"CLEAN" DEPECHE MODE (1990)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Violator is considered by many fans to be Depeche Mode’s greatest album – and it’s hard to argue with that. While there are at least three other albums that deserve this accolade – Black Celebration, Music For The Masses and Songs Of Faith And Devotion – Violator chronicles a band at the height of their powers. DM achieved massive commercial success in the U.S. with three of the album’s singles – “Personal Jesus”, “Enjoy The Silence” and “Policy Of Truth”. But they also stayed true to their dark, ominous persona throughout Violator, which is celebrated best in the final track on the U.S. release: “Clean”.

“Clean” is a huge fan favorite. A song that sounds equally great on headphones and big speakers, but truly comes alive in concert. The synth bass prowls. The drone sounds swarm. The drum machine mimics relentless nails in a coffin. The synth notes are estranged in one part and symphonic in another. As for the lyrics, this is Gore to the core. And then there’s Gahan’s vocals. His low, baritone range fits perfectly within the zone of “Clean”. What a way to end an album. And what a way to leave fans wanting more.

“I've broken my fall, put an end to it all. I've changed my routine. now I'm clean.”

"THE OCEAN" LED ZEPPELIN (1973)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Start strong. End strong. This simple concept worked wonders for Houses Of The Holy – an album that kicked off with one banger, “The Song Remains The Same”, and then closed out with another in “The Ocean”. A bit of nostalgia, this is one of the Zeppelin anthems that made me a fan for life. It was like a loaded shot of testosterone for me as a teen. I remember hearing it for the first time in my friend Scott’s pickup truck. And, boy, was it a pick-me-up. I’ll go as far as to say I think it’s a bit underrated and underappreciated among the band’s heavy hitters.

“The Ocean” takes the rulebook on time signatures and throws it out the window with its iconic two-bar guitar riff from the riffmaster Jimmy Page. It’s also a track of excess – but I consider that a strength in this case. The lack of restraint serves the song well with a key turning point in the song: a baptism by doo-wop at the 3:17 mark where everything – the drums, guitar and bass – suddenly go rollicky and the wheels come off. A powerful statement of a closer if I ever heard one.

“Singing about good things and the sun that lights the day. I used to sing on the mountains, has the ocean lost its way?”

"BEDSHAPED" KEANE (2004)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

The beauty of Hopes And Fears extends beyond the fact that each song in itself is exceptional. The near-perfect sequence in which the tracks are ordered is just as essential. The album starts with a triumphant entrance in “Somewhere Only We Know”. From there, it follows an arc of catchy mid-tempo tracks (“This Is The Last Time”, “Bend & Break”), slows down briefly for a ballad (“We Might As Well Be Strangers”) before picking things up again (“Everything’s Changing”). This roller-coaster arc repeats itself, culminating in one of the band’s finest songs ever recorded: “Bedshaped”.

The song juxtaposes an icy intro on the synthesizer with the sweltering vocals in the chorus. And then there’s the unforgettable arpeggios on the piano that give the song an equal dose of hope and fear – a theme that Keane examines throughout the entire track list. In a big year for rock, “Bedshaped” and the entire Hopes And Fears album distinguished themselves by reimagining the delicacy and bravado of the piano.

“You'll follow me back With the sun in your eyes And on your own. Bedshaped on legs of stone.”

"ALL APOLOGIES" NIRVANA (1993)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

The overwhelming significance of a closing track from a band like Nirvana is not lost on me. There’s a heaviness that can’t be denied. On the US release of In Utero, “All Apologies” appears as the last track. While the UK version came with an additional song, this is the track that many Americans attribute as Kurt Cobain’s final statement. While it was actually written in 1990 – even before Nevermind was released – it still sits at the end of the line: the last song on the band’s last studio album. The gravity of this ending is felt eerily and awfully on the heels of Cobain’s death.

“All Apologies” follows the music structure of many other Nirvana anthems with its quiet-loud-quiet dynamic. This lets the masterful melody shine in the verses, an underrated aspect of Cobain’s songwriting. But, just as vital to Nirvana’s sound, it also enables the screaming in the angst-filled chorus to reach boiling point. The emotion and sense of hopelessness explodes repeatedly. This is not an act. It’s more than a song. It’s like a hand-scrawled page ripped out of Cobain’s journal.

“I wish I was like you. Easily amused. Find my nest of salt. Everything is my fault.”

"ONLY MEMORIES REMAIN" MY MORNING JACKET (2015)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

There’s a certain crop of music artists that I’m slightly ashamed to say I ignored due to a strong repulsion to their band names. My Morning Jacket is one of them. What a grave mistake to pass on a band of such stature because the name was a little too soft and un-rock & roll for me. This caused me to miss out on the band’s output for well over a decade. By the time The Waterfall was released, I turned away from my transgressions – and became a fan for life. The music and vocals of Jim James have filled a void in my music listening repertoire – and they’ve done it with bangers as well as slow jams like “Only Memories Remain”.

As appropriate a closer as any out there, “Only Memories Remain” feels like the track doesn’t roll out until the wee hours of an epic, all-night jam. It sounds like the kind of music a band plays after it has used up all its energy, yet refuses to stop playing. Jim James serenades to the listeners while seemingly lost in a foggy haze. The guitars, like on many My Morning Jacket tracks, cry out and lament that the past is the past and what’s done is done.

“The names and places have all been changed, But the identity remains the same. As time and space do what they will, The spirit, so vogue, can never be killed.”

"OPEN BOOK" JOSE GONZALEZ (2015)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

In the hectic pace of daily life, the music of Jose Gonzalez has been a source of respite for me. Whether it’s putting on one his albums or going to a show, his music is best appreciated in silence and wonder. A reminder to slow down, process everything that’s around me, and everything that has led up to this moment. Vestiges & Claws is an album full of reflective, coming-of-age songs. The track “Open Book” is placed delicately in the final track position like a punctuation mark.

Across his body of work, the intricate guitar musings of Jose Gonzalez remains one of his strong suits. The finger picking is a marvel to behold – something designed for the listener to get lost in. “Open Book” is simultaneously an open book and a mysterious sign. After listening to it, I wonder for a moment if I’m a bit older and wiser than before. And, in many ways, this is something to expect when listening to just about any other song of his.

“I feel just like an open book, Exposing myself in this neighborhood. Talking to people as if I'd knew them well. Thinking that everyone has come through different kinds of hell.”

"ECLIPSE" PINK FLOYD (1973)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Much has been said of Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety. It’s a prog rock magnum opus that blended elements of soul and rock so ingeniously. Much has also been said about the marquee tracks: “Brain Damage”, “Money”, “Us And Them” and, of course, “Time”. But every individual track on the album – and the sequence in which they appear – are equally important to the power that Dark Side yields. There may not be a better example of this than the closer “Eclipse”.

Thematically and musically, “Eclipse” is right where it needs to be on the album. Lyrically, it’s the closing statement on an album that relies heavily on its concept theme. It would seem to make little sense if it was placed in another track order. This is also the case in terms of its instrumental composition. It has the structure of a coda – the tail end of a musical masterpiece that seems irrelevant without the greatness that preceded it.

“And all that is now, And all that is gone, And all that's to come, And everything under the sun is in tune. But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.”

"LEIF ERICKSON" INTERPOL (2002)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Turn On The Bright Lights, in retrospect, seems to garner even more accolades for its contributions to the post-punk revival movement than when it was first released. It was such an important album coming off the heels of 9/11. To this day, it’s viewed by many to be the best Interpol record from beginning to end. (Not for me though, that would be Antics). TOTBL is full of grating, rhythmic bangers that cut to the bone. They are anthems of early 2000s indie rock. And the track that I turn back to over and over again is one of the lesser celebrated ones: the closer “Leif Erickson”.

Images of navigating murky waters in the bedroom at the dead of night are conjured up every time I hear it. Kessler’s and Banks’ guitars weave in and out like they’re making love to each other. Meanwhile, Carlos D (God, I miss this guy) and Fogarino lay down a rhythmic bed that ships you off to sea in your pajamas and all. As a closing track, it leaves a certain taste in your mouth and a sense of anticipation of what’s to come next for this very important band.

“She says it helps with the lights out. Her rabid glow is like braille to the night.”

"FOOLS GOLD" THE STONE ROSES (1989)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

The Stone Roses was one of those bands that made me want to be in a band myself. They didn’t last long, but for a couple of years, it seemed like they were almost larger than life. They paved new musical territory and are considered by many to be the catalysts of the Madchester scene. The debut album is one of my Top Ten albums of all time, and several of the songs are among some of my favorites. At the top of that list is the infectious “Fools Gold”.

Highly unusual, the album version of the song clocked in at nearly ten minutes. It was the last song on the debut album, serving as the coda to a brilliant record. It was all funk, all beats. While many rhythm sections do their thing in the background, Mani and Reni were often thrusted into the foreground — and “Fools Gold” was their song. The bass line cascades down and the trippy snare hits are relentless. John Squire adds the funk with his wah-wah effects while Ian Brown murmurs a story about the unlikely perils of searching for gold with friends. Every song on the band’s debut album seemed to be a brash statement — and on “Fools Gold” the band used the rhythm to deliver it.

“The gold road's sure a long road. Winds on through the hills for fifteen days. The pack on my back is aching. The straps seem to cut me like a knife.”

"WHITE CHRISTMAS" FRANK SINATRA (1948)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

Many versions of “White Christmas” have been recorded and performed over the years. But, for me, one rises to the top and remains the benchmark after all these years. Sinatra doesn’t overdo it here. Not that he typically does, but he does have the tendency to croon on some of his other recordings. What’s beautiful about this rendition of “White Christmas” is Sinatra just lets his natural baritone and the power of the melody do its thing. Nothing forced. It’s a recording of remarkable restraint, and that’s why I love it.

“I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know. Where the treetops glisten And children listen To hear sleigh bells in the snow.”

"MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY" BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

I believe Christmas is far better off without having to hear the Boss’ version of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” incessantly. After Mariah Carey’s commercial darling, it’s probably the Christmas song of the season I loathe the most. That’s why “Merry Christmas Baby” is so important. Because Springsteen is so important. He’s still the accomplished singer-songwriter with a knack for performing on stage. “Merry Christmas Baby” as a live recording is a powerful reminder of this without the over-indulgences of his more popularized Christmas tune.

“Now you see, I feel real good tonight. And I got music on the radio. And I feel good tonight.”

"SILENT NIGHT" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2020)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

“Silent Night” is, in many ways, the perfect marriage of traditional Christmas carol and the moody, atmospheric musicality of Sharon Van Etten. This unique musicality starts and ends with Van Etten’s trademark vocal delivery, but the way in which the synthesizers are used in this rendition play an important role as well. “Silent Night” is traditionally sung in quiet reflection. The last Christmaa hymn at a Christmas Eve candlelight service. But here, Van Etten adds an ominous presence to the song, enabling it to linger on long after the last note is sung.

“Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing alleluia. Christ the Savior is born.”

"WONDERFUL CHRISTMASTIME" PAUL MCCARTNEY (1979)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

“Wonderful Christmastime” was the song that paved the way for synth-based holiday tracks and the chillwave genre. It has been ubiquitous for several decades now, to the point where it’s easy to forget how ahead of the times this track was when it was first released. There was an irony about it with its monotonous, repetitive nature. The drum machine was accentuated by bells, the synth parts evoked a futuristic North Pole vibe, and McCartney’s vocals were like a Christmas caroling choir at one moment and a grandfather clock at another.

“THE MOON IS RIGHT. THE SPIRITS UP. WE'RE HERE TONIGHT. AND THAT'S ENOUGH.”

"LAST CHRISTMAS" FUTURE ISLANDS (2022)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

This is my new, favorite version of the Wham! Christmas classic. This Future Islands remake is like a fresh blanket of snow. Updated for the times, Herring sings a full octave lower than George Michael’s original vocal output. Future Islands pays homage to the holiday song without veering far from the original. The synthesizers shimmer more like LED than fluorescent, but the melody is still the melody and the lyrics and still the lyrics.

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart. But the very next day you gave it away. This year, To save me from tears I'll give it to someone special.”

"THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY" JOHNNY CASH (1963)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

Cash’s deep baritone vocals is always the highlight on any of his recordings – from “Ring of Fire” to “Hurt”. But it’s appropriate that the second most iconic aspect of “The Little Drummer Boy” from Cash’s first Christmas album is the drum part. It’s notable that the drum kit sounds raw, basic and unpolished – almost unsuitable for a recording of this stature. But this is Johnny Cash. There’s no flair or production finagling. It’s all about the rawness and gravity of the nativity moment. The gift presented to baby Jesus, after all, isn’t about instrument’s quality, it’s solely about the gift of music.

“Come they told me (pa-rum pum pum pum). A newborn King to see (pa-rum pum pum pum). Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum pum pum pum.”

"O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL" FUTURE OF FORESTRY (2013)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

Over a five-year period, Future of Forestry put together their Advent Christmas EP series. Out of that came a collection of highly reflective, meditative Christmas songs that are more suited to listen to in solitude than in a crowded shopping mall or holiday party. “O Come All Ye Faithful” keeps the reason for the season central, sung and performed in undeniable reverence. The intricate layers of instrumentation are a thing of beauty as the song ushers the listener into a state of adoration. But it’s at the 2:34 mark where my mind is blown with an unexpectedly vigorous guitar-led conclusion.

“SING, CHOIRS OF ANGELS. SING IN EXULTATION. SING, ALL YE CITIZENS OF HEAVEN ABOVE. GLORY TO GOD. ALL GLORY IN THE HIGHEST. O COME, LET US ADORE HIM.”

"DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?" BAND AID (1984)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

The soundtrack to our lives often hit an emotional crescendo around the holidays. The songs remind us of childhood. Of family. Of friends. Of home. The famine in Ethiopia seemed worlds way from my Christmas experience. But there’s something powerfully uniting about this Band Aid classic. This song is a sobering reminder that Christmas was never about gifts and decorations. It was never about us. It’s a story of the world. Written and spearheaded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, it had a Christmas sound to it. But the lyrics told a different, more powerful Christmas story. This was Christmas with a social conscience, indelibly etched into my childhood.

“AT CHRISTMAS TIME, WE LET IN LIGHT AND WE BANISH SHADE.”

"CAROL OF THE BELLS" THE WESTMINSTER CHOIR (2011)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

This is the kind of Christmas song that lingers on in your head long after you’ve heard it. By stripping out all the instrumentation, the Westminster Choir’s version of “Carol Of The Bells” may be the most powerful rendition ever recorded. All focus is on the ensemble of voices that become the instruments themselves. It’s about the high ceiling acoustics. It’s about the electric crescendo. It’s about that lingering feeling inside of you long after Christmas ends. It’s a song that only a group as talented as The Westminster Choir can truly pull off.

“HARK HOW THE BELLS. SWEET SILVER BELLS. ALL SEEM TO SAY. THROW CARES AWAY.”

"HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS" CAT POWER (2013)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

A slowed down version of this Christmas music standard seems right up Chan Marshall’s alley. Somber, reflective, understated vocals float like thick snowflakes across a wintry landscape of stark, echoey piano chords. Sounds just like another Cat Power song, right? Sinatra, Buble and Judy Garland may all have more popular versions of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, but Marshall made the song more personal and intimate, like a heartfelt letter written to a loved one.

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light From now on. Our troubles will be out of sight.”

"MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING" CARPENTERS (1970)

So much of the Christmas season, for me, is all about the music. I have no problems with you if you want to start your Christmas celebrations a little early. After Halloween seems excessive. After Thanksgiving is fair game. Then let’s bring on the real Christmas songs and the fake ones, too. I don’t discriminate. From Dec 16-31, it’s all Christmas music playing on Mental Jukebox.

There are two kinds of Christmas songs that I love. One kind I seek out intentionally. The other kind are the songs that find me. This Carpenters classic is one of the latter. A Christmas staple in every way, but mainly because of Karen Carpenter’s warm, inviting lead vocals. If you follow my blog, you might be a little surprised to see this song featured here. It is, after all, a bit on the nose. Maybe too mainstream for its own good. But screw it. I get the warm fuzzies every time I hear Karen Carpenter sing it. And what’s Christmas without the warm fuzzies?

“But I can dream. And in my dreams I'm Christmasing with you.”