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. Maggie Rogers picks “With You” by Waxahatchee
From the music desk at 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, I’m Justin Barney. This is five songs we can’t stop listening to and at the beginning every week we ask artists to talk to us about songs that they love. We discovered Maggie Rogers as a lot of people did, when a video of Pharrell Williams getting emotional when hearing Maggie Rogers, a student at NYU, music for the first time went viral. That was when we heard Maggie Rogers for the first time. We have been playing her music and her song, “ Alaska,” ever since. I am here, with Maggie Rogers. Justin Barney: Maggie Rogers, what is one song you can’t stop listening to? Maggie Rogers: One song I can’t stop listening to is Waxahatchee cover of Jessica Simpson’s “With You.” JB: That is fantastic. What is your favorite part of the song? MR: The chorus. Duh! JB: What do you like about the chorus? MR: The whole sort of like rhythmic motion of the way Katie Crutchfield’s guitar just slows down and she just sinks into the groove and, I just, I love the lyrics to “With You.” I can let my hair down, I can say anything crazy because you catch me right before I hit the ground. Like it’s so silly and so good and I just…sorry I got a little giddy taking about it! I just love this song. JB: That is fantastic, I just love hearing that.
- “With You” was released in 2016 on “Girls, Vol.3 (Music from the HBO Original Series)” soundtrack.
- Listen if you like: Jessica Simpson, Girls, feelings
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2. Whitney picks “Southern Nights” by Allen Toussaint
We catch up with Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich, who are the band Whitney. Justin Barney: Max, Julian, what is one song that Whitney, as a whole, can’t stop listening to? Julian: “Southern Nights” was a big one that I think everyone got hooked on. And then we ended up covering it. Justin Barney: Why that song? Julian: It’s like when you listen to that song you are in a different world for a while. And the melodies are great. Max: It’s also one of his most bizarre sounding songs. Justin: Who brought it to who? Julian: My Dad sent me “Southern Nights” actually. None of us had ever heard it before. Some dude did a cover of it in a weird honky tonk kind of way and it was too cheesy or something for us. And then my dad sent me the Allen Toussaint version, and I thought that maybe that was the cover version, but it wasn’t. It turns out he just wrote that beautiful song in that style and then some jerk covered it.
- “Southern Nights” was released in 1975 on the album “Southern Nights.”
- Listen if you like: dreamy vocals, New Orleans jazz, Whitney
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3. Sonny Knight picks “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke
Sonny Knight of Sonny Knight and the Lakers returns to 5 Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To.
Justin Barney: Sonny, what is one song that you can’t stop listening to?
Sonny Knight: Of all the songs in the world, I keep relating to Sam Cooke’s soul song, “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Justin: I love that song.
Sonny Knight: I can never get that out of my head because it’s so good. And as old as the song is, it’s still fits today. Of waiting for that change they say is gonna come.
Justin: What do you like about Sam Cooke?
Sonny Knight: As a child I was just amazed by him. As a kid I grew up listening to Sam Cooke sing and until the moment of his death I was hoping that I would get an opportunity to jump in. *laughs*
Like maybe I could be Sam Cooke.
It’s the sound of his voice. The gospel things that he did. You know? So, yeah, it still fits today. Cause we are all waiting for that change.
- “A Change Is Gonna Come” was released in 1964 on the album, “Ain’t That Good News.”
- Listen if you like: beautiful gospel music, a civil rights anthem, change
4. Chicano Batman picks “Blood, Milk and Sky” by White Zombie
The band Chicano Batman is a four piece out of Los Angeles. They blend music, that is, they blend Brazilian music with psychedelia, with soul, all in this great mixture that we absolutely love. I called up Eduardo Arenas, who is the lead singer of the band Chicano Batman. Justin Barney: Do you remember the first record that you ever bought? Eduardo Arenas: I think it was Astro Creep: 2000, White Zombie. Justin Barney: Really? Why that album? Eduardo Arenas: Because, I think at the time I was thirteen years old, I just wanted to identify with people who don’t fit in. And Rob Zombie did not fit in. And he made an industry around not fitting in. I’m thinking, “Wow, this guy has no intention of letting people know that he wants you to love him.” There’s enough people out there that don’t want to be loved, but love each other.
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. Japandroids pick “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals
The band Japandroids is from Vancouver, British Columbia. They make anthemic, sing-a-long, guitar-based songs that we love. Joining me on the phone from Vancouver, British Columbia, is lead guitarist and lead vocalist Brian King of the band Japandroids. Justin Barney: Brian, what is one song you can’t stop listening to? Brian King: I might pick House of the “Rising Sun,” the Animals version actually. Because, that’s a song when I was really, really young I had a Fischer-Price record player that like, you know, you buy for kids. My mom gave me her old collection of 7-inches that she had from when she was young. And it was in a little case and everything and that was one of my favorite songs and I used to play that song on a Fischer-Price record player in my room when I was really young and I loved it then. JB: Why do you think as a seven year old that that song stood out among the other ones? BK: I mean I think probably because it’s really catchy, you know? And it’s also very simple. It’s actually a very interesting song on drums because the drums are essentially just the cymbal. And it’s like, try to think of another rock and roll song where the drumming is exclusively hitting the cymbal. It’s a very kind of unique recording and every time I hear it I’m like “Damn, what a great song and what a great recording.”
- “House of the Rising Sun” was released as a single in 1964.
- Listen if you like: Japandroids, british invasion, the blues