Friday Playlist

A busy week that’s been a bit out-of-sorts, so this week’s playlist includes more old music than I’ve been doing recently. Still good songs!

“Light Night Mountains All That” – Ratboys
Last week I shared a recent cover by Ratboys. Right after that they dropped a new single of their own, although no word on a new album date. This one rips.

“Another Second Chance” – Rocket
The fifth track I’ve shared from Rocket this year, which seems a little excessive. Their album doesn’t even, finally, get released until next week. Not sure there are going to be any decent songs left to listen to after this slow trickle of early release singles.

“Misery” – The Living End
Man, I loved The Living End’s 2001 album Roll On, a fiery blend of old school punk, Aussie pub rock, and pop. I believe I followed up with them a little in the early 2000s but, as far as I knew, they had disappeared. Turns out they kind of had, although they continued to make music deep into the 2010s. They have a new album out today, their first in eight years. This isn’t up to that 2001 level, but it’s not bad.

“16/25” – Softcult
File under Pretty Songs About Ugly Subjects.

“Stone Shadow” – Glyders
Some very cool, old fashioned, garage rock.

“When This Gets Out” – The Persian Leaps
A four-year old track that sounds like classic Smithereens.

“T–60” – Broken Record
Some quality, grungy, Nineties-like guitars in this one.

“Jacksonville” – Sufjan Stevens
We are 20 years past Sufjan’s Illinois, which was supposed to be the first of 50 albums focused on each state in the union. That project kind of fizzled out, to no one’s surprise. He’s made some amazing albums since, but this is the only one I ever really connected with. I don’t think there’s been a more inventive songwriter this century.

“I Fought The Law” – The Clash
Sonny Curtis died last weekend. A friend of Buddy Holly’s, he worked with Holly and joined his band the Crickets after Holly left Texas for New York. He wrote several terrific songs, but this was his best, most famous, and most enduring, covered by many other artists over the years.