April 2015: Curmudgeons of the World Unite!

in

"Listening to the news this month, it was obvious that something terrible was happening in the Mediterranean. Naturally, the indifference and hostility towards immigrants is not the sole expertise of Europeans, although they definitely seem to have perfected an especially potent formula. I like to imagine that the defiance and strength of this song could be a kind of battle cry for those who actually make it off of one of those death boats."

Featuring: Blake Mills, Mbongwana Star, Punch Brothers, Ava Luna, and more. 

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March 2015: No Trip to SXSW

in

"I would argue that these two songs (and these two bands) are essentially attacking the same puzzle, but with radically different tools. How does a rock band tackle R&B/Soul in 2015?"

Featuring: Shamir, Norman Blake, GZA, José González, and more.

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February 2015: Fluent in Folkistani

in

"It was at that show, watching Courtney Barnett on stage, with her left-handed Strat and her guitar-drums-bass trio, that I first had the strange idea that she reminded me of Kurt Cobain. It's a thought that surprised me, and didn't make a whole lot of sense at first."

Featuring: DJ Raff, Pops Staples. Leadbelly, Ghostface Killah, and more

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January 2015: Cycles, man. Cycles.

in

"Standing in a room singing with a group of people for an hour just resets everything for me, warms up my body and my mind."

Featuring: Aloe Blacc, San Fermin, The Carter Family, DJ Raff, and more. 

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December 2014: Bringing the Music Home

in

"I knew that the whole thing was going to be partly a present to myself, but I didn't anticipate just how special it would be to be able to share music like that with them again, to get an unfettered glimpse at the essential glue that binds our family."

Featuring: Sylvan Esso, Open Mike Eagle, Treme Brass Band, D'Angelo, and more. 

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November 2014: The Past Didn't Go Anywhere

in

"For years I've had an (uncomfortably sincere) running joke with my friends about how I don't like old people. Of course, like a snotty teenager who can't understand why the world sucks so bad, the main issue is the chip on my shoulder."

Featuring: N.W.A., Perfume Genius, The Kinks, Run The Jewels, and more. 

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Ruth Blatt

in

"I love electronic music and remixes that completely reconsider the original. I also love to dance, so most of my playlists, including this one, start with ambient music and end with a dance party."

Featuring: Paul Oakenfold, Gregory Isaacs, Led Zeppelin, and more. 

And check out an in-depth interview with Ruth about her job writing about organizational behavior and management through the lens of rock bands, and a lot more. 

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October 2014: Bringing Home the Bass

in

"I've been shopping for a new car this month, which is partly nerve-wracking, but mostly exciting, especially considering the sorry (and I do mean truly embarrassing) state of my current car. The central organizing principle of the search has been the need to fit my stand-up bass in the car without hanging the scroll out the back window, an arrangement that the coming winter will soon render untenable. 'But, what's that got to do with this song, Josh?' Not much, I'll admit."

Featuring: SBTRKT, DJ Spoko, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, and more

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Will Branch

in

"Larry Penn is one of the greatest songwriters and singers anywhere. I am proud to know him. Every one of his songs is built with the skill of a fine craftsman, but he is never precious. He is also someone who is always verbally and mentally on his game – you need to be on your toes to hang out with him: if you don’t say what you mean, or back up what you say, he’ll call you on it."

Featuring: Larry Penn, Rebirth Brass Band, Fugazi, and more. 

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Aug/Sept 2014 ~ Free At Last

in

"Graceland has always been an outlier in the happy pasture of my love for Paul Simon. I'm not exactly sure why. I think it might have partly to do with the way a lot of the production hasn't really aged well outside of the 80's. Maybe it's the way the album sometimes seems to openly invite the "cultural appropriation" critique (which I consider to be somewhat hackneyed anyway). Maybe it's the saxophone. Okay, it's probably the saxophone. "

Featuring: Robbie Fulks, alt-J, The Soup Dragons, The Coasters, and more.

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Sebastian Guerrero

in

"It wasn't until I sat down to work out this mix that I realized how much I miss sitting with a stack of vinyl, CDs, and cassettes trying to get the perfect mix tape down. This mix is playlist of songs that I just keep revisiting and most are part of my musical foundation.  As a percussionist, I've spent a lot of inspiring moments with the music of Brazil, Peru, Cuba, and New Orleans so I focused this mix on that base."

Featuring: Celia Cruz, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Los Van Van, and more. 

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DeMisty D. Bellinger

in

"This list is ultimately for my daughters, but also for all the others who want to hear women. I gave myself only two stipulations: 1) The lead vocalist must be a woman and 2) The song must not compromise the integrity of that vocalist or any woman at all."

Featuring: Xenia Rubinos, Whitney Houston, The Breeders, and more. 

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July 2014: Festivals Galore

in

Each year it becomes clearer that big music festivals are a young person's game. I've still got the stamina to zip and jet if I want to, but this year at Pitchfork I decided to take it a bit easier.

Featuring: Siba, Noura Mint Seymali, Bryan Adams, Bush Tetras, and more. 

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Scott McNiece

in

"It's been forever since I just made a list that is simply 'some favorites from recently released albums' - nothing too themed or directed or boxed in - just a handful of tunes from artists who've been sounding really good to me. Here we go..."

Featuring: Diggs Duke, Viet Cong, Alsarah and the Nubatones, Isaiah Rashad, and way more. 

Check out a full interview here.

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June 2014: Psych Around the World (Cup)

in

I sent myself down a deep rabbit hole of international psychedelic music from the '60s and '70s. That's a deep deep hole, as it seems like almost every spot on the globe (Cambodia, Turkey, Nigeria, Brazil, Korea, Iran!) went through the process of working through the psychedelic rock revolution and found a way to reconcile it with their own indigenous sound. Some results are better than others.

Featuring: Kim Jung Mi, clipping, alt-J, Otis Redding, and more.

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May 2014: South Africa, Brooklyn, Campeche, and beyond

in

Why is Brooklyn filled with so much extraordinary music?, we wondered. Clearly, New York City's history as a cultural hotbed has a lot to do with it. Still, there's something special about the critical mass that has accrued in our nation's fourth-largest city. 

Featuring: Samthing Soweto, Mica Levi, Atmosphere, Cian Nugent, and more. 

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Seth Bacon

in

"I also love many other types of music, but I see almost all of it, with the exception of the punk I was obsessed with in my early to mid teens, through the lens of hip-hop. These are songs that I discovered because they are sampled - most are obvious, some not - in great rap songs."

Featuring: Funkadelic, Willie Hutch, Mos Def, DA Smart, and more. 

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April 2014: Golden Age for Women Musicians?

in

Regardless of your conclusion about what gates have or haven't been knocked down, or what technological/political changes in the music industry have taken place to create opportunities for women in music - women around the world are clearly making some of the most exciting, diverse, confident contemporary music.

Featuring: The Coathangers, Tune-yards, Sisyphus, Quilt, and more.

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Surachai

in

"These tracks are from standout electronic albums from the past couple years, it doesn’t really reflect what I’m listening to at the moment - that changes on a weekly basis, depending on the current obsession. For the most part, I’m choosing the 'goth kid' in the albums - which are not necessarily the best representation of the albums they’re associated with."

Featuring: Drumcell, Autechre, Nine Inch Nails, and more.

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March 2014: Damon Albarn & Post-postmodernism

in

Even though it was kind of like eating candy for me, I felt slightly guilty about the retro focus of last month's playlist, with its severe dearth of new music. This month I renewed my commitment to finding new music, and also devoted energy to researching some new sources, a few of which I'll mention below. Looking at this mix now, I wonder if I've swung too far in the other direction - but that anxiety is assuaged by what I think is a pretty tight, well-paced mix.

Featuring: Xenia Rubinos, Sharon Van Etten, Black Milk, John Lurie, and more. 

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