I’ve only contributed to our New Music Monday feature once, as I must admit that I’m not always up-to-date on the latest stuff coming out, but I thought that I might add to the week by putting together this post of what has been on repeat lately, or is ‘new to me’. It’s easy to get comfortable with the things I listen to regularly, and not step out of my comfort zone, but as a musician I find that every several years I go through a sorting out process & try to find music to get inspired by. In this post you’ll certainly find a few things from across the board, and they might seem a bit random, but for me music usually has a purpose outside of the pure joy of listening. I hope all of you enjoy these picks, nonetheless!
Through various friends in Atlanta I came across Blake Rainey of Young Antiques. Here’s a tune that came out quite a while ago, and surprises me that I never knew about this band when I was still living in Atlanta. This stuff has got a bit of punch & crunch, and definitely runs along the gutsy rock & roll track.
In moving forward, sometimes I have to look back at what was, and try to understand what got me to the place I’m in. My good friend Drew De Man of Pretend Sweethearts was the ringleader of a band that I considered to be one of the best alt-country/Americana acts around, called New River City. I’ve had the good fortune of having Drew join up with Waits & Co. occasionally, and it’s always a pleasure to get him to dust off some of the old chops when he’s with us. Check out this great piece of songwriting from back in the day.
Savannah Film Festival opens this Saturday, and one of the documentaries showing is a project that I’ve been involved with, and recorded an original song for. By clicking on this Happy: A Small Film With A Big Smile highlighted text you can hear the entire score. One of the artists, Telepathic Teddy Bear, is a newfound favorite of mine, and way outside the norm of what I usually listen to.
I suppose that with the film fest coming up I’ve had a lot of soundtracks running through my head, and this version of There Is An End by The Greenhornes with Holly Golightly from the Jim Jarmusch flick Broken Flowers is one that I keep coming back to.
This next one that I’ll post is something of a guilty pleasure, which Nick Kubley of PASSAFIRE likes to give me grief about, so this one is dedicated especially to him; tongue in cheek. Though my knowledge of Dubstep music is extremely limited, and I usually just wind up picking something from the plethora of material on YouTube, I find that it’s great for late night photo editing, especially when I’m on a deadline. Here’s one mix that I’ve listened to quite frequently for that very purpose.
Speaking of PASSAFIRE, singer & bassist Will Kubley’s other project The Hugeness just released a new album. I haven’t had a chance to listen to much of it yet, but I’m always impressed by the dedication that Will puts into his work, and the seemingly never-ending touring, writing, and recording that he’s involved in.
My last mention would be that ever since The High Divers performed at Trinity Sanctuary Concerts last month this song has been speaking to my current thoughts & feelings. Hopefully we’ll get these folks back down to Savannah in 2017.
In a nutshell I guess this post is a reminder to myself that while it’s easy to get stuck, there’s a whole world of great music out there, and as always…variety keeps me moving, thinking, and feeling. I hope that all of our followers will step out of ‘the usual’ from time to time and see what else is brewing!
Best,
Jon Waits
