From Good Times to Sad Boi Hours

Some August music picks

After a couple of fun but busy weekends and trying to find some time to write on Substack, I’m finding I’m a little less inspired than usual. So, for today’s post, I thought I’d change things up and share some items from my CD collection I’ve built up over the past year. I might keep doing this from time to time, so please let me know if you want to see some more stuff!

Without further ado, here are some of my faves in no particular order.

GOOD TIMES by Yōsuke Eguchi

When I picked this one up, I really didn’t know what to think of it. There was some Japanese writing on the side of the cover which led me to believe it was an import, an exciting prospect. But, with a generic sounding title like Good Times and its low selling price, I was still hesitant to pick it up.

Fortunately, the album is pretty good! A lot of the tracks sound pretty cheesy and generic at times, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; the album has a certain charm to it that’s led me to listen to it a number of times, especially when I need something that will help me lock in and stay focused on whatever I’m working on in the moment.

As for who Yōsuke Eguchi is, it turns out he’s more of an actor than a musician considering the fact that, as far as I could tell, this was his only album. I didn’t recognize most of the movies he was in, but I chuckled when I realized he was in the 2018 live-action film Bleach as well as dubbing Scar in the Japanese dub of The Lion King. He’s also married to J-pop artist Chisato Moritaka.

My favorite track, “ALL RIGHT”, makes me feel like I’m watching the intro to America’s Funniest Home Videos, specifically an episode from the late 90s.

Toto IV by Toto

I’m sure you already know the song Africa. You’ve probably heard it at some point in your life, and also most likely sang it or at least hummed it to yourself quietly. The song is so catchy and will probably continue to stand the test of time, but the album the song came off of is worth a listen too! When it came out in 1983, it was good enough to win three Grammys, so it was OK at least.

My favorite track “Rosanna” — which won the 1983 Grammy for Record of the Year — has such a driving force to it and a great drum line. The drum pattern used in this song was so influential that they actually gave it a name — the Rosanna shuffle.

Terrapin Station by The Grateful Dead

I only recently got onto a Grateful Dead kick in the past couple week, but they’ve got me hooked already. I grabbed a best of album off the shelf and, after giving it a go, I knew I needed more of their work. So, after a few visits to my record store and some hunting on Discogs, I’ve already added eight of their albums to my collection.

Other than the more well-known ones like American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead, I also came across Terrapin Station. And, I’m not gonna lie, I bought it because I liked that the album art has turtles playing instruments at a train station.

That’s it. I literally knew nothing about the album other than it had turtles and that turtles are neat.

But, upon listening to the album, I came to discover some great stuff hidden inside. Aside from a bop of a cover of Dancin’ in the Streets, I fell in love instantly with Terrapin Part 1. And, while it’s technically several tracks in one 16-minute track, I really can’t pick a favorite off of it. Doing so feels like taking a vital organ out of your body or the engine out of your car — it just wouldn’t work without all the other pieces!

Through seven separate arrangements, The Grateful Dead take you through a musical journey that departs from their normal sound. With the addition of performances by the Martyn Ford Orchestra and the English Choral, it’s got a very grandiose vibe that has been compared to progressive rock (better known as prog rock). Because of this, I’d recommend the album as a good starting point for those that want to see if prog rock is their jam or their foe.

Woodstock by Portugal. The Man

Portugal. The Man is a band that I thought had only been around since the mid 2010s. So, it came as a surprise when I realized they’ve actually been around since 2004. That’s like a whole decade more than I thought!

And it’s probably because the album I’m most familiar with — Woodstock — was released in 2017.

While the band was originally unsure of the direction for the album, their trajectory for it became crystal clear after lead singer John Gourley was shown an old ticket stub from Woodstock in 1969 by his father. Taking inspiration from the concert series, the band decided to create an album that was focused on all the political events of the time.

Filled with social commentary, the album is filled with some great tunes that get you fired up. “So young” is probably my favorite track for the simple fact that I heard it a lot on the radio.

Speaking of being fired up, here’s one last fun fact for you on this album: the photograph of the car on fire is not staged. It’s a legit photo that was taken by a friend of the band while driving from LA to Anaheim.

Worm by Haunter

Describing themselves on Bandcamp as an indie rock band that makes dreary pop songs, I gotta say I agree with the assessment. Worm is a moody album that makes you want to go sit in a chair outside in the rain with a cigarette in one hand and a lukewarm beer in the other.

As you listen to the gentle droning of guitars throughout the album, you can’t help but feel like you’re thrown into the mind of a younger past self, still figuring out the world. Everything’s scary, but it’s also new and exciting at the same time. You don’t know what your next move is going to be, but you know you’ve got to do something.

There’s despair in the album, but there’s also a deep sense of hope. Like everything’s going to be OK even if the world is going to hell and your mind’s spinning in circles.

There’s honestly too many great songs on here for me to pick a favorite of mine, but to go with the vibes of this review, I’ll pick “Slide” and leave you with some wise words my former self could have learned some good things from:

“You gotta learn to let it slide
there's something in your way
if anything you gotta try
there's nothing I could say”