Friday Playlist

“This Tornado Loves You” – Neko Case
“Victim Of Luck” – Metric
I put these two songs together, that have nothing to do with each other, because of the weather just down the road last night. C and her dorm mates had to take shelter when a tornado took dead aim at Bloomington. I have to say, as much as I enjoy watching TV coverage of severe weather, I got a strange feeling in my stomach as we watched the radar images showing the worst part of the storm passing within a mile of her dorm. I figured a big, old building like her’s was pretty stout, and she had moved to a safe location inside of it. But, still… She responded affirmatively when I told her the worst had passed, so I guess she made it through ok.

Anyway, here is the only tornado song in my library and a new track from Metric about luck.

“Like I Do” – Cashier
I am not minding the return of early-to-mid Nineties sounding rock.

“23” – Lime Garden
Even if you throw out the accents, this is a song only a British band could make.

“Keeper” – Girl Scout
OK, not an exact match, but I’m getting Swedish Middle Kids vibes from this song. Probably too many synths and not enough guitar to make that comparison really work, but definitely some common threads.

“Dead End” – Snail Mail
Hey, another new track heavily indebted to the Nineties, although in this case more ‘90s power pop and maybe a hint of Avril Lavigne?

“Dirt” – Searows
Gorgeous.

“Sunburned In London” – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
One of my favorite packs of fun loving Aussies is back. For now this seems like a one-off single, but hopefully means a new, full-length album isn’t too far away.

“Rebel Without A Pause” – Public Enemy
“Keep Hope Alive” – The Crystal Method
Jesse Jackson died this week. Sadly I think a lot of people under 30, 35, 40??? didn’t know who he was, as he had largely faded from public view over the past 20 years or so. But in the Eighties, Jesse was out there. Sometimes too much. There is no doubt he had a massive impact on this country. We could use someone with his voice today. I really enjoyed this summary of his life on the Ringer.

To honor his life, two songs that feature his sampled voice.

“Hail, Hail” – Pearl Jam
There have been horrible VHS rips of this, Pearl Jam’s first ever performance on The Late Show, around for years. Worldwide Pants finally released a higher quality version a week ago. A great song in their catalog that gets lost because of when it came out. It became a staple of Paul Shaffer and The World’s Most Dangerous Band during commercial breaks. That’s ironic, as it comes from an episode that was commercial free. Jack Irons could play the fucking drums.