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1/3/19

Shark Teeth The Size Of Pick-Up Trucks

Sleigh Bells “It’s Just Us Now”

The running theme of Sleigh Bells’ records is the effort and emotional strain it takes to overcome insecurity and push yourself to be the kind of person you want to be and to become something truly great. Derek Miller makes it all sound like a matter of life and death – there’s no half-measures in Sleigh Bells songs, and the music is always pushed to the furthest extremes of catchiness, of emphatic self-belief, of raw force, of blaring loudness. They’re aiming for an overpowering physical sensation; they want to give you a thrill. But it’s all a dramatization of an inner struggle to be optimistic and have faith that you can make things work.

The phrase “It’s Just Us Now” doesn’t come up in the song, but it’s the subtext. It’s a message to the people who stuck with them after the hype for them died down: You get it, so here’s the most ambitious music we can come up with, because we’re not going to stop fighting even if everyone bails on us. No one would ever consider the music on their previous records to be timid or repressed, but they do feel that way in the context of where they’ve been since Jessica Rabbit came out in 2016. It’s loud, but not in the red and warped to the point that it sounds like an accident. They stopped relying on decibels to give you that oomph feeling. And crucially, Alexis Krauss had revealed herself as a powerhouse singer – the airy head voice of the first few records was now supplanted by a fierce, belting rock voice that was more En Vogue than indie pop. They leveled up, in large part because these are people who thrive as underdogs.

“It’s Just Us Now” tips back and forth between confidence and doubt, but it’s not the pessimistic feelings that stick. The lines that jump out at you are statements of certainty: “I believe deeply in decency.” “When you die, I wanna die with you.” The music sounds defiant and heroic, so when Krauss sings “when I’m conscious, I am cursed,” it just comes across like pointing at an obstacle to kick down and overcome. They’re ready to push and fight, and are not afraid to fail. This is the energy we should be carrying into the New Year.

Buy it from Amazon.

1/1/19

The Wrath Of A Dying Star

The Scary Jokes “Community Gardens”

Liz Lehman’s previous record as The Scary Jokes was delightfully melodic and agonizingly neurotic, something like a feminine equivalent to Kevin Barnes’ music as Of Montreal. Three years later, Lehman remains a natural with melody and is no less angsty, but has further developed their style beyond obvious reference points. BURN PYGMALION!!! is a cleaner, less frenzied record that tells a complicated love story about an entertainment journalist and her movie star girlfriend that sometimes seems like it’s actually about reconciling one’s own introverted and extroverted impulses.

“Community Gardens” opens the record by laying out the record’s emotional themes, but not so much its plot. Lehman’s vocal tone is incredibly warm, but the phrasing is crisp and precise – it’s like someone who is trying to ingratiate the listener, but also stick to an agenda. The lyrics are fantastic, opening with self-deprecation and fear, but quickly moving on to imparting two crucial pieces of wisdom. First, that “despair is less abundant in those who understand how to plant their hearts in community gardens.” Yes, this is a good way of putting it! The second point is bigger – the world may be fucked over by the decisions of powerful and capricious men, but there’s at least a lesson to learn from their arrogance and hubris. Lehman is not much of an optimist, but it’s hard not to hear the genuine hope in this song.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

12/31/18

Wait, You May Win

Broadcast “Before We Begin”

Trish Keenan was a deeply shy woman who sang everything with an ambiguous tone, as if the Mona Lisa was fronting a psychedelic pop band. Conflicting emotions and ideas overlapped in her songs, but in a very tidy way. She was precise in her phrasing, and expressed as much as she could in small, low-key utterances. She made her shyness a strength in her music, particularly in the way her reserved quality suggested an emotional depth that canceled out the potential irony or kitsch in Broadcast’s taste for mid-20th century nostalgia.

“Before We Begin” is an expression of cautious optimism that makes the most of the ambiguity in Keenan’s voice. She sings her melodies with sweetness and a touch of melancholy – earnestly hoping for the best, but prepared for disaster. In a way, this is a song about how arbitrary beginnings and endings, like the change of one year to another, give us a way of shaping our personal narratives and opening us up to opportunities to have a fresh start. The loveliest part of the melody expresses the most hopeful thought in the song – “it’s in tomorrow, fortune or sorrow / wait, you may win.” It’s a very reassuring sentiment. A guarantee of success and joy would ring hollow, but put in this way, it feels like a more real possibility.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/19/18

2018 Survey Mix

Every year I make a survey collection intended to represent the scope and tone of music over the course of 12 months. This year’s survey comes in two forms: A sprawling 500+ song playlist that gives what I believe to be the most accurate summary of music in 2018, and an abridged version of the playlist that is half as long and more focused on my taste and what I believe to be essential, even when it’s music I don’t particularly like. The latter version is also available as a download, as per usual.

Here is the full version of the survey…

…and here is the abridged version.

One of the major goals I have in making these survey mixes, including the versions covering the 80s and the 90s, is showing the full context for music in any given year, and proving how even in what seems like a “bad year for music,” there are always still a lot of great songs. I would categorize 2018 as one of the worst years for music I’ve lived through, but then I look at this survey and see so much quality material! The culture around music may be depressing and oppressive right now, but you can’t ever stop artists from doing wonderful things. I hope you find more to love than to dislike in this year’s set.

DOWNLOAD PART 1

Lana Del Rey “Mariners Apartment Complex” / Soccer Mommy “Your Dog” / Taylor Swift “Delicate” / Ariana Grande “R.E.M.” / Gorillaz “Humility” / Playboi Carti feat. Lil Uzi Vert “Shoota” / Pusha T “If You Know You Know” / Valee feat. Jeremih “Womp Womp” / XXXTENTACION “Moonlight” / Travis Scott feat. Drake “Sicko Mode (Skrillex Remix)” / DJ Koze “Lord Knows” / Kanye West “Ghost Town” / Kids See Ghosts “Freee (Ghost Town, Pt 2)” / Jean Grae & Quelle Chris “Gold Purple Orange” / NoName “Self” / Smoke DZA feat. Joey Bada$$ “The Mood” / No Joy & Sonic Boom “Obsession” / Janelle Monaé “Make Me Feel” / Of Montreal “Sophie Calle Private Game/Every Person Is A Pussy, Every Pussy Is A Star” / Caroline Rose “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” / Miss World “Oh Honey” / U.S. Girls “Incidental Boogie” / Insecure Men “Mekong Glitter” / Drake “Nice for What” / Nicki Minaj “Chun-Li” / Cardi B “Bickenhead” / Sophie “Immaterial” / Red Velvet “All Right” / Amanda Shires “Eve’s Daughter” / Lucy Dacus “Addictions” / Zizi Raimondi “Folly Dolly” / Father John Misty “Mr. Tillman” / Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks “Solid Silk” / St. Vincent “Hang On Me” / Arctic Monkeys “Star Treatment” / The Internet “Come Over” / Anderson Paak “Smile/Petty” / Maggie Rogers “Fallingwater” / Twice “Deja Vu” / Shawn Mendes “Nervous” / Vince Staples “Don’t Get Chipped” / Jay Rock feat. Kendrick Lamar “Wow Freestyle” / Famous Dex “Japan” / Grace Vonderkuhn “Worry” / Teyana Taylor feat. Kanye West “Hurry” / Khalid feat. Swae Lee “The Ways” / Kali Uchis “Flight 22” / Me’Shell NdegéOcello “Sensitivity” / Adrian Younge & Linear Labs “Silhouette Dreams” / Jorga Smith “Lost & Found” / Amber Navran “Lastaya Love” / Charlotte Day Wilson “Doubt” / Ali Shaheed Muhammed & Adrian Younge feat. CeeLo Green “Questions” / Spiritualized “A Perfect Miracle” / Beach House “Pay No Mind” / Deerhunter “Death In Midsummer” / Kurt Vile “Bassackwards” / Makaya McCraven “The Newbies Lift Off” / Everything Is Recorded feat. Sampha, Ibeyi, Wiki, and Kamasi Washington “Mountains of Gold” / Tirzah “Do You Know”

DOWNLOAD PART 2

Earl Sweatshirt “Shattered Dreams” / Action Bronson “Prince Charming” / Ari Lennox “No One” / Diana Gordon “Wolverine” / Mariah Carey “A No No” / Natalie Prass “Short Court Style” / Caroline Says “Sweet Home Alabama” / Yo La Tengo “Polynesia #1” / Jerry Paper “Your Cocoon” / Okkervil River “Famous Tracheotomies” / The Rock*A*Teens “Go Tell Everybody” / Flasher “Pressure” / Jeff Rosenstock “Beating My Head Against A Wall” / Bad Bad Hats “Makes Me Nervous” / Astronauts, Etc. “Symbol Land” / Fog Lake “I’ll Be Around” / Gerard Way “Getting Down the Germs” / Karen Meat “Overdwelled” / Magic Potion “Shock Proof” / George Clanton “Make It Forever” / Mormor “Whatever Comes to Mind” / Electric Six “(It’s Gets) (A Little) Jumpy” / Margaret Glaspy “Before We Were Together” / Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper “Shallow” / Mark Ronson & Miley Cyrus “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart” / Trippie Redd “How You Feel” / Hit-Boy “Out the Window” / Childish Gambino “This Is America” / N.E.R.D. feat. Rihanna and Drake “Lemon (Drake Remix)” / Camila Cabello “Inside Out” / Troye Sivan “My My My!” / Public Memory “The Line” / Matthew Dear “Echo” / Thom Yorke “Has Ended” / Lil Peep “4 Gold Chains” / Sheck Wes “Mo Bamba” / Smino feat. Mick Jenkins “New Coupe, Who Dis?” / Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign “Psycho” / CupcaKKe “Duck Duck Goose” / Saweetie feat. Kehlani “ICY GRL (Bae Mix)” / CZARFACE & MF DOOM “Captain Crunch” / Cavern of Anti-Matter “Solarised Sound” / The Smashing Pumpkins “Solara” / Nine Inch Nails “Ahead of Ourselves” / Interpol “If You Really Love Nothing” / Negative Gemini “You Weren’t There Anymore” / Pressa feat. Lil Uzi Vert “420 in London” / A$AP Rocky “Changes” / H.E.R. “Can’t Help Me” / Kamasi Washington “Show Us the Way” / Christina Aguilera “Like I Do” / Georgia Anne Muldrow “Overload” / James Blake “Don’t Miss It” / Louis Cole “When You’re Ugly” / Jake Shears “Big Bushy Mustache” / Pistol Annies “Got My Name Changed Back” / MGMT “She Works Out Too Much” / Speedy Ortiz “You Hate the Title” / Robyn “Ever Again” / Anchorsong “Testimony”

DOWNLOAD PART 3

Metro Boomin feat. 21 Savage “10 Freaky Girls” / Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott and Offset “ZEZE” / Lil Wayne feat. Kendrick Lamar “Mona Lisa” / Tierra Whack “Cable Guy” / Doja Cat “MOOO!” / Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z “Lovehappy” / Ella Mai “Boo’d Up” / Nao “Another Lifetime” / Nadine “Pews” / Juice WRLD “Armed and Dangerous” / G-Eazy feat. Blac Youngsta and BlocBoy JB “Drop” / Oh Sees “Sentient Oona” / Car Seat Headrest “Cute Thing” / Lithics “Still Forms” / Cat Power “In Your Face” / Boygenius “Salt in the Wound” / Haley Heyndrickx “Oom Sha La La” / Jeff Tweedy “Bombs Above” / Neko Case “Hell-On” / Courtney Barnett “Hopefulessness” / Paul Simon “Can’t Run But” / Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign “The Light” / DeJ Loaf feat. Leon Bridges “Liberated” / Dear Nora “Simulation Feels” / TV Girl “7 Days Til Sunday” / Phosphorescent “Around the Horn” / Julia Holter “Whether” / BLACKPINK “DDU-DU DDU-DU” / Grimes “We Appreciate Power” / Hobo Johnson “Peach Scone” / King Princess “Pussy Is God” / Lizzo “Boys” / Billie Eilish “When the Party’s Over” / 03 Greedo feat. Lil Uzi Vert “Never Bend (Remix)” / Esperanza Spalding “The Longing Deep Down” / Neneh Cherry “Kong” / Videotapemusic “Hot Pants in the Summercamp” / Cuco “Lover Is A Day” / Boy Pablo “Losing You” / Unknown Mortal Orchestra “The Internet of Love (That Way)” / Video Age “Pop Therapy” / Darwin Deez “The World’s Best Kisser” / Sales “White Jeans” / The Breeders “Walking with a Killer” / Rhye “Feel Your Weight” / Cherophobiac “Unknown Liquid Substance” / Eleanor Friedberger “Make Me A Song” / Sloan “Don’t Stop (If It Feels Good Do It)” / Guided by Voices “Colonel Paper” / Lil Uzi Vert “New Patek” / Lake Ruth “Julia’s Call” / Yaeji “One More” / Alison Wonderland “No” / Mildlife “The Magnificent Moon” / Sibille Attar “I Don’t Have To” / Haley “Bratt” / Joan of Arc “Punk Kid” / Born Ruffians “Side Tracked” / Nicholas Krgovich “Time” / Belle & Sebastian “Poor Boy” / Mazzy Star “Quiet, the Winter Harbor” / Ian Sweet “Question It” / PC Worship “Shell Power” / Friendly Fires “Heaven Let Me In” / Migos feat. Drake “Walk It Talk It” / Meek Mill feat. Miguel “Stay Woke” / Tune-Yards “Heart Attack” / Chvrches “Graffiti” / Imagine Dragons “Natural” / The 1975 “Love It If We Made It” / Weezer “Africa” / Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B “Girls Like You” / Panic! at the Disco “High Hopes” / Zedd feat Maren Morris and Grey “The Middle” / Rita Ora “Anywhere” / Mitski “Me and My Husband” / Halsey “Without Me” / Carly Rae Jepsen “Party for One” / Dierks Bentley “Woman, Amen” / Florence + The Machine “South London Forever” / Kacey Musgraves “Slow Burn” / Luke Bryan “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” / Ed Sheeran & Beyoncé “Perfect Duet” / Snail Mail “Heat Wave” / Lake Street Dive “Jameson” / Molly Burch “Wild” / BTS “Fake Love” / Mac Miller “Self Care” / 6ix9ine feat. Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz “FEFE” / Logic feat. Wu-Tang Clan “Wu-Tang Forever” / Brockhampton “New Orleans”/ Ellie Goulding feat. Diplo and Swae Lee “Close to Me” / Aphex Twin “T69 Collapse” / Sharon Van Etten “Comeback Kid” / Crepes “As You Go” / J. Cole “Brackets” / Tyler, the Creator “OKRA” / Rich the Kid “Plug Walk” / The Alchemist feat. Westside Gunn and Conway “Judas” / King Tuff “Raindrop Blue” / Ty Segall “The Main Pretender” / Swae Lee “Hurts to Look” / Ashley Monroe “Hard On A Heart” / Christine and the Queens “Doesn’t Matter” / Amen Dunes “Blue Rose” / Saba feat. Chance the Rapper “Logout” / The Good, The Bad, and The Queen “Merrie Land” / Leon Bridges “If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)” / Rico Nasty “Rage” / Metric “Love You Back” / Justin Timberlake “Midnight Summer Jam” / Rosalia “Malamente” / JPEGMAFIA “1539 N. Calvert” / Zayn “Let Me” / Bell’s Roar “You Call Me Cold”

12/14/18

A Student Of The Drums

Makaya McCraven “The Newbies Lift Off”

Makaya McCraven is a drummer, and that much is fairly obvious by listening to the compositions on his outstanding and varied record Universal Beings – the other instruments provide melody and texture, but McCraven’s percussion is always steering the music. “The Newbies Lift Off,” one of my favorites from the album, is a perfect example in how its sections seem to stop on a dime to switch up percussive strategies. It keeps the music exciting and interesting in a way particular to the thinking of a drummer, particularly one who seems to be influenced by the way rap DJs and producers have cut up beats in the ‘90s. Listen to this – there’s no way this guy hasn’t heard Endtroducing a million times over, right?

Buy it from Amazon.

12/14/18

Shining Diamond Clear

Amanda Shires “Eve’s Daughter”

“Eve’s Daughter” is in many ways a song you’ve heard before – a country rock rave-up with lyrics that tell the story of a woman who fell in love, and then fell on hard times. But the execution feels fresh to me. Everything in the mix sounds like it’s in the red, and Amanda Shires sings with a raw, wild-eyed intensity that raises the stakes of every line of the song. It’s not quite shoegaze-y, but in terms of how country music is typically produced, this is just blaringly loud and abrasive, like the Stooges backing up Dolly Parton at the Grand Ole Opry. Traditional, but extra rowdy.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/12/18

That’s My Life

DJ Koze “Lord Knows”

“Lord Knows” is warm and familiar, a sort of sample-based song that gives me a sense of deja-vu even without trying to figure out if I can place the vocal samples. Like, you could’ve told me that this was The Avalanches or Fatboy Slim and I would’ve believed you. And this is no slight on DJ Koze – if anything, it’s high praise. The feeling that he creates here is not unique, but it is rare and special. It’s hard to get just right. This is a remarkable composition – in perfect balance, but also so full of energy that the beats land in a way that feels like the whole thing could rattle and fall apart, like when the engineer on Star Trek worries that the ship is moving too fast and could explode at any moment.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/9/18

There’ll Be No Rumours Or Blood On The Tracks

Art Brut “Hooray!”

It’s been quite a while since we heard from our old pal Eddie Argos! “Hooray!,” the opening track from Art Brut’s first record in over seven years, reacquaints us with the Argos shtick – imagine a much friendlier Mark E Smith crossed with a version of Jarvis Cocker without all the sexual charisma. A lovelorn weirdo who shouts clever stuff over uptempo rock, a party band led by the most neurotic guy in the room. Art Brut is the kind of band who will forever be in the shadow of their brilliant debut, mainly because it’s hard to recapture the immediacy and magic of songs like “Good Weekend” and “Modern Art.” But “Hooray!” at least has the right spirit, and leans into deliberate calculation in a way the earlier stuff seemed to lean into inspired improvisation.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/6/18

Like A Cluttered Garage

Haley Heyndrickx “Show You A Body”

“Show You A Body” sounds like a light, fragile thing caught in the wind. Moments of stillness are punctuated by fluttery parts that sound like piano keys caught in a sudden gust, like chimes hanging from a ceiling. Haley Heyndrickx matches the tone of the music by singing lyrics about feeling “humbled by breaking down” and alluding to moments of incredible intimacy vulnerability. In some moments it sounds as though she could break down in tears – not necessarily because she is singing about something sad, but more that she’s experienced something profound that she hasn’t fully processed.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/5/18

To Stop The War

Jeff Tweedy “Bombs Above”

In three short verses “Bombs Above” is an apology, then it’s a shrug, and it ends with a moment of regret. Jeff Tweedy sings it all in a raw, exhausted voice, and when I hear it, I just wish I could look him in the eye and tell him to be easy on himself. But maybe this IS him taking it easy on himself – he does sound like he’s making peace with bad memories, and owning his mistakes and pain in a way that eases his feelings of guilt somewhat. And with this song opening his first proper solo album, he’s demystifying himself by essentially telling his audience – “hey, I’m just a guy, that’s all.” It’s not an act. It’s pure humility.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/4/18

Imprecise Words

Earl Sweatshirt “Shattered Dreams”

Earl Sweatshirt has an odd sort of charisma. He’s mumbly, surly, and standoffish, and unwilling to do much that would traditionally signal star power in rap. But that distant, withholding quality draws you in, and you end up hanging on his words if just to get a handle on what’s going on in his head. He pushes this to an extreme on his new record Some Rap Songs, often sounding like he doesn’t even mean to be rapping, or like we’re hearing something that isn’t totally meant to be heard. “Shattered Dreams” is the abrupt opening of the record, and it feels like you’re immediately dropped into his personal space without warning. He sounds lost in his thoughts, but aware of your presence. He raps like he’s giving you no more information than you deserve.

Buy it from Amazon.

12/3/18

Living So Lonely

Fog Lake “I’ll Be Around”

Fog Lake’s Carousel EP is a post-breakup record that sounds like memories of a relationship that are starting to fade and get replaced by more nostalgic and romanticized versions of the events. The music in “I’ll Be Around” feels like a sample of itself; the main piano part is processed so it sounds like a quote. Aaron Powell’s voice is tinny, fragile, and somewhat buried in the mix. You hear him clearly enough to get the emotion from the melody, but you have to listen a bit closer to pick up all the sad sack details of the lyrics. It’s heartbreaking stuff. This is basically a song about a guy who is accepting that the person he’s in love with doesn’t want him at all, and he’s just throwing himself into loneliness in the hopes that he can…what, become the best at being lonely? This is the sound of a guy who feels lost and defeated, but still feels a very earnest love in vain.

Buy it from Bandcamp.

11/30/18

Cynical Pinnacles

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks “Solid Silk”

Stephen Malkmus is the kind of artist who from a distance seems to always be doing his Stephen Malkmus thing, but has actually been constantly growing and evolving for three decades. As he’s aged he’s become more refined. The melodic sensibilities he’s always had have remained the same, but his compositions have become increasingly tidy and intricate. “Solid Silk” represents a new extreme in this regard – the folky melodies are lovely and straightforward but rendered as elegantly as possible in crystalline guitar parts and a string arrangement that seamlessly shifts from smooth elegance to mild melodrama. Up until now, Malkmus has kept the sophistication of his craft hidden in his characteristic looseness and casual swagger, but now he just seems bored by playing it cool. He doesn’t seem to be embarrassed about showing off or letting his guard down emotionally.

“Solid Silk” has no clear narrative, but Malkmus pulls together a set of thoughts and images that indicate a vague, low-key disappointment and discomfort. Romantic moments are revealed as artifice and affectation, money and privilege is depicted as insulating and soul-numbing, and ordinary life is presented as endless, pointless competition. But despite how cynical this all seems, Malkmus’ voice is gentle and slightly bemused. He’s not angry or bitter, just sort of resigned. The song is like an elaborately constructed sigh.

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11/28/18

Hard On The Heels Of Something More

T’Pau “Heart and Soul”

“Heart and Soul” overlaps and contrasts two lead vocal parts, both performed by Carol Decker. One part is sort of rapped in a cool voice over a hazy, atmospheric synth-bass groove, and the other is fiery and emotive, like Ann Wilson from Heart in power ballad mode. There’s a subtextual trick here that Sleater-Kinney would further develop and refine a decade later – the colder and more rhythmic voice is more wordy and cerebral, while the warmer, more melodic voice is all unfiltered passion. In this case, it’s the “rational” mind and the “emotional” mind processing the same situation.

Decker is singing about being in love with someone who sends her mixed signals, and while half of her mind is hyper-focused on analyzing the situation, the rest of her is just openly pleading for more love and validation. The part of her that’s overthinking everything is tightly wound and cautious, but she sounds absolutely certain in the chorus. She knows how she feels, she knows what she needs, she knows what she wants this person to say and do. This part seems to burst and cut through the clutter, a pure unedited thought calling out to be felt and understood.

In this song, and in several Sleater-Kinney classics, the message is clear: Don’t trust the overthinking mind. It’s the neurotic part of you that sabotages everything, that fears the worst and makes it come true. It’s the thing in your mind that obsesses on “mixed signals” and then makes you send out your own. The raw emotional part of the song is the truth, and it’s the honest and open communication that makes true love possible. It’s not a mistake that it’s the boldest, loudest part of the song.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/27/18

Puppy Love Butterflies

The Internet “Come Over”

Syd’s vocal performance on “Come Over” is low-key but very nuanced – she’s presenting herself as assertive and seductive, but she’s perceptive enough to figure out that her approach just isn’t working. She’s too pushy, or maybe too needy? Or maybe it’s just the wrong night. Maybe she’s reading too much into things. Maybe she’s getting flat-out rejected. She doesn’t verbalize any of that, but you can hear it in her voice when she’s singing even the most forward and confident lines in the song. Syd’s vulnerability is unmistakeable, and it’s nicely contrasted by the Steve Lacy’s rhythm guitar, which is funky in a firm and rigid sort of way. The groove sounds very certain, and as the song goes along and she seems less secure, the tone shifts subtly from seductive to desperate.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/26/18

Anything Is Fine

Phosphorescent “Around the Horn”

I have never heard a song that approximates a Neu! “Hallogallo” beat that I have not liked. As far as I a am concerned, there’s just no way to fuck up that krautrock metronomic groove. “Around the Horn” doesn’t even go full Neu! – the pulse is there, but Matthew Houck pushes it in an Americana direction, like Southern rock reconfigured for the Autobahn. The back half of this song is magical, and makes me wonder why no one had ever thought to crossbreed The Band with Kraftwerk. It works surprisingly well, and seems to speed towards an endless horizon while Houck’s vocal seems focused on emotions long gone in the rearview mirror.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/23/18

High Up The Wall

Anderson Paak “Smile/Petty”

“Smile/Petty” is structured like a diptych, with two distinct sections that nevertheless overlap in tone and sentiment. The first half is a rather D’Angelo-ish slow jam, and the second flips that soft funk into something more tense and aggressive. The lyrics don’t shift quite as dramatically. The song is always about a relationship that’s gone bad because neither half of the couple trusts the other, and the difference is mainly in how Anderson Paak’s tone goes from mildly aggrieved to outright confrontational. His voice, as always, is outstanding – rough and raspy, and able to shift seamlessly between R&B and rapped modes without ever making you focus much attention on how he switches it up. It all just flows together.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/21/18

The Answer’s Always No

Gerard Way “Getting Down the Germs”

Back when My Chemical Romance was a big deal in the mid-00s, I wouldn’t have thought that Gerard Way and I grew up on a lot of the same stuff. For example, he loved Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol so much that he went on to revive the series as a writer at DC Comics, and he clearly was into the weirder end of mainstream alt-rock enough that he’s moved away from melodramatic emo to embrace that aesthetic in his solo material. He could be out there raking in MCR reunion cash, but instead he’s out there doing his best to bring back ‘90s weirdo vibes. “Getting Down the Germs” is a highly tuneful single with an extremely ‘90s chord progression contrasted with a flute solo that seems to come in out of nowhere but manages to feel just right. His voice is very laid back on this song compared to his often hysterical MCR performances, but I definitely prefer him in this surreal, vaguely sinister mode.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/20/18

Alone With You Here

Ari Lennox “No One”

“No One” addresses a very particular 21st century form of loneliness – looking at your phone and wondering why out of 251 contacts, not one of them wants to reach out to you. From the perspective of a depressed extrovert, that can seem like 251 people collectively deciding to reject you when you’re in need. But this isn’t really about 251 people, it’s about just one of them. Ari Lennox sings around that point – she’s trying to distract herself, to vent her frustrations to friends who don’t seem to care, but no matter what she does her thoughts circle back to the one person whose attention she craves the most. Near the end of the song she tries to talk herself into moving on from this fixation, but I don’t believe her. The sound of her voice lacks conviction, and it’s the same bitter melancholy in her tone throughout the song never goes away. If anything, it just gets more intense.

Buy it from Amazon.

11/19/18

Time To Cut The Lawn

Mariah Carey “A No No”

Mariah Carey’s new record is stronger and more focused than anything she’s done in a while, largely because she seems like she’s lost interest in chasing trends and just wants to do Mariah Carey Things. “A No No” is the most fun she’s been in ages – energetic, sassy, and utterly ruthless in the way she drags her former manager for the crime of being dumb enough to cross Mariah fucking Carey. She sounds absolutely delighted to spend an entire song being extremely petty, and really chews on catty lines like “Ed Scissorhands, AKA, I cut you off” and “Parlez-vous Francais? I said non / let me translate it, I said NO.” The winding curve of the melody and syncopated beat flatters Carey’s vocal phrasing without having to show off her fading but still highly impressive voice. Even the seemingly random insertion of an old Biggie hook from a Lil Kim song works here – it’s a bit like something she might have had on a “Favorite Disses” vision board and just decided to throw into the song.

Buy it from Amazon.


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