The Mixtape by Jeff Moss
Hey all! Welcome to The Mixtape! A weekly look at some great tracks you can listen to and add to your audio arsenal to get trough the day!
Each week, I’ll be picking five songs that are on rotation at my place and highlighting them here for you. There’s also a Spotify playlist embedded below that will have each track added to it weekly. It’s gonna be fun, so let’s get started yeah?
SONIA – Jamila Woods Ft Nitty Scott
My best friend, whom I trust implicitly in all things music recommended Jamila Woods’ album LEGACY! LEGACY! and I’ll be damned if it didn’t deliver. Full of soul singing, thoughtful and timely lyrics, hip-hop beats and the perfect mix of relaxed and slow with genuine anger and emotion, LEGACY! LEGACY! is one hit single away from being burned into the pop culture lexicon forever. Woods has something that few artists have, an intangible where when you are listening to her songs you don’t just hear them, you feel them. Jamila Scott is one of those artists. LEGACY! LEGACY! is always over before I want it to be, and I’m always ready to hit the play button one more time.
Blackened 2020 – Metallica
The blistering opening track to Metallica’s 1988 album …and Justice For All gets something of a re-work here, being stripped down into an acoustic led… earworm? Yep, it’s downright catchy as Hetfield sings into a mic at his home desk, adding a bit of western flair to the lyrics about how we’re destroying Mother Earth. Fitting for the COVID-times that we live in. Back in California, Lars and bassist Robert Trujillo add their punchy rhythms and Kirk Hammett takes a surf break to throw in lead guitars that at times almost get middle-eastern. It’s cool when a band can come together and do something like this from all four corners of their worlds. And you thought Zoom was just for pretending to have meetings.
Come Home – Anderson.Paak Ft Andre 3000
I can admit, I slept on Anderson.Paak for a long time. I can also admit that I was introduced to his laid back vibes through the movie Trolls World Tour that my kids have been devouring. But now that I’m here, damn! Paak’s latest record is Ventura, and it’s full of hip hop flavour mixed with laid back hooks and amazing guests! In addition to Smokey Robinson, Brandy and Nate Dogg, Pakk manages to coax Andre 3000 of Outkast off of Ahch-To to add to the opening track, Come Home. No Porgs were harmed or blue milk consumed during the recording of this stellar album, from start to finish.
All Too Well – Dan Campbell
So, here’s the thing: I had no idea this song was a cover. Dan Campbell of excellent pop punk/alt rock band The Wonder Years does such a good job at making this folky rocker his own, I had no idea that it was a song from Taylor Swift’s Red album. At any rate, Campbell gets some real emotion going in the climax of the song, and singalongs are imminent. Also worth a listen is Campbell’s side project Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties for more of his folk-ballad style of storytelling.
Let It Be – Bill Withers
As I mentioned, I loves me a good cover and this, my friends is a good cover. Bill Withers is one of those incredible singers that you you a dozen songs by, but never new his name. His instantly recognizable soul sound gave us classics like “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me” and “lovely Day” but his cover of the Beatles (In my opinion) greatest accomplishment really resonates, today more than ever. If you’re looking for a great “hanging in the backyard” soundtrack, a Bill Withers Best-Of is an excellent choice.
There we have it friends! If you want to follow along, you can check out The Mixtape’s playlist on Spotify (below). I’ll be updating it with five good ones every week!
If there’s someone you think people should be listening to, or just a catchy jam that’s in your ears this week, post it in the comments and share the magic with your fellow readers!
Until next time,
moss