Tuesday Tunes -- March 1, 2016
Shaun Cordingley
I had about four terrible puns in my head involving March that I was going to put here, but I'm going to spare you all of them, and march on with my list.
...sorry.
This weeks' Tuesday Tunes is a lot more eclectic than the last couple of weeks, but there's an excellent mix of songs, out of which I am sure there is a little something for everyone, especially if you're looking for something a little more mellow than I have been these last few weeks.
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Call Off Your Dogs - Lake Street Dive
Lake Street Dive is one of those indie rock bands that I always love finding; they take genres, and something of a musical time machine and mash sounds together into something that feels both familiar, and brand new. 'Call Off Your Dogs' for example, has a very Motown, soul-pop feel to it, featuring a kick of old school sounding rock guitar (and whistling!), but if you continue on through their library, you will come across some blues, 1960s-style pop, jazz, on top of the aforementioned Motown feel. The thing with this quartet is, though, is that every song feels expertly crafted, tight, and feature both the stunning vocals of Rachel Price, but technically spectacular musicianship backing her up.
Which when you have a band that met at a music conservatory, is something that should not be too surprising--it's just quite a treat to hear four excellent musicians work so well together, and just nail multiple genres. Plus, they do crazy-awesome (and jazzy) covers of songs like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Faith'.
Their latest (fourth) studio album Side Pony was released on February 19, 2016, and the Lake Street Dive is touring heavily through North America for the next few months (check out their website for details).
This Is Why I Need You - Jesse Ruben
Singer/Songwriter Jesse Ruben delivers a soft, beautiful track in "This Is Why I Need You"--it is just one of those songs that just feels absolutely perfect when you are sitting and watching the world go by, preferably with some tea, and maybe with someone you really care about.
It's very simple, mostly just Ruben and his acoustic guitar, and is not the style of music that you generally find here in Tuesday Tunes, but there's just something about this song that really clicks for me, and I can imagine it will click for a good pile of you too (seriously though: tea).
If you happen to be in Deutschland in March/April, you could also catch Jesse Ruben on tour.
White Iverson- Grace Mitchell
Grace Mitchell (whose 'NoLo' was in my Top 15 Songs of the year, and featured on an earlier Tuesday Tunes) is back with a cover of Post Malone's R&B song 'White Iverson', and it is, as usual with Mitchell, awesome. She continues to experiment in sound and genre, and really makes this song work (and as far as I am concerned, now has the superior version, but I am pretty biased). It's a lot more mellow than 'NoLo' but has a great beat to it, and it is fun to hear such a talented singer take on more of a hip hop rhythm.
Bring My Baby Back - Dr. Dog
Eccelctic and fun Rock and roll 'outsiders' Dr. Dog released The Psycheadelic Swamp (their eighth album) just this past February and it is a really lo-fi, throwback rock album, as can really be heard by the synth-y retro rock swell that 'Bring My Baby Back' is. This song really does harken back to a sound that is much less "produced" and has that feeling like, if you were to go see Dr. Dog live, this would be exactly what this song would sound like.
This is a perfect hang out song, and I can imagine it will be heavily used in my 'sitting on my balcony with a beer and friends' playlist. Plus, the 4:3, 1980s student film-style video is just fun.
Judgement Day - Stealth
This is such a cinematic sweep of a soulful rock song by Birmingham, U.K.'s Stealth, that I could not pass up including it here at the end. Fans of Suits may recognize it, as it was used in Season 5, and I would be amazed (unless there's some sort of distribution deal) that that will not be the only time this song is used. Stealth's blues/soul...soul will serve him very well if he continues to deliver sweeping and beautiful tracks like 'Judgement Day'.
Oh, and make sure you find Stealth if you're looking for him, not STEALTH, which is an Italian Hard Rock group (and confused the hell out of me for a little bit).
Here it is: the February Tuesday Tunes Apple Music Playlist, all put together the way we all like it--it's a good list this month, and it was fairly easy to put together into a set...the lack of folk metal helped, but there is still the odd jump that I would talk you through if I was actually spinning this.
The Massive, 2-month (and almost impossible to blend together) December & January Tuesday Tunes Apple Music Playlist is right here. The November Tuesday Tunes Apple Music Playlist and the October Apple Music Playlist is still available of course as well, in case you have not caught those yet (or just need more theguysfrom.com in your life).
Support what you dig! It's soooo much cheaper than anything else out there. You cannot even buy a hamster hat for what one of the songs listed here would cost you....stupid hamster hat inflation.
See you again next week with 5 more Tuesday Tunes!
-S (@Shauncord)