Friday Playlist
It’s summer time, bitches! “Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince DRUMS PLEASE! “Dancing In The Streets” – Van Halen This song has always meant summer to me. It seemed like I heard it constantly Memorial Day weekend 1982, but it hadn’t cracked the Top 40 yet so I’m not sure how accurate that memory is. “Summertime Tiger”…
Reader’s Notebook + Thoughts On Cassettes
High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape – Marc Masters A single-book focus for this entry, less because of the book’s quality than what it got me thinking about. The book itself wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. Masters begins by laying out the history of the cassette tape and tape players. Then he dives…
Friday Playlist
“I See The Light” – The Men Just the thing to shake you awake and start your Friday off right. “Baby Bangs” – Snarls These Ohio kids had my second-favorite song of 2020. Since then, their output has underwhelmed. This is a nice return to form. “Pretty Happy Alone” – The Love Buzz I would not have guessed this band…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 100
Chart Week: May 15, 1987 Song: “Don’t Dream It’s Over” – Crowded House Chart Position: #15, 18th week on the chart. Peaked at #2 for one week in April. A few months ago, as I moved into posts 90-plus in this series, I considered whether I should do something special for number 100. Then I realized that since these entries…
Friday Playlist
I had to get up early to attend a function this morning. I’ve very excited to share details next week, but that is the explanation for this getting out a little later than usual. “22” – Hana Vu Remember when turning 22 felt like you were getting old? “22” – Taylor Swift Had to do it. “Ceasefire” – Frank Turner…
Dark Matter
We are nearly three weeks out from the release of Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter. As an OG PJ head, I should probably do a review. Especially since I’ve been listening to it daily over that entire stretch.[1] That last sentence could be the entire review. For the first time since 2006’s self-titled album, a Pearl Jam disk has stuck with…
Friday Playlist
It’s a two-video week! “Prep-School Gangsters” – Vampire Weekend There have been times when I’ve loved Vampire Weekend, others when I would be happy to never hear another song from them. Thus it took me awhile to get to their new album. Which I ended up liking a lot. I could have picked any of four or five tracks to…
Reaching For The Stars, Vol. 99
Chart Week: April 30, 1983 Song: “Back On The Chain Gang” – The Pretenders Chart Position: #37, 21st week on the chart. Peaked at #5 for three weeks in March and April. The Pretenders were on the verge of big things in 1982. They already had a #1 hit in the UK – 1979’s “Brass In Pocket,” which maxed out…
Friday Playlist
“Oh Shit” – The Libertines One of the first songs I bought from the iTunes Music Store back in 2004 after I bought my first iPod was The Libertines “Can’t Stand Me Now.” They’re still making decent music. “Like A Lesson” – Pillow Queens I can never get it through my head that these ladies are all Irish. I hear…
Friday Playlist
Randomly, this week is all men, or male-led groups. “Wreckage” – Pearl Jam It’s finally Pearl Jam day! The most excited I’ve been about a new PJ album since 2006? 2000? 1998? The early reviews for Dark Matter are mostly great. The first two singles were very good. Then they dropped this on Wednesday. In recent years I’ve flat out…