Music club is a collection of people across the US that are on the continuous search for the best new music tracks. The idea has evolved over time, starting in 2012 with only 3 friends in a 1 bedroom apartment; it now spans the entire contential US. Our passionate contributors provide their favorite old and new music that is curated into collaborative & almost seamless Spotify Playlist.
A few of our MC contributors shared what was on their Spotify Top 100 playlists. Here’s a breakdown of their picks…
CONTRIBUTOR: Amy
1ST PICK: Pixies – “Debasser”
2ND PICK: Sam Evian – “Where Did You Go?”
3RD PICK: Leyya – “Donnie (B-Side)”
4TH PICK: The Avalanches – “Harmony”
5TH PICK: Molly Burch – “Torn to Pieces”
CONTRIBUTOR: Allison
1ST PICK: Flume, Kai – “Never Be Like You (feat. Kai)”
2ND PICK: Taylor Swift – “Delicate”
3RD PICK: St. Vincent – “Cruel”
4TH PICK: Bahamas – “Lost In The Light”
5TH PICK: Yuno – “No Going Back”
CONTRIBUTOR: Mike
1ST PICK: Childish Gambino – “IV. Sweatpants”
2ND PICK: George Harrison – “I’d Have You Anytime”
3RD PICK: BRONCHO – “Get in My Car”
4TH PICK: Porches – “Find Me”
5TH PICK: T. Hardy Morris – “Homemade Bliss”
CONTRIBUTOR: Emmy
1ST PICK: Ocean Alley – “Confidence”
2ND PICK: Gang of Youths – “Magnolia”
3RD PICK: Car Seat Headrest – “Something Soon”
4TH PICK: Cloud Control – “Treetops”
5TH PICK: Powderfinger – “My Happiness”
1ST PICK: Anderson.Paak – “Who R U”
2ND PICK: The Beths – “Future Me Hates Me”
3RD PICK: Mitski – “Why Didn’t You Stop Me”
4TH PICK: Ariana Grande – “thank u, next”
CONTRIBUTOR: Mike
1ST PICK: Rubblebucket – “Fruity”
2ND PICK: Daniel Rossen – “Deerslayer”
3RD PICK: Frankie Cosmos – “Apathy”
4TH PICK: Dr. Dog – “Heart Killer”
5TH PICK: Childish Gambino – “This Is America”
CONTRIBUTOR: Raul
1ST PICK: Florence + The Machine – “100 Years”
2ND PICK: Courtney Barnett – “Hopefulessness”
3RD PICK: Big Black Delta – “Huggin & Kissin”
4TH PICK: Lucy Dacus – “Night Shift”
5TH PICK: Young Fathers – “Lord”
CONTRIBUTOR: Emmy
1ST PICK: Black Belt Eagle Scout – “Soft Stud”
2ND PICK: City Calm Down – “Pride”
3RD PICK: Stella Donnelly – “Mechanical Bull”
4TH PICK: Saskwatch – “Then There’s You”
CONTRIBUTOR: Jesse
1ST PICK: Pogo – “She”
2ND PICK: Far Caspian – “Finding My Way Home”
3RD PICK: Moaning – “Don’t Go”
4TH PICK: Last Dinosaurs – “Sense”
5TH PICK: This Will Destroy You – “Sound of Your Death”
CONTRIBUTOR: Tyler
1ST PICK: Melody’s Echo Chamber – “Breathe in, Breathe Out”
2ND PICK: Robyn – “Honey”
3RD PICK: Julien Baker – “Souvenir”
4TH PICK: Maribou State – “Feel Good (feat. Khruangbin)”
CONTRIBUTOR: Heidi
1ST PICK: Fleetwood Mac – “Albatross”
2ND PICK: Khruangbin – “Como Me Quieres”
3RD PICK: James Heather – “Bad Role Model”
4TH PICK: Cate Ie Bon – “Are You With Me Now?”
5TH PICK: Willie West – “I’m still a Man (Lord Have Mercy)”
CONTRIBUTOR: Jose
1ST PICK: Lijadu Sisters – “Come On Home”
2ND PICK: Khruangbin – “Friday Morning – Radio Edit”
3RD PICK: The Olympians – “Apollo’s Mood”
4TH PICK: Mac DeMarco – “On the Level”
5TH PICK: Songs: Ohia – “Farwell Transmission
6TH PICK (rule breaker): Thundercat – “Them Changes”
7TH PICK (big rule breaker): Richard Hawley – “Tonight”
CONTRIBUTOR: Sean and Carrie
1ST PICK: The National – “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”
2ND PICK: Paul Simon – “Cant Run But”
3RD PICK: Son Lux – “The Fool You Need”
4TH PICK: CocoRosie – “Fairy Paradise”
5TH PICK: Rubblebucket – “What Life Is”
6TH PICK: Andrew Bird – “Bloodless”
7TH PICK: Beirut – “Gallipoli”
8TH PICK: DeVotchKa – “Empty Vessels”
9TH PICK: Whyte Horses – “Empty Words”
10TH PICK: Them – “Square Room”
CONTRIBUTOR: Jared
1ST PICK: Grandmilly, Shozae – “Cyber Tech Suits”
2ND PICK: Goodsense Family – “Full Clip”
3RD PICK: Julien Dyne – “Steady”
4TH PICK: Dave East – “Imagine”
I feel that “heartstrings” as a theme is a bit of a cop out when it comes to MC themes, or playlists in general. But here I am, totally wrong. Our MC contributors put together a really spectacular playlist yet again.
The rational behind these songs range from having a personal connection to the contributors, to a song that might stir up some emotion or even give you the chills or goosebumps. That actually has a term, when you have a psycho-physiological response to a song it’s called Frission (French for ‘shiver’). Pretty neat. Here’s a break down our contributor’s picks…
CONTRIBUTOR: Amy
1ST PICK: (New) Angelo De Augustine – “Tomb”
DESCRIPTION: Angelo De Augustine’s Tomb was released 10/16/2018 and was his 2nd album released by Asthmatic Kitty Records. The first time I heard this song I was walking from my bus stop to a nearby pub to meet up with Mark and Tyler. It was Halloween and small groups of families were out and about trick or treating. Needless to say the mix of the music, the briskness of the fall night and my own memories of Halloween sparked a bit of nostalgia. There’s no better way to describe the album as a whole as Angelo addresses regret and lost love but in honest and charming way.
2ND PICK: (New) Girlpool – “When You Sink”
DESCRIPTION: Girlpool released “Where You Sink” as a single for their upcoming album to be released in early 2019. “Where You Sink” first appeared on Tividad’s Oove Is Rare as a quiet acoustic track, but here gets transformed into a heavier version of it’s past self. Girlpool is an indie rock band from LA, already previously releasing 2 full length albums and are known for their song writing intensity.
3RD PICK: (New) Phoebe Bridgers – “Scott Street”
DESCRIPTION: Phoebe Bridgers has been a favorite of MC this past year and I expect we will continue our obsession with her through 2019. Regarding the theme, I will post some her lyrics:
Walking Scott Street, feeling like a stranger
With an open heart, open container
I’ve got a stack of mail and a tall can
It’s a shower beer, it’s a payment plan
There’s helicopters over my head
Every night when I go to bed
Spending money and I earned it
When I’m lonely, that’s when I’ll burn it
Do you feel ashamed
When you hear my name?
I asked you: How is your sister?
I heard she got her degree
And I said: That makes me feel old
He said: What does that make me?
I asked you: How is playing drums?
You said: It’s too much shit to carry
And what about the band?
You said: They’re all getting married
DESCRIPTION: I’ll admit it, I’ve already included this song on a previous playlists. It is one of my most played songs this year, and due to it’s lyrics I feel it fits quite nicely on this playlist. Samuel T. Herring (most commonly known from Future Islands) provided the vocals for this track over the instrumentals of BADBADNOTGOOD. BADBADNOTGOOD are known for their interpretations of hip hop tracks and their collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, Mick Jenkins, and Ghostface Killah.
5TH PICK: (New) Son Lux – “Yesterday’s Wake”
DESCRIPTION: What happens when a detail oriented composer/classically trained musician starts a band? You get a result similar to that of Son Lux. When the group toured for their 2012 album Lanterns, I had the opportunity to see them live. The performance was insane, never had I seen a group of musicians so dedicated to creating an experience for their audience. “Yesterday’s Wake” appears on a short EP released 9/19/2018, only 7 months after Son Lux released their 6th full length album. (Warning: The video is crazy.)
CONTRIBUTOR: Miles
1ST PICK: Fiona Apple – Shadowboxer (old)
DESCRIPTION: The theme Heartstrings made me think love songs, break-up songs, or just emotional? Fiona Apple’s music has always made me emotional. Her music in her prime was always painful and angsty. She was Grunge in a pop/singer songwriter package. I assume the song is based on love gone wrong, but really the emotional “heartstrings” reason for my pick is the mood of the music and pain/power in her voice.
2ND PICK: John Lennon – Jealous Guy (old)
DESCRIPTION: Another love gone wrong track. You want to blow a relationship? Be jealous and watch it fall apart. This is my favorite Lennon Song. If you feel nothing listening to him croon, you have no heart.
3RD PICK: Kevin Morby Waxahatchee – The Dark Don’t hide it (new)
DESCRIPTION: Perhaps a break-up song, I’m not to sure. The duo singing verse to verse about what sounds like love gone wrong. I struggled a bit with new tracks on this theme, and had to delve into what I’ve been listening to and digging for emotion or meanings behind the tracks. Kevin Morby always seems to have pain behind his tracks, so it was a goto.
4TH PICK: The Tallest Man on Earth – Down in my Heart (new)
DESCRIPTION: His music is always folky with beautiful guitar. Although, I’m not a giant fan overall, certain tracks definitely speak to me. Down in my Heart is one of them. It’s more inspirational than Heartstrings, but I went literal with the title (HA!)
5TH PICK: Ben Sollee – A few honest words
DESCRIPTION: Timely with the midterm elections and Literal with a stringed instrument
CONTRIBUTOR: Mark
1ST PICK: I’m With Her – “Hannah Hunt”
2ND PICK: Emmylou Harris – “Boulder to Birmingham” 3RD PICK: Patty Griffin – “When It Don’t Come Easy” 4TH PICK: Wildcat! Wildcat! – “Marfa”
CONTRIBUTOR: Raul
1ST PICK: Ryan Bingham – “The Poet”
2ND PICK: Kevin Morby – “Farewell Transmission”
3RD PICK: Songs: Ohia – “I Promise Not To Quit”
4TH PICK: The Antlers – “Putting The Dog To Sleep”
Attempting to find themes for the month of November has always been difficult. Seasonal defective disorder seems to slowly be kicking in, then there’s the election, Thanksgiving and the abrupt change in weather. So for this month we kept both themes very basic. This week’s theme “Upbeat Groove” can simply be quantified as happy fun songs. Next week’s theme “Heartstrings” can be interpreted as the opposite.
Our busy contributors found time to provide up to 5 songs that fit the theme. Here’s a breakdown of my own picks.
1ST PICK: (New) “Rip Cord” – Sweet Valley
DESCRIPTION: Sweet Valley consists of two brothers who originally formed the band Wavves. Luckily, these two’s side project is much more creative and original than their first enterprise. Back in 2012 Sweet Valley toured with Killer Mike and GZA. Their music is sample heavy, innovative, and rhythm forward. “Rip Cord” is the first track on a 15 track 37 minute album. I dare you to try to figure out all the samples they’ve used.
2ND PICK: (New) “Boyz” – Lizzo
DESCRIPTION: Do you have a “go to” song anytime you need to boost your confidence or feel more chipper? I do, and this is my 2018 song of choice. Lizzo creates fun and empowering music that makes you want to shake your booty. Her more recent releases dating back to her 2016 EP Coconut Oil have all been super fun, but there’s something to say for her 2018 single Boyz. She doesn’t need boyz, she just just thinks they all (and I mean all) can make a girl go crazy. So if you’re a dude, and you think 2018 has been rough for you… just remember Lizzo respects and might want your body.
VIDEO:
3RD PICK: (New) Be Your Girl (Kaytranada Edition) – Teedra Moses/Kaytranada
DESCRIPTION: Kaytranada’s 2016 99.9% was one of MC’s favorite albums, and it feels like it came out FOREVER ago. Good news, he’s in the process of releasing a new album that is anticipated to be released in the coming months. Recently Kaytranada headlined Pitchfork’s Music Festival in Paris (full performance below). During his playlist he shared some of his new music including this remix of Teedra’s “Be Your Girl”. Other songs played that are not yet released: a remix of Anderson Paak’s “Bubblin”, a new release featuring Kali Uchis (which was INCREDIBLE), and an amazing remix of Janet Jackson’s “If” which closed out his performance.
VIDEO:
4TH PICK: “Heavy, California” – Jungle
DESCRIPTION: Jungle is a 7 piece band, not a DJ. Let me repeat. This is an actual band as the two original members did not want to play music from their laptops live in concert. They’ve also released some incredible music videos this year . “Heavy, California” is off of their 2018 release For Ever. Video is linked below.
VIDEO:
5TH PICK: “Lover Chanting – Edit” – Little Dragon
DESCRIPTION: This is another Kaytranda plug. Again, on 2016’s 99.9% the song “BULLETS” features Little Dragon. “Lover Chanting” is off their 2018 EP of the same title. This is an upbeat song that one might want to groove to. The video is also ridiculous and is linked below.
Did you know there’s a wikipedia page for “Throwback Thursday”? While researching the term throwback, attempting to figure out how it has become an increasingly popular term, I stumbled upon a very unnecessary wikipedia article. Thanks social media. But I can’t judge as this weeks theme is named as such.
Our contributors added songs that fit the theme providing 2 new tracks from the past year, 2 old and an additional track if they shared a music video. As always the theme’s interpretation was at that of the contributor. Here’s a breakdown of some of their picks:
CONTRIBUTOR: Tyler
1ST PICK: Colter Wall -Plain to see plainsman
DESCRIPTION: I had literally just discovered this artist a few days before the “Throwback” MC and it couldn’t be more fitting. This country artist from Swift Current, Saskatchewan definitely sounds like he is from a bygone era of the genre. This doubles as a personal throw back for me, frequently visiting relatives in Alberta and growing up on this uniquely Canadian style of old country music (see: Ian Tyson). Definitely nostalgic and definitely rooted in the cowboy culture of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
2ND PICK: boygenius – Bite the Hand
DESCRIPTION: boygenius is a collaborative group composed of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers, all artists previously played in past MCs. All of these musicians different styles of indie folk/rock blend nicely on this short album and if you enjoy single one of these artists, I would recommend a listen. That being said, there are some songs which more clearly feature one artist’s style, though the influences from other band members take these tunes to a new level. Bite the Hand is a great pop/rock tune with a steady build-up ending in some amazing harmonies that set the tone for the entire album
3RD PICK: Stephen Steinbrink – Bad Love
DESCRIPTION: This is a personal throwback pick, completely unrelated to the song itself. I used to know Stephen back in my early twenties and though he also played music back then (Trunk Space REPRESENT), it seems that his musical career is starting to take off, with multiple song features from Pitchfork, a recent track with Jay Som, and an upcoming full length. Personal history aside, I really enjoy this song and I’m excited to see what his LP sounds like. Stephen, if you see this, good stuff man.
4TH PICK: 180 degrees – NOFX
DESCRIPTION: I feel obligated to apologize as I’m sure most listeners will skip this track, but I’m not going to, because this is a literal take on “throw back” for me and apologizing is obviously not punk as fuck. NOFX was one of my go-to pop-punk bands amongst a sea of pop-punk in my teenage years. Something about a 200 bpm mess of double kick bass drum, major chords, and Fat Mike wailing nonsensical anecdotes and political statements was just what my awkward high school self needed at the time. Almost 20 years later, NOFX still holds a very special place in my still awkward full-grown self.
5TH PICK: Helena Deland – Claudion
DESCRIPTION: I just stumbled upon this Montreal-based artist through her admittingly urban-outfitters inspired video for this song. Turns out her brand of irresistible synth-pop is just what I needed after binging on NOFX nostalgia. The video adds another layer to the song and features her actual cousin, who she grow up with and has a very close relationship with, re-enacting childhood times spent choreographing dance routines and apparently laying in the grass. Makes me realize my time spent as a young boy growing up may have been somewhat squandered on video games. Eh, probably not.
Video Pick – Helena Deland
CONTRIBUTOR: Amy
1ST PICK: Connan Mockasin – Charlotte’s Thong
DESCRIPTION: Connan Tant Hosford, hm.. how would one describe Connan? Total and complete weirdo, yep that’s how… This album like the artist who created it, is totally weird and a little confusing. As noted in Pitchforks review of Charlotte’s Thong, the title song (which I shared as my first pick) is reminiscent of an early 70’s-country-rock session, summoning memories of Fleetwood Mac and Michael Nesmith. Below I’ve shared his music video for this song, which has an excessive amount of awkwardness and boobs.
2ND PICK: Men I Trust – Seven
DESCRIPTION: Men I Trust is a 3 piece Montreal band described by NPR as an electro-pop. Since adding a vocalist to the group their sound has shifted significantly and this single, released September 2018, very much shows off that new mellow & dreamy sound. Seven starts with a guitar lick nostalgic of the band America on top of the smooth distorted harmony of, wait a second, is that Mac Demarco? Just kidding, but those guitar tones are very reminiscent of the 2012-2015 gap toothed genius. The thing I enjoy the most from Men I Trust is their female vocalist. What a delight.
3RD PICK: Sam Evian – IDGAF
DESCRIPTION: Do yourself a favor and listen to this album. Sam Evian, or Sam Owens, is the perfect mixture of soft rock meeting 1960s psychedelia. I am not ashamed to say I’m totally into it. You, Forever is one of my favorite albums released in 2018. “IDGAF” is the album’s first track and opens his album perfectly. The lyrics, instrumentation and duet are adorable but still well executed and obviously thoughtful.
4TH PICK: Papercuts – All Along St. Marys
DESCRIPTION: Papercuts’ Mockingbird (released 2004) was an album that lived in my car’s disc player for roughly 3 years. I know all of us have attachments to albums that pail in comparison to the rest of the music that artist can/ever will release. That’s my relationship with Papercuts who just released their 5th full length album Parallel Universe Blues 10/19/2018. This band not only has that throwback sound of The Zombies or The Birds, but this pick is a throwback to one of my favorite bands from my early college years.
5TH PICK: The Breeders – Wait in the Car
DESCRIPTION: Nothing like a 10 year hiatus to then triumphantly return when your genres sound, and frankly entire decade, is once again stylish (I’m looking at you choker necklaces and belly shirts.) The Breeders most popular song “Cannonball” hit many top 100 lists back in 1993… yes, 1993. All Nerve release in March of this year has the band’s same line up from that 1993 composition that blessed listeners with Last Splash. Throwback presented to you by Kim Deal.
This is an inclusive playlist created by Tyler and I honoring our anniversary as well as our most played music from the past 8 years. We started with 2010 working forward, each of us sharing our favorite song or album from each year we’ve been together. Some of the songs fit the unspoken theme quite well, some are just damn good tunes… don’t read to far into it.
Ahhh… do you feel that? A crispness in the air?? You know what that means, MC is back in session after a brief hiatus. Since we took a few months off, this week’s playlist is specifically dedicated to all of the new tracks we may have missed.
MC contributors were asked to provide their favorite 4 new tracks from the past calendar year, and, if they provided a music video they could have a 5th track either old or new. This playlist is a 38 track, 3 hour tour of varied music genres; stoner metal to hip hop and indie rock to soul.
Below are some of the contributor’s breakdowns of their choices:
CONTRIBUTOR: Amy
1ST PICK: (New) “Like Sugar” – Chaka Khan
DESCRIPTION: The queen of funk, 10 time Grammy winner and an artist who has sold over 70 million records worldwide, is still at it and absolutely crushing it. Although Khan has not released an album over 11 years this single is a banger. “Like Sugar” is the lead single from Khan’s upcoming album, which she promises to add to her 22-album canon sometime in 2018. The project — her first since 2007 — will be released on Diary Records, a new label run by producer and artist M.I.A.
2ND PICK: (New) “White Bronco” – Action Bronson
DESCRIPTION: This summer I recently discovered VICELAND’s F*ck That’s Delicious staring Action Bronson and his crew. If you haven’t had the privilege of seeing an episode, think an episode of Anthony Bourdain melding with a Pitbull music video. “White Bronco” is the lead single from Bronson’s upcoming album of the same title. The record is said to be the rapper’s first independent project in years, featuring help from Bronson’s live band, the Special Victims Unit which you can hear opening the first third of this single. Also just to note, I would never compare Action Bronson to Tay Diggs, but good for him for doing so.
DESCRIPTION: The best part of Music Club? Being introduced to music you end up loving, but probably not nearly as much as those who introduced you it. Jared, Mike, thank you. On 10/5/2018 a notification for the release of this album The Lost Tapes was the first thing I saw on my phone after turning my alarm off. This album boasts some incredible feats. But, as person who had E-40’s My Ghetto Report Card on heavy rotation their sophomore year of college I obviously gravitated to this track. It’s like a perfect combination of the brief knowledge and respect I had for hip hop back when I was 19 to what I now enjoy today, all thanks to this group.
DESCRIPTION: Wassoulou surrounds the borders of three present-day countries meet: Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. It includes portions of southwestern Mali, northwestern Ivory Coast, and eastern Guinea. It is bordered by the Niger River to the northwest, and by the Sankarani River to the east. Oumou Sangaré is considered an ambassador of Wassoulou; her music has been inspired by the music and traditional dances of the region. She writes and composes her songs, which often include social criticism, especially concerning women’s low status in society. This song is off an album released in 2018 that is a remix of her album Mogoya that was released in 2017.
5TH PICK: (Old) “Deathless” – Ibeyi ft Kamasi Washington
DESCRIPTION: I would be lying if I said this last month (or few) haven’t been rough. Sometimes a girl just needs to have some empowering and brutally honest music to get through the day. Ibeyi is composed of two vocalists, twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. This song was inspired by the arrest of Lisa-Kaindé by a police officer who aggressively threw all of her things on the ground (including her books) while apprehending her, she was 16 years of age. Kamasi Washington can be heard on the saxophone throughout the track leading to a brief yet beautiful solo. Ash by Ibeyi was released in 2017.
Video Pick – Chaka Khan
CONTRIBUTOR:Chris
1ST PICK: High on Fire – Electric Messiah
DESCRIPTION: My picks have been selected by bands I’ve seen or meant to see but missed out due to poor scheduling on my end. High on Fire will be rolling into town and I’m hoping to get on that shit. High on Fire has been pumping out some awesome stoner metal for a couple of decades and with Electric Messiah there’s no sign of letting up. They fucking bring it, whatever “it” is, best believe they’re bringing it.
2ND PICK: Tribulation – The Lament
DESCRIPTION: Tribulation is a Swedish heavy metal band that crosses boundaries with psychedelic and goth rock. If you ever played Castlevania Symphony of the Night this band sounds just like the soundtrack to that. They also put on a great show!
3RD PICK: YOB – Ablaze
DESCRIPTION: Portland doom metal band, nice and sludgy sound (it’s odd playing this at work, folks just do a double take and give a befuddled glare).
4TH PICK: Revocation – Blood Atonement
DESCRIPTION: Thrash/death metal, technical and fast, pretty rad stuff!
CONTRIBUTOR: Mike
My Shiny and New picks, are new tracks I’m currently into. My first track is a single from Francobollo – We’re dead. Francobollo was introduced to me by MC member Amy in a previous MC (2/19/2018) I think they are an interesting mix of Pixies and Weezer, and I look forward to the full length. Daniel Rossen – Deerslayer is another new single, I may have played at a previous MC, which is taboo. Daniel Rossen is my favorite artist of the decade, I enjoy Grizzly Bear, but his solo work is amazing. I hope this leads to a full album once Grizzly Bear is done their tour. My third track is another single by Sharon Van Etten – Comeback Kid. Most of her previous work is Folk/singer songwriter and this new track delves more into synth rock. My last track, Wu tang Forever, is from the new Logic album YSIV. It features the entire living Wu-Tang Clan, and is the first charting Wu-Tang Clan track in 16 years. The track is getting pretty tough press, due to some really poor performances by some of the Clan, but I think overall it’s solid and impressive that Logic pulled it all together.
CONTRIBUTOR: Tyler
1ST PICK: Adrienne Lenker – Symbol
DESCRIPTION:Adrienne Lenker – Symbol – This is the first official solo album from the singer of Big Thief, a definite music club favorite. The album is really great, though my preference is somewhat in favor of her with her band. The album is likely what you’d expect, more of a folky sounding Big Thief. All around it’s worth a listen if you’re into that band, or if you just enjoy pretty minimalist folk music. This is honestly one of 3 new potential MC picks I could have done that are all female folk singers. Must be summer ending or some junk like that.
2ND PICK:Spirtualized – Here it comes (the Road) Lets Go
DESCRIPTION: Spiritualized – Here it Comes (The Road) Let’s Go – Honestly, I never really listened to an entire Spirtualized album from beginning to end, and though that still is not the case, this song really makes me realize I may be missing out. This song (and what little else I’ve heard of the album) has such a unique sound, one which seems to span all Spiritualized albums and can’t really be assigned a clear genre. The songs are soaring, uplifting, and hypnotic. I’m going to go listen to the full album now…
3RD PICK: Maribou State – Turnmills
DESCRIPTION:Maribou State – Turnmills – Kind of cheating as the Maribou State feat Khurangbin song was played by Amy a while back as a single, but now that the full album is out, its worthy of being shared again. I had never listened the British DJs before, but this album is easily my favorite electronic album of the year and in my top albums of the year. The songs have quite a bit of variety, so if this one is not to your liking, try out some of the other standout tracks (Glasshouses, Beginners Luck, Feel Good). This is my album of choice to balance out all the folk and it’s great to throw on in the background or whilst hanging out.
4TH PICK: Haley Heynderickx – The Bug Collector
DESCRIPTION: Haley Heynderickx – The Bug Collector – Annnnd folk singer #2. I listened to this album quite a bit when it first came out, though it seems to be making a comeback in my listening cycle, likely for the aforementioned fall starting, we live in seattle, etc. This album is filled with beautiful folk tracks and is slightly more accessible (poppier) than the Adrienne Lenker album. If an entire album of acoustic guitar and solo female vocals isn’t exactly your thing, you’re a heartless monster, but despite that, there are a couple great folk/alt-country/rock songs for your enjoyment here
5TH PICK: Robyn and Royksopp – Monument
DESCRIPTION: Robyn and Royksopp – Monument – I never knew this album existed and it somehow came out in 2014? Both Robyn and Royksopp are two of my favorite Scandinavian artists, along with ABBA and the entire genre of black metal, so it was quite the treasure to find that they had a collaboration album I never knew about. The songs alternate between pop and weird electronica in just the way they should.
Are you ready for summer vacation? We are. This will be our last playlist of the summer. Please stay tuned. The next playlists will begin in October. You know, when everyone get’s real basic enjoying scarves, pumpkin beers, whatever is on Netflix and scavenging the web for the newest tracks we missed since we last were focusing on creating Music Club playlists. Miss you already. See you soon.
Well, it’s May which means it’s starting to feel a little more like Summer. And with the summer months quickly approaching the slow down of the MC Playlists beings. Our contributors are fascinating and magical creatures who travel, hike, bag pack, float, and well… want to enjoy their summer months. No theme.
Again another theme: Opening Tracks! One would expect with a theme as “straight forward” as opening tracks the interpretation of this theme could be limited. Well, you’re wrong. Contributors yet again pulled out all the stops providing some excellent tracks and some vaguely excellent interpretations of the theme itself. Enjoy.
Music Club "A Book Club for Music" 