Tiger Mom Sampler

Consider this playlist an artist statement. Twelve songs in 45 minutes, there is a little bit of everything. Beginning and ending with IDLES, Joe Talbot packs a punch with his booming vocals. The song Dancer is a nod to my 12 years of ballet training and my late mother, the greatest dance teacher that ever lived.

Let It Go As If You Wander is a perfect example of being moved by words I don’t understand. The first line has been translated to “let me die for something I can find that is truly beautiful,” and I love the romanticism of it all.

Metric’s Just the Once is an absolute upbeat banger. For me, the lyrics represent the push every creative must have to stay cutting edge, whether that is within your field or within yourself. Dropping into AURORA, she sweetly carries the previous theme deeper by asking, “what is life worth living if you don’t bleed for anything?”

Taeko Onuki is one of my favorite Japanese pop artists of the 70s. The title of the song roughly translates to ‘unruly girl.’ Followed by Caroline Polachek’s Bunny Is A Rider, I’m still not sure if Bunny is in fact, a rider, but this is quite the earworm. A studio staple, if you must. Yaeji’s For Granted is a chill, introspective vibe. She asks, “Am I saying thank you? Am I enjoying it too? Am I taking it for granted?” These are questions I ask in my daily meditation. Wanting to go back to back with amazing South Korean DJs, I decided to turn up the beat with Lobster Telephone by Peggy Gou.

The crown jewel of this playlist is Rina Sawayama’s Minor Feelings, the intro song to her flawless 2023 album, Hold the Girl. Speaking on hateful attitudes towards Asian people during COVID-19, this song brings me to tears every time. “All my life, I've felt out of place. All my life, I've been saving face.. for all these minor feelings are majorly breaking me down.” One of the greatest assaults on my art practice has been experiencing racism, but that only fuels the fire to find healing in art and community. Never give up!

King of Sweden represents everything I love about Future Islands. This album is beautifully mournful in particular. Still, the catchy crooning and upbeat synth channel the experience of loss. YeYe is a newer artist in my catalogue, but this song has beachy vibes reminiscent of Haruomi Hosono’s 1978 Paraiso album. Finally, POP POP POP ends this sampler. Joe Talbot’s voice is so commanding, but freudenfreude is defined as finding happiness in another person’s good fortune. Enjoy!