The Ledge #472: Songs About Records

There are times where a potential theme for a show pops up out of nowhere. This week's episode of The Ledge is a perfect example. This past Wednesday afternoon I was on my way to a local record store, accompanied by a great power pop playlist on Spotify. Suddenly, a song came on that I hadn't heard in many years. The tune was "I Need That Record" by Tweeds, a great under-appreciated 70's power pop band  Besides the fact that this title was exactly why I was in my car at the time, it lit up a little light bulb in my head about a show devoted to songs about my favorite objects, records.

It didn't take long to put together the playlist. Wilco's "Boxful of Letters" was an obvious pick. As were tunes by Todd Snider, Supersuckers, Nick Lowe, and Elvis Costello. iTunes searches came up with a vast majority of the rest of the tracks.

But it was the discovery of an old Wreckless Eric track that secured the idea of this show. "33s + 45s" deals with the aftermath of a breakup, and the inevitable splitting of the music library. These lines hit me hard:

"My dismantled living room full of your home

Packed up in cardboard boxes

Spaces in the record shelves where you've taken what was yours

And possibly some of mine"

After going through a list of some of those great records that were the soundtrack of fantastic memories, Eric adds the perfect explanation for those that don't understand the mentality of the record nerd:

"This might be so much fucking plastic to you or anybody else

But to me it's everything

This is my life

Thirty-threes and forty-fives"

Or, as the Guinea Worms sang in the concluding song of the show, "(There's really nothing better than a) Box of Records"!

After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion! You can find this show at almost any podcast site, including iTunes and Stitcher...or

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!

1. Todd Snider, Vinyl Records

2. Wreckless Eric, 33s + 45s

3. Wilco, Box Full of Letters

4. Built to Spill, Fake Records of Rock & Roll

5. Matt Mays, 78's, 33's & 45's

6. The Hold Steady, Records & Tapes 

7. Elvis Costello, 45

8. Nick Lowe, I Love My Label

9. Tweeds, I Need That Record

10. Cheap Trick, Surrender

11. Brian Setzer, Vinyl Records

12. Aletha & The Memories, The Worst Record In The World

13. Moose Jackson with Tiny Bradshaw's Orchestra, Big Ten-Inch Record

14. Tom Tall, Stack-a-Records

15. Cheap Gunslingers, Record Store

16. The Cheap Cassettes, Black Vinyl!

17. The Shang Hi Los, Skipping Records

18. Freeloader, Ten Songs Make an Album

19. The Reds, Pinks and Purples, The Record Player and the Damage Done

20. Boston Spaceships, Make a Record for Lo-Life

21. Ill Bill and the Spinal Chills, Daddy I Want an Album, Too

22. Open Sound, Girl With a Record Collection

23. Milk 'n' Cookies, Buy This Record

24. The Lasts, I Stole Your Records

25. The Strungs, Listening to Your Twenty Year Old Records

26. The Brags, Vinyl

27. Thee Wylde Oscars, Seven Inch Record

28. Supersuckers, Rock-n-Roll Records (Ain't Selling This Year)

29. Visitors, (I Love My) Rock and Roll Record

30. The Thorazines, This Song Is The First Song On Our New Album

31. The Persian Leaps, About Your Record

32. The Media Whores, Vinyl Head

33. Guinea Worms, (there's really nothing better than a) Box of Records