All The City Lights

#MusicChallenge
#KillerTunes
10/12

"Graveyard Girlfriend," Groovie Ghoulies

youtu.be/b1jTs329r5A?...

#ArtistFave15 - The Mountain Goats
#MusicChallenge

12. "The Ultimate Jedi Who Wastes All the Other Jedi and Eats Their Bones" (2017)

Back when Twitter was the sort of place an indie singer could make a joke about the new Star Wars movie's title & the director would respond, "PLEASE WRITE THIS."

#TheTwen2ie5 - Day 11

40. "You First" [Remi Wolf remix]
Paramore
2023
USA
ISC: Y
NKC: Y

Calling this a remix is an understatement. Wolf completely reimagines the tune, jettisoning the original's minor-key post-punk trappings in favor of a slick pop rave-up. Does that fit the lyrics? Eh, who cares!

It simply should not be possible for the president to repeatedly claim that a major city is burning without a wall of live standups happening in that city clearly demonstrating that it is not

True post-punk heads obviously know this, but I only learned via this song that The Batcave was a legendary weekly event held at a SoHo club that is pretty much universally acknowledged as the birthplace of the goth subculture…which is of course the subject of this concept album.

Well that’s what I get for actually turning the game back on.

It’s not “Kid Rock” Big or “Tron” Big, but SB 79 becoming law is still pretty Big.

Now at bat, J. Baez.

My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.

#MusicChallenge
#KillerTunes
10/11

“The Cult Song,” Shannon and the Clams

youtu.be/HIsFwUnEc7A?...

Well done 👏👏👏

#ArtistFave15 - The Mountain Goats
#MusicChallenge

11. “Rain in SoHo” from GOTHS (2017)

What makes this is the choral textures added by members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus. If you’ve ever sung with an elite-adjacent group (🙋‍♂️), you can really appreciate the level of musicianship on display.

Barack Obama’s 2020 summer playlist with “Neon Skyline” highlighted.

I guess Obama agrees with me that this is the best track from the album AND one of the jams of 2020.

#TheTwen2ie5 - Day 10

41. “Neon Skyline”
Andy Shauf
2020
Canada
ISC: Y
NKC: N

Picking one song from THE NEON SKYLINE is like choosing the best chapter from a favorite novellas. The title track is a pleasant, folky introduction to the characters & setting, but the narrative payoff comes later.

Quote attributed to poet Robert Frost: “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office."

#readandplay (495)
#MusicChallenge
#MusicSky

“No rules. The only limit is our imagination.”

Read 📚 & Play🎶

#MusicChallenge
#KillerTunes
10/10

“Who Sees You,” My Bloody Valentine

youtu.be/UUc5y1NljXI?...

#ArtistFave15 - The Mountain Goats
#MusicChallenge

10. “Foreign Object" from BEAT THE CHAMP (2015)

I actually got one more from the wrestling album. And I don’t even like wrestling! But I do like beefy sax and lyrics about stabbing people in the eye.

Gotta put in a plug for Cybotron. I nominated this as a proud Michigan native, as this is often cited as ground zero for Detroit’s influence on electronic music. This is music for the post-industrial landscape invented by a group of teens who were into Kraftwerk, afrofuturism, and drum machines.

And, I mean, the trio swings big and knocks it out of the park on this one. More than any other song on the album, it delivers on the promise of playing off each other's strengths. There's humor and pathos and feminism and three-part harmonies and an epic scream-along section.

#TheTwen2ie5 - Day 9

42. "Not Strong Enough"
Boygenius
2023
USA
ISC: Y
NKC: Y

No song on my list that failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 has more Spotify plays than this. I think that means Bridgers, Daucus & Baker win the "popular but not popular enough to lose cred" indie-rock crown.

Cultural Regions of the US

This is the most accurate depiction of the Midwest to date. Wichita has always felt like the last Midwest city while also being the first plains city.

#ArtistFave15 - The Mountain Goats
#MusicChallenge

9. "The Ballad of Bull Ramos" from BEAT THE CHAMP (2015)

Among many good options, my fave on this album about the wrestlers Darnielle idolized as a boy is this meaty, bouncy, twangy song. Ramos sounds like the Spanish equivalent of a real mensch.

After giving it a couple months, I can confirm that it has continued to grow on me!

A day and a half late to my own party, but I realized I have a perfect song.

#readandplay (492)

“Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding),” Josh Ritter

“Truth can be both weighted down and warped in strange directions …
Truth can bend and truth can break, depends on how you ask it.”

#MusicChallenge
#KillerTunes
10/9

"Damn These Vampires," The Mountain Goats

youtu.be/a2P3lF47ml8?...

Just in case y'all have not gotten quite enough Mountain Goats content from me this month.

quick question, who were the antifascists in 1930s Germany against

The answer to this is Robbie Fulks, but only me and a few 10s of thousands of other people know it.

Um, excuse me, @rollingstone.com, but the Spotify list has the wrong "The Wire" (49 in the countdown, 51 in descending order). Please rectify this immediately. I know you're reading this. #JusticeForHAIM