december songs, week three

the last two decembers i've challenged myself to posting a song or artist per day for the month. this year i'm choosing weekly digests. so here is december songs, week three: 

when i hear a song i like i take note of it

i follow up by investigating online and seeing where it leads. sometimes i realize i don't want to hear the song again. but more often than not, it becomes a new fascination.

these december songs are some of the songs from my notes, but also some others

many of these songs i've heard on the radio––while listening at home, or on my frequent drives to and from charlottesville

some are old favorites

many are still new, something fascinating to hold to the light

some i over-listen to 

maybe this is my unfolding play list? or mix tape? 

i'm sharing it with you.

kaia kater // grenades



(another voice i heard on the radio one night driving home in my car. i looked her up right away and purchased her album, grenades,  of which she says: "Like many people, I have felt alone and out of place for most of my life, stumbling forward blind and rootless. I wrote Grenades to trace the life line from my palm and find my way home." the album includes voice overs by her father telling tales of his childhood in grenada. kater also has a strong appalachian influence and plays banjo.)

the babe rainbow // supermoon 



(heard this summer, right around the super moon, appropriately. i like their trippy rambling upbeat sound, and the video is a happy silly thing.)

king gizzard and the lizard wizard // the river



(speaking of australia. . . yes i've been hearing this band on wtju for years now. but it wasn't until i sat down one day at twisted branch tea bazaar, earbuds in, and listened  to polygondwanaland from start to finish––which is a free download on bandcamp by the way––that i realized how totally mind bending they are. good stuff. don't wait as long as i did to listen more closely.) 

endless boogie // imprecations 



(another new to me band. i really dig this long and groovy psychedelic jam)

naked gods // rick danko (was an honest man)



(i've seen the bumper stickers and heard talk of this local-not-local band. i've heard a song here and there on wtju and assisted at the print shop with the making of t-shirts for the singer's pizza shop in boone, nc. so yea, it's about time i familiarize myself with their music, even if i am late to the show. i like the way this song purrs along and then really punches it at the end. except i want it to keep going.)

lucy dacus // nightshift



(some of my friends know that i have a remarkably lucky ticket winning streak. i signed up for lucy dacus, not knowing much about her music, but curious, particularly because my friend and boss-man at the print shop was designing concert posters for her show at the jefferson. sure enough, i won myself a pair tickets. it was a lovely show, better really than i had anticipated. i have a poem series called nightshift that i have been working on for several years now, so thought i'd share her song of the same title.)

heart of the ghost // heart of the ghost



(another act i saw at low vintage, but this a lively avant jazz experience. so energizing and fresh. i used to see a lot of  improv jazz when i lived in san francisco and so welcomed this ecstatic sound emerging between racks of old dresses and psychedelic shirts. tristan was with me that night and made some awesome sketches in his notebook. probably one of my favorite mother/son dates, even though, tired and over stimulated, he totally lost his shit on the way home.)