“Little Stereo”
by Teddybears (ft. Daddy Boastin)
from the album Soft Machine
2007
Buy the album on Amazon
Car therapy, it’s a thing. Windows down, music playing just a little too loud, driving just a little too fast, and with shuffle determining your fate.
I was deep in a funk this morning, feeling down on myself for a shitty show, being sick for weeks on end and general nonsense at the office. And then I got hit with a one-two punch of pure joy. Having a great song come up on a shuffle is the best. Experiencing a completely unrelated, yet equally great track right on its heels is the jam. And when all of that happens in a car where you can sing as loud as you want, off-key, out-of-time and with all the wrong lyrics rolling off of your tongue, that’s car therapy.
First to pop up was “Little Stereo” by Teddybears, of which I know nothing. I’m not even positive where I picked up the CD, but based on the release date I’m guessing it was a freebie from a previous gig. The whole album is a fun, dancing around the apartment, air bass slapping mix. There are fantastic tracks featuring Iggy Pop and Neneh Cherry, but “Little Stereo” is an absolute delight. But you gotta play it loud, get that vibration going in the floor and windows.
“Kicking”
by Torche
from the album Harmonicraft
2012
Buy the album on Amazon
My friend Mozer turned me on to Torche after a comment I made about hard/metal rock bands not doing it for me because a lot of them didn’t really focus on melodies, choruses, harmonies, etc. they just played technically well. Which is fine, but I get hooked on groove AND harmonies. “So, check out Torche.” Good fuckin’ call, dude.
Where “Little Stereo” was all about the syncopated bass, “Kicking” is all about those fucking drums and guitars. It’s a different genre but they meld together brilliantly because of volume and speed. That’s what shuffle does best, it strips away the genres. It eliminates those stupid hang-ups about how songs should sequence and lays music out in front of you, like an unfamiliar road. You still know how to drive, but you’re not exactly sure where you’re going and that’s part of the excitement. Letting go. Not thinking. Just experiencing.