Wistfulness and pop music are made for each other. There’s something abut the small scale of a pop song — its few-minute length, the intimacy with which we relate to the singer — that pairs so well with an emotion that’s subtler and vaguer than all-out sadness. It’s hard to imagine a wistful symphony. Wistfulness can be about about longing, regret, nostalgia — often for the past, but sometimes for things that haven’t even happened yet. And because it can be conveyed so easily through melody, it can also work its way into the fabric of songs that seem cheerful on their surface, just a nagging suspicion that all is not as it seems. The songs on this month’s mix all fall somewhere on that wistfulness spectrum, giving it an overall thoughtful and yearning quality, but still with a variety of pop tempos and textures from indie folk to ’70s soft rock to modern balladry.
1. First Aid Kit — “Stay Gold” (2014) There’s such a great mix of textures on this song, from the slow balladry of the verse to the sped-up patter of the chorus and the lushness of the string arrangements that drop to almost nothing after the middle eight. The melody is outstanding too, especially on “What if to love and be loved’s not enough?” It’s an arrow straight to the heart.
2. BANNERS — “Someone to You” (2017) BANNERS should count his appearance as an all-star duet partner on American Idol as a success, as he’s gained at least one new fan in me. “Someone to You” takes the best of first-album Colplay, then mixes in a trendy shouty chorus and some really solid hooks. Unlike First Aid Kit, BANNERS doesn’t seem to doubt for the moment that to love and be loved will be more than enough.
3. Paul McCartney — “Young Boy” (1997) Is there anything more unfashionable than a 1997 Paul McCartney album? That’s actually an irrelevant question, because post-Beatles Paul has never been about being cool. He’s about writing stunning, timeless melodies with the ease that you or I might write a grocery list. On the opening line “He’s just a young boy looking for a way to find love,” it’s that slightly lower note on the word “find” that takes it to the next level. It’s also worth noting that there are only two people credited on this song. One is Paul doing most everything. The other is Steve Miller, chipping in guitar and backing vocals. These two harmonize really well!
4. Aimee Mann — “Fifty Years After the Fair” (1993) A longtime favorite song of mine, “Fifty Years After the Fair” appeared in the top 10 of my Top 90 of the ‘90s list and in a separate essay I wrote comparing it with Donald Fagen’s “I.G.Y.” Mann uses the 1939 World’s War to contrast the boundless hope of the WWII generation with a post-modern disappointment. Roger McGuinn contributes some lovely guitar playing.
5 .Stephen Bishop — “Sinking in an Ocean of Tears” (1976) I’m developing an inadvertent theme here of celebrity guest guitarists. That’s Eric Clapton playing the solo on this one. It’s unclear how ’70s soft rock obscurity Stephen Bishop managed to record a debut album that featured Clapton, Art Garfunkel, and Chaka Khan, but good for him. “Sinking in an Ocean of Tears” is pretty much everything that’s great about the genre, including a smooth vocal, classy horn section, and catchy chorus. This is actually the most rockin’ song on Bishop’s Careless album and, honestly, it’s probably a bit too jaunty for the melodramatic title, but it works.
6. The Fratellis — “Star Crossed Losers” (2018) Definitely smoother and more sophisticated than what I’d expect from the Fratellis (although I haven’t listened to them much since their debut, so I have no idea if this is a trend or an anomaly). There’s some excellent storytelling going on about two people who can’t quite make it work. It’s idiosyncratic enough that I don’t necessarily understand everything about the relationship being described, but I’d count that as a plus. There’s also a few really great, suggestive lines including “It started out as nothing in the strangest sense” and “He was in denial in his own backyard.” The falsetto on the chorus is about as close to a keen as it can get while still being listenable.
7. Paul Williams — “Someday Man” (1970) I was going to write that this song sounds like it could have been a lost Monkees track. Then I looked it up on Wikipedia and found that it is! It was a b-side to a non-album single that I’m fairly certain I’ve never heard before. So there’s proof positive that Monkees songs have a readily identifiable sound — cheerful, but with that touch of wistfulness underneath. Williams co-wrote this one for The Monkees, then released his own version on his debut album. He also wrote “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “Rainbow Connection,” so apparently he’s someone I really should have known about.
8. Sloan — “The Day Will be Mine” (2018) “One day I’ll wake up new and knowing/That the sun will shine/And the day will be mine.” I can’t think of many other lines that are more believably motivational. He’s not going to take over the world or become a superstar — he’s just going to turn it around. This is a classic Patrick Pentland track — heavy melodicism and a wall of guitars, with almost every line a hook. How Sloan keeps being this good after so long is a secret that many other bands must covet.
9. The Hollies — “I Can’t Let Go” (1966) The top reason to listen to The Hollies has got to be Graham Nash’s high harmonies and this one is exemplary. I can’t stop thinking about a comment in Bob Stanley’s book Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! where he says that for years he mistook Nash’s vocal on this song for a top note trumpet. Totally believable.
10. Prince — “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1984) Prince’s original recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” was released from his vault a couple weeks ago. It takes no getting used to whatsoever — from the first listen, it’s as if this version had been with us since 1984. It’s astounding to me that Price would record something this good and this polished and not even bother to release it. I’m not generally that excited about things like demos and rarities, but Prince would be an exception.
11. Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko — “Stay” (2012) Listening to this ballad is like watching one of those glass blower demonstrations. I just can’t believe they’re going to pull off something so gorgeous and delicate without it breaking off and smashing into a thousand pieces. But Rihanna does it. I think she’s at her best when she’s doing songs that are more stripped down and classic like this one.
12. Chris Stamey — “Something Came Over Me” (1991) When it comes to The Dbs, I’ve always been more of a Holsapple fan, finding Stamey’s melodies to be a bit too spiky and experimental for my classic pop tastes. But on “Something Came Over Me,” he captures something pure and crystalline and breathtaking. Lyrically, the song describes a moment of falling in love, but there’s something about the tune and the overall atmosphere that suggests a tinge of sadness, as if this is a memory of something lost, rather than a celebration of something recently found.