Monday Mixtape, Vol. 33
Welcome to the year 2016. I hope for it to be another fantastic year of music, and one that I will happliy curate for the few of you willing to listen.
As for the year 2015, hopefully you've been jamming to my Top 100 Songs of 2015, a list that took a while to whittle down but has a ton of great jams. One thing I really enjoy is listening to all other publications' Year End lists. I've recently been listening to Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs, and I've included some of these in today's mixtape.
I also had a good friend here in SF, a crazy music nut who goes to 2-3 shows a week (though shame on him, he hates hip-hop), who created his own Top 100 Songs and Top 25 Albums. His #1 album was Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion! At first, I was blown away since she's just the pop singer from "Call Me Maybe," but upon listening to her album, I understand why he loved it so much (though for the record, it being #1 is still crazy).
I’ve had Raury on the mixtape before because he has his own blend of hip-hop and alternative vibes, but “Friends” is just a feel good song to make you smile.
Logic is a rapper from Rockville, MD, who I’ve heard about since his Young Sinatra mixtape. The guy has serious talent and is coming into his own. His latest album has some great tracks, “Fade Away,” being one of them
I have no idea how I stumbled upon Good Morning, but these guys are super duper chill.
Ricky Rozay!
This track by Ought is masterful. If you can get over the “spoken word” vocals (and then maybe start appreciating the oddness of it all which is a little bit like Parquet Courts these days and a little bit like David Byrne in his days) and focus on the arrangement of the music and the lyrics, you’re in for a treat. Wish I had this one on my Top 100!
Closing it out with a ballad by Carly.
Happy New Year!