VIRTUAL MIX TAPE: "13 Wonderful Will Songs, Vol. 10"

Yes, that’s right, it’s time for another installment of songs 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. Falco, “Vienna Calling” (2008 - Falco Symphonic)

Although he secured a certain amount of MTV airplay with his original version of “Der Kommissar,” a song which the band After the Fire ultimately had the bigger hit with, Falco’s biggest claim to fame was—and remains—the unforgettable (whether you want to forget it or not) chart-topper, “Rock Me Amadeus.” Often forgotten, however, was the fact that his follow-up single, “Vienna Calling,” climbed all the way to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100. I never forgot it, but I really only remembered it in passing, so I was surprised when this symphonic version hit so hard when I discovered it.

2. The Beautiful South, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (2004 - Golddiggas, Head Nodders & Pholk Songs)

Obligatory cover song! Unlike the majority of the obligatory covers I’ve included up to this point, this one is actually from a covers album. There are several great ones in the mix, but I just love the way Paul Heaton, Dave Hemingway, and Alison Wheeler deliver the vocals on this Blue Oyster Cult classic. Of course, the original version is still better, but that’s often the way with covers, innit?

3. Julian Cope, “Charlotte Anne” (1988 - My Nation Underground)

From the man I mentioned recently as the frontman for The Teardrop Explodes comes this psychedelic pop track. Cope’s an odd fellow, and I can’t claim to love everything he’s ever done, but this is among the tracks he’s done that I love with all my heart.

4. Lisa Loeb, “The Way It Really Is” (2002 - Hello Lisa)

As you probably already know, Ms. Loeb first broke big whilst playing alongside her band Nine Stories with their contribution to the Reality Bites soundtrack, “Stay (I Missed You).” I grew weary of that track pretty quickly, but a few years later I fell in love with her single “I Do,” which inevitably meant that my ears would prick up when I heard that she had something new on the horizon. I don’t have a clue why this song wasn’t released as a single, because it’s probably my favorite track in her catalog. That melancholy chorus grabs me every time.

5. The Jeremy Days, “Julie Through the Blinds” (7” REMIX) (1988 - The Jeremy Days)

I discovered this German pop band in some cutout bin or other, and if I’m to be honest, the reason I picked it up was because I saw that it was produced by Clive Langley and Alan Winstanley, two giants of pop production in the ‘80s. Combined with the cover art, I was sure they were a British band, but I was wrong. Several years later, my father went to Germany to visit a train-loving pen pal he’d met through a few transactions over the years, and I asked him to look for anything else by the Jeremy Days. In turn, he found a best-of collection that also contained a DVD with all of their videos, which was pretty surprising to me since, at the time, I hadn’t even realized their career had continued long enough to warrant a best-of. Hell, I really wasn’t even sure that they’d ever released anything beyond their debut! Alas, the band has since broken up, but frontman and primary songwriter Dirk Darmstaedter continues to release music, and he also continues to play the band’s songs live.

6. Size 14, “Rollin’ in the 5-1-0” (1997 - Size 14)

If ever there was an album that indicated its era of release by a song title, it’s the lone LP by Size 14, which features a track entitled “Claire Danes Poster,” thereby underlining how close in proximity it emerged to the days when My So-Called Life very briefly reigned as the best high-school drama on the prime-time landscape. But we’re not here to talk about that track, we’re here to talk about “Rollin’ in the 5-1-0,” an ode to a crappy car that any teen who’s suffered through a shitty set of wheels can appreciate. The harmonies in the chorus are to die for, and it serves as a preview to the future solo career of the band’s lead singer, better known these days as Linus from Hollywood.

7. Something Happens, “Daisyhead” (1992 - Bedlam A Go-Go)

This Irish band released their debut studio album, Been There, Seen That, Done That, in 1988, then found some small success across the pond with their sophomore effort, Stuck Together with God’s Glue, which spawned the single “Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello (Petrol).” Their label in the UK was Virgin, but in the US they were signed to Charisma, who you may remember served as the home for The Sighs. By the time Something Happens released their third album, Bedlam A Go-Go, Charisma’s fortunes were already fading, so precious few had a chance to hear it, but this song wrecks me. It didn’t always, but once I started listening to the lyrics and released that it was an ode to a friend who’d committed suicide (“Tell me, baby, did you dream such impossible dreams / Tell the world now why you're better off covered in green / You can't get up / You won't come back again”), it absolutely broke my heart.

8. Angie Aparo, “Spaceship” (2000 - The American)

I’ve never been so floored by a singer’s voice in a live setting as I was when I saw Angie Aparo at the NorVa. In fact, I was so floored that, even though he was the opener, I can’t remember who the headliner was! All I know is that if you listen to his songs and think, “There’s no way he can possibly do this the same way live,” you are wrong, because he can, and I’ve seen/heard him do it. I only wish more people had heard and adored his work while he was on a major label, because he’s been doing the indie thing ever since this album failed to become the huge hit it deserved to be.

9. The Left Banke, “Desiree” (1968 - The Left Banke Too)

I didn’t even know that there was such a genre as Orchestral Pop until I was introduced to this track through More Nuggets, the 1987 compilation released by Rhino Records. Given the amount of garage rock and psychedelia surrounding this song, it’s no wonder that it stood out to me, but I just loved the instrumentation, so I sought out more by the band. They’re definitely one of the most underrated ‘60s bands out there. You might know them from “Walk Away Renee,” which is certainly a great track, too, but you definitely ought to explore their small but formidable back catalog, because there’s a lot there to love.

10. The Brotherhood of Lizards, “The World Strikes One” (1989 - Lizardland)

I’ll be damned if I have any idea how I stumbled upon this band, but given when it was released, I can only presume that it must’ve turned up at the record store where I was working. The Brotherhood of Lizards is led by Martin Newell, who’d already had a burst of cult fame earlier in the ‘80s as the frontman for the Cleaners of Venus, but I’d never heard them at the time I found this album. If you enjoy the sort of eccentric British pop done by Robyn Hitchcock, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this, too.

11. Doug Powell, “Are You Listening, Betty Flowers?” (1999 - Curiouser)

I stumbled upon Doug Powell’s music when he was (briefly) signed to Mercury Records, who released his album Ballad of the Tin Men and then promptly kicked him to the curb a few months later. Having already optimistically begun recording demos for what he’d thought at the time was going to be his second album for Mercury, Powell was fortunate enough to team up with Not Lame Records, which released those demos as Curiouser, after which the label released his next proper album, More. It’s worth mentioning, however, that during the window between Mercury and Not Lame releases, Powell was also part of an awesome power pop supergroup of sorts called Swag, which will almost certainly pop up in a future volume.

12. Hurricane #1, “Step Into My World” (1997 - Hurricane #1)

As a fan of the band Ride, I was disappointed when they decided to call it quits in 1996, but I was excited when I heard that Andy Bell had started a new band called Hurricane #1…and then I got disappointed all over again when I learned that no US label was planning to release Hurricane #1’s self-titled debut. Fortunately, I was able to hunt up a copy of said debut several years after its release, and as soon as I heard this track, I got annoyed that the album hadn’t gotten a US release, because I couldn’t imagine a world where that song wouldn’t have climbed the Alternative Radio chart. In the end, Hurricane #1 broke up after their second album, paving the way for an eventual Ride reunion, but it still kind of annoys me that Hurricane #1 never even had a shot at taking on America.

13. Adam Schmitt, “Three Faces West” (1993 - Illiterature)

When I first started doing record reviews in the early ‘90s, I did so on the heels of having worked at a record store for a few years. Yes, I realize you already know that I worked at a record store, but I’m setting the stage here. You see, while working at Tracks, I fell in love with the debut album by Adam Schmitt, a power-poppy piece of work that, sadly, sold for shit. Still, someone at Sire Records must’ve loved Schmitt enough to give him another go, because he soon turned up with a second album, one that showed how he was evolving as a songwriter. This is one of those tracks that just builds and builds, and with the help of guest guitarist Tommy Keene, it becomes positively epic. I recommend putting it on, closing your eyes, and just letting it wash over you. It’s amazing.