A little something for everyone this week. It’s a 20-minute playlist starting gentle with Jill Johnson & Loney Dear and moving toward a close with Ozzy. How can you go wrong with Ozzy!?
I picked up the first track because I’m a huge fan of Loney Dear. Pushing play I discovered a lovely cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love with You sung as a duet with Jill Johnson.
For those who know me well, you know that I’ve been a huge Daniel Lanois fan since the 80s (when he produced a couple of my favorite U2 albums). In the 90’s, I created and ran a fan-based website for him. Here we see him return as part of the Red Dead Redemption II soundtrack. He’s got a few tracks on the album, but this one is my favorite. Enjoy That’s the Way It Is. Classic Lanois.
California Central Valley band Pavement broke up in 2000, but the primary songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist has some new music out now. Stephen Malkmus sounds great throughout the Traditional Techniques album, but my favorite track so far is Xian Man. A great retro sound reminiscent of the Velvet Underground.
I’m not recalling where I came across this next band, but I was interested in the band from the first listen to their new album Stray. They’re categorized as punk, but this probably means the modern definition of punk rather than the 80s version of punk. This is the opening track. Miracle.
Ozzy. Ozzy. Ozzy. What can I say? I’m a fan. After the most excellent 2013 Black Sabbath album, I was curious to hear what Ozzy had in store for us in 2020. He gets a little soft with the Elton John song and a little hip hop with the Malone song, but it’s the opening track that sounds like Ozzy. Abrasive. Humorous. And a great guitar solo by Slash. Even the title speaks Ozzy: Straight to Hell.
I can’t believe it’s been a month since the last music posting. So, now it’s 2020 and a whole new release of music. Some of these are older (2019) but still excellent.
In the Afternoon by MGMT. This is their teaser song before the entire album is dropped (we hope). Dreamy pop circa 1980. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
for L by Jeff Parker. Pretty straight forward jazz on this track. Some of the others on Suite for Max Brown are a bit more edgy. Guitar jazz. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
Magpie’s Nest by Bonny Light Horseman. I’m really digging this new album. I’ll place it in the folk category. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
Six tracks that I’ve enjoyed and valued this week. Mostly quiet and peaceful. Give it a listen.
Hollywood, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Ghosteen. A nice long track that begins on the PCH and includes a quote from the sutras. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music
My Work, JFDR, New Dreams. The delicate voice coming from Iceland. Can’t wait for the full release in 2020. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music
General Tzu Names the Planets for His Children, Joe Henry, The Gospel According to Water. Always love my Joe storytelling. Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music
In this time of difficulty and challenge, there are not many places to turn. When I can discover what brings me peace and joy, then I should take the opportunity to embrace it. There is one thing in particular that brings me joy, and that is music. It’s been a long-standing salve for my suffering. And there’s always plenty of music to discover.
What’s on my playlist today? In no particular order.
Kali Malone, The Sacrifical Code. Peaceful organ music from this American-living-in-Sweden composer. Discovered through the recent Thom York zine.
Elbow, Giants of All Sizes. I’ve always been an Elbow fan and this new release has just landed in my queue. Comfortable and happy pop music.
Tambour, Constellations. Modern classical discovered through one of my favorite music podcasts – Hypnagogue. Lands between classical and ambient.
Ben Vince and Jacob Samuel, I’ll Stick Around. Experimental jazz. Horns and piano.
Mario Diaz de Leon, Cycle and Reveal. Another classical release with Latin flavors. Flute and xylophone.
The Comet is Coming, The Afterlife. Following the first track, which is a mix of jazz and hip-hop, the album moves into a more experimental jazz release. By the time I get to the second half, and near the end, I want it to keep goin.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ghosteen. Nick can’t go wrong in my book. This melancholy and peaceful release from the Bad Seeds has beautifully crafted lyrics with common Nick Cave themes.
Laurie Anderson and Tenzin Choegyal, Songs from the Bardo. A meditation on death. Chants and gongs. Violin. Soft and touching voice. The Heart Sutra track is great!
Jenny Hval, The Practice of Love. A new favorite. Reminds me a bit of Kate Bush. Sweet melodies. Deep lyrics exploring the earth, being childless, and relationships. Favorite track so far is “High Alice”.
Barker, Utility. Electronica.
Patrick Watson, Wave. Waiting for the full release, but four songs out now on Apple Music. Lyrical and melodic.
Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Bryce Dessner,When We Were Human. A typical low-key release of songs. Sparse.
Tool, Fear Inoculum. Nothing quite like a 15-minute prog-rock song. Check out “Invincible”.
Bedouin, Bird Songs of a Killjoy. Reminiscent of early 70s folk music of the greats.
Jonsi, Lost and Found. From the Sigor Ros musician, this release is ambient and electronic. No voice.
Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan. But if you have to start with one, put down Blood on the Tracks. You won’t be disappointed.
Black Pumas, Black Pumas. Plain and simple blues with a modern flair. It doesn’t disappoint. Seeing these guys at the Lodge Room on October 24.
Bon Iver, i,i. Experimental pop music with deep and dark lyrics and wacky sounds. Be surprised and happy.
The National, I am Easy to Find. Love and relationships. Sophisticated and fulfilling.
Thom Yorke, Anima. From the frontman of Radiohead we get a mix of pop and electronica. Maybe even dance a little
Oh, I also have Ryuichi Sakamoto, serpentwithfeet, and Zola Jesus playing as I prepare for a live show on October 18 at the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles.
That’s probably enough of a list for now. So pick up your player, cleanup the turntable, head to the record store.
I hope you find something here you like. Or at least be inspired to play some music of your own.
To discover new music is not always simple and easy. It takes time and effort for the music lover to find those gems. I am an avid listener of music and yet only scratch the surface of new music released each week. Given time constraints, I can only manage about twenty releases per week and then curate from that point. To some extent, what I listen to is based upon my past purchases and past music listening. There are some tried and true methods for curating new music releases.
Background
My music listening began with KKDG 105.9, a traditional album-orientated radio station in Fresno. In 1982 the radio ratings service Arbitron reported KKDJ as having the largest market share ever in the history of California radio and it still holds that record today.
Back then, I visited Tower Records on Blackstone (the old location between Shaw/Barstow) on Tuesday afternoons. For decades, all new music was released on Tuesdays, but even that was changed to Fridays. My first official purchase was just before my 14th birthday when my dad drove me to Tower and I bought Ghost in the Machine by The Police. I saw The Police live on September 11, 1983 at Ratcliffe Stadium located on the Fresno City College campus. The opening acts were Thompson Twins, Oingo Boingo, and The Fixx – not all particularly popular at the time. And what a lifetime ago!
Every year I write up some of my favorite music for the year. Check out my 2018 List or browse my music category. Use these links to discover new music and add them to your library.
The 6 Methods
Finding new music means listening to new music.
Every Friday I browse all the new releases on Apple Music and add anything that looks interesting to my weekly playlist. This is often based on (a) prior knowledge of the artist, (b) genre category, and (c) album artwork. I then spend some time in the coming days giving each a listen or two. Sometime the first song alone says “yes” or “no”. If it’s a no, then I delete right away and not be bothered with it any further. In addition, I also listen to a number of podcasts that feature new music. My favorites are Hypnagogue and KEXP Music that Matters. I inevitably identify a one or two new artists per episode. My other go-to places are Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
Finding new music means reading about music.
My first avenue is my RSS feed (currently self-hosted using Fever°) where I’ve collected websites that have proven useful in learning about new music. In addition to artist sites, my favorite writers on music come for The Quietus, Who the Hell, and Pitchfork. In addition to the feeds, I also receive a newsletter from bleep.com, a UK-based distributor, every week. They focus primarily on ambient, electronica, and dance. Reading can also include mainstream sources like the New York Times or the LA Times. These all provide a doorway into music that I might never hear of otherwise. Taking their suggestions, I switch over to Apple Music and add songs and albums to my playlist.
Finding new music means reading liner notes.
The digital age makes this a bit challenging because it may mean visiting the artist site directly to learn who plays on the album and who produced or engineered the album. One of the reasons I still buy records is to get all the notes and track information (and virtually all new albums come with a digital download). Why read the liner notes? Maybe there’s a guitar player or drummer that I like. Or perhaps the producer or engineer has made music that I’ve liked in the past. For example, I’ll buy almost anything produced by Daniel Lanois. It’s truly amazing what you can learn from liner notes. Readers can gain true insight into the mind and music of the musicians.
Finding new music means going to see live music.
Between 1981 and the present, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to witnessed more than 1,400 bands. As you may know, most bands travel with an opening act or two. Often these are unknown or up-and-coming bands. This is a great resource! For example, when I went to the Broken Bells at the Music Box in Los Angeles, the opening act was The Morning Benders whom I found to be skilled performers, friendly (I met them at the t-shirt stand), and they created very pleasant music. I bought the album that night!
Finding new music means having others who are passionate about music.
For many years, I had a “music friend” whom we would trade off on what we’ve discovered and what we are appreciating. We lived in different cities and different primary genres of music and this supported broadening both our music collections. Get a friend, or more than one.
Finding new music means paying for music.
In the age of music streaming, there is no reason to not explore new music. If you subscribe to a service like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, or Pandora then dig into the new music sections of those services. You won’t be disappointed. If you like an artist you find on a streaming service, then make an effort to buy the track or album. Support the artists directly by visiting their website, Bandcamp, or Soundcloud channel and buy direct. It’s important for musicians to get paid for being creative and the new music continue to be offered and to allow musicians to grow. In addition to the Apple Music service, I continue to pay and download complete albums and I continue to buy records in their analog form.
Week of June 7-13, 2019
If you get confused just listen to the music play.
