Monday Mixtape, Vol. 97

This first track by Jonathan Wilson is far out. Starting off in a Pink Floydish spacescape floating as galaxies slowly pass by, the guitar slices repeatedly weaves with a Grizzly Bear-esque and then the track turns to distorted guitar and a beat like it came straight out of Dazed & Confused - and that's the first two minutes!

This dude is wild, and I just started listening to his album, so I'll have more to relay next time around, but he's got one interesting sound/s.

As you know, any Tame Impala song will be ingested by me and listened to numerous times. This one is more of a "Featuring Tame Impala" kind of song given it's pretty EDM-like, but I'm sold because I get hypnotized in the rhythms and vocals. Kevin Parker does it again!

I keep reading about Charlotte Gainsbourg's 2017 album, so I've finally given it a whirl, and I highly recommend it. With no apologies to Lana Del Rey, she's a more talented Lana Del Rey with that sultry voice. If Lana mixed with Robyn (with all compliments to Robyn, whom I love), their hideous music-child would produce something like Charlotte's latest album, one that weaves through in French and English and is pretty captivating the whole way.

For those who don't know, S. Carey is a part of Bon Iver (he has the second most angelic voice of the crew) as shown here (which I think I've posted about before):

I LOVE his voice. So pure.

ANYWAYS, he released his second solo album. It's good, and I'm not sure if it goes beyond that, but it's very easy to listen to, perfect background music. I'm going to continue to listen to him as I think this album will grow more and more, but right now they all sound pretty similar, and I'm having a tough time figuring if I love any song or simply like most of them. Time will tell, but this is the one I think that strikes me the most so far. 

If the chorus of Dega's "Mirrors" doesn't remind you of one band of the 80s, then we just don't know each other. Because it's clearly Hall & Oates! Such a catchy chorus that I find myself singing over and over. "She's thinking about it!"

Not exactly sure who the hell "Hibou" is or what the hell "Hibou" means, but this song kinda reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins. Or 90s music in general. So I'm a sucker for this stuff. 

Sir Sly to end the mixtape, a band that reminds me a bit of Foster the People but not as original or good. Sorry, Sir Sly, just giving my thoughts. Still a pretty good song, buoyed by the chorus. 

Have a good week, all! 

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 96

Natalie Prass is back! And boy is she ever with this knockout catchy jam, a departure from her more subtle and delicate (and amazing) debut album (that I talked incessant about back in 2015 and was my #2 Album of 2015 - so yeah, check it out!). I just love this song, and I can't imagine not bopping your head to that beat! 

The remainder is a hodge podge of artists, some of whom I've recently discovered and really been digging their albums (particularly Dega and Surf Harp) and others who have been on the mixtape before (Wye Oak and Little Dragon).

Regardless, it's an "indie music" (yeah yeah, whatever that means, right?) kinda feel to the mixtape. Enjoy!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 95

Happy President's Day all! Hopefully two or three of you have the day off or are playing hooky. 

There's a ton of "new" music that I'm pretty excited to share with you. New is in quotation marks because this first song, "Grace," by Future Generations is from 2016, but goodness, I LOVE this song. What initially sounds like some futuristic EDM track abruptly shreds into a distorted guitar and a lonely wail "over something small like me." 

Future Generations formed at Fordham University and look to be releasing the follow-up to their 2016 debut (a good but not great album, one that screams with their potential but sometimes get lost in repetitiveness) this year. If "Grace" has anything to do with it, these guys got a lot of promise for their sophomore album!

My wife and I saw Lord Huron a handful of months back at The Independent, an intimate venue akin to The Black Cat (to all my DC peoples out there!) in San Francisco. They played two or three nights in a row, and they played a couple new tracks. One song instantly grabbed me, it's soul-filled, bluesy, and retro sound reverberating throughout the hushed audience. The slow, plodding bass line hooked me, and the lyrics were so simple and beautiful: "If we can't stay together / What's the point of life?" 

Ladies and gentlemen, "Wait By the River" by Lord Huron.

Enjoy the remaining stuff, a hodge podge of sounds, and check back next week for more!     

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 94

Kendrick Lamar was tasked with creating a soundtrack to the recently released Black Panther, and the results aren't exactly surprising. It's great. It's varied in sounds and production yet stays cohesive, and Kendrick pastes hooks, verses, and his imprint over most of the songs. Featuring appearances by Future, The Weeknd, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, SZA, Schoolboy Q, Khalid, Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, James Blake, and Travis Scott, it's like rap's All-Star Game. The album is one of my fave soundtracks I've heard in quite some time. Check it out!

I was watching (the movie) Whiplash again, and it prompted me to get on a jazz kick last week. I stumbled upon this track from John Coltrane and Duke Ellington, a beautifully rhythmic song strolling through a wintry evening.

And finally, MGMT released a new album which goes way back to their pop-like ways. I still need to digest it, and I'll get a couple more tracks.  

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 93

Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl last night. Quite a game. And I give commercial MVP to Tide, those were pretty great.

Got all sorts of genres for you this week. Drake released a track that broke Spotify's single day streaming record, Chvrches released their first single off their new album (which I like a lot!), Chromeo can do no wrong, Rapsody - who I first heard about because she was nominated Best Rap Album at the Grammys - with an old school-sounding hip-hop gem, Rhye with a release from his new album, and a couple other newer artists I've been digging. 

Anyways, happy Monday all, enjoy the week!  

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 92

Cozz for all the hip-hop heads out there. 

Kintaro and Anderson Paak for the hip-hop heads + soul lovers.   

Borns with a pop jolt. Check out his album!

Mild High Cub for the psych stoners out there. 

Ark Patrol for some EDM.

Luke Temple for the delicate songwriters in all of us. 

Jaws of Love to hear one of the Local Natives solo album, a beautiful track. 

Happy Monday! 

I listened to 84,207 Minutes of Music in 2017!

Spotify does a "My 2017 Wrapped" which provides its listeners an idea of the time spent listening to music as well as the artists, songs, and genres. 

Although it doesn't top my personal best, and something I can't imagine beating again,  101,976 minutes of music in 2014, I'm still pretty proud of this year's accomplishments.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 91

Happy New Year to all! Given the crunch of time I was under, I haven't even gotten to post my Top 100 Songs and 25 Albums of 2017, so I will do that this week to supplement the mixtape. 

I got put on the The Palms by my buddy Dave and been listening to them for a week now. Digging the album! The lead singer reminds me a bit of Foster the People back when they made "Pumped Up Kicks." 

MGMT is back! And while I've had a love-hate relationship with their music, I'm really digging this song and hoping their album in 2018 is a winner. They have it in them. 

Yes, that is THE Michael Cera you're thinking of, George Michael Bluth and Superbad and all that other good stuff. And yes, he got Sharon Van Etten to get on a track with him. Love the song. 

 Enjoy the rest!