Finding New Music
I've recently joined a few Discord channels with other music fans, and it really reminds me of my music message board days in high school and college. What a fun, new, exciting way to get PERSONAL, unique music recommendations from folks with diverse tastes.
It's no secret that I prefer this method to THE ALGORITHM, so this year I've decided to make my mixtapes another vehicle for discovery by collaborating with some friends from time to time.
This month, I asked my very good college buddy Justin Nawman to join me for a mixtape full of music he knows extremely well and helped me fall in love with: 80s/90s R&B. Through this mixtape, he's introduced me to some phenomenal tunes, deepened my love for a few I'd already known, and sent me down a spiral of listening to the adjacent sounds of D'Angelo. I honestly can't stop listening to this mixtape, so I hope you enjoy!
And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?
Smooth Operations
Created in collaboration with Justin Nawman for the dimmer.
A few words from my buddy Justin:
***
When compiling this mixtape, I told Brady a story about how part of my childhood my nickname was Peter. For a larger portion of my childhood I was the sole white kid amongst all of my Black friends and their older siblings. Peter, from The Cosby Show, was the weird, chubby white kid that hung out with Rudy and all of her friends. John, my friend Jeremy's oldest brother, began calling me Peter while squeezing my chubby cheeks in a combination of admonishment and admiration. It stuck. I would hang out with Jeremy's extended fam, and most of his family thought my name was actually Peter. But the bigger part of that story was from the ages of 1 to 8 I listened to whatever my parents listened to in the car... country music. Becoming friends with Jeremy in the second grade soon meant that R&B and rap became the music of the remainder of my childhood. I think my proclivity for being a softy and a romantic lead me to pushing harder towards the R&B side of that coin.
Other than the inevitable head bop and nod that these songs are sure to bring... I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a fat, goofy, oddball white kid who is singing his heart out at a family (not his, but welcomed with open arms) BBQ to Boyz II Men and Levert and all the aunties and uncles are going "God damn that boy can sing!'... and the unbridled joy that comes with that exclamation. Go ahead and dim your February, baby.
***
Love you all. Hope you enjoy!
Join Me: Watching Blue Hawaii
If I don't feel any semblance of warmth soon, I'm going to lose my mind, so I am going to watch this movie musical set in Hawaii. I love Elvis, so that's a nice little cherry on top.
I have no idea how good it is supposed to be, but OH MY GOD I just found out Angela Lansbury is in it, so this is a no brainer. Let's all mix up margaritas and bask in the sunshine of our televisions or computer screens.
Watch it for FREE on PlutoTV.
RIYL: summer, Elvis Presley, a hiatus from bitter February winds
Other Music That Justin Loves
(that you might love too!)
Where Country and R&B Collide (Happens Regularly TBH)... a homogenous musical youth movement:
All 4 One AND John Michael Montgomery - I Swear - This song was a country hit in 1993, and a year later it became an enormous worldwide R&B/Pop hit. Both of these versions ooze all of that schmaltzy 90s love song goodness. Can't go wrong with either... though that All 4 One hits a bit different, fam.
Garth Brooks (as Chris Gaines) AND Childish Gambino - Lost in You - Garth wanted to be an actor. They were going to make this made for TV movie about the rise and fall of this fictitious rock star Chris Gaines for Garth. He had a whole emo look, new style, changed his singing style... the whole shebang. It was deaded before release EVEN BEFORE the internet machine panned anything and everything at the first bat of an eyelash. This song was birthed from that. And it is a beautiful creation. Then Donald Glover covered it live for a radio session. Gold.
Ronnie Milsap - (There's) No Gettin' Over Me - This man hit so many bases with music. He was wildly popular in the 70s and 80s when country artists started incorporating more pop and R&B sensibilities into their music. This song's groove and baseline feel very "quiet storm," and Ronnie's vocals here have tons of R&B influence. He's the man.
Lionel Richie - Deep River Woman (feat. Alabama) - Lionel Richie wrote HITS. Country, pop, r&b... HIT AFTER HIT. This song will forever have a place in my heart. It is the combination of the music genres of my youth, and it hits that soft spot of a love song that tip toes on saccharine... but never quite goes over the line, and the sentiment remains pure and clear. The way it opens with that guitar and then resolves at the end. Damn. That is the sound of hopeful longing.