This was the week when I tried to figure out what my new normal listening habits are. The Bridge went back to playing their regular rotation of music, so while I still listened to their stream often, I wasn’t quite as obsessive as during their Z to A countdown. But I also didn’t completely fall back into listening to mostly newer music on Spotify. Throw in a lot of appointments and my listening time, in general, was reduced. But we’ll get there.
“Sideways Skull” – The Hold Steady
We got new music from a couple giants of indie rock over the past week. As always with THS, this will never match their peak, but it’s still pretty damn good.
“Tropic Morning News” – The National
What is it, 2007 around here? I generally run hot-and-cold with National tunes. This one falls on the hot side.
“Blood Rushes” – CIVIC
Your occasional reminder that if I could have any job in the world, being a DJ in Australia and getting to play music like this before anyone else would be pretty high on the list.
“Dreams” – Brandi Carlile
Another song from the list of ones I discovered during the Z to A countdown. I’m not usually a big Carlile fan, but this track is terrific.
“Up the Down Escalator” – The Chameleons
Last Saturday while out driving kids around, I discovered The Bridge’s Sonic Spectrum show, where DJ Robert Moore takes a listen back to music of a certain moment. That show was focused on 1983. In the 20 or so minutes I listened, I heard a couple classics and a couple that were new to me. This was one of the new ones, which totally blew me away. Apparently The Chameleons were big influences on later bands who rose out of the Manchester scene, including Oasis. This song is amazing and I’m mad I had never heard it before January 2023. It would have made so many mix tapes/CDs/playlists better over the past 40 years.
“The Magic Number” – De La Soul
I was annoyed that I didn’t read the news about De La Soul’s music coming to streaming services later this spring until well after I posted last week’s playlist. I could have included this, the first of their classic songs to hit Spotify. I guess a week late is better than never. Crank this up and get your weekends off to a proper start.
“Gloria” – Patti Smith
Despite my love for many of punk’s originators, I’ve never really gotten into Patti Smith. I’ve never had a problem with this song, though. I was reminded of its brilliance, especially the band’s performance behind Smith, during the Z to A countdown. Her voice may have been unconventional, but the passion in her performance is irresistible.