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Perpetual Tunes is an ongoing series from Perpetual Doom—where artists deliver lo-fi devotions to the songs that won’t let go. These are the hymns we carry with us, played raw and reverent, from bedrooms and basements, motels and memory. Covers are chosen for personal reasons—classics, obscurities, or songs from Doom artists. Each installment includes a short reflection to illuminate the shadows.⁣
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A series for the songs that stay with you. That haunt. That heal.⁣ That are timeless.

Watch the official video for "Cowboy Dan": youtu.be/vRnjFWLWDeI

Modest Mouse, “Cowboy Dan” - When I first heard the album this is on (Lonesome Crowded West), I was a kid who’d never been west of Ohio.I imagined that the West was full of characters like Cowboy Dan and other dusty philosophers, heading out to the desert in shitty old pickup trucks to fight God. I owe the entire premise of my album “El Santo Grial: La Pistola Piadosa” to this song.

Tom Waits, “Cold, Cold Ground” - This song is nostalgic for me because it reminds me of living in the middle of nowhere in the driftless region of Wisconsin in my wife’s cabin. We both worked horrible jobs and would come home every night to listen to our trashy neighbors fighting, revving their truck engines, and just being loud and trashy as hell. They had a dog named Serenity. You’d hear them screaming “SERENITY!” across an otherwise peaceful valley every night. This is the perfect song about rural poverty.

16 Horsepower, “Heel on the Shovel” - When I got interested in country music and what other kids who’d grown up on punk rock had done with it, Sixteen Horsepower was one of the first bands I found. I grew up Pentecostal. Dave Edwards’ scary Jesus schtick reminds me of the absurd things my dad used to say and do. I don’t know if I consider myself goth country. Not really, but 16 Horsepower was one of the first bands to do it and I’ve borrowed a lot of ideas from them over the years.

Radiohead, “Climbing up the Walls” - Radiohead has been one of my biggest influences in every type of music I’ve ever played, even well before I began Slackeye Slim back in 2006. I could go through my discography and point out which songs started as an idea called something like “Radiohead Guitar Ripoff” or “Mexican Radiohead.” There are a lot of them, but I’ll let the mystery be. I recorded another version of this to use on an album a few years go, but it ended up not making it. I’m glad I got a chance to revisit it.

Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” - I originally wanted to do something kind of political. I originally recorded the song “Everybody Knows,” but the sexism in some of the verses really bothered me. Anthem is much more hopeful, and I think we need that right now more than we need the pointing out of obvious problems.

Kurt Weill via Louis Armstrong, “Mack the Knife” - I mean, come on. This song is funny! I can’t believe it was popularized in the 1950’s. Some dude just wandering around and stabbing people at random, but he’s treated like a hero. So violent and strange. I was allowed to listen to this when I was a kid, but my parents destroyed my Nirvana tapes because they were satanic.