25 February 2020: Third Time's a Charm

Set 1

“Circle the Drain” by Soccer Mommy

From her upcoming (released on 28 February) album Color Theory. My favorite of the three singles that are out so far. (From the future: Also probably my favorite from the album.)

“Head Rolls Off” by Frightened Rabbit

From their masterpiece, The Midnight Organ Fight. It’s about death, which always makes me cry. It struck me particularly when I was listening earlier this week, because last week one of my dogs passed away, so the theme really resonanted. The lead singer’s death by suicide gives the song new meaning, but he ultimately did make tiny changes to Earth.

“Why Did Ever We Meet” by the Promise Ring

Probably one of my favorite songs of all time. From their second album Nothing Feels Good, one of my favorite albums and a classic of the emo genre that’s definitely worth listening to in its whole. The name makes it sound depressing but it’s actually very upbeat; it captures a certain restless feeling of young adulthood in a way I haven’t found elsewhere.

“Your Graduation” by Modern Baseball

Probably the best-known song by them. From their second album, You’re Gonna Miss It All. Personally it’s my favorite of their three, but a lot of people prefer Holy Ghost, their last (as of now) album. Hopefully they’ll come out of hiatus at some point this decade.

“Plumb Line” by Archers of Loaf

Wanted to play some Archers of Loaf because they just announced they’re going on tour. They’re going to be playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Of course I got tickets. They also just came out with a new single called “Raleigh Days,” which was okay, but there’s a chance they’ll come out with some more new stuff.

Set 2

“Slug” by Snail Mail

From her first release, the Habit EP. It’s fucking amazing that she was only 16 when she made it.

“Get Balsamic Vinegar…Quick You Fool” by Snow Patrol

Most people know Snow Patrol for “Chasing Cars”, but they’ve actually got a lot more stuff than just that, and their early stuff was, really, “authentically” indie. This song’s from their first album, Songs for Polarbears, which is probably their most experimental and came out in 1998, 8 years before “Chasing Cars”.

“Ya Ya” by Prism Bitch

I hadn’t heard of Prism Bitch until I saw them open for Built to Spill at Webster Hall back in September. Their live show was great; they had a lot of stage presence and they dress in colorful tracksuits, shit like that. They only have two EPs out right now (update from the future: they have two more singles out that I hadn’t heard when I recorded this), but I’m looking forward to whatever they do next.

“Francis Forever” by Mitski

If you don’t know Mitski you might still have heard this song, because Marceline the Vampire Queen sings it on an episode of Adventure Time, although if you watch that show as an adult you probably listen to Mitski anyway.

Streaming