Old Music Wednesday: 6/4/25

What This Is

Spotify and other services offer AI-curated playlists and recommendations, pushing new music into listeners’ ears every week. The goal of Old Music Wednesday is to counter that by digging into the backlog with 5 songs released anywhere from 1-100 years ago and giving a brief annotation for each one, explaining why it’s special and providing context.

“Congratulations” by Superorganism,

Congratulations (Triple J Like A Version) - Single, 2018

Superorganism is one of the most creative and original artists out there today, using live foley and funky synths to create a sound all their own. In this live cover, hosted by the Triple J radio show, they combine the songs of the same title by MGMT and Post Malone into a perfect vibe, framed by a sample of Jack Black from School of Rock. It’s a celebratory 4-way crossover you never knew you needed.

“In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)” by Elliott Smith,

Figure 8, 2000

Elliott Smith is one of my all-time favorite artists (look out for an “Oops, All Elliott” OMW). This song stands out from the acoustic tragic ballads with it’s plunky piano melody, lending the tragic lyrics a bit of fun. It’s a cry from a lost person to a found person to stay and hang around for a while.

“Drowse” by Queen,

A Day at the Races, 1976

This song perfectly captures the reflectful comfort of a lazy Sunday morning (unlike the satirical camp of Queen’s “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon”). It’s also one of the few Queen songs written and sung by Roger Taylor, not Freddy Mercury. His voice with the slide guitar feels tired and lazy in the best way possible.

“Up the Junction” by Squeeze,

Cool for Cats, 1979

Squeeze is a treasure of the late 70’s and early 80’s. This song is the long story of a relationship and life together. It uses upward key changes to give a sence of building and moving forward. Squeeze’s emotional storytelling with a hint of camp is at its peak with this song.

“Porno” by Arcade Fire,

Reflektor, 2013

I bet you never thought of Arcade Fire as sexy. Well this song will prove you wrong. It’s a partner saying they’ll never leave after almost breaking up, and the intimacy of that bond. The synth and beat are dirty and somehow Win Butler’s whispered voice hits different here.