Track of the Week – Imago’s “Akap”

This morning, I revisited a recording a friend of mine from Germany made of part of a set by the band Imago in May of 2012. This was when Sazi’s (or Mayric’s) was about to close to make way for the building’s redevelopment into a dorm (and the location of the club is now a Pancake House). I was wondering which song she managed to capture on record, and the song was my track of the week.

Imago – Akap from Marie Jamora on Vimeo.

Of course, the occasion for revisiting this was the launch of Imago’s new record, the first since Aia de Leon left the band in 2013. In an interview they gave (which I hope to summarize elsewhere next week), Zach Lucero said that the record was closer in spirit to Imago’s Take 2 record from 2004, which was where “Akap” could be found. (Hence, I think it might safe to call the latest record a “reboot,” in the sense that the first album, which is very different from the rest, does not necessarily count.)  Sure enough, one of the bands playing that night chose the song for their Imago cover, and they did it pretty well, down to Aia’s iconic vocalization following the bridge.

The song has a very interesting take on the idea of commitment, and maybe that is why I found it quite moving lately. (This is because, in fact, I have been thinking of such things.) In fact, when trying to hear Monika’s recording of it this morning, I felt that the bus I was on was pretty dusty. Then again, it was a week for intensity in different ways, and I was tired, and I think it was all cathartic.

Actually, the room became dusty because the last track of a playlist I often hear on the road was a pop song I like. There were enough emotional associations with a series of notes I could hear that it did make me cry a bit. But I won’t discuss what song it was and who played it. That, dear reader, is my Unknown Track of the Week.

PLUG: Vandals on the Wall and Revolver presents Shiny Happy People, a gig to mark the site’s almost-first anniversary. It will be tomorrow night at Saguijo, starting at nine pm. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Field notes

I will resume with my Track of the Week feature next week, but first:

1. It’s noteworthy how many ideas for big projects come up at the tail-end of evenings at watering holes. Fortunately, I try to stay sober enough to recall what those are.

2. I have notes on a big music event that is happening this weekend. That one’s been tweeted, but they are more in the form of theses.

3. Meanwhile, I am grateful to Spotify for the six-month trial premium account. I’m enjoying rediscovering all the music I could, and it is just a week so far.

Track of the Week – “Here Comes The Rain Again” by the Eurhythmics

My choice for track of the week owes itself to a song choice my acquaintance Pearlsha Abubakar (who performs under the name Isha) made at her set at Route 196’s Stripped: Keys Me. This is the classic pop song by Annie Lennox and the Eurhythmics.

I enjoyed Isha’s set, mainly because she included some songs I hadn’t heard in a while, most notably Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes.”

However, upon hearing that Eurhythmics tune, I realized it would be familiar for some people in the room, because the band of one of the other performers that night often uses that at the tail-end of their song “Turn It Well.” I last heard them do this at Satchmi’s Vinyl Day in April, and here’s a recording by Stef Calimlim made in February 2013.

Yep, the connections music makes. Have a good weekend, everyone.