NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #45A
The finer points of adaptogens
Good afternoon, Paid Subscribees. It’s me, your pal Finny. I’ve been waiting for you here in your inbox, trying my best to look aloof and detached. But, you know, with a self-defeating petulance burning right under the surface.
In today’s paid-only NMFO:
My first potential payola!
Space empanadas!
Musical sushi!
A word from Good Time Charlie!
and, a blast from douchebags past!
Let’s do it. Clock’s a-ticking.
NEWS TO ME…
As I mentioned last week, I’ve been having some fun with the competitive playlist app Music League these past few weeks. And you may recall that I assured you that my recommendation was unsolicited and no one here at new Music For Olds Global Unlimited received any form of compensation.
When I made that claim, it was the truth. But Dear Reader, I am humbled to announce that the fine folks at Music League reached out to offer me a bounty of promotional swag. I’m rich!
Sure, it’s just a t-shirt, stickers and a beer koozie. But who can say where this kind of corporate partnership could lead? It’s only a matter of time before see me in your social media feeds, grandly pontificating on the finer points of “adaptogens”!
Anyway, the main dude from Music League seems like a fine fellow and I look forward to seeing how the app evolves. I definitely have a few ideas. If anyone has tweaks they’d like me to pass along, I’m sure they’d appreciate the input.
And in case you didn’t see this coming, today’s songs are all ones I discovered through Music League. Fun stuff!
Cumbia en Moog, “Cumbia de Sal”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: The Afrosound of Colombia, Vol. 1 (1976)
Nutshell: World music…with farty keyboard sounds!
Voltage: 5
Thoughts: Okay look, this probably isn’t a song I’ll listen to more than ten times. It would be insulting to call this novelty music, but my enjoyment of it is…novel. It’s just such an odd sound profile. Rightly or wrongly, I associate moog sounds with cape-wearing prog dweebs or 1st generation b-boys. To hear them dumped rather awkwardly (maybe a bit lower in the mix, guys?) on top of African and South American rhythms? I can’t help but find the anachronism charming. I may never think about this song after this month, but if I walked into a dive bar on a quiet Tuesday evening and this was playing, I’d think “This place fucking rules”. Or maybe “Let’s get the fuck out of here”. I’d have a reaction, that’s for sure.
Pairing Suggestion: Zero gravity empanadas
Marquis Hill, “Maiden Voyage”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: The Way We Play (2016)
Nutshell: Restrained jazz
Voltage: 3
Thoughts: No one would ever confuse me with a bonafide jazz fan. To me, Jazz is like sushi: a once-in-a-while experience that I pat myself on the back for having appreciated. I admire the artistry that goes into its preparation, and it’s nice to not feel like garbage at the end of a meal, but it’s never going the spot like a cheeseburger. That doesn’t mean it’s not delicious! “Maiden Voyage” doesn’t strain your brain, making it perfect for someone who doesn’t always “get” Jazz. It’s like a clean piece of sashimi. I am tempted, at times, to plunge headfirst into The Canon and not come up for air until I’m full-fledged Jazz weirdo. I’ve seen it happen! But that feels like becoming a different type of person—the kind of guy who won’t stop talking about sushi. Perhaps it would be better to simply embrace my dilettante status.
Pairing Suggestion: Stirring a lump of wasabi into my soy sauce, like the low class buffoon I am
Danny O’Keefe, “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: O’Keefe (1972)
Nutshell: Singer/Songwriter
Voltage: 4
Thoughts: This immediately felt like a song I knew by heart, despite being new to me. Apparently it was a minor hit in 1972, and there have been a few covers, so it’s possible I heard it over a store PA system while my mom shopped for pantyhose. It certainly drops me back into a childhood frame of mind. The Seventies were lousy with these country-tinged AM Gold songwriters—Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver and the like. It’s easy to see why this sound was the butt of jokes—it goes down so easily, it may as well be flavorless. But “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues” covers a lot of emotional ground in three minutes. To my reading, the protagonist is a restless guy who never got around to really “going for it”, and now understands that it’s probably too late. Sometimes not making a choice becomes your choice.
Pairing Suggestion: Bailing on your plans
Yes, an odd batch this week. Tell me what you think!
CLIPPAGE
Have you seen the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s onstage fistfight in Melbourne from a couple weeks ago? If, like me, you loved the 2004 documentary DIG! and then spent a few weeks trying (and failing) to become a BJM fan, this will footage will give you an intense dose of micro-nostalgia. Anton Newcombe may be a derivative medium talent, musically, but he’s a first ballot Rock and Roll Asshole.
(Wait, you haven’t seen the 2004 documentary DIG!??? Rectify this situation immediately! It’s fucking great!)
NOTE: You can skip to 3:15, if you want to get to the “good stuff”.
If you prefer a detailed breakdown from someone who attended the concert, you can find it here.
Okay, I gots to scoot. See you next week, suckers!