Listening to 1984: The Album
Available now on all streaming platforms
Greetings and Happy Holidays! I am pleased to announce that the Listening to 1984 music album is now available on all streaming platforms. Featuring contributions from Glenn Watson, Andy Lindquist, The Loud Bangs, William Mull, Deron Reynolds, Dan Lurie, Darren Callahan, Brian Smith, Craig Franklin, and yours truly (as Koot Hoomi), this has been in the works for years and I could not be more pleased with the result. You can listen to samples and add it to your Spotify / Apple / Amazon playlists at the album landing page. For your convenience, I am also linking each of the full tracks below. Huge thanks to my good friend (& sonic Renaissance man) Darren Callahan, who co-produced the project and put his sonic imprint on a fair number of these tracks. Listening to 1984 could not have come together without his assistance and the efforts of the amazing contributors. Enjoy!
Glenn Watson - Pretty Persuasion
When Glenn delivered his celebratory take on R.E.M.’s “Pretty Persuasion,” it was immediately apparent that this would be the lead track on the album. Apart from bootlegged live renditions by R.E.M., I can’t imagine there is a more spirited version of the song to be found anywhere. (And I also can’t imagine a more perfect statement of intent for this project.)
Andy Lindquist - I Can Dream About You
Andy is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has played in numerous bands including Heart. I can’t do his extraordinary story justice in a few sentences, but you can read about it here. For the first of his two contributions, he chose Dan Hartman’s “I Can Dream About You” and hit it out of the park. (The one-two punch of “Pretty Persuasion” followed by this song’s assertive opening groove is perhaps my favorite moment on the album.)
Koot Hoomi (Lurie/Callahan) - The Ghost in You
This Psychedelic Furs song never charted in the US but has long been one of my favorites. Darren’s immersive production and brilliant editing helped locate the tune’s intrinsic eeriness and bring it forward.
The Loud Bangs Feat. William Mull - Constant in Opal
My favorite band of recent times—The Loud Bangs—reunites to pay tribute to my favorite band of all time—The Church—guided by my favorite producer—Darren Callahan—with an assist from William Mull, the bassist from my favorite Athens, GA band (Seven Simons). Did this really happen??
Andy Lindquist - Run to You
Is it sacrilegious to observe that Andy’s urgent reading of the Bryan Adams classic improves on the original?
Koot Hoomi (R Lurie / Callahan) feat. Dan Lurie - Hold Me Now
My brother, acclaimed Portland singer-songwriter Dan Lurie, sings the verses on this Thompson Twins reinterpretation. (It’s worth pointing this out because no one, including my wife, seems able to tell our voices apart.) Darren Callahan’s hallucinatory final sequence is another of my favorite moments on the project.
Craig Franklin - All the Things She Gave Me
Readers of Begin the Begin: R.E.M.’s Early Years will remember Craig Franklin’s historically pivotal role in coaxing a reluctant Michael Stipe to sing in a high school battle of the bands many years ago. Craig has continued to make music, and his version of this Waterboys deep cut brings an almost Hüsker Dü energy to the song. He is ably assisted by Christiano Galvao on drums, Bruno Migliari on bass, Antonio Guerra on keys, and Todd Williams on cello. (I should also mention that when I played the finished album at home and Craig’s track came on, my wife looked up from what she was doing and said, “Who is this?”—perhaps the greatest compliment anyone on the project could receive.)
Brian Smith and Koot Hoomi - Drive
It was a joy to work on this version of my favorite Cars song with my old friend Brian Smith, with whom I last attempted to make music at a party just before my wedding in 2008. For “Drive,” Brian provided an overflowing assortment of lush synths, percussion, and sound effects to choose from. He is astoundingly good, and I hope we’ll get to do more of this sort of thing in the not-too-distant future.
Deron Reynolds - Never Ending Story
(Produced, mixed and mastered by The Geminiac @ Studio Deez courtesy of Blue Orb Productions Music Label.) Continuing the theme: I last collaborated with Deron Reynolds when we were the featured entertainment at an “Elvis Party” in 1991. This is hard to fathom because I have never, to the best of my recollection, learned how to play anything by Elvis. So—Deron: What did we play at the Elvis Party?? (It is lost to memory’s black hole). But anyway… Deron is yet another of this album’s multi-instrumentalist prodigies: His 2022 Polarized EP (released under the “Halfway to Hipster” band name) was one of my favorite music releases of recent years. Needless to say, I was over the moon when Deron cranked out a version of Giorgio Moroder & Limahl’s “Never Ending Story” for Listening to 1984 at the 11th hour. To my ears it is the heart and soul of the album, and perhaps of this entire Substack project. “I love this movie (The NeverEnding Story) and this song, and I do think it will fit your project so well,” Deron wrote to me. “After all, we are still talking about 1984 in 2024 and will be for decades to come. it is a neverending story.”