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1. Hamilton Leithauser picks “Fingerprint File” by The Rolling Stones
Every week we ask one artist that we love to tell us about one song that they love. Here we ask Hamilton Leithauser.
Justin Barney: Hamilton, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Hamilton Leithauser: Well weirdly, I don’t know why this is, but I can’t stop listening to “Fingerprint File by the Rolling Stones. For some reason that whole record is on constant rotation at my house, and I love that song.
Justin Barney: Why do you like that song in comparison to other Rolling Stones songs?
Hamilton Leithauser: Well apparently it’s Mick Jagger on guitar. I’d read that which I thought was kinda funny. But it’s got this nasty chorus and drum fills and stuff, it’s so awesome. It’s kinda from their disco period.
Justin Barney: What do you like about Jagger as a front man? I feel like he’s the ultimate front man.
Hamilton Leithauser: Yeah, I mean, he was like maybe my first favorite singer when I was a little kid. No matter what they are doing he is able to bring life to any type of song. He sort of is always able to drape out some life into his performance and keep everything exciting.
Apparently David Bowie stopped by while they were recording this record and I swear, it sounds like him singing on the background of this song.
- “Fingerprint File” was released by The Rolling Stones on their 1974 album, “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll.”
- Listen if you like: The Walkmen, The Rolling Stones, and possibly David Bowie
2. gobbinjr – “firefly”
The inspiration for this song came when Emma Witmer was watching fireworks on the fourth of July. She was getting increasingly upset about all of the smoke that the fireworks leave behind, and thought “Everything we do is awful for the world. Humans are terrible.” Then she saw a firefly glowing in the dark. And thought “Why can’t I be just that? Why cant I just not kill the world by living?”
It’s a fair question. At one point she says I just want the human race to die, but it’s not filled with hatred or angst, it’s very cavalier about the extinction of the human race. And it actually makes it sound kind of sweet.
- gobbinjr’s new album, “vom night” is now available on bandcamp.
- Listen if you like: bedroom rock, dreamy stuff, thinking about the insignificance of the human race
3. Devendra Banhart – “Saturday Night”
Devendra Banhart is just an artistic person. His fine art has hung in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, last year he released a book called “I Left My Noodle on Ramen Street,” he founded a record label, and luckily, for us, he also chooses to release music.
One of the things that I love about Devendra Banhart, and this song in particular is how he trusts the microphone. He doesn’t scream or yell into it. He’s gentle. Letting it pick up all the little things in his voice and begging you to lean in and listen.
- Devendra Banhart’s new album, “Ape in Pink Marble” will be out on September 23rd.
- Listen if you like: chill, gentle vocal style, subtle vibrato
3. Adia Victoria picks “Dollars and Cents” by Radiohead
This week we have TWO of our favorite artists telling us about music they love. Here we ask Adia Victoria.
Justin Barney: Adia Victoria, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Adia Vicoria: I am a huge Radiohead fan and I’ve gone back and listened to “Amnesiac” and the one song I really can’t stop listening to is “Dollars and Cents.”
Justin Barney: Why that song?
Adia Victoria: I think just getting into the music industry. Monetizing your art can have really harrowing effects on the artist. Unless it’s just your thing. But I feel like it’s a really cautionary tale by Thom Yorke about “Hey man! This stuff is real!” So he’s like my big brother.
Justin Barney: What are some difficulties you’ve had with that?
Adia Victoria: I mean, as a woman people think they can take the liberty of telling you like, “Hey you should look this way. You should wear this or wear that. And I had some issues with a certain person on my team, who is no longer on my team, who thought that they had the right to tell me what to wear on stage. And I was like, “We now have a huge problem between us.” So I think for me any time someone comes and tells me how to appeal to more people I’m just like, “Ya gotta get out of here. You gotta go.”
Justin Barney: Yeah, because we want you. I feel like that never works when someone else comes in and tells you what works, because we want you as an artist and that’s what is going to come through.
Adia Victoria: Right, well you give up so much control when you allow people to start playing those games with you because your sense of value and worth is predicated upon other people approving of you. So that’s a very dangerous game for me personally and I can’t do it. I will refuse. If it comes down to that I will just go back to my regular life in Nashville and “This was fun, okay bye.”
- “Dollars and Cents” was released in 2001 on the album, “Amnesiac.”
- Listen if you like: not-selling out, staying true, Adia Victoria
4. Strehlow and Chris Siegel feat, Siren Lex Allen and Christine Hoberg - “This is How”
Justin Barney: This is five songs we can’t stop listening to, and I’m here with Nate Imig.
Nate Imig: Hey Justin.
Justin: Whaddup!
Nate: Thanks so much for letting me do this.
Justin: Thanks for coming on. What’s one song that you can’t stop listening to, Nate?
Nate: So this song is, we’ve been playing it for a while actually, and it’s a song that is from Milwaukee, so I assume that it was made somewhere in Riverwest or something like that. And it comes to us from Chris Segel and Strehlow, partnering with a couple other musicians too so Lex Allen, Siren, and Christine Hoberg. To me, this was such, I heard it on the radio actually, I was listening to Dori in the morning, much like you probably are right now, and this song came on and I was like just struck with such pride about this, about the Milwaukee music scene. I thought, wow, this is really, to me, kind of a turning point from the community. I just thought this was so good, and made me like, do a weird car dance.
Justin: Yea, and it’s like, I love that the Milwaukee scene, instead of being like, defensive and being like,
“Well, if you have a certain amount of the pie, then I only have a certain amount,” they’re like, “you know what, we can all have pie, you know? We can all do this. We can all be in this together,” and I love seeing that collaboration.
Nate: Yea, and I feel like we’re just seeing it with these artists, and it has set an example to other people in the community and it’s all these guys working together and people working together making music. I would love to get invited one time to make it happen, to watch them to do it, because they’re really taking it to the next level.
Justin: And the song is a banger.
Nate: Perhaps a bop?
*laughs*
- Listen if you like: Milwaukee music, collaborations, bangers
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5. Lucius picks Cass McCombs – “Dreams-Come-True-Girl”
Every week we ask one artist to tell us about a song that they love, this week we have TWO artists! Here we are with Lucius. Justin Barney: What is one song that you can’t stop listening to recently? Lucius: The first one that comes to mind is “Dreams-Come-True-Girl,” and that’s Cass McCombs. Justin: And why is that? Lucius: It’s just such a feel good song, he’s got such an iconic sound, and he’s such an incredible songwriter. One of my favorite contemporary songwriters. Justin: What does the song sound like? Lucius: (Singing) “You’re not my dream girl, you’re not my reality girl, you’re my dreams come true girl.”
- “Dreams-Come-True-Girl” was released in 2009 on Cass McCombs album, “Catacombs.”
- Listen if you like: Lucius, Damien Jurado, soulful singer-songwriter
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