Friday, February 27, 2015

February Playlist: Pray for the Rain

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I've had a bit of an odd month, musically speaking. Here, for illustrative purposes, is a ten-track digest of what I've been listening to this February...

Click here for January's playlist.


1. A Song for the Dead - Queens of the Stone Age
(from Songs for the Deaf)
If you actually decide to play the Songs for the Deaf drinking game that I devised last week, this is probably the song that will kill you. Kind of appropriate, given the title.


2. Itchy Feet on a Tuesday Night - Milky Wimpshake
(from My Funny Social Crime)
Of the two Milky Wimpshake albums I bought from Fopp during my most recent visit to Bristol, My Funny Social Crime is probably the one I like less. Having said that, this catchy anti-work song is my favourite track from either.



3. Days Like This Keep Me Warm - The Polyphonic Spree
(from The Beginning Stages of...)
When I revisited Beginning Stages for the latest edition of A Crack in Everything, this song was one of the ones that I needled for being too repetitive. It's still lovely, though.



4. The Everlasting Muse - Belle & Sebastian
(from Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance)
While Play for Today was (and still is) my #1 highlight from the new B&S album, I must admit that this is the track I've been playing most often. I just love that switch from slick, bass-led pop to epic, Balkan-sounding stomp.



5. I Stand Corrected - Hallelujah the Hills
(from Have You Ever Done Something Evil?)
Earlier this month, I chose four albums from my current rotation and assigned each one a classical element. Something Evil was my 'earth' choice; click here to see the others.



6. Bermuda Triangle - Barry Manilow
(from Music & Passion: The Best of Barry Manilow)
This song is so absurdly good that I bought a Barry Manilow compilation just so that I could listen to it whenever I wanted.



7. Late Bloomer - Jenny Lewis
(from The Voyager)
It's been quite a while since I wrote about Jenny Lewis's rainbow suit, but The Voyager - which missed out on a spot in my Best of 2014 list - has had something of a second wind in my favours this month. This tale of rebellious teenage love is still my highlight.



8. Countdown to Extinction - Megadeth
(from Countdown to Extinction)
Perhaps I just needed an antidote to Barry Manilow, but by the last week of February, I was scarcely going a day without spinning this album. The title track (whose merits I had somehow ignored on previous listens) is particularly, face-meltingly awesome, largely thanks to the searing guitar figures in the chorus.



9. Back, Baby - Jessica Pratt
(from On Your Own Love Again)
I picked this album up in Spillers more or less on a whim, and since that day I've found myself coming back to Jessica Pratt on an almost-daily basis. I can't quite articulate what draws me to On Your Own Love Again (which is probably why I haven't written a blog about it), but for me, this stealthy heartbreaker is the song that best exemplifies the album's appeal.



10. Last - Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love
(from Last)
It's the closing track on one of the last-est last albums I've ever heard (it's even called Last, for Pete's sake), and so it only seemed right to let this slow-burning swansong round off this month's playlist, too.

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