In this weekly feature, a different LEO staff member will share 7-10 of the songs they’ve got on repeat right now. (Songs by Louisville artists are marked with an asterisk.) Got a track that you think we’d like? Let us know at [email protected] or at the author’s email below. You can also keep up with our Tuesday Tracklist and Listen Local picks on our Spotify.
Hozier — "Take Me to Church"
I found out earlier today that Hozier, who played one of my favorite sets at Bourbon & Beyond this year, will be coming back to Kentucky next summer as one of the Railbird headliners. As such, this song (a forever classic) is now stuck in my head.
The Dream Academy — "Life in a Northern Town"
I first discovered this sentimental song through a scene in "King of the Hill," but it happened to pop up during a particularly special time in my life last year. Likewise, when it showed up on my Spotify Wrapped the other day, it brought back those bittersweet memories. This song, too, is about a bittersweet time, one in which "the children drank lemonade" and "the morning lasted all day," but not long after, "all the work shut down" and "it felt like the world would freeze."
Houseplant — "Acetone" *
As with "Life in a Northern Town," I rediscovered this under-appreciated song recently as I was going through my Spotify Wrapped. It's been a favorite of mine for a while — I actually included it in our Best Songs of 2022 list. As I wrote then:
This song was made for tripping out, and I mean that in the very best way. It absolutely drips with pure psychedelic groove from the funky, shoulder-shaking start to the nonsensical, wordplay-laden lyrics — “The stuff he knows gives me a stuffy nose / Caesar shouts seize her from the phone / Some mothers let some others chaperone.” Hell, even the music video is literally just colorful, fluorescent visuals, the kind you’re meant to stare at under some kind of influence. If this song had come out when I was a psychedelia-obsessed hippie teenager, there is a 1000% chance I would’ve had it on repeat every day. Alas, it only came out in 2022. Turn on, tune in, drop out — or just enjoy it like normal, because it’s really good — and listen to “Acetone.”Rob Zombie — "Dragula"
Given that this legendary song has now been one of the top five in my Wrapped for (at least) two years in a row, it's about time I gave it some recognition. Shoutout to my friend Hunter, a DJ, who has a love-hate relationship with this track.
Fleetwood Mac — "Gypsy"
My Fleetwood Mac phase — though it's almost insulting to call it that, because a love of Fleetwood Mac never really dies — has mostly already come and gone, but this is a classic (and my favorite song of theirs).
Kat DeLuna — "Animal"
I always try to introduce new people to this song when the opportunity arises. How it's not a forever global megahit (like "Timber" or "Single Ladies" or the like), I have absolutely no idea. The beat and the energy are infectious, and it's so danceable — I actually have a drag performer in Massachusetts (whose name I didn't catch) to thank for introducing me to it at a Pride show years ago.
Jimmy Buffett — "Cheeseburger in Paradise"
Though it was actually "Margaritaville" that ended up on my Spotify Wrapped this year, not this song, I didn't want to end on a sad note. Between the two songs, this one is, I dunno, sillier? More of a novelty, at least. People who know Jimmy Buffett's legacy better than I do have written about his massive influence on beach culture as we know it today, and it's just kind of funny to think that part of that comes from a song about enjoying a cheeseburger.
