Is it Friday already? Time for the first playlist of the year, then!<\/p>\n
https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/user\/224aiwksicafjldlua6nnpo4y\/playlist\/1ZBwe63X1Mfd9rjfpKcQfr?si=7fzREkOnQpaA-dBv3AkGxA<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue\u201d – Thyla. This is kind of a perfect January song. Lyrically, it is dark and depressing, the singer complaining constantly about being \u201cblue, blue, blue, blue, bluuuuuueeee.\u201d Yet the music is driving and powerful as if it is pushing her through those January blues to the warmer months beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cI Wonder\u201d – Mike Krol featuring Allison Crutchfield. A nifty little rave-up that Crutchfield feels right at home joining Krol on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll Be Gone\u201d – Buffalo Tom. I\u2019ve held a grudge against Buffalo Tom for 25 years or so. They had that one single that hit big in the midst of the grunge era – \u201cSodajerk<\/a>\u201d – and based on that, alone, I bought their \u201cBig Red Letter Day\u201d album. Well, to be fair, one of my roommates told me he heard the album was great. I got it home, listened to it once, and pretty much hated every song other than \u201cSodajerk.\u201d My roommate laughed, admitting he had never heard the album but wanted me to buy it so he didn\u2019t make the same mistake. I wrote the band off forever, despite knowing there are a lot of people who really love their music. This song, which came out last spring, popped up on my Spotify Discovery playlist this week (more about Spotify and new music in a moment) and I loved it. Glad to see that they\u2019re still making fine music. And props to me for getting over long-held grudges.<\/p>\n \u201cEverlasting Love\u201d – Carl Carlton. This may not be as well named as Carlton\u2019s 1981 hit \u201cShe\u2019s a Bad Mama Jama (She\u2019s Built, She\u2019s Stacked)\u201d but it\u2019s a better song, and it hit #6 in 1974.<\/p>\n