A dramatic title, I know. The working title until last night was "The Figure and The Foxglove”, a nod to a recent trip I took to England for an Experimental Figure Drawing class, which sounds more titillating than it really was: a room full of mature British women, a Russian oligarch’s wife, a Japanese-Canadian quilter, and me, all wielding long sticks with ink-soaked sponges at the end of them, drawing a moving nude woman named Tamson, who had a bad cold. Still, it was great to be out and about, abroad, alone, walking through English gardens, picking foxglove in the rain and collecting rocks on the beach in Brighton. Everything was perfect. Fast forward to this past month’s overturning, and the new wave of variant threatening our long-planned birthdays, dance parties, and trips abroad, and well, perfect can only be a fleeting feeling anyway, right? The title comes from the response from a friend, who is holed up and quarantining in a full house, when I texted her last night to ask how she was holding up. This one goes out to her. Hopefully she is listening to it on a long drive, windows down.
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Laura Marling / Blues Runs the Game
A super simple song, but I’ve been playing it nonstop ever since my trip. "Catch a boat to England, maybe to Spain..."
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Laura Marling (born 1st February 1990) is a folk singer/songwriter/guitarist from Eversley, United Kingdom. She began playing the guitar at the age of five, first being taught the blues by her father in front of the family fire, and has been enthralled by the songs and lyrics of the likes of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and John Mayall ever since. It’s not just the “golden-oldies” that Laura admires; she also harbours a rather deep love for alt. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sarah Kinsley / The King
Felt like I needed to follow the first song with something poppy and dreamy. Love the chorus.
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Shakey Graves / Ready or Not
Sounds like it could be a Grateful Dead song, or some other from that era, but it's a new one from Shakey. Great harmonies. I love how the lyrics go through a life. Ready or Not is the way I’ve been feeling about phase 500 of re-entry.
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Shakey Graves, aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia from Austin, Texas, plays a gnarly composite of blues and folk as a one-man-band of epic sonic proportions. The sound emitted from his hollow body guitar, mildly distorted amp and suitcase drum belie the young singer’s lean frame. He fingerpicks while keeping time with a double-pedal kick drum, hitting a snare fitted into his suitcase drum and a tambourine fashioned to its side. And when he sings, Rose-Garcia unleashes an unearthly howl. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Børns / 10,000 Emerald Pools
Everyone has heard this, I’m sure. But it hasn’t made an appearance on any mix, so I figure it’s fair game. We play it all the time. It just makes me happy. So far in the songs, we’ve had a boat, a plane, time travel, so why not some deep sea diving?
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BØRNS may hail originally from the lower peninsula of Michigan but his dreamy blend of folk, glam and electro rock sounds like it comes straight from the cosmos. This tree-house dwelling LA transplant will be bringing his angelic voice and dynamic live show across the U.S. this fall. Do not miss a chance to catch this unique, otherworldly talent. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Frazey Ford / Bird of Paradise
I went back and forth on whether to include, so you’ll either skip immediately or give it a try. Her voice is so warbley and weird, and I kind of love it. I also like the riff.
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Frazey Ford is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas. Her solo debut Obadiah was released on Nettwerk on July 20, 2010. Ford cites Rhythm and Blues singers Ann Peebles, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway as influences, and this is evident in her debut album. Jenny Charlesworth of The Georgia Straight wrote that a few of the songs "swing with a mellow neo-soul beat enlivened by buttery vocals". Ford also credits her free spirited parents (her father was an American draft dodger who moved to Canada) Read more on Last.fm more...
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Caroline Rose / Freak Like Me
Sure you’ve heard this one before too. It’s ethereal and perfectly dirty. I so appreciate well executed lists—be it in an episode of Brooklyn 99, a Berryman poem, or a song like this. The line "All I ever needed are some handcuffs in the passenger seat" makes me smile every time.
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Caroline Rose is an American singer and songwriter raised in Center Moriches, Long Island, New York, and currently living in Burlington, Vermont. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Milo Greene / 1957
I thought this was a Head and The Heart song at first. I love the bridge in this one. And of course, the ooh oohs.
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A folk-pop ensemble from Los Angeles, California, the five-member Milo Greene are largely centered around vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Marlana Sheetz, although the bandmembers share lead and background vocals and often switch instruments from song to song. Formed in Northern California around 2009, the group originally featured Sheetz, Robbie Arnett, and Andrew Heringer. After relocating to Los Angeles, the trio added singer/multi-instrumentalist Graham Fink and percussionist Curtis Marrero. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Haley Heynderickx / Drinking Song
I feel like this a sister song to sitting at the dock of the bay. This one really hits me. I love the way she sings words unexpectedly. She strings out some and then chops off others. This: And the edge of the world makes it seem That everyone gone is still singing the same song And I can believe in these things That everyone's singing along The good the bad and the gone Cue the ooh oohs...
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Haley Heynderickx (born in Stockton, California, and raised in Forest Grove, Oregon) is an American singer-songwriter. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sir Sly / &Run
This Marlowe’s summer song. Had to include. She thinks it should be in the Cruella song.
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Sir Sly is an American indie pop band formed and based in Los Angeles, California. The band is fronted by vocalist Landon Jacobs with instrumentalists Jason Suwito and Hayden Coplen accompanying him.[1] While they originally operated anonymously, the trio gradually built a steady following and managed to top The Hype Machine chart, eventually revealing their identities. Their debut single, "Ghost", was released on March 4, 2013, on the National Anthem and Neon Gold labels followed by the single "Gold" on May 21, 2013. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Aurora / Runaway
A boating under a full moon song. Or running through a forest maybe. I feel like since a lot of these songs are about travel, maybe I should include one about home. She has such a haunting voice.
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1) Aurora Aksnes (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as AURORA, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Stavanger, Aurora released her debut extended play, "Running With The Wolves", in 2015, through Decca Records. Later the same year, she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half The World Away". AURORA released her debut studio album, "All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend, in 2016. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Fruit Bats / The Bottom of It
This one just makes me happy.
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Fruit Bats is an American rock band formed in 1997 in Chicago, Illinois. The group has had many personnel changes but revolves around songwriter Eric D. Johnson. Their albums include Echolocation (2001), Mouthfuls (2003), Spelled in Bones (2005), The Ruminant Band (2009), Tripper (2011), and Absolute Loser (2016). In 2009 Johnson also joined The Shins. Originally part of short-lived Chicago group I Rowboat, Johnson and two of his fellow Rowboat members, guitarist Dan Strack and drummer Brian Belval, created Fruit Bats as a side-project. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Joy Oladokun / Look Up
This is a tad cheesy, I know. I almost feel embarrassed including, but it is sort of…nice and soothing. Also, my friend sang it on stage at a fundraiser for mothers suffering from postpartum depression, so it has a little extra meaning.
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Joy Oladokun (born 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music spans the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop and is influenced by her identity as a queer woman of color. She has released a series of studio albums; Carry (2016), In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings) (2020), In Defense of My Own Happiness (2021). While she had been playing guitar since childhood, it wasn’t until 2015 that Oladokun quit her job and took a shot at realizing her dream of making music full-time. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Big Thief / Certainty
There have been a lot of Big Thief and Adrienne songs, but this one is newish so thought it would be acceptable. Total earworm for me. And a sweet love song: “you lay beside me, sleeping on the plane, in the future.”
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Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots. The band is based in Brooklyn, New York, and comprises Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik, and James Krivchenia. Big Thief's music, rooted in the songs of Adrianne Lenker, paints in vivid tones "the process of harnessing pain, loss, and love, while simultaneously letting go, looking into your own eyes through someone else's, and being okay with the inevitability of death," says Adrianne. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Poliça / Forget Me Now
A late add. I like its energy.
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Poliça is a synthpop band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA which formed in 2011. The band consists of Channy Leaneagh (vocals, synthesizers), Ryan Olson (production), Chris Bierden (bass), Drew Christopherson (drums) and Ben Ivascu (drums). The band has issued four albums: Give You the Ghost (2012), Shulamith (2013), United Crushers (2016), and When We Stay Alive (2020). The band was formed by Olson and Leaneagh following their involvement in the soft rock supergroup Gayngs. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Flock of Dimes & Sylvan Esso / Don't Dream It's Over/ Everything is Free
I can imagine this as an exit credit song to an episode of The Handmaid's Tale. It's slow-going, but this mix is. I do love the lyrics: "If it's something you want to hear, fucking sing it yourself." Also, the constant harmony is nice.
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Flock of Dimes is a solo project of American musician Jenn Wasner (born Jennifer Lynn Wasner on April 16, 1986). When Wasner, a founding members of the band Wye Oak, returned to Maryland in 2012 after touring, she began work on the solo project, "Flock of Dimes" which experimented with new synths and electronic beats. Releases include If You See Me, Say Yes (2016, Partisan Records), Like So Much Desire (EP) (2020, Sub Pop), Head of Roses (2021). Read more on Last.fm more...
