Today in Music: Friday the 13th

photo by Darwin Bell

The good news, it’s Friday. The bad news, it’s Friday the 13th -- again! To help deflect any possible bad fortune coming your way, we threw together a collection of songs and videos that we hope will be your evil eye charm for the day:

Jimmy Tamborello, recently known for his contributions to The Postal Service, has been working as Dntel for thirteen (!) years, and his latest album, his first in six years, is entitled Bad Luck. Here’s the title track:

Dntel - Dumb Luck (MP3)Ten years ago, Modest Mouse recorded The Lonesome Crowded West for Up Records and delivered their most memorable batch of songs yet -- “Heart Cooks Brain,” “Convenient Parking,” “Jesus Christ Was An Only Child,” “Doin’ The Cockroach” -- many that you’ve heard on the radio innumerable times, except this one, which defies radio airplay: Modest Mouse - Shit Luck (MP3)

Luck is the subject of more songs than you can imagine -- not surprising given the lifestyles that many musicians are accustomed to -- and here are only a handful a musicians thanking, wishing for, or cursing their luck:

Actual Tigers - Lady Luck (MP3)

R.L. Burnside - Bad Luck City (MP3)

Blind Lemon Jefferson - Bad Luck Blues (MP3)

Happy Mondays - Wrote For Luck (MP3)

The Strokes - Trying Your Luck (MP3)

Minus the Bear - Burying Luck (MP3)

It seems that most of the songs ever written by the legendary OC band Social Distortion are about being down and out, and no song says it more directly than “Bad Luck,” here performed live:

Another SoCal band, LA’s Division Day has been plugging away for about six years and is steadily gaining more notice and acclaim. According to the band’s MySpace page, their full-length Beartrap Island comes out in October on Eenie Meenie. From their six song EP The Mean Way In, comes “Bad Black Moon”:

Division Day - Bad Black Moon (MP3)Nirvana covers CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” in this audio-only offering on YouTube. Seems like Kurt was having some bad luck with his guitar tuning:

Former Long Pig and Pulp touring guitarist Richard Hawley has a new album entitled Lady’s Bridge due out next month on Mute. Here’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” from the crooner’s 2005 release Coles Corner:

From a bad moon to a bad sign to a “Bad Day.” Here’s R.E.M.:

We hope there is not a bad day is not in store for you. Just keep telling yourself it’s lucky thirteen:

Big Star - Thirteen (MP3)

Wilco - Thirteen (MP3)

Perhaps most famously, the late Elliott Smith covered the Big Star song, which is now on the New Moon collection of rarities. Here’s a great live performance of “Thirteen” recorded in Sydney in 1999:

We’d wish you good luck today, but that might jinx it. Have a great weekend!