Headless Horseman – The Microphones
On an otherwise unremarkable album, The Microphones (which on this song is just Phil Elverum) make a great track, which is rooted in American folklore. Well, Wikipedia claims the notion of a horseman without a head dates back to the Middle Ages, but most people associate the Headless Horseman with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a short story by Washington Irving from 1820. The horseman was a Hessian soldier whose “cappa got detated” (as was once said on The Office) by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War, and he wanders the woods looking for his missing head. Cool, right? The song is haunting and mysterious. It is told from the perspective of the horseman, and makes you kind of pity him.
I asked ChatGPT if we evolved to see color. It answered yes, saying, among other things, that the ability to see color helped us identify ripe fruit. The crux of the chorus here is, “You bring my heart to life again, now I can see in ultraviolet.” Imagine if we could! The song doesn’t credit the vocalist, but I wish it did. I’ve been following Hospital Records since college, and they scored a big contract making music for the Forza Horizon games. Still, Forza isn’t anywhere near as big as Warner Music or Universal. One of the best ways to show your support is to listen to their songs on a music-streaming service you pay for.
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Yo La Tengo
Not such a deep cut if you’re a baby boomer. This song is from 1949 and has been covered a thousand times. So why listen to the Yo La Tengo version? I really like Yo La Tengo, and the tune matches their understated style. Georgia Hubley, the vocalist, hangs on to the main lyric a bit longer than in the other versions. I think the reason this song is covered so much is that it has a great song title. Hasn’t everyone felt this way?
I am learning Spanish. If I understand the language well enough, “Encontrarme” is one word that means three English words: I find myself. In Spanish, the last few letters of a verb indicate who you’re talking about (the last two letters here… “-me”). Also in Spanish, you can lob off the “I” in the sentence when you’re talking about yourself. “Yo tengo” (I have) can just be “Tengo.” And the word for find is “encontrar.” I find myself. Cool. The song is inspired by Carla recovering from anxiety and depression. I am seeing her live next month!
Blimps Go 180 