52 Weeks of Mixtapes
Week 6
Welcome back to 52 Weeks of Mixtapes, my second music series for The Low Major.
Every Sunday, I’ll publish a mixtape of music centered around something - a feeling, a time, a person, a place. We’re running on vibes here. Each playlist cover will be a photo or an edit that’s my own work. This shit’s organic.
Two (self-imposed) rules for this project:
Each mixtape will never be more than an hour - usually in that 45-60 minute space, long enough to run with it, but I’m not gonna brute-force any level of length. Quality over quantity, as they say.
I’m also going to try to avoid reusing artists within the same mixtape and tracks within the same month. Sometimes songs are good enough that it’d be silly to not touch on them again, so you might see some old friends.
I’ll link to the playlist, talk a little bit (like, one sentence) about each track, their ordering and why they were included, and that’ll be all. Pretty simple, and hopefully enjoyable for you.
keep this safe for me
late nights and early mornings and traces of lingering joy in every breath
1 | When You’re Dancing [RAC Remix] | Gigamesh feat. Induce | 6:07
It’s a bit of a wild opener, but I really love the way the raw beat swings into those screaming synths and that bouncy funk with the brass. It’s almost confrontational, and it works brilliantly to pull me in.
2 | Sign | Roosevelt | 4:19
Roosevelt’s brand of indie dance is some of the most easily-listenable electronica on the market today. Polydans is chock-full of these addictive little toe-tappers.
3 | Way to be Loved | TOPS | 4:23
I love a little modern spin on some yacht rock - and few things are more alluring than the sound of the break about a minute and a half in, all reverb soaked in sunshine.
4 | In Camera | Yumi Zouma | 3:24
Super pleasant to listen to. I’m a huge fan of an airy female vocalist over an instrumental that’s more reliant on negative space, because the sensation of floating that comes from that pairing is pretty incredible.
5 | Fences | Phoenix | 3:45
Whatever I rated this album when I did The Daily Spin, I didn’t give it a high enough score. Quickly realizing how insanely versatile and deep this record is in basically every sense.
6 | Tongue Tied | GROUPLOVE | 3:38
Hello, old friend of mine. One of the great ‘scream-sing’ tunes.
7 | Carried Away | Passion Pit | 3:42
I liked the idea of bringing us to a bit of a sparkly peak here in the middle of this playlist as part of the general vibe, and few songs illustrate the sentiment I’m getting at more clearly than this one. Passion Pit near his very best.
8 | Cocoa Hooves | Glass Animals | 4:32
This is roughly where I’d consider the B-side to start - it’s not negative, but I think that it takes a bit of a spin on the prompt, more about the yearning and parting than about the coming together. This track was a perfect opener in that regard, a little uneasy but carried by that beautiful guitar.
9 | Tongues | Joywave feat. KOPPS | 3:55
This song has always mystified me a lot - I love it, but I’m not entirely sure why. Sometimes about that bass.
10 | Trojans | Atlas Genius | 3:37
Classic FIFA tune, man. Just a beautifully slept on instrumental.
11 | Moon Song | Phoebe Bridgers | 4:38
A very dear friend of mine once said this track really reminded her of me. It’s always been a favorite of mine since, even though the lyrics are pretty easily read as quite bittersweet.
12 | Cough Syrup | Young the Giant | 4:10
I love a song with a longing cello inside, and this song is among the peak form of that specific subgenre. As it spirals into a very Shins-esque rock tune, it’s hard not to think about that lovely beginning, but the forms of it linger the whole way through.
13 | To Her Door | Empire of the Sun | 3:55
A band that got big off their bombastic tracks taking a wholly new direction and chilling way out. You truly do love to see it.
14 | Last Resort & Spa | Battle Tapes | 4:14
Another oddity of sorts relative to the understated nature of this week’s list, but the lyrics here hit.
Enjoy the list! I’ll see y’all next week.