Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 61
Chart Week: August 1, 1981 Song: “Don’t Want to Wait Anymore” – The Tubes Chart Position: #37, 7th week on the chart. Peaked at #35 for two weeks. The Tubes will collect residual checks until they die for one song: “She’s a Beauty,” their #10 smash from the summer of 1983. It is an absolute classic of its era; any…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3XDii8Z8hNhmozxJ8AbntW?si=27c7fddf96e547e7 “Surrender” – Gold Star A lot of influences bubbling up in this track. I hear some Springsteen, but as if filtered through others who have used The Boss’ music as a guide over the years. There’s also a stark, story-telling feel that reminds me of some early The War on Drugs stuff. I most definitely dig. “Day I Did…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 60
Chart Week: August 8, 1987 Song: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – Whitney Houston Chart Position: #17, 13th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for two weeks in June and July. I tend to shy away from songs that hit number one since they will get the Tom Breihan treatment over at Stereogum. I squeezed in…
Friday Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6my5Sd2DSHCoSABikBitNa?si=6141a83e266647b8 “Hard On Everyone” – Kathleen Edwards I hadn’t heard anything from Edwards in several years. Turns out she chucked her music career in 2014 to open a coffee shop in suburban Ottawa, Canada. Maren Morris asked her to cowrite some music two years ago and that recharged Edwards. Somehow I didn’t hear this track until a few weeks ago,…
Friday Playlist
A little different format this week. You will learn why below. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1wuBbYVmLRYsgjy1i9rB0F?si=056352a4429b4260 “Natural Light” – Flowertown This band went so hard for the retro sound that they put fake crackles and pops, as if you were listening to vinyl, onto it. In fact, they put those “artifacts” on every song on their new album. Which, to be honest, gets a…
Friday Playlist
Another jam-packed playlist to please your ears and your hearts this week. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0mi0T5AIfQqXbbk1awmXJE?si=071b64a23e984236 “Living Proof” – The War on Drugs Here it is, the first new TWOD song in four years! It does not hit with the same impact that the early songs from A Deeper Understanding hit with in the spring/summer of 2017. But as a side one, track…
Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 59
Chart Week: July 12, 1986 Song: “If She Knew What She Wants” – The Bangles Chart Position: #29, 10th week on the chart. This was the song’s peak; it fell out of the Top 40 the next week. I recall being in love with a lot of unattainable women in the summer of 1986. There was Heather Thomas, whose poster…
Emergency Vid
RIP to the Diabolical B-I-Z.
Friday Playlist
This week a focus on new songs by (mostly) long-established artists. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1NcunvPiPLtGOAlgYAd3q7?si=5162366ab0a94dd0 “Galacticana” – Strand of Oaks Oh hell yes, new music from Timothy Showalter! And it sounds great! And one critic has said the album this comes from is the finest of his career! It comes out October 1 for those of you who track such things. “Living in…
Friday Playlist
The new music has been, thankfully, piling up again. So let’s go deep this week with an extra-packed playlist. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zJa8rdvchL1SxNPyb6OlM?si=ace9b79327764b5d “House Burn Down” – King Princess Being pessimistic about your life shouldn’t sound this good. “Lockdown” – The Wind Ups Maybe it’s just me, but I hear a lot of the Ramones in this track. “Why Don’t You Touch Me”…