This Track Is Fire!

You know, in another place, another time, disco never died and Italo ruled the music charts, but here on this Earth, that didn't happen, though Nuovo Testamento are doing their damnest to create that reality here. What is Italo? You see, when disco died here in the US in the 70s it continued on in Europe, taking hold in Italy and evolving, where it became known as Italo. Music never stops, it takes everything that exists around it and incorporates it into itself, constantly growing, shifting, changing. HI-NRG (think 80s Dead or Alive) exists because disco crawled, Italo walked, and Hi-NRG ran with it. But Nuovo Testamento saw how awesome Italo was and decided to bring it back, and for that, I thank them. For me, a fan of all of the above, this is wonderfully delicious. If synths and dancing make you happy, but you want something a little more like disco than Depeche Mode, New Order, or the Pet Shop Boys, well, this, my friend, is for you. I love it! Enjoy! New Earth by NUOVO TESTAM...

Recently I heard something off of Dermot Kennedy's new album, The Weight of the Woods , and while it was a good song, it took me back to 2019, right before the pademic and this track that pulls at my heart strings. I remember we bought tickets to see him here in our town, but then COVID happened. Finally, in August of 2022, he was able to perform, and masked up we enjoyed hearing this song, and many others, live. And really, that's it: sometimes you hear a voice that hits you just right, and then, if you're lucky, you get to hear that talented singer all the way from Ireland perform in your town in the Midwest and it's a magical moment. Whenever I hear this I am thrown back to that evening. It was perfect. Just like this song. Happy Monday! Enjoy!

I discovered Ninajirasha sometime last year and was immediately blown away at the new-yet-old-school-sounding techno she was dropping. Porter Robinson, if you're not familiar, is a bit of an icon in the EDM world (and also, my stepson's favorite artists), so seeing the established working with the up-and-coming is always fun. This is especially true when their collaboration brings forth a track as good as this, but I may be biased by my love for both artists. It's Monday, start your week strong! Enjoy! WannaCry by Ninajirachi & Porter Robinson

I find new (or new to me music) all over the place, and while I do discover a fair amount of it on my own, a good chunk of it comes from friends and family that share tracks with me that they think I will like. Whether it's one of my friends, like Jeff sending me Chalk, Peter sending me Ecca Vandal, or Sean introducing me to The Jellyfish, The xx, The National (and many, many more), sometimes they come from within my own house. My daughter came up to me over a week ago and said, "I have a song to share with you." I immediately perked up because usually I love what she sends along. Adéla "KGB" is no exception. Is it synthpop? Dance music? Just straight up pop? Honestly, it checks lots of boxes, but in the end, it doesn't matter, because it's just fucking good. All I know is that I'm playing it louder than I should and doing some chair dancing. Check it and enjoy!

You know, if I really want to get people reading this music blog of mine I think the smartest thing for me to do is highlight a track that will be 51 years old in just eight days. Surely that's the way to get optimize my SEO, right? Yes, I am being highly sarcastic, but that fits with today's selection, a song written by Eric Stewart in response to his wife telling him that he did not tell her often enough that he loved her . While I eschew soft rock for the most part, I cannot deny that this song is very catchy, but more than that, I think it's one of the most sarcastic songs that I have ever heard (or perhaps it's ironic) and that just tickles me to no end. Regardless, I love it, and that's what this blog is about: tracks that are fire, no matter when they came out. Happy Friday and enjoy!

My daughter shared this track with me the other night (as we do) and at first I enjoyed the thumping rap, and though it was good, what sold me on this song is right about the 1:13 mark when that discordant electronic sound starts ripping through it. That, to me, is music to my ears. I know it's not all that similar to Aphex Twin "Come To Daddy" but that cold, synthetic riff does remind me of that track in its ability to create a discomforting song. Why do I like music like that? No idea, but I do, and this track is fire!

I was watching the Maya Rudolph episode of Track Star* the other day (isn't she just the best?) when the Paul Simon album Graceland came up. Let's be clear on something: Graceland is a classic album for a reason, and for my money, it's one of the small subset of perfect albums in existence. I have some other works by Simon, whether they are his solo efforts or with his former partner Art Garfunkel, either on vinyl, CD, or mp3, but this is the album that I have owned in various formats throughout the years because I just love it so very much. Selecting a song is difficult because there are so many strong selections here; the antagonistic side of my refuses to select the obvious choice ("You Can Call Me Al"), but should I have picked "The Boy In The Bubble," "Homeless," or "Graceland?" All are fantastic selections, but I am a sucker for songs that tell a story (see: almost every Johnny Cash song ever), so my heart goes with this track....

I'm going to sound like a hipster here when I go on about how I knew about Billie Eilish before she hit it bigt, but to be fair, my girls were listening to Billie when she was just the 14-year-old girl releasing her music on Soundcloud. That was a years ago now, but that doesn't mean that Billie has lost her luster. Sometimes, in my quiet moments I like to throw this song on and just revel in the powerful lyrics that this teenage girl wrote and made a song with her older brother. Occassionally inspired music is simple like that, but also particularly poigant. Don't you know too much already? I'll only hurt you if you let me Call me friend but keep me closer (call me back) And I'll call you when the party's over Quiet when I'm comin' home and I'm on my own And I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that Yeah, I could lie, say I like it like that, like it like that I'm a man in my 50s who has experienced love/loss/pain in so many differ...

During one of our trips to the Detroit Auto Show in the last few years my friend Dan shared this song with the group. Having just had that same trip this past weekend I was reminded of this song, which, admittedly, makes me laugh every time. My momma said "But Mike Don't you wanna be comfortable?" I said "No! I don't wanna be comfortable!" I wanna be scared outta my head And lost outta my mind I wanna fall in and outta Love a few thousand times I wanna spend all of my money On my friends and on drugs And I wanna ride around on a Horse and give people hugs And when I come into town they'll Say "Oh shit there's Mike! There's something wrong with that boy I swear he just ain't right" 'Cause I won't waste another day Living someone else's way  I wanna be free fuck what they say I'm doing me Enjoy!

Is this track new? No, it's actually quite old. Is this track fire? 100% Last night I had the opportunity to go to a viewing of The Cure The Show of a Lost World , which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I wanted to be clear that I am a fan of The Cure with a lowercase "f." I do notn know the deep cuts that hardcore fans might know, in fact, I don't even know Songs of a Lost World especially well .  That said, I saw/heard every song by The Cure that I wanted to witness last night. Every time I thought that the performance was about to wrap up I would think to myself "well, they aren't going to play 'X' song," and then a moment later they would play that very song. It would be easy for me this morning to post "Boys Don't Cry" or "Just Like Heaven," but "The Walk" is the song that put the biggest smile on my face. Maybe to get more blog hits it would make more sense for me to post something from their most recent album in...

I just discoverd this song, and its album, last week, and almost immediately I thought to myself, "this is a banger!" I have already added this as to my Bandcamp wishlish for purchase this coming Friday , because I am certain to get an alert from Bandcamp that I can't play this album any more because I have listened too many times without purchasing it. That won't be a concern soon! I still love "classic" EDM artists like Deadmau5, and I was lucky to see some of the (formerly) newer artists this past year (including REZZ), but with Gen Z coming onto the scene I am confident that EDM is in good hands. Enjoy! I Love My Computer by Ninajirachi

I've been aware of Yusuf Islam (fka Cat Stevens) for as long as I can recall. I remember that I had a friend in high school that adored him, but other than cursory knowledge of his hits I admit that I did not know much about him nor his oeuvre. That changed slightly this past Spring/Summer. I went to a vinyl/CD sale here in town and fingered through various vintage albums when I came across Teaser And The Firecat  for the small sum of $5. I had started my affinity for vinyl recorded and pressed during the 70s because those albums and the songs on them were produced for vinyl, and honestly, I think they sound better on said medium. Sure, the cover was a bit beat up, but the record itself was in pristine collection, so for a five spot, why not? Again, I was familiar with the hits on this album, but I had never sat down and listened to it from start to finish, especially not on vinyl. Dear reader, in a very short span of time this became one of my favorite albums to put on. As to the ...