Sunday, January 06, 2019

december songs, week four

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 four, girl power edition, one week into january, 2019:  

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. 


cat power // horizon



(i remember the day cat power's voice filled the hallowed halls of people's food coop in ann arbor, where i was working when someone stuck her cd in the sound system. it was love at first hear. her new album, wanderer, is quite beautiful in its entirety. it was really hard for me to settle on one song. i also really adore "woman" and "stay." you can listen to the whole thing without commercials on bandcamp. then buy it.)

tierra whack // whack world



(i heard her for the first time on––you guessed it––wtju, and repeatedly on fave show, radio freedonia. a series of amazing one minute songs accompanying a must-see reel of short masterful videos. watch it. love it. repeat.)

goat girl // cracker drool



(i pretty much want to be part of a girl band and this is pretty much it. looking forward to listening to them more and often.)

raquel jones & thievery corp // letter to the editor



(i heard this recently on another fave wtju radio show, reggae vibrations. when the clock struck midnight on new years eve and i opened one eye from my horizontal position, i made every effort to pull this song up on my phone, stream it to the speaker, and start the new year with it. and i succeeded after a couple of false starts and some yelling from the peanut gallery of children, who were really the only alert ones in the room)

mary lattimore & meg baird // fair annie



(i first saw meg baird in the summer of 2017, open for steve gunn. i fell deeply in love with her. she performed this song, solo, and i believe she said it was the first time she'd played it live. it was incredibly powerful. and then she and mary lattimore, who i learned about in 2018 and am also deeply in love with, released this blissful collaboration, ghost forests, which includes "fair annie." thrilling. and yea, once again, you can listen to it on bandcamp fully commercial free. but buy it too.)

pip blom // i think i'm in love




(her name is pip blom and her band's name is pip blom. there is not a lot out there yet by them, but i can't wait for more)

sharon van etten // comeback kid



(i'm pretty sure sharon van etten has shown up in past december songs. i was in richmond the other day and loving the urban vibe, when i walked into an awesome indie bookstore and sharon van etten was blasting over the speaker (followed by yo la tengo). so she is on my mind and she has some previews out there for a new album coming out soon. this one is good.)