129. Songs That Should Be Streaming (But Aren’t)
A megapost from me and my dear pals!
These are songs that (mostly) I used to listen to on my aux-portaled iPod on the way to one of my various New Jersey college registrar jobs in 2014, summoning the will to live in 7am traffic. My friends, music lovers and music writers and sometimes a beautiful both, who included their picks likely did not experience the same circumstances. I am happy for them.
This one mashup of “Undah Da Sea” and Bubba Sparxxx’s “Miss New Booty”:
I don’t have further commentary. Nor should I.
“Make It Big” by The Beach Boys:
Not only is this specific version of The Beach Boys’ “Make It Big” written for Troop Beverly Hills, with an extended intro, not streaming as a soundtrack was not compiled for the film, but the entire Beach Boys album on which it appears, Still Cruisin’, is not streaming at all. This song in any iteration is not available, and that is stupid.
Cat Power covering Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone”:
I have thought about this cover in the many, many years since I first clocked it in a Cingular ad, for which this one lonely snippet was recorded. I am not the only person to complain about there not even being a full version released.
“You Don’t Own Me” as performed by the First Wives:
I have cried more than once listening to this.
Selections from the Austin Powers Soundtracks:
While many of these songs can be found individually across their artists’ discographies, some were remixed exclusively for the films and have not been licensed for streaming, including the above version of “What the World Needs Now” featuring The Posies, “These Days” by Luxury…and Smash Mouth’s “Ain’t No Mystery” from Goldmember, which I loved as a pre-teen and have not heard in years. Until today!
Jason Mraz’s Cover of Bright Eyes’ “Kathy With A K’s Song”:
I have no idea how or why this was made and why it has been distributed online with the false title “Love is Real,” but the crescendo halfway through gets me every time. This is the first time I ever heard this song. Imagine my surprise hearing Conor Oberst going the fuck THROUGH it (complimentary, highly) and realizing that he was singing the Mr. A-to-Z song.
Jessie Ware’s “Never Knew Love Like This Before” from I Give It A Year:
Not only did they use a different version of this cover in the film I Give It A Year with different vocal stems, but they didn’t even put that film version on their own soundtrack. In its place is a more subdued, even somber occasion. My guess is that the film’s soundtrack designers blended the two tracks to fit their establishing scene which is, of course, not available on YouTube or anywhere else. I have watched the movie on Hulu just to hear this song. Crazy.
Two Lana del Rey Demos:
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Two Lana tracks I adore that were leaked as demos during my tumblr era and shared with me by Nick, who has some contributions of his own below.
No fucking comment, call my lawyer:
From my entirely too cool friend Avery Mandeville of Little Hag:
“Take Me Away” by Christina Vidal (Pink Slip) (Freaky Friday Soundtrack)
The harmonies! The sass! A perfect rock song! This one defined a generation of rock chicks (me) but in doing some research I discovered it’s a cover by the Australian band Lash (and the original actually rips harder!) But everyone should still sign the petition to bring this to streaming.
Christmas Vacation Theme by Mavis Staples (from Christmas Vacation)
The only covers on streaming feature the vocal stylings of soulless white women. Mavis is a icon and this song deserves to be up there with the All I Want For Christmas Is You’s of the world but has instead been forgotten by the annals of history. Think about the CHEER this would add to your holiday playlists!! I’m buying the Christmas Vacation soundtrack on CD on eBay rn.
Little Hag is working through their issues and has a 3rd album to prove it, out now on Bar/None Records. “Now That’s What I Call Little Hag” aptly showcases the wide ranging songwriting of Avery Mandeville that takes aim at men and The Man. Using 8 producers and studios, they deliver punk rock bangers, deep disco dives, torch songs, folk ballads and much more. Website/Apple/Spotify/Bandcamp/Instagram/TikTok
From “LA Bestie Jason,” as everyone in my life knows him:
For 25 years, Death Cab For Cutie have been serenading the world with songs that masterfully balance the worlds of emo, alternative, and indie rock. Albums Trasatlanticism and Plans have firmly entrenched themselves in the cultural zeitgeist, as millions of fans have found themselves deeply connecting with songs of isolation, lost love, and despair in an unkind world.
Then in 2012 Ben Gibbard released his debut solo album, Former Lives, a record that stood in stark contrast to the previous year’s Death Cab release, Codes & Keys. While the latter record was full of Eno-influenced soundscapes and beats reminiscent of New Order and LCD Soundsystem under lyrics like “but you have seen your darkest rooms/and I have slept in makeshift tombs,” Gibbard’s solo effort was…cheerful? There’s “Teardrop Windows,” a Roy Orbison-style ode to the Seattle skyline; there’s “Lily,” the Barbie to “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”’s Oppenheimer; and then there’s “Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke),” a Tex-Mex ballad with mariachi horns. If you hadn’t been paying attention, you’d have thought Gibbard had lost his edge.
But Gibbard has always been a fan of classic, hook-laden pop music. His second solo album was a full cover of Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque, Death Cab contributed a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Dear Boy” to a RAM tribute compiled by WFMU, and Gibbard even wrote a song for the damn Monkees that was so good, they brought him out to play it with them during a tour stop in Seattle. He’s even gotten to share the stage with Elvis Costello, harmonizing on “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”
Gibbard’s love of sweet melodies with melancholic lyrics is no secret, but there’s one song in particular that, if I had to guess, is deeply embedded in his musical DNA: Kirsty MacColl’s “They Don’t Know.”1 Gibbard performed the song solo and acoustic on KEXP about fifteen years ago. This recording stands on its own, though I’d love the master tape to be cleaned up a hair and given a proper release.
“You’ve been around for such a long time time now, and maybe I could leave you, but I don’t know how…”
Also lil bio:
Jason Berk is a singer/songwriter, musician, and freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He has performed with Cat Power, John Sebastian, and Tim Heidecker, to name a few, and his writing has appeared in publications like Relix Magazine and HITS DailyDouble.
From
, another very cool musician pal:
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Sinéad O'Connor's live performance of "last day of our acquaintance" on SNL — which SNL did their level best to remove from streaming services after the pope thing (aka she called out the Catholic Church for abuse and everyone LITERALLY canceled her and bullied her into having a nervous breakdown and kinda quitting, and SHE WAS RIGHT ABOUT IT ALL). I don't think you can get the live version on streaming anywhere, or even the video itself (except this TikTok). The first time I saw it I was just watching old episodes of SNL that were on tv and I was like "This is the most incredible performer I've ever seen, this is the most incredible voice and it's like an exorcism and coming from a woman who looks queer as hell?! AND she starts it by dedicating it to women? COME ON" it was like the earth moved and became something better. I think about covering it approximately every 3 hours and maybe this is my sign to just do it already. It probably is. SINEAD WAS A GIFT!
You can read more at . Follow Lane's Instagram, Lane's TikTok, or listen to Lane's Band, "It Was Romance" - their next record is coming out in 2025 on Mint Records.
From
, a ENCYCLOPEDIA of diva knowledge:There is no shortage of songs and albums that haven’t made it to streaming yet. Some hail from records that haven’t been remastered/made it to CDs, some from soundtracks/live albums/compilations that just haven’t been prioritized for the digital age, and some are bonus cuts that were licensed exclusively to a specific outlet or country. Others are the remixes that took them to another level, relegated to singles that labels have lost track of over the years. And some are simply unreleased songs that none of us possess; but we know they exist/have heard them in pieces.
Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan, Shania Twain, and Carole King “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” & “Testimony” VH1 Divas Live 1998
Perhaps the single most influential event in my musical existence was the inaugural VH1 Divas Live concert, which took place in April 1998. The show was released on all forms of home media 6 months later in October 1998, but when digital and streaming never made it to the digital world. The entire show is a crucial moment in music, specifically for us gays who thrive on pop divas, specifically the closing performance of “Nautral Woman” and Aretha’s spontaneous gospel encore “Testimony” that led to the infamous Aretha-Celine sing-off.
Brandy & Whitney Houston “Impossible/ It’s Possible” Cinderella 1997
One of the most coveted soundtrack songs has actually lived on SoundCloud, and has for years. I can confirm with authority that this is not a rip from the film and in fact the official recording that otherwise would have been on the soundtrack had it ever been released. And frankly, it being on SoundCloud earning no royalties for the labels exactly what the divas’ record labels deserve, because it was their clashing politics that caused this soundtrack to never see the light of day.2
Aretha Franklin “If I Lose” White Men Can’t Jump Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
I’ve written about this song already- it underscores a pivotal moment in the 1992 film, and it was an inclusion that was fought for and won by the film’s director. “If I Lose” was written by the film’s director and the film’s musical director. It’s also recorded entirely live in the studio; only strings were dubbed in later. This record would sound at home with Aretha’s material from Columbia Records in the early 1960’s. This is straight jazz and she still sounds damn good singing it. It’s one of the true, unknown gems of Aretha’s catalog. It was so resonant that Entertainment Weekly wrote a special piece highlighting it.
Aretha Franklin “A Rose Is Still A Rose (Love To Infinity Club Mix/Rhythm Radio Mix/Kick Mix)” 1998
In 1998, Aretha Franklin formally stepped onto the dance floor, with a slate of mixes to her Lauryn Hill-helmed resurgence, “A Rose Is Still A Rose.” Dance mixes were commissioned, and it was determined that they called for vocals to be re-cut to the accelerated temp. Producers Love To Infinity were tasked with crafting the initial mixes. After Aretha cut her vocals they were also sent to Hex Hector and Johnny Vicious to use for their own mixes. I spoke to Love To Infinity’s Peter Lee in late 2022 and he recounted how surreal the experience was crafting a track for Aretha Franklin to sing over. Her vocal condition in 1997/1998 was miraculous. She’d suffered a diminished range for a decade thanks to years of smoking, but she’d quit in the early 90’s and her voice regained much of what was lost. Her highs were clearer and higher than they’d been since the early 80’s, and these dance mixes allowed her to really flex that restored, superior range.
Tina Turner “Whatever You Want (Todd Terry Remix)” 1995
In the wake of Tina’s passing, I was on the hunt for Tina over a dance beat. I’d already discovered and acquired the dance mix of “Goldeneye,” and heard the 12” mix of “Disco Inferno.” When I encountered Todd Terry’s mix of “Whatever You Want,” I was enraptured. The original is part Bond-theme (and hails from the same era as “Goldeneye”) and part garage/industrial rock. It’s a cool record. Terry crafted a beat so well-fitted that makes it sound like it could be the original. And it’s no easy feat to track down on CD. The mix appeared on a few key discs, including the Australian tour edition of its parent album, Wildest Dreams. It also popped up on a specific pressing of the “Missing You” single. Those are the full mix though, the edit is a pain to find. A YouTube video boasts an exclusive edit that doesn’t seem to exist on CD. A French pressing of the single contains an edit, but it’s not a well-crafted edit. There’s a blatant cut in the beat that detracts from the track. Fortunately, Tina’s albums have been receiving the reissue treatment over the last half decade or so, and Wildest Dreams turns 30 next year. Don’t be surprised if this incredible mix finally arrives on streaming in 2025.
Chick “Demented” Someone’s Ugly Daughter 1995
It’s become one of the most storied albums of recent years. In her 2020 memoir ‘The Meaning of Mariah Carey,’ Mariah Carey revealed that after daytime studio sessions for her 1995 diamond-certified Daydream ended, she spent those same evenings secretly recording a grunge album that was released under the pseudonym ‘Chick,’ three weeks prior to Daydream on September 5, 1995. Her involvement in the barely-known project was a secret for 25 years. Mariah sang with an accent to mask her voice and the label made her bring a friend in to double her lead and further cover up her presence. She vents her frustrations of the suppressed, overly controlled life she’d found herself living. It’s tremendous, raw, and real. The album’s two singles (and music videos) are streaming on YouTube. Of those two, “Demented” is the one where Mariah comes through more prominently. Around 1:01, you can hear Mariah most clearly, on the line “it’s kind of, like playing, spin the bottle.” The entire record (and the storied original recordings with only Mariah’s vocals) need to be released to the world ASAP.
Beyoncé & Lil’ Kim “Naughty Girl” Dangerously In Love 2003
I’ve regularly and authoritatively speculated that Lil’ Kim was meant to be on the album version of this Donna Summer-sampling record. If you read Dangerously In Love’s liner notes, you’ll see Lil’ Kim thanked alongside all the other artists who appear on the album in the ‘producers and writers’ section. And if you pour over every inch of the album’s credits like a 13-year-old me did, you won’t find her name anywhere. The math is simple there. And on top of that, two versions of this collaboration exist, as if being prepared for release. One version contains two verses from the original Queen Bee who floated over the sample and flexed her lyrical prowess as “the rap Madonna.” A second version swaps the opening verse for an ad-libbed introduction in which Lil’ Kim referred to the duo as “the Queen Bees;” a name Kim held since around 1995. It’s the first time on-record that Beyoncé is called “Queen Bee,” almost as if one Queen Bee anointed the other. It came full circle when they converged at the 2023 RocNation Grammy brunch and greeted each other with the moniker.
Ray Charles “Busted”
The bulk of the Ray Charles catalog is not available on streaming services, for what appears to be no good reason. The Ray Charles Estate owns nearly everything after his Atlantic Records years (which are available to stream in their entirety), at which point Ray forged one of the most liberal deals an artist had reached up to that point and retained rights to almost all his masters from new recordings 1960 onward. A few years back, I started scooping up copies of these albums that were reissued back in the 90’s, because I wanted to hear this material in its original body. One of the standout cuts was “Busted” from 1963’s Ingredients In A Recipe For Soul, a country song first released by Johnny Cash less than a year earlier. Ray took the song to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest charting position for the song. He gave it a swinging arrangement, big band horns and a twangy soulfulness that continued the crucial convergence of genres he embarked on with 1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. In true Ray estate fashion, a 2021 compilation called True Genius brought it to streaming; but not the original recording. Instead it’s the version released on 2006’s Ray Sings, Basie Swings, which Frankensteined a 1973 recording with new from the Count Basie Orchestra that purports to be the original, which is slower, shorter, and showcases a shining younger Ray. To add more mystery, the original is on the official Ray Charles YouTube channel, with artwork from a 2003 compilation CD.
Joss Stone & Patti LaBelle “Stir It Up” Chicken Little Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Most instances of an artist remaking their own song pale in comparison to the originals, but this is a rare exception to the rule. Patti LaBelle teamed up with a barely-18-year-old Joss Stone for this remake of her electro-synth cut from the 1984 soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop. The original is positively 80’s, but on this remake, those electric 80’s synths are replaced by wah-ing bass synths and a subtle, but effective organ part. It sounds fresh and updated. And don’t get me started on these two singing together. Pairing them together results in something dynamic. Patti lets loose and the teenage Joss shows that she has the chops to keep up with one of soul’s blueprint vocalists. It’s surreal that this was recorded for the soundtrack to Disney/PIXAR’s 2005 film ‘Chicken Little.’ It feels so much more momentous than that. It’s also one of just two cuts from the soundtrack that is not available to stream.
Mandy Moore “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of The Week” Amanda Leigh 2009
I’ll never forget posting relentlessly about Mandy Moore’s surprising and amazing 2020 LP Silver Landings, and my friend, journalist Hugh McIntyre pointing me to her previous album, 2009’s Amanda Leigh. It’s one of a host of albums released in conjunction with Sony’s RED distribution that have disappeared from/never made it to streaming. The lead single is a punchy, foot-stomping romp with a funky Rhodes and guitar strums that hooked me from the first listen. I’ve played on repeat over and over and over again and it never gets old.
Queen Latifah “Simply Beautiful” The Dana Owens Album 2004
In 2004, Queen Latifah made her formal foray into singing with The Dana Owens Album, which earned her a Grammy nomination and further framed the trailblazing multihyphenate as formidable in the singing category after her Oscar-nominated turn in the film ‘Chicago.’ Her cover of “California Dreamin’” was especially compelling, but it’s her rendition of “Simply Beautiful” that’s the true show-stopper. She captures the yearning spirit of the Al Green classic with ease. And just when you think she’s shown you her best, when she returns after an instrumental break around the 1:40 mark (on the album version), her vocals are suddenly being echoed by the Reverend Al Green himself, the song’s unmistakable originator. It’s spine-tingling.
June Pointer “Keeper Of The Flame” June Pointer 1989
Back in 2021, I stumbled on June Pointer’s self-titled sophomore LP at my local record store with intrigue and asked myself, “I wonder what a June Pointer solo record sounds like.” There’s some cute stuff here but this song, which sounds like “Eye Of The Tiger” meets “Message In A Bottle” with a flourish of “Fame” (coincidentally Irene Cara is singing background vocals on the song), grabbed hold of me and still refuses to let go. The beat has a militant flair as Pointer marches like a soldier of love into a driving chorus with a melody that’s pure ear candy. Oh, and if there was any doubt of its impact, a key change after the bridge seals the deal.
Ryan Beatty “Stay Gold” 2016
I barely paid Ryan Beatty any mind until he came out of the closet in 2016, because when he did so, he sonically graduated from a young Bieber descendant to a 20-something with a few things to say. This track rock-edged, was released exclusively on Spotify later that same year. It was never available anywhere to purchase or download, and let this serve as a warning. One day it was there, and the next it just disappeared. It was nowhere to be found on the internet until somehow, some way, years later it reappeared. Someone dug into some metadata and dug out a medium quality rip to satisfy starved palettes.
has had something to say about music since 1998. He is slowly but steadily writing his way through Aretha Franklin's catalog, one song at a time, at 365daysofaretha.com and keeping her legacy alive across the socials at @365daysofaretha. He's writing about everyone else (and some more Aretha, for good measure) on his Substack ( ). Catch him across the social stratosphere (at your own peril) at @SoulAtlantic.
From Mike Duquette, one of my very best friends and proprietor of Duque’s Delight and The Second Disc:
Asking me to think about songs or albums that aren’t streaming is like asking Jake Paul to act like an asshole: it’s just something I do already. For 15 years, I’ve parlayed my enthusiasm for the art and craft of catalogue music into both hobby and job; on my website, The Second Disc, we publish a Saturday column called The Weekend Stream highlighting digitally out-of-print treasures making their way to streaming or download partners. Rarely a week goes by without me throwing up my hands and going “WHY is this missing from Apple Music?” The idea of “everything in recorded history” being available for dollars - with fractions of pennies going to artists (don’t spend it all in one place now!) - is a laughable one indeed. If I had a hand on the steering wheel, here are a few things I’d make available immediately.
The Beatles in mono. When The Fab Four’s catalog made its splashy debut on CD in 1987, several momentous things happened. Their discography was standardized mostly to what was released in the U.K. - most of those albums were cannibalized and reconfigured for the American market - and a variety of mixes were utilized. The first four records were released on disc in mono, Help! and Rubber Soul were offered in new stereo mixes, and the rest were issued in their original stereo versions. But The Beatles were only creating albums for honest-to-God stereo sound toward their last few years together - so when the albums were again remastered in 2009, the big draw was a limited box set that featured all the mono mixes of 10 original albums (and a collection of non-album material), together on CD for the first time. Since then, the group has remixed many of their latter albums with a fresh stereo approach, but the only way to hear ‘em the way God and George Martin intended is if you’ve got a copy of that box set.
The Beatles- Nowhere Man (Mono Version)
Squeeze’s B-side story. Known for their signature oh-I-know-that-one radio staple “Tempted,” U.K. band Squeeze have developed a cult following for bandmates Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook’s deeply catchy, very British popcraft. (I saw them open for Daryl Hall & John Oates at Madison Square Garden weeks before COVID-19 shut the world down, and they wiped the floor with those dudes.) Their discography is kind of infamous among hardcore fans for being treated bizarrely on CD and digital: at least two campaigns to remaster and expand their albums have stalled, each time featuring different albums and accompanying collections of rarities and outtakes - and little of it has made it to streaming. That includes B-sides that were issued on CD (the aching, mandolin-led “Maidstone,” a killer alternative version of ‘70s album cut “Model,” the horn-infused nuclear nightmare “What Have They Done?”) as well as ones that weren’t, like a ripping EP-only version of early single “Goodbye Girl” or a great song they gave to British pub band Rockpile (“Wrong Again (Let’s Face It)”) that only got released on a flimsy flexi-disc.
We’ve got it together, baby. Plenty of things stay on vinyl for collectors to treasure, but it doesn’t seem right when those “things” are exciting versions of songs by one of the most romantic voices of all time. Barry White’s soul basso powered plenty of romantic moments in the ‘70s and beyond, and he was only four albums into his career when Barry White’s Greatest Hits was released in 1975. But a white-label promo version, labeled “For Disco DJs Only,” featured unique versions of classic singles like “Never, Ever Gonna Give Ya Up,” “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything,” offering unique, sometimes continuous mixes and even alternate vocals of seven great songs from his catalog. Nobody’s even ripped it from vinyl for YouTube - but a pressing for Record Store Day could be cool, seeing as how the set turns 50 this year.
You're The First, The Last, My Everything (Edit)
Dance like a Boss. Only inspiration or insanity could get people to throw down in the club to Bruce Springsteen. Remixer Arthur Baker, who worked with everyone from Cyndi Lauper to New Order in the ‘80s, used a little of both when Springsteen commissioned not one, not two, but three dance mixes of singles from 1984’s Born in the U.S.A.: “Dancing in the Dark,” “Cover Me” (featuring an alternate, dub-style bass line and vocal ad-libs from singer Jocelyn Brown, who you might know from this track) and the album’s title track. Each of these 12” singles helped turn Springsteen into a pop juggernaut, but they’re more or less hidden in plain sight for anyone but the most devoted cratediggers. (Baker was kind enough to share his memories of these remixes in an interview with me for Born in the U.S.A.’s 40th anniversary this past summer.)
Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark (Extended 12" Blaster Mix) (Audiophile High Quality)
The majesty of The Maestro. Look, it’s not hard to seek out the most memorable themes of film composer John Williams. All his big ones are there just the way you might expect. But there are better versions out there. Let me explain as easily as I can: for the last two decades, various labels have worked to release archival quality versions of his film scores and many others, including alternate takes or arresting themes and cues that never ended up on the original soundtrack albums. Thanks to a confusing combination of record label and film studio contracts - Universal Music Group and Universal Pictures aren’t owned by the same company, but Sony Music and Sony Pictures are - along with fastidious rules for musician’s unions, these expanded versions come out on CD and vinyl in extremely limited quantities, with rarely a thought spared for other formats. So if you want a better mix of the score to JAWS, a chance to hear hours of music from Hook (including demos that indicated the film was nearly an all-out musical, or a version of Return of the Jedi that actually has the songs featured in current versions of the movie, you’re going to have to go hunting. This’ll probably never change, but stranger things have happened.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Victory Celebration-End Title
Mike Duquette is a writer and music obsessive whose work has appeared in Allmusic, Observer and Ultimate Classic Rock. He has written liner notes for Mondo and Cherry Red and covers music reissues on his website The Second Disc as well as other cultural detritus on his newsletter Duque’s Delight. He lives in Astoria, NY with his wife, increasingly ambulatory twin daughters and a handsome cat.
From Nick, who I skipped my own prom to eat food court cheesesteaks and watch 2009’s Star Trek with, one of my oldest and best friends in the entire world, who will someday get me banned from one of the shi-shi movie revival houses in New York for our Statler and Waldorfing:
Britney Spears’ “Over To You Now.” A euphemistic club banger about the wonders of anal sex, co-written and produced by Frou Frou and Robyn? I don't know what's worse: that this masterpiece is unavailable for legal streaming or that it was only a bonus track on the Japanese pressing of the Britney and Kevin: Chaotic soundtrack.
From
:When a song or a collection of songs is not available on streaming, I feel vindicated, for, you see, I still buy CDs (there are dozens of us, we'll get the last laugh, etc.) But luckily for you, there are saints who have uploaded this stuff to YouTube (and in one case, Bandcamp), so you can still hear it without having to buy a car from before 2019.
If you're not hip to The Move, you need to change that. In fact, 2025 is right around the corner—make it your resolution. Psychedelic, hard-rockin' '60s pop that goes toe-to-toe with stuff by bands from that era who are household names. Now, a good amount of that is available to stream. But not these two smashers from the final era of the band, right before they morphed into a little act called Electric Light Orchestra. That's right, an up-and-coming Jeff Lynne is on these A-sides. But make no mistake: these joints came straight outta one of the greatest brains in music history, Roy Wood's. I can't wait for you to hear the hooks of both songs—really their whole presentation, which can best be described as pot-era Beatles, but with Ozzy on lead vocals.
Elvis Costello - Everyday I Write the Book (Alternate Version)
Elvis Costello - Punch the Clock Demos
This YouTube playlist is the entire bonus disc of the 2003 Rhino reissue of Elvis Costello's 1983 album Punch the Clock. But I want you to focus on Track 1, and then Tracks 11-21. You need the context first, though: Punch the Clock is an Elvis Costello LP that is not essential—very dated '80s production being chief among its problems, seeing as Elvis Costello is best served timeless. The bonus disc rectifies this right out the gate with a "merseybeat" alternate version of "Everyday I Write the Book". Yes, we lose out on the great female backing vocals of one of Costello's biggest hits, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for this smoother, more upbeat, more rock combo-oriented version.
Then we skip over to Tracks 11-21, the Punch the Clock demos. These tracks are him, as the kids say; they are, in my book, the best collection of songs Declan MacManus ever laid down. Imagine what his version of Springsteen's Nebraska would be and you're on the right track. You got the man, his acoustic guitar (sometimes his piano), his lead vocal, his one allotted track of overdubbed harmony—he wrote in the liner notes that, at the time of these demos, he was really into two-parters, like those sung by Don and Phil Everly and then Lennon and McCartney—tape hiss, heartache, and bulletproof songs. I can't believe that they sat on the shelf for 20 years and neither will you.
Phantom Planet - Please Apply Yourself to Me Sweetly
If I can only stand on one music-related soapbox, let it be this one: Phantom Planet are so much more than "California", aka the theme song to The OC. From their first album to the present, they have made some of the best pop-rock music since the bespectacled British songwriter I just talked about (who is clearly one of their heroes). A bounty of bangers awaits you on streaming. But not this one, from a fan club-only CD called Polaroids. In just over two minutes, original drummer—thee Jason Schwartzman—pounds the fuck out of the drums like they owe him money and songwriter Alex Greenwald delivers melodies that would have Rivers Cuomo punching air for not coming up with them first.
The Certain Someones - Sad Salvation
There's not enough room here for me to yap about the band Sloan—I've already hogged up too much of Tara's valuable real estate. So if you want to hear about who this band is and how they're the greatest since The Beatles, I'll direct you to this essay I wrote. But you better come back here, consarn it! Oh, and forget what I said about The Move; make Sloan your priority in 2025. Anyway, I bring them up because this track is by a short-lived Canadian supergroup (with an all-time name, The Certain Someones), which features Sloan's Chris Murphy, The Super Friendz'/The Flashing Lights' Matt Murphy (no relation), and Jale's Jennifer Pierce. You really don't need to know their respective bands to appreciate it, but I'd be remiss if I didn't reference them because they all need to be heard. As does Chris and Matt's band TUNS, itself another Canadian supergroup, with Mike O'Neill of The Inbreds. Are you taking notes? Back to the matter at hand, "Sad Salvation". It lives somewhere between The Who's "I Can't Explain" and Deerhoof if they were more accessible. It's constantly stuck in my head.
The Beatles - Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
If you can believe it, there's officially-released Beatles music that is not on streaming services. This 1967 holiday throwaway—The Beatles' only actual original Christmas song, mind you—comes from the 1995 "Free as a Bird" single. Of course, it's The Beatles, so by "throwaway" I mean "still better than many bands' best". But let's just say it sounds like a good first draft with some nice ideas. So why am I including it on such a prestigious list? Two words: Ringo's drumming.
Aaron Pinto is an obsessive writer of and about music. About: see Aaronvision. Of: check out his debut full- length,2024's double album, Aaron Pinto, which Poprock Record calls "a sprawling 30-song statement of artistic intent, a musical manifesto of sorts that vibes punk, sixties throwbacks, and DIY power pop."
TARA NOTE: This is why I love Jason so much, because I don’t think I even knew he knew who Kirsty MacColl was, and then he introduced me to a cover of one of my favorite artists by one of my favorite artists. I didn’t know about this! I love Jason!
A note from Tara: my ass will hit the FLOOR laughing every time I think of Whitney saying “Why are you down there?” in the behind-the-scenes footage for this soundtrack:
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I check my local streaming service *weekly* to see if Kendrick Lamar’s 6:16 in LA because sometimes it appears as a bootleg under another artist’s name, but most often it’s just not streamable which sucks for me personally because it’s the prettiest diss track and the soaring instrumental makes me feel like I can climb mountains. I heard that Al Green wouldn’t clear the sample because he used to work with Drake’s father, or something, and I would really really really like if the reverend would let me add it to my Beef playlist.
One more to add: Sugar High from Empire Records but with Renee Zellweger’s vocals! The Coyote Shivers song is streaming minus Renee which is a goddam crime. Someone on YouTube made a mix of the one true version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCDV_XsXeig