2020 mixtape invitational

my coworker sam puts together an annual collation of top song for the year end.  my third year participating here are 2019 and 2018. 

2019 mixtape invitational

my friend-coworker sam puts together an annual collation of top song for the year end.  here was mine from last year. this year's below and the full collection of lists here. i went deep into my 90's r&b feels last year and it's evident in artists that made my mix. only three of my artists (sharon van etten, normani and king princess) made it on other lists. 


 

late to the party - the oa

photo: netflix

you know when that friend recommends a tv series and you just think you just don't have time. this is what happened to me with the oa. i'd been recommended the first season a few years back with the "if you liked lost, you might like..." 

it came back up on my radar when a coworker mentioned he easily binged the second season. i dove into the wonderfully mind-boggling series on a rainy day late in march. it's cray and so wacky, but it's carefully crafted relationships are the heart of the series. i've always admired the talent of show runner, lead brit marling. i'd seen another earth, the east and arbitrage. gurl sure knows how to spin a tale and act in it. 

after seeing sharon van etten in concert, that was my catalyst to finally dig into the second season. so many things that tugged on my love for my hometown of san francisco. oakland native zendaya! 16th avenue tiled steps. treasure island! sure, there's some over the top stuff, but it's still the characters stories that drive my love. oh, also to top off more reasons to love this series - andrew haigh directs two episodes albeit not in sf. (haigh directed another home town show, looking, which i loved).  so now we await a season three hopefully.

photo: nicola goode, netflix

sharon van etten @ webster hall

sharon van etten plays her last show at webster hall as a new yorker
photo: gregg greenwood

tarifa

totally belated on this sve gem.

record store day

for the past four years and counting i have participated in record store day. this one was bittersweet as one of my favs, sound fix, bid farewell. i happily shopped there on their last day. picked up rsd 7" releases for sharon van etten and phoenix.  i also got grizzly bear's friend ep and efterklang's piramida. i hopped by academy records to score the shearwater + sve rsd 7". was the first to get it. they actually let me purchase two. i told them sound fix sold out of their stash. record store day brings out different collectors, so there you go. i wasn't able to this tho. in any case, happy to shop at sound fix on final time. i'll never forget seeing bon iver and the antlers playing in store.

missed ya

sve on world cafe

xing bk ferry

who's down?

tramp

must listen (you won't be sorry): sharon van etten's tramp.  npr is providing a first listen to sve's glorious tramp. this will deffo be on repeat for me, since seeing it live.  to say this is highly anticipated is an understatement.  favs so far "give out" and "all i can".

epic

got this last night at sve's gig at mercury lounge.  a belated purchase and well worth the wait.

sve on late night

sharon rocking her new tune "serpents" from her forthcoming album, tramp (if you couldn't read the cue cards).

beirut @ northside fest

best "it's been a long time, long time now" performance: beirut at the northside festival. how shar has never seen beirut until last night is beyond me. zach was adorbs as expected and the horns were in full force. it was touch and go as thunderstorms pounded new york on the hour, but the skies miraculously cleared as yellow ostrich took the stage. followed by a thrilling set (despite annoying loud conversing gal next to me) by sharon van etten. my love for her is great as you would know if you are a follower of my blog. extra extra awesome bonus was aaron dessner of the national joining sve for her set. there were closing hugs between the two. cutes! the finale with zach and gang was everything i was anticipating and more. zach did throw out a few hips swivels to bring a big grin on this gal's face. zach encored solo with "the penalty" saying he hadn't played the tune in a while. a fab night to remember. off to play this on repeat.

sharon van etten at last

worth the wait: sharon van etten. shar's been pining to see sharon live. so tonight was the night. i had to leave a bachelorette party and braved the rain minus a umbrella. when sharon walked on the stage the crowd cheered and then oops she had to run back for something. she opened with two solos and then her band joined up for "peace sign" and "save yourself". there was quite the audience saturday with one lady yelling "i love you sharon". ms. van etten was a sweetheart and obliged the shouters even when the rest of the audience found it irate.

one especially great moment was when she started "tornado" by saying how she wrote it on a classic guitar in a field in texas. she said she wanted to do something different than how it was originally composed. opening into the first verse with just her haunting voice and electric guitar, by the time she hit the chorus the band drove in and sharon ripped at her guitar. sharon didn't disappoint and ended the set with my fav "love more". i was entranced by her, the harmonium and finally getting to see her afterall this time.

tiny desk concert: sharon van etten

first listen: sharon van etten's "epic"

homesick

okay these vids just made me a little more home sick. funny what home is. shar has two.

i used to walk down to fairway in red hook when i first moved to ny, so where sharon parked was easy to identify. her dropping fort green, clinton hill and bed sty made me miss all the bk summer goodness. vincent moon captures another great musical voyeuristic treasure. looking forward to winter in ny.


then there's this precious moment between andy of vetiver and eric of fruit bats. i miss how only a short drive away from sf and you are in lovely wine country. there's something about vetiver that brings me that cozy sf bay hug. i need andy and gang to cross the pond to get me out of my funk.

Vetiver & Fruit Bats from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

shar and sharon

soon to be face to face: sharon van etten. shar's been really wanting to see her for about a year, but our paths have not crossed. i was kicking myself that i was missing her on friday. she's playing union hall, and shar will be at y92 for patrick watson and doveman. but after some interwebbing, i discovered she's doing an in store at rough trade a day after my bday. happy birthday to me. so sharon, i will see you then on the other side of the pond. UPDATE: shar's lame and i wont' see sharon afterall. the concert was last year. :(

so you too can be thoroughly enthralled by her ghostly voice. this is a performance that prolly made npr's robin hilton cry.

still not enough, check her daytrotter sesh here.