tunes - july 2024
Johnny, Waylon, Claire, Amelia, etc.
hi, hello!
It’s good to have your eyes and ears. Here’s what I’ve been listening to for the past month.
This month’s listening was a bit all over the place. And this newsletter will be, too. In July, I listened to some of my favorite artists: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Clairo, and two bands Amelia Meath is in (The A’s and Sylvan Esso).
I always crave a Johnny Cash album around the Fourth of July—good old American country. His album, Songwriter, was released this year and features songs recorded in the early 90s. My favorite is the first track: “Hello Out There”, a catchy ballad that I think is for aliens.
For Waylon Jennings, I was able to fit in two albums this month, three total for the year. Good Hearted Woman is a classic country album, while Don’t Think Twice is an album of covers. Yes, he covered Bob Dylan’s "Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”. There are so many great artists who have covered this song (including Johnny Cash!) but my favorite might be the Peter, Paul and Mary version. Maybe I’ll listen to that album next month.
What “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” cover is your favorite?
Claire Cottrill, who goes by Clairo, released her third studio album Charm this month. I’m obsessed. I’ve listened to it on repeat for days and still don’t know what my favorite track is. This album was my no context poll of the month, for those of you who participate on Instagram. Thank you for voting! Listen to “Terrapin”!
To round out the list of people mentioned in the subject line, Amelia Meath’s The A’s album Fruit is a “cosmic yodeling-folk masterpiece” created by Meath and fellow Mountain Man bandmate Alexandra Sauser-Monnig. (Their words, not mine. But I do agree.) And to end my month, I listened to the 10-year anniversary of Sylvan Esso’s self-titled album.
I did a lot of driving this month as well, and on the shorter road trips (1-2 hours), I listened to Holy Hive’s self-titled album and Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow. Both provide a movie soundtrack-like vibe during scenic, country drives. For the longer hauls, please see the below.
Best song to play to stay awake on a long road trip:
Lastly, I’d like to bring the conversation back to the aliens I mentioned above, or at least to outer space. Cassandra Jenkin’s song “Aurora, IL” really stuck with me because of these lyrics:
“A billionaire in Texas built a rocket ship to send the oldest man in space up on a pleasure trip.
And when he came down crying on the local news, he couldn’t stop talking about the color blue.”
This is my favorite song from her new album My Light, My Destroyer that came out this month. According to the internet, the lyrics are referencing William Shatner’s trip to space. True or not, the internet rabbit hole it sent me on made my day, so I wanted to share.
SALES, Forever & Ever
Drug Cabin, Wiggle Room
Tish Melton, When We're Older
Johnny Cash, Songwriter
Drug Cabin, Drug Cabin
Charli xcx, BRAT
Fleetwood Mac, Blues Jam in Chicago, Vol. 2
The A's, Fruit
King Krule, Space Heavy
Lil Yachty, Let's Start Here.
Durand Jones & The Indications, American Love Call
Clairo, Charm
Waylon Jennings, Good Hearted Woman
Waylon Jennings, Don't Think Twice
Joe P, Emily Can't Sing
Mega Bog, End of Everything
Honeyglaze, Honeyglaze
Nilüfer Yanya, PAINLESS
Nala Sinephro, Space 1.8
Zenizen, P.O.C (Proof of Concept)
Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow
Cassandra Jenkins, My Light, My Destroyer
Holy Hive, Holy Hive
Laura Marling, A Creature I Don't Know
Hiss Golden Messenger, Poor Moon
Damien Jurado, I Break Chairs
Fred again.., USB
Paul McCartney, McCartney
Sabrina Carpenter, emails i can't send fwd:
Heartless Bastards, A Beautiful Life
Sylvan Esso, Sylvan Esso (10 Year Anniversary Edition)
Thanks for reading, thanks for listening.
- emily