10 Songs: Saturday, February 15th, 2014

Good reason

1. I Got The Reason – Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band – A botched arrangement stops this from being one of his biggest triumphs; he knew what he had in the pounding Richard Manuel inspired piano and went too far. Still a masterpiece, of course – A

2. Heaven Knows – Girl Called Johnny – Karen Anne’s masterful girl singer circa 1964 plus guitar solo, off Girl Called Johnny’s live album – A

3. Million Dollar Bills – Lorde – Early 2012, more playful than the album – B

4. Don’t Uncork What You Can’t Contain –  Suzanne Vega – With a Middle Eastern flavored bridge and a trampling beat, this is new olde folk – B+

5. Mama Told Me Not To Come – Randy Newman – Off his second album and an ultimate bad trip made popular by… Three Dog Night? That’s from memory – A

6. Family Tree – Kings Of Leon – The sort of riff they excel at plus a hand clapping singalong outro – B+

7. The Afterlife – Paul Simon – Recent jaundiced look at life after death – A-

8. Teenage Bonehead – The Queers – A poppier slice off their masterpiece – A

9. Blame The World – A little too dark for my taste – B

10. Trophy – Crosses – Shimmers nicely for hard rock – B