Monday Mixtape, Vol. 132

I haven’t exactly been reliable with these Monday Mixtapes every week, so apologies. But this week’s mixtape is quite an eclectic mix. We got rap, rock, indie, grime, a country-ish ballad, and electronic instrumental.

I’m really digging the new Logic album, another great one by a very under appreciated rapper. On the other side, there’s another track on here with an over appreciated, a well appreciated, and a much appreciated rapper, Young Thug, J. Cole, and Travis Scott, respectively. Then there’s Skepta, the gunslinger from the UK, with a new track, the spacey “Bullet From A Gun.”

Something about “Big Softy” just clicks. The song only gets better as it goes along, and I can listen to this one over and over. Albert Hammond Jr., the guitarist of The Strokes fame, has created a hell of a solo career. Nothing will top his top debut album, Yours to Keep, which I hold near and dear to my heart, but he continues to make great stuff, and he’s clean now! Yay!

Does this Justin Townes Earle song sound so much like Van Morrison? I get so many hints with his voice and the overall vibe of the track. His new album is a good listen, give it a whirl.

That’s all I got people. Enjoy your week. Think positive! Your thoughts are the only things that create action.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 122

I follow a number of random playlists by music doppelgängers that I’ve found during my searches through time, and many of them will post their favorite current albums by bands I’ve never heard of and wonder what rock these guys found them under, but alas, I will listen to the first two tracks of every album by these randomly named bands which will give me a feeling of whether they’re worth digging into more.

This is an easy technique to listen to a TON of new stuff to quickly cull through the garbage and find that which rings my ears. I bring you into this weird world of mine because I’ve started today’s mixtape with the first two tracks from James Blake’s (I know, I know, not exactly a “random” artist - WE’RE STARTING SLOW) new album, the fourth of his career, called Assume Form.

If you don’t know James Blake, words don’t exactly do him justice, his voice says it mostly and his production/orchestration say the rest. He’s not everyones’ cup of tea, but these two tracks (the second is expertly assisted by Travis Scott) give you a great approximation of whether you should dig in further to this album.

The remainder of the mixtape includes two tracks from Deerhunter’s EIGHTH ALBUM (I write this in CAPS because it’s wild that I’ve been listening to these guys since the beginning of their career back in 2007 - Yes, this is a sign that I’m (we’re) getting old), Post Malone’s new track, a great track from the perennially underrated Bear Hands, and my favorite song from Sharon Van Etten’s new album.

Happy New Year to all. Let’s have a hell of a 2019 in music and life.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 111

Greetings! I spoke a lot about Mac Miller on Vol. 110 as I put a recently released track on the mixtape. Well, he released his new album, Swimming, and I've really been digging it. It's got some funky vibes, none better than the Thundercat-led "What's the Use?" I can understand if you can't get over Miller's singing voice, but I applaud him for veering outside of rap only and getting a little jiggy wit it. 

The Brummies. What the hell kind of a name is that? I...don't know. But this album is a great hodgepodge of sounds and influences. My fave track is the Kacey Musgraves-assisted "Drive Away."

I mean, I had to put a new song from John Mayer on this. Apparently, now that he's 40, he's a new guy! You can date me now, girls! You'll see me in a new light, I swear. Uhhh ok. 

Big Red Machine is one of Justin Vernon's thirty bands he's in outside of Bon Iver. This one is with The National's Aaron Dessner. Looking forward to the album which is coming out shortly. 

This new Travis Scott album is awesome. I've never listened to him before, and "COFFEE BEAN" is not a good representative track from his new album since no other song sounds like this. He's more on the auto-tune stuff with his other tracks, but I love it. I was surprised how good it was, and from what I've read on the interwebs, it's his best release to date. Listen!

Have a good week all!