Weekend Music Ocean Twofer

 

Rock icon Neil Young has been performing recently at the Sen. Sanders/ Rep. Ocasio-Cortez "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies.  The dual U.S. - Canadian citizen has been an activist for causes near and dear to his heart for his entire career, and fighting the oligarchic fascism descending on America is his latest passion.  We went back to 1995 to his highly acclaimed "Mirror Ball" album to select a hidden gem, the fierce rocker "I'm the Ocean" (Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder assists with background vocals), to pair with another "ocean" song by The War on Drugs. 

On Wednesday, we featured a song by Craig Finn that was produced by The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel, so today we're featuring a high-octane song written by Granduciel.  "An Ocean In Between The Waves," is from their 2014 album "Lost in the Dream," and rounds out our watery theme today.  Hope you enjoy.

Mid-Week Song

 

We're always looking for new releases from The War On Drugs, and we have one that they've held off on releasing for a couple of years: "Oceans of Darkness". (Don't be put off by the title, it's a typically compelling, catchy tune with echoes of Tom Petty and others). They're including it in their "I Don't Live Here Anymore Deluxe" album, which has just been released. Enjoy.

Mid-Week Song: Change

We've been waiting to hear more from The War On Drugs' new album "I Don't Live Here Anymore" scheduled for release on Friday, their first in four years. Yesterday, they released a single from that album, "Change," replete with jangling guitar, beautiful harmonies, driving rhythm, and lead vocalist Adam Granduciel's Dylanesque voice. Hope you enjoy. 

Mid-Week Pain Song

Philadelphia has something else to celebrate this week. After years of producing powerfully beautiful, critically acclaimed music, Philadelphia's own The War on Drugs won this year's Grammy for Best Rock Album, "A Deeper Understanding". Our choice today is a single from that album, "Pain," which reached number one on the Adult Alternative chart, and which we featured when it was released last August (audio only). The band shot the video for this song on Philadelphia's streets and on a barge on the Schuyikill River. Enjoy (again).

Weekend Music

This week, an indie band we've featured in the past, Philadelphia- based The War on Drugs, released a new song from their forthcoming album ("A Deeper Understanding"), entitled "Holding On." The music video (featuring Frankie Faison from "The Wire") has a nice twist at the end (spoiler alert: it's reminiscent of a happy anniversary marked earlier this week). Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Music - Correspondents' Choice

We're letting our Silver Spring and San Francisco Bureau Chiefs suggest the Weekend Music today.  Here again is The War On Drugs' "Burning" (h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief) and a song by Yo La Tengo from 1997, "We're An American Band" (h/t San Francisco Bureau Chief).  Enjoy.

Mid-Week Song

The War On Drugs is an indie rock band that formed in Philadelphia a decade ago. Their sound is a mixture of synth, pop and folk, using guitars, keyboards and electronic effects.  Their most recent album, "Lost in the Dream," has been described in Village Voice as "the most magnificent album of The War On Drugs' already stellar career," and it's hard not to notice the Dylan-influenced vocals of lead singer Adam Granduciel. The album contains gems, like the ethereal "Under the Pressure," and the Dylanesque closing song "In Reverse." Here's a third cut from that album, the rousing "Red Eyes."  Enjoy.