Generation Eclectic

A multi-generational conversation around music…

The Dream – Thee Oh Sees

Andrew: Let’s kick this off and see where it goes – Lena – you’re up

Peace of Mind – Boston

Lena:  Hellooo! i love the energy of your track Andrew! I just added my track, kind of a new music direction – for me! but I really like how they work together

excited where we’re going with this, Jon you’re up 🙂 

Wild Dogs (Alternate Version) – Tommy Bolin

 Jon:  Was not expecting a ROCK list but that seems to be where this is going! 😈 I hope you’ll forgive me for adding a track that is almost 14 minutes long but trust me. Just trust me. 

Harm Rochel – Turbostaat

Andrew:  I too did not expect this – but that’s what I love about doing it – I’m so up for the Rock! ;-ppp. And Jon – you’re totally forgiven – I had to drive a bit this afternoon and that was an insane 14 minutes of pure guitar lunacy.

while I couldn’t imagine putting Peace of Mind after The Dream – it sounds kinda cool – when I think – Jon and I are making a playlist with someone 30 years younger than us – we’re literally doing what musicto says it does – connecting people – thinking that this Age thing could be something more important – on our website we talk culture, generations, nations – but – there’s something about Age.

Everybody understands age – and if music can connect people across age – then – that’s powerful no?

But I am grinning like a lunatic while listening to the Boston track – ‘cos – I haven’t listened to the track for decades – and it sounds fucking great!

Did not know Tommy Bolin – I do now – thank you Jon.

It’s a mental track – Wild Dogs (Alternate) – and like – it’s fourteen fucking minutes long – which – if you’re putting that on a list – it’s gotta reward the listening – it’s a baller move.

“Why do you keep playing the parts I don’t sing on!”

Guten Tag!

Jon:  Age is just a number BUT it’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore how other people see me, particularly when my youngest son is going to be 19 years old in two days. I look at photos of myself from the millennium and I think I am still that guy, and then I look in the mirror.

That Tommy Bolin track ‘Wild Dogs (Alternate)’ is of course insane – in its day it never would have been released, being far too long to make it onto even the most preposterous triple album. But in an age when you could upload every outtake and demo and live version from the vaults and call it a super deluxe album, it has its place. It’s a glorious bit of bombast by another one of rock’s heroin casualties, a prodigy who was much in demand during his short life. And in spite of the unashamed self-indulgence, it’s obvious why when you listen to that solo which just won’t quit. Footnote: at the risk of being a terrible pedant, it’s not an alternate version, it’s an alternative version. I know in America those words are considered to be interchangeable, but they’re just not. Alternate and alternative mean different things. That’s why we have two words, people!

Landmines – Sum 41

Lena: Speaking of age… I have to admit when I was searching for my first track to add I actually looked through spotify’s “old rock” playlist, idk the Thee Oh Sees The Dream just instantly put me there. I was hesitating to add the first song I thought of, which was “Aliens Exists” by blink-182, after listening to both songs it just sounded “too immature” so I wanted to look for something “more grown up”, that’s when I came across Peace of Mind. I didn’t know the song before but it is really good! So I thought why not add it. It’s pretty hard to think of a second song for a playlists which has no real direction yet 😀 

As for the Tommy Bolin Song, it sounds like something my Dad would love! But I’m trying to be more open for all kinds of music. Even if they are 14 minutes long. And I have to say the guitar Riffs are AMAZING! I did not get bored at all listening to it. I can see what you mean by it has its place back in the day 

And I was like wait- Turbostaat?? Great choice! Last time I listened to them I was 16 and they were supporting my favorite artists at his hometown festival, and to be honest I did not like them back in those days haha.. but they work great in this Playlist we’re building here!

I’m always down to punk up a playlist! I love the energy the Playlists has so far and I wanted to continue it but this time with a song I actually know, so thank you Sum 41 for releasing this banger last week! 

(just asked my dad about Tommy, turns out he actually owns the album! 😂)

Jon: Wow! I’m impressed!

Not Too Soon – Throwing Muses

Jon:  I have just added my next track: ‘Not Too Soon’ by Throwing Muses, from their 1991 album The Real Ramona, for no other reason except that I’m going out to see their lead singer Kristin Hersh in about two hours and getting myself in the mood. Tonight’s gig will be a little more low key than Throwing Muses in their full bloom, as it’s an all-seated (possibly acoustic?) affair which I understand will include readings from her memoir as well as songs. 

AHHHH! – Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

Andrew: Love it when the universe makes it easy ;-p. Throwing Muses feels so familiar – I’m going go back and listen – my Nephew threw me this track from an aussie band – their digital strategy in terms of release schedule is spot on – singles – followed by strong Ep followed by album – Ep is bloody strong (IMO) – this was the first track I heard – I’m digging the energy.

Jon: I like that Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers track, although I’m not too sure about the band name. To quote Seymour Skinner: “we need a name that’s witty at first, but that seems less funny each time you hear it…”

Honey – As December Falls

Lena: Hey Guys! Sorry, my bachelor is getting the best of me right now, my thesis has to be finished in about three weeks so I definitely have no sense of time right now haha!

But I just took a break and listened to the two tracks you added. Gotta say I love them both a lot!

Jon – I’m always open to finding new alternative female artists. How was the thing you went to?

And Andrew – the song title is my constant state of mind, I love it hahaha! Reminded me a lot of starcrawler

But I didn’t want to continue in the exact same style so I added a song I’ve been listening a lot to in the past months, going a bit more into a comforting mood! Also I’m so excited to see them in concert next month, it’s going to be a pretty small show, I’m really looking forward to it!

Might Get Up Slow (Remix) – No Small Children

Jon:  The Kristin Hersh show was excellent: an all-acoustic set, accompanied by a cellist in an all-seated venue, playing a combination of new material, her solo back catalogue and a few old Throwing Muses songs. I love her voice. Her lyrics are quite impenetrable, but I’ve been a lifelong fan of David Bowie and most of his lyrics were impossible to understand – sometimes the words just sound good together and that’s enough.

I also love female vocalists generally and I’d never heard of As December Falls, so I’ll check out more of their stuff.

I have added a song called ‘Get Up Slow’ by No Small Children.

They’re a trio of women who were all teachers at the same school. I don’t know if that’s still the case, It’s quite an unusual backstory, but it doesn’t matter because I just love this track anyway – one of my favorite discoveries of this year (although it’s actually quite an old song – this album was released in 2014). And it has a very positive refrain about moving on no matter how hard life can be: “I might get up slow, but I get up”.

Hush – Kula Shaker

Andrew:  I love how we’re blending the old with the new – I loved the No Small Children track – this was one where the connection appeared immediately and I couldn’t shake it – literally “shake.” it ;-p

Take the Ride – Story Of The Year

Lena: The As December Falls concert was really great too! The audience was much older than I thought, no one really knew the lyrics but the energy was just great!

jon – Love the vibe from that song! and that is a great backstory, unique but nothing out of the ordinary I guess 😄

And well it’s nearly (just) 10 years old (omg time flies right??), anyway I love the message from the refrain!

Andrew – I couldn’t stop “shaking” to your song as well! Love the groove!

For my next add, I went for one of my favorite songs right now, I found Story of A Year in I guess 2016 and they just released a new album after 7 years… It just keeps the energy up but I also love the message it brings! 

i can’t get my shit together – Baby Queen

Jon:   I’ve added ‘I Can’t Get My Shit Together’ by Baby Queen (I’ve converted that to title case because the pedant in me cannot abide writing it all in lower case – I am who I am!) .

It’s catchy synth pop with a mixture of sung and staccato-rapped lyrics with bold attitude and humour. She’s a South African and her real name is Arabella Latham. She was signed during lockdown over Zoom, having never performed live. But I saw her back in the summer of 2022 and she was already very confident in front of a crowd. I wanted to see her because I had heard the song ‘Want Me’, which is her big set finisher, but actually she has got much better material than that. This song reminds me of a synth-y version of Sum 41’s ‘In Too Deep’. Maybe I’m crazy – see if you can hear it, too!

Lena: I can kinda hear the ‘In Too Deep’ Relation but it’s veeeery subtle! It’s a great song on its own tho, will give Want Me a listen too!

All Now – The Staves

Andrew:  Wow – there’s so much going on in that Baby Queen track – i almost followed up with a Depeche Mode track just ‘cos of the synth sounds 😎 Went for one of my favorite “evolving” bands – The Staveley sister’s harmonies got me hooked 8 or 9 years back and they’ve been on a super interesting journey since – one of the trio went off to raise a child so they’re down to just two but I’d recognize their sound anywhere. This track took me a while to warm to but – by the third listen the hook is firmly buried in my head – I feel I can add it to this list as – even though it starts slowly it builds up to a climax that has me grinning my head off!

Jon:  I love it. Not sure I can hear how it follows on from what came before, if I’m completely honest, but what a great track all the same. That’s what matters. Seems like a candidate for the ‘Songs for Solstice‘ playlist, too.

thoughts i have while lying in bed – The Maine

Lena: I love the build up in your Song Andrew ! Also that it ends in “Happy New Year” is pretty fitting for the time of year we’re having right now :DD

Thought I’d keep riding the synth-train we have going on. Been listening to this The Maine track a lot lately, I think I discovered them through my weekly mix but also Charlotte Sands (a very good new pop punk artist) was posting them constantly in her Instagram story, and what can I say they make really good music!

I Don’t Know What We’re Talking About (And I Haven’t for a While) – Ninja Sex Party

Jon: I have listened to ‘Thoughts I Have…’ several times and I still don’t know where to go from there, so we need to get this playlist moving again and I have gone for the wonderful Ninja Sex Party’s song ‘I Don’t Know What We’re Talking About (And I Haven’t For a While)’. This song came out early in the lockdown when we all needed cheering up and it certainly put a smile on my face. I hadn’t listened to it in a few years and I worried that going back to it would be a disappointment. It was not a disappointment.

I’m back in my happy place, in the company of Lamar the pterodactyl, who is also a stressed-out nurse. Why oh why won’t his wife give the poor guy a break?

The Diary of Horace Wimp – Electric Light Orchestra

I’m thoroughly enjoying how this playlist is coming along – I just went back and read through the discussion and it’s a bloody fun read – but musically – it’s a super funky ride – lots of different genres and styles but – each track stands on its own merits and there’s not a dud among them (in my limited opinion anyway 😛 ) – 

I’ve had Ninja Sex Party in my head for the last month as it’s such a mental song – I mean – I love it – and the video is just brilliant – I mean – I do actually care that Lamar’s going to have to go to night school! The track is one of those blends comedy with absolute spot on musical execution – and how do you follow that. It is very tempting to just drop Bohemian Rhapsody in there – mirroring the groove change towards the end and matching the operatic aspect – but – that felt a little too on the nose – but I did want an operatic feel with a slightly “out there” lyric and very happily ended up with….

Jon:  You went old school for sure. I confess I have a real soft spot for ELO’s greatest hits, of which ‘…Horace Wimp’ was one.

Go Your Own Way (2004 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac

When I heard Jon’s song I instantly thought Bohemian Rhapsody too 😃

And tbh, Andrew’s ELO’s song really reminded me of a Christmas song..? hahaha hard one to follow up tho

I started working in a music & video store and I have a lot of those “old music albums” in my hand everyday. Two weeks ago I got covid again so I had a lot of time and finally watched High Fidelity and followed it up directly with the High Fidelity show disney+ has, and the music in both of them was pretty great, so I thought I should give them a chance and so I went with Fleetwood Mac next!

What Life Brings – Steven Wilson

Jon:  It’s probably not very cool to like Fleetwood Mac, but I’ve always liked Rumours, although my personal favorite Fleetwood Mac song is ‘Tusk’. I just checked on Wikipedia and it says Rumours has sold 40 million copies. And there are two tracks on Spotify from that album with well over a billion streams. So maybe they aren’t too worried about being uncool. 

BTW, the High Fidelity movie soundtrack is excellent. Don’t remember much about the movie – John Cusack is kind of hard to like, if I remember rightly – but until I heard that soundtrack album I had never heard Bob Dylan’s song ‘Most of the Time’ and it’s one of my favourite Dylan songs ever. That languorous bass and the half-truth lyric, it’s so beautifully melancholy. 

Andrew: I loved the movie – it was jack Black’s first big break – and I’m a sucker for Cusack – Lena, if you haven’t seen Grosse Pointe Blank yet it’s a brilliant movie – great dialog – killer soundtrack too ;-p 

Jon:  Yes, I must see Grosse Pointe Blank again someday. Great cast and a very smart and stylish crime comedy, or so I remember it.

Lena:  Just recommended it for movie night 😃 

Jon:  I have added ‘What Life Brings’ by Steven Wilson, because this playlist has begun to take on a retro vibe and I thought I’d try to bring it gracefully back up to date without that being too jarring. This track owes a debt to the 70s prog era, but it is in fact from the 2023 album The Harmony Codex. You may recognise more than a hint of David Gilmour in Wilson’s languid guitar style on this record. I love the swirling, balletic melody – it was one of my top tracks of last year, but it could have been released in 1980. 

Salt – Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

Andrew:  I finally got some time to live with the Steven Wilson track – loved it Jon – what a solid updating of that Pink Floyd vibe – yes he’s got that David Gilmour tone & feel – but it’s that strummed 12 string (I think) that creates the space – along with the keys – def in my wheelhouse ;-p

So I’m thinking of modern retro feel and I almost plumped for Great Van Fleet as they’re kinda doing a modern Zeppelin but I couldn’t find a groove transition i liked and then I was just thinking rock and had remembered Teen Jesus’ recent Ep and thought the groove of Salt made a nice transition – keeping it classic but fresh at the same time.

Jon: I may have said it before but Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers is a fucking terrible name. It sounds like what a lazy writer would call a punk rock band in a middle-of-the-road comedy movie – someone who imagines punk to be some cliché of safety pins through the nose, pink mohican haircuts, spitting and shouting and not being able to play an instrument. Perhaps they’re being postmodern. I assume they’re being ironic. Quite liked the song on first listen, though. It definitely does not sound like a punk rock band who can’t play their instruments.

Andrew:  Yes ;-p I think I remember your initial disdain at the band’s name ;-ppppp. But yes – this is the “softest” track on the EP it it fitted the groove better – they do have more thrashier stuff on there 

Jon:  It’s true that I’m free with my opinions when it comes to band names. I try to be positive about music of all kinds and listen for the best in a track, even when it’s not to my taste, but a poorly chosen band name is hard to forgive!

Littlething – Jimmy Eat World

Lena: The name of your Band Andrew is really something 😃 But so is Jimmy Eat World I guess, does anyone know why they picked it?

But first I really enjoy the Steven Wilson song, If you hadn’t said it’s from last year I would have put it a decade or two before the 2000s

Salt is definitely more my groove! Always on the lookout for female lead bands in rock & punk genres, I’ll check them out some more 😀

There were a few options to follow these songs but I looked at my current collection of favorite songs and Littlething stuck out, again, found it recently through watching shameless (u.s.) but it made me realize I should listen to more than just the two most known songs of a band when I like them haha. Currently on the lookout for the Invented Album on Vinyl, it’s pretty great in my opinion!

Not Rick – Anna Erhard

Jon:  It’s probably no secret that I’ve struggled a bit to make contributions to this list. I don’t think we have found a common thread and I guess that’s okay. Most of my own playlists are entirely without a theme – I just pack them with things I’m into or that interest me somehow.

So, with that in mind I’m choosing Anna Erhard’s ‘Not Rick’.

I don’t think it has the faintest connection with Jimmy Eat World or ELO or Story of the Year or any of these other songs, but I like it.

Anna Erhard is a fast-rising German indie singer-songwriter, which seems apt for an Anglo/Deutsch/Amerikaner collaboration, but mostly I just love her witty, storytelling lyrics. If you like this, check out ‘170’ and ‘Botanical Garden’. She is coming to the UK in October and I’m a bit annoyed because her shows clash with other commitments, so I can’t go. I hope she will come back next year as I’m very curious to see how this music translates to a live performance.

Playlist image by GPT4o