Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

March 1, 2021

Mia Doi Todd: “If I Don’t Have You”

By: Jack Anderson

Dating back to 1997’s The Ewe and the Eye, L.A. songwriter Mia Doi Todd has permeated an evolving world of parallels; a personality that’s sensuous but stern, curt but existential, and packing a philosophy based on her experiences that still manages universal appropriateness.

Mia Doi Todd’s been challenging the bards of antiquity with her own modern mythologies ever since, and expanded on her jazz-folk sound last week with Music Life. Pairing originals with covers of classics, Music Life breathes effortlessly with Mia Doi Todd’s airy aesthetic, especially on her acoustic rendition of Gregory Isaacs’ “If I Don’t Have You”!


Episodes

January 31, 2025

Glassreel: “Myself Included” [PREMIERE]

Winnepeg’s Glassreel is a masterclass on the hard-to-nail trifecta of layers, technique, and breathing space. Nothing is simple, but everything is effortless. Following their 2022 debut Lustre, the group returns with “Myself Instead,” a song that shows the further fine-tuning, cohesion, and boldness the quartet has been building on. While the Belle & Sebastian and […]

Listen

January 30, 2025

Lola Tried: “Degrader”

If Mama tried to steer you right, Lola Tried is here to steer you wrong. So very, very wrong. Known for masterfully blending the emo hooks of teenage Millennial yore with garage and power-pop sensibilities, the group has always been like the adult charcuterie board to pop-punk’s Lunchable. After nearly a decade under those influences, […]

Listen

January 29, 2025

Valley Flower: “Run Buddy”

Rolling into Austin like a quiet, yet alluring fog from the Midwest and Appalachia is Valley Flower, a groovy bluegrass quintet that brilliantly weaves in those regional influences to offer something a little different to the stalwart, homegrown scene here in Austin. And 2024 was very fertile for Valley Flower. They opened for several national […]

Listen

January 28, 2025

Yahtzee Brown: “Take It Back”

I know you’re already fantasizing about your first road trip of 2025, so here’s a new add for that tried and true playlist. Austin’s Yahtzee Brown takes a myriad of inspirations to create his own brand and generation of country-psych, or what I prefer to call Cosmic Country. And while the songs of Townes Van […]

Listen

January 27, 2025

Skateland: “Postcards” (Recorded Live in Studio 1A)

As Love Austin Music Months enters the home stretch, let’s visit a recent Studio 1A from an old friend. Skateland played our Free Week Show in 2023, and the next month he was our Artist of the Month ahead of his debut EP New Wave Revivial. In the almost two years since, he’s played SXSW […]

Listen

January 24, 2025

Kirk Smith: “Julian”

Kirk Smith has been kicking around Austin and our airwaves for some time, and last Friday he released “Julian.” “Julian” opens with a melancholy, bossa nova shuffle, setting the stage for a worried heart. But it’s not love, it’s sadness for someone you watched from afar decades ago. Lamenting the tale of a John Bender […]

Listen

January 23, 2025

Futon Blonde: “3 Color Flag”

The imagery of rebirth and change in winter might be the only thing you remember from your Robert Frost lesson in English class, so let’s go back to school and compose a short essay on the significance of featuring this song during this season. Just kidding. Austin’s Futon Blonde have spent the last decade making […]

Listen

January 22, 2025

Yes Sir, No Sir: “Spiritus Heist”

Get a preview of this Austin quartet’s sophomore album, out Friday.

Listen