Each month someone here at The Imaginable will put together a random assortment of songs, and also a few words about the songs. Curation and words by Todd Simmons. If you want to just listen to the playlist without interruption, click here. We try to keep it simple, so here goes:
Artist: Bob Dylan
Song: Everything is Broken
Album: Oh Mercy
Every day feels like a widening chasm of awareness, and Dylan is our tour guide.
Artist: Daniel Norgren
Song: Let Love Run the Game
Album: Wooh Dang
I love that the bird in the song says, “I’m starting to see your ass out here every day now,” to the protagonist. I’m sure that’s what the birds are saying the world over. Also, the guitars are like eating the first watermelon of summer.
Artist: Michael Hurley
Song: Be Kind to Me
Album: Armchair Boogie
This song makes me think of growing up in Kansas, living next to Missouri.
Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff
Song: All or Nothing
Album: And It’s Still Alright
A friend of mine made a cool video for this song, and now I have listened to this song 500 times, and I still like it, though it is sad and plucky at the same time. Amazing.
Artist: Zoot Sims
Song: Blinuet
Album: Blinuet
I love the fairy-tale beginning, and then full-on swing going on here. Like an anti-depressant in some ways.
Artist: Jr. Thomas and the Volcanoes
Song: Love Remedy
Album: Beware
The best way to keep depression at bay is to listen to reggae.
Artist: 90sFlav
Song: Call me
Album: Collection
This is more a comment on the playlist than the song. It’s time to unwind.
Artist: Bludlo
Song: Seasons
Album: Soltape, Vol. 3
It’s a rare talent that can turn the same 10 second riff into an entire song. Why is this interesting? This song requires a sunset, a martini, an Adirondack chair, and an unobstructed view toward the horizon.
Artist: Edith Pia
Song: La Vie en rose
Album: Eternelle
Maybe it’s the martini, but I am feeling as if everything is too beautiful.
Artist: C.W. Stoneking
Song: We Gon’ Boogaloo
Album: Gon’ Boogaloo
I want to be in the dance hall playing this tune.
Artist: The Van-Dells
Song: Honeydripper
Album: Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968
The gifts just keep coming from the Stax-Volt archives.
Artist: Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Philharmonic Orchestra
Song: The Barber of Seville: Overture
Album: Rossini: The Barber of SevilleThe reason to listen to this song is to remind you of the movie Breaking Away, and the bicycle riding and racing sequences.
Artist: Louie Prima
Song: Angelina Zooma Zooma
Album: Italian American Classics
I can’t imagine another song taking me somewhere else so completely as this one.
Artist: Hailu Mergia, Dahlak Band
Song: Sintayehu
Album: Wede Harer Guzo
Whatever is happening to that organ is mesmerizing.
Artist: Caribou
Song: Home
Album: Suddenly
This is right where you want to be, living in this song.
Artist: SAULT
Song: Up All Night
Album: 5
This song has surprises and delights aplenty, like a cup continuously spilling over. The members of SAULT are literally a mystery, which seems impossible these days. Mystery is more valuable than Elon Musk.
Song: Wooh Dang
Album: Wooh Dang
Guess what, that was just one hour of your life! Music is catatonically amazing.