Four on the Floor: 3/17

1. Peter Gabriel - "Here Comes the Flood" (1990 Re-recording)

All the rain this week caused flooding in my grandparents' town. Fortunately, everyone is alright, although from what I've seen there is obviously property damage. This, combined with Genesis' HOF induction, calls to mind this haunting ballad from his first solo album. He re-recorded it for his 1990 Greatest Hits album Shaking the Tree, and I much prefer this simpler, sparer version. Just a piano, a gorgeous melody, elegiac lyrics and a pained vocal.

2. Tom Waits - "Train Song"

While we're in the elegiac mood, this weeper of a ballad has been on my mind as well lately. I love Tom Waits both as a songwriter and as a singer, although for different reasons. As a songwriter, he is a master at evoking setting and extracting emotion from the least likely places. "Train Song" shouldn't be as devastating as it is. As a singer, he sounds atrocious, but to me that's the point. His broken voice can't be beautiful, but it still sings the beauty it sees anyway. He's turned himself into a one-man crusade for the hidden beauty within, and "Train Song" is a gorgeous example of it.

3. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - "Sugarfoot"

Turning away from the gloom and doom, let's pick things up a bit. SXSW is this week and I always wish I could be there (one year, I'm gonna go. I promise myself.) For those who don't already know, SXSW is a multi-disciplinary arts festival and the music end is a three-day party that starts tonight. Thousands of musicians are in Austin, Texas this week and music will be coming out of every window of every building all night long. This band is one of the bands I discovered after the coverage of last year's festival, and I love their retro-soul/funk groove. They performed this on Letterman last year for anyone interested enough to find it on YouTube.

4. Steve Reich - "Music for 18 Musicians: Section IX"

Lastly, Steve Reich has been back in my rotation after I heard a lovely piece on NPR examining minimalism. I think Music for 18 Musicians is one of the most blissfully transportive and meditative compositions I've ever heard. It's 45 minutes of unending, pulsating music that, true to the minimalist form, evolves slowly like a glacier moving through icy waters. It washes over me every time I listen and soothes my soul. Picking just one Section was an absurd task, but I chose IX because it starts with a great bouncing string rhythm that gives it a little bit of individuality. From the amazing Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble recording from 2007.

Four on the Floor: 3/10

(Note: I'm hoping to make Four on the Floor a weekly feature, and Wednesdays seem as good a day as any to start.)

1. It's a Beautiful Day - "White Bird"

We got beautiful weather in New York City this week and sometimes there just isn't more pleasant music to listen to than idealistic '60s dreamy folk-pop. It's a Beautiful Day was a one-hit wonder from the '60s, but "White Bird" has managed to stay alive as both a nostalgia piece and a pretty good example of the best of the hippie moment in music.

2. Return to Forever - "Spain"

As I've been exploring fusion jazz, the best hook for me to get into the genre has been exemplary tunes. "Spain" is definitely one of those and I haven't been able to get it out of my head this week. Chick Corea and the gang bust a groove for nine minutes, and it's just a joy to listen to, but the key for me isn't the solos but the outstanding (and funky) breakdown. There's just no replacement for great melodic writing.

3. Michael Giacchino - "Up with End Credits"

Michael Giacchino won the Oscar for Best Score this week for Disney/Pixar's Up, and deservedly so. This track, the end credits suite, takes his absolutely beautiful waltz theme for Ellie and transforms it with endless invention for seven minutes. Some of the most divine movie music of the decade, in my opinion.

4. Mishka - "3rd Eye Vision"

This song was in a free sampler iTunes gave out and, I'll admit, I don't know much about Mishka except that this song rocks. I don't follow much contemporary reggae (yet) but if it's as warm and comfortable as this song is, I want in.

Four on the Floor

"Four on the Floor" is a new feature to this blog, which is a Lala playlist over there in the right-side column. It's a playlist that will be constantly rotating, consisting simply of four songs that I've been listening to a lot lately. As you can see, they have little to do with each other stylistically. The only common thread they have is that I've listened to them a lot and they've been on my mind lately. I hope you enjoy the frequently random selections from my library, as this playlist will be another chance for me to share the music I love with you, the readers.