Max's Music Mondays with Mia Joy and Anjali Taneja
Drake meme sad: Deleting this email. Drake meme happy: Opening and loving this email!
This is Max’s Music Mondays, thank you so much for stopping by! Please follow the playlist on Spotify and share the songs and words with anyone you think might enjoy. Every new subscriber makes my day I swear <- this is true!!
These days (I’m sorry, ~these days~ !? who am I!?!!! I can’t even get one sentence into this without already being embarrassed…), when I reflect on the week, month, etc. the thing that gives time its shape is what I’ve listened to. I almost don’t know day names anymore, instead activities (walking to get coffee, going to trader joes) are tied to the podcast that kept me company in those moments. I would break down the entire week show by show, but 1) some things are private! and 2) I am scared at how long the list would be (if you do want a couple recs, you know where to find me). I’ve found so much comfort in some of these shows. Not just for their content but for their consistency.
I think this has always been true for me, I just didn’t really notice until these aforementioned ~days~. This week I was thinking back to shows that used to be those touchstones for me. When I lived in Chicago, I spent every morning tapped in to Beats 1 Radio (now Apple Music 1 I think?). Julie Adenuga ending her day in London as I started mine, handing it over to Zane Lowe as the morning ticked on. I loved both of these shows so much, definitely MMM inspiration. Just two people who loved music, loved sharing it, and that love was felt in every moment. In essence, that is what I’m trying to do here, maybe at a smaller scale (for now!!!! watch out Zane!!!) (I would never come for Julie). So as we kick off February, just taking a moment to say thanks again for giving me a place to try.
Also Zane Lowe did just join TikTok and while it is a bit corny, I’m loving it .
Haha - Mia Joy
Oooooowweee I love this one. A delightful addition to my release radar this week, I am obviously drawn to any song titled, '“Haha”. A perfect title, a bold choice. I’ve been on a bit of hyperpop tear lately, so I kind of figured that the title + sword on cover = some kind of… idk. Something different than this! Shame on me for having expectations, but I’m glad to be wrong, this is a chilling tune and I can’t stop thinking about it. Let’s get into it. A fade-in intro are you kidding!?!?! So tasteful, so gentle, and needs to be happening more often! Synths bumping up to some strummed guitar chords, over kind drums. It somehow makes this gloomy, almost spooky(?), but not cold(??) scene. Mia Joy’s singing fits that mold too. It has an eerie quality (I think the first line helps that cause), but it feels so intimate at the same time. I’m mesmerized by the way Joy’s voice moves like one of those slide whistles - sliding all the way down ‘sheds’ like the skin is falling off her body. I want to say this first verse is the best verse I’ve heard all year, but if I want to, I have to say it quick because this second verse is demanding consideration too.
I tried to keep my body in one piece
My skin, it sheds in my sleep ha ha
Turns out the joke is on me
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Simple and haunting. Battling to keep hold of one’s self, resisting change even when it’s inevitable. Trying so hard to hold that body together - sword from the cover in hand. The darkness in these ha ha’s are devastating and charming at the same time. The second time around an added synth breaks into the mix, a brighter sound to contrast this darker, more tense chord progression. Bringing that same blunt poetry through, as the band chugs on. The clouds part as that first ha ha hits, that tension suddenly vanishing. Accepting the moment for what it is and letting go of the fight underneath, “laughing” about it all until the song ends. I’m left here, running it back time and time again, finding a new favorite moment, sound, shift, lyric with each listen. But can’t stop thinking about “change for good”, about whether that’s good as conclusion or good as improvement. Will we ever stop changing? Can we ever shape that change in any way? IDK!!! But I do know this song rocks, ty Mia Joy.
Golden Linings - Anjali Taneja
Twenty seconds of pure bliss here. I could loop this intro over and over until the day ends. The band coming together like a messy room, nothing is perfectly neat but everything is in its perfect place. Anjali Taneja steps into the first chorus, the smoothest vocals you could imagine, a perfect fit alongside the band. Impeccable range, come on!!! She makes it look easy but my goodness there’s such touch and care even at the extremes. Beyond the chorus that doesn’t change. Her tone is just so good. It’s soft and human, floating and fluttering with purpose on each breath. That first taste of harmonies really works, coming in to support Taneja as she ‘fight[s] that one on one’. Clearing out at just the right moment, leaving ‘I swear life’s been impatient with me’ to stand alone in vulnerability. This song is already so beautiful in so many ways and then wouldn’t you know it, at 1:03, Taneja is like “wait, what if right here we put in a part to make Max go absolutely wild” and then they went ahead and did that. She squeezes ‘If’ and ‘Let’s’ for everything they’re worth. Creates a sick new melody stepping down towards ‘gold’, then going tf off with that run, off the end of that line. And now I’m going absolutely wild, just as hoped. That 20 seconds was full of exciting choices and all done so well. Another chorus, yep, still great. Onto the bridge, the drummer willing us on. Taneja offers quick little flairs, again just making the most of every moment. The momentum throws us back to the chorus, and something about it feels more sure, more confident. HOLD ON, THERE’S MORE!** Just when I thought I was full, Taneja drops this musical dessert and oh man I got a sweet tooth! The chorus blossoms into this stunning and bright moment. The group singing in call and response, showing just how hard some of these moments have been for Taneja. The imagery of calling the sun is so fun too. Ring ring!! We finish off with a sneaky little guitar solo over a gnarly little groove. It’s a really nice song, one I keep coming back to, and it’s message of making finding the good in the hard, and shaping it into something of your own is one worth holding.
**(ok so i did do a “but wait there’s more *billy mays* voice” draft, but then i read his wikipedia and things got bleak for ‘ol billy, so i bailed… just know that’s out there if you want it)
In case you missed it - SOS REMI WOLF ON FALLON TONIGHT LETS GO!!!!!! Ok who gave MICHELLE the blueprint to making songs my brain loves?? Joël delivers again, with a moving tune. The Arlo Parks record is HERE!!! New serpentwithfeet, a unique artist exploring friendship with the help of Sampha. Buzzy Lee back with a new record - elegant, honest, and creative as hell.
Happy February! For real though if you want podcasts I have more than I know what to do with.
XOXO,
Max