Here’s what I’ve been jamming to:
My Morning Jacket – Dondante (live at Bonnaroo)
Impulsion gets a bad rap. Split second decisions lead to many-seconded consequences. But they can also lead to greatness.
Going with your gut. Trusting your instinct. Letting Jesus take the wheel. We have many names for it. But letting the brain stem decide our fate has its advantages over higher forms of thinking.
Thus, when I discovered My Morning Jacket’s tour date in Boston, I thought not. I acted.
Were the seats in the budget? Was my calendar clear? Trivial matters to sort out post-dust settlement. I spend too much of my time weighing options, plotting potential paths, worrying.
And no one ever died wishing they’d seen less live music.
Drugdealer – Suddenly feat. Weyes Blood
“Suddenly” is Drugdealer’s ode to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With some Stevie Ray Vaughan breakdowns added in for good measure
This tune has fluttered in and out my rotation since it’s release back in the mid-2010s (a golden era for indie).
Most often, my brother sends it to me out of the blue. He knows I know the song. I don’t know if he’s messing with me at this point. He has a sixth sense for when I’ve let my guard down. When I’m secure in my “Suddenly” playback. When I think I have it on the appropriate playlists so it will get regular (but not too regular) listen. But then, like a TV remote, it slips through the cracks. To be lost in the couch cushions of time.
And there, not too long after, is the inevitable text. No context. No “hey, this song made me think of you xx.” Just a Spotify link. And a song with such a groovy drop that can’t help but shake your head and mutter “that sonaofabitch” with a smile.
Foals – Daffodils (triple j Like A Version)
I experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance over this one. Jamming to it early this morning as I drove the highway to a work event, I knew it destined for the newsletter. I thought I’d struck gold with a 2015 (golden era) Foals b-side.
But lo and behold, it’s a cover of a Mark Ronson song. Mark Ronson of “Uptown Funk” fame. Anathema to hipster indie bloggers.
But the song speaks for itself. The Foals do it justice and then pay it some reparations. They turn Kevin Parker’s (of Tame Impala, featured on the original track) vocals into something fierce. And somehow they up the funk levels.
When in uptown Rome.
Meg Mac – Let It Happen (triple j Like A Version)
All hail the YouTube algorithm. Sadly this isn’t on Spotify so this week’s playlist will include the original track off Tame Impala’s Currents.
Vieux Farka Touré et Khruangbin – Tongo Barra
Consistent hitters Khruangbin team up with Mali’s heir to the desert guitar throne on “Tongo Barra.” Touré, son of a legendary Mali strummer, took up his father’s axe and steeped himself in both West African and Latin music. A perfect match for Khruangbin’s globe trotting grooves.
<===>...and the rest of ’em… the lighter side of Turnstile… Chet Faker is into you… and Nick Murphy & The Programtake us home with some bluesy soft rock.
<===>Rapid bus lanes looking scrumptious in this gif:
<===>For reference, The Hague is a city in the Netherlands that’s home to the International Criminal Court, where the West puts on trial dictators who’ve committed crimes against humanity.
Unless, of course, you’re a dictator whose committed crimes against humanity but you also have oil. Then you get a golf league.
<===>Fun additional benefit to non-car infrastructure: folks with disabilities have an easier time getting around.
<===>Chattanooga is a dope city in the Tennessee hills. Went there a bunch as a kid and it looks like it’s going in the right direction.