13 Wonderful Will Songs: The Next Generation - Vol. 1

Because a few people demanded it, the highly-limited online phenomenon is back!

Just when you thought I’d never offer up another one of these playlists again, here I am with a fresh batch - or a new generation, if you will - of 13 Wonderful Will Songs. I don’t know how often I’ll be delivering new volumes, but since I currently have more free time on my hands than I’d prefer, I’ll try to do it relatively regularly.

The Spotify playlist is at the very bottom of the page. Give it a spin, won’t you? I think it’s a good one. (Then again, I always do.)

1. Big Star, “Thirteen”

I mean, the title says it all, really. That, and the Replacements lyrics, “I never travel far / Without a little Big Star.” But in the long run, it’s really just because it’s a perfect kickoff to a new series of 13 Wonderful Will Songs, so sit back and bask in its perfection.

2. Hardwicke Circus, “Hits a GoGo”

One of my favorite discoveries during my time at Q Magazine, and a band who I plan to follow for the long haul just by virtue of this song alone. Their other stuff is pretty great, too, though, so if you dig this, then you should definitely dig deeper into their discography.

3. Mark Bacino, “Why Does This Woman Love Me?”

I am a terrible fan, because I love Mark Bacino’s music, yet I have such an aversion to writing proper record reviews that I’ve yet to sit down and pen one about his new album, Top of the World, which is just as fantastic as his past efforts, if not more so. There’s definitely a lot of Nilsson here, but the whole LP is great.

4. The Black Watch, “Nothing Left to Say”

Not unlike my remarks about Mr. Bacino and his new album, the same could also be said for this gentleman, John Andrew Frederick, who records under the moniker The Black Watch and is easily one of the more prolific artists out there. Even better, he manages to be prolific while also penning consistently strong material. But the amount that he releases… Honestly, it’s staggering.

5. Julian Velard, “What If I’m Wrong?”

I first discovered this gentlemen when he was doing a series of covers EP, including some fab takes on “Anti Hero” and “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” but this year he’s found his way back to releasing original material. I was originally going to share a track called “Money, I’m in Love with You,” but it hit a little too close to home, so I went with this one instead, which…hits pretty close to home, too, come to think of it. It’s catchy as hell, though.

6. Cute Is What We Aim For, “Practice Makes Perfect”

This is one of those bands that I discovered as a result of becoming a fan of Cobra Starship, as they were also part of the Fueled by Ramen family of artists. I lost track of them until recently, however, at which point I discovered that although they haven’t released an album since this one, they have broken up, gotten back together, broken up, and gotten back together again. From what I can tell, it looks like they toured behind the 10th anniversary of the album from which this song hails (Rotation) in 2018, reissued a few old B-sides in 2019, and haven’t done anything since. That’s a shame, because I really did like Rotation.

7. Skylights, “Time to Let Things Go”

I have to be honest: I absolutely cannot remember how I discovered this song. It could’ve been from a press release that I received during the Q era. It could’ve been one of the many tracks that my daughter has sent me over the course of the past year or so. It also could’ve just been something I stumbled upon through the Spotify algorithm. Whatever the case, I really like it. Perhaps you will as well.

8. David J, “Oh No! Not Another Songwriter!”

You may recognize David J as a former member of Bauhaus as well as a current member of Love and Rockets, but he’s also maintained a solo career over the decades, and this is from a recent collection entitled Tracks from the Attic. I was fortunate enough to meet David and his Love and Rockets bandmates last week, and I promised him that I would try to transcribe the interview that I did with him earlier this year but wasn’t able to run. I will hereby promise you the same thing, dear readers, so there’s more pressure on me to actually get it done.

9. Mark Bryan, “Madelynn Claire”

Yesterday I chatted with Mark Bryan, founding member and guitarist of Hootie and the Blowfish, but rather than include a Hootie song (not that there’s anything wrong with that, as I’m a fan), I decided to introduce you to one of his solo tracks instead. He’s released a couple of new songs over the course of this year, and they’re all solid, but this older one fit better sonically.

10. Splitsville, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”

It’s been so long since I’ve done a 13 Wonderful Will Songs playlist that I almost forgot that I was regularly including a cover song, so here’s a good one: Splitsville’s take on a Burt Bacharach / Hal David composition, one that they successfully take away from Dionne Warwick and make their own, not least of which because they incorporate a certain Buggles song into the conclusion of the tune.

11. Electric Light Orchestra, “So Serious”

How have I never included an ELO song in one of these playlists? It’s certainly high time that I changed that situation. This is one of my favorite ‘80s ELO songs, and one that didn’t get nearly enough airplay when it was released as a single. It’s just a short and sweet pop tune with a killer hook.

12. Radio Company, “Keep on Ramblin’”

Okay, I freely admit that I might never have been introduced to Radio Company if it wasn’t for the fact that my wife is more than a little bit obsessed with Jensen Ackles. But having said that, I have become a fan, and I particularly love this song. Who knew that Ackles could channel old-school Waylon Jennings with his vocals? To paraphrase an observation has made, it’s almost annoying that he’s handsome, funny, a good actor, a good singer, and a nice guy. No one person should have all of those attributes, dammit!

13. Blue Magic, “Sideshow”

I came to this song very, very late in its existence, only discovering it because of its inclusion on the epic Rhino compilation of ‘70s music called Have a Nice Decade, but it’s a gorgeously sad piece of soul, and it seems like a nice way to wrap things up.