Here’s Part 2 of my annual summer mix, for your evening/nighttime enjoyment.
The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist, are at the bottom. But first, some notes:
The best song of 2021 so far is the opener to this mix: “Be Sweet” by Japanese Breakfast.
“Impact” needs to be played on a sweaty, covid-free dance floor as soon as possible. (Also, that song made my top 10 of 2020 last year.)
As I’ve said many times, Amber Mark is the most underrated R&B artist we have. By the same token, Caroline Polachek (formerly of Chairlift) is currently our most underrated pop artist. “Bunny is a Rider” is a bop.
If you try not to dance during “Watch Your Step” by Disclosure and Kelis, you will fail miserably.
Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):
1. Japanese Breakfast: “Be Sweet”
2. SG Lewis ft. Robyn & Channel Tres: “Impact”
3. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak): “Skate”
4. Laura Mvula: “Church Girl”
5. Natalie Bergman: “Shine Your Light on Me”
6. The Avalanches ft. Leon Bridges: “Interstellar Love”
7. Disclosure ft. Kelis: “Watch Your Step”
8. Tuxedo: “Doin’ My Best”
9. Madlib: “Road of the Lonely Ones”
10. Majid Jordan: “Waves of Blue”
11. Kid Cudi: “Tequila Shots”
12. SZA: “Good Days”
13. The Black Keys: “Stay All Night”
14. Kevin Morby: “Campfire”
15. Caroline Polachek: “Bunny is a Rider”
16. Amber Mark: “Worth It”
17. Bedouine, Waxahatchee & Hurray for the Riff Raff: “Thirteen”
Summer is back! Kind of. Let’s do what we can to eliminate the delta variant so we can enjoy the summer alongside these tunes.
The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist, are at the bottom. But first, some notes:
I’m declaring “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo as 2021’s official “Song of the Summer.” If you think I should be making other considerations, let me know. Other “songs of the summer” for the last few years, according to yours truly: “Savage (Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé in 2020, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus in 2019, “Nice for What” by Drake in 2018, and “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos in 2017.
I never thought I would like a Modest Mouse song in 2021 as much as I love “We Are Between,” but “here we are.”
It wouldn’t really be a summer mix without the most underrated artist of the last 5 years, Amber Mark. People need to stop sleeping on her.
Check out the fizzy, bubbly cover of that one Third Eye Blind song (you’ll recognize it). Hilary Duff, rising from the ashes!
Is “The Way I Made You Cry” from 2021 or 1967?
“Summer Mix 2021, Part 2: Night” coming soon!
Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):
1. Modest Mouse: “We Are Between”
2. Wavves: “Sinking Feeling”
3. Dirty Projectors: “Lose Your Love”
4. RAC, Matthew Koma & Hilary Duff: “Never Let You Go” (Third Eye Blind Cover)
5. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak): “Leave the Door Open”
6. Amber Mark: “Competition”
7. Mourn: “This Feeling is Disgusting”
8. Cool Ghouls: “The Way I Made You Cry”
9. CZARFACE & MF DOOM: “Mando Calrissian”
10. Olivia Rodrigo: “good 4 u”
11. Kiwi jr.: “Cooler Returns”
12. Anna Fox Rochinski: “Party Lines”
13. Fleet Foxes: “Can I Believe You”
14. Flock of Dimes: “Walking”
15. Taylor Swift: “Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version)”
16. Hiss Golden Messenger: “Sanctuary”
17. Bleachers: “How Dare You Want More”
To kick off our year-end coverage, I present to you the 15 best live performance clips of the year. Below, you will find a collection of musicians displaying their craft on platforms ranging from emotional reunion concerts, to late night TV, to stripped-down NPR Music office recordings.
15. Kendrick Lamar: “Untitled 2” (Live on the Tonight Show)
It’s a testament to Kendrick Lamar’s unfiltered energy and passion that he can draw in the audience with very little additional fanfare. Just Kendrick, a mic, and a lot to say.
14. Lucy Dacus (La Blogotheque: A Take Away Show)
Lucy Dacus radiates warmth on a night in the streets (and subway stations) of Paris. Dacus pairs insightful lyrics with inviting arrangements in this stripped-down performance. One highlight occurs during her second song, “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore,” when a passerby whispers “Play a Janis Joplin song!”
13. Steve Gunn: “Full Moon Tide” (NPR Music: Field Recordings)
Steve Gunn was made to play his songs surrounded by trees atop old, rusty train tracks. Gunn’s acoustic guitar work is extraordinary as he channels a little Bob Dylan, a little Grateful Dead, and a little Neil Young.
12. Britt Daniel: “I Me Mine” (Live at George Fest)
“George Fest,” a tribute concert to George Harrison held at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, happened in 2014 but clips and a live album were released this year. Britt Daniel of Spoon plays a fervent rendition of “I Me Mine,” the last song the Beatles ever recorded in April of 1970.
11. Bruno Mars: “24K Magic” (Live on SNL)
No one has more fun than Bruno Mars. I enjoyed “24K Magic” when it came out, but I started really loving it after watching Bruno and his hype men dance through it on Saturday Night Live.
10. The Arcs (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
Dan Auerbach, known as the frontman for the Black Keys, released an underrated album last year with his side project, The Arcs. Early this year, The Arcs played at the NPR Music office for one of their famed “Tiny Desk” concerts, enlisting the help of a Mariachi band called Flor de Toloache. Auerbach’s bluesy voice really shines over the spare arrangements, but the women of Flor de Toloache steal the show, providing backing vocals along with violin, trumpet, and guitar.
9. LCD Soundsystem: “All My Friends” (Live at Webster Hall)
It was thrilling to hear that LCD Soundsystem was reuniting to tour this year, after declaring that they had broken up in 2011. The band played their first show back at Webster Hall in New York City in March, closing their encore with “All My Friends,” an absolute behemoth and roller coaster of a song — easily their best, and probably the greatest song of the last decade. Even though the following clip is a somewhat crude recording from some audience member’s phone, the energy still surges through. I wish I had been there. (And here’s a higher-quality recording of their performance of the same song at Lollapalooza this year.)
8. Local Natives: “Dark Days” & “Fountain of Youth” (La Blogotheque: A Take Away Show)
Local Natives show their harmonizing chops on a slow, gorgeous version of “Dark Days”, one of the best songs of the year. Then on “Fountain of Youth,” one of the guys takes a little dip in the Seine after the performance.
7. Beyoncé (Live at the MTV VMA’s)
Beyoncé’s stage presence has always been a sight to behold, and it’s even more powerful with a cohesive narrative like Lemonade as the subject matter. Her performance of a medley of Lemonade tracks at the MTV Video Music Awards combined enthralling visuals, dancing, and Beyoncé’s persistently amazing voice.
6. Anderson Paak (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
Anderson Paak is a stunningly talented musician, and it shows on this Tiny Desk concert. Paak plays the drums and serves as a confident band leader as he layers his voice over some sumptuous funk/soul/jazz grooves.
5. Chance the Rapper: “Blessings” (Live on the Tonight Show)
Chance the Rapper wears his good heart on his sleeve at all times, making it impossible not to love him. On the Tonight Show, Chance is joined by D.R.A.M., Anthony Hamilton, Ty Dolla $ign, and Raury on his earnest mission to have everyone recognize their blessings.
4. Bon Iver: “Heavenly Father (A Capella)” (Live at the Sydney Opera House)
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver returned this year with an album full of vocal processing, effects, and studio trickery. But for their Sydney Opera House performance of the group’s one-off track (for a 2014 Zach Braff movie) “Heavenly Father,” the group gathers in a circle and relies solely on their blended voices. It’s mesmerizing.
3. Pinegrove (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
Pinegrove, the Montclair, New Jersey band led by Evan Stephens Hall, made one of my favorite albums of the year in Cardinal, a blend of indie rock, country and, yes, even a dash of emo. Those of you who know me are probably shocked that I could like anything involving the words “country” or “emo,” but here we are. Pinegrove have stirred something inside me recently and I’ve become obsessed. On the album, the “rock” part of the blend dominates, but in a stripped-down setting like the NPR Tiny Desk concert series, those country tinges shine through a little more. It’s hard for me to adequately express the deep connection I feel with these songs, and this performance in particular — especially when they play “Old Friends” at 4:04, as Hall sings “I should call my parents when I think of them / I should tell my friends when I love them.”
2. Choir! Choir! Choir!: “Space Oddity” (Live at the Art Gallery of Ontario)
David Bowie’s death was almost too much to handle, but people all over the world attempted to process it by paying tribute in whatever way they could. The most affecting tribute to me was a short-notice gathering of an audition-less choir in Toronto to sing “Space Oddity.” One acoustic guitar and a chorus of over 500 voices in perfect harmony. They easily could have made the performance too sickly sweet or cheesy, but it’s done with tremendous taste and restraint. It’s a genuinely moving, chill-inducing memorial to a true legend.
1. Kanye West: “Ultralight Beam” (Live on SNL)
Kanye is on my “naughty” list right now, but there was no denying the top spot to his Saturday Night Live performance of “Ultralight Beam” back in February. The funny thing about it is Kanye doesn’t even do much here, but that highlights one of his strengths: he knows talent when he sees it, and he defers to that talent when the song calls for it. A full (and extremely powerful) gospel choir accompanies Kanye along with guests Kelly Price, The-Dream, Kirk Franklin, and Chance the Rapper, who all absolutely slay their time in the spotlight. The disparate parts all cohere to make a beautiful statement on searching for light.
We’re in the home stretch. The Best Songs of 2016 list is coming soon! But for now, let these ten tracks from the last two months hold you over.
NOVEMBER
1. A Tribe Called Quest: “We The People…”
Comeback albums are not supposed to be this satisfying. Or smooth, or cohesive, or playful (at times), or important (at other times). But somehow, A Tribe Called Quest pulled it off with panache.
The Tribe got the whole gang back together for their newest album, We Got it From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Jarobi, Consequence, and Busta Rhymes all make their mark on the album, along with guest contributions from Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, Andre 3000, Kanye West, Anderson Paak, Elton John, and more. But since A Tribe Called Quest’s inception, the highlight has always been the verbal tango between the two frontmen, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Most of the album’s tracks feature multiple rappers, but on “We the People…”, Q-Tip and Phife take the keys and run with it. There’s absolutely nothing more pleasurable in the world of hip-hop than Tip and Phife’s chemistry together on the mic. But with such a long (and somewhat acrimonious) period of time since their last album, there was a significant chance that the magic between those two would be gone. But they don’t miss a single (Q-Tip-produced) beat.
On “We the People…”, Tip and Phife trade verses like the old days, but the subject matter is very current. The group directly addresses intolerance that many face today, taking on the part of the oppressors with the chorus: “All you Black folks, you must go / All you Mexicans, you must go / And all you poor folks, you must go / Muslims and gays, boy, we hate your ways.” While the subject remains consistent, the duo’s unique styles still come through. Q-Tip (the philosopher) brings up empty-headed reality shows, but instead of outright demeaning them, he points out their appeal: “VH1 has a show that you can waste your time with / Guilty pleasures take the edge off reality / And for a salary I’d probably do that s— sporadically.” And Phife (the everyman) is always good for some sports-related similes, going after the unprepared haters who are “like a AL pitcher on deck talking about he hittin’“, or how the Tribe at their best are “like Tony Romo when he hitting Witten.”
Phife Dawg passed away earlier this year of diabetes at the age of 45, eight months prior to the album’s release. Not only is the album impressive in its own right, but it’s a fitting, worthy tribute to his memory. R.I.P. Phife, and Thank You 4 Your Service.
D-Brad Music 