Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Nikki Haley, who can’t acknowledge ‘slavery’, is a pathetic shill.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

I really should read my own blog.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

We still have time to mess this up!

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

You are here: Home / Music / Saturday Night Music Thread (and maybe postcards?)

Saturday Night Music Thread (and maybe postcards?)

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Here’s a wide open Balloon Juice music thread for this evening.

I can’t remember whether i promised a postcard thread tonight or not, so this will do double duty, but the top billing will go to the music thread.  Please chime in if you are doing postcards!

I don’t really keep up with what the kids are listening to these days.  I’m confident that I don’t even know all the current categories of music.  (So sad.)  Which is kind of crazy because I love music.

I was thinking I might start tuning into this site, recommended by someone here in the past week or so:

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs

Does anyone listen to that?

I have kind of old-fashioned taste in music compared to a lot of you.  I know we have some music people here, am I crazy thinking that brendancalling plays music?   So I have been wondering if some of you might like to seed the occasional music thread with some links you could send me ahead of time.  If that seems like a good idea, pipe up in the comments, and if that seems like a dumb idea, let me know that, too.

Is anyone listening to music right now?  What are you listening to?

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

113Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    I don’t know if you heard about it from me but I’ve been listening to them while I work out. Good stuff.

  2. 2.

    Splitting Image

    I’ve had “A Saucerful of Secrets” by Pink Floyd stuck in my head all week, and I’ve been listening to it over and over, alternating between the album version, the Ummagumma version, and the Live in Pompeii version.

    There are many worse ways to spend one’s time. Rick Wright’s organ playing is sublime.

  3. 3.

    Gin & Tonic

    Occasional commenter Ajabu is a working musician, and some time back posted a link to some of his stuff. Haven’t seen him here in a while, though.

  5. 5.

    trollhattan

    Local station has featured Tom Verlaine this afternoon, making his death this week feel all the more dear. On the plus side, lots and lots of folks are hearing him for the first time.

  8. 8.

    James E Powell

    I listen to music all the time. As Nietzsche put it, without music, life would be a mistake.

    I force my students to listen to my choices. Friday was the anniversary of a certain plane crash, so my students got Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper and – as I told them – it’s not about whether you like it, it’s about whether you ever heard it.

  9. 9.

    Ruff the dog

    Among the things I appreciate about The History of Rock in 500 Songs is the deep dive. “Hey, Joe” for example. Hendrix’s version is the apotheosis for me.  But still, given the chance I would play in the horn section for Wilson Pickett’s version ( backed by the Swampers).  (I play trombone when a friend needs a horn section for his band). But I didn’t know the Byrds grudgingly covered it before Hendrix because David Crosby was a PITA about it. Or that the modern version dates into the 50s, but was a mashup from two different threads dating into the 20s. Etc.

  13. 13.

    raven

    @Ruff the dog: How about Jan and Dean and the Turtles doing “The Eve of Destruction” and Jan Barry changing the lyrics from “Selma” to “Watts” to make a racist statement!

  17. 17.

    kalakal

    I’ve had a lot of fun today playing Key to the Highway through a load of iterations, how it changed through the years.

    Big Bill Broonzy, Little Walter, Freddie King, Clapton & Allman – all good, all a joy to play

  19. 19.

    UncleEbeneezer

    New Heroes by Christian Scott atunde Adjuah.  Mixes jazz, rock, hip hop etc.  I saw his band at Playboy Jazz last Summer and they absolutely KILLED IT!!!  (this whole album is amazing)

  23. 23.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I’ll just mention some older down under bands that are 2 of my favorites…Midnight Oil and Crowded House. The recognizable songs like Beds are Burning and Don’t Dream it’s Over are great, but I recommend if you have a music service to check out their catalogs.

    I was paying my Verizon bill (reluctantly) and they noticed me one of our lines had a 6 month free Apple Music subscription…it’s a good time to expand my horizons. So thanks for all the suggestions!

    ETA I really like the 500 songs blog. Thumbs up.

  24. 24.

    mrmoshpotato

    I’m currently enjoying some “suspenseful orchestral music” in Creature From The Black Lagoon.

  28. 28.

    dkinPa

    @WaterGirl: Just sent you an email request for more Wisconsin addresses.

    Popping in to say hi and how much I enjoy the music here.  I’ve had my iPad on too long today, so I’m going to go recharge it . . . and say good night!

  30. 30.

    NotMax

    @mrmoshpotato

    Have long forgotten in which movie or program it appeared but one time the closed captioning read as follows:
    ♫ penitent Western music.

    ‘Twas a puzzlement.

  39. 39.

    Kristine Pennington

    Enjoying Mozart in all his glory with his Requiem – lazing on the sofa with a brandy after a rather arduous day of moving……

  43. 43.

    Almost Retired

    @Sure Lurkalot:  I could not agree more on those two bands.  Love them, and sort of think of them as the soundtrack of my 20’s.  Never saw either in concert.  I think Crowded House generally didn’t do live performances.  Midnight Oil evidently has some dates at a couple venues in Los Angeles in early Summer, but I have no idea if the composition of the touring band bears any resemblance to the original.  I doubt Peter Garrett is still involved – but maybe – so I’m off to do the research.

  48. 48.

    SuzieC

    Sandy Denny and Alberta Hunter are both great.  Have them both in my Ipod music library.  Hubby and I have recently started listening to our Ipod again, after a couple of years off, for no good reason.  I had tech glitches to get it turned back on but it worked after I downloaded all the upgrades from Itunes that I had ignored.  I know the kids don’t use Itunes anymore but I love my Ipod.

     

    Working on 25 postcards for Wisconsin Supreme Court–thank you Watergirl.  I am slow because my hands are arthritic.  Hoping for some enouragement and pep talks from here.

  54. 54.

    Whereaway

    @kalakal:

    Sandy Denny

    Heh – I blame Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention for ruining my taste in Music.   I heard ‘Leige and Lief’ in late 1968 or very early 1969, when I was 14, and went ‘what is that and where can I find more of it!’.     54 years later more than half my music collection is Celtic, Celtic Influenced, or world music.

    Here’s their cover of the traditional ‘Tam Lin’

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3ihk205ew

    And here’s the cover of the same song by Tricky Pixie – this cover is the first of very many covers of that song I’ve heard that equals or exceeds Fairport Convention’s cover.

    (12) Tricky Pixie – Tam Lin – YouTube

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    @Anoniminous

    Drawing a blank on whence it came but there’s a scene in some production set in the Middle Ages with the following dialogue (paraphrasing):

    “How do you like being a bard?”

    “it’s all gone to hell since they started writing the music down.”

  56. 56.

    SuzieC

    Sandy Denny’s cover of the traditional, ancient murder ballad Matty Groves on Liege and Lief changed my world.

  59. 59.

    Whereaway

    @SuzieC: Sandy Denny’s cover of the traditional, ancient murder ballad Matty Groves on Liege and Lief changed my world.

    Mine too …

  65. 65.

    mvr

    @SuzieC: There was a band in Northern Illinois, three players a guitar player named Victor and two women who sang very well that did Mattie Groves back in the 70s among other things. Victor would play the guitar like Jimi Hendrix (with his teeth, behind his head, etc.). It was good for my 17 year old mind.  Band was called Care of the Cow.

  67. 67.

    NotMax

    JF Murphy & Salt, If Wishes Were Horses.

    Emceed and was dragooned into running the light board for a concert by them. Jaw nearly hit the floor when one of the musicians began playing two saxophones simultaneously.

  69. 69.

    H.E.Wolf

    After the WI postcards are written, we can jump into the Feb. 21 special election for the House seat in VA-04.

    Pro-choice VA state senator Jennifer McClellan is the Democratic candidate. If she wins, she’ll be the first Black woman to represent VA in Congress.
    https://jennifermcclellan.com/about/

    PostcardsToVoters.org has addresses.
    Email [email protected]
    or text HELLO to (484) 275-2229

  75. 75.

    Glidwrith

    Welp, we were going to try our pilot run of filling out post cards, only to be derailed by da yut. Turns out, son didn’t recognize what a post card is, so purchased pre-paid envelopes.

    We will get some tomorrow and try again.

  76. 76.

    SuzieC

    Matty Groves was one of the Child Ballads (under the name of Little Musgrave)  and dates back to 1613.

  78. 78.

    Louise B.

    @kalakal: ooh, Sandy Denny, great singer.  Love Who Knows Where The Time Goes with the Fairport Convention.

    Also Alison Kraus and Union Station version of My Opening Farewell.

  79. 79.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @H.E.Wolf: ​
      Again, my plea to postcard writers. Unless you are a WI voter or are a judicial expert of some kind, please do not push one candidate over another. Trust the Democratic voters of WI to make up their own minds. Remember, outsiders had doubts about Fetterman, but the PA voters knew what they were doing. Also, WI folks can be reflexively contrary, especially if some FIB asshole (or similar type) tries to tell them what to do. Just encourage people to vote.

    Good Feelings from a seminal WI band

  83. 83.

    Tim

    Elvis Costello, Spike album. I’d forgotten that “Veronica” was co-written with Sir Paul who also plays bass on it! Lyrically his most expansive and open hearted to that point. And the Thatcherian “Tramp The Dirt Down”…cold chills. He seems to regret being able to hate that hard.

  86. 86.

    DrDaveChemist

    @Kristine Pennington: My church choir has been rehearsing the Mozart Requiem for a performance at the end of this month. Meaningful because we performed it shortly after the Station nightclub fire twenty years ago in Rhode Island, among many other reasons. When I listen to the recording we made ten years ago, I can almost forget that it’s mostly a bunch of amateur singers. A good orchestra and great music make us sound pretty good!

  90. 90.

    BlueGuitarist

    @kalakal:

    Joan Armatrading, Taking My Baby Uptown

    https://youtu.be/qCOPnz6hEHM

     

    I was walking down the street, looking like a million dollars With a pretty person on my arm
    when someone started shouting
    They were hooting and a hollering
    They were saying, I should never have been born
    I said, “Baby, you hear that?
    You’re listening to the voices of fools”….

  91. 91.

    El Muneco

    @Sure Lurkalot: I get the love for Crowded House, but I can’t escape thinking that the Finn brothers’ work in Split Enz was, while not as refined, better in a lot of ways. No one has heard of them if they weren’t plugged in to MTV at a very specific time, of course, and I think that’s a shame.

  93. 93.

    El Muneco

    @Ol’ Nat: Given my age, my first real Devo experience was _Oh No It’s Devo_. From what I’ve seen, people who were turned on before then don’t really like the subsequent work, particularly _Shout_ and _Smoothnoodlemaps_ but the reverse isn’t true. Which I think is interesting, but I don’t have a real good analysis.

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    @SuzieC: Just getting back to the thread now.  That must be tough!

    Maybe you can make your postcards shorter?  “Be sure to vote for one of the two liberal Judges for the Supreme Court! on or before Feb 21.”  Then list their names?

    I’m sure that would be fine!

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yes, you made a good point the other night, we are promoting both liberal candidates. I posted these in an earlier thread today and forgot to include them here.  Thanks for the reminder!  click on the image to see a bigger version that’s easier to read.

    Just 17 Days to Help Get a Liberal Judge on the Wisconsin Supreme Court 1

  98. 98.

    El Muneco

    @HumboldtBlue: Since this is a music thread, “The Longest Day” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHpQpxnKeUY) from Big Country, my favorite band from the 80s is an amazing track. I have no idea why they almost completely reimagined it for a single on their third album – the resulting piece is more haunting, but this version is so much more expressive of what their real nature was.

    I blame Peter Wolf, who was the producer of that album, and who they’d never worked with before.

  103. 103.

    Anotherlurker

    @NWO Joe: Not for me. I have a MacBook that dumped all the CDs that I had uploaded to iTunes . They left me only the discs and songs that I purchased from iTunes.

    When I lost my iPod that contained those discs, all was over for about 100+ CDs, purchased over the years. Previous to losing the iPod, I lived in Fla. and had decided to move to The Bay Area, so I donated all my CDs to the Bradenton Library.

    I bought a used iPod and tried, for 2 hours, with a Genius Bar tech, to download the remaining music from the computer to the iPod.  It was a total waste of time.  The “Genius” couldn’t do a thing for me, after trying quite a bit.  He was very close to echoing my opinion of how Apple treats long time customers.

  104. 104.

    El Muneco

    @HumboldtBlue: Cool! I’ve been an advocate for Big Country for 30 years now. My roommate my junior year in college was a classical music snob who hated rock music on principle – but by the end of our year rooming together he’d made an exception for Big Country only (he never admitted that anything else modern had any value, very much a case of the TvTrope “If It’s You It’s OK”).

  106. 106.

    Kristine Pennington

    @DrDaveChemist:   How awesome to be a part of that choir singing that masterpiece- I never tire of it and it is on my iPhone as one of five musical pieces to be played at my funeral (I sent  the list to my kids).  Wish I could be there when it is played 😆

  107. 107.

    mvr

    @kalakal: ​
     Those R&LT albums were special, though I like a lot of RT’s solo stuff too and have been fortunate to see him twice.

    Bono did an interview about either having them open for U@ or just going to a show on the divorce tour after, “Shoot out the Lights”. Reported that the energy was remarkable at those shows. As you might expect and with the songs to fit.

    That was one of my several great depression albums – when I was young and really knew how to get depressed.

    (That’s a funny way to put it since I really have kind of learned how to be OK while not entirely not depressed, but it seems I worked at getting depressed in my 20s. Since then I’ve worked at not going there. Which doesn’t mean I don’t have downs. They’re just modulated better.)

  108. 108.

    kalakal

    @mvr:

    (That’s a funny way to put it since I really have kind of learned how to be OK while not entirely not depressed, but it seems I worked at getting depressed in my 20s. Since then I’ve worked at not going there. Which doesn’t mean I don’t have downs. They’re just modulated better.)

    That makes perfect sense to me. Looking back I think I must have been somewhat bipolar. Still happens a bit but as you put it “modulated better”

  109. 109.

    NWO Joe

    @Anotherlurker: My gosh that’s awful. I’ve been managing my pwned music on Windows for a long time now, 20+ years. Never lost a thing. I never trusted Apple for that, and their OS never had the versatility to play FLAC or any of the other stuff I have. But I am an Apple fan for the phones and stuff and use Apple Music streaming a lot of the time via CarPlay. Can’t lose things if I stream them of course. Exuma’s catalog is available on there.  Nice stuff!

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