The Durutti Column’s “Otis”
“Otis” begins, as some of the best songs do, unexpectedly. A guitar string reverberates ever so briefly, first plucked and then bent, echoing forth a...
Bill Callahan’s “Riding for the Feeling”
I’ve done a lot of leaving as an adult. The poetic call it nomadic, the nihilistic call it lost, and I’ve been known to call...
Julie Byrne’s “Melting Grid”
When I first moved back to New York in the early, wintry days of 2018, I was nearly a year into working nights for Pitchfork....
Nilüfer Yanya’s Steely Mask
I’ve been retreating since the start of the new year. Part of it comes down to logistics (I’m moving to another country in just a...
The Zest of Early Mornings and Tribe
Look at me making grand proclamations about listening to softer fare in the early mornings only to have that stance tested just days later. A...
Plains’ “I Walked With You a Ways”
In my late 20s, I used to espouse a theory that went something like this: Relationships are an experience, and people should have a lot...
Damien Jurado’s “The Shape of a Storm”
The most honest love songs are those tinged with a hint of melancholy. Perhaps it’s the paintbrush of the romantic that has colored my perception,...
Lido Pimienta’s “Eso Que Tu Haces”
Colombian-Canadian singer Lido Pimienta‘s powerful song “Eso Que Tu Haces” builds its rhythm on cumbia, the national dance of Colombia. Cumbia first originated in Africa...
Gétatchèw Mèkurya’s Entrancing Sax
I’ve written before about attending a concert to hear one particular musician only to discover another. Recently, I experienced a distinctive version of that. In...
John Prine’s “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”
Songs resonant in different ways: perhaps it’s a melody that pangs with a particularly resolute truth or a verse that delivers a lightning flash of...