Drake...no, not the one you're thinking of.

Ear Candy | 3

There are periods of listening when music has a greater effect on me. Times when it blossoms with more fullness and detail. Times when it creates a greater stirring in my soul.

I listen to music pretty much every day but there are certain days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months, when music feels more powerful—when it fulfills all of the mystic potential we love to wax poetic about. I can’t always say exactly why this is. Sometimes it’s because I’m feeling a little more porous, or more exhausted, than usual. Sometimes my environment brings it out, magically aligning with the song in my headphones—the afternoon light shines as if created for the song, the branches on the trees sway to its rhythm, the tone of the blaring horn behind me telling me to “Get the f%&# out of the middle of the road” creates a perfect harmony with the melody. Sigh.

I love these windows of time, and right now, the shutters are open and the sash is up.

So, on to the candy…

12 Little Spells - Esperanza Spalding
It’s taken a while for this one to sink in but today, it sprung to life for me on a run through the neighbourhood.

“The music’s freewheeling and often startling twists and turns often envelop the listener like a torrent of creative expression or fever dream that one never wants to wake up from, feeling simultaneously meticulously crafted and urgently spontaneous. Hence, it fascinates and inspires with every listen.” Nels Cline (guitarist/composer)

The Tide's Magnificence: Songs and Poems of Molly Drake - Molly Drake
My sister played me I Remember on one of our bourbon and vinyl nights. It floored me—the simplicity, the poetry, the surprising turns in melody.

Molly is famously the mother of Nick Drake, the reputed English singer-songwriter.

This album is 26 songs performed by Molly Drake and recorded on vintage tape recorders in mono by her husband, Rodney Drake in the 1950s and 1960s. It’s both haunting and comforting; melancholic and hopeful.

Misty - Errol Garner
What more can you really say about one of the most beloved and best-known jazz standards.

I’ve had Errol’s original instrumental version on repeat.

In Rainbows - Radiohead
Warm and inviting while remaining bold, and even experimental. This is the one that got me hooked. This is the one that made me dive backwards to check out everything they had ever done. Re-listening to this the other day reminded of how great it is.

I hope something in this small selection perks your ears.

❤️ dW

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Note

In the Ear Candy section of Adjusting the Dial, I’m going to share everything from pop to jazz to metal to the unclassifiable. I hope some of it will resonate with the same mystery, intensity, and power that it does with me.

As I said in the post on What to Expect from Adjusting the Dial, I won’t pretend to know what you like, but let me say that, unlike candy, you may not become addicted upon first preview of whatever I post here. It might take the gift of re-consideration.

Many of the things I like the most, particularly with music, I don’t understand, and sometimes, don’t even like, the first time I try them. But at some point, with the gift of re-consideration, I am hit with that full-blown sugar rush.