Friday Music Drops, 9/25/26

Introducing a new series of posts that I'll likely abandon after just this SIXTEENTH entry: it's Friday Music Drops! The idea is that every Friday I will listen to the handful of new release songs my Spotify account recommends to me based upon my previous listens and write my quick, off the cuff thoughts on each, without really doing any research, so that these posts are as pure as possible. Here we go!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I feel like every time I do one of these and praise an artist, that artist immediately puts out a press release that states, "As much as I love Satan and communism, I hate men, capitalism, America, and Christianity even more." A lot of times that has nothing to do with the song, but it's still frustrating. Thus, for this week, I've taken a slightly different tack, focusing on artists that I am confident won't post somewhere tomorrow that they are my antithesis. Probably.

Johann Sebastian Bach -- "Cello Suite No.1 Prelude in G - Major"

You can't go wrong with Bach. You especially can't go wrong with this prelude in G - Major, no matter what instrument is playing it. It's like this cisgendered, white, Christian male, who surely had backward and regressive views compared to our current and correct ones, had a direct connection to God. I mean, I know with constant, unending progress, every day is better than the last, and we are more enlightened and morally on the right side of history than ever, and thus we create better art now, but I dunno, this kind of feels like it might be better than every other song I've ever listed here combined.

Vivaldi -- "Concerto for Two Violins in a Minor RV522"

Again, icky, it's yet another cisgendered, white, Christian male from a long ago, unenlightened time in history...ew, this one was even a priest! How dare he somehow compose this sublime music that seems to have gently wafted down from heaven on angel's wings directly to my ears.

Arvo Pärt -- "Silouans Song"

Well, this guy is still alive, lucky him, he gets to experience the glorious now instead of just the awful past, even if he is old. Wow, this song is the most emotional, soul-crushing piece of music I have ever heard. Wait, this guy is white, straight, and devoutly Christian too? Doesn't he know that pale and male is stale?! Down with the patriarchy...we'll show him by making something better than this...eventually.

Morphine -- "Cocoon"

Let's get back to the dead guys. Morphine is one of my favorite underground 90s bands, and their 1993 Cure for Pain is one of my all-time favorite albums. The frontman, Mark Sandman, died on stage of a heart attack in 1999, but miraculously, the band have a new album coming. Cocoon is based on some shelved recorded work from right before the (white, straight) frontman's death. To say Morphine's sound is unique is an understatement: Sandman sung in a deep voice and played a two-string bass with a slide, and the other two guys played saxophone and drums, respectively. "Cocoon," the first single and title track, is a good reminder of just how special this band still is, and I am looking forward to this album.

Finally, apropos of nothing, here is Stephen Wilson Jr. performing the song "Gary" in Brownstown, Indiana. I don't need to point out his race, gender, or who is on his hat.