Monday Mixtape, Vol. 171

Lots of great music blasting - or should I say serenading? This is an especially mellow mixtape - through the headphones this week. So many artists I love are releasing singles in anticipation of albums or fill albums in the past couple weeks: The Staves, Chris Stapleton, Mac Demarco, Jeff Tweedy, Local Natives, and more.

We’ll start with Omar Apollo, a crooner oozing sensuality and sultriness. You may get some Frank Ocean vibes from this guy who just released a new album that’s worth checking out if you like this jam that starts the mixtape.

Joji is a pop act but an original talent as he produced and arranged all the songs on his album Nectar. “Daylight” reminds me of Borns, one of my favorite pop artists in the past few years, and “Afterthought” has some James Blake influence. His album is all over the place in a good way.

Jeff Tweedy released a new solo album. God I love this guy. I still think Wilco is one of the most under appreciated bands alive right now (Spoon is probably up there too. You know who’s NOT up there? THE NATIONAL. The most OVERRATED band alive. Though I will admit I like High Violet but I’m so very tired of listening to their lead singer fumble through his songs like he’s on his 17th glass of red wine).

ANYWAYS, any music released by Jeff Tweedy is a must listen for me. I’ve included a couple of my current faves from his recent album, Love Is the King.

Another underrated band: The Staves. Their new single “Good Woman” is released in anticipation of their third album (of the same title) to be released in February 2021. Can’t wait!

My man Mac Demarco releasd a bunch of b-sides from his last album, and I have yet to listen to them all, but “Out Of My Head” got my head bobbing. He’s so awesome.

Finally, some nostalgic love for Local Natives. I may have mentioned I recently purchased their 10th Anniversary vinyl of their debut classic, Gorilla Manor, an album that has so much emotional heft for me, memories of a specific time in my life that Gorilla Manor WAS the soundtrack.

I’ve added one of my favorite tracks (though who am I kidding, I think I love every single song) which is a bit less known as it’s buried in the back of the album.

Enjoy the tunes.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 115

The surprise of the weekend was seeing that Hippo Campus released their sophomore album, Bambi, on Friday. And what an album! The lead singer reminds me of Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, but their melodies are a bit more out there, I’m not really sure they sound like anyone else. Their second album shows some subtleties in songwriting that show the band’s growth. This is an album that flows from front to back with slow jams bookending the albums intersected by waves of rhythms and tempos. What I’m trying to say is just listen to it!

My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel released his second album and this “Wished Out” track immediately reminded me of The Allman Brothers Band. Never a bad thing.

I’ve gotten on a bit of a Jeff Tweedy kick recently, one because he’s such a great lyricist, two because he’s in one the best (and most underrated) bands of the past two decades, and three because his solo album of acoustic Wilco tracks is phenomenal (it’s called Together at Last - check it out!). Tweedy has a voice that finds a place in the hollows of the acoustic guitar. This is his most recent solo effort.

Speaking of voices I love, Thom Yorke released a track from what I hope is an upcoming solo album, and Bright Light Social Hour (whose vocalist’s solo album I had on last week’s mixtape) released a new track for all to hear, the spacey “Trip with Lola.”

Finally, the killer three-piece jazz band, BADBADNOTGOOD, who do a ton tracks with rappers and bands, have just released a track with Little Dragon, and it’s a “raise your lighters” type of jam.

That’s all I got folks, enjoy!

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco performs "One Wing"

I don't think it's quite accurate to call Wilco underrated because they've had some serious critical acclaim, none more so than their album that many critics viewed as their masterpiece, 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

But they are definitely under appreciated. I really don't know many friends my age that love Wilco. In case you'd like a primer on them, check out my "Best Of"

For some reason, they seemed to only have really stuck with a previous generation. Yet they still make great music. Their leader, Jeff Tweedy, just released a phenomenal and subdued acoustic album of some of Wilco's great tracks. I liken his voice to Bob Dylan. It's not good but that's exactly why it's so great. His soul is represented in his vocals, it's a scarred beauty.  

"One Wing" was not included on this album (no idea why either because this is such a cool interpretation of it), but Tweedy performed it at music fest, Pickathon. A remarkable performance, even more so as it highlights his penchant for lyrics:

We once belonged to a bird
Who cast his shadow on this world
You were a blessing and I was a curse
I did my best not to make things worse for you
It isn't true, I always knew this would be our fate
This is what happens when we separate
This happens to all dead weight, eventually
We may as well be made of stone
We can't be flown

One wing will never fly
Neither yours nor mine
I fear we can only wave goodbye

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 79

I recently published a poem I wrote, it's called Fixture. It's a poem on life, and I'm proud of it. I don't often feel proud of my writing because the majority of it is terrible, but sometimes, it feels good to write. This was one of those times.

It didn't take quite as long to get another Monday Mixtape out as it took to write another poem, but there's been a ton of music! All sorts of great albums have been released in the past couple weeks which I'll get to on this mixtape and the next one, but it includes Vince Staples, Haim, SZA, Washed Out, Poolside, Miami Horror, Dan Auerbach, and even Jeff Tweedy released a solo acoustic album of Wilco songs. Wow. Breathe. Listen. And enjoy!