The Monday Queue
featuring Jess Williamson, Tinashe, Bright Eyes, and more!
Hi, happy Monday!
I went to see Cat Power last night; she’s on tour performing The Greatest in full in honor of its twentieth anniversary. I want to feel cynical about these kinds of anniversary shows - nostalgia sells! this is just a cash grab! - but I was not a cool enough tween to be listening to Cat Power in 2006, so I appreciate the opportunity to hear this album live now. (Show was great, she sounds awesome, this live version of “The Moon” is incredible and has ruined the album version for me!)
One of the first things I did when I got home from the show was log it on Encore. Adam Offitzer of Hear Hear has been hard at work building “the Letterboxd of concerts” and thank goodness for that because I’m having so much fun with it! For years, I’ve been tracking my concert attendance data in a spreadsheet [of course], so Encore is a huge upgrade. You can also track upcoming shows you’re planning to attend which is so cool because then you can see if anyone you follow is also attending?!
Encore is currently invite only, but you can (and should) request an invite here: encoreconcerts.fm ! (Then you should follow me!!!)
The World Cup Final, which took place yesterday, featured a musical halftime show. This was the first, and I assume I will be the only, halftime show in the history of the World Cup. What screams “America takes this sport seriously” more than a blend of Madonna, The Muppets, Ted Lasso, BTS, and Justin Bieber [“World Cup, hallelujah” is truly dumb; I know this song has a nice message but it’s also super Jesus-y in a way I don’t need in any halftime show]?
Today’s mix is more of a to-be-listened-to queue than a roundup as I’m super behind on new music. But I’m excited to dive into new albums from Steve Lacy, Nia Archives, and Gracie Abrams [I’m so mixed on the parts of this album that I’ve heard, but I have to do my pop research], plus new singles from Tinashe, beabadoobee, Julia Jacklin, and more! Would love to know what you’re listening to today.
The New Yorker is running a “Songs of Summer” series and Jia Tolentino wrote a tribute to the 2009 internet classic, United State of Pop by DJ Earworm, so I will leave you with this!
This Encore thing sounds cool! Keeping track of concerts and connecting with other music fans. However, I miss the days of how I used to keep a log of concerts I went to.......saving concert stubs.
ah, thanks so much for the kind words on Encore!!!