This playlist is available on Spotify, search my username, Mileserickson-354, New songs will be added every two weeks. TV Dinners, MJ Lenderman Sex and Candy, Slothrust Once More For The Ocean, Slothrust Someone Get The Grill Out Of The Rain, MJ Lenderman Body Paint, Arctic Monkeys TV Dinners, MJ Lenderman. I had reservations about making the content of this week’s volume essentially a spotlight for two specific artists, but the objective of this column is to discuss what I’m currently listening to, and lately, I’ve been enamored with MJ Lenderman and Slothrust. So let’s go ahead and Start with “TV Dinners.� What do you call this genre? Nu Country? Neo Honky-Tonk? I never thought I’d be talking about how much the beat of a line dance song slaps. Lenderman isn’t quite a contemporary of artists like Waylon Jennings or Merle Haggard. Honestly, his country inspiration seems like it comes from TV sitcom, King of the Hill, more than anything else. Sort of a spiritual successor to “Old Town Road,� MJ Lenderman’s “Knockin’� is one of the most interesting EPs I’ve heard in a while. Sex and Candy, Slothrust. Slothrust’s fantastic guitar playing adds an acute depth and maturity that heightens almost every song they touch on their cover album, Show Me How You Want It to Be, elevating songs like “Sex and Candy� and “Happy Together� in a way that brings the original songs to their full potential. Slothrust approaches these songs from a completely new direction, doing “Baby One More Time� by way of “War Pigs� and “Happy Together,� in a way that makes it sound like it was written by Panic! At The Disco. The only songs that don’t really come out of this album for the better are “Electric Funeral� and “Let’s Stay Together,� mostly because they’re not approached as creatively. Body Paint, Arctic Monkeys. This song, this album, took a while to grow on me. I haven’t been crazy about an Arctic Monkeys album since before AM. Me being the only person on the planet who didn’t like “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High.� I think Alex Turner probably feels the same way as his other band, The Last Shadow Puppets, that is clearly the project that gets all the love and attention. With “Everything You’ve Come to Expect� and “Age Of The Understatement� being as good as their titles are long and annoying to type, “Body Paint� is clearly the standout of this album, but that’s not saying a whole lot. The album is definitely a spiritual successor to Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, which is a bold move considering that album was maybe their most disappointing commercially. Miles Erickson is a recent graduate of CalArts, published author. Long Distance Listening Party’s vague intention is to discuss topics framed in the context of what I’m currently listening to.