Wytches released their sophomore album All Your Happy Life today, and to celebrate, bassist Dan Rumsey made us today’s Talkhouse Weekend Playlist. Dan’s playlist contains some of the same dark psychedelic alt-rock that you can find on their new album, as well as some of his favorite lyrics and the track that taught him how to treat the bass as its own instrument. Give it a listen, and have a great weekend!
–Dave Lucas, Talkhouse Marketing Manager
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Good Good Day”
I’m a massive fan of Nick Cave but I hadn’t heard this song until recently. I find it incredibly uplifting. The beat is very driving and you feel like the song is constantly moving even though some of the sections are similar. It was on the B-sides and rarities record so I guess it may have not made the grade for an album but I love it. It’s got a demo feel in the production, which I can really get into too.
Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room – “This Light”
Touring can be pretty lonely at times and when I’m in that mode and I’m missing home and my wife I’ll listen to this song. It’s got one of my favorite lyrics in it: “Now your voice sounds so far away, so I respond to the delay and I wait to hear you say to come home.” It just says it all.
Alkaline Trio – “Keep ‘Em Coming”
They have always been one of my favorite bands ever. It’s their lyrics, energy, passion and relate-ability that has kept me buying their records. This was the first track of their Maybe I’ll Catch Fire album. I remember listening to the trio’s back catalog on my mini disk player when I worked a job as a kitchen porter at a posh restaurant. One day they got me outside on the roof sweeping leaves out the gutters and round the car park and the only thing that kept me going was this music. This song is great, it’s got like a “push on through it” kinda vibe. Which I needed at that point.
The Cure – “100 Years”
I found a copy of Pornography by The Cure in my dad’s factory; he said it had been there for ages along with some other bands and I could take them. He also gave me an old player. So I took it home and this song just blew me away. It’s so dark and bleak, I’m not sure what the lyrics mean but I love them. I guess it is not healthy to wallow but when I’m feeling low I put this on and isolate myself from everything else. It weirdly helps.
Placebo – “Bruise Pristine”
The first single I bought that could be considered by “a real band” was this. I remember loving Brian Molkos voice; it wasn’t like anything else I’d heard. Before this, the only music I’d know was daytime radio 1 or the local radio stations your parents have on. So hearing loud guitars and drums for the first time blew my mind. It was the start of something beautiful.
David Bowie – “Space Oddity”
The production on this song is phenomenal. There is so much room in it. Everything is spaced out so nicely. There is so much going on but it doesn’t feel cluttered. I listen to this a lot when I know I want to write a song. Just as a reference as to how it’s done. Properly.
Sandy Denny – “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”
This is probably one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. It just reminds me to live day by day and appreciate what I have. She did a version with Fairport Convention, too, and I’m not sure which I prefer. Probably this one. She plays with the melody a bit more loosely on this version, which is nice.
Neutral Milk Hotel – Two-Headed Boy
Just guitar and vocals. It’s so raw, it’s not ear friendly or anything that people would want from an acoustic song. But it’s still touching and full of passion. “Placing fingers through the notches in your spine” is a great lyric.
Modest Mouse- “The World at Large”
My friend Martin told me about Modest Mouse about six years ago; I’m glad he did. It’s great journey music, this one in particular. All the instruments used are really interesting and the vocals are almost gently rapped, which shouldn’t work but it does. There is a live version in a studio online somewhere that is also incredible.
Interpol – “Say Hello to the Angels”
Interpol’s first album was the first record I bought that wasn’t just punk or metal, it opened a lot of musical doors. This song was my favorite on there for a long time. That late snare hit into the chorus always got me. I still love Interpol now even though their first two albums will always have a special place. Carlos D’s bass style is a big influence on me even though nothing I play sounds anything like his. I like that he played melodically, treating the bass as its own instrument rather than just something to fill out the low end.
(Photo credit: Steve Gullick)
