Hey hey! Welcome to Hear Hear. I’m Adam Offitzer, a writer, editor, and NYC concertgoer putting my big ears to good use, sharing great music across genres. If you’re getting this first issue, you probably subscribed to my last newsletter, The Note. (2015-2017, RIP.) This will be pretty much the same thing, but a bit less formal and hopefully, a bit more fun. Every week or so, I’ll send along a few songs, artists, and playlists I think you oughta hear. Starting……now.
(Click here to follow the official Hear Hear playlist — I’ll keep it updated with all the songs featured in the newsletter, this week and beyond.)
5 Songs to Stream
“Global Warming,” LPX. This song is a burst of electro-pop joy — should be up your alley if you like Robyn, HOLYCHILD, Broods, or Charli XCX.
“North,” Clairo. Clairo had a huge 2019, but I couldn’t really get into her big hit, “Bags.” This one, on the other hand, has me hooked. I discovered it from Frank Ocean’s monthly-ish playlist Blonded. (Turns out he has a pretty good ear.)
“Connection,” The Rolling Stones. Speaking of Frank’s playlist, here’s another surprise gem he included — a 2-minute Stones track I’d never heard before. It’s a jam.
Little Shop of Horrors, new cast recording. Where my theater buffs at? There’s a new Little Shop with Jonathan Groff (King George in Hamilton, Kristoff in Frozen, Melchior in Spring Awakening) as Seymour, and if you love these songs, you’ll want to hear these versions.
“Crowded Table,” The Highwomen (aka Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires). I gave The Highwomen album a brief listen when it came out in March, and never came back to it…until a certain former president included “Redesigning Women” on his year-end playlist. (Thanks, Obama.) The lyrics can be a bit corny, but the melodies + harmonies are stunning. “Crowded Table” is the most beautiful track, an instant classic about love and family.
"Motivation,” Normani. The beat here feels spiritually connected to one of my favorite pop songs, “Pretty Girl Rock,” so of course I love it.
3 Playlists to Follow
Heads up: When I embed playlists, it looks like I’m just sharing just one song, but when you click it, you’ll get the whole thing.
A perfect Driving playlist from music obsessive Grace Spelman. 900 songs to put on shuffle next time you’re driving around with the windows down.
Once Upon A Time…in 1969. I couldn’t get enough of the music from Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Fortunately, The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey made this extended soundtrack of sorts — with plenty of songs from the movie, and then waaay more tangential tunes from the era.
A great winter playlist from @asongfortheday, who has a knack for making seasonally appropriate playlists that also serve to introduce you to new music and artists. Worth a shuffle on a cold January day.
That’s it for the first Hear Hear! Let me know what you think of the format, this will definitely be a work in progress. Excited to get back in the habit of sharing music.
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