Friday Playlist
“The Trap” – R.M.F.C.If you read these posts closely, you know how I love to identify Australian groups by their common sound alone. I don’t know that these kids jumped out as Aussie to me right away. It leans a little more Southern Cali surf rock, although that sound does have a big influence the Australian sound I like so much. “Neon River” – PondLet’s stay Down Under with the latest from these Aussie psych-rock heroes. “Apollo” – Slow FictionI hear a lot of early 2000s alt rock in here, recalling bands like The Superjesus and Remy Zero. “The Dreamer”…
Friday Playlist
“Birthday” – Late Bloomer Their album came out last week and it is filled with agreeable rock like this. “Brown Paper Bag” – DIIV Their first new music in five years, their new album is focused on the state of the world and, from the band’s point of view, its impending meltdown. This lead single is appropriately sludgy and gloomy. “Beautiful Girl” – Kaiser Chiefs Another band that has been away for five years. KC was one of the first bands I played on my old music podcast, so I’ve been down with them since late 2004. “Deeper Well” –…
Friday Playlist
“The Sound of Suffering” – Salim Nourallah I’ve long used these playlists to celebrate Spotify’s Discover Weekly feature, and share new discoveries I’ve made through it. I have to admit that something about their algorithm has changed and it has been sucking lately. It has been offering music that doesn’t match either what I listen to historically or recently. Like not even close. But this song was in my new playlist on Monday, so maybe they have made corrections to the model and the suggestions are improving. This song sounds like a young Tom Petty playing Ryan Adams’ poppiest music.…
Friday Playlist
This week features several new songs from artists who have played a large role in my musical life. “Dark Matter” – Pearl Jam One of my all-time favorite bands returns. This isn’t too bad at all. Now sending out good vibes to keep anyone in the band from getting sick in late August when they are scheduled to return to Indy. “Oh Hi” – Crowded House One of my all-time favorite artists returns with the band that made him famous. This is nice enough, but it seems to be lacking that Neil Finn magic that has made so many of…
Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 97
Chart Week: February 25, 1984 Song: “Nobody Told Me” – John Lennon Chart Position: #7, 6th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of March 3. I’ve been thinking about songs by dead people lately. There’s no mathematical way to quantify it, yet I keep trying to isolate the effect an artist’s death has on new music released after they pass. Do songs get more popular because of our morbid fascination with death, and thus become bigger hits? Or do they perform pretty much the same as if the artist lived? This has been on my mind because…
Friday Playlist
“Cured” – Restorations This band enjoys taking its sweet time between new releases. It’s been six years since their last album. I think you can hear the effect of the breadth of their career in Jon Loudon’s vocals. “Distinct Star” – So Totally As much as I’ve enjoyed the recent shoegaze revival, I’ll admit it has become a little much since s many of the songs sound so much alike. So I am pleased that there are some bands that nudge into that space while still putting their own twist on the sound. Like Restorations, So Totally are from Philly.…
Friday Playlist
An extra-stuffed playlist this week. There’s been a good run of new music, plus a lot of Other Stuff that deserves inclusion. “Blue Skies” – Finnoguns Wake The best piece of music I’ve heard so far this year is Finnoguns Wake’s four-song EP. Every song is a ripper. “Lose” – Boeckner Daniel Boeckner has been in several bands over the years, most notably Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, and Divine Fits. This is his first solo single. It sounds exactly what I would expect it to sound like. “What’s Love” – Empress Of featuring MUNA This is a real, real good…
Friday Playlist
“Train Full of Gasoline” – Ducks Ltd. Not sure it’s possible to write a catchier song about an ecological disaster than these guys have done. Believe it or not, this band is not Australian. They are from Toronto. I bet they listened to a lot of Aussie pop, though. “So Nice” – Finnoguns Wake This band, however, is Australian. “Shadow of a Doubt” – SPRINTS I really like this group, but in small amounts. I tried to listen to their new album and it was a bit overwhelming. “Lunar Eclipse” – The Vaccines Way back when this year began, our…
Friday Playlist
“Blue Tuesday” – Francis of Delirium Spotify has been spitting a lot of FoD tracks at me lately. I’ve yet to hear one I did not like. I don’t think I realized, when I’ve shared songs from them in the past, that they are based in Luxembourg. That might be a new pin on our musical map. “Mother Mary” – Late Bloomer The first song of 2024 that has grabbed me and won’t let go. Also an entry in the Country or Not bucket. Two birds, one stone! “Terrible News” – Middle Kids We’ve now heard five songs from the…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 96
Chart Week: January 5, 1985 Song: “Centipede” – Rebbie Jackson Chart Position: #24, 14th week on the chart. This was its peak. This is at least the third entry in the RFTS series that is as much about the massive cultural impact of Michael Jackson as the highlighted song or artist.[1] This time we will see how Michael helped pull the least known of his siblings into the spotlight. By 1984, eight of the nine surviving children of Joe and Katherine Jackson had achieved some measure of stardom. The boys had all been in The Jackson 5/The Jacksons, ruling the…