Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Monday, January 13, 2025
ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Playlist January - February - March 2025
Cool New Singles (with links to YouTube)
Alex Orange Drink "Queen Victoria".(feat Conor Oberst) & "Everything Is Broken"
Alison Krauss & Union Station. "Looks Like The End of The Road"
Alpha Blondy feat Capleton. "Cold Fire"
Ben Kweller. "Optimystic" & "Dollar Store" (feat Waxahatchee)
Bob Mould. "Here We Go Crazy" & "Neanderthal" & "When Your Hear Is Broken".
Bonnie "Prince" Billy. "Downstream" & "London May" & "Turned To Dust (Rolling On)"
Courtney Barnett. "Lotta Love" (from Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young).
Dropkick Murphys. "Sirens". This came out as a stand-alone single five months ago. I missed it then, but am appreciating it now. Mucho. An important (and fun) band.
Flaira Ferro & Lenine. "Afeto Radical". Cool weirdness from Brazil.
Fountaines D.C. "It's Amazing To Be Young" BEST NEW SONG!
The Hard Quartet. "Lies (Something You Can Do)" & "Coreopsis Trail" feat Stephen Malkmus
Hurray For The Riff Raff. "Pyramid Scheme"
J Mascis. "Breathe". (The Cure cover).
Jake Xerxes Fussell. “Close My Eyes” (Arthur Russell cover)
jasmine.4.t. "Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation" feat Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus & Julien Baker.
Julien Baker & Torres. "Sylvia". & "Tuesday" & "Sugar In The Tank".
Manu Chao & Juliana Linhares. "Melo Do Bode"
Marianne Faithfull. "Burning Midnight".The Minus 5. "Blow In My Bag".
Peter Doherty. "Felt Better Alive". & "Calvados". Libertines/Babyshambles frontman solo.
Shaggy & Sting. "Til A Mawnin"
Sparks. "Do Things My Own Way". & "JanSport Backpack". The Brothers are back.
Suzanne Vega. "Speakers' Corner"
Throwing Muses. "Summer Of Love".
Ty Segall. "Fantastic Tomb".
Tyler, The Creator. "That Guy"
Valerie June. "Joy, Joy!"
Vienna Vienna. "God Save The Queens"
Waxahatchee. "Mud".
"A Complete Unknown" (Official Trailer) Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan.
Chalamet does Dylan on "Saturday Night Live": "Outlaw Blues", "Three Angels" & "Tomorrow Is A Long Time" (none of these songs are in the movie or on the soundtrack).
Jack White at SNL 50th Anniversary: "Keep On Rockin' In The Free World"
Cool New Albums
Amadou & Mariam. La Vie Est Belle. Very nice.
Bartees Strange. Horror.
Bob Mould. Here We Go Crazy.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy. The Purple Bird. Best release of 2025 (so far).
Cedric Burnside. On Audiotree Live. These blues sound fresher, bolder, tougher, better than they do on the original album.
Father John Misty. I Love You, Honeybear Demos, Etc. Listening to this and some recent live recordings made up warm up to this artist in a way I hadn't before.
Jason Isbell. Foxes In The Snow.
Joe Ely. Love And Freedom.
Jupiter & Okwess. Ekoya. Extraordinary singer Jupiter Bokondji from the DR Congo shines here.
Larkin Poe. Bloom. Two sisters Americana.
The Lumineers. Automatic.
The Mars Volta. Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos Del Vacío.
Mogwai. The Bad Fire. Mostly instrumental, powerful.
Patterson Hood. Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams. Drive-By Truckers co-founder solo joint
Peter Perrett. The Cleansing. This release from a British punk legend came out a few months ago but I'm giving it a fresh listen and liking it. Also listening to his old punk band The Only Ones debut album (1978).
Ringo Starr. Look Up. Ringo goes country? That's what they're saying...
The Rumjacks. Dead Anthems. Celtic punk.
Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory. Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory.
Seu Jorge. Baile à la Baiana. Brazilian artist known here for his covers of David Bowie songs on the soundtrack (he also appears as an actor) of Wes Anderson's 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Taj Mahal & Keb Mo. Room On The Porch For Everyone.
Timothee Chalamet. A Complete Unknown (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Chalamet does Dylan. Either you buy it or you don't. I'm a Dylan Superfan, and I think all the hoopla around the film is a great way to get a whole new generation of kids onto Dylan's music. Chalet has a good voice and does a good job. Shout out to Edward Norton too for a respectful tribute to Pete Seeger.
Tom Meighan. Roadrunner. Kicked out of Kasabian for domestic abuse, he's back with a solo album. His wife forgave him after he straightened out and I have too. Whether you do or not is up to you. But his new songs are worth listening to if you do.
Various Artists. Kneecap Original Soundtrack. The film, which is great, has a soundtrack that collects many of Kneecap's formative, seminal singles which were not included on their debut album. A great showcase for the talents of the bilingual Irish/English rappers from West Belfast. The movie is a must-see for anyone interested in Irish and The North. It's a blast. Three cheers for Michael Fassbender (and Gerry Adams) for their roles in the fil-lum.
Wilco. Noisy Ghosts. Alternative takes from the re-issue of A Ghost Is Born.
MJ Lenderman – "Joker Lips" live on Jimmy Kimmel
Faye Webster Tiny Desk
Highly Anticipated Cool New Releases
The Waterboys. Life, Death and Dennis Hopper [Sun] April 4, 2025. Tribute to Dennis Hopper feat Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, and Bruce Springsteen.
Julien Baker & TORRES. Send A Prayer My Way. [Matador]. April 18, 2025. Best damned singin' lesbian cowgirls out there.
Suzanne Vega. Flying With Angels. May 2, 2025.
Peter Doherty. Felt Better Alive. [Strap Originals] May 16, 2025. A Libertine goes solo.
Lana Del Rey. The Right Person Will Stay. [Interscope] May 21, 2025
Ty Segall. Possession. [Drag City] May 30, 2025. Can't keep a good man down.
Ben Kweller. Cover the Mirrors. [The Noise Company] May 30, 2025. Feat Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (AKA Superbad's McLovin).
The Libertines: "Songs They Never Play On The Radio" (Filmed Pre-Show at Wiesbaden)
MUSICAL NOTES
Rest in Peace, Brenton Wood (July 26, 1941 - January 3, 2025)
The Oldies King of The Low Riders:
There are cars cruising this weekend blaring his songs and there will be forever.
Rest in Peace Barry Goldberg (Dec. 25, 1942 - Jan 22, 2025)
Barry Goldberg (on keyboards) backed Bob Dylan going electric at Newport 1965 along with Michael Bloomfield, Sam Lay, Jerome Arnold, Al Kooper, and Elvin Bishop.
Rest in Peace, Marianne Faithfull (Dec 29, 1946 - Jan 30, 2025)
+ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Best of 2024: Top Twenty Albums, Singles & Re-Issues of The Year
+ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Winter Playlist: 2024 End of Year Wrap-Up (October, November & December releases)
+ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Fall Into Autumn Playlist (August - September - October 2024)
+ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Summer Playlist (June/July/August 2024)
+Steve Albini Memorial Playlist
Sunday, December 15, 2024
ThisSmallPlanet.com Cool New Music Best of 2024: Top Twenty Albums, Singles & Re-Issues of The Year
Top Twenty Albums of 2024
1. Fontaines D.C. Romance. Ireland's best band's fourth album took them to another level. Huge. Enormous. Big.
2. MJ Lenderman. Manning Fireworks. Anticipation couldn't have been higher for this album from this rising Americana star, who has a solo career, plays guitar for Wednesday with his ex-partner Karly Hartzman, is currently working with Ben Kweller, and was a prominent guest artist on....
3. Waxahatchee Tigers Blood. Americana at its best. "Get Right Back To It" with MJ Lenderman, one of the best singles of the year.
4. Bright Eyes. Five Dice, All Threes. New release from Conor Oberst & Friends, a return to form.
5. 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.
6. Beth Gibbons. Lives Outgrown. Very ambitious debut solo album for the singer from Portishead. Swings for the fences. Successfully.
7. 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 on 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.
8. St. Vincent. All Born Screaming. Sometimes she is a bit much, but I am grateful for her role in saving the guitar and rock n roll. (Check out the wild title song, feat Cate Le Bon...) There's also a cool Spanish language version, Todos Nacen Gritando.
9. The Libertines. All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade. The boys are back in town.
10. Jack White. No Name. Surprise release, originally only available as a bootleg online or vinyl-only hand-given to customers at Third Man Records in Nashville. Many comparing it to The White Stripes.
11. David Rawlings & Gillian Welch. Woodland. Very satisfying Americana.
12. Liam Gallagher & John Squire. Liam Gallagher & John Squire. Liked it.
13. Hurray For The Riff Raff! The Past Is Still Alive. Instant classic.
14. Idles. Tangk. Something different from them. More production but still powerful.
15. Ty Segall. Three Bells. An old fave. Always reliable.
16. J Mascis. What Do We Do Now. Love him.
17. The Pixies. The Night The Zombies Came. Return to form with a new bass player who sings... and, at the same time, a release from their original bass player Kim Deal called Nobody Loves You More. Also great.
18. Elias Rønnenfelt. Heavy Glory. Iceage frontman's cool solo project. Think Dylan and Conor.
19. Sleater-Kinney. Little Rope. Another return to form. My favorite trend of 2024.
20. The Decemberists. As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again. Very strong double album of Americana gypsy country magic. Compare and contrast with The Felice Brothers. Valley Of Abandoned Songs. Both very, very good.
HONORABLE MENTION: Ride, Yard Act, Oneida, X, Arab Strap, Blitzen Trapper, DIIV, Fat White Family, The Cure, Mdou Moctar, Friko, T-Bone Burnett, Cedric Burnside, Linda Thompson, The Jesus Lizard, Jesus And Mary Chain, Porridge Radio, High Vis.
SPECIAL NOTE: Meshell Ndegeocello's No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin.
Top Twenty Singles of 2024
(Links to YouTube)
Amyl & The Sniffers. "U Should Not Be Doing That"
Bright Eyes. "Bells And Whistles".
The Cure. "A Fragile Thing".
The Dandy Warhols. "I Will Never Stop Loving You" (feat Debbie Harry)
Elias Rønnenfelt. "Worm Grew A Spine" Iceage singer goes solo.
Elvin Bishop & Los Lobos. "What The Hell Is Going On" (anti-Trump song)
Fontaines D.C. "Favourite"
Gary Clark, Jr. "What About The Children" (feat Stevie Wonder)
George Harrison. "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" (Take 18)
Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen "I Can't Stand It" (Lou Reed cover)
Orville Peck & Willie Nelson. "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other".
Ray LaMontagne. "Step Into Your Power"
Redd Kross. "Candy Coloured Catastrophe". Psychedelic retro fun.
Stevie Wonder. "Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart"
Waxahatchee. "Right Back To It" (feat MJ Lenderman)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Charles Moothart. "Black Holes Don't Choke".
Peter Garrett. "Meltdown".
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets. "Went To A Party"
Dry Cleaning "Sit Down Meal"
Tabla Master Zakir Hussain
You may also be interested in:
Laura Jane Grace. "Hole In My Head".
Mannequin Pussy. "I Got Heaven"
Suzanne Vega. "Rats".
Father John Misty. "Mahashmashana".
Jeff Tweedy. "America" (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
Justin Townes Earle. "Graceland" (Paul Simon cover)
Top Twenty Archival Albums (Re-Issues) of 2024
The Beatles. Beatles '64. To accompany the new Martin Scorsese-produced documentary.
Buckingham Nicks. Buckingham Nicks (1973). Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, at the time a couple and partners in a duo, released this album which so impressed Mick Fleetwood that he invited them to join Fleetwood Mac and the rest is pop history. Hadn't really heard this album before, but, inspired by Andrew Bird's 2024 re-interpretation of the album, I decided to give them both a listen. Bird, along with his collaborator Madison Cunningham, brings new life to the old album, inspiring looking back while at the same time looking forward. Both albums are amazing and land up sounding very different.
Bob Dylan. At The Bonnie Beecher's Apartment (Live) (1961). Priceless. And also, The 1974 Live Recordings. Massive 27-CD boxset documenting each iteration of the infamous 1974 national tour of Dylan and The Band. Classic.
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.
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.
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.
George Harrison. Living In The Material World (50th anniversary 2 CD). A joy to listen to again. Became even more poignant after the passing of tabla master Zakir Hussain (who added a very nice touch to this album) on December 20, 2024. He was the son of Alla Rakha, who often played tablas with Ravi Shankar, including at The Concert for Bangladesh. Zahir also collaborated with Mickey Hart, Bela Fleck, and many others.
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.
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.
Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Flatlanders. All American Music. A 1972 classic also featuring Joe Ely and Butch Hancock.
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. Also, Neil's Archives Vol. 3 Takes. Worth checking out if only for the Devo collaboration on "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into The Black).
Paul McCartney & Wings. Band on the Run (Underdubbed Mixes). Macca's 1973 classic seen (or more precisely, heard) in a new light. And also, 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.
Pavement. Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques. The singles and B-sides. Great to hear Malkmus and Crew in top form.
The Ramones. The 1975 Sire Demos (RSD 2024 Vinyl). Very cool. I'd never heard these demos before.
Stevie Wonder. The Wonder Of Stevie. From Audible.com. Any excuse to listen to Stevie classics from the 70s is a good excuse. And also, Live in Berkeley 1973. Yes!
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. And also, Talking Heads:77 (Super Deluxe Edition 3 CD). Great!
Thin Lizzy. 1976. Love Phil.
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".
Various Artists. The New Demesne. Field Recordings by Alan Lomax, Ireland 1951.
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.
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.
You may also be interested in:
ThisSmallPlanet.com is seeking collaborators, investors, grants, advertisers, and subscribers as we seek to grow in the coming year to produce more writing, photography, online publishing and social media, audio and video recording, podcasting, radio programs, and busking (a duo performing street music, bringing culture to public spaces). We are currently homeless living out of a car, and are in need of additional funding for basic expenses and equipment.
Our email is thissmallplanet@gmail.com
Our Venmo is @thissmallplanet
Our BlueSky is @thissmallplanet.bsky.social.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)