Spotify Discover Weekly for April 8-14
"Never Been to Spain" - Elvis Presley
from album: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I remember looking up this song and playing it once before in the past year, but now I can't remember why; it was probably mentioned in a novel I was reading and I couldn't remember ever having heard it. Elvis is in good voice, but it's very bombastic and has way too many horns. Give me 1950's Sun Records Elvis to this 1970's stuff any day.
**
"When You're Falling" - Afro Celt Sound System, feat. Peter Gabriel
from album: Volume 3: Further in Time (2001)
Allmusic genre: Ethnic Fusion
My thoughts: I'm not sure what I did that made the algorithm recommend this to me, but it does have Peter Gabriel on vocals, so that's a nice surprise. It's a happy little song; I will add it to try-outs.
****
"Lay Lady Lay (ALTERNATE VERSION)" - The Byrds
from album: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969/1997)
Allmusic genre: Country-Rock
My thoughts: Ugh, no. I don't even like Dylan's version, let alone this Byrds-without-Gram version. The lyrics to this song have never grown on me. I hate it as much at 45 years old as I did at 16 when I first owned Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, v.2.
*
"Johnny Appleseed" - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
from album: Global a Go-Go (2001)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I don't care for this song. Too much yelling and the dynamics go between loud and soft too often.
*
"Thank You Friends" - Big Star
from album: 3rd (1975)
Allmusic genre: Power Pop
My thoughts: I don't know this Big Star song. I think I mostly just know their first two albums. This is pleasant enough, but I don't love it so much that I want to save it.
***
"Divorce Song" - Liz Phair
from album: Exile in Guyville (1993)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: Now we're talking. I love every song on this Liz Phair album. I bought the cassette in 1994, maybe a year after it came out, and it amazed me because it was so unpolished and honest. I discovered Beck soon afterwards, and I realized that this was a style of music.
****
"Revelator" - Gillian Welch
from album: Time (The Revelator) (2001)
Allmusic genre: Alt-Country
My thoughts: She's masterful, on this song and all the others. It's a beautiful day outside and the spareness of this music doesn't match my mood, but in autumn and winter, Gillian Welch songs are the ideal complement. This wasn't on my main playlist, so I've added it.
*****
"All For the Best" - Miracle Legion
from album: Surprise Surprise Surprise (1987)
Allmusic genre: Jangle Pop
My thoughts: I haven't heard any Miracle Legion songs before now, unless I heard them on 99.1 WHFS in the late 80s / early 90s and I've forgotten. I like the music a lot, but the singing is unmemorable on this song. I will save the band and listen to more songs by Miracle Legion in the future. I do like 80's college rock, so I bet some of the songs will be more to my taste.
***
"She's the One" - World Party
from album: Egyptology (1997)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I haven't heard any World Party albums beyond the first two, and now I'm sorry, because this song is beautiful. The bridge is particularly gorgeous and catchy.
*****
"Glass, Concrete & Stone" - David Byrne
from album: Grown Backwards (2004)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I wish this song didn't have [what I think are] bongo drums. The sound triggers my misophonia because it sounds like the popping sound people make with their mouths and a finger. I would love this song if it weren't for those drums. But they're all I can focus on at certain points, and it stresses me out.
**
"The Man I Used to Be" - Jellyfish
from album: Bellybutton (1990)
Allmusic genre: Power Pop
My thoughts: Jellyfish is another band I'm barely familiar with; I had a Jason Faulkner CD at one point, but somehow I missed the band that came before his solo career. And I might love this song; first listen is impressing the hell out of me. I'm definitely going to do a deep dive into their music.
****
"Hey Jack Kerouac" - 10,000 Maniacs
from album: In My Tribe (1987)
Allmusic genre: Jangle Pop
My thoughts: I learned who Jack Kerouac was from this song, or rather, I wanted to find out who he was, so I looked him up in the ol' World Book Encyclopedia and was reading On the Road within the month, like any self-respecting pretentious 13 year old. I love the whole album and know every note and odd Natalie Merchant vocal inflection. I must have listened to it on my 14th birthday because when I hear it, I have a vivid recollection of walking through Georgetown with my then-friend Kim Holland, and that was my birthday outing.
*****
"Cold Blooded Old Times" - Smog
from album: Knock Knock (1999)
Allmusic genre: Lo-Fi
My thoughts: I've loved this excellent song for twenty years now, but it wasn't on my main Spotify playlist until today. Bill Callahan's voice is one of my favorites.
*****
"Whole Wide World" - Wreckless Eric
from album: Wreckless Eric (1978)
Allmusic genre: New Wave
My thoughts: I've heard this before once or twice. It has very good energy.
****
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey) " - The Feelies
from album: Crazy Rhythms (1980)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: The Feelies are a great band and I've loved them since the late 80's. I've seen them live twice in the 21st century, and they were amazing both times, with more encores than I've ever seen another band play. It's rare for me to like a Beatles cover more than the original, but I think I do in this case.
*****
"Bells of Harlem" - Dave Rawlings Machine
from album: A Friend of a Friend (2009)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Folk
My thoughts: This song is just plain resplendent. It's so gentle and wistful. Added to main playlist.
*****
"Pretty Ballerina" - The Left Banke
from album: Walk Away Renée / Pretty Ballerina (1967)
Allmusic genre: Baroque Pop
My thoughts: Not a fan. The music is too meandering and takes annoying turns into minor chords, and I don't care about his date with a pretty ballerina.
*
"Afterglow" - Arthur & Yu
from album: In Camera (2007)
Allmusic genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
My thoughts: I have never heard of this band. It sounds like "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and the Papas before the singing starts. I don't dislike it, and I would like to hear more of the album, so I am saving it to Spotify.
***
"Sunken Waltz" - Calexico
from album: Feast of Wire (2003)
Allmusic genre: Americana
My thoughts: I've listened to it twice and it's made no impression on me. That's strange. I guess I will give it three stars, then.
***
"New York City" - They Might Be Giants
from album: Factory Showroom (1996)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: Nothing against TMBG, but I prefer the original Cub version of the song. This one is good, too, of course, and I hope people discovered Cub after they knew this rendition.
****
"In My Arms" - Teddy Thompson
from album: A Piece of What You Need (2008)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I really need to listen to Teddy Thompson's whole catalog because I always feel a strong affinity for his voice when I come across his songs. This is a little more polished than I want it to be, but it's a good song.
****
"It's Gonna Be Easy" - Doug Sahm
from album: Doug Sahm and Band (1973)
Allmusic genre: Americana
My thoughts: I think this one might grow on me. I will keep it around on tryouts for a while. I like the laid-back California feeling of it.
****
"Quite a Feelin'" - Barna Howard
from album: Quite a Feelin' (2015)
Allmusic genre: Allmusic just says Pop/Rock, but elsewhere I have seen Contemporary Folk & Americana.
My thoughts: Wow, this guy sounds like Gordon Lightfoot circa 1975 (but with a southern accent, not Canadian), but he's a young guy right now. Confusing. But not bad at all -- I like the song a lot. Will definitely listen to the album.
****
"The Apple Stretching" - Grace Jones
from album: Living My Life (1982)
Allmusic genre: Post-Disco
My thoughts: So odd. I can't imagine why this is on my Discover Weekly. It has pretty cool lyrics, but the style of the song isn't for me. It has loud, annoying percussion and it's hard to hear the lyrics, which Grace Jones speaks (not sings, not raps) in a sort of play monologue style. She does sing the chorus, though. It's very 80's. I imagine Basquiat painting to this music.
**
"Don't Come the Cowboy with Me, Sonny Jim" - Kirsty MacColl
from album: Kite (1989)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: One of my favorite Kirsty MacColl songs (and I have many) -- the lyrics are clever, the tune is fun to sing along to, and it gets stuck in my head regularly.
*****
"Thing of Beauty" - Hothouse Flowers
from album: Songs from the Rain (1993)
Allmusic genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
My thoughts: Have I heard a Hothouse Flowers song since the early 90's? I doubt it. I couldn't quite remember what they sounded like, but once the song started, they were familiar. I bet this is good music to listen to when one is exercising, but since I don't exercise, there isn't much of a place in my life for Hothouse Flowers. It's not bad, just not for me.
***
"Have You Seen the Stars Tonite" - Paul Kantner
from album: Blows Against the Empire (1970)
Allmusic genre: Country-Rock
My thoughts: This song is pretty. I am going to add it to try-outs. I've always shied away from Jefferson Airplane and all related acts because I guess I was traumatized by "We Built This City" and other mid-80s songs by Starship, but this is clearly a safe distance away from that. Nary a synthesizer to be heard.
****
"God Only Knows" - Natalie Maines
from album: soundtrack of HBO's Big Love (2011)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: This was in the series finale of Big Love, which I loved (both the series and the finale, and this cover of the Beach Boys song). I am not going to add it to a playlist because I'm happier just knowing I can hear it once in a while. I don't want to burn out on it, and the Beach Boys original is already on my playlist.
****
"Pushing Up Daisies" - The Colourfield
from album: Virgins and Philistines (1985)
Allmusic genre: New Wave
My thoughts: I do not care for this even a little bit.
*
"If I Could Only Fly" - Merle Haggard
from album: If I Could Only Fly (2000)
Allmusic genre: Traditional Country
My thoughts: I love Merle but I'd rather listen to older songs of his. This is fine but a little too slow and sleepy. It sort of reminds me of John Prine.
***
OVERALL PLAYLIST RATING: 3.45 out of 5 stars
2 songs from the 1960's
5 songs from the 1970's
6 songs from the 1980's
6 songs from the 1990's
9 songs from the 2000's
2 songs from the 2010's
from album: As Recorded at Madison Square Garden (1972)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I remember looking up this song and playing it once before in the past year, but now I can't remember why; it was probably mentioned in a novel I was reading and I couldn't remember ever having heard it. Elvis is in good voice, but it's very bombastic and has way too many horns. Give me 1950's Sun Records Elvis to this 1970's stuff any day.
**
"When You're Falling" - Afro Celt Sound System, feat. Peter Gabriel
from album: Volume 3: Further in Time (2001)
Allmusic genre: Ethnic Fusion
My thoughts: I'm not sure what I did that made the algorithm recommend this to me, but it does have Peter Gabriel on vocals, so that's a nice surprise. It's a happy little song; I will add it to try-outs.
****
"Lay Lady Lay (ALTERNATE VERSION)" - The Byrds
from album: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969/1997)
Allmusic genre: Country-Rock
My thoughts: Ugh, no. I don't even like Dylan's version, let alone this Byrds-without-Gram version. The lyrics to this song have never grown on me. I hate it as much at 45 years old as I did at 16 when I first owned Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, v.2.
*
"Johnny Appleseed" - Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
from album: Global a Go-Go (2001)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I don't care for this song. Too much yelling and the dynamics go between loud and soft too often.
*
"Thank You Friends" - Big Star
from album: 3rd (1975)
Allmusic genre: Power Pop
My thoughts: I don't know this Big Star song. I think I mostly just know their first two albums. This is pleasant enough, but I don't love it so much that I want to save it.
***
"Divorce Song" - Liz Phair
from album: Exile in Guyville (1993)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: Now we're talking. I love every song on this Liz Phair album. I bought the cassette in 1994, maybe a year after it came out, and it amazed me because it was so unpolished and honest. I discovered Beck soon afterwards, and I realized that this was a style of music.
****
"Revelator" - Gillian Welch
from album: Time (The Revelator) (2001)
Allmusic genre: Alt-Country
My thoughts: She's masterful, on this song and all the others. It's a beautiful day outside and the spareness of this music doesn't match my mood, but in autumn and winter, Gillian Welch songs are the ideal complement. This wasn't on my main playlist, so I've added it.
*****
"All For the Best" - Miracle Legion
from album: Surprise Surprise Surprise (1987)
Allmusic genre: Jangle Pop
My thoughts: I haven't heard any Miracle Legion songs before now, unless I heard them on 99.1 WHFS in the late 80s / early 90s and I've forgotten. I like the music a lot, but the singing is unmemorable on this song. I will save the band and listen to more songs by Miracle Legion in the future. I do like 80's college rock, so I bet some of the songs will be more to my taste.
***
"She's the One" - World Party
from album: Egyptology (1997)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I haven't heard any World Party albums beyond the first two, and now I'm sorry, because this song is beautiful. The bridge is particularly gorgeous and catchy.
*****
"Glass, Concrete & Stone" - David Byrne
from album: Grown Backwards (2004)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I wish this song didn't have [what I think are] bongo drums. The sound triggers my misophonia because it sounds like the popping sound people make with their mouths and a finger. I would love this song if it weren't for those drums. But they're all I can focus on at certain points, and it stresses me out.
**
"The Man I Used to Be" - Jellyfish
from album: Bellybutton (1990)
Allmusic genre: Power Pop
My thoughts: Jellyfish is another band I'm barely familiar with; I had a Jason Faulkner CD at one point, but somehow I missed the band that came before his solo career. And I might love this song; first listen is impressing the hell out of me. I'm definitely going to do a deep dive into their music.
****
"Hey Jack Kerouac" - 10,000 Maniacs
from album: In My Tribe (1987)
Allmusic genre: Jangle Pop
My thoughts: I learned who Jack Kerouac was from this song, or rather, I wanted to find out who he was, so I looked him up in the ol' World Book Encyclopedia and was reading On the Road within the month, like any self-respecting pretentious 13 year old. I love the whole album and know every note and odd Natalie Merchant vocal inflection. I must have listened to it on my 14th birthday because when I hear it, I have a vivid recollection of walking through Georgetown with my then-friend Kim Holland, and that was my birthday outing.
*****
"Cold Blooded Old Times" - Smog
from album: Knock Knock (1999)
Allmusic genre: Lo-Fi
My thoughts: I've loved this excellent song for twenty years now, but it wasn't on my main Spotify playlist until today. Bill Callahan's voice is one of my favorites.
*****
"Whole Wide World" - Wreckless Eric
from album: Wreckless Eric (1978)
Allmusic genre: New Wave
My thoughts: I've heard this before once or twice. It has very good energy.
****
"Everybody's Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey) " - The Feelies
from album: Crazy Rhythms (1980)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: The Feelies are a great band and I've loved them since the late 80's. I've seen them live twice in the 21st century, and they were amazing both times, with more encores than I've ever seen another band play. It's rare for me to like a Beatles cover more than the original, but I think I do in this case.
*****
"Bells of Harlem" - Dave Rawlings Machine
from album: A Friend of a Friend (2009)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Folk
My thoughts: This song is just plain resplendent. It's so gentle and wistful. Added to main playlist.
*****
"Pretty Ballerina" - The Left Banke
from album: Walk Away Renée / Pretty Ballerina (1967)
Allmusic genre: Baroque Pop
My thoughts: Not a fan. The music is too meandering and takes annoying turns into minor chords, and I don't care about his date with a pretty ballerina.
*
"Afterglow" - Arthur & Yu
from album: In Camera (2007)
Allmusic genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
My thoughts: I have never heard of this band. It sounds like "Creeque Alley" by the Mamas and the Papas before the singing starts. I don't dislike it, and I would like to hear more of the album, so I am saving it to Spotify.
***
"Sunken Waltz" - Calexico
from album: Feast of Wire (2003)
Allmusic genre: Americana
My thoughts: I've listened to it twice and it's made no impression on me. That's strange. I guess I will give it three stars, then.
***
"New York City" - They Might Be Giants
from album: Factory Showroom (1996)
Allmusic genre: Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: Nothing against TMBG, but I prefer the original Cub version of the song. This one is good, too, of course, and I hope people discovered Cub after they knew this rendition.
****
"In My Arms" - Teddy Thompson
from album: A Piece of What You Need (2008)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: I really need to listen to Teddy Thompson's whole catalog because I always feel a strong affinity for his voice when I come across his songs. This is a little more polished than I want it to be, but it's a good song.
****
"It's Gonna Be Easy" - Doug Sahm
from album: Doug Sahm and Band (1973)
Allmusic genre: Americana
My thoughts: I think this one might grow on me. I will keep it around on tryouts for a while. I like the laid-back California feeling of it.
****
"Quite a Feelin'" - Barna Howard
from album: Quite a Feelin' (2015)
Allmusic genre: Allmusic just says Pop/Rock, but elsewhere I have seen Contemporary Folk & Americana.
My thoughts: Wow, this guy sounds like Gordon Lightfoot circa 1975 (but with a southern accent, not Canadian), but he's a young guy right now. Confusing. But not bad at all -- I like the song a lot. Will definitely listen to the album.
****
"The Apple Stretching" - Grace Jones
from album: Living My Life (1982)
Allmusic genre: Post-Disco
My thoughts: So odd. I can't imagine why this is on my Discover Weekly. It has pretty cool lyrics, but the style of the song isn't for me. It has loud, annoying percussion and it's hard to hear the lyrics, which Grace Jones speaks (not sings, not raps) in a sort of play monologue style. She does sing the chorus, though. It's very 80's. I imagine Basquiat painting to this music.
**
"Don't Come the Cowboy with Me, Sonny Jim" - Kirsty MacColl
from album: Kite (1989)
Allmusic genre: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
My thoughts: One of my favorite Kirsty MacColl songs (and I have many) -- the lyrics are clever, the tune is fun to sing along to, and it gets stuck in my head regularly.
*****
"Thing of Beauty" - Hothouse Flowers
from album: Songs from the Rain (1993)
Allmusic genre: Alternative/Indie Rock
My thoughts: Have I heard a Hothouse Flowers song since the early 90's? I doubt it. I couldn't quite remember what they sounded like, but once the song started, they were familiar. I bet this is good music to listen to when one is exercising, but since I don't exercise, there isn't much of a place in my life for Hothouse Flowers. It's not bad, just not for me.
***
"Have You Seen the Stars Tonite" - Paul Kantner
from album: Blows Against the Empire (1970)
Allmusic genre: Country-Rock
My thoughts: This song is pretty. I am going to add it to try-outs. I've always shied away from Jefferson Airplane and all related acts because I guess I was traumatized by "We Built This City" and other mid-80s songs by Starship, but this is clearly a safe distance away from that. Nary a synthesizer to be heard.
****
"God Only Knows" - Natalie Maines
from album: soundtrack of HBO's Big Love (2011)
Allmusic genre: Contemporary Pop/Rock
My thoughts: This was in the series finale of Big Love, which I loved (both the series and the finale, and this cover of the Beach Boys song). I am not going to add it to a playlist because I'm happier just knowing I can hear it once in a while. I don't want to burn out on it, and the Beach Boys original is already on my playlist.
****
"Pushing Up Daisies" - The Colourfield
from album: Virgins and Philistines (1985)
Allmusic genre: New Wave
My thoughts: I do not care for this even a little bit.
*
"If I Could Only Fly" - Merle Haggard
from album: If I Could Only Fly (2000)
Allmusic genre: Traditional Country
My thoughts: I love Merle but I'd rather listen to older songs of his. This is fine but a little too slow and sleepy. It sort of reminds me of John Prine.
***
OVERALL PLAYLIST RATING: 3.45 out of 5 stars
2 songs from the 1960's
5 songs from the 1970's
6 songs from the 1980's
6 songs from the 1990's
9 songs from the 2000's
2 songs from the 2010's
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