Tyler Bainbridge of Perfectly Imperfect Seizes Control of the Aux

This is SOUND ADVICE, a weekly destination for playlists curated by Interview’s friends, enemies, and lovers. Over the last few weeks, we’ve gathered playlists curated by Patia Borja, ANOHNI, and Channel Tres. And this week’s installment comes from man-about-town Tyler Bainbridge, whose bi-weekly newsletter Perfectly Imperfect invites a wide berth of New York artists, writers, intellectuals, and scenesters to spiral on bits of personal ephemera, consciously rejecting the endless algorithmic scroll. In the spirit of curation, Bainbridge made us a playlist of artists who are “doing something exciting and new, but don’t fit cleanly into any one existing genre,” a collection of songs he’s dubbed THE NEW SOUND. Then, en route to PI’s SXSW showcase, he answered our SOUND ADVICE questionnaire below, revealing his first ever concert, the songs he’s gatekeeping, and what happens after you hand him the aux.

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Where do you dance? Wherever there’s music.

Fuck, marry, kill: Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Music. Fuck Soundcloud, Marry Spotify, Kill Apple Music. Sorry.

Bluetooth or wired headphones? Sorry wired headphone lovers, but I’m a Bluetooth boy most of the time.

Who was your first concert? I think it was when my Dad brought me to see one of his favorite hard rock/nu-metal bands, Godsmack, in Boston. My next concert was Green Day and I remember buying a bootleg t-shirt in the parking lot.

What song on this playlist, if any, makes you cry? They’re all pretty fun & high energy, so probably none of them… unless I’m crying at how beautiful “Elskling” by Elusin is.

What’s your favorite club? Club Eat, duh. Especially “Sticky“.

What’s your favorite album cover of all time? I love most of Bruce Springsteen’s album art, but especially Lucky Town despite it being debatably his worst album.

Who’s the queen of pop? Farrah Abraham.

What’s your favorite movie needle drop moment? Maybe it’s cliche but I’m a total sucker for the “Just Like Honey” drop at the end of Lost in Translation.

Name an artist who’s a green flag on someone else’s playlist. Snow Strippers. Or Sugar Ray. Or The Radio Dept. Or Babyxsosa. Or Smog.

Name an artist who’s a red flag on someone else’s playlist. I really try not to hate on things, but fine, fuck it. Fred again.

Have you ever considered gatekeeping a song? If so, which one? Most of this playlist.

What’s the perfect playlist length? Shorter than the one I shared here. Maybe 20 to 30 tracks? Perfect album length is 10.

What do you listen to before a DJ set? The first minute or so of the Justice remix of “NY Excuse” by Soulwax.

Name some songs that gets everybody dancing at the party. “House Of Jealous Lovers” by The Rapture, “Like A Pen” by The Knife, or “FLATLINE” by Frost Children.

A friend hands you their phone. What song do you add to the queue? “Even The Score” by Cooper B. Handy (LUCY)