Hi - this week we explore some South African pop and some British art rock and I tell some old stories and drop some names. Then something crazy happens — we take a trip through scary uncharted territory: the world of electronic music. I have a great time trying to find some familiar feelings within some very unfamiliar (but fantastic) electronic sounds. (I swear there’s some romance hidden in some of this stuff if you squint really hard).
A good time all around and a fun exploration of some great electronic stuff that I don’t understand.
The Walter Martin Radio Hour airs Sunday nights at 8pm on WEXT 97.1/106.1 upstate NY. New episodes appear biweekly on this Substack for free.
New Thing!
ok I’ve got a new thing for the newsletter. Every Friday I’m gonna be putting up Three Albums for Your Weekend. Basically some excellent music suited to the vibe of our present week. I’m a big believer in seasonal music listening and I believe you can appreciate music (and life) more if you’re listening to the right stuff at the right time. Listening to the wrong stuff will likely not kill you or anything, it’s just inefficient — a waste of time, a waste of music, and (for the environmentalists amongst us) a waste of electricity. ✌️
All episodes of The Walter Martin Radio Hour will always be free for everyone but this new feature (and more stuff to come) will be only partially accessible to free subscribers. So if you feel like supporting this project with a subscription, please do, and enjoy full access to everything every week. I’m really enjoying sharing the music I love with you folks and getting so many great recommendations in return (thank you!) and I have a lot of cool stuff planned so subscribe today.
Ok so here we go — three perfect early autumn albums for this week.
Three Albums for Your Weekend 9/6 - 9/13
Summer is barely over, but up where I live the evenings are already getting chilly. The frat rock, dance pop and reggae records of summer have all been put away. Autumn’s sad songs are coming, but, alas, not for a few more weeks. So, what the f*ck do we listen to?
Django Reinhardt: Solo and Duet Master Recordings
This time of year, this Django Reinhardt collection is EXACTLY what I want playing in my house. Django is all alone here with his guitar (for the first 15 tracks) and it’s an absolute treat. As far as I know, these 15 recordings are the only recordings of the great guitarist playing all alone. And many of these pieces are improvised. So cool. There’s so much to listen to when someone is all alone with their instrument — like getting a glimpse into a private little world. And when it’s Django Reinhardt, holy moly it’s really somethin’ else — so warm and sad and sweet. And all without a left pinkie or ring finger. There’s nothing else like it.
Here’s the collection on Apple Music:
Shostokovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, OP 87. Tatiana Nikolayeva
I’ve been on a solo piano music kick (classical and otherwise) for the past few years and I’ve become somewhat obsessed. Like I was saying above about the solo Django Reinhardt collection, I find the sound of a lone instrument to be totally captivating — and solo piano music definitely has a unique magic. So I’ve spent a lot of energy looking for the best recordings of solo piano music by my favorite composers.
Last fall my old buddy, Paul Maroon (a classical music aficionado and fantastic composer in his own right), recommended this collection to me and I fell in love with it immediately.
I recommend letting this stuff play softly on repeat throughout your home for the next seven evenings — but also be sure to get some time alone with it at at decent volume, especially tracks 1 & 2. They will knock your socks off.
Here’s the collection on Apple Music:
3. Another Side of Bob Dylan, 1964.
Yes, we’ve all heard it a million times but I listened again all the way through the other day and it got me good. During Ballad in Plain D, my wife called from the other room, “I think that’s my favorite Bob Dylan album.” And, for the moment at least, I agree. It’s a real beauty and also a bit of an oddball and definitely the loosest of the early folky records. It’s always felt like an early autumn album for me — crackly and transitional, just before he started doing rock ’n’ roll. And it’s such a treat when he hams it up, thumbing his nose at the “serious” folk music scene. What a bunch of dorks, right?
Also!! A not-to-be-missed New Yorker piece from 1964 where the writer goes into the studio with Bob while he’s making this album. If you have not read this, you really should.
Here’s the album on Apple Music:
OK that’s all! Thank you!
Have a nice week.
-✌️❤️walt
Walter Martin Radio Hour #14