Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Holidays Edition

The shuffle will be taking a two week break with the upcoming holidays, so there’s no tribute to anyone in particular, but instead best wishes for a happy holiday season and great 2012. In the meantime, let’s fire up the iPod or MP3 player one more time and share the first 10 songs that come up.

1. The Arcade Fire — Modern Man (The Suburbs): While I’m very happy for all of the success this Montreal based band has achieved, unlike many, I didn’t think The Suburbs was their career high point. I still think their thrilling debut is their best work, and as they’ve settled into a career, the seams show more on just what they do musically. This is a pleasant tune, and there are better ones on the album, but this isn’t earth shattering.
2. Finn Brothers — Paradise (Wherever You Are) (Finn Brothers): The final song from the classic first album from Tim and Neil Finn, this is one of Tim’s tunes, which incorporates some sampled Maori chanting before settling down into a lovely tropic vibe. It’s a gentle and lovely ending to a great collection of tunes.
3. The Four Tops — You Keep Me Running Away (The Singles+): Maybe some Motown singles were formulaic, but what a formula. Even if it wasn’t for Levi Stubbs’ inimitable vocals, you’d be able to identify this as a Motown song from the playing and composition. This is mighty fine soul pop.
4. Merle Haggard — It Meant Goodbye To Me When You Said Hello To Him (Down Every Road: 196 ): A great country music title and a fine performance by Merle on this honky-tonk weeper.
5. Roky Erickson — True Love Cast Out All Evil (I Have Always Been Here): An acoustic number that showcases a number of things. First, there’s Erickson fantastic quavering singing voice which is bursting with feeling. Second, there’s his simple but very effective way with a sturdy melody. Finally, his unique lyrical sensibility. A lot of great rock ‘n’ roll was about the conflict between God and Satan, and when you add a distorted world view like Roky’s, it makes for some incredible music.
6. The Beatles — Octopus’s Garden (Abbey Road): Some folks don’t like this song because it’s not serious enough, and made for kids. I like the whimsical pop, tailor made for Ringo Starr’s hangdog voice. And there’s a lot of cool details underneath, like the backing vocals, and some country blues guitar picking in spots.
7. The Lyres — I Confess (On Fyre): This is a turbo charged cover of a great tune originally done by Chicago’s own New Colony Six. The original is more of a folk-rock exercise, whereas Mono Man Connolly adds his vox organ and the crisp drumming really helps this song reach its full potential.
8. The Boys — Living In The City (The Boys): The first Boys album perfectly demonstrates how pub rock tipped over into punk rock. This is a basic rock ‘n’ roll track with an underpinning of 12-bar ’50s rock classicism. But add a bit more speed and energy, and it sounds fresh and a bit different. Not as poppy as some Boys stuff, but this song kicks ass.
9. Idlewild — Disconnected (Warnings/Promises): Acoustic guitars and a weepy pedal steel in the background? Yep, in a few albums, these guys came a long way from their frantic guitar work outs. As the band slowed down, they garnered comparisons to Automatic For The People era R.E.M., which I don’t think quite nail it, but I understand where they come from. I love the earnest vocals of Roddy Womble.
10. The Intelligence — Debt & ESP (Fake Surfers): I picked this up a few years ago on a whim, and liked, but did not love, the mix of garage rock with something more in line with The Fall or late-‘70s new wave. Coming up on this shuffle, I like the twangy guitars and herky-jerk vibe, with some space in the mix, giving it an unsettling vibe. May have to revisit this album.