What I’m…Somehow Only Hearing Now: Garbage + Screaming Females

One night we had some friends over for food and drinks, and like many nights, we ended up on a circuitous musical journey through YouTube. While on a throwbacks kick of several “Now That’s What I Call Music” playlists, I went on a quick internet search to see what Garbage was up to, as I have always loved them both musically, and because I have a soft spot in my heart for front woman Shirley Manson, for the completely irrelevant reason of her resemblance to one of my closest friends.

A reading through Garbage’s Wikipedia page led me to the discovery that Garbage and Screaming Females recorded a cover of Patti Smith / Bruce Springstein’s “Because the Night” for Record Store Day 2013. As a fan of both bands, I am not sure how I missed this, but after my first listen, I was blown away. Just in case you missed this too, or because you can’t listen to this enough (plus great video by Sophie Mueller), or if you have never heard of both or one of these bands (please check them out):

Gotta say, this makes for a pretty good case for booze-fueled YouTube trips down musical memory lane and poking around Wikipedia. Happy Friday, and cheers to your own journeys this weekend.

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In an effort to find a system that works for me, I am trying different strategies to be a more productive and creative human. Currently, I am trying to do certain post types on a regular basis, and this one is “What I’m…” which will detail my current music and entertainment preferences, activities I have been doing, products I am loving, and so on. These will be more brief snippets (essentially the tweets of the blog) and updates that may hopefully uncover some cool / interesting / inspiring things for you readers.

What I’m…Listening To: Courtney Barnett

I can’t pull a hipster card here and pretend like I was aware of Courtney Barnett way before everyone else was. I do recall becoming aware of her around the time she must have been gaining popularity in the US.

Philadelphia’s independent radio station WXPN played “Avant Gardener” and was promoting her local show I believe last year. Originally, it was scheduled for one of the smaller venues in South Philly, and then in that span, she gained a larger following, and the show was moved to the larger Union Transfer. The song stood out to me, as I had never heard any other song mention “pseudoephedrine,” enjoyed the lyrics across the board as well, and took a liking to her vocal style.

This summer, Barnett also played WXPN’s large yearly music showcase, XPoNential Music Festival. While I did not go (alas), I did hear the recap of the event on the radio, along with some live recordings of Barnett’s set. Take a look and a listen here. Live, she had more edge, grind, and energy while still maintaining that delivery of deadpan indifference and disinterest. I enjoyed her even more, and then promptly downloaded her discography. Not to sound like a jaded old person or anything, but it is always refreshing to hear musicians that can really bring it to a live performance, especially with the rampant tendencies in the music world to overproduce, automate, and sterilize all the fun and life out of everything.

Okay, I hear it. I do sound like that guy at the record store. Seriously, though, if you haven’t already, check out Courtney Barnett, especially the live recordings.

What are you listening to? Talk to me. And if you are looking for a pretty swell music podcast of the post-punk and pop-punk variety, check this out.