Malcolm Gauld
I may not be able to see the end of this thing, but “I Can Hear Music.” (And “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades.”)
If you do not know how this works, I’m DJ-ing a Spotify playlist called “Fresh Songs for a Stale Quarantine.” Here’s the link:
Feel free to log on to Spotify, access the playlist, give a listen, add the ones you like to your own playlists, etc. We’re up to 60+ songs at this point with 90% of them new releases. Here’s the latest batch:
“First Time” by Becca Mancari – Haunting but catchy. “I remember the first time my dad didn’t hug me back.”
“Local Radio” by Bad Moves – Off Untenable. While these guys can’t seem to decide whether they want to be new wave or punk, they probably don’t care. In any case, this tune is infectious. My new favorite work-out song.
‘Time (You and I) by Khruangbin – Off Mordechai. I love this upbeat tune playing in the background while I’m puttering around the house.
“Fresh as a Daisy” by Emitt Rhodes – From The Emitt Rhodes Recordings (1969-1973). RIP, and Thank-You, Sir.
“Take Me to the Good Times” by The Suffers – Keep en eye on this Houston-based ensemble. They bill their sound as “Gulf Coast Soul.” Kinda like Alabama Shakes with more bounce. Looking forward to their forthcoming first album!
“Goodbye Jimmy Reed” by Bob Dylan – Off Rough and Rowdy Ways. Never, ever count this man out! Great song about my fave blues man. “Goodbye Jimmy Reed. Jimmy Reed, indeed. Gimme that old time religion. It’s just what I need.”
“Perfect Girls of Pop” by Elizabeth Cook – Off Aftermath. I’ve been a huge fan ever since I discovered her show “Elizabeth Cook Apron Strings” on Sirius Outlaw Country.
“Shack in the Back” by The California Honey Drops – Off Just One More, and Then Some. Finally, an answer to the timeless teenage question: “How we gonna have a party, if your mama and your daddy home?”
“Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” by Aretha Franklin. (Title track off 1985 release.) Wait, did The Queen of Soul see the future 35 years ago and decide to cut a song for our times? I vote “Yes.”
“Lafayette” by Anders Osborne – Off Spacedust & Ocean Views (2016) – Just discovered this guy. Jams sometimes with Phil Lesh & friends. Good song.
“Night by Night” by Joe Jackson – I once struck up a conversation with a musician in a club who told me that you don’t hear a lot of Steely Dan covers because their too hard to play. This old pro didn’t get that memo and he does it his way. Would expect nothing less from a guy who cut a classic album called “Look Sharp.”
“All the Luck in the World” by Billy Springs, Circles Around the Sun – Kind of a smooth country vibe.
“You Reap Just What You Sow” by Catherine Russell – Churchy blues, maybe? Would fit in a Coen Brothers film set in the 1930s. Would sound great in a blues bar today.
“Dogtown Days” by The Jayhawks. The ‘hawks channel some Big Star with a touch of something else… Bo Deans, maybe? “I must confess, you were the best.”
“Letting Me Down” by Margo Price. Off That’s How Rumors Get Started. “Everybody’s lonely, Babe. Just look around.”
“Let Your Love Shine” by Forest Sun – Gotta have some reggae on this list. “I know everyone is lonely, sometime…”
“Boy Dontcha Know” by Joan Osborne – When I first heard this, I thought it was Chrissie Hynde. Joan not only sounds like Chrissie, she doesn’t shy away from anything. “She’d rather be a boy, dontcha know.”
“Keep on Smiling” by Blackberry Smoke – With an opening that hearkens back a half-century to Lee Michaels’ “Do You Know What I Mean,” these guys take their full ensemble straight ahead with everything from down home jamming to tried-and-true call-and-response.
“Luck of the Draw” by Daniel Donato – Like so many of these songs, these guys take me back. I’m imagining them opening a triple bill with New Riders of the Purple Sage and Pousette Dart Band. Who’s with me?
Onward, Malcolm Gauld
