Award Season Means... What Exactly?
In the time of COVID how do we move forward with award shows... or do we?
I’m Jason Boucher and welcome to Nocturnal, a weekly newsletter about sound + music where I highlight some of the best new music, podcasts, stories about art and music, streaming video, and current events. I use my best efforts to dispense useful news, information, and reviews along with related links I hope you’ll dig. I get too excited for new music and film, reissues, podcasts and more, so I’m sharing my delight with you! Questions jason.boucher@icloud.com
Today in the newsletter: Forgotten retro soul, ambient country-western music, Oscar-worthy films you need to see, podcasts about science and vinyl you can’t pass up, a lost Neil Young album coming soon, and of course my latest Nocturnal playlist and audio archive.
But first… This incredible photo pretty much sums up what it’s like to live in Portsmouth, NH. It’s my hometown and it’s still pretty special despite some locally-elected agitators and a few pesky curmudgeons. Ice skating, quiet walks, bikers, runners, and skateboarders make this place unique. Coffee shops, nationally known restauranteurs, amazing bakeries, and brilliant artisans all inhabit this small city by the banks of the Piscataqua River. This photo screams classic New England, even a little Norman Rockwell-ish perhaps? And look at that sky… 🙏
Listen Up!
SUSS, Promise (Northern Spy Records)
Ambient Country Western music? Yes, that’s the best way to describe this new album by SUSS. If you’re a fan of Tortoise, Brain Eno, or Tangerine Dream, you’ll absolutely love this quiet, mesmerizing album perfect for reading, studying, and deep listening. Now available on LP, CD, and digital.
Various Artists, La Noire 10 ‘Groove City’ (Doghouse and Bone Records)
A simply great collection of soul, r&B, and funk like 1969’s Rover or Me from Good Time Charlie originally released as a 45 on Pzazz Records, a short-live label out of California. This collection is choc full of forgotten, or unknown songs you swear you’ve heard before. It’s worth your time and if you like it there is plenty more volumes available. Now available on vinyl or digital.
Podcasts To Peruse
Share Stuff To Blow Your Mind Science writers Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick lead this incredible podcast where every episode is unique. The hosts are great about not speaking too much science jargon, so folks like you and me can understand and get a clear sense of the scientific mystery, or situation at hand.
The Vinyl Guide If you’re a record collector like me, or just starting out, subscribe and let host Nate Goyer take you on a journey of all things music and record-related. He’s a seasoned veteran collector of vinyl and this podcast is a journey through the history of music where Goyer speaks with artists and those behind the scenes, sharing the stories about albums and how it was made.
Reading List
Watch List
This week’s list includes Oscar-worthy films you need to see… and they’re available on-demand! (I’ll have more next week)
American Utopia (Directed by Spike Lee, Written by David Byrne)
Small Axe: A Series of Five Films (Directed by Steve McQueen)
Nocturnal. The Radio Show
Nocturnal is unprocessed freeform radio delivered Tuesday evenings on WSCA. Featuring new music and a variety of hubbub from then & now. Listen and join the live chat each week. Here’s the playlist for 26 January 2021:
Magnetic Fields “‘Heroes'” Crash Course for the Ravers: A Tribute to David Bowie (Undercover Records)
Asteroid #4 “Losing Touch With My Mind” A Tribute To Spacemen 3 (Rocket Girl)
SUSS “Home” Promise (Northern Spy Records)
Marcel Duchamp “Erratum Musical” The Creative Act (Sub Rosa)
Comus “The Herald” Song to Comus: The Complete Collection (Castle Music)
Legendary Pink Dots “Disturbance” Maria Dimension (Caciocavallo)
Leonard Cohen “You Want It Darker” You Want It Darker (Columbia)
Sun Ra “Where Pathways Meet” Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1971-85 (Strut)
Red Fiction “Laceration” Visions of the Void (Tzadik)
Thomas Koner “Des Rives (avec Yann Beauvais)” Zyklop (Mille Plateaux)
Pulseprogramming “Oh’ Halo (1984 Penny for Your Loafer Mix)” Compiled (Aesthetics)
Trembling Blue Stars “Abba On The Jukebox” A Certain Evening Light (Shinkansen)
Slowdive “Miranda (Album Version)” Pygmalion (Sony Music UK)
Lola “Wax The Van (Jon’s Dub)” Wax The Van 12″ (Jump Street Records)
Lito Barrientos y Su Orquesta “Cumbia en do Menor” 12 Bombazos Bailables (Vampisoul)
Cul de Sac “Doldrums” China Gate (Thirsty Ear)
Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy “Deacon Blues” (feat. Bill Mackay) (Drag City)
Negativland “No Business” No Business (Seeland)
Gang of Pork “Off Gallivanting” Eerie Bazaar (Eerie Materials)
The Evolution Control Committee “Crybaby Duck” (Eerie Materials)
See you next week… - JB