A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 5 Sep 2021 to 11 Sep 2021.

WILT_2021-36

1. Girls and Boys – Blur
2. End of a Century – Blur
3. Crosstown Traffic – Jimi Hendrix
4. Speak to the Wild – Thurston Moore
5. United States of Whatever – Liam Lynch
6. Getaway – The Music
7. Breakerfall – Pearl Jam
8. Quick Escape – Pearl Jam
9. Riot Radio – The Dead 60s
10. White Horses – Low
11. Demon in Profile – The Afghan Whigs
12. Untitled #1 – Spain
13. Me Again – J Mascis
14. So You Wanna Be A Superhero – Carissa’s Weird

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2021-36

Notes

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how innovative Alex James’ bassline on Girls and Boys is? There was always something carnival-esque about this song, and while I used to think it was down to the organ arrangements, the sheer cheekiness of this bassline by a notably cheeky gentleman and cheese maker, really sells the flippant, rebellious joy against any preconceived structures of old.

I also included the original recording of End of Century because it is in such stark contrast against this live performance in Hyde Park in 2015. While the 1994 version a youth arrogance, wondering why old people are the way they are, the 2015 version looks back on one’s storied life with finally an understanding of why old people are the way they are. A combination of successes and failures, and of happiness and sadness. A kind of life where…

We all say we don’t want to be alone. We wear the same clothes because we feel the same. We kiss with dry lips when we kiss goodnight. End of a century, it’s nothing special.

Blur, End of Century, 1994

The hammer-ons used by Graham Coxon in End of Century made me think of Jimi Hendrix’s playing, and maybe there is some similarity or inspiration. Not so much in the employment of the scales they use, but in their approach to guitar playing, where it’s almost ad libbing and an extension of the melodies that they sing.

The playlist is starting to take shape as an exploration into the alternative guitar music rumblings of the 90’s and 00’s. I definitely sought out Pearl Jam, because I have always loved Breakerfall for just being an explosion of guitars and bass, and the kind of music I would just love to jam out to. Timeskip 20 years, and you have Quick Escape which reminds me of the same musical energy but with a more mature vocabulary and swagger through the combination of Stone Gossard, Matt McCready, and Jeff Ament. The interplay between all the musicians in the outro coda is pure rapturous bliss.

White Horses by Low is new one from 2021, and is a very daring recorded performance of staccato guitar buzzes that sound like someone finally figured out how to use effectively use Effector 13’s Torn’s Peaker in a song.

We round out the playlist with some some quieter and more somber arrangements that really highlight the heights of vulnerability and intensity that artists from this era were capable of reaching. Immensely captivating, such outward emotion only draws listeners in, and kind of makes you fall back in love with tired, but sincere sounds.