Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Brant's August 2017 Playlist

It's back to school time - you grab the lunch box and I'll grab the boombox!  

Is it time for a new playlist already???  July went by fast - but not as fast as Scaramucci's stint as Communications Director at the White House.  The Mooch is out, but great music is always IN!  Let's get to it.  To listen on Spotify, click HERE.

1.  When We Were Young (Andy Black and Juliet Simms) - Adele gets the Emo Power Ballad treatment!  I'm sure some folks will be mortified this recording exists, but I'm loving it.  Reminds me of slow dances at the prom.

2.  Automatic (Mondo Cozmo) - More arena rock vibes, this time from Philadelphia artist Josh Ostrander.  We also featured him on February's playlist.  Can't wait for the entire album to drop!

3.  Green Light /Chromeo Remix/ ( Lorde) - You know how sometimes something shouldn't work but then it totally works???  Chromeo turns Lorde's teen angst into a thumpin' 80s dance jam.

4.  We Could Run (Beth Ditto) - As promised, more from Beth Ditto's excellent solo album.

5.  Sleepwalking (Nicole Atkins) - Former Charlottean serves up some East Coast beach music.

6.  Brass Beam (Waxahatchee) - Confessional grrrrrl rock from Indie artist.

7.  Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You (Lizz Wright) - Talented vocalist takes Nina Simone to church with this delicious gospel-tinged cover!

8.  Paper Wings /Demo/ (Gillian Welch) - Two decades after the release of her debut album, Welch treats us to a collection of bootlegs and outtakes from the recording sessions.  I kinda like this straightforward reading/demo of this song from the original album.

9.  Unpredictable (Olly Murs and Luisa Johnson) - Olly is becoming my go-to for fun, danceable pop.  His latest does NOT disappoint.

10.  The Maze (Manchester Orchestra) - More gospel flavahs from Georgia Indie band.

11.  Systemagic /Hannah Holland Remix/ (Goldfrapp) - Thank goodness my friend Josh tipped me off that there was a new Goldfrapp album.  This one flew in under my radar.  Love the Euro-Disco vibe that Hannah Holland brings to the original.

12.  Drench Me With Your Lust (AMiR) - London based producer channels Michael Jackson for this toe-tappin (but kinda grossly titled) soul tune!

13.  Weakness (Margo Price) - Retro-country goddess is back with more old-school confections!

14.  Holding On (The War on Drugs) - This one kind of reminds me of 80s Grateful Dead, and I'm good with that.

15.  Wouldn't You Love to Love Me? (Taja Sevelle) - I guess the only good side of Prince passing is that stuff he worked on his bubbling up again.  30 years ago, Michael Jackson was working on his follow up to the legendary Thriller album.  As one of the biggest artists of that decade, Prince was asked to duet on the title song of Jackson's new album, "Bad".  Prince passed on that, but instead offered a song he had written for Jackson to record.  Jackson passed, but the song ended up on R&B singer Taja Sevelle's debut album.  It's not available on Spotify, but you can hear it HERE.  Would have loved to hear what MJ could have done with this song, though.

16.  Love On Hold (Aeroplane feat. Tawatha Agee) - One of those old-school sounding jams that immediately makes me perk up my ears!  Lead singer Tawatha Agee was previously lead singer for the Mtume hit, "Juicy Fruit", which may be why I was instantly drawn to this song.  The Dimitri from Paris remix comes with everything but roller skates and a disco ball!

So that's this month's batch of songs!  Hope everyone is having a great summer, and I'll see ya next month!