A Mix For: Big Ol' Explosions
featuring Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish, and more!
As much as I like stripped-back music, I love big production. Hit me with that wall of sound. The louder the bass, the bigger the drums, the crazier the distortion the better. When I go to concerts, I want to feel the music in my body; I want buzzing in my teeth.
I’m a big fan of songs that give you the best of both worlds: songs that start kind of mellow before arriving at a big, loud conclusion. The build up to that moment is really important; you almost need to be shocked that a song that starts so mellow eventually explodes. We’re looking for some major payoff. This mix is all about that.
I’m kicking things off with Phoebe Bridgers’s song, “I Know the End.” Phoebe performed this song on Saturday Night Live in 2021 and provoked the ire of music bros everywhere by leaning into the explosion and smashing her guitar at the end of the performance. While it was a staged smash (the speaker was fake and rigged to spark when hit), this performance still seemed to piss off every man on the internet, all of whom acted like they’d never before seen a musician smash a guitar for effect. [This includes David Crosby, who called the performance “pathetic.” Phoebe in turn called him “little bitch” and my own father referred to him as “one of the sourest, no-talents in rock and roll history.” Tough break, David!]
All that to say, I love songs like this because they’re big moments musically and sometimes culturally. So get ready to rage. We’re smashing guitars tonight, baby!
I Know the End, Phoebe Bridgers
Night Shift, Lucy Dacus
Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish
Your Best American Girl, Mitski
Scorpio Rising, Soccer Mommy
Salt In The Wound, boygenius
Pictures of Success, Rilo Kiley
Right Now, HAIM
Posing For Cars, Japanese Breakfast
A House in Nebraska, Ethel Cain
Different Kind of World, Maggie Rogers
mirrored heart, FKA twigs
Fine Line, Harry Styles
What’s your favorite song that fits this criteria? I’d love to add it to the mix!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and listening- if you like Made You a Mix, please share with a friend!