Ever since my first job at MTV working as a music programmer, I can't stop trying to match people with music they might like. So, I wrote a book called Record Collecting for Girls and started interviewing musicians. The Music Concierge is a column where I share music I'm listening to that you might enjoy, with a little context. Get everything I've recommended this year on Spotify, follow me on Twitter or Facebook, and leave a comment below telling me what you're listening to this week.
Christine and the Queens “People, I’ve been sad”
Christine and the Queens are back with a soul-stirring single about loneliness — wait, it's less depressing than I'm making it sound. By chanting "you know the feeling," she makes the track of an anthem of solidarity and humanity than a dirge into the darker depths. If the world has been getting you down, this one goes to the top of your playlist as a pick-me-up.
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Sharon Van Etten "Beaten Down"
Producer John Congleton's trademark touch can be felt all over this slow, somewhat bleak new track from Van Etten. In it, she sings about standing behind your decisions, even the hard ones, in a Handmaid's Tale “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” kind of way. Looking for a song to screw up your courage with? This is it.
Lido Pimienta "Eso Que Tu Haces"
Sometimes it's just not love. Pimienta, a Colombian artist who now resides in Toronto, explores that feeling in a track that is musically one of the most interesting I've heard in a minute. The influences she pulls from are numerous, coming together in a genre-defying mix. There's a calmness to her voice, but when she belts all the way it will take your breath away.
Jockstrap "Acid"
Once you get over Jockstrap being a terrible name for this delightful project, prepare yourself to be charmed by this delightful song. It's one part lovely, fuzzy dream pop and one part disruptive production that subverts the ideas of what makes a lovely pop song.
Puss N Boots "Sister"
Something about this song, which is the title track to the forthcoming LP from Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper, jumped out at me on first listen. It may be the old school vocal harmonies or the yeehaw agenda popping out in the guitar part. Whatever it is, I'm subscribing.