Overlooked Songs

Volume 20, Track 11

“I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine” by The Ronettes (1965) Originally recorded in 1965 but not released by Phil Spector until 1976 “I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine” is a Ronettes song you most likely have never heard before (unless you own the box set Back To Mono or something). Like many songs [...]

Volume 20, Track 10

“Plants and Rags” by PJ Harvey (1992) “Plants and Rags” is all about texture and atmosphere, and how to assimilate both with lyrics like ease myself into a body bag and the sun doesn’t shine down here. This is the most ethereal and assaulting song on Dry. PJ Harvey pulls out almost all the stops [...]

Volume 20, Track 9

“Gigantic” by Pixies (1988) The only song on Surfer Rosa that exclusively features Kim Deal’s vocals, “Gigantic” is a song about a white woman who is attracted to a black man. But like many of the songs on the Pixies’ debut album “Gigantic” deals in a kind of offbeat humor. By constantly singing “gigantic” and [...]

Volume 20, Track 8

“X-Ray Man” by Liz Phair (1994) The strength of “X-Ray Man,” the fourth track on Liz Phair’s sophomore effort Whip-Smart, is its contrast. The song is about a guy who looks through women—either because he wants to check out other women in the background, or because his objectification of them causes him to only see [...]

Volume 20, Track 7

“Never Is A Promise” by Fiona Apple (1997) On July 18, 1996 Fiona Apple went to the studio of the radio station KCRW in Santa Monica and performed a few songs. “Never Is A Promise,” the lone song from this performance that made it on to the 1997 compilation disc Rare On Air, Vol. 3, [...]

Volume 20, Track 6

“Blown A Wish” by My Bloody Valentine (1991) If you have been following this site for a while (or have been reading me since the Top 80 Albums list was the only music-related stuff I was writing) you have seen me make quite a few references to Loveless, the last album that My Bloody Valentine [...]

Volume 20, Track 5

“Say It Right” by Nelly Furtado (2006) “Promiscuous” may have been the no-brainer first #1 single off of Furtado’s third studio album Loose but “Say It Right” (which was the fifth single released) is the best all-around track on the album. Lyrically, this song is comprised of many of the clichés and borderline banalities from [...]

Volume 20, Track 4

“Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack (1991) While gangsta rap was already establishing popularity in the States in 1991, England was for the most part still toying with and getting used to rap as a whole.[1] One of the faces of the “Bristol Sound” in England during this time, Massive Attack released Blue Lines, an album [...]

Volume 20, Track 3

“Sugar Is Sweeter” by CJ Bolland (1996) “Sugar daddy, come on and sugar me I want your lovin’ so come on and give it to me” Make no mistake, “Sugar Is Sweeter” is a song that goes beyond the word polarizing. You will either hate it with the intensity of a thousand suns, or love [...]

Volume 20, Track 2

“Asleep From Day” by The Chemical Brothers (1999) “Asleep From Day” features the vocals of Hope Sandoval, she of Mazzy Star and “Fade Into You” fame. And, as you would expect from a woman whose vocal stylings are sleepy, the accompanying music is a sleepy kind of mellow, an electronic sojourn to the ethereal.[1] Up [...]

Volume 20, Track 1

“What’s The Matter Here?” by 10,000 Maniacs (1993) “What’s The Matter Here?” is about child abuse and, therefore, it can instinctively be taken as a Serious song. (Whether you choose to or not is entirely up to you.) The subtle genius of this song, though, is how it is performed: it is light and almost [...]