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”
Our year-end coverage continues here, with the 2nd annual installment of the best live performance clips of year. We already covered the best songs of 2017, and check back here for the best albums of 2017, coming soon.
15. Japanese Breakfast (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
Michelle Zauner went atmospheric on her newest album, but all the production is absent during her Tiny Desk Concert. Zauner brings in a string quartet to help round out her arrangements, which are emotionally resonant and deeply beautiful.
14. Slowdive: “Sugar for the Pill” (NPR Music: Field Recordings)
Slowdive, who came back in 2017 to release their first album in 22 years, inhabit the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Brooklyn to play “Sugar for the Pill.” They have no trouble filling the large, empty space with their dreamy soundscapes.
13. Anderson .Paak: “Am I Wrong” (Live on Ellen)
In January, the human ball of talent named Anderson .Paak stopped by the Ellen Degeneres Show to play “Am I Wrong” from one of last year’s best albums, Mailbu. Paak sings, dances, hypes, jumps, and plays drums tremendously, and then tops it off by bringing his cute son to bust some moves at the end.
12. Bon Iver: “8 (circle)” (La Blogotheque: One to One)
All Justin Vernon needs is a guitar and an echoey room to enthrall just about anyone (emphasis on the “one”). In a new series from La Blogotheque called “One to One,” artists play a song for just one person. Here, Vernon plays a stripped-down version of “8 (circle)” from last year’s anything-but-stripped-down album, 22, A Million. Watching him bare his musical soul to one person seated inches away is a bit awkward, I’m not going to lie. But the unimaginable beauty of Vernon’s voice and guitar makes it worth it.
11. Mac Demarco: “Still Beating” & “This Old Dog” (La Blogotheque: A Take Away Show)
La Blogotheque has recorded their “Take Away Shows,” where artists play in unconventional settings in and around Paris, for about a decade now. My favorite offering from them this year was by the eminently chill Mac Demarco. Demarco takes his acoustic guitar on a cloudy stroll through a noisy park, complete with kids playing and yelling, birds chirping, sirens blaring, and multiple French dudes hilariously deciding it was a good idea to talk to/sing at him while recording, which Demarco engages with affably. Even through the funny distractions, the beauty and intimacy of his introspective songs still shine through.
10. Frank Ocean: “Nikes (Rehearsal)” (Live from Frank’s Tumblr)
Frank Ocean’s voice is the eighth wonder of the world. The noted recluse finally released his amazing, long-awaited follow-up album Blonde last year, which featured the trippy, almost psychedelic opening track “Nikes.” Luckily for us, Ocean decided to post a video to his Tumblr of him rehearsing the track, with nothing but an electric piano to back him. His voice soars and swoons. There’s no auto-tune or studio trickery to improve it — it’s just there, bare and emotive, conveying the weariness inside of him with every note.
9. Alabama Shakes; Nas (PBS: American Epic Sessions)
PBS recently produced a series that explores music in the early 20th century, when folk and blues artists were being discovered by major labels. T Bone Burnett and Jack White used the only recording system still working from the 1920s to capture modern artists covering old blues standards, resulting in the “American Epic Sessions.” Alabama Shakes come in to play a bouncy, delightful rendition of “Killer Diller,” satisfyingly pleasing in its historical accuracy. Nas then does a fun hip-hop-style cover of “On the Road Again,” originally by the Memphis Jug Band in 1928. Watch the Alabama Shakes clip followed by the Nas clip (along with narration) below.
8. Hurray for the Riff Raff: “Rican Beach” & “Pa’lante” (Live at SXSW)
The talent of Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra cannot be overstated. She writes songs that are both musically engaging and lyrically powerful, and has a stellar bluesy voice. Segarra brings the heat on “Rican Beach,” a song dripping in sweat that tackles gentrification: “Well you can take my life, but don’t take my home.” She really brings it home on “Pa’lante,” which already sounds like a ’70s standard even though it just came out this year. Starting out as a somewhat slow piano ballad, it eventually builds steam until it hits you in the gut.
7. Spoon: “I Ain’t the One” (Live on KEXP)
Spoon stopped by the KEXP studios in Seattle to play “I Ain’t the One,” a cinematic, brooding, extremely cool song from their latest album. The track’s intensity lends itself to soundtracking some legendary slow-motion movie scene. Throughout the song, Britt Daniel motions to whoever controls the sound to make certain instruments louder or softer — at first, good-naturedly, but then you can sense his exasperation at not getting the sound levels just right. Even though the situation is clearly annoying him a little bit, he’s a great multitasker, because he still delivers his vocal performance with tenacity and passion.
6. Sampha (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
All of the clips on this list are amazing, but not all of them feature perfect singing. Even some of the best singers falter once or twice in a live setting. Sampha’s voice, however, is perfect. And not only is it perfect, but it’s unique. No one in the world sounds like Sampha. The singer-songwriter from south London comes to the NPR Music offices to enchant us with powerful songs from his latest album, with the spare and gorgeous “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano” (a top 5 song of the year!) as the centerpiece.
5. Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, & Nico Muhly: “Mercury” (NPR Music: Field Recordings)
Sufjan Stevens has been on a tear ever since releasing the best album of 2015, what with the live album, the B-sides and outtakes album, and, most notably, his team-up with Bryce Dessner of the National, classical music composer Nico Muhly, and drummer James McAllister to record an album about the solar system called Planetarium. NPR Music recorded the Planetarium group playing “Mercury” at an NYC studio, and it is simply gorgeous. The four elements — piano, viola, electric guitar, and Sufjan’s ethereal voice — combine to form a full-sounding, picture-perfect blend of classical, folk, and post-rock that is glorious to behold.
4. Chance the Rapper: “How Great” & “All We Got” (Live at the Grammys)
Chance the Rapper’s star is rising fast, recently hosting SNL, appearing on Sesame Street, and playing at President Obama’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the end of last year (while Sasha mouthed every word). Back in February, Mr. The Rapper played at the Grammys and absolutely killed it. It takes a special ability to command attention from such a large audience, both in person and through the TV, but Chance succeeds with his intensity and earnest desire to reach out and uplift (not to mention, his incredible backup gospel choir).
I was able to find the performance divided into three parts on YouTube — below, you’ll find Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the four and a half minute performance. If you want to listen to the whole thing uninterrupted, here’s audio of it. I recommend watching it though for the full effect.
3. Lorde (Live at Electric Lady Studios)
Lorde is one of the most interesting, compelling pop stars we have. She has an energy that is entirely captivating, making it hard to look away when she’s performing. Lorde recorded a series of intimate performances at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York — each of the six videos feature a stripped down version of a track from Lorde’s oustanding new album, Melodrama. All of the songs are presented in a unique way and they each sound incredible, enhanced by Lorde’s visible passion amid the candle light. My favorites are “Sober,” “Homemade Dynamite,” and “Supercut,” though they are all excellent. Watch a playlist of the videos below, starting with “Sober.”
2. Tuxedo (NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concert)
Live music is enticing when it either demonstrates skill, poignancy, fun, or some combination of the three. Tuxedo’s Tiny Desk Concert falls squarely in the “fun” category, though not without some obvious skill as well. Mayer Hawthorne (a D-Brad Music favorite) and Jake One, the duo that make up Tuxedo, assembled a mini-band to play their late-’70s/early-’80s-era funk and it’s extremely enjoyable. Of all the pleasing moments (including a button that goes “HO!” and the realization that a cassette is playing the drum beats), my favorite is during the chorus of “2nd Time Around,” when Hawthorne and backup singer Gavin Turek break out their simple but synchronized dance moves. It’s awesome to see them clearly having such a good time.
1. HAIM: Valentine (Short Film, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
HAIM teams up with with the illustrious film director Paul Thomas Anderson — the brain behind some of my all-time favorite movies, including There Will Be Blood and this year’s Phantom Thread — to deliver a stunning portrait of a talented band at work. Anderson captures HAIM in the studio performing three songs off their recent sophomore album: “Right Now,” “Something to Tell You,” and “Nothing’s Wrong.” He uses very few shots, opting for long takes where the camera moves about the studio, training its lens on each member of the band in turns. But though Anderson should be commended for the way he captures the band, the three Haim sisters are the stars of the show. Their playing is impressively taut, their voices (especially that of lead singer Danielle Haim) are incredible, and their overall musical prowess is immediately apparent. Every drum hit, every guitar lick, every vocal line sounds crisp and fresh, authentic and vibrant.
I fell very far behind on Five Quality Tracks, and for that I apologize. Here are 15 tracks from the last three months that grabbed me, surprised me, and moved me. (By the way, I should note that these tracks are NOT in order of how much I like them. The order is arbitrary.)
1. The National: “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”
When I saw that the National had released a new single, I knew it would be good. But I didn’t know it would be this good. The National don’t “rock out” that often, usually opting for more deliberate mood pieces, but they let their hair down a little bit on “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness.” The song is built on an insanely catchy drum beat and bass line, with that punchy five-note guitar riff punctuating the song throughout. There’s even a guitar solo! Matt Berninger’s comforting baritone, the one we know and love, is present here, but my favorite part is when he passionately raises his voice an octave, exclaiming “I cannot explain it, ahh-ahhh, any other, any other way!” The song is incredibly gratifying and portends well for the coming album.
With the gradual proliferation of streaming services and curated playlists, for a while it didn’t look likely that the “album” format would survive. Yet here we are, at a time where the biggest pop stars are releasing cohesive, fully developed ALBUMS, in capital letters. I will always have a soft spot for the album as a concept, whether contained on discs of vinyl or within links to Spotify pages. Smash hits lie alongside deep cuts to form one 30-70 minute statement reflecting the artist’s pain and joy, their view of the world, their quest to express the words in their head and the riffs in their gut. Here are my 25 favorite albums of 2016.
It’s an indie rock/pop kind of month! Except for Kendrick.
1. Car Seat Headrest: “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales”
Car Seat Headrest is my current obsession. The band’s mastermind, Will Toledo, has been making home-recorded music since 2010, but after almost 6 years, he’s finally getting some much-deserved attention. Last year’s Teens of Style was #17 on my Best Albums of 2015 list, but after listening to it a lot over the past month or so, I regret placing it so low. In retrospect, it was one of the 5 best albums of last year. Despite the record’s lo-fi, muddled production, Toledo’s songwriting ability and knack for melody still shone through (especially on “Times to Die”).
In May, Car Seat Headrest will release Teens of Denial, the follow-up to Teens of Style, and I can’t freaking wait. With recognition comes access to a real recording studio, and Toledo is taking full advantage on his new singles. He first released the 8-minute epic “Vincent”, but then topped it with “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.” It’s a sobering song that compares drunk drivers to, you guessed it, killer whales, but it doesn’t do so in any kind of preachy way. Toledo makes his faults and rationalizations abundantly clear, but advocates the song’s subject to listen to the voice in your head: “But you know he loves you, and he doesn’t mean to cause you pain. Please listen to him, it’s not too late. Turn off the engine, get out of the car, and start to walk.” The music itself is powerful — it’s pretty by-the-book indie rock, but so well-executed, paced perfectly, and with an excellent melody. Toledo’s voice is like a cross between Julian Casablancas of the Strokes and Ray Davies of the Kinks. With some people, you can instantly tell whether they have that certain songwriting “spark” — the spark that takes what could be “good” songs to “great, stay-in-your-head” type songs. Toledo has that spark.
D-Brad Music 