• Friday Playlist

    Just a little more cleanup from my podcast archives research, a whole heck of a lot of new music, and no playlist next week due to travel means (at least) one more mega playlist for your listening pleasure. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3RMd9vUbM2i3tyciGfjuSo?si=fe9bdbeda7c4407a “In the Right” – The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness Some jim-dandy power pop here, my friends. “Overcome” – Young Guv…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 76

    Chart Week: July 22, 1978 Song: “Baker Street” – Gerry Rafferty Chart Position: #2, 14th week on the chart. Peaked at #2 for six weeks. I’ve been wanting to write about this song for ages, and everything finally lined up thanks to an AT40 I caught last week. “Baker Street” is one of the greatest songs of its time. Or…

  • Friday Playlist

    I continue to clean out the holding pen of music that is overflowing with both new tracks and classics I rediscovered while trolling the archives of my old music podcast. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FY3DOvNCgtuXnd5SUzPxE?si=a2041e6372ef40fb “Alright” – Sam Fender The life cycle of albums can be strange. These days many bands will drop multiple singles well before releasing the full album. Streaming messes up…

  • Friday Playlist

    Normally my Spotify playlist where I stash songs for the Friday Playists has anywhere from three to eight songs in it. This week is different, though. First off, this has been a very good year for music already and it feels like a ton of solid tunes get released every week. So I have plenty of new tracks to share.…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7FJgfElWvetUQUwMzeL88t?si=c3d2d74714364bd3 “These Are The Days” – Inhaler I had not heard of this band until this week despite them having a #1 album in Ireland and the UK last year. They are a four-piece from Dublin that sound a little like the most famous band to ever come out of Dublin. That’s no coincidence: lead singer and guitarist Eli Hewson…

  • Friday Playlist

    Over halfway through the year; that’s kind of nutty! Be looking for my annual bonus playlist on Monday. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ptS7CPCztYAfNIpdvLtSe?si=e556e77807424c28 “Rubberneckers” – Christian Lee Hutson A perfect mid-summer song in tone, this is about how many people you run across in LA who have made messes of their lives. It doesn’t take much to extrapolate that to our entire country right…

  • Friday Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FbAXvuHtGlC0YyOzLsW1a?si=e73c41154e6b4525 “Birthdays” – Craig Finn Hey, I had a birthday this week! Coincidentally this is the best song from Craig Finn’s latest solo album. “I Was Neon” – Julia Jacklin The first single off JJ’s up-coming album was solid. This one cooks. “Wait ‘Til the Morning” – Frightened Rabbit Spotify suggested this, a bonus track from the final FR album,…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 75

    Chart Week: June 20, 1981 Song: “Angel of the Morning” – Juice Newton Chart Position: #38, 18th week on the chart. Peaked at #4 for four weeks in May. Juice Newton was a classic Right Artist at the Right Time success. Although she came up in the world of folk music, by the early 1980s she had slid into a…

  • Friday Playlist

    A little different playlist this week, as about the time this posts, L and I will be on our way to Knoxville for a weekend of hoops. So here are a bunch of songs about the Volunteer State (and one summer song). https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6GYEgxZQ14qbl6lpe07cHY?si=def048340c6b4b85 “Tennessee” – Arrested Development I think I shared this last fall when we went to Nashville. But…

  • Another Night of Music

    Two concerts in a week! Both at new venues (to me)! Quite a run! Last night was a little extra special. Not only did we go see The Lumineers, one of S’s favorite bands, but we took all three girls with us. It was the first official show for C and L, although they had seen Blues Traveler at Symphony…