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Mary Lou Lord, “She Had You”

Written by Nick Saloman. From Got No Shadow. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood, “Little Walter Rides Again”

John Medeski on keyboard, John Scofield on guitar, Billy Martin on drums, and Chris Wood on bass. Written by Scofield. From Out Louder (2006). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Wilco, “Monday”

Written by Jeff Tweedy. Horns arranged by Jerry Hey. From Being There (1996). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Hem, “Not California”

Written by Dan Messé and Gary Maurer. From Funnel Cloud (2006), which Messé and Maurer produced. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Utopia, “Lysistrata”

Power pop meets Aristophanes. Lead vocals by Todd Rundgren. Originally on Swing to the Right (1982). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Fountains Of Wayne, “Troubled Times”

Written by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger. From Utopia Parkway (1999). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Rickie Lee Jones, “We Belong Together”

From Pirates (1981), produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Paul Simon, “Further To Fly”

From The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Peter Wolf, “Turnin’ Pages”

From Fool’s Parade (1998). Written by Wolf with Taylor Rhodes. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Carly Simon, “De Bat (Fly In Me Face)”

Originally on Boys In The Trees (1978). Produced by Arif Mardin; vocal arrangement and guitar by James Taylor. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Guided By Voices, “Glad Girls”

Written by Robert Pollard. From 2001’s Isolation Drills, produced by Rob Schnapf. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Joe Cuba, “Bang Bang”

Initially (1966) called “Bang! Bang!” and credited to Joe Cuba Sextet. The original 45 sounds better than any of the remixes/remasters, so here’s a copy ripped from YouTube.

 

(The best of the remastered versions: Amazon, iTunes, Spotify)

Kirsty MacColl, “Caroline”

One of my favorite tracks from the ’90s. Produced by Victor Van Vugt and originally released on Galore (1995). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

The Four Lads, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”

The original recording (1953) of a much-covered song written by Jimmy Kennedy (lyrics) and Nat Simon (music). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Billy Joel, “Souvenir”

From Streetlife Serenade (1974), produced by Michael Stewart. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Joe Jackson, “Pretty Girls”

From Jackson’s debut album Look Sharp! (1979), produced by David Kershenbaum and featuring Dave Houghton on drums, Graham Maby on bass, and Gary Sanford on guitar. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Sting, “This Cowboy Song”

From Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting 1984-1994 (1994). Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

James Taylor, “One Man Parade”

Opening track to One Man Dog (1972), produced by Peter Asher. Among the backup singers: Carole King. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Kelly Jones, “There Goes My Baby”

From SheBANG!. Written by Jones with Mike Viola. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube

Flight of the Conchords, “Business Time”

Funny stuff from the New-Zealand-based duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Clement sings lead on this one, from The Distant Future (2007), produced by Mickey Petralia. Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube