Best new songs to stream: Benjamin Booker, King Krule, Ty Segall, and more

By Parker Hall December 10, 2017

best new songs to stream

Every week, there are thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves — and it’s just too much for your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks that deserve a thumbs-down click — you want the best new songs to stream right now.

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.

Related Videos

Here are our five best new songs to stream this week. And don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post. Not sure which streaming service is best for you? Check out our post about the best music streaming services, or go in depth and learn the differences between Apple Music and Spotify to better weigh your options.

Benjamin Booker — The Slow Drag Under and more, live on KEXP

Benjamin Booker - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Benjamin Booker brings his signature vintage soul aesthetic to this live performance at Seattle’s KEXP radio station, performing four classic-sounding singles from his catalog. On the first track, The Slow Drag Under, we hear bluesy guitar licks over a fat drumbeat, with Booker’s gravelly voice slithering calmly through the center. We can’t think of anything better to unwind to after a long week.

King Krule — Midnight 01 (Deep Sea Diver) and more, live at NPR

Guitarist and songwriter Archy Marshall (aka King Krule) has been making big waves with this year’s release The Ooz, an album that’s garnered much critical acclaim for its use of mixed musical textures. An interesting blend of acoustic and digital instruments showcase the album’s complex layers during this recent appearance at NPR’s headquarters, as jazzy guitar lines and saxophone solos are joined by whirling audio samples and vocal effects.

Ty Segall — Fanny Dog

Ty Segall "Fanny Dog" 12/04/17 - CONAN on TBS

Rock and roll isn’t dead: Ty Segall is still making it. A big and musically skilled band dressed in white backs up the garage rock icon during this performance of a hilarious, yet powerful song about his dog on Conan. If you need something to pick you up this week, this tune — one of the first released tracks from Segall’s upcoming album Freedom’s Goblin — is sure to do the trick.

Phoebe Bridgers — Would You Rather, live on KCRW

Phoebe Bridgers perfoming "Would You Rather" Live on KCRW

Warm slide guitar and piano hold together this live performance from LA-based songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, whose emotional ballads have garnered much acclaim this year. A love song with compelling story-style lyrics, it’s perfect for sunsets or remembering the ones you love.

Twin Peaks — In The Meadow

Chicago rockers Twin Peaks have been releasing two songs a month as part of their Sweet ’17 Singles series, a group of songs that will eventually be compiled onto a full 12-inch vinyl release early next year. One of the last songs in the series, In The Meadow, is a guitar-fueled single with subtle distorted lyrics. An excellent driving song, this is a great one to put on when you head out for your weekend adventures.

That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more songs to stream, and check out the playlist loaded with our recent selections below:

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Music

Spotify vs. Pandora

Spotify

You’ve probably heard that there are two types of people out there: people who listen to their music on Spotify and people who use Pandora. While Pandora has been around for decades and many people credit the streaming service for revolutionizing the music industry, there’s also a reason Spotify has become so popular in the past few years.

If you're a music lover, both services are certainly worth using. Still, if you're considering upgrading to paid tiers like Spotify Unlimited or Pandora Premium, you will want to know what you're getting for your hard-earned cash. We pit Spotify and Pandora against each other to help you decide which is right for you, and after comparing these two music services closely, Spotify comes out on top.
Background
For better or worse, Pandora's Music Genome Project helped revolutionize the music industry when it debuted in 2000, creating a new standard for online music streaming. Since then, numerous competitors have sprung up, with iHeartRadio, Last.fm, TuneIn, and more borrowing Pandora's "radio station" model with varying degrees of success. In fact, Pandora has been so successful at radio-style programming that SiriusXM recently agreed to purchase it.

Entertainment

The 15 best movies about music

Rocketman

The more we dig into a musical artist's body of work, the more we want to know the people behind the music. What d0 they listen to? What are they like off-stage? Are they eccentric enigmas whenever cameras are rolling and modest introverts once they turn off, or is there no filter between their public and private personas?

Movies about music and musicians give us a chance to learn what these charismatic figures might be like, even though ultimately the stories we watch may be no more accurate than our imagination. Whether those movies get the official stamp of the artist depicted or they're just the speculations of someone with cameras and a budget, for better or worse films about music help to make rock gods and hip-hop innovators more human, as well as helping to build their legends. With that in mind, here are the best movies about music and musicians currently streaming.

Music

The best free music players for Windows PCs

headphones as microphone for hackers laptop girl

If you're not a fan of online music streaming or have an extensive offline music collection you want to enjoy instead, then you need a great music player. There are plenty of premium options to choose from, but also some fantastic free versions.

These are our favorite free music players for Windows PCs.
MusicBee