COVID: 19 Records I Rinsed This Year

Today marks my one-year anniversary with COVID. One year ago today, the president was addressing the nation on the TVs in the Radio Humber studio as I was in the middle of Bump In The Hump, receiving countless messages about the NBA shutting down. Of course, our lives were all in for a major change, staying inside and isolated more than ever before. Luckily, I've always revelled in staying home and immersing myself in music. However, I quickly found a limit to my ability to enjoy an endless stream of new music, realizing I needed to mix things up in order to keep myself entertained. And that's where this list comes in.

Like a sonic rinse cycle, these nineteen records (single tracks and full albums) were my most go-to palette cleansers in this most unprecedented of years. The range is ridiculous as you might expect and entirely unintentionally, features music made prior to the millennium. Many of these records I first encountered this year, while a handful of others became much closer to my heart as I enjoyed them more immensely than ever. They were and, in many cases, are still literal obsessions of mine. What it is that makes them so special ranges from heartening lyrical content to incredibly catchy vocals or just plain, undeniable energy. I can't tell you how many times I sang along to these in the shower, used them to tear up a hill on my bike or danced to them as I did the dishes. Hopefully, you too can put these records to good use. Find the Spotify playlist below and note that it features the original album tracklists, rather than the extended/deluxe types that are part of the list of links after the jump. Enjoy!

• B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (Extended)
• En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
• Kate Bush - Cloudbusting
• Matt Bianco - Whose Side Are You On
• Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party
• Paul Simon - Rhythm Of The Saints
• Pete Townshend - A Little Is Enough (Live)
• Pete Townshend - Empty Glass
• Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush - Don't Give Up
• Quincy Jones - Birdland
• Sam Spence - West Side Rumble*
• Steps Ahead - Islands
• Steps Ahead - Praise
• The Cardigans - My Favourite Game
• The Housemartins - The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death
• The Psychedelic Furs - Heaven
• The Rezillos - Can't Stand The Rezillos
• The Traveling Wilburys - The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1
• Third World - Try Jah Love

* indicates record not available on Spotify

The Who - Eminence Front (The Back Room & Hektagon Rework)

It seems Soundcloud's theme of the day is edits. After scrolling through a handful of forced house takes classics from Heart, Diana Ross & others, I finally found a good one in this balearic rework of The Who.

From their antepenultimate studio album, It's Hard, "Eminence Front" is a little known funk rock piece and one that is considered to be the album's lone bright spot. The album, primarily penned by Pete Townshend, and largely panned by Roger Daltrey, features a mix of Townshend's new wave tilt with the band's classic sounds. While it may not be for everyone, it's hard to ignore the cool quality of "Eminence Front."

Written around a chord progression on Townshend's Yamaha E70 organ and featuring further electronic elements in the shimmering synths and pristine electric piano, "Eminence Front" is rife for a balearic rework. Placing those captivating and cool crescendos atop a laidback drum beat, The Back Room and Hektagon lean on the awesome intro of the original to ease you in before Townshend finds his front, singing about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. And what could be better for a strung-out rework like this? It doesn't take much imagination to hear this (like Cale/Clapton's "Cocaine") being played on an endless loop in an Ibiza villa as its inhabitants seek to keep the party going.

Lay back and let the ever-growing groove of "Eminence Front" remind you of The Who's timeless quality. Stream now below and add it to your collection with the free download via Hypeddit here.