Music
This Week’s Heavy Rotation #33
The heat sticks to summer’s heavy sweat
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.
Late summer occupies an odd place in my head. It’s a mix of anticipation— I live in a college town, so that’s its own energy — but also melancholy. My calendar is crammed full now, but it’s all a last desperate burst before hunkering down for the school year.
Lazy days on the lake will give way to cool autumn air and perpetually grey skies. Those too, eventually give way to a barren monochromatic landscape of white. The cycle repeats itself every year. But even being mindful of it, it still manages to throw me off a bit.
Last week’s list represented the open, the novel, and the expanse. A sort of “peak” summer, if you will. This week was a sonic diet skewed more towards comfort. Of enjoying the heat & summer vibes while they’re here.
With that, here are my Top 5 of the last 7 days:
The Jesus And Mary Chain- Here It Comes Again
I didn’t go back and look, but I’m 99% sure this has made the list before. I’m also 99% sure it will again. It’s hot darkness and a menace done in a way only the Reid brothers can. It’s the perfect pairing for watching a late summer storm roll in.
If I had to pick, I think Darklands would get the nod as my favorite JAMC album (this track is on the expanded version issued later).
Foster The People-Pumped Up Kicks
In 2007, Robert Hawkins walked into the Westroads Mall in Omaha Nebraska, and into infamy.
2 years later, Mark Foster decided to skip a trip to the beach, wrote this instead, and catapulted himself into a different sort of fame.
Foster says that any reference to Hawkins is coincidental. What’s undeniable is how omnipresent this track was in the summer of 2011.
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years already, but time has become squishy like that.
Stereolab-Brakhage
Life for me is full of little interstitial moments. This feels like a soundtrack for those.
Paul Westerberg- C’mon C’mon C’mon
Paul Westerberg is one of the few singer/songwriters that can make you cry with one song, and want to run red lights with the next.
I personally think there’s a corollary between the number of horns he works into a song and how good it is. This one hits just right. A good dose of kicks rock, and plenty of brass too.
That guy’s an old-fashioned hole He’s out running wild But that shit don’t fly here no more C’mon c’mon c’mon little child C’mon c’mon c’mon little child C’mon c’mon c’mon Let’s keep a little pride
John Doe (ft. Eddie Vedder and Corin Tucker)-The Golden State
I love the open road, but living on the west coast ruined me for city driving and commuting. Probably forever. As a result, I live very close to work (which is super handy during blizzards, but useful year-round when you leave at 4 AM).
It also means I can watch planes on approach to the airport from my deck. It’s very relaxing to watch with a setting sun as a backdrop — which I did while listening to this on a muggy evening this week.
What are you listening to this week? Let me know in the comments! As always, thank you to everyone here. We’re building something fantastic (We cleared1000 members!!), and it’s only getting better. As always, all credit goes to each and every one of you. Thanks for being a part of this.
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The usual light housekeeping:
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