sweatin' to the oldies slapped
plus new music from father john misty, clairo, militarie gun, kelly lee owens, and why?
Welcome to the Unskippables, where we’re not making any jokes that could get us kicked out of Tenacious D.
The second biggest news story of the weekend was the death of Richard Simmons, the wellness and health guru who was a TV staple in the 80s and 90s, and had become a recluse in his later years.
As a child of the '80s, any VHS tape you found was potential gold – what could it be! So during a summer visit to my grandparents, upon finding two volumes of Sweatin’ To The Oldies in one of my grandfather's cabinets, my sister and I put it on, no questions asked. And even though I understood the strange campiness of Richard Simmons, it was maybe the first time I had heard pop music from the 50’s, and seen someone encouraging people to dance, free of judgement, choreography, or sexuality.
We had seen enough MTV to know what dancing was, but Sweatin’ To The Oldies was from another planet, one populist and inviting and silly . In retrospect, the combo of cotton candy 50’s pop, camp, and existing outside of recognizable taste was almost like G-rated John Waters for its retro strangeness. It’s one of my earliest and most liberating musical memories, and I think I was better for grabbing that VHS that day. RIP Richard Simmons.
Forks up for the king – Pete Wells is stepping down as the Times restaurant critic, leaving as a legacy his legendary Guy Fieri Times Square review and the critical reassessment of Peter Luger, amongst many other greatest hits
Friends of the Herb – Sam Valenti asked for a little help from his friends for a list of 77 of the year’s biggest slappers. Lots of cool hits and cool takes abound!
Sin Corridos – Richard Villegas profiles acts from the Sinaloan punk/electronic underground for Bandcamp
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Father John Misty - I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All
As a 38-year-old white guy in Brooklyn, an 8 minute Father John Misty lite-disco epic couldn’t be aimed more at my pleasure centers. I don't even know if I had a choice in the matter of putting this on this week's best tracks, however I will tell you: the galloping track closes out with a massive saxophone solo that makes the whole journey worthwhile. It was released via the Samply app, and sent via text, so you won’t find it on DSPs!
Clairo – Sexy To Someone
I've noticed lately when “intimacy” is invoked by a musician or a music critic, it's often the sexless, trauma-filled confessional variety – almost never the sort resembling the Teddy Pendergrass pillow talk meaning of the word. So I was happy to hear on Clairo's new record Charm that she's embraced the other side of the intimacy coin, with her ASMR vocals now awash in dusty close-mic’d soul care of producer/former Dap-King Leon Michaels. Mostly it's nice hearing a confident pop writer like Clairo embrace a new look, and dip into a more sensual sound while not losing her melodic and lyrical sense that defines her.
Militarie Gun – Thought You Were Waving
I love the post-Turnstile world of what “hardcore” bands are up to – its the most interesting space for American rock bands, who have dabbled in the sounds of nu metal, blast beats, go go, and in the case of Militarie Gun, alt-rock tunefulness to rival Robert Pollard, Rivers Cuomo, and Stephan Jenkins. This is their first single since last year’s Life Under The Gun LP, and it’s a mishmash of Oasis, Weezer, Blink-182, with the bright veneer of 2020’s pop-rock/hardcover/whatever. It’s hard to place, tuneful, and addicting.
Kelly Lee Owens – Love You Got
Amidst the compressed MP3 sounds of Brat summer and the massive Katy Perry reboot flops, Kelly Lee Owens has dropped a perfect crystalline piece of dancefloor pop, “Love You Got.” Maybe it's not as meme-able as some, but “Love You Got” is about as perfect a cut of surging house pop as you could ask for.
Why? – Jump
The latest single from Yoni wolf and why plays with both meanings of the chorus “I need a fucking jump, man” when feeling deeply stuck and listless in your day to fay life. It's one of the most affecting songs I've heard from Why? in a while, its heavy, loping groove reminiscent of some of his best anthems from his Elephant Eyelash/Alopecia era.
throwback
John Davis & The Monster Orchestra – Baby I’ve Got It
Who knew the founder of the Mountain Goats had such a great taste in DJ sets?? This track is pulled from of John Darnielle's five favorite Mixcloud sets (from the Pine Walk Collection) but his whole interview about how much he loves Mixcloud, DJ sets and curation for the dance floor is just a delight to read. This track drops midway through his first Mixcloud selection, and although it’s melodically similar to "Hot Stuff," "Baby I've Got It" is blessed with an excellent singalong chorus – "cuz if you want what i got? baby i've got it!" – that demands a singalong.