I know, I know. The Nazi’s are still here, so why am I?
Lack of a better alternative, and a need to continue this for you, constant reader. As I write this, it’s the 17th week of January, a month that never seems to end.
It’s been the end of January for days now, it’s been the end of days for Januarys’ now.
Extra long month = extra long playlist, except as we enter Volume 21 of this mixtape madness, I’ve mostly disregarded last year’s self-imposed ‘must fit within the confines of a mix cd’ length for these things. And why shouldn’t I? Nobody has a CD drive anymore. Spotify isn’t going away. We can shake our fists at the corporate overlords, but, we’re stuck with what we’re stuck with. Thanks, Obama.
Besides, who cares. You aren’t paying for these substacks or playlists, and what kind of monster would I be to charge my friends to hear my nonsensical ramblings about my life? I’m not providing a service or goods, I’m not giving you exclusive access to behind the scenes “content” and I’m certainly not setting your world on fire with tips, tricks or life hacks. At most, at most, you find or rediscover a song you like.
I am the soundtrack at the grocery store, at best.
So fill up that cart with chips and dips and boogie down the aisle to these golden oldies, house bangers, odd covers and one hit wonders. It’s year two and we’ve got more songs to sing, more records to play and more hearts to break. Heal. More hearts to heal.
“I Love L.A.,” Randy Newman- “Crank up The Beach Boys, baby, don’t let the music stop.” Yeah, he wrote this making fun of LA, but the joke was on Randy because LA adopted this dismissive ode to the city something fierce.2 This song plays over the end credits of the the 1997 disaster film VOLCANO, which I got to watch in early January at a screening at the Academy Museum which, hand to god, is at the exact site where the movie takes place. Volcano3 was released on my birthday, I saw it on my birthday, and that was years and years before living in LA was ever on my mind. I’m entering my 19th year here, and I gotta say… I love LA.
“You Got It,” Roy Orbison - This was playing somewhere when I was out and about, and a friend commented on it, and it led to one of those wiki rabbit hole moments where suddenly you’re miles from where you started. Released after his death, it features the rest of the Wilburys4 (except Dylan) on background and instruments (and writing) and it’s timeless.
“The Power,” Elton John & Little Richard - One of those songs that came on shuffle one day and just stuck. I wish these two would have made more music together.
“Need You Tonight - Mendelsohn Extended Mix,” INXS - I heard this extended version on KCRW one day and was taken with it. If ever there was a mantra for 2024 it would be this:
How do you feel? I'm lonely
What do you think? Can't think at all
What you gonna do? Gonna live my life“Brighter Star,” Energy Exchange Ensemble & Allysha Joy - We’re firmly in the “heard on KCRW” portion of this playlist, for these next few. Also the “add to cycle playlist” portion.
“Thank You,” Crackazat - Noveena ended a show one MBE morning with this track, and it kind of stuck in my head for a bit.
“Bringing Me Home,” Snakehips feat LAUREL - Snakehips are responsible for one of my favorite tracks from a few years ago, this one. This is their newest, and it’s also a bop.
“Our Pathetic Age (feat. Sam Herring,)” DJ Shadow - DJ Shadow performed at the Wiltern in January and though I didn’t go I did enjoy listening to this song a lot instead.
“Night In,” Brittney Spencer - Maybe my favorite new song release of late, and the song I send to friends when they text at 10:30pm wondering if I want to meet them for a drink or to go out. “I just want a night in, getting high with friends…”
“Burning,” Yeah Yeah Yeahs - This is used for the credits on ECHO, the astonishingly incredible Disney+/Hulu show. I’ve never seen a show like Echo before, and it’s got a great soundtrack in addition to being a phenomenal piece of television.5 Much like all Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs, there’s a sultriness to this that gnaws at you in the best way.
“My Love Is A Hurricane,” David Ramirez - This was a needle drop in Fargo Season 5, my fav season of Fargo so far after the first two.
“My Love,” Vortxz - Someone on insta was hyping this track and band, so here we are.
“Lover, You Should Have Come Over,” Nick Boddington- This was in MILLER’S GIRL, a new film starring Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman that I loved and everyone else in the world panned hard. Maybe my favorite writing and dialogue I’ve heard in a long time. There’s a lot of good music in the film, and this cover is one of the standouts. “She is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever…”
“Wild Days,” Sam Evian - It seems like everyone around me was talking about this at the same time, from bands I follow on social media to KCRW.
“Questions,” Say She She - Say She She is at The Regent in downtown LA this month, and if you thought about going to the show you absolutely should.
“cowboy take me away,” Brittney Spencer - It was when I was listening to the new Brittney Spencer that I found this cover she did, and man.
I wanna be the only one for miles and miles
Except for maybe you and your simple smile
Oh, it sounds good to me“Right Back To It,” Waxahatchee feat MJ Lenderman - Much like so many songs on this playlist, this was one where it seemed like everyone around me was buzzing about it, from the radio to other artists and friends on social media.
“Toxic (feat. Lisa Hannigan,)” Jeff Russo - Another one from Fargo, this time a cover of the Brittney Spears classic. Fargo has always had great music6, particularly Season 2, but this latest season is up there, and this track haunts.
“When We Remain,” Samantha Crain - Another song used a few times in ECHO. I saw Samantha Crain perform at SXSW in 2009, as part of an Oklahoma artists showcase, and have been a fan ever since.
“Silver Springs,” Angie McMahon - Though she’s paying the Troubadour next month, and though I saw her being shared on insta by a band I follow, this track I specifically saw on an insta story by an east cost friend and instantly knew it was one of those covers that delivers the goods.
Time cast a spell on you, but you won't forget me
I know I could've loved you, but you would not let me
I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you“No Easy Way Down,” Dusty Springfield - This and following cover were played by KCRW music supervisor Anne Litt one afternoon and I stole them and put them here for you. You’re welcome.
“Son of a Preacher Man,” The Gaylettes - A reggae cover of the Dusty classic.
“We Get Along,” Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - One of two songs on this playlist that were featured in the 2020 Pixar feature SOUL, which got (re)released in theaters in January.
“The Bargain Store,” Dolly Parton - This has almost been on the last few playlists, actually, but after months of getting passed over it’s finally here, appropriate for the song.
Take these old used memories from the past
And these broken dreams and plans that didn't last
I'll trade them for a future, I can't use them anymore
I've wasted love but I still have some more“Shiny Happy People,” Micky Dolenz - Micky Dolenz is the last surviving member of The Monkees7, and last fall he released an EP of R.E.M. covers that is exquisite. He’s also at the Troubadour in LA in April.
“Out Of Time,” The Rolling Stones - This has been one of my fav Stones songs for the last few years, and I was happy when it popped up in season five of Apple’s For All Mankind.
“One Headlight,” The Wallflowers - Spent some time in January talking 90’s music, and remembered in those discussions that The Wallflowers were supposed to open for Matchbox 20 last summer and they just… didn’t.
“Cold Little Heart (Radio Edit),” Michael Kiwanuka - Heard this on KCRW one cold little afternoon.
“Heaven,” Bryan Adams - In early January, I went to see a friend play the Hotel Cafe, and after ended up at The Frolic Room with some friends. We joked about the TouchTunes jukebox they had, but someone in the bar had already taken it over. At one point, this song started playing, and I noticed that every single one of the people in the bar, every barfly, was singing or mumbling or nodding along to it. That’s the power of song, of music. Also, happy 30th Anniversary to this absolute banger of a song, and an album of nothing but hits.
“It’s All Right,” Jon Batiste - From SOUL, a movie that I watched in Pandemic and thought was okay and saw on the silver screen in January and really loved.
Oh you’re still here?
Something I’ve decided to start doing in the year of our lord 2024 A.D. is to keep track of the media (content) I consume, something I’d previously never done, but have seen friends do. It informs the above, for sure. So here we have
January Media:
Concerts:
In Theaters:
Boys on the Boat (AMC) (2023)
Night Swim (AMC) (2024)
Volcano (Academy Museum) (1997)
Saltburn (The Aero) (2023)
Soul (AMC) (2020)
Miller’s Girl (AMC) (2024)8
Streaming/Physical Media:
Books:
The Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead (2012)
The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (2023)
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (2014)
Finders Keepers by Stephen King (2015)
End of Watch by Stephen King (2016)
Comic Books: 22 issues
Side B?
It plays at every Dodger game and the crowd goes nuts. And the thing is, Randys right. Every street and boulevard he mentions is garbage. Imperial Highway? Victory Boulevard? Santa Monica Boulevard? All garbage. The song is a masterpiece because it’s true: LA sucks but WE LOVE IT.
The Coast is Toast.
Tom Petty, Jeff Lyne, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan. Was there ever a greater super group?
Echo is everything I wanted Killers of the Flower Moon to be. Echo is about indegiounos women and family, fighting against the white man trying to wipe them out, except it’s way more than that, but most importantly: it’s told from THIER point of view. From an indigenous trans show runner instead of an old white male, which makes all the difference in the world. And the way everyone on Echo communicates is incredible.
One of my fav needle drops in anything of late was the choice of song for when the patriots and good ol’ boys descend on Jon Hamm’s ranch to fortify against the feds, weekend warriors and rednecks in trucks and cammo and beards all set to The Village People’s YMCA. Just the best.
If you put a gun to my head, I would say I like The Monkees better than the Beatles. If you didn’t put a gun to my head, I’d probably say the same thing.
I really don’t understand the vitriol for this film. I mean, I kind of do, but I also really loved it. The main issues seem to be that everyone talks in a heightened way, as in, everyone in this small Tennessee town speaks like they’re witty intellectuals who all command a grasp on high literature, but that’s why I liked it!
I rewatched this for the first time since catching it in theaters last fall, and man. What a great film. It’s beautiful, it’s cute, it’s sad, it’s heartwarming. Ember and Wade are so cute together. It’s a rom com. It’s maybe the best rom com of last year.
I probably watch Zootopia once a month.