The music vault is overstuffed again, so we’re back to extra large playlists.
“Little Fires” – The Gaslight Anthem
Now we’re talking! This is the return to the classic TGA sound we’ve been waiting for.
“Coming Home” – Echo Ladies
“Resolution/Revolution” – The Linda Lindas
“Nightmare Nights” – Church Girls
Three straight songs featuring female vocalists who kick ass. I heard them in this order this morning, driving home from dropping L at basketball at 5:45. They gave me a much-needed energy boost.
“Waves” – Kula Shaker
I know a few of Kula Shaker’s songs, several of which I like a lot, but didn’t know much about the band. In response to them releasing this new track I did some reading. They have had an interesting career. Their breakthrough track, 1996’s “Tattva,” was loathed by UK critics, one calling it the worst song of the year. They were accused of ripping off Indian culture quite often. The lead singer made some pretty dumb statements about Nazis. He admitted later that he was a horribly ignorant kid who said a lot of stupid things. All that makes me wonder if I should enjoy this song as much as I do.
“Blue Sky Day” – Died Pretty
I’m not sure exactly where I came across this, whether it was in my Discover Weekly playlist or I read about it somewhere. Died Pretty were mainstays of the 1980s Aussie rock scene. You can certainly hear some similarities to the Hoodoo Gurus in their music. They brushed up against success on the college charts in the US, but a variety of strange things kept them from ever breaking through here. For example, one music exec thought their stage show was too suggestive and refused to promote them in the US because of it. Lead singer Ron Peno died about a month ago, which I’m sure was what made their music pop up wherever it appeared in my feed.
“I Would Die 4 You” – Mariachi El Bronx
A rather unexpected yet delightful cover of a classic.
“A Murder of One” – Counting Crows
Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the release of CC’s debut album August and Everything After. I think I’m like most people and I didn’t discover it until the following spring when “Mr. Jones” became an MTV and alt-rock radio staple. It quickly became one of those staple albums of the Nineties, and you were almost guaranteed to find at least one copy of it in every dorm room or apartment you visited after 1994. It’s also an A+ fall album, so I’ll definitely be giving it a virtual spin soon.
“Recovery” – Frank Turner
I saw Frank Turner play last night. It was a great show, 105 nearly uninterrupted minutes of kick ass music. Frank knows how to put on a show, screaming out every lyric from the bottom of his soul, jumping up on amps, leaning into the crowd, and generally pouring his heart into every second of the performance. I can’t remember the last time I was at a show with crowd surfers or a mosh pit. And the average age of attendees had to be deep into the 30s, if not early 40s. I saw several folks who had to have 10 years on me. Anyway, a terrific way to spend an evening. Lots of choices for songs I could share, but might as well go with the first Frank song I ever fell in love with. One that my friends and I agree he plays way too early in his sets.
“Angry” – The Rolling Stones
I rolled my eyes as rumors flew that the Stones were about to release their first new music in ages, the first without Charlie Watts on drums. Why should I be either excited or interested about dudes in their 80s releasing a new rock ‘n’ roll song?
Then I heard this lead single. It’s pretty good? Maybe really good?! Certainly their best song since 1989’s “Mixed Emotions.” Maybe even further back. You never know with old bands like them, this could be a song they’ve been sitting on for 45 years that they dusted off and re-recorded. Hell, maybe it’s all AI and the joke is on us. Whatever its origin story, it works for me. Not sure I’m mega excited about the album this will appear on, but I’ll at least give it a courtesy listen now. This video is a fantastic use of technology to pull the band’s history into the new song.