Summary

The web page is a music blog post featuring the author's top 5 songs of the week, including tracks from Luscious Jackson, Japanese Breakfast, Isla Invisible, Throwing Muses, and Wire, with a 6th man song by Huey Lewis and The News.

Abstract

The web page titled "This Week’s Heavy Rotation #26" is a music blog post where the author shares their top 5 songs of the week. The first song is "Nervous Breakthrough" by Luscious Jackson, which the author discovered while working at a record store. The second song is "Heft" by Japanese Breakfast, a band that the author has written about extensively and is currently experiencing a moment in the sun. The third song is "Estranged" by Isla Invisible, a new band for the author, but one that has caught their attention. The fourth song is "Fall Down" by Throwing Muses, a band that the author discovered while attending a New Order concert. The fifth song is "Wire 99.9" by Wire, a band that has evolved significantly since their early days. The 6th man song is "I Want a New Drug" by Huey Lewis and The News, a nod to the artist's 71st birthday and a tribute to the author's first concert experience.

Opinions

The author discovered Luscious Jackson's "Nervous Breakthrough" while working at a record store and found it to be a standout track.
Japanese Breakfast's "Heft" is a favorite of the author, who has written extensively about the band and believes they are currently experiencing a well-deserved moment in the sun.
Isla Invisible's "Estranged" is a new discovery for the author, but one that has caught their attention and made them want to learn more about the band.
Throwing Muses' "Fall Down" is a standout track for the author, who discovered the band while attending a New Order concert.
Wire's "Wire 99.9" is a track that showcases the band's evolution since their early days.
Huey Lewis and The News' "I Want a New Drug" is a nod to the artist's 71st birthday and a tribute to the author's first concert experience.

Music

This Week’s Heavy Rotation #26

The road ahead looks quite uncertain

Note: Each week I take a look back at my playlists and share songs that were either played the most, got stuck in my head, or just stood out. Many are new to me, but there are old faves mixed in as well.

Below is my Top 5 of the last 7 days:

Luscious Jackson- Nervous Breakthrough

My first job out of high school was working in a record store. We all thought of ourselves as characters from High Fidelity, but really we were just some kids stuck in the hellscape of a suburban mall.

Sometimes that meant blaring death metal at 8 AM to fend off mall walkers. But sometimes, it meant moments of providence. This first time someone came in asking for “In Search of Manny,” I didn’t give it much thought. But then a 2nd came in…and then a third.

It was time to check Luscious Jackson out.

Electric Honey is their 2nd full-length album and features a much more polished band than the one that put out In search…

I picked this up just before one of my cross-country moves. The drive across eastern Montana can be mind-numbing; having songs like this blaring makes it much more palatable.

Note: This video is pretty low-res, but I love how it’s more “live-sounding” than other clips.

Japanese Breakfast-Heft

At this point, I’ve probably written enough about Japanese Breakfast (aka Michelle Zauner) to land myself on a watch list somewhere.

With her latest release “Jubilee,” out, Zauner & co. are having a moment in the sun. The band is seemingly everywhere these days, including places like CBS Saturday Morning. It’s recognition that’s long overdue, in my opinion.

As she says in many of these interviews, “Jubilee” is about, well, joy. But before that, there was Psychopomp, Zauner’s attempt to work through the grief of losing her mother.

This track belies that. It’s cheery. You start singing along, and then she sings, “I wanna find what’s there in your stomach. If it’s the same dark, and it’s too late,” and you realize she’s singing about something pretty painful. Even with that backdrop, there’s something light and open about it all. The dissonance makes for a great song.

Isla Invisible-Estranged

A brand new band for me. I don’t know much about them, but hearing this song makes me want to dig and find more. This is off of their January 2021 release Isla Invisible 2.

This city is a lie That creeps me away Stumbled by our past I waved again All eyes stopped and stared They’re fixed on shapes That break thoughts apart To run away To run away We turned away

Throwing Muses- Fall Down

Proximity can make for strange bedfellows. Being label mates with New Order is the only way to explain why Throwing Muses found themselves on tour supporting New Order.

But I’m sure glad they were. I knew what I was getting with New Order when I bought tickets but had never heard of the opener. Sometimes a band comes along with a sound that rearranges your mind.

I found myself mesmerized as Kristen Hersh belted out her stream-of-consciousness lyrics (“Nothing ever happens here, I said, I just wait” is a favorite on an album chock full of great lines).

Who was this band? Why didn’t the drummer have any cymbals?

In the 30+ years (yikes!) since that show, this record has never drifted too far from my playlists.

Wire 99.9

The best song Skinny puppy never made. Colin Newman snarls like a man in need of an exorcism.

This is the band a galaxy away from Pink Flag, yet still in the same orbit.

Live link here. It’s the show opener.

6th man: Huey Lewis and The News- I Want a New Drug

It’s Huey’s 71st birthday as I type this. Literally half a lifetime ago (for him) and a bazillion for me, they played what was my first “real” concert. I was 11 and my dad took me along with 2 of his coworkers. It was an amazing show — and the only one we’d ever go to together.

Someday I’ll write about it (I haven't forgotten the Concert Challenge!). In the meantime, there this:

As always, welcome new readers and writers! Thanks to everyone here for helping build something awesome! Get started by checking out the work of Keith R. Higgons Jessica Lee McMillan Terry Barr Kathryn Dillon Rob Janicke Reuben Salsa Sarah Paris Paul Combs David Acaster and many others. And be sure to check out the Riff Summer Challenge!

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Last week’s list:

This Week’s Heavy Rotation #25

Pick it up and tune it on in

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