Good morning! Welcome to each of you who joined us over this past week! You’ve landed at what was recently described as “the nicest place on the internet.“
If you’re looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people, you’re in the right spot.
It’s great to have you here.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve had in heavy rotation:
Now it’s your turn.
What caught your ear this week? Find anything good while crate digging? Are there any upcoming releases or shows you’re excited about? What’s on your list for Record Store Day?
So whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!
I rarely go "all in" on a show like I did Loudermilk. We binged it incredibly fast. When I learned that she also had a popcorn biz, I tried to interview her, but never heard back. Maybe I should try again...
“Little America” from your REM bit last week has been doing it for me, but also “Burning Up” by Anna Ash. The New Yorker did a profile of Maggie Rogers that was pretty interesting.
Mondays are always made easier by this post, the music you share, and the subsequent comments. Looking forward to digging into your playlist as always! I've been listening to a hefty slice of Black Keys, a layer of Divorce and a sprinkling of Rosali. And here's this week's Recent and Decent playlist for a smattering of other such musical things: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZflSWTHIEoHzYJBz2iQXE?si=Sf8DsEVFQO-0UQjK8IAECw&pi=e-ZF4GhHkrTGio
Same as with Matt and Operation Plowshare -- these posts and comments are a highlight every week, and a great way to kick off the week (especially since it's still early here in Mountain Time).
This thread introduced me to Divorce about 11 hours ago and now I am in love. Also their Spotify description is magnificent: "Choose Divorce and regain control of your life and finances. 7,592. Followers."
They are one of my very favourite bands! I found them at a festival last May and have taken every opportunity to see them since. Scratch Your Metal is such a wonderful song but I pretty much love everything.
Found this band earlier this week, and have been "all in" ever since. Apparently, they played a show here over the weekend, so my streak of missing good shows remains (sorta) intact.
Totally know the pangs of missed shows regret. Another band I totally dig that has a similar vibe is Home Front. These bands seem to be fresh and new, and a bit of nostalgic, all at once. I’m all in on both of these bands. I’ve seen Soft Kill once. Hope I can say the same about Home Front someday. Take care.
Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More Than Luck. Saw on a few lists last week, many thanks!
Greg Saucier - Grow Like a Plant single. Drummer and singer for Deerhoof releasing his first solo record later this month. Expect to see Deerhoof further down this list.
Cynthia Nelson Band - For Days. Fun album.
Jane Weaver - Love in Constant Spectacle. This I like a lot.
Not as new:
Jeff Tweedy - wish I had known about Together At Last SEVEN YEARS AGO.
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse. Not my first rodeo with Bill, just haven’t spent much time/energy with his music. My list of deep dives extends by one.
Son Volt - See below Wilco update.
Comfort listenings:
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief + Com Lag: 2 + 2 = 5 EP. Sustenance for the soul. OK Computer thru In Rainbows disc 2 are Radiohead’s pocket (for me).
Wilco and Jeff Tweedy related things. Finished Jeff Tweedy’s book - Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) - in a couple of reading sessions which meant also listening to solo stuff. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot / A Ghost is Born / Sky Blue Sky are right up to the top for me, and everything since has been fun listening.
Deerhoof. Haven’t taken a Deerhoof Dive in a while, that streak ended with the above news of drummer Greg’s pending album. Fave records include D-Hoo vs Evil, Breakup Songs, The Magic, and pretty much everything they have ever made ever, forever.
Desert Session 1 thru 12. Do you like Queens of the Stone Age? How’s about PJ Harvey? Piano bench’s breaking? Any one of those or a combination therefore of, could lead you to Desert Sessions. I recommend all of it, although streaming services will only have 9 thru 12. I’m still a little bit old school in that I have media saved locally.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Comfort food for the ears + head. Some of the lyrics are CRINGE, but damn is this is a fun album all these years later. ‘Member BMG? Yea, I got this CD for a $0.01 and never paid them a penny more. 11 y/o me was such a badass.
Pages:
Nuclear War: A Scenario. Read. This. Book. If you aren’t a golfer, there is a podcasty thing that has the writer of this book, Annie Jacobsen, talking with a guy named Dan who is known for talking about history from time to time.
I finished Tweedy's memoir recently as well. It was a much better read and I expected and I came away impressed with his deep, deep love of music. I'm going through Wilco's post-Jay records in chronological order now. And I'm reading his book on songwriting now (full of fluff, but fun as well).
Thanks for the heads up on Desert Sessions -- will check them out!
Wilco released “Crosseyed Strangers” last year, which is an “alternative” Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - basically live versions of the songs but with a different interpretation from the recorded version. Worth a listen.
I have listened to those updated versions. Still prefer original YHF. Reading Tweedy’s book whilst reviewing their catalog last week brought an interesting perspective to the alternate versions.
Hahahaha!! Love the bit about BMG! I probably got Blood Sugar Sex Magic there too! I did that so many times! That’s one of my comfort albums as well! I just made a playlist this week of the Chilis and Foos 😂
I’m with you on the Radiohead’s sweet spot. The last lines in Christagau’s review of Kid A have stuck with me for years - “Alienated masterpiece nothing - it’s dinner music. More claret?” (A- grade)
I'm a big Springsteen fan, but he recorded his recent soul-influenced album about 20 years too late.
But I've dived this week back into the the album that sounds like the one he should have made back in the day. "On The Line" is the second comeback album Springsteen & the E-Streeters worked on with Gary U.S. Bonds, it's by far the better effort. Seven songs by Springsteen, another by Steve Van Zandt. I'd love to hear Springsteen's version of "Love's On The Line," which is just spectacular here. But maybe my favorite is "Club Soul City," which includes just absolutely smoking backing vocals from veteran R&B singer Chuck Jackson.
BTW, Jackson had a couple of decent sized hits in the early 60s. But he also recorded the original version of two songs that later were much bigger hits when they were covered by other artists. Ronnie Milsap had a hit with "Any Day Now" and Michael McDonald had a big pop hit with "I Keep Forgetting." Although the latter song is arranged so differently, original songwriters Lieber & Stoller share the credits with McDonald.
'Any Day Now' reminds me of driving to the beach when I was a little kid. For a few years, it seemed like we always managed to hear it. I had no idea it was a cover until just now!
I've been doing a bit of a deeper dive into Donovan, which has been on my to-do list for awhile. Of course, I was familiar with the hits, but as usual, the most interesting stuff is not the hits.
I'm only a bit of the way through, but I'm appreciating his obviously-Beatles inspired playful, inventive lyricism and wordplay and his folky, flower child confection of sound.
No Donovan projects in the foreseeable future. Just filling in gaps for my Beatles research -- Donovan was in India with them at the ashram, and according to Paul helped on the melody for "I Will", as well as teaching a new acoustic guitar technique to John and Paul, which they used on Julia, Mother Nature's Son, I Will and Blackbird. So he relates.
"The Walls Came Down" -- one of my favorite songs ever and one that showed the promise of early MTV. I have it on some running playlists and when Michael Been gets to the "whoop whoop!" at the end, I swear I'm running twice as fast. And Garth Hudson is on keys! Totally underrated band.
My last week was about:
- Continuing my benders with The Mekons and Alejandro Escovedo. Alejandro was a guest on Marc Maron's podcast recently and while Maron is an annoying interviewer -- so many interruptions, shut up, dude! -- he draws some good stories out of Al.
- Revisiting the R.E.M. IRS period, inspired by last week's piece on Reckoning.
- Digging into James McMurtry's catalog to see if he clicked with me this time, as he's coming here to Albuquerque in June. Sadly, he's just not my thing.
- Mark Knopfler's new one, One More River. It's still sinking in, but I like it so far, even if it's mellower than most of what I'm listening to at the moment.
Have a great week, everyone! Looking forward to your recommendations, as always.
I went all in on The Call after seeing they were going to be on the Abandoned Albums podcast. For this track specifically, I'd either forgotten or never noticed all the little keyboard floursihes hear and there.
Interesting question. If it's predominantly a goth band (EG, Joy Division), the song has to have punk elements- edgy vocals, fast paced drums at some point, or some combination that screams "ALSO PUNK!", and vice versa: if it's a punk band, it needs to not completely run away with speed, or else it ruins all the other songs on the mix... to do that, I picked lots of Rudi P (but not much from their first EP, which is too fast for this).
The impetus came while listening to "Black" by Neurosis. I was like, "This is an early crust song! Wait, this sounds just like old Bauhaus or Joy Division (up until it kind of doesn't)." I was intrigued by that connection, and I've been following that thread ever since then.
NIN is a pretty recent addition. Similarly, no stuff from Broken since it'll just overwhelm everything else, but stuff from the first album really fits in.
I guess one tough thing for me, a kinda old-school punk expert of sorts, is to find punk songs with that goth edge I'm looking for. I know they're out there and all over the place, but they flew under my radar for a long time, or else I didn't notice that they were goth-ish.
Great picks! I think Nitzer Ebb is great, but kind of overwhelming (in the same way that I had to really limit my NIN stuff on this mix). I'm gonna think about a good spot for them.
I added a Jesus and Mary Chain song, and a Life w/Thrill Kill Cult song so far. Thanks for the ideas!
Dude… two weeks before I got to Santiago, Gizzy and Phoenix came through as part of the Lolla South American tour. Would’ve been cool to catch that show. Otherwise a successful trip lol
Well, I finally did it and listened to Cowboy Carter. It'll take more than one listen, but I can't deny its epicness. I thought of all the guest duets, the one with Miley Cyrus was the best.
The only other album I listened to was the latest from Kim Gordon, The Collective. Also epic. I'm sure there's an article to be written comparing the Beyonce and Kim Gordon albums. Not by me, but I thought I'd toss it out there....
What else....I finished the audio book of Geddy Lee's "My Effin Life." As a lifelong Rush fan I loved it, but it seriously needed an editor.
Ya Ya was definitely a highlight for me. We can compare notes after I give it a couple more listens. I don’t like to offer opinions after just one or two plays as my feeling invariably change.
Yeah, with you all on this. I thought the record had a nicely mastered (?) feel to it - this behind the beat, slack kind of thing going on maybe, first half of the album, rolling along, hard to explain! Heard 'American Requiem' again today and it sounded quite gorgeous.
My Weezer fan added Pearl Jam to his list! So I spent last week playing a lot of Pearl Jam. He turned 13 Friday, so I officially have four teenagers now!
My daughter pulled Hole - Violet out as her selection on the way to school one day last week!! I love it when she randomly plays something I love! She wasn’t too thrilled when I cranked it and sang loudly hahahaha!
I spent most of the week trying to figure out quirks with apple car play in my new (used) car! If it’s plugged in, it just keeps pausing… apparently, if I make a call and hang up that will fix it because it has something to do with Siri? But, I don’t do phone calls and am not about to call someone and hang up every time I go somewhere hahahaha!! So, if my phone needs to charge I’m listening to the local alternative radio station, which is good because this car stereo actually has the digital read where I know what is playing! My last car stereo didn’t, so I never knew what I was hearing if I didn’t already know it! The station is actually pretty great because it plays a mix of new and old alternative music. And I now have seen that a lot of the newer stuff they play that I like, I’ve seen discussions about in a lot of the music newsletters!
Also did a bit of revisiting Morphine after it was mentioned in the 60 Songs that Explain the 90s final episode.
Oooh!! I will have to try that!! One kid took all of 2 seconds to fix my gps that was showing things upside down lol!! So, I know exactly what you are talking about!
I have been trying to remember which PJ song he started it with - I think it was either Once or Alive??
There were a ton of great write-ups last week. I had a field day trying to read them all. The death of quality music writing has been greatly exaggerated.
My husband had a business conference in Vegas over the weekend. I wasn't going to join, but Mariah was performing... so here I am, replaying the concert on my phone while I try to readjust to BST (GMT+1) 🤣 🤣
More like 04:00, because the show started at 20:00 local time, and Vegas is 8 hours behind London. Thank fck she was punctual 🤣 it was well worth it though! One of her best shows (and I’ve seen a fair share 😆).
Me: "okay, so Vegas is an hour behind Madison, and Madison is GMT -5, so that means BST -6, which means..."
Let's just say math isn't my strong suit, and I'm happy I have clocks set to both local and Zulu time at work. lol. I'm glad it was a great show and worth the early wake up!
Thank you!! Lol I know. I also feel it should be Mountain Time, but it’s Pacific. On reflection, though, Mountain would have been just as brutal! Ms Carey certainly kept me entertained, but going to work the next day was tough 🤩
Mickey Hawks singles Screamin' Mimi Jeanie and Rock and Roll Rhythm.
Spotify's recommendation from Hawks led me down the Rockabilly rarities rabbit hole to Ersel Hickey's Hangin' Around at Heartbreak Hotel from 2005
Tracy Pendarvis's 1960 singles A Thousand Guitars and is It Too Late from Sun Records
Benny Joy's 2001 re-release Crash the Rockabilly Party and finally the compilation Rockabilly Gold Masters with Al Ferrier's Let's Go Boppin' Tonight, Pink Cadillac by Jimmy Evans and other great tunes from the era.
On my turntable I've been enjoying Bloodrock's excellent 1971 album., Bloodrock U.S.A. and Bill Bruford's album Gradually Going Tornado with the incredible Jeff Berlin on bass and lead vocals, The Unknown John Clark on guitar and Dave Stewart on Keys.
New: Sunny War - "Anarchist Gospel." So good all around. Excellent guitar and vocals and a super interesting take on the world. Beginning my journey here so I'm sure there are many layers I have yet to reach.
I'm calling it my current, absolute top pick for AOTY. Blend 'Black Country, New Road' with Funeral/Neon era 'Arcade Fire', add a touch of Vampire Weekend, and finally a dash of Moving Pictures 'Rush'(!?) and you've got English Teacher. Headphones and complete album listen are recommended. AMAZING!
Any playlist that starts with The Call, has to be an A-list. I had a good week with listening to my playlist, it's all over the place and very eclectic, and very enjoyable.
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Tom Waits - Small Change
Ludovico Einaudi - In A Time Lapse
Brian Duncan - Whistlin' In The Dark
The Silvertones - I'd Rather Have Jesus
9 Volt - Riptide
Syd Arthur - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Remixes By The Amorphous Androgynous)
Like others here, your Reckoning piece sent me off into a deep dive into my REM album starting with Collapse Into Now and working backwards. I’ve got as far as Lifes Rich Pageant. General verdict is the IRS period is my favourite but Out Of Time also makes a strong showing.
In other news my son introduced me to Conan Gray’s new album and my initial reaction is extremely positive.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it & found some new favorites. IRS period is still my favorite, but I should probably do as you've done and start at the end and work backward again. It's been awhile.
Some great albums came out on Friday. A couple I was expecting: Elsa Hewitt’s Chaos Emeralds and Bodega’s Our Brand Could Be Yr Life, with the former among her best and the latter a fine and fun ride. Then there was the unexpected: Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee - absolutely fantastic! Don’t miss. Also got an advance copy of Lionlimb’s next album and it is incredible, epic, widescreen, passionate. You can hear the single with Angel Olsen now. I also got to see Friko on Saturday night and they were magnificent a passion, charisma, dynamics and a little chaos. One of the great bands of our time.
Caught a bit of the Cindy Lee discourse on Twitter, but haven't yet made it through the YT link to the record. Got your latest pod queued up for later today as well.
I've been listening to Lael Neale's "Star Eater's Delight" on repeat lately, and a deep dive into Folk Implosion, who I kind of overlooked for the longest time but love now.
I'm going with the West Wing theory about the penny. It will never go away because Lincoln is on it and Illinois is a swing state...
I think it was Sam, but it does sound like a Toby thing!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Matty C. & I had a lot of fun doing that. Kids today will never know the joy of 12 CDs for a penny. Sad, really!
I rarely go "all in" on a show like I did Loudermilk. We binged it incredibly fast. When I learned that she also had a popcorn biz, I tried to interview her, but never heard back. Maybe I should try again...
https://open.substack.com/pub/thekevinalexander/p/lissie?r=3cbf2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Will do & thanks!
Great list, Will!
The Tank Girl Soundtrack is one of my absolute favorites!!
Some good finds right there!
“Little America” from your REM bit last week has been doing it for me, but also “Burning Up” by Anna Ash. The New Yorker did a profile of Maggie Rogers that was pretty interesting.
I was late to the Maggie Rogers party, but 'Don't Forget Me' is just fantastic.
I'd currently revisiting Lana Del Rey's discography from Born to Die to (upcoming) Honeymoon - loving It!
Right on! That's gotta be a fun ride.
Mondays are always made easier by this post, the music you share, and the subsequent comments. Looking forward to digging into your playlist as always! I've been listening to a hefty slice of Black Keys, a layer of Divorce and a sprinkling of Rosali. And here's this week's Recent and Decent playlist for a smattering of other such musical things: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ZflSWTHIEoHzYJBz2iQXE?si=Sf8DsEVFQO-0UQjK8IAECw&pi=e-ZF4GhHkrTGio
I so much look forward to these posts every week. Started a music journal due to these threads. It’s been great reading everyone’s posts!
Great idea!
Oh, that's a great idea! I should probably start consolidating these playlists as well.
p.s. Loved Pulse Park, Soft Kill and The Bilinda Butchers especially!
Same as with Matt and Operation Plowshare -- these posts and comments are a highlight every week, and a great way to kick off the week (especially since it's still early here in Mountain Time).
Making the morning routine a little bit better is one of On Repeat's "value adds." :)
Big fat YES! to Divorce. I love them so much!
I think you introduced them to me! Turns out they're playing at a festival I'm seeing in June so I look forward to seeing what they do live!
This thread introduced me to Divorce about 11 hours ago and now I am in love. Also their Spotify description is magnificent: "Choose Divorce and regain control of your life and finances. 7,592. Followers."
They are one of my very favourite bands! I found them at a festival last May and have taken every opportunity to see them since. Scratch Your Metal is such a wonderful song but I pretty much love everything.
Lol. With a description like that, I've gotta check 'em out.
I'm really happy to hear that! Anything to make Mondays go a little smoother. Thanks for sharing your link as well!
Soft Kill’s new LP has been on repeat. Have a great week.
Found this band earlier this week, and have been "all in" ever since. Apparently, they played a show here over the weekend, so my streak of missing good shows remains (sorta) intact.
Totally know the pangs of missed shows regret. Another band I totally dig that has a similar vibe is Home Front. These bands seem to be fresh and new, and a bit of nostalgic, all at once. I’m all in on both of these bands. I’ve seen Soft Kill once. Hope I can say the same about Home Front someday. Take care.
Home Front's 'Games of Power' is awesome. I'd forgotten how much I liked this record. Thanks for the reminder!
https://thekevinalexander.substack.com/p/liner-notes-20april2023?utm_source=publication-search
Well. Yes. Clearly I am a Johnny Come Lately. Loved the review. Thanks for posting again.
New:
Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More Than Luck. Saw on a few lists last week, many thanks!
Greg Saucier - Grow Like a Plant single. Drummer and singer for Deerhoof releasing his first solo record later this month. Expect to see Deerhoof further down this list.
Cynthia Nelson Band - For Days. Fun album.
Jane Weaver - Love in Constant Spectacle. This I like a lot.
Not as new:
Jeff Tweedy - wish I had known about Together At Last SEVEN YEARS AGO.
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse. Not my first rodeo with Bill, just haven’t spent much time/energy with his music. My list of deep dives extends by one.
Son Volt - See below Wilco update.
Comfort listenings:
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief + Com Lag: 2 + 2 = 5 EP. Sustenance for the soul. OK Computer thru In Rainbows disc 2 are Radiohead’s pocket (for me).
Wilco and Jeff Tweedy related things. Finished Jeff Tweedy’s book - Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) - in a couple of reading sessions which meant also listening to solo stuff. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot / A Ghost is Born / Sky Blue Sky are right up to the top for me, and everything since has been fun listening.
Deerhoof. Haven’t taken a Deerhoof Dive in a while, that streak ended with the above news of drummer Greg’s pending album. Fave records include D-Hoo vs Evil, Breakup Songs, The Magic, and pretty much everything they have ever made ever, forever.
Desert Session 1 thru 12. Do you like Queens of the Stone Age? How’s about PJ Harvey? Piano bench’s breaking? Any one of those or a combination therefore of, could lead you to Desert Sessions. I recommend all of it, although streaming services will only have 9 thru 12. I’m still a little bit old school in that I have media saved locally.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Comfort food for the ears + head. Some of the lyrics are CRINGE, but damn is this is a fun album all these years later. ‘Member BMG? Yea, I got this CD for a $0.01 and never paid them a penny more. 11 y/o me was such a badass.
Pages:
Nuclear War: A Scenario. Read. This. Book. If you aren’t a golfer, there is a podcasty thing that has the writer of this book, Annie Jacobsen, talking with a guy named Dan who is known for talking about history from time to time.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182733784
https://youtu.be/0fKY2heVWoU?si=G2iWQ98F2vD6BDmN
I finished Tweedy's memoir recently as well. It was a much better read and I expected and I came away impressed with his deep, deep love of music. I'm going through Wilco's post-Jay records in chronological order now. And I'm reading his book on songwriting now (full of fluff, but fun as well).
Thanks for the heads up on Desert Sessions -- will check them out!
Wilco released “Crosseyed Strangers” last year, which is an “alternative” Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - basically live versions of the songs but with a different interpretation from the recorded version. Worth a listen.
I have listened to those updated versions. Still prefer original YHF. Reading Tweedy’s book whilst reviewing their catalog last week brought an interesting perspective to the alternate versions.
I'll see if I can find a copy. Thanks!
I didn't know that! I'll have to check that out!
Hahahaha!! Love the bit about BMG! I probably got Blood Sugar Sex Magic there too! I did that so many times! That’s one of my comfort albums as well! I just made a playlist this week of the Chilis and Foos 😂
I’m with you on the Radiohead’s sweet spot. The last lines in Christagau’s review of Kid A have stuck with me for years - “Alienated masterpiece nothing - it’s dinner music. More claret?” (A- grade)
Interesting quote, I am off to find that full review!
https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Radiohead
Ha! The lyrics on 'Blood Sugar..." are definitely cringe, but man you're right-- it's a fun record.
I've been seeing Lo Moon pop up more & more on great lists like yours.. The music universe is trying to tell me something!
Also: Gotta love BMG (and Columbia House). The company that launched a thousand record collections.
I'm a big Springsteen fan, but he recorded his recent soul-influenced album about 20 years too late.
But I've dived this week back into the the album that sounds like the one he should have made back in the day. "On The Line" is the second comeback album Springsteen & the E-Streeters worked on with Gary U.S. Bonds, it's by far the better effort. Seven songs by Springsteen, another by Steve Van Zandt. I'd love to hear Springsteen's version of "Love's On The Line," which is just spectacular here. But maybe my favorite is "Club Soul City," which includes just absolutely smoking backing vocals from veteran R&B singer Chuck Jackson.
BTW, Jackson had a couple of decent sized hits in the early 60s. But he also recorded the original version of two songs that later were much bigger hits when they were covered by other artists. Ronnie Milsap had a hit with "Any Day Now" and Michael McDonald had a big pop hit with "I Keep Forgetting." Although the latter song is arranged so differently, original songwriters Lieber & Stoller share the credits with McDonald.
https://youtu.be/kOEgaUp-3Pw?si=Td0Re4z8ZzwzO6NL
'Any Day Now' reminds me of driving to the beach when I was a little kid. For a few years, it seemed like we always managed to hear it. I had no idea it was a cover until just now!
"One Last Dance" by Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD stuck on repeat 🔁🎶✨ https://open.spotify.com/track/0MzrzzeC7IvFk1J9DFdu4d?si=1cc8a775157744d5
YES!
Happy Monday, Kevin and all!
I've been doing a bit of a deeper dive into Donovan, which has been on my to-do list for awhile. Of course, I was familiar with the hits, but as usual, the most interesting stuff is not the hits.
I'm only a bit of the way through, but I'm appreciating his obviously-Beatles inspired playful, inventive lyricism and wordplay and his folky, flower child confection of sound.
Will you be doing a Donovan-related project, or is this for fun?
No Donovan projects in the foreseeable future. Just filling in gaps for my Beatles research -- Donovan was in India with them at the ashram, and according to Paul helped on the melody for "I Will", as well as teaching a new acoustic guitar technique to John and Paul, which they used on Julia, Mother Nature's Son, I Will and Blackbird. So he relates.
Ahh, yes. What am I listening to... SkyDxddy (pronounced Sky Daddy) hint hint... and LOADS of David Baerwald - hint hint. Stay Tuned....
Boomtown is such a great record. I need to revisit Baerwald's post-D&D records, which I picked up a few years ago -- thanks for the reminder!
You're welcome! Such a great record. He's done some really great work.
Hint taken! Looking forward to Wednesday.
"The Walls Came Down" -- one of my favorite songs ever and one that showed the promise of early MTV. I have it on some running playlists and when Michael Been gets to the "whoop whoop!" at the end, I swear I'm running twice as fast. And Garth Hudson is on keys! Totally underrated band.
My last week was about:
- Continuing my benders with The Mekons and Alejandro Escovedo. Alejandro was a guest on Marc Maron's podcast recently and while Maron is an annoying interviewer -- so many interruptions, shut up, dude! -- he draws some good stories out of Al.
- Revisiting the R.E.M. IRS period, inspired by last week's piece on Reckoning.
- Digging into James McMurtry's catalog to see if he clicked with me this time, as he's coming here to Albuquerque in June. Sadly, he's just not my thing.
- Mark Knopfler's new one, One More River. It's still sinking in, but I like it so far, even if it's mellower than most of what I'm listening to at the moment.
Have a great week, everyone! Looking forward to your recommendations, as always.
I have a good friend who loves McMurtry, but I’m with you. A dose here and there is about all I can take.
I’m with you both on McMurtry’s studio albums, but the “Live in Aught-Three” album is wonderful.
Good to know -- will check out, thanks!
I went all in on The Call after seeing they were going to be on the Abandoned Albums podcast. For this track specifically, I'd either forgotten or never noticed all the little keyboard floursihes hear and there.
https://www.abandonedalbums.com/episode-803-rock-legends-in-conversation-the-calls-jim-goodwin-tom-ferrier-share-their-musical/
Punk/Goth and Goth/Punk playlist is really coming along: https://pandora.com/playlist/PL:198494836309887817:74638688
I found a Voivods song I really like, and added a bunch of early Siouxie stuff!
That’s an awesome playlist!
Thanks, Kristin! Work in progress, for sure.
Got any suggestions? I might say no, but I also might get some ideas.
What are your parameters?
Interesting question. If it's predominantly a goth band (EG, Joy Division), the song has to have punk elements- edgy vocals, fast paced drums at some point, or some combination that screams "ALSO PUNK!", and vice versa: if it's a punk band, it needs to not completely run away with speed, or else it ruins all the other songs on the mix... to do that, I picked lots of Rudi P (but not much from their first EP, which is too fast for this).
The impetus came while listening to "Black" by Neurosis. I was like, "This is an early crust song! Wait, this sounds just like old Bauhaus or Joy Division (up until it kind of doesn't)." I was intrigued by that connection, and I've been following that thread ever since then.
NIN is a pretty recent addition. Similarly, no stuff from Broken since it'll just overwhelm everything else, but stuff from the first album really fits in.
I guess one tough thing for me, a kinda old-school punk expert of sorts, is to find punk songs with that goth edge I'm looking for. I know they're out there and all over the place, but they flew under my radar for a long time, or else I didn't notice that they were goth-ish.
I see you added some Cure! Was going to suggest them. Maybe check out the Jesus and Mary Chain (album Psychocandy) https://youtu.be/7EgB__YratE?si=6GZKQryF3nF_5rMt
Nitzer Ebb https://youtu.be/AGHMS_zh0zM?si=mblDpshOUEvH9NGQ
My Life With the Thrill Kill Cult https://youtu.be/sFNgCrGWQAM?si=kgVowX2zrKwt2Yuz
Peter Murphy https://youtu.be/UrfFHzqGBZI?si=9J8TttsJIn99540n
On the more mellow side - This Mortal Coil - the Filigree & Shadow album is amazing https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfimnwaZdumgFyAwHFCEmeqXl8aqrKdfn&si=rhTCjaifc4ots-z7
Great picks! I think Nitzer Ebb is great, but kind of overwhelming (in the same way that I had to really limit my NIN stuff on this mix). I'm gonna think about a good spot for them.
I added a Jesus and Mary Chain song, and a Life w/Thrill Kill Cult song so far. Thanks for the ideas!
How about The Cure's 'Primary'? Fits the parameters and might just get Dinkles up & dancing.
Yep, that's a winner!
All it takes is a three-week vacation to miss out on a shit ton of releases so I've been playing catchup.
"Only God was Above Us" - Vampire Weekend (The hype is real. This may be their best album.)
"Tigers Blood" - Waxahatchee
"A LA SALA" - Khruangbin
"Loss of Life" - MGMT
"Bright Future" - Adrienne Lenker
"Something in the Room She Moves" - Julia Holter
Well Yeah, but did you spoend it going to every single killer show in North America? :)
Dude… two weeks before I got to Santiago, Gizzy and Phoenix came through as part of the Lolla South American tour. Would’ve been cool to catch that show. Otherwise a successful trip lol
Down the rabbit hole for me with singer-songwriter Ellen McILwaine. I did not know this track, but it's a keeper:
"Jimmy Jean" - https://open.spotify.com/track/2aFTcoeXhsdFqCGcQfuQWC?si=ecf0df3a2aea431a
And this is her righteous cover of "Can't Find My Way Home" - https://open.spotify.com/track/0n0ciaddRLUUqTFmtPxHXe?si=f69279d80f3d44a2
Both of these are new to me. I'm on it!
Well, I finally did it and listened to Cowboy Carter. It'll take more than one listen, but I can't deny its epicness. I thought of all the guest duets, the one with Miley Cyrus was the best.
The only other album I listened to was the latest from Kim Gordon, The Collective. Also epic. I'm sure there's an article to be written comparing the Beyonce and Kim Gordon albums. Not by me, but I thought I'd toss it out there....
What else....I finished the audio book of Geddy Lee's "My Effin Life." As a lifelong Rush fan I loved it, but it seriously needed an editor.
Came here to talk about Cowboy Carter and delighted that my buddy Steve is already listening!
I also need to give it more time, but I love what she did with Jolene and I’m digging Ya Ya.
Ya Ya was definitely a highlight for me. We can compare notes after I give it a couple more listens. I don’t like to offer opinions after just one or two plays as my feeling invariably change.
Genuinely curious to hear thoughts on the record from both of you!
Yeah, with you all on this. I thought the record had a nicely mastered (?) feel to it - this behind the beat, slack kind of thing going on maybe, first half of the album, rolling along, hard to explain! Heard 'American Requiem' again today and it sounded quite gorgeous.
A compare & contrast of those records would be the exact kind of "really unique angle" I mentioned over on The Riff. I hope someone takes it on!
My Weezer fan added Pearl Jam to his list! So I spent last week playing a lot of Pearl Jam. He turned 13 Friday, so I officially have four teenagers now!
My daughter pulled Hole - Violet out as her selection on the way to school one day last week!! I love it when she randomly plays something I love! She wasn’t too thrilled when I cranked it and sang loudly hahahaha!
I spent most of the week trying to figure out quirks with apple car play in my new (used) car! If it’s plugged in, it just keeps pausing… apparently, if I make a call and hang up that will fix it because it has something to do with Siri? But, I don’t do phone calls and am not about to call someone and hang up every time I go somewhere hahahaha!! So, if my phone needs to charge I’m listening to the local alternative radio station, which is good because this car stereo actually has the digital read where I know what is playing! My last car stereo didn’t, so I never knew what I was hearing if I didn’t already know it! The station is actually pretty great because it plays a mix of new and old alternative music. And I now have seen that a lot of the newer stuff they play that I like, I’ve seen discussions about in a lot of the music newsletters!
Also did a bit of revisiting Morphine after it was mentioned in the 60 Songs that Explain the 90s final episode.
Oh, nice! What PJ did he pick out?
As for the car: Have you tried handing the phone to one of your kids and saying "please help"? That always seems to work for me. lol.
Oooh!! I will have to try that!! One kid took all of 2 seconds to fix my gps that was showing things upside down lol!! So, I know exactly what you are talking about!
I have been trying to remember which PJ song he started it with - I think it was either Once or Alive??
Newish:
Bodega- Our Brand Could Be Yr Life
The Black Keys - Ohio Players
Woods - Perennial
Older:
The Feelies - The Good Earth, In Between & Live Show on Sat Night in DC
Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
Miles Davis - Workin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet
R.E.M. - Reckoning (like others, the various write-ups, including Kevin’s, led me to break out my CD)
There were a ton of great write-ups last week. I had a field day trying to read them all. The death of quality music writing has been greatly exaggerated.
My husband had a business conference in Vegas over the weekend. I wasn't going to join, but Mariah was performing... so here I am, replaying the concert on my phone while I try to readjust to BST (GMT+1) 🤣 🤣
Oof. So...like an 0200 start time?
More like 04:00, because the show started at 20:00 local time, and Vegas is 8 hours behind London. Thank fck she was punctual 🤣 it was well worth it though! One of her best shows (and I’ve seen a fair share 😆).
Me: "okay, so Vegas is an hour behind Madison, and Madison is GMT -5, so that means BST -6, which means..."
Let's just say math isn't my strong suit, and I'm happy I have clocks set to both local and Zulu time at work. lol. I'm glad it was a great show and worth the early wake up!
Thank you!! Lol I know. I also feel it should be Mountain Time, but it’s Pacific. On reflection, though, Mountain would have been just as brutal! Ms Carey certainly kept me entertained, but going to work the next day was tough 🤩
The math’s not mathing! 😂
Delbert McClinton's 2001 album Nothing Personal
Cocktail Slippers' Shout It out Loud from 2021
Mickey Hawks singles Screamin' Mimi Jeanie and Rock and Roll Rhythm.
Spotify's recommendation from Hawks led me down the Rockabilly rarities rabbit hole to Ersel Hickey's Hangin' Around at Heartbreak Hotel from 2005
Tracy Pendarvis's 1960 singles A Thousand Guitars and is It Too Late from Sun Records
Benny Joy's 2001 re-release Crash the Rockabilly Party and finally the compilation Rockabilly Gold Masters with Al Ferrier's Let's Go Boppin' Tonight, Pink Cadillac by Jimmy Evans and other great tunes from the era.
On my turntable I've been enjoying Bloodrock's excellent 1971 album., Bloodrock U.S.A. and Bill Bruford's album Gradually Going Tornado with the incredible Jeff Berlin on bass and lead vocals, The Unknown John Clark on guitar and Dave Stewart on Keys.
Some great picks here, Billy!
Adding to my most listened to Top Ten this week is Falling in Love Again by The Selfless Lovers - very Springsteen-esque! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F4qZR0KpAc
Also really digging Kenny Wayne Sheperd's version of Elton John's Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQtwrU9RbME
Selfless Lovers are a new one for me! Thanks for the rec.!
Loving the new Einstruzende Neubaten LP. Total return to form. New Discovery is Scott Hepple and the Sun Band scottheppleandthesunband.bandcamp.com
YES! I'm glad you mentioned Neubaten. It's great.
The new Vegyn album from last week was 🔥🔥
https://vegyn.bandcamp.com/album/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions
And i’m really looking fwd to the new Claire Rousay and Cloud Nothings releases as well
https://clairerousay.bandcamp.com/album/sentiment
https://cloudnothings.bandcamp.com/album/final-summer
I recently pre-ordered the Cloud Nothings record. I cannot wait for it to show up!
New: Sunny War - "Anarchist Gospel." So good all around. Excellent guitar and vocals and a super interesting take on the world. Beginning my journey here so I'm sure there are many layers I have yet to reach.
Old: I wrote a long Substack piece recently on what I call "The Great Anti-LA Country Song" (early '70s - mid-'80s). I find it a hilarious and sometimes touching sub-genre of the Countrypolitan phase. I included a playlist and I keep listening to it. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Y2U6HGF3q4uOaL3cRlYet?si=LMl-Qu4kTL6nUAnVzIkzRw&pi=u-p0eH5fcSQFmP
I agree!!
For anyone scrolling the comments, here's the article Jeff mentioned:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jefftakacs/p/the-great-anti-la-country-song?r=3cbf2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Hey thanks, Kevin! I'm still pretty new to Substack, so I'm learning the culture. To post one's own stuff on another's thread or not to?
Every newsletter is different, but on this weekly thread, sharing relevant links is encouraged.
Dolly Parton - Jolene
Came back to drop this version. If you haven't heard it...
https://youtu.be/yYn6_ZA_Udg?feature=shared
Nice!
ENGLISH TEACHER - 'This Could Be Texas'
I'm calling it my current, absolute top pick for AOTY. Blend 'Black Country, New Road' with Funeral/Neon era 'Arcade Fire', add a touch of Vampire Weekend, and finally a dash of Moving Pictures 'Rush'(!?) and you've got English Teacher. Headphones and complete album listen are recommended. AMAZING!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4gd3XcQ7dR37m8GimBfiYT
Haven’t managed to listen to this yet but I have a ticket for their show on 10th May so it’s high on my list!
I'm seeing them in NY on 6/10. The album will not disappoint.
This sounds interesting - will check it out. BC, NR’s second album reminded me of Funeral in its musical sensibilities.
If you're callin' it, that means I need to listen to it, like, right now! I'm on it.
Any playlist that starts with The Call, has to be an A-list. I had a good week with listening to my playlist, it's all over the place and very eclectic, and very enjoyable.
Pink Floyd - Meddle
Tom Waits - Small Change
Ludovico Einaudi - In A Time Lapse
Brian Duncan - Whistlin' In The Dark
The Silvertones - I'd Rather Have Jesus
9 Volt - Riptide
Syd Arthur - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble (Remixes By The Amorphous Androgynous)
Now, that's a mix!
Like others here, your Reckoning piece sent me off into a deep dive into my REM album starting with Collapse Into Now and working backwards. I’ve got as far as Lifes Rich Pageant. General verdict is the IRS period is my favourite but Out Of Time also makes a strong showing.
In other news my son introduced me to Conan Gray’s new album and my initial reaction is extremely positive.
https://open.spotify.com/album/39gMxRpFKgIVvw3krIIam5?si=Trw9aCNZSECLI3KzMMbuZw
Should also say how much I enjoyed your playlist this week Kevin. Entirely new to me and so many great tracks! Thank you
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it & found some new favorites. IRS period is still my favorite, but I should probably do as you've done and start at the end and work backward again. It's been awhile.
"To Whom It May Concern", Lisa Marie Presley
Some great albums came out on Friday. A couple I was expecting: Elsa Hewitt’s Chaos Emeralds and Bodega’s Our Brand Could Be Yr Life, with the former among her best and the latter a fine and fun ride. Then there was the unexpected: Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee - absolutely fantastic! Don’t miss. Also got an advance copy of Lionlimb’s next album and it is incredible, epic, widescreen, passionate. You can hear the single with Angel Olsen now. I also got to see Friko on Saturday night and they were magnificent a passion, charisma, dynamics and a little chaos. One of the great bands of our time.
Caught a bit of the Cindy Lee discourse on Twitter, but haven't yet made it through the YT link to the record. Got your latest pod queued up for later today as well.
Late to the discussion but after seeing a great show by Ratboys, have their 2023 record on repeat. Wrote it up (along with previously recommend The Umbrellas and a revisit of Hepcat) here — https://3albums6oldguys.substack.com/p/spring-break-is-over-the-umbrellas
'The Window' was one of my favorite records last year. Any other year, and it would've been a Top 10 contender for sure.
Indeed. Now realizing that -- as I wrote in the post, it didn't quite hit that level until I saw them live, and now I can't stop listening.
And two really great hiphop records. Both with excellent lyrics and chill production. https://realbadman.bandcamp.com/album/temple-needs-water-village-needs-peace
And
https://mosesrockwell.bandcamp.com/album/regular-henry-sessions (Has a song referencing John Kruk and the big Lebowski and another about gas station sushi. What else could you want?)
The new James album 'Yummy' is really growing on me. The middle age-centric songwriting on tracks like Rogue must be why 😳
I'll have to check it out!
Just posted about all the hip-hop tracks that I had in rotation during the last quarter. (new format I'm trying out)
Bas - light of my soul
Nas - sitting with my thoughts
Rapsody - Astroids
The Alchemist - Bless
Ransom - AND1
Conway the Machine - Vertino
Mick Jenkins - Show & Tell
Schoolboy Q - Yeern 101
Courtney Bell - Westside
Conway the Machine - Mind Tricks
Blockhead - AAU Tournements
Boldy James - They Vouching
my friend turned me on to elliot smith! such an incredibly talented musician :)
If anyone is a fan of Yo La Tengo or Galaxie 500 than here is a band from Japan, Sugarplant, that might be of interest -
https://kilikilivilla.bandcamp.com/album/hiding-place
It also has hints of Mazzy Star to my ears
Huge fan of both! Adding to the list to listen to today.
Sidenote: Skynote was on in the car on Monday, and my son really liked the sound.
Thanks Kevin and I will let the guys in Skytone know 👌👍👏😊
I've been listening to Lael Neale's "Star Eater's Delight" on repeat lately, and a deep dive into Folk Implosion, who I kind of overlooked for the longest time but love now.
I remember seeing The Call's video for "The Walls Came Down" on MTV back when it first came out. Loved that Garth Hudson was playing keyboards on it!
The new album from The Reflectors, Going out of Fashion, is hitting me in the power pop pleasure center.