#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #PunkRock #JazzRock #IndependentRock

Day 30: A song that reminds you of yourself

"We Became Snakes" - #SaccharineTrust (1986)

All those confrontational, genre-busting bands who originally recorded for #SSTRecords back in the 80s - #BlackFlag, #Minutemen, #SaintVitus, #Slovenly etc etc - did more to shape my aesthetic sense than any other group of artists, before/since. Saccharine Trust - with their awesome musicality, far reaching poetics, and deeply felt spirit - embodied that aesthetic like no other. This song reminds me not only of why I still love them so much, but why I still love all those slithering snakes (read: people) we writhe around with day-in/day-out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmzw9jYWD-8

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #Pop #70sRock

Day 29: A song you remember from your childhood

"Don't Stop" - #FleetwoodMac (1977)

J. and I were inseparable for a couple years there in the late 70’s – riding Schwinn Scramblers down dusty trails, exploring abandoned houses side by side, hiding from older bullies out to kick some little kid ass. But it was his family – dad shirtless with waist-length, premature grey hair; mom with bitter scowl and sodden, dangling cig; sister with a feathered rocker cut and a carefree, fuck-it-all laugh – that really dazzled me. Good times were spent around the BBQ behind their house, when J.’s dad would drive his Lincoln Continental up onto the lawn, roll down all the windows, and blast a Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours cassette at full volume through the car stereo speakers. And oh my that party would start! J.'s sister - who of course I had a huge crush on - would start dancing and singing along – she loved this one. So I loved it too.

You folks who don’t have any tangible memories from the 70’s . . . man I pity you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hGhl7ki3HM

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #R&B #Soul

Day 28: A song by an artist whose voice you love

"Daylight & Darkness" - #SmokeyRobinson (1978)

I admit it: I'm a sucker for falsetto. #CurtisMayfield, #AlGreen, #JuniorMurvin, #DAngelo, sometimes even frickin' #DarylHall for christ's sake - when these guys go up high into their head voices, I'm right there with them. Smokey, of course, is their king. And when he's singing such a beautiful, bittersweet song as this one, there's just no stopping him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfyIa0fRG3s

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #Rap #HipHop

Day 26: A song that breaks your heart

"AYE! (FREE THE HOMIES)" - #VinceStaples (2022)

Until the US prison industrial complex is dismantled, I suspect this chorus will touch my heart every goddamn time I hear it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekc2MirJmq4

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #DrunkRock #Cowpunk

Day 26: A song that makes you want to fall in love

"Slip Away" - #TexAndTheHorseheads (1983)

In the mid-80s, Tex and the Horseheads absolutely owned Los Angeles - well, for a good 6 or so months at least. And that was exactly when my barely-teenage ass wanted desperately to slip away and fall in love for the very first time. This song was originally recorded to great effect in 1968 by Clarence Carter. But #Texacala, with that gruff grandma snarl of hers (Blixa Bargeld by way of The Rugrats!), made it into something way, way more special.

Hey somebody! Reissue this band's recorded catalogue pronto. There's gold in them thar grooves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE8Z6Qznwa8

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #Reggae #Rockers

Day 25: A song you like by an artist no longer living

"Sacrifice" - #GregoryIssacs (1977)

I could ride the subtle beauties of this man's voice all day, every day. Though he famously recorded the first #loversrock song ever, he never shied away from political songs either. The quiet ease with which he delivers these biting lyrics just slays me. But give props to his band here too (the Revolutionaries, feat. a young Sly Dunbar on drums) - master musicians all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ZUdiy6vSs

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #PunkRock

Day 24: A song by a band you wish were still together

"Stay Free" - #TheClash (1978)

What can I say? I still miss these guys fiercely sometimes. All those anthems of struggle & freedom; the dramatic Strummer/Jones combustion; even the sometimes wonky but always gutsy dub-funk-disco missteps. And nobody could romanticise the revolution quite like this band did . . . that's something we could use more of today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDa8T9EM4Tg

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #PsychedelicRock #HippieRock

Day 23: A song you think everybody should listen to

"Nobody Wants To Shine" - #Mu (1971)

#MerrellFankhauser’s MU chiseled out the absolute pinnacle of Westcoast psychedelic/hippie/jam rock LPs in 1971 . . . but sooo few have ever heard it. There remains nothing like MU’s gorgeous #MagicBand meets #GratefulDead musical vibeologies found anywhere on this still-beautiful planet, Lemuria included. And dig that clarinet breakdown at 3:01! Listen closely, and you might learn how to actualise one of those alternate psychedelic realities we all know exist, but seem at a big, big loss to find in 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgys7o6ALoE

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #HipHop #Rap

Day 22: A song that moves you forward

"Blxckberries" - #CalebGiles (2019)

One thing I always respond to in rap is that spirit of determined tenacity. Tenaciously gripping a rhythm; tenaciously chasing a desired goal; tenaciously searching for the right phase, word, or vocalisation to send a performance into the cheap seats. I hear it even in guys with smooth flows and jazzy grooves like Caleb: get your music out there in front of people, keep yourself and your family/friends safe, and maybe get over for once. This is never less than inspiring, and I find myself moving forward whether I choose to or not.

https://calebgiles.bandcamp.com/track/blxckberries

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #90sRock

Day 20: A song that has many meanings to you

"Pillow" - #TomVerlaine (1990)

Is this a love song? I heartbreak song? A song about getting older? A song about the funny nature of time? I suspect only Tom knew for certain. I do know these words of his yank me in quick from a different direction, every time. And that his death earlier this year has left a hole I doubt anybody's gonna fill in my lifetime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ07QdClo6E

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #PunkRock

Day 19: A song that makes you think about life

"History Lesson - Part II" - #Minutemen (1984)

A theme song for those of a certain age who still feel some sorta connection to late 70s punk & 80s independent rock. No - this band can't actually be my life. But I did grow up a 1/2 hour drive from San Pedro, and spent my younger days relentlessly pursuing something quite similar to what #MikeWatt wrote so eloquently about here. If not for bands like this, I'd be somebody else entirely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZvsAh5VFRw

#thirtydaysongchallenge day 28: A song from an artist whose voice you love. Asrun dream by Camui Gackt
https://youtu.be/GRcWJe_7nVM

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #60sPop

Day 18: A song from the year you were born

"Difference" - #Mama Cass (1970)

Being born in 1970 meant that any authentic 60’s counterculture that was still around during my childhood had to be understood through the depressively distorting, earth-toned lens that was the 70’s. But that doesn't mean these lingering bits were horrible. In fact, I'm drawn to those sometimes desperate, often exploitative, end-of-hippie relics more often than to the OG Summer of Love stuff itself. Like this little song here: written by b-movie soundtrack composer Charles Fox for the (H.R.) #PufnStuf film, it's #CassElliot playing Witch Hazel singing lyrics that still make a lot of sense today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7rAaYFFeZk

@BluRae

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge Day 30

A song that reminds you of yourself.

Waving Through a Window by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfnMvo87fQU

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #60sPop

Day 17: A song you'd sing a duet with someone on karaoke

"Some Velvet Morning" - #NancySinatra & #LeeHazlewood (1968)

Shoutout to #RowlandSHoward & #LydiaLunch who introduced this one to me in the 80s. But I'd grow to love every song on that original Nancy & Lee LP. The hijinks these two got up to on this record - equal parts mawkish sentimentality, trailer park trash talk, and swirling timeless beauty - had no real parallels at the time. This duet is Nancy & Lee at their most deliciously mysterious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=670YMraVnyk

@BluRae

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge Day 29

A song you remember from your childhood.

You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette

https://youtu.be/NPcyTyilmYY

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #PopRock

Day 16: A song that's a classic favourite

"Talk of the Town" - #ThePretenders (1980)

TBH I'm not quite sure why this song has stuck with me so closely over the years. Did I hear it at an impressionably young age? Was is because it was on the soundtrack to that evocative, coming-of-age cult film Times Square? Does it have something to do with that addictive hook (Am7 > B7) and #ChrissieHynde's singular vocals? Yes to all of it. Anyway it's a classic I don't ever tire of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kdt1IARNkI

@BluRae

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge Day 28

A song by an artist who's voice you love.

It's a Shame by First Aid Kit

Both Klara and Johanna are great.

https://youtu.be/bDdXe51yphI

#thirtydaysongchallenge day 26: a song that makes you want to fall in love
Friday I'm in love by the Cure
https://youtu.be/mGgMZpGYiy8

#ThirtyDaySongChallenge #NowPlaying #TheKinks #RayDavies

Day 15c: A song you like that's a cover by another artist

"Waterloo Sunset" - #Spot (2005)

And finally: banjo/guitar/bodhrán master Glenn Michael Lockett aka Spot once gave us this wistful cover of the most beautiful London song ever. He passed away earlier this year, but I think about him every time I spin any of the dozens of records he produced for #SSTRecords in the early 80s. RIP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUyig6BpZk