Playlist: Josh King wishes upon a star

Welcome to Playlists, a series where we turn over the reigns to artists to curate the next big playlist

Songwriters are tasked to write from the heart. There’s undue pressure that comes with exposing ones soul and nerve in stories for the world to examine, criticize, manhandle. Sometimes, what happens for one might be unattainable for another, for better or for worse. That also includes discovering songs you connect with on such a deep level, you wish you would have been blessed with that same electrifying rod of creative lightning at some point. That’s certainly the case for Josh King, who compiles a must-hear playlist for B-Sides & Badlands, spanning varied strains of rock and pop music.

With his own song called “Into the Blue,” the title cut from his new album, embedded within the mix, the lineup features Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Band, Leon Russell, The Shins and Phantom Planet, among others. Unwittingly, the songs stack snuggly against one another, a feeling of urgency linking them all together. It’s funny how music works out that way, isn’t it?

King’s new album Into the Blue drops tomorrow (August 17).

Below, the noise-maker walks us through each of his picks, reasoning the how and the why.

“I’m on Standby” by Granddaddy 

Jason Lyttle has a way of taking a simple song and turning it on its side. He did that with this song, and I seem to always go back to it for inspiration.

“Happy to Hang Around” by Travis

I wish I wrote every song by Travis, but as soon as I heard the intro to this one, it immediately became one of my favorites.

“It Makes No Difference” by The Band
Robby Robertson wrote a song about desperately wanting something that you can’t have. The lyrics and the way Rick Danko sings it couldn’t be more perfect.

“Not Your Savior” by No Use for a Name

Tony Sly brought beautiful melody and harmony to punk rock that I personally think didn’t really exist before him. With this being the first track of ‘More Betterness!,’ it took me probably a week to get to the second track.

“Junk Bond Trader” by Elliot Smith 

From a song arrangement stand point, very few people layer textures quite like Elliot Smith. Damn, this song swings hard.

“Lonely Day” by Phantom Planet

This is a great example of making a song that’s sad, sound happy. I love to do that shit. Probably because of Phantom Planet.

“A Song for You” by Leon Russell 

I read somewhere that Leon Russell said, “I was in a relationship at the time, so I wanted to write a song so I could sing about it.” Besides this being my favorite song by him, I like to take whatever I’m feeling at the time and take a snap shot of it in the form of a song.

“Into the blue” by Josh King

I actually wrote this one. It’s on Spotify.

“Simple Song” by The Shins

This is a feel song. Everything about this song feels perfect.

“Room at the Top” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

This song is off of the album ‘Echo.’ It’s known to be his breakup album, and the lyrics to this song are what do it for me. To me, the song is about trying to fill a void that has been created from the loss of love. Everybody can relate to that, and I think that’s what makes a good song, a perfect song.

Photo Credit: Todd Turner

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