i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

good call, that neko case song is fantastic.

1. about half of all extant lucinda williams songs, really, but let's go with "car wheels on a gravel road".
2. "oh my sweet carolina", ryan adams.
3. "bridges, squares", ted leo and the pharmacists. this is a song about urban planning that includes the words "apostasy" and "ossify", and really, what more do you need?
4. "this town is wrong", the nields. this might seem weird unless you happen to know that it's about growing up in the same suburbs where i grew up. they never let you learn how to crawl.
5. one from the past: "spring street", dar williams.

honorable mention to a whole lot of richard shindell songs; "america" by simon and garfunkel (also covered by richard shindell, hmm); and "fourth of july, asbury park" by springsteen, although i usually listen to covers of it (including, well, see above).