This Sounds Delightful mix is made up entirely of songs that aren’t available on Spotify. The reason this matters to me is that I often forget to listen to these songs, even though many of them are long-time favorites that I’ve taken care to preserve in my local collection over the years. The reason it might matter to you is that these are 12 great songs that you’d probably never hear if you rely heavily on Spotify’s catalog and recommender services. A lot of these are live tracks and rarities, which explains why they’re not available, but rights issues, anti-streaming sentiment, and people who can’t or don’t bother to get their songs onto the service also come into play. So enjoy this list as a reminder of why people-powered music curation is still the best way to hear stuff you might not otherwise.
1. NSYNC — “Girlfriend (Neptunes Remix ft. Nelly)” (2002) You can find the regular version of “Girlfriend” on Spotify, but once you’ve heard the superlative early 2000s-ness of the remix there’s no going back. There’s actually a lot about this song that — at least on paper — seems like it should be terrible. You’ve got a flagging boyband, that twangy ’00s rap thing, dated lyrical references, and a vaguely flamenco guitar riff straight off of Santana’s Supernatural. But if nothing else, this song is proof positive that execution can make up for a multitude of sins. The songwriting is superb, no doubt thanks to Pharrell Williams’s involvement. NSYNC really are good singers, and I especially like JT’s little flourishes, like the single-word falsettos he adds to Nelly’s first verse. The overall bigger and brighter sound, along with better beats, just make the original sound thin and sad. And, finally, the general likability of Nelly’s contributions is not an isolated phenomenon. His hits have proven surprisingly durable, despite the fact that the last thing I saw him do was a commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios (“It must be the honey!).
2. Charlotte Hatherley — “Kim Wilde” (2004) I’ve got a copy of this on an old WFMU promo CD from Pseu’s Thing With a Hook, and I’ve been migrating it across various computers and music apps for probably the last seven or eight years. I normally wouldn’t say it’s possible for a song to have too many hooks but this comes close. There’s at least three or four good ones, and they’re strewn throughout the labyrinthine song structure in a way that will have your head spinning. I also like that the name of the song is the name of another musical artist. I once tried to make a whole mix on that theme, but couldn’t quite flesh it out. Maybe one day.
3. Camper Van Beethoven — “Northern California Girls” (2013) David Lowry is vocally anti-streaming, and while I respect his position, I hate that I rarely hear this song as a result. Despite its play on the classic song title, “Northern California Girls” forgoes any kind of party-time atmosphere in favor of a lovely wistful melody and subtle lyrics. The guitar line is warm, but it also conveys a sense of longing. And the lines “You can take a fast train/Baby take the next plane/You’d be home by suppertime” — followed by that gloriously sloppy “ooh ooh ooh ooh” — feel so loose and comfortable. I’m picturing a natural beach toward the end of the day, with the sun’s rays coming in at a low angle and people playing frisbee with their dogs. That’s the obvious top layer of the song’s lyrics, with their implied critique of the kind of ambitious modern lifestyle that pulls people away from their comfortable hometowns to go work in ambitious hipster metros like Austin or Brooklyn. But there’s a tricky second layer as well, in that the song is really describing the arguments put forth by a particular Northern California girl who has her own motivations for wanting this guy to come home. Is it all a little too good to be true? Maybe, maybe not, but it really makes you want to believe the fantasy.
4. Jellyfish — “Let ‘Em In/That is Why (Live)” (1991) Gotta love a band with only two proper albums, but a four-disc rarities comp. Jellyfish did a lot of this kind of thing, opening with a snatch of a cover that segues seamlessly into one of their own songs. “Let ‘Em In” is a great choice to accompany “That is Why.” It’s the kind of charming McCartney inanity that inspired Jellyfish’s attitude, even if their own compositions tend to be a little more baroque. The harmonizing is so flawless, it’s hard to believe this is a live performance.
5. Winter Hours — “Hyacinth Girl” (1986) This out-of-print gem fits right in with the mid-80s jangle pop scene. What makes it special is the way that it’s slow and melancholy, while still having enough movement to grab you. The band’s only web presence is an abandoned MySpace page, so it’s no wonder this isn’t more widely available.
6. God Help the Girl — “God Help the Girl” (2009) In the grand tradition of Jesus Christ Superstar and Chess, Belle and Sebastian’s Stewart Murdoch released the soundtrack to his musical God Help Girl before the musical itself actually existed. A film and a new cast recording eventually followed in 2014, and the original then disappeared from Spotify. It’s a shame because the singing on the original God Help the Girl album is far superior. This is largely due to Catherine Ireton, whose voice has the warmth and clarity of a glass fresh out of the dishwasher.
7. John Wesley Harding — “Hamlet” (1996) This JWH rarity is up with there with “American Pie” and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” in terms of long, wordy songs that I have somewhat embarrassingly memorized start to finish. And “Hamlet” is is doozy. It’ a stunningly thorough and accurate recounting of the plot of Hamlet, as well as a triumph of slang vocabulary that would make P.G. Wodehouse proud. (“Because he isn’t ready for obligatory killing/He tries to make his uncle think he’s tuppence off the shilling.”) I can also tell you it’s come in handy more than once when Hamlet knowledge is needed for a crossword puzzle or trivia game. “Hamlet” is actually a cover of a song properly titled “Oor Hamlet,” by someone named Adam McNaughton who sings it in an insane Scottish accent. Wes’s version is a little more accessible to non-Scots, and he brings his usual warmth and humor to the song.
8. Robbie Fulks — “Fountains of Wayne Hotline” (2005) I love this song like it’s not a parody. It’s kind of a testament that a song mocking Fountains of Wayne (I think affectionately) for their facile and gimmicky songwriting only proves just how enjoyable that mode of songwriting really is. It also functions beautifully as comedy, and Fulks’s timing is spot on, especially on some of the great one-liners (“Oh, that Gerald…”) The music theory on display also strikes me as very impressive, though I admit to understanding none of it.
9. De La Soul — “The Magic Number” (1989) There’s no reason hip hop can’t be delightful and melodic — and it should be more often. The use of the Schoolhouse Rock sample is a great demonstration of how something that was never really intended as serious music can turn out to have great cultural resonance. This little ditty has probably brought more joy to more people than the most ambitious prog rock symphony. Sadly the excellent use of sampling has also made this album unfindable.
10. Hector and the Leaves — “Little Bee” (2016) Tom Hector is a guy who records songs and puts them on the internet. He doesn’t really seem to make a huge effort to publicize them or become famous. It’s nice to think that someone might create art just because they love it. “Little Bee” is charming pop in the Beatles/Beach Boys style. I especially like the line “cruising down the esplanade.” People don’t really say “esplanade” in the U.S., so it feels sort of casual and exotic all at once.
11. Oasis — “Some Might Say (Live)” (1996) At the time, Oasis’s MTV Unplugged was considered a huge disaster. Liam claimed to have a sore throat, then proceeded to sit in the balcony heckling the band while Noel took over lead vocals. Now it’s like, “Wait, there’s an entire peak-era Oasis concert where Noel sings every song to the accompaniment of Bacharach-style orchestral arrangements? Sign me up!” While the vocals here do falter a bit at points, the arrangement is wonderful, especially the jaunty horn section. And Noel does hit a groove as things go on, even adding some of his own flourishes, like the way he changes up the last note on “Itching in the kitchen once again.” There really should be an official release of this, but bootlegs are easy enough to find.
12. Old 97s — “Singular Girl” (2001) This was originally a bonus track from the Satellite Rides CD, then Rhett Miller recorded a new version for his first solo album. His version wasn’t really that different, except that it cut out the most memorable part — the little quote of “the teeth of the hydra upon you” in the chorus. Maybe there was a rights issue or maybe Rhett through lifting a line from T.Rex would take focus away from his own songwriting. I don’t think he had to worry, since “Singular Girl” is a really well-written song in it’s own right. Lines like “Blame it on the moonlight/blame it on plate tectonics” are fun and unexpected. And in the chorus, “I’ve been trying to tell you/’Cause I can tell you are” reminds me of “Please Please Me” in the way it plays with double word meanings. So yeah, maybe the song is a little less gimmicky and a little more elegant without the T.Rex line — but it’s also a little less fun.