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).
tasbeeh herwees writes my favorite newsletter No Bad Days, a love letter to Los Angeles. She sees the city differently than most people, often on foot or via public transportation (she’s one of the greatest advocates of riding the bus in LA, something I’ll admit I’ve only done one time when I was assigned to write about it for a now defunct Kinfolk-esque magazine), and really brings to life what actually makes it so special here, outside of the Sunset Tower and Gjelina industrial complex. She’s a brilliant writer with excellent ethics and perfect hair, and I love and admire her very much. We’ve been friends for nearly a decade and I actually know very little about her music taste so I was excited to get into her mix (which is way less “basic” than she thinks it is).
Here is her Monday Mixtape:
Tasbeeh Herwees
Aquarius moon, double Scorpio
East HollywoodHow do you find/discover music?
Through reading Fast & Loose :). Honestly, it’s a lot of Shazaming music in TV/movies or outside in the world. I also read a lot of magazines.
What was the first song you put on when you woke up this morning?
I didn’t play any music this morning because I went to a workout class first thing (virtue signal) and I like walking there with no headphones on (virtue signal) (Ed note: lol). My instructor this morning was a Gen X guy named Dustin who loves playing Millennial emo music like Brand New and Dashboard Confessional, which I love and respect. The last thing I played on Apple Music (virtue signal) was “Roslyn” by St. Vincent and Bon Iver from the New Moon soundtrack when I was really stoned on an edible last night.
What song have you listened to more than once this past week?
“Jeep” by Kim Petras. I can’t stop telling people about “Jeep” by Kim Petras. It’s kind of like if a German person wrote country music lyrics but played them in the style of Avril Lavigne. I love it soooo much, it’s so fun.
What is a recent song you think everyone should know about?
“Jeep” by Kim Petras????
A song off your work-out playlist:
“Titi Me Pregunto” by Bad Bunny
What’s the best song to listen to on public transit in Los Angeles?
This was soooo hard because it’s really whatever you’re in the mood for. Maybe “Them Changes” by Thundercat or Sade’s “By Your Side” or “Devotion” by Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf.
What song can you do at karaoke without looking at the tv screens?
There was a season of my life where I could not stop requesting “Love on the Brain” by Rihanna, which is not an easy karaoke song and I am not uniquely capable of singing it. Sorry to everyone involved.
Song you associate with being 13 years old:
“First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes… oh she was moody.
What song do you listen to when you want a lobotomy?
“Stars Are Blind” by Paris Hilton, which also another karaoke favorite. (Ed note: god tier lobotomy song)
What song do you use to indulge your wallowing?
“Say It” by Maggie Rogers because it came across my desk right when I’d started to fall in love with my fiancé who is not Muslim or Arab so it indulged my emo fantasies about us being star-crossed lovers. (But it turns out my parents love him, so. I’m simply a moron.) Also I love belting out “Praying” by Kesha. (Ed note: this song remains criminally slept on imo).
What song do you use to renew your spirit?
“Love Me” by Lil Wayne ft Future/Drake.
What is your favorite cover song?
In case it hasn’t been apparent to you how much of a cornball I am it’s Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River.” In the words of Yasi Salek, I am cringe but I am free.
What song would you like to hear just before you die?
Depends on how I’m dying, but “Nothing Compares 2 U,” the Sinead O’Connor version. (With respect to Prince obviously.)
i also luv the frank ocean cover of moon river lol
The New Moon soundtrack was absurdly stacked. I listened to the Bon Ive and St. Vincent, Grizzly Bear and Victoria Legrand, and Lykke Li songs on constant repeat in 2009 (but I never saw the movie, sorry).