Last Friday my favorite 1985 album, No Jacket Required by Phil Collins, was reissued with remastered tracks and bonus material including live recordings. One hit which was played live but not included in the original album was "Easy Lover", which Collins sang alongside Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire on the studio release. Encountering this was a most enjoyable listening experience, and though I can't find the right live version I figured I'd just link the original music video in all its 80's glory.
Fountains of Carrots has been on a good run lately with regular updates and awesome guests, and this past week the pair of Catholic moms have a friendly conversation with Ginny Sheller and her journey to the faith. The show also delves into frank discussion on what living on twelve acres is like, how to tell your parents you're pregnant with your eighth child and the incongruousness of the setup in a cry room. I know, this all sounds like homeschooling parent central, but I enjoyed the flow of the conversation and it was interesting to catch a glimpse into parenting styles that are not too common in everyday life.
I recently turned in my final assignment of the semester and so I get to enjoy a bit of a longer break than normal before my coursework resumes in the summer. Thankful for the opportunity to catch a deep breath, I celebrated in my own little way by replaying some new songs (new to me, at least) that I've grown fond of in the past couple of months. Below is a snapshot of my trip down memory lane.
1. School of Seven Bells
I first heard of School of Seven Bells on the All Songs Considered show following the Paris bombings of last November. I enjoyed their style of atmospheric dream pop but kept them shelved until their latest album, SVIIB, dropped this February. When I heard their opening cut, whose music video was released just a week ago, I was instantly hooked and simultaneously disheartened at the fact that this would be their last release given the loss of instrumentalist Benjamin Curtis to cancer in 2013.
This week I started checking out some of Spotify's public playlists and was pleasantly surprised by the expertly curated mixes in "Deep Dark Indie", "Epic Wall of Sound" and "Young Punks". From the latter I discovered the following song by The Beverleys off of their 2015 debut Brutal, which I have been replaying in my head since I first heard it.
A recording that's making its rounds on music news sites, Bob Mould was invited by Ryan Adams to his PAX-AM Studio and talks about paving the way for punk in America, among other things. The former is better known as the vocalist for the alternative bands Hüsker Dü and Sugar and his latest solo album, Patch the Sky, was released last Friday. The latter, another seminal rock musician and ex-husband of Mandy Moore, may have appeared on your social media feed in the last couple of months for his work in recording a cover album of Taylor Swift's 1989.
The pair have an extremely enlightening conversation that brings up Mould's history of playing alongside other underground acts and the way musicians and technology have an ebb and flow influence on the direction of the music industry. I definitely have my work cut out for me in checking out all the obscure 80's hardcore bands mentioned in this interview, alongside Mould's and Adams' respective discographies.