Tame Impala

Summer Mix 2020, Part 2: Night

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Here’s Part 2 of my Summer Mix 2020 — this time, tracks to play as the sun is setting and a hot summer night settles in.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • In my post for Part 1 of this mix, I declared Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage (Remix)” to be the official SOTS (song of the summer). If we’re allowed to have an official SOTSN (song of the summer nights), it’s The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
  • I pay close attention to the placement of each song in a mix like this (whether a song is at the beginning, middle, or end; which track comes immediately before and after it; etc.). For this mix, I think the first three songs are a perfect 1-2-3 punch for opening it up, and the last two tracks (“People, I’ve been sad” into “Summer Girl”) are classic examples of what a penultimate and closing track should be. I can’t really explain why, but hopefully you agree.

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
2. The New Pornographers: “Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile”
3. Washed Out: “Too Late”
4. KAYTRANADA ft. Kali Uchis: “10%”
5. Tame Impala: “Lost in Yesterday”
6. Yves Tumor: “Gospel for a New Century”
7. Disclosure: “ENERGY”
8. Caroline Polachek: “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”
9. Lady Gaga ft. Ariana Grande: “Rain On Me”
10. Free Nationals ft. Mac Miller & Kali Uchis: “Time”
11. Car Seat Headrest: “Can’t Cool Me Down”
12. Khruangbin: “Time (You and I)”
13. Empress Of: “Give Me Another Chance”
14. 박혜진 Park Hye Jin: “Like this”
15. The Avalanches ft. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu: “Running Red Lights”
16. Jessy Lanza: “Lick in Heaven”
17. Christine and the Queens: “People, I’ve been sad”
18. HAIM: “Summer Girl”

Summer Mix 2020, Part 1: Day

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Summer is a little weird this year. You can’t turn on a sweet new summer playlist during a party or barbecue when those parties and barbecues don’t exist. But hopefully there’s still plenty of time to bump some summery bops at home, in the car, or during your socially distant hangouts. Here’s a collection of songs that should do the trick.

The tracklist, along with YouTube and Spotify versions of the playlist are at the bottom. But first, some notes:

  • Every year, there’s a semi-official (to me, anyway) “song of the summer.” Last year, it was “Old Town Road.” In 2018, it was “Nice for What” by Drake. In 2017, it was “Slide” by Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, and Migos. This year, it’s “Savage (Remix)” by Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé, which opens up this mix.
  • I usually don’t include two songs by the same artist on the same mix/mixtape, but the new HAIM album was too good, and too “built for summer,” to only include one of their tracks. And there’s yet another HAIM song coming on Part 2 of this mix, as well.
  • “Dragonball Durag” is the funniest song of 2020.
  • It was a game time decision between “Overlord” and “Lose Your Love” by Dirty Projectors. I went with “Overlord,” but you should check out “Lose Your Love” too.
  • Yes, that’s Amber Mark covering Nirvana. And it rules.
  • I just want to shout out Waxahatchee, Tame Impala, and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who (along with HAIM) all made killer albums this year. Check out the whole albums when you get a chance.
  • “Summer Mix 2020, Part 2: Night” coming soon!

Tracklist (meant to be played top to bottom, no shuffle):

1. Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé: “Savage (Remix)”
2. HAIM: “The Steps”
3. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: “Cars in Space”
4. Waxahatchee: “Can’t Do Much”
5. Childish Gambino: “Feels Like Summer”
6. Thundercat: “Dragonball Durag”
7. Dirty Projectors: “Overlord”
8. Tennis: “Need Your Love”
9. Whitney: “Valleys (My Love)”
10. Tame Impala: “Breathe Deeper”
11. Kamaiyah: “Go Crazy”
12. Amber Mark: “Heart-Shaped Box”
13. Hazel English: “Wake UP!”
14. Alex G: “Southern Sky”
15. Rosalía & Ozuna: “Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi”
16. Caribou: “Home”
17. HAIM: “Gasoline”
18. Pure X: “Stayed Too Long”

Five Quality Tracks: February 2016


 
 
1. Miguel: “waves (Tame Impala Remix)”

I don’t get outright obsessed with songs very often. That may seem hard to believe, but it’s true. Even when I truly love a song to my core, it’s rare that I feel the need to endlessly play it on repeat. This Tame Impala remix of Miguel’s “waves” is a glowing exception. Miguel and Tame Impala are not only two of my favorite current artists, but they both had big breakout years in 2015. They both pushed toward each other’s worlds with their latest albums, past the boundaries of their respective “genres.” Miguel is known as an R&B/pop singer but I wouldn’t argue if you called last year’s Wildheart a rock album, while Tame Impala, the “rock band,” experimented with pop and funk on Currents. We can see evidence of this convergence between Tame Impala’s sound and the current pop landscape in Rihanna’s latest album ANTI. She straight-up took the production of Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” note-for-note and sang over it herself to create “Same Ol’ Mistakes”, and somehow it sounds completely at home! No one would have thought that was possible five years ago. The pop star behind “Don’t Stop the Music” sang over a track from the guys who made “Lucidity”? I don’t know man, but it works.

So, it turns out Tame Impala is actually a natural fit for a Miguel remix. The original version of “waves” is amazing in and of itself, easily one of my 5 favorite Miguel tracks. Kevin Parker, the wizard behind Tame Impala, punches it up a notch with a little more “oomph.” The opening harmonies, which sound like they were ripped from a sun-soaked Beach Boys cut, give way to classic Tame Impala woozy, gauzy psych rock. This seamless Miguel-Tame Impala combination hits my sweet spot dead on. I have a feeling this is going to be a constant presence in 2016 summer playlists.

 
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Best Albums of 2015

When I was a freshman/sophomore in college, I insisted that my “best albums of the year” lists were unequivocally correct. Whichever top 25 albums I listed were, by all measures, the absolute “best” of the year, no questions asked. With a little perspective, I now know that that was completely ridiculous. The 25 albums represented here are the “best” to me, according to my limited world view. I try to keep that world view as open as possible so that all albums are welcome here. I also try to take into account an album’s importance, reach, and influence on a larger scale. But ultimately, these 25 albums are the ones I loved listening to the most. I immensely enjoyed them, and I hope you did/will too.

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Best Songs of 2015

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We were provided with an embarrassment of riches in 2015. Beloved artists returned with flawless albums (Sufjan Stevens, Sleater-Kinney), artists in their peak pushed the boundaries into completely new territory (Kendrick Lamar, Grimes, Tame Impala), and newcomers hearkened back to classics from days past (Leon Bridges, Natalie Prass, Tobias Jesso Jr.). This was my favorite year for music since 2012 — there were so many songs that would have qualified for this list if they had come out any other year, but the competition was just too much in 2015.

D-Brad’s Best Songs of 2015: Spotify Playlist
D-Brad’s Best Songs of 2015: YouTube Playlist

Also, special thanks to Taylor for the awesome cover art.

Before we get to the top 50, here are 15 honorable mentions that it killed me to exclude.

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Five Quality Tracks: July 2015

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This was a feature that I used to do for the Daily Californian’s Arts & Entertainment blog. I decided to give it life again here. At the end of each month, I’ll post a feature highlighting five quality tracks released during that month.

1. Albert Hammond, Jr.: “Born Slippy”

For those that don’t know, Albert Hammond, Jr. made his name as the curly-haired guitarist for a little band called the Strokes. His smattering of solo material over the years has served as a showcase for his tightly-knit riffs and keen sense of melody (check out “GfC” and “Hard to Live in the City”). It’s clear that he was an important influence over the Strokes’ successfully catchy sound. “Born Slippy” is a delectable slice of guitar pop, complete with an earworm of a melody that’s guaranteed to stay in your head.

 
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Five Quality Tracks: March 2015

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This was a feature that I used to do for the Daily Californian’s Arts & Entertainment blog. I decided to give it life again here. At the end of each month, I’ll post a feature highlighting five quality tracks released during that month.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I think March was the best month for music in years. It was jam-packed. It took everything in my power to keep this post to just 5 songs.
 
1. Sufjan Stevens: “Death With Dignity”

Sufjan Stevens’ penchant for simple, clear beauty is unparalleled. On his latest album, Carrie & Lowell, Stevens bares his soul about coping with the recent death of his mother, who struggled with mental illness and abandoned him and his family when he was a year old. He ended up spending three summers with his mother (Carrie) and stepfather (Lowell) in Eugene, Oregon, which provided the only real memories that he has of Carrie. Carrie & Lowell opens with “Death With Dignity,” an incredibly pretty song that sets the stage for the emotional depth to come on the album. “Spirit of my silence, I can hear you, but I’m afraid to be near you, and I don’t know where to begin.” The song is full of lyrical gut-punches: “What is that song you sing for the dead?”, “I forgive you, mother, I can hear you, and I long to be near you, but every road leads to an end.”

As far as the music goes, Stevens does what he absolutely does best — laying his quiet, haunting voice over a finger-picking acoustic guitar (and just the right amount of piano touches). At the end, the instruments cut out, leaving a choir of Sufjans, blending their voices together mutedly from a distance. The moment is perfect, the song is perfect, the album is perfect. No hyperbole here. The album really is perfect. Check it out.

 
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