Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 80

My Top 1000 Songs #399: See The World

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Like any good music obsessive, any time we have friends over I feel the need to create a playlist for the occasion. I try to vary things a bit, but there are some standard songs that I almost always include--tracks that are gentle, middle-of-the-road enough that they won't offend the sensibilities of anyone in the room, but not so predictable and bland that...

My Top 1000 Songs #398: When You Were Mine

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Like any living, breathing mortal, I have huge love and respect for Prince's vast catalog of R&B and funk, much of which rests comfortably at genius-level. Still, as a guy who's listening interests tends to stick with rock and pop, my favorite Prince track is the somewhat uncharacteristic "When You Were Mine," off 1980's Dirty Mind. The track has a lot more...

My Top 1000 Songs #397: Achin' To Be

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

I get the sense the Replacements' 1989 record Don't Tell A Soul was a bit divisive among fans. Some of this may stem from the arguably over-polished production (addressed on the later alternate mix included in 2019's Dead Man's Pop box set), but maybe some folks are less enthralled by Paul Westerberg's mellowing with age. Still, while the record may lack so...

My Top 1000 Songs #396: Don't Stop Now

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

After years of purveying understated, sometimes inconsistent lo-fi fringe indie rock, Guided by Voices unleashed two veritable classics with 1994's Bee Thousand and 1995's Alien Lanes, sprawling barrages of pithy, barely-finished blueprints for perfect pop and post-punk tracks. And I wouldn't call 1996's slightly-less-revered yet still solid Under The Bushe...

My Top 1000 Songs #395: To Be Someone

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Returning to The Jam's third album, 1979's All Mod Cons; and like "Down In The Tube Station," "To Be Someone" exhibits the amazing growth & maturity developed by Paul Weller over a remarkably brief yet prolific period. This one's a bit more straightforward, some classic post-Kinks pop-rock hooks, yet akin to the Who's "A Quick One" (at about a third the len...

My Top 1000 Songs #394: 23 Minutes In Brussels

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Luna truly hit their stride on 1995's Penthouse, their third LP that blended sublime dream pop and catchy indie rock into a cohesive whole. In the center was "23 Minutes In Brussels," a slow, spooky jam built around that familiar "Sister Ray"/"Roadrunner" chord motif, sleepy and lysergic and a fine showcase--on record and particularly live--for guitarist Se...

New Release Hootenanny!

Lots of great new records getting a spin here in the Jittery White Guy lounge lately. Let's dive in:

Tough Age: Waiting Here

This Vancouver band has been around for a few years (I think this is their 5th LP), but this one has really grabbed me. They've clearly been listening to a lot of the Bats and the Clean, going all-in on the New Zealand 80s/90s indie sound--a winning blend of 60s garage rock and 80s college radio jangle. A great little find for anyone who digs the Flying Nun scene, or the har...

My Top 1000 Songs #393: 2000 Light Years From Home

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

The Rolling Stones' controversial venture into psychedelia, late 1967's Their Satanic Majesties Request, has evolved in public estimation over the years. Initially derided as a cheesy Sgt. Pepper imitator, more recent reappraisals have begrudgingly acknowledged its gleeful trippiness (or trippy gleefulness). Me, I'm a big fan.

But love the LP or hate it, the...

My Top 1000 Songs #392: Battle Of Who Could Care Less

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Pretty sure this was the first Ben Folds Five song I heard. I'd somehow overlooked their 1995 self-titled debut, but 1997's follow-up, Whatever And Ever Amen, was getting all sorts of press and "Battle of Who Could Care Less" leapt onto my radar screen. Great song right from the start. I couldn't think of many piano-based indie bands at the time (still can'...

My Top 1000 Songs #391: Listening Wind

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Talking Heads' remarkable 1980 album Remain In Light, for all its undeniable greatness, is a little schizophrenic. The first 2/3 of the album is upbeat and even frenetic, ranging from the skewed yet catchy art-pop of "Once In A Lifetime" to the more dance-friendly "Crosseyed and Painless" and "The Great Curve." But midway through side two of the original vi...