Axl's Catch Groove

Disquiet:

• Noun – a feeling of anxiety or worry
• Verb – make (someone) worried or uneasy

The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio known for their extended instrumental improvisations (typically an hour per song). The trio is Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion, and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass.

Disquiet is a three-CD album (streamed as three volumes) comprising four songs and just over three hours of music. The general vibe is ambient music that is intriguing enough for active listening – this is more than musical wallpaper, this is art.

The first track (CD 1/Volume 1), “Rapid Eye Movement,” reminds me of the Miles Davis album In a Silent Way. The band riffs on a theme for nearly an hour. My first reaction was that the band was dawdling, but, digging in, the band is engaging with the theme. This is a fascinating jam session. Some thoughts

• It is mellow
• It’s spooky, but not scary
• It is dreamy, not surprising given the song’s title
• It is not intrusive and could be incidental film music, yet it is engaging enough for me to listen actively.

The track instantly hooked me and made me want to hear the whole album. The song is not ominous, but there is a trace of anxiety – as the album title might suggest. Be forewarned, this is all very subtle. Without careful listening, you will fall asleep, or it will become just a background to your other activities (not that those are bad things – the beauty is that it can serve that purpose too).

“Ghost Net” is strikingly hyper compared to the previous song, opening with a twitchy rhythm. When the guitar joins the party, it suddenly feels a little unsteady (like you have had one too many), but then it stabilizes. When the Hammond floats in – wow. Now we have an interesting song. This is going to be a 75-minute ride. The Hammond improvises over a rock-solid beat. Eventually, it gives way to an electric piano and later another keyboard.

“Causeway” is one of two “short” songs (under 30 minutes) and creates a joyful mood.

“Warm Running Sunlight” returns to the more contemplative sound of the first track. It is also relatively short, with a running time of just over 30 minutes.

Disquiet is ponderous, but in a good way. Generally, I find ambient music like this boring, but Disquiet has captured my interest. It is available on high-resolution streaming services as a 24-bit/96 kHz FLAC.

The Jayhawks’ Blue Earth (1989) and Uncle Tupelo’s No Depression (1990) were my introduction to alt-country. When Uncle Tupelo broke up, and Jay Farrar formed Son Volt, and Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco, I followed them both. Both bands had great debuts, but Son Volt’s Trace (1995) was stronger than Wilco’s A.M. (1995). If you were buying futures on the two bands in 1995, Son Volt would have been the obvious bet; however, over time, Wilco ended up winning the race. Perhaps Son Volt was hampered by Trace being perfect.

I have had a CD version of Trace since 1995, and over the years, I have been tempted to get a vinyl version, but I never pulled the trigger. This 30th anniversary 2-LP Record Store Day edition marks the album’s first U.S. vinyl pressing since 2015 and includes a second disc of bonus tracks making their vinyl debut. I couldn’t resist.

The vinyl pressing sounds excellent, and I had forgotten how great this album is. There isn’t a bad song on the album. The bonus material is not essential, but it is a nice-to-have.

What made Trace great was Jay Farrar’s wonderfully melancholy vocals, catchy songwriting, and arrangements that perfectly blended folk, country, and rock. This debut was the band’s/Farrar’s high-water mark – it is a perfect alt-country album.

Tracklist

Original Album
A1. WINDFALL
A2. LIVE FREE
A3. TEARSTAINED EYE
A4. ROUTE
A5. TEN SECOND NEWS
A6. DROWN 
B1. LOOSE STRING
B2. OUT OF THE PICTURE
B3. CATCHING ON
B4. TOO EARLY
B5. MYSTIFIES ME

Bonus LP
C1. TULSA COUNTY (SINGLE VERSION) 
C2. LOOKING AT THE WORLD THROUGH A WINDSHIELD
C3. REX’S BLUES
C4. AIN’T NO MORE CANE
C5. TEARSTAINED EYE (4-TRACK DEMO)
D1. DROWN (ALT.UNRELEASED DEMO)
D2. GOING GOING GONE
D3. ROUTE (ALT.UNRELEASED DEMO)
D4. HOLOCAUST
D5. I’VE GOT TO KNOW

After immersing myself in The Replacements’ Let It Be deluxe reissue, I am in an ’80s indie rock state of mind, and so as I perused the “S” section of the Desert 🌵 Sessions, planning to listen to The Smile, Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation shouted out: “No, listen to me!“

Sonic Youth were peers of The Replacements in the ’80s, only Sonic Youth was less self-destructive and thus lasted twice as long. Very different bands: The Replacements were the perfect balance of smarts and stupidity, whereas Sonic Youth was just smart.

I am not very deep into Sonic Youth. I have a handful of their albums, and none of them hooked me like I am hooked on bands like The Replacements or Wilco (who are influenced by both The Replacements and Sonic Youth). But I fully appreciate Sonic Youth.

Daydream Nation is the Sonic Youth album that I am most familiar with, and every time I listen to it, I like it more. I have had a CD of the album since it first came out, but a few years ago, I found a vinyl reissue* at Phoenix Flea vinyl pop-up. Because I have a small subset of my vinyl collection in Phoenix, I have listened to this album more in the last few years than when it first came out. Nearly four decades old, it sounds timeless, and you can hear its impact on many bands (Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was a noted fan, as were shoegaze bands like Pavement and Radiohead, etc.).

The magic of Daydream Nation is that the band makes noisy guitars sound melodic. Despite this being harsh music at first listen, it becomes warmer and softer on repeated listens. It is the blueprint for all the shoegaze that followed it.

“Teen Age Riot” is one of Sonic Youth’s most famous songs (and the first single off the album). Not surprisingly, it is one of their most conventional songs with its traditional verse-chorus pop song structure. Lyrically, it’s about an alternate reality in which J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) is president of the United States.

“Silver Rocket” was the second single from the album (although the single version is live, not the studio version on the album). The song starts out as a conventional punk rock song, but midway through it veers off-road into pure noise, only to return to the pavement at the end. This is a classic example of Sonic Youth’s hard-on-the-outside, soft-in-the-middle modus operandi.

Per Wikipedia, “The Sprawl” was inspired by the works of science fiction writer William Gibson, who used the term to refer to a future mega-city stretching from Boston to Atlanta (specifically from the Sprawl Trilogy). The lyrics for the first verse were lifted from the novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson. Another excellent example of Sonic Youth making hooks out of harsh.

“‘Cross the Breeze” starts out like this is going to be Sonic Youth’s version of a ballad, only to have the caffeine kick in. After a long intro, Kim Gordon’s vocals leap out of the grooves, sounding possessed – and maybe she is, as she sings: “Now you think I’m Satan’s daughter.”

“Eric’s Trip” is inspired by Warhol superstar Eric Emerson’s LSD-fueled monologue in the Andy Warhol movie Chelsea Girls. Meanwhile, The Replacements are singing about bonners. Further proof that Sonic Youth are the smart kids. Love the guitars on this song.

“Total Trash” appears to be about New York City’s crack epidemic. Although Thurston Moore has been quoted as saying that the line: “It’s a guilty man / That can grease the crack” is not about crack the drug, but record company staff trading butt-licks.

“Hey Joni” is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell – what a juxtaposition. This song sounds like if U2 were a punk band.

“Providence” is a complete change in direction. A quiet piano solo with a fog of distortion over it. Lyrically, it’s a voicemail from seminal bass player Mike Watt.

“Candle,” given the album’s art, this is a key song, and per the lyric site Genius.com, the line “Tonight’s the day, candle,” is a reference to the working title for Daydream Nation, inspired by Neil Young’s 1975 album Tonight’s the Night.

“Rain King” lyrically is the most psychedelic song on the album. Musically, it is classic Sonic Youth noise rock.

“Kissability” is written from a dirty old man’s perspective, but sung by Kim Gordon. It is the classic story of the casting director trying to bed a young wannabe starlet.

The album ends with a three-part suite called “Trilogy” (running time roughly fourteen minutes).

• “A) The Wonder” (sung by Thurston) per Wikiepedia, the song is inspired by crime fiction writer James Ellroy’s phrase about the ineffable mystery at the heart of Los Angeles; in Moore’s words, “the wonder” is what, for better and worse, inspires [Ellroy] to keep going, to get out of bed every day.
• “B) Hyperstion” (sung by Thurston) invokes the album title with this line: “Daydreaming days in a daydream nation.” Amazing buzzsaw guitars on this one.
• “Z) Eliminator Jr.” (sung by Kim) per Wikipedia, “Eliminator Jr.” was inspired by the “Preppie Killer“, Robert Chambers. It was titled because the band felt it sounded like a cross between Dinosaur Jr. and Eliminator-era ZZ Top (1983). It was given part “z” in the “Trilogy” both as a reference to ZZ Top and because it is the closing piece on the disc. Without the prompt from Wikipedia, I would not have caught the ZZ Top reference.

Overall, the album is an impressive example of 1980s indie rock. Once you get past the noise, Sonic Youth is a melodic band with pop instincts similar to the instincts of thier contemporaries Hüsker Dü. When you listen to them in 2025, you can hear their influence on numerous bands that followed them, notably Nirvana and Radiohead.

*Worthless information part one: A 2014 Goofin’ Records (goo-017) double LP 2014 repress of the first two LPs of the 2007 deluxe edition box set. Goofin’ is Sonic Youth’s own label (which is supported by thier major label Geffen). Goofin’ reissues their regular albums, exclusive stuff, and exclusive recordings on vinyl and compact disc. The Goofin’ name comes from Goo+Geffen.

Worthless information part two: The vinyl version’s four sides and the compact disc inner tray each contain four symbols, each representing one of the band’s members, in homage to—and parody of—the four symbols from the fourth Led Zeppelin album. The symbols are infinity (∞) for Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) referencing his 1987 album From Here to Infinity, female (♀) for Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), uppercase omega (Ω) for Thurson Moore  (lead guitar, vocals), referencing Leo, his zodiac sign, and a drawing of a demonic–angelic baby holding drumsticks for Steve Shelley (drums).

Although The Replacements started as a punk band, they quickly transcended that genre. Similar to their contemporaries, R.E.M., their songwriting was too good to stay in the punk gutter for long. On their third studio album, 1984’s Let It Be, they found their voice and helped invent indie rock. The hat-trick of their final indie-rock album Let It Be, their major label debut, Tim (1985), and its follow-up Pleased To Meet Me (1987) is their apex. There would be a couple more albums after those, but they ended up being closer to Paul Westerberg’s solo albums than to band albums. By the end of the 80s, the band was spent.

There is not a bad cut on Let It Be, and several are Mats classics like “I Will Dare,” “Favorite Thing,” “Androgynous,” “Unsatisfied,” “Sixteen Blue,” and “Answering Machine.” On Let It Be the band perfectly captures the angst of late adolescence into young adulthood. If I had to recommend one Mats’ album for the uninitiated, it would be Let It Be.

This deluxe edition is the original album remastered (it sounds fantastic), a disk of demos, outtakes, and B-sides (essential for Mats’ fans), and a double disk of a live show a couple of months before the release of Let It Be, at the legendary Chicago rock/sports bar The Cubby Bear. The live show is pretty lo-fi, but the performance is so excellent that I can look past the audio quality. The live covers are to die for. Let It Be (Deluxe) is an essential compilation for Mats’ fans, and it was a no-brainer as an addition to the Desert 🌵 Sessions (I have an original Twin/Tone LP back at the mothership in Minneapolis).

LP One – original remastered

1. I Will Dare (2025 Remaster)
2. Favorite Thing (2025 Remaster)
3. We’re Comin’ Out (2025 Remaster)
4. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (2025 Remaster)
5. Androgynous (2025 Remaster)
6. Black Diamond (2025 Remaster)
7. Unsatisfied (2025 Remaster)
8. Seen Your Video (2025 Remaster)
9. Gary’s Got a Boner (2025 Remaster)
10. Sixteen Blue (2025 Remaster)
11. Answering Machine (2025 Remaster)

LP Two – demos, outtakes, and B-sides
12. Gary’s Got a Boner (Alternate Version)
13. Favorite Thing (Alternate Version)
14. Perfectly Lethal (Outtake) [2025 Remaster]
15. Temptation Eyes (Outtake) [2025 Remaster] cover of the 1970 hit song by The Grass Roots
16. Who’s Gonna Take Us Alive
17. Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat (2025 Remaster) cover of 1973 single by the Canadian group The DeFranco Family
18. Answering Machine (Home Demo #1)
19. Answering Machine (Home Demo #2)
20. Street Girl (Takes 1 and 2)
21. Sixteen Blue (Alternate Version) [2025 Remaster]
22. Unsatisfied (Alternate Mix) [Full-Length Version]
23. Androgynous (Alternate Version)
24. 20th Century Boy (2025 Remaster) T-Rex cover (1973)
25. Hey Good Lookin’ (Live at Merlyn’s, Madison, WI) [2025 Remaster] Hank Williams cover (1951)

LP Three – live
26. Can’t Hardly Wait (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) – still a couple of LPs away
27. Left in the Dark (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) The Vertebrats cover
28. Unsatisfied (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
29. I Will Dare (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
30. Favorite Thing (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
31. Kids Don’t Follow (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
32. Run It (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
33. Color Me Impressed (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
34. Hayday (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
35. Nowhere Is My Home (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) – pre Tim
36. Love You Till Friday (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
37. Help Me Rhonda/Little G.T.O. (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Beach Boys cover
38. Takin a Ride (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)

LP Four – live continued
39. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
40. Gary’s Got a Boner (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
41. Johnny’s Gonna Die (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
42. Can’t Get Enough (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Bad Company cover
43. I’m in Trouble (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
44. Don’t Ask Why (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
45. Take Me Down to the Hospital (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
46. Shiftless When Idle (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
47. Mr. Whirly (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Beatles cover
48. Hitchin’ a Ride (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) Vanity Fare cover
49. Black Diamond (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) KISS cover
50. 20th Century Boy (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84) T-Rex cover
51. Go (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
52. Gimme Noise (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)
53. White and Lazy (Live at Cubby Bear, Chicago, IL, 8/17/84)

In the Spring of 1988, I walked into my favorite record store at the time, Dave Biljan’s The Flip Side, in St. Paul, across from St. Kate’s. I loved the shop because it had a great selection of quality used records, reasonable prices, and Dave was a rarity in a record store – a friendly and unpretentious guy. Many who work in record shops are aloof.

On this particular day, I asked Dave, “What’s new?” And he immediately pulled a promo copy* of Tracy Chapman’s debut and insisted that I buy it. I had no idea what it was, but I trusted Dave. When I brought it home and dropped the needle, I was blown away. Dave never led me astray.

Within a month, I saw that Tracy Chapman was playing at First Avenue/7 Street Entry. My memory is foggy, but I think she played solo at the Entry, not the Main Room (I could only verify that she did play at one of the venues on Friday, May 06, 1988).

Tracy Chapman’s debut album was a critical and commercial success. It was certified 6× platinum (that is, 6 million copies) by the Recording Industry Association of America. It received six Grammy Award nominations (1989), including one for Album of the Year, three of which she won: Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her single “Fast Car,” and Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The song “Fast Car” experienced a recent resurgence with country star Luke Combs’ cover, which became a number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts in 2023. This achievement earned Chapman the Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year, making her the first black person to win the award. Chapman had a viral moment in 2024 when she performed the song with Combs at the Grammys.

The album’s folk-rock music style, political lyrics, queer, and soul-searching themes really stood out in the late 80s – a period dominated by glam metal, the rise of electronic genres like techno and house music, the “golden age of hip hop” with artists like Run-D.M.C., and the development of alternative rock styles such as noise rock and industrial rock. Chapman’s album arrangements were characterized by an acoustic guitar at the forefront, along with some light folk-rock flourishes. But the most prominent feature is Chapman’s contralto (a lower register for females) vocals, which were unique, reminding me of British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, and are somewhat androgynous. The album’s arrangements and Chapman’s vocals are the perfect fit for her songwriting. The whole presentation is simple but elegant. It is an impressive debut.

The album opens with “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution,” which is a simplistic protest song with the lyric:

Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what’s theirs

The song was written during the age of Reagan and Bush, when the saying “Greed is Good” was a cultural mantra. The song has been invoked in actual revolutions and was the unofficial theme song for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.

“Fast Car” was the first single and the song that catapulted Chapman to stardom. The song wonderfully captures the feeling of being stuck in a dead-end situation and yearning to escape.

The intro of “Across The Lines” sounds like a R.E.M. song and quickly shifts to a Tracy Chapman song. Lyrically, it speaks of tensions between the races in America.

“Behind the Wall” is an a cappella tale of domestic violence. The a cappella performance makes the song particularly haunting, coupled with the bleak lyrics.

“Baby Can I Hold You” is a conventional love song with the simple message: treat me right, apologize when you are wrong, and love me.

“Mountains O’ Things” is a song about consumerism with a percussive keyboard riff that would not sound out of place on an ’80s Peter Gabriel album. The arrangement sounds a bit out of place on the album.

“She’s Got Her Ticket” has a slight reggae lilt. The character in “Fast Car” who wants to escape now has a ticket out in this song.

“Why?” is a conventional protest song that lists a series of contradictions.

“For My Lover” is a song about forbidden love. Chapman has been evasive about her sexual orientation, but this song is clearly about a gay relationship, which in 1988 had a stigma.

“If Not Now…” is a gorgeous piano-forward live-for-the-moment ballad.

“For You” ends the album on a plaintive note. The song talks about trusting your heart over your head.

Many protest songs are heavy on the protest and light on the song. Chapman’s gift is that she knows how to write a hook – the songs on this album are genuine earworms, which is why she had such commercial success. The melodies lure you into the message, ultimately enhancing it. Another unique feature of this album is the exceptional quality of the recording; it is so sonically well-executed that it is one of my go-to recordings for test-driving stereo equipment. This is one of the most impressive debut albums, and unfortunately, it overshadowed the rest of her career.

*Promo copies often feature distinctive marks, like “Promotional Use Only” or “Not for Sale” printed on the label or sleeve, a different colored label, or a plain white label.  These special pressings were often sent to radio stations and DJs in limited quantities. I sought them out because they were like new (but about half the price) and for their higher sound quality, as they are often among the first pressings made using the original stampers. My copy of Tracy Chapman’s debut is a pristine promo with outstanding sound quality—significantly better than the Redbook CD quality (16-bit/44.1 kHz) found on streaming services.

https://spotify.link/JG2kH8pXFXb

For the TL;DR crowd: Mega-success and love have not ruined Taylor Swift – she can still churn out the bops and bangers, the upbeat and cheeky tone is an antidote to our dark times.

Taylor Swift didn’t resonate with me until her album 1989 (released in 2014). And I only got into that because of the Ryan Adams cover of the album. Once on the bandwagon, I have not gotten off. I am not obsessive enough to be considered a Swifty, but I am definitely a fan. I don’t fit the stereotypical demographic as a 66-year-old male who primarily listens to Americana, jam bands, indie rock, and jazz. However, I do have a soft spot for the occasional pop star, such as Swift, Gaga, and Madonna.

I was concerned about The Life of a Showgirl. Would the massive success of the Eras Tour and the Travis Kelce romance ruin her art? The good news is no. The new album is sparkling pop music at its finest. Swift wrote and produced “The Life of a Showgirl” with mega-producers Max Martin and Shellback, marking the duo’s first collaboration since “Reputation“ (2017). They were also responsible for the big tracks in 1989 (“Blank Spaces,” “Shake It Off,” and “Bad Blood”).

The album opens with “The Fate of Ophelia,” which is dance pop, or as we oldsters call it, disco. This is a Travis Song – the opening line: “I heard you callin’ on the megaphone” is a reference to him using his platform as a famous NFL player and podcaster to get a date with Swift. The title refers to William Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet, where Ophelia goes insane and commits suicide by drowning herself after her father’s death. The song suggests Travis saved Swift from this fate. Swift is promoting this as the album’s first single, and it is, as the kids say, a banger.

“Elizabeth Taylor” has a singer-songwriter vibe, and I interpret it to be a recognition that Tay and Big Yeti are the biggest celebrity couple since Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

The “Opalite” sound is a nod to late 1970s Fleetwood Mac (hopefully Taylor and Travis have a better fate than Stevie and Lindsey). Opalite is a milky, iridescent glass substitute for genuine opals. This is another Travis song (Easter egg alert: the opal is Travis’ birthstone) – after a bunch of failed relationships, this is the one: “Never met no one like you before.”

“Father Figure” is a nod to George Michael (it contains an interpolation of “Father Figure,” a 1987 song written and performed by George Michael). The song appears to be about her nemesis, former record label CEO Scott Borchetta, whom she equates to a mafioso. However, Taylor gets the last laugh: “You made a deal with this devil, turns out my dick’s bigger” – I assume this is a reference to Taylor gaining control of her catalog.

“Eldest Daughter” has a classic Swift sound with a sparse piano-focused arrangement. On Amazon Music, Taylor has a commentary introduction to each of the songs. On this one, she says:

“It’s a love song about kind of the roles that we play in our public life, because nowadays everyone has a public life. You have a life that you portray to other people or what you portray on social media, and then you have the you that everyone gets to know who has earned the right to be closest to you. And it’s really hard to be sincere publicly because that’s not really what our culture rewards. People reward you for being like tough and unbothered and like too busy to care. And you may be that about some things, but everyone has things that matter to them and people that matter to them. This song really kind of gets to the heart of when someone gets close enough to you to earn your trust, that’s when you can admit to them that you actually really do care about some things.”

“Ruin The Friendship” features a fantastic bass line, classic Taylor, making it easy to sway and sing along to. I love the flutter pop vocal. Per Taylor, the song is about “the idea of if you told this person you had feelings for them or if you kissed this person, you might ruin the friendship. And it kind of goes back in time and, and explores what really would have been so bad about that.” The key lyric: “Should’ve kissed you anyway.”

“Actually Romantic” is a signature Taylor diss track about someone who is insulting toward you, and the comeback troll is suggesting their bile is actually a sign of how infatuated they are with you. According to the internet, the song is a response to Charli xcx, who has called Swift a “Boring Barbie.”

“It’s actually sweet
All the time you’ve spent on me
It’s honestly wild
All the effort you’ve put in
It’s actually romantic“

“Wi$h Li$t” – after all the fame and fortune, the song’s narrator just wants a mundane life, married with kids living in the suburbs.

“I just want you, huh
Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you
We tell the world to leave us thе fuck alone, and they do, wow
Got me drеaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop
Boss up, settle down, got a wish list (Wish list)
I just want you“

“Wood” evokes the Jackson 5, but the lyrics are not so innocent. It is cheeky and filled with sexual humor:

“Forgive me, it sounds cocky
He ah-matized me and opened my eyes
Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see
His love was the key that opened my thighs”

CANCELLED! is typical rock star complaining – it is tough to be on top. Musically, it has a Lady Gaga vibe. The chorus says it all:

“Good thing I like my friends cancelled
I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal
Like my whiskey sour
And poison thorny flowers
Welcome to my underworld
Where it gets quite dark
At least you know exactly who your friends are
They’re the ones with matching scars“

“Honey” can be a term of endearment, but it can also be used as a weapon. Taylor plays with that contradiction. Apparently, Travis is the good honey.

“You can call me ‘Honey’ if you want because I’m the one you want
I’m the one you want
You give it different meaning, ’cause you mean it when you talk”

“The Life of a Showgirl” (featuring Sabrina Carpenter) is Taylor’s commentary on show business. It is a hard life, but: “And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe / Wouldn’t have it any other way” Per Taylor:

“It is the story of a fictional showgirl named Kitty and how my character in the song goes to see her perform and is completely inspired by her. But rather than responding with, like, fakeness, she tells it like it is. And she kind of warns me off of this lifestyle because it’s much more than just the glitter and the glamour. There’s a lot else that comes with it. so it’s kind of an ode to show business and the women who move through those pitfalls and obstacle courses I thought who better to ask to be a part of this song than the ultimate show girl Sabrina Carpenter.”

Overall, The Life of a Showgirl is a success, but it is too early to rank it in her catalog (this post is based on mere 24 hours with the album). I love its upbeat and cheeky tone as an antidote to our dark times. Mega-success and love have not ruined Taylor Swift – she can still churn out the bops and bangers!

Since 1996, the Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere, comprising rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/producer Ant (Anthony Davis), has remained remarkably consistent. Three decades in, Jestures is proof that they are still on top of their game.

Atmosphere is one of a handful of hip-hop acts that I actually like. I dig Ant’s vintage funk and soul beats, as well as Slug’s flow and storytelling lyrics. The fact that we are all Minneapolis southsiders doesn’t hurt either. Atmosphere are aging gracefully which has made it easy for this old man to follow their career.

From the Rhymesayers Entertainment website:

On Jestures, Atmosphere’s sprawling new album, Slug digs deep into the complexities of life, confronting the unexpected points of friction in middle-aged domesticity and stability. Long past the belief that great art needs great pain, he challenges the notion that creativity must stem from trauma. Instead, their fifth release of the 2020s explores a different kind of tension—one rooted in reflection, responsibility, and the quiet revelations of daily life. The result is a record that captures personal evolution without romanticizing the past or fearing the future. 

The album’s format is as ambitious as its themes: 26 songs, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, sequenced in order from A to Z. Even the guest features follow suit—Evidence appears on “Effortless,” Kurious on “Kilowatts,” and Musab, Muja Messiah, and Mike the Martyr all land on “Mash.” While the tracklist might seem sprawling, many of these songs are deceptively short—often just one or two verses—delivering their core ideas with surgical precision. The effect is a curated, flowing mosaic that captures a full emotional and creative arc without overstaying its welcome. 

More than a retrospective, Jestures is a meditation on movement and meaning—on how time shapes us, and how even the mundane can be transformative. Slug blends past and present with ease, referencing iconic Atmosphere sounds while exploring evolving relationships, memory, and self-awareness. Ant’s rich production provides the perfect backdrop, shifting between electro-glitch, somber drones, and playful twang. At its heart, Jestures is a story of progress, building toward a future defined by resilience and creative clarity.

Despite the restrictions of the alphabet concept, the song sequence doesn’t feel forced. The album flows smoothly.

I have met Slug and Ant a few times (Minneapolis is ultimately a small town, and these are the least pretentious “rock stars” you could ever imagine), and they are totally relatable. Slug declares he is an optimistic skeptic in “Ophidiophobia,” which is my brand – I can relate.

Jestures is not mind-blowing; it is just like meeting an old friend you haven’t seen in years and picking up where you left off, as if it were yesterday when you last talked.

Postscript: I picked up Jestures at my favorite record store, Electric Fetus, in Minneapolis, and when I brought it up to the cash register, the clerk swapped it out for an autographed copy. Rhymesayers, Atmosphere’s label, does such a great job with packaging – per the hype label:

EMBOSSED & SPOT / GLOSS GATEFOLD JACKET / WITH DIE CUT RECORD SLEEVES

Tracklist:

Side A

1. Asshole
2. Baby
3. Caddy
4. Daley
5. Effortless (feat. Evidence)
6. Furthermore
7. Grateful

Side B

8. Heavy Lifting (feat. Haphduzn)
9. Instrument
10. Jester
11. Kilowatts (feat. Kurious)
12. Locusts
13. Mash (feat. Mike the Martyr, Musab, and Muja Messiah)

Side C

14. Neptune
15. Ophidiophobia
16. Past
17. Quicksand
18. Really
19. Sean

Side D

20. Trying
21. Used To
22. Velour
23. Westbound
24. XXX
25. Yearning (feat. Yoni Wolf of WHY?)
26. Zorro (feat. ZooDeVille)

I am a huge Wilco fan, but Jeff Tweedy’s solo and side projects have generally not resonated with me—until now. Twilight Overdrive is as good as anything in the Wilco catalog.

Per Jon Pareles, in his album review/profile in the New York Times, he provides some of the backstory:

The way Jeff Tweedy tells it, “Twilight Override” — his new triple album, with 30 songs on three discs — got its start on a road trip.

Tweedy, who leads the long-running band Wilco, was planning a four-hour drive with his two sons, Spencer and Sammy. He decided it was a good occasion to listen all the way through “Sandinista!,” the 1980 triple album by the Clash: a sprawl of brash, style-hopping songs and studio experiments. Soon, the idea of making his own triple album took hold. In a video interview, he jokingly dubbed the new album “Sad-inista.”

A triple album is “counterintuitive,” he said. “By giving somebody a lot of music to luxuriate in, you’re setting up a little barrier. But it’s also for a certain type of listener to be rewarded. And I just thought that it flies in the face of a culture that’s gotten faster, more surface level.”

In a pre-release profile in Pitchfork, Tweedy is quoted:

“When you choose to do creative things, you align yourself with something that other people call God, and when you align yourself with creation, you inherently take a side against destruction. You’re on the side of creation. And that does a lot to quell the impulse to destroy. Creativity eats darkness.”

In interviews, Tweedy has suggested his ideal would be for the listener to consume the entire album in one sitting (that would be just shy of two hours). I have yet to do that, but Twilight Overdrive has been in my primary rotation since its release day (in the car, on bike rides, as background music, and active listening, etc.). So I am certainly luxuriating. With each listen, I am not growing tired of it, nor am I tempted to skip a song, and with every listen, I discover a new favorite song.

The collection is generally more relaxed and mellow compared to a Wilco album. Not sloppy, just casual. It is not entirely acoustic, but acousticish (there is some trademark Tweedy cacophony too). It is how I imagine a song sounds before Wilco, the band, “Wilco’s it up.” You forget that, despite Tweedy’s prominence in Wilco (as lead vocalist, composer, lyricist, and frontman), Wilco is first and foremost a band. Twilight Override has a singer-songwriter vibe that is different than Wilco. I am reminded of John Lennon’s work after the Beatles – a whole other thing.

The more I listen, the more I understand that Tweedy did not intend these songs for Wilco. Twilight Override is just Tweedy, which is very Wilcoish, but different. Twilight Override is performed as a band, but not as Wilco: Tweedy (vocals, guitars, and a variety of instruments), Tweedy’s sons Spenser (on drums, vocals, and a variety of other instruments) and Sammy (keys and vocals), Kids These Days’ Kazar (bass, guitar, piano, and vocals), Finom the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist duo Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart (vocals and keys) and English singer-songwriter James Elkington (guitars, mandolin and piano).

I look forward to seeing Jeff Tweedy, with a full band, supporting this album cycle live later this fall at First Avenue in Minneapolis.