This is a playlist that I started back in 2014. I haven’t listened to it in quite some time though, and I just recently decided to dust it off and see if it still did it for me. For the most part it did, but I made some additions and modifications to fit where I am today.
“Girl in the War” by Josh Ritter has been consistently playing since the song was released. The music swells as the song goes on, but the real joy for me is in the lyrics.
“Paul said to Petey You gotta rock yourself a little harder;
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire
And I got a girl in the war, Paul the only thing I know to do
Is turn up the music and pray that she makes it through”
“Hallelujah” is not the Leonard Cohen or the Jeff Buckley version. This is a different song by Ryan Bingham that is sung from the perspective of an optimistic traveller that is double crossed and is taken from this world far too early. In addition to the haunting lyrics, Bingham’s voice is gravelly and so worn that you can’t believe he was around 30 at the time of this recording.
“Mama’s Eye’s” and “I’ll Follow Your Trail” are songs that hit me as a son and a father. I put these together because of that. Why not? Sean Rowe is a recent discovery and his powerful voice is so tender that I don’t it just makes me freeze when I hear it.
“And I was there when you took your first step
Into a world that was wide as the sky
I held your belly there against my chest
I was there when you needed to cry
I never knew a friend could be so small
And have a heart just as big as the moon
You know I can’t stop you from growin’ up
I just wish that it wasn’t so soon”
“Hey Lover” by Dawes and “Michigan” from the Milk Carton Kids have voices and guitar that just work for me. Two very different songs, but they both make me feel the same way. “House of Mercy” by Sarah Jarosz has that folky edginess that I really dig. Next is Sara Watkins with “Without A Word”. She has been a favorite of mine since way back in the early 2000’s in the Nickel Creek days. This goes great right after Jarosz.
On a playlist like this, it would be crazy not to include an Avett Brothers song. Somehow “Spanish Pipedream” fit into this playlist in my head. This was one of the first songs that started this playlists back in 2014.
“We blew up our T.V., threw away our paper
Moved to the country, built us a home
Had a lot of children, fed ’em on peaches
They all found Jesus on their own”
On a trip we took a few years back, we stopped in Scottsdale to eat some food and the shopping center had this little area that was supposed to be a little hip and apart from the regular mall. In one of the shops, a woman was playing Gregory Alan Isakov and now when I hear him I think of family road trips. I think of my daughters growing up together and forging their own life. See? This is where the Sentimental Crap comes from.
The three songs that are next all fit together sonically. Maybe they fit together content wise, but I don’t really care. They come out of the Isakov track and keep the haunting sound going. The transition from one voice to another is really interesting to me. Ben Bridewell, Jimmy Somerville, and Joe Newman have unusual voices that are contrasted with beautifully lush music.
Closing the playlist is Cat Stevens with “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out.” Why not end a playlist called Sentimental Crap with a song like this. It makes me smile and is easy to sing along to.
Thanks for reading and enjoy your music!
Trail and Music 
Leave a comment