Famous Last Words 😵
Shuffle Sundays #44 • My Chemical Romance, The Cure, Manchester Orchestra, Chvrches, Saudade, Snail Mail, Robert Farber, & more!
Hello and welcome to Shuffle Sundays, a weekly newsletter with music recommendations to help you find your next obsession.
¡Feliz Día de los Muertos! This week we’re celebrating Halloween with one of pop-punk’s staple albums from the 2000s, going back even further to the past with a true synth-pop classic, getting spooky with a recent music video, feeling inspired by deteriorated photography, checking out some new music released this past week and more. Enjoy the read!
🎧 Soundtrack: S. Carey - Hundred Acres
💽 » My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
pop-punk, alternative rock, emo • 14 songs • 52 minutes
Since this issue coincides with Halloween, I decided to go back in time and bring an album that fits perfectly with the theme. Originally released in October of 2006, The Black Parade turned to be not only My Chemical Romance’s masterpiece but also a staple in the whole pop-punk and emo scene. To my surprise, the whole album still holds up and continues to be a great listening experience from back to back. If you’re not yet familiar with it, The Black Parade is an opera rock that revolves around a central character’s passage out of life and the memories he has of his own life and death. A record that wanders around many different genres within the main rock structure, with rich (even if simple) storytelling throughout the lyrics. The best introduction to the album certainly is the 5th track Welcome to the Black Parade, an epic song that for a lot of people its consider the Bohemian Rhapsody of the 2000s. That may be an exaggeration, but it’s easy to understand why on the very first listen.
☠️ » Listen on Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
📺 » The Cure - Pictures Of You
Taking things even further, back to 1989, Pictures of You is part of Disintegration, one of The Cure’s best albums. Like many of the band’s songs, it’s an emotional synth-pop ride dealing with love, longing, and memories of the past. A masterpiece that continues to influence numerous contemporary artists to this day.
📺 » Manchester Orchestra - Bed Head
Back to the present, Bed Head was the first single of Manchester Orchestra’s The Million Masks of God, their sixth amazing studio album released back in April of 2021. The video, just like the song, is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking, just like you would expect from Manchester Orchestra, a band known to mix indie-rock with folk, touches of emo, and post-hardcore. It’s been great to follow their path since I first listened to their sophomore record Simple Math, eleven years ago. The Million Masks of God is prove that they're only getting better.
🔀 » Shuffle News
• Chvrches released a “director’s cut” of their incredible 2021 album Screen Violence, including 3 bonus tracks Killer, Screaming, and Bitter End. Listen here.
• after releasing one of my favorite albums of 2020, Brazilian singer-songwriter Saudade is back with the new and great single Vou-me Embora de Mim.
• I’ve never paid much attention to Snail Mail, but her latest singles got me looking forward to listening to her upcoming album Valentine, to be released next Friday. Listen to the most recent single Madonna here.
⚡️ » Visual Inspiration
Robert Farber is an American fashion Photographer, whose series Deterioration explores the film's chemical reaction from decades of sitting in non-archival plastic sleeves. Check out his website or Instagram for more. Here are some favorites:
🎶 » New Music
This week’s new albums I'm particularly interested in checking out:
Also, new singles from Scalene, Mars Motel, Supercombo, Of Monsters and Men, John Mayer, and many more. If you’re curious to hear some of these songs and more, make sure to follow my 2021 playlist on Spotify, updated weekly with new releases:
👋🏼 See you next Sunday!
My name is Leo Mascaro and you are receiving this email because you signed up for Shuffle Sundays, a weekly publication that aims to bring music recommendations for people who feel overwhelmed with so much content out there, helping you find your next favorite artist, album, genre, and more. If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe using the box below:
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