Mix-Tape Monday: The First Fall Mix

There is no season I love so well as Fall.  Yes, Fall.  You can keep your Summer heat, mosquitoes, and suntan lotion.  For me, it’s all about the crisp air, tornadoes of leaves, and the scent of apples and smoke in the air.  And so, this Monday, which is finally a Monday in September, I give you the first (but probably not the last) Fall mix.  It’s a collection of song that puts me in the mood for long drives through the woods – punctuated by cider, sharp cheddar, and pauses to button up the flannel… In short, perfect happiness.

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First Listen: St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

One of the most anticipated albums of the Fall – St. Vincent‘s Strange Mercy – is now available for your listening pleasure via the fine folks at NPR Music.  The album, which is due out on Sept. 13th, will be streaming on NPR until release.  So, head on over, and have a listen!

New Music: Sonya Cotton – It Is So

Sonya Cotton’s new album – It is so – (released this week via bandcamp and her personal website) is a beautiful, touching collection of songs dedicated, as Sonya writes, “…to the life and spirit of my mother, Karen Imparato Cotton.”  The album also contains the track “Song For Eric,” a tribute to Sonya’s friend Eric Bayer who died of cancer shortly after her own mother succumbed to the same disease.  Given these moments of great loss, it might be expected that an album like It is so would be somber and funereal.

And yes, there is sadness and loss in It is so. And yet, the album is also a wonderful celebration of life in all its forms.  As Sonya writes: “The album is a tribute to my mother who passed away two years ago; she had cancer.  In addition to exploring loss of many kinds (loss of life, of safe space, of hope,) the songs are also, as I see them, prayers, and celebrations of love.”

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Deer Tick Release New Single ‘Miss K’

Providence’s own Deer Tick have released a new single – ‘Miss K’ – in anticipation of the October 25th release of Divine Providence.  The track is a love letter to Miss K, and to the beauty and complications of changing relationships.  With a sound palette that recalls beach boardwalk bars, and a chorus that practically forces you to sing along… well, this might be the last great gasp of this year’s Summer driving music, and the first sounds of an exciting release to come!  Follow me to have a listen (and grab a free copy):

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Mix-Tape Monday: The “Looting Dad’s LPs” Mix.

I’m home alone for the week.  This doesn’t happen very often, but it’s interesting to me that my musical habits instantly regress when left alone.  When I was a kid, and I had the good fortune to be left at home alone, I would go straight to my Dad’s record collection and start playing anything and everything.  (When I wasn’t working on that Risky Business “Old Time Rock and Roll” thing… Incidentally, it’s way more awkward when you’re older.) So, having been left at home alone, this week’s mix is a love letter to those early days of exploration.  And it’s all 70s.  All of it (ok, fine, except for two tracks).  I know, I know… not hip… but comfortable and still awesome.  Check it out!

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