This week takes a couple selections from Andy Mckee’s most recent release Symbol, as well as the Deluxe version of Jimmy Eat World’s Futures. While ten years old, the demo version of ‘Drugs or Me’ presents a fascinating alternative to the beautiful track from the pop rockers.
We start with Andy’s cover of Streets of Whiterun a classic score from the video game Skyrim by Jeremy Soule that is perhaps one of the most celebrated game scores of the 2000’s. From here we dip into fast paced Jazz with some Wooten and then the joyful ramble of the Oscar Peterson Trio’s Almost Like Being In Love.
Promises by Beach Bunny was one of my favorite tracks of last year, bringing a garage band intensity I think is fair to pair with Rough Draft, an early-2000’s acoustic track by Yellowcard. From here we break the acoustic momentum with a bit of Atmosphere’s Love Each Other, guaranteed to hook itself in your mind for hours after. Black Frost continues our smooth momentum and Mingus’s B.S (itself a repurpose of the Hatian Fight Song off ‘The Clown’) brings in such a necessary swing for the morning.
Our next three tracks are smashed together for pace. We move from the Killers excellent 2018 hit The Man, an electric soundstorm, to the smooth, controlled, but no less fast-paced Finesse. This gets us nice and exhausted, in a good place for the Drugs or Me (Demo). This track is going to dip us into a more emotional, beautiful place.
I choose to follow this with another cover track from ‘Symbol’: Purple Rain. This is a fascinating and intimate cover, one that focuses more on tone and emotionality from McKee, an artist known for his technical mastery. Heavy Heart from talented Michigan-based Clarinetist Dave Bennet off his excellent ‘Blood Moon’ takes us towards the close and we end on a triumphant note. From the ‘My Hero Academia’ soundtrack You Say Run, which by my ears is perhaps one of the greatest scores written for a TV show.
Tune in next week, on WCBN-FM 88.3 or right here on StudioArlen.com