Battlestar Eclectic
Sarah Torribio and her right brain. Music. Musings. Writing. Style.
Category: song of the day
-
Morrissey, I know you won’t see this, but I feel the need to address you directly. A sort of “Are you there, Morrissey? It’s me, Sarah” scenario. So anyhow, Moz. Can I call you that? Only I don’t really like the moniker. It’s affectionate but not poetic. Can I call you Steven or Steve? No,…
-
I love the 1966 song ‘Carey’ by Joni Mitchell. The lyrics and carefree music are the coordinates, transporting me to a very specific place: Matala, Crete. It makes me jealous, that’s what. I want to take an ill-afforded vacation to fill my lungs with air ionized by lapping waves. I want sand to invade my…
-
My 11-year-old daughter, who is way cooler than me, is obsessed with the Strokes right now. She’s got me listening to “Under Cover of Darkness” on repeat. It’s a classic love song–longing and frustration–with the intricacy of a sailor’s valentine. It’s real storytelling, with a multiplicity of musical passages, shifting moods and dynamics. As for…
-
You’re mad if you think AI could ever create something as authentic as the sweet rasp of Steve Perry singing “Faithfully.” His message is a naked appeal to someone he loves and is halfway to losing. The Journey frontman’s octave-straddling voice is geologic in its power and its strata. Steve Perry has perfect pitch, but…
-
I’m starting to think I’ve underestimated the song “Candy,” a 1990 duet sung by Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson of B-52s fame. Pierson performs “Candy” like an actress, moving between ironic spoken word and a good-girl-turned sad keening. She brings a cinematic feel to a ballad where two onetime lovers carry not a torch but…
-
I’m just a Gen Xer catching up on music from time to time. This collaboration between rock band Phoenix and legendary mix-master Beck is impressing me. It’s an instrumental built around a simple riff–neither happy nor sad–and a cacophony of sounds of Talking Heads-level complexity. –Sarah Torribio >>last post >next post Listen to more songs…
-
“Pirouette” by Ain’t is a brand new bit of buzzy, shoe-gaze, noise-pop. The song is hot off the presses but, for this Gen X-er, hits nostalgic as an old prom dress. And no wonder. The 5-piece London band describes themselves as “channeling the stranger end of ‘90s guitar music.” The resulting soundscape is cozy as…
-
This acoustic, laid-back version of The Strokes “I’ll Try Anything Once” is modern but has a crooner-era, lazy sideways lilt like Dean Martin. The keys sound vintage too, like played by Bach in a steakhouse lounge. Masterful. –Sarah Torribio <<last post >>next post Listen to more songs of the day HERE
-
“Catch My Fall” is arguably Billy Idol’s most lush and romantic song. It’s an extremely dynamic song, shifting from pillow-talk seduction to an octave-straddling peak. As for romanticism, just listen to the beautiful serenade by saxophonist Mars Williams. It could have been lifted from a track by New Romantic icons Roxy Music. I’ve just learned…