February is my least favorite month for many reasons. Even more so this year as COVID finally got me and stuck around for thirteen days. February’s only redeeming quality is duration. In honor of this fact, I decided to keep this playlist short and sweet.
We have lost so many of my (and likely your) favorite artists already this year. I had to pay tribute to a couple on this playlist, Trugoy the Dove (De La Soul) and Burt Bacharach (Dionne Warwick). It is bittersweet that just as De La Soul’s music became available digitally, we lost Trugoy. De La Soul’s “Rock Co. Kane Flow” (featuring MF Doom) leads things off. DJ Shadow’s “Building Steam With A Grain of Salt” off his amazing Endtroducing might be the perfect segue. Solange’s “Losing You” is a longtime favorite and was written and produced in collaboration with Blood Orange (a.k.a. Dev Hynes). Next is the ‘90s dance pop cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” by the English band, Saint Etienne. The day Burt Bacharach passed away, I watched the Dionne Warwick documentary Don’t Make Me Over which I highly recommend. It showcases the incredible partnership she had with Bacharach and Hal David. I have always loved “Walk On By.” I had to include at least one new track on the playlist and lucky for us, Feist gave us three new songs from her upcoming album, Multitudes, last week. “Hiding Out In The Open” is my fave. Nostalgia was in overdrive on these last four tracks: The Notwist’s “One With The Freaks’ off their brilliant album Neon Golden, The Breeders’ “Divine Hammer,” Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to Be Kind” and inspired by their recent California festival date announcement, Love and Rockets’ “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man).
I hope you like The February Express. I assure you that at the very least it is better than the month itself.
De La Soul - Rock Co. Kane Flow (feat. MF Doom)
DJ Shadow - Building Steam With a Grain of Salt
Solange - Losing You
Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Dionne Warwick - Walk On By
Feist - Hiding Out In The Open
The Notwist - One With the Freaks
The Breeders - Divine Hammer
Nick Lowe - Cruel to Be Kind
Love and Rockets - Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)
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