Lyrical gangsta(s) of the year
A reflection on lines that jumped out at me most (and the writers who produced them)
Isn’t it funny, and doesn’t it say a lot about me, that year-end wrap up recommendations stress me out?
Music means everything to me, and I build a year-long playlist by adding newly released songs (week by week, month by month) if they make my personal cut. I have a variety of sources: notifications about artists I follow on Spotify, mentions on NPR or other media outlets, the Sound Opinions podcast, word of mouth. I end up with an amazing, hours-long mixtape of favorites.
At the end of the year, as I play through the whole list and do a bit of analysis on what stood out most and why I loved it, I always find myself marvelling at the abundance of great music that came out. And yet I’ll still find myself wishing I’d have had the time to really listen to a full album and let the whole thing sink in as a piece of artwork, for example, rather than just having favorited the few tracks that most quickly caught my attention.
So, every year when I feel my own best-of list was plenty full, it freaks me out when those same entities I mentioned above — like the New York Times publishing a best-of list, a friend doing her own daily countdown on Facebook — I’ll see a long list of unfamiliar names and titles, and I’m like, [arms crossing] “I missed all that, too? Well, piss.” Then I’ll start saving links to all those articles—which only results in becoming more stressed when it’s starting to creep toward Grounhdog Day and I’ve still not read any of them.
So this year I’ve decided I have to start accepting that lots of other great material was released and, despite my own obsessive curation, I still missed it. If I was meant to hear it, it’ll come my way somehow, (right? [worried face emoji]?)
And just in case you’re one of the oddly obsessed like me, I’m forgoing the temptation to write about best albums, songs, new artists, etc., and offering something different —so you won’t have to feel bad if you don’t have the time to fully check them out. As I was driving home from my sister’s after Christmas and listening deeply to the soundtrack of my 2024, I decided I’d simply share some great lyrics that struck me— over and over — as if I was hearing them for the first time.
A few quick housekeeping notes:
Method of sharing: for several reasons, it matters to me that I (and you!) hear the music first rather than see it. But I know you might have Apple Music (or some other source than Spotify), so, for free access for everyone: YouTube.
Genre(s): These artists may all seem like folkies of more or less the same stripe. But they are actually rock/outlaw-ish country/ alt/indie/90s-rock-chick-reminiscent grunge/ and or a mix. (Calling them “gangstas” is a Gen X reference, btw, (to an earworm recognizable school dance attendee circa 1995.) You’ll note that I seem to have a penchant for the singer/songwriter genre, particularly of the female stripe — and you would be correct! But hey I did stretch myself a bit this year … by adding Chappel Roan! (God how I love “Good Luck, Babe!” especially!)
Staying out of it: I will present the lyrics on their own without added commentary, so you can interpret them how you choose.
Music missing (unless you click the video). I want to acknowledge that the impact of these lyrics is absolutely tied to their delivery, the feel and style and mood of the music, (etc.) So they may seem underwhelming in print. Give’em a listen. But don’t (do as I do and) feel guilty and stressed if you simply compile them to play for later — then never do.
And now, without further ado or qualifiers! Here we go:
from ‘One Man Holds the World Hostage’
by John Moreland
“One man holds the world hostage
For his petty satisfaction
To watch the chain reaction
While he makes a redaction
…To satisfy a sickness
While the rest of us bear witness
He'll say it's only business
Why do I keep feeling
Like we've been this way before
Why do I keep feeling
Like a soldier in a holy war
That I never signed up for
One man holds the world hostage
…And he's a fraud when he's dealing
No telling what he's concealing
…Bulletproof and big as Jesus
Gonna do just what he pleases
Til it's all torn to pieces…”
from ‘Backsliders’
by Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
“Been doin' fine keepin’ my distance holdin' my own
But if we got anything in common it's that we can't leave well enough alone
And I'll get you out of my head a time or two before
You show up like an apparition just as I'm locking up the bar
Now I got one foot out the door and you're still gettin' dressed
Hate I can't say no as easily as you say yes
I'm a real piece of shit and you're a vixen in a dress
I thought we was movin' on but I was wrong I guess
Backsliders gonna backslide…”
(In addition to this song, Shook’s “Revelations” had to be in my top two or three played songs of the year. I particularly loved the lines: “Hey baby I'm barely gettin through each day/ Breakin' my back for a pittance paid/No slack in the line /sick of standin' in my own way…”)
from ‘Snake Plant (The Past is Still Alive)’
by Hooray for the Riff Raff*
*(which is led by singer/songwriter Alynda Segarra, the “rail-riding teen poet who lived to sing the tale”- NPR.org) [oops I’m cheating and providing commentary! Sorry]
“…Pee in the bushes while I wait for a train
Under the bridge when it starts to rain
I never got to ride the sunset route
But I drank enough, a hundred proof
Campfire on the superfund site
Garbage island, [f’ing] in the moonlight
Play my song for the barrel of freaks
And we go shoplifting when it's time to eat, and
They don't even really know my name
I'm so happy that we escaped from where we came
Tattoo with a needle and thread
Most of our old friends are dead
So, test your drugs
Remember Narcan
There's a war on the people
What don't you understand?
There's fentanyl in everything
Don't become an angel with a broken wing…”
Extra/bonus points for this one from Segarra, too, called “Hawk Moon”: “And you'll never know the way I miss/Miss Jonathan/She was beaten in the street/And then I never saw her again/She opened up my mind in the holes of/Her fishnet tights…”
and finally, my ultimate favorite line of the year
from ‘Docket’
a duet by singer-songwriters Bully and Blondeshell
“I should probably cut him loose instead of kissing
I don't wanna what I haven't got
But it kills the lull when I'm not full
When I'm not full I fill the space with Barbasol”
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for letting me share my enthusiasm for these artists and their work. At the very very end of the post, (below the subscribe buttons and other blurbs) I’ve added three eency microperks for my paid subscribers, which include a photo postcard from being home on the farm— and the revelation of my music-related plan to spend time with an inappropriate crush!
And speaking of micro: a paid subscription to my blog is basically just like a small (but sustained) donation — $5 / month! Or if you’re a commitment-phobe like me: I’ll happily accept just a coffee! Or a tip in my hat via PayPal.
Have you checked out the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative on Substack? Read our latest roundup issue and check out this amazing roster of writers.