Music Diary, Vol. 46

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 Nov. 18-24, 2024

LYRICS: Serge Gainsbourg, "Les Oubliettes"

SONG: Ever notice how much the octave leap in this iconic Bowie tune owes to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”? I think I had (and read about it in Chris O’Leary’s Rebel Rebel), but it hit me afresh yesterday. It’s the sound of otherworldly aspiration.

ALBUM: If Thin Lizzy were a Zamrock band, they might sound a bit like the Ngozi Family, who on this 1977 record fuse fuzz guitar and an upfront rhythm section with winning results. (I confess I first heard them as a sample in Tyler the Creator’s “Noid.”)

LYRICS: Shaina Taub, "The Least"

SONG: Sometimes a song is all about its main riff, and that is absolutely the case with this fuzz guitar-driven, Beastie Boys-sampling Beck banger, which opened his 2005 record Guero.

ALBUM: It was his 11/8 take on “Night in Tunisia” that caught my attention, but this entire Jesus Molina record is a keeper—a stunningly tuneful and fleet-footed mix of jazz, classical, and Latin textures.

LYRICS: Mandy Patinkin (Sondheim), "Finishing the Hat"

SONG: Hal Willner’s crucial Weill collection Lost in the Stars ranges widely, from rock and jazz rethinks to renditions like this utterly faithful Stan Ridgway/Fowler Brothers take on one of the composer’s most obnoxiously brassy faux-martial tunes.

ALBUM: Is this 1963 Coltrane collection uncharacteristically straightforward, roughly akin to Van Gogh working in watercolors? As a fan of his similarly mellow record with Johnny Hartman, I don’t mind—I love his distinctive, singing tone in every dispensation.

LYRICS: Allan Sherman, "Harvey and Sheila"

SONG: In 1972, before the Basement Tapes were officially released, the British band Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint put out a great Dylan cover album, though they were essentially new songs to most. The tasty garage-band feel of the title track makes a great intro.

ALBUM: Shades of Pavement and Neil Young, solid songcraft, a sound both big and intimate—those are my impressions after a few spins of MJ Lenderman’s first-rate new rock record.

LYRICS: Sinéad O’Connor, “Jump in the River”

SONG: I had to listen to this gorgeous Emmit Rhodes tune several times to understand the sneaky change from the 4/4 verse to the 3/4 chorus—I think the secret is a kind of clave rhythm in both meters. In any case, it’s certainly no chore to hear this repeatedly.

ALBUM: Proof of McCartney’s weird streak, if you needed it: the full instrumental version of his Ram solo record, arranged by the Let It Be orchestrator, Richard Hewson. It’s straight-faced kitsch polished to a high sheen—it’s even got the Swingle Singers on it.

LYRICS: R.E.M., "Wendell Gee"

SONG: You haven’t heard “La Bamba” till you’ve heard Milton Nascimento’s earthy/ethereal take on it. It’s in an iterative triple meter and has a surprising and unsettling minor-key break backed by a children’s choir. What’s not to love?

ALBUM: Juana Molina’s new EP is no departure from her usual, though “usual” is admittedly a funny word to use for one of the most idiosyncratic artists around. Her guitar whorls and vocal etching sound like the music of a friendly but distant alien planet.

LYRICS: Judee Sill, "When the Bridegroom Comes"

SONG: Yet another reason to bow down before he Secret Sisters: This boiling, badass gospel blues, which sounds convincingly vintage both in form and in its blend of Old and New Testament imagery, is an original. God is still speaking.

ALBUM: This underrated 2011 record ranks as Paul Simon’s most theologically preoccupied collection (at least until last year’s Seven Psalms). Song for song it’s also one of his finest overall.