Five Songs I've Been Recently Diggin'

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Polar brings that springtime refreshment to CT
The trees are green, the flowers are booming, the grass is growing, and the whistles of track and field coaches are ringing throughout Connecticut. Here is a quick review of ten songs I've been listening to recently:

"Percy Faith" by Damien Jurado: As a single released before the streaming debut of his new album The Horizon Just Laughed, on "Percy Faith" Jurado channels his folk roots, 50's and 60's easy listening grooves, and rainbow-bright keys. Easy listening music icons and Arizona news anchors are referenced with ease- the song floats along- as the last verse condemns the modern world for "knowing everything but no one at all". This letter to the past couldn't more beautiful and easy. 



"My Body" David Bazan: Big Dave writes about the mind/body connection, or perhaps, disconnection. Here, Bazan evokes an ancient idea: we know what's good for us, but we don't do it anyway. We need community, but sometimes we'd rather be miserable watching reruns of The Office on a sunny afternoon. Bono of U2 once put it even more succinctly: "we can get enough of what we really don't need". Call it sin nature, call it whatever you want, but Bazan adds some pep to this "eternal longing" as he leads a full band equipped with roaring electric guitars with a matter-of-fact vocal delivery. He's got the certainty of a ship captain steering his crew in a sea of doubt. 



"Last Chance for a Slow dance" Fugazi: Full of edgy punk energy, listen to the contrarian in the corner offer a different take on the dance over a guitar line that deconstructs and constructs in equal parts. Drums are fresh- vocals- sarcastic?

"This is My Town" Mark Kozelek: A spoken word treatise served over a sharp, clean-picked electric guitar, "This is My Town" is a treatise on Mark Kozelek's love for San Francisco, CA (but like anything great, it's about so much more than that). Kozelek's festival of gratitude, here, extends to his town, his city, his health. . . everything. It's utterly endearing. Everyone gets uplifted, here, in true Walt Whitman fashion. Deadheads, techies, the homeless, construction workers, nail salon workers, whoever- they all have a seat at the table in Kozelek's town. 


"OTW" by Khalid: This song isn't any good. The lyrics are pointless, and the music sounds like it was composed on the assembly line factory of modern hit music. Students love this song. EH. Why am I listening to it on the way home from work everyday? As a plus, it'd be a good theme song for pizza delivery drivers out there. I guess I like it. 

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