Music Diary, Vol. 55

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 Jan. 20-26, 2025

LYRICS: Bob Dylan, "Changing of the Guards"

SONG: Roberta Flack opened her great 1969 debut record not with a ballad or a standard but with this bewildered, apocalyptic Gene McDaniels rant, which he wrote in LBJ’s America but which landed a month after Nixon’s inauguration. It still sings and stings.

ALBUM: Thinking about Huey Long today, and populism and authoritarianism, and the Southern-ization of American politics, and what’s still possible. In other words, I’m listening to this beautiful, blistering Randy Newman classic from 1974.

LYRICS: U2, "Bullet the Blue Sky"

SONG: This overlooked Cafe Noir gem takes the old investigative journalism rule “follow the money” to its reductio ad absurdum—i.e., as an imperative slogan—and sets it spinning to a seductive waltz tune topped by Randy Erwin’s otherworldly yodel.

ALBUM: Framing a stunning rendition of the Brecht/Weill classic “7 Deadly Sins” with towering renditions of Weill’s 2 very different symphonies demonstrates conductor Joana Mallwitz’s impeccable programming taste; her intent renditions of this still fresh music show her to be a musician of the first order.

LYRICS: Leonard Cohen, "Who by Fire"

SONG: Bob Dylan was never on “The Muppet Show” but I’ll be damned if this hilariously deadpan beatnik jam from 1970 doesn’t sound like an audition for an appearance with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, or a Shel Silverstein outtake.

ALBUM: Until recently I'd never heard the original cast recording of this 1943 R&H classic; like many, I grew up on the 1955 film soundtrack. While nothing will supplant that for me, the original has a dewy charm and inarguable warmth that's irresistible.

LYRICS: R.E.M., "These Days"

SONG: Floored by the songcraft of this 1971 David Ruffin single (by Nick Zesses, Dino Fekaris, and Henry Cosby): the shifting-sand chords under the verse in G, the odd-shaped chorus in G-minor (5 bars, 7 bars), the sensory details in the lyrics. Perfection.

ALBUM: The great violist Ljova returns to the obsessive multi-tracking of his first CD with this EP of "rejammed" takes on Vivaldi's "Spring," only this time with his six-string fadolín. The results are invigorating, amusing, moving—a one-man hoedown.

LYRICS: Nico (Jackson Browne), "These Days"

SONG: We’re so conditioned to hear consciously retro music styling as insincere pastiche or period cosplay that when an artist does it for real, as Weyes Blood does on this lush, wrenching tribute to a friend who died by suicide, the effect can be overwhelming.

ALBUM: “Rough vocals and plucky strings” were my initial notes about Sages Commes Aux Savages’ diverting 2015 debut record. That’s a fair summary of their homespun globalist brew, though there are also smooth vocals and some gorgeous harmonies.

LYRICS: Sly and the Family Stone, "Everyday People"

SONG: I love Randy Newman’s Ragtime soundtrack, particularly “One More Hour,” but the most entertaining track by far is his light adaptation of the rambunctious 1906 chestnut that was actually playing when Harry Thaw shot Stanford White, performed with lip-smacking relish by Donald O’Connor.

ALBUM: Among my musical happy places is string-and-piano chamber music by Belle Époque French composers. Apart from the Fauré, this exquisite record by Elena Urioste and Tom Poster introduced me to some essential exemplars by Bonis, Hahn, and Boulanger.

LYRICS: Bob Dylan, "Highway 61 Revisited"

SONG: I have no idea what role this hypnotic D’Angelo tune plays in Red Dead Redemption II (despite my kids’ attempt to explain it). All I know is I find it quietly inspirational and I love the layered harmonies.

ALBUM: Hearing the unmistakable piano stylings of Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru used in the film All We Imagine as Light led me back to her work, including this 1972 collection. This is music with a light touch that nevertheless cuts deep.