A week off means we stick with the extra-stuffed playlists. I don’t hear any complaints.
“Summer In The Park Pt. 1” – East Coast Connection
Early August used to mean you got focused on how to maximize the last few weeks of summer. Not these days, when most of the country goes back to school well before Labor Day. There are still a few folks enjoying summer in the park, though.
“One Last Drag” – Hayley Mary
I’m not sure a song about smoking too much – or doing anything too much, really – should sound this glorious.
“Portrait Show” – Rocket
This song is nearly a year old, but new to me. Or at least I thought so. I had to double-check I hadn’t included it in a FP and forgotten about it. I feel like I would have remembered a song this good, though.
“The Fences of Stonehenge” – Wild Pink
Wild Pink released an EP earlier this year that I didn’t love. Fortunately, that was just a prelude to a full length of completely different songs that is coming this fall. This first single is gorgeous and exactly what I expect from them. They’ve pushed the Heartland Rock slider up a couple more notches, which is never a bad thing.
“Vertigo” – Beach Bunny
Music comes from the strangest places. Lili Trifilio wrote this song on a plane. She tried to go into the bathroom to record a vocal demo but, as you would expect, the result sounded terrible. So she sang the song in her head the remainder of the flight to hang onto it.
“909” – Starflyer 59
I don’t know anything about this band, but Stereogum describes them as “shoegaze heroes” and they go back to the early Nineties. This track seems like it could have fit into alternative radio any time between 1994 and 2001. I hear more Swervedriver-like, shoegaze adjacent rock than pure shoegaze here.
“Superstar” – Hinds
These Spanish indie queens are down to two core members. Their sound does not suffer for the consolidation.
“In A Dream” – Trace Mountains
Dave Benton’s music in Trace Mountains has always had a strong The War on Drugs vibe. Here he pulls in the krautrock influence which was especially notable on Lost In The Dream. Which might explain the title.
“Coming Up Close” – ‘Til Tuesday
Brother in Music E-bro in ATX sent me a message this week with a link to ‘Til Tuesday’s “What About Love,” saying it had popped up in his feed and was a forgotten Eighties jam. “What About Love” hit #26 – meaning TT was not a true, one-hit-wonder band – but I told him I preferred this solemn track that was also off the band’s second album. It didn’t crack the Top 40, which is a damn shame. The chorus is completely beautiful. It signaled where Aimee Mann was headed in her solo career more than either of TT’s two hits. She’s had an amazing, lengthy career yet most people will still just remember the one, classic song.
“Rent I Pay” – Spoon
Album anniversary alert! They Want My Soul came out ten years ago this week. It might be the ultimate Spoon album. There’s not a bad song on it, nor is there a classic? That might not be fair. Let’s say there is nothing lower than a B but no A+’s either. I listened to the whole thing Wednesday and it holds up really well. And it got me thinking about Spoon’s whole career. Keep an eye on this space for more about that. This was my #11 song of 2014.
“Let’s Go Crazy” – Prince & The Revolution
Another Eighty-Four Monster! In just its second week on the Hot 100 it was at #35. As my music memory spins it, you couldn’t go more than an hour without hearing it or seeing its video from mid-July until deep into September. I don’t remember ever getting sick of it then, nor now. It spent two weeks at #1 and was #21 on the year-end countdown. For extra fun, go watch this, the entire opening sequence of Purple Rain, featuring an extended version of “Let’s Go Crazy.” “Ladies and gentlemen: The Revolution.”