December 14, 2018
Recently, I found myself in a rut. My consumption and appreciation for music had stagnated. Pulling up the same old tried and true favorites felt like going through the motions. I had stopped seeking out new music other than new releases from artists that had been on my radar for, in some cases, decades. It was time for a change.
Habits can sneak up on you and my car habit of constantly listening to podcasts definitely impacted my "availability" for music discovery. Breaking this habit was easy enough; I made a point to consciously stop listening to podcasts at least one day a week in my daily travels. I slowly began to re-discover music via Spotify and found myself wanting to create playlists for easy access via CarPlay.
It only takes one good song to pique your interest and curiosity. In this case, a silky smooth Mac Demarco tune served that purpose. The premise: everything old is new again. Without further delay, welcome to this week's Playlist.
IS IT 1978 AGAIN?
Listen Now: SPOTIFY
1. Everyone's A Winner by Ty Segall (cover - Hot Chocolate)
2. One More Love Song by Mac Demarco
3. Real Love Baby by Father John Misty
4. No Destruction by Foxygen
5. These Words by The Lemon Twigs
6. Safari Song by Greta Van Fleet
7. My Way Back Home by Dawes
8. All The Way Down by Jonathan Wilson
9. Bad Self Portraits by Lake Street Dive
10. The Sun Comes Up A Purple Diamond by Golden Gunn
11. Golden Monkey by Freeman
12. Everything Now by Arcade Fire
13. Running Away by Vulfpeck
14. Debra by Beck
Liner Notes:
Of course we had to start with a cover and Segall’s take on Hot Chocolate’s Everyone’s A Winner adds some additional crunch while mostly staying true to the original. Here he is earlier this year on Kimmel:
DeMarco, the Prince of Indie Rock, has certainly caught the attention of millions of millennials as well as yours truly. Hell, even Charlie Rose hopped on the bandwagon!
As you’ll find with several other artists in this list, DeMarco’s sound and stylings draw heavily from 70’s soundscapes and songsmiths including Harry Nilsson, James Taylor, and Neil Young. In fact, if you close your eyes, the opening strands to One More Love Song easily evoke similarly structured tunes found on Rupert Holmes’ 1979 breakout album, Partners In Crime.
Current hard rock darlings Greta Van Fleet couldn’t have been left off this list as their entire catalog sounds like it could have been the follow up to Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy.
Despite the apparent protestations of Ryan Adams, Father John Misty is the real deal and I don’t care if he appropriates Elton and Lennon and Neil Young on Real Love Baby and countless others. His producer, Jonathan Wilson, also makes an appearance today and it’s easy to hear how his own material has directly influenced Mr. Tillman’s.
Jonathan Wilson - In Studio Live - September 2018 (Good!)
Whether you’re someone who hasn’t yet connected the dots on these artists or just find the tunes pleasing, I hope this Playlist delivers the goods for you. Until next week, thanks for reading and happy listening.
-Tim Tolbert
Liner Notes is a weekly newsletter arriving each Friday with a tightly-focused and insanely researched 14-song playlist in your Inbox. It’s currently free; if you like, please forward or share - thank you.
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