Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Group 2 Listening Thread

[Vlad n U 2]

For people who didn't know about Eno/Hyde, I HIGHLY recommend listening. They put out two albums together in the space of like two months in 2014, Someday World and High Life. Both are terrific.

Relevant to this, have you listened to much of the Underworld discography yet?

 

[the tourist]

I find your tastes eclectic, tourist, I think I have an idea, and then you're like "nup, don't like X at all", haha.

My taste has probably changed fairly significantly over time. Who did you think I liked that I don’t? Haha!

 

[the tourist]

Tourist:

This was a mixed bag for me. If I were really into bands like Two Door Cinema Club and Walk the Moon, I wouldn't have minded the lack of variety here so much, but this wasn't my thing for much of the early stretch. Lots of 2010-2013 nostalgia and warm vibes though.

Out of the first 14 songs, I only really enjoyed the St Lucia track, because that debut of theirs was always a great example of the indie/alternative rock trends at the time and Elevate is one of the highlights. It's not that I necessarily disliked all of the other 13 songs in this section, but a lot of it blended together for me.

I will say that the Griswolds song was a skip for me. Didn't like anything about it. And the lyrics on the Family of the Year song were bad in a distracting way. I'm cool with bad lyrics in fun poppy songs, but I can't get down with stirring up love potions by the ocean.

And what happened to Mute Math?! I do not want this sound from them.

Starting with the Author track, things started to click. The production on all of these songs is creamier, warmer, and I appreciated the variety from here on out. I've been getting back into chillwave lately and touches of that were appreciated.

Liked the songs by: Carly, Gambino (two chords over and over but he makes it so so work), The Colourist (I remember not caring for them, but this was really catchy), Wild Nothing, The Undercover Dream Lovers, Deep Sea Diver, Twin Shadow, Marble Arch, Alvvays.

All in all, not so much my thing compared to other lists, but I appreciated that you brought a deep dive into your chosen sound; I hadn't even heard of many of these artists. There's so much more variety and finesse in the second half of this list and I wish the first stretch had some of that. Even varying the pace would have made a big difference.

I allllllmost didn’t include the Griswolds track. And I know the lyrics for St. Croix are silly (but in that genre lyrics don’t matter to me as much). But then I was like, screw it, this is a playlist for me, and if other people like it or don’t, eh. I guess in that sense this is the truest playlist to myself that I’ve ever made, because I’ve done tons of self-editing in the past thinking, like, they won’t like this - can’t include it, have to include these bands, better not include the top hits that get overplayed, etc.

This time I set out to make something I would listen to over and over for years. And (most of) these are songs I’ve been listening to over and over for years but never collected into a single list. So I went into this knowing I’ll probably take last place, but if I can get a few people into a few artists they’ve never heard of that I dig, and can make it flow well enough for my own purposes, I take that as a win. The other win from this whole Desert Island being the dead forum getting like a thousand or more extra posts in a month.

As for Mutemath, they’re pretty well done as a band. I think it’s down to just Paul Meany and I don’t know if he’s planning to continue. From social media posts I kinda don’t think so. You mentioned Author by name and I can’t stress enough how good Is It Far Or Is It Close (song and album) is. Same with Secrets by Deep Sea Diver. They’ve actually been playing live a lot during the pandemic on instagram - two of the members are husband and wife which makes it easy for them to play live while social distancing.

Glad you found some stuff you enjoy!

 

[LemonMelon]

I allllllmost didn’t include the Griswolds track. And I know the lyrics for St. Croix are silly (but in that genre lyrics don’t matter to me as much). But then I was like, screw it, this is a playlist for me, and if other people like it or don’t, eh. I guess in that sense this is the truest playlist to myself that I’ve ever made, because I’ve done tons of self-editing in the past thinking, like, they won’t like this - can’t include it, have to include these bands, better not include the top hits that get overplayed, etc.

This time I set out to make something I would listen to over and over for years. And (most of) these are songs I’ve been listening to over and over for years but never collected into a single list. So I went into this knowing I’ll probably take last place, but if I can get a few people into a few artists they’ve never heard of that I dig, and can make it flow well enough for my own purposes, I take that as a win. The other win from this whole Desert Island being the dead forum getting like a thousand or more extra posts in a month.

As for Mutemath, they’re pretty well done as a band. I think it’s down to just Paul Meany and I don’t know if he’s planning to continue. From social media posts I kinda don’t think so. You mentioned Author by name and I can’t stress enough how good Is It Far Or Is It Close (song and album) is. Same with Secrets by Deep Sea Diver. They’ve actually been playing live a lot during the pandemic on instagram - two of the members are husband and wife which makes it easy for them to play live while social distancing.

Glad you found some stuff you enjoy!

That's cool. I had the same attitude, honestly. Didn't really think I had much chance with a 154 minute list full of songs nobody around here listens to, but it was true to me, an accurate representation for where I'm at in spring 2020, and that's what really matters.

One thing I'll always say about you: because of your background in music and engagement with the form, you get very personally invested in the artists you like and champion a lot of smaller acts, especially those you've met, which I think is admirable. For that reason, there's usually a personal touch in any list you submit.

 

[cobl04]

I allllllmost didn’t include the Griswolds track. And I know the lyrics for St. Croix are silly (but in that genre lyrics don’t matter to me as much). But then I was like, screw it, this is a playlist for me, and if other people like it or don’t, eh. I guess in that sense this is the truest playlist to myself that I’ve ever made, because I’ve done tons of self-editing in the past thinking, like, they won’t like this - can’t include it, have to include these bands, better not include the top hits that get overplayed, etc.

This time I set out to make something I would listen to over and over for years. And (most of) these are songs I’ve been listening to over and over for years but never collected into a single list. So I went into this knowing I’ll probably take last place, but if I can get a few people into a few artists they’ve never heard of that I dig, and can make it flow well enough for my own purposes, I take that as a win. The other win from this whole Desert Island being the dead forum getting like a thousand or more extra posts in a month.

This is awesome, and, all that matters, really.

Relevant to this, have you listened to much of the Underworld discography yet?

Like none of it. I genuinely only know BSNuxx

 

[LemonMelon]

LN7:

This is an example of a list that is not up my alley all the way through but I still consistently enjoyed it for its execution. Even though I could describe this list with just a handful of genre tags, it never felt samey or repetitive. There was always a fun bounce to it with enough swings from soft to loud that I remained thoroughly engaged as I listened.

Did I like everything? No. We don't really have the same taste in modern rock and quite a few of these tracks were simply OK to me. Airborne Toxic Event, Twenty One Pilots, meh. I like electropop more often than not, but somewhere around the Zola Jesus track I felt like I'd had enough of it for one list. I also didn't really feel like the list started or ended especially well. Obviously, the EPAA/This River opening has been divisive, but I really think Something to Remember Me By would have ended the list on a higher note. I Am Easy to Find is alright, not my favorite National track, but it doesn't really sum up what this list was trying to do as well as the track that came before it. That's not a huge deal though.

Anyway, I liked everything else. The flow was good throughout, everything felt like it belonged together, but I especially enjoyed the transition between Half Light II and Return. Both songs were wonderful and they sounded great together. The best moment of your list IMO. Elsewhere, Downtown is fucking fantastic. Majical Cloudz were always underrated. The Rat is an undeniable classic. I didn't know Heatwave, but I'm glad I know it now. Summertime Clothes, Ran, Heartbeats and, of course, Something to Remember Me By were also fantastic. I also enjoyed the turn into international tunes towards the end, it was a refreshing moment in a list that already had a lot going for it in that regard.

Overall, I had a lot of fun. 2 hours and 19 minutes that felt like it an hour and a half. I figured I'd enjoy at least part of this list based on the tracklisting, but the way everything hung together was a nice surprise.

Thus concludes group 2.

 

[Axver]

Alright, I'm spinning GAF's list. Accidentally missed Ruckman's comments, so apologies for a late reply here:

I couldn't get into Ghosteen as quickly as some others, but Hollywood hit me right away. It's absolutely devastating and I felt like it was perfect for this.

I'm not a Nick Cave fan, haven't listened to Ghosteen, his whole vocal performance isn't usually something that appeals to me outside of very specific contexts, but this song really, really worked for what you presented.

[]QUOTE]I'm pleasantly surprised to see another Fastball fan here. Like I said, of all those pop-rock bands that were all over the place in the late 90s, they were one of the better ones. "The Way" is a killer single.[/QUOTE]

Got to be honest, it's really only The Way that I return to. Not much else from that album left a mark on me, but holy shit The Way is legit.

Just to clarify, that Torn video you posted is NOT the one that was one my list. Like I said in my writeup, Edna Swap recorded the song twice. That's the first recording, but I'd used the second recording on my list(partially because I preferred it, partially because the first recording isn't available on Spotify here either). THIS is the correct one:

Oh, woops, sorry! I just took the more recent upload, as I find those are better in audio quality. I think I actually prefer the first version, especially for the faster intro.

They were just one of those bands that would've gotten mentioned in the same breath as Blink 182 or Third Eye Blind or whatever back in the day, and that general milieu of bands is often maligned in these parts.

Semi-Charmed Life is another one of those nostalgia songs I'll dig up maybe once every couple of years to remember what being 10 sounded like. Haven't a clue what else Third Eye Blind even did.

Blink sucked and I'm amazed how many people try to revise their reputation now. Music for 14 year old rugby thugs who live for April fool's day.

I'm thousands of miles away, but I can almost feel Cobbler's wrath at that statement.

Wayne Coyne is clearly one of the worst people in music, fight me Cobbs.

Must admit I've had some of these songs from your list filtering through my mind over the last couple of days. Just nice warm nostalgia really.

Also, I should mention one song I remembered last year - Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin. I think I randomly ended up on the Wikipedia page for it or something, and found it on Spotify. I'd forgotten how good it was. I've been playing it really regularly since. It's fantastic on its merits, not just as nostalgia. Pity that the album it's from, A Few Small Repairs, didn't deliver any other notable tracks.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Like none of it. I genuinely only know BSNuxx

I can't stress this enough, you must rectify this immediately.

(I like Born Slippy a lot but it's not in their top 20 best songs)

 

[Axver]

Notes on GAF's list:

- I love The Cure, but I find KMKMKM a very boring album and Catch is a forgettable song.
- Fall on Me is an absolutely top REM song and a wonderful choice. Yes!
- Really good run through to Blondie. You picked one of the few Big Star songs that has ever stuck with me. I've never rated XTC or Spoon, but I enjoyed both of these songs.
- Ugh this Prince song is annoying. There's some sort of rhythmic noise in this (I don't know what to call it) that is aggravating.
- I must admit I've never listened properly to Blur, mainly because most of the songs I've heard have been misses rather than hits... this is a miss.
- On the other hand, I think poorly of The Replacements but this is enjoyable.
- Good Manics track, one I hadn't played for quite some time and liked revisiting.
- Wow, this is not what I expected the Eno track to sound like at all. I was expecting an abrupt shift to something ambient. Dug it.
- I thought the pairing of Buzzcocks and White Stripes was effective, pity both songs don't really appeal to me.
- "There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything" absolutely cracked me up in the Camper Van Beethoven song.
- Oh no Tumbling Dice. I remember absolutely loathing this in an old DI, to the point I could not finish it and called it the worst song in the competition. This year... I got through it. It's not even the worst song in the competition, but it's still pretty bad.

I'll be honest: I quite enjoyed much of the opening third of the list, and the middle third had enough good tracks to keep me interested, but the final third, I was just getting through it. I was surprised to find the Abba song genuinely good, it's much better than I would have credited them, but too many of the songs beforehand were dated old stuff that simply isn't in my wheelhouse. I can see the appeal of some of it, but not a few tracks.

I don't want to seem like too much of a downer, though. There were some neat sections of this list and it was sequenced well. I figured you'd submit something with a spirit of fun, and that's definitely the case.

 

[Joey788]

GAF:

- I pretty much agree with your playlist name – these are a bunch of good songs! I already knew of many of them, but that didn’t hurt my enjoyment. There were some misses for me in your song selection, but no artist here that I actively dislike.
- The Cure song didn’t do anything for me. Props for picking something unexpected though to kick the list off.
- “Fall On Me” is ab excellent R.E.M. pick and gets this playlist on the right track for me.
- Big Star and XTC are both artists where I don’t know too much of their catalog, but I greatly enjoyed both tracks.
- “Sister Jack” was a cool Spoon choice. Really, you can’t go wrong with anything from them on Kill the Moonlight or later.
- The New Pornographers are hit or miss for me. A few of their albums and songs really connect but the rest just doesn’t appeal for some reason. But “Mass Romantic” is firmly in the former category. What an electric song. That Blondie tune was a great follow-up too.
- The Prince track was alright. Didn’t love it but didn’t hate it.
- I like Blur best when they’re being fun and playful or immensely depressed. “Parklife” is one the best of the former vibe. Such a great singalong song.
- I’m going to admit that Arctic Monkeys never interested me that much until Tranquility Hotel & Casino. This song was good, but I like their weird lounge side better.
- Replacements and Clash songs were strong picks,
- Lots of Brian Eno on these playlists this time around! I’ve enjoyed all the ones I’ve heard so far, this included.
- 70s Bowie is untouchable, as is “The Seeker.”
- Buzzcocks and White Stripes were a great combo that felt like they evolved out of the same lineage. On the latter, when I was a kid, it was “Fell In Love With A Girl” that made me aware of the 2000s garage rock revival. I missed The Strokes completely. Didn’t stick with the White Stripes for long though – it was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs that were the first indie band I really got into as a kid.
- I didn’t particularly like the Ramones song.
- “Tumbling Dice” is alright, but I’ve never been a big Rolling Stones fan.
- I thought Stevie Wonder’s Beatles cover was fantastic. “We Can Work It Out” is one of my favorite Beatles tracks and this one had a great energy and injected Wonder’s personality.
- Following that cover with The Beatles themselves was a nice touch too. “Ballad of John and Yoko” is an underrated tune by them, if such a thing is possible with The Beatles.
- The ABBA track was pleasant and led well into “Born to Run,” which is of course a classic.
- Lots of good stuff here, GAF. I liked some parts better than others, but there were lots of songs that had me singing along. Even the misses were frequently surrounding by tunes I liked. There were no stretches that fell flat for me.

 

[Jerry Dunk]

Gump:

I enjoyed this list, and I think the link between our respective approaches/theme helps since I'm already entering this competition in that mindset. A New York-themed list is less likely to contain "surprises" that a list like mine had in identifying artists being from an area, so that element wasn't part of it. But yours was more clearly focused on the city as a theme, and that shines through. I'm familiar with most of the artists here and a lot of the songs, but there were still new treats ("Piss Factory") to go through here. I also think the choice to have a shorter overall list, punctuated with a lot of short songs, made long songs with stories to tell like "Living for the City" and "New York City Serenade" a lot more impactful. The list also reminded me how much I enjoyed that Eleanor Friedberger album, which is one I probably haven't listened to in five or six years. Well done.

LN7:

I must echo the sentiments above about stretches of this list reminding me of undergrad. Songs like "Symphonies" and "Quite Little Voices" in particular remind me of playlists from when I was drinking with friends in college. I enjoyed this list. Similarly, I was more familiar with the artists in this list than some of the ones from Group 1, but it is certainly not a bad thing for me. Very well constructed. Zola Jesus and Future Islands were two particular highlights.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

LJT, Ax, and Joey...thanks for your thoughts on my list. I am especially happy that LJT referred to my list as "great craic." I'm going to steal this and start calling things that now.

 

[cobl04]

Brodie Grundy, you're up.

Part One. Wow. Were it not for a couple of things - the short length and a couple of song choices - I would stick my neck out and say this has been my favourite playlist of the competition so far. I could absolutely have done with a whole playlist in this mood. Absolutely fantastic, right up my alley. I think the use of When I Need a Friend in the role of leading into a song/mood is a great idea, but I don't think it worked for the mood you created. I think it would work superbly leading into a more uplifting mood, but was too stark a contrast for the mood that followed. I have some reservations about Marooned, as it has elements of Floyd/prog rock pastiche to the sound, which made me cringe a little, but it is still a good song. Cinch was terrific, as was the Royksopp song. I can't recall much about either after just one listen, but they worked really well, as did the Sigur Ros song (even if it's pretty similar to several other Sigur Ros songs in terms of the crescendo. Marooned through to Open Again was absolutely superb, by far the best stretch I've heard in this competition so far. I Just Might was a great song, I dug its Nebraska-esque vibes, but I felt it fucked with the flow. Don't hate its inclusion, but I think you could have gone straight into Terminal 7, which was also outstanding, the exact type of jazz I really like, and then the segue into Hollywood was just *Italian chef kissy fingers*.

So yeah, I'm actually reticent to listen to part two because I loved parts of part one so much. I think you pick a better intro track, get rid of the Ryan Adams track, and I'll call it the best stretch of the competition so far - and a damn shame it didn't go on longer. The flow and sequencing were almost top-notch, there were several occasions where I couldn't tell a new song had started. I'm actually quite jealous. Great job man.

 

[cobl04]

My suggestion for the intro track? "You May Die" by OutKast.

 

[cobl04]

And I reckon if you'd replaced the Ryan Adams song, or followed Hollywood, with a track from Flaming Lips' Embryonic, I'd have done a little jizz.

 

[cobl04]

Alright, Max Gawn, part two.

As I queued up Fastball in YouTube, yep, this is exactly why I was reticent to listen to part two nothing against you personally of course, but this would be close to the bottom of what I've heard so far, in stark contrast with part one.

That's not because the songs weren't good - many of them were - but it felt like a CD I'd buy at a servo in parts. And I just found a lot of the song choices uninspired. Unlike GAF's list, which had a not-too-dissimilar sound, this list had a lot of obvious choices. I'd likely feel quite different about it had you perhaps gone for different cuts from each of the artists, but as it was, I just didn't feel like I got much out of it. I think the only problem with a nostalgia list is everyone's nostalgia is slightly different. So while I've got no doubt you get a hell of a lot personally out of listening to the second playlist, it left me pretty cold. (I'm aware this is all in contrast too to some of my earlier comments about not marking down lists for using songs we're all familiar with. I'm not trying to be personal or super harsh, just being honest.) It's just not what I want out of DI - a lot of songs I hear regularly on the radio.

The Bends rules, In My Tree was great, the next 15 minutes were fine but did little for me aside from tell me who sings that She's So High song. The Torn original was cool to hear, also I don't think I realised Learn to Fly was by the Fooies, as we call them here.

I always feel isolated when it comes to Nirvana, as pretty much no song I've heard by them has ever interested me. I just don't get it. Kenneth is good. She Don't Use Jelly is good. Listening to it I did start to wonder why it was that song that got so huge. It's as silly as many of their early songs. You know I'm a RHCP fan but Greeting Song was pretty anonymous, could have been one of a hundred songs by them. The guitar is what I like most about Where is My Mind. I saw them live a couple of months ago at a festival (crazy to think now) and was pretty unmoved. No Rain was yet another song that I've heard a million times but never knew the song or artist. The NMH track made me think, hmm, maybe I should revisit that album some time, but then I remembered him screaming about Jesus, and the Decemberists have songs that sound like this, so why not just listen to them instead.

The Sheryl Crow song was fun. I felt the list started to lose some of its heretofore good flow and jumped around a bit. I could have done with more of this sound - I really liked Crush and Beautiful Stranger as well, and a bit more female pop-rock would have done wonders. Unfortunately, we went from Beautiful Stranger (which sounded familiar? is it a cover maybe? Em tells me it's a very popular song that everyone knows?) into Smash Mouth, that song sucked arse, and I definitely don't like them. The Weezer song I've heard a million times. It's nice.

And then an interesting finishing trifecta. Steal My Sunshine, I feel like the music (the beat) is a little more subversive than I previously gave it credit for, it's quite dancey. Hate the male vocals though. Worked quite well into Loaded. Primal Scream I don't know how I feel about. I know all the stories and the history behind this record in particular, but every time I've gone to listen to it the music hasn't had enough of the vibe I'm looking for or expecting. This song is good. It also reminds me so much of another song... which upon googling appears to 19-2000 by Gorillaz, which surprises me, I thought it's something different. It's also pretty Stonesy. It might remind me of another song too, maybe something by the Stones. Anyway. Good song. And then came the Sunscreen song, which was a really strange way for things to finish. Wasn't a fan. But I'm sure it has meaning for you.

So overall, I wasn't a big fan of part two. It achieved its aims, the flow was quite good aside from some parts in the last third, and plenty of the songs were really good. But I was quite let down after how much I enjoyed part one, and it had too many really popular songs for me to feel like I was getting something out of it I couldn't have got from a mainstream CD compilation.

 

[cobl04]

Drinkin in LA would have been a good addition, too.

 

[Jerry Dunk]

I'm about midway through Tourist's list, but I can already tell you it's exceptionally well sequenced. Several times I've said to myself, "This sounds like artist X," only to see that it was a different artist, but that artist X was coming up shortly. It happened with thinking Family of the Year and Panama Wedding sounded like St. Lucia, as well as Post Animal sounding like Tame Impala.

 

[gump]

Tourist:

Your list probably has the highest number of artists I didn’t know (either you or Ax, I think). It was very well sequenced, something that I appreciated even when some of the artists were not my cup of tea.

This Ricochet song provided a different kind of opening than most lists, as it didn't really rely on a long intro or slow build, and set the mood for the rest of the list.

I always enjoy playful transitions that involve song/band names (talking about the song Panama leading into a Panama Wedding song).

I don't have many detailed comments for the first half of the list as I was running and didn't take detailed notes. There were some sounds that I enjoyed quite a bit - like the 80s feel of After the Moment leading into Elevate. I didn't care much for the back end of the first half, like the sequence from Grisworlds through The Wombats, but mostly because it is not a style I enjoy much.

Cobbler was right. This Post Animal song sounds like a carbon copy of Tame Impala. Everything sounds pretty much the same: the guitar effects, the distorted vocals, the atmosphere. Even that little pause they have towards the end of the song.

Tame Impala lost me a bit with their latest album, I have to say. I probably haven’t given it enough of a chance, despite really enjoying everything up to Currents. I can’t help feeling a sense of declining marginal utility with each passing album. This song is nice enough though.

Carly Rae can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve always liked the slower tempo of Everything He Needs compared to most of her output.

I don’t remember who praised the transition into Gambino, but that was great. Danny Glover is so freaking talented in everything he does.

I’m not super attentive to lyrics, particularly when I’m not using headphones, but this French Girls song bugged me. The sound is fine, but I had to google the lyrics to make sure I was understanding it correctly (the chorus in particular is not good).

I love love this Wild Nothing song. Nocturnes is such a good album, his best in my view. It’s highlight after highlight. Only Heather worked very well in the flow of your list. The Soy Boy song that followed was pretty good at keeping the same mood, and I like the flow. The beat is very similar to Wild Nothing.

Not sure if you have heard Washed Out, tourist, but I couldn’t help feeling that a song off Within and Without would have fit this part of your list. It might be a band that you will enjoy if you don’t know them already.

I told LN7 that I never managed to get into Twin Shadow, but Five Seconds is perhaps their only song that I still remember and enjoy.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to it much more than I expected when I saw it on paper. A lot of new artists for me. I think the second half was much stronger than the first, and closer to my musical preferences too. Some of the sounds in the first half were a bit of a miss for me, but the sequencing was excellent throughout. Great job!

 

[Jerry Dunk]

Finishing it up, I think my comments are consistent with the whole experience. Definitely plenty of stuff to refer back to and artists to dig more into. If it suffers from anything, it's probably the lack of genre diversity, but it's certainly not a playlist that stays in one place for two hours. Well done.

 

[the tourist]

Finishing it up, I think my comments are consistent with the whole experience. Definitely plenty of stuff to refer back to and artists to dig more into. If it suffers from anything, it's probably the lack of genre diversity, but it's certainly not a playlist that stays in one place for two hours. Well done.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed some of the songs enough to check the artists out further!

 

[the tourist]

Tourist:

Your list probably has the highest number of artists I didn’t know (either you or Ax, I think). It was very well sequenced, something that I appreciated even when some of the artists were not my cup of tea.

This Ricochet song provided a different kind of opening than most lists, as it didn't really rely on a long intro or slow build, and set the mood for the rest of the list.

I always enjoy playful transitions that involve song/band names (talking about the song Panama leading into a Panama Wedding song).

I don't have many detailed comments for the first half of the list as I was running and didn't take detailed notes. There were some sounds that I enjoyed quite a bit - like the 80s feel of After the Moment leading into Elevate. I didn't care much for the back end of the first half, like the sequence from Grisworlds through The Wombats, but mostly because it is not a style I enjoy much.

Cobbler was right. This Post Animal song sounds like a carbon copy of Tame Impala. Everything sounds pretty much the same: the guitar effects, the distorted vocals, the atmosphere. Even that little pause they have towards the end of the song.

Tame Impala lost me a bit with their latest album, I have to say. I probably haven’t given it enough of a chance, despite really enjoying everything up to Currents. I can’t help feeling a sense of declining marginal utility with each passing album. This song is nice enough though.

Carly Rae can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned, and I’ve always liked the slower tempo of Everything He Needs compared to most of her output.

I don’t remember who praised the transition into Gambino, but that was great. Danny Glover is so freaking talented in everything he does.

I’m not super attentive to lyrics, particularly when I’m not using headphones, but this French Girls song bugged me. The sound is fine, but I had to google the lyrics to make sure I was understanding it correctly (the chorus in particular is not good).

I love love this Wild Nothing song. Nocturnes is such a good album, his best in my view. It’s highlight after highlight. Only Heather worked very well in the flow of your list. The Soy Boy song that followed was pretty good at keeping the same mood, and I like the flow. The beat is very similar to Wild Nothing.

Not sure if you have heard Washed Out, tourist, but I couldn’t help feeling that a song off Within and Without would have fit this part of your list. It might be a band that you will enjoy if you don’t know them already.

I told LN7 that I never managed to get into Twin Shadow, but Five Seconds is perhaps their only song that I still remember and enjoy.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to it much more than I expected when I saw it on paper. A lot of new artists for me. I think the second half was much stronger than the first, and closer to my musical preferences too. Some of the sounds in the first half were a bit of a miss for me, but the sequencing was excellent throughout. Great job!

Cool on the new artists thing! I was figuring a lot of these would be new to a lot of people. And I’m glad someone commented on the Panama thing. I was laughing to myself a little as I did that. Seems like Beware The Dog, Paris, and Headspace were the common sections that nobody liked. Haha, at least that’s consistent! As for Washed Out, I’m familiar with their early stuff and toyed with Feel It All Around (my favorite of theirs) at one point, but I think I might’ve used it before and unfortunately I feel like it may have been ruined by being the Portlandia intro music. And about Twin Shadow, I highly, highly recommend his album Confess. One of my favorites of the ‘10s.

 

[gump]

And I’m glad someone commented on the Panama thing. I was laughing to myself a little as I did that.

I really like those little things. In one of my DI lists I had Franz Ferdinand’s Eleanor Put Your Boots On followed by an Eleanor Friedberger song (who is the actual Eleanor for whom the FF song was written).

 

[cobl04]

hey there, gumpy boy, flying through the sky so fancy free.

I don't have a huge amount to say about your playlist. I've listened to part one. It's very good! Thoroughly enjoyed everything up until Le Tigre. Great track to start, fantastic hip-hop section (the Beastie Boys track led me to read most of a Brent Di Whatever Pitchfork review of that album unfortunately) which led seamlessly into the soul section. I've never listened to Stevie Wonder, which I know is fucked up. This song rules, and the breakdown in the middle with the police was breathtaking - can't imagine how that would have sounded / been perceived when it actually came out. Astonishing song. Bobby Womack I only know through Plastic Beach, great song. I then thought you segued very well into alt rock, I bloody love Waiting for the Man. I didn't think much of the rest of part one sadly, that short, sharp punk sound is not really my thing. I found the move into Le Tigre a little jarring, but to get from jazz to hip-hop to soul to alt-rock to punk in less than hour and do it so well was a fantastic achievement.

It's interesting, and I'd be keen for Ax's take on this, to have a list centred around a city. It feels so natural for America, but to an outsider, particularly an Australian, I do have my qualms. There's an American exceptionalism - not in your playlist mind you, as yours isn't just Empire State of Mind let's hear it for New York vibes, just generally - that comes from the idea of the American dream and everything being the greatest in the world. We just don't do that here. So while it's natural to create a playlist like yours, also like Peef's, it does seem weird to me that it's done so easily. I don't think I could make a playlist about Melbourne. I could do one about Australia, and Ax could probably do Melbourne, and yet I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I could make a banging playlist featuring songs only about NYC or by NYC artists. It's just a strange thing to reflect on.

 

[cobl04]

Done with part two, gump! Also great. Tbh, I reckon this playlist could have benefitted from being longer, or at least in one part. It's so good, and I kinda feel like, as I'm sure you do given you have a 6hr version, that you barely scratched the surface. But in my opinion, I think I'd have liked it to be one playlist, both halves felt really short.

Anyway. That Patti Smith track ruled, I'd like to know more about it. I liked its outtake-esque quality, it never really gets going as a song, it's just this sick galloping piano that also serves as the percussion against her snarling vocals. Great tune. Loved the Iggy Pop song too, nothing like I've heard from him before. Felt it was maybe a bit too low-energy following on from the Patti song, but I'd like to know more about this song too. Enjoyed Waits & Joni, Venus is not one of my favourites from Marquee Moon though. Roosevelt Island was terrific (this mighta been a good one after Patti maybe!)

Then we got to New York, and to be honest, if your playlist was only two minutes and 35 songs long, I would have crowned it the winner. What a motherfucking song this is. Absolutely destroys me. I wonder if some of it is about Bowie. I know he was out there in his final years, cos James Murphy wrote about it. The Lana song didn't do a great deal for me. NYC is a fucking classic and the segue into Geese of Beverley Road (this is about NYC?) was sublime. Walk on the Wild Side, of course.

I'd never heard New York City Serenade, my goodness. So good. And very different from the Bruce I know. The vocals aren't as explosive yet. Great instrumentation. How often they play this live? I'll have to listen to this album. Also I'm sure I heard a refrain that went "ohhh fish lady, fish lady, fish lady..." Also, Autumn Sweater played after it. Not sure if that's about/from NYC but it fit quite well haha.

So great job man, really enjoyed it. Could have been even more indulgent in the end imo.

bring on group three!

 

[Axver]

It's interesting, and I'd be keen for Ax's take on this, to have a list centred around a city. It feels so natural for America, but to an outsider, particularly an Australian, I do have my qualms. There's an American exceptionalism - not in your playlist mind you, as yours isn't just Empire State of Mind let's hear it for New York vibes, just generally - that comes from the idea of the American dream and everything being the greatest in the world. We just don't do that here. So while it's natural to create a playlist like yours, also like Peef's, it does seem weird to me that it's done so easily. I don't think I could make a playlist about Melbourne. I could do one about Australia, and Ax could probably do Melbourne, and yet I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that I could make a banging playlist featuring songs only about NYC or by NYC artists. It's just a strange thing to reflect on.

I suspect it's partly that American musicians have written about their cities in ways that we don't, and that the cultural dominance of the US in the West for the second half of the twentieth century meant that visiting bands also wrote about those places - perhaps mythologising them even more than American bands did. U2 singing affectionately about the US really dates them now.

I actually made a list on RYM of New Zealand places in music, because even compared to Australians I feel like Kiwis have been reticent to sing about where they're from. I suspect that in both countries, we feel strongly about where we're from and defend it staunchly, but it's not something we're inclined to put in song for whatever reason. Is it that we are bad at articulating it? Is it that our favourite urban qualities aren't terribly musical? We get more worked up shitting on Sydney (or Sydneysiders shitting on Melbourne) than we do hailing our own place. More practically, the Aussie dream of the quarter-acre block has been something for young musicians to rebel against, not to hunger for. Of course, America's sprawling suburbia has inspired similar music of alienation, but yeah there are other national narratives that lend themselves to positive musical expression.

Anyway, as for a local list... I did one of exclusively New Zealand musicians in one of the DIs a decade ago, and I could probably do a better one now. I did try to make a Melbourne list for one of the gatherings I held before I moved to Wollongong, but in the end I incorporated artists who'd played great concerts in Melbourne as well as locals. I probably could do a full list though, yeah, and maybe I will for fun. But wherever I chose - New Zealand, Australia, Melbourne - it would be an "artists from" list, not a "songs about" list.

PS I've written lots and lots of songs, performed and recorded only a few of them, and most *are* about places in New Zealand and Australia in one way or another. A few are nostalgia for my hometown, Raumati Beach; one I wrote an ode to the East Brunswick Club when the band room closed in 2012; the lyric I'm most proud of is about the Tangiwai railway disaster.

 

[Axver]

Right, it's time for tourist's list.

I'm really struck by the similarity in style of the first six tracks. They all feel familiar, even though I didn't know any before today, except the St Lucia song - I suppose it's that I've enjoyed some other bands that fit into this space. Feel like I should be hearing all of these at Laneway a few years ago on a warm summer day rather than cranking them in the evening as autumn finally figures out how to be mildly cool. Nice vibes without being revelatory.

I absolutely refuse to believe this Walk the Moon song is not some eighties single. I thought this was Phil Collins or something.

If the start of the list sounded like Laneway some summers ago, the next few songs through to The Wombats sound like the lineups of bigger summer festivals that I didn't attend.

What the fuck happened to Mutemath. I wondered who this was and barely believed my eyes when I saw the song attributed to them. Talk about trendhopping.

I feel like this Author track changed things up a bit. It got my attention, in a good way. I like it. Yeah, I'll check out the album it's from.

I've never been into Tame Impala. Like, I don't mind them but I don't get the fuss. Their track and the preceding sound-alike went in one ear and out the other.

I remain mystified by how CRJ is a thing. I'm not surprised she'd have an audience, but I don't get why a large chunk of that audience seems to post on RYM or similar, people wouldn't be caught dead listening to this if it had a different artist name attached to it. Are people suckers for a meme that much?

Really hated "French Girls", sorry.

The list picks up again from The Colourist. Small Black is an interesting one for me, because "Free at Dawn" in particular used to be a big part of my listening (some years ago I'd fall asleep with music on and it was a regular part of my nightly playlists). This feels like a real dose of nostalgia for me. And it's followed by a good pick from Wild Nothing's best album. The run to the end of the list is more chill than the early stages and I'm enjoying it as a bit of a wind-down tonight.

I'm a bit iffy on Alvvays. They have some good moments, like "Party Police", but "Archie, Marry Me" ... no. The chorus sinks it.

Moody Bear is a great closer, excellent choice.

In summary, I thought this was put together well and mostly pleasant, a few songs notwithstanding. I wish I'd put it on yesterday afternoon when a magnificent sunny afternoon gave way to a pleasant evening, because that's what I feel this list would suit, whatever the lyrical content might be. Those flashbacks to Laneway earlier in the 2010s were very strong. I also get the impression there is a specific sort of male vocal that especially appeals to you, though I've not the musical language to articulate it.

 

[gump]

Thanks a lot, cobbler. Really glad you enjoyed it and liked reading your comments.

It's interesting, and I'd be keen for Ax's take on this, to have a list centred around a city. It feels so natural for America, but to an outsider, particularly an Australian, I do have my qualms. There's an American exceptionalism - not in your playlist mind you, as yours isn't just Empire State of Mind let's hear it for New York vibes, just generally - that comes from the idea of the American dream and everything being the greatest in the world.

I don't know if I agree with this. I think there are certain cities that really lend themselves to songs. Look at the list of songs about London, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_about_London. I can think of a couple dozen songs about Rio de Janeiro off the top of my head. And tons of jazz standards are written about Paris - and French songs of course. NYC, like London, benefits from being English-speaking and a key place for the recording industry.

For my list specifically (I know your point was broader), I tried to add a bunch of songs that are pretty critical about the city, how it handles minorities, etc, while recognizing that NYC has been a magnet for people from a lot of places (that whole stretch that begins with Stevie Wonder through Le Tigre is about that).

Roosevelt Island was terrific (this mighta been a good one after Patti maybe!)

It mostly works after the Patti Smith song, I tried it a couple of times, but the tone was too different for me and I liked the Iggy Pop sequencing given their similarities (and geographically, Avenue B is in the Lower East Side, the key place for punk in NYC, which is another reason I wanted to connect it to Patti Smith).

NYC is a fucking classic and the segue into Geese of Beverley Road (this is about NYC?) was sublime.

Yes! Beverly Road is a street in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, where the band had a house at around the time Alligator was recorded (I think through the Boxer days at least). Ditmas Park is a strange neighborhood in that it's made up mostly of suburban-style homes, but it's in the city.

 

[Jerry Dunk]

I believe Aaron lived in Ditmas Park and had a studio built in a small garage behind his house. That's sort of become his thing, now that he moved up to the Hudson Valley and built a bigger studio on his property.

 

[bono_212]

Sorry I've dropped off the face of the earth. This week and last were both crazy. Even working from home, I'm still at the whim of a job that has really slow periods and then crazy busy ones.

I'm going to make an attempt to write up all of my thoughts for group 2 tonight. I need to spend today listening to namkcuR's list.