Welcome, Guest

Staff Picks

See All

On The List: Wooden Wand

Wooden Wand Guest List

Email This

Tracks

1. The Handsome Family - After We Shot the Grizzly

The Handsome Family once wrote a song that nearly made me cry. This one does too, but for an entirely different reason – this time it’s because I know I’ll never, ever, ever write anything this good.

Buy: Amazon iTunes

2. Wyrd Visions - Freezing Moon

Met this guy in Toronto and his music has been the soundtrack to most of my long drives since, especially this track, a Mayhem cover. Totally meditative, unnerving drone-folk puts most New Weird Americans to shame.

iTunes

3. Jerry Jeff Walker - Well of the Blues

I don’t wanna let the cat out of the bag here, but I’ll probably be covering this one on my next album, or the one after. I was always a peripheral fan of Jerry Jeff Walker, but Donovan Skygreen recently played me this song on a rickety old phonograph in his living room, and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. Jerry Jeff always sounds as if he just took a hit of a vaporizer, and his band is always amazing. The perfect song? Yes.

4. Robyn Hitchcock - Executioner

Really tough to pick just one song from my favorite Robyn Hitchcock album, Eye, but I picked this one because it has the line "I’m doing this for free / just like Live Aid" in it. This album has been a tremendous influence on my writing and I hope that’s apparent.

Buy: Amazon

5. Bob Dylan - Up To Me

Approximately an outtake from Blood on the Tracks, which can be found on the Biograph box thing. Why this was left off the album is a mystery to me – one of his best 'woe is me' songs.

Buy: Amazon iTunes

6. Blind Willie Johnson - Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying

Blind Willie’s inimitable voice, gruff as ever, is accompanied by very strange background vocals that sound vaguely Bollywood on this lonesome masterpiece.

Buy: Amazon iTunes

7. Melvins - Zodiac

One of the grooviest, most riveting Melvins jams, with a particularly killer vocal from King Buzzo.

Buy: Amazon iTunes

8. Junior Kimbrough - I'm In Love

Eight minutes – one riff. This whole album smokes, but this track in particular takes Hooker’s Endless Boogie and runs with it to Mars. Once again the old timers show us new jacks how it’s done. Heaviosity.

Buy: Amazon iTunes

9. Michael Chapman - Lady on the Rocks/Song for September

I’ve been on a big Michael Chapman kick. I love his voice, and I especially love the batshit 'chorus' effect on the guitar solo near the end of this song.

Buy: Amazon

10. Esoteric - Bereft

Not the hip hop dude who partners with 7L, but a heavy as hell drug-doom band of English derelicts. Way proggier and more psychedelic than Electric Wizard, with a distinctive death metal vibe on the vocals. Total wastoid metal for rainy days.

11. David Bromberg - Diamond Lil

I generally don't like David Bromberg's music, but I'm a fan of epics and this song is a damn good epic, in the high lonesome tradition. Seek it out.

Buy: Amazon

Buy It

Wooden Wand James and the Quiet New from: $7.65 Used from: $1.78

Buy from Amazon.com

Wooden Wand Harem of the Sundrum & the Witness Figg New from: $11.90 Used from: $4.18

Buy from Amazon.com

Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band Second Attention New from: $10.46 Used from: $6.44

Buy from Amazon.com

On The List Archive

Bowerbirds Deer Tick Arthur & Yu Opsvik & Jennings Deerhunter Lightning Dust Odawas Menomena Mary Weiss The Broken West Papercuts Baby Dayliner Currituck Co. Field Music Jana Hunter Citay Vetiver The Flaming Lips Wooden Wand Megan Reilly Samara Lubelski Great Lakes Eric Matthews Grizzly Bear The Clientele Starlight Mints The Essex Green Aloha Radar Bros. Shapes and Sizes Work Clothes Kelley Stoltz Silver Jews Dressy Bessy Elf Power [MORE...]

Staff Picks

On The List: Wooden Wand

Wooden Wand Guest List

Tracks

Links

Buy It

On The List Archive