My current favorite songs of the week
TGIF! My weekend has always begun because I took today off from work. One of the things I did on my day off was go to the Electric Fetus and picked up the new albums by Piroshka (Miki Berenyi's new band with members of Modern English, Elastica, and Moose) and Ladytron which are absolutely fantastic. Thanks to NPR, I had already heard the new album. It didn't take long to convince me to go buy a copy of the album. As for Brickbat by Piroshka. Anything that former Lush guitarist/vocalist Micki puts out, I will buy. I honestly don't think Brickbat sounds like any of the members' former bands. The long wait for Brickbat was definitely worth it.
I also picked up Valerie June's second album The Order of Time. I recently got into Valerie's music, especially The Order of Time which has quickly became my favorite album of the two albums Valerie has put out. I also bought a ticket for her first of two shows at the Cedar Cultural Center in April. Valerie certainly has a distinctive and unique voice. I like that she doesn't sound like anyone but herself.
Along with the new albums by Ladytron and Piroshka, I was excited that NPR made Our Native Daughters' album available for streaming before its official release next week (link provided below in the list of songs to check out). The album sounds wonderful. I really love the historical context of the songs as well as the collaborations between the four women. Check out the track "Moon Meets the Sun", I just love how well the women harmonizes together. I have also included tracks on this week's playlist of each of the women's work. Their work is definitely worth checking out.
After last weekend's Grammy awards show, I decided to revisit Kacey Musgrave's Golden Hour. It isn't a bad album but when it is up against some stiff competition that included By the Way, I Forgive You and Dirty Computer, it did not come to me as a surprise that the committee would opt for something safer (and duller) than the brilliance of Dirty Computer (which was far better on an artistic level than Golden Hour). I also thought Golden Hour didn't have a lot of energy like Brandi Carlile's album By The Way, I Forgive You does. I will say that I did enjoy Kacey's live performance of her song "Rainbow" (one of my favorite tracks on her album which I have included on my playlist this week) and her performance during the Dolly Parton tribute.
I finally got around to listen to Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Up Above My Head, I Hear Music In My Head" this week because I love Rhiannon Giddens' version. To be honest, the recorded version was a lot slower than I imagined so I went on YouTube and found some live clips of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (like this clip on the tv show Gospel Time) which sounds more in line with Rhiannon's version which is highly energetic. Oh and may I say that Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a fantastic guitar player? So glad she finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. It was long due for the mother of rock and roll. I also recommend looking up on youtube live performances of Rhiannon Giddens perform the song, it sounds amazing live.
Ever since I discovered the music of MILCK through NPR's All Songs Considered, I have been listening to her music on a daily basis. My current favorite song is "Quiet" which has been used as the anthem for the Women's March a couple of years ago. It is one of the few songs that brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to the song. My current favorite version is this clip from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
The rest of my playlist is an interesting mix bag featuring new Bob Mould, a Nina Simone remix, Portishead, a couple of tracks by Brandi Carlile, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Mavericks, a couple of tracks by Valerie June, and tracks by Beck, I Ya Toyah (who is touring with Zwaremachine this spring) and Chvrches.
Songs to check out:
"Hated By the Powers That Be" by Piroshka
"Until the Fire" by Ladytron
"Quiet" by MILCK
"Moon Meets the Sun" by Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell of Birds of Chicago, and Amythyst Kiah) [you can listen to the entire album before its release on NPR's First Listen: Our Native Daughter's Songs Of Our Native Daughters]
"Flashback" by I Ya Toyah
"All That Heaven Will Allow" by The Mavericks
I also picked up Valerie June's second album The Order of Time. I recently got into Valerie's music, especially The Order of Time which has quickly became my favorite album of the two albums Valerie has put out. I also bought a ticket for her first of two shows at the Cedar Cultural Center in April. Valerie certainly has a distinctive and unique voice. I like that she doesn't sound like anyone but herself.
Along with the new albums by Ladytron and Piroshka, I was excited that NPR made Our Native Daughters' album available for streaming before its official release next week (link provided below in the list of songs to check out). The album sounds wonderful. I really love the historical context of the songs as well as the collaborations between the four women. Check out the track "Moon Meets the Sun", I just love how well the women harmonizes together. I have also included tracks on this week's playlist of each of the women's work. Their work is definitely worth checking out.
After last weekend's Grammy awards show, I decided to revisit Kacey Musgrave's Golden Hour. It isn't a bad album but when it is up against some stiff competition that included By the Way, I Forgive You and Dirty Computer, it did not come to me as a surprise that the committee would opt for something safer (and duller) than the brilliance of Dirty Computer (which was far better on an artistic level than Golden Hour). I also thought Golden Hour didn't have a lot of energy like Brandi Carlile's album By The Way, I Forgive You does. I will say that I did enjoy Kacey's live performance of her song "Rainbow" (one of my favorite tracks on her album which I have included on my playlist this week) and her performance during the Dolly Parton tribute.
I finally got around to listen to Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Up Above My Head, I Hear Music In My Head" this week because I love Rhiannon Giddens' version. To be honest, the recorded version was a lot slower than I imagined so I went on YouTube and found some live clips of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (like this clip on the tv show Gospel Time) which sounds more in line with Rhiannon's version which is highly energetic. Oh and may I say that Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a fantastic guitar player? So glad she finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. It was long due for the mother of rock and roll. I also recommend looking up on youtube live performances of Rhiannon Giddens perform the song, it sounds amazing live.
Ever since I discovered the music of MILCK through NPR's All Songs Considered, I have been listening to her music on a daily basis. My current favorite song is "Quiet" which has been used as the anthem for the Women's March a couple of years ago. It is one of the few songs that brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to the song. My current favorite version is this clip from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
The rest of my playlist is an interesting mix bag featuring new Bob Mould, a Nina Simone remix, Portishead, a couple of tracks by Brandi Carlile, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Mavericks, a couple of tracks by Valerie June, and tracks by Beck, I Ya Toyah (who is touring with Zwaremachine this spring) and Chvrches.
Songs to check out:
"Hated By the Powers That Be" by Piroshka
"Until the Fire" by Ladytron
"Quiet" by MILCK
"Moon Meets the Sun" by Our Native Daughters (Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell of Birds of Chicago, and Amythyst Kiah) [you can listen to the entire album before its release on NPR's First Listen: Our Native Daughter's Songs Of Our Native Daughters]
"Flashback" by I Ya Toyah
"All That Heaven Will Allow" by The Mavericks
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