Monday Mixtape, Vol. 195

The star of this week’s mixtape is Falle Nioke, a man from Guinea now living in the UK. I stumbled across “Leywole” which stopped me in my tracks. What a sound! What a presence. What a beat.

There’s something going on that I can feel. Something hopeful and energizing. The success and future of bitcoin (and cryptocurrency in general) - a transparent and decentralized currency that can essentially be owned by anyone for any amount which no government can control, usurp, or overtake - is setting the stage for the emergence of sort of a global community no longer defined by borders and lines on maps.

Yes, there will still be wars and extremist religions and corruption and greed, but these things will be harder to finance (like US taxpayers paying $2T for a war in Afghanistan that cost 170,000 lives, 47,00 of which were Afghan civilians) because the world population will have control of the money, and that is where power lies.

There will still be borders separating countries, but those physical representations will fade as technological advances and “cloud communities” (as Balaji calls them) will become the norm. This is a decade or decades away, but it is happening.

Why the hell am I saying this? Falle Nioke may be singing in a different language, but I feel like I understand him. I feel connected to him in a way I haven’t felt before with a person singing in a different language. And I think it represents a connection I hope occurs globally with all sorts of people with different life experiences, upbringing, cultures, norms, and so much more humanity could benefit from understanding more.

A lot to come to mind by just one song, I suppose.

Happy listening.

Monday Mixtape Vol. 109

TONS of new music in the mix! I've been listening to some new bands that are really tickling my fancy. Sometimes you'll hear a new band where the sound immediately moves you, while other new bands are more mysterious and take some time and effort to fully appreciate. Harem is the former and Wet the latter. 

Harem sounds like a jammy, reggae-like indie band who has a bit of influence from the likes of Sublime. Meanwhile, Wet just has their own bedside sound, pillow talk as you drift asleep. I highly recommend both!

As for the other bands on this week's mixtape, they're repeat offenders. The 1975, the artist that won #1 Top Song of 2017 for my songs of the year, drops another fantastically catchy track. Despite the ridiculous opening line, The 1975 have patented their sound, and it hasn't gotten old.

As for The Kooks, a band whose debut album over a decade ago still moves me in the right way, they've been very hit or miss for many years, but I love this song. Who knows what it means for the future.

St. Lucia is the type of band that really doesn't make bad songs, but when they make a great song, it is catchy as hell! This one takes the cake.

Death Cab is back, and their new track actually sounds more like their old stuff, so it'll be interesting to hear their new album. I was pretty disappointed in their last album, so fingers crossed! 

That's all I got, have a great week!   

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 28

Life has been really crazy as of late, and the demands and time of work and life have had its effect on this blog! So I apologize that I have not been writing as much as I would like to. I'm headed to Salt Lake City in about eight minutes, and I wish I had more time to give an update on this week's mixtape, but I digress. 

Here it is, and if you're still reading this blog, thank you.