We could’ve gone on and on for the August 18th #ThematicStatic, but the number of high-octane duets featured on the program — some sugary-sweet, some sad as hell, others jubilant — was pretty satisfactory for “celebrating” another inane holiday, National Couples Day.
Enjoy the full show (👇) and accompanying set list, below. Get your requests in for future themes via Instagram or Twitter, both @WNXPNashville. Thanks to Eastside Bowl for the support!
Prelude
Stephen Sanchez ft. Em Beihold – “Till I Found You”
M. Ward ft. Zooey Deschanel – “Never Had Nobody Like You” – Between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 She & Him records, Zooey guested with M. on his 2009 solo work Hold Time and this is one of their more recognizable duets.
Diana Ross ft. Tame Impala – “Turn Up The Sunshine” – Big ups to Gru for the soundtrack of the year, which includes this old-school-meets-new-school collaboration.
#ThematicStatic Playlist
Lord Huron (ft. Allison Ponthier) – “I Lied” – This destroys me in the best way. Classic country love-lost ballad, but with a twist. 10/10 highly recommend this track from the slick, Cali cowboys’ newest release Long Lost.
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Maybe one of the very best duets ever done, this song was written by the famed songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson for the Tamla Records label and first made famous by Gaye and Terrell in 1967.
Andrew Bird ft. Fiona Apple – “Left Hand Kisses” – For his 2016 record Are You Serious?, virtuosic violinist-singer-whistler Andrew Bird enlisted one of the most iconic sultry voices, that of Fiona Apple.
Bonnie Prince Billy & Bill Callahan – “The Wild Kindness” – This Silver Jews cover penned by David Berman was released on the 2021 record Blind Date Party, and also includes Berman’s former wife Cassie Berman. Berman took his own life in 2019, and the loss is still felt around Nashville and beyond. (If you or someone you know needs to access emergency mental health services or to talk to someone about suicidal thoughts, the 3-digit hotline is 988.)
Tricky ft. PJ Harvey – “Broken Homes” – Now here’s an interesting late ’90s collab, requested by Katy!
Loretta Lynn & Jack White – “Portland, Oregon” – Van Lear Rose was Lynn’s FORTY-SECOND record, let that sink in. Teaming up with rock icon White opened the country legend to new listeners in 2004. (I misspoke and said 2006 on the show. Apologies for that.)
McFadden & Whitehead – “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” – This Soul Train video rules:
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash – “Girl From The North Country” – Jon and Rex both requested this classic from the early ’60s.
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – “Gone Gone Gone” – Jolene requested these classic duet partners, whose second album was released this year. I played one from their Grammy-collecting debut Raising Sand. They recently played to a huge crowd at Bonnaroo (check my quick, one-day festival recap) and will soon grace Franklin’s FirstBank Amphitheater on Wednesday, September 7.
Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen – “Like I Used To” – After laying down the song of summer 2021, this one-off duo of between friends Van Etten and Olsen dovetailed into the 2022 Wild Hearts Tour, also featuring Nashville-based artist Julien Baker. Read what Van Etten said about the experience getting together, in the #RecordoftheWeek interview transcript from last month and watch the video:
Otis Redding & Carla Thomas – “Tramp” – Playful but kinda brutal in its specificity, this one has Thomas dressing down her tramp of a beau with lines like this one, sheeeesh:
You a tramp, Otis, you just a tramp
“Tramp”
You wear overalls
You need a haircut, baby
Cut off some of that hair off your head
You think you a lover, huh?