You didn’t miss anything. Check out: 566 fade, 567 this time around, 568 no longer, 569 out of reach, and 570 bone and blood.
I’m always making playlists, but lately I’ve been making lots of playlists. It’s partly seasonal—there have been tons of new releases in the past month—and partly personal—I’ve had a lot more time recently to listen to music. Although the Greek season finished out a few weeks ago, I’m still finding that I spend a lot of time at shows. This weekend, I was at Outside Lands.
I’ve only been to a handful of music festivals, and they’ve all been rather small. When you think about it, the festival format is rather cost effective; you pay for one ticket that all said, turns out to be less expensive than individual solo shows. It’s often daytime, which is odd, but it’s nice to listen to music outside, a combination of my two favorite things. The sets are shorter and the crowds are often more disinterested, but the music is just the same.
I saw Remi Wolf and was absolutely floored. She drew a massive crowd for a Friday afternoon set and most of the people around me knew all the words to her songs. She’s been on tour and has played smaller venues, so I think this set was not only a homecoming show but an all-timer too. She gave quite the performance; she exhibited extreme breath control, belting upper register notes while jumping around or rolling on the ground. It seemed she was genuinely having a really good time.
I love that Remi Wolf is a Bay Area native. Even though I’m not technically from here myself, I still claim this place as a home. I was put onto her music by a friend and immediately latched on to her as someone to watch. Low and behold, she’s made a name for herself as a witty lyricist, style icon, and all around rule-breaker.
The song on this playlist, “Street You Live On,” is the only one on the record produced by Ethan Gruska, of Phoebe Bridgers production fame. It seemed like an odd pairing when I first heard about it, but it turned out to be my favorite song on the record and one of the most popular by the numbers. It has that good “Teenage Drug” groove and the irresistible Remi Wolf vocal stack. The chorus features mellow synths and spacey drums, the perfect setting for Remi Wolf to work her lyrical magic.
Snail Mail released her second full-length record yesterday, to great fanfare. It’s full of nods to industrial production and that good Lindsey Jordan longing. The visuals for the album, from single art to music video, have been off the chain.
“Valentine” is “Pristine” but somehow more evil/menacing/sexy:
So why'd you wanna erase me, darling valentine?
You always know where to find me when you change your mind
I love it. She’s entered a new era predicated on storytelling and identity-forming. She was a teenager when she put out Lush (2018) and all the songs do have a sort of teenage-angst edge to them. Now, she’s doing obsession and love as an adult, with no fewer declarations of devotion:
You won't believe what just two months do
I'm older now, believe me, I adore you
Madeline Kenney put out one of my favorite records last year, Sucker’s Lunch (2020). It became my pandemic soundtrack; I have a really strong memory of riding my bike hard up a hill while absolutely blasting “Picture of You” and thinking, “I maybe actually feel okay right now.” I saw her perform at Outside Lands as well and really just felt very grateful to hear those songs live. This playlist features “Perfect Shapes” from the 2018 record of the same name.
I like that the format of this project forces me to explore so much more broadly, both within an artist’s discography and into that of their peers, than I would naturally get to. If I could add “White Window Light” to every playlist, I would, but I have to go out and find something that scratches that same itch. Sometimes I find it and sometimes I find something else, different and new. Turns out I’m finding good things all the time.