40 Watt Gigolo

from the album Sex & Food (2018)

The thing that I really dig about Unknown Mortal Orchestra is their ability to create exceptional vibes that precisely hit the mark.  If this Brooklyn outfit wants to create a Delphonics vibe, they head into the studio and - poof - there it is!

This requires a mastery of understanding structure, tone, and space.  It also requires the instrumental and studio craftsmanship necessary to pull it off.  The adeptness of Unknown Mortal Orchestra in executing these skills record-after-record amazes me.

On Hunnybee, the band chooses to lay down a Prince vibe.  Structurally, it is all laid down with perfection, with the drums and bass leading the way; however, it is also present in the choices of chords, the vocal line, and the synthesized horns.  Each instrument's tone is perfection and the production has the perfect sheen.

But the thing that really amazes me is the bounce.  Prince songs have a bounce to them.  You hear it in the roundness of the bass a…

from the album Just Like Medicine (2017)

Jim Croce was one of the greatest American songwriters of the 1970s.  His songs were tender and witty; telling stories, creating characters, and forming a musical lexicon that anyone could enjoy. It is crowded on the Mount Rushmore of great American songwriters, but Jim Croce was amongst the very best.

So how amazing is it to hear a song of Jim's that has never previously been recorded?

Name Of The Game is a delightful song on A.J. Croce's 2017 album, Just Like Medicine.  Sung as a duet with Vince Gill, A.J. Croce pays homage to his father through vibe and tones.  Listen to the guitar and piano, the background singers, and the drumming.  It almost gives me chills.

But, for this gigolo, it is all about songwriting.  The unmistakable structure.  The balance of melody and space.  The trademark vocal line.  Jim Croce's music lives at that mystical intersection of black magic and mathematics.  There is voodoo in the vibe.

If you are serio…

from the album Love In The Modern Age (2018)

About a decade ago, I found myself in a weird state; ecstatic to be regularly uncovering scores of great songs by dozens of new artists, yet glooming over the lack of close musical friends to share these songs with.

Throughout high school, college, and my band days, I was perpetually surrounded by fellow music lovers.  It was through these friends that I was introduced to many records that have enriched my life.  And then there were the concerts: Uncle Tupelo in a basement bar in St. Louis, Whiskeytown in an Athens, GA dive, and Lucinda Williams in the north Florida swamps.  So many memories.  Yet, somehow, all those friends had scattered in search of 40 acres and a mule.

Ultimately, I rectified the gloom by starting this blog.  It has reconnected me with some of my dearest music friends, along with many other kindred spirits.

Josh Rouse is one of those artists I began listening to in the late 2000s.  Quiet Town was one of my favorite songs…

Welcome to Episode 3 of Pink Squirrel, a mixtape series exploring sone of the best songs of 2018.

This episode is full of great alternative songs from bands including Mint Field, Ought, and The Breeders.  One song of particular note is Soul No. 5 by Caroline Rose which seems to always strike a chord with my funky friends.

I hope you dig it...


Here is the playlist:

Quiero Otoño De Nuevo by Mint Field

Black Moon by Screaming Females

The Man by Goat Girl

After Hours by The Sufis

YO! MY SAINT [Film Version] by Karen O

When You Die by MGMT

These 3 Things by Ought

In Between Stars by Eleanor Friedberger

Soul No. 5 by Caroline Rose

Can't Live Here Anymore by Katy Guillen & The Girls

Walking With A Killer by The Breeders

How To Socialize & Make Friends by Camp Cope

Go Out Fighting by Dr. Dog

Negative Space by Hookworms


Here are the previous episodes of Pink Squirrel:






And please checkout my Mixcloud page to check out all of my mixtapes.

from the album Confident Music For Confident People (2018)

Confidence Man are a dance pop duo from Melbourne, Australia whose debut album - Confident Music For Confident People - is one of the most eclectically fun records of the year.

My favorite track is C.O.O.L. Party, which features bratty girl chatter over a wicked bass groove.  The singer's name is Janet Planet, which - for sure - begs a reference to Moon Unit Zappa.  The lyrics detail all the fun people and stuff you might find at the party of the year.  It is light and fun fare.

But the bass groove is serious stuff.  It is hard and crisp, easy to dance to, and infectious.  I can't wait to bust my bass out and learn it!

I also dig the guitar playing and synthesizers, particularly when they remind me of Groove Is In The Heart.

This is a fun one...

Click Here to listen to C.O.O.L. Party by Confidence Man.

from the album Goat Girl (2018)

Goat Girl are a new band from London.  They combine Siouxee & The Banshees styled vocals with rolling, kinetic sound that has made them one of favorite debut bands of 2018 (so far).

The song I am digging most is The Man.  The galloping beat and jangling guitars are tasty fare, counterposed by slightly mumbled, withdrawn vocal stylings leading towards the central lyric:

You're the man
You're the man
You're the man for me

This is followed by an inspired guitar solo that exudes freedom and rebellion.

This is the essence of new rock and roll in 2018.

Click Here to watch the official music video for The Man by Goat Girl.

from the album Floating Features (2018)

Picture yourself in a imported convertible at 4AM, driving away from that evening's decadent scene and towards your modern unit that overlooks the Southern California beach.  The traffic lights seen to shine extra bright as the sky turns indigo.

You light up the roach that has been living in your ashtray and breathe the smoke deep inside.  California.  Your mind and spirit become one.

You turn on the stereo and hear the girls in La Luz singing California Finally.  The vibe is a dusty version of light '60s psychedelia.  The subtle gallop of the beat propels you down the street.  The reverb in the guitar speaks to you in the moment.  The hazy dreaminess of the backing vocals are a lush pillow for your wandering mind to float upon.

Let's all move to Redondo Beach...

Click Here to listen to California Finally by La Luz.

from the album Mambo Cósmico (2018)

Are you prepared to mambo like an Egyptian?

Surf's up.  It's mambo beat with Mesopotamian synthesizers.  Nothing much else to do but dance to the instrumental stylings of Sonido Gallo Negro.

Mexican surf is a very appealing subgenre of music.

Click Here to listen to Mambo Egypcio by Sonido Gallo Negro.

from the album Girl Going Nowhere (2018)

Once upon a time, I played bass in an alternative country band whose sound flirted around the edges of rockabilly, surf, and psychedelia.  We were hot shit in Atlanta.  Creative Loafing called us "the darlings of the redneck underground" and included us in that year's "Best of" issue.  It was a fine time.

One Friday night, we were playing at The Star Bar, ground zero for the redneck underground.  A subgenre of a subgenre.  A scene onto itself.  After our set, I was talking to some guys who regularly drove down from a small town in the North Georgia mountains.  Some people speculated that they grew weed, but I knew nothing about that.

They offered us a gig playing at their Fourth of July party at a place in the woods, outside of Dahlongega.  It was a bit of a hike, but a paying gig is a paying gig.  We took the job.

We set up our gear and took the stage (actually a front porch) mid-afternoon.  It was brutally hot; nearly …

from the album The Tree Of Forgiveness (2018)

When I lived in Milwaukee, my best friend was a guy from Detroit who liked to be called Hollywood.

On day, Hollywood got all excited because his brother - an environmental attorney living in Boulder, Colorado - was passing through town with his new girlfriend.  They were en route to Detroit for a "meet the parents" kind of thing.

In preparation of the visit, Hollywood planned a big outdoor grilling event behind our apartment.  Burgers, brats, and drumsticks.  A keg of Stroh's.  Cleaning on a level never previously witnessed.  And, perhaps most importantly,  the stereo speakers were firmly planted in the window.

When the Colorado folks arrived, it was exactly what you might expect: a custom van, a bearded mountain man, and a pretty brunette in a suede vest.  Before too long, Hollywood's brother pulled a melon crate full of LPs from the van and headed to the stereo,

Over the next eighteen hours, he spun folky music I had ne…

from the EP Tokyo Bay / Crying Inside (2018)

Once upon a time, my musical trinity consisted of Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Squeeze; all clever songwriters with an affinity for a refreshing brand of power pop that deeply resonated with me.  Their music formed the soundtrack of my budding adulthood.

And as the decades have worn on, it is Nick Lowe who continues to serve as my guiding light.  Hip, slightly reserved, and professional.  A songwriter's songwriter.  Always applying his craft.  Seamlessly gliding from pub rock to country to rockabilly to surf.  Always maintaining his signature sound.  My idol.

Last night, I heard Tokyo Bay; the first track off of a four song EP he is releasing this June.  It is a rambling, rockabilly affair about a "long gone daddy" who writes a note, jumps a steamer, and ships off to find a little geisha.

As I listen to Nick Lowe describe his far east journey, my musical and spiritual compass rediscovers true north.

Click Here to listen to Tok…