Spitball Army

Hey, listen: I didn’t say it.

But, buried subtly (and, in a few cases, not so subtly) within these eighteen very fine pop songs, is the dreaded f-bomb, used mostly in an understandable context and without gratuitousness. If I wanted to put together a playlist that carpet-bombed the listener, it would contain only rap and metal. You will find none of that here. I myself was somewhat shocked to hear Joni Mitchell drop the bomb many years ago in a live recording and, only recently, realized that it wasn’t improvisation – it’s on the studio recording, as well (heard below).

Needless to say, this playlist is NSFW. There may also be appearances of the s-bomb and the c-word (in “Never Say Never”), so be forewarned.

Approximate playing time: 77 minutes.

1. Ben Folds  “Rockin’ the Suburbs”  (2001)
2. Destroyer  “European Oils”  (2006)
3. Steely Dan  “Show Biz Kids”  (1973)
4. Radiohead  “Creep”  (1993)
5. Pretenders  “Precious”  (1980)
6. Romeo Void  “Never Say Never”  (1982)
7. World Party  “I Want to Be Free”  (1994)
8. Harry Nilsson  “You’re Breakin’ My Heart”  (1972)
9. Joni Mitchell  “Woman of Heart and Mind”  (1972)
10. Lucinda Williams  “Essence”  (2001)
11. Amy Winehouse  “Me and Mr. Jones”  (2006)
12. The Rolling Stones  “Some Girls”  (1978)
13. Wilco  “Ashes of American Flags”  (2002)
14. John Lennon  “Working Class Hero”  (1970)
15. Elvis Costello  “Suit of Lights”  (1986)
16. Aimee Mann  “Long Shot”  (1995)
17. The Flaming Lips  “The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat)”  (2006)
18. Red House Painters  “Have You Forgotten”  (1996)