For Mixtape #1, the masthead shares the songs that we currently can’t stop listening to.
Farah Bakaari, editor-in-chief: On a recent drive from Amherst to Ithaca, I asked my friend Alexia to give me a crash course on the phenomenon that is Chappell Roan; she responded by playing in full volume “Good Luck, Babe!” Got it, it is a femininomenon. I have since listened to her entire discography, on repeat, in full volume. I love the unapologetic melodrama and the projective melancholy of “Good Luck, Babe!” I mean, “you’d have to stop the world just to stop feeling” is nothing short of genius. It is catchy. It is also a cliché, but who cares.
Marissa Fenley, associate editor: I’ve always liked the icy pop vibes of Cults (“Always Forever” will always forever be a top fave of mine) but their new album, To the Ghosts, has been my recent go-to on my commute. The album opens with “Crybaby” and there is something I really like about the way Madeline Follin sings the titular lyric. She puts a stress on every syllable of “crybaby,” so it sounds like she is both telling you to cry and accusing you of being a crybaby at the same time.
Martha Henzy, associate editor: I am ALWAYS listening to Jesca Hoop’s 2017 album Memories are Now (and honestly everything she does), particularly the song “The Lost Sky.” I love the close harmonies and sharp percussion – I’ve listened to it a hundred times, but the way the song builds feels eerie and creeping and gorgeous every time. Also: “Confide and fortify, blood, bone” – absolute banger lyric, ten out of ten.
Jay Shelat, staff editor: I’m currently vibing to “Sajni” by Arijit Singh from the Bollywood movie Laapata Ladies. There’s just such a beautiful sincerity to it, harkening back to late 90s/early 2000s Bollywood that I love. The lyrics are so simple, almost verging on cliched, but Singh’s voice and the instrumental composition keep the song from being run-of-the-mill. If I listen to “Sajni” with headphones in during a sunny day, I find myself on the verge of tears.
Olivia Stowell, TV & film editor: My music taste generally tends toward the mellow and melancholy, and lately “Phoenix” by Slaughter Beach, Dog epitomizes that feeling for me; it feels like wistfully remembering a first love. I love its lived-in details (and shoutouts to Philly, my favorite American city and somewhere I miss living) and the closing lyrics, which make me feel perfectly happysad: “The both of us still green enough / to remove the other’s clothes / quiet signal of devotion / that I am happy to have known.”
Mitch Therieau, culture editor: Like seemingly every rock and roll critic out there, I am listening to MJ Lenderman’s new album, Manning Fireworks, on repeat. It’s an excellent album front to back, but the song that pricks my ear the most is “Wristwatch.” Over downtuned Drive By Truckers guitars that chug along just over dirge pace, Lenderman sings from the perspective of a skeezeball on the make. “I’ve got a houseboat docked at the Himbodome,” he crows, in a come-on so radioactively pathetic that it crosses beyond self-deprecation and enters the surreal, implying a whole cartoon universe of weird little guys with their own dedicated weird-guy institutions.
Bekah Waalkes, books editor: This fall, I’ve been into dreamy, synthy music–the kind that makes my daily commute feel more ethereal than Boston’s Green Line usually warrants. I’ve been listening to a lot of Arthur Russell, the late experimental cellist, vocalist, and producer, who died in 1992 in relative obscurity. Though I love some of his earlier, weirder albums, my favorite song of his right now is “That’s Us/Wild Combination,” almost seven minutes of surprisingly catchy synth pop with a relaxed but steady energy, perfect for daydreaming on my way to the office.
To listen to this mid theory mixtape on Spotify, follow this link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/52js42Agl4HTJnYX5IaPFk?si=21a030882bb9471f
MTC Mixtapes: asks our editors, writers, and readers to share their responses to a particular question about something they’re loving, hating, fascinated by, or curious about right now.