Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

5 songs you need to stream this week: Mac DeMarco, Gary Clark Jr., and more

best songs to stream 42916 gary clark jr
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Every week there are hundreds of thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves. It’s too much for just your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks worthy of a thumbs down click. But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.

Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week — and remember to subscribe to our Spotify playlist for all of our weekly picks.

Mac DeMarco & Jon Lent — I Was A Fool to Care

MAC DEMARCO & JON LENT - I WAS A FOOL TO CARE

A mellow cover of James Taylor’s classic I Was A Fool To Care is the latest single to emerge from the famously open home of slacker rock hero Mac DeMarco. The musician crafted his version at home in partnership with keyboardist Jon Lent. The odd music video for the beautifully recorded track, which DeMarco dedicated to the memory of Prince, features a man in a dog mask who can be seen watching a classic James Taylor episode of The Simpsons at the end. It’s a funny little addition to an extremely solid cover.

Download Mac DeMarco on iTunes

Gary Clark Jr. — BYOB/Can’t Sleep/Shake

Gary Clark Jr. - BYOB/Can't Sleep/Shake (Official Music Video)

The latest trifecta of tunes from Austin blues musician Gary Clark Jr. is a grab bag of sorts, offering a taste of throwback soul, modern pop, and classic slide guitar over the course of a 10 minute music video. Shot in the hills of LA and featuring cameos from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Entourage‘s Jeremy Piven among others, the scenes do well to match Clark Jr.’s undeniably magnetic energy as a performer — a Hollywood outsider who constantly appears to be the coolest guy in the room without trying. This is the sort of video you put on before you head out for an evening, a compilation of sounds and scenes which makes everyone act that much cooler during their night on the town.

Download on iTunes

Young Mister — Pasadena

Songwriter Steven Fiore has a lot of experience writing hook-driven music, having spent his days penning songs for Universal Music for nearly half a decade. The Charleston native harnesses his skills to craft a classic-sounding pop number called Pasadenawritten about time spent in the suburbs of Los Angeles. The first new cut from his new alter ego Young Mister is a summery jam, the kind of thing we can easily see accompanying a movie montage or playing in the background during a long drive to the coast.

Download on iTunes

Samm Henshaw — Our Love

Samm Henshaw may be from South London, but he sounds like he’s from Mississippi. A soul-loving vocalist who uses bluesy guitar and a four-on-the-floor beat to propel his latest single Our Lovethe songwriter is positively gleaming with energy — the sort of performer you can tell puts on a heck of a live show. Henshaw’s got talent, and as a relatively recent addition to Columbia Records, this is likely not the last great song we will be hearing from him.

Download on iTunes

Florist — Vacation (and more)

Florist: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Curators of gentle and introverted lullabies, Florist draw listeners into their layered sound with perfectly chosen lyrics. “I don’t know how to be/What I wanted to be when I was five,” sings vocalist Emily Sprague to start out their recent Tiny Desk Concert, immediately giving the audience something to chew on. This is the sort of song that defines Florist as a band — sharers of deeply personal thoughts which audiences can easily project inwards.

Download on iTunes

That’s it for now, but check back every week for more new tunes to stream!

Editors' Recommendations

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022: Laptops, TVs, AirPods, and more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022

Cyber Week is here! With some truly epic deals out there, this is the best time of year to buy a new tech gadget. If you slept through the Black Friday sales, then the Cyber Monday sales, you better grab what you need during this week of slowly diminishing deals. From tablets to air fryers, laptops to smartwatches, we've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals across a range of categories, and you'll find them all below.
Cyber Monday sales: Quick links

Amazon: Huge discounts on laptops, Echo devices, and tablets
Best Buy: Your destination for sales on super-sized TVs
Dell: Unbeatable discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, and more
Gamestop: Cheap video games, console accessories and monitors
HP: Gaming PCs, laptops, monitors, and printers from $129
Kohl's: Home decor, clothing and kitchen appliance steals
Lowe’s: Up to 60% off appliances like refrigerators and decor
Staples: Save big on laptops, home office hardware and supplies
Target: Tons of cheap kitchen appliances and stocking-fillers
Walmart: Great for laptops, and is restocking PS5 and Xbox Series X

Read more
What is hi-res audio, and how can you experience it right now?
Dlyan Wireless Headphones

High-resolution audio, hi-res audio, or even HD audio -- whatever you decide to call it (for the record, the industry prefers "hi-res audio"), it's a catch-all term that describes digital audio that goes above and beyond the level of sound quality you can expect from a garden-variety MP3 file and even CDs. It was once strictly the domain of audiophiles, but now that major streaming music services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz have embraced it, almost everyone can take advantage of what hi-res has to offer.

But what exactly is hi-res audio? What equipment do you need to listen to it? Where can you download or stream it? And does it actually sound better? We've got the answers.
What does the term 'hi-res audio' mean?

Read more
How to download music from Spotify for offline listening
How to download music and podcasts from Spotify: The downloads folder.

If you're a Spotify Premium user paying that premium Spotify fee, chances are you've taken at least some time curating playlists, liking songs, and using the platform's easy-to-use (and recently revamped) user interface to discover new and old music.

But sometimes all that music or your favorite podcasts aren't available if you find yourself without an internet connection to stream them from — like on a long plane ride or weekend camping trip in the sticks. That's where Spotify's offline listening feature comes in handy, allowing you to download playlists, albums, and podcasts through its desktop and mobile apps so you can still rock out while you're off the grid.

Read more