Brotherless Radio | Episode 5 | 12/22/23

Hiya. Listen up nephew I wanna talk to you before we get goin.

It’s been about 6 or so years since my brain turned itself upside down. It was gradual to everyone else, but I remember the day. The moment, the morning, the day off that should’ve been spent sleeping in. I thought by now, I’d be in a different place and would understand this whole life thing. I still don’t get it, nor do I understand the primary allure of it. But one thing I’m always proud of: even in the face of the above sentences, I keep going. Comically, keeping life moving is like my own form of protest against life itself. It’s true jester behavior. Whatever keeps the wheels moving though, right? Guys?

In the words of Angus Bethune,

I’m still here, asshole.

Welcome to Brotherless Radio, Episode 5. The Angus soundtrack, actually the movie itself, helped inspire some of this episode. Here’s your links:

AppleMusic: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/brotherless-radio-episode-5-12-22-23/pl.u-LdbqojvtbDkLV

We’re starting off funky as shit with this Mark Ronson track “Feel Right (feat. Mystikal).” Remember Clipse? No? Pusha T‘s duo before he went solo? Well this track “Cot Damn” should give you an idea of what this group was about.

My roommate and bruhther Kyle got me into Thin Lizzy recently (his guilty pleasure, now mine). ”She Knows” reveals more to this band than the proverbial boys being back in a figurative town. Or vice versa.

I’ve got a couple tracks from my beloved Angus soundtrack. ”You Gave Your Love To Me Softly” is a Weezer B-Side from the Pinkerton sessions. ”Funny Face” is far from the best song by The Muffs, but Kim’s “ahhhhh” in the chorus still crushes me. Maybe because it reminds me of the movie, and the movie reminds me of some of the earliest lessons in my life. May our sweet Kim Shattuck rest in peace.

A little funk, some new pop with those super fast jungly breakbeats, and a Juice WRLD track round out this section, followed by the classic “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson.

The only time I feel alright
Is when I’m into drinkin’
It sort of eases the pain of it
And levels out me thinkin’
It’s a long way from Clare to here
It gets farther by the day

I’ve annoyed anyone who will listen to me talk about my love for – no, fixation on – Irish ballads. Jim McCann’s rendition of “From Clare to Here” is my most recent favorite Irish ballad. It’s a song about emigration. The original composer of the 1976 song, Ralph McTell, was working in London on a building site with an Irishman named Michael. Ralph told him “it must be strange to be in London after the place you come from.” Michael responded, “Yes, it’s a long way from Clare to here.”

And now some rap. One of Kid Cudi’s hardest tracks. LaRussell laughing his way through his own admittedly silly verses. Aesop Rock carrying Blockhead‘s track.

And now some R&B. That snare on this early Brandy track. The desperation in lyrics so specific that it’s kinda weird in Arlo Parks‘ “Weightless.” J. Cole kicking off Summer Walker‘s EP with a gentle verse (read as: Audio Hug) exhibiting humility, praising her.

My best friend Mike and I have a rating system when we send each other music. We rate a song we receive from the other on a scale of 1 to 5. The best part is the secret “6” option. If you add a song to a playlist, it’s an immediate 6 out of 5. Mike sent me “Squad Up” by Street Life & Method Man, and it was a quick 6. After a dub sample masterclass we have the first track (and title track) off Everclear’s best record, So Much For The Afterglow. If you’ve never heard this record in its entirety, it’s very worth it. The drums are perfection, both in terms of performance and production, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“Better Off This Way” is Spiritual Cramp‘s third appearance (maybe fourth?) in this silly series of playlists / blogs. ”Rochester Fast” by Who Decides is the newest Rochester hardcore anthem. See lyrics at the bottom of this post. If anyone can teach me the best way to play “Coup D’etat” by Refused, send me a video. I have a suspicion the best way is to just practice more, which is not the answer I want to hear, thank you very much.

Zach West (you’ve heard his music here before!) showed me husband&wife, specifically because we talked about awesome drum sounds (yes we were talking about the drums on that Everclear record.) Recognize any samples in “Sirens” by Adrian Younge? Let me know when you get it.

“Nights In White Satin” by Moody Blues is one of my favorite songs of all time. The choir in this song does not sound of this world. It scares me a bit, in fact. I hadn’t heard this song in so long. When I finally heard it again, it felt like a sleeper cell had awoken in me. Not a Russian spy, I promise.

Sampha, Glassjaw, and then an homage to Small Brown Bike‘s Travis Dopp. Travis recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. SBB perfected the blend of emo and punk. I’ve chosen “Scream In Silence” for the weird rhythms, catchy polyrhythms, carefully thought out harmonies oscillating between the low-hanging-fruit of major thirds and then to tritones ON PURPOSE, and overall performance on every instrument. Without SBB, there is no Polar Bear Club: one of the all-time greats around Western NY.

“Through his music, Trav wanted to lay bare
every part of his being to connect with you
all, and to hopefully make us all feel less alone.”
– message from the surviving members of Small Brown Bike

My longest running band Athletics has awesome stuff happening very soon. I teased this recently, and I still can’t publish anything about it, but I’m pumped enough to remind you what we sound like. ”III” is getting a ton of action lately. We have no idea why the algorithm overlords picked this song out after 11 years. The song is off of our 2nd record, Who You Are Is Not Enough. It’s written as one long song, and each “song” is more like a “movement,” as in classic musical terminology, hence the Roman numerals as song titles (movement I, movement II, bowel movement, etc). This is album is our best effort. There I said it.

A couple ballads to see us out. 6LACK‘s “Stan” shows up on another playlist that doesn’t exist except in my mind called “Songs I’ve Cried My Eyes Out To Like A Small Baby Child Many Many Times.” ”Dead In The Water” by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds only exists as a “Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin” version. This first-take live performance need not be recorded again. I couldn’t imagine this recording another way. It’s the imperfections of the fleeting live experience that make this recording feel so intimate… urgent, even.

Anyway. Here’s the lyrics to “Rochester Fast” by Who Decides. I’m still here, asshole.

Riding a coattail or riding a dick
It must be a hard fucking choice
Tough act to follow, hard pill to swallow
You must be losing your voice
Tired of working, tired of lurking
Tired of coming in last
You need some of that good Rochester fast

If you don’t want it then you shouldn’t have asked
You know we got it and it’s gonna go
These motherfuckers blow it straight out their ass
‘Cause there’s only one thing to do
Rochester fast

Future cops stuck in the past
Get ready for Rochester fast
Not here to stay, not built to last
Get fucking real
Rochester fast