Monday's Long Song

 

When I was rummaging through my record collection to find another long song, I came across an old record by Louis Tillet. Tillet was an Australian musician, singer/songwriter, pianist and saxophone player who came to my attention in the early eighties when he was part of Ed Kuepper's Laughing Clowns.

At that time, a wave of Australian bands came to Europe, some of which were great or just very good. The Go-Betweens, Birthday Party and the Triffids are just a few to mention here. While many of these bands wrote catchy or brute songs, Louis Tillet turned to the darker side of music. Many of his songs are rooted in the blues and are performed with piano, saxophone and a sparse guitar and dominated by his voice, which sounds like an aged Nick Cave. This song is from his 2001 live album Live @ the Basement and is typical of his sound.

Louis Tillet - Window Pane

New Song On Sunday

 

Today's song is from Florence Road, a four piece all female band from Ireland. They started as a student band with cover songs. It may be the future way to attract attention, but they have decided to release different cover versions like Billie Eilish and Kate Bush on TikTok. Immediately they had a million followers and record companies took notice.

The result is nothing more and nothing less than a great indie-pop song about the end of a relationship. A song with clear structures, indie guitars, catchy hooks and the clear voice of Lily Aron. I would be surprised if this song wasn't often played on the radio.

The Field

 

Devonté Hynes aka Blood Orange has returned after several years with a song from his forthcoming album. To be honest, I have not been a big fan of his music. Excellently produced songs, a great voice, but they have never really convinced me.

His latest song, however, was able to inspire me. An atmospherically dense, almost weightless composition between avant-pop, ambient soul and indie melancholy. The song begins with a delicate sample of Durutti Column's Sing to Me - a reference that also sets the emotional tone: introspective, warm, nostalgic. 

In the accompanying video - shot and directed by Hynes himself - we see him wandering through vast English landscapes with friends. The clip is like an alternative to urban restlessness: airy, decelerated, almost meditative - just like his song.

Wicked Game

 

 Chris Isaak is 69 years old today. A reason to listen to some of his songs once again. With his gentle voice and atmospheric reverbs, Chris Isaak has created a unique musical signature that transcends the boundaries of his rockabilly and country influences.

He released several album in the late eighties with less success, although they weren't bad at all. But sometimes you need a little luck for your breakthrough. This happened to him as David Lynch selected Wicked Game for a key scene in Wild At Heart. This song then reached top positions in the charts.

Chris Isaak - Wicked Game

Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World

Another example of how a career progresses when one of your songs is used in a feature film is Tito & Tarantula. Formed in 1992 in Los Angeles as a fun project they crossed the way of Roberto Rodriguez. They wrote a couple of songs for his debut movie Desperado. He also hired the band for his next big hit From Dusk to Dawn, in which they performed in the table dance bar Titty Twister.

Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

Another week, another journey into musical history.

Enjoy.

1965: Smokey Robinson and The Miracles

1972: Alice Cooper

1972: Chi Coltrane

1967: Jefferson Airplane

1977: Heart

1977: Bob Seger

1980: Diana Ross

1982: Dexy's Midnight Runners

1969: Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin

1980: Joy Division

1983: Bananarama

Red Hot And Blue

 

Red Hot + Blue is a compilation album from 1990, which was conceived as a tribute to Cole Porter and on which well-known musicians recorded contemporary cover versions of songs by the famous Broadway and film composer.

The album is the first in a series of benefit albums released by the Red Hot Organization in support of AIDS relief projects in various countries.

I also bought the album back then and was amazed at what great songs Cole Porter wrote and how they could be interpreted in a contemporary way. When I listened to the album again recently, I had the idea of creating a series of songs with red, hot and blue in the title. Stay tuned to see what comes in the next few weeks.

Monday's Long Song

 

In the mid-seventies, when music threatened to become boring, the German music magazine Sounds discovered reggae for itself and featured it extensively. This is how I became aware of Jamaican music and started to immerse myself more deeply in this sound.

To start with, it was the soundtrack to The Harder They Come, which then led me to classic roots reggae. One of the first ragga records I bought was Heart of the Congos by The Congos in 1977. From the very beginning I was impressed by the clarity and beauty of the songs, also because there were great singers at work who were able to use their tenor, falsetto and baritone exquisitely.

What I didn't know at the time and only noticed as a side note was that Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry produced this album in his Black Ark Studio. I now realize why this album became an early masterpiece of roots reggae.

The Congos - Congoman