2015 Week 32: As Is

The word artist gets thrown around a lot. And we all have our expectations and stereotypes of what we consider an artist. Is someone who sings, regardless of the genre, the quality or the substance, an artist? I don't know. It's all very subjective anyway. Never mind what is art, what makes one an artist, is an even more complicated question that I'm sure for many brings up the term "sellout" as some polar opposite. But I saw Patton Oswalt a few months back and he did a bit about selling out that perfectly illustrates what bullshit that concept is. Still, when someone comes along that somehow embodies this seemingly ridiculous ideal of what a "true artist" is, it's hard not to take notice, whether you're all in on what they are producing or not. I call your attention once again to Joseph Arthur, who I've mentioned a couple of times here.

Recently, we discovered a heart shape on Pluto, and in an era where we are having to justify to everyone why space exploration is important and how it gives mankind something to dream about, the one guy that gets it right and demonstrates it without being preachy, direct or even intentionally for all I know, is Joseph Arthur. He wrote a poem about it on his Facebook page and shortly thereafter, recorded a song. And of course, because this is Joseph Arthur, there are also paintings. That's what we're talking about. This is a guy that is not only prolific in multiple media, but he's not caught up in the bullshit of making a big deal out of saying he's doing something. He just fucking does it. Maybe we should all take inspiration from that sort of thing and realize something as a species. I don't know what, but something.

Anyway, I can't top that, so this week's Spotify playlist is simply as is. It's 10 songs that struck me this week, in the exact order they did so. I heard them all again as a playlist and it pretty much works. It has a sense of some progression towards, I don't know, something. Do it.

2015 Week 31: Make it Funky

Me, but inside my house.

There's no AC in my house right now. You'd think that would make me hot and a little irritable, but FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE, OF COURSE IT DOES! FUUUUUCK! Seriously, I'm like John Candy in JFK, covered in a permanent layer of sweat. Except I'm also on edge. And while it sucks that this is happening in the summer, it's Florida, so there is literally no good time for this to happen. It would be no different in December.

So, this week's Spotify playlist is hopefully some kind of funky antidote to that. Take a little funky trip, hosted by one James Brown. Play it in the car. Play it in the shower. Play it while you clean. Play it while you sweat. But, make it funky. That's all I got. I might pass out.

2015 Week 22: Manic Mood Swinging Mess

There was a time I liked going to the clubs and I'd actually get drunk enough to dance. It eventually led to going to raves where the music was bit more interesting and the scene more colorful. I quickly tired of the whole thing, but for a while there, those variations of house music were pretty thrilling. It's all about the drop. And I guess today's EDM as it's called is basically the same shit. Build up, drop, manic crescendo, repeat. While I don't see how anyone can be into that for a long period of time, I get it. It's all about that moment before the drop, though. That tingling feeling, sometimes in silence, you get before the insanity ensues and the lights and substances enhance the fact that everyone in the crowd is one gyrating mass. It's a release and it's thrilling because you know it's coming like the drop on a roller coaster. But before that release, when the tension is at a level where your asshole is shut tight and the veins in your neck are about to pop, like you're about to skid off a cliff and there's nothing you can do about it and part of you just doesn't know what's next at all, it could be the end or who knows what. Imagine that for a second. Now imagine it for a whole week. That's been the week I've had and witnessed others having. So, yeah, I found a way to make that fact be about music. So, now comes the release, finally, if temporarily.

Except, this week's Spotify playlist isn't really about release or EDM. Instead it's a Manic Mood Swinging Mess about anxiety and nervous breakdowns and who the fuck knows what else. It's a bizarre collection of songs that are great on their own but here come together to at least slightly unsettle you. It's meant to keep you on your toes, never comfortable with what the next track might be. In the end, I would hope it still leads to pleasant surprises and there may even be some moments of easy transition. But in the end, it's not anything to made sense of and should make you feel somewhat restless. Like this week. Enjoy.

2015 Week 16: Ripped Jeans Type Shit

Shayera: Year One

It'll be six years on Sunday. 72 months of lives that are drastically different from what they were before that day. For 312 weeks now, it's been a roller coaster of joy, frustration, punishment and reward for all of us involved. It's been 2,190 days and I can't and don't want to imagine life any differently anymore, even if I feel like I've aged at least 12 years in the time it's taken my first born to become the smart-ass, funny, intelligent, dramatic, stubborn, loving, sensitive, inquisitive, imaginative and surreal 6 year old teenager she has become. There's a race going on on my head between bald and gray and she's cheering both on with her little sister holding the checkered flag.

On the way to her first real concert.

A few months back, she came home telling us she had been learning about the differences between real and imaginary animals. So I decided to engage her in this by asking which is real Mickey Mouse or a unicorn. She immediately said unicorn. I tried again. A dragon or Donald Duck. When she answered dragon this time, it was clear to me that she knew what I was getting at, but decided that I wasn't going to dictate the rules here. I presented a few more choices like this, where one was completely invented animal and the other was a fantasy character that happened to be a real animal. In every case, she chose the completely made up animal as being more real and what's more, she had her own logical reasons for doing so. And with each one, I noticed the smirk more, like looking in a stubborn mirror. "Jesus Christ, there's two of you!" was all my wife had to say. I can't wait to have these arguments over music! My wife just had a birthday, too and Shayera had several suggestions for what to get her. Among them, "a new chicken recipe, because I don't like her chicken." So yeah, I really do have a clone. Maybe two.

Anyway, completely unrelated is this week's playlist, an ode to not giving a fuck. It's quite simple, really, just a bunch of ripped jeans type shit, which is exactly what I'm gonna call it and that's that. Enjoy.

2015 Week 15: Riding with Tijoux

Funky grace in action.

This past weekend, I saw The Budos Band and Ana Tijoux at the Heineken Transatlantic Festival. I wrote full reviews of both over at FDRMX, so click over and read them. I mentioned in the Budos review that a good measure for how good a show is if you end up liking the artist more than you did before. That's happened to me many times, from The Tallest Man on Earth, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, Budos and most dramatically, Ana Tijoux. It might be that it's freshest in my mind, but it's been almost a week and I can't stop listening to her now. And I have to wonder if it was just the performance or a combination of that and the brief, but affecting experience of meeting her. Then again, yesterday I watched her appearance on Al Jazeera's The Stream, and it only further deepened the respect I'm feeling towards her.

There are a couple of moments on that episode that stood out. One is when she says that just because a woman is in power doesn't mean that woman is going to address feminist issues. That tells me she's the real deal. Too often people get so hung up on the gender or race or party affiliation of a leader, and blind themselves to the reality of that leader and what they actually stand for and do. But this isn't a political blog, so I'll just leave it at that. The next moment is when she says that artists are full of bullshit like anyone else and it's a constant struggle with balancing the message with the art and the commerce. She's not just smart, she's realistic and down to earth. That's not a common combination in my experience. Combined with her attitude in the 3-4 minutes when I posed for a picture with her and shook her hand, I think this is one of the few times I can safely say, without really "knowing" her that the image she projects is the real deal. I don't know if that's necessarily admirable or a goal for an artist or celebrity of any kind, but she has my respect as an artist and as an individual human being. And this is coming from someone who believes respect is earned not automatically given.

We tend to grow up idolizing artists, often for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes we forget to separate the art from the person, sometimes we just forget there is a person there at all. We can skim over a lot of really horrible behavior if we like the music. So it's refreshing when an artist comes along and you not only don't have to do that, but it appears that your respect is all in the right place. Now, I'm way too old to idolize anyone at this point, and the fact is that's not even what I'm getting at. Nobody should be idolized. And I think Ana is a good example of an artist that wouldn't want you to idolize her in any way. Put it this way, if my daughters considered her a role model, I'd be proud. That's really all there is to it.

This happened.

Anyway, in honor of my new best friend, this week's playlist is a sort of greatest hits. I'm sure fans would find things I left out that should be there, but I like to keep these playlists at around an hour long, tops. Go listen, whether or not you speak Spanish. I put Vengo on my list of top 10 albums last year for a reason. But what you'll find is that her talent can't be pinned down. There's hip hop, jazz, various Latin styles, some Middle Eastern flair, she raps, she sings, and it's all balanced perfectly. It's a vision of how music should be, with no boundaries, and it makes me wonder what might be next for her. It could be anything. Let's call the list Riding with Tijoux. Enjoy. Be sure to share it.

2015 Week 14: Darting Through Mental Traffic

Budos!!

Last night I saw The Budos Band and it was pretty awesome. I'm about to start on a full review for FDRMX, so stay tuned. I'll save any insights for that review, since I'm kinda low on insights lately. In the meantime, here's the opening song, "Into The Fog."

Remember how I said I was low on insights, just now? Yeah, so, this is a truly random playlist. It's like changing lanes and changing thoughts while driving on the highway, alone. There's just something about driving alone that can help you sort through your thoughts as you weave in and out of traffic, just to keep moving forward. And that, really, is all there is to say about it. I give you Darting Through Mental Traffic. Enjoy.

2015 Week 13: Rock n Roll Radiowaves

This could be me.

"Add this song to my playlist" is usually something I like to hear from Shayera when we're in the car and something comes on my Spotify that catches her attention. I don't even hesitate and add it. But I really have to start being a little more careful. One morning this week, on the way to school, she said those words, I added it, and within seconds realized I'd made a big mistake. I later removed it from her "Shay Mix," which by the way she never listens to anyway (fuck you, Kids Bop), but still. Anyway, let's hope she forgets the title. Listen for yourself and wait for the break near the end for the best part.

Anyway, last night, I went to see Alien Ant Farm with Carlos. We thought it was their gig, but it turns out they were the openers for (HED)Pe, who we didn't really care about. As a matter of fact, because we thought it was their show, we wound up missing the first song. But it was still a cool show. I was never really into them, but they're a good band. Like true aging hipsters, we left after their set because we're hip and old and tired. While we wait for Carlos to post a review of the show over at FDRMX, check out the song you likely know them for.

This week's playlist is pretty simple really. It could have been filled with more familiar tunes, but these just came up during the week, and it just made sense to organize it this way. And what's the point of filling these lists with familiar tunes anyway. No real narrative theme, but it's the kind of set I might play if I were a DJ on Little Steven's Underground Garage or something like that. Just pretty straightforward rock n roll, kinda jumping around a few different eras and sub-genres, but still basic stuff you might play in your basement or garage. So, I give you Rock n Roll Radiowaves. 

2015 Week 12: Ambiguous Angst and Ennui

I did not take this picture of Depeche Mode.

Back in 93, I saw Depeche Mode live during their Devotional Tour, supporting their album Songs of Faith and Devotion. I remember they played the whole first song from behind a translucent curtain with their silhouettes cast gigantically on it. Once in a while, you'd get a glimpse of Dave Gahan's arm or leg pop out, until he finally emerged, doing his tall skinny guy dance. It was a great show. Anyway, I think that was the first time they played guitars live and now Johnny Marrr covered "I Feel You" which was the first single off that album. Still a great song. He didn't change it up, really, but it fits him well anyway. Check it out.

It's a simple song. Very simple repetitive riff that somehow carries major attitude. I'm sure it's a riff I've heard in other songs, but somehow it doesn't matter. I recently read this article at Wired about how many possible songs there are, and within it the author worked out a song that uses every possible note combination that fit his minimal definition of a song. What's funny is that I heard it, it made me think of early Depeche Mode. Go read the article and listen for yourself.

Anyway, this week's Spotify playlist has nothing to do with any of that. This one was truly random throughout the week finds. In the end, though, I think it loosely captured a state of mind. An anxious yet almost indifferent state of mind. Like a nervous Sunday night before facing a bully on Monday morning on the playground, but somehow also about something else entirely, though I couldn't say what. Kind of like looking at life from behind a translucent curtain that never drops. It's just ambiguously about the ambiguity of existence, I guess. So let's call Ambiguous Angst and Ennui and move along.

2015 Week 11: Weight of the World

I might need a hat.

On Wednesday I went to see Elvis Costello and Larkin Poe. Go read my review at FDRMX.  I got to meet the girls from Larkin Poe during intermission and I'm sure my awkward fanboy enthusiasm creeped them out, but it could be that "I will stab you in the face" is Megan's (the blond girl) go-to expression when approached by 40 year old dudes and I don't blame her. It should be, because I don't think every other dude in line was really that into the music (but who knows). I'd be proud if my daughters grew up to play like these two or at the very least, learn that "I will stab you in the face" look.  Anyway, these girls are fucking talented as hell and actually very nice too. I was pretty blown away by both of them, so go check out their stuff immediately. And don't take my word for it. It speaks volumes that Elvis had them join him during his encores.

WOOHOO!! ARTIST SELFIE!!

I don't know if Elvis is the greatest songwriter of his generation or whatever, but there's just something very complete about the way he approaches music and lyrics. I think the clearest example really is in "Allison," when he sings "Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking" and the music stops briefly at the word "stop." It's not the only song to ever do it or even the first, but it's well placed and is just one example of the sort of thing I'm talking about. Chords, rhythms, choice of words, all are carefully put together. And there's something about his lyrical alliteration that I can't put my finger on, but there are certain phrases he sings that sound very musical all on their own. I'm thinking of "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" where he sings "She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle Capital punishment, she's last year's model" and it sounds like a guitar in a way. That sort of thing blows my mind, maybe as a leftover from when I was young and thought I was a poet. 

Anyway, this week's playlist is about the daily struggle with society's pressure on us, mostly through work. It's an ode to the working man, the outcast, the bullied, but overall, the frustrated who have to just deal with it, day and day out with things we can't always control. It's about getting behind the mule every morning and plowing that field, no matter what. Let's just call it Weight of the World and leave it at that. Go listen when you have a hard week. Or any time, really.

2015 Week 10: Satan's Detectives

I set up Shayera with her own Spotify account a while back so she can listen on her Kindle. We put a couple of kid friendly playlists on there for her, mostly Disney and Kids Bop stuff. But once in a while she'll ask me to put something on her playlist that she hears me playing. This has resulted in some cool additions to her list from Imelda May to The Last Shadow Puppets to Joe Bataan to Hot Chip. The latest one she asked for is a little creepy, which is concerning and great at the same time. 

I'm interrupting the usual way I put the weekly playlist together for something a little different. This is a little project I've been working on since about December, based in large part on Brownout's Brown Sabbath album, which was in my top ten albums of last year. In my write up at FDRMX, I said "It’s like the soundtrack to a 70s occult cop action movie that should be filmed immediately." So I ran with that.

Road trips  are scary.

This is like a cross between True Detective, Starsky and Hutch, Lethal Weapon and stuff like Race With the Devil, Satan's Cheerleaders and other 70s satanic type B movies that I grew up on (I really am surprised I'm not a Batman villain based on the shit I was exposed to as a kid). It may not actually take place in the 70s, but it certainly feels like it. There's been a series of occult related murders throughout the city and our heroes, detectives Knight and Diaz* are on the case. They get sucked into a satanic cult that may or may not be responsible for the murders, but there appears to be a deeper conspiracy running through the city. In any case, loyalties come into question from all angles and our heroes plunge deeper into the cult through their undercover participation in psychedelic black masses that make them question their very purpose. Throughout, one question keeps popping up: who do they answer to? Are they on the side of good? Or have they unknowingly been working for the satanic conspiracy all along. Are they Satan's Detectives?

These guys would love this movie.

Anyway, just go listen to it, there are some cool trippy, satanic type songs on here with a psychedelic vibe throughout as well as some funky wah wah shit (Some Funky Wah Wah Shit could also be the new album by my band Satan's Detectives, inspired by the movie). See if you can tell when the creepy dark rooms in abandoned buildings are being searched and when the chases happen. There's also a witchy woman who seduces the detectives at one point. And, even though this movie must end on a dark note, I already feel a sequel of some sort is in the works. Overall, I tried to stay away from really obvious or heavy tracks except for the Sabbath stuff, but since they're covers, it doesn't count.

*I'll have to ponder the casting, but I do have some ideas. Maybe I'll get into it in a future post.

2015 Week 9: The Allison Reynolds Affair

She should not have gotten the stupid makeover at the end. 

There are certain voices that just get me. I'm always disappointed when people judge a singer's ability solely on acrobatics or some other straightforward measure. You hear people talk about how great Celine Dion is sometimes and it's just amazing to me that anyone would think that of someone so bland. Like what you like, but that is no measuring stick. To me, imperfection is usually the best indicator of a great singer. A voice that cracks at the right time is the paradoxical definition of perfection. This week, Brandi Carlile's new album, The Fire Watcher's Daughter, came out. I'm not sure I like all of the album and I'm not even sure I like her entire catalog until now, even though there are many songs I do love. But what I do love and can't get enough of is her voice. Even on songs I'm not crazy about, I just stop and listen and I'm in a moment, usually one of introspection and emotional nakedness that comes through in her countrified crack. I can't put my finger on it, at all, but there's power and vulnerability, and above all, humanity in it. She's on the top of my list of people I want to see in concert, I just hope I get the chance to do so in a smaller venue. She's kind of a big deal. 

So this week's playlist is a little strange, but kind of relates to how I feel about Brandi's voice. It started off, randomly enough, as some odd cry for help. I build these things randomly throughout the week, but day by day, I start to feel a theme coming on, and might add some songs intentionally. By the end of the week I have some idea of something so I go through and reorganize it according to flow and "story." So this week, let's call it The Allison Reynolds Affair. It's a kind of ode to that mysterious, kinda dark, outcast girl some of us always seemed to be attracted to growing up. The rebel, the loner, the one who didn't give a fuck about "normal." But she's not the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She's dangerous, often beyond the regular rebelliousness and into actual evil doings, but all that aside, we just couldn't help ourselves. Anyway, I kinda married one of those, so there you have it. This is not a squishy playlist and it's certainly not a literal story at all. It's about the atmosphere of the songs more than anything else. Listen and share.

2015 Week 8: Vague Future

This here is an obligatory post. Yes, I did put a playlist together for the week, but just barely. It's really kind of a miracle I even posted last night, but that was a matter of getting the feeling down. So, this is just out of duty to the discipline. I'm sure I'm the only one even listening to my playlists, but whatever. Eventually, I'm sure one more person might give one a chance before cursing me and shutting it off forever. So for that hypothetical person, I will remain consistent.

I'm not really sure what to make of this playlist. It feels vaguely Blade Runner-esque at times. It's not all random, but it does have a haphazard feel to it in a way. I don't know, let's just call it Vague Future and be done with it. Just fucking listen to it, there are some good tunes on there, god damn it. Open your fucking ears!

2015 Week 7: Hanging Out With Odin

Getting it right.

Earlier this week I posted a couple of reviews over at FDRMX for Bob Dylan's Bringing it All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited. Both turn 50 this year, along with a whole bunch of other important albums. That was an intense year for music, which culminated with The Beatles Rubber Soul and The Who's My Generation in December. It's funny how the recording process was somehow more complicated than today's digital age, yet bands routinely released full albums a mere months apart. Anyway, go read the reviews.

This week's playlist is a little conversation someone had with Odin. Just a regular human, but willing to face Ole One Eye and just be honest. Odin respects this and takes this human along on some adventures as the conversations unfold. Like life, it's hard to really say if either gets a big life lesson out of it, but there were definitely some moments of clarity to be found. In a strange way, they each leave with a better of understanding of the other.

2015 Week 6: A Spy in the House of Love

Several Shades of Purple.

So I haven't been posting over at FDRMX as much lately due to time, but I did review the new Alabama Shakes single this week, so go check it out. It also shows up on this week's playlist so be sure to do that too.

This week some movie came out for Valentine's day, based on some novel, erotic in nature, that many ladies are into. Hey, good for them. I've read many criticisms of it and the book and the few passages I've seen excerpted are pretty badly written, but whatever, that's porn, right? But, just in case, I should remind everyone that's a fan of that book to look up Anais Nin. Interestingly enough, the playlist I created this week is named for one of her books.This happened completely by accident, but I'll go with it. See, that movie I mentioned has been getting some attention for it's soundtrack as well. This is different, but still. Go check it out.

2015 Week 5: Walking it Off in the Moonlight

It all comes together.

Earlier this week I posted my latest Tom Waits review over at FDRMX for Swordfishtrombones. Great album. A lot of it made me think of some old school animations in a lot of ways and it's not the first time. I have to just assume Waits was a huge influence on Tim Burton and Danny Elfman when they put A Nightmare Before Christmas together. His songs have been used in a few animated films, like Robots, which used "Underground." Sure, it wasn't a great movie, but still.

And speaking of soundtracks, I recently said on here that the Game of Thrones theme was probably my favorite theme of the moment. I found this cool cover the other day.



So there's this couple. They have a fight one night, maybe about imagined infidelities or about one not doing what the other expected. It ultimately boils down to trust, which is what all couples arguments are really ever about if you think about it. It gets heated and one of them storms out because they just can't, but they bring their music device of choice and some headphones and as they walk, alone under the moonlight, through the tree lined neighborhood where they live, they listen. And as they listen, the emotions churn. Anger builds to rage. Disappoint and betrayal pop up and sometimes it's self directed as blame shifts back and forth Still, they feel betrayed or guilty or both. Maybe there's self pity and pockets of hate. But the walk begins to bring clarity as the intensity of the potential loss reminds them of what sparked the love in the first place. And a new purpose to the walk emerges as the homestretch comes up and it's time to head back to that door and come in out of the cold, out of the dark, and into the open, waiting arms of home. Ain't it great when a bunch of random songs I started throwing into a playlist throughout the week can somehow tell me that story? Go listen and see if you don't get it, too.

Je Suis Murtaugh

Me, every day.

I recently contributed a piece to Cinesthesia about Interstellar. Go check it out and read the rest of the reviews. I might contribute over there again at some point. If I ever find the time and energy to write about movies. I was digging through some of my old blogs at the Not Just Otaku blog, and I was sort of impressed. I was getting pretty good at reviewing comics and movies before I stopped. I'll see what I can do.

I guess I've always been old in many ways. And yet somehow awkwardly teen aged. It hasn't been easy. Luckily, the older I get the less I give a fuck. For more on that philosophy please read this excellent piece. Seriously, it's life changing if you aren't there yet and life affirming if you are. It's a life goal that I think everyone should be told about from day 1. In any case, I put together this playlist because well, I was thinking about Roger Murtaugh, as I often do.

So here's a bunch of songs that are directly or indirectly about getting older. I'm thinking this list will be a work in progress, so I suggest subscribing to it. Don't worry if you don't have premium Spotify, by the way. I recently learned that the free version, even on your devices, lets you listen to playlits in shuffle mode. So, I invite you to let me be your Pandora or whatever, if you're too cheap to get the premium. Just do it. Or not. I don't give a fuck.

2015 Week 4: Existential Salad

Tom and Tom.

One month down. I've decided to skip the next album on the Tom Waits discography, which would have been the soundtrack to One From the Heart. I'm skipping it because honestly it bored me to tears and I couldn't get past like 4 songs.It would be one thing if I just didn't like it after listening and wrote about that. I didn't like Heartattack and Vine. But this, I couldn't even bring myself to continue to listen to. Plus, since it's a soundtrack and half the songs are actually sung by Crystal Gayle, there's reason not to include it in the overall project. So next up will be Swordfish Trombones, which I expect to have posted on FDRMX soon. Stay tuned.

Shout out to Ryan for bringing Rachel Fannan and Only You to my attention this week. Loving everything I've heard from her so far, be it solo work, with Only You or some of the other collaborations she's done, one of which closes off this week's playlist, so be sure to grab that. Anyway, Only You released a new single this week called "Pressure." Twangy reverb drenched guitar leads the way to fuzz and Siouxsie style drama. Awesome stuff. Listen and explore the rest of her music, it's worth it and you'll be amazed by the range. I hope there's a full album soon.



So this week's playlist is the sort of thing you want to crank up and ponder your place in the world. In a round about way, it's about time and mortality. It's about living in the moment, on the one, and how we are always like Schrodinger's cat. Oh and hey, a new Vaccines single! So ponder, but then move on and live.

2015 Week 3: Like the Beginning of Mean Streets

Third week of the year and things are moving along. It's nice to see more hits on here lately. Most of them are coming from FDRMX, so I need to find a way to submit more articles over there. I need that thing where you have all the time in the world to write and no shortage of ideas or concentration. What's that called? No seriously, what is it called and where can I get it? Is is it expensive? It probably is. But, yeah, time, which brings me to. . .

This week's playlist developed a theme pretty early on. I like to think of it as my version of a twisted mash up between the artistic design of Streets of Fire and a jukebox that exists in a dimension outside of time, where everything is in subliminal slow motion like a Martin Scorsese movie. So you know, just cool music to listen to. Enjoy. And if anyone has any ideas for playlist themes, shoot them my way. 

2015 Week 2: Into the Fog

BRMC used TONS of fog.

Thursday night I will be at the St. Paul and The Broken Bones Show at The Beacham in Orlando, followed by a trip to Legoland with the family on Friday, so this post is being programmed ahead of time so that my fan doesn't feel abandoned in my absence. Anyway, all I have at the moment is the week's playlist. We'll go with fog as a theme because it was foggy a couple days, so there. Once I get back, I'll have a review of the St. Paul show which I'm pretty sure is going to be fucking awesome, or else why would I drive 4 hours to it. So, until next week, grab the playlist and share it away. More to come.

2015 Week 1: The Playlist

I've dived into a now prolonged rediscovery of the 90s, that really started with the Tanya Donelly thing a couple weeks back but led to The Smashing Pumpkins. I didn't have the most exciting time in the 90s, so a lot of this is tinged with regret. I watch concert footage of these bands and I'm reminded that I wasn't there, but wanted to be. In any case, I guess this is the year 90s nostalgia really kicks in for me. Oh well, whatever, never mind.

It's funny how sometimes just the random order of a shuffled list of songs can become somehow coherent. Like DJ Chaos is spinning with a purpose. Anyway, this week I came across a pretty diverse group of songs that caught my attention. Some I'd heard before but just sort of came up anyway. One artist that came up that isn't available on Spotify is Leon Bridges. This guy! Wow! Just listen to this:

Anyway, here's this week's playlist. I guess the theme could be groovy or waves or I don't know. It kinda flows in a weird way.