Music Diary, Vol. 93

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 Oct. 13-19, 2025

LYRICS: Sally Eaton, Shelley Plimpton, Melba Moore, and the Hair ensemble (MacDermot/Ragni/Rado), “Air”

SONG: Heavy Kinks vibes on this infectious tune from 1960s-era Thai singer Vichan Maneechot. Just try to resist its title admonition.

ALBUM: For Indigenous Peoples Day, I’m enjoying Amanda Rheaume’s latest record, which uses a hearty Lucinda Williams/Sheryl Crow/fidde-tune sound to tell tales of Métis dispossession, remembrance, and resistance, as well as everyday heartbreak and fun.

LYRICS: The Andrews Sisters (Hank Fort/Herb Leventhal), “I Didn’t Know the Gun Was Loaded”

SONG: It remains a mystery to me why Diane Keaton’s sweet, slow, utterly enchanting rendition of “Seems Like Old Times” in Annie Hall did not lead directly to some kind of music career, or at least an occasional Carlyle residency. I’m grateful at least that she left us with this; it’s a lot.

ALBUM: The 50th anniversary edition of this Patti Smith path-breaker is a welcome excuse to relish its sui generis punk-poetic charms and terrors. A deep cut I seem to rediscover every time: the tender, poppy "Kimberly," with that wrenching key-change chorus.

 

LYRICS: Dionne Warwick (Bacharach/David), "Message to Michael"

SONG: One of my favorite Lizzy McAlpine tunes is "To the Mountains," but even better is her rendition of this similarly titled ballad from Floyd Collins. "Everything from your head to your toes is warm" indeed.

ALBUM: D'Angelo's layered vocals always take my breath away—then I notice the deep grooves they ride on, the judicious arrangements they're part of, and the ace songcraft that grounds it all. It's all here on what we didn't realize would be his final statement.

LYRICS: Erik Della Penna & Jeb Brown (David Yazbek), “Dead” from Dead Outlaw

SONG: This wild Nicole Atkins tune combines a Bo Diddley beat with vintage synthesizers in a way that defies any logical pop/rock timeline. Is this New Wave? Prog? Rockabilly? Then there are the stunning lyrics, a sort of throwdown from a pissed-off Devi/Mother Earth. Next-level genius.

ALBUM: I like a lot of Xuefei Yang's new record of Satie transcriptions for guitar, but I especially cherish her solo takes on the Gnossiennes, which have always had a whiff of Al-Andalus about them and thus sound perfectly at home on the guitar.

LYRICS: The Velvet Underground, “Venus in Furs”

SONG: There's stiff competition, but I would nominate this Pet Sounds classic as the Beach Boys' best non-hit song. It has their inimitable blend of shiny and sad, precise and imperfect. (I cherish the moment at 1:44 when Glenn Campbell's banjo comes in a bar early).

ALBUM: Sometimes I'm just in the mood for vintage surf guitar, and today is one of those days. One pleasant surprise on this great Chantays collection from 1963: persistent touches of boogie-woogie piano, which play unsurprisingly well with the six-string twang.

LYRICS: Jonathan Groff (Lin-Manuel Miranda), “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton

SONG: Power pop isn't always this jaggedly aggressive and delightfully earwormy; I love every weird turn of this deliberately annoying Illuminati Hotties banger, including the indelible lyric, "I'm so sad, I can't do laundry." Too real.

ALBUM: I came to this lovely flamenco record by Javier Ruibal for his inspired vocal setting of a Satie Gnossienne (as “La Flor De Estambul”) and found the whole collection a rough-hewn gem.

LYRICS: Kristian Hoffman, “Something New Is Born”

SONG: Going to open today’s service at Greenpoint Reformed Church with our best attempt at this searching, not-quite-despairing D’Angelo cut. Not sure we’ll nail the closing chromatic vamp and fade, but I pray the spirit will be strong anyway.

ALBUM: I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, but listening repeatedly to Galactic’s stunning jazz-funk record about it has to count for something, no? I especially love the Mystikal cameo and the bracing closer, but there are no weak tracks here.