The Goodnight Loving has been making listeners wonder what year it is throughout its short-yet-prolific career, masterfully incorporating classic sounds and genres into each release. With its fourth album, the Milwaukee quartet takes on a musical time warp to beachy ‘60s garage pop, with twangy guitar riffs, psychedelic organs and vocal harmonies. We’re really not surprised to see lots of rock ‘n’ roll classics on this mix tape the guys made for MAGNET. The Goodnight Loving Supper Club is available now on Dirtnap Records.
“Doesn’t Shake Me” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/DoesntShakeMe.mp3
“The Pan” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/ThePan.mp3
Reigning Sound “The Bells”
This is from their newest album, which has very slowly become my favorite Reigning Sound record. The songwriting is as always top notch, but for me the interesting thing is the no-nonesense production. Most new music seems to be full of studio bullshit that hides the songs in delay and reverb, but I like how the vocals are right out front in this one. It’s very refreshing and kind of a brave thing to do this day and age. Video
Linda Ronstadt And The Stone Ponies “Different Drum”
A song written by Mike Nesmith, but I’ve always loved Linda Ronstadt’s version. I like the sunny combination of baroque pop and Linda’s country-style singing. Video
Thin Lizzy “Whiskey In The Jar”
Phil’s got a voice that can make you cry. When you combine that with harmonizing lead guitars, it sort of makes your chest open up. We didn’t have any Thin Lizzy on our last tour, which was a big mistake. Whenever the chips are down and you need to buck up morale, this’ll do the trick. Video
Thomas Function “Filthy Flowers”
A favorite current band that writes really great songs that are personal, funny, sad, etc., but they are also a really great rock ‘n’ roll band of the unique sort that makes comparison descriptions kind of useless. Video
Head On Electric “Unknown Song”
A live video from a Milwaukee band. They are belligerently out of control and heavy, but they mix it with a sort of folk sensibility and, at times, pretty melodies. Video
Beatles “Bad To Me”
This is the demo of a song that John Lennon gave to Billy Kramer. It is probably lacking a verse, as it’s a demo, but even at only 1:26, it is perfect. The intimate lo-fi atmosphere somehow makes this potentially vapid song touching. Video
Bruce Springsteen “No Surrender”
I’m sure Springsteen, and especially the Born In The U.S.A. record, is a deal breaker for many people. These people are terrorists. Video
Creedence Clearwater Revival “Effigy”
An overlooked and raw b-sider from a band that doesn’t need anything more written about them. This song is kind of meandering but menacing at the same time, like a drunk guy staggering around looking for trouble. Video
Gene Pitney “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence”
This song was written for the John Wayne movie of the same name. It was on a tape that my dad had and we would listen to in the family car, and it would just hypnotize me. I know now it is sort of a novelty-genre song, but that doesn’t soften its impact on me. Video
Link Wray “Hidden Charms”
Link Wray recorded his own music, sang with one lung and played the wildest guitar of all time. R.I.P. Video
