My Top 2000 Songs #1055: That's What You Always Say

This cut off The Dream Syndicate's 1983 full-length debut The Days Of Wine And Roses (reworking a rawer version from the prior year's debut EP) sounds like a great lost garage rocker, discovered on a dusty 45 found in the back of a record shop 15 years after its release. A basic bass riff gradually adds some jangle, and then some buzzsaw guitars--simple yet riveting, like some rare track by the Standells or the Leaves, given just enough of an early 80s Paisley Underground punch-up to keep it from sounding dusty.

I'm one of those Dream Syndicate fans who who thought they got progressively better over time, both during their initial 80s run and their more recent revival (hell, one of those post-reunion tracks beat this one to the list by a couple hundred spots), but "That's What You Always Say" was an early indication that Steve Wynn could work some real magic.

Live in the studio 2014:

Luna's cover, from a 1993 EP:

The Bangles' cover:

Yo La Tengo, live and unplugged: