Monday Mixtape, Vol. 142

Hopefully you started listening to this week’s mixtape without looking at the playlist and just listening. Because then you might have really enjoyed the first track without feeling guilty. If you looked first, then maybe you said, “One Direction!!??" and then had a preconceived notion that you shouldn’t like this song, which may have become more complicated when you really liked the song. It’s up to you whether you’ll admit or not. And that’s how we start our Monday, like it or not.

You may wonder how this track got on here. I read Rob Sheffield’s Rolling Stone article on Harry Styles, a guy whose first solo album was really, really good. It’s hard not to like Styles. His charisma, honesty, and comfort with himself (at least at his age) is disarming for someone you’d expect to be a prick.

ANYWAYS, the article included a playlist about all the music they spoke about during the interview process:

Lo and behold, One Direction features somewhat prominently on it. So I heard the track (and didn't know who it was!) and loved it. So that’s how it got on this week’s mixtape (it’s also, by the way, how the beautiful Bill Evans track made it too.)

As for the other tracks on this week’s mixtape, there’s new stuff from numerous bands I’ve enjoyed over the years - Surfer Blood, Little Brother, Vince Staples - and a new band, Gender Roles, whose album I love. These guys are like a music child of The Deftones / Wavves / The Used, and I’m digging it. There’s rhythm, some screaming, and great rock n’ roll.

And finally, a shout out to my bud Sean. He asked if I had listened to the new Taylor Swift album. And speaking of guilty pleasures like One Direction, I am wholeheartedly a fan of Taylor Swift’s 1989, a phenomenal album, but I don’t like most of her other stuff.

Nonetheless, I listened to her new album and couldn’t make it through 10 songs (let alone the fact that the album is EIGHTEEN FREAKING SONGS - which btw is a pathetic scheme by artists to get more album “play counts” on streaming services which makes “the art” of making an album NOT AN ART and instead a money, attention, and awards grab. I’m sorry, but if you’re willing to intentionally manipulate your album to succumb to these bullshit reasons, you’re a sellout, not an artist (and I hate to say it, my boy Drake is in this category too)).

The first ten songs were terrible: formulaic, her annoying falsetto that she can’t actually sing in, “rapping” or whatever you want to call her fast talking, it’s all just bad pop music to me. So I stopped listening.

BUT THEN SEAN. So like I was saying, he texts me about the album and says his favorite track is track 13, “False Gods,” a song I didn't get to because I clearly was too fed up from the reasons listed above.

The song is subtle, quiet with a bit of reverb in her voice (no falsetto!), a horn, a slow beat, FEELING. From the start it just connects. It’s an amazing song. I’m blown away by it, really, and it shows what she can do when she really does it. Or maybe it’s just me and Sean.

So this is my mixtape of teen heartthrobs and pop sensations sandwiched with hip-hop underground favorites Little Brother and one of hip-hop’s current faves, Vince Staples. Definitely a different mix this week. Hope you enjoy.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 139

Whole lotta great stuff starting with the sisters of rock (and you may say pop, but if you haven’t seen them live, they rock), Haim! The beat and the “doo-doo-do-do-doos” have to be a direct homage to this classic:

Anyways, great song. On to Clairo, the next pop sensation. Speaking of beats, I love the drums that groove this song to her sweet siren. Love it.

I heard Bleached on Sirius XMU, and I thought this song was a catchy, 80s-ish track with a beach vibe. Different meld of sounds. The chorus crushes.

Surfer Blood must be doing a covers album because I’ve heard a few, and I thought this cover of “I Melt With You” by Modern English. I actually always thought this song was by The Cure! Whoops.

And a little rap for those who need an inkling. I have to say Anderson Paak has blown up. He’s on every rap track now, and you can see why because he' kills this one. I will take credit for talking about that guy way early. My first mention of him was back on February 1, 2016! It was only 103 Monday Mixtapes ago, Volume 36! Pretty wild. (I’m patting myself on the shoulder btw).

So Morabeza Tobacco are really out there, but it’s chill synth and I think I dig it. Wonder what you think? Too weird, maybe.

Happy Monday all!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 66

I just started watching the Grammy's and have seen Adele stop her performance because admittedly she sounded off (she started over again) and Chance the Rapper win for Best Rap Album. It was awesome to see Chance win the award considering Coloring Book was a mixtape and never released on any record label. To the indie artists!

Tribe also had an awesome performance dedicated to "Agent Orange" and played their anthem "We the People," a reminder that despite the hate and division that is created, we the people - all the people - will always stand strong and resist the power to divide.   

Anyways, it's the start of the music year and there's a ton of albums slated to come out in 2017 as detailed at Pitchfork and Steregum. My list of most anticipated albums within the lists:      

1. Fleet Foxes
2. Arcade Fire
3. Vampire Weekend
4. Grizzly Bear
5. Haim
6. LCD Soundsystem
7. Vince Staples
8. Phoenix
9. Drake
10. Father John Misty
11. Lorde
12. St. Vincent
13. The War on Drugs
14. Gorillaz
15. Dirty Projectors
16. Jenny Lewis
17. Beck
18. Mac Demarco
19. Alvvays

So a whole lot of amazing stuff to look forward to and certainly could be an incredible year. 

Anyways, enjoy some new music, particularly the stuff from Sampha, whose new album continues to grow on me. And I know the song from John Mayer is a super John Mayer song, and I kind of sighed the first time I heard it. But guess what? I'm still listening to it, singing that chorus, because it's damn catchy. So don't feel bad if you like it too. Finally, I love Vince Staples and his new track is getting me very excited for a new album. Everything he's making is gold.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 6

It's Memorial Day. Take a moment and remember someone you know that has served in the Armed Forces. I try to appreciate what I have (EVERYTHING, basically) and what so many of them gave (EVERYTHING, completely). In memory of those that gave theirs for you, thank and love the ones that are still here.

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The past couple weeks have had some great new albums and singles from Hot Chip, Shamir, Surfer Blood, and Ducktails, to name some. This first track from Hot Chip is probably my favorite on their new album, their sixth, Why Makes Sense? Hot Chip is in that echelon of very well respected Electro-Pop artists because they've been doing this for a while, and they know how to throw a party. They're coming to Outside Lands this year in SF, and they'll be acting in place for Cut Copy (who put on one of my favorite shows of the year at OSL last year) as the band I will most likely dance to like my pants are on fire. 

Speaking of dance tracks, maybe you've heard about Shamir. What an interesting kid. He's 20 years old and from Las Vegas. He recorded his debut album in Brooklyn, and he's been getting a lot of love for his album around the interwebs. Well deserved, in my opinion, and this track, "On the Regular," is completely ridiculous and catchy (YES THAT'S A COWBELL).

One reason I love Twitter (people, I have like four followers, help a buddy out! @layersandsounds) is that you can actually connect to artists. Case in point: I just tweeted Matt Modanile, the guitarist from one of my favorite bands of the past many years, Real Estate, and the man behind the band Ducktails (probably my favorite solo project of any band member I can think of), that I loved his new song, "Headbanging in the Mirror," and I just wanted to thank him for providing me some joy. He then favorited my tweet. Who cares, you say? I DO! That's really freaking cool to get through to someone like that. It happens a lot more than you'd think ( ** TANGENTIAL ALERT ** About a year or two ago, Michael Rapaport - yes, THAT Michael Rapaport - and I started Direct Messaging because he was tweeting about whether Jay-Z or Nas was better, so I told him I'd make a Best Of playlist for each on Spotify (Best of Nas is on the blog btw!) and then he would tweet the playlists out to his followers (which is a lot of people!), and they would vote on the winner. He was totally down to do it, but he could never get the playlists to open, and I don't think he really trusted me to blast out a link he couldn't open. So that fell through but was a hilarious experience coming from the guy who directed an amazing documentary of one of my favorite bands of all time, A Tribe Called Quest. If you haven't seen that documentary - GET ON IT because it's really, really good, and then you can tell Michael he owes me one ** TANGENT OVER), and you can provide some love and support to people that may not always be getting it. So with all that being said, Ducktail's new album, St. Catherine, comes out July 24th. If you haven't listened to his last album, The Flower Lane, and you like Real Estate (and this song), I guarantee you will love this album. It's so chill yet keeps you engaged and wanting more the whole time. It was my fourth favorite album of 2013! 

Oh Surfer Blood. I've been a fan of these guys for years. They make consistently good indie rock with tinges of 90s alternative. I wasn't super impressed with the album the first go through, but it's one of those albums I have found myself listening to again and again and liking more. I don't know if I can settle on my favorite track, but "Other Desert Cities," is my choice at the moment.

The mixtape ends with a few more great rocks songs. The first track is from Hop Along, and it's their first track from their new album which has gotten some good buzz. Lead singer Frances Quinlan has a raspy and raw voice that really gives their songs some originality and passion. The drum beat that starts "The Knock" is great too. I have no idea who Adult Mom is, but their EP is six songs lasting a full 10 minutes! Clearly mom had better things to do. Finally, Eternal Summers is a band from Richmond, VA, so I gotta rep my home state!   

Happy Memorial Day.