First, a special note:
Last Tuesday was the one-year anniversary of Monday Mix, which started as a weekly Facebook post.
A year later, we've moved to a dedicated blog configuration, with almost 100 individual playlists published, 10 formats, social media accounts on four platforms, and four regular contributors in addition to me.
I offer sincere gratitude to Erin, Elaine, Leslie, and Justin. Their contributions have rounded out and deepened the mission of this project beyond what I thought we could do.
Thank you.
To celebrate, I've prepared a Monday Mix inspired by the original playlist (included here).
Stevie Wonder: "Uptight" & "Higher Ground" Instant party-starter. Love this style of percussion and horns. A song situated firmly in the Sixties, just as "Higher Ground" finds itself an iconic song of the Seventies. Credit to Stevie Wonder, though, in that both songs sound relevant today.
Spoon: "The Way We Get By" & "Can I Sit Next to You" Fifteen years separate these two songs, but both have that undeniable raw power strut, centered in the bass groove. Both songs build and build and are captivating from first note to last.
Dej Loaf: "League of My Own" & "No Fear" I really appreciate Dej Loaf's style. I think she's got the laid-back delivery appropriate for the musical moment, but she has a style and urgency to her flavor that makes me root for her. I'm not sure what it will take. She's not a Nicki or a Cardi. Is there room for her?
Future: "All I Know" & "Mask Off" I'm not a huge Future fan, but I'm into both these cuts. I think he just happens to be on a lot of songs and odds are you'll like one or two. Likewise, I'm not a huge The Weeknd fan. (For starters, "The Weekend" is a dumb band name. If some other band already has that name, removing one of the e's doesn't make it any better.)
However, I AM a huge Starboy fan. A bit lengthy at 18 tracks and 68 minutes, it goes a number of interesting places and takes some significant risks and pulls off most of them. What makes "All I Know" so interesting to me is how Future's half feels so much deeper than the first half. The track is a tightening coil, and it's almost as if we go through the looking glass. "You sleep one eye closed / Too scared to get heartbroke..." "Sleep with one eye open / I'm terrified to get my heart broke..."
Charlie Puth: "We Don't Talk Anymore" & "Attention" Puth's light voice and tight control lends itself well to songs with subtle pop and vulnerability. Supported by Selena in the former and that thick bass in the latter, we've got some opposing forces that make both these tracks work for me.
Foals: "Night Swimmers" and "Birch Tree" Another case where I love the album way more than the band. Lightning in a bottle on this album. Not only do I not care for Foals outside of this album, I don't usually care for newer rock music at all. These are two deeper cuts from the album. If you like these, I think you'll love the singles and the album as a whole.
Arcade Fire: "Everything Now (Todo Ya)" & "Everything Now" It took a while for the latter to click with me. Once it did however, I'm an evangelist. Crank that one up every time. The laudable Bomba Estéreo mix it up and really flip it. At first, I thought it was too much oil and vinegar, but upon repeat listens, I love it as its own song.
- Matt
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