Green Mixtape 7: January 2019
First new music additions of the year! I was quite enthusiastic about these particular songs, so I wrote a lot about them. If you've been around, you'll notice that I've changed the format of this post slightly, but I hope you like it!
Green Mixtape
Green Mixtape Outtakes
Sofia:
One of the reasons I love this song so much is probably the connotations with Hey Bulldog with the talking and laughing in the beginning and the occasional un-synced vocals. It just feels very real and natural and it’s always felt intrinsic to my musical personality. If everyone is made up of out all the different songs in their life, this is one of the ones that always seemed like one of the important ones in mine.
I love this whole album, but would also particularly recommend Mr. Maker, All Over Town, Stormy Weather… you just need to listen the whole album. I’ve never really gotten into their album Junk Of The Heart, it never felt like that good of an album to me. They came out with a new album in 2018, but I haven’t really spent enough time to get into it yet (and I kept forgetting about it so I need to actually listen to it all the way through soon). I’ve also been listening to this band so long, I can’t remember how I even found them, but according to my iTunes data, I downloaded the album on 12/29/13, which would have been halfway through my senior year of high school, so I’ve been listening to them for a solid 5 years at this point.
Wayne: Tick of time, this sounds like a great pub song. Makes me want to learn it and play it with Steve. Love the harmonies. Love the minimal drums. That boom of the kick drum. I picture one of the guitarists doing it (though they probably have a proper drummer). Adds to the pub feel.
Sofia: Yeah, The Kooks do have a proper drummer. lol. They very much have that english vibe to themselves.
The lyrics in Night Shift are great- the things she says seem so random at times but said in a very soft and lyrical way. Stylistically, it's very much a song that makes sense to me that you would like, and while I definitely appreciate it, I probably won't listen to it much outside of hearing it on the playlist. I like the melodic change around 3:40 where it goes from being even calmer than the intro to having the added guitar. I think I like the second half of the song more than the first half.
Wayne: Its definitely a song of two halves (even 2 different keys) or two songs in one, however you want to consider it.
Sofia:
Anything is definitely my favorite song of theirs, but I also really love Kathleen and Cocoon from their first album and Oxygen from their second album. After sharing a song from The Kooks, this is another band that I really love. I think it’s funny that Spotify categorized my favorite genre of 2018 as pop, because I generally consider this type of british indie rock as my core always-come-back-to music genre. I love the up and down energy levels to this song, and the constant drum. I know Alex is the drummer of the family, but I love me some solid percussion. I also love the guitar in this song. Basically, I just love a rock band. No matter what genre I may be exploring into electro funk to orchestra pop to melodic rap, I will always love rock the most.
I would also connect this to my love of Hey Bulldog because one of the most important repeated lines of this song is "Anything you need at anytime at all, I want you to phone me” like "If you're lonely, you can talk to me.” I guess being a good listener and communicator for people I care about is so ingrained in me, I end up feeling really connected to musical narratives where I (or the song) is offering open communication, so good parenting for that! haha. Even though this band generally feels like it has a darker vibe to it, this song feels optimistic to me, which I like.
Also, these artists I also correlate with Bad Suns, but I’ve already posted my favorite song of their on the playlist, so that’s there. Also! Just found out that Catfish & the Bottlemen are going to be at Bonnaroo and that's probably the biggest bummer of going to Costa Rica this summer. Of course, I'm 100% picking CR over Bonnaroo, but still, it's a bit annoying that they haven't been touring near florida.
Wayne: Yeah... well, another time! I especially love the chorus. Yeah, the mellor connection makes sense. Brit indie rock is a solid genre to be your favorite.
Sofia: Haha truuue. It's definitely a genre I always come back to.
Wayne:
Sofia: Oh yeah, you feel the 80s in it right off the bat. You got that echo. And the piano in the beginning has such a strong beat.
Wayne: Had you ever heard it before?
Sofia: Not sure.
Wayne: They had another big hit which was covered by No Doubt which you probably heard before. Actually had that other song on my 80s playlist for a while but I had just totally forgotten this one.
Sofia:
Wayne: Love the chromatic scale progressions in Jane. Not overused, but just enough to give it a slightly jazzy feel. I agree that the dreamy backing vocals are a nice touch.
Sofia: I love something for your m.i.n.d. it has such a fun vibe to the beginning with all the slide-y sounds. I love the weirdness of this sound. At one point it sounds like a bubble bath. This song makes me feel like I'm walking around a music festival and then I came up to this band playing this song. I would stay at this show if I heard this song. Also, the video is pretty entertaining for it.
Wayne: It is catchy
Sofia: It is!
Wayne: What does M.I.N.D. stand for?
Sofia: I think they're just making the title aesthetic and putting periods between the letters of mind so that the title matches the song in having a weird structure.
Wayne: I wasnt sure if there was something in the lyrics I had missed
Sofia: Yeah I don't think so. Btw, have you heard the new X Ambassadors song? JOYFUL was actually a big favorite of yours last year. This single is called BOOM. I never thought I would be so into X Ambassadors but I've seen them so many times at various festivals that it just really made them stick with me and I think this new stuff is really good.
Wayne: Funny, I mention them in my next song write-up.
Sofia:
Wayne: We don't need to dance..I like the falsetto chorus.
Sofia: Ooo, this is good. I think Hozier might have been at Bonnaroo one of my years too? It's interesting how many artists you come across even when you're only doing like 1 festival a year. I agree, that was a good sound even despite the radio overplay. This does also have an X Ambassadors vibe! There's a bit of a gospel feel to this, which makes a lot of sense to me considering the artists involved in this song. I did look up the lyrics to be able to see all the names listed. I appreciate how this is basically a protest song recognizing a lot of significant artists. Great choice!
Green Mixtape
Green Mixtape Outtakes
Sofia:
Tick of Time by The Kooks
As soon as I heard Arms Length by Mellor I thought about this band. I’m surprised I’ve never shared them with you?! This is on my playlist of favorite songs ever, so I couldn’t not choose this song, but I’m putting Forgive & Forget on Outtakes because I also love it a lot. But this song is on my favorite album of theirs. In my opinion, Konk is their best album, and Listen is my second favorite.One of the reasons I love this song so much is probably the connotations with Hey Bulldog with the talking and laughing in the beginning and the occasional un-synced vocals. It just feels very real and natural and it’s always felt intrinsic to my musical personality. If everyone is made up of out all the different songs in their life, this is one of the ones that always seemed like one of the important ones in mine.
I love this whole album, but would also particularly recommend Mr. Maker, All Over Town, Stormy Weather… you just need to listen the whole album. I’ve never really gotten into their album Junk Of The Heart, it never felt like that good of an album to me. They came out with a new album in 2018, but I haven’t really spent enough time to get into it yet (and I kept forgetting about it so I need to actually listen to it all the way through soon). I’ve also been listening to this band so long, I can’t remember how I even found them, but according to my iTunes data, I downloaded the album on 12/29/13, which would have been halfway through my senior year of high school, so I’ve been listening to them for a solid 5 years at this point.
Wayne: Tick of time, this sounds like a great pub song. Makes me want to learn it and play it with Steve. Love the harmonies. Love the minimal drums. That boom of the kick drum. I picture one of the guitarists doing it (though they probably have a proper drummer). Adds to the pub feel.
Night Shift by Lucy Dacus
I love her lyrics. I Alai dig how the song evolves. I mean, it does have a verse/chorus structure, but the verses aren't all the same. This is a break-up song, but I love how the chorus sounds like a thoughtful, reasoned way to be apart, even kinda hopeful for the future. I also like the line "in 5 years I hope the songs feel like covers dedicated to new lovers" because I have to create a meaning for that. This is a thinking person's break up song!Sofia: Yeah, The Kooks do have a proper drummer. lol. They very much have that english vibe to themselves.
The lyrics in Night Shift are great- the things she says seem so random at times but said in a very soft and lyrical way. Stylistically, it's very much a song that makes sense to me that you would like, and while I definitely appreciate it, I probably won't listen to it much outside of hearing it on the playlist. I like the melodic change around 3:40 where it goes from being even calmer than the intro to having the added guitar. I think I like the second half of the song more than the first half.
Wayne: Its definitely a song of two halves (even 2 different keys) or two songs in one, however you want to consider it.
Sofia:
Anything by Catfish & the Bottlemen
I was also reminded of this band from the Mellor song. I discovered them initially through Vinyl Theatre’s cover of their song Kathleen that was posted April 2015. There’s a Vinyl Theatre song on the playlist already, but it’s not my favorite of theirs, so I’m going to put my favorite on Outtakes it’s another song that’s made it onto my playlist of most favorite songs ever (as has this one).Anything is definitely my favorite song of theirs, but I also really love Kathleen and Cocoon from their first album and Oxygen from their second album. After sharing a song from The Kooks, this is another band that I really love. I think it’s funny that Spotify categorized my favorite genre of 2018 as pop, because I generally consider this type of british indie rock as my core always-come-back-to music genre. I love the up and down energy levels to this song, and the constant drum. I know Alex is the drummer of the family, but I love me some solid percussion. I also love the guitar in this song. Basically, I just love a rock band. No matter what genre I may be exploring into electro funk to orchestra pop to melodic rap, I will always love rock the most.
I would also connect this to my love of Hey Bulldog because one of the most important repeated lines of this song is "Anything you need at anytime at all, I want you to phone me” like "If you're lonely, you can talk to me.” I guess being a good listener and communicator for people I care about is so ingrained in me, I end up feeling really connected to musical narratives where I (or the song) is offering open communication, so good parenting for that! haha. Even though this band generally feels like it has a darker vibe to it, this song feels optimistic to me, which I like.
Also, these artists I also correlate with Bad Suns, but I’ve already posted my favorite song of their on the playlist, so that’s there. Also! Just found out that Catfish & the Bottlemen are going to be at Bonnaroo and that's probably the biggest bummer of going to Costa Rica this summer. Of course, I'm 100% picking CR over Bonnaroo, but still, it's a bit annoying that they haven't been touring near florida.
Wayne: Yeah... well, another time! I especially love the chorus. Yeah, the mellor connection makes sense. Brit indie rock is a solid genre to be your favorite.
Sofia: Haha truuue. It's definitely a genre I always come back to.
Wayne:
Life's What You Make It by Talk Talk
I loved this song in the 80s and then, because it never gets airplay on 80s radio, and it was a lesser hit in the States, I totally forgot it. Then in Scotland, Laura was playing an 80s playlist and I heard it. It was so familiar and so new all at once. I love the beat, and that piano riff is so satisfying. Love the guys voice, love the simple but powerful sentiment of the lyrics. Just a rock-solid bit of 80s Brit pop.Sofia: Oh yeah, you feel the 80s in it right off the bat. You got that echo. And the piano in the beginning has such a strong beat.
Wayne: Had you ever heard it before?
Sofia: Not sure.
Wayne: They had another big hit which was covered by No Doubt which you probably heard before. Actually had that other song on my 80s playlist for a while but I had just totally forgotten this one.
Sofia:
Jane by LAUNDRY DAY
I found this band on a spotify playlist- I think it was a Discover Weekly suggestion of an artist that also is in this band (and I read his bio because I read every artist bio). They music is generally more slow and chill than the music I usually listen to- I feel like I have the tendency towards more exciting songs at faster tempos. I had a hard time deciding between this song and their song Flowers (I’ll put it on outtakes). I quite like them, and I like of a spectrum of musical tempos. I really like the airy/vintage feel to this song with the sound of the guitar and the dreamy vocals like in the intro. His voice definitely falls within the area of my favorite favorite vocal range to listen to in singers. I’ve been listening to this band a lot lately.Wayne: Love the chromatic scale progressions in Jane. Not overused, but just enough to give it a slightly jazzy feel. I agree that the dreamy backing vocals are a nice touch.
Something for your M.I.N.D. by Superorganism
Love the trip-hop vibe, that hard stop in between "your" and "mind," and the trippy video of the whale exploding heads of broccoli is kinda mesmerizing!Sofia: I love something for your m.i.n.d. it has such a fun vibe to the beginning with all the slide-y sounds. I love the weirdness of this sound. At one point it sounds like a bubble bath. This song makes me feel like I'm walking around a music festival and then I came up to this band playing this song. I would stay at this show if I heard this song. Also, the video is pretty entertaining for it.
Wayne: It is catchy
Sofia: It is!
Wayne: What does M.I.N.D. stand for?
Sofia: I think they're just making the title aesthetic and putting periods between the letters of mind so that the title matches the song in having a weird structure.
Wayne: I wasnt sure if there was something in the lyrics I had missed
Sofia: Yeah I don't think so. Btw, have you heard the new X Ambassadors song? JOYFUL was actually a big favorite of yours last year. This single is called BOOM. I never thought I would be so into X Ambassadors but I've seen them so many times at various festivals that it just really made them stick with me and I think this new stuff is really good.
Wayne: Funny, I mention them in my next song write-up.
Sofia:
We Don’t Need To Dance by Castelle ft. Nic Hanson
This song fulfills that sexy vibe that RnB has but when you look at the lyrics, he basical keeps talking about preferring to be home and not have to pay money to be somewhere, which I think is totally funny. Castelle’s bio only says “elegant dance music” which I also think is kinda funny, but very fitting. The synth notes he uses are so crisp and flutey- it reminds me of those animusic youtube videos.Wayne: We don't need to dance..I like the falsetto chorus.
Nina Cried Power by Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples)
I really liked Hozier's Take me to Church, despite 100.5 playing it way too much. When I first heard this song, I didn't realize it was Hozier. In fact, I thought it was X Ambassadors, because it felt similar to Joyful. The drums first caught my attention, nice beat, awesome bass joins in, then in the first verse, there are just enough interesting chords to get my attention. Great voice. Then the choir. Then Mavis Staples. Then a full-blown swelling anthemic ode to protest. I was sold. Hozier said about all the name-dropping: "If a handful of people or one person decides to look up the artists mentioned in “Nina Cried Power” and look into it, like, “What’s this Irish fucker on about here?” and really have a listen to the stuff that moves me, great. That’s a job well done."Sofia: Ooo, this is good. I think Hozier might have been at Bonnaroo one of my years too? It's interesting how many artists you come across even when you're only doing like 1 festival a year. I agree, that was a good sound even despite the radio overplay. This does also have an X Ambassadors vibe! There's a bit of a gospel feel to this, which makes a lot of sense to me considering the artists involved in this song. I did look up the lyrics to be able to see all the names listed. I appreciate how this is basically a protest song recognizing a lot of significant artists. Great choice!
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