So it’s Sunday night and I’m remembering Wednesday nights in 1995. (Indeed… I just now checked and saw that I was reminiscing about this song back in 2012… sigh.)
Remember Strange Days?
Man, that was the stuff, wasn’t it? Okay, from what I understand, it wasn’t particularly well received by anyone outside of my particular circle but, seriously, within my circle? It was the herald of the magnificent, terrifying, horrible, wonderful future that was 15 minutes away.
Even if you’re not into the movies from way back when (and, seriously, I don’t think that I can recommend this to anyone out there at all except for those folks out there who are wondering “what was it like for Jaybird to be in college in 1995?” because not only are there trigger warnings galore but because the writing isn’t close to being good), you might be one of those people who is into soundtracks from way back when…
And, lemme tell ya, Strange Days had one of those freaking *AWESOME* soundtracks. It was so awesome that you listened to the songs that the bands on the soundtrack released that had nothing to do with the movie.
And so you’re sitting there with your main squeeze saying “dude, listen to this” and s/he says “man, that’s a good song… wanna make out?”
And, after listening to the song? You kinda do.
Here’s Skunk Anansie with their song “Hedonism”. I never, ever, would have stumbled across them without having listened to the soundtrack for Strange Days. Which was surprisingly awesome, despite being forgotten within minutes of having been released. Sigh. 1995 was awesome.
Instead of the official video, which we played way back in 2012, let’s play them playing the song live in 2013. It feels something that the official video hadn’t. Not something more, mind… just something different. (Go back and listen to that one too. Remember 1995. We’ll be here if you need us.)
So… what are you listening to?
I’ve been pretty obsessed with Jason Isbell lately and trying to get through his catalog. He’s an amazing song writer.
And I need to give Sturgill Simpson’s newest album another listen. It was so produced when i gave it a first listen it kind of turned me off.Report
We’ve never really done an exploration of both kinds of music, have we?
We probably should…Report
I’ve been listening to X Ambassadors’ first album (VHS) on repeat for a few weeks now. The whole album is really an amazing work of art (no, seriously, the album is good as an album, not just as a set of songs), but I’ve especially loved the last track, “Naked”. Unfortunately all I could find on a quick youtube search are live shows with terrible mics, which just ruin the excellent (and, to me, genuinely sexy) saxophone work that holds the song together.Report
Are those the “Unsteady” guys? That song kinda turned me off because it repeats itself about as much as Kings of Leon repeated “Use Somebody”.Report
Yeah, same band. Same album, even. Maybe try “Renegades”? A lot of their songs sound very different, but the lyrics are usually a weak point.Report
I joined a new gym that plays top 40 music all the time. When I’m there, anyway. I’ve stopped by in the middle of the day, and they’re playing top ’40s music, which I much prefer, but that doesn’t fit my schedule usually. Anyway, now I’m tuned into contemporary popular music for the first time since I was in high school and lived in the same house as my sister.
Not exactly good, but not as bad as I expected: Bieber, Rihanna.
So much worse than I expected: Taylor Swift.
Actually pretty good: Elle King.
Wait, what year is it again?: “Ebony and Ivory,” new songs by Cyndi Lauper and Eric Clapton.Report
Not to be all Team Taylor or anything but I was surprised by how much better Swift’s songs were than I expected. There’s a “we will never go out of style” song that, seriously, is one that I would have sang along to as a basement dweller when I was 16.Report
That’s a bit better, though still not something I’d choose to listen to. I just find her grating. The ones I’ve been subjected to at the gym are “New Romantics,” “Shake it Off,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” And “22” just came up on YouTube after “Style,” and that’s pretty bad, too.Report
In Strange Days, there is a performance by Juliette Lewis of a Peej song that never made it on an official album and it is a humdinger of a song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl_8UrPa7_QReport
She was amazing in the movie. It was downright criminal what happened to her starting with… oh, the sequel to Terms of Endearment.Report
Skunk Anansie one of my fav bands ever, the last album is extremely melodic. Hedonism i still absolutely love this song http://lyricsmusic.name/skunk-anansie-lyrics/stoosh/hedonism.htmlReport