March: Isolation
How's everyone doing? I hope you're reading this from the comfort of your own home. Needless to say, it's been a rough, wild, stressful, and terrifying month. I work an essential job and I have been out there in the public. Lots of people sure like to ignore all the issues going on and either welcome some kind of new-normal or pretend like we're not all terrified of each other. I hope this month's playlist can help everyone to pass the time. Let's get into this month's Search/Play/Repeat.
Last month, the music world lost Gang of Four's, Andy Gill. Gang of Four is a band I don't think I'd ever dug into, so it seemed like a good start. I checked out their debut, Entertainment, and I've pretty much been kicking myself nonstop for the past 30 days for not listening sooner. It's among some of my favorites that I've listened to so far this year, and I'll be getting deeper into their catalog over the coming months. That opening bassline of "Ether" was an easy decision for kicking off this playlist. Another new favorite that I stumbled across this month, was Au Pairs. I can't recall a time of ever hearing of Au Pairs, and I'm ashamed. Sense and Sensuality is an excellent record that will be getting many more plays in the future.
March was feeling like it was going to lean heavily in Post-Punk. It's such a broad genre of which there is so much I haven't explored before, and there was no way I was going to hit all corners of it in one month. I stuck with what I knew and decided to listen to some Siouxsie and the Banshees that I hadn't yet. I love Scream and Kaleidoscope, but I've somehow missed the interim, Join Hands. The next step was to find one of those "classics" I've been missing out on, and Wire's, Pink Flag kept popping up. I was surprised to find this album pretty much covers the entire transition of Punk into Post-Punk in 35 minutes. Do you want fast raucous music? It's there. Do you want slow, gritty, bass-driven tunes? It's there. It's easy to understand why it's such an influential album.
I never followed Post-Punk revivalists, Hot Hot Heat, after their first two albums. Make Up the Breakdown is one of the best albums from the early 2000s, but Elevator was a bit of a disappointment. My wife is a big Hot Hot Heat fan, and put on Happiness Ltd. for me. I couldn't tell you what the album's lead single was, but it's overall a way more consistent record than Elevator. While Hot Hot Heat revived the dancier side of post-punk, Savages came along in 2013 with the darker, goth-y side of it. "Adore" is still one of my favorite songs of the past 5 years, but I never listened to the band's debut, Silence Yourself. The two albums they put out were both solid and it's a bummer they've been inactive for a couple of years now.
There were a few things I listened to that weren't Post-Punk, including stuff that didn't make the playlist. My listening was pretty light on new releases. Trent Reznor graced us with 2 new Ghosts collections. I listened to V: Together, but I haven't listened to the other, VI: Locusts, yet. Together is perfect mood-music to fall asleep too. Worriers put out a new record that is loaded with pop-punk greatness, and Frances Quinian of Hop Along, put out her solo debut. I'm gonna have to play catch up in April. I'm spending all my time at home when I'm not working, so I should have more opportunities. Then again, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out and has been sucking up all my free time.
That'll do for this month. Check out the playlist for more of the stuff I listened to this month. Stay Home. Stay Safe. Wash Your Hands. Be kind to all the essential employees you come across if you do have to go out. Support bands and record shops online if you can, and with all your free quarantine time, I encourage you to search, play, and repeat! Thanks for checking in!
