The live version of Forget About It is also worth 90 seconds of your time...
Anyway, I ended up adding Forget About It to a couple of playlists and mixtapes and it may be starting to wear out its welcome now. That's the problem with songs that are instant earworms... sometimes they burn out on you.
On the other hand, a song that takes a few listens to really grab your attention, a song that steals slyly into your subconscious, that can often be even more satisfying...
I figured I'd close today with a couple of less immediate tunes. Real slow-burners. Like this lovely little number from Gruff Rhys, which has crept up on me and is now threatening to become one of my songs of the year. I'd like to think 6Music will have been all over this, but as I can't listen to 6Music any more, I have no idea...
And then there's this, from an artist I stumbled across due to the algorithms. Our AI overlords presumably spotted my fondness for John Prine and recommended Texan Americana fella Sam Baker, who iffypedia tells me has quite a fascinating back story. In 1986, he was on a train to Machu Picchu when a terrorist bomb exploded in the luggage rack above his head. Seven of his fellow passengers were killed - Sam escaped with brain damage (he now struggles to remember names), permanent tinnitus and a gnarled guitar hand. But he didn't let that stop him writing beautiful songs like this... an inspiration for us all.
