Music Diary, Vol. 37

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 Sept. 16-22, 2024

LYRICS: Underscores, "Cops and Robbers"

SONG: I swear by the Nico version of this Jackson Browne standard, of course. I also have a soft spot for this somewhat ponderous but very sweet rendition by Terry Melcher, with his mom, Doris Day, on harmony vocals. These Days indeed.

ALBUM: I hadn’t listened to this great Tune-Yards record for some time. What a pleasure to dive back into its restless, soaring invention and layered detail. I’m really feeling this one.

LYRICS: The Sugarcubes, "Fucking in Rhythm and Sorrow"

SONG: As the "Creep" progression proves, there's a special power in the III chord. In this infernally catchy Omar Apollo tune, it's the final stop in a progression I hear as IV-V-vi-I-III (Bb-C-Dm-F-A7). It snags my ear and draws me in every time.

ALBUM: No one mixed sweet and sour, harsh and soothing, earthy and alien quite like Bartók did. His 2 violin concertos are especially good showcases of his indivisible complexity, offered here in strong renditions by Isabelle Faust.

LYRICS: Frank Sinatra (Quincy Jones / Marilyn Bergman / Alan Bergman / Peggy Lipton), “L.A. Is My Lady”

SONG: When I heard that Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham were performing all of BUCKINGHAM NICKS live, I was like, who hacked my brain? This is a dream project I wouldn’t have dared to wish for. Now, joy of joys, it’s a studio record, out Oct. 18.

ALBUM: Jobim was a master of mood, of course, but as with Nick Drake, one mustn’t mistake gentle sounds for soft-headedness. Under the louche, gauzy surface of this 1970 record, for instance, is prickly intelligence, nervy insistence, icy heat.

LYRICS: Ann Sothern (Kern/Hammerstein), "The Last Time I Saw Paris"

SONG: Whenever I hear the critique that Joni is too serious or lacks humor (a vibe I also sometimes feel tbh), I turn to this rollicking boogie about a sex worker, with Robbie Robertson on guitar and a deliciously 1970s sax solo by Tom Scott.

ALBUM: I wore out this cassette of Orff’s greatest hit in junior high, and I especially loved all the parts beyond the iconic opener: the hilarious drinking songs, the lusty rounds, even the barbecued swan number. It all feels very “Canterbury Tales.”

LYRICS: Rob Kendt, "Pick Me"

SONG: It’s not my favorite Dylan cut but I was glad to hear it the other day, as it’s one of the best exhibits of how funny, unsettling, and groovy he can be all at once. The 7 minutes go by in a flash.

ALBUM: Mesmerized by this quiet, eccentric, heartful Liana Flores record, which could have been recorded any time in the past six decades, and I mean that as a compliment. I’m hearing Laufey and early Joni, of course, but also a trace of Eden Ahbez.

LYRICS: Linda Ronstadt (Rodgers & Hart), "My Funny Valentine"

SONG: Am I the only one who hears traces of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” in this similarly lovely Kacey Musgraves tune? It is strongest in the liftoff into the chorus (“Baby, don’t you know…”), but I hear it all through the song’s wistful harmonies.

ALBUM: You couldn’t quite say it rocks, but the passion, humor, and grit of this classic Billy Bragg record almost makes you forget there are no drums—you certainly don’t miss them. It’s electric folk, in both literal and descriptive senses.

LYRICS: Merle Haggard, "Sing Me Back Home"

SONG: I know this Beatles cut is meant as a withering satire of hippie idealism, but somehow, despite the sarcasm of the lyrics and that stabbing #9 chord, it still feels celebratory to me, which is why it will open the service at Greenpoint Reformed Church today.

ALBUM: The inherent spirituality of jazz—a quality it shares with a lot of instrumental music, only moreso—comes through loud and clear, also soft and sweet, on this expansive 2014 record by Brian Blade & the Fellowship.