Monday Mix Tapes: Autumn Leaves, Old Ideas

Leonard Cohen made it hard for me to work today.

This Monday started like many do in late September—sun pouring through the leaves, green but tinged with the hints of yellow, orange, and amber soon to come; a slight briskness in the air that hints at the cold soon to come; and me visiting NPR First Listen and squealing with glee at the albums soon to come.

At the top of the First Listen page, there's a black-and-white shot of Lucinda Williams, badass as ever in her leather jacket, heavy eyeliner, and a look in her eyes like she’s either just knocked out a man or put back a double shot of bourbon, maybe both. (Lucinda, I'll get to you soon!)

I scrolled down: Perfume Genius! Mapei! Sondre Lerche! And finally, LEONARD COHEN.

Because Mapei has one of the catchiest pop songs I’ve heard in quite some time (“Don’t Wait”), I listened to her album first. And while I think the reviewer got a bit heavy-handed with the whole theme of ear-candy/candy/pop music/sugar, “Don’t Wait” certainly has that “kick of cayenne” that makes a caramel go from merely tasty to memorably delicious. Which is to say, okay, I get it. Overall, it’s definitely a pop album I’ll return to, even though the second half starts to feel a bit flat, and I could really do without the majority of Mapei's rapping.

Back to Leonard. Prior to his 2012 album, Old Ideas, I was a scattered and halfhearted fan at best. I realize of course that this admission would make most Leonard Cohen fans snort, or pat me on the head and say, “Okay, dear.” That said, ask me how many fucks I give, now as well as then. I was too busy, at the time I was falling in love with Old Ideas, writing lyrics from “Different Sides” in my journal and committing them to heart (“Both of us say there are laws to obey/but frankly, I don’t like your tone/You want to change the way I make love/I want to leave it alone”).

I fell in love with the low growl of his voice, his lyrics (!), and his backup singers. I listened again and again. I revisited his old songs, the albums I’d once listened to halfheartedly, and marveled at my former self. Who was I, that I wasn’t enthralled by “Dance Me to the End of Love,” “In My Secret Life,” and “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”? I guess it’s no different, really, than how I now cringe at the memory of the Good Charlotte poster that hung in my college dorm room in 2002.

Our tastes change and adapt over time. Today the trees outside my Chicago window are full of yellow- and orange-tinted green leaves, but too soon, there will only be bare branches. Leonard Cohen’s voice sounds pretty much nothing at all on both Old Ideas and Popular Problems like it did in 1969 on Songs from a Room.

It feels fitting that the 80-year-old musician—yes, he turned 80 years old, yesterday, Wikipedia informs me—would release his latest album, Popular Problems, in the fall. A season, that for me at least, marks some of my happiest and saddest memories, and for those of us in Chicago, some of our last days of warmth as another winter looms. As I wrote several years ago, “the air has that crisp, cool feel once again. It's my favorite time of year, but it also makes me feel homesick as well. Not even homesick, exactly, but more like longing for something lost, a place that no longer really exists.”

Of course, Leonard puts it better, on one of my favorite tracks from the album, "Did I Ever Love You?":

Was it ever settled
Was it ever over
And is it still raining
Back in November
The lemon trees blossom
The almond trees wither
Its spring and its summer
And its winter forever


This album is packed with songs that tackle everything from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to torture, killing, and all “my bad reviews,” and even though it—tragically—is a mere 36 minutes long, Leonard’s clearly in no hurry. After all, he kicks off the album with “Slow,” a song that feels equal parts sexy and self-deprecating, and all parts fucking terrific.

The seasons will change, as will my tastes and probably yours, but I can guarantee that my still-recently acquired love of Leonard Cohen is here to stay.

“It’s almost like salvation; it’s almost like the blues.”



Popular Problems comes out tomorrow. 

Monday Mix Tapes: A Gunshot, A Breakdown, An Interlude

My main squeeze Lykke Li has a new album, I Never Learn, coming out May 5th, and of course I am over the moon about all of the singles she's released thus far. (Listen to "Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone" and "No Rest for the Wicked" for evidence.)

This latest one, "Gunshot," is my favorite. Partly because only Lykke Li can sing "I am siren, I am ivy / I'm no one, I'm nobody" and make it sound like perfection. But also, as another writer put it at Consequence of Sound, she "pairs emotionally-gripping lyrics with surprisingly bombastic musical accompaniment."

Give it a listen:



It seems that yet again, May is going to be the month all my dreams come true. Because along with a new Lykke Li album, Sharon Van Etten is also coming out with a new one, Are We There, and if that's not enough, Little Dragon is too, titled Nabuma Rubberband.

Is it too soon to predict that all 3 of these albums will make it to my top 10 list for 2014? Probably not. I mean:



As much as I'd like to go on and on about my girlfriends Sharon, Lykke, and Yukimi (and co.), we have to talk about PRINCE right now. He just released a new single, which starts off, "This could be the saddest story ever been told," and that's really not much of an exaggeration. I've never been so utterly delighted to fight off the urge to cry silently at my desk, which is what happened today at work when I first heard it and then proceeded to listen to it six times in a row. 

Listen to "The Breakdown" here, because due to what must be some sort of Prince magic spell, the Internets is not letting me embed it.

So not only does Prince have a new album on the way, we can also get ready for a digitally remastered, deluxe 30th anniversary edition of Purple Rain. Are you listening to me right now? A new Prince album AND a remastered Purple Rain??? Dear Universe, what did I do to deserve these beautiful gifts?

Finally, here's a little something from a new artist I discovered today, Rachel Foxx. Lawwwd. Yes. I had no idea a mere one minute and 47 seconds could be so much.  

"What the fuck she got on me?"

Monday Mix Tapes: Toni, Babyface, and Another Time

Next Tuesday, all my dreams come true.

That's right! On 2.4.14, Toni Braxton and Babyface are releasing their duet album, Love, Marriage & Divorce. 

About damn time. Cause, duh:



Look, I know I'm being a little flip about this whole thing, but I should probably be clear that my heart aches every time I listen to this song. (And I've been listening to it, often.)

Not only do I absolutely love Babyface and Toni Braxton collaborating with every fiber of my being, every time I listen to Toni Braxton sing, I'm transported to a different time. A time when I'd put my mother's Toni Braxton CD on in our living room while we'd be cleaning the house on a Saturday afternoon. A time when I so often snagged her Waiting to Exhale soundtrack to play in my room, she finally laughed and told me to just keep it.

So yes, while I can only assume that this duet album will be jam-packed with tunes to make my heart ache about love and romance and breakups (unless of course it's just an incredibly misleading album title), it's also going to make my heart ache in a wonderful, separate way.

It's like hearing my mom laugh again. It's the two of us in my little Dodge Neon, and her turning up the radio to one of our favorite R&B songs and tapping her hand on her oxygen tank to the beat.

I couldn't be more excited.

So let's take it back for a minute to one of mine and my mom's favorite Toni Braxton songs.

Monday Mix Tapes: Spend Your Snow Day with Sharon, Stephen, & SITA

Happy 2014, geeks!

It's really fucking cold outside!

Today in Chicago, it's record-breaking cold. We're talking wind chills of minus 50 degrees, here. In other words, it's the perfect time to wrap up in three different blankets, a scarf, and write while wearing fingerless gloves!

There are so many great things happening out in the world of music while I huddle with my Macbook in front of my space heater. First up, the much-anticipated arrival of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' new album, aptly titled Give the People What They Want. (You can stream the full album on NPR.)

"Retreat" (and its delightful, animated video) almost makes me forget that I'm currently living in the Arctic. This was recorded before her cancer diagnosis and battle, but I still take it as further proof that Sharon Jones will kick anything's ass. She is the boss.



Next on my list is Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, largely because I'm geeking out over their upcoming album's name (Wig Out at Jagbags) and this video for "Lariat" accompanied by the lyrics, in French. (Also, to the girl applying eyeliner and the dude reading in the tub, je vous aime tous les deux.) You'll have a crush on the star of this video by approximately 34 seconds in, too. I promise.

"Tu n'est pas ce que tu n'est pas."




I can't stop listening to this next one from James Vincent McMorrow, either. Maybe it's just how high and perfect his voice gets when he sings, "I remember my first love." I can't wait to hear what else he's bringing on his new album Post-Tropical.





I found this next gem over at Disco Naïveté. Brace yourself. This girl can sing. Here, she's doing a cover of James Arthur's "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," and I can't wait to hear an original. Holy shit:



What's on your music radar this January? Tell me everything.

Monday Mix Tapes: You Wear Smug So Very Well

My brother sent me “Logan’s Loop” by Andrew Bird this past weekend. And as I sat in my Logan Square apartment listening, having only moments before, actually driven around the circle in Logan Square, I was so utterly delighted I clapped my hands with joy. And then listened to it five more times.

It’s his song, “Pulaski at Night,” though, that I want to share here. As with “Logan’s Loop”—and most Andrew Bird songs—again, the word that comes to me as I listen is delight.

“Greetings from Chicago / City of / City of love”:



Spotify really is a wonderful thing. Along with the delights from Andrew Bird that my brother shared, today, my friend Brad sent me this song by Poliça. His message with it was “All the feelings.”

As usual, Bradley, you are correct. I actually didn’t really pay any attention to the lyrics on my first five listens or so (because yes, I’ve listened to this at least 10 times today). But I’m paying attention now, and damn:

You’re pushing me away and then you’re pulling
You wear smug so very well
If you were in love with me I could never tell

It’s time for you to go
But I’ve glued my feet to your floor
It’s time for you to leave
But I’ve wrapped my hand around your leash
It’s really quite confusing

Speaking of all the feelings, like most of America, I saw "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" this weekend. So let’s listen to a song from the soundtrack! Here’s Sia being fucking rad like always, with a little help from The Weeknd and Diplo.




Happy almost-Thanksgiving!

Monday Mix Tapes: You Never Could Have Been a Good Lover

I'm pretty sure I was in love with this new Blood Orange by 15 seconds in. And while Dev Hynes could pretty much be singing about anything, and I'd still think he sounded great, these lyrics in particular fuel my obsession. They're hilarious and awful and true. ("You never could have been a good lover/ Watch what you say/ Could never mean a word and still hurt you")

Oh, Dev Hynes, you're good enough for me (but my standards were low anyway):




Then, fitting with my love of all things Alice in Wonderland, I stumbled across this weird, beautiful little gem (via disco naivete). Looking forward to hearing more from Mononoke after hearing this:





I'm a little late to the game with the latest Arctic Monkeys album (it came out in September, so in Internet time, I'm YEARS behind). But damn if I'm not listening to the whole thing, and this song in particular, "Do I Wanna Know?" on repeat. My bf Sam Smith also does an incredible cover of this, making me suddenly start to think being in limbo with someone must be the most wonderful, sexy thing in the world.

"(Didn't we both know) That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can't say tomorrow day"

Do I wanna know? Ooof. I'm not sure if I do. The whole damn album is packed with questions. But I love it:




Happy Monday! (Did you miss me? Do I wanna know?)

Monday Mix Tapes: You Gotta Testify (Because the Booty Don't Lie)

We need to talk about Janelle Monáe. I thought my love for her was pretty intense, but then she had to go get my girl Erykah Badu involved and make me love her even more.

Behold, Q.U.E.E.N:



Where does one even BEGIN with this song and video? The lyrics are gold. The beats are gold. The outfits! The dancing! BADOULA OBLONGATA!

I just can't stop with this.

"And is it true that we're all insane? And I just tell 'em 'no we ain't' and get down"

This might be my favorite track of 2013 thus far. THAT'S RIGHT.

Monday Mix Tapes: Once We Get Across the Border

"It seemed he had little pity for me and the divorce I'd brought on myself. He, Eddie, and Karen liked Paul. I couldn't make them understand why I'd had to smash things up. But you seemed so happy was all they could say. And it was true: we had seemed that way. Just as I'd seemed to be doing okay after my mom died. Grief doesn't have a face."

— excerpted from Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

I'm a little more than halfway through this wonderful book by Cheryl Strayed. I had just finished reading this passage when I got to my train stop tonight on the way home from work. The book details her amazing story about hiking more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone  — and throughout, it also details her grief of losing her mom.

Reading this book is cathartic, so much so that it's probably a gamble each time I open it on the train and start reading it, surrounded by strangers. I so far have managed not to start crying in public over it, which is impressive, given the material and the power of her writing.

It's not just the way Cheryl Strayed captures her feelings of loss over her mom, or the way she captures her alternating terror and jubilation while on the trail alone. It's also the way she directly addresses her faults, as well. After her mother's death, she spiraled into a series of bad choices with men and drugs, which also led to her divorce from her husband, a man whom she still deeply loved.

At this point you might be reading (if you haven't stopped already, bless you!) and thinking: What the hell, Alison? I thought we were going to be talking about fun music, not getting all serious again. 

Well, it really is getting there, I swear it. After reading this particular passage, I came home and heard this song by Say Lou Lou (formerly Saint Lou Lou). It's called "Julian," and to me, it feels brave and hopeful and exactly like how I feel when reading that book.



There's something about the lyrics, "I'll get you through the check points/I'll get us through the night." There's a sense of displacement, but under it all, this hope that we're going to get to the right place eventually. ("Oh, Julian.")

I haven't written that much lately. After my last post about Local Natives, a couple of people commented to me that I seemed sad. When I wrote it, I was. But then today, I listened to that same album and I didn't feel sad anymore. It wasn't that I no longer felt anything. I just felt something different.

It's kind of like how Cheryl Strayed felt hiking the PCT, I think. One day, she's miles away from water on a hundred-and-something degree day and feeling like "a big fat idiot," but then the next:

"As I spoke, the doubts I had about myself on the trail fell away for whole minutes at a time and I forgot about being a big fat idiot...I felt like a hard-ass motherfucking Amazonian queen."

So with that said, here's one more track for your Monday mix tape. It's the kind of song that makes me stop worrying that while I might feel like a big fat idiot one day, the next I might be a hard-ass motherfucking Amazonian queen.

Sometimes, you just have to feel it. Whatever that may be.

Monday Mix Tapes: Suddenly I'm Hit

While I'm well aware that the Grammy's happened last night, I'm not going to get into all that right now, except to say: Miguel! Frank! YES!

Other than that, I don't think I have anything new to add.

So, moving on: I think now is the time that I start SCREAMING about the new James Blake.

It's so, so much. Talk about the voice as the perfect instrument. When he first sings, "So show me why you're strong/ignore everybody else/we're alone nowwww" — JESUS.

"Suddenly I'm hit":



Meanwhile, in the brief, fleeting moments that I haven't been listening to "Retrograde" in the last week (or the new Toro y Moi! or new Tegan & Sara!), I managed to fall in love with yet another Brit, Azekel.

This guy is like my kryptonite ("we can go for a walk, we don't have to do much"):



Every time he gets to the "Can I have another portion of you with medium fries?" bit, I snap out of my crazy British R&B-induced trance and laugh. But right before you think it's all getting a little too silly, he says, "Excuse me if that sounds a bit stupid" and all is forgiven. (Also, I tweeted about him and he retweeted me and then tweeted me with "thanks" so basically I'm famous now. Or we're in love. I haven't quite made my mind up. Maybe both.)

Aside from that love affair, I'm increasingly excited for Rhye's album, Woman, to come out in March. For whatever reason, one video wasn't quite enough for the song "Open," so I stumbled back across the song last week, right at the perfect moment.  And not only because the breathy opening, "I'm a fool for that shake in your thighs" makes me really, really happy. It's just: 

"I wanna make this plain/Oh, I know you're faded/Mmm, but stay, don't close your eyes"



Stay open. Happy Monday!

Monday Mix Tapes: In Which Dirty Projectors Cover Usher & I Forget Everything Else that Happened, Ever

Chicago may have turned into a strange,wet place where it THUNDERSNOWS and then magically shoots up to 50 degrees, but whatever! I don't care, and this is why.

Dirty Projectors covered an Usher song.

Seriously, this happened, you guys, and it was AMAZING:



I think now I'm supposed to start talking about how I've listened to nothing but the new Local Natives' album, Hummingbird, all week, and how the songs "You & I" and "Ceilings" and "Three Months" and "Columbia" completely devastate me, but I really can't think straight.

The Dirty Fucking Projectors just completely killed an Usher Raymond song.

Monday Mix Tapes: She Had a History, But She Had No Past

Just in time for Monday Mix Tapes, Pitchfork decided to utterly thrill me with Pitchfork Advance, its "new immersive music streaming platform designed to emulate the classic album experience." Similar to my one true love, NPR First Listen, at Pitchfork Advance all you geeks like me can listen to pre-release album streams! That's right: pre-release album streams! (Say that five times fast and see how weird you feel.)

Anyway, it's off to a grand start, with the new Toro y Moi, Yo La Tengo, and, the one I'm most excited about, Foxygen's We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic. It's currently in the running for my new favorite album title, along with currently being my favorite album of the year. Yes, that's right: my favorite album of the last 14 days.

Here's a favorite, with a perfectly weird video to match:



Also, "there's no need to be an asshole, you're not in Brooklyn anymore":



Enjoy it here until January 21!

In other exciting music news that has nothing to do with JT or Destiny's Child—and not just because I'm pretending I wasn't momentarily ecstatic about both of those things—there's another new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' song, and it is just as weird and awesome as it's supposed to be.

"I got a foetus on a leash"; yes, you are hearing and reading that right:



Finally, I find this new Low song to be a pure delight. I also love being undeservedly smug when something is described as a "tear jerker" and I don't tear up in the slightest. I mean, I get it, I'm listening to the same song you all are, but these vocals just sound too damn sweet to make me feel sad.

Monday Mix Tapes: L is for Lion (Babe), Locals, and Laura

Because I truly cannot think of a better way to kick off Monday Mix Tapes in 2013, I'd like to start all this off with a big, sexy ROAR.

No, really:



In other non-lioness news, after hearing two great new singles from Local Natives—first "Breakers" and then today, "Heavy Feet"—I realized that I really needed to listen to their previous album more. Maybe I'm not the only one?

Either way, here they are, standing on some train tracks (cause of course they're standing on some train tracks) singing "Airplanes":




Oh, and in case you were wondering, the former bassist, Andy Hamm, is of no relation to me. (Thanks for the fun facts, Wikipedia!)

Finally, Laura Mvula has been getting a lot of attention on some of my favorite music blogs (see here and here), and with obvious reason. So, since today I'm apparently in the mood not to post songs actually talked about today—but seriously, listen to her song "Green Garden"—here's her previous single, "She":



Happy Monday! Here's to another year of Monday Mix Tapes! I KNOW you're all excited.

End of Year Mix Tapes Special Edition: My Top 25 Tracks of 2012

You guys! It's that magical time of year again! No, not Christmas, you geeks! It's that time where I unveil my favorite songs of the year. I know, I know, it's so much more exciting than what anyone else on the Interwebs might possibly be saying.

Now, last year, I went through my top 20 favorites. This year, I felt a special need to stretch that out to 25. But can you really blame me? It's been a hell of a year, music-wise:

Frank Ocean! Sharon Van Etten! Twin Shadow! CAT POWER! Jessie Ware!

And oh holy shit, none other than my beloved, my one true love:

FIONA. APPLE.

So without further ado, and before I basically give away the entire list, here we go. In case you haven't picked up on it, there are a lot of lovely ladies on this bizness—and you are going to love every minute of it, I swear it. (And may I just add that my other wifey, Alicia Keys, recently released a fantastic new album, and it breaks my heart a little that I'm not including a track from there. But! Too late in the game to win me over this time. Sorry boo.)

Deep breath. Here we go: 

25. HAIM — "Don't Save Me"
A recent, but nonetheless amazing, discovery I found on one of my favorite music blogs, disco naïveté, who called this track "yet another perfect slice of 2012 pop-but-not-pop." I quite agree. Also: "Baby, don't save me (if your love isn't strong)."




24. Lianne La Havas — "Lost & Found"
This beautiful young lady is one of the many, many examples of how the Brits were killing it this year with some soulful shit. On top of that, I spent one rainy Sunday in April listening to this over and over, finding solace in the fact that apparently I wasn't the only person who could feel all of the feelings she sings in this song. I'm not ashamed to say that I did. The good thing about feeling lost? Eventually you find yourself again. Sometimes that's with the help of beautiful music. Without further weeping:



23. Grizzly Bear — "Sleeping Ute"
Pitchfork called this first song from Grizzly Bear's latest album "an unusual explosion of energy," with Daniel Rossen's guitar a "knife slashing through thick sheets of percussion as he croons amidst the clamor." I called it, "ohholyfuckthisisamazing" and I think that is equally accurate ("and I can't help myself").



22. How to Dress Well — "& It Was U"
This. Beat. Over at NPR, Frannie Kelley wrote that this song is "irrepressible, the kind of song that makes you push your partner away on the dance floor so you have enough room to really move." Yes, exactly. 



21. First Aid Kit — "To a Poet"
Right from those opening "ooh, ooh, oohs," this song gets me every time. But in particular, "Now I miss you more than I can take/and I will surely break"—but, "there's nothing more to it, I just get through it." It's a lovely, lovely song.



20. THEEsatisfaction — "QueenS"
Discovering THEEsatisfaction this past March was the perfect birthday present. And the takeaway from this track? "Whatever you do, don't funk with my groove." I won't, I swear I won't.




19. The Mountain Goats — "Until I Am Whole"
Because all two minutes and 49 seconds of this song just fucking kills me. Every single part. And that's all I can really say.



18. Kwes. — "bashful."
Back in March, my brother tweeted, "calling it: @alisoncomposes has a new crush." He was talking about Kwes. And boy, was he right. On top of the fact that I didn't stop listening to this song on repeat for about a month straight, well, dare I say that if I was stuck on an elevator with this Brit, I might be...bashful? Yeah, I went there.



17. Santigold — "Freak Like Me"
FREAK LIKE ME, FREAK LIKE ME, YOU A FREAK LIKE ME.



16. Kathleen Edwards — "House Full of Empty Rooms"
I knew Ms. Kathleen would get a spot on this list, but I had one hell of a time narrowing down my favorite from her latest album, Voyageur. Ultimately though, there was something about the way her voice (almost) cracks during these sad confessions, "And I'm far from perfect/I'm far from anything/but I swear when we started/I used to make you happy" that spoke to me the most. Because I think it takes a lot of guts to admit that "I don't know you, not the way that I thought I did," and she does it beautifully.



15. Kendrick Lamar (feat. Dr. Dre) — “The Recipe”
I don't even know where to begin with how much I've been loving Kendrick Lamar this year. Here, paired with Dr. Dre, he just doesn't get any better for me. Women, weed, and weather, amiright?



14. Azealia Banks — "212"
Of all of my many, many lady crushes this year, the one I have on Azealia is possibly the most serious. Is it because no one else has ever declared, "Ima ruin you, cunt" while bouncing around in a Mickey Mouse sweater? Or is it because this song is just thebestthingever? You tell me:



13. Cat Power — "Ruin"
Chan, darling. You came back to us with this magic, and for that we are all grateful.



12. Bear in Heaven — "The Reflection of You"
Because pretty much all I did in the month of May was read Bon Iver Erotic Stories, watch Lost, and listen to Bear in Heaven. True story. I got to see Bear in Heaven play at Lollapalooza this year, and even though I was sweating my face off, I loved every single minute of it. This is why:



11. Miguel — "Use Me"
Just when I thought no one was even going to get in Frank Ocean's league this year, Miguel had to release Kaleidoscope Dream. I think technically I'm supposed to say that "Adorn" is my favorite track from the album, but I'm not gonna lie. As I described this track the first day I heard it: This song is the sex. I'll leave you with that.



10. The xx — "Chained"
Back in August, this song felt like perfection to me. It's no longer quite as poignant, but I'll be damned if it still isn't almost perfect. It's everything I love about The xx. "It's not a secret you should keep."



9. Twin Shadow — "Five Seconds"
BE STILL MY HEART.



8. Yeasayer — "Longevity"
Ian Cohen reviewed Yeasayer's new album, Fragrant World, giving it a measly 5.4 on the ever-important Pitchfork scale, and wrote of this song in particular (with what I can only assume was a self-satisfied sneer) that "the only real friction is that of a square peg plugging into a round hole." I'd just like to say: Whatever, Ian. What the fuck ever. Decide for yourself, guys:



7. Bat for Lashes — "All Your Gold"
Natasha Khan has completely stolen my heart with The Haunted Man (and the fact that I discovered she's a Roald Dahl devotee!). With this song, she makes me feel wistful and defiant and sad and hopeful all at once. And as if it wasn't already devastating enough, she had to go on and dance around on the beach wearing a black-and-white bodysuit.



6. Dirty Projectors — "Gun Has No Trigger"
Because "you'd see a million colors if you really looked." I love this song with every ounce of my being, and don't you dare tell me I'm being dramatic.



5. Jessie Ware — "Sweet Talk"
You wouldn't believe me if I told you just how much I love this song, and Jessie Ware in general. Because: I LOVE HER. This song is exactly what I want from a pop/r&b song. Then there's this video, which is just the cuteness. Yes, the cuteness. It's the right word, trust me:



4. Alabama Shakes — "I Found You"
Brittany Howard might as well be singing about my feelings for this band with this song. Bless you, Alabama Shakes, I finally found you! Well, in reality, I found them last year, when "Hold On" made it to my 2011 best of list. Whatever. Mere details. The point is, we all found the Alabama Shakes this year, and thank Jesus for it. This song makes me want to shake my fist and jump around and weep and scream. All in love, of course.




3. Frank Ocean — "Pyramids"
After falling head over heels for Frank Ocean last year, thanks to Nostalgia, Ultra (and more specifically, "Novacane"), he then decided to go and make channel ORANGE, which was one of the highlights of my year. When I first heard this song, after I got over the beautiful mind fuck that happens over the course of 9 minutes and 53 seconds, I shook my head in amazement and played it again. And again. And again. "Set the cheetahs on the loose."




2. Sharon Van Etten — "Give Out"
You know when I write a damn poem about a song, it's pretty likely it'll end up on this list. (See last year's list for your proof.) The night before I saw Sharon Van Etten's show at Lincoln Hall, I wrote one, largely inspired by the song "Give Out." To reveal how many times I have listened to this song since February would only serve to embarrass me and make you nervous, so I won't. You can figure it all out with the damn poem, probably.



1. Fiona Apple — "Anything We Want"
Hi, have we met? This should really be no surprise at all. FIONA! (You can read all the feelings I feel about Fiona in this previous post.) This July, all my dreams came true when I got to see Fiona Apple perform at the Chicago Theatre. Of all the amazing songs on her new album, this one kills me the most, particularly when I saw her perform it. Oh, holy shit. When she sang, "I looked like a neon zebra shaking rain off her stripes," shaking her whole body, I think the entire crowd died a little. There's something about the way Fiona says, "I wanted you to kiss me when we find some time alone" that is perfection. So I'll leave you all with this, my favorite song of the year. And guys? Just remember: "Look around, it's happening, it's happening, it's happening now."

Monday Mix Tapes: In the Light and the Dark

In the last two days, I have watched 15 episodes of Freaks and Geeks.

I had to make myself stop just now. And not because I feel bad about watching 15 episodes of a television show within two days. Because I only have 3 episodes left!

So, taking a break from thebestshowever Freaks and Geeks...

I fell in love with Eddi Front last week after I stumbled across her EP, which happens to include an incredible Nick Cave cover, and more importantly a track called "Texas," which happens to be my personal favorite.

Maybe you've been hip to Eddi Front since July, when I somehow missed Pitchfork talking up her song "Gigantic"—if so, lucky you. Because, this:



Just a tad melancholy... but I have just the thing to perk us all up!

You might not believe that anything could possibly be better than watching 15 episodes of Freaks and Geeks in two days, but I think I've found that one thing. And that thing is Jessie Ware (with a little help) singing a cover of Brownstone's "If You Love Me". That's right. Jessie Ware. Brownstone!

If you love me (say it):



It almost feels like 1994 again, doesn't it? I mean, I'm still wearing dingy flannel and freaking out over a Brownstone song. The only real difference that comes to mind is that now I have boobs. And back then I had no idea why someone wouldn't like you regardless of whether it was dark or light.

Meanwhile, here comes a lady wearing an outfit much more stylish than dingy flannel. (More on Wild Belle, a brother-sister duo from Chicago, here.) And if you don't find this tune catchy as fuck, well then I don't know what to do with you (in the light or the dark).



Happy freezing cold Monday. Maybe next week we'll throw some male musicians in the mix. And that's a big maaaybe. Just kidding, of course we will, cause girls can't be musicians! Oh WAIT...I almost forgot...we still can! We can do whatever we want!

CAUSE BARACK OBAMA IS STILL THE PRESIDENT! PEACE, ROMNEY!

Now that all THAT is off my chest...I gotta go find an old military jacket now...

Monday Mix Tapes: Casual As You Are, Gets Hard to Say

Last night, Maps & Atlases and White Denim played at Lincoln Hall. I hesitate to call a show perfect—what does that even mean, perfect?—but this show felt perfect, to me. Both bands sounded excellent, and the bar was stocked with $3 Budweisers and Halloween candy. Clearly, key elements to reach perfection.

I loved how humble the lead singer from Maps & Atlases was, thanking the crowd after nearly every song and just coming across as genuinely grateful to be playing.

And his voice! His beard! It's a win. So here's a song, not from last night, clearly, as I was not in Seattle:



In contrast, White Denim came on, and did not stop. Like, to breathe. There was no time for multiple thank you's. They just kept going, one song into another, sounding incredible on every track. The lead singer managed to have his glasses on for probably two songs at most before he was too sweaty, and they all just played so hard and put their fucking all into every song.

And then this happened (to clarify, this is also not from last night, but another great live version):



It was so beautiful, I swear I was hearing it in my dreams last night. I could still hear it when I woke up this morning. I will say, the dudes were dominating the audience last night, but the women I did see in the crowd were feeling it. And by feeling it, I mean the chick who was full-out spastic dancing, hair everywhere, for the entire set. I loved it. (And no, I'm not talking about myself, here. I was more subdued in my joy.)

In completely unrelated music listening, I fell in love with this song today and have listened to it probably 10 times already. Is Lulu James the most beautiful woman ever, or what? But more importantly: her voice. The beat doesn't overpower, either. It's just enough.

"Use me as your guide to the right path without the cracks (don't be reluctant to)":



And finally, because it's always best to end Mondays on a sexy note, let's listen to The Weeknd be really fucking blunt:



I like a man who gets right to the point. "Just don't call tomorrow asking what did I do."

Monday Mix Tapes: With the Lights On

So, it's Monday! Who feels like weeping? I know you do:



I first heard this two weeks ago, when I was spending my typical Wednesday at the coffee shop, and I do not exaggerate when I say I listened to it six times in a row. I sneaked a glance over my shoulder by the last few times—does anyone know???

Finally, I had to stop it. Those final, "I know you care!" repetitions were making me want to start slamming things around and yelling.

"I know it wasn't always wrong, but I've never known a winter so long..."

It's a beautiful song. And maybe it won't make you want to slam things around your neighborhood coffee shop, but I think it's a safe bet that pretty much all of us could relate to it on some level.

Anyway, now that we're done crying, let's listen to something a little sexier, shall we? And I promise it's not the new Lana Del Rey.

Oh wait, it is!



Now my main question is, is my girlfriend singing, "You can be my full-time daddy" or "my photon daddy" or "my futon daddy"— or is it none of the above? I kinda hope it's futon daddy, but I think that's unlikely.

Either way, I just love it when she sings, "Been tryin' hard not to get into trouble, but I've got a war in my mind" but especially when she sings, "I'm tired of feeling like I'm fucking crazy," because girl, I feel you, I really do.

Finally, and speaking of sexy:



Yep. Happy Monday!

Monday Mix Tapes: In Misery Park

If the new The xx song isn't perfection, then I don't know what is.



Separate or combine
I ask you one last time
Did I hold you too tight?
Did I not let enough light in?

It captures all the reasons why I fell for The xx—the beats, both of their voices, and how they're so lovely, separate and combined. Just like this song.

We used to be closer than this, we used to be closer than this...

And then it's just over. 2 minutes and 45 seconds. And then it's just over.

It's not enough, so I listen to it again.

The same thing happens to me with this new Twin Shadow song, "Run My Heart":



He keeps saying he's not in love, but I'm not sure if I believe him or not. What do you think?

I know I like to get all teenage girl over my music, but fuck! The chorus! The refrain! And these verses:

You want to meet me out in the dark
You want to meet in misery park
By the moon , so low and lovely
With the gloom that's above me

You couldn't know what makes me dream
And I couldn't wear the things I've seen
Like the shake, the trembling fiends
Like ache of unused wings

Then there's this live session, plus this handwritten letter penned by George Lewis Jr., via Yours Truly:



Replay.

Monday Mix Tapes: When We Inflate a Thought Balloon

It's Monday! Don't be blue. Let's just get a little weird.



I'm a smiling alligator. 



And for the finale, the new Twin Shadow video! Be still my heart!

Monday Mix Tapes: 1991

Now that her debut EP 1991 is out, it's probably time for me to come out and say it: I love Azealia Banks. This is why.



And here's where it all began. (If you're uncomfortable with a word that starts with "C" and ends with an "unt," well, maybe don't listen. Cause she says cunt a lot. Whoops. I just said it too.)

But has anyone ever looked so damn adorable (and worn a Mickey Mouse sweater?!) while doing so? Doubt it.

Monday Mix Tapes: I Love You, It's Cool

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I have some new favorite things (other than being sucked into watching Lost on Netflix, but that's a whhhhhooollle other story).

One of my new favorite things is Bon Iver Erotic Stories. I really don't think I need to describe that further. So I won't.

And when I'm not reading Bon Iver erotica, or watching Lost, or writing Groupons, or doing yoga, or trolling around Tumblr, I'm probably doing my other new favorite thing, which is listening to Bear in Heaven. (And the super neat thing about this favorite thing is, I can—gasp—do it at the same time as many of my other new favorite things!)

Their latest album is called "I Love You, It's Cool"—and you know what, I do. And it is cool.

I think you should listen with me. Here's a video:



Don't tell me anything that happens in Lost. I mean it. Don't blow it. I'm really enjoying wasting the end of my 20s watching this show, a decade late. Also, I should probably mention that 98% of the Tumblr pages I enjoy are posts by 16-year-old girls. But they like all the same stuff I do! Pictures of beaches and flowers and animals and yoga poses and pastries!

Something is wrong. I need help.

But don't worry:

I love you, it's cool.