The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday, and I hope you’re in the mood to accompany me on another zig-zag trip with the magical music time machine. As always, the journey shall include six stops in different decades, featuring music in different flavors. But this time, I’d like to shake things up a tiny bit. Let’s go!

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble/Lenny

Today, our first stop is June 1983, which saw the release of electric blues guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan’s debut album Texas Flood. But don’t worry, I’m not gonna hit you over the head (yet) with some hard-charging Jimi Hendrix-style blues rock. Instead, we’re gonna do it nice and easy with a relaxing jazzy instrumental, Lenny, the album’s closer. Just listen to that brilliant guitar tone and you know why I love Vaughan as much as I do. He was backed by Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums), who were known as Double Trouble. Initially, they were a five-piece (including SVR) Vaughan had formed in 1978, and after some line-up changes evolved into a power trio. Sadly, the career of Vaughan, one of the most talented guitarists I can think of, was tragically cut short in August 1990 when he died in a helicopter crash, along with the pilot and three other passengers on board.

Buzzcocks/Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)

Okay, time to wake up in case you nodded off during the previous track – now we’re gonna kick some butt! This next tune takes us to September 1978. That’s when English punk rockers Buzzcocks came out with their sophomore album Love Bites. And I’m not talking about some fast and loud music and screaming vocals by some guys who can barely play their instruments. This is punk with catchy pop hooks and decent vocals – in other words, my kind of punk! The Buzzcocks were formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriters Pete Shelley (vocals, guitar) and Howard Devoto (lead vocals). Devoto already departed after the release of the group’s debut EP Spiral Scratch (Jan 1977) to form Magazine, an early post-punk band. By the time Love Bites appeared, the remaining line-up of Buzzcocks included original members Steve Diggle (guitar, vocals), Steve Garvey (bass) and John Maher (drums). Buzzcocks who are still around have since seen multiple changes. Shelley remained until his death of a suspected heart attack in December 2018. Diggle is still around. To date, Buzzcocks have released 10 studio albums, most recently Sonics in the Soul, which came out in September 2022.

The Platters/The Great Pretender

If you’re a frequent reader of my blog or know my music taste otherwise, you’ve probably noticed I dig great singing. A lot! As such, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that I like certain vocal groups. One of the first such formations I heard are The Platters. I can’t quite remember whether it was Only You (And You Alone), their first hit single from July 1955, or the follow-on, which I decided to feature here. Released in November 1955, The Great Pretender became an even bigger chart success, their first single to top the U.S. pop charts. Written by Samuel “Buck” Ram, who also was a prominent music producer and arranger, The Great Pretender was a no. 1 in The Netherlands as well and reached no. 5 in each the UK and Belgium. Amazingly, a touring version of The Platters exists to this day, though none of their founders are still around. The one constant member from the group’s inception in 1952 until his death in 2012 was Herb Reed. And, sure enough, The Platters are on the road and have a pretty busy schedule throughout the year. So, let’s hear it for The Great Pretender – what a marvelous classic!

Nirvana/Smells Like Teen Spirit

Our next stop is the ’90s, the decade where I began to largely tune out from contemporary music unless it was by a band or artist I had started to follow in the late ’70s or ’80s. I realize this time and again when fellow bloggers post about ’90s music. There were a few notable exceptions – thank goodness! One I initially wasn’t crazy about were Nirvana. It took me a few times until I fully appreciated the brilliance of Smells Like Teen Spirit, the opener and lead single of their sophomore album Nevermind, released September 10 and September 24, 1991, respectively. The tune was primarily penned by frontman and main songwriter Kurt Cobain with inputs from the band’s bassist and drummer Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, respectively. The title was derived from the phrase “Kurt smells like Teen Spirit,” which his friend Kathleen Hanna, lead vocalist of punk band Bikini Kill, had written on his wall. Cobain thought it was some revolutionary slogan. However, Hanna referred to the deodorant Teen Spirit, which she and Cobain’s then-girlfriend Tobi Vail had discovered during a trip to the grocery store. The dynamic changes in this haunting tune are just incredible!

The Rolling Stones/Child of the Moon

We’re four stops into this trip and haven’t visited the ’60s yet. This must be corrected immediately by setting our music time machine to May 1968. On the 24th of that month, The Rolling Stones released Jumpin’ Jack Flash as a non-album single in the UK. It also came out in the U.S. one week later. Since it appeared, the Stones have played Jumpin’ Jack Flash during each of their tours – I mean, it’s a dynamite tune, so who can blame them! By comparison, I think it’s fair to say the single’s B-side, Child of the Moon, has largely remained obscure, even though it’s a great tune as well. It got my attention the other day when I came across the cool official video. As noted by ABKCO Music & Record when posting the clip on YouTube, Filmed in 1968, this surrealist promotional film features all five original band members and Emmy Award-winning actress Dame Eileen June Atkins. Shot on a farm near Enfield, outside north London, the eerie music video for “Child of the Moon” is an early example of the narrative approach, when the format was in its infancy, over a decade before the advent of MTV.

Artemis/Lights Away From Home

And once again, this brings us to the sixth and final stop. You may wonder what happened to the “usual jazz track”. I told you things would be a bit different this time, though my first pick by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was jazzy. Here comes a second instrumental with a more traditional jazz sound, except it’s by a contemporary New York all-female sextet, Artemis, and it’s brand new. From their website: The brainchild of pianist and composer Renee Rosnes, Artemis is a powerful ensemble of modern masters. Named for the Greek goddess of the hunt, the multinational, multigenerational band was founded in 2017 under the banner of International Women’s Day. Artemis’ performance at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival was so dynamic, Blue Note Records President Don Was signed the group to the label. Tour dates across Europe and North America followed, including performances at such iconic stages as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, SFJAZZ, Chicago Orchestra Hall, as well as at the Detroit Jazz Festival, Saratoga Jazz Festival, and the Monterey Jazz Festival among others. Off their sophomore and new album In Real Time, which was released on May 5, here’s Lights Away From Home, a composition by the ensemble’s bassist Noriko Ueda. According to this review by Glide Magazine, this groovy track was inspired by watching a meteor shower. BTW, in addition to their involvement with Artemis, each of these six amazing ladies is leading their own band!

Of course, I won’t leave you without a link to a Spotify playlist featuring each of the above goodies. Hope you enjoyed our trip and will be back for more. And, who knows what may be in store next. Perhaps, I’ll throw in some yodel music! 🙂

Sources: Wikipedia; Artemis website; Glide Magazine; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Once again, another week flew by and Saturday is upon us. This means the time has come to take a fresh look at newly released music. So without any further ado, let’s do just that!

Quasi/Doomscrollers

Kicking off this new music revue are indie rock band Quasi, who were formed in Portland, Ore. in 1993 by former husband and wife Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals, drums). From 2007 to 2011, they were a trio featuring Joanna Bolme on bass. Quasi’s self-produced and self-released 1993 eponymous debut was followed by R&B Transmogrification in March 1997, their first label release. Eight additional albums have since come out, including their latest Breaking the Balls of History. Released on February 10, it’s Quasi’s first new album in 10 years. Here’s Doomscrollers, which like all other tunes was penned by Coomes and Weiss. It’s what I would call a weirdly catchy song that you may like better after listening to it a few times. You also gotta love that video clip!

Index For Working Musik/1871

My next pick for this week are Index For Working Musik, who according to this account from Louder Than War, are a project that includes members of English indie-rock bands TOY and The Proper Ornaments. Their Bandcamp profile notes the project’s origin dates back to late 2019 and tells a strange background story I won’t recap. It seems to me Index For Working Musik deliberately want to create some mystery around them. Their members include Max Oscarnold and Nathalia Bruno, who apparently had worked with each other before, along with Bobby Voltaire (drums), E. Smith (double bass) and J. Loftus (guitar). 1871, co-written by Oscarnold, Bruno and Robert Syme, was released on February 8 as the third single of their upcoming album Dragging the Needlework for the Kids at Uphole, scheduled for February 17. I had to listen to the tune more than once, but it really grew on me.

Moreish Idols/Nocturnal Creatures

Moreish Idols are a new five-piece art rock band from South London, England. According to a review by All Music Magazine, the group features Jude Lilley (guitar, vocals), Tom Wilson Kellett (guitar, vocals), Dylan Humphries (bass clarinet), Caspar Swindells (bass, backing vocals) and Solomon Lamey (drums, backing vocals). Their debut EP Float appeared in August 2022. Now, the band is out with their new single Nocturnal Creatures, released on February 8. The tune was produced by Dan Carey who runs UK record label Speedy Wunderground and more recently has also worked with indie rock and post punk bands like Foals, Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C., Geese and Goat Girl. “Nocturnal creatures can teach us to be more observant, in case they dig up your treasure and bury their bones,” the band said in a statement. While I have no idea what that means, I know this bouncy tune speaks to me. Check out the official video.

The Men/Hard Livin’

Last but not least is some kickass rock by Brooklyn, New York-based band The Men. From their AllMusic bio: The Men began as an abrasive punk group before vastly expanding their sound to incorporate influences from country-rock to soul in addition to more accessible song structures. Initially forming as a trio in Brooklyn in 2008, they first made a national impact with the blistering noise rock of 2011’s Leave Home, their second album. Released in 2012, Open Your Heart proved to be a breakthrough for the band, receiving rave reviews. It also signaled their shift beyond punk, and the Men continued to redefine their sound with ambitious, eclectic albums such as 2014’s Tomorrow’s Hits. The Men are co-founders Nick Chiericozzi (vocals, guitar, saxophone) and Mark Perro (vocals, guitar, keyboards), as well as Kevin Faulkner (bass, lap steel) and Rich Samis (drums). Hard Livin’, credited to all members of the group, is the opener of their new album New York City, which came out on February 3. Did anyone say rock is dead?

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above tunes and a few additional tracks by the featured artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; Louder Than War; Index For Working Muski Bandcamp page; All Music Magazine; AllMusic; YouTube, Spotify

Best of What’s New

Welcome to another Saturday and my latest revue of newly released music. All picks this week are from albums that appeared yesterday (January 27).

White Reaper/Fog Machine

Kicking off this post are American garage rock band White Reaper. According to their profile on Apple Music, they are making retro style bubblegum punk mixed with some arena rock. Formed by childhood friends in Louisville, Kentucky, the group named themselves after a spooky decoration they came across in a Halloween story. They released a critically acclaimed EP in 2014, followed by their 2015 debut album, White Reaper Does It Again. Pitchfork named their sophomore LP, The World’s Best American Band, one of the 20 Best Rock Albums of 2017. White Reaper’s lineup includes Tony Esposito (guitar, vocals), Hunter Thompson (guitar), Ryan Hater (keyboards), Sam Wilkerson (bass) and Nick Wilkerson (drums, percussion). Fog Machine, credited to the entire band, is a tune from their fourth and latest studio album Asking for a Ride. It rocks and is pretty melodic!

H.C. McEntire/Turpentine (feat. Amy Ray)

H.C. McEntire is a singer-songwriter from Durham, N.C. From her AllMusic bio: Blessed with a perfect country voice and the uncompromising determination of a punk rocker, H.C. McEntire (also known as Heather McEntire) is best known as a member of the bands Mount Moriah and Bellafea, as well as for her work as a solo artist. With Mount Moriah, McEntire began exploring the atmospheric side of Southern roots music, and in her solo work, she dug deeper into this territory, mixing the artful side of indie rock with melodies and vocal lines that harken back to traditional country and folk. Her solo debut, 2018’s Lionheart, introduced her new variations on her style, and 2020’s Eno Axis upped the indie rock side of the formula. Now McEntire is out with her third album Every Acre, and I love what I’ve heard thus far. Here’s Turpentine, co-written by McEntire, Luke Norton, Daniel Faust and Casey Toll, the bassist of Mount Moriah, and featuring Amy Ray of contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls – a beautiful tune with a great roots rock sound!

The Arcs/Behind the Eyes

The Arcs are a garage rock band formed in 2015 by singer-songwriter and record producer Dan Auerbach as a side project to The Black Keys, his blues rock band together with drummer Patrick Carney. Apart from Auerbach (lead vocals, guitar), The Arcs currently also include Leon Michels (keyboards, guitar), Nick Movshon (bass) and Homer Steinweiss (drums, percussion). Richard Swift, another member who was featured on the group’s 2015 debut album Yours, Dreamily, passed away in July 2018 at the age of 41 due to complications from hepatitis, as well as liver and kidney distress. This brings me to Behind the Eyes from The Arcs’ sophomore album Electrophonic Chronic, a track credited to all members of the group and Russ Pahl who also provides steel guitar.

Vusi Mahlasela, Norman Zulu & Jive Connection/Prodigal Son

My last pick for this week is South African singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela, who according to a bio on his website is simply known as ‘The Voice’ in his home-country, South Africa, celebrated for his distinct, powerful voice and his poetic, optimistic lyrics. His songs of hope connect Apartheid-scarred South Africa with its promise for a better future. Raised in the Mamelodi Township, where he still resides, Vusi became a singer-songwriter and poet-activist at an early age teaching himself how to play guitar and later joining the Congress of South African Writers. After his popular debut on BMG Africa, “When You Come Back,” Vusi was asked to perform at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration in 1994. Vusi has toured globally and shared the stage with Dave Matthews Band, Sting, Paul Simon, Josh Groban, Ray LaMontagne, Natalie Merchant, Taj Mahal, among many others. A news announcement describes his latest release, Face to Face, as a lost recording from the archives in January with a 2002 collaboration between…Vusi…, singer-songwriter Norman Zulu and Swedish jazz/soul collective Jive Connection. Check out the amazing opener Prodigal Son, which drew me in right away!

Here’s a Spotify playlist of the above tunes and some additional tracks from the four featured albums and artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; AllMusic; Vusi Mahlasela website; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Happy Saturday and welcome to the first 2023 installment of Best of What’s New, a weekly feature looking at newly released music. For first-time visitors, my picks typically fall outside the current mainstream pop charts, where I tend to find much more music that speaks to me. All featured tunes in this post are on albums that appeared yesterday (January 6), except for the last track.

Brandon Ratcliff/Tale of Two Towns

Kicking off things is Brandon Ratcliff, a young singer-songwriter who combines country, pop and R&B. From his website: From the day he was born, and even before, he was on stages, on tour buses, and in writing rooms across America, watching his family sing the music they love as the celebrated Bluegrass band, The Cox Family. Born in Cotton Valley, LA (population 962), Brandon saw first-hand how universal the stories born in small towns are. The son of Suzanne Cox, one third of the family band, Brandon watched as his mother and her siblings won Grammy Awards telling those stories to the world…After deciding to leave Cotton Valley for Nashville, Brandon’s talents quickly attracted the music business machine in town. He was offered a publishing deal at the age of 20 but decided to turn it down to develop his sound...In 2018 Brandon was signed to Monument Records, and in 2019 burst onto the scene with his debut single, “Rules Of Breaking Up,” accumulating more than 50 million streams. This brings me to Tales of Two Towns, the title track of Ratcliff’s ambitious debut double album. He wrote the tune together with Josh Jenkins and Peter Good. I like it!

Allen Epley/Thousand Yard Stare

Allen Epley was born in Louisville, Ky. and grew up in a musical family. After playing in a college band, he co-founded Orchid in 1992, which soon became Shiner, a post-hardcore/alternative rock band. After four studio albums and their split, Epley formed indie rock band The Life and Times in 2002, who remain active to this day. Since 2012, Shiner have played reunion shows and in 2020 released another album. Apart from Epley’s continued engagements with both groups, he frequently collaborates with other bands. And he also managed to record his solo debut album Everything. Let’s check out the great-sounding Thousand Yard Stare.

Anti-Flag/Nvrevr

Anti-Flag are a punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pa., who have been around since 1988. Their current line-up includes co-founding members Justin Sane (vocals, guitar) and Pat Thetic (drums), along with Chris Head (guitar) and Chris No. 2 (vocals, bass). Anti-Flag who are known for their extensive political activism, released their debut album Die For the Government in August 1996. Since then, 12 additional albums have come out including their latest Lies They Tell Our Children. According to AllMusic, Anti-Flag have gained a “reputation for recapturing the old-school ethics of punk: fast, loud, obnoxious, and anti-everything that ends with an “ism.”” Frankly, “fast” and “loud” don’t sound like particularly attractive musical attributes to me, but when combined with a good melody can still work. Here’s Nvrever featuring Stacey Dee, guitarist and vocalist of pop punk group Bad Cop/Bad Cop. Credited to all members of Anti-Flag, the rocker first appeared as a single last November.

Iggy Pop/Strung Out Johnny

Frankly, Iggy Pop wasn’t exactly on my radar screen, so I was surprised to see a new album by the now 75-year-old “Godfather of Punk.” That said, I know his name much better than his music. Pop, born James Newell Osterberg Jr., started his music career as a drummer in various high school bands in Ann Arbor, Mich. in the mid-’60s. In 1967, he formed the Psychedelic Stooges who became The Stooges the following year. After three albums and a short break-up in between, they split a second time in 1974. Three years later, Pop began a volatile yet ultimately successful solo career, which has yielded 19 studio albums to date. Between 2003 and 2019, Pop played with different versions of The Stooges who released two additional albums during that period. Pop’s new solo album, titled Every Loser, features guest appearances from Duff McKagan (ex Guns N’ Roses bassist), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer), Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction guitarist) and the late Taylor Hawkins (former Foo Fighters drummer), among others. Here’s Strung Out Johnny, co-written by Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Pop and Josh Klinghoffer – cool rocker!

The Hold Steady/Sideways Skull

My final pick for this week is Sideways Skull, the great new single by New York indie rock band The Hold Steady. Formed in 2003, their current lineup includes co-founders Craig Finn (lead vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Galen Polivka (bass), along with Steve Selvidge (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Franz Nicolay (piano, keyboards, accordion, harmonica, backing vocals) and Bobby Drake (drums, percussion). Wikipedia notes the band is known for their “lyrically dense storytelling”, “classic rock influences” and “narrative-based songs [that] frequently address themes, such as drug addiction, religion and redemption, and often feature recurring characters within the city of Minneapolis.” Since their 2004 debut Almost Killed Me, The Hold Steady have released seven additional studio albums. Their new single, co-written by Finn, Nicolay and Kubler, is from their upcoming ninth studio album The Price of Progress, scheduled for March 31.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify list of the above and a few additional tunes by the featured artists.

Sources: Wikipedia; Brandon Ratcliff website; Allen Epley website; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify

Best of What’s New

Happy Saturday and welcome to another installment of Best of What’s New. I found a lot on the new music front this week that I like. All featured tracks are on releases that came out yesterday (Sep 16). Here we go!

Cape Francis/Gospel of Broken Arms

Getting us started today is Cape Francis, the moniker of New York-based singer-songwriter Kevin Olken Henthorn. From his website: Kevin Olken Henthorn has spent the past half-decade crafting quiet but intricate bedroom pop, gradually expanding and contracting his sound over the years. After a previous band fell through, he began the Cape Francis project as a way to express his creative energy, forging a creative partnership with producer and engineer Ariel Loh. After his third record, the reverb-drenched, winding Plateaus, Henthorn wanted to strip back, creating songs he could play by himself without requiring a full band. Writing during a lengthy early-pandemic move to Silver Lake with his partner, what started out as a back-to-basics record gradually became quietly ambitious, as Henthorn challenged himself to write more directly. The result is Don’t Let Your Heart Walk Away, his fourth and latest album. Here’s Gospel of Broken Arms.

Death Cab for Cutie/Here to Forever

Death Cab for Cutie are an American indie rock band formed in Bellingham, Wash. in 1997. Originally a solo project by Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Death Cab for Cutie expanded into a full band after he had released a demo, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, which became popular. Gibbard subsequently recruited Chris Walla (guitar), Nick Harmer (bass) and Nathan Good (drums). They signed with Barsuk Records and released their debut album Something About Airplanes in August 1998. Five years later, Death Cab for Cutie received broad recognition in the U.S. for their fifth studio album Plans, which peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for two Grammys. In February 2008, it received Platinum certification, making it the band’s best-selling album to date. This brings me to Here to Forever, a tune from Death Cab’s 10th and new album Asphalt Meadows. The song was co-written by Gibbard and Zac Rae (keyboard, guitar). Harmer and Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) complete the group’s current lineup. Catchy tune!

The Beths/When You Know You Know

On to New Zealand indie pop rock band The Beths who have been around since 2014. From their Apple Music profile: Fronted by their main songwriter, Elizabeth Stokes, New Zealand indie rock group the Beths combine energized guitar riffs, melodic hooks, and harmonized backing vocals in their impulsive, distinctly self-depreciating music. Having already won fans as a live act, the band released their first album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. The Beths’ 2021 live album Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 featured earworms from the debut and follow-up Jump Rope Gazers. Their third long-player, 2022’s anxious Expert in a Dying Field, was completed in a Los Angeles studio during tour. From that album, which is their latest, here’s When You Know You Know. Great tune, which in addition to Strokes (vocals, rhythm guitar) is credited to the band’s three other members Jonathan Pearce (lead guitar, vocals), Benjamin Sinclair (bass, vocals) and Tristan Deck (drums).

The Mars Volta/Backlight Shine

El Paso, Texas progressive rock band The Mars Volta came together in 2001. From their AllMusic bio: Picking up the pieces from At the Drive-In, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez formed the Mars Volta and wasted little time branching out into elements of hardcore, prog, psychedelic rock, and avant-jazz and funk. As the ever-evolving Mars Volta, they immediately impressed with 2003’s gold-certified Deloused in the Comatorium for Universal. It eschewed conventional logic to push themselves in new artistic directions, while 2005’s Frances the Mute revealed a willingness to use concepts to underscore a provocative musical approach. Fast-forward 17 years to the present and the band’s new eponymous album, their seventh and first in 10 years! Check out Backlight Shine, an intriguing tune written by Rodríguez-López.

Starcrawler/Runaway

Starcrawler are a punk rock band from Los Angeles, founded in 2015. Their current members include Arrow de Wilde (lead vocals), Henri Cash (guitar), Bill Cash (pedal steel guitar, an unexpected instrument for a punk band – CMM), Tim Franco (bass) and Seth Carolina (drums). AllMusic characterizes their sound as “somewhere between the punk/hard rock of fellow L.A. natives the Runaways and the shock tactics of legendary metal band Black Sabbath.” AllMusic also notes “crunchy guitars, melodies that boast a bit of glam-influenced swagger (even when they’re in a minor key), and a heavy rhythmic stomp” to describe the band’s sound. Starcrawler who released their eponymous debut album in January 2018 are now out with their third studio project She Said. Let’s check out Runaway – I would call this punk with a tasty dose of pop!

Ringo Starr/Free Your Soul (feat. Dave Koz and José Antonio Rodriguez)

Wrapping up this week’s new music revue is a man who needs no introduction. Ringo Starr, who in July turned 82, has been on a remarkable roll, having released a full album and three EPs since October 2019, including his latest, aptly called EP3. One of the four tracks is called Free Your Soul. From a July 29 press release: Written by Ringo Starr and Bruce Sugar, the soothing, rhythmic sound of “Free Your Soul” transports the listener to an island beach on a clear warm night under a full moon. With Ringo on vocals, drums and handclaps, the song also features Dave Koz on tenor sax and José Antonio Rodriguez on nylon guitar, Nathan East on bass, Bruce Sugar on keyboards, percussion and horn arrangement, and Billy Valentine, Zelma Davis and Maiya Sykes providing backing vocals. When you’re Ringo Starr, I suppose you don’t have much if any problem finding a little help from some great friends. I can hear some of Sade’s Smooth Operator in this relaxing tune, especially in the beginning – to be clear, it’s meant to be a compliment!

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tracks.

Sources: Wikipedia; Cape Francis website; Apple Music; AllMusic; Ringo Starr website; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Welcome to another installment of The Sunday Six, my weekly imaginary time travel that celebrates music of the past 60 years or so, six tunes at a time. Today’s post was inspired by fellow blogger and poet Lisa from Tao Talk who is currently doing a great Women Music March series. The reality is the music business is pretty male-dominated, even more so once you go back to the past. But, as many music fans know, there have been amazing female artists throughout the decades. Following are some of them.

Ella Fitzgerald/Rock It For Me

Let’s start today’s journey in the year 1938. ‘Wait a moment,’ you may say, that’s 84 years ago, not just 60. Well, the 60-year span isn’t set in stone. In fact, nothing really is on The Sunday Six, except I have to dig it. I trust everybody has heard of American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. According to Wikipedia, “The First Lady of Song”, “Queen of Jazz” and “Lady Ella”, as she was called, was known for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation and a “horn-like” improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing (a vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or no words at all – CMM). After gaining popularity with the Chick Webb Orchestra during the second half of the 1930s, Fitzgerald launched a solo career in 1942. Over a nearly 60-year career, she collaborated with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and The Ink Spots, and released an enormous catalog of studio and live solo and collaboration albums. Rock It For Me, co-written by twins Kay Werner and Sue Werner, appeared as a single by the Chick Webb Orchestra in 1938. Wikipedia notes the lyrics include the term “rock and roll,” an early reference to the genre before it existed…Now it’s true that once upon a time/The opera was the thing/But today the rage is rhythm and rhyme/So won’t you satisfy my soul/With the rock and roll…

Wanda Jackson/Let’s Have a Party

Let’s continue our music celebration with some kickass classic rock & roll by Wanda Jackson, one of the first female artists who made a career in rock & roll in the 1950s. One of her best-known tunes is Let’s Have a Party, penned by Jessie Mae Robinson, which Jackson first recorded for her eponymous debut album from July 1958. The previous year, Elvis Presley had released the song as a single in the UK, titled Party. As much as I dig Elvis, Jackson’s version leaves him in the dust! Jackson’s rendition of Let’s Have a Party also came out as a single in June 1960. If I see it correctly, this was her first song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, climbing to no. 37. Jackson, who is now 84, has also released music in other genres, including country and gospel. Apparently, she is still active. Her latest album Encore appeared last year, and you can watch her most recent single It Keeps Right On A Hurtin’ here. What a dynamite lady!

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts/I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll

Speaking of kickass, next our time machine shall take us to the early ’80s and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Yes, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll may be the obvious tune, and it hasn’t exactly suffered from underexposure. But, as we used to say in Germany during my teenage years, this tune is just “geil,” which loosely translated means amazing. Co-written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker, who shockingly were both guitarists, I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll was first recorded by short-lived British rock band Arrows and released as a single in July 1975. After Jett had seen the band perform the tune on British TV in 1976 while touring the UK, she decided to cover it. Her initial rendition was recorded with Sex Pistols guitarist and drummer Steve Jones and Paul Cook, respectively. It appeared in 1979 as the B-side to Jett’s single You Don’t Own Me and went unnoticed. Jett’s decision to re-record the song in 1981 with her band the Blackhearts and make it the title track of the group’s second studio album proved to be a winner. Not only did the tune become the band’s first charting single, but it also turned out to be their biggest hit. I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll topped the mainstream charts in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, hit no. 1 in Sweden, and reached the top 10 in various other European countries. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts still love rock & roll and are scheduled to launch what looks like an extended US tour later this month.

The Pointer Sisters/Fire

American vocal group The Pointer Sisters, who have been around since 1970, have performed songs in multiple genres, including pop, disco, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock – I suppose it would have been easier to list the genres they haven’t done! The song that brought them on my radar screen is one of their biggest hits: Fire. For several years, I didn’t realize this was actually a Bruce Springsteen tune. When I heard the original for the first time on Springsteen’s boxed set Live/1975–85, admittedly, I was underwhelmed, feeling it lacked the great dynamic of the Pointer Sisters. I’ve since warmed to it, though I still prefer the rendition by the female vocal group. Their version was first released as the lead single of their fifth studio album Energy in October 1978. The entire record is fairly rock-oriented and also includes a great cover of the Steely Dan tune Dirty Work.

Melissa Aldana/Elsewhere

Not including an instrumental in a Sunday Six post just didn’t feel right, so I decided to feature another track by my “latest discovery,” Melissa Aldana, a tenor saxophonist from Chile. In case you saw my latest Best of What’s New installment, you may recall the name. Borrowing from this post, Aldana, the daughter of renowned tenor saxophonist Marcos Aldana, began formal saxophone instruction at the age of six. By the time she was 16, she already headlined jazz clubs in Santiago. With the help of Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez, Aldana auditioned at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, subsequently won a scholarship to Berklee and launched a career in the U.S. Elsewhere is a beautiful tune from Aldana’s fifth studio album Visions released in May 2019. This young woman is so talented!

The Linda Lindas/Growing Up

And once again this brings us to the final stop of our mini-excursion. How many Asian-American and Latino all-female punk bands do you know? I had not been aware of any until I came across The Linda Lindas the other day. This group from Los Angeles, which includes Bela Salazar (guitar, vocals), Eloise Wong (bass, vocals), Lucia de la Garza (guitar, vocals) and her sister Mila de la Garza (drums, vocals), has been around since 2018. After American actress and film director Amy Poehler watched a live performance of the band, she asked them to record a song for her 2021 comedy-drama Moxie. The Linda Lindas also penned a tune for the 2020 Netflix documentary The Claudia Kishi Club. In May last year, they signed with Epitaph Records and released Oh!, their first single with the label. Here’s Growing Up, the title track of the band’s full-length debut album that’s scheduled for April 8. The enthusiasm and energy of these ladies just make me smile. And apparently, they are still so young. I suppose I’m now at an age where I repeatedly find myself thinking, ‘gee, these could be my kids!’

Last but not least, here’s a playlist of all the above-featured tunes.

Sources: Wikipedia; Joan Jett & the Blackhearts website; YouTube; Spotify

‘Tis the Season – Lighten Up!

If you’d asked me over the past couple of weeks whether I was ready for Christmas and New Year’s, most days, I would have said ‘nope’ to the former and ‘hell yes!’ to the latter. Undoubtedly, the second year of this dreadful pandemic has brought many challenges, and with omicron spreading quickly and furiously, the outlook for the near future isn’t great either. Still, while it’s always easy to find reasons to complain, I feel I really shouldn’t do it.

Instead, I should be grateful for many things I oftentimes take for granted: A loving wife and son who haven’t gotten sick; the fact thus far I’ve been able to escape the bloody virus; a roof above my head, even though we literally just needed to have it replaced, which wasn’t cheap; a job I’ve been able to do from home for the past two years; writing this blog about music, a topic I love; and so on and so forth.

As such, it’s time to stop having the blues about the inconveniences the pandemic has brought, especially missing out on live music, and to embrace the holiday season. And, yes, you guessed it, music can help. Following are some contemporary Christmas songs in different genres, including pop, rock, punk, rap, funk, classic rock & roll and even hard rock – as well as one breathtaking rendition of a traditional Christmas carol. I’m borrowing picks from a post I did four years ago. All songs are also captured in a Spotify playlist at the end.

John Lennon/Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (1971)

Chuck Berry/Run Rudolph Run (1958)

The Pogues/Fairytale Of New York (1987)

Run-D.M.C./Christmas In Hollis (1987)

AC/DC/Mistress For Christmas (1990)

José Feliciano/Feliz Navidad (1970)

James Brown/Santa Claus, Go Straight To The Ghetto (1968)

The Ravers/(It’s Gonna Be) A Punk Rock Christmas (1978)

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band/Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (2007)

The Temptations/Silent Night

Below is the Spotify playlist. In the case of (It’s Gonna Be a) Punk Rock Christmas, the version by The Ravers wasn’t available, but I found another rendition of the song by what sounds like a female punk band, The Majorettes.

Happy Holiday Season! If you don’t celebrate Christmas and/or the New Year, I hope this won’t prevent you from having a great time anyway!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube

Best of What’s New

Once again it’s Saturday and time for another new music revue. For folks living in the U.S. and celebrating, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with delicious food and meeting family and/or friends. This latest installment of my weekly Best of What’s New feature turned out to be an all-rock affair. Each tune is from releases that came out yesterday (November 26).

Smith/Kotzen/Better Days

My first pick for this week is from a collaboration between Adrian Smith, guitarist of British heavy metal group Iron Maiden, and Richie Kotzen, guitarist and frontman of The Winery Dogs, an American rock band from Los Angeles. While Iron Maiden isn’t much my cup of tea and I’ve never heard of The Winery Dogs, I know one thing: I like Better Days, the title track of the new EP by the two guitarists who call their collaboration Smith/Kotzen. It’s their second release after their eponymous full-length debut album that appeared in March this year. In addition to guitar, Smith and Kotzen play most other instruments on their studio recordings and share writing and production duties. According to this preview in Loudwire, Better Days, which first appeared three weeks ago as an upfront track, was written in April. Here’s the official video. This nicely rocks while staying pretty melodic.

Julie Doiron/You Gave Me the Key

Let’s next turn to Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter Julie Doiron. According to her Apple Music profile, Doiron began her musical career in 1990, singing and playing bass for the Canadian indie rock band Eric’s Trip. As the group released numerous EPs and three albums for Sub Pop, Doiron also began writing her own largely acoustic material. When Eric’s Trip broke up in 1996, she released an album under the name Broken Girl on Sappy Records, her own label. Later that year, Doiron worked on her second album, Loneliest in the Morning, which came out on Sub Pop and was recorded with prominent indie rock producers and musicians like Doug Easley, Davis McCain, Giant Sand’s Howie Gelb, and the Grifters’ Dave Shouse. Fast-forward to I Thought of You, Doiron’s new and first full-length album in nine years. Here’s the catchy opener You Gave Me the Key. Check out that neat harmony guitar action!

Lars Frederiksen/Tomorrows Girls

Let’s keep rockin’ with Lars Frederiksen, who is best known as guitarist and vocalist of American punk rock band Rancid. Wikipedia notes he’s also currently playing guitar in Oxley’s Midnight Runners, Stomper 98 and The Last Resort – don’t know any of these groups. Frederiksen seems to be a busy man. According to this piece in Blabbermouth.net, the EP To Victory is Frederiksen’s first release under his name only. Here’s the crunchy rocker Tomorrows Girls. It reminds me a bit of solo music I’ve heard from Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

Deep Purple/White Room

My last pick for this week is from the latest release by Deep Purple. Since it’s “only a cover album,” I wasn’t going to feature it. Don’t get me wrong: I love Deep Purple; in fact, they are my favorite hard rock band. But I’m talking 1968 through 1972. While every now and then they had some decent songs thereafter, overall their music wasn’t as great as in their early years, in my humble opinion. As for Turning to Crime, I actually find it surprisingly fun to listen to, including this rendition of Cream classic White Room. Yes, Deep Purple didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. But when it comes to an iconic tune like White Room, that’s just fine with me! I think they did a great job here!

Sources: Wikipedia; Loudwire; Blabbermouth.net; YouTube

Best of What’s New

It’s that time of the week again to take another look at newly released music. This latest Best of What’s New installment turned out to be pretty rock-oriented. All songs are on albums that came out yesterday (April 16).

Greta Van Fleet/Built By Nations

Kicking things off is some great blistering rock by Greta Van Fleet, a rock band from Frankenmuth, Mich. They were formed in 2012 by twin brothers Josh Kiszka (vocals) and Jake Kiszka (guitar) and their younger brother Sam Kiszka (bass), along with Kyle Hauck (drums). Hauck left in 2013 and was replaced by Danny Wagner who remains the band’s drummer to this day. Greta Van Fleet have attracted plenty of attention for embracing ’70s classic rock and some criticism from certain music reviewers who accused them of ripping off early Led Zeppelin. While there’s no denying some of the Michigan rockers’ early tunes have a Led Zeppelin I vibe, I always found the criticism overblown. Plus, I dig Zep, so selfishly I didn’t mind in the first place. Greta Van Fleet have since evolved their sound, as illustrated by their latest album The Battle at Garden’s Gate. Some tracks had been released as singles ahead of what is the band’s second full-length studio album, including My Way, Soon and Age of Machine. I previously featured them here and here. Following is Built By Nations. Like all other tracks on the album, it is credited to the entire band.

Eric Church/Heart on Fire

Eric Church is a country singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tenn. According to his artist profile on Apple Music, Church is a gifted storyteller, delivering relatable, regular-guy sing-alongs with a warm, reedy drawl. The North Carolina native started early—he was writing songs at 13 and taught himself to play guitar soon after, eventually getting a taste of touring with his college band, Mountain Boys. But his sharp lyrical observations and sly humor helped him find footing in Nashville’s songwriter circuit and land a solo record deal. His debut album Sinners Like Me appeared in July 2006. The third album Chief from July 2011 brought the big breakthrough, topping both the Billboard Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200 mainstream charts. Heart on Fire, written by Church, is the opener of Heart, the first part of an ambitious triple album titled Heart & Soul that features 25 tracks. Parts 2 and 3, & and Soul, are slated to be released on April 20 and April 23, respectively.

The Offspring/Let the Bad Times Roll

The Offspring were formed in 1984 as Manic Subsidal in Garden Grove, Calif. The band, which changed their name to The Offspring in 1986, has been credited for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, together with fellow Californian outfits Green Day and Rancid. The current line-up includes founding member Bryan “Dexter” Holland (lead vocals, guitar), along with Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman (guitar), Todd Morse (bass) and Pete Parada (drums). The band released their eponymous debut album in June 1989. Their international breakthrough, appropriately titled Smash, appeared in April 1994. Fueled by hit singles Come Out and Play, Self Esteem and Gotta Get Away, the album surged to no. 4 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200, peaked at no. 3 in Canada, topped the charts in Australia, and reached the top 5 in various European countries. Altogether, The Offspring have released 10 studio albums, 4 EPs, two compilations and multiple singles over their now 37-year career. Let the Bad Times Roll, written by Holland, is the catchy title track of their new album.

Paul McCartney & Joshua Homme/Lavatory Lil

Wrapping up this Best of What’s New installment is Paul McCartney who has been on a remarkable roll. Following the release of his 18th solo album McCartney III last December, which I reviewed here, he is back with an encore titled McCartney III Imagined. According to an announcement on his website, the album features an A-List assortment of friends, fans and brand new  acquaintances, each covering and/or reimagining their favorite  McCartney III  moments in their own signature styles…McCartney III Imagined continues the tradition of the biggest and most diverse names in music covering Paul’s songs — an ever-expanding  lineup that ranges from more recent versions by Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Dave  Grohl, Coldplay and The Cure, to interpretations over the years from the likes of U2, Guns N’ Roses, Earth Wind & Fire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and so many more.  McCartney III Imagined is a testament of Paul’s enduring and unmatched influence, a legacy that stretches from “Yesterday” being the most covered song in contemporary musical history to the inspiration his current work continues to hold for generations of artists and fans. What I find remarkable is the apparent open-mindedness of McCartney who is turning 79 in June to work with a broad group of contemporary artists, such as Dominic Fike, Khruangbin, Blood Orange, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers and Beck. Frankly, except for the last two, these are all new names to me! Here’s Lavatory Lil, imagined together with Joshua Homme who is best known as the main songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist of American rock band Queens of the Stone Age.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Paul McCartney website; YouTube

Best of What’s New

This week, Best of What’s New is appearing a day earlier, coinciding with the date when most of the featured music was released. One exception is the last tune. You may be surprised my latest picks include a song by a Disney teenage actress-turned pop artist who has enjoyed significant mainstream success.

While I generally continue to be underwhelmed by the music that dominates today’s mainstream charts, this doesn’t mean I would never listen to an artist just because they have been on the Billboard Hot 100 or other mainstream charts in recent years. This latest installment also features some indie rock, country and pop-oriented punk/grunge.

The Fratellis/Half Drunk Under a Full Moon

The Fratellis are an indie rock trio from Glasgow, Scotland, who have been around since 2005. They took the name from the criminal family in the 1985 American comedy picture The Goonies. Originally founded as a four-piece, The Fratellis became a trio after their third live performance. Their lineup remains unchanged to this day, featuring Jon Fratelli (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Barry Fratelli (bass) and Mince Fratelli (drums, percussion). It only took less than 10 shows for the band to be signed to Fallout Records, where their debut album Costello Music appeared in September 2006. It became an instant success in the UK, peaking at no. 2 on the Official Albums Chart. In 2007, The Fratellis won the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act. To date, the band has released five additional studio albums, four EPs and various singles. Half Drunk Under a Full Moon, written by John Lawler (Jon Fratelli), is the opener and title track of the band’s new album. Quite catchy!

Canaan Smith/Catch Me If You Can

Canaan Smith is a country singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tenn. According to his Apple Music profile, Smith began playing guitar as a coping mechanism after his brother died in a car accident. The album Bronco [his debut from June 2015] is named in his brother’s honor. Well before his own songs found an audience, Smith scored a Top 10 Country hit as cowriter of Love and Theft’s “Runaway.” “Love You Like That,” the first single from Bronco, spent almost an entire year climbing Billboard’s Country Airplay chart before landing at No. 1. When his college pals Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line launched Round Here Records in 2019, Smith was their first signing. Catch Me If You Can, co-written by Smith, Kelley, Hubbard and Jason Affable, is a nice uptempo country rock tune from Smith’s new sophomore album High Country Sound. Smith is sharing vocals on the tune with Georgia-based singer-songwriter Brent Cobb on vocals.

Demi Lovato/Dancing with the Devil

Frankly, other than her name, I hadn’t known about Demi Lovato. Lovato who was brought up in Dallas started playing the piano as a seven-year-old and picked up the guitar three years thereafter. She started her professional career in 2002 as an actress on the American children’s TV series Barney & Friends. Her acting breakthrough came in 2007 to 2008 with roles on Disney Channel TV series As the Bell Rings, followed by TV film Camp Rock and sitcom Sonny with a Chance. Lovato sang four songs of the Camp Rock soundtrack, one of which, This Is Me, became her first single in June 2008. Featuring Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, the tune debuted at an impressive no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by her debut album Don’t Forget from September 2008, which debuted at no. 2 on the Billboard 200. From the outside, it appeared Lovato was on top of the word. In reality, she struggled with bipolar disease, anorexia, self harm, alcoholism, and cocaine and heroin addiction, and suffered sexual assault as a teenager. This brings me to Dancing with the Devil … the Art of Starting Over, Lovato’s 7th and new release. The album, which is accompanied by a documentary of the same title, addresses her past in compelling detail. It was really Lovato’s soul-baring lyrics that caught my attention. Check out the title track Dancing with the Devil. “I wrote this song with a really good friend of mine named Blush at the end of 2018,” Lovato told Apple Music. “That was a very difficult year for me, and I wanted to tell that story in a song. It was really important to me that I introduced that song in the documentary…It’s so significant and means so much to me.” This is pretty deep stuff!

Kali Masi/Guilt Like a Gun

There’s very limited public information available on Kali Masi. According to their Bandcamp profile, Kali Masi is an American punk rock band from the Chicago. They’ve been heavily touring and self-promoting for the last 6 years; steadily evolving the heavy, emotive, and urgent sound found on their 2017 LP ‘WIND INSTRUMENT’ and the much anticipated 2021 followup ‘[laughs]. Well, the wait is over. [laughs] appeared on March 26. Here’s Guilt Like a Gun. I really like this tune, both in terms of the sound and the quite catchy melody. It reminds me a bit of Green Day’s pop-oriented grunge rock.

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Bandcamp; YouTube