Hello it’s another Unskippable Tuesday, where we wonder why PLUR rebranded to pushin P?
On Sunday, Pitchfork re-considered Third Eye Blind, and despite wishing they would step off from that ledge, my friends, it did remind me of an all-time great review of the band care of John Vanderslice. On the AV Club (RIP), he recounted his powerfully douchey encounter with 3EB frontman Stephan Jenkins, and frankly, it’s the only Third Eye Blind longread you’ll ever need:
So he comes in, and he takes a chair. I will never forget this. This was like one of the golden moments of Tiny Telephone recording: He takes a folding chair and then flips it around backward and then puts it uncomfortably close to me, considering we’re in a large room, and sits face-to-face with me, sitting backward in a chair. And he says, “Okay, what are we going to do about this rate? We’ve got to get this rate down.”
Anyway, on to the other Good Links of the week:
Max Abelson tracked down Snoopy, who in 1977 wrote up his ranking of the best 125 dub reggae records in London’s Black Echoes, which has had a second life online as one of the best go-to dub reggae lists. The interview is fun, and Max does us all a solid by pulling all the albums into one long Spotify playlist
Ted Gioia’s “Is Old Music Killing New Music” is a tad depressing, but it left me with good open-ended questions about the value of discovery and what actually developing new artists and bands might look like
Honestly, read that alongside Sheldon Pearce’s piece on the rise of NBA YoungBoy and “invisible” streaming artists who are notching plays at the level of Taylor Swift, but don’t seem to break through any critical conversation
If like me, Turnstile got you excited about hardcore again, then you might also like this list of 10 Hardcore Bands To Watch in 2022 from BrooklynVegan
Unskippable friend Matty Fasano dropped his first solo song “Backs To The Sun” in a year ahead of a new album planned for 2022
Now for the tracks - you can follow along on our playlist on Spotify and Apple Music, which will update every week along with the newsletter.
THE UNSKIPPABLES #22
Lee Fields - Ordinary Lives
Daptone truly sings (pun intended) when they put their production prowess and bench of amazing players behind a larger-than-life voice. Luckily, Lee Fields announced yesterday he’s returning to Daptone from Big Crown, with a new record this fall. “Ordinary Lives,” part of a tour-only EP, is from a previously unreleased session with the Dap Kings, showcasing their skill with a frontman like Fields. The track is pure Hi Records simmer, with the horn section providing a muscular and understated counterpoint to Fields’ commanding vocal.
The Soundcarriers - At The Time
This song mixes the eerie BBC Radiophonics of Broadcast with the deep cut rippin’ of Dungen into what Bill Pearis accurately called a “baroque ripper.” The rest of the album is a bit more serene and closer to the world of Stereolab, but their whole new album Wilds overdelivers on the promise of super cool retro-future psych lounge jams.
Denzel Curry - Walkin
The first single off Curry’s upcoming album Melt My Eyez See Your Future, “Walkin” is a showcase for his shapeshifting flow over a bruising beat that flips from swung boom bap to menacing trap at 1:40. Stick around for the Mad Max-via-Morricone video, which has Curry crossing a dystopian desert for a gun duel - the Ecstasy of Flow?
VINSON (prod. Ewing) - Al Haramine Freestyle
Taken from Vinson’s mixtape Loose Rap from last week, “Al Haramine Freestyle” is a freestyle in the skateboarding sense, rather than the cypher. Vinson floats over the 70’s AM woodgrain of Ewing’s chopped beat, with the wisdom to croon instead of spit bars. Vinson is unbothered and confident, dropping lines like “exquisite taste shouldn’t be a luxury / now pass the charcuterie.” The track dissolves at the minute and a half mark, feeling formed, as a little leisure goes a long way.
Sally Shapiro feat. Highway Superstar - Down This Road
Another advance single for Sally Shapiro’s upcoming album Sad Cities on Italians Do It Better, “Down This Road” is a downtempo synth ballad that erupts into Lethal Weapon-style guitar and saxophone solos midway through the track. Sally’s breathy and reserved vocal is still the star here, an ASMR disco star if there ever was one.
THE THROWBACK CORNER
The Larry Tucker Band - What You Won’t Do For Love (Live 1979)
I sat on this link for a week because at its core, this is merely a very good local cover band doing their thing. However, this clip from a 1979 live local TV show is a quiet storm wrecking ball. There are no bold arrangement choices, just a local band overdelivering at every level. Every detail hits - Tucker’s Teddy Pendergrass beard and suit, the band’s ridiculous pocket, the guitarist’s minimal take on the horn line, everything the bassist does, and the way Tucker *almost* breaks on the hook. If I was wedding drunk and the band played this, I might actually pass out.
If anything, it’s a good reminder to read Jered Steffco’s piece on how TK Records hid the fact that Bobby Caldwell was white on his debut LP.
That’s all for this week - thanks for reading!