5 Songs We Can't Stop Listening To is a collection of our newest favorite songs. Every week we ask an artist that we love to tell us about the music they love.
Listen to the whole segment and all the songs below.
1. Thom Yorke Picks “This Time Around” by Jessica Pratt
Our guest today is Thom Yorke. Thom Yorke is the lead singer of Radiohead and also… he’s Thom Yorke. He’s released a couple of solo albums, “The Eraser” and “Tomorrow's Modern Boxes.” He has influenced an entire world of musicians and music listeners alike. Last year he wrote the score for Luca Guadagnino’s movie, “Suspiria.” Which, lead us to have this conversation at Electric Lady Studio in New York. This is a part of that conversation. We’re going to be broadcasting the whole thing this coming Sunday at 8 p.m. So, make sure you tune in for that, but until then we have this snippet.
Justin Barney: What is the last song that you couldn’t stop listening to? Just a song out in the world. Anything.
Thom Yorke: Oh, I’ll tell you what it is. I don’t know why either, but um... I heard this on the radio. I’m a big fan of NTS. Do you know NTS?
Justin Barney: No.
Thom Yorke: NTS is like a network um… it’s based mostly in London and Los Angeles. It’s an internet radio. Independent radio.
Justin Barney: Okay
Thom Yorke: I was listening to it the other day and I heard this really beautiful, very simple… Now I can’t find it. Come on, where’s it gone? It’s disappeared off my phone!
Justin Barney: Oh, we can find it.
Thom Yorke: No, we can’t cause…give me a second. Oh, here we go! Jessica Pratt.
Justin Barney: Oh, she’s great!
Thom Yorke: Yeah, I love it. There’s this track called “This Time Around,” it just came on when I was in the car the other day and I thought, wow. I really like that and it’s dead simple, but there’s something in her voice. I’m like, that’s great. Finally!
Justin Barney: Ha ha, that’s perfect.
- Listen to our full interview with Thom Yorke here.
2. Justin Barney picks “Kingston” by Faye Webster
Songs two this week is my pick. One song I can’t stop listening to is “Kingston” by Faye Webster.
I really love this one tiny moment in this song. She is singing, “He said, ‘Baby,’ that’s what he called me.” And then she goes back into the song. It’s this tiny aside. In a song that is directed to and written for one person, that says I know you’re there. It’s a look at us. An awareness that she is letting us into her moment.
I love that moment.
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3. Jon Lovett picks “Sign” by VHS Collection
My guest is Jon Lovett.
Jon Lovett is many things. He has been a presidential speech writer. He co-founded the media company Crooked Media. He has several podcasts including "Pod Save America" and "Lovett or Leave It." He is also on tour and he will be in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater this coming Sunday, March 3.
Justin Barney: Jon, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Jon Lovett: So I thought about this, and here’s the truth. The truth is that I’ve been listening to rain sounds to help me fall asleep. And it’s been life altering. And it’s on repeat. So, do we think that counts?
Justin Barney: You know I would love to play that, but we’ve got to get to the end of the song and if the song goes on for upwards of five hours, I don’t know if it’s exactly…
Jon Lovett: So there is another song that I’ve been listening to on repeat it’s called, “Sign” by VHS Collection. It's kind of like an electro-indie-pop song that I stumbled on on Spotify and just love.
I listen to songs on repeat. I think Spotify and the other services, I love them, but I feel like the music just comes to me, I don’t have to find it as much. So I find a song and like it. I don’t know much about the band other than this one song but if I like the song I just listen to it again and again.
Justin Barney: I love that. So this song. Some people are attracted to songs that are slow and sad, like me. Some people are attracted to songs that are happy and upbeat. What is the sound of this and why is it attractive to you?
Jon Lovett: I tend to be attracted to songs, they could be happy, they could be sad, but they are always poignant.
And I don’t know exactly what that means but I like songs that feel like they could be playing over the final moments of a movie. A movie where a character learns a lot about herself.
Justin Barney: Okay, speechwriter. Or if someone was giving a speech and it was playing under them in a montage.
Jon Lovett: Yes! Yes! Unfortunately yes, that’s right.
4. Tarik a.k.a. The Architect picks “The Way It Goes” by Sneaks
Justin Barney: This is 5 songs we can’t stop listening to. I’ve got Tarik here, Tarik what are you listening to?
Tarik Moody: This new artist out of Baltimore by the name of Sneaks. Her real name is Eva Moolchan, I think I pronounced that right. If not, I apologize. The song is called, “The Way It Goes.”
Justin Barney: What do you like about Sneaks?
Tarik Moody: She takes off where M.I.A. left off.
Justin Barney: Dude, I so agree.
Tarik Moody: Basically, if you love like post-punk Fugazi. If you love M.I.A. If you like Cardi B. If you like intense—Santigold, comes to mind. She has rolled up all that into one package. Her new album, “Highway Hypnosis,” is just fantastic but, “The Way It Goes,” is such a banger! I mean, I’m surprised she hasn’t even taken off yet. Someone like Cardi B, put her on tour! Lizzo, put her on tour! She is set to really take the world by a storm. I’m surprised she hasn’t done it yet, it hasn’t happened yet.
Justin Barney: Yeah!
Tarik Moody: There’s this punk undertone under it and it just feels good to play it. It feels good to turn it up in the car. When I play it on the air I turn up the monitors and go crazy.
5. Justin Barney picks “Running” by Helado Negro
The final song this week is my pick. One song I can’t stop listening to is “Running" by Helado Negro.
Only three songs from Helado Negro’s upcoming album, “How You Smile,” have been released and I’m already trying to figure out where it fits on my year-end list. I’ve been so obsessed with every one and I think the characteristic that sticks out to me is how gentle each track is.
I met Helado Negro, whose given name is Roberto Carlos Lange, before he opened for Beirut here in Milwaukee last week. And he is just as gentle in real life. He spoke with softness about loving a song because it had universal feelings of caring about people and humans.
There is a tranquility about him and about this song that is inescapable. So shy even try? Just let it run over you.