Welcome to “ONE TRACK MINDS” with Erika Rae Owen from Band Bombshell and Chris Knauf, board member of the Des Moines Music Coalition. Each week, Erika and Chris take turns selecting a song of their choice, listen to it together for the first time, and document their reactions, thoughts and witty banter via instant messenger.
This week, Chris and Erika listen to “Secret Love” by Max Wellman.
Listen along while you read their commentary:
Chris: Are you beat poem snapping yet?
Erika: Haha, I just pulled out my beret. I keep it under my intern desk.
Chris: Matches my black turtleneck This is apparently a Doris Day cover.
Erika: Really?
Chris: How many hipsters are rocking Doris Day?
Erika: Not many…. I wouldn’t think, at least. Favorite Doris Day movie. Go!
Chris: Blanking. You?
Erika: Move Over Darling.
Chris: Stop stealing old person references from me. That’s supposed to be my shtick
Erika: I’m an old soul.
Chris: Have you ever seen Mr. Wellman live?
Erika: I have! I went to his Valentine’s Day special with my boyfriend. It was magical.
Chris: Did you slow dance?
Erika: No. But we were the youngest people there by 40 years. I like his voice. Isn’t Max pretty young?
Chris: He should appease both demographics by serving Jell-O shot. But yes. He’s 17.
A true prodigy
Erika: He’s 17?!
Chris: I’m sworn to secrecy on his real age, but I can say that Tuesdays are the day he shaves.
Erika: Whew. I was starting to feel really bad about my life progress.
Erika: I know. I wonder who his secret love is?
Chris: If you were a single young woman, at a cafe table, being serenaded by Max, would you be able to resist?
Erika: I like my men quirky. I’d be more attracted to a quirky Max Wellman dancer.
I would love to pull out my Elaine thumb dance to this jam.
Chris: After the thumbs are all done snapping to the intro, of course
Chris: I’ve asked him to do an all Walkmen covers album. I see a little Hamilton
Leithauser in him
Erika: I have no idea who that is… Enlighten me.
Chris: The Walkmen?
Erika: Yeah.
Chris: Only one of the best modern indie/rock bands around. “The Rat”, “Heaven”,
“We’ve Been Had”, “We Can’t Be Beat”
Erika: Oh man. It’s not even an old band. I am so out of it. My cred is gone.
You’re too cool for me.
Chris: If you saw the tie I’m currently rocking you’d know that’s not true.
Chris: OK…so 1 to 5 blonde pompadours…your rating?
Erika: I’d give it a 4. I would totally pull this out while making dinner with the boyfriend. I dig it. I’d have to listen to more to get used to the genre. I’m not usually a big band/jazz-y girl. You?
Chris: I agree on the 4. Ready for an admission?
Erika: So ready.
Chris: From ’88 through about ’94…nothing but hip hop played in the Knauf residence. I mean the basement bedroom with the vintage waterbed and Sega Genesis that served as the room belonging to me in the Knauf residence. Except for one CD…Harry Connick Jr’s “Blue Light, Red Light”
Erika: Want me to share mine? Childish Gambino, “Bitch Look At Me Now”
Pretty intense.
Chris: That was your slow jam? Childish Gambino. The rapper formerly known as
Donald Glover?
Erika: No, just my secret song that I like that no one knows about. If we’re talking about slow jams, M. Ward’s “Let’s Dance”
Chris: Pro for Donald…he attended LCD Soundsystem’s final show. Con…I just can’t get into Community
Chris: Final plug for Max…he plays the Turner Jazz Center on Drake’s campus
tomorrow night at 8. Should be a really cool show.
Erika: Good transition.
Chris: I tried
Erika: Is the show free?
Chris: $20
Erika: Ladies, find a cute guy to take you on a date. Then they’ll pay.
Chris: I took a date to one of his shows once. His birthday party show at Cafe Di Scala.
She was putty in his hands. And the bar/dinner tab was putty in mine.
Erika: You lost your date to the singer?
Chris: Nearly. He’s nowhere as smooth in regular conversation
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Max Wellman performs on Wednesday, August 7th at Turner Jazz Center. Find details here.
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