The Vice Yard - Every time I play this track I get a little frightened that someone cracked the code to my inner thoughts and pulled out the perfect groove ingredients list and mixed it all together to get this spicy Orgone offering.
I love me some good instrumental music, so when one of my Spotify playlists ended and the algorithm took the wheel, spilling "The Vice Yard" out into the ether, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows with intrigue. Seamlessly incorporating styles upon styles of smooth jams, Orgone sits back with a medium stank face and takes this easy cruiser for a ride. I can get down to this track over and over again as the horns drive the highs, the funk bass lays down a delightful groove, and the drums sit so well in a tasty little pocket.
I think this track is perfect for cruising around town, sitting on the porch with a cold one, or settling in with a good book. It may be odd that as a writer I love instrumental music so much, but that's just how I got into music - the groove takes me away every time.
Lovers Rock - This past week I fell into old habits of reminiscence and longing for things I no longer have in my life. Music always takes me back whether it be to a good place, a bad place, or to where this song brings me in my melancholy moods.
I often half torture myself and half relax (as it seems like the only correct thing to do) by sifting through my catalog in search for old relationship songs. They give me a warm fuzzy feeling that accompanies those low down moods so well. I love how music can drive a mood so well that I'll go around chasing a certain feeling with tracks I know fit the criteria. The shuffle game can often trigger these and I'll try my best not to let the next song switch me up in the first couple seconds.
Break ups are never easy and the residual feels come in waves that crash like a tidal wave when you least expect it. This track was a special introduction to me through my most resent love and it stuck to me quickly. As I've navigated this next chapter in my life, fighting my usual characteristics and impulses, and trying to move in upward directions I find myself still leaning back on old feelings.
I must have listened to this song 10 times in a row for a couple days straight. While it reminded me of a thing in my life that didn't work out, it brought back the happy feelings and the all too accurate melancholia of feeling down on a sunny Sunday evening with nowhere to go and no one to talk to. Luckily I fought my intrusive thoughts and mimicked this tracks sharer and took a ride to clear my mind.
Joint 17 - The instrumental sandwich has been created and you've been hit with the funk and groove bug twice. I can't get over how simple this track is and how impactful every note in it has been to me. A lot of people like to talk about 'the pocket' when talking about drumming and I think this track does a great job of fulfilling what being in the pocket means.
Here, the drummer is simultaneously drifting through improvisation and pocket-esque grooves. They are creating a groove so deep and effective that it's boring holes straight through the snare drum and into your ear canal.
My two favorite parts of this track all coincide around the drumming and the subtle yet impactful choices the musician chose. Less is more most of the time especially when you're working with such a funky and groovy track such as this. The first highlight of "Joint 17" lies in the playful, subtle, and mysterious snare playing. Ghosts notes galore and a tuning so tight and poppy highlight and define the track's groove so well that when the consecutive three snare hits accenting the beat on two come into play I can't help but get a little giddy.
A personal favorite aspect in music of mine is the opportunity in a song to bring out an otherwise quote unquote normal or simple feature and make it seem like it was invented specifically for that one recorded point in time. In "Joint 17" the drummer is mainly staying on the hi-hats for cymbal use expect for the occasional, perfectly timed crash hits. The minimal use of the other cymbals only heightens the feeling when they are used. I have a lot of these types of references I've been meaning to write about. Something as small as adding one more bass drum hit can put the biggest smile on my face.
Take a listen to this track and try to notice the small nuances throughout.
Inside Looking Out - Grand Funk has got to have one of the coolest band names in all of history. I might be a little biased here because of my specific music taste, but I bet that anyone would say these guys stand out a little more once their name is heard.
"Inside Looking Out" finds its way on to the playlist not because of the bands name, but solely based on the thunderous bass line that drives this punishing track. It will rock you and shake you and thump you back into your seat. I've got nothing more to say about this other than its monstrous and all who know me know I like my shit bassy!
In the Stone - This was the first Earth Wind and Fire song I introduced my brother to. I'm confident he's heard their hits time and time again on the radio, in the store, or somewhere on TV, but this track would be the first deep cut that made it's mark on his brain.
Shortly after my recommendation my brother and I could not stop talking about Funk and how much he loved Earth Wind and Fire now. There always seems to be a band you're never really too into until one moment where you gorge yourself on their catalog and find a new passion. These guys took a hold on my brother and his funk loving brain so in turn I bought him some of their records for Christmas that year. Using the stereo and turntable system I set up for him he's slowing building his collection and spinning some great music in the house. Be like Rob and listen to some good funk once in a while.
Newton's Castle - I had never heard of Sean Rowe before this track sauntered into my life so I assume it came in way of good ole Spotify's algorithm working its magic. Instantaneously, I knew this was going to be a track I couldn't skip and one that deserved my undivided attention.
From the start, multiple aspects grabbed me by the reigns and pulled me down to earth and back up to the ether. There was just something to this song from the cover art, to the laugh intro, the guitar intro!, and Sean Rowe's deep and sultry voice. Overall, it's a great track that is catchy and filled with exciting yet mellow rhythm. I often find myself running through the shuffle game and abruptly stopping to search for this track as the idea of it pops into my head.
Whether you're out for a nice stroll, a cruise around town, or hanging with your pals, I think this track is a perfect piece to set the mood and uplift the vibe. Give it a shot and enjoy yourself.
Eyes of Silver is such a Doobie Brothers song its quite surprising that I had never heard it up until a few of years ago. I've expressed before how there is so much music out in the world and that even bands I like and would gladly listen to have tracks that elude me like I had a virus. Be it as it may, I'm glad that "Eyes of Silver" found me eventually.
I feel as though I'm going to enjoy any Doobie Brothers song because alike many other acts out there (AC/DC comes to mind) they have a distinct sound so recognizable and enjoyable that you can pinpoint who the artist is before any vocals even come in. The Doobies take it a step further as they add mystical and pleasant harmonies to their songs that could be isolated themselves an we'd still know who it was.
This kind of music makes me feel like I've already heard every song and know every lyric. If there ever was an exact formula for a great rock/pop hit the Brothers Doobie have found it. I guess Yacht Rock is so lovely to listen to for a reason. Easy breezy living baby.
Comments