A Reader staffer shares three musical obsessions, then asks someone (who asks someone else) to take a turn.
Trinidad James in Uncut Gems Before I watched the Safdie brothers’ ballyhooed film Uncut Gems, I’d heard about nearly every cameo in it—every cameo, that is, except the one by rapper Trinidad James. So much work went into making this period piece exemplify its era, but to me nothing said “2012” as perfectly as the brief appearance of a rapper who was catapulted into fame that year.
Arthur Russell, Iowa Dream If we’re friends, you already know about my love for prophetic disco-folk king Arthur Russell. Released in November, Iowa Dream is one of many posthumous Russell releases, leaving us wondering how many more magical tunes are left in the vaults. Iowa Dream gives us glimpses of his early heart-wrenching folk ballads, akin to those on Love Is Overtaking Me. There are a few funkier tunes (“I Kissed the Girl From Outer Space”) and eccentric spoken-word tracks (“Barefoot in New York”) that display his range and his transition from folk to avant-garde and disco. What kills me are his piano ballads, like “In Love With You for the Last Time,” which feels like a song you’ve already loved—it’s so effortlessly simple, but you know it could only come from the mind of a genius.
Interpol, “NYC” I hate saying things like “This song saved my life, yada yada,” but “NYC” by Interpol really meant a lot to me as a lonely, divorce-proxied 13-year-old. I got it from a record shop that had a free compilation called Yes New York. I was lucky to find such a cool CD at a very rough time.
