Friday Playlist
Last week I complained that the new music had dried up. Well, that changed quick! At one point this week my playlist of songs to review was back up over 30 tracks. A lot of those got sampled and immediately deleted, but a decent chunk moved into my rotation. And then I tweaked some of my playlists to pull out tracks from this year that had gotten lost in the shuffle a bit. So, at least for now, the music larder is fully stocked again.
“Look At All The Happy People” - Bluegirl. Of course Bluegirl is going to be happy this week!
“blue” - girl in red. And makes sense girl in red would be blue. I am shocked that Marie Ulven Ringheim lists Taylor Swift as her biggest influence. This is good enough to stand on its own even if it owes a huge debt to Taylor.
“The Intersection” - Radio Free Alice. I’ve shared a couple RFA songs this year, and was very much looking forward to their new album, which dropped last week. The first half featured those two tracks, and most of the rest of it sounded like them: brooding and somber. I was about to give up on it and move to something else. Then, suddenly, the tone completely changed on the back half, and most of its tracks had the lightness and energy you hear on this one. Might want to think about your sequencing, fellas.
“Miles Away” - San Cisco. This is utterly delightful.
“The Package” - TV Star. Here is one of the older songs that bubbled up. By older I mean from April. I looked up the Stereogum write up from its release and they described it as a midpoint, at least musically, between Pearl Jam and Teenage Fanclub. That’s a stretch, and I hear way more TF than PJ, but I think it does pull from the warmness each of those bands injects into their best songs.
“2 C U” - Swapmeet. A lot of mid-90s goodness in this track, which is also from earlier this year.
“Shower Beer” - Jazmine Mary. For the moment we are no longer wondering how much it would cost to move to Australia or New Zealand, the two countries where this artist has lived.
“Human Happens” - Magdalena Bay. A year old, but this clearly should have made a Friday Playlist long ago. My bad.
“South Carolina” - Tennis. We’ve been big fans of Dr. Annie Andrews, the newest senator elect from South Carolina, in our house for a while. What’s not to like about a pediatrician who decides to stand up and fight for what she believes in, especially in a state where most people gave her no chance to win? Somehow we had no idea, until the day AFTER the election, that she not only grew up in Indy, but she graduated from high school with one of S’s sisters. Seems weird that we didn’t hear more about her over the past few months. Anyway, props to Cathedral High School alum pediatricians, whether they are going to Congress or just taking care of you sick kids on the daily.
“All You Fascists Bound To Lose” - Billy Bragg. No explanation needed.
“Sunshine” - Jungle. My brother in music E$ sent me some Jungle vids earlier this week. They are absolutely fabulous. Those vocals! A perfect song for the mood since Tuesday.