Miss Lindsey Jordan, aka Snail Mail, has been around since I relaunched my whole 'Mixtape' thing at the end of May. "Heat Wave" was #4 then and, after a brief wait for Kanye to rotate through the top spot in June with his own "Ghost Town" and KIDS SEE GHOSTS' "4th Dimension," it found its way to the top where it's spent the past 10 weeks. If ever a song owned (my) summer, it's this one.
As far as summer songs 2018 go, the rest of the world can have Cardi B's "I Like It" or Drake's "In My Feeling." My summer song wasn't meant to be a jam this go around. I mean, Reverse (Ft. G-Eazy) – Vic Mensa, G-Eazy, APESHIT – The Carters, and Fuck Yo Club (Bonus) – 'Lgado, Valee all outlasted any Kanye West production cut this summer, but none of them ear-wormed their way in to my heart the way "Heat Wave" did.
So the summer is nearly over and I spent it mostly listening to somber tales of love lost or, perhaps, love not even worth attempting. Sure, I rocked out a bit (thanks, THICK, Swearin', and Late Bloomer), but while I'd like to think the forecast will call for sunnier tunes, I'm presently knee-deep in Tomberlin's powerfully hushed debut, At Weddings. It's been a mainstay in my headphones these past few weeks (aka Mixtape cycles) that I've been away. Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that, by the way...life, ya know?
Tomberlin's ascension toward the top aside, it's been mostly business as usual, musically speaking. Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy have remained 1-2 the past month with the aforementioned summer song of 2018 and "Scorpio Rising" respectively. During my blogging downtime, I found great new music from Black Belt Eagle Scout (13), Kurt Vile (34), YBN Cordae (38), and Ultra Beauty (39). And as much as my 1999 self LOVED Slim Shady, his surprise Kamikaze release last week didn't get catch me buying what Mr. Mathers is selling in 2018.
The past month, Muncie Girls and Death Cab For Cutie releases aside, didn't offer me much reason to anticipate New Music Friday. That drought ends this week with a handful of new albums I'm eager to spend some time with. I'm gonna party like it's 1979 with new releases from all the Pauls - McCartney, Simon, and Carrack - and dig in to some albums I'll might still be listening to in 2019 from Waxahatchee and Mothers. I might even wax nostalgic for the 90s and check out the latest offerings from Everlast, Macy Gray, and Lenny Kravitz. Stranger things have happened; have you heard the new Eminem album?
