CDMX

Last month, I visited Mexico City for the first time and it exceeded my expectations. The art, culture, food and drinks were all incredible. I had been hoping for a little playlist inspiration, especially since the current state of the world has dampened my creative impulses. Thankfully, CDMX delivered. Nearly every restaurant and bar we visited had an amazing soundtrack and, thanks to Shazam, I was able to grab a few tracks to help build this playlist.

One of the highlights of the trip was dinner at Choza, which served up our last and favorite meal of the entire visit. Music was integral to the dining experience with a live DJ spinning vinyl alongside some truly outstanding Thai-fusion food. The soundtrack was as global as the menu. This playlist kicks off with a track I heard there: Sroeng Santi’s “Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng”, a cover version of a song that you will definitely recognize. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Wet Leg fan, so naturally their new single “Catch These Fists” landed on a playlist the moment I could add it. Their upcoming album, Moisturizer will be released on July 11th and I was lucky enough to catch them at a small club show in late March where they previewed some of their new tracks. I am happy to report that the new songs sound pretty fantastic.

Next up is Silvana Estrada’s “Tenías Que Ser Tú,” a beautiful track from the Mexico-based singer-songwriter. She performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival CDMX Festival earlier this month.  

I am completely hooked on Perfume Genius’ outstanding new  album, Glory. One standout is “No Front Teeth,” which features Aldous Harding.

Back in the early aughts, I was lucky to be part of the publicity team working on Broken Social Scene’s landmark album You Forgot It In People. That record holds a special place in my heart. Later this month, I have tickets for a screening of Stephen Chung’s new documentary, It’s All Gonna Break, about that time in the band’s history. On June 6th, an album of covers, Anthems: A Celebration of Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People, will be released. One of the advance tracks they have released is Toro y Moi’s version of “Stars and Sons.”

Another standout release from this year is Sharp Pins’ Radio DDR. The solo project of Lifeguard’s Kai Slater, “I Can’t Stop” is the perfect blast of power pop energy.

Back to Choza in CDMX for a moment. Another record the DJ played was Moussa Doumbia’s James Brown–inspired Afro-funk track “Keleya,” which was released in 1997 and is definitely a vibe. (If you like what you hear, check out Choza’s Soundcloud)

There has been so much amazing new music this year so I really packed this playlist. One more highlight is Panda Bear’s epic single “Praise,” from his album Sinister Grift which was released in February.

I wish I could remember which CDMX restaurant or bar I discovered Grupo Venezuela’s “Agua Loco.” I think it may have been over an epic meal at Expendio de Maíz? I need to take better notes. 

Closing out the playlist is MJ Lenderman’s cover/collaboration of the brilliant This Is Lorelei track, “Dancing in the Club,” released in late March.

I hope you enjoy this mix of new and old, indie and global songs as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

xo,

Julie

Sroeng Santi - Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng

Wet Leg - Catch These Fists

Silvana Estrada & Daniel, Me Estás Matando - Tenías Que Ser Tú

Perfume Genius featuring Aldous Harding - No Front Teeth 

Toro y Moi - Starts And Sons 

Sharp Pins - I Can’t Stop

Moussa Doumbia - Keleya 

Panda Bear - Praise

Grupo Venezuela - Agua Loca

This is Lorelei & MJ Lenderman - Dancing in the Club (MJ Lenderman Version)

Start The Riot!

The relentless barrage of awfulness coming from the current administration is intolerable. I am trying to cope by making my 5 Calls to my reps, not giving money to companies that are supporting the coup and a lot of self-care. 

After the completely disrespectful way a true hero like Volodymyr Zelenskyy was treated at the White House on Friday, I came home from work and blasted songs of resistance while I made dinner and you know what? It helped me feel a bit better.

This weekend I put together a playlist of some of these songs and maybe this will help you in dealing with the constant chaos. 

The The’s album Mind Bomb was so important to me in college as I was becoming politically engaged. As great as “The Beat(en) Generation” is, I recommend the entire album which features the Smiths’ Johnny Marr on guitar and a guest vocal appearance by Sinéad O’Connor. 

Frankie Goes To Hollywood blew my teenage mind with their songs about sexuality and gay rights and those iconic “Frankie Say Relax!” t-shirts. Their cold war anthem “Two Tribes" is still relevant today. 

Who remembers the German anti-fascist band Atari Teenage Riot? Their highly political music is a mix of punk and electronic music which they dubbed Digital Hardcore. I handled publicity for the band in the U.S. for their first two albums. Their song “Start The Riot” inspired the name of this playlist and their single “Atari Teenage Riot” is featured here. 

L7’s “Pretend We’re Dead” was originally written about a breakup, this song became a political rallying cry and a staple of my college years.

The prolific British collective Sault released their acclaimed album ‘Untitled (Black Is)" in 2020 marking the moment of extreme police brutality and racism.  

The Isley Brothers' “Fight The Power, Pts. 1 & 2” served as inspiration for Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power" and stood as a bold anthem of resistance with an electrifying groove.

The legendary Nina Simone has written many of my favorite protest songs. I included “Revolution” on an earlier playlist. This version of “Mississippi Goddam” was written in response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The song was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1964. 

The Clash have so many great political songs that it was difficult to choose one. Combat Rock came out when I was in high school and definitely made an impact on me so I decided to go with “Know Your Rights” from that album. 

I had to include a song from the punk and feminist legend Patti Smith. “People Have The Power” was co-written with Smith’s husband Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5. 

Philly rock band Sheer Mag’s song “(Say Goodbye To) Sophie Scholl” honors the student who was executed for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets as a part of the non-violent resistance movement known as  “White Rose” at the University of Munich during World War II. 

The Pernice Brothers' “Dumb It Down” came out twenty years ago and you know, some things never change. A number of people prefer to have their head in the sand. 

Lily Allen’s 2009 anti-homophobic and anti-racist song was originally written with George W. Bush in mind but it could really be about so many people. Take your pick and enjoy singing “Fuck You” to whomever you choose. It feels pretty good. 

The The - The Beat(en) Generation 

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes 

Atari Teenage Riot - Atari Teenage Riot 

L7 - Pretend We’re Dead 

Sault - Wildfires 

The Isley Brothers - Fight The Power, Pts. 1 & 2

Nine Simone - Mississippi Goddam (Live At Carnegie Hall) 

The Clash - Know Your Rights 

Patti Smith - People Have The Power 

Sheer Mag - (Say Goodbye To) Sophie Scholl 

Pernice Brothers - Dumb It Down 

Lily Allen - Fuck You 

xo, 

Julie 

Laura Palmer's Secret Diary

This month has a been a struggle to say the least. I hope that you are safe and that you are finding some peace. I have been working on finding joy through all of the chaos and uncertainty and one thing that I can always count on is music. This playlist is filled with music that has touched my life or in inspired me over the past three months. 

Like most Gen-Xers, David Lynch was a big cultural influence in my life. The news of his passing earlier this month hit hard. It felt like a fitting tribute to this legend to kick off this playlist with Julee Cruise’s iconic theme song “Falling” from Twin Peaks, one of Lynch’s most influential works. The title of this playlist is a nod the show as well. Rest in peace, David.  

Next up, are two new songs from two of my favorites, FKA twigs and Lucy Dacus. FKA twigs just released her latest album Eusexua on Friday and it is incredible. Lucy Dacus released two new songs a few weeks ago from her forthcoming record Forever is a Feeling which comes out March 28th. She is also one of two Boygenius members on this playlist. 

In November, I was lucky to go see the Canadian band Tokyo Police Club’s final U.S. show (Shout out to Brendan!). We started handling PR for he band in 2006 when they were just teenagers! “Nature of the Experiment” is from their debut album A Lesson in Crime which we booked them to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2007.

I have to give credit to my friend Dawn who raved about two artists on this playlist and insisted that I listen. I am so glad she did!  The first is Tunde Adebimpe from TV On The Radio whose single “Magnetic” came out at the end of last year and will release a debut solo album sometime this year. 

Last week I finally got to see the Redd Kross documentary Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story and it completely reignited my love for this band. The number of times my college roommates and I watched them in the ridiculous movie The Spirit of ’76 is just insane. I chose an early track from when they were teenagers and before they were sued by the Red Cross and had to change the spelling of their name. “Annette’s Got the Hits” is their tribute to ‘60s actress and original Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello. 

Julian Baker is my second Boygenius member on this playlist and her latest single with Torres is called “Sugar in the Tank.” They will be releasing a country record together at some point this year and I can not wait. 

The last three are from 2024 releases that almost made my Top 10, so I wanted to give them a little love. First up is Las Palabras, the solo project of Rafael Cohen who is also a member of NYC dance-funk band !!! (pronounced “Chk Chk Chk”).  Fe was released in November and “Escudo y Espada” is a standout. Thanks, Dawn! 

One of the last projects that I worked on before I left music publicity was the debut EP by a very talented New Zealand musician, Amelia Murray aka Fazerdaze. Watching her music evolve has been a real treat and her latest album Soft Power that came out in November is her best work yet. “Cherry Pie” wasn’t intentionally picked because of Twin Peaks, but it works. 

The Cure’s first album in sixteen years Songs of a Lost World caught me by surprise. It is rare for a band that has been making music for so long to release something this good. How could I have ever doubted Robert Smith? “And Nothing is Forever” from the album is hauntingly beautiful and the perfect way to close out this playlist. 

Julee Cruise - Falling 

FKA twigs - Perfect Stranger 

Lucy Dacus - Ankles 

Tokyo Police Club - Nature Of The Experiment 

Tunde Adebimpe - Magnetic 

Redd Kross - Annette’s Got the Hits 

Julien Baker & Torres - Sugar in the Tank 

Las Palabras - Escudo y Espada 

Fazerdaze - Cherry Pie 

The Cure - And Nothing is Forever 

“Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee.” - Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks 

xo, 

Julie