Ted Hawkins version of There Stands The Glass stands out among other amazing ones from Webb Pierce and Conway Twitty. I also included his song Sorry You’re Sick. Both of these songs are about drinking, specifically about how we use alcohol to treat suffering. It’s one of the oldest songwriting tropes but Hawkins used it in a surprising way. The lyrics in SYS are purely heartbreaking, but the melody and music are like a catchy pop rock song. Super weird, honestly. You should know about Ted Hawkins because he was almost a household name. He lived an incredibly hard life before dying too young. His care for music and how it can make some sense of a hard life is unique only to him and I hope you find more of his songs.

Listen to the fifty-two 52 playlist.

A two for one week! I’m not the biggest Beck fan, but Paper Tiger is so great. The strings! The Serge Gainsbourg delivery! A real sonic treat. Now, I am a big Robyn fan, so it’s hard to pick one song to share. Call Your Girlfriend is as close to a perfect pop song as you can get. It is fun, has substance, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Clean af. I’ll never get tired of this song.

Listen to the fifty-two 52 playlist.