When I’m not writing and recording custom songs just for you, I’m usually listening to music and I love to share what I’ve been listening to! My Song of the Week may or may not be a recent release. It might be the new discovery of a missed jewel, or a past love that has resurfaced. Regardless, it will always be the song that I listen to the most during any given week.

The last few weeks have seen an avalanche of really good new material from some classic artists. Ray Davies has released the best work of his solo career, Blondie have a solid new pop song, and I also discovered that Cindy Wilson of the B-52s is releasing new material (and touring). But the grand slam of all the recent vintage delights is the latest from Robyn Hitchcock .

I occasionally encounter people who do not like the Beatles. One trait that all of them seem to have in common is that they’re itchin’ for a fight in regards to the Beatles being considered the greatest band in rock history. One can usually silence these naysayers by asking if they can name another musical acts that has;

1. the sheer number of great songs that the Beatles have.
2. never put out a bad album/recorded 13 great albums in a row.

This usually elicits a series of harrumphs and guffaws, but rarely does it elicit an actual answer. I always win these arguments—but that’s because no one has ever countered my query with Robyn Hitchcock.  Whether it be with The Egyptians, The Venus Three, or by his lonesome, he has never put out a bad album, and he is possibly unmatched as far as quantity of great songs is concerned.

Whereas the Beatles became the model for pretty much every rock band that came after them and spawned a billion imitators in terms of song writing style, Robyn Hitchcock’s music and his songs are unique to the point that they’re nearly impossible to imitate. I speak with authority here because I’ve tried. He is truly one of a kind. Deceptively complex, brilliantly strange.

As rockers age, they can fall into a number of traps. Trying to re-create something they’ve lost or evolving into something that no one wants to hear are two common pitfalls. But Robyn Hitchcock has managed to remain consistent in style and quality  throughout his long career. Proof in the pudding is his new song “Raymond and the Wires”. It sounds like it could have been on 1984’s I often Dream of Trains. It is a floating low key psychedelic affair.  Lyrically he knocks it out of the park again, infusing the mundane with  poetic surrealism— matching observations with words like no one else.

So, if you see me out somewhere, you should immediately start bad-mouthing the Beatles. When I come up to you and begin my smug routine—asking you to name an artist that can match the Beatles, come at  me with Robyn Hitchcock. I will yield and let ye pass.

Lillie Mae Rische’s accomplishments as a musician are vast. Her abilities as a fiddle player, rock solid singer, and multi-instrumentalist  have been enjoyed on A Prairie Home Companion, in Jack White’s touring band, and many places in between.  Now the world is getting to experience her skills as a songwriter!

“Wash Me Clean” has everything that I need from a country song: a straightforward structure, rich acoustic sounds, and carefully constructed lyrics. I have come to rely on alt country as a comfort zone in which I can always find words that have been carved, shaved and shaped until they express something familiar in a slightly new way. “Wash Me Clean” works through themes of regret and past traumas—but I’m not nearly as interested in analyzing the words to this song as I am in singing it, especially the catchy as hell chorus!

I heard a lot of good new songs this week. The Shins, White Reaper, Karen Elson, and The New Pornographers all graced my playlist with tracks that were contenders for my song of the week, but I had to go with the one that got me singing along. So, warm up your pipes, give “Wash me Clean” a listen and hopefully you’ll find yourself singing along too!

Here’s a running playlist of all my Song of the Week picks.