https://youtu.be/SCtkn9W9GJ8
4. Melvins – "Working the Ditch". Familiar yet welcome sound of doomy sludgy riffs, howling feedback and dark shouty vocals. "It was a dark time for us/The whole goddamn godless world". #music

https://youtu.be/irGCDBkIH1Y
3. Bon Enfant – Trompe-l'oeil". Postpunky bass and guitar that goes from punky stabs to jangly licks, plus singing en francais (band is from Montreal). #music

https://youtu.be/KHocVRUlvkk
2. Fontaines D.C. – "Starburster". Irish indie rockers come back strong with solid lead drumming, James Bond guitar, gasping in the choruses, and numerous other little flourishes that all just work. #music

My Top 4 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 16):
https://youtu.be/peA5zf3dBVA
1. Yannis and the Yaw featuring Tony Allen – "Walk Through Fire". Foals singer meets Afrobeat legend in one of drummer Allen's last projects before his 2020 passing, and everyone rises to the occasion. Electrifying. #music

If the Cocteau Twins ever get back together I got their sleeve art covered.

Lonely boi

https://www.youtube.com/live/XuL_rhy44Fw?si=rEZSx0z0bM7DhIQf
Video of the fantastic reading by George Albon, Dennis Phillips and Avery Burns last night at Green Apple Books in San Francisco. "The somnambulist walking straight out into the coup" #poetry

Western trillium

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music

https://youtu.be/c1fc214w31Q
5. Gimmy – "Bathrooms". Aussie new wave art-punk with faux-European accented vocals taking on taboos like "would you touch my baguette?" #music

https://youtu.be/ElkfRLDSUeA
4. MRCY – "R.L.M." A shot of '70s-style soul updated with a trip-hop beat and some subtle digital effects. "Sunshine spills out the stereo". #music

https://youtu.be/IRLGFWjI1zE
3. Mark Knopfler – "Two Pairs of Hands". If you're around my age, you can't hear that gravelly voice and iconic guitar tone and not think "Dire Straits", even though that band hasn't existed for about 30 years. A perfectly crafted song that—dare I say it?—kinda choogles. #music

https://youtu.be/yRr3nHi4Xfc
2. Paul Cauthen – "Hot Damn". A greasy groove that had me checking the credits for Black Keys involvement (couldn't find any). Ridiculous lyrics, sung with just the right amount of tongue in cheek. I especially like that he couldn't decide whether he's a Cadillac guy or a Trans Am guy, so he just drives both. #music

My Top 5 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 15):
https://youtu.be/MrT3Wx4YnRA
1. Wunderhorse – "Midas". A two minute twenty second, four-chord blast of Brit indie rock that reminded me of Elvis Costello's "On The Beat" with lyrics I think he got by taking a time machine to 1965 and stealing directly from Bob Dylan's typewriter. #music

Currently reading

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music

https://youtu.be/-MwuoSdILM8
5. Project Gemini – "After The Dawn". A funky bassline grounds this London project's groove while the guitars, keyboard, and West Asian vocal melodies send it careening off into psychedelic spacetime. #music

https://youtu.be/8ALpoMsaoTg
4. Conan Gray – "Bourgeoisieses". Meant as a tongue-in-cheek pisstake on the rich (which should really be referred to as the aristocracy rather than the bourgeoisie, which refers to the middle class, but whatever) with a fun synthpop dancefloor vibe. #music

https://youtu.be/QglDc7tJsCE
3. Ride – "Portland Rocks". Another clinic in creating blissed-out, cough-syrup tempo guitar soundscapes from shoegaze gurus Ride. #music

https://youtu.be/NRb1bvdP7XU
2. Lunchbox – "I'm Yours, You're Mine". Oakland band serves up a sweet slice of late-'60s/early-'70s AM pop with a surprisingly driving beat, a fuzz bass break in the middle, and a trumpet pitched somewhere between "So You Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" #music