Monday Mixtape, Vol. 10

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There are very, very few artists who are able to jump around genres and sounds, whirling different tunes that sound nothing like its predecessors. This is why we love Beck and why musicians respect the hell out of him (well, except for Kanye). This is why he can make an album as chill as Morning Phase (my sixth favorite album of 2014), and then follow that up with a song that sounds NOTHING like that album, a total change of direction into an instantly likable song like "Dreams." I just respect the hell out of this guy.  

Meg Mac's "Roll Up Your Sleeves" is your classic piano ballad. A few slow chords sustain throughout as the claps and faint bass drum keep the beat alive. The song hits its climax at 1:28 as the snare and another piano come rolling in as Ms. Mac shows some range. It's definitely got a bit of an Adele feel that I'm digging.

"Indian Summer" reminds me of most tracks from Odesza with the high pitched sample vocal repeating over all sorts of synths and other electronic elements. 

I love weird songs. There's an originality to them because they're so strange and don't particularly sound like anything else. With that said, Kero Kero Bonito is a British pop artist specializing in the J-pop (Japanese Pop) sound who slices in both English and Japanese words as a ridiculous production (or, a sick beat some may say) upgrades the song. The first time I heard this song, it felt like the Super Mario 3 soundtrack just visited Albuquerque for a quick fix. This song is out there!

To pour one out for the artist formerly known as Rick Ross (as he has lost something like 100 pounds!), I wanted to include this slow jam with Drake. Not sure he can call himself "the Don" anymore since he's under 250, but glad to see the man's taking his health seriously! 

I spoke about Seoul in my last mixtape, and this track has been playing on repeat for me. Laid back groove, laid back voice. Just sit back and relax.

Have a good week!

Playlist - Stop, Drop, Electro Pop, Volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4

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I have gotten some great feedback from people regarding my two most recent Electro-Pop mixes. This genre of music just puts a smile on my face. It's upbeat and very energetic which almost always lines up with something fun, whether you're hosting a party, getting ready to go out for the night, or working out. It works in so many different situations.

I wanted to just put all of my Electro-Pop Spotify playlists right here to access. Obviously, each Volume goes in chronological order of when I made it, but that being said, I think Volume 1 is my favorite. It has some serious JAMS that need no introduction. Perfect for a party.

Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 1

Volume 2 is a little bit more experimental and adventurous, not as straight up catchy as my other volumes, but I think one gripe about Electro-Pop is that it all sounds the same, but I think this mix shows the abilities of really talented musicians (like Toro y Moi, Gardens & Villa, and Bear In Heaven) to make these types of songs sound original. The first track by Jakwob really sets the tempo. I love when the drums come in at 0:50 and then later at 2:32 when she just goes off. Beautiful song. Hopefully, many of the tracks on here you may have not heard before, like Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs or Lanu, their tracks kill!

Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 2

Both Volume 3 and Volume 4 I've written about, but I just wanted to include them here as well! 

Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 3

Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 4

Album Review - A$AP Rocky - At.Long.Last.A$AP

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If A$AP Rocky’s first album was fogged in codeine and cough syrup and chopped up like his influences down South, his new album is a hazey dream on doper hallucinogenics searching for substance. In what is a surprising display of restraint and patience for an artist on a second album, A$AP’s record drifts along while I slowly visualize the world he sees. The world as described isn't all that interesting, but the music sure as hell is.

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Monday Mixtape, Vol. 9

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The Weeknd has always had an original voice and a unique sound, so I was thrown for a bit of a loop that his vocals sound so much like Michael Jackson on "I Can't Feel My Face." It's apparent with each note that he's in a range or tone he hasn't hit before, but I imagine this one could be a big hit. Definitely deserves the first track on the mixtape!

I couldn't really get into Unknown Mortal Orchestra's new album, but this song has all these different elements, from the weird Wild West-sounding start, to the funky rhythm, to Ruban Nielson's delicate vocals.  

Hopefully you remember "Polish Girl," and if not, please listen to this immediately:

(Side note: If you really like this track, check out my Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 1 playlist, which is a totally kick ass set of electro-pop jams which I made back in 2012 (so yeah, the tracks may be a bit old but they're still awesome). Does anything beat the start to "Shuffle???":

A playlist within a playlist?? So meta.)

Back to the story at hand, Neon Indian has been out of the spotlight for a bit (his last album was in 2011), but he's dropped his first single, "Annie," which many are hoping will lead to a new album!

Cheerleader, a band from Philly who just released their debut album, is in the pop rock genre similar to a band like Walk the Moon. These loud pop songs with distortion always seem to get me!

I stumbled upon Seoul somehow, and I placed the first and second track back to back because the first track slowly sets up a perfect transition into the second song, the catchy but sedate "The Line." Just listen to how well it flows! So cool. I have a thing for first tracks that intentionally bleed into the second, as I've spoken about with The Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Florence Welch has a voice that commands respect. There aren't many making music with vocals like hers. She sounds like she's screaming from the top of a mountain for the world to hear while hitting notes mere mortals could barely even play on a piano. "What Kind of Man," is a Florence lashing out against a lover who she can't seem to leave, and she sounds pretty pissed about it. Can't wait to see her live at OSL!

5 Faves - Tame Impala

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Parker dropped a few interesting tidbits, including:

  • Michael Jackson is his favorite artist ever;
  • Parker and the band were pretty drunk at their Coachella set (which I got to see), and he says he started drinking right after the show "to wash away the sorrow" of what he thought was a poor performance. For the record, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as their ACL set or show at The Fox last year;
  • Currents was written entirely on tour and is the kind of album Parker thought "indie snobs would turn up their nose at." The truth is now Parker has hit that Messiah Complex where everything he does will be loved by critics because he's made so much flawless music, so when he shifts gears and goes a bit poppier, all is forgiven because he's a genius. We'll see what I think of the new album, I will definitely have a review!
  • "Let It Happen" is basically about evolving as a person and musician, from his introverted ways as a musician on his first two albums to what he describes as being more extroverted these days;
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Playlist - Outside Lands Festival, August 7 - 9, 2015

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Outside Lands, San Francisco's three day music festival in Golden Gate Park, is only two months away! This will be my third year in attendance, and I'm really looking forward to this year's lineup. The last two years had a number of memorable performances. 2013 boasted a ton of great acts, including Gary Clark Jr. (a man who will never disappoint a festival crowd), Band of Horses (who get credit for the best setlist of the festival), Jurassic 5 (playing their first show in years and killing it), the Chili Peppers, and Paul McCartney (who put on such a memorable show). 2014 had Cut Copy (my highlight of the festival - there's nothing like thousands and thousands of people losing their minds, dancing their pants off), The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Tom Petty, Run the Jewels, Atmosphere (easily one of the best shows of the festival), and a disappointing Kanye (wah wahhh - but for the record, I still somewhat begrudgingly love Kanye). 

So on to 2015, a lineup that I would argue may be better than Coachella's lineup this year. There are very few DJs (yay!) and a ton of varying genres of music to keep it interesting and different. There are way too many bands that I'm excited to see that I would love to talk about at length, but in the interest of time, I'll keep it a bit shorter.

With apologies to Local Natives, Tame Impala is unquestioningly my favorite band at the moment.  I crave every show I can attend, and I believe this will be my fourth show of theirs. By August their new album will have been released which will set up the show to be downright epic. I CAN'T WAIT.

St. Vincent, a super talented and original artist, one who shreds the guitar and looks damn sexy doing it (side note - I read she was dating Cara Delevinge = power couple! Side note to the side note - Cara Delevinge had a profile in the Wall Street Journal Magazine which I thought was interesting and painted her in a bit of a different picture, not as celebrity and attention craved as you would imagine, maybe worth a read?) is always an act to see. Can't wait.

D'Angelo (assuming he doesn't cancel his show like he did two years ago at OSL) will be a total treat to see live. I wonder, because his music and voice is so fragile and intimate, if a festival setting will work for him. I think his backing band, The Vanguards, will bring the funk and be loud enough to absorb the place and crowd, but we'll see.

I love love love Wilco. I saw them for the first time at Austin City Limits, and I was disappointed in the set list, and I thought the performance was just dull. I don't expect that to happen twice for a band who has one of my favorite live albums ever, Kicking Television - Live in Chicago.

Hot Chip will be this year's replacement for Cut Copy. Though I like Cut Copy a lot more, Hot Chip has a ton of great and identifiable songs that the crowd will lose their minds to. It'll be a dance party. In the same vein, Classixx should put on a similarly great show. 

I will see St. Paul and the Broken Bones this time. I promise! 

Elton John is going to be awesome. I don't even know too much Elton John, I just know that he's a hell of a performer, one who will tear up his piano and belt out the hits. I think the crowd is going to really be into this one.

I've heard that Kendrick Lamar isn't performing much stuff from his new album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which makes me wonder whether A) it's too complicated or expensive to play live (as the instrumentation in that album sounds pretty expansive with a ton of different instruments)  or B) this is some "artistic" statement that he won't play it for the masses because this is his album and he won't be pimped to play it. Whatever man. Don't make an album and then not play it. What is that about? (Update: Lamar just started playing some tracks from the new album at his appearance at Summer Jam this past weekend, so hopefully that means we'll get to see new stuff at OSL -though bummer for all the people who saw him prior to this). I saw Lamar at Austin City Limits a couple years ago, during the madness of his last album, Good Kid M.a.a.D. City, and I thought it was somewhat disappointing. But he's had a ton of time to get better so we'll see!

Two headliners that I'm 50/50 on - shows that I will certainly plan to see (assuming there aren't any other bands I have to see playing at the same time) that could be great but might also lose my interest - Mumford and Sons and The Black Keys. I saw The Black Keys at ACL, and I just feel like those guys need to be in a dingy, small venue to get the real experience of that sound and energy. A festival is too wide open and pristine of a setting. Mumford and Sons have festival ready songs which I think will be great, but I'm not sold on the new album, so that show will be a TBD.

Ok, so that was a bit longer than expected, sorry, and I'm sure I'll be writing more about OSL as the schedule is released, and I plan my days, but as for the playlist, these are my favorite tracks of each artist that I would like to see at OSL. Those with multiple tracks I am probably more interested in seeing, but each band has a gem or two worth hearing live. Probably best to just put the playlist on shuffle, buy your plane ticket to SF, crash on my couch, and come to a great festival!