1. It’s always Amy Winehouse season, but the October 30th release of the official AMY soundtrack is a great reason to revisit the late singer's jazzy, full-hearted recording of “Valerie” on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.
2. “I’ll Show You,” the latest single off Justin Bieber’s forthcoming Purpose, is a brooding, Skrillex-assisted redemption anthem that strikes a different, and wholly welcome, note from the post-global party tracks we’ve heard so far.
3. As promised, Young Thug's Slime Season 2 hit on All Hallows' Eve. Picking a favorite is hard—there's no immediately obvious standouts— but we've been bumping "Up" while we work, and recommend you do the same.
4. We don't know if "Desire", the b-side of a newly pressed Teen Suicide 7-inch, is a creaky old demo or a fresh artifact. But we're here for it either way: two minutes of longing, swaddled in static.
5. On Miromoto's genre-less "Layup," the Chicago artist pines for WB dream girls like Rory Gilmore and Buffy Summers around a panicky rhythm and some slick-as-hell sax. According to Soundcloud tags, he's possibly affiliated with New England punk-cum-rap label Dark World, which makes sense.
6. #Songsfromscratch brilliantly linked French producer Brodinski with Maryland rapper Shy Glizzy for "Woah," the up-to-no-good anthem of the year. Catch us lurkin' around your block screaming woah woah WOAH.
7. The backbeat of Dua Lipa's new song, "Be The One" has some pretty, simple components: a peppy programmed drum loop, some delicate plinks, hand claps. It's all carefully arranged to service the track's most crucial asset: the London upstart's humongous voice.
8. With "Stand Up And Speak," Samo Sound Boy and Jerome LOL—together as DJDS—prove they haven't lost their touch for making simmering electronic songs with lots of soul.
9. Singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar recruits fellow Torontonians Badbadnotgood and Sean Leon to add texture to “Paradise,” a warm, introspective R&B cut that sounds something like a syrupy Channel Orange b-side—in the best way possible.
10. ABC’s country drama Nashville is extra—like, a bizzarro Music City version of Empire amount of extra—but moments like the clear-eyed, soul-deep duet “Curtain Call” is when it’s at its best.
