I never knew Slacker Rock was an actual music genre until I googled, “What genre is Mac DeMarco?” Then I saw the name Slacker Rock and it just fit his style perfectly. It also had my mind running of what else could be considered Slacker Rock and what other genres could mesh well with it. This blog will walk you through my thought process and then get you to my playlist at the very end. Down for the journey?
Well…. First off is Mac DeMarco.
Mac is from Canada and I think he is a generational talent. The voice and his whole style is unique and it reminds me of 90’s skate culture while also paying homage to psychedelic rock from the 60’s and 70’s. I can’t even remember how I stumbled onto Mac DeMarco but I do know the song as it was “Chamber of Reflection” which is an all-timer. Mac’s music is some good lazy afternoon kicking it in a hammock type of vibes.
And if we’re now suddenly posted up in a hammock, I don’t want to get out there anytime soon so I’m bringing some John Lennon to this Slacker Rock party. I don’t even know much Beatles music nor do I know a lot of their solo work but I do love this song. And the album cover proves that this is hammock type music. This was Lennon’s first solo album after The Beatles broke up and while he going through primal scream therapy where he worked his way through childhood trauma over several months in London and Los Angeles. What we’re left with is a beautiful song from John. I give you, “Hold on John.”
So now we’ve gone from Mac DeMarco to John Lennon right off the bat so the range is wide open for us. After digging in the digital crates on Spotify for a good few hours I stumbled onto Crumb who are a Brooklyn-based band who are dope. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Crumb and coming out of this pandemic they are going to be one of the bands I need to check out live when they hit Cali. Their sound makes you wonder what decade their from and I think that’s dope. And Lila Ramani’s voice is beautiful.
The Slacker Rock playlist is now taking form and this is where I felt some Ween would be a good fit. It’s my brother who is the big Ween fan and while I only know a few of their songs, “The Mollusk” is such a good song. It dropped on The Mollusk album in 1997 and the artwork on the cover is so good. Ween covers a wide range of genres and this track keeps takes the listener on a dope little journey.
The feels from the Ween song make me think of some early Beck with his song “Sissyneck.” While “Sissyneck” gives this playlist a slightly different sound, I think I can still squeeze it in here and not lose many of you. “Sissyneck” has long been my favorite Beck song. Beck has always pushed boundaries and has never been afraid to experiment with different sounds and styles. “Sissyneck” doesn’t have an official video (why?!?!) but this live version is dope. Off of the Odelay album from 1996.
Going down the rabbit hole of this playlist I found Courtney Barnett and I’m so glad I did. That voice reminds me of Mac DeMarco vibes but regardless, it’s a cool sound. She has a conversational deadpan delivery with her vocals which isn’t something you hear everyday. Courtney hails from Australia but I hope she finds her way to the States on a tour sometime soon.
I next venture into some 90’s Grunge with Nirvana’s track, “Heart-Shaped Box.” The opening sounds along with Kurt Cobain’s vocals really do it for me. I can remember being in 5th grade when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came out and my friends and I headbanged the entire school dance. And yes, you’re assumptions are right, we didn’t come close to dancing with a fine young lady but it was alright because we had endless fruit punch and headbanging. The next morning my neck was shot but it was all worth it. RIP Kurt.
To close this musical journey before I give you my playlist, we need to hit a little Spirit for the finale. The song chosen is “The Other Song” off of their Son of Spirit album from 1975. Spirit hailed from Los Angeles, CA and their psychedelic sounds take me right back to the 70’s. I don’t believe my parents ever listened to music like this or tripped out on acid but that’s the only way I could imagine listening to this live. And I don’t even do acid! Before I get to the track, I gotta give love to Gonjasufi which is how I found out about this track. Gonjasufi hails from Chula Vista, Ca and Gaslamp Killer samples “The Other Song” for his “Duet” track from A Sufi and a Killer. That album is fire so if you haven’t peeped and are cool with tripping out, go peep it.
And here’s “The Other Song” from Spirit.
If you’re digging the sounds heard so far, head right over to Spotify for my Slacker Rock playlist. It features the artists mentioned along with Modest Mouse, Beastie Boys, Frank Zappa, Ariel Pink, The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, Weezer, Mild High Club, and tons more. I’m always open to other song submissions that you feel I might have missed. Throw them in the comments!