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For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing. New year, new us? Not a chance. lol.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation.
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Any 2025 releases or shows you’re excited about?
Before you go: As most of you have seen, I am a huge fan of music the streaming platform Qobuz. The sound quality is second to none, and the entire UX is fantastic. Thanks to our friend Kenn Richards, you can now see it for yourself.
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Cool you open with a Spoon track. Highlights of my listening last week were 'They Want My Soul' by Spoon and I enjoyed a session of listening to The Doors.
- Sam Fender - People Watching. I'm obsessed with this song, and it's the rare song that is aided by visuals, the most arresting music video I've seen in ages. There's a moving story behind the song as well. To tie it to Kevin's playlist, it's produced by the War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel and has echoes of Springsteen.
- There's an excellent conversation with drummer/producer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco) on the Music Makers & Soul Shakers podcast hosted by Nashville musician Steve Dawson. Ken is hilarious and gregarious and you'll hear some great stories. If you don't know Steve's podcast, check the archives, as he has great conversations with the kinds of musicians who are often in the shadows, mostly in Americana.
- Sons of Bill - Love and Logic. Ken raved about this band from Virginia and this record, which he produced with mixing by Jim Scott and Tchad Blake. It reminds me of the mellower side of late-period Uncle Tupelo. Well worth your time.
Looking forward to the playlist and your recommendations, as always. Have a great week!
Thanks for the reminder about the podcast. I loved Sons of Bill. They're from Charlottesville a couple of hours from where I live, and I saw them live a couple of times. Wish they would reunite.
Love to see the Martha's Vineyard Ferries on there. Such a great band. Still spinning a lot of Polish art/noise band Trupa Trupa here after seeing them in a small club near DC last week - https://trupatrupa.bandcamp.com/album/mourners
Honest truth is I mostly just keep listening to Horsegirl over and over. But also enjoying the new Julien Baker/Torres singles ahead of their April release -- https://julienbakerandtorres.bandcamp.com -- and another addition to the incredible lineup of Bay Area shoe gaze, this time from a band called Demora - https://demora1.bandcamp.com/album/torpor
Funny timing on your The Bevis Frond mention. I haven't thought of them in years until last night when a friend in town from Germany mentioned seeing them there recently. I added them to my list for the week. Any recommendations for where to start?
I agree with 'New River Head,' but I also like 'Sprawl' and his first two albums, 'Inner Marshland' and 'Miasma.' That said, I think NRH is probably a great one to start with.
Got Brett Newski's new album, "AmeriCONa Part I" in the mail the other day. Solid stuff.
Newski is not putting this one on any streaming services. You have to buy the physical media to get it, and I wholly support that idea. And it's always nice to support local musicians, too.
I just ordered that. I'm new to Milwaukee and just came across Newski's work. Looking forward to digging in. I admire that he's willing to avoid streaming with this one.
Yes me too! Been listening to him for years and was so excited to see this new project. I've seen him play at 3 Sheeps before and he's a lot of fun to watch. He did a cover of Beck's Devils Haircut and some other great stuff
I have a couple of Widespread Panic songs that have been on heavy rotation lately. One is a Vic Chestnut song “Aunt Avis”. The version with Widespread Panic is my favorite version of that song. Another one is “You’ll Be Fine” by Widespread.
Miya Folick’s ‘Erotica Veronica’, Sinatra At The Sands, and ROLE MODEL’s ‘Kansas Anymore’. I also took a trip to the early 80’s for a metal masterpiece I’ve never heard before, Picture’s ‘Diamond Dreamer’ 🤘
Great playlist. Johansen's death sent me down a rabbit hole, as anticipated. Also enjoying Patterson Hood's new solo album, and ready for Isbell's this week.
Robyn Hitchcock! And really regretting that I sold so much awesome vinyl back when I was in college! I had I Often Dream of Trains, Globe of Frogs, Queen Elvis, and Eye. So, I listened to those streaming this week.
I learned recently that The Fray is going on tour and, if I was still 17 again, I would be so thrilled. No hate to them, but it's been ages since I've given their stuff a listen!
Not much else beyond the usual jazz/funk mix I've got going on lately at home. Feels like a little lull here musically, but I'm sure I'll discover some new faves sooner than later!
Jethro Tull Aqualung was a good listen in the car. Kate & Anna McGarrigle were the highlight on the turntable. As per usual, the long listen is here: https://weatheredmusic.ca
Thanks for the link! I'm paraphrasing here, but the line you wrote about not needing more records by the McGarrigle Sisters (sp?), but listening more to the ones you already have resonated wit me.
Not for nothing, we used to have a shift manager that looked like Bob McKenzie. One of the guys here put a Strange Brew screen saver on a large monitor in one of our common areas, but the manager never caught the joke.
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
I’ve been making my way through this list (below). Incredible stuff, including the Durutti Column album at #49, which I’d never heard before. As always, Gang Of Four and PiL remain supreme.
Last week I didn't listen to anything new, but I did revisit Aurora's latest effort, "What Happened to the Heart" which is always a pleasure to listen to. I need to finish up my review of it at some point...
Speaking of that album, it was nominated in two categories for the 2024 Spellemann Prisen, a Norwegian music award - Alternative Pop and Best Release (Årets utgivelse). There's a couple of releases that were nominated that I'd like to check out this week - namely Gabrielle's "Og eg lyger så det renner som en foss gjennom rommet" and girl in red's "I'm doing it again baby!".
I found another great Rammstein song on Deep Dive of the group called: Eifersucht or Jealousy, another controversial song..lol..techno metal sound to it.
Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly with His Song
Perfect pick, Yana!
Cool you open with a Spoon track. Highlights of my listening last week were 'They Want My Soul' by Spoon and I enjoyed a session of listening to The Doors.
Great minds think alike! :)
My week was about:
- Sam Fender - People Watching. I'm obsessed with this song, and it's the rare song that is aided by visuals, the most arresting music video I've seen in ages. There's a moving story behind the song as well. To tie it to Kevin's playlist, it's produced by the War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel and has echoes of Springsteen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cXCUp6j5M8
- There's an excellent conversation with drummer/producer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco) on the Music Makers & Soul Shakers podcast hosted by Nashville musician Steve Dawson. Ken is hilarious and gregarious and you'll hear some great stories. If you don't know Steve's podcast, check the archives, as he has great conversations with the kinds of musicians who are often in the shadows, mostly in Americana.
https://www.makersandshakerspodcast.com/episode/ken-coomer
- Sons of Bill - Love and Logic. Ken raved about this band from Virginia and this record, which he produced with mixing by Jim Scott and Tchad Blake. It reminds me of the mellower side of late-period Uncle Tupelo. Well worth your time.
Looking forward to the playlist and your recommendations, as always. Have a great week!
Thanks for the reminder about the podcast. I loved Sons of Bill. They're from Charlottesville a couple of hours from where I live, and I saw them live a couple of times. Wish they would reunite.
Very cool. I'm glad I learned about them -- looking forward to listening to more of their catalog.
Thanks for all the recs! Sons of Bill and the podcast are both new to me.
Love to see the Martha's Vineyard Ferries on there. Such a great band. Still spinning a lot of Polish art/noise band Trupa Trupa here after seeing them in a small club near DC last week - https://trupatrupa.bandcamp.com/album/mourners
Listening to Trupa Trupa as I type this. Say "Sister Ray" on the tracklist and was totally expecting it to be a VU cover.
For days now: erykah badu - Back in the day. Only that one, on repeat. That is how my life should be.
We should be so lucky!
Honest truth is I mostly just keep listening to Horsegirl over and over. But also enjoying the new Julien Baker/Torres singles ahead of their April release -- https://julienbakerandtorres.bandcamp.com -- and another addition to the incredible lineup of Bay Area shoe gaze, this time from a band called Demora - https://demora1.bandcamp.com/album/torpor
Thanks for this. I'll take all the shoegaze you got!
I love the playlist this week - and a nice shout-out to the N.Y. Dolls. As for me, Julianna Hatfield is Everywhere
Julianna Hatfield and Richard Butler, “This Lonely Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYqWwaUGl-U
The I Don’t Cares, “Love Out Loud” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4geuUkZzzig
The Lemonheads, “My Drug Buddy” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exR3bJSi9-k
Minor Alps, “I Don’t Know What to Do With My Hands” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xdfmtNZmU0
The Julianna Harfield Three, “Fleur de Lys” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-a6SMaAOtY
That Minor Alps albums is so darn good.
Great mix, Jon! I hope at least a couple of people see your post and check out The I Don't Cares.
Also had occasion this weekend to go back and listen to one of the great overlooked alt-country (really just old school country) bands of the 90s and 00s, Freakwater - especially End Time, Spring Time, and Feels like the Third Time. https://freakwatermusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-asp-and-the-albatross-fullerene
Finally on the global front - the incredible collection in the Palestinian Sound Archive -- https://majazzproject.bandcamp.com/music -- and another great cumbia collection from Spanish label Vampisoul -- https://vampisoul.bandcamp.com/album/cumbia-cumbia-cumbia-vol-3.
Happy Monday everyone!
On the turntable these last few days:
Muddy Waters - Best Of
Lee Fields & The Expressions - It Rains Love
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram - 662
Love that Lee Fields album!!
Always a good time for Muddy Waters! The other two are new to me. I'm on it!
Playlist loaded & out the door. Thanks!
NEW & SHINY:
*** Panda Bear 'Sinister Grift' - Amazing! Shades of Fleet Foxes + Vampire Weekend.
** Bdrmm 'Microtonic'
* Deep Sea Diver 'Billboard Heart'
* Doves 'Constellations For The Lonely'
* Darkside 'Nothing'
POLISHED GEMS
* The Bevis Frond catalogue as I'm seeing them tonight in NYC.
* Nenah Cherry 'Raw Like Sushi' - Because it makes me feel good.
* Airiel 'Winks & Kisses' - Takes me away...
+ The Jam, lots of The Jam!
Funny timing on your The Bevis Frond mention. I haven't thought of them in years until last night when a friend in town from Germany mentioned seeing them there recently. I added them to my list for the week. Any recommendations for where to start?
My favorite 'recent' is Valedictory Songs. New River Head is a classic. Latest, Focus On Nature is solid as well. Enjoy!
Great, thanks!
I agree with 'New River Head,' but I also like 'Sprawl' and his first two albums, 'Inner Marshland' and 'Miasma.' That said, I think NRH is probably a great one to start with.
Thanks, Michael!
I've been meaning to get to Bdrmm & am excited to hear the new Doves as well!
Raw Like Sushi! Haven't heard that in ages. Thank you for the reminder!
Good morning from a rainy left coast: Here is what is in my ears:
1. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rklXcT46W100EYzEhTjt3?si=77b1f7f522284ec0
2. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3LRHKcmTMLlg9kNWzzX8x5?si=983eb263b6674802
3. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/627aLiTKOjoWAfyqcdqQie?si=7ac09479964f4909
Have a great week!
Diggin' the George Porter and Cactus Lee on the Feb. Favs playlist 1.
love them both
Thank you, Jon! Killer lists as always.
Got Brett Newski's new album, "AmeriCONa Part I" in the mail the other day. Solid stuff.
Newski is not putting this one on any streaming services. You have to buy the physical media to get it, and I wholly support that idea. And it's always nice to support local musicians, too.
I just ordered that. I'm new to Milwaukee and just came across Newski's work. Looking forward to digging in. I admire that he's willing to avoid streaming with this one.
Yes me too! Been listening to him for years and was so excited to see this new project. I've seen him play at 3 Sheeps before and he's a lot of fun to watch. He did a cover of Beck's Devils Haircut and some other great stuff
I like this, and think we're gonna see more and more of it. Not a tsunami or anything, but a noticable uptick.
If you're okay with sharing, where'd you pick it up at?
Direct from the source. Newski is selling them on his website.
Sweet! Thanks for that.
Can I just say how nice it is to see a side thread of WI peeps on here?
I have a couple of Widespread Panic songs that have been on heavy rotation lately. One is a Vic Chestnut song “Aunt Avis”. The version with Widespread Panic is my favorite version of that song. Another one is “You’ll Be Fine” by Widespread.
"Trash" by NY Dolls is such a great, dirty little song. As proto-punk goes, it's about as good as it gets.
Yes! It's one of my faves by them. I'm happy to see someone else dug it.
I think it's their most punk song. I definitely think of the Dolls as having proto-punk elements.
I've just written a retrospective piece on The Vapors over at Culture Sonar (new album dropped last Friday). It's very good!
https://www.culturesonar.com/the-vapors-are-back-to-hit-the-ground-running/
Thanks for the link! I'll read it on my break here coming up.
Thea Gilmore’s new album of covers, These Quiet Friends - https://open.spotify.com/album/12ccoGoIuBoBGkOY2wvseh?si=HeZq-rieQQOciIcQcAvpcA
Ooh, I didn’t know Thea Gilmore had a new one! Will have to dig into that!
RKL
I haven't heard them in forever! Might have to play that before management shows up in the office.
Miya Folick’s ‘Erotica Veronica’, Sinatra At The Sands, and ROLE MODEL’s ‘Kansas Anymore’. I also took a trip to the early 80’s for a metal masterpiece I’ve never heard before, Picture’s ‘Diamond Dreamer’ 🤘
Trips to the early 80s are always worth it! :)
Derina Harvey Band - The Last Saskatchewan Pirate.
Thanks to Brad, I went back to early Scorpions for some fun this weekend.
Love Drive
Animal Magmatism
Blackout
Great playlist. Johansen's death sent me down a rabbit hole, as anticipated. Also enjoying Patterson Hood's new solo album, and ready for Isbell's this week.
I'm looking forward to it too!
Robyn Hitchcock! And really regretting that I sold so much awesome vinyl back when I was in college! I had I Often Dream of Trains, Globe of Frogs, Queen Elvis, and Eye. So, I listened to those streaming this week.
Hope you're reading his Substack. So sweet.
He has a Substack?!?!? Off to subscribe!
HA! I didn't know either. I'm off to do the same.
Nice! Some old friends of mine sent me a photo from his show in Cincinnati on Saturday.
Charles Wesley Godwin has a new EP out, "Lonely Mountain Town" so I've had that on streaming the last week.
I picked up tickets to see Wu-Tang on their (allegedly) final tour so I've been spinning 36 Chambers and some of their solo albums this morning.
RZA was on the NYT Popcast recently, and it's a good listen if you haven't already checked it out. I'd love to see them before it's all said and done!
Oh nice, I’ll have to check that out. Yeah, it should be a fun show. As an extra bonus, Run The Jewels is the opener!
I learned recently that The Fray is going on tour and, if I was still 17 again, I would be so thrilled. No hate to them, but it's been ages since I've given their stuff a listen!
Otherwise, checked out Sunny War's Armageddon In A Summer Dress and dug both the album name and the album itself: https://sunnywar.bandcamp.com/album/armageddon-in-a-summer-dress
Not much else beyond the usual jazz/funk mix I've got going on lately at home. Feels like a little lull here musically, but I'm sure I'll discover some new faves sooner than later!
Hopefully some new faves here in the thread!
I’ve been obsessed with five albums that dropped on Friday and have pretty much been cycling through them ever since:
• Andy Bell - pinball wanderer
• bdrmm - Micro tonic
• Deep Sea Diver - Billboard Heart
• Doves - Constellations For The Lonely
• Kopium - The Weeping Willow
The Andy Bell album is excellent and that cover of The Passions song is wonderful
I got sidetracked on your post, but meant to add that I've been meaning to check out Andy bell's new one!
Jethro Tull Aqualung was a good listen in the car. Kate & Anna McGarrigle were the highlight on the turntable. As per usual, the long listen is here: https://weatheredmusic.ca
Thanks for the link! I'm paraphrasing here, but the line you wrote about not needing more records by the McGarrigle Sisters (sp?), but listening more to the ones you already have resonated wit me.
Not for nothing, we used to have a shift manager that looked like Bob McKenzie. One of the guys here put a Strange Brew screen saver on a large monitor in one of our common areas, but the manager never caught the joke.
I'm still going through @jonpinter 3 playlists he posted last Monday....
They're sooo good. His photography is awesome as well!
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
Hugo by Loyle Carner. Great for reading and writing to or sitting with a coffee and really hearing the lyrics. This is the kind of hip hop I find myself drawn to as I get older.
Soundtrack to Drowning Mona:
Great 70s AM Jams. 3 Three Dog Night Songs, and Jackie Blue, Drift Away, Jeans On, Don't Pull Your Love.
Outstanding Track: Nils Lofgren ~ The Sun Hasn't Set On This Boy Yet
Rabbit Hole Track : The Pipkins ~ Gimme Dat Ting (they wrote I' d Like To Teach The World To Sing! and dozens of others you know if yr AM old.)
Gimme Dat Link https://youtu.be/Vs6gnsAtjXw?si=5rFEqBQSKLb-DTdI
I am AM Old. lol.
Obligatory rhyming compliment:
You are AM Gold, and I know you know every word https://youtu.be/ejJwjddKLec
I’ve been making my way through this list (below). Incredible stuff, including the Durutti Column album at #49, which I’d never heard before. As always, Gang Of Four and PiL remain supreme.
https://www.popmatters.com/best-post-punk-albums-ever
The Durutti Column are excellent and had the opportunity to see Vini live and what an amazing talent along with Bruce Mitchell's incredible drumming
Thanks for this! What an incredible rabbit hole to fall down this early in the morning. I love it!
Favourite albums released in the last week are Middle Spoon by Cheekface and Roxwell by Matilda Mann - both excellent.
I’ve also been listening to Caramels For Grandpa by Everyone Is Dirty which is well worth investigating.
This was my weekend listening:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5IZVDev1mSh3ilWNXHuEvE?si=6e6nyqACR0KiRyZbGWfYhw&pi=Hv_UAmKVR0aEx
Awesome playlist, Lou! Anything with Rilo Kiley and R.E.M. on it is gonna grab me.
Thank you!
Devil on the Sofa is an unbelievably good record. I listen to it all the time.
I’ve been revisiting Sufjan Stevens’ Seven Swans album. It’s calm. ☺️
Calm is just what the doctor ordered!
A couple people have mentioned the new Deep Sea Diver already, but it's really great, so I'm going to mention it again. Also, new Doves.
I'm on it!
Excited to hear both of these.
Last week I didn't listen to anything new, but I did revisit Aurora's latest effort, "What Happened to the Heart" which is always a pleasure to listen to. I need to finish up my review of it at some point...
Speaking of that album, it was nominated in two categories for the 2024 Spellemann Prisen, a Norwegian music award - Alternative Pop and Best Release (Årets utgivelse). There's a couple of releases that were nominated that I'd like to check out this week - namely Gabrielle's "Og eg lyger så det renner som en foss gjennom rommet" and girl in red's "I'm doing it again baby!".
I found another great Rammstein song on Deep Dive of the group called: Eifersucht or Jealousy, another controversial song..lol..techno metal sound to it.