Music Diary, Vol. 58

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 Feb. 10-16, 2025

LYRICS: Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Effigy"

SONG: The 11 o'clock number of John Adams's Nixon in China, if operas have such a thing, is clearly this exhilarating, quavering aria from Madame Mao, which dances artfully on the line between ecstasy and mania, sunshine and vengeance.

ALBUM: Today I'm enjoying the deep grooves and light-touch vocals of Biig Piig's debut album. In the space between those high and low frequencies, a beautifully expansive sonic world blossoms.

LYRICS: Rush, "Red Barchetta"

SONG: One of the gentlest and saddest songs you'll ever hear, this tune by Ayub Ogada has lyrics about bringing cows inside before a heavy rain. The burning ache of its vocals and the delicate filigree of his harp make it clear this is a life-and-death matter.

ALBUM: The French conductor Manuel Rosenthal wrote an indispensable mini-book on Ravel, Satie, and Poulenc. How delightful to discover that his own capering, lovely piano compositions sound like an inspired blend of all 3 of those masters.

LYRICS: Talking Heads, "Don't Worry About the Government"

SONG: It’s a very small detail but it’s a sign of the taste and care Bryan Ferry put into his great record of songbook standards: the way he phrases “and that laugh that wrinkles your nose” on this Kern/Fields tune, putting “laugh” on the downbeat. Lovely.

ALBUM: I never know where I'll find a new fave: The blues rock of the great Fantastic Negrito, for instance, came to my ears thanks to my kid's obsession with Arcane. Dphrepaulezz's newest record gives equal parts Percy Sledge and Led Zeppelin.

LYRICS: George Jones (Roger D. Ferris), “The King Is Gone (So Are You)”

SONG: This manic Vampire Weekend track is a fave not only for its exhilarating Dick-Dale-meets-high-life guitar runs but for its headlong bounce throughout. Just impossible to sit still while it plays.

ALBUM: When this Stones record made #3 on Rolling Stone mag’s “best albums list” in 1987, I checked it out but it didn’t take. The remaster in 2010 did the trick: Suddenly all its deep, dark corners and hard feelings shone clear and bright.

LYRICS: Clint Black, "Gulf of Mexico"

SONG: There’s stiff competition and I reserve the right to change my mind, but after several happy recent replays, I’ve decided that this sunny, infectious blast of guitar-driven quirk pop is my fave Dirty Projectors tune.

ALBUM: Spent much of yesterday basking in, and marveling at, this Wes Montgomery classic. No one made the guitar sing quite like him, with the exquisitely paradoxical blend of delicacy (the thumb picking) and assertiveness (the octaves).

LYRICS: Waxahatchee, "Can't Do Much"

SONG: I confess some disappointment with Jain’s 2023 album The Fool, given how much I loved her previous two. But I do have a soft spot for this thoughtful, yearning ballad, which starts small and simple, then swells with heartsick feeling.

ALBUM: I still can’t get over the happy surprise of hearing Dylan dip into rockabilly and Hoagy Carmichael-style tunesmithing on this pivotal 2001 record, not least because his own joy is clear and infectious. The “younger than that now” line comes to mind.

LYRICS: David Byrne and Brian Eno, "One Fine Day"

SONG: Dipping back happily into this ecstatic collection of songs sung by St. Joseph’s Māori Girls College choir. This slowed-down rendition of “How Great Thou Art” is one among many highlights.

ALBUM: Less than a minute into this delicious Clarence Fountain disc from 1970, he lets out a little James Brown shriek—the first among many signs that this is a classic rock ‘n’ soul record that happens to be about Jesus.