The new music for the new year continues to pile up, so for at least the next couple weeks I’m going to share extra-stuffed playlists. Think of them as musical firewood to keep you warm as the polar vortex announces its unwelcome arrival.
“Here We Go Crazy” – Bob Mould
Hey, Bob Mould has new music out! Hey, I just got tickets to see Bob Mould in May!
“Sugar in the Tank” – Julien Baker, TORRES
Well here is an interesting-as-hell test case for my Country Or Not identifier. This might be the twangiest song I’ve ever shared. And at first listen it should come across as completely country. But when you dive into the lyrics, assess its vibe, and understand who sings it, that categorization changes. You have two Queer (and at least one super liberal) artists singing a song that uses a euphemism for being gay in its title (I did not know that was another meaning for the phrase “sugar in the tank” until this week). Something tells me country radio isn’t ready or interested in a song with that background.
You know what, despite the twang, I freaking love this song. Each year it’s a fun exercise to see how long it takes me to create my working folder for favorite songs of the new year, and what the first song I drop into it is. This year the date was January 14 and this track was responsible.
“Knockin’ Heart” – Hamilton Leithauser
Leithauser’s post-Walkmen music has always been eclectic. This track still doesn’t have the majestic power of those classic, early 2000s songs, but it does come a little closer to the classic Walkmen sound.
“Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)” – Sharon Van Etten
Man, what a fantastic, moody, beast of a song.
“Can You Feel It” – Floodlights
This band is from Australia, which I think is apparent. But this song was fleshed out while they were in London, and I hear a healthy dose of British post-punk that they picked up while they were there.
“last night’s mascara” – Griff
Some quality “post night out regret” pop. Hey, I just invented a new musical subgenre!
“Adriana Again” – Elbow
Elbow has been around since the turn of the millennium, making a unique brand of literate music that sometimes hits with me, sometimes totally misses. This track is a definite hit.
“Hammer” – Hana Vu
Not sure why it took me nearly a year to get to this track, but I’m glad I finally did.
“Coinstar” – Runner
I seriously thought about saving this track for next week. It is so, so good but I was worried it might get lost in this larger playlist. But when I listened to it one more time this morning, I decided I couldn’t sit on it another week. And hopefully by placing it last, it will stand out a bit. This isn’t an immediate add to that Best of 25 working list, but it is under serious consideration.
“What A Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers
My current morning routine is wake up, give our senior her first gentle, verbal nudge to get out of bed, come downstairs and read a chapter of whatever book I’m working on, and if she’s not out of bed in 20 minutes go attempt to get her moving again. I’m currently reading super producer Ted Templeman’s biography, which you’ll hear more about next week. This morning’s chapter was about the making of The Doobie Brothers’ Minute By Minute album, including the arduous process to record this, their second #1 hit. Despite being the biggest hit of their career, it was also the song that drove the classic lineup of the band to breakup. I’m going to disagree with my man Tom Breihan: I thought this was a terrific track when I was 7-8 years old and still think it’s pretty great. A neat trick, for 1979, on this video to include a live take of the song while also layering in Michael McDonald’s own background vocals.