Crucial Tracks 007: Kevin Humdrum

Next up for a Crucial Tracks deep dive is Kevin Humdrum, prolific publisher and source of inspiration through his work on his web zine, foofaraw. I met Kevin on Micro.blog a few years ago through many conversations on music, TV, comics, and the like (and more recently over on Mastodon)... he's just as passionate as I am on this stuff, so I knew he'd make for a good early interview. Thankfully he agreed!

I highly recommend checking out foofaraw too. It's a well crafted and designed zine focusing on the world of entertainment and producing original storytelling, art, and criticism. His site was the main inspiration for me moving this site to Ghost and I regularly borrow little ideas for layouts, formatting, and schedule to help improve my story telling here on Crucial Tracks.

Alright, let's wrap up the intro and get into it! Here's Kevin...

To start out, can you tell us a little about yourself and where people can follow your work?
Hi! My name is Kevin. During the daytime I'm a strategy consultant in the tech space. During the night time (on the interwebs) I lack excitement and variety; I'm liable to deviate from the typical form; and I make a big fuss about minor matters.

How do you listen to music? (albums, playlists, radio?)
When I have my way, it's albums—only ever albums. But since that drives my wife crazy, when we have music on the Sonos or are driving together, it's playlists (of music that tends to be more upbeat and cheerful than my typical 90s/aughts emo/punk sensibilities.)

Digital or physical releases? What service or media (vinyl, CD, tapes, etc)?
I deeply miss physical media, but have mostly given up on it—I still have my giant binders of CDs and a modest record collection, but gave away my record player before moving down to Napa. Everything is Apple Music via the Albums app nowadays.

In terms of picking music, do you stick to your favorites or search for new music or is it a mix?
Both. Friday through Monday is typically filled with new releases so I can have something to say for foofaraw's Media Guide newsletter on Mondays. I'm trying to be pickier about what I actually save to my library these days though because as the streaming era began I'd save anything that interested me even a little bit. Nowadays, it's gotta be a 4 star album to get saved.

[Each day I try to browse my massive Apple Music library, I get closer to doing the same thing. I nuked by Apple Music library a few years ago and started fresh...might have to do that again! -Ed.]

If you try to find new music, how do you go about finding new artists or albums?
I scour Apple Music every Friday and give everything that is remotely in my lane (indie rock, alternative, pop-punk, etc.) a few tracks so see if it's worth adding to my MusicBox or not. And of course, I check out Crucial Tracks every week to see what I might've overlooked. [😄 - Ed.]

Kevin's Crucial Tracks

Apologies for refusing to stick to the format perfectly... but a perfect album is 12 tracks so that's what you are getting here.

What's your earliest song/music memory?

"Come Together" by The Beatles

The first CD I ever owned was Beatles 1 (or it might've been Brittany Spears Oops I Did it Again. Who knows the truth…) I'd been listening to The Beatles my entire life because my Dad came of age during during the British Invasion and imparted his tastes on me. But with Beatles 1 I finally had my own CD and the back half of the album, with Something, Get Back, and of course, "Come Together", began to shape what "good music" was to my ears.

What is an important song from your childhood?

"Maria" by Green Day

So as a kid, I mainly listened to the music my Dad did: besides The Beatles there was The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc. It wasn't until he introduced me to Green Day that I became enlightened. Green Day and Weezer were bands my dad enjoyed, but also how I started to get into "modern" music. From then on, music was all I really cared about—I'd learn the drum parts to every single song I could and basically never stopped listening to music. Maria might not be most people's first choice from Green Day, but I began listening to International Superhits on repeat everyday on my portable CD player with those old flimsy on-ear headphones. As the opening track, Maria became etched into my brain.

What's one song that's important to your teenage years?

"Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy Tonight?" by Fall Out Boy

"Aliens Exist" by blink-182

"Cigarettes" by Lucky Boys Confusion

Green Day and Weezer ended up serving as a bridge between my Dad's music and my own, which is where Fall Out Boy and blink-182 come in. If I had to define my taste or my favorite bands, it'd be these. With Fall Out Boy being from Chicago, I became enmeshed in the Chicago pop-punk/emo scene, which is what led to discovering bands like Treaty of Paris, Real Lunch, Makai (I knew the guy who played drums on this EP and his twin brother is still making music as Minor Wits in Chicago to this day), Archie Star, and of course, Lucky Boys Confusion. I've seen all three of these bands at least five times each, and if I were asked to play some music on the spot, it'd be an album from one of them.

What's one song that stands out from your college years (or early adulthood)?

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding

"Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

I'm of the opinion these are the two greatest songs ever recorded. They can be played at anytime and they fit every mood possible. They are mellow and upbeat; they are catchy and meaningful; they are perfect, plain and simple.

What's a song that stands out from your current/most recent relationship?

"The Letter" by The Box Tops

"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" by Weezer

I can't talk about music that impacted my life without mentioning Alex Chilton—and that's before even discussing his influence on all the bands that came after. While Big Star and his solo stuff is where it's truly at, The Letter was a song I shared with my wife way back when we were just dating. I'd share all the fun facts she'd go on to ignore, like how he was just 16 singing with this gravitas and gravely voice and how he went on to form one of the greatest bands with an unmatched cockiness—I mean come on, "Big Star", "#1 Record."

And then there's "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," which is just a ridiculously fun song to throw on in the car and jam out to and sing loudly together.

What's your favorite song from the last year?

"Doubt" by Jeff Rosenstock

"Alien" by Dehd

I didn't really get into Rosenstock until his 2023 HELLMODE absolutely blew my socks off (it was easily my number one album of that year). Despite the albums name, he brought the angst down a bit, producing a sound reminiscent of the pop-punk that made me fall in love with music.

Poetry by Dehd was my number one album of 2024 and if you looked at my Apple Music Replay, not much else showed up; Dehd was my #1 played band, Poetry was the #1 album, and the album opener, Dog Dogs, was the #1 played track. The album as a whole is just such a mood with the two vocalists, sharp guitar, and minimalist drums—I can never just listen to one track, I have to listen to the entire thing.

It's so hard for me to pick a favorite from either of these though. So I decided to go with the ones that bring me back to some of my emo roots—touching on anxiety and insecurities.

One more song to wrap things up...

"A Day in the Life" (Live at Ronnie Scott's) by Jeff Beck

Leaving this one for last because I know there tends to be a bias against instrumental music. But Jeff Beck is the greatest guitar player that ever lived—and his peers, Clapton, Page, and Richards would agree if given a truth serum (there's a reason Beck would close out Clapton's Crossroads). Had Jimi lived long enough, he might've surpassed Beck, but we'll never know. Anyways, Beck won a Grammy for his rendition of The Beatles "A Day in the Life" and I think it's a great example of how great guitarists can really make the instrument sing in a way that's a bit rare these days.

Listen to this issue of Crucial Tracks

Find this issue’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. 

Thanks

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his Crucial Tracks! In addition to his publications he listed above, Kevin can also be followed on Mastodon.