Blood Harmony Vol. 20: Fall Mix
Welcome to fall music enthusiasts! It’s been a weird one so far here in my house as I had a bunch of health problems show up in the beginning of September and I’m still working through them. Things are definitely starting to be more on the up-and-up but as someone who has had the privilege of health for basically the entirety of my adult life, the whole thing has been really unnerving. It turns out that being a front line medical provider in reproductive health during a pandemic can create some serious stress and, as the book I’m 15% of the way through says, The Body Keeps the Score. Luckily, there is always art to comfort, distract and challenge us.
Here’s this season’s mix on Spotify (below) and Youtube.
CUFF IT by Beyonce, RENAISSANCE, 2022, Columbia Records.
I WOULD like to go out and fuck up the night, thank you Beyonce. Why do her songs have so many references to cleaning up semen though? It’s weird.
Love Letter by ODESZA ft. The Knocks, Single, 2022, Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune.
ODESZA is from Washington state, The Knocks are from NYC and together they’ve made a very swooping and haunting dance track with lots of minor notes and glitchy sounds.
Free Yourself by Jessie Ware, Single, 2022, Universal Music.
British chanteuse Jessie Ware takes us to the disco and it feels like it’s full of cocaine! I’ve been told that her podcast is a delight, FYI.
Shake by Santigold, Spirituals, 2022, Little Jerk Records.
Big Santi fan! I don’t love this album but I do really like this song.
OMG BRITT, Sudan Archives, Natural Brown Prom Queen, 2022, Stones Throw Records.
This album, on the other hand, is fucking brilliant! Straight from Ohio, it’s Sudan Archives making amazing music.
Hood Pass Intact by DaM-FunK, Toeachizown, 2009, Stones Throw Records.
California artist and producer funks out the playlist.
90 Proof by Smino and J. Cole, Single, 2022, UMG Recordings.
Smino is from St. Louis, J. Cole is from Fayetteville, NC and together they’ve made a catchy and chill track about getting high and examining your relationship to monogamy, wealth, success, etc.
Oak Tree by Tank and The Bangas, Red Balloon, 2022, UMG Recordings.
From New Orleans, it’s NPR-approved Tank and The Bangas with a jazzy, kind of anxious love song.
Burning by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cool It Down, Secretly Canadian, 2022.
Another artist I love with an ok album but a really great song! That voice!
Something’s Going On by Kokoroko, Could We Be More, 2022, Brownswood Recordings.
London jazz outfit takes us out with a soulful slow build.
Other Things:
I’ve been watching more than my usual amount of TV these days!
Things I Like:
Never Have I Ever on Netflix: A coming of age story about an Indian-American teenager and her wonderful friends and family. This show made me LOL and weep multiple times.
Abbott Elementary: Warm! Funny! Insightful! Kind!
Barry: Easily one of the most brilliant shows ever made in its humor, acting and incredible design and look. The final episode made me feel like I was having a 30 minute long acute anxiety attack. Recommend!
I also read two really wonderful novels recently. The first was Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer which the blurb describes as “a power ballad to female friendship” (ugh) but I thought was a nuanced and compelling story about two close friends coming up as pop culture writers in New York in the 1990s. The other book was When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry which was a sparse and gorgeous book about Mongolia, Buddhism, family and faith.
As always, thanks for reading and listening! If you are looking for more music, check out The B-Sides playlist which is full of tracks I love but can’t make fit into a mix.
*There are no examples of blood harmony in this season’s newsletter as far as I know. Please listen to the Louvin Brothers episode of Cocaine and Rhinestones for more info.