The Return of the Big Electric Playlist, May Edition

Okay, I probably should’ve posted this on June 1st, as I’ve traditionally done in the past. But that was the day the protests really kicked in around Southern California. And there was the looting, rioting, and inevitable curfews that ensued. Plus, there’s that pesky pandemic that’s still going on. So I just wasn’t into it.

But it’s near a week later, and I figured, I should just kick this playlist out the door. That way, I can begin June proper.

This Big Electric Playlist is the first since January, which is due to my abandonment of the blog. Back then, including the months in between, I just wasn’t sure I wanted to keep doing it anymore. But with all this free time, thanks to said-Pandemic, I needed something to do. And this option seemed the most viable for a quarantined stay-at-home lifestyle.

Anyway, if anyone’s paying attention, you might notice I’ve been giving the whole blog a reformat and facelift. There’s just a lot of broken shit all over it. So I’m fixing all that – making it better, more functional, more visually interesting, etc. And that’s taking a fair bit of time, meaning my return to authoring new entries has been a bit staggered and inconsistent. I’ll remedy that in the future, once I’ve got things on a rock solid foundation, which, fingers crossed, will be soon.

That brings me to May’s edition of the Big Electric Playlist, which unlike some months, actually isn’t all that terrible. It doesn’t reach the height and breadth of the early days, when I was posting on a daily basis. But for what it is, it ain’t too shabby.

There’s an obvious focus on specific acts, mainly due to my longing for the return of live music, and thus wanting to get some old shows up and out. High on that list is Tame Impala, which was my last show I saw this year, followed by Morrissey, deadmau5, and the Joy Formidable, all of which date back to the latter months of 2019. There’s a healthy selection of material from each, making for a surprisingly eclectic listening experience.

I’ve also included a local (meaning Los Angeles) shoegaze/dream-pop indie band named Launder, who played the Echo last year, and a vintage entry from veteran electronic act Underworld, circa 2015, at the esteemed (and now season-shuttered) Hollywood Bowl.

And then there’s a handful of miscellaneous ’80s tracks, mostly thanks to a “Stranger Things” soundtrack entry, as well as a couple of other notes from Death in Vegas and Jon Hopkins/Kelly Lee Owens.

Lastly, there’s one holdover from indie rock outfit Echo Tail, which would’ve originally featured in the February edition of the B.E.C., had I continued at that point. So I’ve opted to stick it here.

That said, I’m hoping to ramp up the frequency and variety of posts, starting sometime this month. As mentioned, I’ve still got a bit more to do, in terms of sprucing up the blog’s integrity. Once that’s out of the way, the road ahead will be free and clear … or as free and clear as can be in today’s ever-changing culture of seeming chaos.

Here’s to better days … and to the May edition of the Big Electric Playlist.

Enjoy!