Monday Mixtape, Vol. 205

in

Happy Monday! I hope you’re diggin’ an array of tunes this week. We got rap from Cousin Stizz, Pusha T with a Kanye-produced track, and totally new who the hell are these guys?? rap group called aroomfullofmirrors.

All of this rap is bookended by Palace, a rock band I’m still not exactly sure how to describe. All of their albums have a certain flow, a relaxed vibe filled with reverb, and beautiful compositions. Shoals, their third album released a couple weeks ago, might be their best or at least on par with their awesome debut, So Long Forever.

If you like Palace’s tracks on this mixtape, you really gotta dig into their previous albums. I just looked to see if they were coming by the Bay Area on their new tour, and their show at The Fillmore (my favorite venue in San Francisco) on May 21 is already sold out! They have more of a following than I thought. Hopefully I can get something on resale :)

Enjoy the tunes.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 35

in

As my fellow east-coasters have been deluged in a sea if snow, I have been swamped in an avalanche of new music and albums. There were so many songs I wanted to put on this mix, but I will just have some great material for next week as well.

Let’s start with Diiv. I heard their new album in a buddy’s car, it’s like a 90s grunge concert underwater, washed out and covered in reverb. Their albums swim together in a beautiful unison. 

Chairlift is just making some unabashed catchy tunes. Both songs on this mixtape I liked from the minute I heard em!

PUSHA T. I’ve been blasting his new album on repeat. It’s under 30 minutes of raw, bass-rattling tracks with a ton of room for Pusha to menace and mean mug his vocals all around. This is a killer album (released right at the end of 2015), and Push is releasing another one this year.  

Hinds is a group of chicks from Spain just killing it. Love em.

Really digging Allan Kingdom’s album, Northern Lights. It’s been on repeat all week. He’s got a bit of Kid Cudi in him (not the new Kid Cudi, DEAR GOD, please listen to his new album, just do it, it’s like watching Gigli. No, I’m serious, you need to listen to it and envision someone actually trying to make that) and a whole lot of potential. 

I still am unsure whether I like Savages or not. They’re one of those super serious bands that does not fuck around. Their sound proves the point. They just released their sophomore album, and “Adore” has stuck with me. What a buildup.

Albums to look forward to in 2015!

in

I've scoured the interwebs for a bunch of info on 2015 album releases (thank you Consequence of Sound, Stereogum, Pitchfork, Metacritic, Ranker) and here's an incredibly quick listing of albums that I promise to listen to MANY MANY times which are ranked from somewhat excited to RIDICULOUSLY excited):

Brandon Flowers - TBA
Savages - TBA
The Dodos - Individ (1/27)
Wild Nothing - TBA
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox from Animal Collective) - Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper
Heems (from the now extinct Das Racist) - Eat Pray Thug (3/10)
Jose Gonzalez - Vestiges & Claws (2/17)
Fleetwood Mac - TBA
Chromatics - Dear Tommy
Pusha T - King Push
Freddie Gibbs - Lifestyles of the Insane
James Blake - TBA
DIIV - TBA
Purity Ring
Belle & Sebastian - Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (1/20)
The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (1/20)
Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear (2/10)
Death Cab for Cutie - TBA
Chance the Rapper - Surf
Blood Orange - TBA
Joey Bada$$ (finally!) - B4.DA.$$ (1/20)
Band of Horses - TBA
Drake - Views From the 6
Adele - TBA
Modest Mouse - Strangers to Ourselves (3/3)
Beach House - TBA
A$AP Rocky
Grimes - TBA
Run the Jewels - RTJ3
My Morning Jacket - TBA
Kanye West - TBA
Kendrick Lamar - TBA
Radiohead - TBA
Frank Ocean - TBA

Top 100 Songs of 2013

in

After listening to 157 albums and over 2,000 songs in 2013, I've whittled it down to my favorite 100 songs! There are a number of songs from my Top 25 Albums of 2013, but also a ton of other tracks from other bands - there's hip-hop, indie, rap, electro-pop, and others like James Blake and Darkside.   

There are a few that I wanted to point out for their lyrics or unique sound:

  • The Fall: Rhye - His - yes, his - voice is angelic. Most beautiful song of the year.
  • Chum: Earl Sweatshirt - Great storyteller who references the effects of this story by Complex Magazine. And lyrically the song is heartwrenching: "It's probably been twelve years since my father left/left me fatherless/And I used to say I hate him in dishonest jest/When honestly I missed the n**** like when I was six/And every time I got the chance to say it I would swallow it/Sixteen I'm hollow with Tyler and skipped shots/Just throw him that whole bottle, I'll show you a role model."
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