5 Songs We Can't Stop Listening to is a collection of our newest favorite songs. And Every week we ask an artist that we love to tell us about the music they love.
Listen to the whole thing in the player below.
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1. Kyle Craft picks – “Distant Fingers” by Patti Smith
This is 5 Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To. We always kick of the week by talking to one artist that we love about a song that they love. This guy put out one of my favorite albums of last year, the Dolls of Highland. He is a showman and a fantastic songwriter from the swamps of Louisiana, I am here with Kyle Craft.
Justin Barney: Kyle, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Kyle Craft: Distant Fingers by the beautiful and talented Patti Smith.
Justin Barney: Tell me about it.
Kyle Craft: Well, this-it’s kind of like my New Years song, you know? Yeah, there’s was kind of this attitude that Patti had, I was kind of just watching-I was just going through all of these interviews and I’ve read her book, not M Train, but Just Kids a couple years ago and I guess for some reason it took a minute for her charisma to really stab me, you know? In the heart. And for some reason it just felt right to embrace that sort of “screw it” mentality, you know?
Justin Barney: Yeah. Right. So, what is the song?
Kyle Craft: It’s called Distant Fingers. It’s kind of a romantic-lyrically it’s very Rocket Man and Space Oddity, but yeah it’s super catchy. I love the melody.
- “Distant Fingers” was released in 1983 on the album “Radio Ethiopia.”
- Listen if you like: Kyle Craft, the charisma of Patti Smith, really interesting guitar work
2. The Districts – “Ordinary Day”
Five years ago The Districts were a high school band gearing up for a battle of the bands in Wilmington, Delaware. A battle of the bands that they would win. Since their triumph they have released an EP and a debut album in 2015.
But a lot changes in five years, even the experience of an ordinary day can feel different. Especially in the five years between high school and whatever comes next. For The Districts that “whatever” was being a band. And in five years lead singer Robby Grote has seen himself change.
In fact, that’s what he says that this song is about, realizing that you, and the world around you have changed. Here Grote uses the experience of an ordinary day as a kind of scientific control for how things have changed and what stays the same.
- Listen if you like: Arcade Fire, Sunset Rubdown, hazy nostalgia
3. In Love With A Ghost – “healing”
Ooookay, so this is a bit of an oddball pick for me.
There are two types of music listeners those that listen to lyrics and those who listen for the beat. I am lyrics all the way. Give me a story or an anecdote, I’m into music for the lyrics.
But not here. Lately I’ve been listening to ambient music. I like it because it’s like listening to music without listening to music. It’s there to set a mood.
And this is a mood setting song. The mood=pleasant. Pleasant and nice. It’s perfect to be in the background while you are editing a file, driving around, or doing anything really.
So when we’re listening to this song, don’t really focus on it too much. Just kind of let it be there and improve whatever it is that you are doing.
- Listen if you like: pleasant music to have on in the background, video game music, instrumentals
4. Lion Babe ft. Moe Moks – “Rockets”
Justin Barney: This is 5 Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To and I’m here with our weekend DJ and host of The Mix! Kenny Perez.
Kenny Perez: That’s right!
Justin Baney: Kenny, what’s one song you can’t stop listening to?
Kenny Perez: There’s one song right now. We had a string of good warm weather days and it just made me feel good because I discovered this song during that time. It’s actually a song called Rockets, and the artist is Lion Babe featuring Moe Moks. And it’s an electro-soul duo out of New York City, they actually got signed by Interscope in 2014. Their album released last month on February 5th. The words make no sense and I love music like that sometimes.
Justin Barney: Yeah, sure.
Kenny Perez: You just vibe off the groove and they’re really talking about spaceships and rockets and having a good time, feeling good. That’s why I love the song.
Justin Barney: Perfect! Was there a part of the song where you heard it and you were like, “This is my favorite part?”
Kenny Perez: Yes. Right from the beginning, before the words are even said-like it’s almost like a jingle from an old 60s sitcom. And it starts that way and just has so much swag when it gets into the vocals, like the lead singer sounds like Erykah Badu, I mean it’s that fresh.
Justin Barney: It just pulls it off.
Kenny Perez: It just pulls it off. The whole thing.
- Listen if you like: The Mix with Kenny Perez, funky beats, MIA
5. Foxygen – “America”
For their first song since their, “Farewell Tour” the duo of Sam France and Jonathan Rado invited 34 musicians into a studio to create an orchestra in a pop song.
It’s a masterpiece of composition more than anything. Vocals are used discreetly over nearly five and a half minutes as the song gives way to a pastiche of musical styles from classical, to swing, piano balladeering and Brahms, it never stays in one direction, but pivots, jukes, and jumps from one style to another.
There really is nothing quite like this.
- A new Foxygen album has not officially been announced. Yet.
- Listen if you like: Scott Walker, The Beach Boys album “Pet Sounds”, a 34 piece orchestra
5. Reggie Watts – “Apple Song”
So I came across this song while watching Reggie Watts’ comedy special “Spacial” on Netflix. If you’re not familiar with Reggie Watt’s he is doing something that is completely different from anybody doing anything in either music or comedy right now. He specializes in improvisation. He doesn’t use any instruments, just his voice and a series of effects and loop pedals.
This is technically labeled as “Comedy” simply because there is no actual categorization for it. The “comedy” in this song is that it’s a take on a love song.
Love is such complicated emotion that no one actually talks about what is going on when you are feeling that emotion, but in this song Reggie Watts does.
He talks about the good parts, but he also talks about the weird parts. Jealousy, and feelings of ownership, the careful balance of these feelings that are a part of what we call Love. And ultimately the importance of empathy and first loving yourself.
And it’s brilliant. There is noting like it. Let him hit you with truth
- Listen if you like: the truth, thoughtful lyrics, anything, just listen to it