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Your mom called, I told her, you’re f*ckin’ up big time
With the release of Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, mama Lanita’s new album has me in my summertime sadness early this year. On a late night plane ride last week I finally sunk into a dreamy slumber while taking in the first listen through the album. It was the perfect…
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SOS, We Can’t Stop Listening
What could awaken my tormented soul from its neglectful earworm slumber other than SZA’s new album drop “SOS”? A delivery so well-crafted and long-awaited that it continues to surpass almost every milestone for the artist personally, and in the genre as a whole, since it made its leap into 2023. Like CTRL, SOS has key…
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what’s the bizness?
Thanks to the excellent soundtrack on the terrible-yet-entertaining steamy college drama Tell Me Lies, I’ve been reminded of the weird, magical power (or “Powa”) of tUnE-yArDs. Though “Powa” is captivating in its own right for its mix of ukulele and guitar paired with eclectic and distinct vocals, “Biznizz” makes me jam and move so hard…
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it’s biscuits, it’s gravy babe
It’s September and I’m in denial (aren’t we all?). So my ears are still ringing thinking of a hot summer song. First heard sometime in July when played by friends and Uber drivers, Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” captivated my attention even more once I learned it’s featured on an album cleverly-named Gemini Rights. If the…
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i’d rather let you touch my arm until you die
Somewhere between seeing Kendrick Lamar, Fleet Foxes, and Local Natives, I’ve found myself in an end of summer concert bender. Luckily, sober September is rolling through at just the right time to help me get my act together. I’m back with the same song that was stuck in my head three weeks ago, Jersey-girl Sharon…
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SZA’s (anything but) Awkward
We’re in the thick of that steamy, sticky summer humidity. And the rising temps and tensions are met with a big middle finger to the SCOTUS. As reproductive rights are directly linked to women’s sexual liberation, so it is written: hot and bothered weather calls for hot and bothered music. I can’t think of a…
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make it up to me, you know it’s better
I haven’t posted in two weeks, so I’m serving an upbeat, sugary treat to butter you up. If you’re not in the mood for sweets, don’t worry – there’s a bit of saltiness ahead (ofc) in the elegant hodgepodge that is Japanese Breakfast. It’s no wonder that this band has blown up over recent years.…
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Impossible possible
I’ve never been a guitar girl. If it wasn’t evident by the thorough literary analysis of each earworm, I am a self-proclaimed lyric hoe. That said, there are a few songs I will lay down my life for that have nothing to do with the lyrics. The guitar outro from 2:45-5:57 makes Wilco’s “Impossible Germany”…
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let’s exchange the experience
Thanks to the gruesome new season of Stranger Things, me and everyone else on the internet have been reintroduced to Kate Bush’s time-tested banger “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).” And it’s been stuck on repeat in both mine and Max’s head for good reason: it’s a true gem. Between the classic synth-pop…
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i missed you for 29 years
In honor of the 15th anniversary of Boxer, released this week in 2007, we’re going baritone and celebrating one of my favorite indie rock albums of all time. I hated The National when I first heard them. Most people probably do? This is the kind of band that needs to hit you at the right…
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From patience to control
Mannequin Pussy have captivated my attention since I heard the lyric “I still love you, you stupid f*ck” on the iconic track Drunk II a few years back. They’ve also haunted me since I shared my screen on a work call with the words MANNEQUIN PUSSY prominently displayed. It feels only right that in order…
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Beach Boys will be boys
Nothing’s quite as cozy as a Beach Boys song. You can feel the summer, the warmth when it grips you. The comforting embrace of “In My Room” had me hooked for a while, but it’s “Your Summer Dream” that’s been buzzing in my ear the last week. They’re both short sweet ditties, only a few…
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No take backs
I don’t know if I’ve heard a voice quite like Jessica Pratt’s before. But here’s the recipe for the sound that gets you pretty close: One teaspoon of Joan Baez A splash of Adrianne Lenker Two dashes of Joni Mitchell A pinch of Angel Olsen A sprinkle of Joanna Newsom And voila! That’s one manic…
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I’m afraid to forget the smell of you
With each band member with a moniker like “Panda Bear” and “Geologist,” it’s not a stretch to say Animal Collective is a band of weirdos for weirdos. And this week we’re going to the zoo! We’re talking about a band defined by and celebrated for their haunting hoots, eclectic vocal harmonies, and instrumental playfulness. They…
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ILYSFM
Victoria Legrand could literally shit on a plate, call it music, and I would eat it up. Luckily I don’t have to go quite that far, because album after album, Beach House comes through with gourmet-tasting sound. Their eighth studio album Once Twice Melody, released in four parts over the last few months, is no…
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One warm day is all I really need
In celebration of the much anticipated Shore tour announcement last week, I am abso-f*ckin-lutely ecstatic to share a Fleet Foxes earworm. And we know this one is going to be epic, considering the praise Shore has received over the past year – not to mention a grammy nomination. Other than one ticket-to-stream performance of A…
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Gotta lotta love (except for Joe Rogan)
My dad and I rarely text. But if we do, nine times out of ten it’s a link to Youtube with little to no context other than “good song” or “👍.” Over the years we’ve shared our top songs from bands like Fleet Foxes, Sigur Ros, St. Vincent, and the man of the hour: Neil…
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not all the time
After seeing Beach House this past weekend, I’ve been sinking into slow and moody voices ever since. I was racking my brain for a song I discovered recently, but all I could remember was a smooth, ethereal sound with very little music in the background. I sleuthed my Angel Olsen collection trying to find the…