A Sequel
For a while now, I've wanted to make a Volume II of one of my mixtapes, so I asked my buddy Justin Nawman back to make a successor to our Smooth Operations, one of my favorites out of the whole project and definitely one that I revisit all the time. We had so many tracks that didn't make the final cut, it seemed like the right thing to do.
This time around, though, we found ourselves going a different direction. We focused on newer tunes, the successors to songs on the first volume. These songs get a little more intimate, explicit. There's romance like the first volume, but maybe a little bit of filth in there too (including maybe one of the worst verses I've ever heard in my entire life by J. Cole. It's awful, you gotta hear it.).
Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me there. I'm something like 60% of the way to offsetting the price of my Apple Music subscription so I can share the mixtapes there too, and that is just wonderful.
And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?
Smooth Operations, Vol. II
Created in collaboration with Justin Nawman for a little more damn sensuality.
A few words from Justin:
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When Brady and I first started thinking about what our second mixtape would be, our initial idea was trying to encapsulate the feeling and the vibe of a summer evening, at sunset pushing 9 PM, when the sky is filled with pink, purple, orange, and yellow streaks. That just seems like such a passionate, sultry moment in time. I also wanted to make it feel like a mixtape that you could drive during that specific time in the summer, tentatively titled Whip Appeal (a la the Babyface classic).
Smooth Operations took more of a "quiet storm" 80s/90s R&B radio approach, but we did not want to be tied to a single genre or era. One of our concerns with Whip Appeal would be that it is just full of songs that did not make the cut for Smooth Operations. Though the cut songs from Smooth Operations are easily their own mix, simply slapping "Smooth Operations 2" on those songs seems fruitless and devoid of thought.
As we were compiling the new songs for the upcoming tape Brady had mentioned that this is starting to feel like "bedroom" music, or music for the build up and the come down. Or more apropos Smooth Operations, Vol. II, but not tied down to any other convention other than that. He was not wrong. He is a good friend.
I think we hit the benchmarks we initially set out to hit. This mix feels like an 88° degree summer sunset, it feels like a sky painted with 6 different colors, it feels like the seductive possibility of a long summer night, the build up and the come down and you can for sure drive to this at 9pm… please no faster that 45mph though… drive slow, homie.
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Love you all. Hope you enjoy!
Join Me: Kassi Valazza @ Jalopy Theatre, Thursday, July 14, 8:00 PM
I heard about Kassi from Western AF, a YouTube channel most similar to another I've talked about here, GemsOnVHS. These folks are modern Lomaxes, collecting folk songs from America and preserving them for future generations, and I'm so grateful for them.
I've wanted to see a show at The Jalopy for years, and I just happened to take a peek at their website to find this show coming up very soon. Please look at this place. Seems wonderful for an intimate show of folk tunes.
RIYL: Iris Dement, Sierra Ferrell, Benjamin Tod, Emmylou Harris.
Check out Kassi Vallaza's "The Rapture".
Some Other Songs That Justin Loves
(that you might love too!)
Blue Iverson - "Coy Boy" - This song does two things for me. 1. It feels like the slightly out of place interlude track on a 90s/2000s R&B album that makes you think "Why didn't they just write a song to this instead." 2. Or it feels like it could be a song from a musician biopic where the protagonist is hearing "what music COULD be" for the first time in some kind of sweltering, dark, yet somehow beautifully illuminated club. It must be all the fog machines they use on set and pinspot lighting. It must be a vibe.
Charlotte Dos Santos - "Patience" - It is the build with this one, and not even musically, just the narrative in the lyrics. The "you know, I know, we know what is going on and where this is going...but not JUST yet" tone here encapsulates that mildly playful anticipation of passion. Very good stuff here.
Summer Walker - "Deep" - I asked a friend to send me a song that she thought was sensual/sexy. She sent me this. I trust her. That is all there is to it. This is a jam.