NEW MUSIC FOR OLDS #66
My country needs me
Greetings, two days (and change) late!
As you may recall, I had a dental situation that delayed the release of this newsletter. This is accurate, but incomplete. I’m also in the midst of preparing for what looks to be a rather daunting October. Thankfully, it’s for the best of reasons: my wife has recently accepted a job working on a certain political campaign for a certain candidate seeking to become the Leader of a certain Free World.
The reason I’m being oh so cagey is that she hasn’t been officially “onboarded” yet. But it seems like it’s a done deal and I’m extremely proud/jealous!
What does that have to do with you getting your bi-weekly fix of new music and assorted dick jokes? Well, as you may also know, Kambri owns and operates QED Astoria. Running an independent arts space is a full time job, and then some. And also…then some. Obviously, somebody needs to step up while Kambri is safeguarding democracy. I’d never pass a campaign background check (I murdered seven people in 1983), so my major contribution to our shared future will be to spend the next five weeks cosplaying as a capable adult. I anticipate things going very smoothly!
(Shhhh go with it—she’s probably reading this.)
So, lots to do—I feel like I’m prepping for a zombie onslaught. I’ll still be sending out NMFO between now and Election Day, but it’ll probably just be the new music, with very little of the usual flim-flam and bullshittery. What can I say—my country needs me.
With that out of the way…
GOOD STUFF
Your Glossary of Terms.
Nada Surf, “Moon Mirror”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Moon Mirror
Nutshell: Alt Power pop
Voltage: 5
Thoughts: All I’ve ever really wanted to be is the Nada Surf of comedy—thought provoking, but accessible. Cool, but not “cool”. Respected, but not, to quote the band’s only hit, popular. Nada Surf is not the most anything—not the loudest, not the prettiest, certainly not the most successful. But they’ve spent three decades writing great tunes in the middle distance, and “Moon Mirror” is another unassuming little gift. As a 51 year-old whose midlife crisis was recently renewed for another season, these lines really speak to me: “Show me a life that I’m living/Connect me to something that’s just beginning” . It helps that Matthew Caws has a vocal tone that would make the Farmer’s Insurance jingle feel poignant. In short, god bless Nada Surf.
Pairing Suggestion: Bite-size epiphanies
God is an Astronaut, “Falling Leaves”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Embers
Nutshell: Non-dweeby prog
Voltage: 7
Thoughts: Ireland’s God is an Astronaut makes epic, mostly instrumental rock—think Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, or any other equally unwieldy band name. This is on the accessible end of prog—there’s no talk of faeries or ostentatiously odd time signatures. It’s just cinematic rock music, created without much concern for commerciality. You don’t listen to a song like this and hum along with the big dumb chorus. Rather, you let it cascade over you as you imagine yourself an entire Hero’s Journey. Hey man, there are worse ways to spend in line at the bank.
Pairing Suggestion: Seizing the sword (not sexual)
Varijashree Venugopal, “Liquid Light”
Listen on Apple Music // Listen on Amazon Music
Album: Vari
Nutshell: Jazzy trip hop, by way of Bangalore
Voltage: 5
Thoughts: I feel compelled to share with you my wife’s one-sentence review of “Liquid Light”: “That song you’re listening to is annoying”. And yeah, I get it—not everyone wants jazz in their Indian music, or vice-versa. Or either, for that matter! But as with Arooj Aftab, I hear Venugopal’s music as an invitation to appreciate Eastern rhythms and tonalities without an the benefit of an ethnomusicology degree. Evoking a South Asian Massive Attack, “Liquid Light” is one of the more Western-friendly tracks on Vari, so if the spirit of global hybridity appeals to you, check out Vari in its entirety—and ideally, with a good pair of headphones.
Pairing Suggestion: Thinking about maybe trying yoga again
Note: I learned of Virashree Venugopal via Ted Goia’s very fine Substack, Open Broker, which is guaranteed to make you feel all cultured ‘n shit. To give you an idea of Venugopal’s range, check out this virtuosic studio performance Goia included, featuring bass god Victor Wooten and…mouth harp!
I gotta know right now…
And here’s the place for all those comments you’ve been holding onto since Friday.
SOME BULLSHIT
Three quickies before I go.
QUICKIE 1
The Cure just released “Alone”, their first single in 16 years. It’s pretty good! And I remember it from their MSG show last year, which is usually the sign of a good tune. But I remember liking a couple of other new songs more, so I’m circling 11/1, when Songs of a Lost World is finally released.
QUICKIE 2
I got a lot out of this Pranav Trewn piece, from the very fine blog Passion of the Weiss:
OASIS, LINKIN PARK AND THE BLEAK BUSINESS OF “BEING BACK”
It captures a lot of my ambivalence, with regard to the now unrelenting flow of reunion tours. A lot of this will probably sound familiar to NMFO readers:
What appears to drive the hot ticket prices for these revivals is the same spirit of reversion that is fueling the frankly insane amount of anniversary tours currently running. We can access any song we want at any moment in time, which has flooded us with options for every consumption choice we make. Absent thoughtful curators to filter the deluge, algorithms plug us back into the bankable favorites of yesteryears. The industry sees dollar signs in the data of what we yearn to reconnect with, and when the market is saturated with newly printed merch runs and vinyl reissues, well then the faces behind those hits are going to have to suit up in their old skin and move some concert tickets.
To be clear, I have zero issue with defunct bands setting aside personal bullshit in order to cash in—it’s the closest thing the music biz has to a retirement plan. If it leads to new music, even better! But as the wise Eric Harvey puts it:
QUICKIE 3
As a denouement, enjoy this rather beautiful Crowded House cover.
That is all. Ta ta!
Vari is the best shit I've heard since I can't even remember when. Holy crap thank you for following that other dude's substack and putting it on yours. As far as Indian music goes I've really only dabbled in some bollywood soundtracks and Junun, the Jonny Greenwood album he made with Indian musicians. There's nothing else like the tabla drum sound, anytime I hear that in a song I start bumpin.
On Audio Spackle, you used to ask what music the guest wished they could like, and it's getting to the point where I suppose my answer would have to be Nada Surf because they will just not go away. Although it sure seemed like they were away for awhile there. Did I only imagine that? Anyway, I'll keep trying. Like how I watch Repo Man every ten years to make sure I still hate it and everyone who loves it.