Friday Vid(s)
The official middle of summer – the halfway point between Memorial Day and Labor Day – isn’t for another two weeks. But, for all intents and purposes,[1] this is the middle of summer since so many kids will be back in school four or five weeks from today. Thus, we should have a good idea of what the Song of…
Friday Vid
“Coming Home” – Leon Bridges If you haven’t heard Leon Bridges yet, you’re just in time. His singles have been thrilling the music world the last couple months and his debut album just dropped on Tuesday. I’m fascinated by how artists make choices in what aesthetics they will adopt. I assume Bridges grew up listening to old Sam Cooke and…
Friday Vid
“Gates Of Dawn” – Heartless Bastards HB has been kicking around for a lot of years now. Each time they put out an album, I think, “That’s pretty good.” But they’ve never made my Top 10 album or songs lists to end a year. That might change this year, though.
The War On Drugs, Indianapolis, 6-12-15
Wide awake I rearrange the way I listen in the dark Dreaming of starting up again Perhaps because I go to so few concerts, I approach them with a sense of trepidation. Will the singer be in good vocal form tonight? Will a mercurial band member be in a bad place and bring the whole group’s energy down? Will the…
Friday Vid
“Eyes To The Wind” – The War on Drugs “I’m just a bit run down here at the moment…” Falling in the second half of their lovely Lost In The Dream album, perhaps no line sums up the disk better than this one. A weary proclamation of a man beaten up by the wallowing and self-flagellation that comes with romantic…
Friday Vid
“Inside Out” – Spoon I have one rule when making general music lists: each artist/band gets only one entry. So whether it is a year-end list or a favorites-of-all-time list, I have to decide which song best represents a particular act. For my favorite songs of 2014 list, Spoon’s “Rent I Pay” checked in at #11. But it took me…
Friday Vid
“She’s Not Me” – Jenny Lewis How many of you remember the 1989 movie Troop Beverly Hills? I’m 99% sure I never saw it, although I do remember the name. It was a Shelly Long vehicle, which right there should be enough to let you know it was terrible. It also was the feature film debut of the wonderful Carla…
Friday Vid
https://youtu.be/daUyogS1wjM “Constructive Summer” – The Hold Steady A GREAT fan-made video that takes the words of a song and uses them in an unexpected way. Charming, funny, and inventive. Oh, and the perfect song for the unofficial start of summer. Let’s build something this summer!
Friday Vid
“True Trans Soul Rebel” – Laura Jane Grace with Miley Cyrus Miley is doing some interesting things these days. I can’t say I’m on-board with, or understand, many of them. But her Happy Hippy Backyard Sessions are often fantastic. I highly recommend checking out the other performances. Here, she joins Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace for one of the best…
Friday Vid
“Turn Around” – Mikal Cronin In the style of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.” Cronin’s new album, MC III, is one of my favorites of the year. As he did on his last album, he perfectly combines classic power pop with straight-ahead rock, and this time throws on some layers of strings to add a lushness to each song.