I’m still in catch up mode, so here’s a Song of the Bi-Week, “Sparky’s Dream” off Teenage Fanclub’s 1995 album, Grand Prix. All TFC records have this sort of offhand pop brilliance, to the point that I can’t resist imagining the band entering the studio without any prewritten material. Norman Blake or Raymond McGinley just casually strum out a few random chords, which magically interweave into some instantly catchy melody. Gerard Love nods approvingly and begins laying down a bass line while approaching the mic. He starts to sing, but stops abruptly to say [Scottish accent]: “Hey! Scott! Gie’s a haund wi this ane?” And I’m all like, “Yeah, totally, I can do that, Teenage Fanclub.” And it’s awesome.

But anyhoo, while perhaps not in the same class as the band’s rightfully adulated masterstroke Bandwagonesque, Grand Prix delivers at every turn, with “Sparky’s” being my fave track of the bunch, its lyrics nailing that g-spot of nostalgia that exists just this side of cloying. That “man” at the end of the first verse absolutely kills me every time.