Single Of The Week: “Hey Lou” by Liz Phair

David Bowie’s Blackstar. Metallica’s Hardwired… To Self Destruct. Cher’s Believe. Green Day’s American Idiot. Bob Dylan’s Oh Mercy. It’s rare for an artist to go over a decade between “classic albums.” These five were the only five I could really think of where the band was able to find that magic, get that “this is why I love this artist” sound after years. Liz Phair’s two most recent records, Somebody’s Miracle and Funstyle weren’t for me. I actually wasn’t even sure Phair was going to release another album after 2010’s Funstyle, let alone a record that I was going to be legit excited about. 

So, when I put on “Hey Lou,” that angular acoustic guitar HIT ME IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS THE LIZ PHAIR THAT I LOVE!!! It’s classic Liz Phair: rough, a little abrasive, vivid lyrics. Yet, the song sounds fairly mature. The arrangement is complex and fascinating in a way that someone with 30 years experience under her belt as a songwriter would be able to do. And, really, she is a better singer now. It’s just a great song. 

“Hey Lou” is out now in all the usual places. It’s the first single off her upcoming record Soberish, due later this year. If you are jonesing for a Liz Phair concert, she’s doing a live stream on March 3rd, aptly titled “I Was Almost There.” And, of course, we are still waiting to see officially when we will be able to enjoy live music again, but Phair is still due to tour with Alanis Morisette and Garbage later this Summer. Dr Fauci said that it’s important to make plans out in the world for after this is over, so it’s really beneficial to start buying concert tickets anyways! Until then, keep double masking, avoiding unnecessary trips into the world, washing your hands, and be sure to get your shots when they become available again, and we might actually enjoy this ridiculous lineup together. 

Single Of The Week: “National Song” by Nana Adjoa

Yes, Spinning Platters is still dealing with an avalanche of great singles from 2020 that we missed… We will get to 2021 soon enough, but 2020 was so dark and painful that a lot of music got lost in the shuffle and I’m glad it’s shuffling back to the surface. Our single this week is “National Song” by Nana Adjoa, a track off last year’s Big Dreaming Ants. It’s a bold, haunting, dark number with a slightly “off” fragile synth line that does that thing where a part of a song makes your heart all gooey and warm. It’s a stunner of a single that belongs in the same class as the best material from Portishead and Feist. 

Big Dreaming Ants is out now and available in all of the usual places! And don’t forget to check out her performance on NPR’s World Cafe!

Film Feature: Best of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival

True story: my friend met her husband on a Sundance shuttle bus. They struck up a conversation, kept in touch after the Festival ended, and, 15 years and three kids later, the rest is history. Maybe lightning struck again for some lucky couple this year, but I’m guessing probably not. As much as Sundance staff strived to make the 2021 virtual Fest feel like those of past years, Zoom “waiting rooms” and video Q and A’s just couldn’t replicate the feeling of being bundled up at 7:30am in a waitlist line, passing the time and distracting yourself from the cold by idly asking your neighbor, “What have you seen so far that you’ve liked?” The cheery, disembodied “Hi from Boston!” chats that flashed on screen in this year’s pre-screening digital lobbies just couldn’t offer the same sort of in-person connection that can only be found by bonding over waitlist numbers 99 and 100 and mushy theater concession tuna wraps. That said, however, the quality of the films shown at this year’s Festival, which concluded last week, still measured up to Sundance’s best. Below we take a look at four documentaries and four features that are worth seeing.

Continue reading “Film Feature: Best of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival”

Single Of The Week: “Helado” by Rudy de Anda

There were a lot of records in 2020 that got lost in the shuffle, mostly due to the fact that there weren’t any shows. And, without the ability to play shows, it’s hard to get people’s attention. Tender Epoch by Rudy de Anda was one of those. It’s a perfect party album, and the perfect live show record. But, in a year where partying just isn’t in the cards, it’s just a bummer for these. “Helado” is the latest single from Tender Epoch, and it’s perfect for dancing around your apartment. Since that’s all we can do these days, you might as well do it with abandon! 

Tender Epoch is out NOW on Goldmine Records. You can stream it in all the usual places, but you probably want to purchase it in Topo Chico Bottle colored vinyl, which you can do here for $20. 

 

SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21

I didn’t even mention this clip in my review. You’ll have to support SF Sketchfest and rent the thing to find out what’s going on with Kumail Nanjiani’s hair

If this were a typical 2020, by now, you would have read my 10,000-word “Nerd’s Guide to the 20th SF Sketchfest,” half a dozen interviews of performers, and a few dozen reviews of shows. I would also be exhausted laughing and taking in 2-3 shows a night for three weeks. Instead, I’m exhausted because my days are spent chasing a child that’s nearly two around the apartment, as well as being emotionally spent from the pressures of life during a pandemic. I also got to enjoy SF Sketchfest on my couch and took in as many performers as they usually book over three weeks in a single 3 ½ hour block.  Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21”

Podcast Review: City in Exile

Podcast fiends, here’s your new addiction.

Brendan O’Loughlin recently launched the inaugural episode of his podcast titled, City in Exile. It’s a document of the ever-evolving cultural capital of California, San Francisco, and more specifically, it’s  O’Loughlin’s love letter to the city he grew up with. San Francisco is also my favorite city in the country and watching it evolve, and seemingly devolve, from the place I used to escape to in my youth has been both mystifying and depressing, but those of us who pay close attention recognize that all things change and we find ways to recapture those ephemeral bits that made us fall in love with the city as it continues to change.

Continue reading “Podcast Review: City in Exile”

Single Of The Week: “Resistance” by Yo Kinky

I get a lot of press releases. I’ll admit, most of the time I just read the subject and archive it if nothing jumps out at me. I wish I had time to listen to everything that was sent to me, but I just plain don’t. This particular one almost didn’t make the jump! But some mystical force made me listen to this track. I had a queue of about 20 other songs that could have been this week’s single, but this one was just magic. “Resistance” is dreamy, shoegazey goodness, with just a hint of country. Singer Laura Wight comes from the Neko Case / Bethany Constentino mold of full, confident emoting with just a hint of twang, and it balances nicely over the wall of sound layers this group produces. If you were a fan of 90’s alt-rock legends Belly, this is a band for you. 

“Resistance” is available now in all of the usual spots. I’m excited to hear more from these folks in the coming months and beyond!

Single of the Week: “Orange Klan” by Kuwaisiana

Doesn’t it feel good to have such an immense weight off of the world’s shoulders? I know Trump leaving the White House doesn’t fix EVERYTHING. (And, goddammit there’s plenty to fix) But we successfully thwarted an actual coup attempt! And that asshole is probably not going to be able to run for any office again, and hopefully, social media will keep him muted. To celebrate, here’s a lovely ska song from a band the country formally known as a “shithole” but now just Kuwait, by way of New Orleans, Kuwaisiana. It’s called “Orange Klan” and you are more than welcome to blast it at your Trump flag waving neighbors. 

“Orange Klan” is from Kuwaisiana’s latest EP, Chapter 2, which you can buy RIGHT NOW on Bandcamp! 

Single Of The Week: “Run on the Water” by Kinneret

I’m not going to lie, I’m suddenly obsessed with the music of Kinneret.

Imagine if you will a world where Peaches and Del the Funky Homosapien raised a child together that became about the absolute synthesis of the artistry of those two legends. And that singer/songwriter/producer is Los Angeles’ Kinneret. I stumbled across her entirely on accident, and this song is glitchy, lo-fi bliss with surreal lyrics.

“Run On The Water” can be found in all of the usual places. In fact, you should fall down a Kinneret wormhole like I have and just spend the rest of the day digging into her catalog. In fact, if you need to zone out and concentrate on something, someone made an hour-long loop of her first sing, “No Wind Resistance” and it’s great for getting things done.  I can’t wait to see what comes from her this year, and once live shows are a thing again, I can’t wait for her to come up to the Bay Area. 

Single Of The Week: “Suspended” by The Muckers

It’s been a shitty, scary week here in the US. Armed militia took over the Capitol in order to prevent the certification of a free and fair election. It didn’t work, but five people died and I’ve been in such a dark news-refresh cycle that I almost didn’t get you a single of the week. Then I clicked on the video to “Suspended” by NYC’s The Muckers. It was the fun, Big Star / Cheap Trick 70’s-inspired power pop that I needed to break the cycle of anxiety. It doesn’t hurt that Congress has ensured that Trump won’t be able to use the military to make his coup happen, and we’ve got less than two weeks left of this godforsaken administration. 

“Suspended” is from The Muckers’ upcoming full-length Endeavor, out February 26th! You can do all the usual preorder/presaving in all the usual places!