Friendship

It was a great coincidence to be back in Texas playing the new countryfied Friendship record, which is terrific. This song just jumped out at me and not because it’s track one. It happens to be a great album opener. Love the bass line and the easy, melancholic vibe. Great sounding guitars! And it just feels right tonight for this post-pandemic, summer of 2022. Love the “still swinging on my vine”. Making it through to the end of the week, thanks to David Attenborough. So much we don’t know. And it really does help having something on, getting up early. Whatever it takes sometimes. Keep it moving. Keep from brooding. ❤️

Black Country, New Road

This might be my favorite track on this album, but don’t hold me to it. The chamber pop label makes sense — and you can hear it — the flute, piano, the horns, the shuffling tempos. Still, it’s so much more than this because Isaac’s vocals are rock and roll. The GOOD MORNING kills me as it gets louder.

Black Country, New Road

Too many songs I could post from this great record, so I will linger here for a bit to celebrate what might be my favorite of 2022. I previously posted SNOW GLOBES, but it was this song that first jumped out and grabbed me. I love how that gentle guitar and drums lure you in. And those vocals feel like they’re from someone who’s been singing a long time.

Yo La Tengo

This gentle song is moving and taking me home today — from their 2015 record FADE which I’ve played on vinyl so many times over the past eight years. Love’s last episode. Nowhere to go.

Phil Morrison’s video made me laugh again this morning with James being the guest, helping cook dinner. A lovely afternoon, until he’s taken away. 😊

Yo La Tengo

Another great love song this morning from these legends — one that landed on some of my first home-burned mix CD’s. 90’s indie rock at its best with fuzzed out guitars, bass, drums. But most of all this song just sneaks up on you — those addictive, skate-punk riffs with those lyrics? The devotion and commitment. The lack of snark. The passion and sincerity is overwhelming, like long-lost wedding vows impossible to live up to. ♥️

Whatever you want from meWhatever you want, I'll doI'll try to squeeze a drop of bloodFrom a sugarcube

Yo La Tengo

This is one of my favorite love songs. A stunning track that paints a picture of two specific people — their way to fall. It’s difficult not to imagine this is how Ira and Georgia met and fell for one another and so I love the vulnerability of writing this song and putting it out into the world.

Love those keyboards, bass and brushed cymbals — perfect arrangement and those hushed vocals over the chorus with both of them singing. Those details of his face turning red, staring at his feet on that summer day. And Georgia’s guitar strap — how he remembered how it looked around her neck. And eventually the day it broke. ♥️

Yo La Tengo

One of those songs that just feels like great 90’s indie rock — but it’s more than that. Taken in the context of their great record I CAN HEAR THE HEART BEATING AS ONE — it’s much more. Just listen to the record — the new 25th anniversary deluxe edition. Just one of 16 main tracks. And that angst, those fuzzy guitars, bass and Georgia’s lead vocals get to me this morning. That guitar solo 3 minutes in? It all makes me feel so nostalgic for 1997. 25 years younger.

Sometimes when I'm staring out my window
Catch the stars and watch as they go by
I've been getting messages from outer space
They spiral like a finger in the sky

Yo La Tengo

It was THIS album from 2000 that really blew my mind. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out is another record that announced the new millennium for me. It got us out of the 90’s and in hindsight feels ahead of it’s time. I love to play it on vinyl, dropping the needle down on SIDE A to hear those beautiful drums and drones.

I want summer’s sad songs, behind me ♥️

The Orchids

Another perfect song from this great Scottish band. I love the youthful admission in the title — young, curious heart who’s on some kind of mission. The yearning and anticipation is palpable — those guitars and chord progressions, the hushed vocals in the verses. And then the chorus — so specific and sung with conviction.

Someday babe, I’m gonna get what I want.
Someday babe, I’m gonna get what I need.
Here I am.

The Orchids

Another nostalgic tune that captures melancholy and infatuation. What a thrill to be able to use this one in Phoenix, Oregon as Bobby stays up all night drawing his graphic novel, remembering falling in love with Nikki. Love these guitars, bass drums and layered vocals. ❤️

The Orchids

A little slice of pop heaven today — a song more people should know because it’s special. A real love song that’s full of infatuation and joy. A guest vocal, I know but it’s Pauline’s voice that surprises in the spotlight — and carries the choruses too. Hackett’s vocal is buried, but it’s there and helps it all feel 100% Orchids. Love the organ in the mix — and that little classical guitar solo at 2:40 is lovely, memorable. Do you mind if I sit and watch you? ❤️

The Orchids

A band I’ve loved for a long time — one of those special groups who are totally unique and still together making music. And their records just make me feel good when I play them. This tune is a heartbreaker — the great bass line and guitars and those melancholy vocals from James Hackett. Only a little over two minutes, the gentleness and sweetness of this track kills me every time.

I know there’s a light in my eyes…

The Choir

This sprawling song is about doubt and the shadows that veil our eyes. I’m not sure how this band cooked up this fantastic record — but they sure caught lightning in a bottle. It still sounds great and it transcends both genre and the 80’s. To me it sounds like 2022. And this seven minute classic is almost too short for me. I love Hindalong’s drums coursing through the track and Derri’s ringing guitars — especially in the chorus.

The Choir

One of my favorite songs about being a dad — or specifically having a daughter like Flannery who’s 16 now — but still wide-eyed and learning to live in this world. Like we all are. Even as adults I think living wide-eyed is a great way to be. Staying hopeful, expecting great things. Fearing the worst. Being grateful. Laying waste to cynicism.

I love the heart-on-sleeve lyrics, posted below — the honesty, the sweetness. Beautiful acoustic guitar and lyricon. Love the harmonies in the studio version, and Steve’s drumming too. ❤️

The Choir

This is a band I love and this song is from their terrific record CHASE THE KANGAROO. I love Derri’s guitars in this and the mediative drumming from Steve Hindalong. And it’s true — the ebb and flow of sadness strengthens the heart. In my late teens and early twenties, THE CHOIR was a pivotal band for me who I still listen to decades later. I still find hope in a lot of their music — because most of it is about things I still believe in. Like doubt, pain, love, forgiveness. And hope. The kind of hope that can lay waste to cynicism.

The Flaming Lips

This melancholy tune feels right this evening. I feel disillusioned tonight and I’m not sure why. It’s nothing specific, just a general sense of disillusionment.

Oh my vision is blurred again

This song speaks to it for some reason — the very first song I loved by the Flaming Lips. I knew then they were working entirely on another level. It was before they had a hit with She Don’t Use Jelly. Those absurd, glorious strings at 2:27 are pretty incredible. I remember wanting to use this one in a film, but it never happened.