Music Diary, Vol. 85

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 Aug. 18-24

LYRICS: The Roches, "The Married Men"

SONG: This Lennon-penned Beatles deep cut one-ups the isolation of the Beach Boys' "In My Room" (coincidentally recorded the same year) from a physical place to the mind's interior. The tone is often searing and the form odd, but I find the tight vocal harmony reassuring (for one thing, it says: He's not alone).

ALBUM: Mainlining the latest record by Juniore, a French indie trio that lays intoned yé-yé vocals over surf guitar and a popping rhythm section. The delicious throwback sound is a draw, of course, but there are also pleasant surprises in the songwriting.

LYRICS: The cast of “Hair” (Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni & James Rado), “Where Do I Go?”

SONG: Everything about this bittersweet, fortifying waltz by Regina Spektor is perfectly judged, but I would draw your attention to the brief F#m chord under the word “knows”—a brief mortal cloud that haunts if not quite belies the lyric’s bracing, buck-up message.

ALBUM: This Eddie Palmieri classic from 1971 alternates between rousing, dare-you-to-sit-still rave-ups and chill jams. Threaded through it all are Eddie's irresistible montunos, which get positively fractal, Monk-style, without losing their swirl and snap.

LYRICS: Barbara Walsh (William Finn), "I'm Breaking Down"

SONG: This gently insistent Beach House track has one of the great builds of all time, surging from a recursive verse to a sunburst chorus (a surprising III chord has a starring role here), and before you know it, its initially earthbound spirit is soaring.

ALBUM: Warren Zevon seemed to arrive fully formed on his 1976 major label debut, though he'd kicked around the biz for a decade. Those paid dues may account for his confident, even wizened tone, but only talent can explain his unfussy, forceful songcraft.

LYRICS: Kool Moe Dee, "I Go to Work"

SONG: There’s plenty of competition in his catalogue, but I think this early Randy Newman cut, about a depressed girl buried alive in the sand by the “beach-cleanin’ man,” may be his most disturbing ever. The slow, seething delivery makes it even more skin-crawling.

ALBUM: Spending the day with this great Ron Sexsmith record from 2002. It's not fair that a songwriter this good also has such an effortlessly lovely voice; imagine, if you can, a cross between Elvis Costello and Roy Orbison. The tune "God Loves Everyone" is what brought me, but I'm grateful for every sweet hook and smart lyric.

LYRICS: Nora Bayes (Walter Donaldson/Joe Young/Sam M. Lewis), “How Ya Gonna Keep ’Em Down on the Farm”

SONG: I figured out what draws me irresistibly to this vintage Charlie Christian/Lionel Hampton tune with Benny Goodman’s group: After Christian’s chiming guitar opening, the first chord the melody outlines is a delicious C9. It’s a basic jazz harmony, but it pops out in this swing context.

ALBUM: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band's major label debut, from 1989, is the kind of record you want to play over and over again, even though—or especially because—it makes a glorious racket.

LYRICS: Joni Mitchell, "Woman of Heart and Mind"

SONG: I think I can say this with some confidence: This beguiling, clap-happy flute-led Forró tune by the great Brazilian body-music troupe Barbatuques is guaranteed to make you smile.

ALBUM: Laufey’s delightful new record doesn’t have a single breakout tune—it has several. After 3 or 4 listens my faves so far are the kiss-offs (“Mr. Eclectic,” “Clean Air,” “Tough Luck”), as well as the delicate “Carousel” and the bonkers “Cuckoo Ballet.”

LYRICS: Wilco, "Jesus, Etc."

SONG: Last week for some reason the sweet acoustic guitar figure that opens this Los Lobos spiritual kept popping into my head, and then of course the whole gorgeous, heartbroken song spooled out in my mind. A blessing.

ALBUM: It’s tempting to hear Lily Boulanger’s music as Debussy-inspired. There’s inarguably an influence, but the dense harmonies on this stunning disc, centered on her wrenching Faust cantata, makes the case for her as an original post-Romantic voice gone too soon.