music for beep and boop (megamix 7)

Hello, welcome to another I Enjoy Music megamix of musical moments.

Reminder that the I Enjoy Music Mailbag is open, so send me the music you are listening to, and the music-related stuff you are enjoying! ienjoymusicblog [at] gmail [dot] com...

Magical Dancefloors newsletter

I love a dance floor. I hate when people do not dance on a dance floor, thus turning it into a mere floor. That is some bullshit. Go to the smoking patio to talk, I need to gyrate and I can't hear the beat to which I wish to gyrate when you are talking so loudly. Needless to say, I'm all about the new newsletter Magical Dancefloors by pseudonymous internet persona sexydiscoballs, a dance floor advocate so fervent about vibe curation (yes: dancing; no: phones) that they drew up a scorecard to rate dance parties based on categories like "community," "governance," and "spatial design." And they recently interviewed the party throwers known as Relaxed at Volume, who have started to host events in NYC inspired by the sublime audio/social experience Despacio.

dancing to beep and boop

Saw this in a subreddit for "unconventional club music" and though I disagree w/ the sentiment (writing about transcendent dancing experiences is a worthy challenge...sort of like writing about drug experiences), I really got a kick out of "I dance to beep and boop."

"Housed In The Arctic" - Ultra Deluxe

When I heard that Ultra Deluxe, the electronic-infused emo band of Dane York and Max Narotzky (who contributed an amazing tutorial for how to book your own DIY tour to I Enjoy Music last year) had signed to Lonely Ghost Records? I said oh shit. Their effusive style and scrappy energy will be such a wonderful addition to the label. "Housed In The Arctic" is a blistering single off their upcoming album The Floria Wars, which is out March 28 and promises contributions from other killer New York artists like Fear Not Ourselves Alone and Phong Tran. Pardon my woo girl tendencies but: WOOOOO!

Playing Brian Eno Music For Airports for a cat

A cat* has been living in our backyard for several months and we decided to do the right thing and get him fixed so he wouldn't populate our neighborhood with kitties. "More street cats" is the last thing L.A. needs, other than "the 2028 Olympics." This mission involved tricking the cat to get into a carrier with a beachside crunch flavored cat treat, and then driving him to the local animal hospital. He did not like this, not one bit. I was unprepared for the emotional effect of his yowls. In an effort to calm him, I played Music For Airports—my number one default for chill music—on the ride. I'm not sure it worked for him but it worked for me. Do you have a default chiller album? I'm talking no lyrics, just...some texture for the ears. Let me know.

"Storm Boy" - Solsten

Previous I Enjoy Music featuree Solsten has a new single out, "Storm Boy"—subaquatic, slow-burn techno you can really braise yourself in. I think it would be perfect on jak the act's "iceberg lounge" playlist, which is full of songs that would fit in well at the club that Robert Battinson keeps infiltrating in The Batman.

SAYA - Saya Gray

The first I Enjoy Music Listens to Your Favorite Songs of 2024 pick comes to roost. @DaveyTweetWorld recommended me Saya Gray's song "AA BOUQUET FOR YOUR 180 FACE" and it was one of my faves of the batch. Now she's got a whole album out and it's a perfectly weird collection of songs about being down so bad it breaks your brain. "This is why I don't fall in love in springtime," she sings on opener "..THUS IS WHY (I DON'T SPRING 4 LOVE)"; on closer "LIE DOWN.." which has a similar contemplative stomp, she dismisses a rival over and over: "She can look like me / She won't feel like me." Heartbroken alt pop for the last few dark weeks before daylight savings comes to save us.

THE MAILBAG (musical messages from u)

From Chris: MJ Lend Your Ears

"I enjoyed the 'Your Favorite Songs of 2024' submissions and reactions, and I remember the blog not vibing with MJ Lenderman's Manning Fireworks on the same level that others seemed to [ed. note - politifact verified true]. I felt the same when the album came out, but over time I warmed to it and determined to make it to the show when they were in NOLA earlier this month. It ended up being one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. For the encore, the band covered Lucinda Williams and The Stooges with some local friends (Thomas Dollbaum and DeeDee) before ending with their own 'Knockin'', which is one song I'd tell anyone who's Lenderman-curious to check out."

From Molly: you know what, hell yeah. Shout out MJ for pulling off something rare: referencing a 'better song' (in this case, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door") that doesn't make you want to listen to that song. In fact I like this song better than the Bob one.

From Joshua: "It's So Good" Is So Good

"I have been deeply enjoying [Jamie xx's] It's So Good because it is such a profoundly weird track. Along with the vocal sample that gives the track its title, it's built around a menacing bassline and synth stabs. The percussion includes what sounds like empty glass bottles clicking against each other. Later, the squeaks of air being let out of a balloon are layered in. Did I mention it has multiple breakdowns that sound like a tape machine imploding and are used to kick it into the next gear? It's clearly a dance track, but I have no idea how anyone would use it in a set. I hope someone figures it out."

From Molly: J'adore. Jamie xx is so good at resisting dance clichés and the results are sensational. I saw one of his shows at the Shrine and it was an amazing vibe. He even built a sort of ambient bathroom break into the set, calming things down so people could visit the loo...now that's customer service.

From Luke: Music Makes the People Come Together

"After checking out your latest Musical Moments Megamix, I thought I would share this song by It’s TBC! This guy is a philosophy teacher from London by day, one-man indie rock powerhouse by night. He’s been dropping live renditions of his oeuvre on YouTube that have me combing through his (limited, but awesome) discography once again. This is by far my favorite of his releases. The vibe is kind of like if Edwyn Collins wrote Rockin’ in the Free World, it’s a banger.

He’s also super nice, I DM with him pretty regularly. Something your writing has fostered in me is a real appreciation for how crazy it is that you can just talk to your favorite musicians if you want, even if they live in another hemisphere. On that note, I covered an Interpol song with a friend from France a few months back. It was my first time recording and mixing anything from start to finish, and TBC gave me great feedback on the production. So yeah, I guess he’s my mentor as well? Either way, accidentally forming a musical Entente from the comfort of my bedroom was one of the coolest things that happened to me in 2024, and I wanted to share the work of someone who had a big hand in that. I hope you enjoy it!"

From Molly: All I can say is...wow!!! Yes!! This is what it's all about!! The moral of the story...Traverse The Void...Make The Connect...Reach Out And Touch Faith.

*heard there is something called a 'cat tax'...here you go...oh yeah this guy lives inside with us now...