I must begin this week’s playlist with an apology. Last week I teased that I would be doing something new and exciting this week. Unfortunately that will not happen.

I was going to get back into the world of podcasting, inserting actual vocal segments between songs. I’m not sure anyone needed or wanted to hear my voice, but I was eager to scratch that radio DJ itch I haven’t been able to service since I stopped my “secret” podcast years ago.

This was promoted by learning that Spotify allows you to insert music from their library into podcasts if you publish on their platform. Perfect! No more tracking down individual MP3s, plus I’m covered by Spotify’s licensing of the songs!

Then I tried to record this week’s playlist. I discovered that the resulting podcast only plays songs in full for Spotify Premium users. Not sure how many of you pony up for the higher-tiered service, but those who don’t would only hear 30 second snippets of each song. Which seems kind of dumb.

That’s a big bummer. I’ll keep my eyes open and perhaps eventually there will be a way to legally use streaming tracks with my own recorded comments.

For now you’re stuck with the format that’s worked just fine for quite awhile now.

“Colt” – HighSchool
A lot going on in this track. I like all of it.

“Ghostwriter” – Speedy Ortiz
I recently heard SO leader Sadie Dupuis on an old episode of 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s, and she was awesome. I’m glad she’s still putting out music.

“History Books” – The Gaslight Anthem featuring Bruce Springsteen
I’m old enough to remember when audiences harassed GA lead singer Brian Fallon by screaming “BRUUUUCE” at him, since he seemed like the stylistic heir to Springsteen’s classic sound. Fallon did not always take this well. Now they’re performing together. In fact, Springsteen apparently played a big role in getting the Gaslight Anthem back together after a lengthy hiatus. What a time to be alive!

“The Rope” – Semisonic
Who thought I would be excited about a new Semisonic album in 2023? Of course, since it is 2023, I’ve probably already heard all the best songs and the full album will be a disappointment after the high created by the advance singles.

“Summer of Hell” – The Natvral
The latest entry in our Country or Not series. This song seems apt for this year, although I must say, again, that it might be the best summer for weather I can recall here in Indiana. It is supposed to get hot next week, but we’ve only had a handful of truly miserable days this year. As opposed to my friends who live south and west of here. One friend was moving his daughter into her dorm room in Waco Thursday and the air temperature was 107. I hope that makes the lack of personal income tax worth it.

“They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” – Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth
There have been a lot of great pieces honoring the 50th anniversary of hip hop over the past week. One of my favorite was this video, which breaks down some of the best samples, year-by-year, over that half century. I love the visual aspect to it, showing where each sample came from in original songs and then how they were used in hip hop. As we got closer to 1992 I was hoping they would select this song as their example. Really I’m not sure how you couldn’t pick it, as it is one of the greatest songs of the Nineties, one of the greatest songs in the entire history of hip hop, and also one of the greatest examples of how you can build an entire song on a tiny snippet from an obscure track that catches your ear.

“Radio Free Europe” and “So. Central Rain” – R.E.M.
For some reason I’ve been getting a lot of R.E.M. content lately fed to me lately, in various platforms. Never a bad thing. YouTube spit out this amazing video from the band’s first performance on national TV in 1983.