Playlist Here
It's a new month, and a new playlist has begun. At over 13.5 hours already, this playlist is enormous, and it's early in the month, so expect it to expand even more. There is just so much music out there. And most of the music on this playlist is less than a year old. Most of my millennial peers and gen-x-a-boomers complain that no good music is being released. Or, if it exists, where is it hiding? I think the answer is that it isn't. The reality is that they likely stopped looking. If you haven't actively listened to Hip Hop since Biggie, you are probably not going to like Charge It by ENNY, namesake by Noname, or Mayors A Cop by MIKE/Wiki/The Alchemist. And if you are still ingesting a steady diet of Classic Rock, wigging out to Zeppelin, what are the chances that Bending Hectic by The Smile, Forward by Marnie Stern, or I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy are going to sound like anything but pure shite?
Maybe force yourself to listen to it, though? Unfamiliar is always going to feel a little strange. I have a standard outfit for this reason. I typically wear all black a la Mike Myer's Dieter. I've been wearing essentially the same outfit for 15 years. I'm just waiting for the fashion cycles to act in my favor again. Listening to the music of a new generation can be comparable to wearing their clothing. Relaxed-fit jeans, New Balance sneakers, bomber jackets, vibrant colors, and cardigans are all in style at the moment, according to the web search I just did. I cannot imagine wearing that outfit. I would feel so uncomfortable. So, I COMPLETELY understand when people hang on desperately to their 80s mullet. I also totally understand if you want to listen to Steve Miller's Greatest Hits on repeat.
There is an option in which you have a perm, Tom Petty satellite radio programmed to play when you get in your car and occasionally listen to something new. You might hate it, but with enough exposure, you will probably find some characteristics you like in it. Victoria Monet won Best New Artist at the Grammys last night - embarrassingly, it was the first time I had heard her name (I, too, despite my best efforts, remain out of touch with most things). I listened to some of her music this morning. And you know what? Not my favorite thing. The track We Might Even Be Falling in Love has a great groove to it, though, and the brutally honest shit-talk poetry of Alright is something that I can appreciate. Everyone is eager to tell you their desert island albums but imagine not having a choice in the matter. JAGUAR by Victoria Monet just washes up on shore. You will listen to it, and after the third month, you will probably dance around singing every word. What else are you going to do? You might also be losing your mind. Regardless, you're finally listening to something new and enjoying it!
New music is released by the industry every Friday. There are a ton of release radar channels on all the streaming services. Independent artists don't adhere to the Friday release schedule, but you can start by just checking out the front page of Bandcamp. The Wire magazine offers many reviews in digital and print versions. So much of this current playlist is a result of reading their 2023 In Review issue. Pitchfork and The New York Times have weekly recommendations they will email you directly. You can dig through Mixcloud, download the NTS radio app or use Radio Garden to tune into radio stations across the planet, or just go old school and tune into your local college radio station. Sound Opinions, All Songs Considered, Rolling Stone Music Now - all podcasts that cover new music. If some of these seem obvious, that's the point I'm trying to make. It's out there.
If you feel up to putting the Steve Miller down for a moment, check out any of these sources and randomly pick an album. This is your Desert Island album. The shit that washed up. The rescue plane will spot you next week, but this week, that's all you're allowed to listen to.
I like Steve Miller, by the way. It was one of my first concerts, my introduction to marijuana, and he's made some solid classics I've probably heard a thousand times. Abra abracadabra. See what grabs ya. Best of luck.
Coffin Prick - Energy Crisis EP
This opens with a Melt Banana remix that sounds like Devo in a food processor. The song Energy Crisis is dance music for a club that you can't get into. Not because you're not cool enough or your dad isn't "somebody." I would never assume that about your dad. It's just that the club doesn't exist. The track that follows, In a Field, feels like an Eno ambient work took the shape of a balloon and got stuck on a telephone pool in some midwestern, unincorporated town. A distorted voice says something near the end of the track. Perhaps, he is contemplating how to get it down? Not worth the time he decides. As a closer, Coffin Prick revisits the un-remixed Laughing - a song that, in this form, again evokes Eno. He made it out of the balloon and is now high on nitrous and trying (and failing) to escape that same town. A place that is now surrounded by a flexible, but impenetrable blob.
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