Monday Mixtape, Vol. 152

Morning all. I think the world is reeling a bit with the deaths of Kobe, his daughter, her teammate and father, and another unannounced individual. While this may be a bit coarse, during his playing days, I did not like Kobe as a player or a person, but I, like almost everyone, respected his work ethic and devotion.

He certainly had his weaknesses, and the sexual assault case is the largest unknown, a criminal case which was dropped once the witness / alleged victim did not testify after bringing a civil suit, a case which was settled for a never disclosed amount.

It’s hard to reflect on a person’s life when you don’t know the person at all, yet he/she seemed like such a presence in mine, and all of their blemishes and mistakes are out in the public.

This brings me back to the hardest death I can remember of someone I never deal but genuinely cared about, Mac Miller. Miller pretty much finished the 2nd of what he wanted to be a three album cycle. The last album, never made, was supposed to be a straight rap album, showing the world he still loved to do what made him.

So the second album in this cycle, Circles, was released posthumously two weeks ago. Given how much I loved Swimming, I didn’t think it was possible to be as good or surpass it. But Circles is phenomenal. I need to listen more to make a final judgment as I still think Swimming is better, but time will tell. I’m blown away at the musicianship and the many pieces, sounds of different eras, styles, and ideas that floated through this guy’s head.

Miller was constantly getting better as a musician, and these albums are proof of the leaps and bounds he continued to make. He constantly worked on his craft as a producer, rapper, singer, etc.,, a devotion and love of his craft which sounded similar to Kobe’s. Always get better. RIP to the both of them.

As for the remainder of the mixtape, rapper Theophilus London released a new album which has some great tracks on it, a couple which are produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. The two tracks on here are my two faves.

Have a good week all.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 151

Good Morning this Monday all! Hopefully, you all have a day off and can blast this music while enjoying yourself in the outdoors and reminding yourself this day who real agents of positive change in our history were.

So we have to start with Georgia. Seeking Thrills was the first album of 2020 that I hear, and I can guarantee this album is already cemented in the Top 10 albums of the year, if not Top 5.

Georgia has made an album that’s an amalgamation of my favorite female pop albums of the past decade. The comparisons to Robyn will be endless as “24 Hours” makes abundantly clear. There’s also Carly Rae Jepsen sounds (“About Work the Dancefloor” and “Till I Own It), Tegan and Sara (“Never Let You Go”), Purity Ring (“I Can’t Wait”), Grimes (“Feel It” and “Mellow” and “The Thrill”), MIA (“Ray Guns”).

You even get an homage to one of the greatest movies of the 1980s, the classic “The Goonies,” with the eerie and reverbed “Ultimate Sailor.” Just listen to the first 5 seconds, you’ll know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. Then she sounds exactly like Robyn the rest of the song.

Now, a critic of Georgia would say she’s just cribbing the best pop artists of the decade and making songs that sound a little too much like them, which I think is a fair critique. I don’t think this album is some NEW thing, but I’m impressed that it takes some of the best stuff from these artists and packages it all into one very cohesive album. I’ve been listening to it non-stop, and it will definitely be the life of the party. So, like the reference to “The Goonies,” the album seems like a homage the artists that came before her who were all cribbing sounds from the 80s.

It’s a great album regardless. So let’s just love it.

I also just started listening to Compton CA’s, Roddy Ricch, a guy you would swear was from Atlanta or the South by hearing his Future inspired sound. But he’s taking a lot of stuff and making his own little sound with it. “The Box” is his best track and then “Peta” with Meek Mill is another one that bumps.

So I haven’t even listened to the new Kanye album. That’s where this guy is an artist to me now. The SAME guy I defended back in 2015 but could care less for at this point. SAD! Anyways, I heard “Follow God'“ on Spotify’s Rap Caviar, and I loved it. I thought his new album was all gospel-like, and I’m pretty tired of all that thanks to Chance and Kanye’s last album, but this is just Kanye rapping (well) on a great beat. Good stuff.

Bombay Bicycle Club just released their fourth album (I don’t count Flaws), the oddly titled, Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. They’re a band I put up there with Young the Giant and Two Door Cinema Club, a band that I’ve listened to an INSANE amount over the past ten years. All of their albums have been really enjoyable, each with some phenomenal tracks. They’re upbeat and fun and totally have their own sound.

Anyways, I’ve been enjoying their new album, though I need to listen to it a lot more to give it a full thought. BUT I keep listening to “Good Day,” and I’m not sure exactly why. It seems so slow and simple, but maybe it’s Jack’s deep vocals, what I think is the lowest register I think he’s done on record. Whatever it is, I love it.

Finally, I never listened to Juice WRLD while he was living. He died a couple months ago, but I just started listening to him a bit. He reminds me a lot of Post Malone. “Bandit” is one track that stuck out to me. RIP.

Happy MLK Day.