For the past half-decade, Richmond artist James Goodson’s project Dazy has been throwing down some of the best blasted pop music in the game. Big beats? Check. Big hooks? No doubt. It’s music somewhere between The Jesus and Mary Chain and a 90s teen movie soundtrack. With that in mind, you know we had to ask James about some of his favorite songs for hyper-specific situations. He came through big time, even repping hometown legends Avail. Read the piece, and listen to Dazy’s newest release, Bad Penny, below.
Best song for driving alone on tour and mildly losing your mind?
“Tangerine Speedo” by Caviar
I dunno if this is the “best” song for this situation, but it’s the song I was listening to when this happened most recently. Last spring someone came up to me at merch after a show in Montreal and asked if I’d ever heard this band Caviar because Dazy reminded them of it. So that night I decided to give this album a shot while driving from Montreal to NYC. Some of the record is doing a “what if Beck was in Fountains of Wayne” thing, and then some of it veers into Smash Mouth territory. “Tangerine Speedo” does both. Pretty fun song to soundtrack questioning your life choices while driving alone on a pitch black Canadian road at 2 a.m.
I was reading more about Caviar just now and saw that they came from “the ashes of Fig Dish” which is another band that someone once told me to check out because they were reminded of them by Dazy. They’re also pretty fun so I’m gonna take it as a compliment and try not to wonder if my music captures “major label casualty that never really made it” energy too accurately.
Best song by a Richmond band?
“Scuffle Town” by Avail
Might be the most Richmond song ever by the most Richmond band ever. Seems to be the go-to “impress the locals” cover choice when bands come through here too. When I was a kid living in Northern Virginia I heard this and it created a version of Richmond in my head that would probably be hard for any city to live up to, but it definitely seemed real at the couple of Avail reunion shows I saw.
Best song to eat pizza to?
“Just What I Needed” by The Cars
My favorite pizza place here in Richmond is called Pizza Bones and they do a sort of highbrow sourdough crust kinda thing, but the music they’re playing is always just straight up classic rock radio. Great combo in my opinion. So I dunno, maybe “Just What I Needed” or anything from The Cars’ first album? Perfect song to do pretty much anything to so definitely works for eating pizza.
Best song that you recently heard on the radio?
Probably “Just What I Needed” or something from The Cars’ first album playing at the pizza place…
Best song by Guided by Voices?
“As We Go Up, We Go Down” if I’m being real. “Stifled Man Casino” if I’m being cute and trying to sneak in a Bob side project pick. This question reminded me that GBV just put out a new record and I’m listening to it as I type this and shocker, it rocks. Not to get too earnest here on the cool music platform editorial page, but how amazing it is that this guy is like 70 and still wakes up every day wanting to devote his life to making relatively niche guitar music? Makes me emotional, what a legend.
Best song to calm you out of a panic attack?
“Speed Trials” by Eilliot Smith
Putting on Either/Or by Elliott Smith has sort of been my “steer into the skid” approach to anxiety since I was a kid, so I guess hearing “Speed Trials” has a bit of a cooling effect and by the time I get to “Rose Parade” things usually don’t seem so bad.
Best song with a dual guitar lead?
“Champagne Supernova” by Oasis
Honestly, more often than not I’m a little lukewarm about dual guitar leads. I usually like it better when it’s just two guitars going insane on top of each other rather than all locked in and harmonized. On that tip I’m gonna pick “Jellybelly” by Smashing Pumpkins. I think there’s maybe one part coming out of the bridge that really counts as a proper dual guitar lead but there’s definitely a ton of guitars going absolutely bananas all over one another so I’m gonna roll with it. Wait never mind, typing “roll with it” just made me realize the answer is definitely the dual guitar lead bit in “Champagne Supernova.” Good save.
Best song by a second-tier Madchester band?
“Chlorine Dream” by Spirea X
Not sure if this counts as Madchester and if it does second-tier is probably generous, but I’m gonna say “Chlorine Dream” by Spirea X. I think someone from Primal Scream quit and started this band before Screamadelica came out (oops) and basically ended up doing the same kind of beats+psychedelic thing to much less creative and commercial success. Great song though. It has everything you’d want from a Madchester track: baggy beat, ‘60s guitar lead, repetitive funky bass line, and a music video where everyone looks extremely cool in a way you could never possibly pull off.
Best song you've heard in 2025?
“Mona Lisa” by Elias Rønnenfelt
Might be recency bias but I’ve been really enjoying the new Elias Rønnenfelt album and I keep listening to the song “Mona Lisa” over and over. I would say something pithy like “guy from Iceage trying to make a Gorillaz album sounds like it was made in a lab to appeal specifically to me” but I think he’s actually very popular and that's a great reminder that in 2025 there’s no such thing as having quirky unique taste and we probably all need to get over ourselves.
Best song that reminds you of 2005?
“Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz
Speaking of Gorillaz, it’s gotta be “Feel Good Inc.” You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing this song in 2005 and I was very OK with that. I think when this song was blowing up someone finally connected the dots for me that this was the same guy who sang “Song 2” and I remember having an early lightbulb moment that it’s fun when people with roots in underground culture infiltrate the mainstream with some weird shit that’s just undeniable. Somehow it did not occur to me that maybe that’s because there just wasn’t anything super subcultural about “Song 2” or “Feel Good Inc” by 2005, but I was probably busy trying to figure out if there was room to sew another Nausea patch on my hoodie while listening to the latest Punk-O-Rama and avoiding doing homework—so let’s just say my worldview was fairly in-flux at the time. Perfect song.
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