The year we know as 2026 is now halfway over, and I am, yes, a little behind as usual with these playlists. But it's not like the songs here have exactly gone stale. Crank 'em up and enjoy.
LOCAL PICKS
FULL PLAYLIST HERE
I don’t know much about Deletist, but judging by this standout from the band’s debut album, Mudlark, I’d wager that every member knows his, her, or their birth chart backwards and forwards. Casey Ashman does something witchy vocally as Philip Reilly coaxes some sly magick from his guitar.
Megasound, “Supersize”
With a band name/song title like that, you’d better be packing some jumbo riffs, and indeed the guitar is processed to get on alternative radio 30 years ago. Megasound is L.A.’s Party Nails, aka Elena Carroll, along with Bad Bad Hats’ Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge. Listen up and you will not be surprised to learn that while touring together, all three used to encore with Josie and the Pussycats’ "Pretend To Be Nice."
Student 1 feat. Demon Marcus, “kevinkevinkevin”
“Back to dissociating again,” the rapper informs us on this standout track from his great new album Truant, in an Auto-Tuned falsetto that's bolstered by additional vocals from kindred spirit Demon Marcus. But he never drifts off entirely, anchored as he is by reverberant synth chimes and a steady backbeat.
And the alt-rock keeps on coming. I think it’s very sweet that Ava Levy and her dad Adam seem to get along so well, but I’m also happy to hear her make music with kids her own age. In this case that means bassist Madeline Sash and two members of killusonline: drummer Sean Clements and guitarist Maxwell Folina, both less murderous in this context.
Greg Norton has revamped what began as a sort of hobbyist band, bringing in Soul Asylum’s Ryan Smith and Derek O’Brien's Agent Orange for the bona-fide no-messing-around album The Bridges That We Burn. Loud fast still rules?
NON-LOCAL PICKS
FULL PLAYLIST HERE
Mountain Goats, “Shallow Grave”
Mountain Goats reviews typically focus on John Darnielle’s lyrics, and with good reason. But while “Bury me in a shallow grave/Out behind the warehouse rave/And while you're having a smoke back there/You can think of me while you fix your hair” is vivid stuff, why not zero in on here the sound of a guy enjoying the privilege of leading a great band? Or the way Darnielle’s snappy rhythm acoustic guitar sets up a sprightly piano run and crisp Jon Wurster drum fill is every bit as charming as the chorus “do-do-do”s?
The great Sadie Dupuis is releasing an album, 1331, where every track is about one-minute long, a concept inspired by the also-great Tierra Whack (see below). Following a knot of electronic gurgling, Dupuis unspools of those melodies it sounds like she's backed into while avoiding a more obvious tune. “I would like immunity to this world’s beauty,” she sings, and, yes, I have felt the same at times.
Skrillex feat. Naishi, “Cheeni”
I suspect that some of you think I’m doing a bit with my Skrillex fandom, but I really appreciate this guy. After showing that he can take himself even less seriously than you do last year with Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3, he takes himself just seriously enough on Soma to add depth without getting dull. Selecting a track for this playlist was like choosing my favorite annoyingly hyperactive child—I hate to admit it, but dithering over my Skrillex pick was part of what delayed this latest column. This one isn't a banger, and it doesn't have the Brazilian elements that dominate the album, but it's aqueous electronics are perfect for night biking. Or, as Vulture's Craig Jenkins put it, "This is what fish outside LIV Miami hear."
Tierra Whack, “Wiggidy Whack”
The colorful, stylish MC finally made herself a straight-up rappity-rap album, Whack’s Museum, to shut up the critics. At nearly three minutes, this is an epic by Whack’s miniaturist standards. With Conductor Williams producing in that wobbly way of his, she gets off a spate of great lines: “Cruella de Vil ’cause I’m comin’ for my spot, dog," "You wack without H, so that means you a knockoff,” "We are not the same/I'm super, you supper." And yes, there's a local angle: a Mint Condition name drop.
WIki’s latest, Ancient History, is a truly New Yawk album from an MC the gentrified city left behind. So he celebrates that remaining institution that marked the city as a public space, the park—“a place to start my day off/Without some pain in my heart” and maybe even play “badminton with the Buddhist monks.” Sorry, gotta quote some more: “If any date ask what I planned for us/Or any interviewer ask what my hobby was/It was going to the park, is that too obvious?”
WORST NEW SONG
Lizzo’s latest album, Bitch, failing to chart on the Billboard 200 is even more embarrassing than Lizzo naming her latest album Bitch. Now, I’m not the kinda fella who’ll kick a pop star when she’s down, even if the tumble she took is largely her own doing—fame is fickle, success a bitch goddess, etc. But while other stars attract rabid stans who’ll feast happily on table scraps, Lizzo and her fans have used each other up till now. Which means Lizzo’s only as good as her last hook—the one borrowed here from Meredith Brooks. Which is too obvious for Lizzo fans. Which is saying a lot.
Wanna get a local song considered for the playlist? To make things easy on both of us, email keith@racketmn.com with MONDAY PLAYLIST in the subject header. (Don’t, as in do NOT, DM or text: If I’m in a good mood, I’ll just ask you to send an email; if I’m in a bad mood I’ll just ignore it.)
