Final Track: 7 Must-Hear Songs Of The Week (And The Single Best Song About Twinkies)

It’s impossible to cover each bit of new music that comes out during the week, so every Friday, we’ll be doing an end of the week music roundup. It’s called Final Track, and we’ll count off a few songs released during the week that are worth giving a listen to. (Banner via)

Today, we’ve got selections from Jim James, the Faint, Jane’s Addiction, and more.


“Sympathy for the Devil” by Jane’s Addiction

True story: earlier this week, I learned, via Aziz Ansari’s appearance on Stop Tacoman’s Comedy Bang Bang podcast, that “Perry Farrell” is a play on “peripheral.” BOOM. Is this common knowledge? Is “Dave Navarro” a pun, too? So many Jane’s Addiction related questions. Anyway, here’s their swirling cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” from the Songs of Anarchy: Volume 2 soundtrack, due out November 19th.

“Evil Voices” by the Faint

It seems inevitable that every band from Omaha will have something to do with Bright Eyes, and the Faint, who used Conor Oberst’s cohort Mike Mogis’s studio to record their first material in four years, is no exception. Yet “Evil Voices” appeals to more than just those with long bangs and bruised souls — it’s post-punk for a new generation, led by pulsating synths and a live wire energy.

“Before We Run” by Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo had one of the strongest run of albums of any band last decade, beginning with 2000’s beautiful masterpiece And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out and continuing all the way to 2009’s tight Popular Songs. The Hoboken-based cult band hopes to go through the 2010s unscathed, too, and with the release of the instantly familiar, Georgia-sung “Before We Run,” from Fade (out January 15th), they’re certainly on their way.

“Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)” by the Weeknd

For more on the blissed-out Weekend, and the excellent re-mixed Trilogy album that came out earlier this week, check out the Smoking Section.

“Know Til Now” by Jim James

My Morning Jacket’s Jim James is leaving behind his band’s guitar jams for his solo debut, Regions of Light and Sound of God, in favor of something a little funkier, though no less soulful. Be sure to stick around for the wonky saxophone solo at the end of the track. FUN FACT: James played every instrument on the album, and is therefore more talented than anyone we know.

“Glitch” by History of Apple Pie

Two great things about searching Google for “history for apple pie”:

1. You’ll stumble upon this candy-coated sung song, a fuzzy Dinosaur Jr.-inflected number from a promising five-piece London band.

2. You’ll learn how to make an apple pie.

“Nobody’s Business” by Rihanna and Chris Brown

If only Rihanna’s life choices were as solid as this bouncing song, from her literally stripped bare new album Unapologetic, despite the presence of You Know Who. “It ain’t nobody’s business/No it ain’t nobody’s business/Just mine and my baby.” Sigh.

“I Fought the Law” by Dead Kennedys

The law don’t mean sh*t
If you got the right friends
That’s how this county’s run
Twinkies are the best friend I ever had

The single best song to mention Twinkies, with a sarcastic subtext deeper than any Ding Dong has ever been dipped in milk. (That’s not a pun.)