Monday Mixtape: Patrik Sandberg
Slayyyter, The Cure, New Order, SALEM, and more
Monday Mixtape is another path towards music discovery, featuring people whose taste I admire answering a series of questions and prompts with songs (which might change from time to time). Also sorry there was no post last week (*Hoobastank clip*) I’m in Madonna jail and I am doing my best babe.
Like most of the best people, it’s sort of impossible to describe Patrik Sandberg. He has like, Mensa level IQ and unimpeachable taste, the kind of self-respect and integrity Joan Didion wrote essays about, wit like a razor-blade, and (and here’s the real magic) is one of the most caring and thoughtful friends one could dream to have. In his own words: “I am, unfortunately, a writer. I was born a writer and I will die a writer. Of this, I’m painfully aware.”
His recently launched Substack Paraphernalia is an absolute gift. He’s also one of the only people on earth whose taste in music I both connect with and respect (Sorry! You either have taste or you don’t, as Patrik likes to say).
Here is Patrik’s Monday Mixtape:
Patrik Sandberg Sagittarius sun, Aries rising, Libra moon Hollywood, where it all happens
How do you find/discover music?
Obsessively, religiously, and continuously. As a medium-elder millennial, I started with the bulk CD purchases from the Columbia House catalog that came in the mail, graduated to saving my allowance and buying CDs at the Wherehouse, then came Napster, Limewire, and finally the greatest music discovery machine ever invented, which was MySpace. Once MySpace ended and before streaming took off, there was a dead zone during which Pitchfork and other indie music sites were integral to the culture but something was lost. We had to go to forums to talk about music and learn about artists. I think we’re finally back on track now with the often-too-maligned “algorithm.” I love mine deeply. We are in a toxic codependent relationship. You have to invest in it to get the results you want.
What was the first song you put on when you woke up this morning?
“Drugs in my Body” by Thieves Like Us
What song have you listened to more than once this past week?
“OLD FLING$” by Slayyter
What is a recent song you think everyone should know about?
“Hijacked” by Odonis Odonis (ed note: Patrik put me onto this band and I am SO into them)
A song off your work-out playlist:
“Playgirl” by Ladytron
What song can you do at karaoke without looking at the tv screens?
“China Girl” by David Bowie was my go-to for a long time. I did it at Pieces Bar and they 86’d me for being racist? I thought that song was about heroin.
Song you associate with being 13 years old:
“Blue Monday” by Orgy. The real answer is actually “Malibu” by Hole, but considering that song has been with me in my life at every age, it’s less thirteen-specific to me now. But I was thirteen when Celebrity Skin came out and it was nothing short of seminal.
What song do you listen to when you want a lobotomy?
Less lobotomy-coded but I do like to zone out and listen to beautiful psych rock, goth rock, and shoegaze while driving down California’s Highway 1, so I’ll say something like “Rosaries” by Weekend.
What song do you use to indulge your wallowing?
“Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure.
What song do you use to renew your spirit?
“Dreams Never End” by New Order.
What is a song that you find genuinely sexy?
“Human Nature” by Michael Jackson. I’m gonna get crucified for that one.
What is your favorite cover song?
“Better Off Alone” by SALEM (ed note: god tier)
What song would you like to hear just before you die?
“Ceremony” by New Order