Music Diary, Vol. 68

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 April 21-27, 2025

LYRICS: The Divine Comedy, "Generation Sex"

SONG: The only tune I know about a pope is this criminally overlooked Lou Reed/Rubén Blades co-write about a quintessential New York barstool character, deep in her cups, dashing off a letter to the pontiff. It's moving and funny and worthy of the moment. RIP Francis.

ALBUM: Elgar apparently avoided folk music sources, but to my ears the melodic material of his towering Cello Concerto, and of his Sea Pictures, have the directness and evocative power of folk music, which makes this epochal 1967 disc all the richer in my book.

LYRICS: Loretta Lynn, "Rated X"

SONG: Rihanna wasn’t the first singer to stretch “umbrella” into 4 syllables. Before her came this Flanagan & Allen ode to a fix-it man, which I found via The Singing Detective, and in which I’ve long detected a saucy subtext. (Why do “all the wives” say “he’s very good”?)

ALBUM: Reasons to love this enduring 1993 Breeders record: the layer cake of crunchy distorted guitar, spindly lead lines, and snaky bass; the trademark mix of sweet vocal hooks and sonic aggression; the anomalous but apt acoustic hoedown closer.

LYRICS: Julien Baker, "Song in E"

SONG: The key to Domi & JD Beck's mesmerizing high-wire jazz sound is an unmistakable sense of ease and play—somehow their torrential shredding and metrical restlessness never feel effortful, just breezy and ebullient, as on this lovely tune with Mac DeMarco.

ALBUM: Joan as Policewoman's 2006 debut record holds up well. Starts in Regina Spektor-adjacent piano land, collects some Chrissie Hynde-ish guitar grit and vocal sweep along the way, and ends up in its own soulful, unpredictable sonic space.

LYRICS: Taylor Swift, "Vigilante Shit"

SONG: On this highly underrated track by the great Maria McKee, the action is all in the chords, particularly the flat VI that pops up at the end of the choruses (first at 1:25), followed by a string rhapsody that sends this ode to the less trodden path into the clouds.

ALBUM: It's not the only measure of a great band, but when your sound is tricksy math rock with plenty of hocketing and tight harmonies, rendering it IRL is a feat worth celebrating. That's definitely the case with this killer Audiotree set by Finom.

LYRICS: Rob Kendt, "Graded on a Curve"

SONG: Inspired by Dwight Garner's recent piece, I've been thinking about Roches obscurities I cherish and fixed on this gorgeous a cappella setting of a baroque hymn, with laconic lyrics (added by Suzzy Roche) about disability and resilience.

ALBUM: Hoo boy Jensen McRae’s new record—she’s leaning into everything distinctive about her songcraft and vocals, from fist-pumping choruses to sidelong country kissoffs to low alto confessionals. A swing for the fences by a major artist.

LYRICS: Jensen McRae, "Massachusetts"

SONG: The Offenbach quote isn’t the main reason I find this late Dylan ballad so moving, I don’t think. It’s also the light touch and tender sentiment, as direct as “Make You Feel My Love,” over a 6/8 that recalls “Every Grain of Sand.” A lifetime in 6 and a half minutes.

ALBUM: Emma Swift’s essential Dylan cover record from 2020 is aging as well as the songs on it. Like Bryan Ferry’s Dylanesque, the key to her approach is to treat this catalog like songbook standards—nothing fancy, just the full range of human experience.

LYRICS: U2, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

SONG: The most brutal thing about this heartbroken Sam Phillips gospel tune (made famous by Plant & Krauss) is the non-return of the chorus. Its major-key grace descends just once, lightly, only to be blown away unceremoniously by the tune's swampy minor-key stomp.

ALBUM: I don’t know how she does it, but somehow Julien Baker’s last entirely solo album turns her usual self-immolating spiritual crisis diary into heart-lifting pop without losing its bleeding edge. Hurts so good.