Music
This Week’s Heavy Rotation #38
Playlist essentials, whatever your mood.
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.
In a lot of ways, Medium feels like two different platforms.
On the one hand, you have endless stories about startups, grind culture, and a good dose of hustle porn. On the other, stories about subjective things like art & music.
One is skewed toward the didactic, the other suggestive. These camps co-exist, occasionally bumping into another like tectonic plates.
All tend to be experiential, but the latter is often much more so, simply because taste in music tends to be so subjective.
In a lot of ways, what I listen to mirrors a similar sort of duality. Sometimes there’s a through-line, sometimes not. At the end of each week, I’ll look at what I listened to most and invariably find one track occupying the “one of these is not like the others” slot.
I’ve always listened to music that way. It makes it hard to be thematic but also easier to avoid being formulaic.
The Connells-Really Great
Ask people of a certain age *cough* GenX’ers *cough* about music scenes in the early 90s, and you’ll almost always get the same list: New York, The Bay Area, and LA. Some will mention Seattle, of course, and I always make sure to work in Portland.
But while those larger cities were in the spotlight, there were smaller scenes as well. One of those was Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the early 90s, the area gifted the world bands like Superchunk, The Veldt, Archers of Loaf, and The Connells.
The latter gained minor notoriety with their 1990 record “One Simple Word.” Its opening track, “Stone Cold Yesterday,” saw modest airplay on college radio and on MTV’s 120 Minutes. They also scored a minor hit overseas with “74–75.”
The group stopped recording in 2001 but never really split up. Now they’re back with Steadman’s Wake. Like One Simple Word 30+ years ago, the record starts strong with “Really Great.”
It’s new and old all at once. Either way, it’s, well, great.
I’m not planning any road trips, but if you are, this would be a great addition-especially if your route involves wide open spaces.
Airstream Futures-Hello
I was first turned on to this band via Instagram of all places.
I don’t know too much about them other than:
- They’re from Chicago
- Consistently put out tight, fast driven tracks.
- They’re definitely underrated.
This track kicks off 2017’s Spirale Infernale. It’d had been awhile since I listened to this, but was reminded of them after reading Cherie Jamison’s article about her recent experience at Riot Fest (pro tip: If you are ready to get back to going to shows, add this to your calendar. It’s well worth it.)
Looking for some sonic caffeine? Add this to your list.
Sunny Day Real Estate-Seven
Sunny Day Real Estate was formed when Dan Hoerner and Nate Mendel met at the University of Washington. I’ve seen that one of the band’s original names was “Chewbacca Kaboom.”
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but man, I sure hope it is.
At any rate, this is one of those Seattle groups that kind of got lost in the shuffle. The list of bands from the Emerald City that caught fire but never really hit critical mass is long.
Did anyone east of the Cascades ever hear these guys? I know people did — the video I’m using has over 1.6 million views — but it sure feels like they could never quite get over those mountains. “Seven” is one of two singles off of their first full-length album, Diary.
Jets To Brazil-Chinatown
Last week I wrote about Jawbreaker and how good it felt to see them play live after so many years. Like so many things, that sent me (back) down a rabbit hole. Jets To Brazil was lead singer Blake Schwarzenbach’s next project after Jawbreaker split up.
The band’s first album, “Orange Rhyming Dictionary,” continues Schwarzenbach’s lyrical style and rich prose, but with a much quieter, soulful sound.
I’m tired of fighting, so I’m demolished — that’s the way Some make exhaustion a mode of expression and that’s their way I’m just a question knowing my answer, I hope I’m wrong I know the answer, it’s four in the morning I’m right again, I’m Chinatown
To be clear, it’s not acoustic; there’s a driving beat here. But if Jawbreaker was a crowded hall, Jets is a lively dinner party. Dig in.
Grimes-Flesh Without Blood
Before she and Elon Musk became a couple, and before they destroyed naming conventions, Grimes visited us from the future, dropped this great track, and disappeared back into the cosmos.
What are you listening to this week? An old favorite? Something new? Let me know in the comments!
As always, thank you to everyone here.
And if you’re new to the page, welcome! Start by taking a look at the great work of: Chris Zappa, Jessica Lee McMillan, Terry Barr, Keith R. Higgons, Sarah Paris, Reuben Salsa, Kathy Gerstorff, Rob Janicke, Pierce McIntyre, Paul Combs, Alexander Briseño, JL Matthews, and sooo many more.
The usual light housekeeping:
Our next Album of The Month discussion is this coming Sunday on October 3rd! Hosted by our David Acaster. Get all the details here.
In case you missed last week’s list:
If you haven’t listened to The Riff’s podcast yet, grab it at this link. New episodes coming soon! You can also follow the page and connect with me on Twitter.
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