My Music Monday

"Deeper Well" from Emmylou Harris popped into my mind this last week. So it's now in your hands. 

It is a selection from her incredible - and I don't say that lightly - 1995 album, Wrecking Ball. 

This disk is easily in my top 20 records of all time. Producer Daniel Lanois (who kind of killed the last Arcade Fire disk) takes Harris' unique voice and builds a unique record around it. Yes there are still elements of Americana and even Country here, but she transcends it all into something very very different. 

And in a great way. 

On the disk, Harris covers some heavy hitting, but varied, songwriters too: Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Neil Young, Jimmy Hendrix, Gillian Welch and others. She and Lanois stitch it all together seamlessly into something that I had not heard before, or since. 

"Deeper Well" is possibly the least accessible cut - if you want to label it. To me, it just shows how versatile an artist can be when they don't subscribe to genre defining roles. 

Even if you're not a fan of this song - and it took me quite a few listens 30 YEARS AGO! - I'd say to check out the entire disk. 

It is totally worth it. 

My Music Monday

I'm not saying I'm casting stones, except for the fact that I might be. 

This week's selection is good - just familiar. Very very familiar. 

Last December, I posted a song that sounded eerily like the Police. At least heavily influenced. 

If that was influenced, "Seein' Stars" by Turnstiles is borderline plagiarism. 

Do not get me wrong. The song is not bad. But listen to it and if you don't hear the Police's "When the World is Running Down" you're kinda crazy. Assuming you know that work by the Police. 

I loved the YouTube comment saying the song was "like a breath of fresh air".  Recirculated, maybe. Fresh? No. 

I also love that Wikipedia classifies the group as "hardcore punk".  I don't (think I) know them, so I can't really question this, but if you were to judge them by "Seein' Stars", I'd say Adult Contemporary, at best. Delilah would play this on her nationally syndicated show on FM lite-radio - should either her show or FM radio still actually exist. 

So, while the song isn't bad, I do have a hard time listening to it knowing Sting isn't getting any royalties for it. I find it hard to believe someone in the process of writing, rehearsing, recording and releasing this song didn't say something. 

Maybe it's meant to be an homage. 

My Music Monday

Archives?  Kind of. 2018.  Not that long ago. And from a very little known band, Smokey Brights. 

"Different Windows" is just kind of a fun vibe. There is nothing super special or super different about it. Sometimes songs like this hit the right way at the right time. 

I see in the video that the title says something about Tuner Classic Movies. I have zero idea what that is about, but I'm guessing they used the song as some incidental music at one point 

My Music Monday

I'm still back in the archives. 1998 to be precise. Canada, in fact. 

A little known band called 54-40.

It's safe to say you haven't heard them, though their biggest claim to fame was writing and recording "I Go Blind" a decade before it would be covered on Hootie & the Blowfish's incredibly successful debut disk. 

At least the boys made some money - even if it was in loonies. 

However, I'm going with a cut closer to that Hootie release date. "Since When" is the title track to 54-40's 8th (?) album. But as you will hear, it could have easily been a decade or two earlier. 

The word that keeps coming to mind is: Groovy. 

It all comes down to the Wurlitzer electric piano. 

There is a Zombies meets Monkees meets Partridge Family thing going on. This includes the vocal arrangement and how the song is structured. Even though pushing 30 years old (ugh, that hurt!) it still sounds modern and nostalgic at the same time. 

I don't mean 1998 nostalgic, I'm talking late 60's early 70's.   Tell me I'm wrong. 

My Music Monday

I pulled from the archives last week and will do this one as well. 

Electronic is (was?) an off-shoot group of New Order and the Smiths, sometimes with a little Pet Shop Boys thrown in.  .....but it mostly sounds like New Order because Bernard Sumner does the main vocals in both bands. 

But don't count out Johnny Marr's guitar work. He brings a talent and element that can't really be reproduced by New Order. 

Still, neither New Order nor Electronic put out a lot of music. The latter only has three albums in their discography, the last being in 1999 (!). Even New Order hasn't put out a new disk in a decade. 

"For You", today's selection, come from 1996. Yikes, almost 30 years old. 

Oddly, until yesterday, I never knew there was a video. 

My Music Monday

I'm actually going back to 1996 (the late 1900s, as the kids are calling it these days) for today's selection. 

I can't say I was a huge fan of the band Sublime, but they had some notable stuff. I mean, if you like a mix of reggae, ska and punk. With today's selection, "Doin' Time" you also get "opera". 

The band only made three disks before their lead singer OD'd. This song, and the album from which it came, were both released post-mortem. Oddly, now that the singer's then infant son is all grown up, he now heads the band. 

But "Doin' Time" might not sound like a song I'd like, let alone usually sit through, but it's got a good rhythm. It flows with the ska / reggae / punk elements I mentioned above, and the addition of Gershwin / Gershwin / Heyward opera Porgy and Bess - with only the line "Summertime and the livings easy" which has a rushed cadence and is repeated multiple times throughout the song, which really ties it all together - believe it or not. 

Written by the band, the Gershwins and some of the Beastie Boys - there are a few versions out there with the original vocal being swapped out for others - including Snoop Dog. But this version is the original. 

Maybe it popped up on my radar again because it's summertime. But it's nice to visit the song again. 

My Music Monday

Another new-ish song. 

I think at this stage it is about 3-4 months old, but I'm a little backlogged. I almost did this the other week and opted for another selection, but "undressed" by sombr is now on deck.

Yes, everything is lower cased. It's soooooo in right now. e.e. cummings would be so proud!

The song itself is good. 'undressed' starts off in a very Gotye way. 

After it gets going though, it is reminiscent of someone / something else on which I can not put my finger. If anyone has thoughts, I'm all ears. 

'undressed' is a break-up song for sure. Or post break-up song. 

I've heard this dozens of times, but it's the break of the verse / chorus (2:19 - 2:47) that is the strongest for me, and again, reminiscent of another era of song, the '70s. Late '70s at that.  That 30 second stretch keeps me not changing the XM channel. I want to hear it. 

It is a solid outing. 

My Music Monday

We were driving just a few days back and a song called "Lights & Music" from a group called Cut Copy came on. 

There was no Paste. 

That's an operating software "joke". 

I was thinking I liked it but 710 said it aloud. 

To me - well, us - it was new. I'm a little surprised to find out it's at least 14 years old. But in a way it makes sense. I was telling 710 how I thought it harkened back to some older music.......and I suppose because it was older music. 

It was the backing vocals / arrangement that drew me in more than the main melody or lyrics. I pick up on lyrics easily, but have only listened to the song twice, so.that wasn't the major factor. What I have picked up on is nothing earthshaking. 

The backing "vocals" (no actual words) just have a semi-hypnotic kind of feel. 

While it won't make any running playlist, it's familiar for being new......to me. 

My Music Monday

Near the end of this year, when Apple tells me what music I listened to most, and most by month, the Tragically Hip will be at the top of July and somewhere in my top 10 overall for 2025.

The band has ceased to exist since singer Gord Downie's death from Glioblastoma almost a decade ago. But they were THE Canadian band. 

In their existence, they only had one line-up change in 33 years. 

I don't say it lightly about.being THE Canadian band. During his final year - and knowing his outcome -Downie and the band toured and their last concert was broadcast live. More than one-third of ALL Canadians watched it. 

That is amazing. 

The Hip never broke in the U.S., not really. I found them when our cable provider broadcast MuchMusic, which was Canada's MTV, but only ever played music videos - and the majority were Canadian bands and artists. Heck, that would have had to been around 1997-2005. It's been a while. 

But they hit my playlist not long ago and then when I have worked out for the last few weeks, it is has been exclusively to the Tragically Hip. That's not even an exaggeration. And I work out 1.5 hours per day, 5x per week. It's a lot of the Hip.

I'd say "their music isn't for everyone" but you can say that about any artist. They are primarily rock. Sometimes a folk-influenced or blues-influenced song gets in there. Sometimes harder rock really gets in there. 

There is a plethora of songs from which to choose, and none would appeal to all of you, so I took a stab with "Nautical Disaster" from 2007-ish. I'd have used "Grace, Too", but there is no official video for it. Not that it should matter. 

Not sure if this is anyone's style, but I think it's a band that should be known and heard .

My Music Monday

There is a "group" named Role Model. 

Doing absolutely zero research, going by this video that group might only be one guy. Seriously, I didn't even both wiki'ing him / them. 

"They" might have the song of summer with "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out". 

The tune is part rock, part pop, all fun. Mostly for the chorus, but the versus are good too. I cannot quite place it, but there is a familiarity in style. My gut says it is in a Fountains of Wayne vein, but I'm not sure that is correct. 

And I really think they pull it off with just how they sing the name "Sally. 

The video is fun too. I'm sure very staged, but it doesn't quite come off that way, and the singer looks like he's having fun - which is rare. 

My Music Monday

Congrats. You've made it to the last of my current running playlist deeper cuts. You're to be commended, should you have listened at all. 

This one is a throwback to about 20+ years ago with an electronic artist / DJ who goes (went?) by BT. 

That's it. BT. 

Electronic(a) and dance music have their place and time in my listening, but less so since I stopped going to gay bars and doing drugs at said bars, like 25 years ago. 710 is, and always has been, a lover of dance music. He still will play the Studio 54 channel on XM. He is the one who introduced me to BT. 

Until looking up the video for today's song - "Simply Being Loved (Somnambulist)" - I had no idea JC Chasez  - from *NSync "fame" sang on the song. Which part, I am not sure I could tell you. 

Oddly, this isn't even BT's best song. Somewhere in the YouTube comments said there are 6,178 vocal edits in this song alone, and at one point (still?) put BT in the Guinness World Book of Records. Apparently there is a documented record that someone is keeping tabs of such things.  I thought it was just the two overweight twins on their minicycles. 

Still, the beat is good for keeping pace, and that's what I'm going for with my playlists. 

My Music Monday

It is stuff off my running playlist - mostly for races. Sometimes for the treadmill, which I'll be using this week as we are in the mid to upper 90s for the foreseeable future. 

My current playlist goes from 1978 up through 2025. Granted, the 90s (the year. not the temp) are a little sparse, but that's what happens when you have some iffy generated music. 

Today's selection, Depeche Mode's "a Question of Time" dates back to 1986 from possibly their best album, Black Celebration. 

Just going by the beat of the song, you can see why and how someone (me) might run to it. One has to strategically place the tune in a certain order to achieve that kind of pace to go with the song. For me, it's about two-thirds of the way in, when my energy might start to wane. It's a good pick-me-up. 

I do kind of cringe at the lyric "Well you're only 15 / but you look good" .....as sung by an adult male. It's just.......wrong.  But other than that, it has been a staple in my music catalog for almost 40 years. 

My Music Monday

I'm doing songs from my race / running playlist. 

It turns out it is harder than expected, that over the years - well before taking up running - I have featured a number of these songs already. So I'm combing through to make sure I don't repeat. 

"Jerk it Out" by - well.....either Caesars or Caesars Palace (depending on how they're listed in the internet) has been out for over two decades. It looks like it might have been part of some FIFA campaign (that's "soccer" to many here) and I'm pretty sure it was used in an Apple Music / iTunes / iPod ad way back when. 

But more importantly, it's got a fast steady beat, which makes it good to keep pace. ....and I've always liked it. 

My Music Monday

The June theme is Blobby's Running Playlist - more unexpected tracks. 

This week, it's Ryan Adams. 

No. Not Bryan Adams. Apparently he loathes it when concert goers yell, "Summer of '69"!!!  I'm there for that. 

Adams is talented for sure, and I knew of him when he was in a band called Whiskeytown. But like many males, he's apparently a douche and has a few #metoo strikes against him. 

Still, I happened upon a song I'd never heard, "Gimme Something Good" and I kind of liked it. 

Oddly, it's somewhat generic. Released over a decade ago, it screams 90s rock actually. That's not usually a great thing, but to keep a steady running cadence, this works. The guitar work is steady and tries to be harder than it actually is, but that's kind of the 90s, right? 

.....and Elvira is in the video. So: WIN. 

My Music Monday

I've decided to try a theme for June. New music is great and all, but time for a change. Some of this will be new for you folks.  I'm guessing. 

I'm going with 2025 Running Playlist. 

I cultivate new playlists for each running season. This is the first time that two songs haven't carried over - and had been on all my previous ones. But I try to change it up to keep me interested - which is a tall order, I might add. 

The tendency is to skew more towards the Rock genre, and usually male driven at that. It usually keeps a better pace. And I should say, I only use music on the treadmill or in races. Rarely in ourdoor training do I even bother with it. Still, I think it helps me both focus and keeps me distracted at the same time - just in different ways. 

For a while I've been trying to weave some R.E.M. into my playlist and it's been very hit or miss. I usually delete whatever track I'd chosen, but this last go-round I have a picked a winner. 

"Pretty Persuasion" from the band's second disk, Reckoning, and honestly, it's one of my favourite songs of theirs. Why it never occurred to me to include it earlier is beyond me, but it truly works. 

When it finally made its way through the rotation at the Glass City Half, I was passed a l-o-n-g stretch of huge speakers that were blaring something off Thriller, which drowned out half of the R.E.M song playing right in my ear. That said, I didn't really get to hear it while running until the Cleveland Half two weeks ago. And the song truly works for pacing. 

I always feel Mike Mills' backing vocals were undervalued by the listening public, but I think they truly made the band. 

My Music Monday

This is a short-ish intro. I think I've posted the Fontaines DC a few times in the past - one in the fairly recent past. 

They have some decent songs, but only a few to which I come back. 

As many bands do these days, 6-8 months are releasing their album, they suddenly have a "deluxe" version available, usually with a handful of new songs to go with the original release. Often there is one good song in the new ones, if you're lucky.  And if you opt twice to basically purchase the same disk. 

I suppose this is why people use streaming services - to not pay for a new disk (assuming they even bothered paying for the first one). 

Anyhoo......they have a deluxe version of their last disk, and on it it has their one good song, "It's Amazing to Be Young". 

It might be one of the best songs the Psychedelic Furs didn't write or record. Meaning: it sounds an awful like them. Which, to me, is a good thing. 

I'm putting the audio on here, as with all the Fontaines videos, they build in a film with dialogue which completely interrupts the song to noticeable distraction. 

My Music Monday

Still on a 'new music' kick here for MMM.

I'm not sure "Passion" by Milky Chance can be much newer - it was released yesterday. Well, the video was. The song a few days prior to radio, not for purchase until yesterday. 

I have featured the band a number of times over the last 2-3 years. I like their vibe. They're fun and sometimes frivolous in their music making. Sometimes that is just what you need. 

The band has a huge output of music, but not a lot of records. They just release songs when they want and how they want. It's unclear (to me) if "Passion" is a pre-release of something larger, or just a one-off. 

Granted, it is brand new, so I haven't listened to it a lot, but it's ok. It hasn't hit me in the way where I feel the need for multiple plays. Perhaps it will. 

The video? Well...........I'm guessing that with eating fruit this isn't the first on "film" to sexualize it. 

Oddly enough, I don't think either member is gay and they're def not a couple. 

My Music Monday

Today we are listening to Fiona Apple's new song, "Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)". 

On her best day, it can be challenging to listen to Apple's music, but she really does have some great songs. And at the very least, she is original each and every time.

Even in her own body of work, her albums aren't like the others. Her output also isn't tremendous. Still it looks like she's about to release a new disk. 

The lead off song is "Pretrial". It is a form of protest song.

Apple sings about a single mother who can’t afford to post bail; by the time her case is dropped, she has lost her home and her family. Her voice is bitterly sympathetic; the video adds stark statistics.

It is no secret that the justice system is inherently skewed to be disadvantageous to minorities (race and gender) and the less affluent. 

Musically, the song is built on - and consists mainly of - percussion. Other instrumentation doesn't appear until almost 90 seconds in and even then, it is mostly percussion. 

It will never get played on the radio, and that's kind of a shame considering how so many songs kind of blend into one another.  "Pretrial" stands out in many ways. 

My Music Monday

I toyed with a May-themed MMM thread, but I tabled it for at least a month. I guess. 

I'm still on new music and there just doesn't seem to be a shortage of it lately - not that there ever is, but a lot I like does not bubble up my way. 2025 seems different. 

Or maybe I am. 

Today I'm going with Perfume Genius. He (yes, it's a he....or maybe a they/them, but not a band per se) first made an appearance here back in 2012(!!!).  "Hood" is still one of the best two minute songs that is out there. 

Michael Hadreas has been plugging away at his craft for a while now and finally seeming to make inroads, including a collaboration a year or two ago with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. 

I like the new tune, "It's a Mirror" enough. The enunciation could be better in the first half, but I think the song kicks into a better gear at the 2:20 mark. I think the music is well done and has a good cadence. I can see them playing this on Alt Nation on XM, but doubtful FM will touch it. 

My Music Monday

I'll be honest, I had to look a lot of this up. 

The song is called "Seth Cohen". The group is Beach Weather. 

Seth Cohen was a character on some WB show a decade or two ago. I've already forgotten the name, but the guy who played him was on the initial season of Gilmore Girls. 

I kind of assume that is who the group is singing about?  Or maybe it was just a guy from Hebrew school. Who knows. 

Well, I'm sure if I did more investigating, I might. But then I'd have to care, or pretend to, and that seems like a lot. 

The song / group seem really lo-fi, which works. At least for me. And they rhyme the title with 'self loathing' and I liked that too.