May 2024
What I've Been Listening To #
Prayer To God - Shellac #
We got the very sad news last month that Steve Albini passed away. A totemic figure who you assumed would be around forever and who’s had such an impact on so many musical genres and artists that I hold dear.
My life would be very different if I hadn’t encountered the work of Albini, just hearing the snare on "Surfer Rosa" changed my entire life trajectory. It led me down the path where I joined the student radio society, moved to London ("that’s where all the gigs are!") and started playing the drums (sorry everyone). It’s difficult not to hear a record he produced and think "music is the greatest thing ever" and "how can I make something as cool as this".
There’s so many songs I could choose (he produced hundreds of records and performed his own stellar material also) but I’ve gone for "Prayer To God" which is a great showcase of his style as a producer and a performer. Albini forever!
Listen to "Prayer to God" here
Speed - Atari Teenage Riot #
Ran my PB 5K to this so it has to have a spot on the playlist this month!
I Don’t Wanna Know - John Martyn #
I generally find 70s folk more enjoyable when it’s mixed with other genres. The albums I’ve really enjoyed ("I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight" and "Un-halfbricking") have been effective fusions of classic folk sounds and 60s/70s rock stylings. "Solid Air" kinda does it all, there’s jazz influence on the title track and some MPB inflections on the "The Man In The Station". There’s also two lovely straight-up folk songs ("Over The Hill" and "May You Never"). I’m picking "I Don’t Wanna Know" though because it got them good drums (sorry I’m a drummer!) and doesn't seem to get as much shine as the other songs.
Listen to "I Don't Wanna Know" here
1,2,3 - Chief Keef #
Almighty So 2 rules so much! It’s surprising how well it sounds like a polished record that doesn’t buff out Keef’s weirdness (screaming the lyrics on some tracks! the insane black midi-esque drum patterns! comparing the colour of his jewellery to piss!). "1,2,3" is one of the most fun tracks off the record, a homage to classic Diplomat’s songs that’s one big crescendo for it’s entire duration.
Night Comes In - Richard and Linda Thompson #
An excellent demonstration of Richard Thompson’s great guitar playing style, virtuosic without cliched fireworks. This track is very reminiscent of something from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere but I love that record so I ain’t complaining! Still gotta listen to the podcast about "I Wanna See Bright Lights Tonight", I’ve heard great things about it.
The AI album artwork though, come on Richard!
Listen to "Night Comes In" here
Young And Foolish - Bill Evans #
If Bill Evans has a million people who dig him, then I'm one of them.
If Bill Evans has one person who digs him, then I'm THAT ONE.
If Bill Evans has nobody who digs him, that means I'm dead.
Listen to "Young And Foolish" here
Cinderella - Remi Wolf #
As much as I love bedroom pop, it's great to hear a "full band sound" being applied to the same style of song-writing. I get that bedroom pop isn't necessarily a choice and that it's a privilege to be able to record in a studio. If the option is available however, say after a successful debut album, then it's great to hear an artist taking advantage of it.
I know "I like 'real' instruments" is such an old man comment but sometimes...old men have a point! The horn arrangement, retro-soul production and flourishes of the extra percussion (and the whistle!) add so much to this track. Not to mention Remi Wolf's typically fantastic vocal performance and great song-writing chops.
Patch Notes #
Realised that I had RSS feed functionality this entire time and didn't link to it. Whoops! You can now find the RSS Feed at the top of the Posts page.
New project added to Works, Self-Assessment Tool for GDaD Profession Capability Framework. Includes a write-up of the process of developing the project, link to the project repository and the deployed application itself.
Have been picking up "Where Can I Play?" again. Will probably write up a page for it for the Works section next month.