Back to extra-stuffed this week. So stuffed that I’ll only include one summer song. And apologies to Chuck Mangione, but there’s no room to honor his passing with more than these words.
“Summer Nights” – Van Halen
Perfect late July song.
“Touch Myself” – The Beaches
Not a remake of that song, but definitely about the same subject. And a strong Song of the Summer contender.
“Cowbella” – bar italia
I’m not sure if they were going for this, but every time I hear this song I think of Elastica. Or maybe druggier Elastica?
“The Scene” – Hotline TNT
Some poor DJing here. I’ve only been sitting on it since the summer began. It deserved to be shared much sooner.
“Adored” – Been Stellar
Not quite as good as the songs they released a year ago. It’s a little more contemplative and less straight rock. It reminds me a bit of Silversun Pickups.
“Paint By Number” – Coral Grief
I’ve been kicking a few of this band’s songs around for several weeks. I finally broke down and picked this one to share with you. I hope you like it.
“Reticence” – Girls Names
This song is a decade old, so from before I started doing Friday playlists. I 1000% would have included it had FPL’s existed then. I love this band’s blend of dark post punk and jangly indie rock.
“Let It Happen” – Tame Impala
Currents was released 10 years ago last week. Its highlight is this stone-cold classic. Five stars all around.
“Twilight Zone” – Golden Earring
George Kooymans, guitarist and vocalist of Golden Earring, died this week. His passing got lost in the wave of other, more notable deaths this remarkable week. Shame. One of the obits I read suggested that if the term Two-Hit Wonder was a thing, Golden Earring might be the best example. “Radar Love,” from 1973, is a Classic Rock radio staple. This track went to #10 in 1982 and has never dropped out of rotation on Eighties stations. Eleven-year-old me thought it was the coolest song on the radio.
“War Pigs” – Black Sabbath
You didn’t have to be a fan of Ozzy Osbourne to know a shitload of his songs. That’s certainly the case with me. I never owned one of his albums or singles, never taped a song of his off the radio, never downloaded any of his songs. I was never deep enough into metal to be interested in his music. But I can sing along to the choruses of at least half a dozen of them because Ozzy was always in the air.
A few years ago I learned that Ozzy was actually a big hippie in the Sixties. That helps to explain this song, one of the most incandescent, ferocious anti-war songs ever made. It kicks all kinds of ass. He may have loved darkness and the occult, but deep down he just wanted everyone to love each other and have a good time.
It’s amazing he made it to 76. One obituary this week stated that researchers had studied him and determined that he was a genetic freak, able to tolerate drugs and alcohol in quantities far beyond the normal human being. That explains a lot.
“Killing in the Name of a Terrible Holy Lie” – Nine Inch Nails and Various Artists
I miss good mashups like this. I know things got a little out of hand in that moment, about 20 years ago, when mashups blew up. But when done well, how can you not like them?