Monday Mixtape, Vol. 108

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You can't really "discover" bands anymore. Because of Spotify and the like, music is ubiquitous. This is obviously a great thing for music lovers, but it does remove the cool and selfish pride I could have in saying that I "discovered" a band or artist before they became mainstream. Right when I started this blog, that ability to discover bands quickly began to erode, and now the "Discover" playlist introduces you to completely random bands that you can hear, but you know millions of others are exposed to the same thing. 

The idea of discovering music is now moot. I've watched the Pitchfork's and Stereogum's of the world suffer much bigger defeats to this end, and they've now become the same click-baitey websites (look at each website and note how many of the same hot topics on whoever is the hot artist of the month (paging Childish Gambino) with much less of the stuff music fans come for like original content (and I understand it's not their fault entirely since this is the way to make money, but why not make a little less money and keep content at a high level?). I’m sure most the writers would agree, but with paltry wages there’s not much they can do. I digress.

THIS IS ALL TO SAY THAT WHILE I DID NOT DISCOVER ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER, I still feel like a bit of an OG of theirs on the State-side (they're Aussies) listening to them back in May 2017, one year and some change before their debut album (though their first single was in 2015, so clearly I was still late to the game to the real OGs). 

This whole soliloquy is accomplishing nothing of note, but it brings me to tell all of you who have not listened to this band yet that you have to get on board and see them when they come near your city. This is one of the best rock bands I've heard in years, a band whose debut album has only gotten better with each listen. Not one bad track and many standouts which I've included on this week's mixtape. I've also included my other favorite tracks of theirs for you to enjoy. (Though I did not include the best song they’ve made, “French Press”, because you should have heard it on my Top 100 Songs of 2017 as it was #3!!

Sometimes a specific sound comes naturally to a band. Can you imagine the Rolling Stones if they had tried to sound more like The Beatles or vice versa? No! Because they sounded so right within whatever they played while crossing some genres but staying within themselves. These guys have a lot of talent and potential. I can't wait to follow their careers and see whether they end in the limelight of success, playing arenas, or gain a loyal following and playing bigger venues as the years progress. Time will tell.

Enjoy!