Blue Tooth
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Apologies. I am going to have to decline at the moment. I am rarely in the forum at present due to my seasonal work increase. I haven't even read the last two threads. Maybe later in the year.
Blue Moon Playlist Review Club - Season 2, Episode 16 - Spaced Out - RobMCFC (pg 338)
- Thread starter RobMCFC
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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BM – Reinvention & Renewal
Thanks to @threespires for putting this playlist concept together. I was concerned a bit this would be too similar to the “Associated” playlist, but in all but one I didn’t sense the same overlap.
Of the initial 5 songs, “I Love Being Here With You” by Queen Latifah and “When All’s Well” by Everything But The Girl were the standout and different tracks for me. If I’m being honest, at one point when playing the tracks back, I recalled the Pretenders were in the first 5 and mistakenly thought they did this song at the beginning until I realized it was EBTG. Busted…
I also enjoyed Beethoven’s track as it was beautiful, but I didn’t feel the reinvention part as much as it sounded pretty classical to me!
The Big Winner
Thea Gilmore trilogy. Just an amazing progression from A to Z in these 3 tracks. As noted prior, I sampled her entire 2023 self titled album and it was tremendous. Having the backstory on her progression of music was powerful stuff, and I’m glad she’s doing well on the other side. Bravo, again!
My top 5 other new tracks (not yet heard in some or no particular order):
“Subdivisions” – Rush, just a magical tune I think I appreciated more and more now than I did back then. RIP Neil Peart, and your lyrics were simply amazing here: “Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone”. I kept hoping “The Analog Kid” would follow this track as I know all too well, but it was back to the playlist!
Top 5 tracks I knew but enjoyed listening to again (in some or no particular order):
Thanks to @threespires for putting this playlist concept together. I was concerned a bit this would be too similar to the “Associated” playlist, but in all but one I didn’t sense the same overlap.
Of the initial 5 songs, “I Love Being Here With You” by Queen Latifah and “When All’s Well” by Everything But The Girl were the standout and different tracks for me. If I’m being honest, at one point when playing the tracks back, I recalled the Pretenders were in the first 5 and mistakenly thought they did this song at the beginning until I realized it was EBTG. Busted…
I also enjoyed Beethoven’s track as it was beautiful, but I didn’t feel the reinvention part as much as it sounded pretty classical to me!
The Big Winner
Thea Gilmore trilogy. Just an amazing progression from A to Z in these 3 tracks. As noted prior, I sampled her entire 2023 self titled album and it was tremendous. Having the backstory on her progression of music was powerful stuff, and I’m glad she’s doing well on the other side. Bravo, again!
My top 5 other new tracks (not yet heard in some or no particular order):
- “48 Roses” – Mariachi El Bronx, if not for Thea, this would have been the big winner!
- “You Wear It Second Hand” - Idlewild, right up my indie/alt rock alley, now following
- “Tell Me How” – Paramore, it would appear to be a band I should really like at some iteration
- “I Make My Own Sunshine" – Steven Tyler, until I heard the vocals, I never would have taken this track as one of his
- "Star or Stone" – Chris Robinson Brotherhood, very nice extended jam departure from the Black Crowes
“Subdivisions” – Rush, just a magical tune I think I appreciated more and more now than I did back then. RIP Neil Peart, and your lyrics were simply amazing here: “Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone”. I kept hoping “The Analog Kid” would follow this track as I know all too well, but it was back to the playlist!
Top 5 tracks I knew but enjoyed listening to again (in some or no particular order):
- "Longest Day" – Soulsavers, the déjà vu BimboBob stolen special!
- "Can't Let Go" - Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Plant always likes his blues origins
- "Sleeping By Myself" – Eddie Vedder, quite the departure as a solo artist on ukulele, and just a tremendous vocal track
- "Owner of a Lonely Heart" – Trevor Horn, Rick Astley, the origin of this song is fantastically interesting. Originally written by solo Rabin on the toilet, Horn first heard this song when Rabin was on another toilet break as part of Cinema (prior to Anderson joining, changing lyrics, adding vocals). Amazing history of a song that had many permutations, including this version!
- “Four Out Of Five” - Arctic Monkeys, I’m a fan of theirs, and this is their biggest Bowie-influenced glam album, but somehow not one of my favo(u)rites
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threespires
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I probably didn't do a very good job of explaining/encouraging that songs with a theme of reinvention (rather than the act) were also legit; hence my inclusion of Pack It Up and the Beethoven (evoking the renewal Spring brings). I think pretty much everyone focused on the artists reinvention angle. Incidentally on the Pretenders/EBTG point the EBTG album that track came from, there is a slower tempo version of the Pretenders song Kid, a version I really like.
The main thing that struck me from this playlist is how much enjoyable stuff I was familiar with as a result of the threads on here. The Eddie Vedder solo, Lau, Soulsavers, Mariachi El Bronx, Frank Black solo were I think all from albums I became aware of a result of nominations and discussion on here. Definitely enriching my listening, These amongst others were part of a large number I was familiar with but enjoyed listening to again. Of the knowns, probably Plant/Krauss by a nose in a very tight field.
As for the 'unknown' winners, three quite different ones appealed to me.
Gold: Bruce Hornsby - a bit odd but just really appealed; lots to enjoy on the album it comes from.
Silver: Steve Tyler - might have been a photo-finish for the gold if he hadn't yelped with seconds left :-)
Bronze: Paramore - very different from the little bits of them I've heard and very much a pop ballad but like Mr Hornsby, it just appealed.
I had you as a shoe-in for liking idlewild. One to stick on yout long term list, I would say.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Yeah, and of course, knowing me, once I needed some new music to listen to yesterday (I gave ABC another one, but just one) while cleaning the yellow pollen off the back porch, it was straight to Idlewild's Spotify playlist.
I can definitely see their earlier catalog(ue) was right up your hard alt rock (borderline emo? - I kept thinking Jimmy Eat World?) alley, I can see this band is another intersection of where you and I meet musically.
A few highlights that really stuck for me included:
In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction
El Capitan
In Competition for the Worst Time
and I'm still listening....
Interesting songs "American English" and "Younger than America" and talking about time zones in a few of the songs makes me think there's some sort of overseas connection going on (El Capitan too?). I'll probably take a more album focused listen soon and start with your favourite first.
If you had chosen "There's a Place for Everything" off the same album as your track, I'm not sure I'd have gravitated towards them to give them the proper chance they deserve, so kudos on getting the reinvented track right.
I think "You Wear It Secondhand" is also still my favourite song of theirs. The lyrics especially are good on that.
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Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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Yes, and my bad for forgetting about the other angle. I had already done MMJ's "Spring" on my Time playlist, so I just stuck with reinvention to the point I missed out on the other ones. I don't think I was alone either.
I love that original Pretenders song, will have to listen to the EBTG version and check them out a bit more like I'm doing with Idlewild. I'm done with ABC for the week and have moved onto XYZ. ;-)
threespires
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At the risk of going off topic in a Monty Don stylee, what's the source of the yellow pollen ? We have a very large atlas cedar that is a lovely tree but too close to the house and when it sheds it's pollen it covers the front of the house in fine yellow dust. Absolute pain in the arse not to mention the acidity from needle shed.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
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The long leaf pine trees are the source here, and it typically lasts up to 6 weeks from mid-March to early May each year.
The pollen puddles after some rain (but not too heavy) we see yearly are a thing too. It looks like yellow mustard soup in the gutters.
For a laugh, some visiting the area that aren't familiar with this yearly phenomenon have freaked out in the past as their vehicle turned yellow. One Canadian that was visiting during this time period years ago thought his rental car was ruined, only to be assured he'd be fine after a car wash. Another tried washing, and then seeing the pollen cover the car completely the very next day couldn't believe what was happening until being reassured too that all was going to be fine.
Most here don't typically bother with vehicle or house washing until this has fully passed, it's kind of pointless. On some hazy windy days, you can actually see yellow clouds of pollen dust blowing off the trees as they're everywhere here. This lake shot from 2019 captured it well after a windy day for context:
Mounds of pollen washes ashore | ACHOO: People allergic to pollen are usually wary of trees and flowers, but these mounds of pollen washing up on the shores of Jordan Lake are nothing to... | By ABC NewsFacebook
ACHOO: People allergic to pollen are usually wary of trees and flowers, but these mounds of pollen washing up on the shores of Jordan Lake are nothing to...
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I would assume a cedar tree would be just as capable of doing the same.
On a playlist note, I can see why @Coatigan liked Idlewild's first album the best. I thought the first two were pretty similar, and I could hear Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins influenced in the first one. "I'm Happy to Be Here Tonight" reminded me a bit of R.E.M., especially with the vocal harmonies.
Their 2019 album where "You Wear It Secondhand" came from on this playlist, is totally unrecognisable to their first couple albums. If I was told it was from the same band, I wouldn't believe it at all. Coatigan selected the best track on the album, IMO too.
I'm finding "The Remote Part" and "Warnings/Promises" (albums 3 and 4) to be right up my alley the most thus far. Really enjoyed hearing their albums today after the match. "Welcome Home" has now become a favourite.
Mancitydoogle
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Reinvention
Interesting theme @threespires , needed a bit more thought than usual and threw up a lot of tracks I wasn’t familiar with
Big door prize
Chris Robinson Brotherhood ,not heard much of CB other than The Black Crowes but I instantly recognise the late great Neal Casals guitar playing.
Others I’d not heard before but enjoyed
Steven Tyler
Idlewild
Soulsavers
Paramore
Faves i was familiar with but not heard recently
Everything but the Girl
Tom Waits
Bruce Hornsby
Richard Hawley
Interesting theme @threespires , needed a bit more thought than usual and threw up a lot of tracks I wasn’t familiar with
Big door prize
Chris Robinson Brotherhood ,not heard much of CB other than The Black Crowes but I instantly recognise the late great Neal Casals guitar playing.
Others I’d not heard before but enjoyed
Steven Tyler
Idlewild
Soulsavers
Paramore
Faves i was familiar with but not heard recently
Everything but the Girl
Tom Waits
Bruce Hornsby
Richard Hawley
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
On the back of my own nomimation of the CRB track, I listened to all their studio albums over the last two weeks (had only heard half of them before). There's a lot of good stuff on there, as you say with Neal Casal's guitar playing and Adam MacDougall is sensational on any number of synths and keyboards.