I had some intention of starting a mailing list. I thought maybe I would share musings about songs I like on it. Part of my personal path lately is about finding the right level to aim at. I think a newsletter is higher than I should aim right now; I'm trying to avoid the pride loop. Anyway, here's some songs that were a big part of my January. They're arranged in a reasonable listening order, and I’ll write something about each track, but I'm trying to just press send, since it's almost a week into February now.

Baths – Eden

Eden: Music Video (YouTube), Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, although note that at the time of this writing, the Bandcamp link for the album doesn’t let you listen to Eden.

Baths is an artist I first heard about in what must have been my first year of college. My college, since it was fancy, had many libraries; more than I really knew what to do with. The newest one at the time, which is in a building that as far as I know still has a totally nondescript name just waiting for a donor to bless it, had these chic study booths, thin wood shapes and cushions. Somebody much cooler than me had put together a playlist, maybe, with a track off of Bath’s first album, Cerulean on it. I remember listening to it, along with Little Dragon, just sort of vibing in one of those booths, probably overcaffeinated as I was constantly in those days.

I think this is the only song on this list which was released in January. It’s off of an upcoming record which I am thrilled to bits about; somehow Baths has really never missed for me, even as his sound has shifted significantly over time.

Owl City – Designer Skyline

Designer Skyline: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music

Owl City is from Minnesota, like me! I think he got his start writing songs while living in Owatonna? The lore I have in my mind is that he worked in a warehouse-y job for Coca-Cola, and would write songs. When I was a kid, he was fairly prolific, releasing work under several projects before the Owl City moniker took off in a big way with the hit Fireflies. I happened across him a couple years prior.

As a kid I was sort of adorably averse to pirating music, out of some misplaced moaral misunderstanding combined with identifying with the artists. It was bad enough that I checked out my local library’s copy of Panic! At The Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out multiple times: I’d rip the CD to my parents’ computer, but then later feel guilty enough to delete the files.

Anyway, trawling the internet for sites that would give away some music so that I had more to listen to paid off in introducing me to the best stuff Owl City wrote; this track is one of my favorites and it comes from his debut indie EP. His debut LP, Maybe I’m Dreaming is also fantastic. After his major label debut (which has the “Fireflies” record on it), I fell off the wagon.

For me the synthesizers, especially on this track, and the percussion on most of his early work are truly to die for.

Secret & Whisper – You Are Familiar

You Are Familiar: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music

I guess the name for this genre is Post-hardcore? I was a big fan of Post-rock by the time I heard this album in high school, and so it was a bit of a letdown to discover that not all “post-” genres are created equal; whereas post-rock, if you listen with your ears cocked at just the right angle, really sounded like a revolution in music, post-hardcore is more emo-meets-metal.

Which is not a bad thing! This song shreds! I spent several commutes to Newark, particularly the walk from Penn Station to Rutgers, lip-syncing as if I were starring in the nonexistent music video for this song.

Rihanna – Fire Bomb

Fire Bomb: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music

It was an eye-opener for me to realize that like Anti, Charli XCX’s smash hit Brat is the first album recorded after the expiration of a big record contract. Both albums really see the pop star at the helm show you that they have true artistry. Not that an album at that level is ever really a one-woman operation, but both albums possess a vision and I imagine a timelessness that even if nobody else will return to for years, I’m sure that I will. It would be fun to do a reading of both of these albums, some other out-of-contract work (Sabrina Carpenter, Tinashe come to mind), and Edward Said’s On Late Style.

Anyway, after Anti, I think that it is Rated R, Rihanna’s 2009 album following up Good Girl Gone Bad which holds up the best qua album. This song in particular is so so good. Rihanna secretly has more guitar licks squirrelled away in her oeuvre than you’d really expect, and this song really has her voice at some of its finest moments.

zbs.fm – Earth Is A Loom

Earth Is A Loom: Bandcamp

When I was fully in the throughs of imagining I was starting a newsletter, I wanted to do a little crate digging. In college, I somehow lucked into the sweetest student job: booking local bands to do lunchtime shows. We had a decent talent budget from the university, and money to cater the lunch besides. I made easily upwards of 30 gig poster designs to advertise these shows; it was a joy. My method for scouting for bands to book was very simple: trawl through the “Brooklyn” tag on Bandcamp every so often and try to find the bands that are really giving, really going off, but haven’t gotten too big to play for us yet.

Anyway, I wanted to do some of that crate digging, but truthfully I didn’t listen to anything in that way in January. I did listen to this fantastic track by my friend zbs.fm, and you should too. They have other work on streaming, which you should also listen to, but this track is for some reason the one that’s stuck to my bones lately.