VIRTUAL MIX TAPE: "13 Wonderful Will Songs, Vol. 16"

Yes, that’s right, it’s time for another installment of songs—the 13th, in fact!—that I love and that I hope you’ll love, too. And if you don’t, well, it ain’t like this thing is behind the paywall, so what’d you pay for it, anyway?

In conclusion, listen or don’t, but if you do, I hope you dig it…and if you really dig it, consider upgrading to a paid subscription!

1. Drake Bell, “Up Periscope” (2006 - It’s Only Time)

The day I started making this playlist was the day that the internet briefly went insane over the news that Drake Bell had supposedly gone missing and that his disappearance was deemed to be worrying. As it turned out, the situation was apparently just blown way, way out of proportion, or at least that’s the way it seemed when Bell posted on Twitter the next day, “You leave your phone in the car and don't answer for the night and this?" Still, the moment I saw the initial story, my mind immediately went to this wonderfully Jellyfish-y song from Bell’s second album. He’s a guy who knows and loves quality pop music…and the fact that it sounds like Jellyfish is no coincidence, as evidenced by the fact that he has a history of covering “Joining a Fan Club” in concert.

2. American Lesion, “Maybe She Will” (1997 - American Lesion)

When I first picked up a promo copy of this CD, it was on Atlantic Records, and it was credited simply to American Lesion, but when it was reissued by Epitaph in 2020, it was finally credited to the man with the extremely recognizable voice who recorded it: Greg Graffin of Bad Religion. That’s fair, since it’s literally a one-man operation from start to finish, but I’ve never known why didn’t just release it under his own name in the first place. Maybe it was contractual, maybe it was because it’s the least punk—and most pop—thing he’s ever recorded. Whatever his reasons, the end result is that not enough Bad Religion fans have heard it, so spread the word: it’s a great album.

3. Icecream Hands, “Go When You Want To” (1997 - Memory Lane Traffic Jam)

The first time I heard this song, it was called “Bye,” and it appeared on an Australian compilation disc called Pop on Top! (The Cream of Australia’s Power Pop Crop), but after a title change, it found its way onto the band’s second album when it earned an American release via Not Lame Records. When it plays on Spotify, you can see what the album’s original Australian cover looked like, but the video shows you the version that I own.

4. Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, “Let’s Get Tattoos” (1994 - Worry Bomb)

I’ve mentioned before—if not within this newsletter, then certainly elsewhere online—that I spent a great deal of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s obsessing over British music publications like NME, Melody Maker, Q Magazine, Select, and the like, and the end result was that I found a number of wonderful bands whose work I’m able to continue to follow in 2023 far easier than I ever was back then. I only knew Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine in passing before picking up their third LP, 1992: The Love Album, but after doing so, I became a huge fan, even managing to see them in concert when they came to my neck of the woods. This is one of those incredibly catchy tunes that audiences in the UK still sing at the top of their lungs whenever the band’s former lead singer, Jim Bob, plays it live.

5. David Johansen, “Melody” (1979 - In Style)

I decided to include this track on the heels of interviewing Mr. Johansen for Decider in connection with the release of his concert/documentary film, Personality Crisis: One Night Only. To be honest, I hadn’t really explored Johansen’s solo catalog very much, but his performance of this song in the aforementioned film made me a fan, so I decided to share it with you as well.

6. Joe Jackson, “Stranger Than You” (2000 - Night and Day II)

Whether or not Joe Jackson actually needed to do a sequel to his most commercially successful album is a matter of opinion—I understand the reason behind it, but to be honest, I think it would’ve been just fine if he’d released it under a completely unrelated title—but I certainly enjoy Night and Day II, and I absolutely love this song.

7. Marty Willson-Piper, “Sanctuary” (2000 - Hanging Out in Heaven)

Were it not for Rykodisc, I can’t even say for sure that I’d be able to identify Marty Willson-Piper as the now-former guitarist for The Church, but one of the first CDs I ever owned was a compilation of Ryko artists, and it included Marty’s wonderful “On the Tip of My Tongue,” which featured on one of the greatest mix tapes I ever made. (Mind you, it didn’t help me win the girl, but that doesn’t make it any less great a mix tape.) From there, Marty was on my radar, and I’ve continued to follow his career even in the wake of his departure from The Church. This track is one of my all-time favorites from his work.

8. The Mission, “She Conjures Me Wings” (1992 - Masque)

This was kind of a weird period for The Mission, where they were evolving away from the darkness of their early work and exploring the opportunity to get a little giddy now and then. The music for this particular track was written by Anthony Thistlethwaite, who’s probably best known for his work with The Waterboys, and it’s definitely not a sound that you’d usually expect from Wayne Hussey and company, but I love it anyway.

9. All About Eve, “Farewell Mr. Sorrow” (1991 - Touched by Jesus)

Remember how I said that the discover of Marty Willson-Piper on that Ryko sampler led me to start following his solo work? Well, you can also blame it on my discovery that Marty also did a few stints as guitarist for All About Eve, starting with this album. Despite the fact that the band had two top-10 albums in the UK, they never made much impact on the US charts, and even their success in their native land began to dip after those first two albums. Still, this track from their third album did end up as a top-40 hit on the UK Singles chart, as well it should have: it’s a delicious piece of shimmering pop.

10. Downy Mildew, “Machine” (1994 - Slow Sky)

I know I picked up this album in a used bin, but I was trying to remember how they came on my radar in the first place, and I kept thinking it was something to do with Michael Stipe. As it turns out, I was right: he directed the video for their 1988 song “Offering.” (That’s right when I was knee-deep in my R.E.M. obsession, so it stands to reason that I would’ve paid attention to anything and everything with a connection to any member of R.E.M.) This ended up being the band’s fourth and final album, which is a shame, because I liked it quite a bit, with this song being my favorite.

11. Seven Mary Three, “Needle Can’t Burn (What the Needle Can’t Find)” (1997 - Rock Crown)

I was writing CD reviews for Flash Magazine when this album came out, but I think the biggest reason I was asked to write about it was because the band was local, having been founded in Williamsburg, Virginia. Not only was this song not one of their radio hit, but it wasn’t even released as a single, so I can only presume that the reason I latched onto it was that it was short, sweet, catchy, and—if I’m to be honest—didn’t really sound like any of their other songs.

12. The Beths, “Expert in a Dying Field” (2022 - Expert in a Dying Field)

I know, it’s always a little shocking to see a song from the 2020s show up in these playlists, but this song by these New Zealanders really caught my ear when I heard it on the radio. Plus, I’ve got to be honest, there’s something about being a writer with an actual journalism degree in 2023 that make the title feel more than a little bit relevant.

13. The Now People, “My Luck Ran Out” (2006 - The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair)

My love of this song dates back so far that I’m not even sure if I remember its history properly anymore, but let’s give it a go. I believe I’m correct in recalling that I first heard the song when it was called “Finding Out,” but it wasn’t by The Now People at the time, it was credited to Single Bullet Theory, whose EP I owned. Not long after that (or perhaps at the same time), it was selected in 1998 as the closing track to the first International Pop Overthrow compilation. I loved the song so much that I kept waiting for more by the band, but after one cover on a Del-Fi Records tribute album and one original on the second IPO compilation, there was nothing…until the third IPO compilation, when The Now People popped up and I realized that they were, for all practical purposes, Single Bullet Theory. But as you can see by the date above, I had to wait a long time for The Now People to finally release an album, by which point “Finding Out” had been transformed into “My Luck Ran Out.” Whatever you call it, though, it’s still a great song. I just wish there was more music by The Now People. They haven’t released anything since!