Asking someone to pick their favorite song is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. It’s an impossible task, and I can never find the right answer. It doesn’t seem to be an impossible task, however, for Song Chest Radio Hour hosted by Justin Vernon.
The February episode of our monthly show with the Bon Iver frontman was chock full of favorites from JV’s very own definitive top 10 list. The tracks are widely introspective, sandwiched between eccentric and experimental moments that allow the listener to come up for air.
The playlist appropriately included a variety of love songs that are sure to win over even the most bitter singletons with ease this February. A seemingly permanent fixture of the show now, Vernon closed out the hour with two readings from his favorite poet, Mary Oliver.
Tune into Song Chest Radio Hour at 5 p.m. this Sunday on 88Nine, and you might just find your new favorite song!
Track listing
- 00:00 — "Wake Up Everybody,” Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes ft. Teddy Pendergrass
- 05:06 — “Riderz,” Hudson Mohawke
- 07:53 — “Strange Kind of Mirror,” Birds & Batteries
- 13:15 — “I Won't Crumble with You If You Fall,” Bernice Johnson Reagon
- 16:37 — “Hands on the Wheel,” Willie Nelson
- 22:16 — “Calgon for Hetfield,” Happy Apple
- 29:52 — “Boliviana,” Ibrahim Ferrer
- 34:17 — “Major Leagues,” Pavement
- 38:42 — “The Horses,” Rickie Lee Jones
- 44:20 — “The Valley (The Town and The City),” Los Lobos
- 49:14 — “You Send Me,” Aretha Franklin
- 52:13 — “Hard to Find,” The National
- 56:33 — “Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Outlooking,” His Name Is Alive
- 56:55 — “Loneliness” by Mary Oliver
- 58:05 — “I’m Not the River” by Mary Oliver
