Mixtape 42

I miss making you playlists for your disc drive, so I made you this. I know it’s not the same… but it’s the closest I can get. New mixtape monthly up on my spotify. Find me there at @jawnmo, and if you’re not on spotify, track list included here for you to burn to a cd and put in your 1996 jeep wrangler and turn up the volume. Have a nice weekend out there

about

I can’t decide if this playlist leans too far into dance territory, or too far into chilled out indie vibes.

On the dance side, I’ve got a killer club single from Jamie XX & Honey Dijon called “Baddy On The Floor,” another amazing club single from James Blake called “Thrown Around,” and an Indie Sleaze dance track from Friendly Fires. In the ‘found on TikTok’ dance music category, I have “I Just Need,” by Daniel Allan and Lyrah. Deep in the research weeds, I found Tim Ayre on high-end designer brand and record label Maison Kistune’s roster. Also on the dance side is Imogen Heap’s “Headlock,” which is charting after trending on TikTok. This song came out in 2005 but sounds brand new.

On the chilled out Indie side, I have a few classics: “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 1” by My Morning Jacket, a song that returned to me on my shuffle recently and triggered some heavy dopamine; “Drifting,” by Omar Apollo, a mellow single off one of my favorite albums of last year; “Nighttiming,” a groovy bop from Jason Schwartzman’s Coconut Records project; “Strange Overtones,” a great summer song by David Byrne and Brian Eno; and finally, “Crybaby,” by indie darlings Cults.

I’m always surprised when a band like Cults experiences as much success as they do. Don’t get me wrong, I love them. I guess I’m just surprised when anything from my niche takes off. Same goes for Beach House, Khruangbin, Alvvays, and TV Girl (not included here). I’m surprised when my outsider taste sees so much success. I know what I like, but when everyone likes what I like, I don’t understand why they like it. All this is to say, there’s a great song from Cults on this playlist - “Crybaby,” and I don’t know if it’s a song that will be obscure forever, like I thought they would when I first heard their song “Go Outside” in 2011, or if this is going to put them back in the top 500 artists on Spotify again.

Anyway, here are some hidden gems I think you should know.

hidden gems

Better Hate - Jessica Pratt

I can’t get over the vibe of this whole album. I feel like I’m transported back to some classic late 1960s version of an LA music scene that never existed the way it does in our imagination. I had the chance to see her play at The Belasco at the end of last year, and this is incredibly soothing music.

Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno

I kept getting snippets of this song stuck in my head earlier this year, but couldn’t track it down for the longest time. It’s a great song - it has the line “These grooves are out of fashion - these beats are 20 years old,” and oddly enough, listening back, it’s hard to tell when this song came out. I was listening to it and trying to figure out if it came out in the early 80s or last week. That’s the great thing about making things that are out of fashion - they can’t go out of style.

Fairlies - Grian Chatten

This single sees the lead singer from Fontaines D.C. working on his own solo project. His voice is distinct - I picked it out right away. I love the strings arrangements, and the lyrics - “they make you look at sunshine that your skin will never feel” - are poignant and filled with feeling.

Your House - Inhaler

I’ll give you one guess who this lead singer is related to. Don’t google it - just listen to his voice - I bet you can figure it out. I’ve really enjoyed listening to new songs from Inhaler, I think they’re a band on the cusp of a bigger break, and I’m looking forward to hearing what comes next from them.

Tracklist

1. Les mots bleus - Johan Papaconstantino

2. Headlock - Imogen Heap

3. Crybaby - Cults

4. I Just Need (with Lyrah) - Daniel Allan, Lyrah

5. Fairlies - Grian Chatten

6. Drifting - Omar Apollo

7. Nighttiming - Coconut Records

8. Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 1 - My Morning Jacket

9. I Want It - Tim Ayre

10. You’re Not The One - Sky Ferreira

11. Strange Overtones - David Byrne, Brian Eno

12. Your Sweet Love - Lee Hazlewood

13. Better Hate - Jessica Pratt

14. Your House - Inhaler

15. Thrown Around - James Blake

16. Baddy On The Floor - Jamie xx, Honey Dijon

17. The Trip - Still Corners

18. Come Around and Love Me - Jalen Ngonda

19. Don’t Call My Name - Skinshape

20. Chasing Cities - Tyron

21. every day is a game - Night Tapes

As always, if you find something you love on this playlist, let me know in the comments, I like sharing what you like.