Weekly Top 10: Island Songs

As per usual on Thursdays, we've got a playlist of sorts. This week, due to us being on vacation in a fairly coastal area, we decided to use island songs as our theme. What constitutes an island song in this case? A song which is more of a stand-alone track from an artist who normally wouldn't be classified as reggae, surf rock or any other type of tropical music (though there is one artist here who could fall either way, but we decided to include him). Hopefully that clears up any concerns about the omission of certain artists. Enjoy below.

John's Track of the Week: "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

Song: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Artist: The Smiths

Album: The Queen Is Dead

Year: 1986

I'll be up-front about this one. I was inspired to write about it after seeing (500) Days of Summer last week. If you haven't checked it out for yourself yet, you really should. It's a great film, and has an equally-awesome soundtrack. Though I personally can't relate to the subject matter of the "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (being lost, anxiety, amongst other things) at this juncture in my life, it fits the movie superbly, which is probably why I've been drawn to it above all of the other songs featured. It may even provide some cool insight to The Smiths' career as a whole (excuse the corniness that may ensue). Though the band called it quits after just four albums, Morrissey has continued to make music to this day, so in a way, the track speaks to his inability to either leave, or settle.

There are actually a lot of other interesting facts to go along with the track. The name is said to be derived from the reign of Queen Mary I of England. It's been suggested that it's a paraphrased version of a Hugh Latimer quote, among other things. The narrative also has several possible sources. The most popular, and probably most credible, of these theories is the one involving James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause. It's pretty much been proven by this point, but even though the mystery surrounding it has vanished, it's still intriguing. Another oddity is the fact that the song wasn't released as a single until 1992, long after the band's demise, even though it experienced a high level of popularity on the initial album. Listen below if you're in the mood.

New She & Him Cover, "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"

I'm talking about yet another song covered for the sake of a movie today. This time, however, it's one that I would actually go see. You all know Zooey Deschanel, I'm sure. You know, that girl who's engaged to Count Death Cab himself? Yeah, her. Well, she's once again teamed up with everyone's new favorite folkster (now that Conor Oberst has delivered an epic failure I never thought possible), M. Ward, for another cool and interesting cover song- remember, there were several non-originals on She & Him's Volume One last year. This time, they take some liberties with The Smiths' "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want," and the results are, as one might have guessed, favorable. The recording was made for Zooey's upcoming film, (500) Days of Summer, which, as you might know, has killed many indie festivals over the past year. I'm really looking forward to it, and the soundtrack, as I'm sure you are as well, but unfortunately you're going to have to wait for the music to come out on July 14th, via Sire. But for those who want to give this track a listen first, check the deal over at Stereogum.