monday, january 10th (sort of)
Year-end poll & the first mixtape of 2022!
Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Monday Morning Mixtape! It’s a very special first edition of the year as we share the returns on the 2021 year-end poll as well as the first mixtape of 2022.
For the poll, I want to thank everyone who participated. My relationship to music was very peculiar this year, and was rarely connected to what was going on in the present moment; it was such a relief to see that wasn’t the case for many of you. It seems that the output of music in 2021 captured your attention and beckoned you in to healing, regenerative experiences. I’ll share more about my relationship to the year in music and discoveries in a week or two, but I wanted to lend the space this week for those who gave their time to graciously share their experiences.
I encourage all to read through the below and allow themselves to engage with the offerings of others (pro tip: this may be most easily done in a browser). While the recommendations of personal preference provide readers with a trove of music across time and genre to explore, the more open-ended questions toward the bottom of the poll are what I continue to return to. It’s in these responses that you’ll find simple moments of music’s unexpected entry points into the emotional core of our day to day. It’s exactly what I always hope the Mixtape to be.
For ease of reference, I’ve included two Spotify playlists below (one for 2021 releases and one of songs released any time before) that encompass all the songs mentioned here. You can also find the first mixtape of the year attached as well. I feel so excited to get back in the swing of things and share this with you all. It feels like a great starting point.
2021 was the year of...
KT: Crying
SF: Discovering new/old artists in the genres I enjoy
OG: doing our best
JZ: Dua Lipa, phoebe bridgers turning mainstream from fringe
KJ: Justin Bieber, according to my Spotify wrapped
RG: Lessons
TC: Not getting any Monday Morning Mixtapes
DL: Olivia Rodrigo
PB: Power to the People (solidarity forever, universal soldier, coward of the county)
AM: purchasing every season of parks & rec to have on hand at all times due to poor mental health // getting back into the habit of reading before bed // grieving // actually meeting my neighors (everyone is so much nicer in Brooklyn) // impulse buying merch because apple pay just makes it so easy // going to a random city completely by myself to see John mulaney for the very first time (I sat in the very middle of the front row and he sat down criss-cross applesauce in front of me, I’m still recovering) // VACCINES! BOOSTERS!!
CV: rediscovering physical music. bluetooth/aux connect: OUT ... fat stack of CDs in the center console: IN
EE: tiktok songs turned true pop
Underrated?
SF: Any Little Richard album/song I feel as if he gets not enough credit to his contributions to Rock and Roll music
RG: Coming to a Jump Stop
KJ: Dijon!!! J Cole's new album, Russ, Chiiild, Charlotte Day Wilson
OG: hanging out with cousins, new bedrooms
PB: Herbert Hoover
CV: I liked star-crossed!!! And the Alchemist's monster year
KT: Kanye west Living in that stadium
EE: Solar Power
AM: trousdale, lizzy mcalpine, charli adams, faye webster, valley, gatlin, wet leg, aly & aj
JZ: Wouldn’t know
Overrated?
CV: jack antonoff? flop year (relative) for the indie-pop-girl-whisperer
KJ: Japanese Breakfast, Call Me If You Get Lost, Drake (booooo)
KT: Kanye west
AM: lana del rey, fiona apple, justin bieber, basically any tiktok song (they make me feel like i'm 89 years old i don't get them), charli xcx
RG: Morning Practices
OG: my fancy agency job, espresso martinis, low rise pants
JZ: No
EE: Red TV (sorry!)
SF: Taylor Swift’s new album
PB: Taylor swift is annoying
What were your favorite "new-to-you" songs discovered within the year?
SF: 1. Bobby Womack: “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” 2. Sammy Davis JR. “The Candyman” 3. Tina Turner “The Best” 4. “Blinding Lights”- The Weekend 5. “Levitating”-Dua Lipa 6. “Dynamite”- BTS
DL: All of Jack Harlow. I just found out who he was this year and I’m all in on his music and his personality
First love/late spring by Mitski captured my heart
SWEET - brockhampton
Yucky Blucky Fruitcake - DOECHII
PB: Avant gardener by Courtney Barnett, Ode to Billie joe by Bobbie gentry, Cry to me by Solomon burke, Mona by bo Diddley, I’m gone - Dolly Parton, Universal soldier - Buffy sainte Marie, and of course, Psycho - Eddie noack
AM: Boygenius cover of cowboy take me away (technically rediscovered because I forgot it existed), push for yellow (shelter) — valley, do i ever cross your mind — chet atkins and dolly parton, baby i don’t know oh oh (live at madison square garden) — vulfpeck & charles jones, long ago (and far away) — jo stafford, if i didn’t care — the ink spots, down by the seaside — led zeppelin, my strange addiction — billie eilish, judgements from the world’s greatest band — Annie dirusso, understood — Leith ross, this old car — lighthearted, better man — Taylor swift (never listened to the little big town version) ((makes me wanna put Jake g’s hand through a meat slicer))
OG: gold dust woman (Fleetwood mac), ketchum ID (boygenius), so hot you're hurting my feelings (caroline polachek)
RG: Honey by 070 Shake, Wellerman by the Longest Johns, FUCKIN YOUNG/ PERFECT by Tyler the Creator, Aguardiente y Limon by Kali Ulchis, Beer Never Broke My Heart by Luke Combs
CV: If Not For You - George Harrison; New Faces v2 - Mac Miller feat. Earl; Summer Breeze - Isley Brothers; California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco; Kamera - Wilco; Speedboat - Denzel Curry; Always See Your Face - Love; Someday We'll Be Together - Diana Ross; Dance Floor - Willie Wright; Who Do You Love - Quicksilver Messenger Service (also Bo Diddley's); Land of Honey - Flying Lotus feat. Solange; Hey Love - Stevie Wonder; Hung Up on My Baby - Isaac Hayes; Full of Fire - Al Green; All Right (instrumental) - J Dilla; Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You - Bob Dylan
KJ: Night Shift -Lucy Dacus, First Love / Late Spring -Mitski, Missed Calls -Mac Miller, right where you left me & Daylight -TSwift
KT: iT (Christine and the queens), better than (lake street drive), Jesus Christ 2005 god bless America (1975/phoebe), Caroline (arlo parks), hate me (Miley Cyrus), Archie marry me (alvvays), love really hurts without you !!!! (Billy ocean)
EE: Out of the races and onto the tracks (the Rapture), You put the flame on me (Charles Bradley), Right Down the Line (Gerry Rafferty), Jeepster (T. Rex)
What were your favorite "new-to-you" albums discovered this year?
SF: 1. Genesis “Invisible Touch” 2. Chuck Berry “Oh Yeah! Live In Detroit!” 3. Little Richard “King Of Rock and Roll” 4. Tina Turner “Private Dancer” 5. “After Hours”-The Weekend
RG: Channel Orange by Frank
JZ: I got really into Morgan wallen. I’m embarrassed to say. Once he was on snl I sorta was curious and then I saw a song of his in a tik tok and the rest was history.
PB: It’s my way - Buffy sainte Marie
KT: leon (apart), evermore Taylor Swift, punisher phoebe
KJ: Most of Julien Baker's albums, Aaliyah, Mac Miller's Faces
CV: Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee; Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco; All Things Must Pass - George Harrison; Faces - Mac Miller; Aja - Steely Dan; ZUU - Denzel Curry
EE: Singles going steady (Buzzcocks), Light up gold (Parquet Courts), Inner song (Kelly Lee Owens)
OG: tusk (fleetwood mac), boygenius (boygenius), punisher (phoebe bridgers)
AM: Valley’s entire discography, bad vacation — Liza Anne, sugarcoated — gatlin, faking my own death — Allison ponthier
What were your favorite songs released in 2021?
CV: 35 you say..... I Drink Wine - Adele; Nobles - The Alchemist feat. Earl Sweatshirt; Falling Out the Sky - Armand Hammer feat. Earl Sweatshirt; Oxytocin - Billie Eilish; Turpentine - Boldy James and the Alchemist; Amoeba - Clairo; So.incredible.pkg - Denzel Curry feat. Kenny Beats, Smino & Robert Glasper; 2010 - Earl Sweatshirt; A Dream With a Baseball Player - Faye Webster; Gang Signs - Freddie Gibbs feat. ScHoolboy Q; Hold U - Indigo De Souza; The Other Side - Jazmine Sullivan; Skegee - JID; Camera Roll - Kacey Musgraves; Black Bathing Suit - Lana Del Rey; VBS - Lucy Dacus; Bird Song - Lute feat. JID & Saba; The Stellar Ray Theory - Mach-Hommy; Big Persona - Maxo Kream feat. Tyler the Creator; Thot Shit - Meagan Thee Stallion; The Only Heartbreaker - Mitski; Time Today - Moneybagg Yo; Sky - Playboi Carti; 12am in Atl - Reason feat. Isaiah Rashaad, Benny the Butcher & Doe Boy; Headlock - Snail Mail; Massa - Tyler the Creator; Law of Averages - Vince Staples; I Don't Live Here Anymore - the War on Drugs; Light of a Clear Blue Morning - Waxahatchee; Remarkably - Wiki; Fast - Young Dolph :( :(; Proud of You - Young Thug & Lil Uzi Vert feat. Yung Kayo; Day Before - Young Thug feat. Mac Miller; 4 Da Gang - 42 Dugg feat. Roddy Ricch
JZ: Best friend - saweetie; Cardi b’s up; Drivers license - can’t remember her name. Oh my god - Adele. I also think Bo Burnhams music deserves to be mentioned. It was all pretty catchy but wildly thoughtful. Just an impressive feat.
EE: Big star (Lorde), Bunny is a rider (Caroline Polachek), all too well TV (10 min version), Like I used to (Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen), JUGGERNAUT (Tyler the Crator), sexy villain (Remi Wolf), best thing (JAWNY)
KT: Ode to a conversation (del water gap), until I found you (Stephen sanchez), Fallen fruit (Lorde), stoned in a nail salon (Lorde), Fade into a dream - leon, seventeen going under- Sam fender, say what you- James Blake, silk chiffon- muna/ pheoebe, happier than ever- Billie, mood ring (Lorde (listen I know I’m being inconsistent)), all eyes on me - bo burnham, leave the door open
KJ: Hold a Grudge (bonus track) -Lorde, Rodeo Clown -Dijon, favorite crime -Olivia Rodrigo, Kyoto -Spotify Singles version Phoebe Bridgers, traitor -Olivia Rodrigo, Bottle Rocket -Jimi Somewhere, Lost in the Citadel -Lil Nas X, Anyone -Justin Bieber fml, Mood Ring -Lorde, Silk Chiffon -MUNA/Phoebe, Stoned at the Nail Salon -Lorde, Nothing New -Taylor/Phoebe, Superstar -Boyish, That Funny Feeling -Phoebe cover, camera roll -Kasey, angel -Kasey, hookup scene -Kasey, Jail -Kanye, Stuck on You -Giveon, Off My Face -Jbiebs ugh, Mr. Perfectly Fine -TSwift From the Vault, All Your Exes -Julia Michaels, Liz -Remi Wolf, Ain't Shit -Doja Cat, Just For Today -Clairo, Secrets From a Girl (Who's Seen It All) -Lorde, I Drink Wine -Adele, Friends That Break Your Heart -James Blake, The Kids Are All Dying -FINNEAS, Ex For a Reason -Summer Walker, I Bet You Think About Me -Red TV, Working for the Knife -Mitski
AM: In no particular order: Going going gone — Lucy dacus; Pretty places — aly & aj The melting of the sun — st. Vincent; Don’t you — Taylor swift; All too well 10 minute version — Taylor swift; mr. perfectly fine — Taylor swift; Any day now — trousdale; Happy anymore — trousdale; That funny feeling — bo burnham; Comedy — bo burnham; Big star — lorde; Working for the knife — mitski; Superstar — boyish; Tempo — valley; Society — valley; Cheers — Faye Webster; Both all the time — Faye Webster; Sometimes — Faye Webster; Doomsday — lizzy mcalpine; Around my neck — finneas; Nothing new — Taylor swift (feat. Phoebe bridgers)
RG: Kiss Me More by Doja, Lemon Pepper Freestyle by Drake
OG: so hot you're hurting my feelings (squirrel flower), christine (lucy dacus), stoned at the nail salon (lorde), woo! (remi wolf)
What were your favorite albums released in 2021?
CV: Call Me if you Get Lost - Tyler the Creator; I Know I'm Funny haha - Faye Webster; 30 - Adele; Sound Ancestors - Madlib; Haram - Armand Hammer (s/o Alchemist); Blue Bannisters - Lana Del Rey; Wiki - Half God (s/o Navy Blue); Pray for Haiti - Mach-Hommy; Star-crossed - Kacey Musgraves; Valentine - Snail Mail; and honorable mention for Chief Keef's 4NEM which I know would be on here if I had more time w it (you got lucky Snail Mail)
OG: home video (lucy dacus)
DL: I did a really bad job of finding new albums in 2021 :( looking forward to your recap so I can catch up
PB: I don’t think I listened to a single album
AM: In no particular order: bullseye -- charli adams, I know I’m funny haha — Faye Webster, home video — Lucy dacus, solar power — lorde, take the sadness out of saturday night — bleachers, Daddy’s home — st. Vincent, A touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun — aly & aj, What happiness is — trousdale, Look around — trousdale, Last birthday — valley
EE: Jubilee, Juno (Remi Wolf), Valentine (Snail Mail), 30 (Adele)
KT: Lorde, olivia, Billie, Claire, adele, collapsed in sunbeams, del water gap, abba
JZ: Loved Adele’s album. I am having a hard time focusing on the questions because of my knee. Hmmm. I also liked sour of course and was disappointed by kacey musgraves album.
KJ: Montero was my favorite idc if that's basic Lil Nas X is my hero, second fave def Absolutely (Dijon) Collapsed in Sunbeams (Arlo Parks), Still Over It (Summer Walker), Home Video (Lucy Dacus), star-crossed (Kasey), I did like Solar Power, The Off-Season J Cole, and fuck it I'll admit I loved Justice by Justin Bieber fml
RG: The House is Burning by Isaiah Rashad
Briefly describe your relationship to pop music in 2021:
OG: an escape
JZ: Came for dua lipa, and stayed for dua lipa. She isn’t done rising.
RG: Didn't care for it.
SF: I listened to some modern day pop artists however I am looking to expand discover new modern pop artists and music this year.
AM: Indifferent I guess? Not my preferred genre and I always feel out of the loop, but a lot of it sounded the same this year. Hence why my overrated picks are all pop-related.
PB: Irrelevant
KT: It’s kinda all I listen too ooops sorey! Need it to get through my day (commute, workout, dancing in my apt)
DL: More intimate than it has ever been before. A lot of Olivia Rodrigo and Jack Harlow
KJ: My #1 genre was Indie Pop and my #1 motto is let people enjoy things
CV: Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor's re-releases dominated convos and I did not particularly care for/about either so didn't engage much there. Felt pretty out of touch w top 40 in general actually (not on tiktok, tried to learn about "the kid Laroi" like 3 times and still ???, etc). Loved the most sold album of the year though go Adele!!!
EE: snug af
What was your favorite movie that came out in 2021?
JZ: Cmon cmon
PB: Cmon cmon
CV: Dune I'm afraid
KT: favorite daughter or don’t look up maybe
SF: I didn’t watch any movies in 2021
OG: i don't like movies
RG: Shang-Chi
AM: This question is a bit limiting, I watched a ton of amazing movies in 2021 that did not come out in 2021. But if I have to follow the prompt I’d say Zola, all too well: the short film, shiva baby, inside
EE: Titane
TC: West Side Story
KJ: West Side Story remake but also that's the only one I saw
Which 2021 movie were you most disappointed by?
TC: Gucci
KJ: I heard Dune was boring so I didn't watch it
JZ: Licorice pizza but I will say that it’s sound track made it tolerable.
EE: Many Saints of Newark (less disappointed, obviously could've seen this coming, but still a bummer)
KT: Maybe spencer- I don’t feel super strongly about this one
RG: Spiderman
PB: The green knight ruined my week
CV: the moltisanti of newark :(
For a short but special moment concerts returned this year. Was there a particularly memorable show or moment in which you experienced live music?
TC: Adele - a taped but "live in LA" Griffen Observatory
KT: All of the arlo concerts but specifically Boston, but actually phoebe in Boston was the ultimate- cried the whole time
DL: Dr. Dog was absolutely magical. Shakey graves slays live shows
CV: Everything about finally seeing Earl was !!!!! but Domo coming out and doing a song from Doris w him like it was 2013 was extra special. Also an unfortunate circumstance turning into following Waxahatchee to Columbus, OH and singing/crying along to the most beautiful music ever
RG: Georgia Fosse's band concert, breathtaking
SF: I never experienced a concert live in person
AM: i think the last 1/4th of this year was a saving grace period for me. I saw approx. 10 shows in less than 2 months. Live shows are mile markers for me, helping me map out different memories inside my brain. During the thick of the pandemic (are we ever not in the thick of the pandemic?), I struggled with the reality of not having anything concrete to look forward to. I hate the unknown. It is what causes the most of my anxiety. Every show I had planned for 2020 got cancelled or rescheduled, and then rescheduled again. The one setting I could always rely on to make me feel good was suddenly unreliable. So, actually walking into an arena in September for the first time since march of 2020, knowing that my feet were planted where they’d been so many times before felt like coming home. That was the moment that was most special for me. But also, seeing harry styles’s face when he saw my makeshift sign (just a black screen on my phone with “I LOST MY VIRGINITY TO THIS SONG” typed out in giant white letters) while he sang “woman” was also a highlight for sure.
KJ: Phoebe Bridgers at GovBall made the entire sweaty day worth it. Also MUNA but mostly Phoebe
EE: Spending my 25th birthday at LCD Soundsystem @ BK Steel surrounded by so many people I love
PB: Trombone man at Broadway Lafayette- every Thursday - la vie en rose
OG: we went to see lucy dacus at brooklyn steel, and one friend couldn't make it because she had a covid scare (she ended up being fine). i called her during night shift so she could sing along with us from her apartment
If you felt super passionately (positively or negatively) about a piece of music you discovered this year, write about it!
OG: christine by lucy dacus makes me really sad and happy at the same time because i've totally been in that same situation of being a girl in love with a straight girl and watching her love a guy who doesn't deserve it. it's so relatable! and the way she writes it is so beautiful and heartbreaking. i also went through an assault this year and listening to stevie nicks screaming about a woman ruining some guy's life on Gold Dust Woman helped me get through that, too, in a weird way.
KT: I biked from my apt to Maria hernandez park (I should have just walked it’s a really short ride) everyday for two weeks in April Bc I was really down and needed something to keep me busy. I listened to Caroline by arlo parks on a loop every time (the ride was really only like 2 plays but alas). It truly lifted my spirits greatly. The song still makes me feel a lil melancholy but in a good way if that makes sense
SF: I enjoy listening to any of the Boston albums they are one of my favorite bands and anytime they play on the radio or when I listen to them on Spotify I know it will be a good day!
KJ: I listened to Night Shift by Lucy Dacus on a pretty much daily basis and it just so perfectly encapsulates everything I feel toward my ex girlfriend and it makes me scream and cry thank you for letting me overshare in this space!!
EE: I've spent an inordinate amount of time at The Lot Radio over the course of the pandemic (mainly bc it was one of the only places you could get drinks without food early on), and I was delighted one day early on in 2021 to meet Andrew Savage while he was DJing a set there. He played an amazing, amazing set over the course of a couple hours, and two sleeper (like serious sleeper) hits stood out to me: You Keep me Hanging On by Bonnie & Shiela and Design by Gustaf. Both songs have literally fewer than 200k streams on Spotify, so no idea how he discovered them, but every time i listen, I remember how lucky I am to live in a place like New York where I can be exposed to amazing songs like these, and have them introduced to me by an artist I adore.
RG: Isaiah Rashad, The House is Burning, vastly underrated
CV: not a discovery per se but reading Hanif's reflections on ATCQ in "Go Ahead in the Rain" gave their albums new meanings/power and completely reenergized my love for Tribe and all things golden age of hip hop. He and they deserve all the love! RIP Phife!!!!
AM: Trousdale Trousdale Trousdale i literally cannot emphasize this enough. They are so good, you can truly feel and hear the effort that goes into their production. Their harmonies are angelic — very much the chicks vibes mixed with haim and also Crosby stills and Nash. Georgia Greene’s solo stuff is also incredible (“lonely for you” and “good enough” really hit when I was 20 and in the middle of a tough depressive episode) (as for her more recent stuff, I lost my voice a couple months ago because I kept singing “have you thought about me with somebody else” over and over and over again — her range is insane), but her voice with Quinn and Lauren (the rest of trousdale) scratches at my brain in the best possible way. Also, I know that “sad girl autumn” was a thing this year, but that’s kinda my personal brand all year long, through every season. That’s the space that I frequent the most. 2021 was a rough year for my mental health and I think that was evident in my most played artists of the year: Phoebe bridgers, Taylor swift (spent approx. 11,000 minutes listening her, most specifically all newly released vault songs throughout the year), Lizzy mcalpine (can we talk about “doomsday” really quick? “I'd have liked to plan out my part in this but you're such a narcissist that you did it on halloween” oof and ouch, lizzy!!! She could’ve given us a warning for that one), Charli Adams (released her debut album this summer called bullseye, standout tracks include: emo lullaby, bother with me, remember cloverland, seventeen again, and cheer captain), gatlin, mitski, samia, valley (“slacks” just came on shuffle as I’m typing this, ouch), the list really goes on and on and there’s a playlist on my spotify if you’re really curious.
PB: Universal soldier - best line for me
“But without him how would Hitler
Have condemned him at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone”
Everyday people are the universal soldier. They are the ones who give power to either great or horrible people - by standing by and either supporting or saying nothing.
2022 will be the year of...
RG: Being Early
JZ: Cancelled concerts
SF: Discovering new artists in the genres I enjoy listening to
KJ: Harry Styles and MAYBE Frank Ocean, according to Deuxmoi
OG: hopefully, healing and growth.
EE: I literally can't even plan my life a week out
AM: More live shows // international travel // at-home covid tests // more merch // speak now Taylor’s version (I’ll be catatonic when this drops) // seeing John mulaney for the second time // new mitski // frequenting the new indie bookstore by my apartment on tompkins // finding a reasonably priced record store by my apartment
TC: Receiving your mixed tapes lol
KT: Rediscovering classics
CV: road trip mixes, mitski, like 3 more taylor swift months long album re-roll outs?, more earl and more alchemist!, mets world series win
PB: Stretching
DL: The Monday Morning Mixtape