MMM - FRIDAY* + getting to know Sabrina Song
A great song and some fun Q's with Sabrina to celebrate her latest single
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays. My ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. If you do, you can follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :) Your paid subscriptions go towards supporting the artists you read about here too!! That’s right(!!), the artists who made This Weeks Songs are getting paid!! <3
A month of being away from MMM. A month of travel - From LA to New York, to Ireland, to London, to New York, and finally back. A month of trading time being sick with my partner. A month of witnessing some of the best moments life can offer - a mountainside wedding between two friends in Ireland, crying through two nights of seeing one of my favorite artists live, exploring new places with someone I love. And through it all, a month of unbearable heaviness and hurt.
Watching the indefensible devastation of Palestine has been gut-wrenching and overwhelming at every level. I stand with Palestine and hope with my whole heart for a ceasefire. A conflict that feels so clear to me, yet the destruction persists, creating a sense of helplessness that’s so hard to fend off. But truth continues to find its way. The resilience of the Palestinian people, the bravery of the journalists, the countless standing in solidarity around the world, and the direct political actions, all show that the helplessness isn’t real.
Awards for Good Boys had a great newsletter including links for more reading. Haymarket, as always, has great free resources. There’s plenty more I can link here - IG accounts, twitter accounts, if you want more or just want to talk please let me know.
It honestly feels silly to write about music at a time like this. I love these songs, and hope that you’ll find some joy in them to keep you going too.
This Week’s Song
We did it, we broke 770 followers on the playlist… which means we’re basically at 1,000?? Listen, enjoy, and send to a dang friend why don’t you.
FRIDAY* - Radiohead
A fresh release from last week, it’s irresistible. The sparkling sky, stars shooting by, the texture to start is so lush and dreamy. Exciting and bold. It falls into a classic little break, the same Lyn Collins drums from Dijon’s Talk Down so you KNOW I’m in. Warm piano chords rolling slowly as FRIDAY* sings this opening verse. It’s a beautiful balance, FRIDAY* and the piano pairing their patience while the drums dare to drag the song forward. There’s little surprises here and there, a synth breaking up in the bottom right, some toms rolling across the track. It’s a simple structure but full of life and full of creative choices.
As the song floats past the 0:25 mark, the breakbeat fades, the synth picks up steam. FRIDAY* honest and clear in the spotlight. Another little thrill at 0:34 as the synth hits a wrong note and just lives with it. Like a bat signal in the sky, the rest of the band comes surging back from that moment. The drums, the sparkling synths, all building towards something even more special.
Tweaking those drums ever so slightly and layering it with this sub bass kick. It’s got such a groove, with all the beauty shining around the edges while FRIDAY* glides with a falsetto laid on top. It’s all so fun and beautiful. And to close the moment with the iPhone lock sound?!?!?! GENIUS!! To so naturally add in that in is good as hell. A charming sound that time-stamps the song in history but works as a great sound, something that feels so beyond this one moment.
Out of the silence, we find a more familiar feel. Back to the original scene, with more layers and sounds to keep it fresh and exciting. The things I was scared to tell you / made me an alien. FRIDAY* trying to connect, trying to feel more human through the vulnerability. Out of that sweetness, we fly back to that big dancey groove. Another new vocal on the left - ever-so-slightly delayed, a softer higher voice. It offers a crazy sensation, almost pulling his vocals across the song. Subterranean feelings?! Come on!!
Then with less than forty five seconds left, he pulls another rabbit out of the hat. A group chant section over live drums, entirely new to the song, but plugged in with ease. I can’t forget about you / and I don’t know if you want me to. The chant feels honest and loud, sharing what could’ve been a real life in-my-bedroom scream in song form. More of the song starts to come back, the whole moment rising, the chaos swirling. And it stops. An emotional party to end it all. What a tune. A part of a really great new EP, Darling, out now.
Follow FRIDAY* on IG / Spotify
This Was a Subscriber Special but I Decided to Share it With Everyone, Sorry!!! And Also Enjoy!
long overdue, but delayed on account of me being sick… we’ve got a new Sabrina Song single to celebrate and WHAT a single it is. I wrote about Sabrina’s Strawberry a little over a year ago and have only fallen more in love with her music since. This time around, we’re doing a mini write up on the song and a little interview to go with :)
Opening with that thick bass, steady drums, Song glides across this melody. Quite the intro. It’s a beautiful first verse. The writing is deeeeeeply *chefs kiss*, this what-could-have-been-but-wasn’t description is brilliant.
And then… my god. The band arrives, and so do my damn goosebumps. My love for you is violent launching into a heavy and huge rock n roll moment. This one rocks sm. I can’t get enough.
Falling back to another lovely verse, take the train to take it back, good god. We launch back into this massive band at full strength. A full head-knocking scene. Settling back into a final verse, the excitement starts to build. Each drop bigger and fuller than the last, you know another one is just moments away. It’s a beautiful reveal and special close to a really fun song.
I hope you love it as much as I do.
As I mentioned, I was lucky enough to send a few Q’s to Sabrina to get to know her a little better. I want to incorporate more interviews in here. But tried to ask some more me-style questions. Let me know what you think.
I hope it’s a chance to see a new side of artists you love. Simple rapid fire questions but so much to learn about someone with each one.
1. What’re your 5 most used emojis?
Currently: ❤️😳💐🫠🥲
2. What are a couple songs you can’t get enough of lately?
“Defeat” by Livia O and “Hahaha” by Stevie Bill have been on repeat the past week or two — otherwise I’ve been digging back into Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Boltcutters and still streaming Mitski’s The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We obsessively (probably for the rest of my life). (max note - yep same lol)
3. If you could magically learn a skill overnight - music or non-music related - what would it be?
My first instinct was figure-skating, probably due to the movie Ice Princess, but I think I’d have to say being multilingual. If not getting motion sick is a skill then that would also be a top contender.
4. Besides music, what is something in life you’re really excited about right now?
Running!! And reaching new running milestones! It’s been so therapeutic to have something entirely outside of music to strive for.
Thank you, Sabrina! So stoked about this new one and thrilled to talk about it here :)
See you next week. With love,
Max