Mixtape: Silver Blue
I like getting emails from y'all; it means that these mixtapes are reaching the ears that want to hear them! I try my best to answer them, especially if there are questions about how to dig deeper into an artist or where best to find an import of a record and whatnot. In February, I received a really lovely note from someone who grew up in a terrestrial radio desert and has since found internet radio to be somewhat homogenous, but likes the variety and curiosity of Viking's Choice.
"I really appreciate the time and energy you put in to find such excellent new and unique music," he writes, then adds: "My request / question, while your playlists are epic, they can be hard to work to, the transitions between jazz and brutal death metal for instance are somewhat jarring. Do you have any genre specific playlists, or do you know of resources for quality human curated playlists online (jazz, metal, trance, Australian rock, indie) are of particular interest?"
I found this question funny and challenging, mostly because the intent of Viking's Choice — and, really, my whole raison d'être — is the sonic shakeup. I not only want y'all to feel the total vibration of music but also make connections between disparate sounds. That, to me, is fun! So, with all due respect, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing.
Still, though, I understand the utility of a music experience that you can dip in and out of. So, in the spirit of sharing, here are a few shows/stations I check out from time to time:
Courtesy Desk: The monthly radio edition of Tracy Keats Wilson's record shop. Expect a mix of punk, indie-pop and chic international sounds hosted by one of the biggest music nerds I know.
WOWD: My former colleague Bob Boilen just became the programming director for this community radio station, which has a little bit of everything.
KEXP: I've long been a fan of this Seattle public radio station and will sometimes just hit play to hear what its DJs are spinning. If you're looking for punk and metal, the Saturday night lineup will hit the spot.
NTS: Admittedly, I have a hard time navigating everything that NTS has to offer — mostly, I tune in for the esoteric specials. Thankfully, you can set up filters by genre and mood.
That all said, this week's mixtape is truly unruly: Nothing's sequenced, just tracks listed in the order that I added them. —Lars Gotrich
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Lilly Miller, "Silver Blue"
SUMAC, "Yellow Dawn"
Beachwood Sparks, "Torn in Two"
Ride, "Light in a Quiet Room"
Bacchae, "Cooler Talk"
Marta Sanchez Trio, "I Don't Wanna Live the Wrong Life and Then Die"
Tilt, "all and anothing"
Bench Press, "Personal Best"
Marcel Wave, "Barrow Boys"
Sonya Cohen Cramer, "You've Been a Friend to Me"
1127, "iii اعيش في جلباب ابي Lenn (ft. من اليمين للشمال)"
Psychic Temple, "Doggie Paddlin' Thru the Cosmic Consciousness"
Buck Curran (feat. Jodi Pedrali), "Zitkala-Sa"
Sarah Meth, "Computer Love"
Emergency Group, "Mind Screen"
Cola, "Pallor Tricks"
Tashi Wada, "Grand Trine"
Monument, "Marylandification"
Natalia Beylis, "Lost - For Annie (excerpt)"
Anna Tivel, "Disposable Camera"
Bonny Light Horseman, "I Know You Know"
Thou, "I Feel Nothing When You Cry"
Eiko Ishibashi, "Smoke"
FIN, "Feudal Reader"
Th Blicks, "Enchancity"
Darkthrone, "Black Dawn Affiliation"
Jennifer Walshe & Tony Conrad, "In the Merry Month of May"
Kass Richards, "Blue"
Sunrise Patriot Motion, "Two Crows Woke in the Nest"
Amy Gadiaga, "Petite"
Matthew J. Rolin, "For a Better Year"