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1. The Arctic Monkeys pick “Prisencolinensinainciusol” by Adriano Celentano
Every week we ask one artist that we love to tell us about one song that they love, this week it's an artist takeover and we have five artists talking about songs that they love. This is Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets.
Justin: Alex, I was wondering, what is one song that you can’t stop listening to? Or one song that you love?
Alex Turner: It’s an Italian artist called Adriano Celentano. He was like the Italian Elvis in like the 60s and he has this song called “Prisencolinensinainciusol” which is like a made up word and all the lyrics to it are made up English words for this tune. It’s far out but it’s really invigorating. I just love that idea; I’ve never heard of that before. It’s like between the cracks of language.
- “Prisencolinensinainciusol” was released in 1972 on Adriano Celentano’s album, “Nostralrock.”
- Listen if you like: I have never heard anything like this song in my life.
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2. Lucius picks "Fireworks" by Mitski
Here we are with Lucius.
Justin Barney: What is one song that you can’t stop listening to recently?
Lucius: I really got into the new Mitski record.
Justin: Ohhh, so did I. Hardcore.
Lucius: Yeah, "Fireworks" I love that song. It sounds like teen angst. Or adult angst. It sounds like now angst.
Justin: What do you like about Mitski, I feel like there is so much there?
Lucius: It's angsty, I like the idea of Puberty 2 (the name of the album) because we've talked a lot about that. Like with "Good Grief" and all that. With "Will to Woman" we were talking about, "Oh we're growing up and now were getting passed this angsty teenager thing, and now we're adults!"
And then after we toured that record it was like "Oh $h*t." We're not really? Which is perfectly described with Puberty 2. That's like what I feel were at.
And I really like her grit. It feels really real.
- Mitski's album "Puberty 2" was released earlier this year.
- Listen if you like: teen agnst, adult angst, now angst
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3. Charles Bradley picks “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)” by James Brown
Every week we ask one of our favorite artists to tell us about one of their favorite songs. This week we talked to Charles Bradley.
Justin Barney: Charles Bradley, if I could ask what is your favorite James Brown Song.
Charles Bradley: Uh, it’s a lot of them. But I can pick one out because I just know 58 songs of James Brown. Uh, one of them is “I Can’t Stand it When You Touch Me.”
Justin: Why that one?
Charles: It’s just got so much feeling to it.
Justin: Oh yeah?
Charles: And when you get into it, you gotta get into it nasty. You gotta feel it. You got to feel it and when you feel it and the music is kicking you deep, you gonna get nasty with it.
Justin: What’s it like performing that song?
Charles: Oh. It feel good. You know, when I do music if I can feel it, then imma get into it. And when it’s the band is just beating my tail, I wanna beat their tail back and show them it’s gonna be a real show.
Justin: Did you do that song last night?
Charles: No I didn’t do it.
Justin: Do you ever do James Brown anymore?
Charles: Oh yes. I still do James Brown because they’re not gonna let me stop. Because theres nobody out there-and I’m not saying because I’m trying to put myself on a pedestal, no-I don’t think nobody can beat me doing James Brown.
Justin: I don’t think so either.
Charles: Because I’ve been doing it ever since I was about 14/16 years old and I got his peculiarity, I’ve got 58 sums and change Brown behind my belt. You just put me up on stage and start playing it, and I hear it. It just come right to my ear.
Justin: Why James Brown?
Charles: James Brown is a legend. You know you look back in the days when blues was blues, James Brown was the one who put rhythm with blues. And all these other people copy off him. You know, even like Motown. Motown had this status, but they would try to get James Brown to come with them and James Brown found his own soul. And that’s why I like this guy so much, because he’s a legend. And he’s a person that really started Michael Jackson to find his own theory. Prince, James Brown is the one who just had it all and everybody copied off of him. They look at him and say, how did he found that? Because they told James Brown, you can’t take no blues and add rhythm to it. And James Brown said, I do a sound. They say, it sound good, but you can’t do it. James Brown said, if it sound good, then it’s correct. And that’s what all music is, is learning the (deep culture of your soul?). When you find your depths in music, what feels good inside you and you know you’re doing it, that’s from the creator. And that’s when it gets nasty because you can play with it, you can just get mean with it, get nasty, get lovin’ with it.
- “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me) was released as a 45 on King Records in 1967.
- Listen if you like: Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, getting’ nasty with it
3. Adia Victoria picks “Dollars and Cents” by Radiohead
This week we have TWO of our favorite artists telling us about music they love. Here we ask Adia Victoria.
Justin Barney: Adia Victoria, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Adia Vicoria: I am a huge Radiohead fan and I’ve gone back and listened to “Amnesiac” and the one song I really can’t stop listening to is “Dollars and Cents.”
Justin Barney: Why that song?
Adia Victoria: I think just getting into the music industry. Monetizing your art can have really harrowing effects on the artist. Unless it’s just your thing. But I feel like it’s a really cautionary tale by Thom Yorke about “Hey man! This stuff is real!” So he’s like my big brother.
Justin Barney: What are some difficulties you’ve had with that?
Adia Victoria: I mean, as a woman people think they can take the liberty of telling you like, “Hey you should look this way. You should wear this or wear that. And I had some issues with a certain person on my team, who is no longer on my team, who thought that they had the right to tell me what to wear on stage. And I was like, “We now have a huge problem between us.” So I think for me any time someone comes and tells me how to appeal to more people I’m just like, “Ya gotta get out of here. You gotta go.”
Justin Barney: Yeah, because we want you. I feel like that never works when someone else comes in and tells you what works, because we want you as an artist and that’s what is going to come through.
Adia Victoria: Right, well you give up so much control when you allow people to start playing those games with you because your sense of value and worth is predicated upon other people approving of you. So that’s a very dangerous game for me personally and I can’t do it. I will refuse. If it comes down to that I will just go back to my regular life in Nashville and “This was fun, okay bye.”
- “Dollars and Cents” was released in 2001 on the album, “Amnesiac.”
- Listen if you like: not-selling out, staying true, Adia Victoria
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4. Beach House picks – “End of the Night” by The Doors
Every week we ask one artist that we love to talk about one song that they love. Here we catch up with Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, AKA Beach House.
Justin Barney: What is one song that you can’t stop listening to or one song that you recently love?
Alex Scally: I recently re-fell-in-love-with the first Doors record. And I’ve taken a very pro-Doors stance. I loved The Doors when I was young, but I recently realized that they’re completely amazing still.
I think there is this thing that happens with everybody with The Doors where they first hear The Doors and they are turned on by how freaky and exciting and subversive it feels, and then they go back on themselves as they get older and they say, “That’s cheesy poetry. These guys are amateur jazz musicians. This is just a bunch of garbage.”
But then you realize again later that it is really subversive and really strange and it’s not about their musicianship it’s about this crazy energy field that they created. And I actually love the poetry. And it is really freaky, and dark and the recordings are impeccable and they are actually a really cool band.
- “End of the Night” was released on The Doors debut LP, “The Doors” in 1967.
- Listen if you like: subversion, crazy energy fields, trusting your music taste
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5. BØRNS picks “Look Though My Window” by the Mamas & the Papas
We are here with BØRNS. Justin Barney: Garrett Borns, what is one song you can’t stop listening to? BØRNS: There’s a Mama’s & the Papas record, and there’s this one song, *Starts signing* “Look through my window out to the streets below/ See the people hurrying by” Yeah, it’s very calming. All these songs could almost be like souped up lullabies. They always start off like, *Starts singing again* and it’s just like a lullaby and then all of a sudded it’s like DA-DAAA-DAAA-DAAA-DAAAAAAAA. And you’re like ‘Oh sh*t, I was just falling asleep, but, okay, guess everyone’s here to party.”
- “Look Though My Window” was released in 1967 on the album, “The Mama’s and the Papa’s Deliver.”
- Listen if you like: souped up lullabies, San Francisco in the late 60s, BORNS
5. Jonwayne – “Wonka”
Justin Barney: I’m here with our intern Eddie, AKA Fast Eddie. Eddie you have been haranguing me about playing one artist and a song in particular. Could you tell me what is the song and artist you can’t stop listening to?
Eddie: First of all the artist is Jonwayne. And the song that I really want to listen to is “Wonka”
Justin Barney: Why Wonka?
Eddie: So basically the little history is that Jonwayne was allegedly retired. He put out an album saying that Jonwayne is retired so he hadn’t talked to anyone in like two years, and then all of a sudden he comes out of nowhere at the beginning of the summer with “Wonka” which is the single. And “Wonka” is basically an ode to the new Jonwayne, and kind of a scathing review of everyone who doubted him. It’s like a diss-track but in like a really powerful way.
Justin Barney: Like an affirmative diss-track?
Eddie: It’s an affirmative diss-track, but in his own manner. He did an interview right before he dipped out on the public and he was like, “I hate rap. I hate hip-hop. I’m not rap. I’m not hip-hop. I’m my own person. I’m a musician and I don’t care about what you want to say about me. I’m here doing this self-gratifying level of music, and if you’re gonna disrespect me for being a hip-hop artist I don’t care because I’m not a hip-hop artist. I’m a musician.”
And I love that.
- Jonwayne’s single “Wonka” is out now.
- Listen if you like: MF DOOM, dogma rap, affirmative diss-tracks
