Mixtape: Hot Bops by Kathleen Martinelli
First and foremost, it's a dance mix.
May’s mixtape is brought to you by KMart—or, in other words, my dear friend Kathleen Martinelli.
Kathleen is one of those special people that everybody should be fortunate enough to have in their lives. She is a sage of sorts. A low-key guru. An inadvertent sherpa. A reluctant lighthouse. An accidental Jedi.
You’ve heard of this distinguished class of American leaders known as the Captains of Industry? Well, Kathleen is a Captain of Culture—which is to say she always has, like, really, really solid recommendations on what you should be reading, watching, and listening to. Music, television, movies, tweets, long reads, TikToks, YouTubes, podcasts, GIFs, subreddits, substacks, subgenres, and so on.
And while nearly anyone is capable of voraciously consuming popular culture today, Kathleen possesses the exceedingly rare ability to digest, analyze, and discuss it in a way that is refreshing, lighthearted, considered, and insightful, but magically somehow not pretentious or juvenile. And if that wasn’t enough of a feat, she inexplicably manages to be ironic, but not cynical, and sincere, but not saccharine. I have no idea how she does it, but my leading theory is that she is a witch.
This sort of thing is not even her profession; it’s just her way of being. But now that’s starting to change. When she’s not busy working in television or writing fiction, she keeps it real (ahem) in her new newsletter Attention Kmart Shoppers where she examines the popular culture, the places it’s been, and the places it’s going. Do yourself a favor and subscribe.
So, long story short, if you were in the business of curating things, Kathleen is the kind of person you’d want helping you curate things. And since we are in the business of curating things, we asked Kathleen to curate some music for us. And she did.
Hot Bops is a dance mixtape that spans decades, boosts serotonin, and makes you feel damn good. Listen below and read our conversation about bops and what constitutes them, Soul Train, Hanson, Fran Lebowitz, smooth brain, mixtape making loopholes, and who is statistically the biggest Dua Lipa fan on Spotify.
Listen → Hot Bops by Kathleen Martinelli
Tracklist:
Born Under Punches – Talking Heads
Mano A Mano – Daryl Hall & John Oates
He’s so Shy – The Pointer Sisters
Slippery People – The Staple Singers
Fashion – David Bowie
Rush & Fever – Nation of Language
Soul Control – Jessie Ware
About Work The Dancefloor – Georgia
Pretty Please – Dua Lipa
Wherever You Go – The Avalanches, Jamie xx, Neneh Cherry, CLYPSO
GREEN BANANAS: Walk us through your mixtape.
KATHLEEN MARTINELLI: First and foremost, this is a dance mix! The first five tracks are retro jams, and the last five tracks are all songs that were released in the hell of 2020. The earthier, older tracks gradually lead into the more electronic, modern ones, ending with the Avalanches' "Wherever You Go," which feels the most like the future to me (it was also, if I remember correctly, the first of all those new songs that I heard while in lockdown, and I remember feeling at the time just so, so grateful for it, because it meant there were still new things in the world that I would be able discover even if I was stuck inside). And if you put this on repeat, I think the last track is a good lead-in back into “Born Under Punches,” weirdly.
I love ending a mixtape on a track that perfectly segues back into the opener. I would coin this right now, but I can’t come up with a good name. Looper? Cycler? Backtracker? Boomeranger? Oroboroser?
Retracktable? Retrack(turn)table?
I feel like we’re circling it, so let’s circle back on that... In the meantime, what was the specific inspiration for this mix?
In 2020, music was my greatest source of serotonin, always there for me even when food, books, and movies started losing their appeal. And I loved how 2020 was the year of the disco revival (so much has been written already about this). Despite coming across as a generally reserved person, I will dance like a lunatic anywhere remotely near a DJ (conditions permitting, like alcohol). So I really just wanted to make something that feels like all fun and no work.
These bops are all fun! And who cares if every major cultural internet publication has already written about the revival of dance music... I think we both know that the people never rest until Green Bananas weighs in.
Something something fresh takes, something something fresh bananas...you get it.
When would you listen to this mix? What are you up to when you go to this playlist?
1. When you wake up and want to get some energy flowing; 2. Headphone dance party in your apartment (not that I am speaking from experience!!!); 3. To unlock the highly coveted state of smooth brain.
Whoa, careful there. You know that I think post-ironic irony is going to lead to the fall of mankind. That said... hold on to “Smooth Brain” because it’s going to be the title of your next mixtape.
Yes, and the playlist will just be nine hours of the Chromatica interstitials, over and over and over again (Chromatica, another 2020 dance album that I didn’t get to here).
What was the first song you added to this mix?
To be honest, when you first asked me to make a mix, I tried to make something Very Worthy that showed off the amazing taste in music I have. But then I kept wanting to add Nation of Language's “Rush & Fever,” since they're a band I think should be on more people's radar, and it would always mess up the flow of things because the song's just too synthy and fun. I decided to fully embrace the danciness and went from there.
In my opinion, this is the best way to make a mixtape: retention over pretension. The best place to start is with that one song you just can’t seem to let go of and then let that momentum take you wherever it’s going to take you.
But “Rush & Fever” is also the most pivotal song on the mix as it does the heavy lifting of bridging the gap between eras. You go from “Fashion” by Bowie—an old song that sounds like it's from the future— to “Rush & Fever”—a modern song that sounds 40 years old. (The eighties were forty years ago, by the way.)
Yes, that was my thinking, that it would work well as that “bridge.” Joe, I really hate that you told me that thing about the eighties.
And I really hate that you made me look up that thing about the eighties so I was forced to tell you about it.I know, I hate myself for it. And I, too, now understand the quest for smooth brain. At first listen, Nation Of Language reminded me of The Human League. They must be an influence, no? Even their names are similar. They sound like rival charities or something.
“The Human League are the residents of the Nation of Language” sounds like something went very, very wrong in Google Translate.
What is your favorite moment on this mixtape?
The "Slippery People" cover by the Staple Singers. Icons respecting icons. And because it was a way to cheat and get the Talking Heads on there twice.
Is there anything the Staple Singers can’t do? By the way, this is another one of my favorite mixtape maneuvers: sneaking in two songs from the same artist through a cover song. Gonna go ahead and coin this term, too, because I actually do have a snappy name for it: undercover addition.
I hate to break it to you, but there is something they can’t do: convincingly pretend to play guitar on Soul Train. But whatever, Pops Staples can do whatever the fuck he wants.
Pops bops, does he not?
100%. Bop king.
I feel that, instinctually, I know what a “bop” is, but I also feel that, instinctually, I know it would be fun to ask you to define what a “bop” is. You’re a talented writer, so please tell us what a “bop” is.
A “bop” is simply a song that makes you feel good, in a very pure and lighthearted way. Like Fran Lebowitz, a “bop” fights against the concept that there is such a thing as a “guilty pleasure.” You should just enjoy the bops you enjoy.
I am very pro-Fran and very anti-guilty pleasure as a concept. That said, let’s explore bops outside the bounds of this mixtape by playing a little game called Bop Or Not!
Is “Mmmbop” by Hanson a bop?
Not in my personal estimation, no, but I’m not going to deny it for anyone else (see above).
Okay, so in your personal estimation... bop or not:
“Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones?
Yes, bop.
“Be-Bop-A-Lula” by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps?
Yes.
“Bibbidi-Bobbidy-Boo” from Cinderella?
Absolutely.
“Chantilly Lace” by The Big Bopper?
Not really, but R.I.P.
Has anyone ever produced more bops than Daryl Hall and John Oates? I don’t actually know the answer, it just seems like they are Bop Kings. I’ve never done the deep dive on their catalogue and, as a result, every year or two a stone cold sparkler like “Mano A Mano” comes my way and I can’t stop listening to it. This mixtape bops from front-to-back, but this is the song that has its hook in me.
For all of my childhood, I thought I hated Hall & Oates because KZST, the easy listening station my mom would put on in the car, played “Maneater” about seven times an hour, right after “The Wind Beneath My Wings” and before “A Groovy Kind of Love.” I didn’t appreciate the greatness of Hall & Oates until I was older. Now I put them on willingly, and happily—even “Maneater.”
Last year you were in the top 0.1% of Dua Lipa listeners on the planet. So how hard was it for you to not make this entire mix Dua Lipa? By my count, there’s only Una Lipa. I expected at least Tria Lipa here.
According to Spotify, yes, this is true, but I don’t really trust that algorithm. 0.1% out of millions, I’m assuming? Billions? I love Dua but it seems physically impossible that I was listening to her that much.
I don’t remember if I told you this, but last year Spotify told me I was in the top 0.05% of Beach Boys listeners, which seems even more impossible. My theory is Spotify uses Dominion to count the plays and so the whole thing is inherently corrupt. Thoughts?
I’d rather leave politics out of any kind of bops discussion, please. Maybe there is no math at all. Maybe Spotify lies to justify those really annoying “thank you for being a fan” emails they send out to get you to buy more concert tickets. That’s my “stop the steal” level conspiracy that I’m starting here.
If our listeners are unfamiliar with Dua Lipa, can you explain your love for her and what they should listen to next?
By now I assume the only person on the planet who might still be unfamiliar with her is Wendy Williams, so, Wendy: just watch the “IDGAF” video from her self-titled era and then proceed to track 1 of Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition, duh). You can skip the DaBaby version of “Levitating.” And “Boys Will Be Boys” is pretty bad. But the remix album, Club Future Nostalgia, is pretty great.
Ok. Maybe I am in the 0.1%.
If Ms. Lipa is reading this, what would you like to say to her?
Dua, sweetie, WHERE IS THE FKA TWIGS COLLAB WE WERE PROMISED?!!
Is there anything you want to plug?
Just my brand new spanking newsletter. And this video of James Gandolfini on Sesame Street.
Remember when I said, “let’s circle back” on what to call the last song of a mixtape that perfectly segues back into the opener? Well, what about “circleback track”?
And I think that’s my cue to hit “stop.”
Nailed it.
Many thanks to Kathleen for delivering us these bops and for coining the term—just in time for the long weekend, too. If you enjoyed her take, you should seriously recommend subscribing to her blog, as it is literally full of her takes.
And if you enjoyed this mix, I think of it as a spiritual successor to Little Fish’s dirty dishes-dancing mixtape, so check that out. Which brings us to the:
Alumni Spotlight:
Our friends at Little Fish are now officially local celebrities and Internet famous.
Our friend Dan Svizeny is releasing a collection of poetry this Friday with all proceeds going to Liberation Library. Subscribe to his Weekend Guide to get the info.
That’s all for May, and for me. Big things coming in June. Big. Things.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Love a bop!