Starting to think about putting together a pre-summer playlist

[moon_custafer]

Songs I’ve recently (as in, the last couple of months) heard for the first time:

Matthew C. Whitaker of Hinge also does acoustic, jazzy stuff (one commenter compares ‘Chestnut Tree’ to Jake Thackeray’s work). Sometimes it’s the same songs he sings with Hinge, but a different take on them.

Pigeon, ‘Miami.’ Very ‘eighties vibe here. The band is from Margate, but “If you close your eyes, it’s just like Miami.”

Carl M. Zierher, ‘Cis und Trans, Op. 161’ Everyone’s listening to this because of the title, but it’s also quite a nice polka/mazurka. I thought maybe the title meant “Back and Forth” or “Here and There,” but according to the comments it refers to the kingdoms of Cisleithania and Transleithania in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Tinariwen, ‘Sastanàqqàm.’ The band are Tuareg, so I guess this makes them the electric-bluesmen of the Sahara. Petition to make this the new soundtrack for desert scenes in movies.

Northern Boys, ‘Party Time.’ You may want to listen to this one with headphones as the lyrics are decidedly NSFW, probably NSFAnywhere. Critics have called it “a ‘certified banger’ with ‘disarmingly frank, funny lyrics about sex, drugs, partying, and the crippling mental health issues stemming from repressed white English masculinity.’”

The Babalooneys, ‘Soup Surfer,’ I. Jeziak and the Surfers, ‘Night Owls.’ Apparently surf music is alive and well in Quebec and in Poland.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Northern Boys, ‘Party Time.’ You may want to listen to this one with headphones as the lyrics are decidedly NSFW, probably NSFAnywhere. Critics have called it “a ‘certified banger’ with ‘disarmingly frank, funny lyrics about sex, drugs, partying, and the crippling mental health issues stemming from repressed white English masculinity.’”

Also the soundtrack for an excellent Disco Elysium animatic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0qMM5XkMQw

Can't remember if you're familiar with Disco Elysium, but if not you'll have to take my word for how supremely appropriate it is.

[moon_custafer]

I've never played the game, but I'm aware of it. I think someone also did an animatic to 'Congratulations, You Survived Your Suicide.'

[larryhammer]

Ooo, Tinariwen are great. Thanks!

[full_metal_ox]

That’s the Great Bo Diddley Riff—and it’s come full circle, home to Africa!

[sovay]

Carl M. Zierher, ‘Cis und Trans, Op. 161’

I did recognize the Austro-Hungarian origins of that title (hat tip), but I like the idea of using the imperial references with modern meaning. Identify oneself as a citizen of the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen and so forth.

Tinariwen, ‘Sastanàqqàm.’

Yay, Tinariwen!

I was not familiar with the other musicians in this post, so thank you. How did you find them? I am getting most of my new music from college radio these days.

[moon_custafer]

‘Party Time’ I found in a roundabout way via tumblr (someone posted a comic about singing in the shower, and I was curious enough to look up the lyrics). I think it explains a lot that the 2/3 of the band who are vocalists (Kevin is just there to dance) are retired grammar-school teachers. I imagine they kept up with contemporary music trends via their students, and are also now making up for several decades of having to watch their language.

Can’t recall how I came across Pigeon, maybe also through tumblr? The others came to me through YouTube algorithm, which I’ve seemingly managed to train to my tastes.

ETA—speaking of which, YouTube just showed me this: https://youtu.be/LrNbOxHYv5g?si=_FIGfBRLjeW7jYsd
I’ve no idea what this man is doing, musically speaking, but I’m all for it.

ETAM—Although he’s not actually in a shower, he’d likely do numbers on Randall Monroe’s wetriffs.com https://web.archive.org/web/20120319164017/http://wetriffs.com/gallery/