Monday Mixtape, Vol. 23

This is a Mixtape of all sorts of sizes and flavors:

• There's a rap track from Mac Miller's new album (which is really good and may be reviewed this week!). 
• There's an electro-pop track from the remix kings RAC.
• There's indie-pop from Family of the Year,
• There's electronic wildness from Empress Of (an artist who wrote, recorded, produced, and mixed her entire debut album),
• There's more abstract rap from Flight Facilities, K-OS, and Future.

Speaking of Future, I had to listen to his critically acclaimed DS2 a number of times before I began to appreciate it. I'm still hot and cold with him as his auto-tuned voice is hard to love, but I his sound is dark and eerie, something that sticks with you.

Speaking of Future, he and Drake just dropped a mixtape on the world which will be blowing up the interwebs this week - I'll listen and get back to ya!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 22

Good morning, afternoon, and evening! There's some good music in store:

I stumbled upon Cousin Stizz recently. His debut album, Suffolk County, is chill rap at its rawest. Hailing from the Boston area, Stizz is one of those artists that sounds real, nothing contrived or forced. Rarely does he speed up his strolling delivery, but when he does, it's powerful (see: "Bonds" and "I Got It").

I spoke about Rome Fortune back in my 5 Faves of him, and at the time I hadn't heard anyone like him. But Stizz has similar beats and cadences. They're both in their own world, a galaxy of soma and sedatives. His vocals also remind me of Kid Cudi too (who should also be releasing an album sometime soon). If you like the spaced-out "No Bells" and "No Explanation," definitely check out this album. It's one of my favorite rap debuts this year.

Listen to the beginning of "Narrows." Does it remind you of another song? Or maybe a band? The guitar at 0:29 sounds exactly like the clean guitar sound on a number of their albums (in fact I would venture to say the guitars are the same make - Gibson - and possibly a similar model). Anything? The song: "Arizona," the band: Kings of Leon.

I can't stop listening to Widowpeak's album which "Narrows" is on. It's super chill and is paced really well without one bad track. Put it on in the background and enjoy. It's definitely made it's way into my Top 25 Albums this year.

I included AM & Shawn Lee on last week's Mixtape, but these guys write catchy electro-popish tracks, so I thought everyone would enjoy my other favorite track on their album.

Another pop quiz: Do you think "Sister of Pearl" by Baio sounds like any other band you know? If you guessed Vampire Weekend, then you are on your game. Or maybe you were even smarter and knew the name of Vampire Weekend's bassist was Chris Baio and put two and two together. (If you thought this was Scott Baio's band, you can see yourself out) Either way, I'm excited for Baio's album which is release THIS FRIDAY. 

"Disintegrate" by Painted Palms has a lot of influences. You got Cut Copy for sure. LCD Soundsystem, no question. Holy Ghost! as well. I'm actually surprised they're not on the DFA record label. I need to give their album another go round because the first time wasn't too impressive. However, this track keeps growing on me, so maybe the album will too. To be continued...

If you've been reading my stuff for a bit, you know I love the last song on albums (I already referenced "Arizona" on this post!), and Dan Auerbach's (of The Black Keys) The Arcs' last track, "Searching the Blue," is subtly sweet and a great closer for their album and this mixtape. If you haven't read up on my review of The Arcs' great album, please do!

Have a good week.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 21

Sometimes a week or many weeks will pass by without too much music that gets me excited. Then a week will come by that is overwhelming in its breadth of tunes that get me amped. Last week was the latter.

Foals just released their fourth album, What Went Down, a more rock-oriented album which built on the pieces that made their prior stuff so enjoyable and unique. The title track is all you need to hear to gauge whether this band and album is for you. The buildup to this track hinges on Yannis' warbling vocals and an excitable drumbeat, culminating in an orgy of sounds blasting through your eardrums. I can't wait to see this album live.

Listen to the hip-hop drumbeat that starts "Cold Tears" by AM & Shawn Lee and ask yourself if it sounds familiar? Anything?

I LOVE this track by JT (and unabashedly love JT's music), but it's all propelled by that drumbeat by Pharrell. The fact that The Clipse are featured only makes the song that much better.

Speaking of rappers, guess who's back? Mighty Mos! Blackstar's (only) album and his own Black on Both Side are two of my favorite rap albums ever. His lyrics and easily identifiable voice (you can hear it's Mos in a split second - just like Q-Tip) are his trademarks. May I offer an example? (Starting at 0:15)

My restlessness is my nemesis
It's hard to really chill and sit still
Committed to page, I write a rhyme
Sometimes won't finish for days
Scrutinize my literature from the large to the miniature
I mathematically administer
Subtract the wack
Selector, wheel it back, I'm feeling that
From the core to the perimeter black
You know the motto
Stay fluid even in staccato

Moving on, The Weeknd just released his new album, Beauty Behind the Madness. It's crazy how much he has blown up since "Can't Feel My Face" became the #1 hit on Billboard. It feels like an eternity since I wrote about his obsession with drugs, and now he's on the covers of magazines, performing at award shows, and constantly clogging your radio station.

I've listened through his album a few times and am overly impressed with the whole thing albeit a couple clunkers ("Dark Times" with Ed Sheeran seems like a completely forced guest appearance to gain listeners and sales). 

One of my favorite tracks from the album is the Kanye West produced "Tell Your Friends," an R Kelly-sounding slow jam with The Weeknd sweetly puffing out his chest as he talks about his usuals (see: his hair, poppin' pills, fuckin' bitches, living life trill, cocaine, and other blatant disregards for the opposite see - for further references, see: An Intervention for...The Weeknd).

The distorted, auto-tuned guitar (playing throughout but easily heard at 2:49 - 3:14) is pure Kanye. I recognized the sound from tracks from his classic My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, mainly "Devil In a New Dress" and "Runaway":

Starting at 2:52:

   Starting at 6:05:

It's cool to hear influences remain and are still borrowed (somewhat) subtly in a musician's arsenal, and the production form "Tell Your Friends" is really superb.

I just started listening to Widowspeak - as in, I just heard this song today and instantly fell for it. I have a sweet spot for chill tracks, and this track has a subdued pace, sweet and soft vocals, and a bit going on in the background to keep it entertaining. 

I can't stop listening to this track from Half Moon Run. Their debut album last year, Dark Eyes, was a weird amalgamation (I looked this word up to make sure I was using it right, definiton: the action, process, or result of combining or uniting.) of Radiohead and Kings of Leon. I always heard a bit of Thom Yorke and Radiohead's spaced out sounds while keeping some rock elements I heard in KOL.

But if you can't hear the Thom Yorke's influence IMMEDIATELY from the beginning of this track, you haven't been listening to enough Radiohead! Although the pace is much slower on this Radiohead track (my favorite from King of Limbs), just listen to the opening vocals:

Lots of sounds and influences this week! Happy Labor Day!

Polygraph - The Most Timeless Songs of All Time

If you had to define the 90s in music in a few songs, what would be the songs you would think of? "Smells Like Teen Spirit," is my first answer, "Hypnotize" my second, and "Semi-Charmed Life" my third. Now we all define our experiences differently, so mine won't be the same as yours.

But what if I asked you what are the most timeless songs of the 90s? Or the most timeless songs of the past decades since the 1950s? Well, the answer (sort of - you may have your own opinion of using Spotify plays per song for an entire population to be a skewed data set, but just go with it and enjoy) is here! 

Poly-graph put together an amazingly interactive article which graphs songs and years and their success now. It's certainly no surprise to see that in many years, the biggest Billboard hits will not  be timeless. I just heard Joe Jonas' "Levels" for the first time yesterday - that's on the Billboard chart and that song is TERRIBLE.

On the other end, there are songs that were not huge Billboard hits that have shown to be timeless. For example, "Juicy" by Biggie was #110 of 337 in 1994's Billboard ranking, yet it easily the most timeless from the year track today, racking up 25 million plays. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls ended #57 of 314, yet it's the 3rd most played track of the 90s with almost 36 million plays!

Here are the top 3 songs from each decade (with the somewhat large caveat that Spotify doesn't have The Beatles and a few other bands):

00s:
Lose Yourself - Eminem,
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Numb - Linkin Park

90s:
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

80s:
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Billie Jean - MJ
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

70s:
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits

60s:
Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye

50s:
Jailhouse Rock - Elvis
I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry 

Check this out, you'll go down the deep end, clicking and amazing yourself with all this stuff!

Shoutout to my buddy Parker for emailing me this link!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 20

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 19

I'm traveling to Salt Lake City this week so not too much time to writeup all these songs. Enjoy!

5 Faves - Deerhunter

There are bands that come along that defy convention. They don't get swept under the rug of "rock" or "rap" or any other genre but are viewed as unique without any distinct peer. Deerhunter is a perfect example.

Listening back to their discography, the band is all over the place. Their most recent album, Monomania, is a lo-fi Marhshall amp blasting decibels of fuzz and distortion. Before Monomania was their amazing (and my favorite) Halcyon Digest from 2010, a roller coaster of an album wrapped in a warped beauty. The opening track, "Earthquake," is unforgettable and the rest of the album outshines the opener in depth and originality. "Helicopter" sounds like a spaceage Ambien lullaby and "Desire Lines" is basically Part 2 to "Nothing Ever Happened."

As we go further back in time, the band is finding itself, rummaging around for a sense of identity while wearing masks of sounds to experiment with. My favorite track Deerhunter has ever made, "Nothing Ever Happened," is from 2008's Microcastle. It's six minutes of fucking rock, solos, and a bridge that never really ends. This track will determine whether these guys are for you - and admittedly, they're not for everyone!

I'm doing my 5 Faves for Deerhunter because they have just released their first single off of their new album, Fading Frontier, set to release in October of this year. As appears to be status quo for these guys, "Snakeskin" is just a bit different than their other stuff - a bit funkier, a bit more upbeat, a bit of all the other bits in their discography. Super pumped for the album! 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 18

There's no denying this first track by soul singer Allen Stone. Try to deny it. You can't! (Though I listened to the rest of his album and wasn't too impressed - "Upside" is by far the best song on the album.)

I still don't know much about San Diego's TV Girl, but this track is like a mix between Panda Bear and Belle & Sebastian.  It's dance-y yet a bit trance-y, and if you dig it, they just released another track, "Natalie Wood," which you should check out!

"Kodiak" is classic indie. A flowy guitar with a simple snare lets the younger Jeff Tweedy-like vocals pace a track that would best be heard on a beach with a beer. It reminds me of that simplicity that Real Estate has perfected.

After hearing Mumford & Sons at Outside Lands, I once again revisited their new album. Hearing an album live is like meeting someone on Tinder. Maybe they look nothing like their profile pictures and you're left confused and disappointed, but maybe their beauty has even more depth after connecting with them and you're left feeling even better than you came. (For the record, I still think Wilder Minds is a regurgitation of Coldplay's X&Y (which for the record, isn't an insult but not exactly a compliment either).)

I just love Badbadnotgood. I've spoke about them before in my 5 Faves Ghostface Killah writeup, but if you like jazz, check out the discography from these Canadians.

A seven minute rap song? I love the aggressive start and change of pace. Good way to end a mixtape!