What We’re Listening To: Monster Children NYC #2

Hello, my name is Naz Kawakami. I’m the new Deputy Editor of Monster Children based in New York City. Did you know that for a number of years, I was a radio DJ? You probably did because I never shut the fuck up about it. My show was called Night Drive, every Thursday from midnight to 3AM. Those were good times. A lot of sex, drugs, and partying were done in that little Honolulu radio studio. None of it done by me, but it’s still cool to think about. 

Anyway, since taking this Editor job, I spend most of my day the way I spent my days as a DJ: listening to music. Some good, some bad. Some old, some new. Every week, I’ll be compiling the week’s worth of music into a playlist. Songs we’ve been enjoying, songs we’ve just (re)discovered, and songs that offer a preview into what features we have coming out soon. Not the newest, not the rarest, just good music. The mood of the week over at the MC New York City office for you to judge and enjoy. 

This week, we are listening to a lot of King Krule’s live album, 20201’s, You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down, which by my estimation is an absolutely flawless album. All of the gravity and upped tempo you’d expect from a classic live album but executed with such chaotic vigor that when I saw this set performed last yer, I felt like I was hearing these songs for the first time all over again. We’ve also been leaning into faster, heavier, more frantic sounds like that of Unwound, and particularly on The Garden’s AMPM Truck, a frenzy of a song only barely held together with a bit of tape and a surprise whistle cue. The playlist ends on King Krule’s barren classic, ‘Easy, Easy’, performed live, with all of the crumbling, sincere, wild-hearted heat and cool effervescence that the album’s title might imply. Have a good weekend.

Feedback, recommendations, condemnations, email me. naz@monsterchildren.com