Smog/Bill Callahan - Rock 'N' Roll Saint

This playlist serves as an introduction to Smog. It doesn't contain all of his best songs, nor is it completely representative of his wide body of work. But it does give a hint at the many talents of Bill Callahan. The earliest work on this compilation is "A Hit," which reflects the lo-fi/slacker approach Smog took towards songwriting and recording on his first couple of records. These early records showcased Callahan's knock for catchy riffs and humorous lyrics, but most of the songs from this lo-fi period suffered from being overly experimental and fragmented, only hinting at the great songwriting abilities Callahan would later fully display later in his career.

Callahan released two good-but-not-great records in 1995 (Wild Love) and 1996 (Doctor Came At Dawn), but he didn't prove he was capable of producing an album full of great songs until 1997's Red Apple Falls. He followed up Red Apple Falls with Knock Knock in 1999 and Dongs of Sevotion in 2000, two pretty excellent albums that contain some of Callahan's finest songs. The playlist contains six songs from these three albums, but it could have easily featured twice as many songs from these releases.

The rest of the tracks on the playlist mostly come from Callahan's 21st-century albums, which embrace strong country and folk influences and really show Callahan refining his songwriting craft, both musically (with some stunning guitar arrangements) and lyrically (these are very adult records, in terms of their themes and modes of expression). However, two particular highlights from the playlist - Chosen One and I Break Horses - come 2002's Accumulation: None, which collected some of Callahan's B-side work. Both of these tracks were record for John Peel's radio show, and they are truly stunning transformations of the original works. They might be my favorite tracks on this playlist.

Enjoy!

1. Bathysphere / Wild Love / 1995
2. A Hit / Accumulation None / 2002
3. Held / Knock Knock / 1999
4. Chosen One / Accumulation None / 2002
5. Vessel in Vain / Supper / 2003
6. Bowery / Rock Bottom Riser EP / 2006
7. I Was A Stranger / Red Apple Falls / 1997
8. Dress Sexy At My Funeral / Dongs of Sevotion / 2000
9. Diamond Dancer / Woke on a Whaleheart / 2007
10. Drinking at the Dam / A River Ain't Too Much To Love / 2005
11. River Guard / Knock Knock / 1999
12. Blood Red Bird / Red Apple Falls / 1997
13. I Break Horses / Accumulation None / 2002
14. Strayed / Dongs of Sevotion / 2000
15. Feather By Feather / Supper / 2003

Total time: 69:35

The Magnetic Fields

During my initial listen-through of the Magnetic Fields discography I struggled to narrow down my playlist to just 37 songs, slightly less than 2 hours of music. Given Stephin Merritt’s penchant for consistently writing stellar songs, paring it down to reach the 74 minute limit was even more excruciating. I guess I knew this was going to be a difficult task, especially when it was suggested that I completely ignore 69 Love Songs, as there are so many worthy tracks on Merritt’s three-volume, passion-fueled magnum opus.

Still, I think my playlist provides for a solid foundation spanning the roughly eighteen years of Merritt’s work under the Magnetic Fields moniker. Tracks from the early albums, The Wayward Bus and Distant Plastic Trees, show off the initial forays into keyboard and drum-machine anchored indie-pop. Yet, it’s not until the next few albums (coincidentally when Merritt takes over the vocal duties), where The Magnetic Fields really come into their own sound; fusing together a synthy-rock-pop mixture with Merritt’s crooning, ironic lyrics. It’s in this stretch, especially on Get Lost, where some of the finest Magnetic Fields songs appear. And check it out! I managed to whittle down my list to include only 9 of the 69 love songs! By my count, that leaves 60 songs left for any interested parties to indulge in further exploration of this masterpiece. Finally, there’s I and Distortion, where Merritt continues to showcase his song-writing while introducing new concepts. For example, the fuzzy guitars and reverb that give Distortion its name.

In a recent interview with Other Music, Merritt mentions something to the effect that he hates playing his music live; he gets all of his enjoyment in the recording studio. I find this astonishing given how well his songs translate into a live performance. However, given his success at consistently churning out top-notch recordings, I won’t question his preferences.

Rather than stick to a chronologically based playlist, I tried to put these tracks into an order that would flow as an album in and of itself. I tried to clump the faster, upbeat songs together, but also have common instruments provide a transition from one song to the next. The playlist eventually turns to the slower, more contemplative tracks towards the end. Hope you like it.

1) Long-Forgotten Fairytale / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
2) The Desperate Things you Made Me Do / Get Lost / 1995
3) Tokyo A Go-Go / The Wayward Bus / 1991
4) Old Orchard Beach / The Wayward Bus / 1991
5) The Way You Say Good Night / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
6) Meaningless / 69 Love Songs Volume 3 / 1999
7) My Only Friend / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
8) Smoke Signals / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
9) I Wish I Had an Evil Twin / I / 2004
10) I Thought You Were My Boyfriend / I / 2004
11) I Think I Need a New Heart / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
12) All the Umbrellas in London / Get Lost / 1995
13) Epitaph for My Heart / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
14) Why I Cry / Get Lost / 1995
15) When You're Old and Lonely / Get Lost / 1995
16) Josephine / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
17) 100,000 Fireflies / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
18) All My Little Words / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
19) Come Back from San Francisco / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
20) Papa Was a Rodeo / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
21) It's Only Time / I / 2004
22) Old Fools / Distortion / 2008
23) Take Ecstasy With Me / Holiday / 1994

Total Time: 73:56

U2

Of course U2 is my first post. I was raised on this stuff. Growing up, my Saturday afternoons typically consisted of marathon sessions of Genesis hockey against my brothers, and U2 was almost always our soundtrack. For me, not loving U2 would be like not loving home cooking. It's just not gonna happen. Even after "Vertigo" and "Get On Your Boots," it's not gonna happen.

There is, however, more to my feelings on U2 than simple nostalgia. U2's best albums genuinely were instant classics, but they are even more impressive today in the context of the band's discography. For a solid 20 years, U2 pushed themselves creatively, trusting their fans' palates with huge commercial gambles. More importantly, when those gambles didn't pay-off and the band fell flat on its face, U2 dusted themselves off and took even bigger leaps, rather than retreating to a tried and true formula. After the flop of Rattle & Hum, a misguided foray into rootsy, straight-forward American rock, U2 returned with the crunchy nu-glam of Achtung Baby (a cover-to-cover masterpiece). After their ambient "Passengers" project (with Brian Eno on board as a co-writer, instead of producer) proved too adventurous for radio, U2 punched back with Pop, a techno-grounded concept album about the dehumanizing effects of consumerism. Not surprisingly (in retrospect, at least), Pop wasn't exactly a hit either.

Unfortunately, the 2000's has seen U2 play it safe for the first time in their career and the results have been accordingly uninspired. Thankfully, their latest album seems to indicate that U2 might be ready to start challenging themselves and their fans again, but the songs still pale in comparison to the band's best work. As a result, no songs released later than 1995 made this list of my personal favorites.

At the very least, these 15 songs demonstrate U2's admirable trait of artistic restlessness. Aside from that though, they just make for a great listen. Hopefully some of these picks will set you guys off to dig further--each of the albums represented on this list are very much worth exploring. And if you still dislike U2 after checking out these songs, then 1) you suck and 2) I quit Yahplay forever.

1) Gloria / Under A Blood Red Sky (originally on October) / 1983 (1981)
2) The Electric Co. / Boy / 1980
3) Second / War / 1984
4) Wire / The Unforgettable Fire / 1985
5) The Unforgettable Fire / The Unforgettable Fire /1985
6) Mothers of the Disappeared / The Joshua Tree / 1987
7) Red Hill Mining Town / The Joshua Tree / 1987
8) In God's Country / The Joshua Tree / 1987
9) Ultraviolet (Light My Way) / Achtung Baby / 1991
10) Zoo Station / Achtung Baby / 1991
11) Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crash Car / Zooropa / 1993
12) Always Forever Now / Passengers- Original Soundtracks 1 / 1995
13) Zooropa / Zooropa / 1993
14) Love Is Blindness / Achtung Baby / 1991
15) Your Blue Room / Passengers- Original Soundtracks 1 / 1995

Total time: 73:49