Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012

Pod Picks for February 16, 2012

 

 

This week we recommend a grab bag of retro-minded tracks for downloading (legally, of course) or streaming to your laptop, tablet, smart phone, MP3 player or other personal media device.

"Mesentery" by Bitch Magnet

Listening to this rerelease, it’s hard to believe this track is 20-years-old. If this was a new band’s debut, it would make some noise but in 1990 it was just another song. Singer Sooyoung Park’s spoken word lyrics are clever. The song is a bit anticlimactic because there’s never a big scream or catchy chorus but there is a madman like rant. The driving bass and crunchy guitar will take you back to people making heavy music just to see where it would go. It’s just a shame that this band with an awful name broke up in 1990 with only an EP and two albums under its belt. Who knows where Bitch Magnet would’ve allowed its music to go in the ‘90s and after.  

"Which Side Are You On?" by Ani DiFranco

For a woman who’s recorded 17 studio albums, DiFranco is still relatively underground. She’s a folk-rocker with a punk spirit. This is a cover from another outspoken folkie, Pete Seeger, and he plays banjo on this track. The song is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago when Seeger first sang it. DiFranco recorded her new album with some of New Orleans’ best musicians – horn players, percussionists and some Neville Brothers. The drums snap out a march and she sings like a battle cry against political corruption and apathy. This is the most urgent stuff DiFranco has released in years.

"My Valentine" by Paul McCartney 

Oh, you old romantic Beatle – McCartney has gotten hitched once again. Along with his new nuptials, comes a schmaltzy love croon. But it’s great for Valentine’s Day week. Plus, bringing in Eric Clapton to play a jazzy acoustic guitar doesn’t hurt. More than that, it’s great to hear a Beatle still emoting through music. And it’s a dewy, sweet song that will stick right to you.

Derrick Bracey, for Weekly Surge