Brooklyn-based band BODEGA create a breezy yet brazen mix of art rock and post-punk that covers topics ranging from modern consumer malaise to the sad, salty fate of “Jack in Titanic.” At their sharpest and most sardonic, they offer some of the more biting social commentary this side of the Atlantic: “Everyone is equally a master and a slave,” they ruminate on the punchy “How Did This Happen?!” Not surprisingly, the quintet soak up wide influences, many with a distinct ability to translate the beauty and sorrow of life into their own poignant languages. They compile quite a few in this set.Says BODEGA’s Ben Hozie about the playlist: “I think the function of art is to remind us of what we value most in the world and in ourselves. There’s a great Radiohead B-side called ‘A Reminder’ with this lyric: ‘If I get old, remind me of this/The night we kissed and I really meant it/Whatever happens, if we’re still speaking/Pick up the phone, play me this song.’ All of the songs I chose for this playlist are personal reminders. Some of these are hard-hitting, whereas some are silly fun, but each one crystallizes some aspect of what I love in art and life.”
