Tag: wand

Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 45: I Am Your AI DJ…

I’m rushing this one out because I’m about to leave for vacation and just want to shut the world out. So I went over to Apple Music and saw they had a “Station For You”. Station for me? AI algorithms it is. Let’s see what the machine powers think I want to hear at 3:30am because I can’t sleep due to crippling anxiety over every minute detail of getting to the airport, getting through security, getting on the plane, getting to my designation, getting through Customs and finding a way to my hotel. Maybe I’ll edit this later once I’m in a saner frame of mind…

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wand - vertigo
Vinyl

Wand: Vertigo (2024)

You ever read a review for an album, and the reviewer makes a comparison to another band that you didn’t think of, and that becomes ALL you can hear afterward? I’ve always though of Wand as this swirling, psychedelic garage rock that started with more of a punk blast off and now with new album Vertigo have settled into this flowing, cinematic psychedelic rock that sweeps you into its currents and takes you on a journey. That all still applies, but now I can’t help but hear how much this also sounds like Radiohead. In the best possible way, of course (I love Radiohead) but it’s slightly frustrating to have that implanted in my brain. It doesn’t capture the earthiness of the songs, or the aural narrative the album leads you through.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 12: 2024, A Slightly Past Mid-Year Review

I’m about halfway through the next Flower Kings review, and also have a bunch of catchup work, both paying and not, that’s kept me from regular posting this week. So we’re going to keep things brief for this week’s playlist, which is going to highlight tracks from my favorite albums of the year so far. Think of it as a mid-year report, except it’s coming about a month and half too late. And to make up for the lack of commentary, and because there’s so much to love about music in 2024, we’re expanding one time from 1 hours to 2 hours.

Lots of different styles and genres within, so let’s cut the chit-chat and get to it.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 11: Back in the Acquisition Saddle Again

I’m back on vacation, this time disease-free and making the most of it on the sandy beaches of Jamaica, so album analysis and the final arc of Flower King records will wait until I’m home next week. I thought about another playlist of recent listening but, uh…it’s almost exclusively been the last few Deep Purple records. After initially being lukewarm on their new album =1, the first to feature Simon McBride on guitar, I fell hard for it and subsequently fell even harder for the last few with Steve Morse. You don’t want an hour of that, believe me (maybe you do).

Good thing I’ve been on a rampage lately with new music. Sure, it’s mainly progressive rock, jazz, fusion and – yeah – Deep Purple, but at least it’s not ALL Deep Purple, right? Right?

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 7: Vacation Time

It has been a week, folks. No sleep, a complete freakout at 2am this morning because I realized at that moment that I mistook AM for PM when book my family’s vacation weeks ago, meaning instead of arriving at 11:59AM and meeting our friends for the day we weren’t arriving until midnight. Try booking a new flight and canceling your old one with a day’s notice when there’s a global Microsoft outage affecting the banks and airlines (thanks, Cyberstrike!). Anyway, I need this vacation more than even I realized, and this playlist reflects some of the kind of music I’ll be pushing through my earholes over the next 10 days.

Which means posting here is going to be pretty limited until I return in August. Anyway, let’s see what’s on deck.

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