Blood Harmony Vol. 19: Summer Mix
Welcome to summer everyone! It has been quite a combination so far of fun warm weather activities and seemingly unending terrible domestic and international news. As Gita Jackson wrote back in 2020, it really does feel like we’re in The Cool Zone now. I saw Elvis last week (bonkers AND get Austin Butler an Oscar!) and have been listening to this excellent podcast about The Weather Underground called Mother Country Radicals. Both the movie and the podcast are very focused on the late 1960s/early 1970s, another Cool Zone. As Jackson writes, it turns out that these time periods are fascinating in retrospect and extraordinarily painful on the day-to-day.
I’ve found a lot of solace in reading Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain. It’s an exploration of the interplay between happiness and sorrow in life and she uses her attraction to sad music as a starting point for her research. Recommend!
I also want to thank my friend and teacher Garrett from The Barnraisers Project for recommending this newsletter via his excellent newsletter The White Pages. I participated in a Barnraisers cohort and it was inspiring, edifying and challenging (and free!). Also, I got a IRL friend out of it.
On to the mix!
Dolly by Tierra Whack, Pop?, 2021, Interscope Records.
Is there anything this Philly artist can’t do? First she makes ground-breaking hip hop and R&B and then she writes a soulful banjo ballad.
The Swimming Song by Loudon Wainwright III, Attempted Mustache, 1973, Sony Music.
Attempted Mustache is a really great title for a record and this is a really great song. I went down a rabbit hole reading about inter-Wainwright family issues. Lots to explore there.
Leaning on You by Haim*, Women in Music Pt. III, 2021, Columbia Records.
I feel about Haim the same way Emily Flake feels about Mitski. I saw them in DC in May and they were FANTASTIC.
Too Late Now by Wet Leg, Wet Leg, 2022, Domino Recording Co.
Straight from the Isle of Wright, it’s this cool duo with catchy, catchy songs!
SAOKO by Rosalia, MOTOMAMI, 2022, Columbia Records.
Saoko is Puerto Rican slang meaning having outstanding rhythm, movement and flavor. Rosalia is a from Spain and she has all of these things. The video is a lot of fun: paletas, butt-cam, motorcycle tricks.
Red Room - Nick Hakim Remix by Haitus Kaiyote, Single, 2022, Brainfeeder.
Haitus Kaiyote is a “genre fluid” group from Melbourne, Australia and Nick Hakim is a Brooklyn-based musician. The song gives me Erykah Badu/J. Dilla vibes while also making me think of Twin Peaks.
One Way or Every N***a With a Budget by Saba, Few Good Things, 2022, Pivot Gang.
Saba is an independent hip hop artist from Chicago. Pitchfork has a lovely review of his new album.
Let’s Do It Again by The Staple Singers*, Let’s Do It Again Soundtrack, 1975, Rhino Entertainment Company.
Curtis Mayfield produced the soundtrack for this 1970s comedy starring Bill Cosby and Sydney Poitier (!). According to Songfacts, this was the #1 song in America when Time magazine published an article about "sex rock" songs. Along with Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby" and KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way (I Like It)," it was cited as an example of the genre, which was drawing the ire of many activist groups that felt these songs were leading to unwanted pregnancies.
Lowe Mi by Sevana, Lowe Mi, Single, 2022, GoodHzMusic.
Sevana is a Jamaican artist and she has a great Tiny Desk concert to check out. The Jamaican patois title translates into “leave me alone”.
Rooftop Dancing by Sylvan Esso, Free Love, 2020, Loma Vista Recordings.
The most summertime video of all time. I saw Sylvan Esso last month here in Durham at the old ballpark. They put on a very lovely show and seem like the nicest people. Little Brother, the old school NC hip hop group who KILLED IT, opened for them and had THE BEST stage patter including “I haven’t left my house in 3 years!” and “Does anyone else feel like they’re in Whole Foods these days when they go to Food Lion?”
Other Things:
My album of the summer thus far is Harry’s House by Harry Styles. Some call it light psychedelic, I think of it more as a lounge-y new wave. Is it almost entirely about falling in love/lust with Olivia Wilde? Yes. Does it have some very silly lyrics? YES x 1 million. Do I care? No. It’s so enjoyable! I’m assuming it will be replaced in my queue with Beyonce’s new album on July 29th.
If you are looking for more music, check out my The B-Sides playlist which is full of tracks I love but can’t make fit into a mix.
As always, I’m rooting for you. Thanks for reading!
*Actual examples of blood harmony. Please listen to the Louvin Brothers episode of Cocaine and Rhinestones for more info.