Monday Mixtape, Vol. 43

A few quick tidbits here:

Sea Pinks is a band where the singer reminds me of nasally and higher pitched Kurt Cobain while the music harkens back to some 90s alternative. If you like the tracks here, the album is a pretty great. 

The Last Shadow Puppets is the side project for Alex Turner (the brilliant lead singer/songwriter/guitarist from Arctic Monkeys) and singer/songwriter Miles Kane. What a combo of talent.

Another track from Kanye’s new album. I actually thought the other guy on the track was Future, but turns out it’s Desiigner, a total unknown until his track “Panda” exploded (which was sampled here).

Without much further ado, Volume 43:

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 42

Because I missed last week (which makes it two missed mixtapes in about the past four weeks - sorry), there is a large amount of music that I would love to just jam in here. Fortunately for me, I can add some tracks to the backlog that didn’t make the cut. 

So what’s happened in the past two weeks? Kanye’s album got released on Spotify, I discovered a new rapper from DC who is amazing (thank you Paddy), Pete Yorn released a Pete Yorn-y album, my Spotify Discover Playlist was ON POINT and I found two really cool new bands, Young Thug dropped a mixtape/album/who knows and was featured in a captivating GQ profile, Bibio released an album, AND Tame Impala decided to remix a song from Miguel’s new album.

The crazy thing about Tame Impala’s remix (last track on the mixtape) of Miguel’s “Waves - It wasn’t even the best remix. That honor goes to Kacey Musgraves, who gave a bit of twang and a whole lot of beach vibes while still keeping the super charged sexual innuendos alive. “Body surf on me / don’t stop / I wanna ride that wave / all night / I wanna ride that wave.”

Miguel makes some baby making music, but hearing Musgraves sing these lyrics takes it to another level. 

KANYE. A divisive figure who I officially can no longer defend. The transgressions are too many at this point. I can still love his music, but I’m totally tired of him. This is one of my favorite tracks from his new album with rap god Kendrick Lamar. I think the album is pretty great and certainly worth a listen for any rap fan. I’ll have some more tracks from the album in other mixtapes.

I spoke about Thugger earlier. His music is just strange, but that profile I read provides a bit more insight into the guy. He’s an alien. And it sounds like a man with a lifestyle that will leave him dead at a very early age. 

LOVE this song from Moses Gunn Collective, particularly that drugged out guitar bending to infinity. 

Remember Pete Yorn? That guy that had a classic album musicforthemorningafter? Well this track reminds me a lot of it. Sorry that I’m just asking the guy to play the hits, but when you’ve made like five other albums (most of which i’ve listened to!) and just aren’t doing it for me, it’s all I ask. 

Bibio releases tracks like “Wren Tails” that make me think I’m coasting through a Wes Anderson movie in a convertible watching the leaves change. Beautiful songs. 

Oddisee is a rapper from DC who my buddy put me on to. I have been listening to him a lot the past week and am amazed with his technical abilities (his second verse in “Want Something Done” is sick!) and production. This guy has some serious talent and is due to breakout. Just a taste of his rhymes: 

“We started off locally / and now this chains globally / that’s the way it’s supposed to be / single seeds only grow to trees / if left alone to breathe / so lets take some time to expose the weeds / feeding off the roots of the culture vultures next to you / convincing you to stay in the forest when they the record crew.”

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 41

The first track - a remix by Kris Bowers - is fittingly futuristic as our world becomes enveloped in different realities like the virtual and augmented. You can’t watch a series of commercials without seeing something about Samsung’s VR set, and the Oculus Rift is apparently going to be a world changer. Although the lyrics aren’t futuristic, the sounds take me somewhere else. 

Bear Hands continually make catchy songs with their own bend to it. I immediately liked this track, while most of their earlier stuff took me a little bit longer to appreciate, but please check out their Distraction album from 2014 if you’re digging them. 

I can’t even remember how I found the next two tracks. Was it radio? Was it someone’s playlist? Either way, you may like one of the two.

Holy Ghost! is one of the more under appreciated bands in the Electro-Pop genre. I still swear by their first album and their second, Dynamics, was a great sophomore effort. “Crime Cutz” continues to slam synths and elaborate buildups while the track gains steam. 

Bas! My favorite new rapper. If you remember me going on an on about Cousin Stizz, I have very similar feelings with Bas (save for the fact that Bas is clearly getting some help from J. Cole as the album is on Cole’s Dreamville record label, and Stizz didn’t seem to get help from any established artist). Anyways, “Dopamine” is only one example of why this guy has got some serious talent. Although he doesn’t have a trademark voice, his rhythm and production exhibit his abilities. 

Had to put another track from Ray on here. His new album is out there, I’m really enjoying it. 

Have a good week!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 40

There are certain weeks that produce such high quality music, I’m just happy to be able to curate it into a short mix. This is one of those weeks, and I don’t even have any tracks from Kendrick’s new album (those to come next week). 

Everything Everything is a band that kind of defies definition. Their lead singer has quirky cadences and a laughably high tenor yet that is the reason their music sounds so unique. I’ve been listening to their new album a lot, and their first track is a great intro to these guys. 

“It Hurts Until It Doesn’t” is my favorite track from Mothers’ great new album, When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired. Check out the album if you dig the song. 

Day Wave has the chilled out Real Estate vibe with a bit more fuzz and fade, but I can always put him on in the background. Foxing is a band I just heard about and this track is the first thing I heard from them. Needless to say, I will be checking out their recent album from late 2015.

I’ve been listening to the folksy Lily & Madeline since their great debut in 2013. They haven’t changed their sound too much, but “For the Weak” is a bit edgier (is that a guitar solo??) than their prior stuff. 

Finally, we come to Ray. This is the first track of his new album and it’s eight minutes long! Ray’s made some six minute songs, but this is the longest song he’s written that I know of and it’s a beauty.   I love the sustain on the piano and the haunting feeling of the entire track. The song reminds me a bit of Shadowlands by Ryan Adams, a sparse yet soulful song.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 39

Morning, I am currently on my way to Florida, and my travels have been nonstop but at fortunately the music don’t stop either. 

I loved Nothing’s last album, Guilty of Everything, so I’m hoping this single is a taste of what’s to come on their new album. 

I have no idea who Declan McKenna is other than to guess he’s Irish. Great track. 

Vera Blue has some pipes!

Wild Nothing’s EP Empty Estate is a must listen, even better than his recent released album which this track is from. 

Peter Webb is a singer/songwriter who will probably never gain notoriety because his music is tuned to very specific tastes, but this is a delicate and beautiful song.

High Highs make music where you question how high you are. 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 38

A few very quick blurbs about this week’s music:

If you haven’t gotten into The Staves - and this track wets your whistle - please listen to their gorgeous album from 2014, If I Was

I’ve been following Dizzy Wright for a bit, and he seems to be making some serious traction as he’s showing up on tracks with a bunch of bigger rappers. This track, from his new EP, is instantaneously likable. 

Nap Eyes is a little bit Belle & Sebastian (ok, a lot), and I just dug this track (and not as much the album)

I had Sunflower Bean on a previous mixtape, but this track rocks. I’m enjoying their debut album.

Static Selektah is basically DJ Premier 2.0. Premier is one of my favorite producers ever. Selektah’s beats are very 90s and all pretty great. This one has a very ATCQ-like rhythm. And one of my faves, Ab-Soul, is on it. 

Bibio has always interested me. He has music to play in the morning or to wake up to after a nap. Chill. 

Have a good week! I’m off to Denver and LA this week. 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 37

A short writeup as I’m about to run to catch a flight on Super Bowl Sunday (boo!). 

I’ve been listening to the new DIIV album on repeat since it was released. The two tracks on here are my favorites, especially “Bent (Roi’s Song)” which has been echoing in my ears for days. 

Lanu is the side project of an Australian musician whose main band is The Bamboos (who I have never heard of, but I’ll check them out). I loved Lanu’s last album, and this album is on par. It’s great background music. 

That’s all I got, have a great week!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 36

Anderson Paak’s Malibu was the first album I listened to in 2016. It immediately became a Top 25 Album of the year for me. There’s no way this album will fall off the list. The real question is how high can it go? Paak’s influences are varied and his nasal rapping and sweet singing may bring comparison’s to other double-threat rappers, but his sound is his own. What a cool album. If “Celebrate” doesn’t get you feeling great, I don’t know what song will.

Lola Marsh is a new band I know very little about save for their four song EP. “You’re Mine” is my favorite of the four songs. 

If you like either of the Allan Kingdom tracks I’ve put on the last two mixtapes, check out his album.

I just started listening to Bryson Tiller, the musical man-child of Drake and Future with Miguel as an older brother. “Rambo” is one of my favorite songs from his debut album, but I love his plodding beats and auto-tuned but still human vocals. 

Abi Reimold is for all my rock fans. She kicks some ass. 

I read about the young Sunflower Bean in the recent Rolling Stone. Their debut album is coming out soon, and I thought “Human Ceremony” was a trippy track.

My (work) life has been crazy busy for the past three months, and I have not been able to provide a ton of content on here outside of the mixtape, so I apologize for what has become the new normal, but thank you for reading and listening!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 35

As my fellow east-coasters have been deluged in a sea if snow, I have been swamped in an avalanche of new music and albums. There were so many songs I wanted to put on this mix, but I will just have some great material for next week as well.

Let’s start with Diiv. I heard their new album in a buddy’s car, it’s like a 90s grunge concert underwater, washed out and covered in reverb. Their albums swim together in a beautiful unison. 

Chairlift is just making some unabashed catchy tunes. Both songs on this mixtape I liked from the minute I heard em!

PUSHA T. I’ve been blasting his new album on repeat. It’s under 30 minutes of raw, bass-rattling tracks with a ton of room for Pusha to menace and mean mug his vocals all around. This is a killer album (released right at the end of 2015), and Push is releasing another one this year.  

Hinds is a group of chicks from Spain just killing it. Love em.

Really digging Allan Kingdom’s album, Northern Lights. It’s been on repeat all week. He’s got a bit of Kid Cudi in him (not the new Kid Cudi, DEAR GOD, please listen to his new album, just do it, it’s like watching Gigli. No, I’m serious, you need to listen to it and envision someone actually trying to make that) and a whole lot of potential. 

I still am unsure whether I like Savages or not. They’re one of those super serious bands that does not fuck around. Their sound proves the point. They just released their sophomore album, and “Adore” has stuck with me. What a buildup.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 34

Music is like so many other things in life - it’s cyclical. Sometimes we have a decade or more of great music, and other times it’s a stagnant regurgitation of better music.

Rap right now is on the upswing. Everyone will always be nostalgic of 90s rap, and I can thank A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, Nas, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Tupac, Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def and Taleb Kweli, Big L, Naughty by Nature, Big Pun, OutKast, Eminem, DMX, Little Brother, The Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, Gang Starr, and many, many more I’ve failed to mention.

But in the past five years we have had Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, Drake’s Nothing Was The Same, Kanye’s Yeezus, Run the Jewels Run The Jewels 2, and then in 2015 alone: Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, Lupe Fiasco’s Tetsuo & Youth, Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, and Future’s DS2.

The last time I was listening to this much rap was back in college when I completely immersed myself in the world of 90s rap (since I spent most of my life in the 90s as a chubby kid rocking out to grunge music wearing No Fear t-shirts with a bowl cut).

I’m immersed now and as a byproduct, I’m immersing you.