It’s time to commemorate another month’s worth of musical selections with the Big Electric Playlist, which, for this round, I’ve subtitled “Still Sheltering.” It sounded better than “Pandemic Edition, Vol. 2,” even though that’s still wholly accurate and appropriate. July’s blogging conditions continued to be weighted by Covid-19’s perpetual influence, and the shelter-in-place order hasn’t been rescinded … despite the multitudes of maskless people who seem to believe otherwise. I’m sure Mother Nature will sort out that mess eventually. So … “Still Sheltering” it is.
In other news, I actually had this grand plan to start designing and including original artwork for these monthly playlists, starting with this edition. Obviously, I didn’t get around to it. But hopefully, next month, I will. I just need to carve out some free time, as well as revive my latent Photoshop skills. And maybe, if the inspirational spark strikes, I’ll also retroactively tag some art onto these already existing Big Electric Playlists.
Anyway, this assortment of tunes represents my attempt to start integrating more artists into the mix, like I used to back in the earlier days, circa 2018. I’ve been accumulating quite an audio collage of curiosities since the reboot, but haven’t quite increased my output to match those numbers. As such, I ended up tackling a few more posts than usual for July.
Highlights include Irish act Krystal Klear‘s synthwave groove “Division Ave,” Canadian songstress Helena Deland’s downtempo stupor “Take It All,” Aussie girl Penelope Trappes‘ even more lo-fi minimalistic “Burn On,” as remixed by post-rock pioneers Mogwai, French export Moodoïd’s kaliedoscopic Le lac d’or,” and Swedish psych rock outfit Dungen‘s multi-hued “Familj.” I’ve also got beautiful avant pop selection from Atlas Sound and Sterelab’s Lætitia Sadier, paired with a wonderful embed from their once-in-a-lifetime on-stage team-up at last year’s Desert Daze festival.
Speaking of concerts, there’s a handful of those as well, all archival, and coincidentally all from 2016. The two major entries come from the effervescent M83, who performed the Greek Theatre, and the unparalleled New Order, assembled from two shows, the Shrine Auditorium and Hollywood Bowl, which actually took place the following year.
That latter class act of electronic dance rock also spawned a spinoff into earlier post-punk incarnation Joy Division, courtesy of original bassist Peter Hook and his band The Light, who brought their “Substance” revival show to the Wiltern. There’s also a couple of selections from French dream-pop act Melody’s Echo Chamber, who played the more infinite confines of the Roxy Theatre.
Lastly, I opted to include Nine Inch Nails‘ anthem “Every Day is Exactly the Same” – the studio recording, not the live rendition – which despite being released back in ’05, has proven quite prophetic to today’s stay-in-place times.
That does it for July. As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m returning to the working world, albeit from the home office, starting late next week. So until I reacquaint myself with the right work/life balance, my output for August might slip and slide a bit more than usual. I’ve got plenty I’d like to get authored and up on the site. But time and availability may prove my greatest challenges.
For now, stay safe and enjoy the July Edition of the Big Electric Playlist.
