earwax

put something good between your ears every day

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Track of the day. The Beat by Lou Johnson. I'm sick, forgive me for not writing more. But this is one FUNKY jam, that's for sure.

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Track of the day. The Look by Metronomy. A nice, quiet, melancholy synth-driven song for Saturday. This is also a super weird music video.

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Track of the day. San Francisco Knights by People Under The Stairs. This song is perfect for those chillin' on those chilly San Francisco summer nights. The hypnotic, chilled-out hook ("On a warm San Franciscan night") just oozes with Bay Area / Yay Area vibes.

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Track of the day. Take Yo’ Praise by Camille Yarbrough. I had this idea to make two mixtapes that go together—one would be original songs, the other would be all of the corresponding samples/remixes. I got the idea while listening to Praise You by Fatboy Slim, this has to be my all-time favorite original/sample combination. But there are so many other good ones… Stay tuned for a couple of fun mixes.

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Track of the day. My Heart's Reflection by Yo La Tengo.

If I ever again forget how much I love Yo La Tengo to bits and pieces, you have my solemn permission to slap me clean across the face. This song is the perfect reflection of the internal discordant happysad that I so often am feeling. I have you, Yo La Tengo. I have you forever.

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It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career by Belle & Sebastian. I used to listen to this album driving around Boston with my mom, me silent in the passenger seat. She didn't know what an arab strap was, and neither did I, until I looked it up and felt horrified.

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Left Hand Free by Alt-j. ANOTHER new Alt-j (∆—pfffft) song, although at this point because I'm so bad at posting it's old news. It's great, though. Even better and more determined than Hunger of the Pine.

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Track of the day. Cherry-coloured funk by the Cocteau Twins. Oh man oh man this song. The Cocteau Twins are at the top of their shoegazey game with this ethereal soundscape. Plus, it's that amazing blend of melancholy and celebratory—celebrating that happysad feeling. "Should I be sung and unbroken by not saying"—I just looked up the lyrics as I was writing this, and I've gotta say, they're pretty weird, but spot-on in some silly way.

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Track of the day. Man I Need (The Time and Space Machine Dub) by Jagwar Ma. This song is perfect for a chilled out Sunday night—it's like an undulating sound blanket. Mmm, cozy.

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Track of the day. Against the Wall by Peter Bjorn & John. Reminded of this song when it came on at brunch. What a great song, that I didn't totally appreciate as much back when I first heard it. Taking me back to high school and simpler times on this sunny Saturday.

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Track of the day. Colt 45 by Afroman. Happy 4th of July!

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Track of the day. Hunger of the Pine by ∆. The newest "alt-j" track, from a forthcoming album (This Is All Yours, due out Sept. 22) after two years of silence. It's perfect for this playlist I've been working on called "Spooky Summer." Dark and sparse until it builds to a Miley Cyrus sample (just hang on with me here for a second), with this crescendo of atmospheric synth that puts it in the same boat, in a weird way, as some of the more sinister La Femme instrumentation. It hints at something deeper, darker— then there's that sexy sax that suggests maybe some unfulfilled desire. Alt-j is at it again, that's for sure.

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Track of the day. Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones. Something in this track breeds determination and resignation in me, both of which are good for those working moments when everything but the task at hand calls my name.

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This is incredible. Plant music. Check it.

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Track of the day. Damn, this song is that perfect blend of melancholy and upbeat. Little Dragon is just so soulful, in all the right places and all the right ways.

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Track of the day. Today has been a Mississippi John Hurt kind of day. Give this man a listen, he's truly a gem.

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Track of the day. This is one of those dreamy Donovan songs that begins with a spoken story—a story of how "the antediluvian kings colonized the world." I want Donovan to whisper in my ear always, especially when I'm falling asleep. Hail Atlantis!