5 tracks to kick off your weekend

Welcome to Schnide’s 5™️! I have been trying to motivate to write something, ANYTHING on a regular basis. Anything that would require a minimal of heavy lifting for me, or you…I landed on a weekly dose of new music to get your weekend started.

Here goes.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, “Buy My Round”

I took the family to see Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats in Vegas last year. I don’t want to sound too self consciously white, but the show was definitley a honky dadrock lovefest. During the encore, anticipating their performance of crowdpleaser “S.O.B”, my daughter mock-pleaded “Give the white people what they want!” I don’t think the band hear her, but they obliged and brought down the house. It was good for a laugh. Maybe you had to be there. Here’s a track off their What If I EP, a Harry Nilssonesque jam that sounds a bit like the morning after hung over sequel to “S.O.B.”

The SameOlds, “Funky Town”

I know very little about the SameOlds. Apparently they’re from North Florida. What I do know is they tap into a hip hop vibe from the way back machine, before autotune and mumblecore, when creative wordplay and funky samples reigned supreme. It’s an era I’m knee deep into these days, with the recent De La Soul reissues. “Funky Town” is an homage to Biggie, and damn if I haven’t played this track four or five times already today.

Queens Of The Stone Age, “Carnavoyeur”

These days I fret about the demise of the rock band as a cultural influence: is a band like Queens of the Stone Age the last of their kind? They return with their first new music in six years with an album brilliantly titled In Times New Roman… – font snobs, rejoice! I saw the Queens back in the day at the Troubadour with Dave Grohl on drums and it was a feast fit for a hesher. I think my ears are still ringing. Or maybe I’m just old and deaf.

Arlo Parks, “Ghost”

Parks put out her sophomore effort My Soft Machine last week. Where her debut Collapsed In Sunbeams jumped out to me immediately, This one is more of a slow burn. I need to spend more time with it to form a more solidified opinion, but for now I’m digging “Ghost.”

Bob Dylan “When I Paint My Masterpiece”

Dylan’s new album Shadow Kingdom is culled from a concert film produced during the pandemic. Billed as “The Early Songs of Bob Dylan”, it’s an interesting marriage of the iconic music that put him on the map, rearranged with the bluesy croak of his more recent work. Kinda reminds me of that U2 comp where they reworked all their old stuff. I don’t know that I needed a new version of “When I Paint My Masterpiece”, but I’ll take it. The film is available on Apple Music + next week (not sure if it’s an exclusive release; it’s all a bit mysterious, like the man himself).

Happy listening. Don’t hold me to it, but my plan is to update this playlist weekly.