Episode 52 - Start of Fall
Similar to the seasons, music can be cyclical for me and autumn tends to mean a slower beat with a darker vibe. Trip-hop comes more to the forefront while upbeat or aggressive songs get knocked down a notch. Looking over this playlist, I do have create a Morcheeba playlist eventually, as they're personally underappreciated.
Pabadam - Yonderboi
Truth from Fiction - Supreme Beings of Leisure
Us - Movement
Pink + White - Frank Ocean
Undress Me Now - Morcheeba
The Truth - Handsome Boy Modeling School
Like a Woman - Lady Blackbird
Better Things - Massive Attack
Underwater Love - Smoke City
Archangel - Burial
Episode 51
I'm at a point where I have so many playlists in my head that I want to make, but I do have the concern that they wouldn't be well received. I wanted to do a Drums & Bass mix, but I know it's not a wildly appreciated genre (I was listening to a D&B radio station and even my wife had to pause what she was doing and ask me to turn it off). I imagine how people would feel about a Drum & Bass playlist is how I'd feel about a Trap playlist. I also have a few "best of" playlists that I'm batting around. For now, this episode is just stuff that happened to cross my desk over the past few months that I've been enjoying.
Tearing Me Up - Bob Moses
Fountain - iamamiwhoami
Lights - SOHN
Draw Your Swords - Angus Stone, Julia Stone
Late '88 - Deacon Blue
kisses - Slowdive
Lipstick on the Glass - Wolf Alice
23 - Blonde Redhead
Wolf Like Me - TV on the Radio
Don't Fade Away - Beach Fossils
Episode 50 - Part 2 - The Covers
And now presenting some cover versions of the songs in listed in Episode 49. As mentioned, this came about during a dinner discussion and Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence" was recommended to me. If you keep up to date with music news, I'd say learn to separate the art and the artist when it comes to Disturbed. For "Where is My Mind", I was going to go with an instrumental version but I'll save that for an instrumental cover playlist.
What I find interesting is that on this playlist are two songs that were featured in TV shows. "Cruel Summer" was featured in Cobra Kai and "Another Day in Paradise" was in the show "Paradise" and I recommend both, especially "Paradise".
The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
Where is My Mind? - Nada Surf
Wicked Game - Emika
Cruel Summer - Kari Kimmel
Crucified - Ghost
Another Day in Paradise - Joyner
Nothing Else Matters - Dave Gahan
Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Karen O
Paint it Black - U2
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Tori Amos
Episode 49 - Originals
This past June (of 2025), I attended a conference in Boston. I lived in Boston for 19 years (and terribly miss it which is ironic, but that's not a discussion for this site) and I make it a point to meet up with people whenever I visit. Durng one dinner with friends and spouses, this website came up and I explained how it came about to the spouses. Afterwards, I was told I should give a listen to Disturbed's version of "The Sounds of Silence" and honestly, it was really good (I do love getting music recommendations from people I know).
If you look at past playlists, you'll see that I do episodes around cover songs as I'm really, really fascinated by covers. I love seeing what inspires other artists and seeing how their interpretation sometimes completely alters the personal meaning and feeling of a song. Look at Gary Jules' cover of Tears for Fears' "Mad World" and how it transformed a song that in the 80s was a relatively poppy alternative dance track into something that made you actually take notice of the lyrics and go "oh shit, this is dark".
So for this month, I'm doing another covers playlist, but this time I'm including the original versions and it starts with this episode.
The Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Where is My Mind? - The Pixies
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
Cruel Summer - Bananarama
Crucified - Army of Lovers
Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
Bullet with Butterfly Wings - The Smashing Pumpkins
Paint it Black - The Rolling Stones
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Episode 48
I listen to music each night for a few hours. Sometimes I'll listen to a full album, other times I'll listen to a playlist that I or someone else made, and other times I'll explore a playlist that Tidal recommends. Earlier this week, I decided to listen to Tidal's "My Daily Discovery" playlist, which is a mix of songs that are in my collection as well as new songs that the algorithm thinks that I should give a chance. The first song in that daily playlist was "Let Me Go" by Heaven 17 and it opened up a flood of memories for me.
I used to work in radio and not only did I love it, but I miss it terribly. During my time there, the radio station hosted a Saturday Night Dance Party (SNDP) at a club on Long Island called Malibu. While working at the radio station I was still under 21, so I had to stay in the DJ booth with the host (at the time, she went by AJ Mistress of Modern Rock but now goes by Amy Paige doing country radio in Nashville) and the DJ (an older goth who's name I forgot). The SNDP mainly played more obscure 80's New Wave songs and that's what this playlist features. What's personally fun about this playlist is that listening to this at 50 and being more into critical listening, I'm amazed at the passion put into the audio engineering of some of these songs.
Let Me Go - Heaven 17
Talk Talk - Talk Talk
Promised You a Miracle - Simple Minds
What is Love? - Howard Jones
Lies - Thompson Twins
Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
Love Plus One - Haircut 100
The Look of Love - ABC
Johnny Come Home - Fine Young Cannibals
I Melt with You - Modern English