Talk Talk

Last night I was thinking about what great 80’s bands transcended its tropes and why — and I immediately thought of TALK TALK. Mark Hollis and company left us 5 great record, remarkably between 1981 and 1991. Somehow these records still sound fresh to me and aren’t betrayed by the trends and styles of the decade. This track in particular sounds so great this morning in 2022, with such inspired vocals and this driving, relentless riff. RIP Mark your music lives on. ❤️

Lloyd Cole

I suggest you start with one person at a time
And start with me

Aimee’s SAVE ME from yesterday had me thinking about under-the-radar love songs — the clever ones with bold ideas that have slipped through the cracks. This charmer is from Lloyd Cole’s terrifically underrated BAD VIBES where he channels Lou Reed’s, “hey babe, let’s take a walk on the wild side” persona over thirteen tracks.

Aimee Mann

It’s a minor miracle I made it to April without choosing an Aimee Mann song. This one is perfect — with a gorgeous vocal that’s clever, direct and cinematic and a melody, base line and accordian wrapped in a stunning Jon Brion arrangement. A song for the misfits and freaks looking for love. And another brilliant music video from PTA, who somehow worked Aimee into what was no doubt a complicated production schedule. ❤️🎬

Damien Jurado

Damien’s best songs are like these timeless short stories, and this one would be right at home on NEBRASKA. It is filled with disturbing details that haunt and just feel real. The hero of this sad story tries to keep his affair a secret and also keep his brother from losing his mind.

TJO

Tara Jean O’Neil makes experimental, ambient music and this track just mesmerizes and drifts — evoking beauty and terror over eight minutes. Something about the textures and chord progressions is masterful and has been a highlight of my ABOVE THE TREES writing playlist.

Angelo Badalamenti

This one opens an important door for me. It feels overwhelming to try and explain why or to quantify the decades long impact this show has had on me. Someday I will write about it, but it’s daunting to even consider. It would take 10,000 words to cover the thirty-two years of winding, beautiful roads these three seasons of television took me down. A journey that still makes me believe in the idea of destiny.

Leftover Salmon

I must’ve played this 1000 times before directing this music video, and never grew tired of it. What a song — an unusual ballad for Leftover Salmon that recalls a squandered love affair. It’s a timeless sounding single with a beautiful arrangement. This guys have been playing music together a long time and it’s a track that should’ve, could’ve been very popular. Love our cast in this and the assured, cold cinematography of Chris Vanderschaaf. 🎬🎵

Bon Iver

Regarding Stacks circles back every twelve months. A song that helps me face my hopes and regrets. Both stack up over a year, and hearing this beauty helps me dig through the junk — the baggage weighing me down and impeding my path.

Japandroids

Thursday momentum — this track’s an infectious burner that never gets old. A cinematic story where a trite feeling bar encounter becomes an anthem to romantic love and devotion. The kind of relationship everyone wants.

Red ammo, romance in the summer heat
In parks, on patios and in the streets
Our mission, makin’ moments into memories
And when winters off the leash and on the loose
We ward off the weather with a witch’s brew
Of dominoes and prose and delta blues.

Thom Yorke

Miracle Legion has been on my mind since yesterday’s track, and this Thom Yorke cover is so good — that startling :28 guitar riff at 1:56? It should be too much but it’s perfect. And those layered harmonies and spiking percussion during the last 1:40 are haunting and sublime.

Miracle Legion

One of the great unsung bands — who were sadly drowned out by a flood of mid-eighties, jangly college-rock/pop after R.E.M. hit. It’s a song and voice that triggers so much nostalgia.

I loved the days I spent with you
And I still have all you could offer
The backyard looks so empty now
Then, I think of her, think of her
The world was so big and I was so small
And your voice was always the loudest of all

Underworld

This is what finishing a screenplay sounds like — what it feels like. Rick Smith and Karl Hyde have a way of championing joy and melody into rave music. It’s hypnotizing, and I find their records emotional and warm — easy to listen to.

Sigur Rós

This morning I woke up thinking about 127 Hours — specifically the BOULDER.

I chose all this. This rock…this rock has been waiting for me my entire life.

The next thing that came to me was this song Danny Boyle used — a resurrection song for Aron Ralston. He gets his life back.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Funny how the brain makes associations — and for me those rabbit holes usually lead back to a song or a film. Today it was both, as the spring had me thinking about geese migrating north.

CINDY

One of my favorites in 2021 — a track that landed on many of my pandemic playlists. These understated vocals are so perfect with these major chords. I love the Oh that starts each verse and the ironic title, because you feel the depth of their separation and her longing for something more.

And tonight your face is dark
Because your back is to the light