Music Diary, Vol. 95

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. 27-Nov. 2, 2025

LYRICS: R.E.M., "Swan Swan H"

SONG: Tiffany Johns’s old-school brass arrangement of Chappell Roan’s biggest hit would be extraordinary enough even if she weren’t playing every part. This absolutely earns its 6-minute-plus length.

ALBUM: Neko Case’s new record has plenty of musical riches and harmonic surprises but what I keep coming back to it for are the startlingly vivid images and phrases that fill her lyrics—so many gems that I compiled my faves below: 

LYRICS: Madison Cunningham, "Take Two"

SONG: The tempo and timbre of this slow-cooking Amber Mark track lean hard into ambivalence and melancholy—it’s all in minor keys—while still somehow sounding bright, forward-looking. And then a Prince-like guitar solo takes it to the fade. Exquisite.

ALBUM: The symphonies are fine, but for me Brahms is in his true element in his chamber work, as in this surging, searing piano quintet, where one can clearly hear classical reserve battle it out with stormy romanticism. That third movement, yow!

LYRICS: Eleni Mandell, "Silverlake Babies"

SONG: Folks have understandably focused on the granularly intimate lyrics of Lily Allen's new roman à clef. As for me, I've been tripping on the music: the wild chorus modulation on "Tennis," for one, and the nauseous microtone she uses relentlessly on this woozy waltz (1st on the word "stop").

ALBUM: Today I happily discovered the music of Alfredo Nepomuceno via this lovely 2019 record. His symphony has sweeping strings and sobbing winds that put me in mind of Tchaikovsky, and his variations on Brazilian themes have an undeniable spark.

LYRICS: The Last Dinner Party, "Agnus Dei"

SONG: The opening of Rosalía's new single is giving Yma Sumac singing Carl Orff, before calming down into Björk-esque chamber pop. Then Björk herself shows up to warble and Yves Tumor seals it with a startling threat. It's a lot.

ALBUM: Revisiting The Police's best-sounding record and marveling anew at how their ace playing makes even the bad songs sound fresh and the great ones better than they need to be. Still my fave track: the two-tempo jam "Deathwish," which Andy Summers owns.

LYRICS: Red Sovine, "Phantom 309"

SONG: Just in time for Halloween, the great Eleni Mandell has released a delicious new minor-key tale of suburban horror about a murder of crows plotting revenge on destructive home builders. Spooktastic.

ALBUM: For Halloween I'm spinning this obsessive Berlioz classic (let's face it, mainly for its infernal conclusion), and gifting you with this important thought: How original was this composer? Why, he Berlioz anything to other musicians.

LYRICS: Kaitlin Hopkins & Kerry Butler (Larry O'Keefe), "Three-Bedroom House" from Bat Boy

SONG: It’s not just the tasty polytonality of this Copland piece, rendered in this utterly convincing jazz-rock style by Bill Frisell and his band, that endears it to me—but that’s a lot of it. The wrenching gear shift back to the original key at 1:34 is a moment I always wait for.

ALBUM: Best known for the ebullient pop ode “Ariel,” Dean Friedman’s entire 1977 debut record is worth a spin for its witty, crafty blend blend of pop, folk, and jazz. (Ben Folds clearly took notes.) Don’t sleep on the great ballads “Solitaire” and “Humor Me.”

LYRICS: Connie Converse, "I Have Considered the Lilies"

SONG: Opened this morning’s service at Greenpoint Reformed Church with this sunny Glen Campbell tune, the modesty and simplicity of which is a perfect vehicle for its self-effacing sentiment. It puts a spring in your step even as it counsels humility—a kind of magic trick.

ALBUM: Only the title track of this gorgeous Juri Seo record refers to breathing, but the whole thing is suffused with light, air, and the rhythms of breath—she has an uncanny ability to make stringed instruments sound like teeming, living nature.