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We are now officially half way through 2021.... what is this year? A transitional year, a calm before more storms - it is hard to say for sure... But, we are just moving forward in courage and in fear.
The world can be a harsh, hard, brutal, and cold place. Driving - to me - brings out the worst in people (including myself sometimes) pettiness, cruelty, impatience, anger, fear....
The pandemic also seemed to bring out the worst - selfishness especially.
But, and it is a big "but", goodness and kindness are out there. To the extent possible - surround yourself with kind people.
As divided as we are - I think it is possible to co-exist in this country and on this planet. Too often, though, the portrayal is that "the other side" is by nature cruel or selfish or unkind. But taken to a more refined level - there are people who believe differently than I do who I know to be good and kind people. We may disagree vehemently on things that are very important to each of us - but these are not fundamentally cruel or heartless people. So, maybe don't let a social media persona define a person and don't let the bad behavior color your opinion of someone who shares a similar opinion as the bad actor.
It is - I think okay to see and recognize trends in public opinion. But, I see danger in personifying a group of people and then assigning people to that group and by default judging an individual on the behavior of the group. (i.e. "woke" Twitter or conservatives or liberals).
Just my thoughts as we head into the second half of this strange new year...
We wrap up this week's super-long Featured Friday Playlist with two final posts...
Featured Friday Playlist recap (part 8) (songs 53-59):
53. "San pedro - Toulon" by Hifiklub
We finish up this twenty minute plus instrumental that ended yesterday's post - an international collaboration from France and San Pedro, California. Featuring Mike Watt & the Secondmen
54. "Nymphea" by Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band
From the just released Banned album by this experimental band from Montreal, Canada.
55. "Longest Day of the Year" by Paul Cafcae
Singer-songwriter Paul Cafcae returns to the Playlist with his latest single. Great stuff.
56. "The Grape Prophet Speaks" by L.S. Underground
Next up, we have a track from the just reissued The Grape Prophet album which had been out of print for nearly 30 years.
57. "Chelsea Is a Mermaid and She's Soaking In" by Light by the Sea
Next up, the third and most recent single from this Dutch duo that formed during the quarantine. Great stuff.
58. "Play" by Brent Seavers
Next up, we have a track from the solo debut from Brent Seavers of the Sacremento band The Decibels. This solo project came about when Covid derailed plans for a new album from the band.
59 .New Era" by Ender Bender
And, we close this penultimate segment of the playlist recap with the title track from the sophomore EP by this indie-pop artist who is based in Rome after years spend in L.A. Yet another example of COVID spurring creativity. A great tune to take us into our final segment of music for this week's playlist which you can catch after the jump.
Featured Friday Playlist
60. "Freedom" by Cat Dowling
As always, we purposefully save some great music to finish up our Playlist. We start this last segment with the glorious and soulful new single from this Irish singer-songwriter. And although she is Irish, it is a great song to lead us into American Independence Day weekend.
61. "Outlaw Women" by Mikaela Finne
Mikaela Finne is known as the Outlaw Queen of Finland (her native country). She is now based in Sweden. This is the first single from her forthcoming Time Stands Still album due in August.
62. "The Monster Song" by Jack Grace Band
Next, we have the lead track from What a Way to Spend the Night - the new album from this veteran NYC based singer-songwriter who honed and recorded these songs while living in London. Great stuff.
63. "Born 2 Boogie" by Sunshine & the Blue Moon
Next, we have the title track from the new album from this Canadian band. We featured an earlier single from the album a few week's back.
64. "Just a Shame" by Hilary Scott
Hilary Scott (with one L not two) just released her latest album Kaleidoscope - which includes four songs co-written in Nashville. This track was co-written with Matthew Wilder who also produced the record.
65. "Prayer" by Sir Orfeo
And we close things out for the week with the lead track from the Millefleur EP from Boston-based lo-fi chamber-folk project Sir Orfeo. A fantastic way to end this super-long playlist.
Reminder - a new Featured Friday Playlist will premiere tomorrow - maybe just before or after midnight if I don't fall asleep to soon. Keep your Ear to the Ground for great new music, and if you hear something cool - let me know, and I promise to do the same.
NO VIDEO PLAYLIST TODAY
NEW AND RECENT RELEASES
THIS WEEK
6/28 - Soft Riot - Second Lives (LP)
6/30 - Trio Nilo - Planeta Desierto (LP)
7/01 - Remains - "City of July" (single)
7/02 - Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow (LP)
7/02 - Joel Tyler Wall - Green Wave (LP)
7/02 - Jennifer Tefft - "A Little More" (single)
7/02 - Adam Kurtz - Hi, Society (EP)
7/02 - The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show - Boomtown (LP)
NEXT WEEK
7/04 - John PayCheck - We All Have a Story (LP)
7/06 - Boyracer - Assuaged (LP)
7/09 - Leo Crandall - They're Cutting Up Betty's Dress Tonight and Other Hymns (LP)
7/09 - Ben Reddell Band - ¡LA Baby! (EP)
7/09 - The Light Show - Round and Round (LP)
7/09 - Wild Earp & the Free For Alls - Dyin' for Easy Livin' (LP)
7/09 - Ro Halfhide - Paint The Town (LP)
7/09 - The Gorstey Lea Street Choir - ...from Prince's Park to Farsley - Volume I (LP)
7/09 - Tylor & The Train Robbers - Non-Typical Find (LP)
UPCOMING
7/12 - Steve Dawson -At The Bottom Of A Canyon In The Branches Of A Tree (LP)
7/13 - Upupayāma - Upupayāma (LP)
7/14 - AP Tobler - Alternate Vision (EP)
7/16 - Blue Glass - Jardin des Étoiles (LP)
7/16 - Georgia English - "Where Are You Now?" (single)
7/16 - Jon Byrd - Me and Paul (EP)
7/16 - Mark Duggan - "Run Out the Distance" (single)
7/16 - Clint Morgan- Troublemaker (LP)
7/17 - Messer - "Name (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)" (single)
7/21 - Dominique Pruitt -Prayers for Rain (LP)
7/23 - John McTigue III - It's About Time (LP)
7/23 - Art Schop - Starguide (LP)
7/30 - FLDPLN - "Escalator" (single)
7/30 - Georgia English - Pain and Power
7/30 - The Nautical Theme - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed (EP)
7/30 - Lightning Love - November Birthday (reissue) (LP)
8/06 - Colin Hay - I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself (LP)
8/07 - Massage - Still Life (LP)
8/13 - F. Scott and the Nighthawks - Hold Onto Your Heart (LP)
8/20 - Malcolm Holcomb - Tricks of the Trade (LP)
8/20 - Darrin Bradbury - Artvertisement (LP)
8/20 - Andy Peake - Mood Swings (LP)
8/20 - James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hound (LP)
8/20 - Grace Morrison - Daughter (LP)
8/20 - Lindsay Jarman - The Gallery (LP)
8/25 - Jeff Tuohy - Hudson Delta (LP)
8/27 - Ben Stalets - Everybody's Laughing (LP)
8/27 - Mikaela Finne - Time Stands Still (LP)
8/27 - Divine Horsemen - Hot Rise of an Ice Cream Phoenix (LP)
8/31 - Nicholas Tremulis - Rarified World (LP)
9/?? - Laura Mihalka - Feels Electric (LP)
9/01 - Remains - Millennial Nation (LP)
9/10 - Air-Cool Jenny - First Flight (EP)
9/14 - Chris Robley - A Filament In The Wilderness or What Comes Next (LP)
RECENT
6/03 - Bilbosa (feat. Lori Sky) - "Neon" (single)
6/04 - Lanterna - Hidden Drives (LP)
6/04 - Ammo - "Rose + Crown" (single)
6/04 - Cloud Eleven - Pandora's Box (LP)
6/04 - Steven Faulkner - "Time After Time" (single)
6/04 - Some Swords - The Eve of the End (LP)
6/04 - Swift Silver - Swift Silver (LP)
6/04 - Amelia White & Brett Ryan Stewart - "Somebody to Hold" (single)
6/04 - Amelia White & Brett Ryan Stewart - 11 A.M. (EP)
6/04 - Jayson - "Body Work" (single)
6/04 - Ro Halfhide - "Hey Hey" (single)
6/04 - Speed the Plough - "Thunder and Snow" (single)
6/04 - Art Schop - "Farm on Mars" (single)
6/04 - Moonchy & Tobias - Venus Mirror (EP)
6/04 - Soulful Femmes - It Is Well With My Soul (LP)
6/04 - Tape Waves - Bright (LP)
6/04 - Annie Keating - Bristol County Tides (LP)
6/04 - Rid of Me - Last (3 song single)
6/04 - Mary Hott with The Carpenter Ants - Devil in the Hills: Coal Country Reckoning (LP)
6/04 - My Name is Ian - Fantastic Company (LP)
6/04 - Pastel Coast - Sun (LP)
6/11 - Soda Cracker Jesus - "Drug My Soul" (single)
6/11 - Afton Wolfe - Kings for Sale (LP)
6/11 - Florel Daze - "Holes" (single)
6/11 - Larry Mindel - "Whisper the World Away" (single)
6/11 - Late TV - "Night Tennis" (single)
6/11 - Muscle Vest - Live Laugh Loathe (EP)
6/11 - Mothgal - "Better Now" (single)
6/11 - Christina Larocca - "The New Normal" (single)
6/11 - The Stars of Disaster - In the Trough of the Wave (LP)
6/11- Garrett Weiland - What Keeps the Heart Afloat (LP)
6/11 - Supermutt - Sinner's Boast (LP)
6/11 - Poggy - No More I (EP)
6/11 - Rafa - "Lullaby" (single)
6/12 - Merv Pinny - "When I See Your Face" (single)
6/15 - Chris Connelly and Monica Queen - The Birthday Poems (LP)
6/15 - The Attractor Beams - "Only" (single)
6/18 - Thomas Comerford - Introverts (LP)
6/18 - Alexandra Hainsworth - "Lose it With Me" (single)
6/18 - Rocket Report - Overmorrow (LP)
6/18 - Dreampark - "Time Machine" (single)
6/18 - Neker - Slower (LP)
6/18 - The Wind-Ups - Try Not to Think (LP)
6/18 - Keeley - Brave Warrior (EP)
6/18 - Silly Boy Blue - Breakup Songs (LP)
6/18 - Sunbourne Rd. - Manners maketh men (LP)
6/18 - The Catenary Wire - Birling Gap (LP)
6/18 - Doctor Lo - Claiborne Avenue (LP)
6/18 - Michelle & Jason Hannan - Cheater's Waltz (LP)
6/19 - Willie Durisseau - Creole House Dance (EP)
6/21 - BOI - Coron O Chwin (LP)
6/21 - Arms & Armour - Into This Wide Unknown (EP)
6/22 - Shiffley - Aperitif (EP)
6/23 - AP Tobler - "Eye for an Eye" (single)
6/24 - Bad Sauna - "Kaikki kotona" (single)
6/25 - L.S. Underground - The Grape Prophet (LP - Reissue)
6/25 - Massage - Still Life (LP)
6/25 - Lights by the Sea - "Eleanor" (single)
6/25 - Brent Seavers - BS Stands for Brent Seavers (LP)
6/25 - Ender Bender - New Era (EP)
6/25 - Cat Dowling - "Freedom" (single)
6/25 - Mikaela Finne - "Outlaw Women" (single)
6/25 - Routine Faces - Us vs. Them (LP)
6/25 - Jack Grace Band - What a Way to Spend the Night (LP)
6/25 - Sunshine & The Blue Moon - Born 2 Boogie (LP)
6/25 - Hilary Scott - Kaleidoscope (EP)
6/25 - Sir Orfeo - Millefleur (LP)
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