the big three!
three years of mixes
Hi, happy Monday! This week marks the third anniversary of Made You A Mix. Woweeee! Making these mixes (and having an outlet for my pop culture feelings) is so fun. These are a few of my favorite newsletters from the last three years:
Thanks as always for being here, for listening, for reading, for sharing this newsletter with your friends. It really does mean a lot to me.
In honor of three years [and because it apparently makes a difference in the Substack algorithm] you can now become a paid subscriber to Made You A Mix! If you get any value out of this newsletter, if you like getting music recommendations and pop culture takes from a real person, if you appreciate someone else doing the work of wading through lots of content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
That said, nothing major is changing! Monday emails will remain free for everyone. Paid subscribers just get the satisfaction of knowing they’re supporting the time that goes into this. I may eventually make additional content for paid subscribers? We’ll see!
Getting down to business! Lots of good new releases in the last few weeks.
Japanese Breakfast’s new album, For Melancholy Brunettes (&sad women), came out this past Friday. Her previous album, 2021’s Jubilee, is one of my all-time favorites, which means I’m always going to feel some type of way about whatever comes next. For Melancholy Brunettes… is different than Jubilee (the album titles alone will tell you that), but not in a bad way. I do really like it! Based on the first few spins, I still like Jubilee more, but I’m sure this will continue to grow on me.
One song I can’t stop thinking about is, “Men In Bars,” which features Jeff Bridges. I have not found any interview in which Michelle Zauner talks sufficiently about how and why she landed Thee Burt Vickerman [the girls that get it, get it] on her album! I know he has some sort of music career and I know his voice is iconic, but I need to know so much more about how this collaboration happened.
HAIM are back and not a moment too soon!1 They’ve said it took seven years to finish and release their new song, “Relationships,” which tracks because I think it sounds like it could have been on their second album, Something To Tell You, which came out about seven years ago. They have not officially announced a new album, but I think it’s safe to assume this is the lead single. I’m hoping the full album leans a little differently in terms of sound - Danielle Haim (lead singer, lead guitarist, drummer, lead songwriter, middle sister) is one of the great Rock Stars of her generation, so I’d love for them to really lean into that.
Chappell Roan has also returned! “The Giver,” which she performed on SNL last fall, is with her first release since her her Best New Artist win at the Grammys. This song is campy, queer, country fun. I listened to an interview where she said she wanted to write her own “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy),” and I think she was successful in that.
I’m also listening to new albums from Annie DiRusso, Hamilton Leithauser, and Charlie Hickey plus new tracks from Billie Marten, JADE, Mei Semones, Perfume Genius, and more!
Thank you for being here, for reading, and for listening. If you like this week’s mix, please click the “heart” button at the top or bottom of this post - likes help this newsletter be seen by more people!
Hate to be like, “I called it,” but I did snoop out their impending return back in January!