200 year old slappers
Plus the best of the week from Tyler, the Creator, Sampha, Romy, Snowmen, and more
Welcome to the Unskippables, where we want to know how to say Desperado in German.
I've been trying to sell a pair of Jordans that I found out were fake. It's actually sort of amazing finding a new lane where you're actually a huge mark in your mid thirties – like, wasn’t aware there was a whole other area where I’m an easily tricked dumbass, but here we are! I'm returning the shoes because after I put them on my wife said, “you look like a guy who is really into shoes” – which is more devastating than any real insult.
So, if you're looking for a pair of fake Jordans, hit me up; otherwise, here’s this week's Good Links:
Halsey flips Pitchfork’s pan on Twitter – hey, at least she didn’t call for another 9/11
More like FOUND Wisdom – Phil Elverum remains a treasure ahead of his new LP Night Palace and his mix and interview with Matthew Schnipper are a treat.
Rap World #1 – Conor O’Malley’s excellent suburban mockumentary Rap World is available to stream on YouTube, and it remains hilarious.
Rap World #2– Frazier Thorpe asked 17 people to weigh in on the future of rap for GQ
Someone has his playlist broken – the reunited fellas behind Black Eyes put together a playlist of what they’ve been listening to!
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Tyler the Creator – Sticky
This has to be intentional Millennial rap bait – the Timbo-style beat, the big Weezy entrance…there's a lot here to love if you are a fellow elder Millennial. BUT everything feels incredibly fresh – no one else is doing widescreen event rap like Tyler right now. The guest spots from Sexxy Red and Glorilla are perfect, the delayed beat drop is delightful, but it's the Hail Mary horn arrangement curveball in the song's final third that shows how Tyler's operating at a level a different level than everyone else right now.
Chopin – Waltz
The Morgan Library and Museum found a lost, or more accurately, previously unknown, Chopin waltz From the 1830s and, surprise, it's gorgeous. It's crazy having Chopin as the week's best new music but here we are! It slaps! Librarians rule!!!
Sade Adu – Young Lion
It's incredibly sick that the first new music from Sade Adu (yes, of Sadé) in six years is on the Transa compilation celebrating trans people, and is written about her trans son. Just hearing her voice in a reverbed, soft lit ballad is a treat, but knowing that she was called back to the spotlight for a cause close to her heart makes “Young Lion” feel like even more of a gift.
Snowmen – Prophet Margins
I don't love this song nearly as much as Snowmen’s debut single “You Can't Relate,” which has quickly become one of my favorite rock tracks of the year, but “Prophet Margins” still has me really excited for Snowmen, and curious to see how their live set stacks up at their show this Saturday at Berlin. I can absolutely forgive the profit/prophet pun, as the band’s insouciant attitude mixed with their keen ability to find smart-stupid sweaty earworms puts them head and shoulders above every other downtown NYC rock band I've heard this year
Sampha & Romy – I’m On Your Team
“I'm On Your Team” succeeds merely by just sounding like Romy and Sampha singing in a really nice sounding room together. It helps that the cozy ballad has a really strong hook, but honestly I would listen to a duets piano record with them on repeat all winter.
throwback
American Steel – Hustlin’ Time
This has been a back pocket deep cut of mine for years – a 1983 12-inch of, yes, steel drum boogie somewhere between freestyle, lite reggae, Electro R&B and post disco New York camp. I find myself singing the “IT’S HUSTLIN TIIIIME” all the time – it's big and dramatic and stupid and so, so, so amazing.