Nothing's worth the price if you can't sell it
2023 Mix 19: Teenage Fanclub, Caitlin Rose, YACHT, amapiano, Matthew Dear...the rest.
Each week I skim through about 2,000 songs mostly from Spotify's company-curated New Music Friday playlists. Whenever I find 80 minutes worth of music I like, I make a CD-length mix and write a newsletter about it.
The weather is nice and school’s almost out. What else is there to talk about? This week’s bare-bones newsletter is a bit like the teacher putting on a video for the last few days of class. Enjoy!
Mix 1 // Mix 2 // Mix 3 // Mix 4 // Mix 5 // Mix 6 // Mix 7 // Mix 8 // Mix 9 // Mix 10 // Mix 11 // Mix 12 // Mix 13 // Mix 14 // Mix 15 // Mix 16 // Mix 17 // Mix 18
MIX 19: NOTHING’S WORTH THE PRICE IF YOU CAN’T SELL IT
1. Teenage Fanclub: Foreign Land
I was too young to get into Teenage Fanclub in the 90s but finally went on a belated Bandwagonesque kick when Young Adult came out (the motif of Charlize Theron listening to “The Concept” and rewinding it before the guitar solo is one of my favorite uses of a diagetic pop song in a movie). I think I’d owned the album for several years without really listening to it. But I’m not a diehard, so I’m somewhat surprised that I have found at least one good Teenage Fanclub song every year since 2019. (Their 2021 album is pretty good, too.)
2. Caitlin Rose: Johnny Velvet
A new song from the deluxe edition of Caitlin Rose’s 2022 album CAZIMI. Stereogum reports that the character of Johnny Velvet was the product of a “rather intense dissociative period” and the name based on a beer koozie (pictured in the music video below).
Another good one in a year of finds from Turkey. This song (“Being Human”) is indebted to the “Psychedelic Anatolian rock rush of the 70s and 80s,” according to her YouTube. Which makes me want to shell out the 40 bucks for this Anatolia Rocks compilation. (The sequel compilation is on YouTube.)
Haven’t made much of an effort to listen to YACHT in ten years, though every so often a new song of theirs comes across my radar. Of course I’m drawn to what must be the silliest song of theirs I’ve heard lately, which takes a lot of joy in rhyming its title phrase over a Peter Gunn-like bass riff.
Interesting that YACHT’s sound hasn’t aged so well while Lindstrøm, who captures a similar slice of turn-of-the-10s pop — what do you call this sound, sunshine sequencer? — sounds a lot fresher.
6. KAPPEKOFF x Stefanos Yowhannes: New Spring
Norwegian indie, perfect for the end of a mercifully cool spring.
7. La Femme: Les fantômes des femmes
French band finds a slide guitar and just has to make a whole Hawaiian concept album about it. I approve!
No idea how this album from the Japanese experimental electronic artist Shuta Hasunuma wound up on my albums list, but this is the lead track, a ringer brought in after I accidentally slotted in something too old here. Whole album is great.
9. Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy: Yinne Te Yelle Be
Ghanaian artist opens with a Daptone-esque horn intro before settling into a steady reggae lilt. Eventually a vibraphone wanders through. Led me to the music of Frafra, Bolgatanga in Northern Ghana, which I like — often features a two-string guitar called a kologo, though on a quick listen I don’t hear this particular instrument on any of Oho’s work.
10. Ashidapo: Olofar
Naija pop pick of the week, not much information I can find about the artist outside their social media presence.
11. Tim & Barry: Kairo Keyz | No Miming
A filmmaking duo who has documented the grime scene in the UK for years have created a new series of “No Miming” freestyle videos. This one, from Kairo Keyz, caught my attention — video is better than the Spotify track, I think.
12. Ghetto Kids x Ingratax x Sandro Malandro: En El Ghetto #1 (PPPP)
Various Mexican artists big on TikTok collaborate on a pretty good reggaeton track.
13. Bamao Yendé: Txi Txa Di Coucou
French DJ featured on the Pan African Music playlist.
14. Ks Bloom: Disciple dans la ville
Fun song from Côte d'Ivoire.
15. TOSS & Tyler ICU f. Nadipha808, & Ceekay RSA: Bayeke
16. SjavasDaDeejay x Mellow & Sleazy x Xduppy: 10 Past 4 (feat. TitoM & LastbornDiroba)
Two amapiano songs with some room to stretch out on this particular mix, which I’ve maximized for vibes rather than songs. Many current amapiano faves are represented — TOSS on vocals in the first track with Tyler ICU producing, and then yet another banger with Mellow & Sleazy somewhere in the credits.
17. Audion: The Return of Losing It
There was something familiar about this one despite it being in a genre I usually feel pretty clueless listening to. Turns out Audion is an alias of Matthew Dear. Does the serendipity of choosing a minimal techno track by an artist I actually know justify closing out a mix with a 15-minute track? Yes — a few others that didn’t really work in context this week will just have to wait their turn.
That’s it! Go outside!
—Dave Moore (the other one)
Title from Caitlin Rose’s “Johnny Velvet.”