Music Diary, Vol. -76

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

Week of July 25-31, 2022

LYRICS: Melanie, "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma"

SONG: God is still speaking.

LYRICS: Lee Remick (Sondheim), "There Won't Be Trumpets"

SONG: This Thomas Dolby classic, a clear-eyed but abject plea to a lover, manages to give off powerful Prince vibes without sounding like a copy or an imitation. I mean it as the highest compliment that I like to imagine the Purple One covering it.

LYRICS: Eleni Mandell, "Pauline"

SONG: This soaring, scorching slab of desert grunge is not my favorite Meat Puppets tune, but it is the one I’m most likely to turn way up when it comes up on shuffle. The guitar sound here feels sculpted, palpable, delicious.

LYRICS: Ween, "Buenas Tardes, Amigo"

SONG: Now best known for the incantatory jam “You’re Dead,” the great California singer/songwriter Norma Tanega is worth a deep dive. Most of her material is sweeter in sound than that vampire hit, but as this aching ballad shows, no less devastating.

LYRICS: Aaron Tveit (Cinco Paul), "You Can't Tame Me"

SONG: Can't wait for Eleri Ward's next fingerstyle folk Sondheim record, but in the meantime this lovely (and timely) new rendition of "No One Is Alone," with its subtle reharmonizations and a yodel-y catch over her passaggio, will tide me over.

LYRICS: Elvis Costello, "The Other Side of Summer"

SONG: Proof positive that Randy Newman could have been a first-rate rock frontman—check out the flawless phrasing, especially on the title phrase. I would listen to a whole record by this band.

LYRICS: Jane Siberry & kd lang, "Calling All Angels"

SONG: Among many favorite Mahalia Jackson cuts, I’ve always especially loved this one for its joyful, loping repetition and the blue note leading the verses.