Ep 150: "Hits of the Bay 2020 pt 1"

Playlist

1. Radiowaves by Black Thumb on 2020 (self released) Info

   Local From the album "2020", the curtains rise on a field of sublime strangeness that we must, with art and its broadcast, survive.

2. 1′32″ Let Down by Hits on Sediment Seen (Paisley Shirt) Info

   Local My most worn out tape this year, but also that’s just how it sounds. Dissonant but not aharmonious in a telepathic sense, if you like experimental music and you like to dance in your room, you know what to do.

3. 4′31″ Wrong Answer by Cindy on Free Advice (Paisley Shirt) Info

   Local If i say they sound like pylon or feelies or mazzy then maybe they’re just great. I love songs like this, with static elements taken to dramatic extremes, heightened by the addition of krautrock keyboard tones.

4. 6′36″ I'm a Lonely Night Driver by The Gonks on Five Things You Didn't Know About The Gonks (Rocks In Your Head) Info

   Local The Gonks manage a levitating groove while not entirely avoiding accidents, or fun.

5. 9′41″ I Owe Money All Over Town by Blues Lawyer on Something Different (Mt.St.Mtn.) Info

   Local To summarize would be basically redundant, but note that the line “i would take a job in hell” can not at this moment be taken as pure hypothetical. Listen for the keyboard stabs.

6. 12′33″ Under the Gun by Toner on Under the Gun (Smoking Room) Info

   Local Their guitars sound soooo good, i want to live in Toner guitar. The most romantic band, honestly.

7. 13′40″ Dim Returns by Small Crimes on Dim Returns (self released) Info

   Local Released on vimeo as a spinning live video, “Dim Returns” remains for me a centrifugal experience circling the vocals at center, and a strong finish: “Your attention. Your intention. Your affection.”

8. 15′48″ Hella Hella Hella by Nappy Nina on Water for the Town v.2 (SMARTBOMB) Info

   Local the SMARTBOMB compilations Water for the Town v.2 and Light Beings #2 were huge parts of the show this year, and in 90 seconds Nappy Nina provides a vebrose example, processing capitalism’s dissonance with personal self-worth and the value of oatmeal over a Dane Orr beat that rides a string film score drifting to the bottom of the sea, where a new world awaits.

9. 20′26″ Makeup by Warp on Traffic Control (Thrilling Living) Info

   Local Starts off at pace and has three extra gears, I hear lyrics like “We’ll do it happily/ and we’ll do that part for free,” and then I see them everywhere, above the wailing intensity of this absolute sci-fi tunnel drill of a band.

10. 21′39″ Ad Infinitum by The Balmer Series on Sublimatum (self released) Info

    Local Is your discogs wish list all E.G. Records and Conny Plank? Buy this album, it is a lovely space in which to exist.

11. 24′07″ Full Time Muse by Dingbat Superminx on Full Time Muse (self released) Info

    Local Like last album Public Luxury before it, Full Time Muse offers a vision of a world where where the glamorous life is within reach and commonly owned, every day of the week.

12. 24′56″ Gay for You by Telepathic Children (self released) Info

    Local I have a tape of Donna Summers’ Greatest Hits that plays super slow, providing an evocative metaphor for the immersively sensual synth space created here, a slow jam for our times.

13. 29′04″ No on Prop State by Private Joan on Organic Output II (self released) Info

    Local The guitar strings sound like pale sunshine, probably why I played it all year long, and the title says so much of our lives and times.

14. 32′40″ Lost the World by The Customers on Flooded EP (self released) Info

    Local The chorus of the year.

15. 34′34″ Elated by Wyatt Smith on Maple (Open Door) Info

    Local Smith’s big beat melancholy of sweet memory achieves something like its title.

16. 37′03″ Lament by Buddy Junior on Portal (Cherub Dream) Info

    Local A maximalism of texture, rhythm, and vocal reach defines these two artists’ work.

17. 40′37″ Open Road by Pumpkin on Little EP (self released) Info

    Local Think of someone you love to be with and sing this out loud and then tell me this is not a hit.

18. 45′42″ Fondu Guru by Naked Roommate on Do the Duvet (Trouble in Mind) Info

    Local Synth, Sax, and Soviet Futures permeate this hot thick cheese dip.

19. 48′14″ Third Tune of Archbishop Parker's Psalter by Turner Capehart on Early Music (self released) Info

    Local Medieval music for medieval times, and still that classic Capehart synth, we are fortunate in ways.

20. 50′43″ Just Wanna Cruise by Al Harper (self released) Info

    Local Harper pens a runaway anthem for the band to run away with, a Springsteen-sized dream of the road in love.

21. 51′46″ Gary's Making Biscuits by Middle-Aged Queers on Too Fag for Love (self released) Info

    Local This song is about a cat and it needs not a minute to capture the wall-to-wall fun of debut album Too Fag for Love.

22. 56′09″ Comb Your Hair by Abracadabra on Abracadabra (Anniversary) Info

    Local Dance to this song and envision radical futures for yourself and everyone.