Music Diary, Vol. 25

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 June 23-30, 2024

LYRICS: Maria McKee, "Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)"

SONG: Some PJ Harvey tunes sound like they’ve been around for centuries, passed down like folk medicine, even (or especially) the ones with weird, vertiginous chords, like this ornery incantation.

ALBUM: Holy moly the new Willow record is great. Imagine Tori Amos and Remi Wolf making math pop (is that a thing? It should absolutely be a thing) and you’ll get close to the kaleidoscopic wonder of these 32 inspired, indelible minutes.

LYRICS: Randy Newman, "Suzanne"

SONG: A few things I love about this bittersweet countrybilly Beatles deep cut: Its verse has an odd, iterative AABA form, and the wide vocal harmonies of the bridge (“Though tonight she’s made me sad, I still love her”) cut to the quick.

ALBUM: At first blush, a lot of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s classic homemade synth record sounds like low-tech Vangelis (not necessarily bad in my book), but then his hushed, tremulous voice enters, and we are transported.

LYRICS: Meat Puppets, "Lost"

SONG: I've always loved this Paul Simon rendition of Davey Graham's classic instrumental, and only recently have begun to realize how widely influential Graham was on generations of fingerstyle folkies.

ALBUM: If you love the loopy, mesmerizing music of Juana Molina but wonder how she'd sound with a punky backbeat, this delightful 2019 EP is a precious window into an alternate reality.

LYRICS: Rowlf (A.A. Milne), “Cottleston Pie”

SONG: In just under 3 minutes, this wild, symphonic-psychedelic Deerhoof track covers more musical ground than most whole albums. If I had to venture a comparison, it sounds a bit like John Zorn deconstructing Stereolab.

ALBUM: I can’t recall whether I got the cast album of Lionel Bart’s rambunctious masterpiece before or after I saw the Phoenix Little Theatre production in second or third grade. All I know is that I wore it out and memorized every apt word and note.

LYRICS: Bob Dylan and The Band, “Tears of Rage”

SONG: It could never replace the transcendent original, but this "Afro-Punk" version of one of Shakira's most iconic hits puts a compelling spin on its sharp turns and fresh bite in its bounce.

ALBUM: I may be an outlier but this meticulously composed and impeccably performed musical is one of my top 3 Sondheim cast recordings (I rate the score similarly highly).

LYRICS: Willie Nelson, “Pretend I Never Happened”

SONG: The companionable folk sound of this Bridget St. John classic is already very much in my wheelhouse, but when she extends the single syllable of the title over nine notes with imperturbable, protest-too-much cool, I'm positively smitten.

ALBUM: The new Queen of Jeans record is moodier and a bit sadder than their last, but their reverberant guitars, soaring vocal harmonies, and solid backbeats still make them my fave band working today. Fave cut on first listens: “Last to Try.”

LYRICS: Weyes Blood, “God Turn Me Into a Flower”

SONG: This Breeders tune isn't sincerely religious, of course, but I for one get a spiritual high from its thrumming guitar, with a persistent riff that stays the same over different chords with a tenacity that is decidedly faith-like.

ALBUM: So much of Fauré’s Requiem evokes neo-Baroque severity that I live for the moments when the late 19th century breaks through: the woozy violin in the Sanctus, the rocky cadences of the Libera me, the mermaid swoon of the In Paradisum.