Favorite Songs of 2021 - Songs 12-22

Ignore this portion of the list at your peril!

12. From the Back of a Cab by Rostam.

"And in the back of a cab we sit closer

And I rest my head down on your shoulder

From the back of the cab to the airport

I am happy you and I got this hour."

Our man Rostam didn't just do covers this year, he came out with new music as well. This is my favorite from his 2021 album Changephobia -- a pretty song about a cab ride to the airport with your love. Check out, at the least, "4Runner" as well.

13. Back in Ohio by Lucero.

"Looking down the barrels

Of twenty loaded guns

All the letters written

All the fighting's been done

A man without a country

Ain't getting out alive."

My brother introduced me to both Lucero and this song earlier this year, and I feel I'm the better for both. It was clear from the video that the song is about the Cuban Revolution, but the exact reference (of which I was not aware) is here.

14. Reese by Big Red Machine. 

"A little bit older now

Out in the wilderness

With some valedictorian

You had wagered up your torch

And then you lost your paraffin."

Big Red Machine is mostly Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) and Aaron Dressner (of The National fame), with various well-known guest artists. Yep, the name is a reference to the Cincinnati Reds of the '70's (Dressner, like the rest of the members of The National, is originally from Cincy). Sounds like Justin is not pleased with the actions of a former friend in this song.

15. Making A Fire (Mark Ronson version) by The Foo Fighters.

"This is our last time

I've made up my mind

I've waited a lifetime to live

It's time to ignite

I'm making a fire."

The Foos are still cool! Dave Grohl is definitely still cool!! They blessed us with a new album in 2021, and some re-mixes, and this is my favorite of the bunch (you can check out the original version of Making A Fire here). I also recommend giving a listen to Love Dies Young and Waiting on a War, at the least, from the excellent Medicine at Midnight LP.

16. Chinatown by Bleachers (feat. Bruce Springsteen).

"Yeah, I wanna find tomorrow

With a girl like you

My Chinatown baby

Sittin' on your front stoop

Cryin' out the crazy."

A break from protocol here as there are two Bleachers' songs on the list (and, truth be told, there could easily be four). My reasoning for the double inclusion is simple enough: only one of those songs features The Boss as well. So, one Bleachers song, one Bleachers and Bruce Springsteen song. Hope everyone's cool with that ...

17. I WANT TO DIE BUT I CAN'T ('CUZ I GOTTA KEEP LIVING) by PRONOUN.

"Wake up in another day

Have some coffee with my stupor

Add up all the time I waste

Telling myself I'm a loser."

Apparently PRONOUN (a.k.a. Alyse Velturo) has decided to forego all lowercase letters and instead use ALL CAPS. You do what you do, lady. I think she's mocking herself here, but maybe it's someone else ...

18. Write a List of Things to Look Forward To by Courtney Barnett.

"Sit beside me, watch the world burn

We'll never learn, we don't deserve nice things

And we'll scream self-righteously

We did our best, but what does that really mean?"

A song about a fractured friendship? Or a bigger picture than that (global climate change?)?

19. Stellate (The Districts Remix) by Samia.

"I wanna get you sedated

Like when it all began

I wanna play you records I like

I wanna hold your hand."

When this song was rereleased with the addition of The Districts, I was hooked. Love Samia's voice, which is enhanced (I believe) by the addition of TDs. And who doesn't love an overt reference to The Beatles?

20. Alibi (Alternate Version) by Geographer.

"Some days can be harder

But we find the way to keep

Our eyes on the forest

And forget about the trees."

It's been a while since Geographer made my list. I'm glad I found this song worthy of inclusion.

21. Far Out by Ben Howard.

"One said 'the violence has begun, we're together all as one

If we don't act now it'll be tomorrow.'

Well, I've seen this show before

So I left and closed the door

When out walking into the nearest forest clearing

There was nothing to see 

Just a boy beyond the trees

Picking psilocybin."

A dark but maybe hopeful (at least for those who indulge in magic mushrooms) song about our current societal divisions. 

22. Human Condition by Sjowgren.

"Whether they knew 

Call it crazy it's true

Went on and on and on it goes

It's the human condition

But nobody mentioned

The eyes the eyes the eyes the eyes."

Sjowgren has at least let us put faces to their voices now -- so a little less mystery than previous incarnations on my list. And every bit worthy of its inclusion.

My favorite 11 songs of 2021 are just around the corner!

Favorite Songs of 2015 - Songs 1-11

Some years I go back-and-forth between my top five or ten songs and this year was no different -- as it should be I suppose as my "favorites" change as I hear new songs throughout the year. The top three songs this year have been there for quite some time however, although their order changed at one point or the other.

In the end, though, I couldn't escape the fact that one song, however unusual the lyrics, or occasionally (how to say this politely?) screechy (okay, that's not polite) the singing, is my favorite of 2015. And it's this one:

1. Sister Cities by Hop Along.

"In the hospital,
You talked about thumbing down that
truck ride for the first time ...
And the false friend
kept his back turned,
that’s when you learned
The fierceness of man,
again.
How long it took to reach the sister cities.
And then somehow make it back
Just to tell me
'Yeah, I guess I’m still
pretty mad.'"

It's hard to explain why exactly this is my favorite song. The lyrics are sad and disturbing, the vocals lovely at times, grating at others. And yet it's still there. Over and over in my head, on my playlist, on my list. Maybe it's the xylophone ...

2. Until the Night Turns by Lord Huron.

"I had a vision tonight that the world was ending.
Yeah the sky was falling and time was bending.
We spent our last night in the moonlight...
Baby it's so bright we'll be up all night.
I got a helluva view for the end of the world.
I've got a bottle of booze and a beautiful girl.
If I'm going to die I'm gonna go in style."

The second best concert I saw in 2015. And the second best song of 2015 by my estimation. Don't know what is with me and apocalyptic songs ...

3. A Beginning Song by The Decemberists.

"And I am waiting
Should I be waiting?
And I am wanting...
Should I be wanting?
When all around me
When all around me ..."

 Perhaps the sweetest, most hopeful song ever written by the "hyperliterate" (I read that somewhere and thought it suits him) Colin Meloy. Saw them with brother and son in Charlotte the day after my birthday this year. One of the five best concerts I've ever seen.

Colin Meloy at The Filmore in Charlotte. (photo from me)

4. Jackson by The Pollies.

"Wake up mama we got a little
We got a little to do.
Get the children they gonna...
Wanna hear it too.
Six Hundred Strong across that
Edmund Pettus Bridge.
We won't stop for the lawman
'Til it gets fixed."

A soaring song of tragedy and perseverance about a forgotten hero of the Civil Rights movement, Jimmie Lee Jackson. By four white guys from Alabama. Sounds like progress to me.

5. Seventeen by Sjowgren.

"If you want a second to breathe,
I'll give you all of my love,
I'll give you all that you need....
Don't worry,
I'm not in a hurry.
Not going nowhere,
I'm not going nowhere."

No, I don't even know how to pronounce the band's name. But this song is completely addictive from the first piano chords to the crescendo. More please!

6. Getting Ready to Get Down by Josh Ritter.

"Momma got a look at you and got a little worried.
Papa got a look at you and got a little worried.
Pastor got a look and said 'y'all had better hurry...
Send her off to a little Bible college in Missouri.'

And now you come back sayin' you know a little bit about
Every little thing they hoped you'd never figure out.
The Red Sea
The Dead Sea
The Sermon on the Mount.
If you want to see a miracle watch me get down!"

Almost another spoken word song, but mostly because there are so many words ... Saw him live at Mountain Stage recently -- the only other artist I can ever remember being so genuinely happy to perform was Bruce Hornsby. If Ritter is performing live somewhere near you, go see him!

7. Pretty Pimpin' by Kurt Vile.

"But I couldn’t tell you what the hell it was supposed to mean.
Because it was a Monday, no a Tuesday, no Wednesday, Thursday, Friday ...
Then Saturday came around and I said “Who’s this stupid clown blocking the bathroom sink?”...
But he was sporting all my clothes;
I gotta say
Pretty pimpin'."

A song with really clever lyrics but if you just listen to the lyrics, you'll miss how beautiful, and complex, the music is.

8. No No No by Beirut.

"Don't know the first thing about who you are.
My heart is waiting, taken in from the start.
If we don't go now, we won't get very far....
Don't know the first thing about who you are."

I love Beirut's sound, although I'm hard pressed to describe it.

9. All Your Favorite Bands by Dawes.

"I hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it’d be.
I hope your brother’s El Camino runs forever.
I hope the world sees the same person that you always were to me....
And may all your favorite bands stay together."

I missed them at their latest Mountain Stage appearance and am the poorer for it, but saw them on what I believe to be their first time on the show. A great song of love lost, but remembered, and appreciated.

10. Depreston by Courtney Barnett.

"You said we should look out further;
I guess it wouldn't hurt us.
We don't have to be around all these coffee shops....
Now we've got that percolator,
Never made a latte greater.
I'm saving
Twenty-three dollars a week."

A song with great lyrics that make the banal interesting and the unknown sad. Really doesn't do it justice to only post some of the lyrics. Great album title as well ("Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit").

11. Rock & Roll is Cold by Matthew E. White.


"You said you found the soul of rock and roll
You said you found the soul of rock and roll
Hey hey, rock and roll it don't have no soul...
Everybody knows that
Everyone knows.
Everyone knows that rock and roll is cold."

Great gospel/blues sound here. Plus my love of choruses singing things like "ooo la la la la ooo la la" is well documented.

Hope you enjoyed this year's list -- see you next November!