5 Songs Friday the 13th of June, 2025

It's been kind of a week of Friday the 13ths, but the music still soothes

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – “Yangiluma Inkukhu” 1977 from Ushaka. This is several years before first Paul Simon and then the rest of America discovered this wonderful South African vocal group. The title of this track translates from Zulu into something akin to “The Biting Chicken,” which explains the rooster crowing which starts and ends the record and is dropped in at random moments throughout. Joseph Shabalala had formed his acapella men’s choir as early as 1960, and they started recording in 1967. They worked in a style called isicathamiya which had been popular among the Zulu people for a long time when they started. The distinctive sounds of the Zulu language – dental clicks and an effect akin to mush mouth among others – helped make the group exotic when they reached our shores. But the power of the music, as can be heard quite clearly in this cut, comes from the harmonies, melodies, and arrangements of these nine men. They were inventive enough to make dozens of records without becoming boring.

Fleetwood Mac – “Only Over You” 1982 from Mirage. Dennis Wilson was the prettiest Beach Boy, but he was also the most reckless. He was the one who brought Charles Manson into their orbit. And he eventually drowned, just about a year after this song came out. He inspired this gorgeous love song, one tinged with sadness and fear of loss. You can hear it in the way Christine McVie sings “I’m out of my mind / but it’s only over you.” She means to reassure him, or convince him that she loves him more than anything, but it sounds like a desperate attempt to convince herself. Not much goes on in this song – the rhythm section stays in lock step throughout, though ex-husband John McVie once or twice flies up the neck of his bass. Mick Fleetwood overdubs a snare roll at a crucial point of the song which leads to a dramatic stop then return to the beginning. Lindsey Buckingham swoons on backing vocals in harmony with Christine, and plays little guitar filigrees that contribute to the tension. Fleetwood Mac never sounded interested in trends. They just made great records with the talent they had at their disposal.

Rosanne Cash – “The Wheel” 1993 from The Wheel. I don’t think I noticed how much this song reminds me of classic Fleetwood Mac until hearing it today after the above record. The backing vocals – provided by some combination of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Larkin, Marc Cohn, and Bruce Cockburn – are the same kind of washing “oohs” and “aahs” heard in “Only Over You,” and the guitars – played by John Leventhal and the astounding Steuart Smith – feature the same kind of dancing figures Lindsey Buckingham loves to play. The rhythm section isn’t as light on its feet as John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, but few rhythm sections are. This song, inspired by the early days of her still ongoing romance with Leventhal, is full of the delirium that comes with early love. “How long was I asleep? / When did we plan to meet? / Have you been waiting long for me?” These are the kind of questions you ask when you’ve found your soulmate. Only most of us don’t get to ask them with the wondrous vocal abilities of Rosanne Cash, who has been one of my favorite singers in the world for 45 years and counting.

Sly & the Family Stone – “Que Sera, Sera” 1973 from Fresh. It just occurred to me that whole generations have possibly only ever heard this version of the song my generation realized was Doris Day’s signature hit. So the ironic distance from the way we all knew that song – so perfectly captured in the opening and closing of the film Heathers which used Syd Straw channeling Day at the beginning and Sly at the end – is lost on them. I’m not sure it matters. Sly & the Family Stone was almost done as a band by this point. Fresh was their last major album. But whether this song was familiar or not, this version is a monster, taking optimistic lyrics and filling them with blues feeling. Sly’s organ and electric piano set the tone, and his sister Rose sings the verses with as little emotion as possible. Then comes that chorus, with Sly himself singing just off the beat and with all the hurt and pain of knowing that what will be really will be. It’s devastating, and enormously effective. Sly Stone gave the world so much amazing music – this is as good a testament to his genius as the rest of it.

The Beach Boys – “I Know There’s an Answer” 1966 fromPet Sounds. I’m probably closer to Mike Love’s position on LSD than to Brian Wilson’s. I think I understand the attraction, and it has definitely helped some people, but it’s not something I want to mess with. Arguably, serving as the inspiration for this song, originally called “Hang On to Your Ego” until Love convinced Wilson to let him rewrite the lyrics, is reason enough for acid to exist. Brian Wilson was definitely on a musical roll in 1966. The instrumentation alone on this record – banjo, tack piano, timpani, electric keyboards, bass harmonica, and more – makes it stand out even on the eclectic and highly imaginative albumPet Sounds. The melody is gorgeous and unusual. Love, Wilson, and Al Jardine take turns singing lead, and I’ll be damned if I can tell which one is which most of the time – I guess that’s a dissolution of the ego. Those “do-do-do”’s in the background are essential Beach Boys, too. (With the loss of Brian Wilson this week, there has been an explosion of good writing about him – nothing better than Carl Wilson’s piece on his Substack.