Happy Monday, and welcome to each of you who joined us over the weekend! It’s great to have you here with us.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve been playing. There are still plenty of new releases popping up, and no signs of that slowing down anytime soon—but a bit of older stuff again found its way back into heavy rotation for me this week.
What caught your ear this week? Who should we have on our radar? Find anything good while crate digging? Is there an upcoming release or show you’re excited for?
Eeek! Kevin you're killing me with multiple fantastic bands I've never heard + a new EP from Helen Stellar. Circuit overload!
Meanwhile In The Pines new album 'Painting By Numbers' floored me with its acoustic rooted shoegaze(?) & The Drop Nineteens new one left me relieved and ecstatic. The The back catalogue provided comfort.
In news that will surprise almost no one, I've had the Drop 19s record playing almost nonstop since it came out. Soooo good.
I also keep meaning to get to the Superchunk comp., if for no other reason than it has the cover of "In Between Days" they did for AV Club, which I loved.
Damn you Kevin! I expect to know at least half of your playlist so that I don’t get sidetracked by going down ten sonic rabbit holes! All of these on your list I‘ve never heard of! I especially like the Teenage Tom Petties.
But I did listen to lots of music, including: Jim Carroll Band (for a piece I’m writing), Uni Boys, Black Pumas, and the new Fusion Syndicate album which is amazing. Much more but that’s a good sampling.
Ha! Sorry about that! Good thing we love those rabbit holes so much. Looking forward to checking out where you go with Jim Carroll- I've already got "People Who Died" stuck in my head. :)
Yeah, my plan was to have it posted on the same day as Day of the Dead, but life had other priorities. Glad I could provide a teaser earworm for you to ready yourself for it!
When I played that Teenage Tom Petties song, I first thought it was Teenage Fanclub under a bad pseudonym! Though it is a great name for a Teenage Fanclub/Tom Petty tribute band!
I have doing one of my frequent dives into a musical rabbit hole, listening to French-language pop/rock. I put together a short Spotify list of tunes that I just decided had an interesting or unusual sound. For all I know, people are singing "Kill Them, Kill Them All!"
I'm starting to think about my AOTY list too, though at this point, it's mostly me wondering how I'm going to winnow it down. The Tubs are definitely in that mix, and thank you for getting them on my radar!
If it's one of your faves, that means I need to check it out! yesterday, I found another "WallyTBM just bought music on Bandcamp" email in my inbox, so I've got a few new finds to go thriugh first. :)
I've been enjoying Fall Out Boy's remake of Billy Joel's 1989 "We didn't start the fire." I found Joel's version powerful in 1989, and to hear it remade with new events is interesting. Despite the events beyond our control, the message is still positive in that the lyrics say it's important to fight the fire. Thanks.
I wasn't sure I was going to like it when I first heard they'd remade it, but I'm with you; I think it's a fresh take on the song while still honoring the original. I really enjoy hearing it.
Well now you've gone and done it - ten bands I've never heard of! Will listen. The weekend was dominated by new/recent releases from Reseavoir, Snail Mail (demos EP), Ana Frango Eletrico, Ebony Lamb (on Nadia Reid's label), The Drums, MNDSGN, Hotline TNT, Skyway Man (more Beatle-esque than Now and Then, LOL), and Neal Francis. All were great except the last, a live album that seems intent on ruining all of his songs with horns and clunky funk breakdowns. But I'm not complaining about one dud out of nearly a dozen!
I'm genuinely surprised I went 10/10 here. I didn't think that was possible! I hope you find a few new faves in there. I didn't realzie Snail Mail had an new EP out! I'll have to give that a spin ASAP.
Actually, turns out I had heard of Down By Law - didn't realize you were going all 20th century on me, LOL. In any case, Treasures Of Mexico, bikethrasher, and Dot Dash were all great so thanks!
Wait, I didn’t know Helen Stellar had a new EP! I’ve got the vinyl comp that has all of their early stuff and it’s still one of my favs. Saw them in 2005 or so I want to say and always thought it was a bummer they didn’t do anything more. Glad to see that’s changed!
A friend mentioned Tony Molina to me the other day, who I had never heard of - listened to his newest album ('Embarrassing Times'), loved it, and have been listening to his 2014 album 'Dissed and Dismissed' ever since.
My friend described it as a cross between Teenage Fanclub, Guided By Voices, The Beach Boys, and Dinosaur Jr., which is pretty much right on.
Oh, also, it has 12 tracks and is less than 12 minutes long.
If you like Tony Molina, he also is part of The Lost Days whose new album In The Store is excellent. And he’s got another band, The Ovens, that is very similar to his solo stuff.
Currently visiting in Michigan........clearly there can only be one..........IGGY! And yes already went to The Stooges 1st house in Ann Arbor and MC5 house. Making this week’s post about architectural music history.
Romulus reminds me I need to listen to Sufjan’s album while here! Thanks!
Oh I mean post on your page, but thanks for asking! I should write something, “Ann Arbor, the town that forgot Iggy Pop” Though Encore Records had an Iguanas shirt for sale, and a large Blah Blah Blah promo poster up.
Forgot Grand Funk Railroad is from MI too!! Love their early stuff, so heavy!
That Jayli Wolf song is real nice. Thanks for the intro.
Thanks for this! Getting ready to cue it up here shortly.
I threw on Red Cross radio on Pandora, and I've been enjoying the mostly old-school punk stuff: https://www.pandora.com/station/play/175694263684697972?part=ug-desktop&corr=74638688
Hell yeah.
Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life :)
Wilco--Cruel Country and Cousin--and some older stuff--and the new Stones LP which is pretty great.
Read your piece on the most recent dig just now and really, well, dug it.
Thanks Glenn!
For anyone scrolling the comments, Terry's latest can be found here: https://open.substack.com/pub/terrybarr/p/alternative-country-and-bayous?r=3cbf2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Blue Hawaii
Nice!
Thriller lead me down a Michael Jackson rabbit hole. :)
Are you writing something on Thriller/MJ for Fanfare, or was this because of Halloween?
Halloween. I wrote something on MJ for The Riff a few years ago
This one?
https://medium.com/the-riff/the-10-best-michael-jackson-songs-ranked-ada036ce0fd3
That's the one!
Well, thanks to Matt Thompson over at @criticalhitparader, I have been diving into Cirith Ungol and Blue Oyster Cult.
I went down a little BOC rabbit hole yesterday after working on a piece about The Clash
The Clash... I'm in on that one.
Eeek! Kevin you're killing me with multiple fantastic bands I've never heard + a new EP from Helen Stellar. Circuit overload!
Meanwhile In The Pines new album 'Painting By Numbers' floored me with its acoustic rooted shoegaze(?) & The Drop Nineteens new one left me relieved and ecstatic. The The back catalogue provided comfort.
The The back catalogue is always a fun place
Had no idea Helen Stellar has something new out! What a great day.
I was really happy to have that pop up on my radar.
I hope I at least helped find you a new favorite or two! Agreed on the Drop Nineteens. Look for more on that later this week.
Knocked out with a cold this past week & weekend, so I watched lots of garbage instead of listening to good stuff.
Oh man! I hope today finds you feeling a little better!
Update week for Reflect & Relax Cafe #49, so these were the ones selected for version #49:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6EcLhgESeOBX3Fvfxt8SH4?si=681e20580bb6444f
Have a great week!
Thanks for the link!
Downpresser
Another new one for me. I'm on it!
Happy Monday! Lots of Wilson Pickett lately, for no apparent reason 😄
No reason required! :)
Been in my fall folk mode.
- Bob Dylan, "Nashville Skyline" and "John Wesley Harding"
- Serge Gainsbourg "Bonnie and Clyde"
- The Band, "Music from the Big Pink"
- boygenius, "boygenius EP"
- Grizzly Bear, "Yellow House"
Don't forget Todd Snider, "East Nashville Skyline"
This is my kinda mix.
Newish:
Been making my way through Superchunk’s super compilation: Misfits & Mistakes (2+ hrs of music!)
Drop 19s: Hardlight
Wednesday: Rat Saw God
Older:
Tortoise (live show)
Robyn Hitchcock: Element of Light
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane: Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (These guys were so cool, they didn’t need to bother with an album title.)
In news that will surprise almost no one, I've had the Drop 19s record playing almost nonstop since it came out. Soooo good.
I also keep meaning to get to the Superchunk comp., if for no other reason than it has the cover of "In Between Days" they did for AV Club, which I loved.
Damn you Kevin! I expect to know at least half of your playlist so that I don’t get sidetracked by going down ten sonic rabbit holes! All of these on your list I‘ve never heard of! I especially like the Teenage Tom Petties.
But I did listen to lots of music, including: Jim Carroll Band (for a piece I’m writing), Uni Boys, Black Pumas, and the new Fusion Syndicate album which is amazing. Much more but that’s a good sampling.
Ready for the Carroll piece. Should be a great read.
Ha! Sorry about that! Good thing we love those rabbit holes so much. Looking forward to checking out where you go with Jim Carroll- I've already got "People Who Died" stuck in my head. :)
Yeah, my plan was to have it posted on the same day as Day of the Dead, but life had other priorities. Glad I could provide a teaser earworm for you to ready yourself for it!
When I played that Teenage Tom Petties song, I first thought it was Teenage Fanclub under a bad pseudonym! Though it is a great name for a Teenage Fanclub/Tom Petty tribute band!
Lol. No Petty songs in sight, but the whole record is great.
I have doing one of my frequent dives into a musical rabbit hole, listening to French-language pop/rock. I put together a short Spotify list of tunes that I just decided had an interesting or unusual sound. For all I know, people are singing "Kill Them, Kill Them All!"
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xQsYfy5FOir1aQKwOBbcK?si=f610ff0d82214aba
I love French pop! Thanks.
Thank you for this! I love French pop and Ye Ye. I can;t understand a word of it, either, but it's sure fun to listen to.
New and great:
- In the Pines 'Painting By Numbers'
- Hotline TNT 'Cartwheel'
I'm also starting to think about AOTY list, so revisiting favorites from the first couple months of the year like:
- Black Belt Eagle Scout 'The Land, The Water, The Sky'
- The Tubs 'Dead Meat'
I'm starting to think about my AOTY list too, though at this point, it's mostly me wondering how I'm going to winnow it down. The Tubs are definitely in that mix, and thank you for getting them on my radar!
My earworm of the last couple of days has been Dave Matthews Band, "Gray Street." I still miss the passion I had for him back in 1998.
I recently got a Moby CD for 50 cents - wasn't thrilled with it.
I posted this week on music I'd rather not hear, if people are interested:
https://dirkh.substack.com/p/in-which-i-indulge-my-dislikes-of
Thanks for the link! Which Moby CD?
I Like to Score
I haven't heard the whole album yet but the new album by The Bathers promises to be in my favorite albums of the year as they never disappoint 👌👌👌👌👌
If it's one of your faves, that means I need to check it out! yesterday, I found another "WallyTBM just bought music on Bandcamp" email in my inbox, so I've got a few new finds to go thriugh first. :)
Sorry here is a link tobit if anyone is interested - https://thebathers.bandcamp.com/album/sirenesque
I've been enjoying Fall Out Boy's remake of Billy Joel's 1989 "We didn't start the fire." I found Joel's version powerful in 1989, and to hear it remade with new events is interesting. Despite the events beyond our control, the message is still positive in that the lyrics say it's important to fight the fire. Thanks.
I wasn't sure I was going to like it when I first heard they'd remade it, but I'm with you; I think it's a fresh take on the song while still honoring the original. I really enjoy hearing it.
Well now you've gone and done it - ten bands I've never heard of! Will listen. The weekend was dominated by new/recent releases from Reseavoir, Snail Mail (demos EP), Ana Frango Eletrico, Ebony Lamb (on Nadia Reid's label), The Drums, MNDSGN, Hotline TNT, Skyway Man (more Beatle-esque than Now and Then, LOL), and Neal Francis. All were great except the last, a live album that seems intent on ruining all of his songs with horns and clunky funk breakdowns. But I'm not complaining about one dud out of nearly a dozen!
I'm genuinely surprised I went 10/10 here. I didn't think that was possible! I hope you find a few new faves in there. I didn't realzie Snail Mail had an new EP out! I'll have to give that a spin ASAP.
Actually, turns out I had heard of Down By Law - didn't realize you were going all 20th century on me, LOL. In any case, Treasures Of Mexico, bikethrasher, and Dot Dash were all great so thanks!
Lol. I gotta mix it up once in awhile. More Dot Dash inbound tomorrow!
Wait, I didn’t know Helen Stellar had a new EP! I’ve got the vinyl comp that has all of their early stuff and it’s still one of my favs. Saw them in 2005 or so I want to say and always thought it was a bummer they didn’t do anything more. Glad to see that’s changed!
Along with others, really digging this playlist full I've stuff I've never heard.
The new American Analog Set record is really great IMO!
Yes, that was in my “many others” that I didn’t list out. Really liked that one a lot.
I keep seeing this pop up on people's must listen lists, and keep missing the boat. I'll have to change that ASAP.
A friend mentioned Tony Molina to me the other day, who I had never heard of - listened to his newest album ('Embarrassing Times'), loved it, and have been listening to his 2014 album 'Dissed and Dismissed' ever since.
My friend described it as a cross between Teenage Fanclub, Guided By Voices, The Beach Boys, and Dinosaur Jr., which is pretty much right on.
Oh, also, it has 12 tracks and is less than 12 minutes long.
https://meltersmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dissed-and-dismissed
If you like Tony Molina, he also is part of The Lost Days whose new album In The Store is excellent. And he’s got another band, The Ovens, that is very similar to his solo stuff.
Love Molina's work.
Your friend's descriptionmight be the best I've seen yet!
Nothing new, but I’ve had Aretha Franklin’s Think running through my head all weekend 💭
I love it! You've likely already seen it, but she has a box set of (I think?) 5 or 6 of her records from the early 70s coming out next month.
Currently visiting in Michigan........clearly there can only be one..........IGGY! And yes already went to The Stooges 1st house in Ann Arbor and MC5 house. Making this week’s post about architectural music history.
When in Rome (or Romulus), right? Please share the link to your article when it goes live!
Romulus reminds me I need to listen to Sufjan’s album while here! Thanks!
Oh I mean post on your page, but thanks for asking! I should write something, “Ann Arbor, the town that forgot Iggy Pop” Though Encore Records had an Iguanas shirt for sale, and a large Blah Blah Blah promo poster up.
Forgot Grand Funk Railroad is from MI too!! Love their early stuff, so heavy!
I learned that there is a band called "The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs" and that just makes me happy. Look out now because I'm using technology.....
Ha! Please tell me they're as good as their name implies.
Besides listening to tracks for upcoming Songs of the Day, I am listening to Niall Horan's Heartbreak Weather.
I'm into the new Israel Nash album, Ozarker. It has real Strand of Oaks vibes to it.
Oh! That sounds perfect for this time of year.
Thanks for the playlist Kevin, a bunch of new stuff for me to get lost in!
Here’s what I’ve been enjoying over the last few days:
Will Johnson - No Ordinary Crown
Cowboy Junkies - Such Ferocious Beauty
bar italia - The Twits
Bleach Lab - Lost In A Rush Of Emptiness
So much good music being released right now!
Of course! I'm glad you liked it.
So, so much good stuff coming out right now.
This my current weekly playlist. A lot of Panda Bear and Animal Collective lately.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3IX06deD44brgUem346A8I?si=mgIRy2TFRwOmJZr6WeIjeA
That is a monster playlist! Thanks for sharing it here. Gonna play it after lunch today.
Meine by Daso. Total banger!
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=h7qTI6Njp9g&si=Rb9zAl-pgRch4Fpb
Oooof, that's so sooo good 🫶🤩✨
Definitely a banger!
the newest release from Palace - "Make You Proud" 🫠🫠🫠https://open.spotify.com/track/2hyaYnjeDSqapulrcPph8z?si=44d5b5f2765d4b9b
Loved this one!
Well, one of my bands has decided to push our second album release to February, bc the traffic is so thick towards this year's end.
But we soft-launched the first single this weekend:
Listen to Like I Care by Bessemer Saints on #SoundCloud
https://on.soundcloud.com/69jQT
Holy shit. That's a great track. That locomotive riff is the jolt I needed this AM.
Thank you much! First BS tune ever written by our (multi-talented) drummer, Terry "Bull" Johnson, aka The Formidable Grape.
worth a listen
joan! •^•