Music Diary, Vol. 63

For the rationale behind this mad effort, the initial post is here. The full series of Music Diary posts are here. The full playlist is above, and also here.

Week of March 17-23, 2025

LYRICS: The Pogues, "Thousands Are Sailing"

SONG: I was mixed-to-positive on Jim Sheridan's film In the Name of the Father, but I've always loved the opening theme by Bono and Gavin Friday, with its booming drums and a main hook that sounds like a pennywhistle jig played by a klaxon. A glorious racket.

ALBUM: I must credit the Sticky Notes podcast for turning me onto Amy Beach's warm, stirring "Gaelic" Symphony, in which she made more-than-credible stab at Dvořák-ian folk nationalism (though the nation in question is really the U.S., not the Emerald Isle).

LYRICS: Peggy, "Feminine Rage"

SONG: Just stumbled on this exquisite live rendition of one of Madison Cunningham’s best songs, showcasing not only her great voice and the tune’s crunchy harmonies but also the uniquely expressive tone she gets on her signature Silvertone acoustic with the rubber bridge.

ALBUM: “Pristine” is not necessarily the first word I think of with Prince, but a fresh immersion in this 1986 record really highlights the elegance and economy of his craft and sound. Of course, a buttoned-up freak is no less—indeed, maybe more—freaky.

LYRICS: Lotte Lenya (Kander & Ebb), “What Would You Do?”

SONG: Just realized what the upward leap from verse to chorus in this Janelle Monáe cut reminds me of: Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." They're even in the same key: verse in E, chorus in F#m. Bonus: the way Monáe pairs folk tunefulness with a punchy groove.

ALBUM: Add to the "great breakup records" pile this 2021 Bowerbirds collection, in which Philip Moore soldiers on without partner Beth Tacular. The sound of sharp loss is pervasive; so is a mix of acoustic and electric guitars that hits my sweet spot.

LYRICS: The Magnetic Fields, “The Book of Love”

SONG: This sweet, shady No Doubt reggae ballad lurks in the passive-aggressive space between "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "My Funny Valentine"—i.e., a negging love song to someone who doesn't deserve it, crafted to make them regret not loving the singer more.

ALBUM: Not quite as iconic as The Zombies' Odessey & Oracle but definitely in the ballpark, this great 1969 record by Wallace Collection is an eminently replayable mix of grit and whimsy: sunshine pop, psychedelia, ragtime, quasi-classical. Highly recommended.

LYRICS: Suzanne Vega, "Tom's Diner"

SONG: Talk about a song of resistance: This stinging Brecht lyric, itemizing the spoils of the Nazis’ rampage across Europe only to close with the ultimate clapback, was perfectly set by Weill in 1942, long after he’d fled to the U.S. Still packs a punch.

ALBUM: Spent today in the tactile, unsettling, yet oddly soothing sound world of Harry Partch, courtesy of this essential 1989 collection. I feel like I just walked through a forest where all the living (and some non-living) things comprised the orchestra.

LYRICS: Mel Tormé (Michel Legrand/Marilyn & Alan Bergman), “Windmills of Your Mind”

SONG: Among Chuck Berry’s great gifts was a knack for simple but catchy guitar hooks, and this quasi-calypso tune has one of my favorites of his—indeed the whole track is just him and his Gibson (with subtle bass support). Fun fact: The lyrics partly inspired “Louie Louie.”

ALBUM: I’m making bolognese tonight, so of course I’m listening to this tasty soundtrack (not officially available on streaming, so here's a playlist). I give a slight edge to the Old Country folk vs. the American cuts here, but it’s all part of the recipe.

LYRICS: Paul Simon, "Silent Eyes"

SONG: Stevie Wonder regularly makes complicated music sound deceptively easy, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he also makes prayer sound no more difficult than having a chat. One rich twist: the ii he substitutes for the V in the song's otherwise standard blues form.

ALBUM: This wild, rangy George Crumb setting of Lorca texts is a thing of strange beauty that somehow sounds both grittily earthy and otherworldly. The instruments, including Jan DeGaetani’s boundless voice, evoke animals, storms, unruly forces of nature.