Cool New Singles (with links to YouTube)
Alex Orange Drink feat Conor Oberst "Queen Victoria".
Alison Krauss & Union Station. "Looks Like The End of The Road"
Ben Kweller. "Optimystic" & "Dollar Store" (feat Waxahatchee)
Bob Mould. "Here We Go Crazy" & "Neanderthal".
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!
J Mascis. "Breathe". (The Cure cover).
jasmine.4.t. "Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation" feat Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus & Julien Baker.
Julien Baker & Torres. "Sylvia".
Peter Doherty. "Felt Better Alive". Libertines & Babyshambles frontman takes a solo turn.
Sparks. "Do Things My Own Way". The Brothers are back.
Throwing Muses. "Summer Of Love".
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).
Cool New Albums
Amadou & Mariam. La Vie Est Belle. Very nice.
Bartees Strange. Horror.
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.
Joe Ely. Love And Freedom.
Jupiter & Okwess. Ekoya. Extraordinary singer Jupiter Bokondji from the DRC 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.
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.
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.
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
Various Artists. Kneecap Original Soundtrack. [Heavenly] February 28, 2025. Not sure why it's taking so long to release after the film came out, but the soundtrack collects many of Kneecap's formative, seminal singles that 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.
Bob Mould. Here We Go Crazy. [BMG] March 7, 2025.
Jason Isbell. Foxes In The Snow. [Southeastern] March 7, 2025.
The Waterboys. Life, Death and Dennis Hopper [Sun] April 4, 2025. Tribute to Dennis Hopper feat Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, and Bruce Springsteen.
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
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)