What I’m listening to- The ABC Playlist: 3/4/13

by Philip R. Whigham

I’m a big fan of Spotify. This is a so-called “celestial jukebox” service; a music player where most any album, song, and artist may be found and heard for free, or for a nominal fee. If you choose to stream the music for free, you listen to ads. If you pay the modest $9.99 per month, you have access to Spotify’s vast music library ad free, and can enjoy the service on your mobile devices.

You can find my playlist here. Be advised, you will need to install Spotify to listen to it. The Beer and Comics selection in this post are the beer I’m currently drinking, and the comic I read just prior to posting this.

You can make playlists with Spotify, and I think it’s the perfect venue to showcase what I’m listening to right now. Here it is- the Albums, Beer, Comics playlist for today March 4, 2013.

The ABCs

Album- The ABC Playlist
1) TV On the Radio- Heroes: A spacy take on David Bowie’s classic spacy song.
2) Tegan and Sara- Closer: This sultry song of seduction is tinged with 80s synth-pop love.
3) Torres- When Winter’s Over: Mackenzie Scott’s earnestness is painful and beautifully apparent. This one’s a heart-breaker.
4) Bob Dylan- One More Cup of Coffee: This one’s my favorite song from Desire.
5) The Decemberists- The Infanta: This bombastic tune paints a vivid portrait of a royal procession reminding me of Colonial India.
6) Johnny Marr- Generate! Generate!: The bright, jangly power pop of this song is a fun gem from The Smith’s guitar god’s debut album.
7) Sebadoh- Notsur Dnuora Selcric: DC Comic’s Zatana may be able to make a spell from this early 90’s Indy classic.
8) Baroness- Take My Bones Away: I love the way this song melts and swirls in a Metal haze.
9) Japandroids- The Nights of Wine and Roses: Fireworks lead this track in, and then it exuberantly explodes with a post-punk-pop sensibility.
10) Big Star- Thirteen: I use this simple, delicate pop ballad about innocent teenage love as a sonic palate cleanser.
11) Ducktails- The Flower Lane: A melancholy counterpoint to the last track; this song’s a psychedelic tale of love lost.
12) Frightened Rabbit- Holy: I feel so much kinship with the subject of this song. Questions of faith are a strong theme in my life.
13) Jeff Buckley- Eternal Life (Road Version): I cannot stress enough how much I love Jeff Buckley’s music. This one blows me away every time.
14) Local H- Waves Again: Local H is a band that never gets the recognition it deserves. They’re easily in the top ten bands of the past two decades for me. This song is a downer in a sad and epic kind of way.

Beer- Lagunita’s Maximus IPA- This is a strong example of a West Coast style of an American IPA. Strong, bitter, citrus notes are supported by a sweet and malty backbone in this amazing Imperial IPA.

Comics- Hit Girl #5- If you’re familiar with the movie or comic series Kick-Ass, you know that Mindy Macready is the highly dangerous grade-school vigilante with a bloody penchant for creatively ending the lives of scumbag villains. This issue is the bloody conclusion to Hit-Girl’s story and serves a bridge between Kick-Ass parts 1 and 2. Mindy fiercely defends her adoptive parents and perpetrates a bloody killing-spree on the Genovese crime family.