“Plimsoul Punks” – Alvvays.
Man, this song is just so good. Power, jangle pop with just a hint of shoegaze in the background. Perfect.
“Strangers Kiss” – Alex Cameron and Angel Olsen.
Something about this song feels straight out of 1981.
“Rained On” – Frightened Rabbit.
A surprise three-song EP dropped today from my co-favorite band. The entire thing feels perfect for fall, more restrained and folky than most of their music. This song hints at busting loose, but never quite gets there. I like it a lot.
“Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely” – Hüsker Dü.
I admit, I was never a HD fan. As much as I love/admire Bob Mould’s post-HD music, I’ve never gone back and dived into his original band’s music. As you likely have read, the other creative half of HD, Grant Hart, died yesterday after a long serious of health issues. So I spent about 30 minutes listening to some of their music yesterday. Of the Hart songs, this was the one that most jumped out at me.
“Could You Be The One?” – Hüsker Dü.
OK, this is a Mould song, and I believe I’ve shared it before, but it deserves re-sharing today. The Today Show visited Minneapolis in 1987 and, somehow, decided HD would be a great live musical guest. The story I’ve read about this performance is that the band was pissed NBC only have them of few seconds of live air time, so they decided to just keep playing. So, as you see Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley signing off for the day, HD is blasting away in the background. If what I’ve read this morning is correct, they just kept playing for about 45 minutes. Much to the delight, I’m sure, of people throughout downtown Minneapolis. Punk rock, baby!