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.
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1. Lucy Dacus picks “Black Flowers” by Yo La Tengo
Our guest today is Lucy Dacus. Lucy Dacus put out one of my favorite albums of the year this year with “Historian.” So I just had to talk to her before the year is out. We have been playing her song “Addictions” on 88Nine, my guest today, I’m thrilled, is Lucy Dacus.
Justin Barney: Lucy, what is the last song that you couldn’t stop listening to?
Lucy Dacus: Well, last night I saw one of Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah shows and they’re like maybe my favorite band and I got to meet them.
Justin Barney: Do you have a favorite Yo La Tengo song?
Lucy Dacus: Oh that’s so hard. My favorite one that they played last night was “Black Flowers,” which is just like, such a simple song. You know, it’s like one of those songs that just feels really wise because everything is kind of distilled into these really simple nuggets of wisdom. Yeah, I love that song.
Justin Barney: What do you like about Yo La Tengo?
Lucy Dacus: I like that they seem to not be considering the reception of anything. I don't know if that is true, but they make such different music every album they put out. It really feels like they're exploring their interest, making something that they like and it just so happens that they have an audience. I don't feel like they're ever trying to, you know, accomplish a goal other than to make something that they like. I feel like everything's on-limits, not off-limits. Is that a phrase? On-limits? Everything’s fair game.
Justin Barney: (laughing) Everything’s “on-limits “with Yo La Tengo, I like that.
Lucy Dacus: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Justin Barney: Perfect, let’s hear it.
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2. Louis the Child picks "Westworld" by Evan Giia
My guests today is Louis the Child. Louis the Child is actually two people. It’s made up of Freddy Kennett and Robby Hauldren. They’ve been making electronic music for a couple of years now and they have been headlining festivals around the country, most recently Jawbreaker Festival here in Milwaukee. We are playing their new song “Dear Sense,” my guests today is Freddy Kennett and Robby Hauldren, who are Louis the Child.
Justin Barney: What is one song that you can’t stop listening to?
Robbie Hauldren: It’s a song for me, that was in heavy rotation and then I sort of forgot about it. Then I heard it again and was like, “Oh Sh**” I forgot how good this song is. It’s the song, “Westworld” by Evan Giia.
Justin Barney: Alright!
Robbie Hauldren: It’s like a female singer that, I don’t know is just a very fun, bubbly, happy pop song.
Justin Barney: Where did you hear this song the first time and how did it come back to you?
Robbie Hauldren: The first time I heard it one of our bigger fans had asked me if I ever heard of Evan Giia, and you should check this girl out you guys could make a cool song together or something and I was like sweet. Then I listened to the song and was like, damn this is awesome.
Justin Barney: I love that!
Robbie Hauldren: Then we were in New York for the weekend and I was hanging out with a friend and we were in an Uber and my friend was using her phone to play music and was like you should pick a song so I was scrolling through her Soundcloud likes and stumbled upon it and was like, oh sweet I’ll play this one.
Justin Barney: That is amazing, what is the name of the song?
Robbie Hauldren: Westworld. The artist is Evan Giia, and “Giaa” is like “G-i-i-a” !
Justin Barney: That’s so awesome that you heard that from a fan and then listened to it. I love that.
Freddy Kennett: We find a good amount of music from fans sending us stuff.
Justin Barney: Do you really? That’s so cool.
Freddy Kennett: Yeah we definitely like send a good amount of messages back and forth of people who message us on Instagram or whatever social media. It’s fun to talk to them and get their taste right now, or whatever it is that their listening to for the moment.
3. Mitski picks “Just What I Needed” by The Cars
My guest today is Mitski. Mitski is one of my favorite artists right now. I am just so connected and in love with her music. She released her first album, “Bury Me At Make out Creek” a couple years ago and then followed it up with Puberty Two. On August 17, she’s going to release her third album, “Be the Cowboy.” And she just released the first single “Nobody.” I am so excited, my guest today is Mitski.
Justin Barney: Mitski, what is one song right now that you can’t stop listening to?
Mitski: Um.. Oh my God I can’t believe I’m- I’m gonna regret saying this but, this is just the first song that came to mind. The Cars- “Just What I Needed.”
Justin Barney: Yes, and why that song?
Mitski: I think it’s just a perfect pop song, its checks all the—as a, as a songwriter myself, I listen to it often thinking oh my gosh this just checks all the little check boxes, you know? And my favorite f*ckin’ lyric- oh my God I’m sorry you can edit that out right?
Justin Barney: Yes
Mitski: Oh my god thank god. So my favorite lyric in that song and in general is “I don’t care about where you’ve been as long as it was deep.” And that was just like such a good lyric. And I’m sure what’s-his-face the writer wasn’t thinking too deeply about it. He was just like “what ends with –eep? Oh…deep.” But, I think that’s just such a good line.
Justin Barney: That is. Alright, so what is the name of the songs and the name of the artist?
Mitski: The name of the song is – I believe it’s called “Just What I Needed,” and that’s by The Cars.
4. Jerry Paper picks “Guilty” by Barbra Streisand and Berry Gibb
Our guest for song three is Jerry Paper. Jerry Paper is the stage name of Lucas Nathan who makes music out of Los Angeles. His songs are idiosyncratic rock/pop. Sometimes there’s elements of humor and whimsy in them. There super interesting, we’re playing the song “Your Cocoon” off of his new album, “Like a Baby.” My guest today is Jerry Paper.
Justin Barney: Jerry, What is the last song that you couldn’t stop listening to?
Jerry Paper: Okay, so this is not something I would normally say, but it is literally the answer to your question.
Justin: Yessss, That’s what I want.
Jerry: The last song I couldn’t stop listening to is this Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb’s song called “Guilty.”
Justin: yessss, This is the answer that I want.
Jerry: Yeah if I’m being honest here then that is it.
Justin: What draws you to it?
Jerry: Umm, the lyrics are really weird. Like there’s one line that makes me laugh every time. I feel like that really the way to get me to listen to a song. Like when I first realized that “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan was such a good song is when I heard, is there gas in the car, yes there’s gas in the car line. Like the way he sings it, “is there gas in the car, is there gas in the car”, it’s just good. I like to listen to that.
Justin: What’s the line in this song?
Jerry: The line in this song that makes me laugh is, “Make a crime to be lonely or sad,” and then Barry Gibbs goes, “It got to be illegal.” I don’t know it’s just really good.
Justin: If being lonely and sad was a crime, what would be a fair punishment?
Jerry: I don’t know, it’s just so weird. Then it goes, “Make it crime to be out in the cold” like i don’t understand, I don’t understand this.
Justin: What is the draw to law and order here?
Jerry: I don’t know cause then it’s like, “We got nothing to be guilty of, our love is one in a million,” then it’s like okay, Why you telling me that?
Justin: Who’s accusing them?
Jerry: That’s what i’m saying. I like love songs, they’re great, but it’s a pretty over raw and boring genre ultimately. Like there’s just a lot. So whenever you find like a weird spin on a love song, it’s just good. It just ends with something perfect like Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibbs being in love, like what’s the crime there?
5. Michelle Wolf picks “The End of Love” by Florence + The Machine
My guest today is Michelle Wolf. Michelle Wolfe is a comedian, she has written for ‘The Daily Show,” she’s done the White House Correspondents Dinner, she is host of the the Netflix show “The Break with Michelle Wolf,” she’s hilarious. My guest today is Michelle Wolf.
Justin Barney: What is the last song you couldn’t stop listening to?
Michelle Wolf: Oh umm, let’s see…You know what, it’s going to be such a girly answer, it’s gonna be Florence and the Machine’s “End of Love.”
Justin Barney: What do you like about Florence + The Machine?
Michelle Wolf: Well first of all I love her voice, she’s great. It doesn’t sound like any other singer really, it’s very unique. But also I’ve just been listening to her for a long time, I run to her music all the time… and she’s a redhead so I try to stay true. I try to have an allegiance.
Justin Barney: Florence doesn’t strike me as running music.
Michelle Wolf: You know, if you saw my running playlist you’d be like, “None of this strikes me as running music.” I mean, some does, but it’s all over the place. It looks like ten different people made a running playlist.
Justin Barney: Why that song?
Michelle Wolf: It’s good, I mean it’s one of those songs where she released a new album, and I do this thing where I will listen to a song that I really like until I hate it, and then I’ll never listen to it again.
Which is how, I’m sure everyone wants their music to be consumed.