American Crisis Playlist #10

Oh, oh, oh, it’s magic.

Justin Willman has a compelling show on Netflix, Magic for Humans, now in its third season. It’s such an incredible antidote to watching the news and accepting the reality that we have at least several more months of the orange plague (at least) and who knows how many more months to deal with our other pandemic.

I’ve always understood that magic is about misdirection, sleight of hand, getting the audience to see and believe what the magician wants us to.

Oh God. Look what I just wrote. What’s the percentage of the country that truly believes that Justin can pull a full-grown woman out of his backpack? 40%? And if this is the number, is that just Justin’s base? Can he get more converts, or has he plateaued?

I swear, if he ran for president I’d vote for him, and maybe not just IF the Great Denier/Divider were the only other candidate.

Last night, of the only show in my memory, Justin got way serious, somber even, as he interacted with his mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. It was almost unbearable. She still knows her son, but just barely. As he said, they still have these moments; in fact, all we really have, ever, is the current moment.

Nothing magic about that, but it does or should cause us to pause in this moment and think of ways we can manage to do better, and then do so in the next moment. We’ll fail, maybe even often, but we’ll have successes, too.

So here’s to Justin, his mom, and all the successes to come. May they all be rich in spirit, with a bit of music thrown in for accompaniment.

American Crisis Playlist #10 (It’s Magic)

1. “Magic,” Olivia Newton John, from Xanadu (The Original Soundtrack Album) 1980. ELO had a hand in this, not that I need to justify loving a pop song because an eccentric rock band backs it. I knew guys back in the 70’s who would have dropped everything to marry Olivia, not that she was interested or even looking. For me, her brand of pop felt soothingly good. My mother loved this song, and I see nothing wrong with that. We’ll take our magic whenever/wherever it comes.
2. “Dear Stranger,” STRFKR, from this summer’s Future Past Life. This is one of those songs that, if you told me it was produced back in the 70’s or 80’s, I might believe you. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? Dreamy synth pop living in the alternative world these days, makes me really yearn for The Dream Academy, or taking a trip to a northern town in England. Everyone there would be a stranger, or just stranger, like I’m feeling now. Listen to the way this one builds at the end. Wow.
3. “Breathe Deeper,” Tame Impala, another new one from his/their latest record, The Slow Rush. I keep thinking I’m going to grow tired of this act, headed by Kevin Parker, who must be some kind of magic man. I keep wondering how he weds dance grooves to another form of Beatle-sound. I’m too musically dumb to understand, so if he’s fooling me and getting me to look somewhere over my shoulder, over a rainbow, or above it in a more Lucy-like sky, good for him. I’ll pay, I’ll bite. I’ll pick his card. “Breathe deep(er) the gathering gloom. Watch lights fade from every room.”
4. “On the Floor,” Perfume Genius, another brand new one from Set My Heart on Fire Immediately. Mike Hadreas has a way of bringing us visions of dance floors in space. Can’t believe this is already his fifth record. How time does fade/slip away. Oh yeah, just this moment. I’ll stop here and listen.
5. “Magic Man,” Heart, from Dreamboat Annie (1976). I saw them on the Dog and Butterfly tour, with some friends. But I should have taken my other friend, Cheryl, who understood all about dogs and butterflies, and thought too well of me before I could think better of myself. She was my true college friend, in those moments when if you looked too fast, people were transformed beyond what you hoped for or even needed. Just couldn’t slow down enough to see what any moment meant. So, Heart, for Cheryl.
6. “Midnight Room,” Springtime Carnivore, from 2016’s Midnight Room. “In my midnight room, I never stop dreaming of you.” What might that room look like? What moments, what time? I’m attracted to their lush, Camera Obscura vocals, and looking forward to more. And I think we all get the midnight room in our house, in our mind.
7. “Nights,” Neon Trees, from I Can Feel You Forgetting Me (2020). This one definitely sounds like the 80’s, on a FM corporate rock station near you. I didn’t care for the “Hair Bands” so much, but every now and then, a Mister Mister or Bon Jovi might find me driving late at night, and I’d have to turn my poor car radio up and wonder at myself and my penchant for being suckered by the power of pop.
8. “Up from a Dream,” Haim, from Women in Music Pt III (2020). So I’ve been driving a lot recently, too, with Max by my side, and lately, too, I’ve tuned in more to XMU to see what’s new in this particular moment. Haim keeps calling, so I answer. “Are we already up from the dream, or do we need to wake up again?” I think it’s the latter, but I’m just one guy typing. They’re on my must-see concert list when I wake up the next time, though.
9. “Dreaming,” Blondie. Hell yeah, from 1979’s Eat to the Beat. Was Blondie over-rated or under-rated? Or both? Man, when I hear this song I think about how punk and new wave and rock and pop are split hairs in someone’s wastebasket. I once scared a friend by playing this record. She preferred Jonathan Edwards’ Sunshine, a nice tune, but still. She was also an Auburn fan, but she was my friend anyway and a good one.
10. “Magic Bus,” The Who, which you may find on Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971). Who doesn’t love a good Who song? Look at their photo from 1965 on the cover of My Generation. Could anything have been that simple and easy, that innocent and alarming? I saw them in Lexington, KY, after Keith was gone. It felt tainted, like something happened to the magic, but it was the moment we had. Not so psychedelic, but pretty hard. Every day, you’ll see it. Keep searching.

I bet you’re glad I refrained from mentioning Barry Manilow. I know I am. Donna Summer once covered “Could This be Magic,” but you didn’t hear that from me.

Enjoy, enjoy, and don’t be afraid to post your own playlist in the response bar below.

Thanks Noah Levy