This Track Is Fire!

Whatever your favoite Halloween song is, I respect your choice, but for me, as a member of Gex X, but more so, as a former alterna-teen, this is the be-all, end-all of Halloween tracks. I remember when I was in my 20s I would put the VHS (yes, the VHS!) of Ministry's In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up (Live) on the TV in the background and trick-or-treaters came to my parents' house. While this track is not on that VHS, the live visuals from that show fit well with the Halloween asthetic. I mean, this was well before GWAR, so I had limited options. This track still sends a chill up and down my spine, but also speaks to the nerdy kid I was in high school wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt, chunky black shoes, and a partially shaved head. While I was not a full-blown Goth (I would say I am more Goth-adjacent), I could relate to some degree that every day was Halloween as I was not a completely "normal" kid. Happy Halloween!

I admit that I liked Danzig much more when his "evil" was more tongue-in-cheek when he was the lead singer of Misfits (which, I guess he is again now, or of "The Original Misfits," IDK, man it's hard to keep up). Regardless, it's Halloween in two days and this song not only rocks, it fits the bill. Thanks!

Welcome to the week of Halloween, and really, there isn't much better than this track when it comes to the reason for the season. Happy Monday, enjoy!

Props to my friend Seth who introduced me to this song, and who had previously introduced me to Nation of Language . That guy as great taste in music, if you ask me! I fully recognize that this is not a song by Erasure, but  "Time Machine" by Autoheart is the most Erasure-esque song that a song could be without actually being written by Vince Clarke and sung by Andy Bell. That's not to take away from the members of Autoheart, rather I intend it as strong flattery. Clarke/Bell are classic, elder statemen of synthpop, so to loop in Autoheart a potential peers is for me to compliment them as much as I can. In fact, Autoheart is touring this Fall and I have to admit that I am considering whether or not I should go see them, which is why this song is in my rotation again. Have a great weekend!

  What I am about to confess will probably cost me any "cool points" I may or may not have with anyone that reads this blog, but this seven-year-old track is something I hear almost every time I go to an MSU football game and it took me years to find out what this track was called and who it was by, but now I know! When there are 70K or more people all in the same area trying to use a cellular network there's almost no signal, so I tried for far too long to use the Shazam app to capture this song and it's only recently that I was able to do so. So why do I like this track? Exactly because of the reasons I have already alluded to: it's a fun hype track that reminds me of being at Spartan stadium. For many years that was a very happy thing for me, not so much the last  few seasons, but hearing this song makes me happy, pure and simple. Enjoy!

Hey, you got your dubstep in my indigenous music! No, you got your indigenous music in my dubstep! I admit that I would not be the first person to question if indigenous chants mix well with dubstep, but in this case I think that the results speak for themselves. I have liked this group since they were called "A Tribe called RED" (a moniker that they have since changed) and worked with Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), but rediscovered them during the last Bandcamp Friday. I'm happy I did, because this track is fire! Happy Monday! Babylon (ft Northern Cree) by The Halluci Nation

I could go on and on posting Depeche Mode tracks, but this is not a Depeche Mode blog. So, if you're a reader/listener/visitor to my small corner of the internet, thank you for stopping by and humoring me as I dedicated this birthday week to my favorite band of all time. This track is pulling double duty. First off, it's not one of the singles from this album, so again, unless you're a hardcore fan you may not be familiar with it. But again, the "mission statement" of this blog is to highlight those tracks that are indeed fire, but maybe not immediately obviously so. This isn't "Barrel of a Gun," "It's No Good," "Home," nor "Useless," which are fantastic tracks, but in my personal opinion, this track is just as good. I hear it as incredibly raw and vulnerable, flat out telling the listener that this is an "insight into my life." That feeling of exposure is the "strange flight" that Gore pens. Lett...

I know that Depeche Mode is a well-established band with over 100+ million in record sales and admission into the Rock'N Roll Hall of Fame back in 2020, so they don't need any help from me. And sure, if you know Depeche Mode you probably know the hits, but for today I wanted to highlight a track that is probably only well-know if you're a fan of Depeche Mode. For Depeche Mode this was a time of transition. Right after their first album, founding member and chief songwriter, Vince Clarke, left the band, presumably because he no longer wanted to tour. He then promptly formed the group Yazoo (Yaz in the US), and thereafter Erasure. The four was now three: Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher, and Dave Gahan. Losing a member meant that Martin became the primary songwriter in the group, but as they were missing their fourth side their second album was called A Broken Frame . While touring off that album they employed Alan Wilder, and by the time they recorded their third album he had jo...

No, this is not a repeated post. Yes, that's the same graphic I used on Monday. Let me explain. If you are an obsessive fan of any particular band I can almost assure you that there is at least one b-side track that you think should have been released on its own or maybe should have been included on an album. "Dangerous" is one of those songs for me. Released as an extra, or said "b-side" (can a compact disc have a b-side?), on the "Personal Jesus" single, ever since I first heard this song I wondered why it didn't receive its own release. I kind of get why it was excised from Violator  as it is just different enough that I can see how it does not fit with the flow of that album, but even as I type that I do see how it could  fit into the album as well. Again, there are times when I have heard a b-side and I go "yeah, I see why they cut that one" but there are a few Depeche Mode songs that I could take far too much time to argue that I th...

While "Personal Jesus" was the song that made me fall in love with Depeche Mode, in the Spring and Summer of 1984 little Michael heard a song that he liked called "People Are People." Mind you, I was only 10 years old, so at that point I mostly listened to the pop stations on the radio, or whatever station my parents had playing, either at home or in the car. Agin, that was mostly pop if my mom was listening to anything, and oldies (most Motown) if my dad was playing music. But even at such a young age this song made an impact on me. Enough so that when my friend, Matt, received 101 for Christman in 1989, I asked to borrow his tapes because I remembered liking "People Are People" back when I was a kid, a whole five years previous. So while "Personal Jesus" is the song that grabbed a hold of me, and really, never let go, "People Are People" was the song that started my affinity for Depeche Mode, I just did not realize it when I was 10....

This week is my birthday week, so I have decided to dedicate this week to the band that I love the most: Depeche Mode. "Personal Jesus" is the song that made me an ardent fan of DM. I have delved into my fanhood on my main blog (you can read about that here if you'd like), but the short version is that I was aware of their song "People Are People" from when I was 10, but I was a kid and did not pay attention to music and bands like I did when I was in my teens. Serendipitously, that's when I first heard "Personal Jesus." As an older fan, this song has always struck a chord with me. I sometimes hear from much younger fans that this song is overhyped and overplayed, and maybe so, but would you ask Fleetwood Mac to stop playing "Landslide?" OMD to stop playing "If You Leave?" U2 to stop playing "With or Without You?" And I fully admit that there's a lot of nostalgia baked into this song for me as it was the  song that...

What's this, a post on a Sunday, what's up with that? You see, this coming week contains my birthday, so I am typing this days before because I just decided to do something special.  I knew I was going to cover some of my favorite Depeche Mode songs this week but literally just a moment ago I thought, "why am I only posting M/W/F? Why not post the whole week?" Why not, indeed! I mean, I already post three times a week, what's just two more days? So, that's what I am doing. Monday through Friday of this coming week I will be posting a Depeche Mode I love, and why, because it's my birthday.  Don't like Depeche Mode? Tough shit, it's my blog, my birthday, and my rules. Happy birthday to me, I'm still an ornery cuss!  

I know this track came out all the way back in April, but I didn't start this blog until a couple of months later, so I am going to cut myself some slack. I have enjoyed this song since I first heard it because it is still quintessentially Wet Leg, but also darker and more aggressive, yet still weird and esoteric. I'm good with this. So why am I bringing it up now? I make "mix-tapes" of the songs that grab my attention and download them to my phone. I was driving home from the east side of the state the other day and this track came on and though it's only six months old, I was again struck by how good it is. I don't want your love, I just wanna fight! By itself that sounds violent, and maybe it is, but Wet Leg wraps it up in layers of indie-pop goodness that makes this listener joyfully sing along. Maybe you do too. moisturizer by Wet Leg

Look, I realize that I just posted a song by Elbow on Friday , and to be clear, this isn't an Elbow fanatic blog now. That said, I was anticipating hearing  "My Sad Captains" over the weekend, but Elbow changed their setlist and, sadly, I did not get to hear it peformed live. It is what it is, the show was still amazing! I fully admit that I had only taken a cursory listen to their new album Audio Vertigo before the show, but "Sober" was definitely a live standout. I've listened to this song multiple times since hearing it live on Sunday night and am currently obsessed. So yeah, you got some Elbow on Friday, and now you get some more today because this song is now an earworm for me. It's so damn good! (FYI: this song is technically from the Audio Vertigo: Echo EP, but it is now included on the deluxe version of Audio Vertigo, as are the other EP tracks.) Enjoy!

  This is one of the earliest of my Bandcamp purchases from years back. I think this track came out in 2018, seven years ago, man, and yet it's still just so damn good. Hell, even the remixes of this same track are good. To be completely honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to post one of them or this, the original, but ultimately I went with the OG. I see a few tracks on Spotify as well, but I admit, I am kind of curious whatever happened to Indyans, because I'm an old man now and this makes me chair dance like a MFer, because yes, this track is fire . Enjoy! Got You Stuck by Indyans

I'm running out of miracles And the street's alive with one-man shows... Oh, long before You and I were born Others beat these benches with their empty cups To the night and its stars To be here, and now, and who we are Another sunrise with my sad captains With who I choose to lose my mind And if it's so we only pass this way but once What a perfect waste of time I'm going to fulfill a bucket list item this weekend when I see Elbow perform at the Royal Oak Music Theater on Sunday, so I wanted to share these lyrics, and this song, which are sublimely perfect. Enjoy! The Take Off And Landing Of Everything by elbow

Just listen to that sinister, slithering bassline and tell me that this song isn't sexy AF.  Do it, I dare you, because I don't think that you can, not honestly. Combined with that deep, almost monotonous voice of Robert Alfons, and hot damn, there's just something about this song that tingles up and down my spine. Happy October! Note: updated because I mispelled " Colossal," but at least the URL will show my stupidity for all eternity. Derp. The Destroyer - 1 by TR/ST