Slowly Going Bald

I've been toying with the idea of putting together a CD's worth of songs whose titles involve women's names ever since John posted about it a couple months back. I've got a pretty sizable iTunes playlist that's just name songs, as well as one full of songs whose titles are places; there's something about the thematic arrangements that's just appealing to me. After some winnowing, I think I've come up with a decent mix, though it's only a fraction of the available material. Also, though the anal part of me really wanted to use songs with titles that were just a name, I loosened up on the requirements to let a couple favorites on the team. Here goes:

All in a Name

1. "Annie Waits," Ben Folds — The lead track from Ben Folds' classic Rockin' the Suburbs. Because sometimes, no one really knows what it's like to be male, middle class, and white.

2. "Help Me, Suzanne," Rhett Miller — When he's not fronting the Old 97's, Rhett Miller writes some great pop songs, and this is one of the best. Sweet and simple and great.

3. "Emma J," Brendan Benson — I discovered this song, and Brendan Benson, on the Zero Effect soundtrack. This is a great song that always reminds me of being 17.

4. "Hey Julie," Fountains of Wayne — The kind of genuine, heartfelt pop that Fountains of Wayne does so well.

5. "Anna Begins," Counting Crows — Damn, but this song has been breaking my heart in one way or another for more than a decade now. If I listen to this and "Time and Time Again" back to back, I will probably wind up talking too much about regrets. Thanks for forcing me to be open, Adam Duritz.

6. "Winona," Matthew Sweet — Girlfriend has some amazing songs (though I think 100% Fun is better overall), and this is one of them. Fantastic stuff.

7. "Josephine," Teitur — I discovered Teitur a few years ago, and his Poetry & Aeroplanes is worth picking up if you're looking for some solid acoustic guitar-based pop, or if you started having midlife crises at 22. This is a beautiful song.

8. "Veronica," Elvis Costello — Come on, this one's a given.

9. "Rosalie Come and Go," Ryan Adams — Available on the limited edition bonus disc with Gold, which is well worth seeking out.

10. "Dolly," The Refreshments — The second (and final) record from The Refreshments was a more solidly produced, emotionally complicated album than their debut; basically, if Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy was falling in love, The Bottle & Fresh Horses was about watching that love come undone. This track is a howling blowoff to the girl that's done the man wrong.

11. "Miss Molly," Old 97's — A solid cover of a classic Cindy Walker song from my favorite working band. Plus you have to love old-school lyrics like "Her lips are soft as satin and they taste like gingerbread."

12. "Angelyne," The Jayhawks — About as perfect as a song can be.

13. "Amy," Ryan Adams — You need to own Heartbreaker, okay? You just need to.

14. "Cecilia," Simon & Garfunkel — Classic.

15. "Jolene," Mindy Smith — A great cover of the Dolly Parton hit, with Dolly herself singing backup.

16. "Amie," Damien Rice — This guy definitely knows how to write the sad/sweet ones.

17. "Josephine," The Wallflowers — The second "Josephine" song on the list is from The Wallflowers' Bringing Down the Horse, which is still a fantastic record and a prime example of mid-1990s pop-rock. Buried behind all the singles is this deep cut that's as mournful and sharp as can be. If you haven't revisited the album in a while, this is the perfect reason, and if you never picked it up in the first place, it's worth it. Trust me.