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. Calexico picks – “Con Toda Palabra” by Lhasa de Sela
Every week we ask one artist that we love to talk about one song that they love. This week we catch up with Joey Burns, lead singer of the band Calexico.
Justin Barney: “Joey, what is one song you can’t stop listening to? And, let me add a caveat, let’s make it an older one.”
Joey Burns: Let’s do an old song. Okay, well, do you guys ever play any world/international stuff?
Justin Barney: Oh yeah.
Joey Burns: Oh good. Well, there is a lot of songs. I think I’ll do one that your listeners would really appreciate hearing about this singer.
She’s a female singer. Her name is Lhasa. She was living in Canada for the last portion, and most of her life. She passed away, unfortunately, a few years ago due to cancer.
She is thoroughly missed. I miss her immensely. And I miss her voice.
She put out a record in 2003 called, “The Living Road” and the first song off that album is called “Con Toda Palabra.” And it’s just a beeeaaautiful song. She has that husky voice. That soulful voice. Something similar to Billie Holiday or some of these great singers in the past. She just kind of oozes the stuff that you want to find more about. There is story behind her voice. It’s kind of throaty. Kind of raspy. She’s just one of my favorite musicians, singers, and songwriters.
Please check her out.
- “Con Toda Palabra” was released in 2003 on Lhasa de Sela’s album, “The Living Road.”
- Listen if you like: Billie Holiday, throaty raspy singers, Sound Travels
2. Run the Jewels – “Hey Kids”
Run the Jewels are the hip-hop duo of Killer Mike and El-P. In 2013 they released their first album to very high critical acclaim and the same with their second album, Run The Jewels 2 in 2014.
And I have to admit, at the time I didn’t get it. I thought, “This is intense. This is too much.” But then something happened and I got it. I really got it.
Because, for me, Run the Jewels is musical escapism. I will never be a big intense, in-your face kinda dude. But when I listen to Run The Jewels I am. For three minutes I am that dude. I feel like I can do anything. I feel like I can take on the world. And you can too. It’s fun. Escape to Run The Jewels.
- Run the Jewels 3 is out now.
- Listen if you like: escapism, high energy hip-hop, Danny Brown
3. Jeremih & Chance – “Chi Town Christmas”
While visions of sugar plums danced in our heads in the days before Christmas, Chicago singer and producer Jermih, and Chicago’s chosen one Chance the Rapper were busy in their workshop, putting together and releasing an entire surprise album, “Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama” that they released just in time for us to unwrap on Christmas Eve.
My favorite track on the album is “Chi Town Christmas.” It’s an acapella version of the song Carol of the Bells. And it’s all specifically Jeremih, Chance’s and Chicago’s experience of Christmas. There are Timberlands, there’s Harold’s Chicken, and The 79th. And I think it really celebrates the fact that people around the world celebrate Christmas, but everyone does it in their own way, and that’s part of what makes Christmas special.
This is a Chicago Christmas, a Chi Town Christmas that we will have for years to come.
- Jeremih and Chace “Merry Christmas Lil Mama” is out now on Soundcloud.
- Listen if you like: a new version of an old song, new Christmas music, holidays in the Midwest
4. The Shivvers – “Teen Line”
Justin Barney: This is 5 Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To and I’m here with our Digital Content Coordinator, Amelinda. What is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Amelinda: So this is not a current song, but I can’t stop listening to “Teen Line” by Milwaukee’s own, The Shivvers.
So this song was recorded in 1980, which is before I was born, so it sounds like I missed out on a pretty cool Milwaukee music scene. And I just keep thinking about what this magical early 80’s Milwaukee music scene was like with all these all ages clubs that I totally missed out on.
Justin Barney: Yeah, where did you hear this song, “Teen Line?”
Amelinda: Ummm, I feel like this has been floating around friends record collections. And it has a really cool cover because their font is really awesome. And the name Shivvers…
Justin Barney: S-h-i-v-v-e-r-s. It’s like the band was ready for Google search optimization in 1980. It’s perfect.
And I love this song too! It’s like a bit of bubble gum pop, with a little bit of a punk edge…
Amelinda: Yeah! It’s catchy, it’s fun, it sounds like everything I’m listening to that came out this year. I love all those lo-fi girl bands like…
Justin Barney: Bleached, Bully, Sports, Alvvays…
Amelinda: All Dogs
Justin Barney: And this could be in with all of them.
- “Teen Line” was released as a single in 1980.
- Listen if you like: Bully, Alvvays, Milwaukee music from the 80s
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. Flume feat. Beck – “Tiny Cities”
I find this song super interesting. It is part of a genre that is called Future Bass. The whole idea of future bass is that it creates this kind of trance space. It uses a really hard bassline paired with detuned synthesizers and it really creates a headspace that really is trancelike.
And it’s added to by Beck’s vocal delivery. He uses words, but what he is really using is the sounds that the words make to add to the atmosphere. It’s like an impressionist painters approach to songwriting.
- “Tiny Cities” was released on Flume’s album, “Skin.”
- Listen if you like: Future bass, impressionist word play, getting into a trance
5. Jonwayne – “Wonka”
Justin Barney: I’m here with our intern Eddie, AKA Fast Eddie. Eddie you have been haranguing me about playing one artist and a song in particular. Could you tell me what is the song and artist you can’t stop listening to?
Eddie: First of all the artist is Jonwayne. And the song that I really want to listen to is “Wonka”
Justin Barney: Why Wonka?
Eddie: So basically the little history is that Jonwayne was allegedly retired. He put out an album saying that Jonwayne is retired so he hadn’t talked to anyone in like two years, and then all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere at the beginning of the summer with “Wonka” which is the single. And “Wonka” is basically an ode to the new Jonwayne, and kind of a scathing review of everyone who doubted him. It’s like a diss-track but in like a really powerful way.
Justin Barney: Like an affirmative diss-track?
Eddie: It’s an affirmative diss-track, but in his own manner. He did an interview right before he dipped out on the public and he was like, “I hate rap. I hate hip-hop. I’m not rap. I’m not hip-hop. I’m my own person. I’m a musician and I don’t care about what you want to say about me. I’m here doing this self-gratifying level of music, and if you’re gonna disrespect me for being a hip-hop artist I don’t care because I’m not a hip-hop artist. I’m a musician.”
And I love that.
- Jonwayne’s single “Wonka” is out now.
- Listen if you like: MF DOOM, dogma rap, affirmative diss-tracks