Curating the curators

+ a perfect road trip playlist, Fall Out Boy's comeback, and more

Apr 24, 2023

“We have too much curation, and not enough of it well-curated,” wrote Kyle Chayka in a recent issue of his newsletter. “Is it time for a curator of curators?”

If you’ve been reading Hear Hear for a while, you might notice that’s…kinda what I’ve been trying to do! Obviously I’m sharing my own takes and tastes, but also aiming to give a general overview of what’s happening in the playlist-making and music-writing community.

With the launch of Substack’s new Notes feature, there’s some pretty exciting momentum for this platform as a place to follow trusted curators. For those looking to explore, I figured I’ll share the go-to ‘stacks I lean on for music discovery. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully a fun primer that might introduce a newsletter you haven’t heard of yet.

So enjoy this lil’ guide, then keep on scrolling for some great music curated by yours truly.

Flow State: An essential follow if you like working to instrumentals or ambient sounds. Daily two-hour mixes made for focusing — with helpful context on the artists you’re listening to.
Fluxblog: Matthew Perpetua delivers thoughtful writing about new songs, plus meticulously crafted playlists capturing eras and vibes — like 21st Century Jock Jams, “a collection of ultra-hype sports arena staples from the past 22 years.”
Hung Up: Hunter Harris’ cultural commentary is essential on everything from Succession to Tom Brady’s personal life — and for paid subscribers, she makes monthly playlists that I rely on for relevant pop recs.
No Expectations: Chicago-based writer Josh Terry shares emerging indie bands to know, plus live music recaps that give a taste of a recent concert experience.
Carefully Curated // I Made You A Playlist // listen all y’all: All three of these playlist connoisseurs (Patrick Mahan, Natalie Schumann, and Adam Sharp) have been featured in countless Hear Hear issues.
Largehearted Ledger: For booklovers, a “literature and music hub” featuring playlists that serve as reading companions — often curated by authors. It’s managed by David Gutowski, who launched the original iteration back in 2002. Last week, he shared two great playlists for writing and gardening.
A few more to know: Liner Notes for pop-punk recs from Jason Tate // Jamieson’s Blog from music writer Jamieson Cox // Don’t Rock The Inbox for country coverage from Natalie Weiner and Marissa R. Moss // 10 Bands from WXPN’s Bruce Warren // The Unskippables from Tyler McCauley
Singers Substack, too: I don’t read these often but Tegan & Sara, Kevin Morby, Neko Case, Jeff Tweedy, and Colin Meloy of The Decemberists are among the early adopters!

Jess Williamson’s “ultimate roadtrip playlist”

The first song of this playlist is one of my favorites of 2023 so far: Jess Williamson’s “Hunter.” You may know Williamson as half of Plains, her twangy country-pop duo with Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield. Together, they made one of my favorite albums of 2022 — and I’m not even a country guy.

Williamson’s solo sound is in a similar lane, but here she drives it forward with propulsive piano, like a mellowed-out New Pornographers anthem. The song is perfect for a dreamy, windows-down road trip, so she made this lovely mix of songs to pair with it from Angel Olsen, Leonard Cohen, The Meters, Grateful Dead, The Chicks, and more.

(She also made a mix of morning music, if you want some similarly sweet tunes to wake up to!)

And of course, I’ve added “Hunter” and the other tracks featured in today’s issue to the ongoing Hear Hear playlist.

More Spring playlists worth following

Spring 2023 :) from music supervisor Jules Zucker, featuring fresh new jams from top-tier artists like TOLEDO, Arlo Parks, Youth Lagoon, Samia, and Fruit Bats.
Spring Rotation 🌼 from curator Patrick Mahan, ft. songs new and old from Lissie, CHVRCHES, boygenius, Sheryl Crow, Dijon, and Quinton Brock.
first 70° day of the year from music writer Miranda Reinert, ft. power-pop and punk from Charly Bliss, Hop Along, PUP, MJ Lenderman, and Walter Etc.

Folks, the Fall Out Boy album is good

There have been some great songs here and there, but I haven’t enjoyed a full front-to-back Fall Out Boy album since 2007’s massive Infinity On High. Finally, FOB has returned to form with this year’s So Much (For) Stardust, which has “some of the band’s most unabashed rock music in at least a decade” according to a great Vulture feature from Justin Curto. Standout tracks like “Fake Out” and “The Kintsugi Kid” wouldn’t sound out of place on their old records.

Stardust also has some big swings, including the orchestral, wannabe-Bond-anthem “I Am My Own Muse” and the cheesy ode to ‘50s doo-wop, “So Good Right Now.” Your mileage may vary, but both worked wonders on my cornball sensibilities — especially the latter, which still hasn’t failed to put a smile on my face after many listens.

Collaborations galore

There have been a ton of noteworthy team-ups lately — here are a few on my radar.

Dinner Party is the jazz supergroup from Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and Robert Glasper, back with a second album following their excellent self-titled from 2020.
KAYTRAMINÉ is the “new pairing of rapper Aminé and producer Kaytranada, though it’s not really that new of a pairing,” explains Chris DeVille in Stereogum, recapping their collaborations over the years. The first single from their upcoming full-length (featuring Pharrell) is unsurprisingly boppy and fun.
Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. partnered with rapper GoldLink on his first single in a few years, a steady bop that extends his signature sound.
And of course, the album from boygenius (Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus) lived up to the hype. There’s been plenty of #discourse about it, but I personally find the album to be a masterpiece, and loved this rave Rolling Stone review from Rob Sheffield hailing the record as an instant classic. Along with the three initial singles I covered back in March, new favorites include the anthemic “Not Strong Enough” and the two vibrant rockers led by Baker, “Satanist” and “Anti-Curse.”

While I couldn’t find a high-quality rip of their Coachella performances (and would prefer not to think about Frank Ocean’s disastrous set) here’s a video of the trio rocking Kimmel last week, with Jay Som’s Melina Duterte on bass.

Finally, Hamilton Leithauser’s old band The Walkmen made a blistering return to the stage, playing together for the first time in ten years on Colbert with a rousing rendition of their 2004 anthem “The Rat.”

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