So last year I waited until the final days of December to share some of my favorite songs from the previous 12 months. In 2017, we’ll change it up a bit, because you shouldn’t have to wait another 9 months to discover your new “I can’t live without this!” song. Hopefully, at least one of these makes your heart stop for a moment, shake its metaphorical head, and then exclaim, “Wha?!”
The songs here are from albums that, for reasons of time or space, didn’t make one of my regular roundup posts. We’ll do this again in a few months, but for now, let’s pretend it’s 1992 and this is Side 1 of the mix tape I just made for you.
Braves – “Me The Thief”
Ali Barter – “Cigarette”
Thundercat – “Show You The Way” (feat. Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald)
Dutch Uncles – “Big Balloon”
William Matheny & The Strange Constellations – “God’s Left Hand”
Rose Elinor Dougall – “Closer”
Tribe Society – “Smoke Out The Window”
Alice Jemima – “Liquorice”
1 2 3 o' clock 4 o' clock Rock 
Man, I miss mix tapes.
This compilation makes me wanna listen through a quality sound system and have a dance party. (Cleaning with a spring in my step will have to substitute for an actual dance party.) I’m now obsessed with the Alice Jemima track. It’s so rhythmically hooky yet so spacious. And who doesn’t love rump bongos? (Also, shout out to the original NES. Mine is packed away in a closet, along with some cartridges. May they rest in peace.) Also, love the flute bit in the Tribe Society song. And the drum and bass groove in the Thundercat track.
This is one of those instances where the video enhances the song. I liked the Alice Jemima track a lot before I saw the video, but then I LOVED it. Also, the flute bit in The Tribe Society is what hooked me. That’s what got me to play the song a second and third time until it was firmly embedded in my brain. I miss mix tapes, too. If I had spent as much time on schoolwork as on mix tapes, I’d be president of Apple right now.
But then you likely wouldn’t have had time to start this blog and the world would’ve missed out on your brand of music curation. Looking forward to Side 2.