Music Diary, Vol. 90

Week of Sept. 22-28, 2025

LYRICS: Mandy Miller (Ralph T. Butler / Peter Hart), “Nellie the Elephant”

SONG: This acrid, haunting one-chord Creedence Clearwater Revival jam was Alabama Shakes’s entrance music at Forest Hills Stadium last week, and it feels eerily timely: Widely heard as a song about the fog of the Vietnam War, it was instead inspired by proliferation of gun violence in the U.S.

ALBUM: Spent a good part of the weekend basking in the warm, bittersweet glow of this great new Kathleen Edwards record, with its searing honesty and humor, big guitars and delicate flourishes. A masterpiece? I think so.

LYRICS: Kathleen Edwards, “Billionaire”

SONG: Some personal news: Thanks to the waitlist, we just landed affordable tickets for Chappell Roan tonight at Forest Hills Stadium. My 12-year-old is allowing me to come along, but only if I immerse myself in her discography—an easy assignment. This is one I’m especially looking forward to.

ALBUM: I don’t know how Korngold was able to write such sweet, tuneful music without it ever cloying, as on this romping violin concerto, but I think it has something to do with rhythmic variety, structural surprise, a nimble touch even when the syrup is thick.

LYRICS: David Burns & Brian Davies (Stephen Sondheim), “Impossible”

SONG: Forget, if you can, the severe faux-medieval chant for which Carmina Burana is best known. This vibrant 3-minute excerpt is the whole piece in a nutshell for me: a joyful, slightly horny, unabashedly kitschy chorale.

ALBUM: Heavy fusion vibes on this killer Jeff Beck solo record from 1975. I can hear Stevie Wonder's influence even on the tracks he's not on, and though Beck is clearly the star here, I feel like Richard Bailey's ace drumming is just as central to the sound.

LYRICS: The Police, "Demolition Man"

SONG: Of Gershwin's three piano preludes, I especially love the slow middle one, and not only because it's the one I could actually play without too much trouble (and I was able get my left hand around the 10-note spread in the bass).

ALBUM: This stone-cold Meters classic kicks off with the indelible "Cissy Strut" and struts sinuously, confidently from there. All killer, no filler.

LYRICS: Soul Coughing, “Down to This”

SONG: The newly remastered official re-release of Buckingham Nicks is more ear-opening than I'd expected. I used to own it on vinyl and have long enjoyed a pieced-together YouTube playlist, but this new edition cuts deeper and soars higher, especially on this tasty jam.

ALBUM: What a joyful relief to find that Eleri Ward’s new solo record is at least the equal of her essential Sondheim collections. As vocally and sonically adventurous as it is crafty and inviting, this is music I know I’ll be spinning for a long time.

LYRICS: The Secret Sisters, “You Don’t Own Me Anymore”

SONG: My favorite sound in this mesmeric Barrie single, which has no shortage of sonic delights and rhythmic surprises, is the water-trickling effect you first hear 6 seconds in, and repeatedly throughout—like the track itself, it’s both soothing and a little chilling.

ALBUM: Spent the morning with this lush, sneakily bleak new record from Emma Swift, which grew on me slowly until I heard the oboe on “Impossible Air” and I was all in. “Is this how the end of the world is supposed to feel?” she later sings. Oh, I hope so.

LYRICS: Big Thief, "Change"

SONG: Without dimming the fire of this Nick Lowe classic, the Holmes Brothers bring out its tone of prayerful lament. Where Elvis Costello’s iconic rendition fumed with contempt at a world gone wrong, the Holmeses don’t just retain a vision of sweet harmony—they embody it.

ALBUM: “How I Got Over” is the beating heart of this definitive Aretha Franklin gospel album, and that life-giving blood pulses through the whole glorious record.