Friday Feelings — 1st Edition
Things like “FriYAY" bother me. As mentioned in an earlier post, I am a crotchety bastard. The notion of a #FridayFeeling is owed to the tremendous work done by labour unions and activists to obtain better working conditions such as a 5-day work week. There’s still a lot of room for improvement and adaptation to the modern world, but it’s important to bear in mind that there is no such thing as a weekend for a large number of workers, and your ability to relax and unwind because it’s Friday is a privilege, so please try to genuinely appreciate it.
In deference to Rebecca Black, here are things going down on Friday, if we’ve got to get down on Friday:
- By the bay
- With the sickness
- Waterships
- Ton Abbey
- With the patriarchy (but not down with the patriarchy)
- Faces, in contrast to booties
Also, just a few musical notes about folk folks, if you’re looking for something to slap into your ears, bearing in mind that I view “folk" as a big tent macro encompassing not just trad folk but also Americana, Country, and a broad swathe of singer-songwriters. Essentially, if storytelling is at the core, and it’s not musical theatre, jazz, or cabaret, there’s space for it in my folk world.
- Dave Clamp, from Winchester, is one of the best songwriters I have seen live since living here. This is strictly about the songwriting, but he also plays the guitar really well. He doesn’t have a lot online, I don’t think, but if you’re around Winchester and can see him play, I recommend it.
- The Highwomen. Just do it.
- Some of my songs are overtly political, and others obliquely so. I love political folk and protest because it’s the sonic answer to essays and cartoons, and it’s a very old tradition. Dan O’Farrell (cum Difference Engine or sine) is a master of this without having to adopt the affectation that some better celebrated artists do. Not every song is political, but they all have weight, so if you don’t know it, listen.
- boygenius. Another supergroup. Lucy Dacus has, I think, the best voice. Phoebe Bridgers, when they hit, has the songs I like the best. But Stay Down on their EP, which features Julien Baker, is the standout of their collaboration for me.
- Together & Apart, by PicaPica, makes a compelling case for preserving the LP format. Fronted by Josienne Clarke and Samantha Whates, it navigates a musically diverse voyage, beginning with a track that sounds like it belongs to the world of electroacoustic art music and winding through an experimental landscape with fine playing and two voices unafraid of embracing unorthodox (in most western music) dyadic dissonances. The voices blend impeccably, and the album ends with a very straightforward and unburnished song, rather than “track.” Listen in order, in one sitting.
Have a great weekend. Love and be loved.
