Monday Roundup Mix
featuring Margo Price, Bartees Strange, Samia, and more!
Writing this newsletter and making weekly mixes has changed the way I find and listen to music. It never feels like a chore, but it definitely feels like something I need to be more conscious of than I was before. Last week I read this piece from The Guardian, Has streaming made it harder to discover new music?, which explores the idea that unlimited access to music via streaming can be overwhelming to the point where we stick to what we know. Not wrong! Sometimes, I open Spotify, see all the recent releases, panic, and put on music I already know and love. The article then looks at ways people are finding new (or resurrecting old) music, primarily through movies/TV shows and TikTok, ie. Stranger Things turning “Running Up That Hill” into a massive Billboard hit in 2022.
TV and movie soundtracks were an important way I found new music as a kid, so that feels like nothing new. And for all the bad you can say about how TikTok is changing the music industry, I have discovered some great independent artists that way. However, neither of these options feel like the most reliable, or personal, way to find new music.
Writing on Substack, I’ve been introduced to a community of other writers/music lovers who push me to listen to new artists or songs. I know I’m about 100 times more likely to check out a recommendation from a real person and not just an algorithm, so these newsletters have been really helpful. A few of my favorites include:
Record Store by Amaya Lim
On Repeat by Kevin Alexander
What’s Curation? by Nikhil Rajagopalan
If you like Made You A Mix, I hope you’ll check out some of these other newsletters. There’s just so much to listen to! Thanks for being here and for engaging with the music I’m finding and enjoying. I hope you’ve discovered something that you like and I hope you’ll share your own findings with me!
This week’s mix is a roundup of new/new-to-me/back-in-rotation tracks from the last few weeks. I’m as surprised as anyone by how much country-adjacent music is on here, but that’s a story for another week!
Change of Heart, Margo Price
Love Looks Different, Madi Diaz
Sweet Symphony, Joy Oladokun, Chris Stapleton
Cosigns, Bartees Strange
Morning, Charlotte Lawrence
I Can’t Grow Up, Tegan and Sara
Kill Her Freak Out, Samia
Take It Like A Man, Amanda Shires
Beep, M.I.A.
Forgive Me, Chloe x Halle
Thanks for being here! If you like what you read or heard, please share with a friend!