Jack White says, "Hell No!" to Trump using "Seven Nation Army"

Trump aide Margo Martin posted a pro-Trump video online using The White Stripes' song without permission. She deleted it after Jack White objected.

I shot the video above for ThisSmallPlanet.com in 2014. It's Jack White performing "Death Letter" and "Seven Nation Army" at a show in San Francisco.

P.S. I second Jack's emotion on Cadet Bonespur Von Trump's (illegal and inappropriate) Arlington Cemetery Campaign Photo Op... Disgraceful...

"A Brave and Startling Truth" by Maya Angelou

A Brave and Startling Truth

by Maya Angelou

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet

Traveling through casual space

Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns

To a destination where all signs tell us

It is possible and imperative that we learn

A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it

To the day of peacemaking

When we release our fingers

From fists of hostility

And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it

When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate

And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean

When battlefields and coliseum

No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters

Up with the bruised and bloody grass

To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches

The screaming racket in the temples have ceased

When the pennants are waving gaily

When the banners of the world tremble

Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it

When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders

And children dress their dolls in flags of truce

When land mines of death have been removed

And the aged can walk into evenings of peace

When religious ritual is not perfumed

By the incense of burning flesh

And childhood dreams are not kicked awake

By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it

Then we will confess that not the Pyramids

With their stones set in mysterious perfection

Nor the Gardens of Babylon

Hanging as eternal beauty

In our collective memory

Not the Grand Canyon

Kindled into delicious color

By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe

Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji

Stretching to the Rising Sun

Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,

Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores

These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it

We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe

Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger

Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace

We, this people on this mote of matter

In whose mouths abide cankerous words

Which challenge our very existence

Yet out of those same mouths

Come songs of such exquisite sweetness

That the heart falters in its labor

And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet

Whose hands can strike with such abandon

That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living

Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness

That the haughty neck is happy to bow

And the proud back is glad to bend

Out of such chaos, of such contradiction

We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body

Created on this earth, of this earth

Have the power to fashion for this earth

A climate where every man and every woman

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety

Without crippling fear

When we come to it

We must confess that we are the possible

We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world

That is when, and only when

We come to it.

ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Fall Into Autumn Playlist (August - September - October 2024)

          James Baldwin and Marlon Brando at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.

                                               Stevie Wonder, "Higher Ground" at the 2024 DNC, Chicago

                     Stevie Wonder "Can We Fix Our Nations Broken Heart" (2024)

           Fontaines D.C. at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge: "Say Yes To Heaven" (Lana Del Rey cover) & "Favourite"

Cool New Singles 

(With Links to YouTube Videos)

Bonnie "Prince" Billy. "Our Home". One of my favorite artists. New album in January.

Stevie Wonder. "Can We Fix Our Nations Broken Heart"

Sleater-Kinney. "This Time". An out-take feat on Little Rope (Deluxe), out Nov. 1

Waxahatchee. "Much Ado About Nothing". Americana swaying in the summer breeze...

Kaktus Einarsson & Damon Albarn. "Gumbri".

St. Vincent. "Hombre Roto". All Born Screaming now in Spanish as Todos Nacen Gritando.

Suzanne Vega. "Rats". Vincent Vega's cousin returns with a punk rock song about urban rats.

The Pixies. "Motoroller". Return to form.Totally. New bassist Emma Richardson sings here too. 

Talking Heads. "Psycho Killer" (previously unreleased 1977 take feat Arthur Russell on cello). 

Fontaines D.C. "Let's Get Lost". (Chet Baker) & "Say Yes To Heaven" (Lana Del Rey cover)

Carla Olson & Tall Poppy Syndrome. "Is It True" (Brenda Lee cover) 

Justin Townes Earle. "Graceland".

Kim Deal. "Crystal Breath"

Mark Lanegan & Beck. "Union Tombstone". Previously unreleased instant classic. RIP Mark.

Amyl & The Sniffers. "Chewing Gum".

Bright Eyes (feat Conor Oberst). "Bells And Whistles" &  "Rainbow Overpass"
Elvin Bishop & Los Lobos. "What The Hell Is Going On" (anti-Trump song)
The Hard Quartet (feat Stephen Malkmus). "Earth Hater" & "Rio's Song"

Geordie Greep. "Holy, Holy" (Ex-Black Midi solo launch)

MJ Lenderman. "Joker Lips" & "Wristwatch"

Christopher Owens. "I Think About Heaven" & "No Good" (live) & "No Good" (album)
Adrianne Lenker. "Once A Bunch"
Orville Peck. "Death Valley High" (feat Beck)

Elias Ronnenfelt. "No One Else" & "Like Lovers Do" & "Worm Grew A Spine". Iceage frontman goes solo.... and you're telling me the singer from that trendy Danish metal band is going solo and playing Americana, or something like that??? Reminds me of Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band (who I loved). We saw Iceage was going in this direction (softer acoustic music), as in this Bob Dylan cover, "I'll Keep It with Mine", but it's a little surprising to see Elias go all the way on his solo record... Sounds great.

                                  Elias Rønnenfelt - Tapetown Sessions [SPOT FESTIVAL 2024]

                     Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) and Jason Isbell campaign for Kamala Harris

                                      Hurrah For The Riff Raff "Buffalo" (live on the Kelly Clarkson Show)

Cool New Albums Out October 25th:

The Pixies. The Night The Zombies Came. Return to form with a new bass player.

Elias Rønnenfelt. Heavy Glory. [Escho]. October 25, 2024. Iceage frontman's cool solo project.

Amyl And The Sniffers. Cartoon Darkness. [B2B/Virgin]. October 25, 2024. Amazing tough love from Australia. Be careful! She might bite your tongue while you're kissing!

Cool New Albums Out Now

Fontaines D.C. Romance. Ireland's best band's fourth album takes them to another level. This could very well be The Best Rock Album Of 2024. It's gonna be huge. Enormous. Going To Be Big.

                                             MJ Lenderman "She's Leaving You" (live feat Waxahatchee)

MJ Lenderman. Manning Fireworks. Anticipation couldn't be higher for this album from this rising Americana star, who has a solo career, plays guitar for Wednesday with his ex-partner Karly Hartzman, and recently was a prominent guest artist on the new Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood. And in his spare time... This guy is going to be a huge star after this. Candidate for The Best Rock Album Of 2024.

Bright Eyes. Five Dice, All Threes. New release from Conor Oberst & Friends sounds good, a return to form. Candidate for The Best Rock Album Of 2024.

The Hard Quartet. The Hard Quartet. Fantastic debut from the latest indie supergroup to grace our shores, The Hard Quartet, featuring Stephen Malkmus (from Pavement), as well as Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly, and Jim White, who have played with musicians such as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Ty Segall, and The Dirty Three. They've released three videos and announced three shows so far: October 10 in L.A. at The Belasco, October 17 at New York's Webster Hall, and October 22 in London at The Electric Ballroom. Candidate for The Best Rock Album Of 2024.

Christopher Owens. I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair. [True Panther]. Formerly the frontperson of Girls, Owens returns with a solo album. Sounds good.

Jon Spencer. Sick Of Being Sick! The Blues Explosion guy is rocking on. I like it.

The Linda Lindas. No Obligation. We loved "Racist, Sexist Boy" but wondered if they'd grow. They did!

The Chesterfield Kings. We're Still All The Same. Singer/bassist Andy Babiuk has been at it since 1979 with The Kings. They're back with very solid album of 60s retro bliss.

Dawes. Oh Brother. Pretty good.

Geordie Greep. The New Sound. Ex-Black Midi singer solo. Avant jazz at its best.

The Smile. Cutouts. Radiohead side project feat Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood releases their second album of 2024, which are actually more songs from the sessions for the first album Wall of Eyes. I'm not much of a Radiohead fan, but I liked Wall of Eyes, so I'll give this a listen.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head). Fela's youngest son. Yes.

Leon Bridges. Leon. Cool 70s style sounds. Check it out.

X. Smoke & Fiction. I'm still mad at Exene and Billy Zoom for being into right-wing bs and conspiracy theories but this does sound a lot the old X, who I loved, and I'm enjoying listening to this.I credit John Doe with keeping this going with dignity and style (and energy!).

Jack White. No Name. Very good.

Ray LaMontagne. Long Way Home. Pretty good. Nice songs. Some of them sound like classics we've already known forever.

Maya de Vitry. The Only Moment.

Serj Tankian. Foundations. Lead singer of System Of A Down excellent solo effort.

The Jesus Lizard. Rack. Good stuff. Aggressive.

Jesse Malin. Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin. With alotta help from his friends...

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets. Indoor Safari. *Very* strong effort from this iconic rocker.

Mano Chao. Viva Tu. English, Spanish, French, Portuguese... It's all here. Check out the title song "Viva Tu".

David Gilmour. Luck And Strange. Pink Floyd's guitarist/singer has a new album out. It's good.

Robyn Hitchcock. 1967: Vacations In The Past. Robyn's salute to the 60s has a lot of heart.

Jeff Tweedy. Starship Casual: Orbit Two. Wilco frontman steps out to do some solo acoustic demos, covers, etc. Great for fans and pretty good for not-yet-fans too. Nice cover of Paul Simon's "America".

Steve Wynn. Make It Right. Veteran rocker returns with some solid new songs.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. Woodland. Modern Alternative Country Americana roots twang at its best.

Susanna. Meditations On Love. Powerful.

Toro Y Moi. Hole Erth. Always creative and engaging. But less auto-tune next time, ok?

Justin Townes Earle. ALL IN: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years). Very cool. A tragic loss.

Meshell Ndegeocello. No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. Interesting. Different. Nice tribute to queer Black writer James Baldwin, as we note the anniversary of the March on Washington.

Orville Peck. Stampede. That gay cowboy with the sweet-ass voice...

Mdou Moctar: The Agadez Folders: Live at Sultan’s Palace (2024)(47 minutes)(Tuareg, Niger, The Sahel)

               RIP Kris Kristofferson, pictured here with Johnny Cash in 1968: "Sunday Morning Coming Down"

Best Archival

The Faces. Faces At The BBC - Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973.[Rhino]. Boxset comprised of 8 CDs and one Blu-ray Disc of the legendary Faces feat Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Ronnie Laine, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan. Perhaps the most under-appreciated of the truly great rock bands.

Bob Dylan. The 1974 Live Recordings. Massive 27-CD boxset documenting each iteration of the infamous 1974 national tour of Dylan and The Band. Classic.

Talking Heads. Stop Making Sense. They've never sounded better. There's a couple of live albums out there too that are worth checking out, such as Falling Upwards (Live '79) and Live at WCOZ 77.

Neil Young. Archives Vol. 3 Takes. Worth checking out if only for the Devo collaboration on "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into The Black).

Linda Ronstadt. Sausalito, Nov '73.

Simon & Garfunkel. Manchester, England, May '67.

Stevie Wonder. The Wonder Of Stevie. From Audible.com. Any excuse to listen to Stevie classics from the 70s is a good excuse.

Thin Lizzy. 1976. Love Phil.

Warren Zevon. Have Mercy (Live Chicago '78).

The Velvet Underground. 1969 Velvet Underground Live With Lou Reed. Need a good excuse to listen to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground? Ok, I'll give you one.

Various Artists. The Concert for Bangladesh. Many are giving this a fresh listen as it is now available on streaming services for the first time. The historic concert (later an album and a film) took place at Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971, with an afternoon show, followed by another in the evening. Featured artists included: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jesse Ed Davis, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Badfinger, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, and Ravi Shankar. It was the first of the big rock benefit shows for a cause.

Van Morrison. Marin, San Francisco, Sept '71. He was still good. Very, very good. Also been listening a lot to his live 1973 cover of Fred Neil's classic "Everybody's Talking". Circa 1964 - 1972, Van Morrison was on a roll, churning out classics. Since then, it's been hit or miss. I'll never quite forget the spectacle of seeing him at Glastonbury in 1982, putting on a listless, lackluster performance. He even made "Gloria" boring (compared to The Doors and Patti Smith) and he wrote it! Afterwards I saw him sitting in the back of a Mercedes being driven off the festival grounds, smirking smugly. I was struck by the old comments by manager Jerry Heller, who worked with several troublesome clients, including NWA and Easy E, who said Van was the biggest prick he ever worked with in show business. Then there's Van's COVID bullshit. I've really completely written him off at this point. I did enjoy seeing him do Astral Weeks in Berkeley in 2009, and I did like his skiffle album with Lonnie Donegan (1998's The Shuffle Sessions) but c'mon, COVID denial? And as a public figure that people listen to, all the worse to be advocating dangerous and unhealthy positions. Plus his attitude. Smugness and mediocrity make bad bedfellows and his releases since 1972 are extremely hit or miss. I am essentially boycotting Van at this point, although I might make an exception for his 1964 - 1972 period. And I guess I'd throw this song in there too, from a small club performance in Northern California (The Lion's Share, San Anselmo, California, February 15, 1973). I've always loved this song. Love Fred Neil. Love Harry Nilsson. Love Midnight Cowboy. Don't love what Jon Voight and Van Morrison have both become similar, as Ezra Pound said of Winston Churchill, to "a sputtering tank of nicotine and stake whiskey".

Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels. The Last Roundup: Live From The Bijou Cafe In Philadelphia, March 16, 1973. Been waiting for this to come out on CD or digital for a while now. Finally found a copy. Priceless.

               "Early Roman Kings" Bob Dylan feat Elvin Bishop, live August 3, 2024, Mountain View, California.

                                                          MLK, "I Have A Dream", March on Washington

Highly Anticipated New Releases

St. Vincent. Todos Nacen Gritando. [Total Pleasure]. November 15, 2024. A re-make of All Born Screaming (2024) with Spanish lyrics.

George Harrison. Living In The Material World (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe). [Dark Horse]. November 15, 2024. 2 CDs, 2 LPs, 1 Blu-Ray, and more, including a cool alternate version of “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Take 18)”.

Kim Deal. Nobody Love You More. [4AD]. November 22, 2024. Says here that this singer//songwriter/bass player, best known as one of the co-founders of that seminal band, The Pixies and, with her twin sister Kelley Deal, a member of the equally seminal band, The Breeders, is coming out with her DEBUT solo album this year... Intriguing...

Friko. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here (Expanded Edition). [ATO Records]. November 22, 2024. New version has 11 bonus tracks.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy. The Purple Bird. [Drag City]. January 31, 2025. 

                                              Bob Dylan, "Only A Pawn In Their Game", March on Washington

You May Also Be Interested In:

ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Summer Playlist (June/July/August 2024)

Steve Albini Memorial Playlist

ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Playlist Spring 2024 (March/April/May)

ThisSmallPlanet.com BEST MUSIC OF 2024 (So Far)(Jan Feb Mar)

ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Summer Playlist (June - July 2024)

Test Subjects at The New Method Warehouse, Emeryville, CA. Late 1985. 

                                           Photos: Murray Bowles

         

A show from 1985 feat Test Subjects and Short Dogs Grow. Short Dogs Grow is doing a reunion show in San Francisco on August 10, 2024. Test Subjects are still on hiatus.

UPDATED: August 15, 2024

Top Ten New Albums 

Jack White. No Name. Surprise release, currently only available as a bootleg online, originally vinyl-only hand-given to customers at Third Man Records in Nashville. Many comparing it to The White Stripes and claiming a "return to form". Sounds good on first listen.

Blur. Live At Wembley Stadium. Recorded in London in July 2023. Serves as a live greatest hits collection, as well as providing lively versions of some of the better newer songs, such as 2023's "St. Charles Square".

Jake Xerxes Fussell. When I'm Called. Folk songs based on traditional tunes. Brilliant.

Oneida. Expensive Air. Hard rocking madness. Experi-mental. Me like.

Childish Gambino. Bando Stone And The New World. He says it's his last album. Just TV and movies from now on (this album is the soundtrack of his forthcoming film - see trailer below). Not my style but it's pretty cool, creative, and worth listening to.

Kneecap. Fine Art. Bilingual (Irish/English) rappers long awaited debut album. Their singles and forthcoming biopic have had a big impact already. This album should put them on everyone's map as well as their radar.

The Decemberists. As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. Very strong double album of Americana gypsy country magic.

The Felice Brothers. Valley Of Abandoned Songs. Very good.

Diiv. Frog in Boiling Water. Maybe the best rock album out right now.

Beth Gibbons. Lives Outgrown. Very ambitious debut solo album for the singer from Portishead. Swings for the fences. Successfully. 

                                          MUSICAL NOTES

    

                                          

Fontaines D.C. have a new album out in August. Sure to be huge... 

They made a big impression at Glastonbury this year...

     

Timothee Chalamet is starring as a young Bob Dylan in the forthcoming biopic A Complete Unknown. Here's the trailer:

Guitar hero Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and The Jicks is forming a new band The Hard Quartet with Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly, and Jim White. Their debut single, out now, is "Earth Hater":

Malkmus doing an idiosyncratic version of "Stairway To Heaven" with The Jicks

MJ Lenderman's new single is "Joker Lips". His new album in September is going to be huge.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss recently released their version of "When The Levee Breaks", about the Great Mississippi flood of 1927, first recorded by Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929, and later reworked by Plant's old band Led Zeppelin in 1971. Plant & Krauss are currently touring with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan.

 

Best New Singles

Amyl And The Sniffers (Australia). "U Should Not Be Doing That"/"Facts"

Jay Som. "If I Could" ("I Saw The TV Glow" soundtrack)

Asian Dub Foundation. "No Fun" (feat Iggy Pop).

The Pixies. "You're So Impatient"

The Jesus Lizard. "Hide & Seek"

Toro Y Moi. "Tuesday"

Cassandra Jenkins. "Petco"

MJ Lenderman. "She's Leaving You"

Bright Eyes. "Bells And Whistles" (feat Conor Oberst)

Manu Chao. "São Paulo Motoboy".

Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Nathan Salsburg. "Hear The Children Sing"/"The Evidence".

 David Bowie, "I Can't Explain". Cover of The Who's 1964 hit. Previously unreleased version from the new Rock 'n' Roll Star! boxset, recorded in 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust sessions. Bowie recorded a different version of the song for 1973's Pin Ups. 

Ty Segall. "The Dance" (Edit)

Orville Peck & Beck. "Death Valley High".

Kendrick Lamar. "They Not Like Us" (Drake diss track)

Christopher Owens. "I Think About Heaven". Former Girls singer's first new music in 7 years.

                               Best Archival Albums

The Ramones. The 1975 Sire Demos (RSD 2024 Vinyl). Very cool. I'd never heard these demos before.

Bob Dylan. At The Bonnie Beecher's Apartment (Live) (1961). Priceless.

David Bowie.Rock 'n' Roll Star! box set (5 CD, 1 Blu-Ray Audio) Ziggy-era outtakes, alternate versions, and live performances with Bowie and Mick Ronson at their creative peak circa 1972. Mega-Classic.

Johnny Cash. Songwriter. Recorded in 1993, previously unreleased. The first single is a cool song, "Well Alright". 

Aderemi Kabaka. Roots Funkadelia. (1980) Afrofunk classic - much beloved, seldom heard. Until now. Now it's on Heavy Rotation.

Paul McCartney & Wings. One Hand Clapping. Recorded live in the studio in 1974 while the band was filming a documentary. Often bootlegged, never previously released, it consists of songs by The Beatles, Wings, "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", and others. Nice.

John Lennon. Mind Games. Nice to hear.

Georgia Sea Island Singers feat Bessie Jones, Ed Davis, Mississippi Fred McDowell & Ed Young. The Complete Friend Of Old Time Music Concert hosted by Alan Lomax in 1965 featuring the unique Gullah Geechee singers as well as the guitar (and singing) of the incomparable Fred McDowell. 

Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Early Daze. Recorded in 1969 with original guitarist Danny Whitten. I'm kind of over Neil Young, but this is some great stuff.

Gene Clark. Back Street Mirror - Revisited. Gene Clark (1944 - 1991) co-founded The Byrds, writing some of their best originals, such as "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" and "Eight Miles High", and harmonizing with Roger McGuinn and David Crosby on iconic covers like "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", that veritably epitomize the 1960s for many. His solo career was also amazing but under-appreciated at the time.This essential collection of rarities includes songs from 1965 - 1970. Available on Bandcamp:

                                                                     Gene Clark

PJ Harvey live at Primavera, Barcelona, June 1, 2024

   More Great New Albums

Johnny Blue Skies (AKA Sturgill Simpson). Passage Du Desir. This guy'll try anything...

Cassandra Jenkins. My Light, My Destroyer. More "pop" than "indie pop" like last time? Still worth it a listen... Sophisticated. Trying to be unique.

Steve Dawson. Ghosts. Fresh Americana sounds. A major talent.

Dr. Dog. Dr. Dog. Eclectic collection of some good tunes.

The Raveonettes. The Raveonettes Sing...

Wilco. Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP. Sounds interesting.

John Cale. - POPtical Illusion. Velvet Underground's cellist/bassist returns at age 82 with some cool new songs.

Redd Kross. Redd Kross. Double album from the McDonald Brothers. Single "Candy Coloured Catastrophe" is killer. 

Linda Thompson. Proxy Music. Feat guest vocalists like Rufus Wainwright. Nice songs.

Dave Alvin. TexiCali. Worth a listen.

Kelley Stoltz. La Fleur. Complicated pop for adults.

Bonny Light Horseman. Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free. Hadn't heard them before but it's pretty good.

Seasick Steve. A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees. More variety musically than you might expect. Some nice surprises.

Richard Thompson. Ship To Shore. I expected a good album but it's better than that.

Maya Hawke. Chaos Angel. She sings, she acts... you know that ultimately, she's got to be a triple-, quadruple-, or perhaps even, quintuple-threat... Directing? Photography? Yoga teacher? Probably all of the above and more...

The Folk Implosion. Walk Thru Me. Lou Barlow and friends are back.

Abdoulaye Kouyate. Fefanyi. Inspired by the musical traditions of his native Guinea, Kouyate sings and plays guitar and kora.

Anna Tivel. Living Things.I liked her last album, so I gave this one a chance too. And it's good.

Various Artists. I Saw The TV Glow (Original Soundtrack). Feat artists such as Jay Som, Bartees Strange, Caroline Polachek, and Frances Quinlan

Pedro the Lion. Santa Cruz. Check it out. Pseudo-biographical? Maybe...

Willie Nelson. The Border He's an American icon. A very enjoyable listen.

Aba Diop & The Yermande Family. Revolution Sabar. Senegal's finest, traditional drumming is the foundation for these songs. Feels deep.

Richard Hawley. In This City They Call You Love. Oh, Sweet Soul Singer of Sheffield, sing us a bittersweet song...

Bernard Butler. Good Grief. Like the aforementioned Richard Hawley, BB is a giant in Britain, but little known in the U.S. outside of a few Anglophile hipsters. Both albums are superb and well-worth a listen.

Jessica Pratt. Here In The Pitch. Cool retro psychedelic sounds. Shades of Dusty Springfield. Yes.

Shellac. To All Trains. Very strong album, featuring the late, great super-producer Steve Albini on guitar and vocals. We were looking forward to the band's first new release in ten years, and were shocked by Albini's sudden death May 7, 2024, only a week before the album's scheduled release. We added this album to classics produced by Albini for The Pixies, PJ Harvey, and Nirvana to create a Steve Albini Memorial Playlist.

Aluminium. Fully Beat. You call it "dream pop", I call it "shoe gaze". Maybe we're both right.

The Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers. Industrial strength Americana served.

Blitzen Trapper. 100's of 1000's, Millions Of Billions. Psychedelic stoned rock done right.

Arab Strap. I'm Totally Fine With It... Scottish veteran rockers back and better than ever.

Mdou Moctar. Funeral For Justice. African desert blues.

Paul Weller. 66. The Master returns.

Orville Peck. Stampede: Vol. 1. Willie Nelson, Elton John, Nathaniel Rateliff, and other friends join the masked queer cowboy crooner from South Africa (via Canada) on his debut album. Don't ask me, I just work here. Featuring the hit single (with Willie): "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other".

Heems, Lapgan. Lafandar. Hip hop from the Das Racist guy.

Sunny Day Real Estate. Diary at London Bridge Studio.

Thunderpussy. West.

Mick Harvey. Five Ways To Say Goodbye.

Garbage. Lie To Me. (EP). Originally a Record Store Day release, it contains a cover of Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren".

New albums are generally released on Fridays. Sometimes they are released on other days. Some albums are long scheduled, while others are surprise releases with little lead-up. Of the dozens of albums that are released on Fridays, I generally find one or two that I recommend. It is highly unusual to have 5 releases coming out on the same day (as was there case on June 14, 2024) that I recommend. I usually recommend albums instead of singles. Ideally an album is a collection of songs which are somewhat interrelated and indicate of the artist's current state of mind and their current reflections on the state of the world and such. But some albums are just a couple of singles surrounded by filler. For those albums, I sometimes just recommend the singles, but, overall, I prefer albums. I try to listen to pretty much everything that comes out, with a focus on indie rock, Americana, British and Irish artists, but also listening to other genres and mainstream pop. New releases that are not on the playlist are generally albums I have listened to and do not recommend.

St. Vincent. "Broken Man" live on Jimmy Kimmel

                                      Totally Random

Sly & The Family Stone. "If You Want Me To Stay" (1973). Sly is the best.

Ken Boothe. Freedom Street. (1970). Classic reggae that hasn't been overplayed.

Daddy Dewdrop. "Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes Love it)". (1971). Novelty song ear candy yum.

The Yardbirds.  The Ultimate Live At The BBC. Simply great.

The Chats. Get Fucked (2022), High Risk Behaviour (2020), and "Smoko" (2017). Caught their recent performance at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas on YouTube and was a good excuse to re-listen to their excellent 2022 release Get Fucked as well as their 2020 album High Risk Behaviour, and the unforgettable single "Smoko" from 2017's Get This In Ya.

             Highly Anticipated Forthcoming Releases

Fontaines D.C. Romance. [XL] August 23, 2024. Ireland's best band's fourth album promises to be very different and take them to another level. This could very well be The Best Rock Album Of 2024. It's gonna be huge. Enormous. Going To Be Big.

Heems. Veena LP [Veena Sounds]. August 23, 2024. Rap album from the Das Racist guy.

Ty Segall. Love Rudiments. [Drag City]. August 30, 2024. Always good.

David Gilmour. Luck And Strange. September 6, 2024. Pink Floyd guitarist/singer has a new album coming out.

Toro Y Moi. Hole Erth. [Dead Oceans]. September 6, 2024. Should be great (but please cool it on the Auto-Tune, if you don't mind....)

MJ Lenderman. Manning Fireworks. [Anti-]. September 6, 2024. Anticipation couldn't be higher for this album from this rising Americana star, who has a solo career, plays guitar for Wednesday with his partner Karly Hartzman, and recently was a prominent guest artist on the new Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood. And in his spare time... This guy is going to be a huge star after this.

The Faces. Faces At The BBC - Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970-1973.[Rhino]. September 6, 2024. Boxset comprised of 8 CDs and one Blu-ray Disc of the legendary Faces feat Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Ronnie Laine, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan. Perhaps the most under-appreciated of the truly great rock bands.

The Jesus Lizard. Rack [Ipecac]. September 13, 2024.

Jesse Malin. Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin [Glassnote]. September 20, 2024.

Bright Eyes. Five Dice, All Threes. [Dead Oceans] September 20, 2024. New release from Conor Oberst & Friends sounds good, a return to form.

Mano Chao. Viva Tu. [Radio Bemba/Because]. September 20, 2024. Liked the title song, which was the first single, "Viva Tu".

Bob Dylan. The 1974 Live Recordings. [Columbia/Sony]/ September 20, 2024. Massive 27-CD boxset documenting each iteration of the infamous 1974 national tour of Dylan and The Band. Classic.

Christopher Owens. I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair.[True Panther]. October 18, 2024.  Formerly in Girls, Owen s returns with a solo album. Sounds good.

Glastonbury 2024 featured many of today's best artists...

 

All nature photography: MD/JB/ThisSmallPlanet (Creative Commons)

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