One Track Mind

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Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, “Never Give Up” (2013): One Track Mind

Ben Gibbard doesn’t have the market cornered on elegiac piano-driven balladry. Turns out Chris Walla, his long-time bandmate in Death Cab for Cutie, is issuing just such a ruminative bit of melancholy for Record Store Day. You May Also Like: No related posts.

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One Track Mind: Device featuring Glenn Hughes, “Through It All” from Device (2013)

Glenn Hughes, despite his gypsy resume, boasts one of the most distinctive voices in rock — as heard on the first new music he’s issued since Black Country Communion imploded, a guest shot on a new project from David Draiman of Disturbed fame. You May Also Like: How Black CountryRead More

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One Track Mind: Deep Purple, “Hell To Pay” from Now What?! (2013)

After losing founding member Jon Lord, Deep Purple emerged with the twilit reverie of “All the Time in the World,” a ruminative song that spoke to passages. With “Hell To Pay,” however, they return to the locomotive glories of the band’s youth. You May Also Like: No related posts.

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One Track Mind: Patty Griffin with Robert Plant, “Ohio” from American Kid (2013)

There has been, over the last months, much more chatter about Robert Plant’s private affairs with Patty Griffin than anything they’ve done in the studio. “Ohio,” from Griffin’s upcoming release American Kid, changes that. You May Also Like: How Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ ‘Raising Sand’ Still Confounds Expectations

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One Track Mind: Kahil El’zabar, “Central Park West” (2013)

The “Chicagoan of the Year” as awarded by the Chicago Tribune has to be a person who’s done a lot for that large community, and as percussionist, bandleader, composer, past Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians chairman You May Also Like: Kevin Eubanks – East West Time Line (2017)

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Postal Service – Turn Around (2013): One Track Mind

Welcome back, Postal Service — this time for real. “Turn Around” is a squelchy, hook-focused dance number, but with the kind of lyrical midnight-blue melancholy that propelled the glorious X-fueled nihilism of New Order back in the 1980s. You May Also Like: The Unforgettable Mamas Gun Gem Tucked Away onRead More

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One Track Mind: Bruce Springsteen, “Jungleland,” Sydney (2013)

Back when I was writing my Jungleland entry for the Sparks Fly On E Street series, E Street Nation had yet to discover Bruce’s decision as to the replacement for long-time saxophonist and side-man Clarence Clemons. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the ERead More

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One Track Mind: Steve Forbert, “Romeo’s Tune” from Jackrabbit Slim (1979; 2013 reissue)

There’s a moment in this song, when Steve Forbert sings “sneak on out beneath the stars and run,” that meant everything to me when this song was new. A whole world, a world far away, lived inside that one line You May Also Like: Steve Hackett, “In the Skeleton Gallery”Read More

One Track Mind: John Oates, "Stand Strong" from Good Road to Follow (2013)

One Track Mind: John Oates, “Stand Strong” from Good Road to Follow (2013)

With John Oates of Hall and Oates fame, the worry might have been that his on-going Nashville residency would lead to a turn toward the soft commercialism of modern-day country music. You May Also Like: No related posts.

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One Track Mind: Rowdy House, “Hurricane Blues” (2013)

“Hurricane Blues” begins with a low levee moan, a squalling harmonica, the lonesome call of a dobro. The scene is set for the rumbling winds to come. You May Also Like: No related posts.