Some things Old, some things from the News, some things Borrowed, and some Blues: (Take 6)
Friday is always a music post. So there’s playlists and links. Today, a variety of topics, as I revive the old, occasional ‘sub-branch’ of Friday music newsletter.
It’s only the second time this year that I’ve gone with this banner. So if you’re new to how this works, you’ll get the clues from the title, and feel the flow from there. But also, if you wanted to dig back and see how this was handled previously, you can check out the previous entries. Here’s the first time I tried this and here’s take two. And here’s take three. And then take four. And then earlier this year, it was take five:
Some things Old
I’m currently listening through to the entire catalogues of Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, The Cure, Todd Rundgren, and Lindsey Buckingham’s solo material. I’m also just through the 1950s of Miles Davis’ catalogue — so a long, long way to go there, but I’m loving all of this deep-diving; all artists I’m super familiar with and not the first time I’ve played through their entire discographies.
But I’m also having major 80s/90s nostalgia in general. I just borrowed this from the library:
I finally gave Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues a sympathetic listen for the first time in well over a decade.
It was a big album for me at the time, a gateway of sorts — but I obviously outgrew it, moved on. Well, it was kinda charming to hear it again. I decided I had to have it, and bought the CD. Of course I did.
And at the other end of “guitar player” music I did the same thing with Joe Satriani’s Surfing With The Alien — also enjoying it far more than when I had last listened to it.
But of course, for this one I had to go back to the tape format:
Some things from the News
Well, Bob Mould is here in New Zealand — and I’m excited to see his Wellington show tonight. I not only thrashed a bunch of early Hüsker Dü albums this week (and some Sugar, and Bob solo) but I finally got around to reading his autobiography. And really loved it. It’s been on my shelf since it was released (2011) and I should really have read it much earlier, but nothing like a bit of gig-week impetus.
Here’s an interview with the band Spotlights, here currently, and playing a generous tour of the country. Hopefully, I’ll get to see them next week. Really digging this band a lot.
Loving the 20th Anniversary of MF Doom’s album, MM..Food
As with a lot of anniversary and deluxe reissues, it’s not even really about the extras, just the chance to be reminded of the original album, to re-engage with…I loved Madvillainy and Doom’s MM..Food so much, they arrived like beacons in that year (2004). I was reviewing hip-hop albums for the newspaper. For every Uncle Kracker, Kid Rock and Trick Daddy-type artist, it was worth wading through such shit when you got to a MF Doom or Madlib. R.I.P. Doom.
Some things Borrowed
I absolutely love the duo, Tall Dwarfs. Might be my favourite Chris Knox-related material. And it’s first-equal for my favourite Alec Bathgate-related material (along with Bathgate’s three excellent solo albums). Anyway, I missed this compilation when it was released a couple of years back:
So that’s my latest library grab. I really want to find Stumpy on CD. So keeping my eyes peeled. That’s my favourite Dwarfs album…
Borrowing Pink Floyd books from the library too…
Scaring The Hoes by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown is the kind of album (released last year) that’s on the exact end of the bonkers-hiphop spectrum that I like; experimental, and wild. But never too scattershot. Fortunately, I don’t have to go too far to borrow this. Oscar’s started his own vinyl collection this year, and has about a dozen albums — he’s being very careful, very selective, but so far his entire collection is hiphop. And I have next to no hiphop on vinyl now. So, yeah, I’m “borrowing” this for a listen now and them.
And some Blues.
That Gary Moore album introduced me to Albert King and Albert Collins, and I’m forever grateful for that. I fell especially hard for Albert King’s great playing. I love that growly voice, along with those stinging lines.
Of course, this is his gem, and a masterpiece of an album, worth it for the Booker T & The MG’s’ backing, regardless of who was the main feature. But some of King’s best playing and greatest songs too. I have been giving this a spin for the first time in years. Such a classic record.
Big fan of this live album from ‘68 as well…
Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett have reformed their duo, The Coward Brothers. They played some shows under the fake names in the 1980s (Howard and Henry) and they’re about to release a comedy podcast/radio play/audiobook (out today) so there’s an album, a kind of soundtrack:
The good thing is you can just listen to the album and dig it. And now is it blues? I don’t know. Not quite. Not technically. But it does — on some level — come from there. I saw a clip of T Bone talking about Elvis, praising him for knowing more about American music than anyone, basically; saying he was a human encyclopaedia. He went on to say that whatever anyone thought about America, remember it for its music — that was the spirit of the country, the true proof there could be some meeting of the minds, some collaboration, room for all colours and creeds, space for differing views and opinions to come together. It was there in the music. And I liked that. A nice ideal for sure.
Of course that could also all just be very clever promo for the deluxe edition of Costello’s album he made with T-Bone in the 80s (back when they invented the Cowards). King of America is the proof that Elvis Costello really knows American music; it was his love letter back to the country he had taken so much from. And this 4-disc bumper version is still there for me to investigate. But King has long been one of my favourite Costello albums, so I’m excited to give this 59-track version a little love and a bit of time.
But let’s sign off with some real (actual) blues. The one and only Geeshie Wiley:
And finally, we’re at Friday already this week. So that means playlist.
I hope you find something on here you like, or it leads you somewhere musically that’s appealing for you. Thanks, as ever, for reading. And for listening. Happy weekend to you and yours.