Five Songs We Can't Stop Listening to is a collection of our newest favorite songs. Every week we ask an artist that we love to tell us about the music they love. This week we talked to Femi Kuti and Hot Snakes.
Listen to the whole segment and all the songs below.
1. Femi Kuti picks “Corruption Na Stealing”
For the first song each week we talk to one artist that we love to talk to us about a song that they love. Today our guest is musical legend, Femi Kuti.
Femi Kuti has been making music in and out of Africa since the 1980s. His father, Fela Kuti invited the genre of Afrobeat, and Femi has been carrying the torch ever since.
His new album, One People One World, is out now and we are playing the title track here on 88Nine. Femi wanted to talk about one of his favorite songs to preform, and we had to patch him in from his home in Nigeria, so forgive the audio quality on this.
Justin Barney: Femi, what’s one of your favorite songs to preform right now?
Femi Kuti: Probably one of my favorite songs right now that I preform, is “Corruption Na Stealing” or “Best to Live on the Good Side.”
Justin Barney: Why do you like preforming that song?
Femi Kuti: People really go crazy for this number. It sounds better live, because since we recorded it, it has changed drastically.
Justin Barney: How has it changed, and what caused the change?
Femi Kuti: It’s been over a year since we recorded it, so it gets boring. I need to always update it like a software. I need to always update the songs or it gets too monotonous and boring. I’ve added some things like breaks and some gimmicks.
Justin Barney: What’s one of the gimmicks?
Femi Kuti: It’s like chanting, like a cry, a very painful cry. When I do it, the whole choir does it with me now. Everytime I do the song, everybody gets up to dance.
- “Corruption Na Stealing” appears on Femi Kuti’s new album, “One People One World.”
- Listen if you like: The Kuti family, Afrobeat, Sound Travels
- Listen to the album version in the audio player at the top of the page
2. Superorganism – "Reflections on the Screen”
This is a Public Service Announcement, the debut album from Superorganism is out.
It clocks in at ten songs in thirty-three minutes. It’s tight, it’s concise, and it’s really listenable again and again.
One of the songs that caught my ear while listening to this album all the way through for the first time is this song, “Reflections on the Screen."
There are singing birds on this, and there’s a choir, but my favorite part is lead singer, Orno. Lyrically, Orno is Seinfeld in the digital age. She sings here about life in 1080p, the effect that a slowly loading chat screen has on a relationship, and reflections on the screen. It is her clever lyricism matched with the bands innovative production that makes this my favorite band of 2018 and already one of my favorite releases.
- Superorganism’s self-titled debut album is out now.
- Listen if you like: the most innovative sound of 2018, Seinfeld, clever lyrics and brilliant production
3. Hot Snakes picks “Ask Me No Questions” by Bridget St. John
Our guest today is Hot Snakes. Hot Snakes is a rock band from San Diego, CA that formed in 1999. They’ve had a string of albums since, their newest being Jericho Sirens, we are playing the song, “Six Wave Hold-Down.” They are playing in Milwaukee on Thursday night at Mad Planet. We are talking to founding member John Reis.
Justin Barney: John, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
John Reis: I’ve been listening to this record, it’s a record I’ve had for a long time, but I’ve really just been banging the hell out of it for the last month and a half, it’s a record by Bridget St. John. It’s her first record called, “Ask Me No Questions.”
The title track on that album I play often. Usually in the mornings. And quite loud. I have a hangover, and I play the song. I pretend that it’s being serenaded to me personally.
- “Ask Me No Questions” was released in 1969 on Bridget St. John’s debut album, “Ask Me No Questions.”
- Listen if you like: Nico, Karen Dalton, late 60’s British folk music
Cody Gaisser - “Wish There Was A Way”
Every year, we have this event called Sound Bites at the Iron Horse Hotel. Restaurants all around town are paired up with DJs from here at 88.9. They pair a dish with a song. There is also an auction, which Bridget Flynn won and is our guest today for our 5 Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To segment.
Justin Barney: Bridget, what is one song that you can’t stop listening to?
Bridget Flynn: I had to find something that, 1, I didn’t think you would know, 2 would…
Justin Barney: Not a prerequisite, but okay.
Bridget Flynn: I wanted it to be sort of a sad song, so my pick is Cody Gaisser, “Wish There Was A Way.”
Justin Barney: Okay, so I don’t know it. Good. We’re on the right track. Tell me more about it.
Bridget Flynn: So I met Cody probably 15 years ago, and he’s a singer/songwriter out of Florence, Alabama. It’s fun, but it’s a little sad.
Justin Barney: Do you remember hearing it for the first time?
Bridget Flynn: I do. He used to come in and do open-mic nights at the place I worked. The first time I met him, he was just this little 16 year-old guy. He pulled out a guitar and no one really thought anything of it, and he opened his mouth and I was like “Oh my God! My life is changed.” He’s got this crazy voice that I just love.
- “Wish There Was A Way” was released in 2002 on Gaisser’s “Good As Velvet” EP.
- Listen if you like: Kyle Craft, Van Morrison, gritty vocals and guitar
- Get tickets to Sound Bites here.
4. August Greene feat. Brandi – “Optimistic”
Justin Barney: From the music desk at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, I’m Justin Barney.
Tyrone Miller: I am Tyrone Miller.
Justin Barney: This is Five Songs We Can’t Stop Listening To. Tyrone, what are you listening to?
Tyrone Miller: The one song I can’t stop listening to right now is August Greene’s new song. August Greene is Common, Robert Glasper, and Karriem Riggins. They came together to form a super group. They redid “Optimistic” from The Sounds of Blackness and it features Brandy.
It was awesome. I heard it on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert, and they started doing this song. This was one of my favorite songs of all time.
I was DJing a few months back, I played it and one of my friends started crying because this was her song when she graduated college, so I’ve been playing it more. To hear them do this remake is really cool.
Justin Barney: What do you like about the song?
Tyrone Miller: It reminds me of that time, it’s a nice throwback for me personally. The feeling you get, you hear. There was this Black Boy Joy campaign on Instagram like a year ago and that was the song. It was cool seeing a lot of young black kids singing this, dancing, and having a good time.
- August Greene’s self-titled debut will be out on March 9.
- Listen if you like: Sounds of Blackness, Common, Robert Glasper
5. Sex Park – “Dignity”
Despite the bands unfortunate band name, Sex Park makes some pretty good music. The genre, surely up for debate, I’m gonna say is post-punk. Punctuated by dark synthesizers, a pedal heavy guitar that never really stops, and a vocal that sounds like it was recorded from the other side of the room that fits just under everything in the mix. Post-punk, kind of started by bands like Wire and perfected by Joy Division, continues here in 2018 with multitudes of subgenres that each give the genre something different.
“Dignity’s” synths are thick, and the drums are propulsive. Like the best in it’s genre, it gets your head to turn off everything that’s around you and live in the song.
- Sex Park’s new album, “Atrium” is available now on bandcamp.
- Listen if you like: Joy Division, shoegaze, post-punk
5. Flywire feat. Cole Steven – “Love Me Back”
So I listened to this song a couple weeks ago. Loved it. Went on with my business. Then, last week, there was a moment every single day where I found this song stuck in my head.
And I would find myself singing, “Love me back, love, love me back.” In the morning. When I came home from work. At random times in the middle of the day. And I was like, “That’s that song I listened to a couple weeks ago!” And if that isn’t an earworm, or a song I can’t stop listening to, I don’t know what is.
It comes from Chicago producer Flywire and Milwaukee native, Cole Steven. It’s “Love Me Back.”
- “Love Me Back” was released as a single in February.
- Listen if you like: pop songs that will get stuck in your head, Petite Biscuit, Milwaukee music