#80's funk and 90's underground experimental music

[pantone-palette]

*murmurs* I may have started a Tyrell x Elliot playlist

[sinceileftyoublog]

Georgia Anne Muldrow Interview: Rhythm Is A Form of Gravity

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock

BY JORDAN MAINZER

“The people keep you fresh. They keep you on your toes,” Georgia Anne Muldrow told me over the phone last month. The prolific L.A. musician, whose output ranges from experimental hip-hop to neo soul to jazz and everything in between, is releasing her fifth record in four years on Friday, and the third overall in her beats series. VWETO III (FORESEEN + Epistrophik Peach Sound) follows last year’s Mama, You Can Bet! (released under the name Jyoti), 2019′s collaboration with Dudley Perkins and VWETO II, and 2018′s acclaimed, Grammy-nominated Overload. Unlike any of the previous albums, it was put together with some “calls to action” in mind.

Thought some of the songs were around for longer, VWETO III as an entity was made last year, “over a course of time where things were changing in terms of different recording techniques I was trying,” said Muldrow, harking back to techniques and inspirations from her early years of music making. The record was also, obviously, formed during a global pandemic that caused folks to lock down, and Muldrow is conscious to giving listeners opportunities to reach out on her very active Instagram account. Each of the album’s singles have been paired with those aforementioned calls to action. “Unforgettable”, which combines 80′s-sounding synths with 90′s G-funk, calls for vocalists to submit performances to go along with Muldrow’s vocals on the song. “Mufaro’s Garden”, inspired by an illustrated folktale book called Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, asks for visual artist submissions. On the day of the album’s release, Muldrow will ask for dance submissions to “Slow Drag”, a throwback Hammond-guitar-piano ditty named after the juke joint dance of the same name. Next month, it’ll be “Action Groove”, with calls for turntable scratch ‘n’ sampling remixes from DJs. And it’s not just the singles that exemplify Muldrow’s desire to connect with listeners on a granular level. Many of the songs on VWETO III refer to or are inspired by specific eras, from the Afrofuturist jazz of “Afro AF” to the genre tribute “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”. That the titles are clearly referential, too, like “Old Jack Swing” or “Synthmania Rock”, shows that Muldrow’s not winking and nodding or trying to fool us, earnestly inviting us to dive in.

Moreover, VWETO III is coinciding with what Muldrow’s calling the Teacherie, classes she’s trying to develop to spread knowledge of what she’s learned throughout her own career, everything from philosophy to instrumental-specific classes. Right now, from her saved Instagram story called “Teacherie!,” you can take an assessment to fill out what you’re interested in. “It helps me to see what skill levels people have and what they want to learn in the class,” Muldrow said. “I seek to continue to stay open enough to make relevant music and have relevant things to share with people.” Overall, Muldrow is the type of artist that uses online platforms the way they’d be used in an ideal world. Her use of NFTs, too, is noble; the album art by Cape Town-based Breeze Yoko is being auctioned off, with 50% of proceeds going to prison abolitionist organization Critical Resistance. Even when the offline world returns--Muldrow’s slated to play Pitchfork Music Festival on Saturday, September 11th--Muldrow’s created a blueprint for navigating an increasingly isolating digital world, by seeking out real connections.

Below, read my conversation with Muldrow, edited for length and clarity, as she discusses making the record, being inspired by African rhythms, the influence of Digital Underground, and why her work logically extends into prison abolition. You can also catch her tomorrow on Bandcamp Live at 8 PM CST.

Since I Left You: Why did you decide this was a good time to revisit your beats album series?

Georgia Anne Muldrow: The people love it, you know? I always like to post beats on Instagram and share my poetry or state of mind of what’s going on in the world according to my people, and provide a place of joy and uplift. The voice of the people kind of determined what songs were on there. There are some songs that nobody’s ever heard. Different ideas, something a little bit more energized.

Something for the people. It’s really great that I have direct contact with them. Some of the songs are things I like to try based on the vibes I get from their feedback. It’s great; it’s a beautiful thing for me. I’ve gone through phases where critics love me, but the voice of the people that really support your work is really cool to hear. It’s like a little focus group. I just like sharing my music with folks because it’s my way of contributing love energy to the world in a direct, immediate way.

SILY: A lot of folks are still staying home and needing that connection. You’re connecting with them but also providing a platform for them to connect with each other.

GAM: Yes. I’m way into that and seek to be expanding that in an even more literal sense with my classroom project [Teacherie], like a live webinar sort of thing, that enables folks to speak amongst themselves. A more extended form of what I do on social media. An intimate look at what’s really going on in music. They can see where my emotions end and the music begins and try to make things seamless within their own music. Teach what I’ve picked up along the way, because I won’t be here forever. Spreading the love but the knowledge, too, with the music that I share. There’s a certain quality that you can achieve if you have patience.

SILY: Did you always know you wanted to do these calls for action, like for vocalists on “Unforgettable”? And how did you decide which tracks you wanted to do them for?

GAM: It’s definitely my way of trying to promote some sort of hip hop jam in lieu of the isolation that folks are weathering...I’m really inspired by the early age of hip hop where everyone had different dances. They brought their art books to the hip hop jams. The jackets with the art on it, the MCs rapping. The breakdancing, the DJs. All of the different things in place for it to be complete. That’s part of what got me hooked on production. One night years ago, [when I first played] my stuff, and folks started to dance, it got me hooked--to make somebody move. Somebody can rap over this, somebody can dance to this or draw to this. That’s the reason for the calls to action. Opening up a hip hop jam all over the world. I hope it gains some momentum. That would be nice, for more people to put themselves out there. But I do understand we live in different times right now and people are trying to get by. I still have to post some of the artists from “Mufaro’s Garden” and these rap videos from “Unforgettable”.

SILY: You’re giving people an opportunity, even if they’re just trying to get through the day, to take a break or have a beneficial creative exercise.

GAM: Yeah. Being creative together, and togetherness. The thinking that the songs aren’t complete without dance. Lyrics are a certain kind of fulfillment of music. But the movement of the body is another one. [It] goes back to gravity. Drummers harness the power of gravity and manipulate it so things can fall at a certain time. Same thing with dance--[dancers] don’t manipulate gravity, but interact with it and create an interdependence with it. When somebody’s dancing, they come back down to the ground, and you could let that go and let gravity guide what your dance looks like. Rhythm is a form of gravity--a form of gravity engaging with life. I feel like movement is the fulfillment of all the arts. I just seek to do my part.

SILY: You mentioned being inspired by a specific early era in hip hop, and there’s a lot on here inspired by genre or era-specific trends, like the G-funk in “Unforgettable” and “Boom Bap Is My Homegirl”.

GAM: [Boom bap] is one of the things that I specialize in. It’s a home base for me. In my experience, it’s a very African point of access. A lot of the boom bap rhythms are straight from Africa. Most of them are. Off the shores of West Africa. I heard so many of them, from The Gambia, Senegal, Mali. Over there, you hear so much of it. I want to be part of that. At the same time, I might wake up and make a free jazz record. I don’t feel like a traditionalist; I just want to preserve the culture of Black music from this hemisphere. I love traditional ideas, but it’s not like I’m gonna do this one idea for the sake of staying in a lane. There’s no place that Black music hasn’t influenced, molded, shaped, nurtured.

SILY: When was the last time you were able to perform in Africa?

GAM: I believe it might have been 2017. These years have started to run together. I don’t mind it, though. Keeps me young. [laughs]

VWETO III cover art by Breeze Yoko

SILY: How did the songs on here with vocals come together, whether the ones with your singing or the ones with featured artists? Did the words or beats/melodies come first?

GAM: The beats came first except for “Shana’s Back”. Shana Jensen is my sister; she’s the mother of my niece. Every time she’d come over and I had an idea to compose songs around her, they’d end up being huge songs. She’d be like, “Bye!” [laughs] I guess she wanted something a little more understated. I’d always end up doing big Motown sounds. There’s a song on The Blackhouse called “Shana’s Groove”. It’s a like a reoccurring situation and character. It’s kind of funny at this point.

The other ones, like “Unforgettable”, I’m very much matching the vibe, the punk-funk aesthetic. Sometimes a little hook just pushes it over the edge and gets them into the mindset I was in when thinking about it. Other songs like “Love Call” I just wanted to sound like it was in an arena. Arena rock, funk, Digital Underground-inspired, all the way.

SILY: Are you a big Digital Underground fan?

GAM: I think it shows in a lot of the music I make. I don’t think I can hide it. This record has so many examples of that. I love Shock G so much. He was so bad, as a thinker, a philosopher, a community builder, artist, pianist, maestro. The “Love Call” groove, “Unforgettable”, “[Old] Jack Swing”, you can hear it. I was raised with that kind of music in my head as a child. Unashamed to be funky and make a groove have extra grease on it. That’s what distinguished our sound from other region’s sounds. Getting greasy. While still doing the boom bap and all that other stuff. For me, it was always a goal to represent where I’m from in my music in a non-traditional way. Bringing what I love about the West Coast to whatever I was working on.

Shock G lives in all of us. He brought so many different vibes. A rhythmic pocket that breathes. Somewhat right under "Atomic Dog”. It keeps you moving. It has a breath of life in it. I’m so thankful to have lived in an era where I could hear and experience his work.

SILY: How did “Ayun Vegas” come together?

GAM: Ayun is my little brother. I think I’ve known him since 2014 or ‘15. He’s quite a talent. I love his style. He’s from [New] Jersey. I love his sense of rhythmic dynamic. His use of metaphor, double entendre. I feel like he’s really a gifted poet. He can do all types of different things. He’s an amazing MC--he just released a project with Jacob Rochester called Slaps & Hugs. I’m gonna lean towards people who are creative themselves and insert themselves into everything they do. 

Ayun is very secure in being different. He came out to Vegas, and I had this song. Usually, when I play leftfield stuff, MCs want that beat they can crush and not feel challenged by. This song is really old. I feel like it was made in 2016. I feel like that was the first time when somebody was willing to rap on an idea that was out of the ordinary. It’s not just in your face. It’s something different, but I want you to rap for your life on this. Something more like a movie score, where you find your character. He did it! He didn’t leave one beat behind. 

He’s rhythmically gifted and quite the poet. He almost went into pro football but he chose music. He’s a very enterprising brother, doing all types of apparel. He was working in the visual artist community, in the videographer community. Any time I can showcase what it is that he got to share, I’m there. He’s not afraid to speak the truth. This verse is impressionistic. It’s like somebody is taking a really big brush and making a beautiful image, strong-arming it. It’s dope. I love it.

We did another song together on the Overload album, but it didn’t make the cut. The Japanese version of Overload has a song called “What Can We Do Now”, and it has Ambrose Akinmusire, Ayun, and me. I’d love for that to be heard stateside, because it’s definitely about what’s happening over here.

SILY: Why did you choose to have the proceeds for this record go to Critical Resistance?

GAM: I’ve always wanted my music to be a tool for the motion of people. It doesn’t stop with dance and rapping and singing and drawing. It begins with that. Where it ends up, the movement of people coming into their powers, truths that in order to have a more humane society, we are going to have to throw some of this bullshit away. The spoils of enslavement. We’ve got to get rid of those spoils so we can get to a more realistic place of folks being cognizant of the activities that they take a part in. Jails ain’t gonna help people feel like they’re part of the community. They cage people and endanger their lives and run the risk of ruining somebody’s mental, emotional, and spiritual state even if they did commit the crime they’re in there for.

There’s a sense that all crime is committed from a place of fear. Many crimes people are locked up for is just folks trying to find a way. I don’t see how more fear is going to rehabilitate. The idea that punishment leads to enlightenment. People in the public school system are taught about some of the baddest people that ever lived--mass murders. But they’re not the type of people held accountable. They’re who brought over the imprisonment systems from their failed nations.

I don’t believe in reform at all. Critical Resistance seeks to abolish prisons as we know them. I love that their resolve is so sure and bold.

Photo by Antoinette A. Brock

[jezfletcher]

1000 Albums, 2020: The Big Lists

Hey folks, I’ve written up my top albums and my top tracks of 2020, but there’s so much music released in a year, and restricting myself to just 30 albums, and 50 tracks is a difficult task.

As a result, I’ve compiled a longer list of my top tracks and albums (without write-ups), for your perusal. This is obviously more for the sake of completeness, but are here in case you’re interested in finding out if I at all rated something you liked this year (or, if you’re Sam, if you want to actually do a detailed comparison).

Want playlists? I’ve got playlists for you too:

My Top 50 Countdown - which I posted yesterday. This provides a sorted countdown of my top tracks from #1 to #50. (50 tracks)

My Top Tracks - a longer list of all the tracks I really rated highly this year. This accounts for a much larger number of artists, and includes most of the tracks I’ve listed below. (169 tracks)

My Top Tracks & Albums - a playlist containing all my top tracks, plus selections from all of my favourite albums of the year. (216 tracks)

My Top Tracks, Albums + Much, Much More - Are you game? Contains a huge, varied collection of music that we listened to this year. I really enjoyed all these tracks, and they provide a much broader collection of albums, artists and genres. (1,014 tracks)

Anyway, without further ado here’s my Top 200 Tracks, and Top 100 Albums:

Top Albums of 2020

100. Winnetka Bowling League - Congratulations (power pop)

99. Locate S, 1 - Personalia (art pop)

98. Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (pop)

97. LukHash - Transient Offworld (synthwave)

96. The Drowns - Under Tension (street punk)

95. The Mystic Underground - Wrapped in Riddles (electro disco)

94. Jonathan Wilson - Dixie Blur (Americana noir folk)

93. Mighty Oaks - All Things Go (indie folk rock)

92. Kiesza - Crave (synthpop)

91. Dance Gavin Dance - Afterburner (post hardcore)

90. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats - Dogs on the Leash (Celtic punk)

89. Warm Digits - Flight of Ideas (krautrock)

88. Dandelion Wine - Le Cœur (Australio dreamfolktronica)

87. Marc Scibilia - Seed of Joy (indie singer-songwriter)

86. Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings (Scottish indie rock)

85. Savant - Void (complextro)

84. Cordovas - Destiny Hotel (Americana folk)

83. TTRRUUCES - TTRRUUCES (wonky pop)

82. The Claudettes - High Times in the Dark (Chicago piano blues)

81. Dustbowl Revival - Is It You, Is It Me (post country)

80. Sea Wolf - Through a Dark Wood (indie folk rock)

79. Cory Wong - The Striped Album (funk rock)

78. Someone - ORBIT II (psych pop)

77. Days N’ Daze - Show Me The Blueprints (H-town thrashgrass)

76. Blossoms - Foolish Loving Spaces (indie pop)

75. Kyros - Celexa Dreams (prog synth rock)

74. Dub Pistols - Addict (dub)

73. Grimes - Miss Anthropocene (dreampop)

72. The Hanging Stars - A New Kind of Sky (psychedelic folk)

71. Neon Trees - I Can Feel You Forgetting Me (indie pop)

70. The Corner Laughers - Temescal Telegraph (folk pop)

69. 3D Stas - Eleven (soiltronica)

68. Pantayo - Pantayo (kulingtang gong pop)

67. The National Parks - Wildflower (folk rock)

66. Pigeon John - Gotta Good Feeling (underground rap)

65. Novo Amor - Cannot Be, Whatsover (indie folk rock)

64. The Explorers Club - The Explorers Club (sunshine pop)

63. Poppy - I Disagree (bubblegum metal)

62. Overcoats - The Fight (indie pop)

61. Chemtrails - The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable (psychedelic garage pop)

60. Joywave - Possession (indie pop)

59. Heart Bones - Hot Dish (indie pop)

58. Mitochondrial Sun - Mitochondrial Sun (darktronica)

57. L.A. Salami - The Cause of Doubt & A Reason To Have Faith (post blues)

56. Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open (alt rock)

55. Tunng - Dead Club (folktronica)

54. Butch Walker - American Love Story (glam rock)

53. Polly Scattergood - In This Moment (experimental pop)

52. The Beautiful Fear - The Waltz of the Moonshine Blind (prog rock)

51. The Altogether - Silo (acoustic pop rock)

50. KES - We Home (Trinidadian soca)

49. Man Man - Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between (experimental rock)

48. Creeper - Sex, Death & The Infinite Void (horror punk)

47. Darlingside - Fish Pond Fish (indie folk)

46. Enter Shikari - Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible (electronicore)

45. Trixie Mattel - Barbara (drag country)

44. City Mouth - Coping Machine (indie pop rock)

43. Bright Eyes - Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was (indie rock)

42. The Texas Gentlemen - Floor It!!! (heartland rock)

41. Will Wood - The Normal Album (cabaret rock)

40. Maeve Gilchrist - The Harpweaver (harp folk)

39. rook&nomie - me&you (experimental pop)

38. Steep Canyon Rangers & Asheville Symphony - Be Still Moses (orchestral bluegrass)

37. Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters (art pop)

36. Sea Girls - Open Up Your Head (indie pop rock)

35. Michael Franti & Spearhead - Work Hard & Be Nice (reggae fusion)

34. Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (experimental electronica)

33. Ultrahappyalarm - Critical Daydream (happy hardcore)

32. The Living Tombstone - zero_one (Israeli electro rock)

31. The Flaming Lips - American Head (psychedelic rock)

30. Saint Saviour - Tomorrow Again (experimental folk)

29. Post Animal - Forward Motion Godyssey (psychedelic rock)

28. The Jerry Cans - Echoes (Inuit neo-folk)

27. Aloud - Sprezzaturra (blues rock)

26. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - PHB (psychedelic soul)

25. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions (alt country)

24. Badly Drawn Boy - Banana Skin Shoes

23. MOBS - Cinema Paradiso (80s pastiche pop)

22. Jason Wilson - Sumach Roots (eclectic folk)

21. DMA’s - The Glow (Australio indie rock)

20. Cornershop - England Is A Garden (chamber psych)

19. Igorrr - Spirituality and Distortion (baroque breakcore)

18. Eleventyseven - Basic Glitches (synthpunk)

17. Kate Rusby - Hand Me Down (indie folk)

16. Indigo Girls - Look Long (folk rock)

15. Another Sky - I Slept On The Floor (indie rock)

14. Courteeners - More. Again. Forever (post britpop)

13. Dutty Moonshine Big Band - City of Sin (jazztronica)

12. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk)

11. Beans on Toast - The Inevitable Train Wreck (drunken folk rock)

10. Joe Wong - Nite Creatures (baroque pop)

9. Luis Pestana - Rosa Pano (experimental electronica)

8. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (art pop)

7. MisterWives - Superbloom (indie pop)

6. Lola Marsh - Someday Tomorrow Maybe (Israeli noir pop)

5. Dyble Longdon - Between a Breath and a Breath (chamber folk)

4. Hugo Kant - Far From Home (downtempo nu-jazz)

3. The Lemon Twigs - Songs For The General Public (alt rock)

2. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - K.G. (microtonal psychedelic rock)

1. Ada Rook - 2,020 Knives (electropop concrète)

Top Tracks of 2020

200. Sea Wolf - Forever Nevermore (indie rock) 199. Steep Canyon Rangers & The Asheville Symphony - Easy to Love (orchestral bluegrass) 198. Dandelion Wine - Too Late She Cried (experimental pop) 197. Aloud - Oh Danny (blues rock) 196. Car Seat Headrest - Weightlifters (anti-folk) 195. Michael Franti & Spearhead - I Can Still Feel You (reggae fusion) 194. Dance Gavin Dance - Lyrics Lie (post hardcore) 193. Post Animal - Post Animal (psychedelic rock) 192. La Oreja de Van Gogh - Menos Tú (Spanish indie folk) 191. The Hanging Stars - Heavy Blue (cosmic country) 190. Oneohtrix Point Never - Long Road Home (experimental electronica) 189. Will Wood - I / Me / Myself (cabaret rock) 188. Butch Walker - You Gotta Be Just Who You Are (glam rock) 187. Brothers Osborne - Muskrat Greene (country) 186. Tycho - Easy (downtempo IDM) 185. The Altogether - Brown of Gold (acoustic pop rock) 184. Dua Lipa - Cool (pop) 183. Circa Waves - Jacqueline (indie dance rock) 182. Sangatsu No Phantasia - Rendezvous (Japanese pop rock) 181. Moonchild Sanelly - Bashiri (South African future ghetto punk) 180. Needshes - Love (Uzbek indie pop) 179. The Explorers Club - Ruby (sunshine pop) 178. Osi & the Jupiter - Appalachia (pagan folk) 177. Thievery Corporation - The Forgotten People (Symphonik Version) (orchestral world triphop) 176. Enter Shikari - Marionettes (I. The Discover of Strings) (electronicore) 175. Zuzu - How It Feels (pop rock) 174. Los Mocosos - Viva Los Mocosos (latin funk) 173. DJ Plead - Going For It (mahraganat) 172. Igorrr - Camel Dancefloor (baroque breakcore) 171. Someone - Pull It Together (psych pop) 170. Dizzee Rascal - You Don’t Know (grime) 169. The Corner Laughers - The Accepted Time (power pop) 168. The Claudettes - 24/5 (rock and/or roll) 167. The Ballroom Thieves - Tenebrist (neo Americana) 166. Joe Wong - Day After Day (baroque pop) 165. Porter Robinson - Something Comforting (complextro) 164. Jason Wilson - Happy Little Sisyphus (indie folk) 163. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Be Afraid (alt country) 162. Hayley Williams - Dead Horse (indie pop) 161. Badly Drawn Boy - I Need Somebody to Trust (indie pop rock) 160. Bleached - Stupid Boys (bubblegrunge) 159. Man Man - Lonely Beuys (experimental rock) 158. Dustbowl Revival - Dreaming (neo Americana) 157. The Texas Gentlemen - Easy St. (neo Americana) 156. Maeve Gilchrist - The Storm (harp folk) 155. The Drowns - Them Rats (street punk) 154. Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer - Frolicholic (chap hop) 153. Zutomayo - Obenkyou Shitoiteyo (Japanese jazz rock) 152. Jonathan Wilson feat. Mark O’Connor - ‘69 Corvette (Americana noir folk) 151. Dub Pistols feat. Natty Campbell - Sound Sweet (dub DnB) 150. Cordovas - I’ma Be Me (Americana folk) 149. The Birthday Massacre - Enter (gothic darkwave) 148. KIDS - The Mourn (indie rock) 147. Kyros - Rumour (prog synth rock) 146. Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott - A Good Day Is Hard To Find (pop rock) 145. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats - James Brian (Celtic punk) 144. The Fizz - The World We Left Behind (MOR pop) 143. Beans on Toast - World Gone Crazy (indie folk) 142. Liraz - Shab Gerye (arab groove) 141. 47 Soul feat. Shadia Mansour & Fedzilla - Border Ctrl (Palestinian shamstep) 140. 3D Stas - Dislocated Minds (soiltronica) 139. Bright Eyes - Tilt-A-Whirl (indie folk rock) 138. Darlingside - Ocean Bed (indie folk) 137. Once and Future Band - Freaks (psych pop) 136. Prizm - We Were Young (synthpop) 135. Z Berg - To Forget You (dreamfolk) 134. L.A. Salami - Things Ain’t Changed (post blues) 133. Kero Kero Bonito - It’s Bugsnax! (hyperpop) 132. Days N’ Daze - Addvice (thrashgrass) 131. Sufjan Stevens - Tell Me You Love Me (art pop) 130. Fiona Apple - Shameika (art rock) 129. Dutty Moonshine Big Band feat. HypeMan Sage - Big Band Fam (jazztronica) 128. Five Finger Death Punch - Leave It All Behind (nu metal) 127. Sundara Karma - Artifice (art pop) 126. TTRRUUCES - Lost Boy (wonky pop) 125. Theory of a Deadman - Ted Bundy (post grunge) 124. The National Parks - I Can Feel It (folk pop) 123. The Innocence Mission - John As Well (ambient folk) 122. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - The Hungry Wolf of Fate (microtonal indie rock) 121. The Jerry Cans - Atauttikkut (Inuit folk rock) 120. Sufjan Stevens - Lamentations (art pop) 119. Pigeon John - They Don’t Make Em Like Me (jazz hip hop) 118. Michael Franti & Spearhead - Lay It All Down (reggae fusion) 117. ARASHI - Party Starters (J-pop) 116. Neon Trees - Used To Like (indie pop) 115. Savant feat. Jahari Medina - Zealot (complextro) 114. Alestorm - Tortuga (pirate metal) 113. MisterWives - Valentine’s Day (indie pop) 112. Alex the Astronaut - Happy Song (indie folk pop) 111. Big Freedia feat. Kesha - Chasing Rainbows (bounce) 110. Cory Wong feat. The Hornheads - Click Bait (instrumental funk) 109. Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche - I Think I Am a Soul (neo Americana) 108. Victoria Anthony - Temporary Tattoo (synthpop) 107. Novo Amor - I Feel Better (indie folk rock) 106. Harper Bloom - Walk My Way (indie folk pop) 105. Badly Drawn Boy - Is This a Dream? (indie pop rock) 104. Bywater Call - Arizona (blues rock) 103. Mitochondrial Sun - Chronotopes (voidgaze) 102. Kronkel Dom - Giftig (Deutsch rap house) 101. The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Riot (nu disco) 100. Woodlock - Collateral (indie folk rock) 99. SKIES - It’s Alright (pop rock) 98. Pinguini Tattici Nucleari - Ringo Starr (Italian indie pop) 97. Warm Digits - False Positive (neo-krautrock) 96. Winnetka Bowling League - Come To The Beach (power pop) 95. ViVii - Whistle (folk pop) 94. Fame on Fire - Roxanne (post-screamo) 93. Tunng - Death Is The New Sex (folktronica) 92. Feuerschwanz feat. Melissa Bonny - Ding (neue Deutsche härte) 91. Jamie Cullum - Don’t Give Up On Me (jazz pop) 90. The Living Tombstone - What I Want (Israeli electro rock) 89. Walk Off The Earth - What’s Love Got To Do With It? (indie pop cover) 88. Hildegard von Blingin’ & Cornelius Link feat. Friar Funk - Pumped Up Kicks (bardcore) 87. Loma - Don’t Shy Away (ambient rock) 86. Pantayo - Heto Na (kulingang gong pop) 85. Gin Wigmore - H B I C (indie rock) 84. Dyble Longdon - Crossbones (chamber folk) 83. DMA’s - Never Before (Australian indie rock) 82. Mighty Oaks - Tell Me What You’re Thinking (indie folk rock) 81. Circles Around the Sun - Landline Memories (instrumental prog rock) 80. Blossoms - Your Girlfriend (indie pop rock) 79. Grimes - 4ÆM (industrial pop) 78. Ada Rook - 2,020 Knives (electropop concrète) 77. Walk Off The Earth - Oh What A Feeling (indie pop) 76. AWOLNATION - Radical (stomp pop) 75. Little Big Town - Bluebird (alt country) 74. Dutty Moonshine Big Band feat. HypeMan Sage - Outlaws (jazztronica) 73. Hugo Kant - Everything Is Transformed (downtempo nu-jazz) 72. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Intrasport (microtonal indie pop) 71. Stuck On Planet Earth - Higher Than The Drugs (dance rock) 70. Kesha - Potato Song (Cuz I Want To) (pop) 69. joan - want u back (indie pop) 68. MisterWives - Love Me True (indie pop) 67. Butch Walker - Fuck It (I Don’t Like Love) (glam rock) 66. Heart Bones - This Time It’s Different (indie pop) 65. Anamanaguchi feat. meesh - Pop It (glitchhop) 64. Poppy - Concrete (bubblegum metal) 63. Creeper - Cyanide (alt rock) 62. The Lemon Twigs - Only a Fool (alt rock) 61. Purity Ring - stardew (dreampop) 60. Curt Cannabis - Falling Sensation (indie rock) 59. Custard - Funky Again (Bluey’s dad rock) 58. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts - Newcastle Charm (power pop) 57. Indigo Girls - Howl at the Moon (ectofolk) 56. Cornershop - Highly Amplified (chamber psych) 55. ShockOne - Follow Me (drum n bass) 54. Yelle - Karaté (French hip hop) 53. Ultrahappyalarm - Wanna Cam??? (hyperpop) 52. Biffy Clyro - Tiny Indoor Fireworks (Scottish alt rock) 51. Heaven Pegasus feat. rook&nomie - Nomi (pop rock) 50. L.E.J. - Pas Peur (French chamber folk) 49. Avec Sans - Altitude (vapor pop) 48. Trixie Mattel - Malibu (pop rock) 47. Beans on Toast - Logic Bomb (jazz folk) 46. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk) 45. Marcelyn - Guilloteens (experimental folk rock) 44. Little Big - Hypnodancer (funeral rave) 43. Walk Off The Earth feat. Harm & Ease - Toxic (eclectic pop cover) 42. Stormzy feat. Aitch - Pop Boy (grime) 41. The Fratellis - Six Days in June (pop rock) 40. MOBS - Big World (80s pastiche pop) 39. The Lemon Twigs - The One (alt rock) 38. The Cuckoos - Weekend Lover (glam rock) 37. MisterWives - It’s My Turn (indie pop) 36. Sammy Brue - Pendulum Thieves (alt country) 35. TheFatRat feat. Laura Brehm - We’ll Meet Again (pop EDM) 34. Starbenders - Holy Mother (glam rock) 33. Minh Beta - Let’s Fight COVID! (Vietnamese coronavirus pop) 32. Kiesza feat. Lick Drop, Cocanina & Shan Vincent De Paul - Dance With Your Best Friend (pop) 31. Ultrahappyalarm - Messy Gyaru (happy hardcore) 30. Saint Saviour - Taurus (chamber folk) 29. Kate Rusby - Love of the Common People (indie folk cover) 28. Seazoo - Honey Bee (indie pop rock) 27. City Mouth - Sanity For Summer (indie pop rock) 26. Cory Wong & Chris Thile - Bluebird (jazz-bluegrass crossover) 25. rook&nomie - soft atrocity (hyperpop) 24. Will Joseph Cook - Something To Feel Good About (indie pop) 23. Courteeners - Better Man (britpop) 22. MOBS - School’s Out (80s pastiche pop) 21. Luis Pestana - Sangra (experimental electronica) 20. Hugo Kant - High Gravity (downtempo nu-jazz) 19. The Flaming Lips - Mother I’ve Taken LSD (psychedelic rock) 18. eleventyseven - Battlecats (synthpop punk) 17. Igorrr - Lost in Introspection (baroque breakcore) 16. Polly Scattergood - In This Moment (spoken word triphop) 15. Dent May - Hotel Stationery (indie fuzzpop) 14. Another Sky - Fell In Love With The City (indie prog rock) 13. Lola Marsh - Like In The Movies (Israeli pop rock) 12. Ada Rook - Reverie (JH Ligation Experiment 1) (breakbeat electropop) 11. Trixie Mattel - Video Games (country folk cover) 10. KES - Na let go / (when ah) Jamdong / (with d) Boss Lady (soca) 9. Emerson Hart - Lucky One (heartland rock) 8. Uncanny Valley - Beautiful the World (AI dance pop) 7. Villagers - Did You Know? (indie folk) 6. Chemtrails - Uncanny Valley (psychedelic garage pop) 5. Andy Shauf - Try Again (indie pop) 4. Lola Marsh - Echoes (Israeli pop rock) 3. Sea Girls - Do You Really Want To Know? (indie pop rock) 2. Kishi Bashi - Never Ending Dream (indie pop) 1. Dyble Longdon - Obedience (chamber folk)

[mytrashylove]

Castiel’s music taste + Crowstorm’s sound: a headcanon by moi

alt title: i was bored

ok so this is my first time doing something like this, and english is not my first language so pls bear with me

the other day @mycandylavynder​ asked what Crowstorm would sound like, and then @principalshermansky made a post with examples of what type of music they think the characters listen to (check it out! it’s great), which got me wanting to compile everything i can find regarding castiel’s music taste and crowstorm, to see what the game points to as castiel’s music

disclaimer: this is not to say that one headcanon is more valid than other, because at the end of the day everyone can think whatever they please, specially about a fictional character in a fictional band. i just thought it would be fun to do this. 

let’s take a look at Castiel’s room as seen in episode 40 of high school life:

there are three bands that can be easily identified: 

Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon poster on the wall

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols album by Sex Pistols among the cd’s on the shelf

The Rolling Stones logo on the pillow

according to the My Candy Love wiki page, Castiel’s favorite music genre is grunge. tha trivia also says that his favorite band is Winged Skull, but since it’s a fictional band there’s no way to know which kind of music they play, although i’d guess it’s a heavy metal band due to the name and logo.

let’s break the four bands we know he likes (and the albums that appear on the picture) down to the basics:

PINK FLOYD (UK, 1965-1995) album rock, progressive rock, art rock, hard rock, british psychedelia, psychedelic garage. - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) hard rock, progressive rock, psychedelic garage.

SEX PISTOLS (UK, 1975-1978) punk, new wave punk, british punk. - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols (1977) punk, new wave punk, british punk.

THE ROLLING STONES (UK, 1962-present) album rock, british invasion, contemporary pop/rock, hard rock, regional blues, rock & roll, british psychedelia, psychedelic garage, blues-rock, british blues, dance-rock, early pop/rock, am pop.

based on the information so far, we can assume a few things about Castiel’s taste

he seems to like rock music from the 70s

there’s a prevalence of british bands, but that might just be a coincidence

his taste might be summed up in the following genres, since they seem to be the most relevant ones: - punk, new wave punk - hard rock - blues-rock - rock & roll - psychedelic garage, british psychedelia - dance-rock - album rock - grunge

but what do all these genres mean? good question:

the 70s & rock music

aside from disco, funk, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and soul, which remained popular throughout the decade, rock music played an important part in the Western musical scene, with punk rock thriving throughout the mid to late 1970s. other subgenres of rock, particularly glam rock, hard rock, progressive, art rock and heavy metal achieved various amounts of success.

highlights: (aside from the four bands already mentioned) Led Zeppelin, Queen, Kiss, David Bowie, Aerosmith, Joy Division, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath, The Velvet Underground, Alice Cooper, The Ramones.

punk

a simple melody with three chords, but louder, faster and more abrasive than any other rock genre at the time. although bands like The Velvet Underground and The Stooged had a similar sound in the mid 60s, punk didn’t become its own genre until the mid 70s.

highlights: The New York Dolls, The Misfits, Generation X, Blondie, Talking -Heads, The Ramones, The Jam, Buzzcocks

new wave punk

where post-punk was artsy and difficult, new wave was, simply put, pop music that retained the vigor and irreverence of punk music.

highlights: The Police, The Cars, Blondie, Talking Heads

hard rock

hard rock is loud, aggressive guitar rock, but it isn't as dark and menacing as heavy metal, and it's rarely influenced by punk. it is (for the most part) exuberant, party music.

highlights: Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Janis Joplin, Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Queens of The Stone Age

blues-rock

blues-rock didn't fully develop into a subgenre until the late 60s. it emphasized two specific things: the traditional, three-chord blues song and instrumental improvisation.

highlights: Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top

rock & roll

in its purest form, Rock & Roll has three chords, a strong back beat, and a catchy melody. it drew from a variety of sources, primarily blues, R&B, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk.

highlights: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, The Who, The Beatles

psychedelic garage

instead of the concise verse-chorus-verse patterns of rock & roll, artists used free-form, fluid song structures. they also incorporated elements of Indian and Eastern music and free-form jazz to their sound, and experimented with electronically altering instruments and voices.

highlights: Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Jefferson Airplanes, Grateful Dead

british psychedelia

british psychedelia was more whimsical and experimental than its American counterpart, and it tended to work within the pop song structure.

highlights: Pink Floyd, Cream, The Beatles

dance-rock

dance-rock was born in the mid 70s, when bands experimented with the simpler rhythms and heavy groove of funk and disco. they relied on keyboards and drum machines or used the standard guitar-bass-drums format of most rock bands, but they were performed many songs in a way that made them apt for the dancefloor, with simple, heavily repetitive choruses or hooks.

highlights: Queen, David Bowie, INXS, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Talking Heads

album rock

the one thing that tied all album rock artists together was their dedication to the album as the vehicle for their music, as well as certain artistic aesthetic and constant exposure on FM radios. this broad criteria made it a fairly diverse genre.

highlights: Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, Janis Joplin

grunge

hybrid of heavy metal and punk, grunge music adopted the lyrical approach and musical attack of punk. it had three waves: the first one was heavier, drawing from early 70s metal; the second one began with Nirvana and it’s more melodic sound, as well as distorted guitar sound that became a genre convention; and the third wave that came with Nirvana’s mainstream status, when grunge  lost many of its independent, punk connections and became the most popular style of hard rock in the 90s

highlights: Green River, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains

to be clear, dividing music into genres is a complicated matter, and even more so is trying to reduce someone’s music taste in genres, since it is entirely possible to like wildly different music as well as dislike certain bands that fit the same category or certain songs from the same band. this is all just meant to show an inclination that Castiel seems to have in order to see what kind of music Crowstorm might be influenced by. 

that said, let’s get down to businees. what do we know about crowstorm?

popular and well-liked

has music videos that sometimes feature actors

at least one of their songs involves a piano (according to candy on ep3)

people dance to their music 

the members (or Castiel, at least) have given interviews on radio

based on that, we can say that Crowstorm:

has mainstream appeal

has at least some danceable songs

taking into account the info about Crowstorm & Castiel’s inclinations that might influence his music, here are a few examples of what i think some of Crowstorm’s songs could sound like

(danceable songs, “mainstream” radio music)

Head Staggered - That Petrol Emotion  // Blue To Black - That Petrol Emotion  (this band is influenced by The Beatles, Buzzcocks and Public Image Ltd., all of them from the 70s/80s and within the genres Castiel seems to like)

Some Like It Hot - The Power Station // Murderess - The Power Station (influenced by Led Zeppelin, similar to INXS and associated to Duran Duran)

Never Let You Go - INXS // Mystify - INXS (popular dance-rock band)

Are You Gonna Be My Girl -  Jet // Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - Jet (influenced by AC/DC and The Beatles)

(hard rock/blues rock songs)

Young Lust - Pink Floyd

Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin

this is just my headcanon based on what the game says tho, but i am someone who personally believes that canon and canon “evidence” don’t really matter in the end, so although Crowstorm’s music seems to fit the dance-rock criteria, i ultimately prefer to think of them as a hard-rock/blues-rock band with a bit of punk and psychedelic garage influence. 

so why did i even do all of this if i don’t really care in the end? i don’t know, but it was really fun and it kept me busy.

anyway, if you got to this point you might as well tell me your own personal headcanons regarding Crowstorm’s music! feel free to reply, reblog, tag me in your own post or hit me up via inbox

TL;DR: based on what seems to be Castiel’s music taste and what we know of Crowstorm, the band might make dance-rock/hard-rock music and might be heavily influenced by bands from the 70s. but at the end of the day canon doesn’t matter as long as you are having fun, so if you want Crowstorm to be a goth-rock, nu metal band it might as well be! 

[anavillafuertepembertymaria]

El Vaporwave es un género musical que surgió a principios de 2010 a partir de mezclar géneros de baile indie como seapunk, witch house y chillwave con estilos de otras décadas, principalmente de finales de los años 70 y los años 80. Wikipedia

Forma derivada: Hardvapour

Instrumentos comunes: sampler, computadora, secuenciador, computadora, programación

Popularidad: 2010 - actualidad

Orígenes culturales: Principios de los años 2011

También se buscó: synthwave, Chillwave, Lo-fi, Seapunk, Hardvapour, City pop, Funk, Chiptune, Más

Orígenes estilísticos: Chillwave, Plunderphonics, Art pop, City pop, música electrónica, Más

El Vaporwave es un género musical que surgió a principios de 2010 a partir de mezclar géneros de baile indie como seapunk, witch house y chillwave con estilos de otras décadas, principalmente de finales de los años 70 y los años 80. Wikipedia

Forma derivada: Hardvapour

Instrumentos comunes: sampler, computadora, secuenciador, computadora, programación

Popularidad: 2010 - actualidad

Orígenes culturales: Principios de los años 2011

También se buscó: synthwave, Chillwave, Lo-fi, Seapunk, Hardvapour, City pop, Funk, Chiptune, Más

Orígenes estilísticos: Chillwave, Plunderphonics, Art pop, City pop, música electrónica, MásEl vaporwave originalmente se caracterizó por su intenso uso de muestras (samples) de música de finales de los 70, 80 y, 90, incluso comienzos de la década del 2000. Suele mezclarse con otros géneros, típicamente lounge, chill out, chillwave, smooth jazz o easy listening.[3]​ Las muestras son a menudo tratadas con softwares de edición de audio con el cual se les ralentiza, corta y enlaza.[3]​[4]​

El género emergido en el 2011 de comunidades on-line, como Turntable.fm.[3]​[5]​ En años subsiguientes, obtuvo crecimiento en popularidad a través de sitios web como Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Last.fm y 4chan.[3]​ En el 2010, el músico experimental Daniel Lopatin (mejor conocido como Oneohtrix Point Never) publicó el casete de edición limitada Eccojams Vol.1 bajo el seudónimo de Chuck Person, mientras que James Ferraro, un productor neoyorquino de música electrónica publicó Far Side Virtual, estos albúmes son considerados como "catalizadores" para el desarrollo del género.[6]​[7]​

La cultura y estilo Sleazy, es una subcultura o movimiento Underground aparecido recientemente que tiene mucha relación con el Vaporwave, el cual hace referencia a los seguidores de este estilo musical y otros estilos, que incluso han emergido gracias al Vaporwave, a los seguidores de este movimiento a veces se les denomina Sleazys, Sleazies o Sleazers. Debido a la creciente popularidad del Vaporwave y sus subgéneros, han surgido bastantes creadores del mismo en toda la internet, a veces la calidad de sus creaciones no es muy elevada, incluso a veces por no decir pésima, confundiendo si era su intención hacer esa música o simplemente es que no tienen muchos conocimientos musicales y más bien tienen muy poca experiencia como compositores y creadores, ya que se basa prácticamente en samplear descaradamente de forma excesiva interminables estructuras musicales, y mezclarlas con otras tanto de música retro como de otros estilos, tales como el Lounge, o el Smouth Jazz, a esto sumar el ralentizar los BPM excesivamente hasta sonar la voz con un efecto excesiva y exageradamente extraño, con el fin de crear estructuras melódicas, relajadas y nostálgicas, y después añadir a estas estructuras musicales efectos musicales muy mal puestos, parecido al estilo musical que se escuchaba en los ascensores, pero que cuando se oyen las voces suenan excesivamente ralentizadas, también fusionado con otros estilos como el New Age, o más actuales como el Lounge, Smoouth Jazz, Chill Out o Chill Wave. Estas creaciones a veces suenan realmente muy mal y da a pensar que están realizados por gente inexperta, prácticamente son estructuras musicales sampleadas larguísimas a veces incluso un poco mal mezcladas y ralentizadas, a veces excesivamente ralentizadas, y que divulgan por la red en comunidades on-line como Turntable, Youtube o Soundcloud a veces incluso suenan tan ralentizadas que da a pensar que se trata de una broma.

También se les atribuye una estética que aunque realmente su forma de vestir no está realmente muy definida porque es muy variada, si se puede decir que influye desde el Cyber Punk menos agresivo, pasando por la forma de vestir general que había en los ochenta, la forma de vestir de los 80's más atrevida, colorida y Fashion de esa época, pasando por el New Romantic más discreto, por los 90's, la estética sport de los 80's, el estilo Surf, la estética Hip-Hop de los 80's, letras japonesas, estilos de los 70's, 80's, 90's y 2000's o incluso tendencias actuales como las gafas de sol de espejo de colores, pasando por una mezcla de todos los estilos de los años 80's de lo más coloridos y llamativos, como vestir con prendas de colores neón, fluor, a veces con peinados con teñidos o mechas de colores influidos con la estética con un toque de Punk Fashion, New wave quizás con más colorido, gafas oscuras alargadas estilo 80's, también de sol RayBan, Vuarnet y también de espejos de colores de las actuales. También sirve estilos como el de los Yuppies o la estética de los pijos ochenteros, incluso la estética Surfer, se mezcla también con la forma de vestir.

Fuera ya de el vestuario; la Cibernética, diseños y arquitectura retro, letras japonesas, los Video Juegos retro, marcas retro, luces de neón, colores pastel, colores fluor, luz negra o luz ultravioleta, el láser, la fluorescencia, Retrofuturismo, Los viajes en el tiempo, más bien pocos tattos, y si aparecen normalmente son más bien discretos, también sienten pasión por los robots, las chicas en anime, los escenarios californianos, la publicidad y la imagen de los 80's (a veces también la de los 90's y los 70's), el Rubik Cube, la escultura helenística, los ovnis y los extraterrestres, coches deportivos, arquitectura minimalista y retro de diseños elegantes.

También es un estilo artístico digital. En cuanto a lo visual, el Vaporwave utiliza paisajes, obras de arte (especialmente escultura helenística, pinturas del Renacimiento y del Impresionismo), aparatos o software de los 90's y principios del s.XXI (como se ve en las portadas de los álbumes y vídeos musicales) que en conjunto se conocen como estética (o también "ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣＳ"). La imagen asociada con Vaporwave incluye también Glitch art, diseños de páginas web de los 90, antiguas presentaciones de ordenador, estética cyberpunk,[2]​ uso de caracteres japoneses y otra escritura no occidental y colores llamativos. Dichos elementos suelen estar acompañados de efectos y filtros visuales que juegan con el color y la distorsión de la imagen. Un punto relevante dentro de las temáticas que se tratan en este estilo artístico es ironía, la nostalgia y la depresión, el consumismo y globalización y el conflicto de lo digital v/s lo orgánico. Tal temática pareciera tratar visualmente un conflicto pos moderno representado a través de su arte digital, en el que muchas veces se habla de un nivel de confusión en relación a los límites de lo considerado virtual v/s real. Esto tiene sentido, ya que este estilo llamado Vaporwave, el que también podríamos considerar una nueva sub-cultura digital, es justamente gestada en los códigos de internet, la web y lo relativo a el espacio virtual. Los componentes visuales de trabajos por John Foxx y otros músicos electrónicos de los años 80s son considerados influencias de la estética Vaporwave.

[imm-blog1]

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3

4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 (also included at bottom is session 1) [ To see the rest of this, if it gets cut off, go to hearingtheword2.posterous.com/41211-notes-from-hip-hop-su… ] HIP-hop session #3 of 3 (B. Santelli leading) : [he’s reviewing some books as I arrive] …Tricia rose, hop hop wars..I took her place at rutgers….another..written colloquial….book..new history of.."big payback"…also nelson George..fellow journalist..jersey,,opinionated, but well-written.I was a rollng stone writer.. ‘500 greatest albums"..not many hip hop..very white..mtv did a series on greatest hop hop..wanted to go over greatest emcees. 10) ll cool j, 9 eminem, 8) ice cube 7) big daddy kane 6) krx-1 5) nas 4) rakim (william griffin, aka ra) 3) notorious b.I.g, aka biggie, 2) tupac 1) jayzee [conversation]..rock roll hall fame..they put us rolling stone writers..together..sppsd to pick 500..sppsd to be fun, but..by wed we were @ eachothers throats..who’s missing? No females. Lauren hill? ..[what about lil wayne?] …& the albums? 10) pub enemy, nation of millions 9) tupac 8) 7) nwa 6)jayzee 5)run dmc raising hell 4) biggie, ready to die, 3). ..2)? 1)paid in full (eric b. & rakim [spare, stripped down..rhyming, flawless,..his fav, raising hell ..6 of 10 from gangsta rap era ..[has this guy abandoned anglos..has he caved? Or is he speaking to his primary audience ? Only a handful of whites in the room of maybe 50]…hip hop orig was new york centric..like 50’s in memphis & orleans..but now things changing..begin. here in L.A. large af am pop in late 80’s..lot of kids rapping , deejaying..public enemy (long island), ..why so amazing..first class..am bl roots of hip hop ..we mentioned gil scott herron..changing..g.master flash.. some dies..pub enemy brings it back.chuck d. Knows his …pub enemy makes a political mess. ..from a white perspective..bob dylan…Fear of a black planet..nation of millions..huge..brought over to white…white intells..get more intrsted..then nwa and tupac..gangsta rap..west coast..using what pub enemy doing back east..more outrageous & angry than pub enemy.. …What we hear..chuck D….at rock of fame..had him come & lecture ..he said it was a refl of blues..language previously couched..in blues..now able to scream it..listen to tupac, … in harlem..best pedigree..black panther..he was deep into it..early life a mess..what tupac … shakur.this man had a..he was a 5 tool player….genuine anger..he was intelligent..bitter but intelligent..most important..listen to cadence of words..anyone can rhyme..but cadence…..Eminem..too many words..don’t apprec his stuff as much..tupac best ever..right in middle..perfect storm..east west..1990’s..mid 90’s..bitter rivalry east v west ..ironic …and tupac …then —– killed..neither murder solved..//Why a feud ? East jealous? Tupac..death row l.a..; bad boy east..so 2 diff schools forming.. Then puff daddy..sean combs (aka diddy, p diddy, puff daddy, p daddy) .west… tupac….2 "m words" .1) MEDIA..hip hop mags..source..vibe..’88 mtv raps ..2) MONEY ..early 90’s..can make money..on radio…mtv..also white element..beastie boys..middle class white kids in suburbs.. …Bold personalities..incendiary..tupac murdered..later biggie (notorious B.I.G, Real name Christopher Wallace, aka biggie smalls) killed..media gets hold of it ..society says its out of control….when Biggie dies..album..double platinum.. Also the tree..acid jazz, socially conscious hip hop, funk jazz, trip hop, some from england ..england didn’t embrace hip hop at first ….Arrested development..? Hip hop? Some music lost relevancy..blues, big band ..glenn miller..ragtime..some become "historical"..mid-90’s..hip hop not dying, but branching out..moody blues..I hated it…but difference between hating versus respecting [I actually liked moody blues & saw them @ hollywood bowl]…Who else ? Outcasts, wootang, lords of underground, onyx,.[several others shouted out] .hip hop 90’s taking over…Now beyond nyc & LA..master P…new orleans..tree exploding..geographic connections..diff sound..good businessman..he also played b-ball..also atlanta…in south, but northern sensib.,,,also houston..health..multi-billion $ business..mainstreaming of hip hop,,,gangsta rap dies out…invention, re-invention…..also, rise of detroit..eminem..major figure…brings detroit to forefront..making detroit hip..and then kid rock ..real..metal..fringe genres..coming together w/ hop hop..limp biscit, korn,…Today? Hip hop becoming irrelevant? ..making lots of money..stop changing..less experimentation..less bold, ..fashion from hip hop …u know u become mainstream when grammy recognizes u..heresy for me to say but….Recording academy..being in biz..producer, writer, ….[Plays vid eminem & elton jon..given hip hop’s homophobic culture..this was seminal] [ was it a seminal moment as the beginning of the END of hip-hop, as it lost its verve?] ..2006 nas comes out saying hip hop dead..didn’t want to stay stuck in rut…had nas here….rock hall of fame brings in hip hop, grammy awards..world knows hip hop …After we did whitehouse thing..state dept..calls..cultural diplomacy..obama revived it.. they asked me to organize hop hop to go to muslim countries.[hip hop to muslim countries as a form of diplomacy ?! Please explain how that would appease muslims or appeal to muslims who already think of America as godless] .as did armstrong & ellington 50 yrs ago …I couldn’t run it….Where is hop hop now ? Ring tone..commercialize..sound same..its on life support now..homogenized..mentions nicky menaj opening for britney spears in upcoming tour..360 degrees ..piracy..economy ….Country music still buys cd’s ..loyalty..not download..not w/ hip hop….need audience with means to support act ..when economy of art form goes away..trouble ..younger gen doesn’t feel the concept of spportin.."////BELOW are the NOTES from SESSION 1 of 3 (I missed session 2 ) ——————————–

3/29/11 NOTES FROM HIP-HOP SURVEY COURSE (1 of 3) taught by Bob @ GM: "…learn more abt music forums….like hip hop..whats a middle age white guy teaching hip hop..I’m a musical historian…af am music my specialty..not hip hop.this class not like the elvis class.this is a survey course..3 periods as an overview..will have other courses..hip hop america’s pop music now last quarter century..its a survey class..people who live this culture..if u want to add, embellish..can never learn too much..my expertise. Af am music..also reggae..after hip hop comes bob marley exhibit..a hip hop museum ready to launch..in bronx..I’m on board…maybe russel simmons on board..anybody see him here a few weeks ago….others coming chris blackwell, ..pbs special..kate..@ whitehouse..kate did this exhibit..don’t need to agree..its interpretive..subjectivity..otherwise just read in book ..used to teach @ rutgers..this is not academia..try to do this in colloquial way..not preach to u..meant to be entertaining..some here b/c I asked u to come..I didn’t come quickly to hip hop..even tho I was there in the early 70’s…think of 20th century..america’s century..come to age as superpower..after fall of comm ..also musically, no country can touch what we have given to the world musically in 20th century..separate bl & wh culture..look @ af am contribs..as to amt..# of new forms..brilliant artists..overall impact.entire world..not all clear cut..jazz black music form..but dig down.others contrib too ..but in general..louis armstrong et al..blues blues jazz, soul, funk, r & b, disco, hip hop, bee bop swing, cool, fusion,,of all these forms..all given due..endorsed exported..except hip hop until now…revol music..challenges..polit..most recent..hasn’t gotten its due.celeb gospel blues…maybe too controversial to get credit..still…what made it so..give & take of african cult..also anglo irish..also racism..extra tension..in nutshell..bl & wh celbr..where r we now..first time..af ams bouncing …haven’t had major music..lately..last was grunge..late 80’s, 90’s..music slowed down ?ess imp..25% decrease in concert att…here to ..soul music..motown..also…and atlantic..golden age..also rock roll..then 1970’s..chronolog..musically ’63 to ’73..that’s the 60’s music era..hip hop..not 60’s ..bronx..how go from soul ..then..to funk…I don’t know re hip hop in ’73 ..have to wait 6 years..before recorded artifact..rappers delight ..sugar hill gang..why in this ? .69 71 motown losing lustre..stevie wonder..migrated..motown leaves detroit comes here..but not like it used to be..sly & family stone..loses sensib as..couple key bands & artists..2 huge..gil scott herron ..last poets..black..music…."when revol comes.."..gangsta rap..not on radio..last poets..many blacks didn’t even know of this music..marvin gaye..more known..cnsdrd greatest of all times..70-73 ..clip.."far too many of u dying.."…[red hat]..also "sounds of philadelphia"..the oj’s..signed in cleve but rcrded in phillie.."love train" ….revolution vs love..this is backdrop to bronx ..no q..rock surfaces memphis ..why hip hop fr bronx..music to be created & sustained..not just artist but audience..in bronx..it was like beirut or baghdad..suffered incredibly..ny in bad condition..bronx pushed aside..gangs ..drugs..south bronx..maybe mother cabrini projrcts chicago..maybe south l.a….become so isolated..create in a vacum w/o outside interference or ack..seattle..grunge..a seam..pearl jam, nirvana..already formed b/f world knew..a lot carribeans settled nyc ..jamaicans..brooklyn..1962 jamaica indep..many got out..s. bronx…late 60’s..kid campbell..clive ..from jamaica..brings..reggae..sound systems..everything outdoors ..disc jockey….toast over dub plates..jamaicans come to usa with this..clive campbell..longs for jamaica..wonders what he’s doing in bronx..sound system..he didn’t know he was creating history…invit..come to dj cool hercs party set up jamaica style..earliest hip hop…rap..part of af am cult..verbal battles..here at herks party..af ams and jamaicans together..’73..sudden concept of spinning records..unique way, art form..74 75..another frm..also hispanic & gay..disco..gets no respect…but it was important..w/o disco no m. Jackson, no usher..in manhattan..records..disc spun..if white grate dead, almond bros,..underground movement, black hispanic gay..dance again..mixing..never leave dance floor..77 sat night fever..mst imp of all time..j. travolta..exported disco cult..drugs..all this happ.. bee gees..trammpps…burn baby burn..disco inferno..red & white outfits..early hip hop would borrow from.some day will do disco shoe exhibit….or rush..sex pistols.springsteen..u had to select what u would embrace….people dressed their music..

Then bob marley..new sensib..lively up yourself..all this happening..rappers delight..sugarhill gang….soul train on tv..imp for black..this was seminal..just happened to catch it on camera..not the best

Three main entities..curtis blow..then up to run dmc ..hip hop is developing a consc style.that will explode…grand wizard theatre..scratching..then grand master flash. Popularized it..then .barbada (?)..flash a seminal giant..

Dj & mc..back then dj..was the guy..age of mc in future..dancing why they’re spinning records..bee boy bee girl..bboy break dancing..some of best break dancers were latino ..

Tagging..grafitti..becomes part..cey dams..tagging did a piece here ..been dodging cops for 3 decades…there’s a f you mentality in bronx..didn’t want to be part of discos..taggers..socs & psys studied.. I was in zurich..most expensive place in world..cab..graffitti wall..

[He periodically makes some of his prejudices obvious..re "conservative zurich"..wouldn’t apprec it in des moines iowa.."no offense to des moines"..let’s "rock n roll"..(it was a term for sexual icourse)..he’s talking to white christians….jazz also fr black culture ..means sex icourse.."

Posted by VANDERKOK on 2011-04-14 00:16:15

Tagged: , curtis blow , run dmc , grand master flash , grand wizard theatre , tagging , graffiti , nas , black planet , ll cool j , eminem , big daddy kane , mtv , krx-1 , public enemy , rakim , gangsta rap , diddy , puff daddy , p diddy , sean combs , arrested development , outcasts , wootang , nwa , shakur , tupac , ice cube , beastie boys , lords of underground , jayzee , lil wayne , santelli , grammy moody blues , bronx , russel simmons , sugarhill gang , last poets , marvin gaye , ojays , clive campbell , dj cool herc , saturday night fever , travolta , disco , bee gees , trampps , disco inferno , burn baby burn

The post 4/12/11 NOTES FROM GM HIP-HOP SURVEY SESSION 3 of 3 appeared first on Good Info.

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Recurrent Neural Networks For Music Genre Description Generation

The effect totally different genres of music can have in your thoughts, physique, and group. Gospel, some would possibly argue, means at the very least as many alternative issues as downtempo," since it's a catch-all for an extended historical past of non secular music in America, relationship again to the 19th century and slavery-period spirituals. Spirituals" could be an example of people music," in fact, which is a separate bubble floating off in house to the left of the Carta." It does not overlap with gospel, however as a substitute with utility music," a time period nobody has ever utilized in the best way Crauwels is utilizing it , which includes vaudeville," among the hottest music of the start of the 20 th century. Many people think of rock stars like Kurt Cobain (of the 27 Club ) once they think about musicians who died younger, however the world of rap music could be simply as deadly. Who can overlook the feud between Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BI.G.? While no one has ever conclusively proven who killed the 2 stars or even that the 2 deaths were linked here, there is no such thing as a doubt that each musicians have been killed far too early. These musicians were murdered of their prime, and hip hop followers nonetheless mourn them.

Rockabilly; what some call the original Rock & Roll. A mixture of hillbilly and rock containing a western swing and a bouncing celebration vibe. With parts of piano-based mostly Soar Blues and electrical boogie woogie, it made it's mark on the music scene indelibly. Almost everyone's named contained a "Y". essays larger ranges of similarity with the Energetic and Conventional genres (e.g., pop music). wonky : Wonky is digital music characterised by synths with uncommon time signatures in abstract, hip hop-model beats. Wonky takes cues in its sound from instrumental hip hop and glitch however units itself aside mainly by its lack of the heavy quantization seen in many digital genres. Do you find conventional jazz slightly boring? Then acid jazz may just be for you. It takes parts of standard jazz and spices them up with dashes of soul, funk, and groove. However due to electronic music gaining popularity, acid jazz isn't as nicely-recognized these days. My favorite style of music is classic rock. Basic rock was made (not classic until now) in the 60's and 70's. That was the time when the music folks made music that really had which means. Music would not have a that means once more till the 90's however stopped again until the 2000's via now. There are many different types of jazz dance, every with its own characteristics and influences. Generally though, jazz dance has at all times been related to fashionable tradition and it has changed over time in parallel with the music and types of common leisure. Presently, many different styles coexist, as well as numerous levels of fusion with other genres. Some vital figures within the history of jazz dance are Katherine Dunham, who strengthened the connection between jazz dance and its African origins; Bob Fosse extremely influential determine in the improvement of dance in motion pictures, and Matt Mattox , who developed his own method primarily based on ballet training. Feminist aesthetics raises most of the identical points that dominate debates about race and ethnicity. Moreover, feminist aesthetics often discusses performance artwork. Exploring tune performance, Bicknell argues that gender and race are equally related for fashionable tune reception. Renée Cox and Claire Detels have supplied a philosophical basis for additional work and Gracyk has outlined a number of philosophically rich points that deserve further attention (Gracyk 2001). Yet as is the case with aesthetics normally, explicitly feminist analyses are usually directed at high-quality art and much more attention is paid to the visual arts than to music. In contrast, musicologists have produced many essays and books that highlight feminist perspectives on common music. Give this text to someone who needs it. Your bro, Molly-snorting buddy who loves festivals - ship him this. That lady who now has a deep house" cover photo - send her this. Anybody who has a shirt that say I <3 Home Music" - ship them this. My goal of 2015 is to assist unfold training about digital music to the customarily terribly informed public, but that can't occur until you guys assist. Also, feel free to shit throughout my very blatant opinions in this article. Found an superior Massive Room song to prove me wrong? Post a link to it within the comments! Suppose I am a pretentious dick? I might love to listen to about it. Reba McEntire is nation royalty and practically created the template for being a feminine superstar in country music. The Nation Music Hall of Famer has scored 35 No. 1 singles to go together with her 19 platinum albums and has been honored with thirteen ACMs, seven CMAs and two Grammys. Chamber music generally gets a bad rap. It doesn't have the sheer energy of orchestral music, nor the narrative aid of lyrics, neither is there a conductor with star attraction to offer it a character. Some individuals say it's boring. It isn't. The past few many years have seen hip-hop develop from underground phenomenon to niche market to omnipresent juggernaut, listened to across the globe and influencing music of every style. The place as soon as rap may have been too outré for Executives to tune in, it has now permeated tradition to such a level that, for all intents and functions, rap music is pop music. And whereas Executives may have little information of or curiosity in outdated-school rhymes, artists like Kanye West or Drake could also be just too well-liked to ignore. The punk poet tells her story of the artists and musicians at a time of unimaginable creativity, particularly New York within the mid-Seventies. Her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe forms the spine of the tale and is instructed in prose that's like one among Smith's songs. RIETVELD, Allegonda C., This is Our House - Home Music, Cultural Areas, and Applied sciences, waldoshick429191.wapsite.me Ashgate, Aldershot, 1998. Hailed as one of the most necessary guitarists of experimental rock music, German composer Manuel Gottsching created works which influenced many Ambient music artists of the 80s and 90s. Most notable because the leader of digital music group Ash Ra Tempel, Gottsching's soft, beatific psychedelia is indelible.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Ten Of My All-Time Favorite Bands By Bradley Christensen

It’s not a secret that I listen to a lot of music, and something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time is talk about my favorite bands. I’ve talked about a few, but I thought it would be fun to make a quick list of ten of my favorites. I’ll definitely make more lists, because I have tons of my favorite bands. That’s the problem with me. I listen to so much music, I don’t have favorite bands, favorite songs, or even favorite albums anymore, because it would be so hard to rank them. I mean, I have a few bands, artists, and albums that are definitely at the top for me, but aside from a top three or four, it would be hard for me to rank everything else. I don’t have a definite favorite, but I thought it would be cool to highlight certain bands, artists, and things like that, just to recognize some music that’s meant a lot to me in the last ten years that I’ve been into music. These aren’t my definite all-time favorites, minus a couple, but there are more bands and artists that I love. This list would just be composed of ten of them. Like I said, they’re in no order whatsoever, because I have a hard time ranking things like that (my favorite albums of the year is much different, because I only have that year to pick from, but when it’s of all time, that’s when it’s a lot harder). I hope you enjoy, though, and if you’d like to, give me some of your favorite bands. Maybe we’ll have something in common, or I’ll have something new to check out. I’m always listening to new stuff, and it wouldn’t hurt for me to add more to my neverending list of stuff to check out. One more little disclaimer, too; I’ve talked about some bands that I’d consider to be my favorites plenty of times, and I wanted to include a couple of those bands / artists, but I’ll space those out, since I want to talk about stuff that I haven’t talked about, either ever, or that I haven’t talked about in years.

10. Chevelle

Starting off this list properly, this one might surprise some people, because I’ve never talked about this band in terms of being one of my favorites, but the Illinois hard-rock band Chevelle is a band that I’ve talked about a lot. If it weren’t for my best friend Jake introducing me to these guys maybe four or five years ago, I wouldn’t have come across them, because hard-rock is not a style of music I listen to. I wanted to talk about one of these bands, because I listen to a handful, but out of all of them, this is the best one for me. Chevelle is a good example of a band that makes things interesting, unique, and different, especially with how other bands in this style can be boring, generic, and lifeless. Chevelle’s last couple of albums are easily my favorites, because they have a good middle ground between the sounds that they’ve been toying with over the years, but all of their other albums are good, too. This is a cool band, though, and while they’re necessarily among the top tier acts that I love dearly, Chevelle is a band that I’m always excited to listen to, especially when they put out new material.

9. Broadside

This is one of the newer bands on the list, and possibly one of the only newer bands in the whole series, but I felt like putting some modern stuff here, too, because I wanted to highlight bands and artists from all eras, genres, and styles of music. Broadside have only been around for the last few years, but their two albums are great slices of pop-punk. I fell in love with these guys when I first listened to their debut LP, Old Bones, just a couple of years ago. These guys know how to make pop-punk catchy, energetic, and fun, whereas a lot of bands today aren’t doing that. I used to listen to pop-punk religiously, but I don’t do that anymore, just because a lot of bands don’t do anything for me. They don’t have the same effect as other bands once did, but Broadside captures everything that I love about pop-punk, as well as why I got into the genre in the first place. Sure, the genre’s kind of lacking now, but at the same time, it’s bands like Broadside that keep my ear closer to the genre than I otherwise would have thought. There’s nothing all that unique about this band, but they do what they do well, like I said, and that’s all you need sometimes.

8. D’Angelo

Throwing it back to the 90s, D’Angelo is a classic artist in the R&B / neo-soul movement, and I’d be hardpressed to say that he’s not a favorite of mine. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sold on his last LP, 2014’s Black Messiah, but that was because I wasn’t into R&B, let alone the weirder stuff. Listening through his first two albums, however, those being 1995’s Brown Sugar (which is my favorite out of the three) and 2000’s Voodoo, I’ve become a huge fan. I love D’Angelo’s voice, it’s absolutely fantastic, his lyrics are very well-written, and his sound is very experimental, weird, but interesting, unique, and still accessible. He’s a classic R&B artist, even though he releases once a decade, pretty much. I just realized that, too – each of his albums came out in the next decade. That’s the thing with D’Angelo, though, as his sound and influence is so great, that people don’t mind waiting for years for a new album. When they get it, they’ll know it’ll be good, because it’s D’Angelo. You don’t need to say anything else. If you’re looking to get into R&B, especially 90s R&B, D’Angelo is a great place to start. Brown Sugar, his debut LP, is the best one, because it’s the most accessible. If you like what you hear on that album, that’s when I’ve move into his later work, even though it’s a bit more off-putting and experimental in a basic sense.

7. Carly Rae Jepsen

There’s this trend in pop music that’s been happening for the last few years, in which 80s new wave and synthpop has been making a comeback. I’m very mixed on it, because I’m all for retro music coming back, but this whole 80s influence is really, really overplayed. I’m getting pretty sick of it, honestly, but it’s because these acts don’t do anything with the sound that makes it interesting. Carly Rae Jepsen, however, does. Her major label debut, Kiss, wasn’t exactly an 80s pop record. It was more of a generic, modern, and slick pop album that I’ll admit that I love a lot. It’s a great record, and it’s more than the one-hit-wonder than she’s been out to be. Her sophomore LP, 2015’s Emotion, is where she really shines. The 80s new wave sound works very well for her, especially since her voice has that sound, and the lyrics are very innocent and sweet, perfect for a light and fluffy sound. She also makes her lyrics interesting, too, all the while having some catchy as hell hooks. She did release an EP with some bonus tracks and b-sides from the album last year, which I really liked, but in terms of pop music, it doesn’t get much better than Carly Rae Jepsen. She’s one of my favorite pop artists, and while she’s not exactly a household name in the mainstream, the underground and indie scenes are all over her, but for the best reasons.

6. Earth, Wind & Fire

I’ve talked about the 90s, as well as the 80s, but let’s kick it back to the 1970s. Specifically, let’s kick it back to the 70s funk scene. Out of every band in that scene, there’s one that I would easily consider to be my favorite – Earth, Wind & Fire. This Chicago outfit is one of the most well-recognized and famous groups of all time, but I absolutely love them to death. There’s a lot to love here, and if you’re already familiar with them, you know what they are. The vocals of this group are amazing, as well as their vocal harmonies, the lyrics have always been very top notch, whether they’re singing about a more politically-charged topic, or they’re just singing about love, and their sound is very eclectic but accessible. These guys and girls essentially brought funk music to a mainstream audience. Funk, during the early 70s, was more underground, raw, and unpolished. It wasn’t mainstream friendly, but Earth, Wind & Fire, among plenty of other bands, brought the style to the mainstream by adding an R&B, soul, and pop sensibility to it, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Even their last album, that I picked up earlier this year, is really, really good. It came out in 2013, I believe, but it’s surprisingly a solid record, way better than it has any right to be. It shows that the band’s still got it after all of these years, and I’m glad, because Earth, Wind & Fire is an iconic band, and one of the best of all time, so this is one band that everyone should listen, even if it’s just once, because they’re amazing.

5. Hands Like Houses

Chevelle was the first hard-rock / metal-ish band that I wanted to talk about here, but I wanted to talk about one more – Hands Like Houses. When I first listened to Hands Like Houses about five years ago, I was just getting out of the post-hardcore / metalcore scene, but this band drew me into their sound, because it wasn’t anything like I’d really heard before. They were a post-hardcore band that had “heavier” instrumentation, but their vocalist was essentially a pop / R&B vocalist. The vocalist reminded me a lot of Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump, but not because of his tone, just because of how his vocals blatantly had a soulful groove to them, while the music was heavier and more rock-based. I thought it was cool, and I was pretty into their debut, but by the time their second album came out, I wasn’t too crazy about the band, or even that style anymore. It was really solid, though, but what sold me on them was their latest LP, Dissonant. Released last year, I wasn’t expecting much with it, only because I wasn’t hugely into that kind of music anymore, but damn, that album blew me away. It was everything I wanted the album to be, as they went more into their pop side, but the heavier instrumentation was still there. The hooks on that thing were utterly fantastic, and their vocalist really shined to his full potential. I don’t keep up with the metalcore scene anymore, because it’s not my style at all, but there are a few bands that really capture my attention. This is one of them, though, and I’ll happily check out anything that they put out.

4. Chance The Rapper

I can’t say that I have a lot of favorite rappers, but that’s not because I don’t listen to a lot of hip-hop, because I do. The thing is, though, I haven’t heard a whole lot that’s really blown me away to the point of being my favorite. I’ve got some stuff, though, and one of those rappers / rap groups for me would Chance The Rapper. That’s such a clichéd thing to say, though, because Chance is one those rappers that every white kid likes, pretty much, but I’ll be damned, he’s great. Acid Rap is the mixtape that got him on the map, and it’s the first thing I heard from him, but it was great. It’s one of my favorite hip-hop projects, as well as one of my favorite albums of all time, and for good reason. What made him end up on this list, though, is his last mixtape, Coloring Book. Released last year, I wasn’t into the tape when I first heard it, but that’s because I wasn’t into soul music just yet. After getting more into soul music, I decided to go back to the mixtape, and goddamn, it blew me the hell away. What a fantastic project, and I’m really bummed that I kind of wrote it off when I first talked about it, because the album is great. I did eventually rectify that review with a Rewind Review, but I wish I was really into it when I first listened to it. Ah well, Chance The Rapper is a great MC (his voice can be annoying to people, though, but it doesn’t bother me), with some great lyrics and wordplay, as well as an ear for unique sounds and ideas. Hell, the dude won a Grammy, despite being totally independent of a record label. How dope is that? Chance’s been going places ever since Acid Rap dropped, and he’s only getting bigger and bigger.

3. Hall & Oates

I’ve been on a Hall & Oates kick lately, and if there’s one band that I instantly had to put on the first episode of this series, it’s them. Hell, if I’m being honest, my top three favorite bands are on the first episode here, because I love Hall & Oates that much. I first got into these guys around 2009 / 2010, as I found a copy of the Ultimate Collection, or something. It was a two-disc greatest hits album, and despite mainly being into metalcore, post-hardcore, indie-rock, and pop-punk, I was loving that record. I listened to it a lot for a straight summer, as well as plenty more classic rock / pop albums, but Hall & Oates has always remained one of my favorite groups. The thing is, though, I haven’t really gotten into their albums until the last few years. I picked up a ton of their albums, but when it came to talk about them, I didn’t know what to say, because I wasn’t super knowledgeable. In fact, I was going to write a review of 1981’s Private Eyes, but it wasn’t a good one, so I scrapped it. I want to talk about these albums again, though, but that’s what kickstarted the 80s binge that I’ve been on. Anyway, Hall & Oates is a band that hits every checkmark for me when it comes to stuff that I look for in music: Daryl Hall has such an amazing voice, and the harmonies both him and John Oates do are fantastic (I like Oates’ voice, too, and whenever one of his songs come on, I don’t mind listening to it, but his voice isn’t quite as expressive as Hall’s, unfortunately), and their sound is a great mix between soul, pop, R&B, and rock. Their earlier stuff is more soul and folk-based, but it’s their string of 80s albums that set them apart from a lot of other bands and artists from the 80s. If you’ve never listened to Hall & Oates, you’re totally missing out, because they’re responsible for some of the best, as well as catchiest, songs in all of existence.

2. The Beatles

Truth be told, I’ve always hated The Beatles being my favorite band, because it’s such an obvious choice, right? Oh, yeah, I like The Beatles, but so does literally everyone else, but the thing about that is that I realized after a long while is that it’s okay to enjoy the most “obvious” bands and artists to like. That doesn’t mean they’re any less great, and hell, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to The Beatles. That’s why I’ll keep this relatively short, but come on, you all know why they’re here. They’re a great, influential, and awesome band that influenced both rock and roll and psychedelic music in the early to mid 1960s. All four of their members went on to have successful solo careers, even if I really love one of them, and their place in rock history will always be cemented, because they released some of the best albums of all time. Hell, it’s often considered that one of their albums is the best album ever released, but that’s definitely up for debate. Regardless, though, The Beatles has been one of my all time favorite bands for the last few years now, and it all started by having an album of their number one singles. Well, the only album that wasn’t represented was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, because a lot of the singles were banned from radio, thanks to being quite “edgy” for the time. I picked up that album, because it was the only one I hadn’t heard any songs from (well, I knew a lot of those songs, I just didn’t have any of them in a physical format), so I picked that up, and the rest is history. I could talk about this band forever, but you get the idea, right?

1. Fall Out Boy

For this list, I had to pick my all time favorite band. I had to talk about them, even though I’ve talked about them a lot this year. That would be Fall Out Boy, and like with The Beatles, I’ll keep it short. This band means so much to me, because they’re the first band I ever loved. Infinity On High, which came out ten years ago, is the album that got me into music as I know it. It’s a great album, too, and it’s held up incredibly well over the last ten years. It’s easily their best album, at least to me, but their new stuff is great, too. I feel like I’m in the minority of people, especially diehard fans, who think so, but that’s okay. This band really stuck out to me for many reasons over the years, whether it was vocalist Patrick Stump, lyricist / bassist Pete Wentz, or the overall sound. Stump is one of my all time favorite vocalists, which is a list I need to make at some point, and Wentz is one of my favorite lyricists. Sure, the earlier material hasn’t aged as well, but even then, it’s still good for what it is. I still enjoy their earlier material, but it’s not quite as strong as everything from Infinity On High and over. That’s because the band was very experimental, unique, and different within their own genre. I feel like Patrick Stump in particular, and his knack for writing very catchy, slick, and energetic hooks is a reason why the band got huge. They are one of the few pop-punk bands that transcended their scene, which is very rare for a lot of bands in that sense, especially today. I’m not sure which band I love more, The Beatles or Fall Out Boy, because both bands are great in their own ways, but Fall Out Boy does have more emotional weight for me, because they’re the first band that I ever loved. The Beatles is tied for the spot, though, because they are the only other band that’s had such an effect on me, as well as an influence in terms of the way that I think about music.

[blogalex-blog]

I've gone and reviewed Paul Weller!

And that means listening to his entire career; covering 6 studio albums with The Jam, 6 albums with The Style Council, and 12 (and counting) solo treats*. I've also tried my best to hunt down rarities, re-mixes and live albums**. Basically, I've had a lot of Weller in my life lately!!

Why have you reviewed Paul Weller I hear you ask?

Firstly, why not?! Secondly, I was inspired by James' infamous sandwich reviews. Thirdly, felt it was a good time to further expand my musical diet outside of early 90's boom-bap. Lastly, the man himself is playing our shows this week; better be prepared for small talk in the lunch queue.

Ok, let's summarise!!

I have reviewed 3 Weller-good eras:

The Jam (1976-82) Paul is a trendy front-man who is a little bit angry like a punk, but not too much, and often wears smart suits. The Jam become an iconic part of the Mod scene, which means they endorse boys who drive scooters. 

The Jam make some banging tracks, which have lots of rough energy and eventually over time start to become megga hit pop ticklers. By the time The Gift is released (1982), Weller is adding too many trumpets and funky bits for the other two to cope with and they split ways (It's a shame as the Gift is my fave Jam album). 

I give this era of Weller 5 Wellers out of 5: 6 solid albums with a ton of hits. Starts off super raw, end up polished and crisp. All memorable.

The Style Council (1983-89) Paul decides to team up with Keyboardist Mick Talbot (a man who looks exactly like Jesse Eisenberg). They go on a mad experimental pop-jazz adventure together, spanning up and down through synth-pop, lounge music, RnB and folksy ballads. For a while the public lap it up wholeheartedly, especially with pop hits like 'Shout to the Top'. People were even willing to accept a song about Milton Keynes (which has one of the oddest music videos ever created).

Hats off to Weller and Mick; they had a good little experiment and threw it all in the ring. They even had a few crackers in there! Unfortunately a lot of it feels like badly placed lift music or something from an 80's soul bargain bin. In ‘89 the pair finished an album which their label downright refused to release. That kind of killed the trip. 

I give this era of Weller 2 Wellers out of 5: Nice one for giving it a go, and there was some proper success in there! Pretty inconsistent and at times down-right weird, but never boring. Ok, sometimes boring.

Paul goes solo! (1990-present) Paul jumps onto a Solo career and ends up part of a wider Brit pop movement. He kicks this off with a self titled album, which features poster-boy artwork that looks more like a Steps release. That said it’s a top album, and I especially dig the samples and brass notes. 

As the 90′s progress onwards, Paul starts to move back towards his roots and gets a bit more rocky. His success grows with it and he drops some big chart-hitting albums like ‘Stanley Road’. 

Into the naughties Paul starts to throw in a few cheeky reminders of his varied past, including more elements of funk and soul which recaptured my attention. 

I give this era of Weller 3.8 Wellers out of 5: All in all, some great work Weller! My only personal quip is there’s soo many albums, it’s hard to get through it all. Also, I’d love to hear a greater ratio of funky to rocky sounding tracks from this legendary Modfather! 

One additional smack-down is the spelling of 2015′s ‘Saturns Pattern’ album, which appears to be missing an apostrophe in the title. This is something Steevie from PR rightly pointed out to me; it really angered that wordsmith!

Oddities

Have you watched the music video of Paul rubbing himself in a boat? It’s out there.

Did you know Paul produced a rap track? True story.

Have you heard Weller’s forgotten 80′s Chicago House album? This was the lead weight that was the final nail in the coffin for The Style Council. Talk about going out with a bang!

Paul Facts!

Paul has been married twice and has seven children!

Paul declined a CBE for his services to music in 2007 (modest gent).

Oddly, in the 80′s Band-Aid single ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ video, Paul mouths the words that Bono recorded.

Paul takes his tea with a drop of almond milk and three sugars. 

(I’m afraid that last one’s a wild guess, he might not even drink tea. Ok obviously he drinks tea - he’s a rockstar, not a savage!). 

Here's a few of my stand out tracks:

Going Underground - The Jam Girl on the phone - The Jam

Carnation - The Jam

Circus - The Jam

Shout to the Top - The Style Council

It didn't matter - The Style Council

Fairy Tales - The Style Council

Uh Huh Oh Yeh - Paul Weller

I didn't mean to hurt you - Paul Weller

Wild Wood - Paul Weller

Aim High - Paul Weller

Al’s Favourite Weller albums:

All Mod Cons (The Jam) Setting Sons (The Jam) The Gift (The Jam) Paul Weller (self titled)

* I haven't yet heard his upcoming new album 'A Kind Revolution' or the soundtrack to 'Jawbone'. ** Ok, so I didn't properly listen to every single live album. Come on, give a brother a break. Even I can have too much Weller!

[stormyrecords-blog]

new arrivals

stormy records

13306 michigan ave

dearborn, mi 48126 313-581-9322 hello friends of stormy!! great new used lps in stock now, and more coming for satuday. we will be putting out large batches of great newly priced items every saturday - so stop by to see what we may have for you!!

also - new stereo eqpt!!

marantz tuner works awesome $250

philips turntable with new needle - works awesone $100

philips speakers - $75 for the pair, but if you want a whole system and you buy the marantz tuner and the philips turntable, we will include the set of philips speakers at $50(in the past week we have sold several sets of speaker stands, several receivers, and a couple of turntable lids - people love new epqt!!) twin peaks fire walk with me double red vinyl lp coming any day now - please reserve a copy by calling or emailing!! in local news - the M&M Cafe has reopened. please show your love and support by stopping by for a meal and a hug for elaine. the memorial for rabeah is this saturday and the famil has asekd donations be made to Musicares - a service organization helping musicians with health care costs, eyeglasses, dental work, hearing aids and more. https://www.grammy.org/musicares in TODAY Up-Tight: S/T LP $29.99Up-Tight are a three-piece psych group based in Hamamatsu, Japan with a history dating back to 1992 has released around 10 records. Up-Tight's current line-up (2016) is original members T. Aoki (vocal & guitar) T. Ogata (bass) and T. Shirahata (drums). The ghosts of The Velvet Underground, Les Rallizes Dénudés and Amon Düül loom large over their personal feedback song-destruction universe. This LP is the first re-issue of their original CD-R-only release in Japan in 1999 in a very limited edition of 100 copies. It has been remastered in Berlin from original recordings and presented here in an edition of 300. Here is what David Keenan (Wire magazine) thought about this first CD-R released in 1999 : "Up-Tight are a noxious young trio from south Tokyo, all acolytes of the legendary Japanese psych group Les Rallizes Dénudés, who augment their sound with crushing, Sabbath-styled dynamics, earsplitting acid leads and beautiful Velvets-inspired ballads... Song structures are mostly kept loose, allowing for lots of noisy improvisation. Generally the album is anchored by heavy riffs. Just when you thought you'd got to grips with Tokyo's paradigm destroying psych scene, this one hits like a sucker punch." All songs are five to ten minutes long, varying from very melodic ballads to psychedelic journeys. The album ends with an epic track, "無題", which is an 18 minutes tour-de-force, that takes you to another dimension as if the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" would have a child with Acid Mothers Temple, while listening to Amon Düül under codeine. Up-Tight are from the generation that emerged with the madness of the Tokyo '90s and the P.S.F Records scene. Close to Acid Mothers Temple (the two bands recorded an album together), Up-Tight has a unique sound and is one of the most important underground reference in the Japan psychedelic scene. Gas: Box 10LP+4CD+BK $180.00back in stock - this collection is glorious and decadent and beautiful to look at and listen to - perfection!! Giombini, M: Computer Disco LP $25.99Mondo Groove present a reissue of Marcello Giombini's Computer Disco, originally released in 1982. Computer Disco is the greatest Euro-synth, disco album of early '80s and now it's finally being reissued by Mondo Groove. Computer Disco is the most Kraftwerk-ian Italian production. Marcello Giombini was a pioneer of early sequencers and on this cult LP, he produced cheesy, cosmic synth pop, with a little bit of Italo disco mixed in. Every fan of '70s/'80s synthesizer music and electronic DJs should put this in their collection. Original artwork restored. Mogollar: S/T LP $29.99LP version. Pharaway Sounds present a reissue of Moğollar's self-titled album, originally released in 1976. Makam madness gives way to instrumental prog on this burned-out last album from Moğollar, Turkey's Anadolu pop heroes. Moğollar was the band that never had a singer attached for long, and yet even more than Baris Manco or Erkin Koray, they consciously highlighted what was different about the new sounds of the era. Incredible fusion of ancient Anatolian melodies and instruments with prog/psych with occasional, piercing fuzz guitar. RIYL: John Berberian, Devil's Anvil, and vintage Turkish psych. Remastered sound; Includes liner notes by Angela Sawyer. Buyurburc, E: Hop Dedik LP $29.99LP version. Pharaway Sounds present a reissue of Erol Büyükburç's Hop Dedik, originally released in 1976. Years before Baris Manco and even before the fame of Erkin Koray, Erol's flamboyant outfits and spontaneous behavior brought a youthful, pop-oriented world to Turkish audiences. Hop Dedik is his first proper album. While not exactly psychedelic, Erol's album shows how far the mix of Anatolian melodies and Western production could reach and provides some great examples of Turkish pop spiced with psych, disco, and funk. Includes insert with photos and liner notes by Angela Sawyer. O'Dwyer, Aine: Gegenschein LP $25.99Irish artist Áine O'Dwyer follows her highly acclaimed Music For Church Cleaners vol. I and II double LP (2015) with two LP releases, Gegenschein and Locusts (PP 027LP). While continuing to explore the church organ as the primary instrument, these two releases steer away from Church Cleaners in both sonic content and themes explored. Gegenschein was recorded at the Franciscan Friary in Limerick, Ireland. O'Dwyer gained access to the Friary in 2012 and explored both the pipe organ and the space in its disused state. What becomes of a sacred space after the dispersion of the spirit, after the light has been switched off, after the deconsecration? Edition of 500. O'Dwyer, Aine: Locusts LP $25.99Irish artist Áine O'Dwyer follows her highly acclaimed Music For Church Cleaners vol. I and II double LP (2015) with two LP releases, Locusts and Gegenschein (PP 026LP). While continuing to explore the church organ as the primary instrument, these two releases steer away from Church Cleaners in both sonic content and themes explored. O'Dwyer recorded Locusts in 2015 at St. James' Church in Barrow-in-Furness, England, and at the First Unitarian Congregational Society sanctuary in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The record presents itself as a celebration of the pipe organ's acoustic capacity to tap into electronic pulses, and of O'Dwyer's liturgical memories, which are, at times, pushed into horrorthon states. Edition of 500. Wire #397: March 17 MAG $10.50"On the cover: Aine O'Dwyer (Through her sounding of sacred spaces and collaborative projects, the Irish musician moves between the folk traditions and performance art that form her musical heritage). Inside the issue: The Primer: A user's guide to Moroccan trance; Experimental music from Canada; Invisible Jukebox: Alexander Hawkins ; Global Ear: Seoul and Chuncheon; ADULT. (The Detroit electroshock duo bring it all back home); Mary Ocher (The Berlin based artist offers collage without frontiers); Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments (Clare Salaman drags Francis Bacon's utopian music into the present)." we have tickets for the Hamtramck Music fest and the Beserker Fest - cash only for each - come on by and pick up your tickets!!!

Hamtramck Music Fest is March 2-5th and wristbands are $10

Beserker Fest is APril 14-15 and 2 day passes are $60 EL CLUB UPCOMING SHOWSremember - tickets are cash only. this saves us all the service charges!! mike doughty  fri feb 24th   $18.00

moon duo sat april 22nd  $13.00 Upcoming events at Trinosophes

Happy new year everyone- it's going to be quite a year, guaranteed.  Lots of Feb and March to be added in the next week! 2/21 The Necks2/24 Mostly Other People Do the Killing   3/3 Baby Dee  4/15 Peter Evans Quartet 4/20 J@K@L4/21 Seraphine Collective presents R Ring, Split Single4/27 Poetry Slam Festival