Sunday, November 29, 2020

Songs Of The Week, 2020: 11/21-11/27

 


Giving It Back- Matthew Sweet
Sustain- Steve Wynn
Back In NYC- Genesis
Low Down Man- Squirrel Nut Zippers
Sail On Sailor- The Beach Boys
Affirmation- Van Morrison
Ooh Child- The Posies

zip

Giving It Back- Matthew Sweet
Mr. Sweet's new one is due in January so I thought I'd warm up with "100% Fun." This track stood out from my usual favorites.

Sustain- Steve Wynn
The second location of NYCD had a small stage set up and we'd often have in-store performances that did little to bring in customers and pissed off the tenants who lived upstairs. It was almost a lose-lose except Steve Wynn was a regular performer and he always played this one for me.

Back In NYC- Genesis
From the "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," here is the Side Two opener. This album is a classic for sure, and as much as I love it, I'd still like to do some editing and make it even better. This track stays, of course.

Low Down Man- Squirrel Nut Zippers
Never got on the retro swing and old-timey revival bandwagon of the Setzer Orchestra or the Voodoo Daddies, but the Squirrel Nut Zippers really had some amazing tracks. This is one of them.

Sail On Sailor- The Beach Boys
Usually I listen to an album and pull a song. This time, I woke up with "Sail On Sailor" in my head and ended up listening to "Holland" a day later. A classic track, featuring the amazing Blondie Chaplin on vocals, the only person who was a member of both the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones.

Affirmation- Van Morrison
Van's been in the news lately with his controversial and misguided views on COVID, staying home and just shutting the f**k up and letting the scientists do their thing. But rather than toss all my Van Morrison records, I took Chuck Prophet's advice. "Leave Van Morrison alone! We don't go to him for science." No, we don't. We go to Van for beautiful pieces of music like this one from "Versatile," my fave of the four most recent releases.

Ooh Child- The Posies
I didn't want this to get lost in a "Today's Cover Version" post. It's too good, one of the few cover versions that surpasses the original. It's power pop on Broadway! And that coda with the "Tighter & Tighter" quote! Chills.

7 comments:

A Walk In The Woods said...

Great comments and track list as always.

And that comment kills: "We don't go to him for science." Yeah! I've had to compartmentalize so many times thru the years to enjoy the work of some of my favorite artists - partly because so many great artists have a lot of person problems, which can drive a person to use their talent to create great art.

So yes, Van is probably my #2 overall, after Dylan, and I cain't just stop listening. I'll just ignore his science advice and listen to the music.

cmealha said...

Nothing else SNZ did, that I've heard, compares to "Low Down Man". I agree with your assessment of "Ooh Child". I find myself going to this version more than the original.

heartsofstone said...

Love, love The Posies and this cover. You are spot on that the Tighter Tighter (Alive and Kicking) reference makes it great.

dogbreath said...

So now I'll be singing "sail on, sail on sailor" all day long & irritating my nearest and dearest. And some editing? You want to do some editing on "The Lamb"? I always wished it could be longer. Oh well, there's no accounting for folks. Thanks for a nice SOTW zip. Cheers!

Sal Nunziato said...

@dogbreath
Can I just remove The Lamia?
:)

dogbreath said...

Dear me, no! Apart from being an important part of Rael's journey, who can resist a flesh eating half snake, half woman? (Not me). Plus some fine instrumental passages which could be lengthened? Put on the airpods and enjoy! Cheeers.......

Sal Nunziato said...

@Dogbreath
Brilliant!