Downbeat.fm Vol. 1 Track 11 - November 2020
A lot has happened since we've spoken last - notably, Joe Biden was elected to be our next President which provided a huge sign of relief for many Americans - and surely even more around the world.
I also launched a major project at work that was months in the making - relieving even more stress!
With Thanksgiving behind us, the next stressor is on its way - Christmas shopping! We have a bunch of nieces and nephews to spoil, and we can't wait for that.
Speaking of Christmas, you can check out my holiday playlist on Apple Music or Spotify. Yes, it's Christmas music, but it's mostly good Christmas music. Mostly. Shut up.
November's Playlist
This month's playlist is shorter than I'd normally make them, but this has been a busy month with work. Still, it's a really good one and features Jeff Rosenstock, Jawbreaker, Professor Caveman, Guantanamo Baywatch, and much more.
Listen to this month's playlist on:
Featured Songs
Sunglasses (Edit) by Black Country, New Road - (Apple Music / Spotify)
This is one of those "Mike songs" where I can't explain why I like it, other than I just do. It checks a lot of boxes for me: horns, weird song structure, and weirder lyrics that are spoken and/or hollered - and probably the topper - musically it's kind of a mess. I love it. There's also the original eight-minute cut of the song, too.
Toca La Guitarra by Professor Caveman - (Apple Music / Spotify)
A fun lo-fi rock song. I don't know what else to say about this one other than it's catchy as hell.
Megan by Smoking Popes - (Apple Music / Spotify)
I never heard this song when it first came out but it is pure and simple a mid-90s alternative rock song.
Doreen by Slingshot Dakota - (Apple Music / Spotify)
Another lo-fi song, but slightly droning in a good way.
Share this issue:
Other Listening & Quick Links
Earlier this month Barack Obama put out a playlist of "memorable songs" from his administration. I of course love to see Springsteen included but would have thought We Take Care of our own or Land of Hopes and Dreams would have been his pick.
Stereogum put out their list of the best new bands of 2020. Being a little pedantic, but I'm not sure why there are so many solo artists on a list of "bands", but that's just me. Notable callouts on the list include Bartees Strange, Dogleg, Porridge Radio, and others who have been featured on this newsletter and playlists.
A thread was started on Twitter talking about how cool it was to see David Letterman get really excited after seeing a band crush it on his show. It's a great thread, but there are a few posts where people just linked to bands they liked that were on Letterman's show. Staying true to the topic, check out this video by The Heavy, and this video by one of our favorites, The Suffers.
Of course, if we're talking about David Letterman and music, we need to talk about his love of drum sets.
Dogleg and Worst Party ever, two bands who I really enjoy and have been featured on this newsletter and playlists, were "feuding" on Twitter which culminated in the bands covering each other's songs.
