Music for Shut-Ins (Part I)
The world is on a short leash these days. But you can tug at it. Madness, Noël Coward, the Kinks, Dusty Springfield, Benny Goodman, and others can help
Warning Tracks
This Ides of March, the foreboding will be palpable. Some earlier prophecies from the Beatles, Marvelettes, dB’s, Leonard Cohen, Sly and the Family Stone, and others. Et tu, Ann Peebles?
Songs That, Well, Cook
The author of See You on Sunday spends time in the kitchen with PJ Harvey, Uncle Tupelo, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Fela Kuti, and others
Famous Last Words
Death doesn’t stop narrators in songs from expressing themselves, as tracks from Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue, the Rolling Stones, the Shangri-Las, and others prove
Valentine’s Day After
So, how’d it go? Really? Well, maybe Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull, Bryan Ferry, Millie Jackson, Todd Rundgren, and the National can help
The Great Oscars Soundtrack
Featuring the Kinks, Anton Karas, Lana Del Rey, Ennio Morricone, Ry Cooder, and Ellie Goulding, with a special appearance by the Electric Prunes
Super Tracks for Superheroes
What do Ennio Morricone, the Meters, Nina Simone, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, and Rage Against the Machine have in common? Just listen
Doctor’s Orders
Old-school remedies for winter doldrums, from (among others) Bobby Womack, Bobbie Gentry, Jean Knight, Elvis Presley, and, yes, Carol Douglas
Around the World in a Decade
Think globally, act … well, globally. The best of the new from the last 10 years, including Avicii, Rihanna, Kanye, Luis Fonsi, Drake, Lorde, Jay-Z, PSY, and more
Music to Festoon By
Jollity and beauty from Joni Mitchell, Lena Horne, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Louis Armstrong, the Pogues, Eartha Kitt, and more
Once More unto the Holidays
Reliably spirited tracks from David Bowie, Prince, Dire Straits, XTC, Talking Heads, Ice Cube, Buzzcocks, the Clash, and more
Bomb Cyclone
All systems go, weather and otherwise: tracks from Tom Petty, Beth Orton, James & Bobby Purify, Fiona Apple, the Staple Singers, ? & the Mysterians, et al.
Thanks Again
Michael Kiwanuka, J. J. Cale, Marvin Gaye, Massive Attack, Nina Simone, and Sly & the Family Stone are among those who know just how to say it
