Playlist: James Houlahan offers songs for the end of the world

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“It’s the end of the world as we know it,” trail-blazing rock band R.E.M. once sang on their Document record. Little would they know that the world would go up in flames 30 years later ⏤ in near post-apocalyptic proportions. A president clings to his Twitter page with all he’s got, and California is on the brink of burning to the ground completely. Ash clouds grow thicker by the day. But we continue to soldier on, turning to art and music to make us feel as fine as we can possibly be. Americana singer-songwriter James Houlahan drifts in and out of smothering smoke storms and fiery flakes that lick his heels with his brand new record, The Wheel Still in Spin, a deftly-constructed collection which glides between states of being with surprising ease.

Around the release, and as an exclusive to B-Sides & Badlands, Houlahan drafts a playlist of songs ripe for the end of the world, the very last state of being for all of us, you could say. From Leonard Cohen and Father John Misty to Wilco and Lucinda Williams, he touches on the breadth of Americana music and the sturdy, but tragic, American way of living with a playlist to get us through the tough times of this so-called life. The playlist also features Jolie Holland, The Low Anthem and Sunny War, among others.

Below, Houlahan chronicles each of his picks, and you can dig into each one with a handy-dandy playlist to match.

“You Want It Darker” by Leonard Cohen

Dark songs? End of the world? This entire playlist could be Leonard Cohen songs. That said, the title track from his final album is a brilliant way to start our trip through some dark and weird Americana. His music is a testament to the search for grace and beauty in a world gone wrong.

“Holy Shit” by Father John Misty

This song is about everything. It’s hard to write a song about everything. And I really respect a songwriter who can work some humor into some heavy subject matter. This song hits me hard, yet makes me laugh. Love it.

“Dark Days” by Jolie Holland

One of my favorite singers. A transporting voice. This track, off her amazing album ‘Wine Dark Sea,’ winds and grinds into a fever pitch of cacophonic wail. Rock ’n’ roll for the apocalypse.

“Give My Body Back” by The Low Anthem

Their recent album is about a salt doll on a quest to measure the depth of ocean; an effort that necessitates her dissolution and destruction. “Find what you love and let it kill you,” wrote Charles Bukowski. The Low Anthem continue to make incredible music and this song is no exception.

“’Til I’m Dead” by Sunny War

I’ve seen Sunny War play locally in L.A. on some familiar stages. Her music blows me away. This tune will have you shaking your bones in no time.

“War on war” by Wilco

“You have to learn how to die, if you want to be alive.” Sage wisdom from one of my favorite bands. This album (‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’) changed everything for me. My ears were never the same.

“Dust” by Lucinda Williams

Didn’t this woman invent the whole “Americana” thing? That’s what I heard, anyway. And she keeps on making beautiful music. This track, from her recent album, ‘The Ghosts of Highway 20,’ hypnotizes and sparkles in my ear with its lyric of impermanence and grief.

“Memories of Outer Space” by James Houlahan

Speaking of impermanence, here is one of mine. “Born to rise and steal away…” I wrote this in a kind of stream of consciousness, so I should probably refrain from any postgame analysis here. It might get too weird.

“Take It with Me” by Tom Waits

What would you do if the world were truly ending? Hunker down somewhere with your love, break out some champagne, and toast it all? Sounds like a plan to me.

“Far Celestial Shore” by Mavis Staples

We should end this playlist on a hopeful note. And no singer embodies hope more than Mavis Staples. She is the veritable Queen of Hope. Listen to her sing, and she will take you there.

Photo Credit: Esther Clark

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