Tag: new-music

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

This week I spent a good deal of time listening to the earlier part of Heart’s catalog. As I noted last week, my better half came home from a garage sale with quite a haul, and, well, those records weren’t going to play themselves, you know? No one needs to know my take on Bebe Le Strange (“Even It Up” is a top-five track from them), Private Audition (you can probably skip this one), or the deep cuts on Dog & Butterfly and Dreamboat Annie. I’ll just say I’m always surprised at how well these hold up. Even the glossy-era stuff has its high marks. I’m never mad about hearing “Never” in the store. I’m slow to praise anything from Seattle, but credit where credit’s due.

At any rate, this week I’ve been feeding my ears with quite a bit of stuff that’s held up. The Veldt are a band I found in high school, and if Instagram is anything to go by, people are still finding them. The kids are alright! We’ve got two of them here. A few years ago, our pal Keith R. Higgons did a great interview with the band’s Daniel Chavis that’s also well worth checking out.

Similarly, Watershed is an Ohio band that had a brief moment in the ’90s, then faded from the spotlight, but, lucky for us, never really stopped making records. Their new one’s on here, and they’re doing a short regional tour. If you’re in the upper Midwest, you’re in luck. Also, shoutout for most of these shows starting early. Related: I’m old. They’re also playing with Madison’s Shazy Hade.

There’s some Yo La Tengo, because of course there is, and a couple from the Stones, Pink Floyd, and Eddie Vedder (see above: never beating the old-guy allegations).

Going the other way, we’ve also got brand-new killer sounds from Joel Cusumano , Philly-based Mesh—who sound old in all the best ways—and Young Friend.

Also a new one from THAO that’ll likely still be stuck in your head midweek (sorry!), a double dose of new music from Outer World, and a banger from Swedish House Mafia ft. Lykke Li.

In other words, something for everyone. This is an all ages show. Get in!

KA—

Side A is tracks 1-13. Side B is tracks 14-27.

The Playlist:

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

Late last week, I was in a meeting when my wife walked in and quietly set a stack of (new to us) records down. That by itself was cool. What made it eve better was the how excited she was that she’d found them. She’d been at a garage sale, and they had brought them out while she was there. Right place, right time and all that.

I’ve mentioned it before, but garage sales up here usually follow a specific template:

In Wisconsin specifically, you’re bound to find cross-country skis and…a lot of beer steins (seriously, why do people buy these?!). There’s also a 110% chance that there will be at least one giveaway shirt from a Bucks game. At this point, I am convinced that Gruber Law is single-handedly keeping several T-shirt companies afloat. IYKYK.

Records are a rarer commodity, though judging by the sales I hit, it’s clear that owning at least two Ray Conniff records was a state law at one point. Maybe they came with the beer steins…I dunno. When you find them, they’re not always in the best shape and look/smell exactly how you’d expect them to after spending the last twenty years in a Midwest basement next to a pair of cross-country skis.

No one will consider the records she grabbed for us holy grails. That doesn’t make ‘em any less cool, or dampen the excitement. We’ve been playing ‘em all weekend.

It’s easy for “music people” like all of us here to get lost in things like the Geese discourse, whether or not Madonna’s new record is up to par (it is), and the ongoing saga of curation vs. critique. And who gets to make those calls? Ask 10 people, and you’ll get 11 opinions.

In the end, no matter one’s taste, we’re all chasing that same north star- the electricity you feel when a record finds you at just the right time- even if it happens to be a release from Ray Conniff.

KA—

On to the music…

On to the music. No Madge this week, but her debut record turns 43 today. Oof. I’d put it up there in her top 3. Maybe you have some thoughts? In the what’s old is new crate, we’ve got a track from the latest Rolling Stones record, Teenage Fanclub, The Strokes, and Pete Yorn. There’s also some deep cuts from Heart, and Jet Stream Heart from Temples. Also one from Sioux Falls SD-based Off Contact, and another from Liz Hogg. There’s also some Yo La tengo because, of course, there is (and stay tuned for more on them later this week).

Best of all, we’ve got a brand new one from our pal Brian K. Pagels with Lilly Hiatt (Lilly Hiatt!). If that’s not exciting, I don’t know what it is.

Side A is tracks 1-12. Side B is tracks 13-27.

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

This past Friday I went to a political rally lightly disguised as a stop on a book tour. It was a Q&A with Ben Wikler and Pete Buttigieg, and a couple of other local/state politicians and activists. I was really there to see “Mayor Pete” (I’m an unrepentant infrastructure geek), but if I’m honest, it was far more engaging and entertaining than I thought it might’ve been.

I’m terminally online and far too plugged into the WI political landscape for my own good. It’s easy to get jaded and check out, but this was a great antidote; a bulwark against the tsunami of political ads that are about to swamp every channel.

One of the points made was a quote: Hope is not the cause of action. Hope is the consequence of action.

I admit it’s a touch pithy—something very much at home on a Successories poster—but I also couldn’t help but frame it in terms of records, writing, and any creative pursuit. People take their time, treasure, and talent and put something out in the world. They hope people like it, of course, but that’s an aftereffect.

The TL;DR of the evening was that success comes when we (collectively) decide to tear down existing models and speak truth to power. Those walls come down slowly at first and then all at once. It starts with a conversation, or making a single phone call. Or making a small ask of someone (in my organizing days we would call these pressure tests, and the equivalent might be asking them to sign an A-card). You do this over and over—you put in these reps—and eventually something new and better emerges.

On the way there, we drove by what was once Smart Studios, and as each person spoke, I couldn’t help but map their points to the past and current music landscape.

Writing about the building a few years ago, I noted:

Today, Smart Studios stands stoically on the corner as the world rushes by. Boarded up and on the market, it stands sentinel over an era long past, but whose legacy lives on.

In the ’90s, people took existing models and bent them to their will…or they just tore them down altogether and built something novel.

And we did it together. People collaborated long before your Instagram timeline was polluted with spammy “DM to collab” comments from bots. It felt like everyone was in a band. And if you weren’t playing, you were writing. And if you were writing or making a ’zine, you were doing art for record covers or T-shirts.

When people took to the streets in PDX, it wasn’t performative or for the ’gram. The crowds built a person at a time. One person asking another to join them. And another. And then another.

It was a fantastic time. And it was the result of small steps adding up to something much larger.

No wonder it gave us so many good sounds.

On to the music…

This week, I’ve been listening to a ton of The Church. Ditto R.E.M. and Yo La Tengo (some of you may have seen that those are the two frontrunners for which discography Sam Colt and I work through next- stay tuned for the results!). There’s also some INXS and Shonen Knife, the latter of whom used to soundtrack a lot of my drives into the city for shows, We also lost L7 bassist Jennifer Finch late Saturday. L7 of course recorded at Smart Studios. Fuck cancer.

I promise this isn’t a nostalgia account; I might be an 80s/90s kid, but the music of 23026 gives me just as much hope as those records did back in the day. This week we’ve got some killer new sounds from Sweeping promises, Ceylon Sailor, Inland Years, and many more.

Side A is tracks 1-14. Side B is tracks 15-27.

The Playlist:

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been in heavy rotation in your world? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

This past week, I was on vacation. When asked, the easy answer would be “I didn’t go anywhere,” but that’s not entirely true. We went all over the place; we just never left the state.

I’ve mentioned it previously, but even after living here for over 20 years, I still don’t have to go too far to feel like I’m in another country (and depending on how “red” it is, another universe). Go far enough afield and even the radio stations can feel foreign in their own way.

Even where we were, there were plenty of choices, including one that seemed purpose-built for Parrot Heads that got lost on the way to living their best (salt) life and wound up on Lake Michigan instead. I like Buffett, but man, I heard more than my share.

You would also be (pick one: horrified/surprised/delighted) to know that Bon Jovi is still in heavy rotation in some spots.

Miss the Slippery When Wet era? NE Wisconsin’s for you!

But!

In an era of automated playlists and robo-DJs, these stations feel anachronistic…and like sweet relief. Yes, even the ones that are, in theory, talk radio, but in reality just an angry guy shouting into the void from the antenna on the horizon. No matter how much iHeartRadio (or Brendan Carr) tries to tell you otherwise, the airwaves still belong to the people, and there’s still some people-powered stations, too.

Stations like this are the last stand against the Telecommunications Act of 1996. These over-the-air Alamos holding the line against automation and misinformation are usually found on the left side of your dial, and traveling through their range is all the better because of ‘em—even when they play “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

KA—

On to the music…

No Bon Jovi, but this week’s human-powered playlist features brand new tracks from Hazel English, Office Dog, The Tubs, Wishy, and more. Wisconsin’s well represented (in a good way!) with sounds from Red Pants and Heavy Looks. Our friends Tamara Casey and Patrick Fellows are also here with “Bad Decisions” and “Seen it All” respectively.

In other words, everything you need for your morning commute or for when you’re getting nothin’ but static.

Side A is tracks 1-17. Side B is tracks 18-35.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

A Monthy Python castmate, Elvis, and several world cup soccer players all walk into a $100 million cage…

It sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn’t it?

If I told you they were there to play in a 3v3 8-team single elimination goal tournament, all to the sounds of a (then) 34-year-old song remade by a Dutch artist best known for working on Tomb Raider, it’d just get weird, right?

But24 years ago, that’s exactly what happened. Henry, Ronaldo, Scholes; they were all there, and they were all there to sell shoes.

Or, more specifically, Nike shoes.

The Scorpion KO tournament was part of an award-winning ad campaign, with star players competing in a secret tournament onboard a ghost ship.

Former Manchester United Star Eric Cantona was more emcee than referee, and the entire thing was directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam.

That tournament spawned local versions worldwide, with an estimated 1–2 million kids participating worldwide.

The campaign was a huge success, with Nike president Mark Parker commenting, “This spring’s integrated football marketing initiative was the most comprehensive and successful global campaign ever executed by Nike.”

The game might’ve come easy, but the soundtrack? Not so much.

“The music was a real monkey wrench. We just could not land the right track to pull it together. If you turn the audio off and try to follow this thing, it’s pretty hectic beyond the colours of the jerseys. There was just no obvious tone or tenor. We tried rock, metal — dark, intense stuff — but it didn’t really underscore what we were seeing.

“We talked to all sorts of music producers, contracted a band, some hot producers. They brought in stuff to play, and we were very polite, but I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is a disaster’.

Somehow it all worked out in the end, with the song’s remix charted in dozens of countries, hitting #1 in several.

The song? JXL’s remake of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” originally released in 1968.

The official theme song was actually by… (checks notes) Vangelis, but no matter. For all intents and purposes, this was it.

Note: It will surprise absolutely no one, that for my money, this is the best World Cup song of all time.

Do you remember this commercial (or the 2002 World Cup)? Who ya got for this tourney?

KA—

On to the music…

This week what’s old is new again with a killer remix of New Order’s “Spooky.” We’ve also got some (actually) brand new tracks from Wishy, Vienna, The Mountain Goats, and Boston’s Good June. A great setlist to either liven up your commute, play on a road trip or soundtrack your next soccer tournament.

Side A is tracks 1-14. Side B is tracks 15-29.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

In All Things Must Pass, the bittersweet post-mortem of Tower Records, they eventually come to the part of the story when the wheels really started to fall off.

The part where the banks come in and decide they know what’s best — that they know more than those who spent their lives building the chain.

Like every other takeover of a sinking ship, a few of the wrong things got tossed overboard. Things that are deemed superfluous, but mean a lot to a lot of people.

In aviation, that usually means outsourcing the ground handling or ticket counters. In the case of Tower Records, it was the scrapping of their in-house Pulse magazine. A magazine my music nerd friends and I used to ride our bikes across town to get copies of. A magazine whose every word we’d pore over.

Why am I writing an elegy for a long-gone magazine?

Because one of the best parts of Pulse was its Desert Island Discs feature. In each issue, they’d ask people to imagine being marooned, and what they’d want the soundtrack to be. We’d read every word in the magazine, but only after skipping to this first. Every list either confirmed that someone had the best taste ever or that they were a heretic. In those days, there was no middle ground.

And maybe that’s the allure of these sorts of exercises. The rush of confirmation or incredulity is tough to resist. To paraphrase Rick James: judgment is a helluva drug.

But so too is making these lists. The decision…The indecision… Did I make the right picks? Is this really what I’d want? What would the people back home think? Did I bring something that’ll make me sing loud enough to get the attention of a passing trawler? How does a record player work in a place with no power?

Tell me, what do you think?

KA—

On to the music…

A couple of my choices are on here, but I also love the idea that my next pick could be right around the corner. I know it sounds a bit silly, but to me that’s exciting.

Side A is tracks 1-19. Side B is tracks 20-39.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music|

Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

The longest-running parlor game for music fans might be arguing about which era of Van Halen is the best.

A close second: what song defines your generation?

The answers are almost always a tell: Boomers might point to The Beatles, The Stones, or Dylan. Gen X often lands on something like “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha…well, the answer gets fuzzier. That’s probably also a tell. (Spoiler: I’m old.)

Writing for NPR recently, Hazel Cills flipped the question a little, asking instead: Can an entire generation be defined by one song?

To me, a definitive millennial song can’t just be a song that failed to reach listeners beyond my specific generation (those born between the years of 1981 to 1996, to pick one of the possible date ranges demarcating the cohort). It also can’t simply be a hit that was popular with a huge swath of millennials. For a song to be definitively millennial, it also has to speak to the millennial identity. Millennials have been saddled with many of those simplistic stereotypes listed above, but also a lot of harsh realities….The music culture that defined our coming of age, from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, went through its own massive disruptions that influenced not just listeners but also artists: the rise of illegal downloading and the streaming culture that came after, social media platforms like Youtube and Myspace that birthed a new generation of stars, the invention of MP3 players like the iPod and the explosion of festival culture. Millennial music, regardless of genre, embodies the collision of these realities.

One can make the same case with supporting arguments for whichever cohort you choose, and while I have my own ideas on what “Has” to be the song of my people, I don’t know if an entire generation can be distilled down to one track. It’s a fun exercise, and for GenX there’s certainly no shortage of 5-star candidates, but it also encompasses a group born between 1965 and 1980. Can you paint an entire generation with a broad brush? Probably not, but it doesn’t stop us from trying.

Still, it’s a fun exercise—and maybe that’s the point. While we’ll likely never reach a consensus or land on a definitive answer, the conversation itself tells us something about how we hear music and how we see ourselves.

Tell me, what do you think?

KA—

P.S. The answer to Q1 is always the DLR era.

P.P.S. Huge shout to friend of the newsletter Chris B RRT for sending over this link to Shakedown’s ‘Heat It Up’ record, featuring one Rollo Steele.

On to the music…

It will not surprise you to read that this playlist is extremely Gen X-coded, with tracks from Sonic Youth, Luscious Jackson, and more. There’s also a nod to older cohorts with George Harrison and Lindsey Buckingham in the mix, and of course a ton of brand new tracks from the likes of The Maureens, Van Chamberlain and Long Relief.


Side A is tracks 1-14 (ends with “Greensburg”). Side B is tracks 15-27.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |
Note: Both YT & Qobuz are missing a couple of tracks this week.

Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on What’re You Listening To?

Happy Memorial Day to everyone here in the US, and happy Monday to our international friends! Whether, you’re home today or just kicking off your work week, I hope you’ve had a chance to rest easy and spin some great records. If you’re in the latter camp, maybe this’ll make the commute just a bit more enjoyable?

I shared this anecdote in the chat over the weekend, but wanted to share it again with the group as a whole.

A few weeks ago, Gabbie, who writes the fantastic New Music For Old heads, asked readers to name the last band or record they found without the internet. It’s one of those fun questions that seems easy at first, but before you know it, you have a page full of crossed-out options and are wracking your brain. For better or worse, these days we find stuff online.

Obviously, it’s fun to find cool records through cool people (cough cough), but it seems wild to me that what was once a pretty straightforward question is now anything but.

And if you’ll allow me to share, I now have a pretty rad answer…sort of. I received a music submission via email from a local act. That in itself is not unusual (and yeah, email counts as internet), but then my kid asked me if the artist had been in touch. This is absolutely not normal. Turns out he had a makeup exam last week, and one of the musicians was the proctor. Once everything was completed and turned in, they were talking, and his music label came up, which led my son to mention this place, and everything came full circle. Not entirely analog, but still pretty cool (to me, anyway), so I’m counting it.

That duo is here (dargan hester), as is one of my fave shoegaze bands, Cheatahs. I found them via terrestrial radio (thank you, WSUM!), and they’ve never really left my rotation since. Squeeze showed up via the early days of MTV.

It’s not the record featured here, but one of my greatest analog finds was when a friend passed me a copy of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense while on a field trip. It’s not hyperbolic to say that moment changed the trajectory of my music diet forever.

What’s the last record you discovered without going online? Share your story!

KA—

P.S. Speaking of radio, when you’re done here, make sure to check out the final lap of Inhailer Radio’s Indie 500!

Side A is tracks 1-19 (ends with “Narco Polo”). Side B is tracks 20-39.

On to the music…

KA—

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music|


Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Note: May 18th is a big day both in music history and for anyone who lived in the PNW in 1980. I first ran this piece when there were about 6 of us here (and 3 of them lived with me), and it’s become an annual tradition.

We don’t have many musical traditions in my family. On Thanksgiving, my wife & kids have to endure “Alice’s Restaurant” at least once (or rather, my attempts to sing it). Sometime in the next few weeks after that, Otis Redding’s version of “Merry Christmas Baby” gets a spin, and that’s about it for the year…with one exception.

Growing up, we hardly had any traditions- musical or not. In fact, about the only time I can remember us doing anything even remotely collective had to do with this song. This started in 1980, in the lead-up to Mt. St. Helens’ eruption, when the song was played as a bit of gallows humor. Anytime it played, we’d all just sort of start singing along. No other song before or since can make that claim.

If you can’t control something, you might as well sing about it, right?

P.S. Since this first ran, my mom moved. I’m not sure the Sanka can came with her, but I’d like to think it’s still in a box waiting to be unpacked.

KA—

Living under a looming threat and widespread mask use was a new phenomenon for most of us. But for those of a certain age living in the Pacific Northwest, it evoked memories of 1980.

People wearing masks in Portland Oregon ahead of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.
Photo: Oregonlive.com

Living in the shadows of the Cascade Mountains, it’s easy to forget that it’s a volcanic range. Easy, that is, until Mother Nature reminds you.

And so it was in late 1979/early 1980 with Mt. St. Helens.

At first, the eruptions were nominal enough; some steam here, a small landslide there. Later as they grew in scale, ash began to rain down on downwind communities, and painter masks became de rigueur fashion.

This culminated with a cataclysmic eruption on May 18th, 1980, which permanently changed people’s lives — and left the landscape unrecognizable.

On that day, just five words let the world know it was about to be changed forever. Volcanologist David Johnston had been camped on the mountain’s flank to monitor the increasingly dangerous situation.

The morning of May 18th, in a radio call to the USGS office, he announced the eruption to the world, his last words being, “Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!

Buffett had a different mountain in mind when he wrote “Volcano.” He was talking about the Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat.

But radio stations in places like Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, put it in their rotation as a part of a gallows humor approach to the impending disaster everyone knew was coming but didn’t know when — the calypso style offering a sunny contrast to the (literally) gray pall cast over the area.

Four decades on, the song remains a staple at Buffett performances—and in my house on every May 18th.

If you have friends who grew up in Oregon or Washington, don’t be surprised if pictures of Johnston are on their timelines today.

And for many of those same people, a coffee can full of volcanic ash remains on a shelf in their garage as a souvenir — a reminder of when life got sketchy, and nothing was left to do but sing about it.

Besides Jimmy and Joy Division, this week’s list has new tracks from Dan Pritchard, The Mountain Goats, and Kurt Vile. We’ve also got the usual sonic comfort food/deep cuts from GBV, XTC, and more.

Side A is tracks 1-15 (ends with Wilco). Side B is tracks 16-31.

On to the music…

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music|


Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on What’re You Listening To?

The 2-lane highway from Portland’s western suburbs to the Oregon Coast was exactly 72 miles.

It usually took about an hour and a half. It was a little faster if traffic was light and we were in a fast car. Or a little longer if we were in my friend Matt’s VW bus. It never bothered us, though.

It’s hard to be in a hurry when the sun’s out and you’re with your friends.

No one ever felt the need to check their watch while moseying through the Coast Range listening to Bob Marley.

At this point, Marley’s “Legend” compilation record is the default reggae record. Even if you can’t name a single other title or artist, you invariably at least know this one. Released posthumously, it’s the best-selling reggae record of all time, racking up millions of copies sold as of this writing. At least a dozen of those sales were from us.

Is there any other record so closely associated with it’s genre?

Most of us wound up going deeper into Marley’s discography, but like so many others, “Legend” was our on-ramp to his music. There we’d be, singing, “Every little thing’s gonna be all right,” while the bus wheezed and gasped, struggling to carry us over the hills. We sang “get up stand up” and would wind up doing just that through the years. The Bush family derisively referred to Portland as “Little Beirut.” We wore it as a badge of honor.

But over on the left side of the map, those concerns were a million miles away- our only worries being gas money and hitting spots like Indian Beach.

Today, we remember Marley on the 45th anniversary of his passing.

Four decades plus is a long time to have been gone from this life, yet Marley’s music & vision resonate now more than ever.

If we want every little thing to be all right, we need to get up and stand up.

This week’s list has factory fresh tracks from BODEGA, Nightbus, Onesie, and Taxi Girls, and well as the usual sonic comfort food and deep cuts.

Side A is tracks 1-14 (ends with “The Barbeque Party”). Side B is tracks 15-27.

On to the music…

KA—

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |


Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!