manchester ohio / akron u.k.
plus a really great arthur russell cover!
Hello welcome to the Unskippables where honestly I’d love to make a crowd listen to my mix for 39 minutes straight.
Anyways, here are some Good Links, picked just for you:
Hearing things about Hearing Things – Hearing Things is the exciting new music site that launched from former Pitchrork staffers, including Ryan Dombal who asked a question I’ve been thinking about a lot: How the hell did Mk.gee get this big?
Yeah but what’s blasting at Cinnabon? John’s Music Blog goes where few dare to tread – the mall! What’s playing at Hot Topic these days? Click to read!
Hot For Feature – Brian Hiatt talked to Alex Van Halen about his upcoming memoir, recovering from a back injury, and dealing with his brother’s death four years on. It’s a surprisingly interesting and intimate read.
My blog should just stay as Morning Pages fr – It’s an Artists Way fall
(Don Pardo Voice) Ondes MARTENOT! – 24 years ago, still nutty! Radiohead played “The National Anthem” on SNL 24 years ago yesterday, and it still rips.
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Lots of Hands – Game of Zeroes
Relaxed alt-country that sounds like it’s from Akron but actually from the UK group Lots of Hands, off their upcoming album into a pretty room for Fire Talk. This wouldn’t be out of place on Summerteeth, including the almost-backwards sounding piano and guitar duet in the break. The track’s lilting shuffle and chorus add up to a lovely final blast of summer air as fall sets in.
The Serfs – Paid In Full
Wonderfully murky, super baggy dance music from Cincinnati’s the Serfs, who ditch their synth-punk for a heavily swung Madchester CHUNE. The track’s pulse is built on bone-dry synthesis of 1988-era 12" deep cuts, with a hypnotic, buried vocal chant driving the song’s form. The b-side “Regen” is a bit more Creation-y, if you’re missing a breakbeat and jangly guitars, but both tracks are delightfully retro.
Speakers Corner Quartet feat. Tirzah– “This Is How We Walk On The Moon”
A lovely and somewhat straightforward Arthur Russell cover, Speakers Corner Quartet take the original’s gorgeous build and simply expand it outwards, using layered vocals and spacious reverbs to let the track bloom. Tirzah does an incredible job bringing a warm, centered performance to the center of the song, sounding as if the song has been hers all along.
Nothing Natural – Cold Star
“Cold Star” is heavy, grungy alt-rock that wouldn’t be out of place on your radio tape from 1998 – which is the highest compliment I can pay to a chorus in a track like this.
Panda Bear feat. Cindy Lee – Defense
I don’t have a ton to say about Panda Bear’s new single “Defense” – it’s mostly just a very good Panda Bear song! However, the featured ripping solo from Cindy Lee is a delight to hear mid-song, especially as it amps up the band vibes across the whole track.
throwback
Ebo Taylor – Will You Promise
A lucky Shazam while out chasing my toddler at a (thankfully) empty bar in Fort Greene. I thought this was for sure a Studio One deep cut, but it’s actually a heavily reggae-influenced highlife record from 1975! The album was rereleased in 2016 – you can pick the whole thing up on Bandcamp
