Like the Mix Six Six Six I did for Halloween, it’s been more than a minute since my last Single Play post. Part of what spurred me to write again was watching YouTube. There’s a popular video series and podcast called Track Star that recently entered the social media space, creating a platform where people can share music reviews and recommendations.
As I was listening to Jack Coyne talk about Track Star, he noted how much the way we discover new music has changed. It used to be you’d listen to the radio, watch MTV, read music publications, use Napster, or even buy whole albums for very little money on a Russian-run mp3 site. Now that streaming is all the rage, no one needs to buy music anymore. And because very few people are purchasing music regularly, streaming services do what they do best: serve you “more-of-the-same” playlists based on what you’re already listening to.
That makes organic discovery challenging. Sure, you could get music recommendations from friends, but where are they finding new music? Likely from the very same streaming services that use an algorithm to feed you songs it predicts you’ll like.
Well, since I still listen to a lot of what’s sent to me by publicists, recommended by music sites I trust, and shared by friends (who happen to be music journalists), I don’t feel the need to create a profile on Track Star just to say, “Hey, here’s something I think is worth your time—and I’ll tell you why.”
So with that, here are three songs I’m currently crushing on. Maybe you’ll dig them, too.
“Requiem for a Village,” Steven Wilson
Being a fan of Steven Wilson is much like following David Bowie or Kate Bush—you have to be open to wherever his musical journey takes you next. Rarely repeating himself across his nine solo studio albums, Wilson is driven by pure experimentation.
On “Requiem for a Village,” the title track from his album that’s coming out on November 6th, Wilson shifts gears from the space-themed concept of The Overview. Instead, he presents an inward-looking, narrative-driven album that views a tiny village in the British Isles through a Gothic lens.
This track stands out for its use of live instruments—guitar, bass, drums, and keys—which lock into a drum ‘n’ bass-like groove. The song builds, bursts, and pauses, taking the listener on a manic progressive journey.
“Accelerator,” Kid Sistr
This LA-based trio, originally from New York, features three young women who capture the true spirit of rock-and-roll. Comparing Kid Sistr to KISS might seem unusual at first, but hear me out. In their prime, KISS was a hard rock band defined by youthful, unapologetic sexual energy. Kid Sistr brings that same vibrant energy to their music, but with a fresh, queer perspective. One listen to “Accelerator” and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The band is about sex and rock-n-roll (not sure about the drugs part) — especially on this song.
To put a fine point on it, when Paul Stanley of KISS sang, “Put your hand in my pocket/Grab onto my rocket” it was a good example of what bassist Derek Smalls said in “This is Spinal Tap” about their song “Sex Farm:”
Derek Smalls: Now, I mean a song like “Sex Farm”, we’ve taken the sophisticated view of the idea of sex, you know, and music…
Marty DiBergi: And putting it on a farm?
Derek Smalls: Yeah.
So, if Paul Stanley and the fictional Spinal Tap can be silly and transgressive about hetero sex, Kid Sistr can be equally so about lesbian sex: “She’s a vegetarian, she doesn’t eat meat/But she likes a little honey and she’s down to eat me all night.” I gotta say, it’s good to hear overt sexual playfulness in rock music again. But the real hook is the infectious main guitar riff on “Accelerator.” It’s catchy as hell!
Oh, and their video more than suggests Kid Sistr is having a blast just fucking around — in more ways than one.
Just remember ladies: have a good time…all of the time.
“Empty Stadium,” Tinashe
Just as Steven Wilson hooked me with his nods to drum-n-bass, Tinashe does the same with this cool, hypnotic deep cut. “Empty Stadium” isn’t a single, but it’s the track I kept returning to on her latest album, Popstar. Now on her eighth record, Tinashe is making music entirely on her own terms. While that kind of creative freedom can sometimes lead to self-indulgence, here it spans from the standard to the sublime. It’s always exciting to hear an artist break out of their genre-specific silo, and Tinashe does exactly that. “Empty Stadium” stands out as one of the most musically satisfying moments on an album that is solid from beginning to end.
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