Sorry For The Delay!
My computer freaked out on me, and I was without it for the past 2 weeks while it was being repaired. A quarantine nightmare, if you can imagine. BUT! I'M BACK WITH GOOD TUNES FOR YOU!
I've been working on this mixtape in my head for over a year, and I'm super stoked to share it with y'all. Hope you enjoy it.
And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?
LOUDEST BRIGHTEST THING
Created for SOPHIE.
*If you've got the time, you should listen on Mixcloud, as it includes this Patricia Taxxon song that's not available on Spotify. At the very least, please listen to the song on its own! It's the biggest sound I've ever heard. I subbed in a Katy Perry song on Spotify. Also incredible, but different. :)*
I wanted to make a mixtape of maximalist pop the second I heard SOPHIE, and I've been working on this mix in my head for over a year. I started piecing it together in August, and I had been planning on putting it out for 2021 sometime. The news of SOPHIE's tragic death in January hit me like a ton of bricks, and I felt compelled to polish the mix up and release it as soon as possible.
SOPHIE was a modern pop music pioneer. Her music influenced an entire generation of music makers, and we'll hear echoes of her work for the next decade at least. I was struck by this quote of hers:
"I think all pop music should be about who can make the loudest, brightest thing. That, to me, is an interesting challenge, musically and artistically. And I think it's a very valid challenge - just as valid as who can be the most raw emotionally. I don't know why that is prioritized by a lot of people as something that's more valuable. The challenge I'm interested in being part of is who can use current technology, current images and people, to make the brightest, most intense, engaging thing."
So that's what this mixtape attempts to be. Just the most in your face, fun, bold, weird, MAXIMALIST pop music I could muster.
This one's for you, SOPHIE. Love you and miss you already.
Love you all. Hope you enjoy!
Join Me: Read My Piece on Country Music's Racism Problem
Oops here's a shameless plug for another project of mine!
If you don't already know, a bunch of friends and I started a leftist comedy and culture zine pretty early on in quarantine. It's called Functionally Dead. I really think it's special, and I'd love for you to check it out (also on Instagram / Twitter).
For the most recent issue, I wrote a serious piece about country music's racism problem in light of the events surrounding Morgan Wallen. I highlight country music's history of Black artistry and its responsibility to stop supporting racists like Morgan to instead lift up the MANY incredible Black artists working in the country world today.
I love country music, and I'm passionate about it being better. Would love if you checked out the piece here.
Will also list the artists I rec down below.
RIYL: country, folk, bluegrass, reading the best damn comedy zine around
Black Country Artists I Love
(that you might love too!)
Jake Blount - Jake Blount is an incredibly talented banjoist, fiddler, storyteller, and LGBTQ+ activist. His debut album Spider Tales is a masterwork of the traditional string band sound.
Valerie June - Valerie June is a Memphis, Tennessee, songwriter who has developed a stellar reputation for blending country, folk, electric blues, and cosmic soul into a single sound. Her 2017 album The Order of Time is a gorgeous, infinitely fun exploration of sound and genre.
Dom Flemons - Dom Flemons is, quite simply, prolific. He’s known as “The American Songster,” as his repertoire covers over a century of American popular music. His 2018 album Black Cowboys seeks to remind and reassert the importance of Black people in the history of cowboy culture and music.
Mickey Guyton - Mickey Guyton’s career is particularly interesting in that her music fits in incredibly well with the major players in modern popular country music, but she still struggles to see near the same radio play. Her incredibly beautiful and poignant song “Black Like Me” explores her experience as a Black woman in a racist America.