1. “Early in the Morning,” Eric Clapton, 1978. Undistinguished blues-rock from, well, Clapton. 5/10
2. “Corrina, Corrinia,” Bob Dylan, 1963. The very notion that there is such a thing as obscure Dylan is kind of cool, but it’s not really all that good. 6/10
3. “Four Horsemen,” The Clash, 1979. I see that “obscure and not really good by an overexposed artist” is to be the theme of the night. 5/10
4. “Like a Hurricane,” Neil Young, 1977. The kind of anti-punk proto-hard rock jam that only Neil Young and Crazy Horse could possibly get away with. One of his best 8 minute songs, and that’s actually saying more than it sounds like. 8/10
5. “My Funny Valentine,” Ella Fitzgerald, 1956. From The Rodgers and Hart Songbook, not my favorite by a long shot, but it is Ella. 8/10
6. “Loves Me Like a Rock,” Paul Simon, 1973. Oh dear. One of my favorite songs by my favorite modern songwriter, but cool? The very antithesis. White-boy gospel pop folk at its finest. 5/10
7. “This Protector,” The White Stripes, 2001. See nos. 1, 2, 3. 6/10
8. “We,” Neil Diamond, 2005. Yes, I bought 12 Songs. You have a problem with that? Yes, you probably should. 4/10
9. “Chains,” The Beatles, 1963. Urgh. I like the early Beatles just fine, but their covers…not so much. 4/10
10. “Vidalia,” Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, 1999. At least I ended well. I’d have a hard time explaining Andrew (Chicago-based!) Bird’s style, but this album is pretty jazzy. The particular track is very eastern-Europe in tone. I just saw him live a couple weeks back, and he puts on a mind-blowing show. 10/10
6.1/10. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you.
Bonus track: “Twenty-one,” Spencer Bates, 2002. From Everybody Has a Song. Those of you who know it may proceed to laugh.