It's a high time for hypersonic missiles
—Sam Fender, Hypersonic Missiles
Someone is hooked on Sam Fender. Scroll down to find out if it’s Kody, Mat, or Adam. Then read this week’s Bonus Track reflecting on the hypersonic missiles of metal, Metallica. Take our hand, we’re off to never-never land.
Give It Time by Goose (Adam)
I tried very hard to think outside the box this week, but all I’ve been listening to lately is Goose. They’ve got a new album coming soon and even my wife is digging this one. She usually doesn’t like anything I listen to, but she’s into the pre-released tracks of “Everything Must Go”—so “turn it up and let it go.”
Either Way by Wilco (Mat)
The weather in Alabama is a real rollercoaster right now. Some days are gorgeous and feel like Spring is here. Others feel like we are still in the dead of winter. I’ve been listening to Wilco a lot lately in anticipation of (hopefully) catching them on their tour when they come to Birmingham in a few weeks. This song is how I feel a lot of days when I’m checking the weather: “Maybe the sun will shine today
The clouds will blow away…
I will try to understand either way”
It’s a great tune. Enjoy it on sunny days or cold, cloudy days.
People Watching by Sam Fender (Kody)
After last week’s edition of the Swap, a subscriber emailed me to affirm my choice of the Michigan Rattlers. He also told me to check out Sam Fender if I wanted an even greater cross between the Boss and The War on Drugs. Boy, was he right. Sam, in the words of Mr. Darcy, “you have bewitched me, body and soul.”
My word. The passion. The raw, real-world suffering he covers—yet somehow, it’s wrapped in an upbeat, rocky, poppy sound. People Watching is a perfect example. Sam will have you dancing to a song about someone shuttling between home and hospital to visit a dying friend.
Bonus Track: Metallica Matters by Kyle Worley
“Never cared for what they say, Never cared for games they play, Never cared for what they do, Never cared for what they know, And I know, yeah, yeah,
So close, no matter how far, Couldn't be much more from the heart,
Forever trusting who we are, No, nothing else matters…”
- “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica
You’d be surprised to discover a Metallica song in a hymnal, but one of the most recognizable metal songs of all time is essentially that: a hymn. Metallica is almost synonymous with metal. They are, without a doubt, the most successful metal band of all time. If you ask someone to imagine a metal band on stage, it’s almost a certainty that the images and sounds that rush into their mind have been indelibly shaped by the iconography, sound, songs, aesthetic, and fashion of Metallica.
Metallica is an American metal band formed in the bay area of California that took the sounds of what is called the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” and fused them with the speed of punk rock and the technical prowess of progressive rock to create what would go on to be called “thrash metal.” While there have been lots of “thrash metal” bands, no one has come close to matching the commercial success of Metallica.
I discovered Metallica in the dawning hours of Napster. My cousin let me borrow their 1991 self-titled album (Metallica) on a 2001 beach vacation. I was three years old when the album came out, but when I heard it I had just turned 13. Giving Metallica to a musically interested 13 year old is like giving steroids to an athletically ambitious 16 year old. By the end of the vacation I knew two things: I needed to get my hands on more of this AND my dad would destroy the album with a sledgehammer if he found me listening to it.
Enter Napster. I stole everything I could find. As quickly as possible. And I started with Metallica. This is a bit comical in retrospect, given that Metallica made themselves infamous by going to battle with Napster as the first major artist to say: “Hey, you are stealing our music and robbing us of money.” Which is admittedly, not a very metal thing to do.
Over the years, I haven’t stopped listening to them. I am a loyal fan. They’ve produced some of the greatest rock albums of all time (Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, Metallica), some of the worst metal albums of all time (Garage, Inc. and St. Anger), and were the primary subject for the greatest rock documentary ever (Some Kind of Monster). They are an institution. If you had to endow a chair in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for metal music, it would likely be the “Metallica Chair for Metal and Thrash.” They certainly have the money for it.
As a lifelong fan, I’d been looking for a chance to see them live since I left home for college in 2006. But it wasn’t until August 2023 that I finally got my chance. It did not disappoint. Touring off of their 2023 “72 Seasons” album, I packed into AT&T Stadium for night one of a two night show. Their most recent album (“72 Seasons”) is in many ways a return to their roots: it is as thrash metal as you can be with 60+ year olds at the helm. The concert was the pinnacle of a stadium level rock concert. It looked, sounded, and felt massive.
With over 95,000 other fans (of all ages and backgrounds), I bounced my head along as Metallica played songs across their very long and deep discography for 2.5 hours. I’ve been to well over a hundred concerts in my life, but there was nothing like hearing close to 100,000 people sing “Nothing Else Matters.”
There is no doubt the song is a hymn, but it is a hopeless hymn. It’s a dirge of despair. Resonating with people who have drunk the dregs of discouragement. But people sang it. Loudly.
Because deep down, we know that something does matter. Even if we can’t put our finger on it. Even if we can’t name it. Even if we mistake what it is.
I think Metallica knows this too. As they age, they can’t help but wonder if the dark will break into a “Lux Aeterna.”
“Emancipation kill isolation, Never alone for the feelings alike
Amplification lightning the nation, Never alive more than right here tonight
Full speed or nothin', Full speed or nothin'
Lux æterna - Lux æterna, yeah…”
- “Lux aeterna” by Metallica
Kyle Worley is a pastor, author, and podcast host in Texas. His book Home with God just released. His first concert was Point of Grace and his next concert is Jack White. His tastes have changed. Follow Kyle on Substack at Sacred Slang.
Thank you, Kyle! Thank you readers of the Music Swap. We’re grateful to share songs with you. Share some with us - reply to this email or hit us up in the comments.
-TheMusicSwap
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