No weird stories or anecdotes to offer up this week, just going to stick with the facts & welcome you to the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST . Listen below to the finest, sleekest & sweetest new songs we’ve heard over the past week, all of which are #1’s in a finer universe.
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I have this giant book with pictures of old baseball cards. It weighs 10 lbs. so looking at it requires you to actually sit upright & rest it on your lap or an actual table. In other words, reclining with it is potentially dangerous. There are literally thousands of cards depicted in it & it’s oddly, hypnotically fascinating looking at all these faces dating back from the early ’50s onto 1990, the overwhelming majority of whom are not famous nor have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a percentage of whom are no longer earthly beings. These guys with their “weird” names, once relatively common, now extinct ( Herm, Milt, Connie). Every time I’ve ever perused this book, I’ve gotten the same “existential” thoughts, wondering what they were thinking ( assuming they were) as they were being captured for posterity at their official moment of glory ( assuming it was). “I’ve made it”.”I’m now immortal”. “Am I ever going to get off the bench and start ?”. “This isn’t as gratifying a career as I thought it would be”. Never “I’m the shit”. It’s always something marginally insecure. Maybe I’m giving them too much credit but I like the idea of them questioning the universe. Anyway, the cards above date back to the early ’60s & every one of these guys seems to have something on his mind & I thought I’d give them a bonus moment of glory just because …
Anyway, hey ! Welcome to the latest 🔥 WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST 🔥 featuring the finest songs we’ve heard over recent hot days. All handsome, all # 1’s in a better universe. Dig in below…
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And so here we are. And all I’m going to do this week is straight up, no frills introduce & offer the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST featuring the finest new music we’ve heard over recent days. Here’s truly hoping you find something to love.
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Yup, that will never get old 🙂 But hey, it’s time for the latest 🔥 WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST 🔥 featuring the finest new music we’ve heard in recent days. And this week was a good one full of epic pop guitar weirdness ( plus an excellent SWV cover) all of which I’m telling you is better than Gaga. You can listen on Soundcloud or Spotify below.
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Picking Up Rocks · Weekly New Wonders Playlist # 17 !
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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7aNhnt0SvZy1pWEfotYvCQ?si=ZD0EK-AhQj-Whd4Zm4h_WA
Keeping it simple this week. Welcome to the latest Weekly New Wonders Playlist featuring our favorite songs from recent days. It’s a bit shorter than usual this week but that means you can give each one extra attention. All sweet, all swell, all🔥 !!!
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That is a photo of the actual kitchen in my childhood home in the ’80s. None more brown. And yes, there was carpeting in the kitchen because that’s how my Mom rolled (and still does so eat over the table please). The only thing missing from the picture is Daisy, our basset hound at the time…who was also brown. Just wanted to share something warm & fuzzy (literally) this week to help combat the restless mayhem for a minute. And with that, welcome to the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST featuring the absolute finest new songs we’ve heard in recent days, all of them #1’s in a better parallel universe.
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‘You should give him a chance, he really understands women”. So said one 16 year old girl ( my friend) to another ( me) back in the early ’80s about the guy celebrating his 71st birthday this week, Billy Joel. This was a pretty commonplace topic for us. I would try to explain why The Police were the best & she would counter with her arguments in support of B.Joel. But nothing could change my mind. He had so many marks in the NO Column for me. He wasn’t British. He wasn’t rock star cute. A large part of his fanbase seemed to be grown ass adults. “Just the Way You Are” (ugh). “She’s Always a Woman to Me” ( make it stop). He was resolutely uncool & I was not interested in anything he had to offer.
At that point, avoiding him had become somewhat challenging. Not just because my closest friend worshipped him but because we were living on Long Island, Billy Joel ground zero, his birthplace. Make no mistake, on Long Island, Billy Joel was a God.
When Billy announced the tour to support his latest album at the time “The Nylon Curtain”, my friend bought tickets & then adamantly stated that we were going. The show was of course at freakin’ Nassau Coliseum meaning it was a “homecoming show” so the hardcore, evangelical Lawng I-lind pride would be in full effect. It sounded slightly nauseating but fine, whatever, I’ll go, jeezus.
My rejection plan remained in tact until about halfway through the show. Just like the infamous Simpson’s moment when Lisa spurned Martin & the exact point his heart burst was captured on national television, I remember the precise moment I started liking Billy Joel. There was a song on “Nylon Curtain” called “Goodnight Saigon”, an emotional reminiscence from the perspective of a Vietnam veteran. It’s a gigantic piano power ballad featuring the sound of helicopter blades over its opening notes. He started playing it & okay, it sounded kind of good. Then during the song about a dozen actual Vietnam vets came onstage, put their arms around each other & sang the pseudo chorus, “And we would all go down together”, swaying together from side to side. They were crying. Then, all of a sudden I was crying. I’d never cried at a show before in my life ( bad seats at Disney on Ice one year aside). It was embarrassing but also a little shocking to me. F-ing Billy Joel had infiltrated, he’d gotten to me. Boom.
That was it. I went out & bought the album the next day. Then, over time, welcomed the rest of his catalog into my life. Anyway, Happy 71st Billy, sorry I was such jerk to you as young one, I hope you can forgive me.
And now it’s time for the finest in new music. Welcome to the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST, featuring the ABSOLUTE FINEST SONGS we’ve heard in recent days. Turn it up 🐝
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Hey Y’all, welcome to week 300 of this “thing”. I humbly offer a small, melodic salve in the form of this week’s WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST featuring the finest songs we’ve heard in recent days. You can listen on Soundcloud or Spotify (links below) & let it wash over you. I bow to all these artists as there are some particularly sweet things in there & it’s made this hell-scape seem slightly less hellish today which is an absolute blessing.
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This week, inspired by my brother’s recent fascination with the writings of brilliant author John Cheever, I decided to revisit a movie adapted from one of his stories that I hadn’t seen for years: 1968’s “The Swimmer” starring Burt Lancaster. And it totally blew my mind. It’s an otherworldly piece of art, about loss, delusion and the suburbs & is impossible to forget once you’ve seen it. It’s always been a ridiculously disorienting viewing experience & watching it right now made it feel even more so. The best quote I’ve ever heard about it came a few years back from actor Illeana Douglas when she said “If I had my way I would have a room in my house, all white & have this film playing on a constant loop, I would just walk in & get a few moments of Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer. How can a movie be so enjoyable yet so disturbing at the same time ?”. Anyway, if you are looking for something to watch with the lights out & no other distractions, I heartily encourage you to check it out. It’s just like she said, dark & disorienting as hell yet crazily beautiful & f-ing amazing.
As if that weren’t enough, there were a TON of stunningly handsome new songs this week. Check ’em out below in the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST featuring the finest tracks that crossed our radar over recent days. Also want to shout out the new altopalo album “farawayfromeveryoneyouknow” which is a damn fine record ( you can check that out below as well !).
*Quick FYI: The Laura Groves track, a brilliant cover of Bobbie Gentry’s “Courtyard” is only available on Soundcloud & Bandcamp as of this writing, so all you Spotify heads, please take a minute & check it out on those sites : it’s the best cover of the song I’ve ever heard and shouldn’t be missed !
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And please check out altopalo’s “farawayfromeveryoneyouknow”:
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While rummaging around today I found this thing I drew about 10 years ago & it’s a real head scratcher. Not sure what I was trying to achieve. All I know for sure is that she is way, way cooler than me 🙂 But hey (!), it’s time for the latest WEEKLY NEW WONDERS PLAYLIST featuring a bunch of beauteous songs that are currently # 1 in some infinitely better alternate universe. They are all 🔥, check ’em out below, you can listen on Soundcloud or Spotify !
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PICKING UP ROCKS 