February 9, 2018

So, my sinking into a K-Pop hole has only gotten more dire this week. I’ve resolved into a zombie, just watching dance routine after dance routine on autoplay on YouTube, feeling very much like those hazy college days when I’d pound 3 Benadryl to help me sleep after drinking a pot of coffee – except this feeling I get from watching these videos is disgustingly enjoyable. It’s the whole “your body needs sleep to function AND you have a day job you gotta stay awake for” that’s tripping me up. Fortunately, es Viernes y estoy ready 2 partaaaay.

As noted last week, it’s been brought to my attention that a few readers haven’t realized there is a NEW cmd+f 2018 playlist. This is the playlist where I dump in all of the songs I mention in the letter (that are available for streaming) into a single Spotify playlist. You can find that specific playlist here in which I’ll be updating regularly with the weekly cmd+f picks. Please feel free to subscribe to the list so you’ll have one central place for you to listen to nearly every song I post every week, and share with your friends!

Back to our regularly scheduled newslettering: please go forth and enjoy these five fantastic songs I’ve hand-harvested for you to enjoy this week! Hopefully these inspire you to check out more from that artist, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard of before!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Pumper” - MAI LAN | To quote my pal Richard, “Bloghaus is back, baby!” For those unfamiliar with the “bloghaus” genre, it was a very unique grade of electro-clash pop music that blew up during the short-lived but much loved Music Blog Dynasty circa 2004-2010 (around those years I’d say). Labels filing takedowns of music uploads and the creation of music streaming essentially MURDERED the era of music blogging, though a couple giants remain (a la Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum, and Pitchfork) and have turned into full blown music news outlets. As for MAI LAN’s “Pumper”, it’s a high energy, repetitive BOP channeling French pop queen Yelle and early M.I.A. “Pumper” has inspired maaaany moments of dancing in my kitchen this week. It’s wicked fun and infectious. Listen here

“It’s Alright” - Sam Valdez | Once again I’m pulled into this pseudo-Americana music vibe that’d just been grabbing at my ears the past year. Sam Valdez sounds much less like Jade Bird but more like Trespassers William singing over a Ride instrumental. “It’s Alright” is raw, moving, and dreamy. Listen here

“Let’s Make Out” - Dream Wife | Looking for a last minute Valentine? Maybe this’ll give you a boost - next time you’re out, bump “Let’s Make Out” at full volume, and it’ll convert any room into the Troubadour, and every single person in the room’ll have no choice but to start rocking out. Dream Wife are brash, bold, and FIERCE. You can’t get more in your face than opening a track kicking and screaming, “LET’S MAKE OUT!!!” Listen here

“Come Through” -  The Regrettes | I can’t get enough of this second wave evolution of brat pop - The Regrettes are The Runaways incarnate, oh, and did I mention they’re fronted by a cool AF high school teen? Frontwoman Lydia Night formed The Regrettes a couple years ago while taking music lessons in Burbank, and they’ve been churning out smart, Grade A rock hooks ever since. Their newest single “Come Through” is a delight. Listen here

“Never the Right Time” - Janine | Listen to New Zealand pull through AGAIN with another wickedly talented artist! Janine delivers solid, honey smooth R&B vocals for the sensuous slow jam “Never the Right Time.” After an over stimulating week, this tune pairs perfectly with a hot bath (extra bubbles) and a bottle of red. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

• The New Gospel has arrived: Kendrick Lamar’s tightly curated album of tracks inspired by Marvel’s Black Panther dropped today. Staaaaaaaaaaaacked. Can take a 90% guess it’s all you’ll be rinsing this weekend. Listen here
• Everyone’s favorite bellowing cherub, George Ezra, is coming out with a podcast!! It’s cleverly called George Ezra & Friends, and that is the entire premise - just a conversation with friends. The podcast debuts on Monday, February 12 with his first guest Ed Sheeran. Pre-subscribe via Apple Podcasts: Subscribe here
• George Ezra’s little bro, commonly known as Ten Tonnes, has a new single out today called “Lay It On Me” and it’s a bop. It’s a must listen for fans of early The Kooks and The Cribs. Listen here
• The one, the only, the legendary Franz Ferdinand have dropped their fifth studio album Always Ascending today. I’ve listened to a good chunk of it, and it’s lived up to my early 80s disco/new wave expectations. Listen here
• Pop-purist leaning friends will be pleased to know the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack is now available - new tracks from Dua Lipa, Ellie Goulding, Sabrina Claudio, Julia Michaels, and many more. Listen here
• Whenever The Wombats drop an album, they consistently surprise the hell out of me. It’s better than I’m expecting it to be, and I’m so grateful they’re still putting out tunes, let alone entire albums. Highly recommend listening to their new album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life Listen here
• James Bay has cut off his hair, thrown in the hat, and released a new song, “Wild Love,” that is rather good Listen here
• Not to be melodramatic, but MGMT have just dropped one of the best albums of the last decade, just over 10 years after their debut album Oracular Spectacular. The production on Little Dark Age is retro, yet timeless, but still reflective of this present cultural crossroads we’re at in the 2018 identity. LEVELS. Listen here
• Calvin Harris is allegedly tryna re-invent the dance wheel post Funk Wave Bounce Vol 1 last year, but instead has put out a watered down Major Lazer track fit for airtime on Rinse.FM featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR. I mean, go off. IHEARTRADIO is gonna beat this one to death if it gets a radio deal. Listen here
• Looks like Drake is really making sure we don’t totally forget his ass - this week he paid for $50,000 worth of groceries for a community in Miami, and today he’s done more charitable work laying down opening bars AND the hook for BlocBoy JB’s new track “Look Alive.” BRING THIS TYPE OF ENERGY ON YA OWN ALBUM, AUBREY. Listen here
• [Jay Sean is back klaxon] Mmmm, yes, love me VOCALS. “Emergency” is beautiful Listen here
• EZRA FURMAN’S ALBUM TRANSANGELIC EXODUS IS OUT TODAY!!!! Ezra self described it as a “queer outlaw saga.” Listen here

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As I mentioned above, a(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

New month, new playlist! If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my February 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!

January 26, 2018

On January 27, 2017, the very first cmd+f newsletter was sent out to 12 very wonderful friends via Tinyletter. I initially started it as a new means to share music with friends in a central, organized forum, and as an easy place to document all of the new music I was consuming. It also turned into something I looked forward to writing every week after spending a year of writing empty news bites, elbowing my way through an arms race of publishing passionless content.

Throughout this past year, I trialed a mini radio show through Anchor.FM, and expanded the newsletter into a full on website. I found meaning in this project through the cmd+vent advent calendar in December: understanding ways music brings joy into our lives.

(Nearly) one year later, this project is still kicking. I’m so pleased to have finally established an outlet that aims to highlight the pure joy I take out of my devotion for discovering new music. The act of sharing new music and simply discussing music brings me so much personal fulfillment. The act of putting together cmd+f’s weekly letter alone is deeply satisfying to me. I’ve been vaguely hinting on expanding cmd+f over the past few months, and that next step is a Mighty Big Leap. When the time does come, I hope you’ll take that jump with me.

For now, happy birthday cmd+f!!

So, I’ve rebranded the BONUS section to the freshly titled New Music Friday Selects. It’s more fitting, as a bulk of the bonus content highlights contain the most anticipated releases of the week, surprise releases, and the occasional status update of a new release by a cmd+f alum!

Before you hit that section up, it’s time to check out five smashing tunes by emerging artists!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“A Foreign Affair” - Client Liaison feat. Tina Arena | Opening this week’s batch of fantastic finds with a gloriously campy 80s-injected pop bop by Australia’s Client Liaison. “A Foreign Affair” is a major, major tune that has been HIDDEN FROM THE UNIVERSE. Australia is generally a wash because it’s covered in spiders and snakes the size of school buses – that’s beside the point! Client Liaison have also included pop icon Tina Arena (who I learnt about via my faaaavorite pop music podcast duo Dan and Andy of Popchops) on this blisteringly good chorus. To those who are unfamiliar with Tina Arena, she’s absolutely massive - like, on par with who Celine Dion is to Canada. For as essential as Tina’s pop career has been in Australia and France, I’m surprised I’ve only just stumbled upon this track in the last couple weeks. I’m not sure if it’s been a particularly successful single in Australia, but it deserves to be heard and played at FULL VOLUME. Listen here

“Here Lies” - Jorge Elbrecht feat. Tamryn | Less than one second into “Here Lies,” and you’re suckerpunched straight in the chest by the force of fourteen thousand sounds booming out of the speakers all at once. The jolt of sound rolls open and outward through the song, graciously unfolding layers of a steady synth loop disrupted by a crunchy, disjointed rumble of sirens, police dispatch comms, and machine guns. “Here Lies” is so busy battling through the thousands of layers of sounds battling to bubble through the surface of the song, it’s impossible to decipher what to prioritize listening to first - the sonics or the lyrics? Are the lyrics even important? It wavers between sounding hopeful and the soundtrack to getting decked in the face by an axe murderer. Listen here

“Arms of Pleonexia” - Cabbage | My fav scuzzy post-punk bros Cabbage announced their debut album Nihilistic Glamour Shots is dropping at the end of March! Cabbage have never been one to hold back on making political statements in their lyrics. Their new single “Arms of Pleonexia” is a hot take on the UK’s bloody history of arms deals that have supplied mass destruction in war torn countries around the world. After recently watching the TV mini series The Last Post, this history of disturbing the peace in the Middle East is rather fresh on my mind. “How long til we take responsibility?” the chorus coos. “Arms of Pleonexia” is the most punk drag I’ve heard in at least a decade. Read those greedy government jerks for filth. Listen here

“Freaking Out” -  Yehan Jehan | Imagine: Hall & Oates shared an edible then recorded “Private Eyes” and I’m pretty sure you’d end up with something that sounded very close to Yehan Jehan’s “Freaking Out.” It rests on a low key funky vibe that borders on sounding more careless about enduring heartbreak than complete numbness. The lush harmonies woven through the chorus will stick to your eardrums like white on rice. Listen here

“I’m In Love Without You” - FINNEAS | This song hands down brings the DRAMA. While I’m unsure of FINNEAS’s sun sign, I feel a kindred spirit to this Scorpio-dense bath of groveling for a lover you might not even HAVE to move on from. 12/10 CAN RELATE. The song opens with (no joke) twenty layers of ghostly harmonies echoing “I’m in love without you….please don’t still love me….but you still find a way inside my dreams.” The song chops up the last lyric into a dense, electronic synth line FINNEAS sings over throughout the rest of the song. It’s...fucking genius. It sounds entirely genreless/its very own brand of forward thinking pop, and I am obsessed with it the more I listen to it (pro-tip: it loops perfectly when you have it on repeat). Song aside, the most shocking fact I learnt about FINNEAS is he is the brother and co-songwriter to pop darling Billie Eillish (who’s been doing very well for herself since she featured on cmd+f last March!). I’m excited to hear what other tunes FINNEAS has hiding up his sleeve this year. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

• The powerpop tune of the month, Liam Payne and Rita Ora’s “For You” for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, now has a lush music video. Liam Payne’s involvement on the track has only furthered my Rita Ora stanning, and for that I’m beyond grateful. She looks absolutely stunning in a scarlet gown, swaddled in a bed of roses, while Liam is donning a velvet evening jacket like he’s a baby Enrique Iglesias. This also marks the first music video my man’s reciprocated direct intimacy with another mujer, and honestly, kick up that sex appeal a few notches, please. Watch here

• Talented vocalist and global superstar who keeps testing my patience, Stefani Germanotta, commonly known as Lady Gaga, has dropped a stripped version of her song “Joanne” - it’s beautiful, but I am STARVED for a massive pop tune. Listen here, I guess

• Migos’ Culture II is here and-there-is-a-Drake-co-lab-bor-ray-shun (raay-shun) [skrr skrrr] Listen here

• James Blake has surprise dropped a new, dope single, “If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead” Listen here

• Foaming at the mouth ‘cuz The Vaccines have dropped another banger, “Nightclub” Listen here

• If you’re looking for an atmospheric instrumental music, one of my favorite composers, Nils Frahm, has a new album out called All Melody Listen here

• Franz Ferdinand have gone full-on 1983, whence disco meets the goths, and I’m INTO IT. “Lazy Boy” is a choooon Listen here

• The Cassie of the 20-teens, Jhene Aiko, has whispered her way thru yet another single. Swae Lee knows how to write a damn hook, but this Rae Sremmurd drop throughout “Sativa” isn’t meant to be anything other than a very, super chill ass song. The video on the other hand is pretty freakin’ wild. Watch here

• What’s more refreshing that hearing Jack White jam the fuck out? Listen to his new tune “Corporation” Listen here

• Techno legend DJ Koze has returned with new material for the first time in nearly 5 years with his Seeing Aliens EP. It’s a bit more pop and accessible than other cuts in his archives, but it’s a glorious peak into his forthcoming 16-track full length LP, Knock Knock (out May 4) Listen here

• The legendary CRAIG freakin’ DAVID has a brand spankin’ new album stacked with jams. Standout track off The Time Is Now would be “Brand New” Listen here

• Color me shocked, but the new Django Django album Marble Skies is actually a rather fun listen. Must hear for fans of Temples, Jagwar Ma, Yeasayer, and (the now defunct [R.I.P.]) Wild Beasts Listen here

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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my January 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!

January 12, 2018

What a big and exciting week for music! If you’re a pop and dance music fan, the artists have heard your cries and DELIVERED. It’s as if they knew 2018 would start off as a bit of a shitstorm and we’d need some TLC.

Looks like this week’s 5 tunes are full of girl power. Check out my top picks from emerging artists that may have flown under your radar.

If you like what you hear, spread the cheer.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“raingurl” - yaeji | Crank up the bass - yaeji is here to save your freakin’ weekend. Frankly, I’m ashamed I hadn’t heard of yaeji sooner. I have no excuse as she was nominated for BBCs "Sound of 2018" this year. “raingurl” ticks all of my boxes. It’s got a sick, wobbly bass, and an absurdly good, repetitive hook that glides over a tight, gay club house beat. Yaeji is already an established dance producer in the hip underground outlets (re: Boiler Room), and has racked up millions of streams over the years (hence my surprise I haven’t heard of her until this week? Also, I ‘discovered’ this song as a recommendation on YOUTUBE. I don’t think I’ll be over this reality.Please accept my apologies for not bringing her forward sooner.). More people need to hear her shit to break up the gaudy powerhouse vocals and choral arrangements over dance music that’s been swallowing the genre the past few years. "raingurl" fuckin' slaps. Listen here

“The Kids Are Alright” -  Chloe x Halle | Perhaps the most eloquent “fuck you, we’re gonna be fixing your mess soon enough” by millennials ever put into verse, R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle have written a beautiful ballad declaring the youth actually do have their shit together, are capable of standing on their own, and are creating new opportunities for themselves to not only thrive, but also not live in abject misery and hopelessness. The song builds to a wonderful bridge, where they remind fellow millennials: “Don’t let them turn you numb // Don’t let them get you strung // … Better go and get your life.” Listen here

“Bad Boys” - Lilly Ahlberg | What’s a week of cmd+f without a GOOD Scandinavian bop? This is a maaaahassive tune that’s fit for Zara Larrson or Tove Stykre. Produced by Future Cut (who's got production credits for Shakira's iconic "She Wolf," Lily Allen circa Alright, Still aka her best music phase, and a few Little Mix bops), it's a winner. Listen here

“sad boy” -  deer scout | From "Bad Boys" to a "sad boy." Just one sad boy - the saddest boy in the world, in fact. When my pal Agnes sent this song to me, I was initially put off by the DIY-sound of the track. It reminded me of the times I went to secret basement parties in college before they were shut down by Seattle PD. Instead, it's a depressive lullaby. The chorus is what totally sold me on this melancholic track. Listen here

“Cut Yr Teeth” - Kississippi | Have you ever heard a song that sounds precisely like the moment in time you’re listening to it? “Cut Yr Teeth” sounds like that post-holidays slump that settles in a week or two after New Years. All of that inflated energy of obligatory faux-joy, the gluttonous indulgence on baked goods and buckets of wine, the sheer exhaustion from socializing too much, the pressure of starting off a new year with big goals and knowing you’re probably setting yourself up for failure all just comes crashing down on you at once. It sounds exactly like all of that. The tune is about a crumbling relationship that was built on a faulty foundation to begin with, so my comparison isn’t much of a stretch. Listen here

BONUS

• Troye Sivan’s debut album Blue Neighbourhood has disappeared from US Spotify for streaming, which, honestly, is a hate crime. While this news is completely DEVASTATING, the Australian YouTuber turned gay pop icon has dropped a new single, “My My My!” and has effectively washed over the negative fuckery that’s swindled its way into 2018 so far. Co-written by Allie X, “My My My!” is a low key, sultry bop dripping with confidence. I am beyond excited to see what Troye’s got up his sleeve for 2018. Listen here // Watch here

• Other former entertainment star turned gay youth music idol Hayley Kiyoko has unleashed “Curious,” a radio-ready single that’s impressed the shit out of me. Listen here

• BBC Music has announced their “BBC Sound of 2018” winner today, and the nominees were chock full of exciting rising acts from the likes of Billie Eillish, Pale Waves, Khalid, Rex Orange County… and they have handed over this prestigious title to Sigrid. After somehow managing to woo top level DJs at Apple Music, BBC, and loads of other music outlets when her debut single dropped last year, her hive-mind hype was massive. If Sigrid the sound of 2018, I am going to take a 300-day long nap.

• I neglected to include this in last week’s letter: Amber and Luna of KPop’s severely underrated and underrepresented girl group f(x) dropped a sexy dancefloor filler. SM love to neglect their girl groups and still haven’t made the song available to play anywhere but YouTube. At least we can feast our eyes on the video. Watch here

• George Ezra announced in his newsletter yesterday he’s got some “big old music news” next week, and, please @ GOD BE AN ALBUM AND A TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT. If you’re not subscribed to receive his newsletter, I’d like to encourage you to consider letting the bellowing cherub slide into your inbox every week. Subscribe to George’s Weekly Journal Here

• Overnight superstar Jorja Smith has linked up with Stormzy for a beautiful new ballad, “Let Me Down” Listen here

• Fifth Harmony dropout, Carnitas Cabeza, has released her debut album if you are in the mood for, erm, whatever the mood she does Listen here

• I can’t believe I’m at an age where I can call a band I loved in middle school are officially...rock veterans. Anyway, Franz Ferdinand have officially entered their total Blondie phased and dropped another groovy gay disco single, “Feel the Love” Listen here

• cmd+f favs The Academic have unleashed their debut album Tales from the Backseat. For fans of Two Door Cinema Club, Mystery Jets, and Bombay Bicycle Club Listen here

• BØRNS has put out the album we expected Harry Styles to drop - the polyester Gucci suit and eye shadow-toting pop-rock Blue Madonna. He’s the master of the falsetto hook - give this a spin over the weekend Listen here

• Swedish singer/songwriter Skott has shared her new EP Stay Off My Mind. Previous cmd+f selects by her were impressive, soul-shattering ballads. This time Skott offers sweet, uptempo jams. Listen here

• For the total rock purists, firstly: I’m impressed you’re still reading this letter. Secondly, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (personally my favor “Club” band) have shared their new album Wrong Creatures and it fuckin’ shreds. Listen here

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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my January 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!