Music Diary, Vol. 32

For the rationale behind this mad effort, the initial post is here. The full series of Music Diary posts are here. The full playlist is above, and also here.

Week of Aug. 12-18, 2024

LYRICS: Liz Phair, "6'11""

SONG: I've said it before but it's still true: This isn't my favorite Beatles song, except every time I happen to listen to it. For a little over 3 minutes it creates an eternal present I'm always happy to live in.
ALBUM: If you like jammy, hooky guitar pop with high-pitched female vocals, a la Alvvays, but haven’t heard the short-lived Dutch quartet The Mysterons, I highly recommend their 2017 LP, which adds some trippy psych-rock edges to the mix.

LYRICS: Pete Seeger (anon.), "My Get Up and Go"

SONG: How wild is it that Thin Lizzy turned a yearning Irish fiddle tune into a rock standard, complete with a deliciously obnoxious fuzz guitar and gritty, Rod Stewart-esque vocals. Listen for the trad melody to ring out under the last verse.

ALBUM: Happily happened upon this exquisite Leif Aruhn-Solén collection of Swedish art songs, and I can’t get enough of his buttery lyric tenor or these gorgeous songs by the likes of Frumerie, Rangström, Wiklund, Alfvén, and Sjögren.

LYRICS: Rufus Wainwright, "Matinee Idol"

SONG: As if his debt/similarity to Stevie Wonder weren’t already apparent, Curumin’s sinuous cover of one of Wonder’s classic throwdowns makes the link hearteningly direct.

ALBUM: Every time I spin this Chappell Roan masterpiece, I find new things to love. It's hard to remember the last piece of art in any medium I found simultaneously so ticklishly funny *and* genuinely moving. It's her party and she'll cry etc.

LYRICS: Rihanna (Kevin Parker), "Same Ol' Mistakes"

SONG: Yesterday I happened to catch this great Beatles cover by the El Salvadoran band Los Beats. I love everything about it, even or especially the slightly changed perspective and meaning of the chorus ("Why cry?" in place of "Don't let me down").

ALBUM: I don’t know how XTC does it: make music that somehow sounds both painstakingly composed and blissfully carefree, complicated yet flowing naturally as folk—what Yes wished they sounded like. This 1999 record is a particular favorite.

LYRICS: Beach House, "Walk in the Park"

SONG: This plaintive ballad represents The Edge’s only full-out vocal with U2, but he definitely makes it count.

ALBUM: Far from being a stunt, this Glen Campbell rock covers album is a thing of real beauty and majesty. Hard to pick a favorite track but for now I’ll go with his moving take on Lou Reed’s “Jesus.” (h/t Matthew Sitman)

LYRICS: Tears for Fears, "Mad World"

SONG: If I’m honest, I’ll admit that I mostly love this breathy Romanian Eurodance hit by Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina for its catchy accordion hook. 🪗

ALBUM: I think I figured out why I didn’t immediately cotton to Kacy & Clayton’s 2019 follow-up to their brilliant THE SIREN’S SONG (though now I love both records totally): There are almost no vocal harmonies! Even so it’s grade-A Americana.

LYRICS: Kate Wolf, "Across the Great Divide"

SONG: (repost) My flirtation with '80s-era CCM was fleeting and shallow, but this Steve Taylor song, inspired by John Paul II's meeting with his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Ağca, is one I'm happy to hold onto from that period.

ALBUM: This beautiful Chanticleer collection of Purcell anthems and sacred songs sounds to me like a full portrait of faith. Abjection and exultation, simplicity and complication, oracle and ornamentation—it’s all here.