It took almost two weeks for this nasty respiratory infection to go away, and today is the first morning I can actually walk around without wheezing, coughing, and otherwise sound like I’m dying. So we’re having a virtual celebration with a bunch of songs I’ve been enjoying that either came in recently or have just been hitting the spot when listening to radio shows or my own playlists. I upgraded my theater system in the basement with a new setup that supports Dolby Atmos, so it’s been a blast listening to a lot of discs I’ve collected over time I can now hear for the first time. I’m not an Atmos convert, but I’ll be honest: left to my own devices this playlist and this weekend would be almost nothing but the new incredible remix for Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii, so if you want an alternative to this week’s playlist you can just spin that over and over and over…

• Ty Segall – “Possession”
• The Damnation of Adam Blessing – “Last Train To Clarksville”
• Ivo’s Group – “That Shocking Shaking Day”
• The Flower Kings – “We Claim The Moon”
• NewDad – “Safe”
• Kal-El – “Cloud Walker”

Another light commentary week: Each new track makes me more and more exciting for new Ty Segall…Having found a good deal on the second Damnation of Adam Blessing album I went back to the first and completely forget that it has not one but two excellent covers: “Morning Dew” which I know mostly from excellent live Grateful Dead shows and this Monkees hit which puts a bit of a psychedelic glint over the shiny pop…Had no idea who Ivo’s Group were until last night listening to the latest episode of HiFi Dream Machine, hosted by my local record store manager…Just when I thought I was out of The Flower Kings, they go and release probably their best album in the last decade. It’ll be reviewed next week…NewDad are an indie pop group my buddy Dan turned me onto last year with their major label debut, and this new EP is a dreamy delight…I’ve never heard Kal-El before, but they’re now part of Blues Funeral Recordings’s Post Wax Unlimited series. The exclusive vinyl just came in and the stoner fuzzed rock vibes are not only strong but right up my alley…

• Epitaph – “Tequila Shuffle”
• Steve Hackett – “Racing In A”
• Mission of Burma – “That’s When I Reach For My Revolver”
• Fugazi – “Public Witness Program”
• Buzzcocks – “Love You More”
• Jeff Rosenstock – “I Did Something Weird Last Night”
• Hawkwind – “The Future Never Waits”

Epitaph were one of those bands I learned about from the Decibel Filthy 50, and that particular proto-stoner metal has been a big vibe this past week…I’ve been looking for some early Steve Hackett on vinyl, and though Please Don’t Touch! wasn’t the album I wanted, I couldn’t pass it up for $4. Weird and poppy and not like his other stuff but I really like this song…I went through a lot of my punk and hardcore albums this week, so wanted to represent that this week with a trifecta of cuts from three band who loomed large for 20-30 year old me: Mission of Burma, Fugazi, and Buzzcocks…I hadn’t listened to Jeff Rosenstock in a dog’s age, and he put on one of the best live shows I’d ever been to, so broke out Worry which was my introduction to the man…Finally, I’ve been getting deeper into latter-day Hawkwind, and this title track from their 2023 release is a great primer for what the band sounds like now.

Be safe, be good to each other. See you next week.