Staff Pick's Playlist May 2025

Currently Listening To:
1. The Refreshments - Mekong
2. Silly Fools - Soo Mai Dai (สู้ไม่ได้)
3. Moderndog - Novel (นิยาย)
4. Y Not 7 - Koy Koy Pood (ค่อย ค่อย พูด)
5. Loso - Lok Hai Rak (ไม่ตายหรอกเธอ)

"A dozen or so years ago, I found myself in the most unlikeliest of places; drinking Carlsberg beers at an English pub, in the ancient city of Korat, northeastern Thailand. The pub was called the George and Dragon, and was a great place to meet fellow wayward travelers, who somehow found their way to this magical place. It was at the George and Dragon that I first heard Mekong, by The Refreshments. Since then, I can pretty comfortably say that if I had a favorite song, it would probably be Mekong. Something about it's ode to cheap Thai whiskey, and lonely travel resonated with me, as I toasted to life, beer after beer, with my new found friends.

I recently returned from a two week trip traipsing around the land of smiles, and have been listening to Mekong a lot. Over the years I've discovered a lot of fantastic Thai music too. I even have a cousin who is the lead singer of a super popular indie rock band called Yokee Playboy over there. Even if you don't understand the words, I think these songs convey a universal emotion that everyone can appreciate. Enjoy, and Sawatdee Krub!"

Currently Listening To:
1. Sydney - Got Some Purple Stuff
2. New Aesthetic - Spork
3. Our Chronicle - Remedy
4. Dance! No Thanks - Ryan and Seth

Currently Listening To:
1. Soulful Dress. The Hawkmen
2. Dirt Road Dottie. NEVER ENDING
3. Cold Feet. NEVER ENDING
4. Little Bit Of Lovin. Elle King
5. Gin Soaked Floor. Little LA

"This month The Beatmans all over the map but still hangin with the rockabilly vibe. Songs like Gin Soaked Floor, soulful dress and others not only take me back to a much simpler era of music, they challenge me as a drummer, singer and musician. The feel and vibe from these bands is raw, pure music with little or no effects or distortion...just pure notes played with real instruments.
Cold Feet and Dirt Road Dottie are 2 original numbers from NEVER ENDING...a 5 piece band with Ms. Shelly Clutts as the lead singer. This band is about a year old, but recently took off and are playing more and more around Pensacola.
Lastly, Little Bit Of Lovin by Elle King is a number not heard often but packs a power punch. It's raw, gritty, bluesy and tells a story of confidence in one's self, and a love gone sideways. Elle can really belt it out!
I hope you enjoy these Beatman picks for June, and trust your doing all you can to help support live music in and around The Emerald Coast!
Beatman Rich for Scene Pensacola
Reminding you to...Keep The Beat!"

Currently Listening To:
1. Turnover - Take My Head
2. Safety Training - Way Out
3. Hellogoodbye - Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn
4. Underoath - Survivor’s Guilt
5. Attack Attack! - Dance!

Currently Listening To:
1. Common People - Pulp
2. Laid - James
3. My Body is a Cage - Arcade Fire
4. NYC - Interpol
5. Heartbeats - The Knife

"I read what may be my new favorite music novel last month. Deep Cuts by Holley Brickley is set in the early to mid 2000’s and without giving too much away, it’s about a music writer/blogger, an aspiring musician, and their complicated relationship through the years. The story is wonderful but it’s the music that put it over the top for me.

It took me longer to read it because I kept putting it down so I could play the songs and albums they were talking about in the book. (The wonders of living in a time when you can play whatever you want, whenever you want😄

Some of the songs were deeply analyzed, some were inspirations, and some were just mentioned in passing. As I was reading I was thinking, I’ve got to make a playlist of this. But of course spotify being spotify, someone had beaten me to it. I’ve been playing it a lot but these are 5 I’ve either discovered, re-discovered, or have a new appreciation for because of the book."

Currently Listening To:
1. On The Bus Mall - The Decemberists
2. Kids These Days - Shakey Graves
3. What Love Can Be - Kingdom Come
4. At The Beach, In Every Life - Gigi Perez
5. Said Like a Poet - Theo Bleak

"Starting off the list with a song from an album I’m currently listening through. I’m not too familiar with The Decemberists, but I’m in love with the song I included; it feels reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel and Death Cab for Cutie in its soft twee instrumentation. For the second song, I had to include a piece by Shakey Graves because I had the pleasure of seeing him perform at the Vinyl earlier; after that concert, he was all I could listen to for days. What Love Can Be was the result of my semi-frequent classic rock kick. I listened to bands like Skid Row and Cinderella, and Kingdom Come came up on a mix based off of those bands. Upon my first listen, you could have told me the singer was a young Robert Plant and I would have believed you. At The Beach, In Every Life is the titular track from Gigi Perez’s most recent album; to say the least, I am completely obsessed with this album’s hybrid folk-indie sound. Finally, Said Like a Poet is a new release from Theo Bleak, a long-time favorite artist of mine. The upbeat rythme and its melancholic lyrics offer a beautiful contrast that had me listening through the song on repeat for quite a while."