Weekly Playlist 9/27 (a day late, again)
Every Friday, I share the highlights of what I’ve been listening to over the course of the week, from old favorites to new discoveries.
This week is very heavy on the rock.
We open, though, with a pop song, “Television,” that does have a bit of an edge that keeps it from being completely out of place in a largely guitar-driven playlist. Unfortunately, though, artist Natalia Kills is perhaps more well-known for her outburst on X-Factor New Zealand, where she and her husband, fellow musician Willy Moon, blasted contestant Joe Irvine for a performance they thought to be a copy of Moon’s style…which, of course, wasn’t unique to Moon in the first place. Kills released two solid pop albums and had a stint opening for Robyn prior to the debacle, and it’s a shame that her behavior did such damage to her career and reputation — although she does now front band Cruel Youth.
Sports video games often have stellar soundtracks — like Shaun White’s snowboarding game from 2008. The Ting Tings are most famous for “That’s Not My Name,” but “Great DJ” here has a fun beat. And then there’s “Waiting for Go” by The Dykeenies, a catchy rock song I wish I’d heard years ago.
Pittsburgh band Punchline is releasing an EP of covers of songs released in 1994, and their latest take is Weezer’s “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here.” We took a look at indie band Black English’s cover of “Suzanne” earlier this week, but they have some great originals. One of their highlights of what is unfortunately their only album is the upbeat “Monday.” And then there’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart with their “Belong,” a little dreamy and a little post-punk, and “The Way I Feel” by Keane, who have finally put out a new album that feels like it picked up right where they left off, with little hints of synthesizers and great melodies.
We also have some very recognizable names — in addition to Leonard Cohen, who closes with the aforementioned beautiful “Suzanne,” we have The White Stripes, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, and The Beatles, with “Revolution 1,” a much more subdued version of “Revolution.” And it’s not the creepy “Revolution 9.”
Happy weekend listening!
