Imagine a League of Legendary Dragons
Em's Fresh Fridays
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Fresh For The Holidays
Spotify | Apple Music
Mainstream Dreams
The keen eyed observer may point out that the first bit of this playlist is pretty fuckin' mainstream and might be directly ripped from Spotify's New Release playlist. You might point that out, but before you do I'd like to ask you to consider two things:
This is my newsletter which I do for free and for fun.
You can suck my goddamn asshole.
Enjoy your Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, and Macklemore, bitch.
Okay, but like... the Imagine Dragons track is weirdly good? I don't know JID's work well, but that feature left me impressed and I'm genuinely expecting this to fall into my regular rotation. It's part of the promo cycle for Netflix' new League of Legends animated series, which holds exactly zero appeal for me, but I know I've got some MOBA folks who read this. Do you play it because the characters are compelling enough for TV? I didn't think so, but hey, I've been wrong.
Media Friendly Radio
And of course, it's not really Em's Fresh Fridays [sent with confetti] without some sort of bullshit soundtrack shit, so I've got a double dose for ya today with Ramin Djawadi doing Marvel's The Eternals and Max Richter's work for Apple TV+'s Invasion. Oh, and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood scored another thingamabob for Netflix, so that's cool.
Been talking a lot about Netflix for how shitty they've been to the trans community recently. Not really a fan of that. Let's stop doing that for the rest of this newsletter.
Instead, let's talk about Kelly Lee Owens' official theme for the FIFI Women's World Cup 2023 TM TM TM.
All Bummed Out and Nowhere To Go
Do you like my attempt at a poorly shoehorned wordplay around the word "album"? Me neither, but it's written and there's no way for me to change it now. So, let's talk about some albums that came out today.
The obvious one to mention is Ed Sheeran's new record, which he was supposed to be promoting on SNL this week, but the kid went and got the roni. Shame. We've got Megan Thee Stallion putting out a record of b-sides, lost tracks, mixtape shit, etc. I don't think she's even graduated school yet and she's accumulated enough of these to justify a record? That's called overachieving, babes.
Wringer (Careful Gaze, Waste) just dropped their debut EP. Listen to my friends play political hardcore that'll make you want to open up a one-off mosh pit in your bedroom. This gets its own paragraph because it's that important to me. Listen, dammit.
The War On Drugs just released an album that Pitchfork is calling "one of the biggest, most luxurious records this side of Steely Dan’s Gaucho." I've been eagerly anticipating this one and very nearly wrote a newsletter that only contained a brief urging to go listen to this. It's probably the most interesting release of the week, by my measure.
Some of you nerdier music collectors will disagree, though, since this week brings us Death Cab for Cutie's deluxe reissue of The Photo Album which is fucking expansive. Enjoy it. I put on an alternate lyrics demo of Information Travels Faster, which I suspect you'll really dig if you know the the final version of the track.
Does anyone read this who doesn't know everything by Death Cab? Let me know. I doubt it, but I've been wrong.
This one's just for me, so indulge me. Former Member is Will Yips's collaborative project with Jason from Kid Dynamite. If you don't know Will Yip, he's notable for producing fucking everyone from mewithoutYou to Panic! at the Disco, but is perhaps best known in the hardcore world for his work with La Dispute, Code Orange, Citizen, Circa Survive, Movements, and so many more. Obviously, I'm beyond stoked to spend the next year diving into this record.
The Copyrights' seventh album is finally out over on Fat Wreck Chords, which is one of my favorite labels currently working. Grab your skateboards, a Monster BFC, and some stickers to slap on police cars, cause this one's a pop-punk ripper. Also check out Mansions' record and Magnolia Park's Halloween Mixtape, while we're on the subject of pop-punk.
Finally, we have Nightmares On Wax's record that I first previewed so long ago that I don't even think I was writing this yet. Grab your friend Mary Jane and just let this wash over you. If you'd rather seek out comedy while you're getting stoned this weekend, try Brian David Gilbert's (ex-Polygon) reimagining of ABBA songs through the lens of classic horror monsters.
Oh, and don't forget Save Face's blatant attempt to steal the MCR throne, which I genuinely love.
Track By Track You Lead Me, And I Will Follow You All Of My Days
Okay, gonna do a speedrun of notable tracks here. Let's do bullet points so that I don't get lost in the weeds.
8-bit ska artist Louser brought in Reel Big Fish
Cobra Starfish is back? Did they ever leave?
Potty Mouth just dropped a farewell single while announcing that they're breaking up. EP to come.
Spanish Love Songs is covering blink-182 and I implore you to listen to it without wanting or expecting it to sound like blink.
Hozier is back, but it's a collab with MEDUZA, a production trio from Milan. It's good shit, though I shouldn't be shocked given how well MEDUZA worked with Dermot Kennedy a while back.
In Sum:
Okay. I'm fucking tired, I have a headache, and my Mountain Dew is still unopened on my desk, so I guess that's why the caffeine isn't working yet. Listen through. Enjoy the scattered Halloween shit. It's fun.
The holiday playlist keeps growing. Manchester Orchestra just dropped an album for it and there are more assorted singles. I'll write in depth with some standouts later in the season.
Addendum:
Two things worth bringing to your attention today:
First, we've got the first in-office Tiny Desk Concert since the pandemic started, as this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner Neffy plays a well won set for their YouTube channel.
Secondly is less good, but Gully Boys, whom I featured a few weeks back, need help after having all their shit stolen. Toss them a few bucks if you can. Life's hard for everyone.
See ya next week.