Love – Da Capo: I was working in a record store and playing in a band in NYC when Nevermind came out in fall 1991, and I can talk for hours about how all the bands and records of that time fit together: the ones who paved the way, the ones who blew up, and the ones who eventually killed the movement. When I listen to Da Capo, though, I can’t figure out how it fit with what was happening at the time. I hear so many influences here—the punk precursors of The Who, the jams of the Dead, the psychedelia of the Summer of Love, the dark nihilism of The Doors—but I can’t put the puzzle pieces together the way I can for The Pixies and Nirvana and Candlebox. As I try to figure out whether I even like this record (and there are a lot of things I don’t like about it), I wish I understood it better.
Japanese Breakfast: For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women): Michelle Zauner packs an enormous amount into these lyrics: loss and desire and disappointment and anger and so much more. Where she challenges me most, though, is by making me reconsider my flawed assumption that lyrics are autobiographical. Whether or not these are true stories, they paint interesting pictures.
Elkka – Prism of Pleasure: I love the emotion in these tracks, from the chord progressions to the lyrics to the production, but the record lost my attention by the end.
Grateful Dead – 3/23/95 (Charlotte, NC): The second set run from “Scarlet Begonias” through “Space” is magical, even with the forgotten lyrics and the flubs. Bruce Hornsby breathes life into this show, and his interplay with the band brings consistently amazing and joyful moments. I’m not crazy about all of the “newer” songs, but this performance of “Corrina” inspired great playing and “Days Between” is lovely.
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: Hollie Kenniff: We All Have Places That We Miss; Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On