Monday Mixtape, Vol. 232

So Post Malone jumped on the country music train and wrote an album where pretty much every song has a feature from every big country artist you can imagine. It seems like a popularity/money grab, an easy way for one of few best hit makers of the past decade to find a broader audience, reinvigorate his fans (and maybe himself) and capture the entire population of music listeners. (Posty is the #10 Artist in the World according to Spotify with 77M monthly listeners).

If he genuinely wanted to make a legit country album and wanted to write a phenomenal country album, that kind of album doesn’t have features on 15 of the 18 tracks. The first single is a catchy but mostly empty track with one of the biggest hit makers in country, Morgan Wallen.

It may sound like I’m hating, maybe I am, or maybe I just don’t understand it or wished it wasn’t the lazy features album when an artist has run out of ideas and covers it with names. The only person who really cares about all this is me, and it’s a pretty pointless exercise, but one my mind does and for no great reason is sharing with you.

And yet. I still like some songs on the album. It may not surprise you to hear my favorite song is one of the three songs with no features, “What Don’t Belong To Me,” the first track on this week’s mixtape. It’s one of those catchy sad songs. That’s the Post I like:

Every string, every chord, my guitar
I'll give you everything in the world but my heart
'Cause I gave half to them halfway lovers
I left some to them two drunk summers
Left a piece at the bar with the keys to my car
I know I'm never gettin' it back
I lost a lot to that whiskey-sippin'
I gave the rest to that rockstar-livin'
Take all of me, but thеre's one thang missin'
Baby, I can't give you what don't bеlong to me

As for the rest of the artists on this week’s tape, it’s a blend of rock (what the hell is the madness of this Bad Moves song??? So great.), pop (Sunday (1994) is a legit up and comer reminding me of Beach House and The Cranberries), indie (Steve Lacy is awesome and Omar Apollo is a great talent in the Frank Ocean genre), and the great Fred again (with the help of The Japanese House).

Enjoy!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 165

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So much great stuff for you on this Monday! We start it off with Pink Sweat$, a chubby black guy who physically (and I guess a bit musically too!) reminds me of PM Dawn (who gets a nostalgic nod on this mixtape too) while musically reminding me of an amalgamation of Frank Ocean, Bruno Mars, and Khalid. And let’s also give respect where respect is due: he’s got the best album cover of 2020 on wrap:

Pink Sweat$

Another newcomer, Nick Grant, is one talented rapper. Loving “FEDS” and been listening to him a bunch recently. You’ll hear more of this guy.

As usual, Justin Vernon is in high demand. He was on a Taylor Swift track from her phenomenal new album, and he’s got an appearance on a song on The Japanese House’s recent LP.

For the David Byrne / Talking Heads fans out there: Whitney came out with a cover of “Strange Overtones,” and they put a tad of a spin on it while staying true to its roots, so I think it plays pretty well.

Speaking of Talking Heads’ covers, I recently got the 10th Anniversary vinyl edition of Local Natives "Gorilla Manor” (one of only 1,000 made!). Gorilla Manor is easily one of my favorite records of the past decade, and it always gives me nostalgic memories of where I living, what I was doing, who I was, and so much more. Albums that really bring you back to a time yet still resonate on listens today are truly special. And my goodness, does “Wide Eyes” sound amazing on vinyl! (Sorry, no Local Natives on today’s mixtape.)

Every track Arlo Parks has released in the past couple years, I’ve been totally digging. She always has good beats, and she reminds me a bit of Clairo (maybe it’s the voice?) but she’s got more rhythm. Check her out.

Finally, a favorite of mine, Sir Drake. I didn’t think the use of “baby” so often could actually turn into a catchy track. The video is also pretty funny as he’s just getting embarrassed by pro athletes on Nike’s campus (and yes, also a pretty huge marketing ploy though I don’t think Drake is on Nike but all the other people are).

Drake’s the best. I just love him. I love all the haters of Drake, and the people that don’t consider him a rapper, or think he’s weak or whatever, it’s comical to me because they get SO UPSET. It’s just like, dude, just go back to listening to Gucci Mane and leave me in peace. Not ironically, but this Drake track is all about all the dumbs rappers that talked shit to Drake and spoke of the huge life they lived, yet now they’re broke and fell off the map. The consistency of Drake’s quality is ridiculous. It’s still going. And I’m loving it.

That’s all, have a great week.

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 128

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Oh mercy! I’ve been gone for at least three weeks, I sincerely apologize. You’ve had such a glut of music in your stomach and soul missing! I blame my “real” job, which has been getting a lot busier and very interesting. There have been a few points where I’ve felt the business is about to really turn a corner and some real momentum is gaining. The first two times were a bit of false starts, and I have no idea where the biz may go from here, but it’s another good feeling. You have to feel this every once in a while to keep everything loose and fun, and keep hope alive, so that’s a good thing. 

ANYWAYS. This week’s mixtape is going to mimic my mood, so it shall be an upbeat slew of jams.

Friendly Fires released a single, one of my favorite songs I’ve heard from them in years  it seems just yesterday that their amazing 2008 debut album was playing on repeat on my speakers.

The Japanese House released what is easily one of my favorite albums this year so far. This is certainly my fave jam on the album.

Foals continue to make really good music. I’d say I’m a tad disappointed overall in their new album since their quality control album to album has been so damn consistent, and this year’s album sounds to be one of their weaker entries, but this track and “Sunday” are still great tracks, standouts on the album. 

I’m excited to hear Foster the People’s new album. If this single is any indication, it should be a good one. Speaking of quality control, these guys only have three albums, the last two of which I thought were wildly underrated (their second album was so weird and different, akin to MGMT’s wild left turn with their awesome, crazy, and orbital second album, Congratulations) thereby making the band seem underrated and under appreciated. Yet they were headlining the festival circuit on their last album. They’re a bit of a conundrum to me, I never feel like I meet too many huge fans of theirs or hear too much about them from critics, but they’re still making great music.

Enjoy the rest of the jams and the whole of the week! I’ll see you next one.