OK, hello! Yes the Unskippables is your weekly source for the latest best new tracks, but this week I'd love to talk about the other thing I care about deeply and meaningfully, maybe even spiritually – sandwiches.
As much as I feel like my time in New York has been defined by trying to make art, it’s honestly more accurately articulated by the sandwiches of my life, either the ones I leaned whilst hangover or whatever lunch spot was near where I was working. I still dream of Graham Ave Meats, the maybe/probably mobbed up spot in Williamsburg that still haunts every Italian sub I’ve ever had.
Last week, the New York Times dropped its essential 73 sandwiches of New York, which was actually shockingly correct, even down to perfect deep cuts like the Court Street Vegitalian, Saltie/Marlow’s Scuttlebutt, and Frankel’s pastrami egg and cheese – even though it missed this legendary artichoke parm from Mama Louisa’s.
BUT more importantly, Bon Appétit highlighted Bed Stuy’s coolest sandwich maker – the purveyor of Salvos, who slings the best homemade sandwiches you can get from a three-wheel car in New York City. If you’re in the neighborhood, check the video and order from his Insta ASAP!
On to the music – oh, but also fuck MTV for killing the MTV News archives, and RIP Shifty Shellshock.
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Martyn Bootyspoon – Bingo!
Montréal’s Martyn Bootyspoon makes his Fool’s Gold debut with the Bingo! EP, and the title track is a perfectly blunt dancefloor filler that can’t hide its prescription-strength groove with sneaky production moves, as much as Bootyspoon tried. Smart reversed drum fills and unexpected builds continually cut against the monster groove – no festival drops here, folks – but Bootyspoon’s production prowess can’t cut the serpentine power of “Bingo!”’s sinewy electro-house bassline.
Ariana Grande feat. Brandy & Monica – The Boy Is Mine (remix)
It's more than a gimmick, I promise! Brandy and Monica's voices, thanks to new verses and a stunning bridge, lend R&B heft to Grande's light soprano on this remix. The track’s new arrangement and tight harmonies flipp the original’s light snack into something more like a Jermaine Dupri-produced R&B meal. Whoever did the vocal arrangement is the real hero – sharp harmonies fill the song out, throwing you back to 2001 TRL with the remix’s sharp vocal counterpoint. Kudos to the Grande and her producers for taking what could have been a throwaway idea and instead turn it into one of the year’s best R&B tracks.
Allegra Krieger – Never Arriving
“Never Arriving” is a new breezy, aching strummer from Allegra Krieger, whose 2023 LP I Keep My Feet on the Fragile Plane I loved a lot. She just announced a new record, Art Of The Unseen Infinity Machine, out in September on Brooklyn's Double Double Whammy, “Never Arriving” is less knotted than her 2023 tracks – there’s a late 90’s alt-country ease that makes this feel like a lost b-side from the CD era, in way that’s charmingly familiar and tuneful.
MJ Lenderman – She’s Leaving You
I’ve loved a lot of Lenderman-adjacent records this year but I’ve rarely found myself listening to records from the man himself, until now. “She’s Leaving You” is perfect slow-burn indie rock, and Lenderman’s Ben Kweller/Will Toledo drawl makes lyrics like “No time to apologize for the things you do / Go rent a Ferrari / And sing the blues / Believe that Clapton was the second coming” hit the slacker pop gem sweet spot.
Alice Glass & CLIP – REMAINS
Ex-Crystal Castles singer Alice Glass collaborates with NYC’s CLIP, who trades in similar apocalyptic chiptuned sounds on her own singles (shout out “2 The Face”!) for a track that wouldn’t be out of place on the Hype Machine in 2008. CLIP’s touches keep this from being pure nostaglia – the chopped samples on the chorus and crawling bassline give the track physical grounding that keeps things from getting too Tumblr.
throwback
Pavement – Summer Babe (lost 1992 video)
Pavement finally shared a shelved 1992 video for “Summer Babe” directed by director Tanya Small:
It was filmed on 16mm and Super 8 film and edited on video. I was a teenager when I made this — into Stan Brakhage and Beatles films. It took less than 2 hours to film. All the footage was lost except for a VHS tape with this edit with its enduring timecode. The version of Summer Babe was from an unmastered cassette. The club kid outfit was borrowed from Love Saves the Day.
It was filmed on a pier in Greenpoint and in Central Park.
The video is a spot-on student film-meets-120 Minutes blast from the past, and it’s amazing that it took this long to finally come out.