Daily Jam - Fade Into You

I am a shy teenager caught in an eternal slow dance in a school’s gymnasium, hushed, embarrassed, and awkward, my arms forever enfolding my unrequited love. I am an admirer pining away from a distance, but never standing to meet, gazing and longing forever. I am the loving and lonely soul who gives away my whole heart only to have it given back to me. I love what can never love me back.

I was in the ninth grade when the dreamy Mazzy Star released their second album So Tonight that I Might See, and I first heard the wonderful melancholy yearn of “Fade Into You,” the penultimate misfit slow dancer. The band’s ode to unrequited love pushes its strengths front and center with lead singer Hope Sandoval’s haunted and sorrowful vocals floating in the mix while the mournful slide guitar stabs us all in the pits of our hearts. Every lonely, outcast teenager had this song on a mixtape. It scored countless dark and solitary nights, accompanied long, handwritten letters that were never to be delivered, and soundtracked a thousand daydreamed scenarios. It served as the theme song of choice for any number of adolescent splits and breakups, a sublime stand-in for the pages and pages of bad poetry that teenage heartache inspires.

And it’s still transcendent almost 30 years later.

Listening to “Fade Into You” now, I can’t help but feel my 15-year old insecurities bubbling up to the surface for reevaluation. I guess it’s all still there. That awkward, inexperienced kid still has his place, his dark and cluttered bedroom, somewhere deep within my soul.

But that’s okay. It’s all good and well so long as we have Mazzy Star to act as our prescriptive medicine, our audio pain pill.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Look on Down from the Bridge

Say what you will about "Rick and Morty," love it or hate it, you still have to admit that whoever it is that picks the music to put in episodes knocks it out of the park every time.  Like this Mazzy Star track used in the first season.  Listen to the quietly devastating "Look on Down from the Bridge" below, our Daily Jam.

RIP David Roback

I've been out of the loop for a couple days with a mild plague that's been making its way around the office, so i'm only just now finding out the David Roback passed away earlier this week.  The artist came up through the Paisley Underground scene in LA during the '80s but is most well known for his work with Hope Sandoval in Mazzy Star.  And he co-wrote "Fade Into You," which is one of the most perfect songs ever recorded.  He will be missed.  RIP.

Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions and Kurt Vile

Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval has a new record coming out in November with her other band, The Warm Inventions.  The chanteuse's dreamy and dusty sound gets dreamier and dustier with first single "Let Me Get There," featuring some duet vocals from Kurt Vile.  It's a nice a hazy joint, and you can watch the video below.  And get the record from Tendril Tales.

Psychic Ills and Hope Sandoval

I posted a song from the upcoming new Psychic Ills LP a couple days ago that's got me really excited for the release of "Inner Journey Out."  And now, today, i realize that another track from the record features Hope Sandoval.  That's awesome!  The blend of psych, Americana, and dreampop soothes the soul and makes the heart swell.  Listen to "I Don't Mind" below and get the record in two weeks from Sacred Bones (who are just killing it lately).

And speaking of Mazzy Star...

After teasing us last year with a new single, Mazzy Star is officially (finally) releasing a new album of material in September, the duo's first since 1996.  "Seasons of Your Day" will be released courtesy of Rhymes of An Hour, but you should definitely listen to "California" below, a somber and wistful acoustic lullaby.

J Mascis covers Mazzy Star

Indie rock hero and Dinosaur Jr front man J Mascis did an acoustic solo cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You," and it's wonderful.  Listen below.