Not what I listened to while Mongrels-writing, but some songs that synch up well with Mongrels, I think. Which you can cue up just on Spotify, here*. Also, before I get to annotating and embedding and pulling my hair about because the versions I want aren’t available, etc, I also put together a Youtube playlist—different stuff, same vein—here* (also, no guarantees there isn’t a bit of overlap between Youtube and Spotify—I get really clicky about werewolf songs).

So, take my paw, let me lead you into this full-moon night—really, a certain someone says it all better than I can:

And here we go:

1. Five Man Electrical Band

The natural life cycle of the American werewolf

2. Townes Van Zandt

All werewolf statements start with some version of “If I had a dollar bill”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgAhqVVVBd8

3. The Gourds

Everybody goes to jail at some point. Especially werewolves.

4. Melissa Etheridge

When it comes down to being sentimental or being alive, werewolves always pick being alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrLKYFYvWsc

5. Mulehead

Werewolf cars eat up the miles. Seven states in fourteen hours? Only if you stop at every last roadside attraction.

6. Tom Waits

It’s pretty obvious Tom Waits is a werewolf.

7. Sun Kil Moon

Werewolves, they know about burning the trash, and, much like this band, they never win any spelling bees either

8. The Dollyrots

This particular werewolf’s name, it’s Layla

9. Dr. John

Werewolves don’t want to know about evil. They just want to know about love.

10. Drive-By Truckers

I know a werewolf who talks exactly like this. His hair is never perfect.

11. Masha

This cover works if you close your eyes, can see Warren Zevon walking through that London fog. He’s just starting to smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLlpu341PdA

12. The Eels

This actually isn’t about werewolves at all.

12. Joan Osborne

But this is.

[ if/when any of these embeds show up broken and/or dead, maybe drop a comment or let me know somehow? easy fix, but I won’t be remembering to click here every week, so it’s only an easy fix if I know to fix it . . . ]

* if you’re afraid I’m rickrolling you up there—I’m hardly above that—then just cutnpaste: 

• https://open.spotify.com/user/stephengrahamjones/playlist/4jyQg03t6BFudOtf1MvkCF
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaboetwX9tttghkQ3BS0-ZpLZvIomRidN
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaboetwX9ttuR1CTdk_gLbBy5pITgmz5B (this is the one embedded above, I think)

** many thanks to friends who intro’d me to some of these, both long before Mongrels, and right before: John Boden, Tod Goldberg, Benjamin Whitmer