Hello friends,
Thank you Stephanie and Mirko for guest hosting! It was relaxing to sit back and listen to
eight new tracks along with everyone else. However, I'm excited to be back for this very special episode...
This week marks 4TF's one-year anniversary! It started as a 21-person email list called Four
Track Friday. At first, it only lived in your inbox, but then got a website. Next, Elliot made some
sweet logos and we re-branded. Now there are over 80 of you subscribers and
211 songs on the playlist. Perhaps even more exciting, here have been 14 guest hosted episodes
and many more guest submitted songs.
And the community involvement is only growing. This week I'm excited to show you another new feature!
Corey wrote a wonderful addition to the website, called
By the Numbers,
which allows you to see all sorts of interesting features of the playlist. For instance, what's the
loudest song on the playlist? Which one is most danceable? Which one is least popular (and most hipster)?
Get answers to these questions and more by checking out the new page!
Speaking of numbers, I'd like to find out which song(s) you all like most by letting you vote.
To do this, I'll send out a survey this weekend. I would send it today, but SurveyMonkey is currently
undergoing twelve hours of maintenance.
To prepare for this week, I took a look through
last year's episodes,
particularly the first, to get a feel for what kicked it all off.
Episode one
included dreampop, rock, electronica, and hip-hop. This week is quite different and
I can't wait to hear what you think of year two's first four.
Daytime disco | Around the Sun by Poolside, Amo Amo
One night last year, Katie, Jackie, Ted, Alex, and I ended up together at Seattle's Paramount Theater. Tycho was playing;
and you know I'd never miss that.
We were treated to one of the finest surprises that can come a concert attendee's way: the opener was... really good!
Poolside, who had remixed Tycho's "Horizon," opened with a properly advertised vibe. They absolutely deliver a sound
best enjoyed next to the pool. If you aren't that lucky, though, their sound just about gets you there.
When their most recent album, Low Season, came out earlier this year this track quickly became my favorite and
was an easy, early selection for this week's episode. It's refrain, placed atop the laid back bass line,
lightly strummed guitars, and airy melody, was all-too-perfect.
"Another year around the sun / Guess I've just been havin' fun"
4Track's beginning marked a new era for me and here's to hoping for an even more exciting year two.
Summer banger | Pacific Coast Highway by Two Friends, MAX
Somehow this song always returns to me in the summer the instant I first roll my windows down and feel
the summer breeze. Best enjoyed while driving the west coast and belting
out the lyrics, this track is a happy reminder of EDM's brighter, more lyrically driven days.
Several of you already know Two Friends, the LA-based duo that gets their moniker from
actually having been friends since early childhood, but perhaps you don't know this song.
With most of their popularity owed to their "Big Bootie" mixes and other homemade bangers,
this track may have survived unnoticed.
It comes from their 2017, three-track EP and is here to bring some party vibes to your fourth of July weekend.
Ambient jazz | News from Verona by Portico Quartet
Apparently I'm a huge fan of opening tracks, as I've already shared several others and this one opens
Portico Quartet's 2010 delightful
Knee-Deep in the North Sea. After discovering them with Alex last weekend via their more electronic
album, Art in the Age of Automation, I have listened to these two albums almost non-stop.
Their unique sound is the combination of Duncan Bellamy (drums and electronics),
Jack Wyllie (saxophones and keyboards), Milo Fitzpatrick (electric and double-bass) and Keir Vine (keyboards).
Together they produce a minimalist and jazzy, yet ambient vibe. Their ability to produce easy melody, craven cacophony, and everything in between
makes their albums a wonderful experience start to finish. I picked this track because it showcases more variety
than many others while maintaining a purely acoustic tone, but if you want to hear them overlay a more electronic influence,
I recommend you start with "Rushing" from Art.
Slam Poetry | Tiny Glowing Screens, Pt. 2 by Watsky
As Shea told me when he introduced me to Watsky,
this album, Cardboard Castles, is better known for its edgy track, "Sloppy Seconds,"
and George Watsky might be most vividly remembered for his 100 mile-per-hour
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa."
However there's none better than this one to make you feel something. The slow, vibrato keys
contrasted against Watsky's hard-hitting spoken word leave me with shivers no
matter how many times I've heard it.
And just like that, we've entered into year two! Please let me know what you liked (or didn't like)
about the first year and any ideas you have for the second!
As always, don’t forget to reply with what you liked, didn’t like, and what you’ve been listening
to.
This week’s tracks are added to the collectors for all weeks' tracks on
Spotify
and
Apple Music.
Cheers,
Tanner