2025, Vol. 3: Time To Give The Devil His Due

The third mixtape of the year is here and I promise you it is full of nothing but bangers! 

The foundation for this mix started when I randomly stumbled onto The Struts' Luke Spiller on YouTube, and his single "Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine." I mean, who could not be intrigued by that song title?! I knew that would be the opener, and that I'd close it with the other single from his forthcoming album "The Ending Is Always The Same."

As I started culling these tracks together is when Disney Plus started airing the new Daredevil: Born Again series. The Newton Brothers did a decent upgrade of the original Netflix theme but I missed that original John Paesano one! I was also revisiting this Tales From The Crypt-esque hardcover graphic novel I picked up a few years back called "DEVIL TALES." (That's where that cover image comes from.) All of that combined inspired the title, "Time To Give The Devil His Due." 

I have to admit, a lot of these new band discoveries came from YouTube algorithm recommendations! Like the single "Tonight (I'm Afraid)" by the band Scowl. I'd never heard of them before! But the sudden shift that happens in the last minute and a half of this track is one of my favorite things I've heard in ages. Such smart, sharp rock songwriting. I looked up an interview with the singer, Kat Moss, and she was talking about all these "punk" shows she went to in Northern California when she was a teen that inspired the band. And all I could think was... I have never heard of a single one of these "punk" bands she's talking about! I've officially aged out of what's considered punk. 

Other new finds, Hot Milk (total Foo Fighters vibes!), Ecca Vandal, New Candy's. Skullcrusher by yeule is a great industrial-ish track, but that's the only song from her catalog that sounds like that. I never thought I'd be a Lady Gaga "fan," and technically I'm not, but I can't help but enjoy the songs from her latest album "MAYHEM," which have a bit of a Nine Inch Nails meets Prince aesthetic. (It's similar to when Halsey had NIN produce one of here albums.) I dig it!

I found that electronic track Opr from Gesaffelstein from the Thunderbolts* trailer designed to look like an A24 movie. My buddy Jay Williamson recommended the new Dean Johnson single to me. And we have welcome returns from the Miki Berenyi Trio, The Lumineers, Doves, Alessia Cara, and my beloved AL1CE! And a new Wu-Tang Clan track called "Mandingo!"

This is easily one of my most diverse, rockin', most satisfying mixes thus far. Hope it'll turn you onto something new! 

2025, Vol 3: Time To Give The Devil His Due

1. Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine by Luke Spiller
2. Opr by Gesaffelstein
3. Big I Am by Miki Berenyi Trio
4. CRUISING TO SELF SOOTHE by Ecca Vandal
5. Blue Moon by Dean Johnson
6. 90 Seconds To Midnight by Hot Milk
7. Perfect Celebrity by Lady Gaga
8. Cold Dreaming by Doves
9. Tonight (I'm Afraid) by Scowl
10. Keys On The Table by The Lumineers
11. Dead Man by Alessia Cara
12. Regicide by New Candy's
13. Daredevil: Born Again theme by The Newton Brothers
14. Daredevil: Main Title by John Paesano & Braden Kimball
15. Daredevil Theme (Epic Version) by Alala (Spotify version by Jared Moreno Luna)
16. Skullcrusher by yeule
17. Mandigo by Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics
18. Antipop Star by X-RI7 & AL1CE
19. It's Amazing To be Young by Fontaines D.C.
20. Bonnet Of Pins by Matt Berniger
21. Closer Than You Think by A Day To Remember
22. The Ending Is Always The Same by Luke Spiller

2025, Vol. 2: Proof That You're Alive

On the cusp of March, I was overwhelmed by so much good new music that here is my second mix of the year! Some heavy-ish Industrial / Rock bangers from Sleigh Bells, Deadly Apples, Architects, Nerv. New tunes from Bob Mould, Manic Street Preachers, Belle and Sebastian, The Black Keys, Alice Merton, Alisa Xayalith. My new random music discoveries: Rocket, The Math Club (doing the new Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man theme song!), The Cryptkeeper Five, thanks to my bud Ian West. Covers by Sia and Def Leppard. 

Man, do I wish I wrote The Lumineers song "Asshole." And the soul of this entire mix, and the inspiration behind the title of it ("Proof That You're Still Alive") comes from The Head and The Heart's track "Arrow." One of my favorite heartfelt songs in years. Cover photo by Alisa Fong.

2025, Vol. 2: Proof That You're Alive

1. Wanna Start A Band? by Sleigh Bells
2. Volatile by Deadly Apples, Filter & Danny Lohner
3. What The Hell Do We Do Now? by Alisa Xayalith
4. 1,000 Keys by The Cryptkeeper Five
5. What Happened To You, Son? by Belle and Sebastian
6. Take Your Aim by Rocket
7. Neanderthal by Bob Mould
8. Asshole by The Lumineers
9. run away girl by Alice Merton
10. Solsbury Hill by Sia
11. The Night Before by The Black Keys
12. Looks Like The End Of The Road by Alison Krauss & Union Station
13. Dear Miss by Zach Bryan
14. Decline & Fall by Manic Street Preachers
15. Stand By Me by Def Leppard
16. Arrow by The Head and the Heart
17. Who Believes In Angels? by Elton John & Brandi Carlile
18. Neighbor Like Me by The Math Club featuring Relaye & Melo Makes Music
19. LOST! by Nerv
20. Curse by Architects
21. Swoon by Peter Murphy
22. Funky Fanfare by Marshall Cooper 

2025, Vol 1: Peel It All Away! First Mixtape Of The New Year!

Here we go... 

2025, Vol 1: Peel It All Away

1. Emily Rugburn by Playing Dead
2. Rid Of Me by Nilufer Yanya
3. Taking Inventory of a Frozen Lake by Thursday
4. Westside by The Jesus Lizard
5. POP POP POP by IDLES featuring Danny Brown
6. Feel Something by Grimson
7. Love Drunk by Steve Moakler
8. Here We Go Crazy by Bob Mould
9. Rock DJ by Robbie Williams from Better Man
10. 8th Deadly Sin by Miki Berenyi Trio
11. Chaotic by Alisa Xayalith
12. Nod by Rise Against
13. Seth Cohen by Beach Weather
14. Beautiful That Way by Miley Cyrus & Andrew Wyatt
15. With You by Dean Lewis
16. Coffee In The Morning by Wet
17. Who Laughs Last by Lord Huron featuring Kristen Stewart
18. Setagaya by Gaiko
19. Seeing Red by Architects
20. Happy by Alison's Halo
21. Superwayne by Playing Dead

2024, The Master Playlist... Is Here!

It's the end of the year, things are winding down. Some of you may be planning to travel in a bit, see family, celebrate the holidays in style! If you have a long commute or flight ahead of you, then let me provide you with some musical entertainment! It's that time of year again for "The Master Playlist" mixtape, 2024 addition! It's a combination of all 7 volumes of my mixes from this year, PLUS bonus tracks, listed below, which pretty much make up a volume 8. 

When I look back on all the great music from this year, I was so humbled and in awe of my friends that are out there, writing and sharing great songs. My buddy Harris with his bands Name Brand Safe and Hepburn. Sam Hoyos with Playing Dead. Clint Carney with System Syn. 

My favorite new band discoveries were Beach Weather, fellow Long Islanders gursday, Royel Otis. There were long overdue welcome returns from Poe, Sky Ferreira, Chantal Claret, Body Count, and The Cure! Blown away by new female artists like Nilufer Yanya, Alisa Xayalith (formerly of The Naked and Famous), and Lauren Mayberry (whose solo debut I like even more than her work with CHVRCHES). I kicked off the year with a deep dive into the music of Mark Lanegan! Listening to him is like drinking whiskey on a cold night! So if you start at the beginning and listen to the entire thing, you've got 12 hours of music to enjoy. 195 songs total! Hope you discover at least one new thing here. 

175. December 25th by Charlie Puth
176. Coffee by a!ka
177. Crocodile Tears by Lauren Mayberry
178. Fake Nice by Beach Weather
179. pleased to be here by gursday
180. Girl From North Country by Timothee Chalamet & Monica Barbaro
181. Middle of Love by Picture This (with Dean Lewis)
182. Let It Burn by FIG
183. Different Light by Alisa Xayalith
184. This Road (The Mirror Is A Trap) by Poe
185. Leash by Sky Ferreira
186. Dusk Till Dawn by ZAYN (featuring Sia)
187. Avalon by Alan Walker & Anne Gudrun
188. Lower Forms by System Syn
189. Burn The Tyrants by Fake Figures
190. The People's Microphone by Shellac
191. Crooked Heart by Teardrops
192. Whiplash by Architects
193. Tomorrow by The Fluid
194. White Bikes by Thursday
195. A Genesis Christmas by Wolfie's Just Fine 

2024, Vol.7: A Work In Progress

2024, Vol.7: A Work In Progress

1. Safety in Numbers by Hepburn
2. Over Each Other by Linkin Park
3. Disease by Lady Gaga
4. Drone:Nodrone by The Cure
5. High In Low Places by Beach Weather
6. Interstate Love Song by Sponge
7. Something In The Air by Lauren Mayberry
8. (Isn't It) Obvious by Alessia Cara
9. People Watching by Sam Fender
10. APT. by ROSE & Bruno Mars
11. Fix You by Dean Lewis & Daniel Seavey
12. Lion Rumpus by Mogwai
13. stupid by gursday
14. Ordinary Love by Alisa Xayalith
15. Merry Mary Marry Me by Royel Otis
16. Paperface by Weezer
17. me, without you by Evan Honer
18. Your F***n' Head Split (Instrumental) by Necro
19. How Do You Feel? by Chantal Claret
20. Champagne Supernova by Middle Kids
21. Love Will Tear Us Apart by PJ Harvey & Tim Phillips
22. Let the Flowers Grow by Peter Murphy & Boy George
23. And Nothing Is Forever by The Cure

2024, Vol. 6: With Friends Like These...

 

There's always one song or artist that usually lights the spark of inspiration for every mix I make, and becomes the foundation for what I'm about to share. In this case, it was two. The first; while on my recent visit back to New York, I was driving around with a friend that still listens to terrestrial radio. A cover version of The Cranberries "Linger" came on performed by Royel Otis, whom up until that point I'd never heard of. It immediately gave me a new-found sense of appreciation for this beautiful, beautiful song that I'd always liked, but never fully loved until hearing this reinterpretation. I knew it would have to be the opener for my next mix. 

The second inspiration came in mid-September when I reconnected with my high school buddy Harrison Schoenfarber here in LA for dinner. It dawned on me we probably hadn't seen each other for over 20 years at this point, but we grew up in the same circle of musician friends in our most formative years. I was familiar with his post-high school band Hepburn, who were pretty awesome. But I had no idea that back in 2012, he had made an album under the moniker of Name Brand Safe, with a friend he was helping go through a difficult divorce. Much in the same way that Christian James Hand had helped me make the Pike Project album as a way to cope with grief. The next day when I listened to this album, "Celebrate Your Wounds," I was blown away beyond words. I couldn't believe this guy I went to high school with had written such a beautiful album, which is now, literally, among one of my all time favorite albums. Especially the two tracks "Don't Look Back" and "Let Go," which are more relevant to me now than ever! So, thank you, Harris. Ever since our meet up, he's been cranking on a new album's worth of stuff and posting it online, and it's GREAT. And it's inspired me to finally start hashing out the next Pike Project album, whatever that might be. 

So, that's the foundation for "With Friends Like These..." which is a title that also came to me out of the ether, and felt perfect. This features new tunes by my friends in Playing Dead and Skyhill, as well as The Cure, Jane's Addiction, Mogwai, Dean Lewis, Anthony Raneri of Bayside. Covers galore with Willie Nelson playing Flaming Lips, Sponge playing Oasis! The All-American Rejects playing Harvey Danger. New discoveries like gursday, a Long Island band recommended to me by Sam Hoyas. And a Bob Moses song "Broken Belief," which I heard on an episode of THE PENGUIN of all places! 

A few older songs round this out because of their personal significance with me while putting this together; Taking Back Sunday's "Faith (When I Let You Down)" and the mighty John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)," which could be the one break-down from Christian James Hand that I've listened to the most. I know I say this every time, but it's because I truly believe it... this is my best mix yet! 

RE: the cover image, I just googled the phrase "With Friends Like These," and it brought me to this artwork created by Michael Whelan for the Alan Dean Foster book of the same name. Synchronicity! 

Without further ado, I give you... 

2024, Vol. 6: With Friends Like These

1. Linger by Royel Otis
2. High Road by Anthony Raneri
3. We Dont Want The Same by Playing Dead
4. Let Go by Name Brand Safe
5. Supersonic by Sponge
6. Flagpole Sitta by The All-American Rejects
7. Broken Belief by Bob Moses
8. God Gets You Back by Mogwai
9. Alone by The Cure
10. Ghost Light by Skyhill (featuring Maiah Wynne)
11. Black Hole Heart by 1000 Years (featuring System Syn)
12. Empire by Dean Lewis
13. don't stop by gursday
14. Do You Realize?? by Willie Nelson
15. Boys & Girls by Alisa Xayalith
16. True Love by Janes Addiction
17. Don't Look Back by Name Brand Safe
18. Faith (When I Let You Down) by Taking Back Sunday
19. St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion) by John Parr

2024, Vol. 5: Every Night I Burn

2024, Vol. 5: Every Night I Burn

1. X-Men '97 Theme by The Newton Brothers
2. Raise The Red Flag by Marilyn Manson
3. F**k What You Heard by Body Count
4. Say My Name by Cassyette
5. Fix by BONES UK
6. War Dreams Of Itself by The Smashing Pumpkins
7. Imminent Redemption by Jane's Addiction
8. On The Block by Pye Corner Audio
9. Roses by Alisa Xayalith
10. Rest by Dean Lewis and Sasha Alex Sloan
11. Rainbow Overpass by Bright Eyes and Alex Orange Drink
12. Falling Apart by Playing Dead
13. Drown (Waves Mix) by AL1CE
14. Zero Sum by The Smile
15. Tears by Julia Wu
16. Heart-Shaped Box by Marcin
17. Crystal Breath by Kim Deal
18. Heard A Train by Mark Lanegan
19. Cherry Pie by Fazerdaze
20. As The Waters Cover The Sea by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
21. Chronos by Pye Corner Audio
22. The Emptiness Machine by LINKIN PARK
23. The Crow (In Memory Of B.L.) by Life Of Agony
24. Burn by Corvyx
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