Kristin and I rented a car a few weeks back, drove around New England, and had plenty of little adventures worth celebrating. I wrote a tiny bit about it for Kevin Bauer’s Instant Breakfast as guest editor this week. You can read about it there and view some bonus vacay pics below.

Stoked on this month’s collab with friend, neighbor, and concert buddy Mike Scollins. He’ll chat about it later on, but I’m excited to say this month’s mixtape is available to stream as a playlist on Bandcamp! You can explore the artists right on the platform that supports them most. Pretty cool!

RIP to Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Yayoi Kusama — three of the best we had.

Got some spooky Salem pics for you next month. Until then, hope you enjoy the final gasps of summer. I’ll be soaking in every moment as well.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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None of These Bands Are Palindromes

Created in collaboration with Mike Scollins for Bandcamp Fridays.

A few words from Mike:

*****

Woooow. Pretty thrilled to be asked to do one of these mixtapes. “What are you listening to right now?” is my third favorite question to be asked.* I’m a longtime fan of these playlists and an even longer time fan of Brady’s. I like that he sends them out on the 1st. It feels like a reward for paying my rent.

The theme, I’ll be honest, is sloppy and reverse engineered. I just picked a bunch of stuff I’m listening to and then tried to figure out how they connected. (Umm… They all have a guitar?... Nah, that’s stupid… Maybe every one of these band names is a palindrome?! Nope, none of them are. Wait- is “None of These Bands Are Palindromes” a theme??) But then I did realize one similarity—all these songs I purchased on Bandcamp. It’s not a great theme, but it’s not nothin.

Look, I won’t lecture you on the evils of Spotify. I’m not even gonna tell you not to use it! I use it myself! In fact, I just went to a party to celebrate Spotify’s 20th anniversary ‘cause Alanis Morrissette and St. Vincent were playing. I justified it in my head that, since I’m not a paid subscriber and it’s open bar, I’m actually costing them money. I won’t call myself a hero, but I won’t stop any of you from doing it. Plus, I love seeing everyone’s Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year! The only reason I don’t post mine is because it would just be “Heavy Rain” by “Sleep Sounds.”

Like most creative industries, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make music a full-time career. (To say nothing of music journalism, A&R, or any other job getting ruined by tech.) This is where Bandcamp can help! Instead of just streaming an album, you can actually own it! We used to buy albums all the time! (Shout out Newbury Comics.) But, over the years, we got trained out of it. You don’t have to buy everything, of course. Money’s tight, and lately it seems like we’re all just passing the same 50 bucks around to whoever needs it most that day. But when Spotify Wrapped tells you your most listened to record this year, maybe thank the artist by purchasing it. (Bonus points if you wait ‘til Bandcamp Friday when they waive their revenue share.) It won’t fix the industry, but it feels good and you don’t have to worry about your vibe being interrupted with an ad for ICE.

And there are, of course, other ways to support musicians. Go see ‘em live! If your finances allow, buy some merch! (Oh! If any musicians are reading this, I am begging you—post a link to your Venmo at the merch table! Sometimes I wanna throw you a few extra bucks, but I am at capacity for band tees.) There’s also UMAW—United Musicians and Allied Workers. They accept donations, but you can also just follow them on social media for some good info.

Ok, that’s it! I hope you like some of the music I picked out. Thank you, Brady! Happy Fall!

- Mike

* “Have you been working out?” / “Do you wanna watch that video where Kelsey Grammer falls off stage?”

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Visions of Hildegard @ St. Francis Xavier Church, Saturday, September 26 @ 8 PM

Ambient Church is hosting its first ever Mezame Music Festival, and this right here is its signature event. I feel like we rarely get the opportunity to listen to music like this in a setting like this anymore. Last time I went to church (Christmas Eve—Cleveland, OH), the music kind of sucked. Unforgivable.

This is going to be incredible. I’m very excited to bask in these voices. Won’t it be so nice to go to this and then debrief over cocktails afterward?

RIYL: choral music, classical, mysticism, church acoustics, acting like a monk and shit

Check out Hildegard von Bingen’s “Voices of Ascension.”

Some Other Things That Mike Loves

(that you might love too!)

Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights - It’s September 1st, and I’ve already been to Halloween Horror Nights. Me and my boys (including this month’s mixtape featured Telethon) go every year on the last weekend in August. I remember the first time I mentioned it to my therapist I did a real self-deprecating “I know! It’s so nerdy!” thinking he’d be like “No it’s cool you have that tradition!” but he was just like “Huh… Yeah that is really nerdy…” Fuck him. This year’s got a Hellraiser house.

9/19 – Jeff Rosenstock with Chris Farren at Pier 17 and/or 9/20 – Jeff Rosenstock with Laura Stevenson at Pier 17 - My god these shows are gonna fuckin rock. Jeff, Chris and Laura are all on this month’s mixtape and also all performing in NYC in a couple weeks. Jeff is gonna play Worry, one of my favorite records. IDK what Chris and Laura are gonna play, but who cares ‘cause it’s always great. Plus, the shows are at Pier 17, and there’s nothing like an outdoor show on the water in mid-September. That breeze is gonna go crazy with an $18 Modelo. (editor’s note: Brady has a ticket for 9/19 that he sadly can’t use! Do you want it for FREE? Let me know! First come first served!)

9/23 – Survivor Season 51 Premiere - Survivor is, hands down, the most compelling show on TV. I’m even in a high stakes Survivor fantasy league that, despite having > 50 players, I somehow still always manage to come in last. That’s OK. I think the most starstruck I’ve ever been is I met Jeff Probst once.

Watching Brady and Kristin Sleep - Brady and I are neighbors, which means I get to hold a copy of his key in case he ever gets locked out of his apartment. But the key also works if you just wanna drop by in the middle of the night. Brady and Kristin look like little angels when they sleep. Happy to make any of you a copy if you wanna see for yourselves.

I just hit 16 years of living in New York City this past month. I don’t know how long I’ll stay, but I know I’m here for the next 2-3 years at the very least. Things are looking good here lately. Hope the city keeps surprising me with new reasons to love it.

Summer has been full of incredible bouts of nostalgia and reunions. Warren, my indie improv team, had our first show with the full crew in maybe 8 years? Pair that with everyone who used to live here engrossed in that scene back in town, and it’s enough to make a guy feel very lucky.

Got an adventurous one for you this month, folks! Hope you dig! What are y’all listening to lately?

Til next time, friendos!

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Butchers

Created for the finest cuts.

*****

Sometimes you’ll discover a song so different, so exhilarating, so weird that you just don’t know what to do with it. You’ll obsess over it for a week or more, file it into the darkest corners of a playlist, and dust it off months later just to see if it retains some of its magic. I’ve compiled 17 of them.

I have a playlist (with over 24 hours of music on it at this point) that serves as an idea pile, and almost all of these came straight from there. None of them seemed to easily slot into any other thematic mixtape, but I like them grouped together here—an island of misfit songs, if you will. If you’re into the experimental or the ambient or the avant garde, there is a lot to love here.

In my mind, all of this would soundtrack a fashion show for a modern, eccentric designer whose models are walking the catwalk in strange outfits and deeply serious faces. Sometimes it’s fun to dip your toes into that world.

I didn’t know most of these artists before hearing these songs, and I don’t know much of the rest of their work at all. They largely remain a mystery to me, and I don’t know if I’ll dive deeper or just keep the mystique alive for another listen.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Buy Music this Bandcamp Friday on August 7th

I have truly run out of shelf space in my apartment for more records, but this is still the most direct way you can support artists and some archival record labels, so I’m going to pick up a few things. Here’s the type of things I always debate getting and this month’s version:

• New Release That’s an Easy Spin - Emeralds by Parlor Greens

• Archival Reissue of Niche Genre You Won’t Get Anywhere Else - The Golden Voice of Phnom Penh, 1962-1974 by So Savoeun

• An Old Favorite I Listen to Often But Do Not Yet Own - Lucky For You by Bully

• The Expensive Box Set - Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick 1958-1971

• Been on the Wishlist for YEARS When Will You Pull The Trigger? - Loving You George by George Otsuka Quintet

Which should I get? What are you going to scoop?

RIYL: Supporting artists, music

Check out George Otsuka Quintet’s “Loving You.”

Some Other Things I Love

(that you might love too!)

Instant Breakfast - Good buddy and mixtape collaborator Kevin Bauer curates an excellent Substack that’s a joy to read each week. The whole premise/promise is that it’s short and sweet. Just a couple of excellent recommendations thrown your way. Even if they don’t inspire further investigation, it’s cool knowing this stuff is out there. Must subscribe.

Memphis Jookin - This YouTube channel found its way into my algorithm, and I’m grateful. These dudes can move. I adore the palpable camaraderie on camera, too. People out here having fun dancing. Love the camera motion isolation effect.

7 photos + a poem - Another Substack rec! This one is exactly what it says it is: 7 photos + a poem. A balm for your inbox. A small joy to break up the monotony. Get in there, folks.

Dark - Kristin talked me into watching one of her favorite shows with her as she rewatches. It rocks. The language is German and the tone is… well… dark, which tends to scratch the itch for mid-late summer spooky season longing. If you miss they heydays of Lost and trying to connect the dots week to week, this could be a good show for you. Yeah, we’ve got time travel and murder here, folks.

I know it’s dangerous, but you bet your ass I love these 95 degree days we’ve been having. Summer rocks, and I’ll take every heatwave in stride. I’ve got a few trips coming up, some NYC weekend plans (museums? botanic gardens? concerts? oh yeah), and a million smiles for every sweaty person I see. The city is never more alive.

I’ve been taking big long walks around Prospect Park on my free days and taking turns I’ve never taken. Just trying to see every corner previously undiscovered (by me—and many others, I assume). It provided a perfect opportunity to workshop this month’s mixtape. Highly recommend it.

You may be wondering why this month’s mixtape is a day late. Well… I forgot. Summer rocks, etc. This mix began as the collection of tunes I put together for the cocktail hour at my wedding—largely western in aesthetic, if you can believe. I’ve since expanded and refined it into a 90 minute collection just for you. I hope you adore it.

This month’s mixtape isn’t available on Mixcloud but is on every other service. Because of the nature of the mix, it features many tracks by the same “artist,” and for copyright reasons, etc., I can’t upload the fully mixed track. Oh well! We’ll get ‘em next time.

Got another one in the can that’ll come in hot for August, then likely some more collabs! Thanks for listening, as always.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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A Western Medley

Created for the beauty of America that extends beyond 250.

*****

I don’t quite remember where I read/heard Luke Bell talking about the nature of his song “Glory & The Grace,” but his thoughts really stuck with me. He said that he wrote the song to express his sense of patriotism, but not the “bullshit patriotism” that gets espoused most loudly these days. His comes from the parts of America that are truly worth celebrating: the landscape, the splendor, the people, the sense of adventure.

250 years is enough to make you consider America and your identity as one of its residents. Couple that with the World Cup in your backyard and, holy moly: how am I supposed to feel? Do I take pride in all this? The land of the free where an enormous population is incarcerated and all others live under the duress of capitalist forces? Do I instead focus on its projected ideals, the words on the Statue of Liberty? How does every other nation on earth view me?

Of course, I could also just zero in on old cowboy movies—their themes and settings and scores and stories.

That is the best of America. In my heart, that is America: a promise—of beauty, prosperity, potential, exploration. One day we will stomp out the colonialism and capitalism of it all, and we will be left with the most diverse and beautiful landscape known to man.

You can hear all of this in the works of Aaron Copland and those who worship him. The western film scores of Elmer Bernstein, John Williams, Dimitri Tiomkin, and more all evoke this insatiable desire for a better life, the El Dorado waiting beyond the horizon.

It has been incredible seeing the sea change in the American political sphere these past few months. Democratic socialists are winning all over the country. People are taking the power back, no longer satisfied in waiting for those in power to change their hearts. I believe in a better world, and it will be the America we always envisioned: one where every person has the opportunity for a truly glorious life in a glorious land.

I hope you’ll find an opportunity to play this music loud and outside on a sunny day. Maybe you’ll roll the windows down as you drive through the endless stretches of the Great Plains or the unbeatable reds of Monument Valley. Perhaps, like me, you’ll just find a new stretch of green in Prospect Park. Either way, go on adventurers. The world is ours for the taking.

This land is your land. This land is my land. From California to the New York Island. From the Redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters. This land was made for you and me.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Hovvdy @ Webster Hall, Wednesday, November 4th @ 7 PM

I caught Hovvdy the last time they swung through Brooklyn, and I was blown away by how great the show was. Love their studio recordings so much, but wasn’t sure how it’d translate. Let me tell you: the room was electric.

The live rendition of “Bubba” was so special, and I’m hoping to feel something similar this next time. Very much looking forward to their new record, out in August, and this show. Let’s hang.

RIYL: Alex G, Pinegrove, sweet and earnest indie pop from guys who seem like genuine good friends

Check out Hovvdy’s “Blast.”

Some Western Films That I Love

(that you might love too!)

The Searchers - This is widely recognized as not only one of the greatest westerns of all time, but one of the greatest films. Watch it to understand Scorcese. Watch it to find a reason to love John Wayne (you might want to hate him, but he’s so phenomenally good in this). Please, just watch it because it is one of the most beautifully cinematic films in history.

Jubal - A Technicolor triumph. This story of the destructive nature of jealousy is gripping throughout. Every character reveals a little depth that makes you really feel for every poor decision they make. These poor, sweet idiots.

Destry Rides Again - It was wild for me to know James Stewart as a romantic comedy stalwart and then find out he’s one of the most prolific and important western stars of all time. He shines in this film with Marlene Dietrich, who—turns out—rocks.

Bad Day At Black Rock - Is it a true western? I don’t know. But it’s cowboy-coded, and it’s one of the most thrilling films I’ve seen in the last decade. I can’t wait to track down a blu-ray and watch it over and over for the rest of my life. If you like any sort of crime/mystery/noir stories, you’ll eat it up.

Kristin and I bought and played Mixtape on Switch 2 off the strength of its perfect 10 IGN review, and it did not disappoint. A video game for people who enjoy story over complex control and rigorous challenge, Mixtape plays out more like a movie where you sometimes have to push the A or B button. Makes sense, as it was published by Annapurna Interactive, a gaming subsidiary of Annapurna Pictures. It’s impossible to lose, so it makes for a stress free play, and it’s as wonderful to experience in the passenger seat as it is at the wheel.

Mixtape is a coming of age story set in the 90s in the Pacific Northwest on the last day before three best friends separate for their post-high school lives. The story centers around Stacey Rockford, a music obsessed teen with big love for making mixtapes and bigger love for her friends. The game is visually beautiful, truly moving, and utterly hilarious. A short playtime of 3-5 hours, it’s a breeze, and you’ll want to replay it immediately.

It feels like High Fidelity, but maybe better? The music is incredible, and I discovered quite a few new tunes that will be in the rotation for eternity. It was made for exactly me, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Find it on your console of choice or on Steam.

Stoked on this month’s mixtape, a collab with one of my oldest (tenure, not age) friends, Matthew Starr. We’ve been music buds since college, and I love that we’re carrying that bond into our late 30’s.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Songs That Reward Close Listening

Created in collaboration with Matthew Starr for big headphone pillow listens.

A few words from Matt:

*****

Dear Brady and Brady-Adjacent (Bradyjacent?) Readers,

I’m very excited to share this playlist of Songs That Reward Close Listening.

For me, music is something that is paired with another activity: writing, cooking, driving. I love to score a moment.

This isn’t fair to the music, though. Music is enough on its own.

The intent of this playlist is for you to put on your big headphones, push back the coffee table, lay a blanket out on the floor, grab a pillow, lay down, and just listen.

These songs are movies.

They are meals.

They are trips within.

Do this one night instead of scrolling on Instagram while whatever streams wherever. Just slow down and listen. It’s the best.

Some highlights from the mix:

“Under The Sun” by Say She She

I learned about Say She She from a review written by Hanif Abdurraquib in The New Yorker. If you’ve never read any of his work, read literally any of it. I highly recommend They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us and There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. When he reviews a band, I try to give it a listen. We don’t always have the same taste, but this album really hit for me. This song is a warm day in winter and a cool day in summer, late night hangs and early morning breakfasts, vintage and brand new, all in one.

“By Design (Evel Knievel)” by Jacob Banks

Jacob Banks has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. I found this album, Lies About The War, around the time that Kate and I were getting married. This is a song that calms me when I’m overwhelmed. Love and time. Grateful for it.

“White Male Privilege” by Medium Build

I find most of my new music on TikTok these days, and I’m so glad that Medium Build found his way to my algorithm. The studio recording of this is great, but if you want extra credit, go find his live performances of this song and watch how he screams the word “Minivan.” You can feel the entire story, the angst of growing up in his voice. This album Takeaways just came out and it’s great if you’re getting tired of replaying I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning over and over.

“I’m So Humble” by The Lonely Island and “My Strange Addiction” by Billie Eilish

First and foremost, Quaid Army. I’m a day one fan of The Lonely Island. If you’re looking for a great time separate from close listening, I highly recommend taking an edible (I didn’t intend the pun, but I didn’t change it either), listening to The Lonely Island, and cleaning your bathroom. Is it more fun than hanging out with people? Depends on the people, but yeah, it’s pretty good.

Do I think this should be distinguished as comedy music? Sure, but I wish all comedy music would go to the same lengths to sample a classic rockabilly hit like “Heartaches” by The Marcels, throw in a killer beat and the pop vocals of Adam Levine, and then write and perform well-executed, sharp, rap lyrics that also happen to be really goddamn funny. The intent of this song might have been comedy, but the execution is art, and I won’t hear otherwise.

Similarly, I think it’s amazing that Billie Eilish can do the opposite and sample The Office and turn it into a dark, psychopop banger.

Both songs end up amazing even though they started from polar opposite points, creatively.

“Hey Jude (Take 1) by The Beatles

How many times have you heard this song? Stop and listen to this early take and think about being in the room the first time anyone heard “Hey Jude.”

“Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” by Sufjan Stevens

I remember bringing the CD of Illinois home from the public library and ripping it onto my iPod with the clickwheel and knowing that I was going to be a fan of Sufjan for life. Sufjan always finds new ways to break your heart and with this song, the bass beat being just a little muffled, it’s like you’re laying with your head on someone you love’s chest and wondering if they feel the same. Poetry.

“It’s All Right / (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” and “Twistin’ The Night Away” by Sam Cooke

So the concept of a mixtape is that you pick specific songs to share, but honestly, just go listen to Sam Cooke’s One Night Stand! Live At The Harlem Square Club 1963. You’ve heard these songs before but never like this. To hear Sam Cooke effortlessly go between singing the most beautiful songs ever written to joking with the audience—I’ve never wanted to be in a room for a concert more. I’m obsessed with his banter. When he says “Oh I like this song” while singing “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons”? Or when he counts the band in by saying “A-one, A-two, a-put it anywhere,” how can you not be in awe of this man’s talent?

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Liz Phair & Sleater Kinney @ Prospect Park Bandshell, Saturday, September 19 @ 7 PM

Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville is quite possibly my favorite record of all time. As I age and continue to discover new music, I think this specific era and sound is settling in quite nicely as my go-to guaranteed good time. I’m always in the mood. I missed her the last time she came to town and was gutted, but this time around she’s playing with Sleater-Kinney?

Both of these bands are bucket list concerts for me, so you can find my ass in Prospect Park. Would love you to join me.

RIYL: 90s alt rock, That Dog., Snail Mail, Olivia Rodrigo

Check out Liz Phair’s “Down.”

Some Other Things That Matt Loves

(that you might love too!)

Jeni's Ice Cream's Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Widow's Bay streaming on Apple TV+

Helping people write their scripts in my classes Write Your Pilot! and Write Your Feature!

Watching Taskmaster on YouTube

I saw a whale at the beach and it changed my whole life. I'm different now.

Kristin and I spent a lovely afternoon this past weekend with our friends (and collaborators!) Jess & Rachel in Red Hook. We had a phenomenal meal and then wandered the streets, popping in and out of storefronts, including a visit to a great little record store, where I scooped some real treasures (such phenomenal international music here, I could have bankrupt myself).

Jess remarked that it felt like a day you’d have on vacation, but it was just some Sunday in a neighborhood not too far from our own. I couldn’t agree more, and I recommend it to you now. What a pleasant escape!

Speaking of escapes: I’m thrilled to collab with my buddy Rudy on a nostalgia themed mixtape this month. It’s not a bunch of throwbacks, but rather an exploration of a feeling. I’ll let him explain below.

Hoping to have some more film shots for you next month, but for now I’ll share a few old favs, what with our nostalgia bent this month.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Nostalgic By Nature

Created in collaboration with Rudy Behrens for being there.

A few words from Rudy:

*****

A Picture Right There of a Moment in Time

It recently occurred to me that nostalgia comes in many forms. There’s the manufactured kind, and those in the nostalgia business go about it in any number of ways. “We made a show about the 80’s with a bunch of references from the 80’s, eat it up!” And you know what? I will gladly gobble down 5 seasons of Stranger Things, and I wasn’t even alive until 1988.

Then there’s the more “artful” tack of making something that captures and conveys the feeling of youth, of days past, of this:

“When there’s things to do

not because you gotta

When you run for love

Not because you oughtta

When you trust your friends

With no reason not ta”

Hey. Yo. Come on man. I was just walking my dog, minding my own business, and now Jonathan Richman has me all wistful and shit.

Isn’t it satisfying when they just nail it? Someone writes a book or makes a movie with the goal of reminding us what we were like in our teenage years, and they absolutely deliver.

Sometimes it’s not so direct, though. Not so intentional or blatant. A few times a year, when there’s a warm, dry breeze, the air smells so familiar that I’m back in St. Helena, California. We just got kicked out of the elementary school for skateboarding, and we’re gleefully pushing to the next spot. For a split second, that’s where I am—not stuck in traffic on the god damned 134 again.

A song can hit us like that breeze, too. The somber tone of a pedal steel guitar can make our heart ache the same way a past unrequited love did. A single line from a song can catch us off guard, and now, all of a sudden, we’re thinking about that time we played hide and seek and it began to dawn on us that the other kids have moved on to another game, so we tell ourselves that it’s because we hid too good—not because they forgot about us. You know that cool thing where a song abruptly goes dead silent and you think it’s over, but then—just as abruptly—it kicks in again? What memory flashes in your mind in that split second to fill in the gap? Tune in, and you may notice it.

So, when I hear Nas casually drop the atomic bomb of “That’s a picture right there of a moment in time,” it doesn’t matter that it was preceded by a memory—of being “in the projects sipping OJ”—wholly unrelated to my childhood. What matters is the perfect, cold water shock phrasing of the line.

“That’s a picture right there of a moment in time,” and now it’s 2012. I’m smoking a cigarette before my shift at the restaurant in the West Village, and it’s just absolutely gorgeous outside.

“That’s a picture right there of a moment in time,” and now I’m seven years old, playing basketball with Jack in his driveway in Arcata, blissfully unaware that I’m about to move away from my best friend in a year.

Right now, I’m in my backyard in Pasadena, watching my dog look for the perfect place to lay in the sun. Maybe someday I’ll hear that line and be right back here. I can hear it a thousand times and be brought back to a thousand different places, a thousand different moments in time.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Bright Eyes & Built To Spill @ Forest Hills Stadium, Saturday, June 6 @ 6 PM

Wow! Speaking of nostalgia! I haven’t really kept up with Bright Eyes since my high school days, playing Texas Hold ‘Em in Brian’s dining room before watching Donnie Darko or playing Halo until we all got too tired to make dumb jokes.

However, I’m really looking forward to this show, a celebration of 20 years of I’m Wide Awake / Digital Ash. The cherry on top: I finally get to see Built To Spill. Mike, if you’re reading this, I have forgiven you for not getting the tickets to their Grog Shop show in 2008 (or so) when you said you would, but it seems I haven’t totally forgotten. This will allow the wound to fully heal.

RIYL: high school, Elliott Smith but a little jauntier, 90s and early aughts alt rock gods

Check out Bright Eyes’s “Road To Joy.”

Some Other Things That Rudy Loves

(that you might love too!)

Urban Hiking - Something I used to do once or twice a year when I was broke and had a day with nothing planned. Leave your house with no destination in mind. Spend no more than $35 (this is accounting for inflation). Listen to music or nothing at all. Check your phone for messages only twice (this is accounting for modern communication). Come home no less than 12 hours later and do it all on foot. Report back to me so I can live vicariously through you.

Visit a Midwest City* - Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburg and Cleveland are the ones I can attest to. These cities absolutely thrive in the summer, and the civic pride is infectious. Bonus points if you do a day of Urban Hiking or go to a baseball game while you’re there.

*Chicago excluded

Watch Micro Budget - Current indie comedy film and future cult classic featuring Emilea Wilson, Mike Mitchell, Don Fanelli, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell, Maria Bamford, Nichole Sakura, Jon Gabrus, Neil Casey and MORE. Patrick Noth and Morgan Evans’s mockumentary about a narcissist making his own vanity project movie is incredibly funny and captures the dark reality of rich tech assholes who think they can create art. Ironically, but conveniently, available to stream on Amazon Prime!

It was a great trip. It felt way too short. Everyone said it was way too warm. I couldn’t have been happier. More and more, I think my ideal weather is 93 degrees and sunny. Sorry, winter lovers. We are not the same.

I saw many friends and didn’t see many more. If you’re one of the latter, I hope to be back soon and catch up sooner.

The west coast sun gave me an opportunity to shoot some film for the first time in a while (including a cool Psych Blues variant I hadn’t shot before). Here’s some favorites:

I’m very excited about this month’s collab with Rachel Humphreys! It’s allowed me to explore an entire realm of pop music that we just weren’t exposed to on this side of the pond. I’ll let her elaborate below! Hope you dig.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

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Music For Blue Hair Mascara

Created in collaboration with Rachel Humphreys for all the huns.

A few words from Rachel:

*****

If there was a sound that defined my early teenage years, it would be the sharp snap! of a brand new CD being popped out of its casing. It seemed so futuristic to 12-year-old me to put a perfectly clean mirrored disc into my bedroom boombox, hit play, and hear a tiny whirring noise as it spun into track 1. And there was one CD above all that held the most promise: The Compilation Album. While most of the world was jamming to the Now That’s What I Call Music! franchise, I was a fan of the off-brand British equivalent: Smash Hits. (Sometimes, the experience of growing up in the UK was seeing what Americans had, desiring it, and getting the discount, home-grown version instead. My Welsh grandfather, for years, ate NO FRILLS CORN FLAKES for breakfast every morning.)

Smash Hits (which stopped printing in 2006, R.I.P.) was a true product of the 90s, a music magazine which provided me with most of my bedroom posters and taught me all the lyrics to every top 40 hit from 1999 onwards. Their compilation albums became the soundtrack to my teenage years, from sleepovers with the girls to fights over the family Walkman with my brother in the back of the car. The concept of a family Walkman should explain why I loved these albums so much: I was from a family of penny pinchers, and these albums were the best bang for your buck.

Since moving to the U.S. 4 years ago, I’ve come to realise how many of my beloved smash hits, by British and Irish artists, were staples in my CD player but never “broke America” (although they did a very good impression of some of the biggest U.S. artists). Going on this musical discovery with Brady has also made me realise that, like the UK, the pop industry in the early 00’s was small. So many of the bands and artists in this list were connected in some way, whether it was members going solo or bands being spawned from other bands. There would be no Westlife without Boyzone! No Rachel Stevens without S Club 7! I’ll also take your nepo babies and raise you how many pop stars were in relationships or, in some cases, were related. Edele and Keavy, the twins from B*Witched, were the younger sisters of Shane from Boyzone! C’est La Vie, I guess!

So inflate your chair, mascara your hair, and enjoy these big confident songs about love, parties, dreams, and puns about airports and breakups :( And thank you Brady for taking me on this nostalgic ride back in time and back home.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Marcos Valle @ The Rockaway Hotel, Sunday, July 12 @ 6 PM

This was supposed to happen last year, and Marcos had to cancel for undisclosed reasons. He’s 82 years old, though, so… I really thought there’s probably no way I’d ever see this absolute legend.

Kristin and I booked a room at the hotel last year for this and decided to go anyways. We had a couple lovely days at the Rockaways, and that would be worth it alone, BUT…

He’s surprised me once again by rebooking this show for this summer. I expect we’ll book a room for the night and enjoy a couple days at the beach (again) and a killer show (finally). Let’s hit up Rippers and chill.

RIYL: MPB, summer rooftops, caipirinhas

Check out Marcos Valle’s “Não Tem Nada Não.”

Some Other Things That Rachel Loves

(that you might love too!)

@loveofhuns - If you liked my playlist, may I recommend the Instagram account loveofhuns? A celebration of British pop culture nostalgia. And huns.xxx

Original Pirate Material - This record from The Street is so specific to a time and place but is still one I want to listen to on repeat. Americans may need to google some of the lyrics.

Chocolate eggs - Easter is a huge deal in the U.K. because we’re a Christian nation in denial, but mainly it’s all about chocolate eggs. Mini Eggs are my personal favourite. Please DO NOT buy them if they are made in the U.S. because they are manufactured by the Hershey’s company and in my opinion taste pretty bad! Imports only!

Supporting Local Reporters - I’m a journalist and care deeply about supporting local, independent outlets and reporters. I live in New York and donate to both Hell Gate and The City. I’m also donating to my friend Afeef Nessouli’s latest project: a TV show about reporters, their sources and their stories. Afeef has reported from Lebanon and Gaza in the past two years, and also on the impact of Trump’s cuts to foreign aid.

Getting married at Manhattan City Hall - I did it a couple of weeks ago on the first day of spring. Maybe I’m biased because I married the love of my life, but I think it’s by far the most fun you can have in a municipal building!

I had some folks reach out about the possibility of getting the mixtapes on Tidal and Deezer. Seems like many more people are jumping the Spotify ship these days (as you should!), and I’m happy to oblige. All mixtapes in the Made You A Mixtape project are now fully available on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, YouTube Music, and Mixcloud. I’m almost afraid to ask, but am I missing anything that you regularly use?

I read this pretty interesting piece about Jimmy Iovine predicting the death of Spotify in minutes. It does kind of feel like he’s right. It’s not sustainable for artists or labels or anyone but the streaming giant. I continue to create physical tapes out of all of these mixes, and they are a treasure to listen to—a vastly superior experience to a headphones on commute full of stalled service.

Jimmy’s big critique is the lack of community in these platforms. You’ve got to make your own. Thanks again for being a part of this one.

What are you digging lately?

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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We Might Even Be Falling In Love

Created for the fascination.

*****

Have you ever had a crush?

There’s nothing quite like that feeling in the deepest pit of your stomach. Is it purely physical, a biological flare sent off to spur you to seek a partner? Is it psychosomatic, your brain overheating with perfect futures and worst possible outcomes causing your body to contort on the inside? Is it spiritual, your soul trying to reach out from deep inside you?

I don’t know but, but I also don’t know if you can ever feel more alive and like you might die at the same time.

Thank god artists have to make music about it.

I’m a wife guy now, and we’ve been together for 13 years. Sometimes you forget that the crush feeling still exists inside you, ready to reawaken. Her contact photo in my phone is the profile photo she had when we started dating, taken at her birthday party that I crashed just so I could see her again. Every time I see it, I feel it. It’s good to fall in love on a regular basis.

Hope this mixtape awakens something in you. Have a little romance.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Robyn @ Barclays Center, Friday, Sep 4 @ 8 PM

I’ve been listening to Robyn for 20 years, and this will be the first time I’ve seen her. She’s arguably at the top of her game, which is kind of hard to fathom. What pop star has that kind of longevity?

This is bound to be an enormous party, and I’ll cry if she plays “Handle Me.”

RIYL: Dancing On Your Own With Thousands Of Others

Check out Robyn’s “Talk To Me.”

Some Other Things I Love

(that you might love too!)

Pogo’s “Boy & Bear” - Winter is hard for me, because I do not like it. I’ve been working more than usual and haven’t been getting enough time off. I’m going on vacation (yo, are you in LA and want to hang out?) in 2 weeks, and I need it so bad. I rediscovered this Pogo track, which may as well be Brady Balm. I love Winnie the Pooh. Always have. I think “and you will always answer” is a beautiful, very comforting sentiment. You could call this nostalgia schlock, but to me it sounds like Pooh Bear doing reggaeton—an unprecedented and perfect combo. It is getting me through the season.

Smiling Friends - Absolute chaos. Kristin and I would scream laughing here and there. It’s beyond weird, and we love it. The creators just announced that they’re ending the show after a final 2 episodes after 3 seasons of exquisite madness. Good for them. I’ll rewatch this a million times.

Earthbound - I’ve been playing this old SNES turn based RPG on Nintendo Switch Online, and I’m having a blast. I loved video games in this era, and this one is so fun and funny.

Bookends - Kristin and I ran out of storage space for all the blu-ray and 4k discs we’ve been accumulating (bless the Criterion Collection), so we bought wall mounted shelves to house them. I then took to ebay/etsy to look for vintage bookends to hold everything in place. What a fun way to inject a little personality into your decor! Things used to be beautiful and serve a purpose. Check out these Art Deco cat bookends I scooped.

Much love to Minneapolis. Much love to immigrants. Much love to protestors.

And of course, much love to artists who give a voice to our collective struggle and power therein. Forever and always, Fuck ICE.

This month’s mixtape drips with empathy, humor, and the human condition. I’ll let my collaborator Francis Alexander Hamilton wax poetic on it below.

This past month I got trapped in Chicago because of the blizzard and spent 48 hours in hotels and airports trying to get home. It was miserable, but I’ve been told by many that it happens to everyone once. Here’s hoping you’ve had yours like I’ve had mine. You have to look back and laugh, and I will once it is warm again.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Outlaws in the Abstract

Created in collaboration with Francis Alexander Hamilton for John Prine & Jesus.

A few words from Francis:

*****

My daughter asked me on the ride home from school if I’d heard about Jesus Christ.

I said, yeah, I’d gone to Catholic school for six years, so I knew some stuff about him.

“He was born in a pen,” she said.

I told her it was more like a barn in the story, but that’s the idea.

“This is non-fiction,” she told me.

Entering adulthood a lapsed Catholic, you wonder what you’ll share from your own religious experience with your kids. Some of those bible stories are a lot of fun. You’ll need them, too, when you’re grasping at straws after the fiftieth retelling of Little Red Riding Hood at night from memory. You can only take so much artistic license once you get bored. Did you know that the grandma and the woodsman have a thing? They do now.

Unfortunately, it seemed what she’d started to grasp from her classmates, was the more public, American version of Jesus. The pink one I recognize as being kind of lame. The savior of neoliberalism, packaged through Old Testament rhetoric and weird Big Brother anxieties.

I pushed my aviators down, winked, and whispered, “You wanna hear the cool Jesus stories they don’t want you to know about?”

She didn’t. But I told her about the beatitudes, anyway.

And then Todd Snider died around that same time–not as Jesus, but as this conversation with my daughter–and this thought about what it means to be an outlaw and the actual sweetness, the corniness, the American hope that represents… it turned out to be what I wanted from music right now.

The beatitude that’s most outlaw Americana is the one about turning the other cheek. Offering yourself up to your enemies is required. That’s some real sick puppy love, and it’s that sort of radical behavior that makes outlaw music.

No matter how it sees itself, which is usually some amalgamation of the Man in Black and being forced to work retail, outlaw music is most rebellious when its flawed songwriter tells you after a few drinks that you deserve love as much as the next person. This person has it together and they’re telling me about life? I thought we were having drinks. Shit.

I saw Todd Snider in concert a few years ago, and it was a wonderful show. He was a protégé of John Prine and Jerry Jeff Walker–both rebel musicians in their own right–and he was a storyteller of the highest order. But his heroes were ghosts by then, and all that was left were stories of their humanity.

One evening late after a show, Snider told us that he and Walker walked the empty streets, smoking and drinking. They came upon a panhandler playing, “Mr. Bojangles” on his guitar. That was Walker’s song. Jerry threw the guy what money he had and didn’t say a thing.

Oodles of light, what a beautiful sight.

Love F.A.H.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Eli @ Le Poisson Rouge, Wednesday, March 11 @ 8 PM

I have an extra ticket, and it is first come first served. I’m really excited for this show, and I would bet money this is the last time you’ll be able to see Eli on a stage this small. She’s destined for arenas, I feel, so this is important.

Come beat the winter blues with some pop tunes in a venue I’ve only been to once before to see a Japanese experimental metal band.

RIYL: Britney Spears, Carly Rae Jepsen, the early aughts

Check out Eli’s “Glitter.”

Some Other Things That Francis Loves

(that you might love too!)

Stew - Right now. Make a good stew.

Woman’s Foundation of Minnesota - Our buddy Brennan had a nice little donation page he linked to. Definitely check out that and his episode of Very Important People where he and Jacob are alien babies. I hate it, but love it.

Switch 2 - It’s got the new Dynasty Warriors. If you feel like you need to beat up three thousand nameless soldiers as a semi historical figure from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Winter is my mortal enemy, but I’m trying to be a good sport about it this month. My very dear friend Dan is a huge fan, and we collaborated on a pretty spectacular mixtape for you all. It’ll help carry me through the long, cold, dark days. That and the Christmas lights I’ll leave up for another month—just for a little extra dose of warmth.

In the last month I’ve had a cold, the flu, and norovirus (lol). 2026 has no choice but to be incredible. I’m willing it for myself AND for you, my wonderful friends and lovely music fans. Some stellar music due to hit your inboxes on the first of every month, per usual!

A few cheerier slices of life for you:

Hope you continue to enjoy this project as much as I do. Always love to hear from folks! What are you digging lately? Me? Well, I’ll leave you with some assorted favorites from 2025:

• Algernon Cadwallader’s Trying Not to Have a Thought - If these transcendent guitar melodies and bottom of your stomach Midwest emo vocals don’t move you, we grew up different.

• Eli’s Stage Girl - Eli is my pop girly of the moment. Love you Sabrina & Charli, but these early aught throwbacks hit me where I feel it most.

• Moin’s Belly Up - Moin was the best live act I saw this year. They had the worst opener (can’t be their fault) I’ve ever seen in my two decades of seeing concerts.

• Rosalía’s “Reliquia” - Absolutely floored by the loveliness of her voice/this song. One of the best I’ve heard in years.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Let It Freeze

Created in collaboration with Dan LoPreto for the gift of silence.

A few words from Dan:

*****

I never want to know a day

That’s over forty degrees

I’d rather have it thirty

Twenty, ten, five and let it freeze

—Snow Miser

I can’t hear myself think these days. I am reminded of what the poet Jonathan Williams wrote in the liner notes of the 1959 record Mingus Ah Um:

It is incredible that Mingus can dredge out of the contemporary slough the potency and healing grace of his music. Pieces like the ‘Fables of Faubus,’ ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’ and others are miracles of a kind. They are there, available, God knows, for anyone of those not so bugged by the crazy barrage of the Communication of Nothing that they can still hear.

The “crazy barrage of the Communication of Nothing.” Is there anything that better captures our current moment and its deleterious effects on our nervous systems? The stream of noise and horror is endless. Gaza bombed again. ICE abducts a family. A university bends the knee. Record breaking heat. Microplastics in our balls. Fuck, dude. I just want to turn all of this shit off. Not permanently, of course, since it is everyone’s responsibility to bear witness and resist the fascist onslaught. But sometimes I want to beg for some silence.

Throughout my life, winter has given me the gift of silence. There is nothing I like more than to take a stroll on a windless, frigid winter night. This season has always meant, for me, a time of contemplation and stillness. As the world spins faster, I rely on winter to keep my feet grounded on the cold earth.

* * *

I was rooting for the White Walkers. Of all the media I consume, I prefer those books, films, songs, and TV shows that engage with winter. I recall fondly the Emmy-winning “Heart of Ice”, considered to be the most iconic episode of Batman: The Animated Series (the show itself, according to Glen Weldon, represents the best version of Batman in any medium). More recently, I was sad when they announced that The Great North was cancelled—that show ruled.

There are films that I can’t imagine without their winter settings or signature scenes: Tokyo Godfathers, Doctor Zhivago, Groundhog Day, The Thing, Night on Earth, Serendipity, It’s a Wonderful Life, Eternal Sunshine, Empire Strikes Back. Do we want Marge Gunderson tanning on a beach? Or Yukon Cornelius bending over to smell a spring rose? Or Marv Murchins sipping a pumpkin spice latte? These characters wouldn’t be the same without a winter backdrop.

Some books and authors are permanently associated with winter, for me. I think of Chekov’s “Vanka”; Fitzgerald’s “Ice Palace”; Donna Tartt’s Secret History; the science of snowflakes in Adam Gopnik’s Winter: Five Windows on the Season, the caribou migrations in Barry Lopez’s Arctic Dreams; the early scene in Moby-Dick when Queequeg and Ishmael share a bed at a New Bedford inn, combatting the cold by burying under the covers, “like the one warm spark in the heart of an arctic crystal.”

I love the colors of winter. Christmas colors for me aren’t plastic red and blank-page white. They are deep and dense: emerald, ruby, gold. Not the light, pastel, luminous colors of Renoir or Mettise. During this time of year I crave thick, solid-as-rock colors: Velasquez black, Twombly gray, Sophie Taeuber-Arp brown, Vermeer orange, Rothko purple, Agnes Martin white, Caravaggio red, Frenkenthaler blue, Bruegel silver.

* * *

Just because I love winter and think it is the best doesn’t take anything away from the other seasons, right? I’m afraid not. Fuck those other seasons. Especially summer: my personal enemy.

Summer is Matt & Kim; winter is Children of Bodom. Summer is an allegro; winter is a fugue. Summer is Vivaldi’s violin concerto in G minor; winter is Debussy’s Nocturnes.

You don’t want to be a hot head or boiling mad. You want to be cool, chill—don’t sweat it.

The best summer treats are actually straight out of winter: ice cream, frozen popsicles, snow cones, all served up by Mr. Frosty.

* * *

I’ll end where I started: with a poet. Here is Mary Oliver’s “Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness”:

Every year we have been

witness to it: how the

world descends

into a rich mash, in order that

it may resume.

And therefore

who would cry out

to the petals on the ground

to stay,

knowing as we must,

how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?

I don’t say

it’s easy, but

what else will do

if the love one claims to have for the world

be true?

So let us go on, cheerfully enough,

this and every crisping day,

though the sun be swinging east,

and the ponds be cold and black,

and the sweets of the year be doomed.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Sugar @ Webster Hall, Monday, May 4, 7:30 PM

I bought tickets to this, and they sold out immediately, so this is half a fake invite, since tickets are reselling for close to $200. I’m sorry.

Everyone likes Hüsker Dü and knows how influential they are, but Sugar is my favorite Bob Mould project. These 90s power pop melodies are out of control. I can’t believe I fell in love with them and they decided to reunite for a very limited run of shows.

I bought 2 tickets to this, and they sold out immediately, so this is half a real invite. You want to go?

RIYL: 90s alt rock, power pop, reunions, big smiles and jangly guitars

Check out Sugar’s “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.”

Some Other Things That Dan Loves

(that you might love too!)

What I am into lately:

Books:

Black Paper by Teju Cole

As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer

Films:

Look Back

I’m Still Here

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell

What I am not into lately:

As Rian Johnson succinctly put it in a recent interview, “Fuck AI.” Couldn’t agree more. I truly hate this shit. “Not only is the ratio of AI’s resource rapacity to its productive utility indefensibly and irremediably skewed, AI-made material is itself a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.” I am no expert on the AI grift, but here are some folks who are. They are worth your time and attention: Timnit Gebru, Emily Bender, Dan McQuillan, Mary Gray, Annette Zimmermann, Allison Pugh, Mél Hogan, Abeba Birhane, Joan Donovan.

You’ve asked for it (begged for it, even!) for years, and I’m happy to report that I finally (once again) was a podcast guest! Kelley Quinn and Malin von-Euler Hogan, two of my favorite comedic minds, gave me the incredible pleasure of allowing me on their fantastic Riding Around podcast, a real recap pod about a completely fake sitcom. I had such a blast and would love for you to listen, like, and subscribe. You can find it on Apple or Spotify.

It’s business as usual at Made You a Mixtape central otherwise. After a year of putting it off, I finally had my cassette deck repaired, so I’ll be making physical copies of the 11 mixtapes from 2025. I’m jazzed about it. May physical media reign forever.

Of course, I want to thank you all again for sticking around for another year. As more and more people clue in to the fact that the algorithm failed music and Spotify pushes garbage that users hate, personal connection and curation is more important than ever. Would love to thank all of my collaborators for sharing music that I’ve loved.

Hope your holiday season is merry and bright. Plenty of holiday mixes in the archive, if you need em! See you in 2026!

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Z Z Z Z Z

Created for the metaphysical & mundane.

*****

Jazz feels impenetrable.

Jazz is important music. It is culturally respected (one of America’s greatest ((and only?)) true original artistic exports) and an unbelievably important development in artistic expression. Classical, too, feels impenetrable, but jazz has the added factor of being cool. It’s inherent to its nature. Hell, jazz is half the reason “cool” is in the popular English lexicon. I still feel like a novice when discussing classical music, but jazz can make me feel like an impostor.

Jazz feels insurmountable.

There’s countless varieties and heroes to discover. There’s ragtime, free jazz, west coast jazz, spiritual jazz, and so on and so on. It all feels instrumental to jazz’s identity, but they’re all so different. It would be impossible to know and love them all. By the time you did, there will probably be ten other varieties.

Jazz feels intimidating.

This music can be challenging. It can feel boring. It can sound bad.

I’m here to say to hell with all that. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, baby. Start with the tastiest bits to you.

Penetrate jazz. The very effort is cool! Discover jazz. There’s no wrong way in! Challenge jazz. The reward can be sweeter than our pop-trained brains can handle! This music can be so spiritually moving and feel otherworldly, but I also love that you can often hear the actual humans playing. You can hear the breath, feel the shift in weight. It has the entirety of the human experience in it, even the boring bits.

I am still a novice, but this mixtape collects some of my favorites from my limited jazz explorations. I find jazz to be somewhat intimately tied to the winter and holiday season (in no small part to our friend Vince Guaraldi), so I hope you’ll find it festive and spirit nourishing in this and future seasons.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: LCD Soundsystem @ Knockdown Center, Thursday, December 11, 8 PM

Yes I am a millennial. Yes I am going to the LCD Soundsystem residency show. You can too! I saw this band in college right when Sound of Silver came out. They played with Arcade Fire (welp!). It will be cool to see them almost 20 years later (hahahaha).

I have a flight to catch at 6am the next morning. Pray for me.

RIYL: dance punk, the early aughts, New York Fucking City

Check out the song that will feel incredible to see with All My Friends.

Some Other Jazzy Things That I Love

(that you might love too!)

Duke Pearson’s Merry Ole Soul - No Christmas in the rest of the newsletter, so I’ll throw you a holiday bone here. This is such a fantastic, underrated Christmas record. Perfect for your holiday cocktail parties.

Vesper Martini - Speaking of, jazz makes me want to sip a good cocktail. I love most spirits, but my preferred martini is the vesper. Invented by author Ian Fleming in 1953 for James Bond’s Casino Royale, this martini is a bit boozier than average, but it’s so light and crisp and refreshing. Took me a decade to have a preferred martini, but I’m glad I have one (get your dirty stuff out of my face).

Kissa Kissa - Good cocktails and jazz go hand in hand, and this bar in my Crown Heights neighborhood knows it. Modeled after traditional Japanese listening bars, Kissa Kissa sports an audiophile sound setup and spins incredible deep cut jazz records. Their cocktail list is inventive and wonderful. I’m good for a drink here anytime.

Qobuz - If you prefer to do your listening at home, consider switching your allegiances from the big, bad Spotify to my new love: Qobuz. It’s particularly great for jazz, as it somewhat started as the audiophile nerd’s lossless streamer. Jazz people care a lot (too much?) about audio fidelity. Regardless, it’s great, and I don’t miss Spotify a little bit. I have 2 referral codes for 2 months free (linked here), and they’re up for grabs while the grabbing’s good!

A few nights ago I attended an album listening party hosted by one of my favorite record labels, Mississippi Records. It took place in this home/recording studio above the Ear Inn bar in Hudson Square. The home was built in 1817, and it very much feels like it. The walls are littered with interesting art and books and souvenirs from a life lived creatively. This is a space that once hosted the legendary Arthur Russell and likely many others (the owner seems to have been friends with John Lennon, if the personalized posters on the wall were any indication). Always such a marvel inhabiting a place that has history crawling up from its floorboards.

The album of the hour was Willem Nyland’s Piano Studies 337, a series of piano improvisations from 1962. Nyland was somewhat of a spiritual leader and student of George Gurdjieff, a Greek-Armenian mystic notable for his work with composers and prescribing a sort of modern dance meditation. On hand to introduce the record, the composer, and the mysticism behind the music was Matt Marble of the American Museum of Paramusicology. Thirty or so strangers were treated to an absolutely fascinating bit of background before we drank a celebratory shot of Armagnac in toast to Gurdjieff then sat in silence to listen to the record.

It was such a wonderful experience. Events like this are a real rarity today. It reminded me most of the house concerts I’ll occasion on the Upper West Side, where a family opens up their home to host world class musicians for an intimate show and potluck. This experience remind me why New York is so great. It’s so incredibly special to gather together in community to experience and share art together. We should do this more often. I’ll share some records if you will.

Speaking of sharing some tunes… I’m super excited to present a collab with Nic Golden Henry this month. Nic and his wife Angie occasionally put together a much looked forward to “favorites” playlist for the year, and I’ve been wanting to collab with them for a while as a result (Angie, let’s collab next!). In addition to assembling an incredible bunch of music, Nic also made one of my photos a dang work of art via illustration. The result is one of my favorite covers of this entire project. Show Nic a little love.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

This Song Has A Face

Created in collaboration with Nic Golden Henry for everyone linked to the music.

A few words from Nic:

*****

Ok fine, I’ll get off my high horse and admit that machines have played a HUGE part in this mixtape. These ones may not have faces, but I’m sure there are plenty that do. Without machines a lot of great music couldn’t be made. Without machines this electronic letter wouldn’t be finding you where you are, delivering 27 songs, sorted and packaged in your listen-anywhere vehicle of choice, free-ish of charge.

Before all that though, these songs found Brady and me not through machines or algorithms, but via genuine ol’ fashioned human faces. Most of my faces have been around for the long haul. Like my sister’s, who came home from college and gave me Grand Champeen’s Battle Cry For Help CD. Surprisingly, I was able to pause Limp Bizkit long enough to let indie rock enter my atmosphere and significantly alter my life’s trajectory.

Other faces are somewhat less dear to me. Like the woman who punched me in the spine during my first mosh pit experience at a Deftones concert. I felt the knot for at least two weeks but have remembered her face for 20 actual years. Anyway, this was a fun exercise—really thinking about the people we mostly love who have shaped the songs and artists we’ve come to really love. You might already have your own faces associated with these tracks and many others. However, if you need a new one, Jessi and I are happy to be of service:

Also just want to shout out Brady. He puts so much love and effort into this project and is the easiest person to collaborate with. So please, let’s all celebrate Brady’s face: the one attached to countless tunes for us all. Thanks for listening :)

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Cindy Lee @ Brooklyn Paramount, Saturday, Nov. 15, 7 PM

My buddy Peter is coming to town, and he bought tickets to this Cindy Lee show. I get to go. What a good friend! What a good time!

I’ve been listening to Diamond Jubilee a lot recently. I was a bit of a latecomer to the record and Cindy Lee in general, but man am I a fan. Just feels like there’s nothing else out there like them right now. Imagine your favorite fuzzy garage rock band doing doo wop songs. Pretty cool.

RIYL: old school rock, 60s girl groups, garage rock

Check out Cindy Lee’s “If You Hear Me Crying.”

Some Other Things That Nic Loves

(that you might love too!)

60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s : I know, I know—another podcast. However I’m going to bet that you like music and might feel some type of way about pop music of the ‘90s and ‘00s. If either of those things are true, then this show won’t let you down.

Pickup Music - One of the only services I’ve ever felt compelled to review because I don’t want it to go away. Pickup is a great platform for learning guitar and bass (and I think they’re working on piano) in a ton of genres, styles, and levels. Amazing instructors (I recommend Molly Miller) you can play along with via video lesson, high-tech-ass tabs, and even a groovy full band. It makes you actually want to practice!

Running without headphones - First off, it’s much safer. Second, you already have the soundtrack of “GOD THIS SUCKS” playing in your head, so why add more noise?? But seriously, after awhile it’s actually nice and helps you better connect with nature and/or the city and/or your inner demons. You’re welcome.

Birds and trees - Birds and trees are things I started paying more attention to while running without headphones. I also heard an unverified factoid that the average person can name something like 500x more corporate logos than species of birds and trees. Doesn’t that just feel bad? Well you’re invited to join me in helping reduce this discrepancy. Sidenote: my sister Melissa (the same one who introduced me to independent music and a million other radical things) says that an interest in birds and trees is very typical of someone my age (36) experiencing the onset of a mid-life crisis. There is a blue spruce in my backyard, and my favorite common fowl is a red-winged blackbird.

I popped into the Forest City a few days ago for the quickest visit in the world. I wanted to:

• See my parents.

• See my grandparents.

• See the Cleveland Guardians clinch a postseason berth.

I somehow managed all three.

When I bought the flight, I had no idea that I’d actually be seeing a baseball game that mattered. Cleveland was so far removed from the AL Central conversation, but they managed the largest comeback in MLB history, overcoming a 15.5 game deficit to snatch the division title from the Detroit Tigers, securing some October baseball along the way. I’m so happy I got to be at Progressive Field when they clinched the postseason.

If you weren’t paying attention, they secured the playoff spot in the funniest possible way. They secured the division in the most Cleveland possible way. The Guardiac Kids just never give up. That’s Guards Ball for you.

Sports are good.

Anyways, I have been wanting to put this spooky mixtape together for years. Finally did it.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Heresies

Created for the shadows you feel.

*****

Art should be challenging. Not always, but often. It should stir something in you: joy, regret, hope, fear.

Fear is fascinating. To some extent, it’s something we hope to never feel. A true sense of panic and danger, a tightening of the chest, a quickening of the heart. On the other hand, there are some of us who seek the thrills associated with it (especially this time of year) through horror films, spooky stories, haunted houses. Anything to unlock the adrenaline rush.

I argued for a decade that comedy and horror are the same. In my mind laughter is a fear response. The stakes are just lower. The high is the same. That realization made me enjoy horror. I wasn’t able to watch scary movies until I was deep into high school. I didn’t enjoy them until college. I love them now.

I began writing a horror stage show many years ago and mostly used it as an excuse to assemble a soundtrack (I never got around to finishing the show - maybe someday I will). This is where much of this mixtape started. Some of these songs are downright frightening. Many float around dark ambience. Those with vocals can evoke the ramblings of someone on the verge, a haunted presence.

The artwork is a painting by the artist Francis Bacon. His works are disturbing, but beautiful. You can feel and almost hear the agony. I find them thrilling.

Some will say that art should show beauty, but I think the opposite can also be true. Sometimes I want to immerse myself in ugliness. These songs, this art — none of them are what they’re supposed to be… heresies.

Early on in this mixtape project I released Cutthroat, a hypothetical 80s slasher film soundtrack (check it out…another good option for the season). That mixtape is a little glossier, a little more Hollywood. This one leans a little more A24. I think it’s scarier.

I hope you need to fall asleep with a light on. Just this once.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Saintseneca w/ Radiator Hospital @ Night Club 101, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 6:30 PM

Zac posted the faux genre names “shoegrass” and “bluegaze” when talking about Saintseneca’s new record, and I knew I’d love it. The full thing drops on 10/31, but I’ve been spinning the new tunes a lot, and I'm sure it’s going to be a real treat.

I’m excited to check out this venue on the LES that I presume is somewhat new? Also, eager to hear a bit more from Radiator Hospital. I don’t know what else to tell you. Should be a good time.

RIYL: bands I’ve seen over a dozen times, folk, pop, shoegrass, bluegaze

Check out Saintseneca’s new jammer “May Day.”

Some Other Spooky Things That I Love

(that you might love too!)

you are not alone - Brothers Taylor and Alex Gonzalez self-publish a horror zine that is full of some of the most chilling stories I’ve ever read. They have hosted live readings (I was lucky enough to participate a few years back) that have included the legendary R. L. Stine. The entire vibe of this project is perfect. If you’re a fan of anything horror, I can’t recommend it enough.

The Wailing - I finally got around to watching this film last year, and it was worth the wait. Almost like a supernatural Memories of Murder, I got sucked into this early and stayed glued to the edge of my seat. It’s… kind of insane, but I loved it very much. A truly beautiful film as well.

Over the Garden Wall - One of my favorite genres is “spooky for children.” I love me some Scooby Doo, Hocus Pocus, Are You Afraid of the Dark? Over the Garden Wall is maybe the pinnacle of this idea. It’s not outright scary (well… there’s a few moments!), but it cultivates an eerie ambience through its short run. A necessary perennial autumn watch, in my opinion, this show is so thoroughly wonderful in every aspect.

Don’t panic. I’ll still be creating Spotify links for all of my mixtapes.

I don’t know if you’ve seen the recent wave of artists pulling their discographies from Spotify (and other streaming services, in some cases), but it’s certainly a story I’m paying attention to. Bands like Hotline TNT and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are some of the notable examples taking more control over how their music is distributed.

I’ve written before about how streaming has been somewhat of a disaster for artists in terms of compensation and exposure. Spotify in particular has been known to suppress artist recommendations in favor of those that pay for the privilege. The company has even gone so far as having commissioned music for pennies so they can push it to users via “curated” playlists, just to avoid big payouts for working artists who might be featured otherwise.

Pair all of this with the revelation that CEO Daniel Ek has made investments in AI drone weapons while a genocide is happening, and these conscientious artists are none too happy. They’ve chosen to not participate in Spotify’s platform, and I respect the hell out of them for it.

I don’t pay for Spotify (I pay for Apple and Mixcloud and now another I’ll mention below). I’m lucky enough to leech off of my brother’s family plan. It’s been my main listening source for the past decade, but I’m ready to try something different. I’ll still create and link all of the mixtapes on Spotify, but I’m going to migrate my main listening over to Qobuz.

I hadn’t heard of it until recently, but it purports to have a higher artist payout, hi-res streaming, and excellent curation in terms of playlists and writing (though maybe a slightly more limited offering in terms of streaming library - God forbid I go without the tens of thousands of AI generated “artists” on other platforms). I’m excited to explore a new platform that cares as much about the human discovery and exploration process as I do.

I’ll say that in a matter of days, it is almost comical how much better everything sounds on Qobuz. I don’t think I can ever go back. Turns out lossless means I’ve been losing with any alternative. I’m hearing so much more in this music. I’ll let you know how I continue to like it, but I think this is a winner. I’ll eventually update the archives to include Qobuz playlist links.

If you’re interested in transitioning to something else, Apple recently launched a feature to allow you to transfer all of your playlists from the source service. Qobuz similarly partners with a service to make this all possible.

Outside of these moves, I am enjoying summer as much as possible while we still have it. I got to hit up the beach a time or two here at home and visit friends in Birmingham, Alabama. This month’s mixtape is the perfect soundtrack to soak up the rest of a sunny September. Speaking as someone who has to remind himself to fall in love with NYC on occasion, Jenny illustrates below that impossible to replicate feeling only this city can give you. I hope you all love it as much as I do.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Playing Hooky

Created in collaboration with Jenny St. Angelo for the magic of New York City.

A few words from Jenny:

*****

If I could make a request: While listening to this playlist don't have anywhere in particular to be. Go outside anyway. Wear good shoes, and bring a snack.

Playing hooky in New York City has two distinct parts. It begins with exuberance, freedom, a limitless expanse of opportunity where you need only point yourself in a direction and the world will bend to revolve around you. All eyes take you in, you are the stone that creates the ripples, you are the Main Character. None of this is true, of course, but that is part of the magical dichotomy of this place. The current that constantly thrums here fills us up when you step outside. It's like grounding, but please keep your shoes on.

We may each start out as the center of our own universe, but in a city of 8.5 million people it's inevitable that our universe collides with others. We see a stranger help a mother haul her stroller up the subway stairs. A musician plays their heart out on a street corner. Children shriek in joy on the playground. A man in a three piece suit does this sweet little dance before crossing the street. Someone is carrying a mystifying amount of apples in a clear garbage bag. Two middle aged women cackle and clink champagne glasses in a (why??) midtown diner.

It's not all roses and sweet quirky scenes. There is real pain here, and exhaustion, and fear, and sorrow. Part of that is because we are suffering under the ineptitude and cruelty of both a mayor and president who are worse than Main Characters. They are black holes of narcissism and greed.

But! But! Don't get lost in anger and despair! Not on your day off! Instead, bear witness to people loving and fighting and dressing impeccably and dreaming and working to achieve something. The atmosphere of our individuality siphons away until our ego implodes and we lose ourselves to a flow of life unfathomably large and complex. And, depending on the dew point, it is a beautiful reminder that we are all connected. That our lives interact in ways big and small all the time. That we can be helpers and doers and dreamers. The city requires it of us. It demands acknowledgement that we are not alone. That we are both the force and the object being acted upon. The journey from "I live in New York City" to "I live in New York City" can be profound. This playlist was crafted to join you for the whole arc of your day playing hooky. It goes in a sort of chronological vibe order, though if you throw it on shuffle, I'd love to know if any happy musical accidents happen while you're out and about.

I hope you enjoy the music, and I hope whatever you find on your day off is unexpected and exactly right.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Willi Carlisle @ Bowery Ballroom, Monday, Sep. 15, 7 PM

I’m never not seeing great country music. Willi Carlisle released one of my favorite records of the year thus far, Winged Victory. It’s got some wonderful versions of songs from the likes of Utah Phillips and Richard Thompson. It also has a truly incredibly ode to a non-binary diner server with a juicy ass. Truly something for everyone, and I’m excited to see his show.

I have an extra ticket! It’s yours if you want it! Let me know!

RIYL: class conscious troubadours, bluegrass, folk, Gems on VHS, Western AF

Check out this live performance of Willi Carlisle’s “Big Tent.”

Some Other Things That Jenny Loves

(that you might love too!)

Lévy Gorvy Dayan- A free gallery on the UES near the park. A really excellently curated space, free, small enough to see everything in less than an hour, large enough to be a destination. (Also, free!)

Learn Italian with Joy of Languages - These five minute lessons make me feel like one day I will actually speak Italian with confidence. Duolingo betrayed us with its turn to AI, and these are two real people!

Hell Gate NYC - An independent news site that's a perfect blend of progressive snark, reporting, and celebrating all things New York City.

Charles Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend - This is what I'm reading right now! Published as a serial over 1864-1865, it has so many passages that feel like scathing take downs of our contemporary obsession with money and status. Plus there's a love story! I am really enjoying it.

Community Gardens - One of my favorite things to do is take my laptop to my local community garden to write. It's free, it's quiet, it's beautiful, no notes.

Taking the bus - I have two kids, and the bus is a miracle. Air conditioning! Seats! We can look out the window and count construction vehicles or play the alphabet game! mta.info has real time arrival information, and it's more accurate than Google Maps. I love the bus.

Katerina Lomis’s - “The Lady of the Opera” - Every generation needs a woman who makes music like this. Ani DiFranco meets Fiona Apple meets Regina Spektor. It's theatrical fantasy jazz folk and I can't get enough.

My brothers and I convened in Chicago at the top of the month to see our Cleveland Guardians get smoked by the Cubs, and, despite the loss, it was an incredible trip. The three of us hadn’t ever taken a solo trip together. I can’t honestly remember the last time the three of us just got a chance to spend some time alone with each other. It was incredible.

We’re all adults and have our own lives and wives and they’ve got children now oh my god, but it was honestly very special just to be brothers for a few days. Tell your siblings you love them. It feels nice.

Also, I had my first Chicago style dog (really good) and my first shot of Malört (this was… also really good? I thought this was supposed to be disgusting. We all really liked it!).

Outside of that, it’s been a great summer per usual. Kristin and I are trying our best to see friends and experience NYC for all it’s worth rather than letting another sunny season slip by. I’m trying to go to the Cloisters for the first time!

Plenty of mixtapes on the horizon! I’ve got drafts like you wouldn’t believe.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Songs About People

Created in collaboration with Mark Dowling for the people you know.

A few words from Mark:

*****

“What’s in a name?”

Those famous words were spoken by none other than Juliet Capulet in William Shakespeare’s 1996 tragedy, “Romeo + Juliet.” Can you believe that guy was still turning out hits well into his mid 400s?

While Juliet would have you believe that a name is just a label that doesn't define the essence of a person, I would argue that without a name, we’d be stripped of our identities.

Names shape how we see ourselves and how others perceive us. My name is Mark. If I were named something cooler, like Trey, I would be a whole different person. I would have a lip piercing and be twice divorced from the same woman. “It’s an unhealthy relationship,” they’d say, but Trey doesn’t care what people think. “Third time’s a charm!”

But alas, Mark is my name. I like sweaters and mashed potatoes. I am who I am.

This is a mixtape of songs with people’s names in the title. But it’s not just that. These are all songs by artists myself or Brady adore. Most of them are alternative, punk, and rock, with a few exceptions. I hope you enjoy these songs, but even more so, I hope you seek out each of these artists.

RIP Romeo and Juliet

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Vincent Neil Emerson w/ Kassi Valazza @ Bowery Ballroom, Friday, Aug. 15, 8 PM

I’ve been trying to see Vincent Neil Emerson, one of the great country music newcomers, for years. It’s looking like it’ll finally work out for me. Lucky for me and possibly you too, if you’d like to come along!

As a bonus? Kassi Valazza is opening, and she’s a genuine treat. I saw her years ago in a tiny show at the Jalopy in Red Hook, and it was absolutely stunning. Her most recent record gives me shades of Joni Mitchell and Iris Dement.

RIYL: honkin’ some fuckin’ tonk, country music, folk music, getting a drink bought for you by Brady at the concert

Check out the video for Vincent Neil Emerson’s “Rodeo Clown.”

Some Other Things That Mark Loves

(that you might love too!)

Buying a VCR and a bunch of tapes of your favorite movies (pre-2006, of course) - I got a VCR on eBay for like $40, and you can get tapes for like $3. Some of my favorites have been Speed, Wayne’s World, Airheads, Point Break, and RoboCop. Though it’s definitely nostalgic, I’ve found that physical media enhances the viewing pleasure, similar to records or books. It’s also a nice break from scrolling endlessly through streaming services to find something to watch.

Josh Sharp’s off broadway show, “ta-da!” - Josh has a show currently running at the Greenwich House that’s incredibly funny and touching. He put together 2,000 slides and 80 minutes of material. It’s also directed by Tony award winner Sam Pinkleton.

Mark Dowling - If you like music, which I imagine you do, I have a podcast called First Album Ever where I talk to guests about the first album they ever bought. I’ll also be putting up my show “Dowling” at UCB on 8/22 at 10:30pm. It’s a live taping of a 90s trash TV show in the style of Jerry Springer where all the guests are characters played by comedians.

Well, friends, I’ve returned from Japan and my little hiatus. Thanks for sticking with with me through a little newsletter downtime. It’s always nice to unplug. I, admittedly, have felt a tad adrift since settling back into my normal routines, but (as always) music is helping me find my place again.

Japan is a whole other world. Some parts feel incredibly foreign, while some feel intensely familiar. No shock here: it’s a wonderful trip to a wonderful place filled with wonderful people and experiences. I won’t bore you to death with all the little details of what I ate and how many steps I took each day, but I’ll say our trip was filled with beautiful shrines, baseball, sake, konbini treats, incredibly efficient trains, menswear shops, stamp collecting, and Google maps not showing accurate hours.

I shot a whole bunch of photos while there, and I hope you’ll enjoy them.

If you’re dying for more, you can check out the full collection here.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Xylitol

Created for the crystalline sweet.

I’ve never been into the club scene, but I do wish I could travel through time to the Limelight in the 1990’s for one night of uninterrupted dance. I’d love to pop into Chicago’s house or Manchester’s rave culture just to experience it.

I’m 37 and well beyond my capacity to immerse myself in whatever iterations of these scenes still exist, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my love for dance music. As I’ve documented before, after my college improv shows, I’d often take djay duty at our parties, and we were known for putting on one hell of a sweaty dance floor. I celebrated my 21st birthday at B-Side Liquor Lounge in Cleveland Heights during “Indie Dance Party Night,” where I lost myself in the music of Death From Above 1979 and a pineapple upside-down cake shot.

For my generation, dance punk and electroclash (which were heavily informed by disco, house, new wave, and more before them) brought dance music to college playlists everywhere. It took me a while to catch up to how great straight up dance music can be, but I’m here, and I’d love to find a spot that starts the party at… like… 8pm.

This mixtape is an exploration of some recent dance music that lives in the wake of those traditions. I’ve called it Xylitol after the artificial sweetener. I think electronic dance music can be very pop sugary-sweet but feels more manufactured and plastic than music from older folk or pop traditions. While this can be inhibiting for lesser artists, those that break through and find ways to express their humanity are all the more transcendent. This is some of the most magical music in the world.

A few notes on songs:

NEIL FRANCES - I can feel the pressure - Aidan Kennedy Remix

Aidan is a buddy of mine. He djayed my wedding. He’s unbelievably talented, a gem of a man, and I can’t wait for you all to hear this song (and what he’s cooking up next - I got a sneak preview and it rules).

Manhunter - Body Double

I saw Manhunter open for Q & Not U in high school and my friends and I bought their EP of electronic dance music. It was very much different than anything I’d ever listened to, and the songs seeped their way into my unconscious. This is the only proof of their existence that I can seem to find, and I’d kill to have those songs on the EP again.

Michael Mayer - Amanda

I believe Tim Mahoney showed me this song during the pandemic lockdown, and I was instantly smitten. It is one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard. A steady groove and a perfect sample. There is one particular moment that takes my breath away every time I hear it.

Out Hud - The L Train Is a Swell Train and I Don’t Want to Hear You Indies Complain

Out Hud is the precursor to !!!, and you can clearly see the evolution. I never got the opportunity to see them live in high school, but to this day !!! is one of the greatest live music experiences of my life. This album was a revelation for me in high school, and the songs still feel very special to me today.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Hayden Pedigo @ St. John’s Lutheran Church, Saturday, Nov. 29, 8 PM

Hayden Pedigo used to (still does?) struggle with crippling stage fright, but I was lucky enough to see him play a small, intimate show at Union Pool a few years ago when he decided to give it another go. He’s since blown up a little bit and has toured quite a great deal. The shows are quiet and meditative and beautiful — a true respite from the noise of the world. In my opinion, Hayden’s one of the most emotive instrumental guitarists who has ever played, so I can’t recommend this enough.

I’ve seen one other show at this church: my favorite instrumental guitarist of all time, Mark McGuire. It was a transportive performance in a beautiful setting. I know Hayden’s a fan, because he shared a playlist of his own (via the great Deep Voices newsletter) with an Emeralds track. Makes me really happy.

I don’t wish summer to race by for anything, but I’m really looking forward to this.

RIYL: John Fahey, acoustic instrumental guitar, non-religious meditative experiences in traditionally religious spaces

Check out the video for Hayden Pedigo’s “Long Pond Lily.”

Some Records I Bought in Japan

(that you might love too!)

Happy End’s Kazemachi Roman - This is like going to London and buying Abbey Road or visiting NYC and picking up The Velvet Underground & Nico. Happy End transformed Japanese rock music, and their members went on to have illustrious careers outside of this band. This album, probably considered their best, is a dream and was on my Discogs wantlist for close to a decade.

Haroumi Hasono’s Philharmony - Speaking of Happy End’s prolific members, Haroumi Hasono (also of Japanese legends Yellow Magic Orchestra) has an impressive library of solo releases. I bought this one for the album art alone, which reminded me of Twin Peaks. The music is such weird left field electronic music that it feels decades ahead of its 1978 release.

Yumi Arai’s Cobalt Hour - Another record that has been on my wantlist for a decade, I was thrilled to finally pick up this pop gem. I first heard her songs (and you probably first heard her songs) on the soundtrack for Studio Ghibli masterpiece Kiki’s Delivery Service. I’ve included her songs on a few mixtapes already, but the whole record is worth a spin.

Donna Summer’s Bad Girls - Look, sometimes you want the Japanese pressing of the 7” single, because look at it.

I deleted my Instagram, and I’m sorry to report that life is better on the other side. I’m on my phone less in general, but more importantly:

• I’m reading on the train more.

• I don’t mindlessly reach for my phone while watching movies and miss key plot points.

• Even basic interactions with friends feel more meaningful.

My world is smaller, but life is richer. I don’t miss it even a tiny bit.

Some folks kindly asked that I share some of my film photos in the newsletter, and I’m happy to oblige. Hope your spring is filled with moments of peace, fresh air, and sidewalk chalk.

In other news, I was lucky enough to chat with my buddy Mark Dowling on his podcast First Album Ever. We discuss Goo Goo Dolls’s Dizzy Up the Girl, and you can bet your ass I have thoughts AND feelings about it. I could have talked to Mark for hours about this band and record. If you want to hear me speak on it some more, literally ask me anytime.

I’m making a rare appearance at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on Tuesday, May 6th, for Harold Night Time Machine. I am going to perform a perfect pattern game. Hope some of y’all can make it.

Lastly, Kristin and I will be heading to Japan for 2 weeks this month, so I’ll be taking a tiny hiatus from making mixtapes. I’ll be back in July with something special, so you won’t have to miss me too long! Hope you’re ready for a bunch of photos like the below but actually from Japan.

But right here right now we have a mixtape collaboration with one of the best hangs on the planet, Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell. We had a hoot with this one, and I hope you’ll find some time to cut a rug.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Afternoon Meltdown

Created in collaboration with Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell for your 3PM dance break.

A few words from Hilary:

*****

Two years ago I started to share my afternoon meltdowns, AKA my 3PM Dance Breaks online because I was like maybe more people should be doing this too or maybe people are already doing this and we should talk about it?? What is a 3 PM Dance Break you ask?? IT'S A BREAK AT 3 PM WHERE YOU DANCE!!!!

It's funny how now, two years later, very often I get stopped by people saying "Are you that cartoonist who dances?" Yes. Yes I am. And I'm VERY FINE with people calling me that!!! I think dancing in the middle of the day in your office, on your roof, in the street, through the G train is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. Also for a stranger. In the small town that I grew up in in California, there was a woman in town who was famously known as the jogging dancer. She was always on a jog/dance around town, with her headphones and cassette player, bringing joy to herself and everyone who passed by. I was charmed by her at a young age, and will probably think of her til the day I die. She must have felt so good all the time??? She was a complete inspiration (wow I'm getting very sincere right now!!). But SERIOUSLY, as someone who has been a freelancer for ten years, I'm always fighting an afternoon-life-crisis and after trying so many different tips and tricks (COFFEE) I've found the best thing that perks me up both mentally and physically is a mini dance session to some good friggin tunes. Songs that make you wanna sing your heart out. Beats that make you wanna shake your booty in broad daylight. Something that slaps, honey!! And the songs on this mixtape DE-LI-VER.

There's so many types of music that get my feet feeling reeeaal fancy. I think so often the concept of "dance music" is extremely limited. Dance music doesn't only mean EDM. It doesn't only mean pop or R&B. It means... well, anything!!! I have a dream of opening a bar in Brooklyn that plays stuff I actually want to dance to. But until then, I'll have to settle with this mixtape and my living room (not mad about it!). The collection we have here is a real soup of it all, folks. Maybe some of these songs don't initially mean LET'S DANCE to you (like Angie McMahon's Slow Mover) and for that exact reason, I think you should dance to them. Perhaps some of these songs you've already danced to this weekend (Wet Leg's Wet Dream) or you used to dance to them, secretly as a kid--on nights when you were like "I am so interesting and no one seems to know it" (Tom Petty's Don't Come Around Here No More). Maybe these songs are completely new to you, in which case I am jealous because it's so exciting to hear a song you're about to fall in love with. No matter what, to quote Lee Ann Womack, I hope you dance.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: All Dogs @ TV Eye, Friday, June 27th, 7pm

Philly rock band All Dogs released a great record 10 years ago and toured and that’s about the end of their story. They’re playing some shows soon, and I’m excited to see them again. For reference, the first time I saw them was at Glasslands (defunct) with Cayetana (defunct) on tour to support Waxahatchee (not defunct), who had just released Cerulean Salt (da funk). I saw them a second time at Silent Barn (defunct).

They rule. TV Eye is a great venue. I hope they both stay around a while.

RIYL: Waxahatchee, Cayetana, the return of good things.

Check out All Dogs play "Say" at Silent Barn in 2015.

Some Other Things That Hilary Loves

(that you might love too!)

Tough Enuff - Ok I just found this dude through my brother-in-law, and though I have not actually attended this car meet up in Austin, I am obsessed with everything they're doing. My Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Drive Teslas t-shirt arrives this week!!!!

One Sec App - This app kicks me out of all social media and I'm eternally grateful for it, my god.

Night Owl - A new DVD/VHS store has opened in Williamsburg and it's completely perfect! I recently canceled all of my streaming services because I am so over the bullshit and the tactics and I'm so happy to return to my DVDs. I can't believe I ever thought I needed anything else!

Learning how to paint with gouache - It's a lot harder than I anticipated but I'm having fun! I've always used watercolors and I figured, gouache is just heavy watercolor. True? SORT OF, YES BUT NOT REALLY! Learning a new art is fascinating, humbling, and invigorating. AI will never take the feeling of painting away from us.

Bakeri - Anywhere you can order toast and hang near flowers is the place to be!!

Raised by Ghosts - I just finished this new graphic memoir from Briana Loewinsohn and would you believe its the book version of Made You A Mixtape? A MUST READ.

Cowgirl string lights - I just put these up in my office!!!

Sitting in the sun - What can i say!! it's the thing to do!!!

It Should Happen To You - Just revisited this RIOT of a film from 1954, a film I could only describe as the original Kardashians. If you haven't seen, it's quite the romp!!

It’s been a hell of a month. I feel like we’re all just mentally walking a tightrope. I highly recommend disappearing to the desert with your friends and reminding yourself that the world is beautiful and the communities we’ve built will keep us whole. We’re all we’ve got, but we’ve also still got Joshua Tree.

This month’s mixtape is probably not for everyone. Could it be my least popular yet? I don’t know! Maybe! It’s a collection of metal, hardcore, screamo, etc. I’ll explain more below.

What I’ll say is, if you don’t like the first song, you’re probably not going to love the rest. But I hope you approach it with a curious mind, even if you skip around or have to revisit an old mixtape this month. We’ll catch you on the next one for sure.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

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A Screaming Song

Created for meeting the noise.

*****

The world has been kind of fucking awful for the past year or so. The American political climate is depressing. The climate disasters keep mounting. I spent the past year on Instagram watching parents mourn their dead children and children mourn their dead parents in an ongoing genocide. Any of these things is enough to knock you out mentally, but all of this stacked on top of each other is spiritually eviscerating.

I don’t mean to fan the flames of our collective despair, but you can’t stew in silence or ignore it.

Sometimes, even when the world is offering very little in the way of mercy, you’ll also just have a bad day (work, relationships, a series of minor inconveniences). It is in these moments that my head feels chaotic, like an ocean churning in a hurricane. I can’t think straight. I can barely see straight. My mind is trying to solve a million problems at once, and the chatter feels insurmountable.

In the physics of sound, two identical sound waves aligned separately can cancel each other out and result in silence in a phenomenon called destructive interference. This makes sense to me. Sometimes you need to meet the noise in your head with an equally powerful noise in your headphones just to get some peace and quiet. I need to hear the way I’m feeling, a scream to silence the echoes, so I can validate and process my emotions and thoughts.

My friend once shared this Maurice Sendak illustration (that I’ve adopted as the cover art for this month’s mixtape) from a book by Ruth Krauss: “A screaming song is good to know in case you need to scream.” Sometimes you need to scream, and that’s exactly what this mixtape allows. It is a collection of metal, hardcore, screamo, grindcore, and more. It is the auditory version of a rage room that will hopefully provide some catharsis.

This may not be your cup of tea, and that’s fine, but maybe you want to dip your toes in. Here are some highlights:

Deafheaven - “Brought to the Water”

Black metal meets soaring post-rock guitars. If Explosions in the Sky got a singer that wore black and never needed a lozenge. It’s worth getting to minute 4 in this song for one of the most beautiful and invigorating moments in music I’ve ever heard. If I’ve had a bad day at work, this soundtracks my subway ride home.

Counterparts - “Whispers of Your Death”

This is the only song that makes me cry, and it does it almost every time I listen. The singer was told that his beloved cat was dying, and this is his meditation on those feelings. If you’ve ever loved a pet, this will get you right in your gut. The cat lived, which makes the song all the more beautiful to me. The chorus goes:

It's hard to breathe without you sleeping on my chest
Sick and withering from the whispers of your death
Forever your savior, as much as you are mine
And for that I promise to protect you
Until the day I die

I love my cat.

Chat Pile - “Why”

An honest and plain examination of America’s homelessness epidemic. A fitting expression of rage and confusion at our societal failing. People probably don’t often look to this music for empathy, but you’ll find it here.

Songs like these help me feel sane during times of extreme noise. They help me get through today, so I can look toward better tomorrows, which will come. I hope they help you.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Beacon Theatre, Tuesday, July 29th, 8pm

Kristin is a huge Yeah Yeah Yeahs fan. She saw them many years ago at Kings Theatre and raved about the experience. I was very jealous.

She just bought us tickets to see them at Beacon Theatre, which should be incredible. They are titans of the NYC scene that defined my high school experience, and this is a big one off the bucket list.

RIYL: Meet Me in the Bathroom, 00’s New York Rock and Roll, recontextualizing high school fandom as time tested high art

Check out one of the greatest songs ever written, “Maps.”

Some Other Things That I Love

(that you might love too!)

Common Side Effects - Let me contribute to the chorus of praise that this show is receiving. It’s funny, beautiful, thrilling, and timely. It is a great example of using animation to tell a story in a way only possible with this art form. Get on board with season 1, because it’s been renewed for 2 already.

Federico Fellini - Every year when Kristin is away working her film festival, I take the opportunity to do a deep dive into a director that I haven’t really explored. This year, I watched 5 films from the Italian master. Every single one was incredible in different ways, and I think you probably can’t go wrong. It’s hard to miss his influence on some of the greatest film directors that followed in his wake.

Stars - I spent a weekend in Joshua Tree a week or so ago and found it so spiritually renewing. I got a little emotional looking up at the night sky and thinking “big cities have decided not to see this.” Man, the universe is really something, and it’s great to be reminded once in a while. (I still love you, big city.)

My friend Dan sent me this great piece the other day: “Can Radio Kill The Video Star?” The writer, Amy Schiller, talks about the satisfaction that comes from choosing radio over streaming. From the physical practice of pushing buttons and turning knobs to the emotional experience of hearing from members of the community via interstitial chatter, it is not hard to argue that we have lost something very special in our “everything anytime” reality. In an effort to simplify our lives into oblivion, we’ve somehow made them all the more complicated.

She talks about how she wanted to find a car without all the new bells and whistles… just the right ones. Maps and navigation, sure, but give me buttons and knobs and a CD player and tape deck. Part of the dream of starting this mixtape project is having a library of cassettes I can toss in my car stereo someday. There’s certain tactile joys worth holding onto.

I’ll give everything to the cloud when I pass it by as St. Peter calls my number. Until then, I am looking at radio receivers on ebay.

I just picked up a copy of Liz Pelly’s new book Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, which examines how streaming has and continues to manipulate the music industry and the mostly disastrous effects that has on artists. I’ve enjoyed Liz’s music writing for years, and I’m excited to dive in. You can read an excerpt here. Let me know if you read and have thoughts!

I constantly go back and forth about streaming. This project arguably wouldn’t exist without it. At the same time, it’s somewhat of a direct reaction to its shortcomings. This is my (and your?) way to humanize the experience and make music a communal experience once more.

I’d like to use social media less and be social more. Instagram is more now than I signed up for. I wanted to see your vacation photos and send good vibes for your show promos and keep up with your kids’ Halloween costumes. I do not care to see video compilations of strangers asking other strangers how hot they think they are (I have tried telling the algorithm I don’t want this or that or any video on my feed, and yet I feel like I’m saying “excuse me” to an avalanche).

Maybe I’ll print my photos and make a scrapbook or zine and send you a letter instead. Would love to hear from you too.

Reach out and touch something.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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Views of Kahuna

Created for the films of Bruce Brown, Dale Davis, & George Greenough.

*****

Around this time of year, every year, I get the deep winter blues. I am not a cold weather fan. I was raised in it, had my fill, and I am ready to spend the rest of my life basking in 90 degree days. Unfortunately, I live in the greatest city in the world, which is cold and grey for a pretty significant portion of the year. By February, it becomes unbearable, and I need an escape.

A few years ago around now, I began ordering tacos & margaritas and queueing up the 1966 surfing documentary Endless Summer. It saves my soul every February. I am filled with enough warmth to make it to April (maybe May if I have to?). I have done this alone. I have done it with friends. I am religious in my dedication to this ritual.

In 2012, Made You A Mixtape staple and instrumental guitarist, Mark McGuire, released a collaborative album with Charles Berlitz (aka Spencer Clark) entitled Inner Tube. The record takes its inspiration from Australia and its surf culture. The LP includes a fold out poster of them “stoned in front of their favorite movies!” I loved this record immediately and became fascinated with the idea of the ideal surf movie sound.

Fast forward a few years, I blindly buy the vinyl soundtracks to two surf documentaries, To Ride A White Horse and The Golden Breed. I love them deeply. Perfect Sunday morning/afternoon listens. I dream of waking up with the sun on the west coast one day and throwing on records like this as I sit with the sliding doors open, sipping my coffee. If that home could be on the coast and that morning could provide the subtle sound of waves crashing against the shore, all the better.

This year, I dove deeper by actually watching The Golden Breed, as well as other great surf films Crystal Voyager and A World of Waves. I bought VHS copies of the first two on ebay (the VHS of Endless Summer arrives on Monday) — another concrete step in my commitment to the analog. I plan on expanding the collection. These made my dark winter mornings a little brighter.

I love these films for many reasons, but maybe most because they evoke a similar sense of wonder in me as old Hollywood westerns in their regard for the landscape. The vastness and potential danger of the ocean is as powerful (if not more) as the desert, but so is its beauty. The adventurers in either context have such deep respect and appreciation for these environments. These surf films are a sort of ocean pastoral, a calming escape from the loudness of life.

For this month’s mixtape, I’ve collected songs that could soundtrack a theoretical surf film in the same vein. Inspired by all of the aforementioned, the songs here span many genres. There is jazz, new age, ambient, psychedelic rock, country, and more. The tone is breezy, but it can get meditative and straight up goofy at times. All of the songs capture the feeling of riding a perfect wave, basking in nature’s beauty, or getting into a bit of trouble with the local beach bunnies.

I’ve titled the mixtape Views of Kahuna. In Hawaiian culture, a “kahuna” is someone of high esteem and achievement, such as a doctor or religious leader, but can be bestowed on anyone as an honorific, provided it’s deserving. In surf culture, a “kahuna” is a wizard of the waves, someone who exerts total control over the board. The moniker is nothing to take lightly. It is my hope that this collection of songs pays homage to and honors the masterful soundtracks of the widely influential films discussed earlier, if only just glimpsing their wonder.

Here’s to an endless summer. May sunshine warm your face soon enough.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Emily Nenni with special guest Dylan Earl @ Skinny Dennis, Thursday, May 8th, 9pm

Recently went to the Willow Avalon show at Bowery Ballroom and I was reminded once again that country music is the best music. Absolutely top tier live music experience.

Emily Nenni rips, so this one is bound to be a stomper. Hope you’ll tag along.

RIYL: honky tonk, Office Hours, good as hell country music

Check out the music video for “Get To Know Ya.”

Some Other Tactile Joys That I Love

(that you might love too!)

Inner Tube’s Inner Tube - I mentioned this record above, but it’s worth noting that it’s never been available on any streaming service, nor should it be (some things are better kept on wax). It’s really not even one of Mark’s most celebrated or known works. However, it is one of my favorite records of all time. I’ve linked a YouTube rip of one song from the record that was posted 12 years ago and has less that 3k views. I really think this record will be considered a lost treasure some day, and it can be yours for like $12. That’s so stupid.

Voicemail - My friend Martin called me while I was at work and couldn’t answer. He was driving and thought of me and thought he’d give me a ring to say hello. He left me a short and sweet and funny voicemail, and it made my week to hear my friend’s voice that I hadn’t heard in a while. Call your friends. Leave a voicemail if they don’t answer.

Trust Your Gut - Do you remember going to Blockbuster and picking out a movie or video game based on the cover and centering your entire evening around that choice? We gave so much weight to those decisions, and sometimes they didn’t pay off, but occasionally they really did. I miss those times when we allowed ourselves to be a little disappointed but not discouraged. How often do we now start streaming something, immediately turn it off, and browse for something new? Go to the library. Go to a record or book store. Grab something on impulse, just because you like the cover. Go with the intention of discovery. I’ve found several of my most treasured records this way.

I got to travel to Florence, Italy, for work this past month. Can’t overstate how lucky I am to have the opportunity to step into another place and culture for a brief time. The people were warm and welcoming, even if the weather was cold and windy (and the bread doesn’t use salt so you have to drown it in oil for it to be even a little bit good). I also got to spend a single late night in Rome waltzing from bar to bar and seeing sculptures older than our entire nation.

I saw Michelangelo’s David. I saw the Pantheon. I saw the Colosseum. It is somewhat overwhelming to see these things in person after seeing them in textbooks. That’s the one. The one and only. The gravity of it all hits you in a way that is difficult to express.

The world is big and life is short. There’s no way I’ll see it all. At the same time, the world is small (I flew partway across the world in 8 hours) and life is long (I will see as much as I can). It really puts into perspective how you spend your time.

Good buddy Dan Fox came to me with an idea that similarly explores the idea of a long life of discovery. More on that below. Thanks as always for tuning in.

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

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1994

Created in collaboration with Dan Fox for when you were 7 and the world opened up.

A few words from Dan:

*****

...in the circle, the circle of life.xx

-unknown

While doing the dishes, I’ve switched from listening to podcasts to listening to audiobooks. They tend to be more focused and informative; less banal banter, more informational nutrition. That’s how I came across David Byrne’s book How Music Works, which in turn inspired this playlist. He writes that the way we’ve consumed music has changed dramatically. We used to only hear music as it was created, a passive listening of sorts unless you were involved in the process. Nowadays, because of recordings, we’ve divorced music from the action and can play it any time, anywhere. This got me thinking about how my music listening has evolved.

The way I consumed music back in 1994 used to almost exclusively be passive, and now it’s almost entirely active. I did get my first taste of music autonomy around then, receiving a Walkman and a couple of cassettes, but the scope was limited. Compared to today, with all the music we could ever listen to available at all times, I was generally still at the mercy of whatever was playing on the radio.

Lucky for me, there was SO much good music back in the 90’s playing on the radio my good LORD. What with the seminal rock, rap, & R&B riding the airwaves, it was indeed a good time for passive listening. The tracks permeated my mind with little objection and complete ease, providing a soundtrack for my young life (it’s wild how much I still love so many of these tracks).

I have a couple of distinct memories with the songs that make up side A, which are songs from 1994 that I loved during 1994.

• My parents would drive my 2 brothers and me (what up, middle children) in our Ford Windstar to my Grandma’s condo in northern Westchester (we’d always get a slice at Gigi’s either before or after. I don’t know why, but Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love To You would play more often than not on the car ride. Therefore, to this day, like some Freudian Pavlovian nightmare, when I hear that song, I think of Grandma Dorothy. RIP.

• I grew up in a small village – not a town – called Briarcliff Manor… yeah, it’s exactly how it sounds. Our public school was tiny. In 1994, when I was in the 1st grade, we had a blind woman come around all of the different classrooms to introduce students to someone who experiences life in a unique and different way. I guess it was a form of exposure therapy? Anyway, when she got to my class, the teacher asked if anyone wanted to share anything with her. After a couple of students went, I raised my hand. “What would you like to share with Ms. Klein, Daniel?” I responded, “I’d like to sing a song for her.” Which song, you ask? Why, I sang an acapella version of Seal’s Kiss From a Rose. And yeah, it went over pretttttty well.

What’s cool about having access to all music today is that there was obviously so much gold I missed in 1994 that I’ve found in later years and absolutely cherish. That’s what side B represents – music that I overlooked or had no idea about until I became an adult. I started with Aphex Twin’s #3 to act as a palate cleanser (it also echoes the closing notes of NiN’s Closer, a song whose meaning definitely went way over my 6 year old head) and as a nod to the wide world of ambient music I’ve fallen in love with over the last decade. From there, you’ll see a mix of genres and styles.

I hope you can bop to some oldies you know and love, and maybe find a new track or two that resonates with who you are today.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Hovvdy @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, 3/12/25, 8PM

Hovvdy has been one of my favorite discoveries of the past few years. Their blend of dreamy indie pop and intensely personal lyricism always puts me in a better place. I find this music very sweet, for lack of a better term. It’s just really nice.

Hoping they can lighten up my unavoidable late winter blues come March 12th. Join me and Kristin!

RIYL: some Texas boys making feel-good indie pop about friends and family

Check out the video for “Forever.”

Some Other Things Dan Loves

(that you might love too!)

Take a Class - I’ve been taking Clown classes at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective for a couple of years after seeing a clown show I absolutely loved. I actually plan on taking a mime class this spring and I’m so stoked about it. But hey, listen, you don’t need to take a clown class. Any class will do. I find that there’s little in this world better than digging into something you’ve wanted to learn, then subsequently loving it and then forming a community around that thing. As George Harrison said (probably quoting someone else), “The more you learn, the less you know…”

Volunteer - It’s one of the few win-wins in this life. You’ll be doing something good for someone and you’ll feel awesome about it, guilt free. If you’re feeling some angst right now in the world, this will brighten your light maybe just a little bit. Can be something as little as collecting compost on the weekend to spending a day helping distribute goods to people in need.

Light Phone - Okay, full disclosure, I do work for this company. But hear me out – it’s a cell phone that does not have any social media, email, internet. It also serves exactly ZERO ads and collects exactly ZERO data from you. A phone that respects you and aims to give you your time and attention back, not extract it from you for the highest bidder to enrich some fucking asshole. By the way, can you believe these fucking assholes right now??? I’m actually not surprised. If you’re interested, I can give you a code for $100 off.

I get really sad thinking about how people are using AI to create “art,” meaning that the algorithm is scrubbing art from every corner of the world and stealing bits and pieces to Frankenstein together a monster without a soul. I feel like Midjourney is replacing imagination (and melting the icecaps in the process). It’s awful, dystopic, disgusting, etc.

Spotify tried to lure me into one of its exciting new features a few months back:

People are so desperate for radio, they don’t even realize. Just make a playlist or find a creator who is. Do even a second's worth of Googling, and I bet you’ll find a respectable music journalism site that offers playlists and podcasts of all the exciting stuff you’d ever want, curated specifically for you.

Let AI find inefficiencies in manufacturing processes. Let it do our taxes. Let it do all the boring godawful work that sucks the life out of employees. But please do not use it to replace the stuff that makes life worth living.

All this is to say… thank you for being here. I feel like we have to fight these small battles so we don’t lose the war for our collective humanity. What have you been listening to lately?

Like the mixtapes? Help me spread the love by throwing a few bucks my way via BuyMeACoffee or opting to become a paid subscriber. Thanks to everyone who has already supported me this way.

And hey, if you like it, why not share the mix or this newsletter with a friend?

Subscribe now

Undesigning Empty

Created for the thrifted and threadbare.

*****

I always thought I’d be open and eager to hear new sounds, to be in on the conversation with the cutting edge of music. I never thought I’d be one of those, “you call this music?” sort of old guys. I’m still not… BUT I will say I listened to a few songs from Pitchfork’s top 100 songs of 2024 and thought, “well this just absolutely is not for me.” I do not get it. I think that’s okay. Not everything is for everyone.

This year, one of the records that excited me most was Wishy’s Paradise EP (and the following full length Triple Seven), not because it sounded unlike anything I’d ever heard, but because it reminded me of a sound I loved that I hadn’t heard in a while. “Too True” evoked the pop melody forward shoegaze alt-rock sound of the 90s perfectly, and I queued up Drop Nineteens’s “Winona,” a favorite of that era, to listen to right after. The pairing worked beautifully.

Suddenly I was lost in the MTV age, imagining life in 100% cotton straight leg Levi’s jeans and a worn in flannel shirt that’s a size too big. Rock is on the radio, and it sounds different than the pop on the radio. Once again, I’ve created a mixtape of some harmless nostalgia, an Undesigning Empty, if you will. A bit more focused than my last foray into the college rock sound, this one is a bit dreamier, heavier, fuzzier.

Sometimes you just want to listen to something that fits you perfectly, like a threadbare and thrifted t-shirt that’s softer than any cashmere money can buy. This is that for me. Women leading rock bands and wall of sound guitar. It’s a fairly even split of new and old here, but they all get along. I won’t go full “old man yells at clouds” and say that music just ain’t what it used to be, because this mixtape proves that it is. You just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

I do miss when this was on the radio. For now, I’ll throw my tape in the boombox and pretend.

*****

Love you all. Hope you enjoy!

Join Me: Write A Letter

In my never ending effort to slow down, I’ve recently acquired a fountain pen (thank you to my in-laws for this incredibly thoughtful Christmas gift and also to Kristin for telling them exactly what I’ve wanted for years).

I love writing with a pen and paper, and I miss doing it more often. If there’s one theme to this newsletter, it’s that the tangible and personal is irreplaceable. Again, I’ll say: make it matter. Buy a nice pen. Get some personalized stationery. Send a thank you to someone or a quick check in with a friend. There’s nothing better than receiving a handwritten letter in the mail.

If Donald Trump actually privatizes the US Postal Service, I’ll riot. It’s a beautiful, wonderful public service, and we should all take advantage of it while we still can.

Send me your address. I’ll send you some mail.

RIYL: public services, human connection, actual tangible satisfaction

Check out this video of a Japanese Fountain Pen shop that absolutely convinced me to give it a whirl.

Some Other Things I’ve Been Enjoying Recently

(that you might love too!)

Disco Elysium - This video game is one of the best I have ever played. It’s a skills based role-playing game centered around an absolute train wreck of a detective who has forgotten everything but must solve a murder in a city on the brink of class warfare. It is so smart and funny and fun. On the surface, it feels intimidating, but it is one of the rare games where there is just no way to fail. The choices you make shape the story you want to tell. The music, the art direction, the voice acting – all stellar.

There Will Be Bluvband - My buddy David Bluvband has a substack that I’ve been really enjoying these past few months. He largely discusses small corners of the classic film and television world (most recently a 2-part deep dive into the career of Peter Lorre) you’d not likely find many other places, but has also written about things like Gundam cartoons (he’s convinced me that this is a must watch) and comics. Give it a follow!

Ektar 100 - I’ve been shooting bad 35mm film photography for 2 years now, and Ektar 100 is my favorite film stock to work with. It’s so fun experimenting with different films, but I always find that my favorite photos result from this old reliable high light quality. Can’t recommend buying an affordable film camera and playing around (I shoot on a Canon EOS Rebel II). You may only get a few photos worth keeping per roll, but that makes them all the more special, in my opinion. Also, film has a quality to it that you just really can’t touch with an iPhone, no matter how many filters you put over it.

BAM - I often forget to take advantage of all that New York has to offer, so I’m essentially just paying incredibly high rent to live in a place with no back yard. However, I’ve recently gone to a few shows at BAM, and it’s reminded me that these are resources meant to be tapped. I saw an incredible play, Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists, and the Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Hard Nut, their rendition of The Nutcracker. I’ll be doing more of this in 2025, no doubt.