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omegacrystalmaiden · 5 years ago

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Ys Log (5/28/2020)

I’ve finished every single Ys I can play at the moment. So, I’m gonna write my opinions about all of them, since I’ve grown attached to the series.

Ys Series

Ys Series are stories of a red-headed fuck boy’s travelogues. This boy’s name is Adol Christin, a wanderlust goody two-shoes who flirted with every single heroine he encountered and left them crying and heartbroken over his departure to another new adventure. He recorded all of his adventure in 100 travelogues, which became the story of each Ys games. Adol has the tendency of getting caught in a shipwreck and got his sorry ass saved by a beautiful girl, who ended up crushing on him, of course.

First to last playthrough:

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim

Ys Seven

Ys I & II: Chonicles

Ys III: The Oath in Felghana

Ys IV: Memories of Celceta

Ys Origin

Ys Origin took place 700 years before Ys I, which means the main protagonist is not that fuck boy (hooray). Ys Origin surpassed my expectation. I never expected Ys Origin’s storyline to be that good, especially Toal’s route. It was touching when Toal reached out his hand to Reah and begged her to stop doing the ritual to seal away the demonic essence. It was heartbreaking, for real. Stay strong, Toal.

Favorite Route: Toal’s. His route is the most story-rich and emotional. It left some impressions in me.

Favorite Character: Hugo Fact. His route is actually a bit similar to Geis’s backstory (Big bro left the house, then lil bro’s pursuing for his lost big bro). He’s actually just some cocky brat who seeks power to bring his traitorous brother down. A bit typical, honestly. But his character makes the interactions with other characters much more interesting, since the whole search party is full of people who worships Reah and Feena too much (in other words, full with naive and too nice people). I really love it when Hugo didn’t back down after he got threatened by Cecilia for doubting the Goddesses. And it was so priceless when he pointed out to Saul Tovah that his dead was caused by his own weaknesses. Man, I never expected Ys series to have a main protagonist with that kind of personality lol.

Least Favorite Character: Yunica Tovah. She’s too naive; believing in the Goddesses blindly. She’s also reckless and too hot tempered, biting every tiny bits of provocations that was thrown at her. But, I honestly kinda get where she’s coming from. The girl just got his father killed by some random barbarian called Kishgal lol (and Kishgal’s sprite is VERY similar to Geis’s from Ys VI). Anyways, her outfit doesn’t look like the outfit you would pick to go to battlefield. Honestly... her outfit really makes me wondering how can she swing her battleaxe. She looks more like a Harvest Moon character actually.

But both of them are so cute, honestly xD

Favorite Ship: Hugo x Epona. Man, they’re so cute. They act like rivals and stuff, but looking out for each other. It was both cute and heartbreaking when Hugo held Epona who was dying in his route. Even Toal ships them. Fuck off, Miuscha lol.

Favorite Design: Zava. I don’t really like this old sorceress since she’s just some typical evil maniac who laughs randomly at people’s hardships. But honestly, her design is just the best in the game. Reah and Feena’s outfits in Ys Origin are outstanding too, btw.

Favorite Soundtrack: Silent Desert, Samsara and Paramnesia, and Scars of the Divine Wing.

Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ Omen

Okay, here goes Ys I, introducing our favorite red-headed fuck boy, Adol Christin! This is the most classic game in Ys series, where you play as a silent protagonist and hit monsters with hilarious bump-bump system. What makes this game interesting is the soundtracks; MAN, THE SOUNDTRACKS! The soundtracks really rock you to the point where you want to bump every single enemies in the field. Oh, and here’s the fun fact: Adol got shipwrecked lol. Adol was asked to collect six books of Ys by some random fortune teller. The player didn’t have the choice to say no to that, since the fortune teller just assumed that Adol agreed to do it even when he didn’t say a single word (like any silent protagonist should have been).

Favorite Character: None. I don’t really have any favorites in this game, since the characters are kinda bland (well, what do you expect from a classic game? xD).

Least Favorite Character: None. But, Reah’s dialogues were getting to my nerves. She kept talking about her lost silver harmonica over and over. I was like “what’s your problem, woman?”. But, since I know that her harmonica was a gift from Toal, I can see where she’s coming from. Speaking of Reah, I personally think that it was priceless when both Raba and Luta Gemma urged Adol to save Reah, who was taken captive by Dark Fact in Rado’s Annex, only to get that Reah was like “oh, I got captured by purpose”. If only Adol could speak, I bet he would be like “shit, seriously?”

Favorite Soundtrack: Palace of Destruction and Tension

Awesome fan art of Adol, Reah, and Feena.

Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished ~ The Final Chapter

After collecting the six books of Ys, Adol was thrown teleported to the vanished land of Ys. He got unconscious and saved by an apple farmer (jk, she’s unemployed), Lilia, who ended up crushing on him. He discovered that Ys was ruled by a twin Goddesses (who were clearly Reah and Feena, but the game treated you as if you haven’t figured it out by then anyway). Adol can uses magic in this game, which you can burn any villagers you want with it (gotta burn Gorto to dust). He went to Solomon Shrine, encountering many hardships along the way, defeating Darm, and bringing peace to Esteria, only to finally know that some npcs are descendants of Ys’s priests. Cool. Anyway, Adol succeeded to make both Feena and Lilia fell for him. At the end of the game, Lilia almost confessed her feelings for Adol in front of Feena (I was hoping Lilia would actually do that and got slapped by Feena tho lol) and Feena also cried for Adol since she couldn’t be with him. She asked him to remember her as a girl, not as a goddess. Good job, Adol. You’ve successfully become a full-fledged fuck boy.

Favorite Character: Still none.

Least Favorite Character: Gorto. At the end of the game, he was like “Oh! I’m actually the descendant of Priest Dabbie!” and I was like “I didn’t went through all of that for knowing that you’re a descendant of some random old fart, dammit.”

Favorite Soundtrack: To Make the End of a Battle

Lilia, the apple farmer.

Ys III: The Oath in Felghana

Ys III took place after Ys IV in Dogi’s hometown. It was told in the bonus prologue (which can be unlocked after finishing the game), that Dogi was worried about his hometown and they decided to give it a visit. It was said that Adol put his finger on Dogi’s lips, stopping him from saying anything further. Umm... I thought Adol was only hitting on girls?? But, okay. Adol x Dogi confirmed LOL. In the old opening, it was also shown that Adol and Dogi climbed a steep mountain without any equipment, out of foolishness I presumed. Adol got a cool scarf in this game, which boosted his confidence when hitting on Elena, Dogi’s childhood friend. Dogi was dumbfounded when he met Elena. He never expected his tomboy childhood friend would grow into a beautiful girl. But he knew better that Elena would end up falling for Adol, so he didn’t even think about making Elena into his girlfriend. Wise decision, Dogi. The game tells the story of Chester’s revenge plan, which was ruined in instance even after Chester stabbed Dogi and stuff. Oof, the embarrassment. At the end of the game, Chester killed himself out of embarrassment in order to seal Galbalan away. Elena, the strongest of all, couldn’t stop her brother because she passed out after getting her shoulder punched by Chester. Makes sense. Oh, don’t forget that Elena was also crying over Adol’s departure towards new adventure.

Favorite Character: Dogi. “Nah, she’ll just fall for you, anyway. Just like the usual.” and “Cool move, showstealer.” are too priceless.

Least Favorite Character: No one. But I can’t stand Dogi’s godmother’s voice acting.

Favorite Character Design: Count McGuire. He’s literally Goban in a king outfit lol.

Favorite Soundtrack: Valestein Castle

I love this artist ever since I was an elementary school girl, and I just found out recently that this is a fan art of Chester and Elena.

Ys IV: Memories of Celceta

Ys IV took place after Ys II, with Adol got his memories wiped off instead of getting shipwrecked. Let’s appreciate his character development at least. Ys IV tells the theories of why Adol decided to call himself an adventurer. At first, the only motivation for me to play this game was to find more references of Geis since I heard that he’s originally from a village in Celceta. But the whole game was quite entertaining. Filling the maps, playing side quests, and retrieving Adol’s memories back. It was shown in his memories that his wanderlust came from his father. There were two memories that left strong impressions to me. The first one was the memories that showed his father’s reason for traveling around the world. “I just want to see things with my own eyes. Here, look at this. I heard that in this place, there are very beautiful white flowers that only bloomed for one night, once in a year.” Idk, but when I read that, I also got the urge to see those flowers with my own eyes. Unfortunately, the game never showed you the flowers he mentioned, even though I’m sure that he was referring to the white celceta flowers, which was already extinct by then. The second one was the last memory Adol retrieved in the game. The one with Eldeel and Adol in it. Eldeel offered Adol the knowledge of the whole world, but Adol refused since he wanted to see the world with his own eyes, just like his father. Eldeel was impressed and gave him another thing instead; a name (more like a title, though). He gave Adol the title of an adventurer, the very title he used in every single travelogue he wrote. It really left a strong impression. Everything in the series just clicked after that memories showed up. It changed the way I look at the whole game. Dunno why though lol. Anyway, it was told that Geis and Ernst lived in Danan. There was an empty house at the outskirt of town. I think it was actually Gruda’s, but I’m gonna assume that it was Ernst and Geis’s since I find it funny that there’s only one bed inside the house (Ernst slept in the bed, while Geis slept on the kitchen floor). It looked like Ernst left an open wound on Frieda, since Frieda looked sad every time she remembered Ernst. Tsk, tsk. It was told that Geis left Danan to pursue his brother and bring him home. How cute. His story will take place three years later in Ys VI. Wait, why am I talking about Geis? :/ Overall, Ys IV is a good game. I personally prefer the Japanese title though, The Foliage Ocean in Celceta.

Favorite Character: Duren. He’s the bullied in the party. I love it when falcom gave us the option “are you breaking up with me?” when he was about to leave Adol for awhile. The way he picks locks are also hilarious. *laughs maniacally, then kicks the treasure chest* He truly lightened up the mood. I don’t really like to use him in battle, though. I prefer Calilica for the strike type. My personal favorite characters in battle are Ozma and Frieda.

Least Favorite Character: Bami. I don’t really like Gruda and Gadis either, since Gruda is just some sort of ancestor freak (typical of Geis’s evil family members) and Gadis is also a violent jerk who hurts animals. But, Gruda still acts decent and Gadis does make a point when he points out that Ozma is actually not that different from him. Bami, in other hand... everything she does just doesn’t make any sense to me. Plus, I don’t like Leeza either since she acted just like Yunica. So reckless.

Favorite Soundtrack: Underground Ruins, Ancient Land, Seeking the Vanished Mask.

Mini Adol and his daddy.

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim

The very first Ys game I played. It doesn’t have the best story line, but it still got a special place in my heart since it was my first game. So, Adol got shipwrecked, as usual. He got saved by two girls (what a jackpot), Olha and Isha. They ended up crushing on him too, of course. Adol was disliked by the whole village at first, because he’s a human. But he just slithered into every villager’s heart somehow. As expected from our beloved fuck boy. Adol went through Mythos Path to get to the village of eresians. He met Geis, an angry-looking jerkass who wore rag. He challenged Adol into a duel and ended up insulting Adol, no matter if Adol wins the duel or not. He warned Adol to mind his own business or he would bitch slap Adol with his halberd again. He truly resembles Kishgal, his ancestor. What irony (1). Anyway, the whole game was about Adol ignoring Geis’s warning, the whole series actually. Adol ended up putting his nose into everyone’s business, including Geis’s. Geis found Adol’s being nosy numerous times and gave him numerous warnings, yet he never put his finger on Adol again. All bark no bite. Adol got involved with Ernst’s mosquitoes fairies who were running errands for their master. Adol also received Livert, Brilante, and Ericcil swords, which were the very key to the weather control panel in Canaan, the Ark of Napishtim. Adol was a big pain in the ass to Ernst’s plan to take over the weather control panel. Yet, Ernst did nothing to stop Adol. He was only trying to stop Geis, who actually did nothing but put on ghost buster stickers on pillars in Zemeth Sanctum. Those stickers got ripped off by the human villagers in the end, which made all of Geis’s hardwork in the last 3 years went for nothing. Poor Geis. In his adventure, Adol also collected Olha’s mirror fragments and returned it to Olha to make Olha fall head over heels to him. Not to mention that Adol also invested his time in Isha, who already fell head over heels to him after Adol saved her. Oh, don’t forget about Terra who got jealous over Olha when she found her in Adol’s arms. Man, Adol’s trying real hard to be productive in this game. 3 girls at the same time. He proved to be skillful in multitasking and time management. Still, he couldn’t win the shopkeeper’s heart, since she mentioned that Adol looks cute, but Geis is kinda hot. Poor Adol, losing his win streak. Anyway about Olha’s mirror, she returned it to Adol again before Adol went to the Ark of Napishtim. So what was the point in returning the mirror back to her? Olha told Adol that he could only get to the Ark by her wyvern. She then told Adol how heroic he was, and that he was the only one who could save Isha and the entire Canaan Island. It launched Adol’s ego, only to get disappointed when Geis showed up and got Olha’s permission to join the ride. If I was Adol, I would be like “Damn it, Olha. I thought you said I was the only one who can do this???”. Then, Adol and Geis got on the wyvern’s back and went to the Ark. Geis revealed to Adol that Ernst was actually his older brother who tried to live up to their ancestors’s delusional dreams. All of Geis’s evil family members are fawning over their ancestors anyway, so it was no surprise. Adol was actively ignoring Geis, though. He didn’t even look at Geis when he was talking. He still got his ego bruised. Not to mention that Adol failed to win the shopkeeper’s heart because of Geis. Adol is angy, no talk to Adol. In the Ark, Geis monopolized the elevator, pointing out that he would rather an outsider didn’t meddle into his family business. Right after Geis left the screen, Galba-roa appeared in front of Adol and kicked Adol’s ass. Geis was beyond redemption to Adol at that point. After defeating Galba-roa, Adol finally got the privilege to use the elevator. He went upstairs and found Geis wounded on the floor. Adol didn’t even run to his side; he just casually walked there to check on his condition. “Serves you right, bastard.” Adol met Ernst afterward, who was discussing about whether he should have killed Geis or not with his mosquitoes. Adol interfered the discussion and got Ernst spouting his ancestors’s history without being asked to. He truly looked up to his ancestors, yet he didn’t even resemble any one of them. Geis on the other hand, who claimed that their ancestors were being delusional and was being called a disgrace to their family, is the most similar to their ancestors. Wears double bandanna and rag, uses halberd, poleaxe, and trident in battle, and loves to challenge someone into a duel. What irony (2). After defeating Ernst, Ernst gave his mosquitoes to Geis. Man, he really hated his brother to death. Geis urged Adol to destroy the Ark of Napishtim and dragged Isha out of the scene, monopolized the elevator once again. Adol destroyed the Ark of Napishtim and was welcomed by his girls and Dogi. Damn, Dogi couldn’t read the atmosphere. The game ended with Adol leaving Canaan with Dogi and Terra, who brought Olha and Isha crying over him. He saw them waving at him with tears in their eyes, and waved back at them with big satisfied smile. The fuck boy had succeeded making girls cried once again.

What about Geis? He also left Canaan with his new friends by a small boat. Nobody saw him off. No wonder he had grown into an angsty angry-looking guy.

Favorite Character: Geis. Honestly, I don’t really like this guy at first. He’s a moody jerk who gets angry at almost everything. Falcom also makes him into Adol’s rival, which he lives up to that identity. But having him in the game is refreshing somehow. Adol is a silent main protagonist, who accepts whatever people ask him to and would never do anything treacherous. The other supporting characters are kinda like Adol, it’s so typical, honestly. It was shown in the game that Adol, Olha, and Terra did nothing when they were about to get captured by Agares’s soldiers. Then, Geis showed up and finished off the soldiers. He then asked Agares about his brother whereabouts. After getting information about Ernst, Geis killed Agares despite Agares’s pitiful begging. “Shut your fat mouth... I don’t need you anymore. You just sleep here with everyone else.” Man, that was badass. He’s an asshole, sure, but he got character. He got the “best” voice acting too in the PS2 version, anyway. That event left quite strong impression, and I wished I could play as him instead of our do-gooder fuck boy. One more thing I like from Geis is that he’s short-tempered and foul-mouthed, but he doesn’t let those affected his decisions. He makes his decisions based on the situation he’s facing (unlike Yunica and Leeza), which is shown more in Ys Seven. I find it quite appealing.

Olha is my second favorite next to Geis, since she’s the master of passive-aggressive approach. She may acts like a tender and loving girl, but there are some scenes in the game that shows her being passive-aggressive around people. The first scene is when Geis showed up in the Rehdan Village, asking both Ord and Olha about how to get to the Ark. Geis was being a rude guest, and guess what Olha did to make him stop being inappropriate? Olha greeted Adol politely, as if Geis was never there to begin with. Ord followed her suit afterward, leaving Geis ignored and embarrassed. The second scene is when Olha talked to Adol before summoning the wyvern to go to the Ark. She gave Adol her mirror, throwing numerous praises to Adol, telling Adol that he was the only one who could save everyone. She really did make Adol feel special. Then, Geis showed up and asked to join the ride. Olha gave her permission, as if she didn’t say anything to Adol before that. She probably hated him for hitting on other girls, especially Isha. Nice move, Olha.

Olha, the master of passive-aggressive approach.

Least favorite Character: No one. Aside from Geis, I don’t think the others got much character. I got nothing against anyone. But if it’s about voice acting... then how about everyone especially ISHA, JUE, AND SERA?!

"He’s kinda hot, but a bit rough around the edges.”

Favorite Character Design: Geis. Despite of wearing rag, I find his design to be quite badass. His double bandanna makes him much more appealing, for real. I hate to admit it, but I agree with the shopkeeper. Adol is cute and all, but Geis is hot as hell.

Favorite Soundtrack: Release of the Far West Ocean, Mighty Obstacle, and ERNST.

What if Geis was the one who found Adol first?

Ys Seven

Ys Seven is my personal favorite Ys game in the whole series. I find Ys Seven to be the most story rich in the Ys series. Ys Seven took place after Ys VIII, in the land of Altago, an uncharted land in Afroca. Adol and Dogi arrived in Altago and found Altaginian soldiers harassed Tia, the final boss a flower seller, and Maya, a muted girl. Of course, Adol stood up for her; he never missed his chance to hit on girls anyway. Ironically, Adol’s heroic actions sent him and Dogi straight to prison. They got theirselves saved by Scias. Scias told them that the king knew about Adol, since Adol was kind of a celebrity in his travelogues, and wished to talk to him personally. The king asked Adol to run some errands for him, since Adol was known for his nosiness. Adol lived up to his expectations, of course. After being trained by Scias, Adol and Dogi left to an altar. They found an altar inside, and it bestowed Adol with a new power and at that very moment Adol was chosen as a dragon warrior. Let’s get serious here. Adol being a dragon warrior actually doesn’t make any sense. He was just some outsider who arrived in Altago some hours ago. In other words, he was nothing more than a tourist. But, oh well. Anyway, after Adol released his new power to the first boss fight, he got unconscious and saved by Tia. Tia brought Adol and Dogi to the old town, where poor people resided. It was shown that people in the old town was threatened to lose their home to Altaginians politicians, who intended to change the old town into a trading center. After Adol recovered, he went to the king and gave him his report. The king was satisfied and asked Adol another request related to dragon warrior stuff. He then revealed that everything that happened to Adol probably had something to do with recent earthquakes in Altago. Following the king’s request, Adol and Dogi continued their adventure in Altago. They met Elk (a monkey boy who looked like Gau from Final Fantasy VI), Aisha (the princess of Altago who dressed as if you hadn’t figured it out by then), Mustafa (a stiff guy with some problem with his dad), Mishera (a blind lady who talks with the wind), and guess what, Geis. The game was about Adol wandering around Altago and collecting information about dragon warrior and recent earthquake alongside with Dogi and Aisha for the first half playthrough. They found out that the earthquakes in Altago weren’t just some normal nature phenomenon and found that there was also a breakout of iskan fever, the fever that made one body’s paralyzed to death. After Adol, Dogi, Aisha, and Geis returned from the ruined island, Adol got accused for murdering the king of Altago, which make him, Dogi, and Geis ended up in prison. Then, there was a scene that showed Adol got tortured by a sadistic woman. Umm... What are you implying, falcom? Are you trying to give the players some fanservice or what? It felt weird to get turn on over a silent protagonist... especially since Adol looks like a cute good boy in Ys Seven (He looks so much better in Ys IX). I didn’t drool over Adol’s body, anyway. He’s not my type and I’m not into BDSM lol. Anyway, while Adol got tortured, Dogi and Geis was just hanging out in a different cell. Dogi kept shouting Adol’s innocence to the wall, while Geis laughed at Adol’s false accusation, completely content with the situation. Adol found himself some good friends, for sure. At least, Geis already figured that Adol was framed by then. Unlike Dogi. Later, Aisha came to see Adol personally and told him that he was going to be executed in the Colosseum. He was going to show his fresh scars in front of Altago people and tried to win an impossible battle against a Titano. The meaning was deep, actually. You got accused for something you didn’t commit, got tortured, forced to show those scars you received in front of public who wished nothing but your death, and tried to prove your innocence by winning an impossible battle. But we all know that giving Adol a sword means that he’s gonna survive somehow lol. After defeating the Titano, Adol’s besties finally proved to be useful. Dogi broke the Colosseum wall and Geis threw a smoke bomb (his little friend), which secured their escape. The three of them left Altago city and went to Iskan Village so Geis could introduce Adol to another evil family member someone. Sounded like he was introducing Adol to his parents, no?

Adol’s hitting on everyone. Indiscriminately.

Adol was actually introduced to Ciarius, Geis’s current boss who taught him how to make ghost buster stickers he used in Ys VI. It was revealed that Ciarius was actually planning on making Geis into the dragon warrior, since Geis could master Iskan exorcism. Looked like Adol was one step ahead of him. Phew. Geis failed to be Adol’s showstealer. But I still kinda wished the main protagonist would be Geis instead of Adol, although Geis didn’t get any character development in this game. Ciarius asked Adol to meet the five dragons of Altago himself, saying that he needed to ask them how to stop the wind of destruction (the wind that would bring end to the entire Altago). Adol was reunited with Elk, Mustafa, and Mishera, who were ready to accompany Adol in his dragons hunting journey. I love it when Dogi said “Wow, we’ve become a big happy family. Speaking of which, we need a grumpy uncle! What do you say, Geis? You wanna be part of this family, too?”. Man, Dogi’s literally being duh in this game, and it made difference to the whole game. I’m gonna write down Dogi’s dialogue in the favorite character section later, since Dogi is my second favorite character in this game, next to Geis (he’s my favorite in the entire series). Geis was planning on not rejoining the party, since he failed to steal Adol’s highlight. He ended up staying in the party, thanks to Ciarius’s passive-aggressive approach. The party left Iska, finding out that Adol was being pursued by the Altaginian soldiers. Sigroon, Aisha’s personal soldier, found Adol and joined the party under Aisha’s name. They revisited the altars of dragons in Shannoa, Segram, and Kylos, found the dragons, and asked them about the wind of destruction and dragon warrior’s job desk. The dragons didn’t give them a straight answer, asked Adol’s group to prove their worth, and gave them stones instead of answers. Wonderful. There were a few changes in the party, though. After visiting the fire dragon in Segram, Cruxie died. Then, Adol revived her using the fire dragon stone. Miracle occured, Cruxie came back to life. Then, she kicked Mustafa out of the party, stealing her brother’s highlight in the game. What a fascinating sister. That explains why Mustafa’s skills are too cute for him, though. Falcom never really intended him to be a permanent party member :/ poor guy. The party returned to Altago afterward, finding that Altago was under attack. The party split up. Adol and Dogi went to Tia’s house, looking for Tia and Maya. But they only found Maya, who was still looking for Tia despite of her iskan fever. Adol and Dogi went to the port and regroup with Geis. Soon, they headed to the palace and found that Aisha was being attacked by a cloaked man. It was revealed that the cloaked man was actually Scias, who worked under the real eldress of Iskan, Tialuna. After the attack, Tia and Scias left Altago (they won against the entire army) and told our lil’ dragon warrior to received two more dragon stones. Aisha rejoined the party afterwards and the party went to the ruined island once more. After getting nothing from the sea dragon, they went back to Iskan Village and found the moon dragon. The moon dragon proved that he could speak more fluently than his brothers (thank goodness :/). After defeating him, he told the entire party the truth of dragon warrior and the wind of destruction. The dragon warrior was the representation of all life in Altago, which the wind of destruction would destroy in order to rebuild Altago again from scratch. In other words, Adol’s just being a representation of Altago people’s struggles against the wind of destruction. Hearing that, Geis said, “Wait, HE’s the proxy?! What the hell!”. If only his dialogue was a tumblr’s thread, I’m gonna reblog it over, over, and over. Why would the dragons choose a tourist to be the representation of all life in their land anyway? Those dragons have to be surely out of their minds. It would make better sense if the dragon warrior was Aisha, or Elk, or Mustafa, or Mishera, or heck, even Cruxie. Anyway, Tia opened up the well of souls after that, the final dungeon. The whole party went there, defeated Scias, Tia, and the root of all existence in Altago. They ran out of the well of souls afterward, since it was going to close down by itself. They forgot something when they were running in panic, though. Adol could teleport all of them out of the well of souls with the fire dragon power. The whole party members forgot about it and ran to the exit by foot, while Adol held Tia’s hand and guided her to the exit. Smooth move, fuck boy. We reached the game’s climax after they got out from there safely. The five dragons disappeared alongside with the root of all existence in Altago. The dragon stones also disappeared. And guess, what? Tia too. When she was about to disappear, Maya showed up, despite of just recovered from her Iskan fever. She ran to Tia, holding her tight and screaming “aaah-aaah” since she was muted. In the attempted of begging Tia to stay, Maya got healed from her trauma and called Tia’s name for the first time, begging her to stay in words. Tia still disappeared, nonetheless. It was the only ending in Ys series that brought me to tears. Maya is a real tear-jerker. But it left a very strong impression, the thing that made me love the whole Ys series. At the end of the game, Aisha was busy, rebuilding Altago. Seemed like Elk, Mustafa, Cruxie, and Mishera headed back to their villages too. Adol and Dogi helped Aisha, just for a few days. They left Altago not long after that, itching for new adventures. Aisha promised them that when they returned to Altago, it would be full of white flowers that Tia loved.

What about Geis? The game showed that he left Altago with his fairies by boat, again. And no one saw him off, again. Poor boy.

Favorite character: Geis. It’s still Geis. Man, I love him even more after playing Ys Seven. He’s still the same old Geis, though. Surly, moody, and hot-tempered. He’s playable in Ys Seven, slash-typed just like Adol and Elk. He’s kinda slow for a slash-type, but stronger than the other slash-type characters. He got cool moves (Axe Art: Ravage is your god) and he was real fun to play with. I ditched Elk, Aisha, and Mishera after I got him. He made his usual appearance in Ys Seven, showing up out of nowhere and challenged Adol into a duel for no reason. And of course, he would insult Adol whether Adol wins against him or not. It’s just so Geis. I guess I just love him being cynical. He snarked to Adol that someone like Adol wouldn’t gain anything good by sticking his nose into the king’s business, which was also his warning to Adol since Ys VI that Adol actively ignored. He proved his point when Adol got framed by Scias for murdering the king. Geis’s dialogue of “Wait, HE’s the proxy?! What the hell!” also voiced my opinion straight to Adol. Good job, Geis. His grumpiness was entertaining, which was shown when Adol, Dogi, and Geis were heading to Iska Village. Geis told Adol and Dogi that the Iskan Village was in the highlands to the west. The player can moved the characters wherever they want. But, when the characters get into the wrong direction, Geis will scoff at Adol and Dogi. And funnily enough, if the player choose to move as Geis and get in the wrong direction, Geis will scoff at the player. “Are you even trying?!” It was one of my personal favorite scene lol. It was also cute when he tried to preserve what is left of his reputation in front of Adol when an Iskan doctor pointed out that Geis was working like a slave to Ciarius. And just like what I said in Ys VI favorite character section, I like the fact that Geis didn’t let his grumpiness got in his way. It was shown when he got insulted by Scias for being Ciarius’s errand boy. He did bark and point his poleaxe to him, but he didn’t rush to him (unlike Yunica). At the end of the day, he got his own character; his own color. That’s why I like this guy. It’s a pity that he got no character development in this game, since he’s just being all rivalry stuff with Adol for no real reason. What happened in the Ark didn’t get into his thick skull, or so it seems. It kinda felt forced, since he started to act a bit jealous over Adol being a dragon warrior instead of him. When the party found out that being a dragon warrior didn’t do any good, he commented cynically that it actually suit Adol. It felt annoying and cute at the same time, but much more annoying than cute. That scene would make you “Jealous much?” at him, for sure. His design in Ys Seven is pretty good, although his design in Ys VI is much better. He got better outfit in this game, but worse-looking armor, bandanna (bring back the double bandanna pls D”:), and rag cloak. Unfortunately, Geis doesn’t have luxury of having a cool and effective EXTRA skill. His EXTRA skill is just summoning his fairies to fight alongside with him, probably referring to the final battle with Ernst. Falcom decided to give him a better version of Fairy Annihilation in Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki, though. Anyway, it’s also cute to find out that Geis is getting along with his fairies, since the fairies hated him with all their guts in Ys VI for interfering with Ernst’s plan. It was shown that Jue grew fond of him the most, since she called him by his name; not by “Master Geis”.

Jue was the meanest fairy to Geis in Ys VI and in the end she’s the one who grew fond of him the most. Cute.

Aside of Geis, I really love Dogi in Ys Seven. Dogi’s still a sidekick; a plot device Falcom use to break a wall or door. But his sidekick dialogue in this game is completely hilarious and voiced our voice straight to the characters in the game.

When the king said that the dragon power chose Adol for being a dragon warrior, Dogi asked, “But why did the power choose Adol...? (Silly question, given how often this kind of thing happens, but still...)”

When Aisha was asked for her trip to Segram, she claimed that it was uncomfortable; it was hot and full of men’s sweaty smell. Then, Dogi said, “No one asked you to come...”

After having a duel with Geis, Adol, Dogi, and Aisha arrived at Kylos. They met Mishera, who had expected their arrival from the voice of the wind. Dogi asked her, “Mishera, do you know about Geis? A man in black with some personality problem?”

When Geis said that he was going to introduce Adol to someone, Dogi asked, “Someone? Who is this someone? Another evil family member, perhaps?”

After reunited with Elk, Mustafa, and Mishera, Dogi felt like Geis was being left out and said, “Speaking of which, we need a grumpy uncle! What do you say, Geis? You wanna be part of this family, too?

It’s quite unfortunate that I find it hard to play as Dogi, as he is too slow for me. At least it was enjoyable with Dogi being around. I also enjoyed his interaction with Aisha, since they kinda showed that they care for each other in a cute way, such as fighting at each other. Falcom swapped their kind of interaction to Geis in Ys vs Sora no Kiseki, though. It felt weird and forced. Great. What’s the point in doing so when it’s confirmed that Aisha is one of Adol’s love interest in Ys Seven (aside of Tia), anyway? And strangely, Aisha doesn’t even look like she’s interested in Adol in the game. Falcom got poor taste in this kind of department, sometimes...

Least favorite character: Adol Christin. This guy’s really getting on my nerves in this game. First, it was just like Dogi said, “But why did the power choose Adol...? (Silly question, given how often this kind of thing happens, but still...)”. I’m gonna repeat it again. Adol being a dragon warrior doesn’t make any sense because he’s an outsider to Altago’s matter. He doesn’t suit to become a representation of all life in Altago (the same goes to Geis). I personally think that Adol being the chosen one ruined the plot. It would be much better if it was Aisha, and Adol fought alongside with her. But, what do you expect from Ys? The main protagonist is Adol, anyway. But, why the main protagonist has to be the chosen one? Not to mention that he got the strongest sword which can be used as slash, strike, and pierce weapon at the same time. Man, it drove me MAD. Just how many other privileges are still available for this guy, anyway?! Not to mention that he got two girls fawning over him in this game; Tia and Aisha. And you got no way to see where it was coming from, since Aisha didn’t really show any interest in ANYONE and Tia looked like she got something with Scias. Great. Ys Seven aside, this guy is still my favorite fuck boy, so no worries.

Favorite Soundtrack: Innocent Primeval Breaker, Crossing Rage!, Vacant Interference, Children in the Shadows, TIA (all version).

The most emotional part of the game. Ys Seven is definitely a game I’m gonna replay in the future.

Afterwords

And that’s all of the Ys games I can play in the moment. Overall, Ys series might not be the best, but I still find it enjoyable and love the whole series. One wish, though. I wish to see more Geis in the future LOL. A side game where he’s the main protagonist sounds nice, since there are still many things that can be revealed about him (His childhood, him being back to Danan, or his development after moving on from his brother). But if Falcom do make it, I hope he already get some character development by then :/ and focusing more to the plot rather building up some weird romance (Geis doesn’t look like someone who would date anyone, though). That’s just my personal wish lol.

It would be nice if there’s a game that tells more about these two.

Anyway, here’s my current personal favorite Ys Games I’ve played:

Ys Seven

Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim

Ys Origin

Ys IV: Memories of Celceta

Ys III: The Oath in Felghana

Ys I & II: Chronicles

Lastly, there was actually one more wish I have for the series.

The game where Adol got caught for hitting on every girls he met by all of his love interests at the same time. Oooooh the anticipation!

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thesinglesjukebox · 5 years ago

Video

youtube

CAROLINE POLACHEK - SO HOT YOU'RE HURTING MY FEELINGS

[8.00]

This, though, we think should be a hit now.

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: i feel personally attacked by this relatable content [8]

Julian Axelrod: Caroline Polachek has spent most of her career trying to hide Caroline Polachek. She's operated within bands, under monikers, and behind other artists, parceling out pieces of her genius but never showing her full hand. "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" is Caroline's coming out and coronation, a reintroduction to her astonishing range of talents for anyone who forgot. It's also a full-bodied bop, sleek and lithe without sparing an ounce of impact. The gleaming 80s prom synths and cave sprite backing vocals promise a pop fantasia, but her bleakly hilarious cries for connection feel like a sendup of diva desperation. The most thrilling moment might be the bridge, when her wordless wail is vocodered into oblivion. Ironically, Polachek obfuscates her voice to create her most singular expression to date. And when she's done, all you can do is gasp. [9]

Hazel Southwell: Wow Frou Frou are back right in time to soundtrack my mid-thirties breakdown as well as the mid-twenties one! Except this also has a nice bit of chugging Fleetwood-Mac-by-way-of-HAIM guitar so it's tickling all kinds of aesthetic pressure points. It gained a whole two points from me for the embarrassing sax solo in the breakdown, that's a real stomach-curling squirm of a crush right there. [7]

Oliver Maier: "So Hot" doesn't push into exciting new frontiers like "Door" and "Ocean of Tears" did. Indeed, the "The Middle"-esque vocoding on the hook and relatively conventional arrangement suggest a mainstream sensibility that isn't so much absent from Pang's other singles as it is wrestled into Polachek's own pop framework. Here she's mostly content to play ball, and the result is a straightforwardly great song, still with enough eccentric turns of phrase ("X-rated dreaming"!), sticky melodies and frenzied vocal solos to stay a step ahead of the competition. I could see the abundant quirkiness being grating to those less convinced by the elegant architecture of C-Po's songcraft, but I'm helplessly charmed by both. [8]

Alfred Soto: Fans of Haim's precisely deployed synth chug will warm to Caroline Polachek's latest single: 2013 as 1987. She's gotten more assured since the Chairlift days: check out the vocal distorted unto death and into a solo. [7]

Michael Hong: Caroline Polachek is trying to keep her composure. She's out at the party, attempting to be cool, attempting to live her life. But at the same time, she's quietly suffering, counting the days her partner's been gone. "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" is as slick as the best of Chairlift, with lines worthy of its title, like "I cry on the dance floor, it's so embarrassing," delivered without an ounce of self-pity but with Polachek's biting humour. Her attempts to appear collected fail from the outset, but her frustrations come to head on the chorus when she sings "get a little lonely babe" and the desperation and desire in her voice become palpable. Polachek's composed vocals over the heavily processed ad-libs perfectly capture the mental anguish of a long-distance relationship, her outward poise giving way to the inward chaos. [9]

Kayla Beardslee: I've been listening to "Door" a lot lately (a 10, by the way), and one of the many things that's grabbed me about the song is how impressively detailed it is: I'm still discovering nuances in the production after a double-digit number of listens. "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" is a less complex experience than "Door" -- a name-brand lollipop instead of a box of chocolate truffles -- but it has the same attention to detail that makes playing it over and over and paying close attention so rewarding. The three claps in the verses, the "aah-aah"s panning right and left, the electric guitar strum (I think) at the end of the chorus, the gasps and "Woo!"s peppered throughout -- god, inject this shit straight into my veins. And, of course, Polachek's vocals are on point, even behind the tasteful vocoder; her voice climbing and falling on "it's so emBArrassing" is an entire journey on its own. "So Hot" is sparkly synthpop designed to go down easy, but there's substance in it too, for those who want to look for it. [9]

Isabel Cole: The lyrics unfortunately don't live up to the OTT promise of the excellent title, squashing my hopes for something exuberantly agitated along the lines of an emotion I still only know how to describe as "blogging about One Direction in 2013" in favor of a fairly banal exploration of the angst inherent to long-distance love. I do like the burbling production, with its funny little stream of disembodied vowels winding through behind the verses. [6]

Joshua Lu: An adroit tiptoe along the line between horny and tender, unconcerned with appearing too desperate or silly -- or with enunciating properly. [7]

Will Adams: There's a certain melodrama that comes with relating embarrassment ("I could have just DIED!"), particularly with intense crush feelings for a former flame, that "So Hot" nails. It's there in the gasp before the final chorus, the way Polachek's distorted vocal wails as the backing vocals murmur "show me the banana" and the song's title. While the previous Pang singles took time to wiggle their way into my head, "So Hot"'s charms are immediate. [8]

Kylo Nocom: The Aces via Forevher era Shura shouldn't sound endearing, yet Polachek is a vocalist and songwriter entertaining enough to sell it completely. "X-rated dreaming" is a clunky phrase, but I'm obviously reaching, damn it: the song exists for the title and it's a great one. [9]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Caroline Polachek makes music that is almost too perfectly formed-- rhythms that sound like perfect tessellations, dazzling vocal performances with leaps and runs that are almost inhuman, synths that sound wrought from glass. The only thing preventing it from being intolerable is the stuff she's singing about, the fundamental vocabulary of longing that her work, whether solo or in Chairlift (RIP), speaks. "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" is just another manifestation of a running theme in her work, but it stands out for its directness and messiness-- she's not just crying in public but on the dancefloor, pining in ways that are almost outside of society. It doesn't all work on the record (the bananas on the bridge are a little hokey) but it feels so deep it can't be avoided. [8]

Stephen Eisermann: A sexy little song that owes much of its sex appeal to Caroline's voice, the harmonies, and my god that production. It's crisp and clean, like the white dress shirt my fantasy man wears; the one I thought of as I closed my eyes and listened to this song. Lust in song form, this one. [7]

Joshua Copperman: So good it's hurting my feelings: I keep wanting to save my [10]s for songs that feel Big and Important, like "Slip Away" or "The Joke." Maybe something that doesn't have immediate political importance but stands on its own, like "Cellophane." (Being co-written by a transgender woman when the Supreme Court is about to decide whether transgender people can be fired on the basis of their identity might qualify this song, but I don't want to reduce Teddy Geiger to her gender.) From the opening line, which seems to swipe from Robin Williams' character in mid-2000s Blue Sky Studios comedy Robots, it's clear that this isn't exactly a deep song. Instead, "So Hot" is perfectly goofy songwriting, down to a bridge where Polachek chants "show me the banana, na na na na na" while also performing a guitar solo with her voice. Even better, it's a three and a half minute pop song, so it doesn't have time to meander like "Door." There isn't anything personal or political about this, but that doesn't even seem to cross Polachek and co's mind. Losing oneself in a pop song is just about the most overused trope in all of music criticism, but there's something to not being serious or even defiantly silly. It's just fun for the sake of fun, which is hard to justify as a [10]. Except maybe that was the whole point of this poptimism thing. In that case... [10]

[Read and comment on The Singles Jukebox]

#Caroline Polachek #pop #music #music review #writing

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luvneedsnosyt · 6 years ago

Text

My Favorite Albums of 2018

Here is my list of my personal top albums of 2018

You can find my separate list for top EPs of 2018 here.

My Previous monthly lists from 2018: January , February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

My list last year for my top Albums of 2017 can be found here.

*Indicated someone I saw live in 2018

Honorable Mention:

Alan Walker - Different World Genre: Electronic / Dance

Different World is life in a digital universe. On the surface the mechanical synth-based melodies might come off as a bit too artificial, but if you dispel the notion computers can’t be a musical instrument you can see there’s a heartbeat under the churning gears. In the context of the album all the tracks really work together harmoniously, a pretty amazing feat considering these songs were recorded and released over the span of three years. There is a intentional, common vernacular across the tracks that melds it together quite nicely. Despite the plasticity on top, this debut album is artificial intelligence exuding relatable emotion and infectious energy. I don’t know what’s more human than that.

Proof: Lonely (w/ Steve Aoki Feat. ISÁK & Omar Nior) / Darkside (Feat. Au/Ra & Tomine Harket)

Alina Baraz - The Color Of You Genre: alt-R&B / Soul

The soothing and sultry voice of Alina Baraz can seriously sing to me the phone book and I would rock back and forth in a happy place. The world was first introduced to Alina Baraz when she teamed with Danish producer Galimatias for their euphoric, synth-pop joint EP Urban Flora. For her first solo project Baraz goes for a bit more of a stipped down sound which allows her soulful vocals to shine as they whisk you away. This enduring and intimate album shows the future is bright for the singer and her low lit music.

Proof: Fallin / I Don’t Even Know Why Though // Bonus: Feels Right

Chloe x Halle - The Kids Are Alright Genre: alt-R&B

Sisters Chloe & Halle’s talents caught the attention of none other than Beyoncé who scooped them up for her label and now their unique and unpredictable form of R&B is catching the attention of the masses. The sisters broke out on the scene with 2016’s Sugar Symphony EP, followed up by the YouTube released mixtape The Two of Us. This debut album has been in the works since before that original EP was released and with most of the production handled by them is a true culmination of their hard work to get to this point. The hard work is already paying dividends with two GRAMMY nominations including “Best New Artist”.

Proof: Everywhere / Galaxy

CHVRCHES - Love Is Dead Genre: Synth-Pop

On their third album, Love Is Dead, for the first time Scottish band CHVRCHES used outside producers on a record. The result is a bit more expansive of a sound for the group then before. The moments of emotion and energy seem a bit more unhinged (in a good way). Lauren also adjusted her writing techniques from a metaphor heavy style that would allude to subjects to a much more straightforward vocabulary addressing things head on. It’s still the same identifiable vernacular of the band CHVRCHES but with a few new art pieces up on the walls.

Proof: Never Say Die / Miracle

Don Diablo - FUTURE Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Dance

Ten years after his debut, Dutch producer shows by he’s been a sought after producer for nearing twenty years. FUTURE shows how the producer has been able to craft entertaining and contagious pop melodies that resonate ohh so well.

Proof: Take Her Place (Feat. A R I Z O N A) / Found You (Feat. Bully Songs)

J.I.D. - DiCaprio 2 Genre: Hip Hop

J. Cole signee J.I.D. Didn’t waste time following up his 2017 debut album The Never Story. The Atlanta rapper already had a following established from independently released mixtapes and EPs before last year. The Never Story exposed to a wider audience this newcomer has got some lyrical skills and a silky, smooth flow, DiCapro 2 (a sequel to his 2015 DiCaprio EP) only exacerbates the exposure to his talent even more.

Proof: 151 Rum / Tiiied (Feat. 6LACK & Ella Mai)

JMSN - Velvet Genre: R&B / Soul / Funk

The shape shifting R&B of Michigan singer JMSN has been one of my favorites since his 2012 revelation of a debut †Priscilla† (which topped my 2012 albums list). His first album and EP were very much in the hazy low lit alt-R&B sound similar to The Weeknd and How To Dress Well. JMSN then molded his sound to a more straightforward form of R&B for an album. Again, not being complacent, his two following albums transformed again this time to sound like a jazz assemble backing a soul singer. Well, JMSN takes another left turn with Velvet incorporating some sultry funk. With dripping base lines and bouncing synth keys this is JMSN’s most vibrant sound yet.

Proof: Levy / Drama

Kylie Minogue - Golden Genre: Synth-Pop / Country

I am admittedly not a big country fan, and some more die hard country listeners my roll their eyes at me calling this album country. Kylie Minogue is going on 30 years in the industry and mostly been a danceable, synth-pop artist. For her fortieth album Golden, Kylie went to Nashville and incorporated country and bluegrass music tendencies into her sound; something that could be a disastrous ambition. I guess you don’t just luck into making music for three decades, because this interesting mixture is pulled off beautifully. Golden is an effective and innovative mash up of electronic music, synth-pop and country in a surprisingly delicious cocktail.

Proof: Stop Me From Falling / Every Little Part of Me

Logic - YSIV Genre: Hip Hop

With one of the most lethal flows in the game, Logic dropped off two projects in 2018. First was the follow up of his Bobby Tarantino Mixtape. The second was his fourth LP, but this time reviving his Young Senatra persona from mixtapes earlier in his career (the last one came out in 2013). YSIV or as it stands for “Young Sinatra 4” is another verbal assault by the talented rapper and one of his most confident records to date. The robust use of skits and interludes has always been a gripe of mine with Logic albums, and gladly they are noticeably absent here. No matter what persona he dons, Logic has some of the most ferocious lyrical prowess in the industry and he loves to show it off.

Proof: The Return / 1000 Miles & Running (Feat. Wale & John Lindahl)

MNEK - Language Genre: R&B / Electronic

Before this debut album was released British singer/producer/songwriter MNEK already had multiple GRAMMY nominations from his songwriting and production work with artists including Kylie Minogue, MØ, Madonna, Zara Larsson, Julia Michaels, Dua Lipa, Beyoncé and a whole slew of others. With the success of his stellar 2015 EP Small Talk he became a sought after commodity in the industry. For his debut album MNEK wanted to make a statement of who the man behind the boards and pen is. Language is an exhilarating listen front to back and an exciting mixture of intersecting genres.

Proof: Tongue / Colour (Feat. Hailee Steinfield)

SOB X RBE - GANGIN / GANGIN II Genre: Hip Hop

It’s been a busy year for the new hip hop foursome from Vallejo. They dropped their self titled Mixtape in 2017 to catch the attention of Kendrick who put a song by them on the Black Panther soundtrack. Striking while the iron was hot, the group released their debut album in February and their Sophomore album (or an extension of their debut) only a few months later in September. Growing up the Bay Area the group is obviously influenced heavily by the Hyphy movement. You can hear elements of influences from E-40, Keak da Sneak, The Team and others in that Hyphy sound; but with a contemporary twist.

Proof: Anti Social / Can’t // North Vallejo / Made It

Superorganism - Superorganism Genre: Indie Pop

Eight member group from various countries formed the band Superorganism in 2017. Together they would send tracks through Facebook and WhatsApp and each member would add some layers on to it. The concoction is a dense, multifaceted form of unique pop music. The various layers of instruments, synths, and samples intertwine to create a mesh of melodies that bounce along gracefully despite their mass.

Proof: Everybody Wants To Be Famous / Reflections on the Sun

Tove Stryke - Sway Genre: Synth-Pop

This short and sweet album by The Swedish singer is her strongest to date. There’s a subtle growing of confidence I can see from this album to its predecessor 2015’s Kiddo. Despite its short run time, Sway makes quite an enjoyable impression.

Proof: Sway / Mistakes

Typhoon - Offerings Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative

American rock band Typhoon follow up 2013’s White Lighter with their fourth album here. Offerings is a moving and powerful affair. Most of the tracks start off mellow and sweet with moments of crashing guitars and unfiltered emotion bursting out.

Proof: Rorschach / Darker

VanJess - Silk Canvas Genre: R&B / Neo-Soul

The sisters of first generation Nigerian immigrants started singing covers on YouTube before first getting signed way back in 2011. Their debut was worth the weight, Silk Canvas is some infectious forward thinking R&B with subtle nostalgia baked in. You can see influences from the likes of Rihanna, SWV, TLC and others.

Proof: Touch The Floor (Feat. Masego) / Best Believe

Bonus:

Major Lazer - Major Lazer Essentials Genre: Electronic / Dance

Since their debut album Major Lazer has been one of my favorites. Now three albums, multiple EPs and a couple mixtapes later, Diplo has announced a new album in 2019 (10 years after their debut) will be the end of the project for the immediate future as he pursues his other many projects. With this announcement Diplo released this compilation album of greatest hits and a handful of new tracks. My first thought when I gave my original spin through this collection was “damn, Major Lazer just had some gd hits!” Listening in one place to the standout tracks from 2009 to now is an exhilarating and entertaining experience centered around diversity and overflowing passion.

Proof: Blow That Smoke (Feat. Tove Lo) / Know No Better (Feat. Travis Scott, Camila Camila & Quavo) / Watch Out For This (Feat. Busy Signal, The Flexican & FS Green) / Tied Up (Feat. Mr Eazi, RAYE & Jake Gosling)

The List:

Last One Out: NoMBe - They Might’ve Even Loved Me Genre: Alternative / Indie Rock / R&B

German born singer NoMBe is here to seduce you and I say you should let him. They Might’ve Even Loved Me is a steamy collection of rock songs about love, sex and navigating through life. NoMBe’s vocals are subdued and sly enacting a sense of mystery. The backdrops are built on groovy bass lines and plucky guitar riffs meant to get your foot tapping and hips slowly moving. I can see obvious influences from The Killers, Kings of Leon and Prince. Deeper down I also see hints of Blood Orange, Twin Shadow and D’Angelo.

Proof: Young Hearts / Freak Like Me / Jump Right In / Sex

35. Rejjie Snow - Dear Anne Genre: Hip Hop

Hip Hop is usually about being forceful and having to reach out and grab what society has built roadblocks for you to attain. Irish rapper Rejjie Snow is the opposite of that. His subtle, jazzy production is minimalist and doesn’t directly ask for your attention. This allows the mellow, but skilled flow of Rejjie to take the lead. I wouldn’t label Rejjie’s rapping as slow, but it moves at a comfortable and steady pace and doesn’t need to be unnecessarily sped up. With the vibe being so well established, the listener can now comfortably hang onto every lyric which are well written in matters of love and maturing in life we all can identify with.

Proof: Spaceships (Feat. Ebenezer) / Egyptian Luvr (Feat. Aminé & Dana Williams) / Charlie Brown (Feat. Anna of the North) / Annie (Feat. Jesse Boykins III)

34. Kelela - TAKE ME A_PART THE REMIXES Genre: alt-R&B / Electronic

Kelela’s debut album Take Me Apart was one of my favorite albums last year. Her sound that was a mixture of Aaliyah, late 80s Janet Jackson laid over production that would fit on a Massive Attack album was such an enjoyable smooth and sultry listen. Her strong vision of her projects as a whole make for a cohesive listen. That strong vision carries over to this robust remix compilation that is not your average remix album. The diverse range of producers offering remixes make for a dynamic listen that teleport you to various new environments throughout. Kelela was part of the process curating this album with each of the producers, even recording some new vocals here and there if needed. It’s that devotion to her craft that makes me confident Kelela will be a long time.

Proof: KAYTRANADA_WAITIN_115 BPM / LSDXOXO_TRUTH OR DARE_123 BPM / NÍDIA_BLUE LIGHT_123 BPM / BADSISTA_BETTER_125 BPM (Feat. Linn da Quebrada)

33. Whethan* - Life of a Wallflower, Pt. 1 Genre: Electronic / Future Bass / Dance

The most impressive skill in electronic’s wonderkid Whethan’s arsenal is his ability to construct a diverse range of sounds within a genre that usually leads to being in niches. Since he first debuted in 2015 at the age of 16, Whethan had been a producer chameleon making tracks that don’t sounds like the last two or three or anything he released before had. Before this debut album was released he already got to work with the likes of Flux Pavilion, Charli XCX, Elohim, Ashe, MAX & Dua Lipa so his clout is rapidly growing in the industry. That’s from his ability to mold and morph melodies to his will. With apparently another album set to be released on 2019, the young Chicago producer is riding this accent with no end point in sight.

Proof: Radar (Feat. HONNE) / Top Shelf (Feat. Bipolar Sunshine) / Superlove (Feat. Oh Wonder) / Be Like You (Feat. Broods) // Bonus: High (Feat. Dua Lipa)

32. Kali Uchis - Isolation Genre: R&B / Soul

The soulful, vintage sound of Colombian-American Kali Uchis has an appealing and comforting nostalgia while also feeling contemporary and innovative. You can see her influences of 1960s Soul and doo-wop music as well as traditional Colombian music as the vertebrae of her stripped-back sound but also see how she’s molding it to her will to fit in 2018. Her tender voice can bounce along a track so gracefully in her unique melodies creating a dynamic experience despite a minimalist pallet.

Proof: Just A Stranger (Feat. Steve Lacy) / Tyrant (Feat. Jorja Smith) / Dead To Me / After The Storm (Feat. Tyler, The Creator & Bootsy Collins)

31. Mother Mother - Dance and Cry Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative

Canadian Rock band Mother Mother’s sound is an exciting coalesce of Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire and My Chemical Romance. Dance and Cry is a touching record of heartbreak and the hope afterwords. I admittedly haven’t listened to an entire project from Mother Mother before this, their seventh album, so I can’t really offer much history or how their sound may have evolved. However, this was a pleasant surprise when I first took it for a spin that kept surprising me every listen after, so I will personally be paying more attention to the band after.

Proof: Dance and Cry / Get Up / So Down / It’s Alright

30. Vince Staples - FM! Genre: Hip Hop

Long Beach rapper Vince Staples marches to the beat of his own drum with a IDGAF attitude. Seventeen months after releasing my personal favorite album of 2017, Vince is back with a new project; I’m not sure what to call it. Is FM! an album, a mixtape, just a recorded radio show? The thing is Vince could really care less about those questions, he just makes what he wants to. Put together as one radio show where the tracks abruptly end, there’s hosts playing stupid games with callers, quick commercial breaks for other rapper’s projects, the project comes out as an odd but accurate snapshot of 2018. With a run time under 30 minutes this album is like a shot of adrenaline and ends before any lethargic coming down. Staples verses are as strong as ever with the same bouncy beats we’ve known him to find to spit over with his normal laid back vigor.

Proof: Outside! / Relay / FUN! (Feat./ E-40) / No Bleedin (Feat. Kamaiyah)

29. St. Lucia - Hyperion Genre: Synth-Pop

South African frontman and main showrunner of the New York band St. Lucia returns with his lush and decadent pop music meant to overload your senses. St. Lucia has vaulted to the top of my personal bands list since their debut 2013’s When The Night; which led to me seeing them live 4 times in less than 24 months. Hyperion has a little less “pop” for me then it’s two predecessors, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a joyous piece of tropical, electro-Pop. There’s even a few new wrinkles, like some George Michael inspired Gospel infusion on “Paradise Is Waiting” or the hints of 80′s rock in the margins of “Walking Away”.

Proof: A Brighter Love / Paradise is Waiting / Walking Away / China Shop

28. Joji - BALLADS 1 Genre: alt-R&B

Japanese singer Joji has come a long way from making a silly internet meme to this surprising debut album. Originally known for starting the “Harlem Shake” meme on his YouTune channel; forever making the actual dance from the 90’s forgotten. Sometime a couple years ago he decided to take music as a serious venture. There was some aspects I liked of his 2017 debut EP In Tongues but overall there was something not quite clicking for me. The seemed to be too much focus on the air underwater vibe and not enough on the song crafting. Well that seemed to be ironed out here with a beautiful debut album that has some heart wrenching moments. “SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK” was one of my favorite songs of 2018, and shows the once YouTube jokester can really dig deep and pull out raw emotion on a song.

Proof: SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK / TEST DRIVE / WANTED U / NO FUN // Bonus: SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK (Loud Luxury Remix)

27. ayokay - In The Shape Of A Dream Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Future Bass

Los Angeles based (Detroit born) DJ ayokay drops off his debut LP of sunkissed Electronic music. ayokay is not afraid to deal with some sadness in his songs, but they maintain a danceable vibe, emulating the mask we all wear in public over our emotions. Who’s ready to cry in the club with me?

Proof: Sleepless Nights (Feat. Nightly) / Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend (Feat. Katie Pearlman) / Stay With Me (Feat. Jeremy Zucker) / Half Past You (Feat. Future Jr.)

26. Tash Sultana - Flow State Genre: Indie Pop / R&B / Soul

Step into the lush and picturesque world created by the Australian multi-instrumentalists that is Tash Sultana. Sultana is a solo jam band as all fifteen instruments on the record are played by Tash, who utilizes looping programs to build these vast microcosms of sound. With the sultry vocals the sound is like Erykah Badu mixed with Aaliyah mixed with The Roots. The smooth vibes and dense backdrops take over on Flow State, a record that’s meant to get lost in.

Proof: Big Smoke / Cigarettes / Salvation / Mystik

25. Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer Genre: R&B / Neo-Soul

Janelle Monáe is on quite a multimedia run right now and I don’t think it will slow down anytime soon. The singer/actor hasn’t technically won an EGOT award yet, but I see her flirting with the achievement soon. Already in two Oscar for Best Picture nominated movies “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight” (the latter winning), the accomplished singer shows we are only seeing the beginning of her talents. The “G” in the EGOT might not be far off with probably her most comprehensive and impressive album to date Dirty Computer gaining some GRAMMY nominations: including Album of the Year. Dirty Computer is also my personal favorite project from Janelle. She describes it as finding her true authentic self and expressing that more effectively to the world and I can very much see that. She also worked on this album with the late genius Prince before his passing and you can very much see his influences throughout. There’s the airy dancing synths emulating a bit of the later Prince from Art Official Age on “Crazy, Classic, Life”. “Make Me Feel” is dripping with funk similar to something off of 1999. Album closer “Americans” utilizes a empowering soulful keyboard riff that could be taken straight from any of the albums with The Revolution. Despite the heavy influence, Janelle doesn’t use it as a crutch but as a tool to take her sound to a new level. She never loses her strong sense of self though the project, I feel we are finally peeling some of the protective exoskeleton that is Janelle Monáe and learning more about the beautiful and inspirational person beneath.

Proof: Crazy, Classic, Life / Make Me Feel / Like That / Americans

24. Alison Wonderland - Awake / Awake (The Remixes) Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop

We all are just trying to find our “Happy Place”. Hopefully the therapeutic burst of emotion that is Awake can help Australian DJ Alison Wonderland (real name Alexandra) find her own. With her sophomore album, I feel Alexandra has really found her voice and that’s with the keen ability to be able to personify the struggles of relationships, self doubt and mental illness for her fans. Usually, emotion within Electronic music is viewed with a level of plasticity to it. There should be no doubt in the genuine passion in Alexandra’s form of electronic music. She may think her admirers should “find someone that’s easier” but I prefer the emotional depth and honesty.

Proof: No / Easy / Church / Awake // Okay (Blush Remix) / No (Paces Remix) / Awake (KRANE Remix) / Easy (Kill Paris Remix)

23. Charli XCX - Pop 2 [Mixtape] Genre: Synth-Pop

Technically released in 2017, but late enough it didn’t make my list last year and got pushed to 2018, Charli returned with her second mixtape in nine months and, for me, my favorite project of hers since her debut album; possibly of her career. Pop 2 is a futuristic electro-pop record where genres are fluid and expression is currency. The thing I feel Charli has sort of unlocked on this project from her past is an ability to really convey emotion through this mechanical pallet she builds her music with. She’s always had a level of passion within her music but outside of a youthful lust and an empowering “fuck everything” the rest of the emotions expressed always felt they were being viewed behind a protective sheet of plexiglass. Songs like “Backseat”, “Lucky” “Tears” and the sneakily genius “Track 10” really show an ability to bring more emotional depth in her songs. Whether it’s in mixtape form (Charli expresses she feels more freedom with mixtapes) or official LPs Charli is showing a growth and maturity in her craft that has me excited for what she may bring in the future.

Proof: Backseat (Feat. Carley Rae Jepson) / Out Of My Head (Feat. Tove Lo & ALMA) / Unlock It (Feat. Kim Petras & Jay Park) / Track 10

22. Madeaux - Burn Genre: Electronic / Dance

I suggest a good stretch, being well hydrated and grabbing a towel before pressing play on this exhilarating whirlwind of melody calisthenics. The official debut LP from the American producer takes the listener of a dark, immersive experience in a world of non-stop kinetic energy and organized chaos. To all the critiques of Electronic music that say it all sounds the same I kindly point them to this album because there isn’t another producer making house music quite like this out there. Burn is a thrilling, fast-paced ride that doesn’t allow much space for the listener to take a breath until it’s finished. I suggest having a post-workout recovery shake handy for after.

Proof: Like A Model (Feat. Poter Elvinger & WILLS) / Run with It (Feat. Tommy Lee Sparta) / Lights Low (Feat. OG Maco, ALGORY & JRich ENT) / Sweat (Feat. Class Actress & Black Atlass)

21. Twin Shadow* - Caer Genre: Alternative / Indie Pop / R&B

Twin Shadow is an artist who has a recognizable, identifiable sound, yet every album of his also sounds different then the other. His debut, 2010s Forget is a disorienting, hazy dream. A unique mixture of R&B, Alternative music covered in haunting synths and distortions; all with an 80’s nostalgia. 2012’s Confess continues the foggy 80’s vernacular but with a more neon light piercing through. The pounding drums and scratchy guitar riffs are more attention grabbing, and the vocals more pronounced. 2015’s Eclipse was a bit of a statement piece. A whole project of stadium anthems meant to be shouted with vigor and emotion. Caer takes a step back on the arena filler to a more resemble the subtle tone of his debut. Except, the 80’s nostalgia isn’t such a driving factor. This is the project by Twin Shadow that sounds the most like the year it was created in, yet still sounds like any other beautiful Twin Shadow record. A natural progression by the versatile artist.

Proof: Saturdays (Feat. HAIM) / Sympathy (Feat. Rainsford) / When You’re Wrong / Too Many Colors

20. Santigold - I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions [Mixtape] Genre: Indie Pop / Dancehall

Impossible to be confined in one box, Santigold continues her genre hoping she’s made a career of. I Don’t Want is a dancehall inspired mixtape she worked on for the majority during a two week session with the main producer Dre Skull. By stripping the album moniker, there’s a looser and improvised feeling to the project that lends itself well to the culture it is inspired by. You feel Santigold’s admiration for the Afro-Caribbean influenced sound which makes the joy expressed on the album transparently genuine and infectious.

Proof: Run the Road / I Don’t Want / Why Me / Don’t Blame Me (Feat. Shenseea)

19. Matoma - One In a Million Genre: Electronic / House / Dance

Norwegian producer Matoma wants to cast a wide net with his sophomore album here. Both musically and audience-wise. One In A Million is an eclectic electronic music album that not only crosses sub-genres but crosses oceans with its worldly inspirations. From Synth-pop, to trap, to Tropical House, to Reggaeton, Matoma clearly wants to show off his range and diverse interests. One of the best songs of the year was the gospel inspired “Sunday Morning”. I dare anyone to know breakout in uncontrollable dancing when the bellowing hook of that song comes in.

Proof: Sunday Morning (Feat. Josie Dunne) / Lights Go Down (Feat. James Newman) / False Alarm (Feat. Becky Hill) / Heartbeats (Feat. Nina Nesbitt) // Bonus: Sunday Morning [Zookëper Remix] Feat. Josie Dunne

18. RÜFÜS DU SOL - SOLACE Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic

When lead singer Tyrone croons for someone to take him to a new place on “New Sky” I can’t help but think “dude we already are somewhere new”. Because that’s exactly what the Australian trio’s atmospheric music does, whisks me away on a magic carpet of melodic keyboards, floating synths, pulsating drums and haunting vocal samples. Their previous album, Bloom was a breakthrough for them and their unassuming electronic music to a more worldwide audience. SOLACE takes an even more self-effacing and introspective approach, but should only help them continue to gain admirers.

Proof: New Sky / Lost in My Mind / No Place / Underwater

17. Nao - Saturn Genre: alt-R&B / Neo-Soul

The delicate voice of Nao returns with her smooth and tender sophomore album. Nao’s debut album For All We Know was one of my top five albums of 2016. Saturn picks up right where it’s predecessor left off but with a slight pumping of the breaks. Saturn take a bit more of a traditional R&B approach but in the same pallet Nao has been working on her whole career. The subtle infusion of electronic music still is present building an enthralling drama across the album. The slower tempo leads to a slightly more intimate feeling on this album then before. In the early 2000s R&B was sent to the margins a bit but with 2012’s House Of Balloons and channel.ORANGE being the inflection point R&B has been growing again in the mainstream. Artists like London’s Nao are in the forefront of R&B’s ascent.

Proof: Another Lifetime / Make It Out Alive (Feat. SiR) / Curiosity / Drive and Disconnect

16. Said The Sky - Wide-Eyed Genre: Electronic / Future Bass

American producer Said The Sky drops his first ever full length project that was a long time coming. For those familiar with his early work there is quite a progression from his more dubstep beginnings to this more melodic vernacular. Being a trained pianist Said The Sky’s backing usually starts with a piano riff. Early on this piano riff was used more as a contrasting element; a calming and tender character to then get smacked around by the boisterous and raucous dubstep. Now the piano is utilized more for it’s rhythm as the backbone of the track; a strong complimentary piece rather then contrasting. This is an evolution I personally feel for the better here leading to a sophisticated and potent electronic album, brooding with a surprising amount of emotion and introspection.

Proof: Show & Tell (Feat. Claire Ridgely) / All I Got (w/ Kwesi) / Over Getting Over You (Feat. Matthew Koma) / Superstar (w/ Dabin Feat. Linn)

15. My Brightest Diamond - A Million and One Genre: Synth-Pop / Electronic / Indie Pop

Multi-Instrumentalist My Brightest Diamond has been a shapeshifter her entire career and that continues here with her fifth album. Starting out as a classically trained violinist and then self teaching herself more and more instruments and incorporating new genres in her sound every new project. For A Million and One she takes on Electronic/Dance music in a subtle and euphoric way. Most of the tracks are mid to slower tempo with free flowing synths and and 808 kicks. More dynamic moments are strategically planted throughout like the slow building “Champagne” or the explosive “Supernova”. A Million and One is an subtle, spectacle piece of electro-pop, that straps the listener in and shots them into the stars.

Proof: It’s Me On The Dance Floor / Champagne / Supernova / White Noise

14. Meg Myers* - Take Me To The Disco Genre: Alternative / Rock

I don’t really know how I happened upon Meg Myers music back in 2012, before her debut EP even was released, but I sure am grateful I did. Following the path of her career from that 2012 EP Daughter In The Choir to now has been quite rewarding. Every year new music has been released by Meg the project always is one of my favorites for the year, but Take Me To The Disco is finally her letting all the outside pressure and expectations go and just rocking the fuck out. Switching labels and making music separate from her long time producer Doctor Rosen Rosen, Meg had a newly found freedom on this record which led to a ride full of high, lows and moments of raw unfiltered emotion. Part of Meg’s unique skill when crafting a song is her ability to go from a soft, raspy and unassuming tone to a passion filled roar in seconds. The music knew when to follow suit as well with the main enclosures being acoustical and warm environments with alcoves of thunderous drums and crashing guitars. Whether it’s tranquil moment of vulnerability or impacting pockets of intensity and fierceness, Meg has a newly discovered level of confidence and power.

Proof: Numb / Tear Me To Pieces / Jealous Sea / Done

13. MØ - Forever Neverland Genre: Synth-Pop

For some, the ascension of MØ may have seemed pretty sudden. The mega success that was Major Lazer & DJ Snake’s “Lean On” featuring the Danish singer came a bit out of nowhere to some. I smuggly could say I predicted such an explosion since my introduction or her on Avicii’s “Dear Boy” followed up closely by her 2013 debut EP Bikini Daze. MØ didn’t feel a need to rush things despite the iron being hot as shit and took her time following up her 2014 full length album No Mythologies To Follow. Instead she dropped stellar one-off singles “Kamikaze” “Final Song” “Drum” and “Nights With You” before finally releasing last years EP When I Was Young. Forever Neverland continues on the maturity in her music desolated on her EP of last year. The hooks are still catchy as shit, her sound still has an ability to make you want to get up and move, but there is a further depth in her songs. MØ’s voice always was expressive and emotive but there was also a glossy surface layer that seems to have been stripped away over the years. She now has the confidence to let her voice scratch and wain a bit when a line carries more emotional weight.

Proof: Way Down / I Want You / Beautiful Wreck / Red Wine (Feat. Empress Of)

12. Elohim - Elohim Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Dance

The mysterious Elohim has became a go-to collaborator for electronic music projects over the last few years. From Louis The Child, Oliver, Ekali, The Glitch Mob and others, Elohim’s name would pop up; usually on the album’s best track. Her soft and delicate voice always worked great as a juxtaposition to the often kinetic backgrounds. In her solo music, she is her own producer and she shows she is more than just a featured artist but also a contemporary to the other Electronic producers. Elohim is a diverse and incredibly dynamic piece, which surprises the listener with unexpected vocal samples or instrument riffs used in sophisticated ways. Whether is a mariachi horn, trumpet, violin, guitar, or just odd vocal cadences looped, Elohim has developed creative and unique techniques in her production that make a familiar yet singular sound.

Proof: The Wave / Sleepy Eyes (w/ Whethan) / Fuck Your Money / Half Love // Bonus: Eclipse / Connect (w/ Skrillex)

11. Fakear - All Glow Genre: Electronic / Future Bass

French producer Fakear is a newer discovery for me but boy and I glad I found his atmospheric electronic music. Fakear will be quickly compared to ODESZA and the similarities in their sounds are definitely apparent. However, the French DJ’s harmonious music has a bit more of an airy bounce, with some Tropical House infusion. The electronic genre is having a bit of a moment right now yet Fakear is still relatively not well know in the States. I don’t really see that lasting too long though as more find his music.

Proof: Something Wonderful (Feat. Ana Zimmer) / Lost In Time (Feat. Polo & Pan, Noraa & Clement Bazin) / Sacred Feminine (Feat. Ibrahim Maslouf) / Vision (Feat. Claire Laffut)

10. Pusha-T - DAYTONA Genre: Hip Hop

The Clipse debut album Lord Willin’ came out my freshman year of high school and was a very important album for me. Label issues unfortunately led to more mixtapes than albums released by the brother duo before Malice left the group. Luckily Pusha would eventually find himself on Kanye’s record label as his new home. His first two albums released on the record label were both good, but there must be something in the Wyoming air during the recording of this stellar album. As the first of five Kanye West produced albums released during the “Wyoming Sessions” no one really knew what to expect. Kanye’s erratic behavior leading up to the release left a lot of people side eyeing the whole group of projects. Then about 36 seconds into the opening track “If You Know You Know” when after a fiery verse from Pusha, the industrial beat drops, everyone gets an unexpected slap in the face. This is still one of the best producers in the world and we have one of the best lyricists rapping heat over this production. DAYTONA is quite the 20 minute tornado of an album. A focused and concise offering that does what it needs to do and leaves efficiently. Unfortunately, the rest of the “Wyoming Sessions” albums will be a bit of a mixed bag and Kanye’s erratic behavior on continues causing concern for his mental well being. DAYTONA shines bright as the most cohesive and sturdy of those albums with “If You Know You Know” being the best song to come from the whole session. With GRAMMY nominations and ending up at the top of many writers “Year End Lists” it’s time Pusha finally gets his shine Lord WIllin’ seemed to promise, only 16 years later.

Proof: If You Know You Know / The Games We Play / Come Back Baby / Santeria / Infrared

9. The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships Genre: Indie Rock / Alternative / Synth-Pop

Through their first two albums, The 1975 was a band I enjoyed, but also wanted to enjoy more then I actually did. Their 2013 self titled debut album was an entertaining and engaging soiree of synth-pop and alternative music as a new aged love child of The Killers and My Chemical Romance. There was a definite growth and increased dexterity in their second album, 2016’s I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, as the same influences are present but with a sprinkling of seduction and soul. What always took me out of their projects though was their abundance of influences often working against them. The projects missed a level of connectivity I desire. I appreciated the daring nature of the band to explore but some of those swings didn't feel fleshed out enough to connect completely in the context of the albums. When I first heard one of my favorite songs of 2018 “Love It If We Made It”, I thought something seemed different. It seems the band has finally discovered the missing ingredient; or maybe found the excess ingredient(s) to leave out. A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships is a masterful mixture of experiences and influences with a message really cemented in 2018. The experimentations are a bit more radical, but very strategic and only help build up the motif of the whole album. You can still hear the underlying emo-rockers heartbeat from their debut but this time ran through a Bon Iver inspired auto-tune. The themes of how technology can dictate our lives for better or worse give the whole album a context for any listener to identify with. Songs like “Settle Down” and “Somebody Else” from their first two albums were still in 2018 go-to songs for me; the talent was always there. Seeing the band develop and evolve to make this elaborate project is quite the feat to be respected and admired.

Proof: Give Yourself A Try / Love It If We Made It / I Like America & America Likes Me / Sincerity Is Scary / It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)

8. 3LAU - Ultraviolet / Ultraviolet (Remixed) Genre: Electronic / Progressive House / Dance

It’s been a long time coming for American DJ 3LAU (Justin David Blau) to finally release this blistering debut. First winning a remix competition for a Tiësto song in 2011, 3LAU made a name for himself over the years as a remix and mashup DJ; intermittently dropping one-off singles here and there. Ultraviolet shows the wait was well worth it. Being a multi-instrumentalist, 3LAU developed his own manipulation techniques of his instrument riffs and vocal samples creating lush melodic environments within his music. The result is a picturesque form of house music that can easily whisk you away in it’s vast, sparkling habitats.

Proof: Touch (Feat. Carly Paige) / Fire (w/ Said The Sky Feat. NÉONHÈART) / Walk Away (Feat. Luna Aura) / Star Crossed / You Want More (Feat. MAX) // Touch [Zeds Dead Remix] (Feat. Carly Paige) / On My Own [3LAU Electro Remix] (Feat. Nevve) / Star Crossed [3LAU DnB Remix] / Walk Away [Hibell Remix] (Feat. Luna Aura) / Fire [Paris Biohm Remix] (w/ Said The Sky Feat. NÉONHÈART)

7. Lykke Li - so sad so sexy Genre: Pop / R&B

Since her debut album in 2008, the vulnerable music of Lykke Li has been a staple in my headphones. I have enjoyed her delicate voice, always ripped with so much emotion matching the impacting lyrics dealing with love and heartbreak. Li’s previous album, I Never Learn was an onslaught of slow and gorgeous, stadium-pop ballads meant to be felt while singing along with at the top of your lungs. The listless themes are continued but this time the album’s expression is more with a glossy, sexy R&B persona; a change I personally am really feeling. With hints of The Weeknd and Rihanna as influences so sad so sexy is Lykke Li’s most sensual sound, one that suits her unique voice and songwriting well.

Proof: hard rain / deep end / sex money feelings die / so sad so sexy / better alone

6. Her - Her Genre: Alternative / Indie Rock/ Soul

Starring an upcoming tragedy in the face, the smooth French duo didn’t waiver or turn to negativity. Instead they focused on life and love. With one of the duo diagnosed with a terminal cancer, together Victor and the ill Simon carefully plotted out their debut album. They released two EPs the previous two years with standout tracks including “Five Minutes”, “Quite Like” and “Swim” which served as a strong introduction to the world, but Simons unavoidable death at age 27 was in August of last year. With the careful pre-planning Victor was able to finish the debut album in his best friend’s memory. Her is a sultry and warm affair. Simon’s bouncy guitar playing, Victors ominous key tones with both of their soft yet confident vocals create a free flowing and sexy sound that is very gracious and admiring of its female muse. Every song has an understatedness to it while it subtly exudes its passion. It’s unknown if Victor will carry on with Her without his best friend, but I am glad they were able to add this exclamation point to Simon’s life.

Proof: Five Minutes / Blossom Roses / Neighborhood / Wanna Be You / Swim (Feat. ZéFire)

5. Bishop Briggs* - Church Of Scars Genre: R&B / Soul / Pop

London born, with Scottish heritage, Bishop Briggs bursts on the scene with this debut album like a strategic boxer. Starting every song with subtle body blows to connect with a potent haymaker every chorus. Her main weapon is a dominant voice that every chorus she lets loose to acts as an imposing yet engaging flex of emotion and power. Born Sarah McLaughlin, Briggs took the name of her parents Scotland hometown as her stage name to not be confused with the well known Canadian singer whose music you hear on sad commercials about puppies. McLaughlin moved around in her childhood from London to Tokyo to Hong Kong to LA and has picked up an amalgamation of influences to use at her disposal in her music. One of the biggest musical influence apparent is her cerebral use of gospel music. Utilized as a form of strength and command at every hard hitting chorus drop which gives room for her tremendous voice to punch your ear drums like a boxing bag.

Proof: Tempt My Trouble / White Flag / River / Hallowed Ground / The Fire

4. DJDS - Big Wave More Fire Genre: Synth-Pop / R&B / Electronic

Timing can be a fickle thing. Sometimes by the slimmest of margins it can go against you, or go in your favor. DJDS’s career seems to be capitalizing on some impeccable timing that is all going in their favor at the moment. First, back in 2016, while finishing up their sophomore album, the LA producing duo were invited to work on Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo album; eventually earning them a GRAMMY nomination. This monster co-sign would help open doors they never had open in their previous years making music. In the two years they spent making this album they collaborated with people that eventually would break out on their own including Empress Of, Amber Mark, Marco McKinnis and Khalid. Those two years are summed up in this fascinating piece of genre blending music. There are moments of bouncy hip hop, sinuous Synth-Pop, Soulful R&B, scenic Indie Pop and fist pumping electronic dance. Big Wave More Fire at times is as infectious as any other pop album and at times can be a bit artistically challenging to the listener, yet never loses its strong sense of place.

Proof: Trees On Fire (Feat. Amber Mark & Marco McKinnis) / Why Don’t You Come On (Feat. Empress Of & Khalid) / I Get By (Feat. Amber Mark & Vory) / Pick Me Up (Feat. Kelly Zutrau, Vic Mensa & Vory) / Falling (Kelly Zutrau & Marco McKinnis)

3. Kasbo* - Places We Don’t Know Genre: Electronic / Synth-Pop / Future Bass

ODESZA is building quite a roster on their Foreign Family Collective label including the 23 year old Swedish producer Kasbo. With his debut album here, Kasbo shows he’s more than deserving of being part of this collective with this sonic display of dexterity in melody. Places We Don’t Know is an an album that knows it’s comfort zone and is confident enough to never deviate while also avoiding diluting itself. The glossy electronic textiles that stitch the album together track to track build a cohesiveness that makes it a front to back enjoyable experience; without any drop in quality filler. More exploration in the sound may be desired in future releases to avoid sounding stale, but in terms of a debut this pleasant project introduces him nicely.

Proof: Your Tempo / Aldrig Mer (Feat. TENDER) / Roots (Feat. Amanda Fondell) / Over You (Feat. Frida Sundemo) / Bleed It Out (Feat. Nea)

2. Jacob Banks* - Village Genre: R&B / Soul

The initial and most jarring entity you feel when you enter the universe that is Jacob Banks’ music is the gravitational pull that is his empowered voice. The British singer’s raspy and authoritative vocals can relay both a confident strength and introspective vulnerability in one tone. You are able to personally feel the emotion behind every note that leads to a compelling listen no matter how many times before you’ve heard the song playing.

Banks backs up his mighty voice with equally potent and diverse backings. Some of the songs come equipped with thunderous bass lines and percussions with light keys tap dancing among the turmoil. Some take a more straightforward approach with light and jazzy horns and funky grooves. Then some songs have transparent backdrops that almost go away completely, stripped down to a bare pallet for Jacob to command.

Whatever the situation Banks’ vocal prowess prevails. I predict the accent to continue and at a more exponential pace as more become familiar with the impressive singer.

Proof: Chainsmoking / Love Ain’t Enough / Prosecco / Be Good To Me (Feat. Seinabo Sey) / Unknown (To You)

1 Kendrick Lamar & Top Dawg Entertainment - Black Panther The Album - Music From And Inspired By [Motion Picture Soundtrack] Genre: Hip Hop / R&B

It’s probably getting pretty anticlimactic having Kendrick 1st or 2nd on my lists every year. But for the fourth year in a row Kendrick finds himself here again. Black Panther was one of 2018’s greatest cinematic achievements and smartly they looked to Kendrick to make a vivid and dynamic soundtrack to match.

Kendrick shows he has his finger on the pulse for Hip Hop and R&B in 2018 enlisting some of today’s best including The Weeknd, Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, Travis Scott and of course members of his TDE crew ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, SZA and others. He grabs some of today’s best up and comers with Khalid, Jorja Smith and SOB X RBE. Surprises us with a couple unexpected James Blake features. And finds some new international artists not very well known in Saudi, Babes Wodumo and an absolute fire verse from Yungen Blakrok.

I cannot express how perfect of a curated Soundtrack this is. The music is diverse enough to cast a wide net but also has an underlying and unifying vernacular throughout to make one cohesive project. The production is rooted in African sounds with poly-rhythmic percussion and themes inspired by African ancestry as well as themes incorporated from the movie itself. Kendrick may or may not have been physically there during most of these recordings but you can feel his direction and influence throughout. His impact is not overpowering or controlling either but rather a supportive and inspiring collaborator that keeps the various ships steered in the correct converging direction. When a o-k but also phoned-in verse by Future is really the album’s low point, you know you’ve done something right.

Most may point to the crowd pleasing (and for good reason) songs like “All The Stars” with SZA and “Pray For Me” with The Weeknd as their album highlights but mine is the sneaky vigorous Vince Staples and Yung Blakrok featured “Opps”, that has quite the bite with it’s bark.

My admiration for Lamar is well documents on this blog. He really is controlling the way progressive and impacting hip hop can grow. Drake may have the numbers, but Kendrick is the more commanding artistic virtuoso making music in 2018. Kendrick knows it damn well and uses T’Calla as a metaphor for his spot on the throne of Hip Hop in the album opener: “Because the king don’t cry, king don’t die, king don’t lie, king give heart, king get by, king don’t fall. Kingdom come, when I come, you know why…”

Proof: Kendrick Lamar & SZA - All The Stars / ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, Saudi & Kendrick Lamar - X / Khalid & Swae Lee - The Ways / Vince Staples, Yugen Blakrok & Kendrick Lamar - Opps / Jorja Smith - I Am / Ab-Soul, Anderson .Paak & James Blake - Bloody Waters / Zacari & Babes Wodumo - Redemption / The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar - Pray For Me

Others:

Good:

Above & Beyond - Common Ground, Action Bronson - White Bronco, Albin Lee Meldau - About You, Alessia Cara - The Pains of Growing, Allan Rayman - Harry Hand-On, alt-J - Reduxer, Ambrose Akinmusire - Origami Harvest, Aminé - ONEPOINTFIVE [Mixtape], Amnesia Scanner - Another Life, anaïs - before zero, Anderson East - Encore, Anderson .Paak - Oxnard, Ann Marie - Tripolar, Anne-Marie - Speak Your Mind, Apollo Brown & Joell Ortiz - Mona Lisa, Apollo Brown & Locksmith - No Question, Aquilo - ii, Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Baseu Hotel & Casino, Ariana Grande - Sweetener, A$AP Rocky - TESTING, Atmosphere - Mi Vida Loca, Audio Push - Cloud 909, August Greene - August Greene, Ava Luna - Moon 2, Bad Gyal - Worldwide Angel, Bas - Milky Way, Bazzi - COSMIC, Bea Miller - Aurora, Beach House - 7, Beacon - Gravity Pairs, Bebe Rexha - Expectations, Bekon - Get With The Times, Belly - IMMIGRANT, Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine, Birdman & Jacquees - Lost at Sea 2, Bishop Nehru - Elevators: Act I & II, Bishop Nehru - Emperor’s Nehru Groove [Mixtape], Black Atlass - Pain & Pleasure, The Black Eyed Peas - MASTERS OF THE SUN VOL. 1, Black Milk - FEVER, Black Thought & Salaam Remi - Streams of Thought Vol. 2, The Blaze - DANCEHALL, 6LACK - East Atlanta Love Letter, Blood Orange - Negro Swan, Blu & Nottz - Gods in the Spirit, Titans In The Flesh, B.o.B. - NAGA, Bob Moses - Battle Lines, Bobby V - Electrik, Boogie wit da Hoodie - International Artist, BØRNS - Blue Madonna, Boy Pablo - Soy Pablo, The Breeders - All Nerve, Brez - The Grl., BROCKHAMPTON - iridescence, BROCKHAMPTION - Saturation III, Buddy - Harlan & Alondra, Bun B - Return if the Trill, Camila Cabello - Camila, Camp Cope - How To Socialize & Make Friends, Capital Cities - Solarize, Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy, THE CARTERS (Jay-Z & Beyoncé) - EVERYTHING IS LOVE, Cardi B - Invasion Of Privacy, Cat Power - Wanderer, City Girls - Girl Code, City Girls - PERIOD, Chance The Rapper & Jeremih - Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama Re-Wrapped [Mixtape], Chanti Darling - RNB, Vol. 1, Charlie Puth - Voicenotes, Chelsea Jade - Personal Best, Choker - Honeybloom, Chromeo - Head Over Heels, Chris Dave and the Drumhedz - Chris Dave and the Drumhedz, Christina Aguilera - Liberation, Christine and the Queens - Chris, Chrome Sparks - Chrome Sparks, Claptone - Fantast, Clean Bandit - What Is Love?, Cloud Nothings - Last Building Burning, CloZee - EVasion, Col3trane - BOOT, Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel, Cozz - Effected, Craig David - The Time Is Now, Curren$y, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Fetti, Cut Chemist - Die Cut, Cypress Hill - Elephants on Acid, CZARFACE & MF Doom - CZARFACE Meets Metal Face, Dashboard Confessional - Crooked Shadows, Dave East - P2, David Guetta - 7, Death Cab for Cutie - Thank You for Today, The Decemberists - I’ll Be Your Girl, Denzel Curry - TA13OO, Dillon Francis - WUT WUT, The Diplomats - Diplomatic Ties, Dirty Projectors - Limp Lit Prose, DJ Critical Hype - The DAMN. Chronic [Mixtape], DJ ESCO - Kolorblind, DJ Luke Nasty - Cruise Control, DJ Koze - Knock Knock, DJ Mustard & RJmrLA - The Ghetto, Django Django - Marble Skies, Dr. Octagon - Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation, Domo Genesis & Evidence - Aren’t You Glad You’re U [Mixtape], Drake - Scorpion, Durand Jones & The Indications - Durand Jones & The Indications, Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs, E^ST - Life Ain’t Always Roses, EDEN - virtigo, Eligh - Last House on the Block, Elephante - Glass Mansion, Elephante - Glass Mansion Remixes, Ella Mai - Ella Mai, Elley Duhé - DRAGON MENTALITY, Emily Warren - Quiet Your Mind, Eric Bellinger - Eazy Call, Estelle - Lovers Rock, Everything Is Recorded - Everything Is Recorded, Evidence - Weather or Not, Excision - Apex, Exitmusic - The Recognitions, E-40 & B-Legit - Connected and Respected, E-40 - Gift Of Gab, Family of the Year - Goodbye Sunshine, Hello Nighttime, Father John Misty - God’s Favorite Customer, Fat Tony & J.KELR - Full Circle, Felix Jaehn - I, FELIX SANDMAN - EMOTIONS, Fischerspooner - Sir, First Aid Kit - Ruins, Flatbush Zombies - Vacation In Hell, Florence + The Machine - High As Hope, Francis & The Lights - Just For Us, Franz Ferdinand - Always Ascending, Freddie Gibbs - Freddie, Fre$h - frēsh•ism, Future & Juice WRLD - Future & Juice WRLD Present… WRLD ON DRUGS, G-Eazy - The Beautiful & Damned, Getter - Visceral, Ghostface Killah - The Lost Tapes, The Glitch Mob - See Without Eyes, The Go! Team - SEMICIRCLE, The Good, The Bad & The Queen - Merrie Land, Gorgon City - Escape, Gorillaz - The Now Now, Greta Van Fleet - Anthem of the Peaceful Army, GRIP - PORCH, Gunplay - ACTIVE, Half Waif - Lavender, Hinds - I Don’t Run, Hollie Cook - Vessel of Love, HONNE - Love Me / Love Me Not, How To Dress Well - The Anteroom, Hovvdy - Cranberry, Hybrid - Light of the Fearless, Ice Cube - Everything Corrupt, IDK - IDK & Friends :), Illa J - John Yancey, Illenium - Awake (Remixes), I’m With Her - See You Around, Imagine Dragons - Origins, The Internet - Hive Mind, Interpol - Marauderm, J. Cole - KOD, Jackie Hill Perry - Crescendo, Jacquees - 4275, Jacques Greene - mixtape [Mixtape], Jade Novah - All Blue, Jaden Smith - The Sunset Tapes: A Cool Tape Story [Mixtape], Jain - Souldier, James Bay - Electric Light, Janine - 99, Janine The Machine - High Places, Jauz - The Wise and The Wicked, Jay Park - Ask Bout Me, Jay Rock - Redemption, Jean Deaux - Krash, Jedi Mind Tricks - The Bridge and the Abyss, Jeff Tweedy - WARM, Jericho Jackson - Khrysis & Elzhi are Jericho Jackson, Jess Glynne - Always In Between, Jessie Reyez - Being Human In Public, Jim Jones - Wasted Talent, Joey Purp - QUARTERTHING, Jonas Blue - Blue, Jorja Smith - Lost & Found, Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance, Jungle - For Ever, Justin Timberlake - Man of The Woods, Justine Skye - ULTRAVIOLET, Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour, Kalin White - Why You Still There?, Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth, Kanye West - ye, Kash Doll - Brat Mail [Mixtape], Kayzo - OVERLOAD, Keith Sweat - Playing For Keeps, Kevin Gate - Luca Brasi 3, Keys N Krates - Cura, K.Flay - Everywhere is Somewhere, KIDS SEE GHOSTS (Kanye West & Kid Cudi) - KIDS SEE GHOSTS, Kimbra - Primal Heart, King Tuff - The Other, Kirk Knight - IIWII, The Knocks - New York Narcotics, Kodaline - Politics of Living, Kodie Shane - Young HeartThrob, Kooley High - Never Come Down, The Kooks - Let’s Go Sunshine, KR - In Due Time, Kygo - Kids In Love (Remixes), KYLE - Light of Mine, Lacrae & Zaytoven - Let The Trap Say Amen, Lake Street Drive - Free Yourself Up, Lane 8 - Little By Little, LANY - Malibu Nights, LAUREL - DOGVIOLET, Lauv - I met you when I was 18. (the playlist), Leikeli47 - Acrylic, Lenny Kravitz - Raise Vibration, Leon Bridges - Good Thing, Let’s Eat Grandma - I’m All Ears, Lily Allen - No Shame, Lil Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2, Lil Wayne - The Carter V, Lissie - Castles, Little Mix - LM5, Lo Moon - Lo Moon, Logic - Bobby Tarantino II [Mixtape], Loyd - Tru LP, LP - Heart to Mouth, Lucy Dacus - Historian, Lupe Fiasco - DRAGOS WAVE, Lyrics Born - Quite A Life, Mac Miller - Swimming, MAJOR. - Even More, Major Lazer - Afrobeats [DJ Mix], Mariah Carey - Caution, Mario - Dancing Shadows, Marion Hill - Unusual, Marsha Ambrosius - Nyla, Marshmello - Joytime II, Masego - Lady Lady, Masta Ace & Marco Polo - A Breukelen Story, Matthew Dear - Bunny, Mayorkum - The Mayor of Lagos, Medasin - Irene, Meek Mill - Championship, Melody’s Echo Chamber - Bon Voyage, Meshell Ndegeocello - Ventriloquism, Method Man - Meth Lab 2: The Lithium, Metric - Art of Doubt, MGMT - Little Dark Age, Mick Jenkins - Pieces of a Man, The Midnight - Kid, Migos - Culture II, MihTy - MIH-TY, Mike Shinoda - Post Traumatic, Mike WiLL Made-It - Creed II: The Album (Music Inspired by the Motion Picture), Mikky Ekko - FAME, Mimicking Birds - Layers Of Us, Mirah - Understanding, Mitski - Be The Cowboy, Miyah Folick - Premenitions, Moon Taxi - Let The Record Play, Morgan Saint - ALIEN, Mr Eazi - Life Is Eazi, Vol. 2 - Lagos to London, Mulatto - Mulatto, Mumford & Sons - Delta, Murs - A Strange Journey Into The Unimaginable, Muse - Simulation Theory, Myá - T.K.O. (The Knock Out), The Naked and Famous - A Still Heart, Nas - NASIR, Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Tearing at the Seams, Nef The Pharaoh - The Big Chang Theory, The Neighbourhood - The Neighbourhood, Ne-Yo - GOOD MAN, N.E.R.D. - NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES, Nick Grant - Dreamin’ Out Loud [Mixtape], Nicki Minaj - Queen, NIKI - Zephyr, Nile Rodgers & CHIC - It’s About Time, Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap, NJOMZA - Vacation, nobigdyl. - SOLAR, Noname - Room 25, N.O.R.E. - 5E, Now, Now - Saved, NR - Before It’s Too Late, ODIE - Analogue, Onra - Nobody Has To Know, Ookay - WOW! COOL ALBUM!, Pac Div - 1st Baptist, Pale Waves - My Mind Makes Noises, Passenger - Runaway, Parliament - Medicaid Fraud Dogg, Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!, Paul McCartney - Egypt Station, Paul Simon - In the Blue Light, Penelope Trappes - Penelope Two, A Perfect Circle - Eat the Elephant, Peter Bjorn and John - Darker Days, Phonte - No News Is Good News, Phony Ppl - mō’zā-ik, Phora - Love Is Hell, P-LO - PRIME, pluko - sixteen, Poo Bear - Poo Bear Presents: Birthday Music, Popcaan - Forever, Poppy - Am I A Girl?, Porches - The House, Post Malone - beerbongs & bentleys, Preme - Light of Day, Prince - Piano & a Microphone 1983, Princess Nokia - A Girl Cried Red [Mixtape], Prolifgate - Somewhere Else, PRyhme - PRhyme 2, Quavo - Quavo Huncho, Ralph - A Good Girl, RAY BLK - Empress, Rhye - Blood, Reason - There You Have It, R3HAB - The Wave, Rezz - Certain Kind of Magic, Rich Brian - Amen, Rita Ora - Phoenix, RL Grime - NOVA, RL Grimes - NOVA (The Remixes, Vol. 1), RL Grimes - NOVA (The Remixes, Vol. 2), Robyn - Honey, Rome Fortune - Beautiful Pimp 3, ROOSEVELT - Young Romance, Royce Da 5’9” - Book of Ryan, R+R=NOW - Collagically Speaking, Russ - ZOO, Ryan Beatty - Boy In Jeans, Saba - CARE FOR ME, Sabrina Calaudio - No Rain, No Flowers, St. Beauty - Running To The Sun, SAINt JHN - Collection One, San Holo - album1, Sango - In The Comfort Of, Sean Paul - Mad Love: The Prequel, Shamir - Revelation, Sheppard - Watch The Sky, Shopping - The Official Body, Sidney Gish - No Dogs Allowed, Sigala - Brighter Days, Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations, SiR - November, SKYGGE - Hello World, Skyzoo - In Celebration of Us, Slushii - DREAM, Smashing Pumpkins - SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / NO PAST. NO FUTURE., Smino - NOIR, Snail Mail - Lush, S’natra - Subject To Change, Snoop Dogg - Snoop Dogg Presents Bible of Love, Snow Patrol - Wildness, Soccer Mommy - Clean, Sofi Tukker - Treehouse, Son Lux - Brighter Wounds, SOPHIE - OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES, Starchild & The New Romantic - Language, Stefflon Don - SECURE [Mixtape], Steve Angello - Human, Steve Aoki - Neon Future III, Steve Hauschildt - Dissolvi, Stonie Blue - Blood Y Moi [Mix], Stro - Nice 2 Meet You, Again, Styles P - Dime Bag, Styles P - G-Host, Summer Walker - Last Day of Summer, Summerella - First Day of Summer, Surpentwithfeet - soil, Swearin’ - Fall Into The Sun, Swizz Beatz - POISON, Tamia - Passion Like Fire, Tammy Rivera - Fate, Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E., Thatshymn - Pacific Standard Time, Thunderpussy - Thunderpussy, T.I. - DIME TRAP, Tinashe - Joyride, The Ting Tings - The Black Light, Tirzah - Devotion, Tokyo Jetz - Bonafide, Tokyo Police Club - TCP, Tom Misch - Geography, Tommy Genesis - Tommy Genesis, Toni Braxton - Sex & Cigarettes, Toni Romiti - Tomboy, Tory Lanez - LoVE me NOw, Tory Lanez - MEMORIES DON’T DIE, Towkio - WWW., Tracey Thorn - Record, Traci Braxton - On Earth, Travis Scott - ASTROWORLD, Trevor Jackson - Rough Drafts, Pt. 1, Trevor Powers - Mulberry Violence, Trey Songz - 11 [Mixtape], Trey Songz - 28 [Mixtape], TroyBoi - V!BEZ, Vol. 2, Troye Sivan - Bloom, Tunde Olaniran - Stranger, tune-yards - i can feel you creep into my private life, Two Feet - A 20 Something Fuck, Tyga - Kyoto, Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food, Until The Ribbon Breaks - Until The Ribbon Breaks, Usher & Zaytoven - “A”, UZ - The Rebirth, The Vamps - Day & Night (Day Edition), Vance Joy - Nation Of Two, Various Artists - Fifty Shades Freed [Motion Picture Soundtrack], Various Artists - Ninjawerks, Vol. 1, Various Artists - Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (Soundtrack From & Inspired by the Motion Picture), Various Artist - Uncle Drew [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack], Vicktor Taiwò - First Movement, Victoria Monet - Life After Love, Pt. 1, Victor Oladipo - V.O., Wild Nothing - Indigo, What So Not - Not All The Beautiful Things, Wet - Still Run, Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers 2, The Wombats - Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, WSTRN - DOU3LE 3AK, Xzibit, B-Real & Demrick - Serial Killers: Day of the Dead, Years & Years - Palo Santo, Yellow Claw - New Blood, YG - STAY DANGEROUS, Yhung T.O. - Trust Issues, Young Fathers - Cocoa Sugar, Young The Giant - Mirror Master, Youngr - This Is Not An Album, ZAYN - Icarus Fall, Ziggy Marley - Rebellion Rises, Zion I - Ritual Mystik, Zion I & DJ Fresh - The Tonight Show [Mixtape], ZHU - Ringo’s Desert, Z-Ro - Sadism, 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood, 88GLAM - 88GLAM2, 88rising - Head in the Clouds

Meh:

Ace Hood - Trust The Process II: Undefeated, Amen Dunes - Freedom, Animal Collective - Tangerine Reef, AWALNATION - Here Comes The Runts, BANDGANG - In Too Deep, Benny - Different, Caitlyn Smith - Starfire, Carnage - Battered Bruised & Bloody, The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy, cupcakKe - Eden, cupcakKe - Ephorize, Curren$y - Parking Lot Music, Curren$y & Harry Fraud - The Marina, Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want, Dave East - Karma 2, Dave Matthews Band - Come Tomorrow, DJ Critical Hype - More 9th (Drake & 9th Wonder Mash Up), DOM KENNEDY - Volume Two, Don Toliver - Donny Womback, Eminem - Kamaze, Fetty Wap - For My Fans, Fetty Wap - Bruce Wayne, Frankie Cosmos - Vessels, Future - BEASTMODE 2, G Herbo & Southside - Swervo, Ganja White Night - The Origins, Helena Hauff - Qualm, Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog, HUNCHO JACK (Travis Scott & Quavo) - HUNCHO JACK, Jack Huncho, Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything’s Fine, Jeezy - Pressure, Keith Ape - BORN AGAIN, Kevin George - Hopeless Romantic, Larry June - Very Peaceful, Lil Durk - Just Cause Y’all Waited, Lil Pete - 4EverFocused, Lucis - Nude, MadeinTYO - Sincerely, Tokyo, Metro Boomin - NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES, Matt and Kim - Almost Everyday, MGMT - Little Dark Age (Matthew Dear Album Remixes), MIKE - Black Soup [Mixtape], Mr Twin Sister - Salt, Nightmares On Wax - Shape the Future, OSHUN - Bittersweet, Vol. 1, Owl City - Cinematic, Palm - Rock Island, Prof - Pookie Baby, Raury - The Woods, Rae Sremmurd - SR3MM, Red Cafe - Less Talk More Hustle, Reese LAFLARE - Reese LAFLARE, Rich The Kid - The World Is Yours, Rico Nasty - Nasty, SHIRT - Pure Beauty, Shy Boys - Bell House, Slim Thug - The World Is Yours, Slum Village - The Lost Scrolls, Vol. 2 [Mixtape], Social Club Misfits - Into The Night, Steve Perry - Traces, Takeoff - The Last Rocket, Too $hort - The Sex Tape Playlist, Trae Tha Truth - Hometown Hero, Various Artists - Future Presents: SUPERFLY (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Various Artists - 9th Wonder Presents: Jamla is the Squad II, We The King’s - Six, Westside Gunn - Supreme Blientele, Wifisfuneral - Ethernet, Yves Tumor - Safe In the Hands of Love, Zaytoven - Trapholizay, 03 Greedo - God Level, 24hrs - HOUSES ON THE HILL

Bad:

Eminem - Revival, Jack White - Boarding House Reach, Kay! & Kenny Beats - 777, Lil Baby - Harder Then Ever, Quintin Miller - Q.M., Sheck Wes - MUDBOY, Starlito - At WAR With Myself Too, Trouble & Mike WiLL Made-It - Edgewood [Mixtape]

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patternsintraffic · 3 years ago

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My 100 Favorite Albums of the 2000s: #100-#91

Hi all. As you can tell from the title of this blog post, I am about to take you off on quite a tangent. Music is in the works (both the completion of Lights & Reflections and the first full-length Harsh Lights album), but currently I find myself sitting up into the early morning hours with a newborn while my wife tries to get some uninterrupted sleep. So I am taking the opportunity to finally post this ridiculously long-winded writing project that I embarked on last year. The actual list-making and blurb-penning has been done for many months now, but I never took the time to format and post it. So here I am with some free time, getting around to finishing this undertaking!

As you may have seen, I decided to join in the fun at the turn of the decade and make a list of my favorite albums from 2010-2019. I wrote about my top 20 albums of the decade, and had a blast revisiting those records and sharing a little bit about why they are special to me. However, the most surprising part of the process for me was that choosing 20 albums to represent that ten-year period was...pretty easy? I started my career in late 2009, so the entire past decade I've been working full-time, pursuing my own music in my spare time, and more or less adulting. I've definitely listened to a ton of great albums, but it's hard to find music that truly excites you as an adult the way that it did in your formative years. The whole time I was crafting my list, I was thinking about how much more difficult (and rewarding) a task it would have been to compile a list for the previous decade, spanning 2000-2009.

So of course, not long after posting my 2010-2019 list I got to work compiling my favorite albums of the aughts. That 10-year period starts when I was 12 years old and wraps up as I was starting my post-college career. Pretty much my entire journey of musical discovery and growth occurred during those years. I had little in the way of responsibilities, and for most of the decade I ravenously consumed an absolutely enormous amount of music. Multiple hours worth on an average day. I was still buying physical CDs all throughout those years, so I really focused on each album I purchased, giving them many repeat listens and learning them intimately. And so much of what I heard was new and fresh to my ears. At 12 years old, there were so many sounds and styles of music that I had yet to encounter, and all of those first experiences and coming of age moments left lasting impressions.

Suffice to say, putting together a top 20 list of albums to represent that 10-year period was nearly impossible. I knew I would have to make a larger list to feel like I was doing justice to even a fraction of the albums that impacted me in that decade. What I eventually arrived upon after making an initial list of albums and then cutting it down quite a bit...was 100. Yes, I'm going to write about my favorite 100 albums from 2000-2009. And I'm going to have a damn good time doing it. Most of my favorite albums ever will be contained in this list, and most of them are wildly underappreciated, in my opinion. For the sake of keeping each post to a manageable length, I will be posting 10 albums at a time, starting with numbers 100-91 below. Walk with me down memory lane in countdown form, and I hope you can enjoy me waxing poetic about 100 albums that were staples of my young life. Let's get nostalgic.

100. Paris Texas - Like You Like an Arsonist (2004)

There are hundreds of albums that I could have picked to round out my list here in the final spot, but I wanted to shine a light on this poppy punk rock record from 2004. It doesn't do anything particularly groundbreaking, but it's a really fun take on the genre and it didn't get the recognition that it deserved. "Bombs Away" and the title track are absolute barnburners. What a shame that the band broke up shortly after this album was released. I remember reading a review of Like You Like an Arsonist around the time of its release that criticized it for sounding like a collection of songs that could blend seamlessly into the soundtrack of a blockbuster action movie. Looking back, I agree with the reviewer's assessment, but I see it as high praise.

99. Greenwheel - Soma Holiday (2002)

In 2002, you could throw a shoe and hit a band that sounded much like Greenwheel, a radio-ready alternative rock outfit with some heavy riffs and a throaty lead singer. But these guys stood above many of their contemporaries on Soma Holiday, their only major label release. (Their independent EP Bridges for Burning and never-released second full-length Electric Blanket both hinted at a sustainable career that didn't come to fruition.) This album had enough muscle for the rock kids ("Shelter" and "Strong") and enough sweetness for the emo kids ("Dim Halo" and "Breathe," which was later recorded and popularized by Melissa Etheridge). What could have been.

98. Sleeping at Last - Ghosts (2003)

It's been almost 10 years since Sleeping at Last became a solo project for Ryan O'Neal, releasing themed singles that make up overarching concept albums and EPs. Though the output from the current incarnation of the band is beautiful and soothing, the minimalist and orchestral style is a far cry from Ghosts, Sleeping at Last's one major label album. At the time they were a three-piece featuring guitars, bass, and drums alongside O'Neal's piano and distinct vocals. Ghosts features an uncommon blend of cinematic, ethereal, and earnest indie rock that just seemed to go deeper than its peers in 2003.

97. Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be (2004)

I've never been a huge fan of Taking Back Sunday, though of course I rocked the singles from Tell All Your Friends like any self-respecting high-schooler in 2002. It was the follow-up, 2004's Where You Want to Be, that really got its claws in me after I picked it up on release week. With a killer opening trio of "Set Phasers to Stun," "Bonus Mosh Pt. II," and "A Decade Under the Influence" giving way to ballads like "New American Classic" and "...Slowdance on the Inside," this is just a great rock record.

96. Sherwood - A Different Light (2007)

A Different Light is a bright, summery, buoyant pop album full of smooth vocal harmonies, glistening guitars, and shimmering synths. Sure, the lyrical content isn't all rainbows and butterflies, but if you could capture the sound of pure positivity and optimism, it would sound a lot like this record. Between the singalong melodies, handclaps, and "whoa-oh"s, if you don't have a good time listening to A Different Light then music might not be the right medium for you.

95. Young Love - Too Young to Fight It (2007)

I'm fairly certain that Young Love, the dance-rock side project of beloved post-hardcore band Recover's frontman Dan Keyes, was not at all well-received. But for someone with no preconceived notions or attachments to Keyes' previous work, I thought this album was a hell of a lot of fun. In a world where Young Love made a mainstream impact, alternate-universe Kyle can be seen storming the dancefloor to the title track or "Discotech." Too Young to Fight It also gives us the smooth R&B of "Tell Me," the indie rock of "Take It or Leave It," and the experimental and apocalyptic "Tragedy." This is so much more than a dance album, and if it hadn't been released by a musician with strong ties to the hardcore scene it would have had a fighting chance of being recognized as such.

94. Vendetta Red - Sisters of the Red Death (2005)

Vendetta Red frontman Zach Davidson has one of the most dynamic hard rock voices I've ever heard, and Sisters of the Red Death is one of the catchiest rock records I've ever heard. Despite those facts, I have a complicated relationship with this album because of its often-horrifying lyrical content, which details acts of sexual violence and gore. That's usually a dealbreaker for me, but I won't completely write off this record since it is a concept album set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world. Apparently female empowerment is at the core of the message, so it's not like Vendetta Red are condoning the acts that they're singing about. It's still a bit unnerving when you get the urge to sing along to one of the plethora of earworm melodies throughout this album and then realize exactly what you're singing. While I may not have the stomach for Sisters of the Red Death in 2021, I can still wholeheartedly recommend "Silhouette Serenade," which contains all of the awesomeness with none of the gross-out lyrics.

93. Ours - Distorted Lullabies (2001)

Now 20 years into his career, Ours frontman Jimmy Gnecco is surely tired of being compared to Jeff Buckley. But damn, he really does sound like Jeff Buckley. And when you're being compared to one of the all-time great voices in rock music, that's not such a bad thing. Distorted Lullabies is the first proper Ours album, and it's filled with melodic rock songs that highlight Gnecco's incredible range. As the saying goes, I could listen to Gnecco sing the phonebook (those were still around in 2001!), but put his powerful and emotive voice on dynamic rock songs like "Sometimes" and "Meet Me in the Tower"? Yes, please.

92. Armor for Sleep - What to Do When You Are Dead (2005)

This here is an emo concept album about a boy who commits suicide and his experience in the afterlife. Despite the overwrought subject matter, the songs on What to Do When You Are Dead are carefully crafted and interesting. "Car Underwater" is a scene classic, and my favorite track might be the keyboard-centric interlude "A Quick Little Flight." Armor for Sleep seemed a bit more thoughtful in their songwriting and arrangements than many of their contemporaries.

91. Cauterize - Paper Wings (2005)

The single "Something Beautiful" led me to Cauterize's 2003 major label debut So Far from Real, but upon purchasing the album I found that the rest of the tracks didn't live up to that song's high bar. Not so with the independently-released follow-up Paper Wings, which was just full of emo rock songs that I absolutely devoured in 2005. This was actually the first album that I had to order online because it wasn't sold in stores. I remember the surreal feeling of the CD showing up in the mailbox, and that first experience attached some additional meaning to Paper Wings. It doesn't hurt that it features propulsive songs like "Wake to the Sun," "Closer," and "Tremble." Cauterize later signed to another label and re-recorded most of these songs for Disguises, which rejiggered the tracklist and added a few new tunes. Even though the production might be a little better on Disguises, I always preferred the Paper Wings versions and the flow of the original tracklist. There's nothing like the first time.

#albums of the decade #best of the 2000s #top100 #countdown #nostalgia trip

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tinymixtapes · 6 years ago

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Feature: 2018: Second Quarter Favorites

TMT’s Musical Innovation Summit, now in its 14th year, is the oldest meeting of its kind in the industry. Like last quarter’s summit, roughly 10 music professionals from TMT gathered in New York to discuss the latest musical breakthroughs and make predictions on which releases will spark future awe-inspiring innovations. To help make the predictions, we interviewed 45 random fans, 30 venture capitalists, and a handful of media who cover the music industry across the country to get their collective thoughts on what’s imminent. That list is then honed by eliminating long-shot candidates, followed by a double-elimination round to get rid of shitty artists. Nominees are thoroughly vetted, and the groups eliminate candidates throughout the process. Today, we are proud to present the results: the BEST 26 releases of the last three months (with a shortlist at the end). We predict that these releases will change music forever. --- SOPHIE OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES [Future Classic] [WATCH · READ] Now’s raw doubt flanges in this memory’s mercury, and we’re back in the basement dark, floor paved with silver marbles. We will shine a light on one, outline the floor with reflecting. I ask are you sure of this? and you say no, never not of any thing. You squeeze your foreign-feeling shoulder, slim quick doubt. Then you hold a marble up to your eye, unclipped cuticles before corneas, a silver pearl. It’s okay. Flashlight on. We gape. There is no neat sequence. No light is set Surface contorts seeing. The shining is bent in coils. There is no straight path, just what we can move into in this whole new world. Roll the flashlight, and it’s a world warping, brilliance refracted, reflections re-membering. The world we built in the dark teaches us how being between might be. Our un-insides, SOPHIE’s sound, teaches us that brilliance doesn’t diminish its self, that light and self and is what we call it. And you say call me Vivian. Becoming who we’re becoming, “no matter where I go, you’ll be here in my heart.” –Frank Falisi --- Playboi Carti Die Lit [Interscope/AWGE] [LISTEN · READ] The arrival of Playboi Carti’s debut album proper, following last year’s crucial self-titled mixtape, could seem like a mere victory lap, an easy cop-out that plays up to the well-established framework of overstuffed rap albums in the streaming age. What a pleasure, then, that Die Lit implodes that logic. The heady balance of mood pieces and out-and-out anthems that characterized Playboi Carti is further refined here, but even without that baggage, Die Lit is a success on its own terms, a flickering visage that compounds Carti’s most enticing impulses — barely-there vocals, Reichian repetition, knotty Pi’erre Bourne beats — with all the best facets of the album form. And if Carti is only incidental on the mic, the tracks left in his wake are anything but. Herein lies a set of real Ohrwürmer, the inner soundtrack to your day, long after the album subsides. The cloud bursts forth; lightning really does strike twice. –Soe Jherwood --- DJ Healer / Prime Minister of Doom Nothing 2 Loose / Mudshadow Propaganda [All Possible Worlds] [LISTEN · LISTEN] On DJ Metatron’s 2 The Sky, the anonymous artist threaded a Jake Gyllenhaal interview through intricate waves of house music that helped give rise to this enigmatic and highly gifted producer. This year, his efforts have come twofold, with a double release under two new monikers that plot the same channels of intricacy but through two very different means. In place of the Donnie Darko reflection that deepens the narrative of 2 The Sky is a 2002 Whitney Houston interview with Diane Sawyer, where the troubled singer discusses her drug problems and an unnerving sense of optimism that inevitably collapsed 10 years later. Essentially, the music that accompanies both of these otherwise unrelated samples is the atmospheric gel that binds them together; an actor speaking about his fascination with a perplexing story line, and a generational icon battling with herself, fighting to overcome the very thing that took her life. That disparity lies at the heart of this joint release, which merges two highly distinctive personalities while linking them through religious and personal overtones. Mudshadow Propaganda is perfect in its projection of minimal techno tracks that build on the traits of our secretive producer’s expired alias, The Prince of Denmark, while Nothing 2 Loose is almost confessional in the sincerity that it lays bare. But where both records celebrate the dexterity and imagination of a single producer, they also paint a picture of human existence at its most conflicted, from the carnal and the primitive to the haunted and the divine. –Birkut --- Grouper Grid of Points [Kranky] [LISTEN · READ] In seven tracks and less than 30 minutes, Liz Harris sought to take us nowhere. So she stranded us anywhere. Giving up on finding anything instructive or stabilizing in the passing moan of a stray vocal, the odd cluster of muted piano keys, or the occasional sharp gust of static, it became clear that the only place where anything “new” could happen was in a place where nothing old and familiar was left. “Where are we?” started to sound more like “Where aren’t we?” It might have been some heavenly shoreline where the water was the same perfect gunmetal color as the sky, but it might just as likely have been the vacant parking lot of some long-since-demolished Disneyland. It didn’t really matter. Anyplace we chose to stand and look from was just as good (or bad) as another. “Might as well call this the center,” we figured. Gotta start somewhere. –Dan Smart --- Seth Graham Gasp [Orange Milk/Noumenal Loom] [LISTEN · READ] A symphony of perversions and memories that ignites every time you rapid-fire through your Instagram stories. Refried beans left over from the camping trip you took to a closed beta somewhere off the coast of Spy Kids 4D. A million splintered renderings of classical text that you half-scrawled onto the back of your hand before you realized that you were actually just passed out on the keyboard again. Gasp is like a raw feed of how music itself operates in 2018; brief bursts of genius materializing right before us, only to be swept away and digested into something unrecognizably new. The entire sum of human history rubbing elbows with that ASMR video you had to rush to minimize before your roommate could ask you what the fuck you were just watching. A guy as unassuming as Orange Milk label head Seth Graham conjuring up untold universes of possibility from his home in Dayton, OH, his bank of MIDIs a window into our gentle, distraught, and hilarious world. –Sam Goldner [pagebreak] Klein cc [Self-Released] [LISTEN · READ] “Oh my god! Who’s actually going to listen to this?” asks Klein, lounging with friends, reflecting on her last EP, Tommy and a still-emerging network of diasporic black art and sound. A year and new EP later, cc sees Klein more comfortable in the discomfort, pushing further with her collages of confrontational intimacy. “You have to squint” as the voices build and spiral, like an endless loop of out-of-office replies, a pitch-bent dawn chorus, singing to each other, but listening too. Klein made us think: about blackness, about opacity, about femininity and Disney princesses, all at once. Feelings too, and a lack of language to convey them; anxiety, elation, mania, but less medical, sometimes an incantation, sometimes an exorcism. In cc, Klein created a space of unique and disarming affect and mood: a deeper, darker stage in the process of “me being my own therapist,” the sound of someone finding a plurality of voices, of listening to yourself. –Joel White --- Beach House 7 [Sub Pop] [WATCH · READ] Attempting to describe what dreams are seems like a task both impossible and pretentious. But, as it floats like a wandering mind, drifting from thought to thought with each track, 7 certainly feels like a dream. Alex Scally plays guitar, but it sounds like an unfamiliar squall from another universe. Victoria Legrand sings, but it comes out in French. Look at the clock, you’ll be unable to tell how much time has passed. You know, dream stuff. For a genre that gets its name from something as complex as the random images our brains send to us while we sleep, “dream pop” music can often be very formulaic. That’s why, seven albums into their career, it’s remarkable that Beach House have found a way to not only completely refresh their sound, but make perhaps their best album yet. Awash in a chaotic darkness that’s been lingering in different forms throughout their entire discography, 7 hurtles towards oblivion: beautiful, glorious, infinite. –Jeremy Klein --- Eartheater Irisiri [PAN] [WATCH · LISTEN · READ] I keep losing track of Irisiri; it keeps slipping away from me. This isn’t meant as the insult it might scan as. An elegiac spin on the cyber-cyborg-meat-machine kick that everything relevant is twirling toward, this series of sad little processed ditties and twisted car jams charts a swerve back-and-forth between evasiveness and directness. Its unnerving stuff, giving the impression of solidity while remaining impossible to hold. Flirting with hip-hop and electro-acoustic, bedroom pop and sexed-up sopping wet plastic, it keeps moving out of view, even as I keep returning to it. Listening to the album is like chasing an object out of reach, an object I desire without knowning, a body I want without seeing. Also, C.L.I.T. fucking slaps. –Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli --- THE HIRS COLLECTIVE FRIENDS. LOVERS. FAVORITES. [SRA/Get Better] [LISTEN · READ] For a few decades now, raw musical aggression has been underpinned with a lot of unintelligible vocal sentiment. Just steam on in with howling, power riffs and punishing beats please. But what’s that on the edge of the blast radius, dashing in headlong through the smoke? Clear sentiments that uplift, testify, and provide some sharp kicks in heteronormativity’s floppy old dick? Yes please! Even with its closing remix section, the album’s corroded (and collaborative) essence remains triumphantly tight. The perfect way Lilium Kobayashi’s quick stomping techno pop take on “Murdered by a Woman” flits to “Wake Up Tomorrow” when this album is on repeat further dispels any sort of tacked-on/bonus trax superfluousness. The cultural constant of immediate, frothing punk rage is obviously not going anywhere. It’s essential to have an album, in fuck-this-shit 2018, where that rage is specifically righteous, even with its eternally itinerant self-laceration (i.e., humanity). –Willcoma --- Delroy Edwards Rio Grande [L.A. Club Resource] [LISTEN · READ] Delroy Edwards has made the funk (in its many different strains) the connective tissue of his intrepid, joyful, and often perplexing work. It’s an approach never as explicit as in his latest LP, Rio Grande. That might indeed be its greatest success. In Rio Grande, keeping the raw, hissy, determinedly idiosyncratic credentials that first introduced him to the world, Edwards lets the funk take center stage; sometimes riding grimy techno beats, other times pushing beyond the ridiculous-by-design minimalism of the grooves. The goal is simple: to provide his audience with interesting jams to dance to. Edwards takes pride in the anonymous efficiency of that pretense, as the name of his label L.A. Club Resource indicates. He is happy to be the reliable supplier of a service, the invisible demiurge leading patrons to delirium; slipping in some eccentric turns here and there for the kick of it, to the enjoyment of all but mostly because… why the hell not?. And, let there be no doubt, Rio Grande is the most effective toolkit he has yet assembled in pursuit of that goal. –jrodriguez6 [pagebreak] emamouse X yeongrak mouth mouse maus [Quantum Natives] [LISTEN · READ] Hey, not to bring this up here, but borders, am I right? Why do we even have these invisible lines dividing my side from yours? We can get so much more done without them, not to mention the added benefit of not having to split up families in real life as they cross the imaginary demarcations. Who on earth has the chutzpah to enact stupid shit like that? Not emamouse — no way. No, emamouse had the opposite in mind as she commented from her Tokyo base of ops, “What’s this thing keeping me out of New Zealand? An ocean? Screw that!” And thus, the BORDER between Japan and New Zealand was erased forever — whether through the magic of the internet or the ocean suddenly turning into a jello trampoline is anyone’s guess. But emamouse was no longer separated from NZ sound slinger/cartoon centipede yeongrak, and together, through the magic of Quantum Natives, mouth mouse maus was born, a sticky, gooey, sugary, epilepsy-inducing strobe blast of video-game grit and played-with-too-much pink slime from a plastic egg. Cookcook, in her review, inferred that utopias can emerge from collectivity, highlighting the compatibility of these two artists. I think what she meant was “Fruitopia,” which someone obviously spilled all over the mouth mouse maus backup hard drive. Remember Fruitopia? That was Coca-Cola’s own attempt to eradicate borders, except they were the borders between taste and… OK, between them and your money. –Ryan Masteller --- Félicia Atkinson Coyotes [Geographic North] [LISTEN] I once went to New Mexico but mostly stayed inside. Reasons why. Félicia Atkinson’s Coyotes, inspired by her own trip to New Mexico, maps a journey I may have taken, among other wonders. The crafted narrative and its exploratory form gestures toward an experiential unknown. Her travel log collages echoes, maps, receipts, dried leaves, sand stuck in the crevices of shoes, plaques, diary entries, signposts, mythology, spirituality, and the facts and facets of the land’s native and colonial histories into a total atmosphere, something approaching a direct translation of a lingering impression. It’s so effective and affecting, because the whole is actually a scrap: “a slip of paper, something/tiny & torn off/lifted by the wind” writes poet Christian Hawkey in Citizen Of. Atkinson lineates her memories into similarly moving verses. –Cookcook --- Pusha T Daytona [G.O.O.D. Music] [LISTEN · READ] DAYTONA by Pusha T is hard work. It’s this blurb being written at 5:20 AM on the 7-train to “the office” a day after having led 46 tweens on a non-stop four-day Boston field trip. It’s teaching about heterosexism and female empowerment, leading sixth grade field day, and handling logistics for eighth grade graduation in a single day. It’s your body feeling like a crash-test dummy on a Wednesday, having left in the early, early morning, putting in 12 hours of sweating gallons for money, and arriving home at 8:30 PM. It’s wearing Terminator shades on 125th Street talking Spanish to people you never met. It’s the endurance of confidence while facing every fear you’ve experienced — focused — diving straight into the freezing water. DAYTONA proves Pusha T and Kanye are relentless professionals that continue to transcend literary and sonic aesthetics in space and time. We need role models like these, forever. –C Monster --- DJ Koze Knock Knock [Pampa] [LISTEN · READ] Many publications have referred to Stefan Kozalla as a “trickster” or a “prankster.” While there are freckles of truth on the face of that assessment, much of his affability comes from his most mistaken quality: his earnestness. It’s what makes him such a delightful musicmaker. Being earnest, of course, is the perfect foil to the kind of negativist universalism that plagues the psychedelics/mindfulness landscape in which DJ Koze so often finds himself (and, also, finds himself). Koze’s House is perfect (see: “Pick Up”) and his plunder-pop turns weird into sublime and vice versa (see: the wails incorporated into “Scratch That”), but it’s his unpresuming and gracious approach to influences, samples, and collaborations that push this record into extraordinary territory. It’s not alien; it’s absolutely Earthly, and it reflects so well the modest subject that is Koze. After all, Koze never changes, except in his affections. –E. Fosl --- Elysia Crampton Elysia Crampton [Break World] [WATCH · READ] Elysia Crampton opens in media res, with a nativity. And then it revs up, restlessly — its machinic gears grind like plant medicine visions; water flows and burbles; disharmonic chords take us in unanticipatable directions. And through it all, the oscollo, the feline guardian of people outside gender binaries, oscillates wildly. Elysia Crampton’s maximalist approach takes it beyond the strings and cackles of 2016’s Demon City, yet Golgotha remains always present. Standout track “Moscow (Mariposa Voladora)” was inspired by Ofelia, a Bolivian mariposa (“femme revolutionary”), and it judders roughly, darkly. Crampton’s Aymara and trans identity are her displaced subjects, particularly in light of the gestural movement between her origins in Bolivia and her current home in the US. But this is not any straightforward folk music revival — rather, it’s a deconstruction that reconstructs. The difficulties and contradictions of critical theory, in particular writers such as José Muñoz and his exploration of queer brown-ness, are braided into the work. The first written reference to queers as mariposillas (“little butterflies”) is from Pedro Cieza de León, in the 16th century, in which he compares “sodomites,” subject to punishment by burning at the stake, to moths drawn to the flame. The suffering of our ancestors can’t be recuperated, but through art, we may yet dance grotesquely but triumphantly on the pyre. –Rowan Savage [pagebreak] The Caretaker Everywhere at the end of time - Stage 4 [History Always Favours The Winners] [LISTEN · READ] The late hauntologist Mark Fisher once cruelly noted that the OED lists one of the earliest meanings of the word “haunt” as “to provide with a home, house.” And now that we live in a world that has lost the very possibility of loss, we have also lost the one who can lose, cohabiting with oneself in the present’s presence. Ghosts no longer have a home to haunt in any case, and their yearning and lingering voices are consigned to a past that can never pass away. Although it is haunting and horrifying to behold Everywhere at the end of time’s fourth installment pass from memories to their source — what Kirby calls “the post-awareness stage” — perhaps we must be grateful that someone can forget (for (us)). For, the source of memory must remain, even after all memory has been stripped away from it, even though this source can never be aware of itself. Yet, this source is not, strictly speaking, an identity. What it may be I do not know, but The Caretaker allows you to hear, what, behind those eyes, devoid of any recognition of life; we hope, we plead to be someone who remembers us, yet the only bliss, as transient as it is empty, is the wry smile that, for an instant, says, “Do not save me.” –Evan Coral --- Lucrecia Dalt Anticlines [RVNG Intl.] [WATCH · READ] OK, Hoag. You wake up in 1925, in a different place but with the same objects. Lucrecia Dalt’s Anticlines is playing on the victrola. She sings, “Skinless others/ Oils on waters,” and you realize you’re in the same room as the killer. The only other person in the room is dressed exactly like you, and that person’s talking up the other place — the one you believe you are still in — saying, “I think you’d like it there.” Where again? Both places go out of view. Now possibly dreaming, in a time and place before flight, Gein or radio, you wait at a blue-dipped railway platform as trains roll by on their way to Oclupaca and Ortseam. You’re hoping to catch a ride to somewhere similar but elsewhere, more elemental, past the unseen concupiscence between thermosphere and exosphere, out there where you don’t have to wonder, anymore, what the toys do while you’re away. –Rick Weaver --- Tierra Whack Whack World [Self-Released] [STREAM] In the face of incomprehensible excess and stream-gaming nonsense, Tierra Whack — yes, that’s her real name — provides a grotesque yet charming response with the wonderfully weird “Whack World.” Rather than dragging the tempo or chopping the tracklist, the 22-year-old Philly rapper embraces something like a skip-button aesthetic of preview clips and non-member samples, unceremoniously cutting off her songs as soon as they hit the one-minute mark. With 15 songs in just 15 minutes — an absurdity further heightened by its surreal video — traditional payoffs are just beyond reach, forcing us to sit through a goofy, lighthearted romp of youthful innovation and bizarre genre play that includes everything from slow jams and trap bangers to country parodies and kids pop. It’s delightfully ridiculous and sometimes annoying af, but it arrives with undeniable energy and child-like wonder, bursting out confetti-like from a singular, captivating voice who’s on one of this year’s quickest and most unexpected come-ups. Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s the point. –ミスターおしっこ --- GAS Rausch [Kompakt] [WATCH · LISTEN · READ] I consumed the hour-long experience of Rausch, blaring through my headphones, as golden hour became twilight and the mosquitoes started biting. Luckily, my timing was great; 2017’s Narkopop, with its penchant for forlorn ruminations, ultimately owed a lot to its namesake: pop music. Now, those hopeful moments of liquid sunlight are far away. Rausch finds GAS staying true to its typically ascetic atmosphere, but any strand of accessible melodicism is replaced by shattering layers of dissonant drone upon drone, Doppler effect-synths, and percussive textures that pierce through it all — shimmering cymbals, palpitating kick-snare rhythms. As each funeral march bleeds into the next, the delirious effects of Rausch take hold. My arms are covered in bites, and temperatures still haven’t dropped below 90. For the superimposed intensity of Rausch, a more fitting listening environment couldn’t be created. –Rounak Maiti --- The Body I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer [Thrill Jockey] [LISTEN · READ] It’s so much to bear. We’re expected to carry more than our own weight. The pain and suffering of our past traumas, the present crises, the future uncertainties. More and more, any attempts to alleviate the pain, to share the burden, are undermined. All we ever wanted, all untenable. They demand purity (in lieu of that, submission by “privilege”), individuality, personalization, subscription. They won’t cry for us. Everything must be on you and you alone. Time will not notice you are nothing. You are already hatred as an abstract to someone else. The pull of the personal must end. The allure of ontology and self-indulgence must be shattered in the face of those who leer lewdly into its mirror and contort on the floor in false ecstasy. But it is a painful burden. “I lower my guilty-looking eyes. I’m afraid of looking people in the eye.” War is necessary and proper, to shatter illusions. But it’s all so much to bear. –Ze Pequeno [pagebreak] serpentwithfeet soil [Tri Angle/Secretly Canadian] [WATCH · LISTEN · READ] It’s crazy to think that soil is serpentwithfeet’s debut album. The queer, pagan singer, a former choir boy from Baltimore, emerged in 2016 with blisters, a set of mesmerizing slices of new age R&B delving into faith, superstition, and love. His voice and composition live up to the lofty themes; delicate and meandering, serpent recalled the acrobatic opulence of 90s R&B with brooding, industrial production from The Haxan Cloak. The most visionary artists are those who sound like nothing other than themselves and exhibit a gravitational aura that inspires imitation, lust, and disbelief. soil lurches and waltzes, while Josiah Wise, who prefers to go by “serpent,” remains fully exposed in the mix, employing innovative vocal stacks that whisper, conjure, and croon behind him like a choir of restless spirits. Despite the divine quality to serpent’s voice, which is at times shellacked with layers, often battling against static noise and its own quivering vibrato, the subject matter of soil is immediately relatable and quotidian: the navigation of a shifting dating landscape, the sublime essences of individuals, intimacy and grace in heartbreak, the projection of sorrow onto the world. serpent doesn’t want to be “small sad,” but “big, big sad,” to the point that he’s sure his friends are “tired of him talking.” The domesticity infects us all: How can we properly grieve? How can we redeem ourselves? The occult instrumentation falls away to reveal a queer individual who is merely describing their personal desires. –Ross Devlin --- Sara Davachi Let Night Come On Bells End The Day [Recital] [LISTEN · READ] I walked through the streets barefoot, clothed only in a robe. The bells were ringing, playing their ancient song, letting the world know that the night had begun. My feet were bleeding from the cobblestone streets, which is how they found me in the morning, just outside of town in the woods. I didn’t drink that night. The evening swept me up, and some tribal instinct forced me outside in virtually nothing. My neighbors looked and closed their curtain as I kept walking, holding the hand of the force that was dragging me. I remember parts like my head hurting and my eyes watering. I remember spinning in the center of town underneath a street lamp. I don’t remember why I left town and headed toward the woods. I don’t know why I left my house. I remember being woken up by the police and being embarrassed to face to my neighbors. They took me home and put me in bed, because the medic cleared me at the site. I’ve never spoken of it since, and I still clench up when the night comes on and the bells end the day. –Sam Tornow --- Jenny Hval The Long Sleep EP [Sacred Bones] [WATCH · LISTEN · READ] Roping in some of her favorite jazz musicians to explore ideas, Jenny Hval has managed to escape the noose of her recent collaborative concepts and delve within to produce yet another stunning act of imagination. The pure reach and weight of The Long Sleep is extraordinary. Hval moves across emotional ground with certainty and delicacy, capturing the subtlest of feelings. Like a soundtrack to a brilliant short, Hval plays with recurring motifs first presented in the “conventional” “Spells,” but then swerves genre expectations along the way, through the piano-led clap frappe of “The Dreamer Is Everyone in Her Dream” to the blissful title track drone. On “I Want to Tell You Something,” her presence is so powerful, as she attempts to express trance closure through an oblique narrative before realizing simple words are all she needs. Fecund, savage, and irresistible, The Long Sleep demonstrates once again why Hval is so intriguing. –David Nadelle --- Gemini Sisters Gemini Sisters [Psychic Trouble] [LISTEN] How does one describe something so beautiful and uplifting — a beacon of light in a shroud a darkness. I was wallowing deep in the muck and mire, desperate to claw out of it rather than sinking down into it. But that tar pit of sorrow and defeat is thick, and it cares not about your will. But I saw the light and followed it. It led me to two helpful, outstretched hands. Jon Kolodij and Matt Christensen met my palm with a hardy grasp and a hefty pull. And I felt the warmth of Gemini Sisters. The sprawling, uplifting sonic aura of the duo’s debut speaks to energy from whence Kolodij and Christensen are christened: the two having their daughters born on the same day of the same year (and those offspring being Geminis). It shows with the delicacy of their aural attack. It is spiritual, reaching toward the heavens to pluck the constellation and bringing its brightness to our darkest places. Right now, the flesh is weak and the mind wavers. But our essence remains pure and chaste. Thanks to Kolodij and Christensen, I have traded the hastened quicksand for a tether to the sprawling galaxy. –Jspicer --- Christina Vantzou No. 4 [Kranky] [LISTEN · READ] When you’re in a vehicle moving at a slow, constant speed, sometimes you can convince yourself that you aren’t moving at all. No. 4 moves me like that. I know how tired that metaphor is, and if you listen to gentle drones like “At Dawn” and “Remote Polyphony” and think I’m a hack for digging the spatial metaphor up once again to describe slow, deliberate music, I understand. But I feel that uneasy compromise between motion and rest deeply and at every strange, shimmering moment of the album. It’s in the bells of “Percussion in Nonspace,” ringing in a sort of dual presence and absence; in the little arpeggio that creeps up through “Doorway;” in the pitch-affected choral chant that closes out “Sound House.” Whether we interpret track titles as thematic hints or as mere word games, the names of the tracks on No. 4 suggest, along with the music, that Christina Vantzou wants to domesticate and eventually upend and denature space through sound. Usually a device for ordering abstraction, she turns that hackneyed spatial metaphor into one for abstracting order. This record moves at no speed, in no direction, and toward no goal, except maybe to suspend us temporarily in a kind of beauty without dimension, not far from terror. –Will Neibergall --- Kanye West ye [G.O.O.D./Def Jam] [LISTEN · READ] Just because an album sparks cathartic conversations doesn’t mean it’s good, and not all good albums invite candid dinner table discussions concerning their mercurial merits. Kanye, however, has just as big of a reputation for arousing furor as he does for leaving listeners speechless. Meanwhile, critics scramble for thoughtful words that won’t get them blacklisted for being associated with that black magic that has been infiltrating every aspect of daily life since Cain murdered Abel, thus birthing division. Calling ye a divisive document at TMT would be an understatement, and attributing its inclusion here to justifying countless hours of collectively unpacking just over 23 minutes of noise would obscure what ye actually contains: disturbing spoken word admonitions about premeditated murder, breathless bars on prescription drug addiction, ironic fantasies about butts of sex scandals, gorgeous gospel keys and beautiful dark twisted harmonies, celebratory reflections on fame and success, spectral arena rock vibes, and staggering room for growth cleared out by fear and love and loyalty. Regardless of our own individual feelings, ye keeps reminding us that this music shit that gets us through each day often requires plunging into dark places and reemerging with our own beacons of light. Believe it or not, I still love it, and like watching a bright-eyed child grow up in a world this dark, I’m terrified and excited for what’s next. –Jazz Scott --- The Shortlist: King Vision Ultra’s Pain of Mind, Shygirl’s Cruel Practice, Oneohtrix Point Never’s Age Of, Ashley Paul’s Lost In Shadows, James Ferraro’s Four Pieces For Mirai, Larry Wish’s How More Can You Need, Jon Hassell’s Listening To Pictures, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement’s Red Ants Genesis, Parquet Courts’s Wide Awake!, The Carters’ EVERYTHING IS LOVE, Bernice’s Puff LP, Carla Bozulich’s Quieter, Pinkshinyultrablast’s Miserable Miracles, Duppy Gun Productions’s Miro Tape, DRINKS’s Hippo Lite, Valee’s GOOD Job, You Found Me, and Frog Eyes’ Violet Psalms. http://j.mp/2Kt2EKx

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drrubberfunk · 4 years ago

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Earlier in the year I was asked to contribute to the excellent ‘Dusk Dubs’ mixtape series, and jumped at the chance. They have a nice format of asking guests to provide music that has a special place in their memories and in their souls - ‘...music that moves them, that invokes images of sunrises, sunsets, good times and good people’.

I thought it’d be a nice way to compliment the other ‘My Life At 45′ themed mixes that I’ve done this year, with a selection of music you’d be likely to hear playing at my house over the last 30+ years, with tracks featured in full, mixed end to end, and a little story to go with each track.

Here’s the full tracklisting, and photos of some of my well-loved vinyl that the tracks were recorded from - hope you enjoy this laid-back late summer stroll through my record collection, and My Life At 45!

1) Peddlers - ‘Whole Lot Of Sunlight’, from the 1970 Philips LP ‘Three For All’.

I picked this up in Avid Records in Oxford in the late nineties, I got a lot of good stuff from them around that time, picking up cheap classic soul, blues and jazz LPs, bargain priced late ‘80s / early ‘90s 12” singles that I’d missed the first time round and just taking a punt on interesting looking sleeves, or bands I’d heard about in sampling cirlces. ‘Suite London’ was the hot crate digger’s favourite from The Peddlers, but the production on ‘Three For All’ is right up my street, with wonderful hammond playing and a killer drum sound. It’s a great album from start to finish. I’ve used tracks on a few mixtapes in the past 20 years, but not this particular one, and with an apt title, it seemed like ‘Whole Lot Of Sunlight' was a nice way to kick off my late summer Dusk Dubs selection!

2) Joe McDuphrey Experience - ‘Solar Waves’, from the 2002 Stones Throw 12” ‘Experience EP’.

Madlib made a big impression on me when I first started producing with a sampler and a second hand Hohner Pianet. I really enjoyed this era when he was mixing live instrumentation with the straight up MPC sample business. ‘Solar Waves’ has it all - lolloping drums, wonky synths and tasty electric piano - a super laid-back groove, and is one I rediscovered in my collection recently. Plus, I’m a sucker for coming up with a bunch of aliases to cover all the roles you might play on a record - Madlib is the undisputed champ at that.

3) Paul Weller - ‘That Spiritual Feeling’ (New Mix) from the 1993 Go! Discs promo 12” GOXDJ 102.

My first proper music industry job in the mid nineties was as a radio plugger, and we shared an office building with Go!Discs - home at the time to Portishead, David Holmes, The Beautiful South and Paul Weller, amongst others. There was a little shared kitchen area with a photocopier, and I was busily copying press releases one afternoon on about my 3rd day in the job, when I heard someone making a drink behind me. Turning round I was confronted by Mr Paul Weller himself, impeccably dressed (with an AMAZING tan) stirring his cup of tea. ‘Hello’ he said, ‘I’m Paul - nice to meet you’.

I managed not to swoon or drop my photocopying and introduced myself as the new boy. I worked on radio promo with him across various album projects for the next 4 years, culminating with a week on a tour bus with Paul and his crew doing sessions at radio stations across the country. Story for another time maybe … Anyway - also in that little kitchen area at Go! Discs was their stock cupboard, which I rinsed for releases I’d missed in the years prior to my starting work there. ‘That Spiritual Feeling’ was originally on his first solo release ‘Into Tomorrow’ in 1991, but got remixed and added to this promo, as well as appearing on the ‘Sunflower’ 12” (taken from ‘Wildwood’) It’s got the instantly recognisable JBs on it, with a classic horn arrangement backing up a kinda hypnotic 2 chord groove that just rolls and rolls. I can listen to it for hours.

4). Rhianna - ‘Word Love’ (4 Hero Soul Mix) from the 2002 Sony Soho Square promo 7” XPR 3600.

4 Hero were killing it in the early ‘00s as their productions evolved from the breakbeat mastery of the ‘90s into the wonderfully orchestrated arrangements that saw them covering ‘Les Fleur’, and bringing their deft touch to an increasing number of quality remixes. I don’t think this version of British soul star Rhianna’s ‘Word Love’ - which I loved in it’s original form - ever made it to a commercial release, but it’s something I’ve played out a lot over the years, and it always gets great comments and a bunch of info requests from the crowd.

5) GangStarr - ‘Jazz Thing’ (Instrumental Mix) from the 1990 CBS promo 12” XPR 1571.

I saw Mo Better Blues at the cinema in Australia in November 1990 and bought the soundtrack on cassette the next day. Brandford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard have a superb dialogue across all the tracks, especially on the Canonball Adderley-esque title track. However, Gang Starr’s ‘Jazz Thing’ blew my tiny teenage mind, and I became a bit obsessed with it over the next few years, the samples, the cuts, the live loops - especially after my new college mate Pete made me a tape a year or so later with two extra versions from the 12”, including this, the Instrumental Mix. I finally tracked down my own copy of this import promo in the Soul & Dance Exchange in Notting Hill in the late nineties, and it’s lived in my record bag pretty much ever since.

6) John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Peter Green - ‘Greeny’, from the 1969 Decca LP ‘The World Of Blues Power’.

Everyone my sort of age with some records is bound to have one or two liberated from their parent’s collection, and this was an album I discovered in my folks collection in about 1987, not long after buying a drum kit. I’d been rinsing their Beatles albums since I was a kid - singing along to ‘Drive My Car’ and ‘Octopus’s Garden’, but the World Of Blues Power seem a bit of alien concept until I gave it a good listen as a teen. There’s some classic pyrotechnic stuff from rising Brit Blues stars like Eric Clapton and Paul Butterfield, alongside US veterans like Champion Jack Dupree and Eddie Boyd, who’d moved to Europe in the ‘60s.

Always understated, Peter Green’s playing on ‘Greeny’ is perfect; simple and catchy as hell, but with complete mastery of his instrument.

7) Stanley Clarke - ‘Blues For Mingus’, from the 1979 Nemperor LP ‘I Wanna Play For You’.

This was another ’90s bargain from Avid Records in Oxford, but I first heard it when babysitting in the late ‘80s. The couple who’s kids I was deemed suitably responsible enough to be left in charge of were very happy for me to listen to their small but perfectly formed record collection, and many happy evenings were spent with a pile of C90s taping all sorts of classic jazz and blues. Took me the best part of the next 20 years to find my own vinyl copies of them all mind you. The uptempo jazz rock that Stanley Clarke was known for in the ‘70s is featured throughout the part-live ‘I Wanna Play For You’ album, but this downtempo small group number perfectly encapsulated my idea of what a jazz club gig should sound like; dark, smoky and soulful.

8) Al Green - ‘Lay It Down’, from the 2008 Blue Note LP ‘Lay It Down’.

Is it controversial to call this my favourite Al Green album? I mean, you can’t deny the classic ‘60s and ‘70s hits, but for me, this Questlove produced LP is right up there in terms of songwriting and production. I could have happily featured any of the album tracks here, but went with the title track for the silky strings and restrained playing from Questlove. Something as a drumming producer myself I’m less good at ;)

9) Matt Deighton - ‘Hey, My Mind’, from the 1995 Focus LP ‘Villager’.

This whole album is stuffed full of timeless sounding songs, it's one I’ve listened to alot over the years and comes complete with alot of happy memories.

Just before I got the plugging job, I’d been working in promotions for (the original) Virgin Radio in London, driving a branded vehicle around town all day. Seems mad and pointless in 2020, but it was fun in 1995, I was young, it seemed to be sunny all the time, I had a free 4WD and it paid quite well. I used the station’s copy of ‘The White Book’ - an entertainment industry directory that cost a small fortune back then - to look up the addresses of my favourite record labels, and spent most days knocking on their doors in an attempt to blag some free records. One of these labels was Acid Jazz, and, having announced which station I worked for, I was rushed in to meet their head of marketing and plied with records and CDs, before someone eventually asked ‘so, what is it you actually do at Virgin again?’. I bluffed my way through the next 10 minutes and agreed to have a chat to the producer of the evening show about getting a session for Matt Deighton. Matt was the singer and guitarist with Mother Earth, of whom I was a big fan, and was currently promoting a new solo album ‘Villager’ - Mother Earth had been a guest on the Virgin show before, and so the producer said yes to a session. I’m sure she would have booked him anyway, but she graciously let me set it up with Acid Jazz, gaining me some vital industry kudos and connections in the process.

10) Money Mark - ‘All The People’, from the 1998 Mo Wax / A&M LP ‘Push The Button’.

Mo Wax were one of my favourite ‘90s labels, having been introduced to them by a college friend sometime in ’93, and I think I tried unsuccessfully blagging my way onto their mailing list in my Virgin days, but later on, after the A&M deal, I had better luck getting occasional freebies. ‘Mark’s Keyboard Repair’ was the record that the genre lo-fi was invented for, with the mix of bit-crushed samples and live vintage keys, but ‘Push The Button’ is a brilliantly rounded record, with some great pop songs. Session legend Jim Keltner is playing drums on this track, which I’d forgotten about until I was reading the sleevenotes while recording this mix - his playing with the likes of Delaney & Bonnie, BB King, Leon Russell, Bill Withers, Eric Clapton and all of the Beatles on their various solo projects has been a big influence on my drumming style over the years. Records I’ve never heard of but have bought just because Jim Keltner is on drums is an extensive section of my collection.

11) Bedouine - ‘Summer Cold’, from the 2017 Spacebomb Records LP ‘Bedouine’.

Spacebomb are one of my favourite contemporary labels, with a studio sound and ethos that I aspire to greatly as I enter my third decade as a producer, and I’ve been picking up their releases since hearing label owner, and talented artist, Matthew E. White interviewed on 6 Music back in 2015. LA Based Syrian born Bedouine put out one of my most listened to albums of 2017 (and since!), and I would have featured any of the tracks in this mix, but something about the found sounds at the end of ‘Summer Cold’ seemed to work very nicely with the start of the following song from Emily King. Bedouine’s vocal and guitar sound is wonderfully distintive, and beautifully enhanced by the sympathetic Spacebomb Horn and String arrangements - get yourself the LP!

12) Emily King - ‘Distance’, from the 2015 Making Music Records LP ‘The Switch’.

I didn’t listen to many new records while I was producing Izo FitzRoy’s debut (track coming next!) - I think I thought I’d find it distracting, I suspect that wouldn’t have been the case, but once Izo’s record was in the can, I gorged on releases I’d missed and found things that have become all time favourites. Most of them seem to be by women with a very different sound to Izo, but equally captivating writing and energy. Emily King is one of those artists, along with Bedouine, Jane Weaver and Aldous Harding amongst others. ‘Distance’ is such a great song, and I love Emily’s voice and guitar playing, plus the production and feel too - ticks all the boxes for me.

13) Izo FitzRoy - ‘Heads Held High’, from the 2017 Jalepeno Records LP ‘Skyline’.

This was one of my favourites from Izo’s debut that I produced and played on a few years ago. A great lyric and performance from Izo over a groove that we worked hard to sound like a mix of samples and live instruments, but was in fact all recorded and produced in my studio at home. Initially Izo and I were writing on some tracks that I’d already recorded with a view to them going on a Dr Rubberfunk album, but it was pretty clear after we’d written a few things together that she had so many great songs that the project needed to be an album for her. Even at a few years distance, I’m still really pleased with how the record turned out, with a ’studio sound’ I can call my own, and one that I’ve been able to carry over to my recent ‘My Life At 45’ LP - on which Izo turns in another couple of killer performances!

14) Urban Species - ‘Blanket’ featuring Imogen Heap, from the 1998 Talkin’ Loud LP ‘Blanket’.

Along with Acid Jazz and Mo Wax, Talkin’ Loud were another label I was madly collecting everything they released throughout the ‘90s and beyond. Having DJ’d in support of Urban Species at my college in 1994, I was already a fan, and their second album ‘Blanket’ is one of my all-time favourites by any artist. It features two great collaborations with Terry Callier, and two with Imogen Heap, including the title track featured here. Great writing and production, I was very influenced by this record as I started working with vocalists. Always love the guitar solo over the fade out too - if it exists, I’d love to get my hands on the full version without the fade!

15) Routes In Jazz - ‘Out In The Jungle’, from the 1992 Concious Records 12” CON 999.

Another sure shot from my days as a nascent DJ at Froebel College in West London in the early ‘90s. I was fortunate to have the support and encouragement of a couple of older students as I joined the Student Union and started organising events, and one of them - Lee - actually let me borrow his records a few times to play out with. Cheers Lee! This was one he used to play in warm up and bar sets, and I loved the double bass loop and ear worm horn sample (I never have worked out what it’s from), so had to get a copy. In some ways it’s a very 1992 record, but has stood the test of time in terms of production as far as I’m concerned.

16) DJ Krush - ‘Yeah’, from the 1994 Mo Wax LP ‘Strictly Turntablized’.

Early Mo Wax classic, from before all this sort of thing was considered ‘trip hop’, it was just killer instrumental hip hop as far as I was concerned, and DJ Krush, along with DJ Shadow, was right up there, leading the way. Another big influence on me when I eventually got a sampler - tough drums: check, swinging bass sample: check, jazzy horn and vocal samples: check. Love it.

17) Freak Power - ‘My Heart Sings’, from the 1994 ‘In Dub - The Fried Funk Food EP’, bonus album with some vinyl editions of the ‘Drive Thru Booty’ LP

They say never meet your heroes, but having meet and worked with both Norman Cook and Ashley Slater, the creators of the Freak Power project, I’d have to disagree. Naturally, if you’ve read through the tracklisting this far, you’ll have worked out there’s another showbiz story to go with this selection, and there is, but I’m saving it for another time, ‘cos it’s LONNNGGGG. Suffice it to say, ‘Turn On Tune In, Cop Out’ was a massive tune in ’93, and when the album dropped the following year I was straight down the record shop on release day. I wasn’t expecting a bonus ‘Dub EP’, much less one with almost unrecognisable remixes of the album tracks, but I was very happy to have it included. Some of the best downtempo beats Norman has made I think, and the drum programming on the second half of this track had me scratching my head in my pre-sampler owning days and wondering how the heck it was done. Fabulous sample choices, and nice and long too - handy for those DJ set comfort breaks.

18) John Martyn - ‘Sunshine’s Better’ (Talvin Singh Mix), from the 1996 Go! Discs promo 12” SSB1.

Talking of long tracks, here’s 10 minutes plus of John Martyn and the balearic classic ‘Sunshine’s Better’ reworked beautifully by Talvin Singh. John was another of the artists on Go! Discs when I was plugging for them, and I think it’s widely accepted he was a challenging character at that stage of his career. Still an amazing songwriter and performer though, and sounding as good as ever on the album ‘And’ from which ‘Sunshine’s Better’ is taken. Phil Collins on drums too.

19) Incognito - ‘Out Of The Storm’ (C’s Planet E Mix), from the 1996 Talkin’ Loud promo 12” TLDJ54.

If you were putting together a downtempo set in ’96, and you had ‘Sunshine’s Better’, you needed this Carl Craig mix of ‘Out Of The Storm’ for sure. Hip hop drum loops, swirling synth pads, a wobbly flute sample and some perfectly placed little bass guitar fills and turnarounds made this perfect in so many ways. I was VERY excited to get a promo copy, and definitely felt I had ‘arrived’ as a DJ when this came through the letterbox one morning. old DJ voice “Those were the days.” LOL.

20) Freddie King - ‘Gambling Woman Blues’, from the 1977 RSO LP ‘Freddie King (1934-1976)’.

In case you were worried I’d skipped over my love of the blues with just one track, here’s a less well known number from Freddie King, recorded during sessions with Eric Clapton and his band in the early ’70s, just a few years before King’s untimely death in 1976. I’ve got plenty of albums by the ‘Three Kings’ (Albert, B.B and Freddie) and they all had some very funky moments in the late sixties and early seventies. This posthumous compilation album was also in the collection of the family I used to babysit for, another tape that had pretty much worn out before I could track down my own vinyl copy, which, as you can hear, has been well played too. Again, a track that seems to fade just as it’s getting going, but fear not - there’s a 20+ minute version on some of the popular streaming services.

21) Donny Hathaway - ‘What’s Going On?’ from the 2014 ATCO Records LP ‘Live At The Bitter End 1971’.

I heard Gilles Peterson play tracks from this album on his 6 Music Show on Record Store Day in 2014. RSD often falls on my birthday weekend, so I thought I’d treat myself to this re-issue (with previously unissued tracks) of Donny Hathaway’s 1971 shows at the Bitter End on Bleecker Street in New York City. Although there aren’t many artists that can make a convincing go of covering Marvin Gaye, Donny is definitely one of them, and ‘What’s Going On?’ sounds just as relevant today as it ever did. I felt it was an appropriate choice, given the state of the world today, my love of black music and the fact that my whole music career is based on it. Once more, for the people at the back, BLACK LIVES MATTER.

22) Wes Montgomery - ‘Sun Down’, from the 1966 Verve Records LP ‘California Dreaming’.

3 quid from, you’ve guessed it, Avid Records. Bargain. I listened to an absolute ton of blues guitarists in my late teens, but it was a few years later that I started going sideways into jazz guitar, falling in love with the soul jazz / acid jazz sound of Grant Green and Ivan ‘Boogaloo Joe’ Jones, before finding the earlier generation - the likes of Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery. Tricky to pick between them to be honest, but it seemed this upbeat and optimistic big band number from the 1966 ‘California Dreaming’ album by Wes Montogomery, a mixture of contemporary pop covers and jazz standards, with Herbie Hancock on piano, and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder - two more heroes of mine - was a good way to close out my Dusk Dubs choices.

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x0401x · 7 years ago

Text

Violet Evergarden World Tour Interview

Los Angeles Anime Expo 2017 Edition with Director Ishidate Taichi

← Event Report || Index || Next →

——At last, the worldwide premiere in which the anime “Violet Evergarden” can be watched in advance has started. How was the first one at Anime Expo 2017 in America’s Los Angeles?

Ishidate: It’s a large-scale event where hardcore American fans gather, several of whom became interested in “Violet Evergarden” (“Violet” for short) out of the works that would be displayed in it, so being able to directly witness the responses of the people that had walked all the way to the screening hall was a trite but also very valuable experience. Amongst the guests, there were many who already knew the name of the “Kyoto Animation” company and the original literary piece of “Violet”.

I had somewhat imagined it would be a Comic Event like the ones in Japan, so while I had been wondering, “Would there be many adults?”, it turned out that lots of families with children attended, which surprised me. One more thing that had me shocked was that screenings and exhibits were happening all night long. It was upright in the good sense; an event with an American-like freedom to it.

——In the stage event that was the premiere’s screening, the first episode of the TV anime “Violet Evergarden” was run. How was everyone’s reaction?

Ishidate: Compared to the Japanese, American people’s expressions are richer in emotions, so although I had imagined it would be something lively like, “Oh, my God!”, it was extremely quiet as a whole, and gave off a feeling that everyone was very focused in the video.

One thing that wasn’t expected was when they laughed while clapping their hands at scenes that would make one think, “You’re laughing at that!?” (lol). “So this is the reaction of people from a different culture~?” I thought, and it was refreshing.

In addition, we got a “Nice!” and a thumbs-up from a local staff member who was in the backstage of the screening. After that person had left, they came back to show us the screen of their phone. In it was written “that’s a truly good anime” in Japanese, which made me happy. Another local staff member courteously commented something like, “Your event was the best!”, and made me think that they had probably enjoyed it.

—— After the premiere screening, a panel discussion was held to answer questions from the audience. Were there any remarkable ones?

Ishidate: I, Ishikawa Yui-san, who plays the role of Violet, and TRUE-san, who is in charge of the OP theme “Sincerely”, went up on stage for this. Perhaps because many of the people who had come to the venue had interest in the creators, there were several questions about the production.

Something funny was when we were suddenly asked, “When does the second season start?” (lol). “You only just watched the first episode, though!?” is what I thought, but my answer was, “If we receive everyone’s support...” (lol). Also, there was a question like, “This story seems to be set in a fictional continent, so will various countries and places appear from now on?”, which showed how they were consistently watching the main story. Maybe some have read the novels.

——TRUE-san, who had come up the stage with you, did the world’s first live show of the opening song “Sincerely”. How did you like listening to it?

Ishidate: I watched the live from a corner of the stage, but I think it really was good. I thought it was an even more wonderful song than when listening to it through a sound generator, and it earnestly gave me courage like, “I also have to do my best even more!”. Once again, I was able to take in the thoughts and stance towards the original work that TRUE-san put into the song, and it gave me feelings that tensed my spirit, so after the live, I ended up saying, “I’ll seriously do my best!” to TRUE-san without thinking.

While listening to the song, I thought to myself, “I have to hurry and write down... the art contents of the opening...” (lol).

——With what kind of perspective did you tackle the TV anime “Violet Evergarden”?

Ishidate: The TV anime “Violet” is a work made from a novel that won first place at the fifth “Kyoto Animation Grand Prize”. It was selected to be published as a two-volume literary collection of the KA Esuma Bunko, and its composition as a novel was arranged anew. Back when I read its manuscript for the “Kyoto Animation Grand Prize”, I was strongly drawn to this work and thought, “It’d be great if it were animated someday”.

The novel is a compilation of stories, and was pictured firstly as independent chapters about Violet’s relationship with the clients of her job as amanuensis, clearly morphing into an opus about Violet’s own personal backstory little by little. The media diverges from novel to anime, and it’s exactly because it’s a novel that it’s difficult to find a method of applying its life depictions into a TV series, so we are formulating the story as such. In order to make it into an interesting work with a continuous storyline, I talked with the story composer and scriptwriter Yoshida Reiko-san, and we decided to write the story of the girl named Violet in chronological order.

In the anime, we wrote about the figure of “Violet, who is an existence as innocent as a baby”, getting to know precious things little by little after meeting with many people. I think those who will watch it should see with their own eyes the growth of Violet as if she were watching over their own small daughter.

——What would be the charm of Violet as an individual?

Ishidate: I think Violet’s charm is her beauty as a primitive human being. I believe humans become more or less distorted as they turn into adults. There are societal responsibilities and various situations we must face, so we can’t forever remain only with feelings as untainted as those of children. But I think it’s marvelous – and even admire it – when one is always able to purely express non-rational sentiments, such as “this is beautiful” or “I want to do that”.

In order to validate this condition of primitive human being of Violet’s, we wrote about her with an ideal of “humans are supposed to be beautiful at first”. It’s not that I want to insist out loud that bare-plain humans are beautiful, but I’d be happy if we made people think, “Somehow, Violet’s lifestyle isn’t so bad”.

——After finishing the production of one episode, the first premiere screening also ended successfully. What’s the feedback?

Ishidate: The feedback... honestly, it’s hard for me to say anything myself. It’s up to those who watched it to say whether it was fun or not, so I think it’s not my place to say anything about that. As someone who is in the production, I’m like, “I wonder if people will think it’s interesting if we do this...” all the while making it through trial and error, but by the time we’d finished writing the contents of the first episode, we came to the conclusion of, “It’s a somber story, but with this, it will be fun!”. That impression didn’t change even after seeing the completed animation. It wasn’t easy to produce it, but I was happy when the art director said, “I’m satisfied”.

——Evan Call-san is the one working on the soundtrack. What sort of interchanges do you have?

Ishidate: The sound director, Tsuruoka Youta-san, said that “(the pieces Evan-san composes) are mischievous~ (lol)” and told us that he had this kind of funny reputation (lol). That’s why I’d been looking forward to working together with him. Evan-san joined the production from the second commercial of the original literary work, accepting the invitation of our music producer, and firstly attempted to make an image song as a trial. Rather than something concrete, it conveyed only the image of the production, and leaving it to Evan-san’s own sense as he freely created a tune, it turned out perfectly matching the image of this work.

——In what kinds of points did you feel that?

Ishidate: It was all very challenging. While the noises of typing on typewriters, the rustling sounds of fountain pens and paper, etc. are incorporated in the tracks, the indication that he could come up with a pretty good “trial song” was brilliantly integrated in it, and what’s more, it had a nice feeling to it. I felt he was a person with an artistic vigor and sense. To tell the truth, while some of the background music of the first episode that he made are orthodox, there are also tracks that seem to contain musical elements similar to that of Celtic nations, and I think that the astoundingly detached moderation and good discordancy that come not only from this midst fit the world building of “Violet”.

——Under what circumstances did you choose Ishikawa Yui-san as the role of Violet?

Ishidate: The first time I heard Ishikawa-san’s voice was in a live-action movie, in which she was performing as actress. The impression that she had an unpretentious type of voice remained within me, and at first, we had her give her name as an audition member, but I thought that Ishikawa-san’s voice really matched the image of Violet in comparison to the others. Ishikawa-san surely had acting skills, but she’s also an actress that has the adaptability to accurately surmise the scene directions, and as she was able to promptly correspond to our directions after recording episode one, I thought, “As expected!”. She acts out Violet’s accumulation of delicate emotions rather carefully.

——At the moment, you’re in the middle of producing episode 2 onward. How is that going?

Ishidate: It’s... hard (giggle). The first episode was still easy to write because Violet was “at zero”, but from now on, she will change little by little upon meeting with people. This change is not something symbolic, and I wonder what I should do to properly convey to the spectators that it’s a truly light and subtle thing... moreover, we’re making this production while keeping the multiple stories concurrent, so it’s really a hassle. While checking on episode 6, I got questions regarding episode 3. We, who are in the making of it, almost want status charts for the growth of Violet in each episode, like “kindness: 5” or “level of understanding towards others: 4” (lol). For the production itself, it feels like “the race is only just starting!”.

——From now on, as part of the “World Tour” premiere screening assemblies, screenings will be held throughout the world, including Germany and Singapore. I would like to ask about Los Angeles, which you stopped by this time. Is this director Ishidate’s first time visiting Los Angeles?

Ishidate: Yes. For starters, I hadn’t gone abroad ever since high school when I went to Thailand, so it started with me having to get a new passport (lol). Although I could not afford to enjoy sightseeing in Los Angeles, as I went by car from the airport the Los Angeles Convention Center, I took a freeway that was used for the scenes of a certain movie. At that time, I didn’t really realize this, but after I returned to Japan, I watched a preview of that movie and got excited like, “Ah! I had passed by this place!” (lol).

Also, I’d wanted to see the “Hollywood Sign” since I had come all the way to LA, but it seems that it was a bit far from the venue of Anime Expo, so unfortunately, my wish did not come true... In addition, there were apparently many people who visited LA for “Anime Expo 2017” at the occasion, and when some noticed I was Japanese, they got excited and came to talk to me a lot (lol)...

——Were there any remarkable happenings during your stay?

Ishidate: There were! While I was in the vicinity of the entrance of the hotel I was lodged at, perhaps because she saw that I was wearing an “Anime Expo” pass around my neck and thought that I was part of it, a young woman came to ask me, “Are you an animator?”. I answered, “YES!” and from that, a conversation splurged, up to a point where she told me that her daughter was an anime fan and a cosplayer. We chatted for a while; maybe about an hour (lol).

——Did your words get through?

Ishidate: Unfortunately, I can hardly speak English, so there were many moments in which the talk didn’t get through. No, probably most of what I said wasn’t understood. Whenever the conversation didn’t get through, she would be like “oh, boy~” as if asking the heavens for help (lol), but with the atmosphere and gestures of that moment, I was somehow able to communicate and had a good time. The fact that I could talk naturally with a foreign person about animation became an incredibly wonderful memory.

——Next, you will visit Manheim in Germany to attend “AnimagiC”, which will be held there. Please leave a message for the fans who are looking forward to the upcoming screenings and worldwide airing in January 2018!

Ishidate: I plan to make this into something that will make many people think at least for a little bit, “This was an interesting work”, and every day, we are doing our best as a united staff and, so while we try not to bring our hopes up too much, we still end up having expectations (lol). I’d be the happiest if everyone could warmly watch over the TV anime “Violet Evergarden”! We’ll be in your care!

#violet evergarden #kyoani #kyoto animation #ishidate taichi #anime expo #interview #my translation #ve wt

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falsedescent · 7 years ago

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1 In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra (Capitol) 1955

Actually, the very first 'concept' album. The idea being you put this record on after dinner and by the last song you are exactly where you want to be. Sinatra said that he's certain most baby boomers were conceived with this as the soundtrack.

2 Solo Monk by Thelonious Monk (Columbia) 1964

Monk said 'There is no wrong note, it has to do with how you resolve it'. He almost sounded like a kid taking piano lessons. I could relate to that when I first started playing the piano, because he was decomposing the music while he was playing it. It was like demystifying the sound, because there is a certain veneer to jazz and to any music, after a while it gets traffic rules, and the music takes a backseat to the rules. It's like aerial photography, telling you that this is how we do it. That happens in folk music too. Try playing with a bluegrass group and introducing new ideas. Forget about it. They look at you like you're a communist. On Solo Monk, he appears to be composing as he plays, extending intervals, voicing chords with impossible clusters of notes. 'I Should Care' kills me, a communion wine with a twist. Stride, church, jump rope, Bartok, melodies scratched into the plaster with a knife. A bold iconoclast. Solo Monk lets you not only see these melodies without clothes, but without skin. This is astronaut music from Bedlam.

3 Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart (Straight) 1969

The roughest diamond in the mine, his musical inventions are made of bone and mud. Enter the strange matrix of his mind and lose yours. This is indispensable for the serious listener. An expedition into the centre of the earth, this is the high jump record that'll never be beat, it's a merlot reduction sauce. He takes da bait. Dante doing the buck and wing at a Skip James suku jump. Drink once and thirst no more.

4 Exile On Main St. by Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records) 1972

'I Just Want To See His Face' - that song had a big impact on me, particularly learning how to sing in that high falsetto, the way Jagger does. When he sings like a girl, I go crazy. I said, 'I've got to learn how to do that.' I couldn't really do it until I stopped smoking. That's when it started getting easier to do. [Waits's own] 'Shore Leave' has that, 'All Stripped Down', 'Temptation'. Nobody does it like Mick Jagger; nobody does it like Prince. But this is just a tree of life. This record is the watering hole. Keith Richards plays his ass off. This has the Checkerboard Lounge all over it.

5 The Sinking of the Titanic by Gavin Bryars (Point Music) 1975

This is difficult to find, have you heard this? It's a musical impression of the sinking of the Titanic. You hear a small chamber orchestra playing in the background, and then slowly it starts to go under water, while they play. It also has 'Jesus Blood' on it. I did a version of that with Gavin Bryars. I first heard it on my wife's birthday, at about two in the morning in the kitchen, and I taped it. For a long time I just had a little crummy cassette of this song, didn't know where it came from, it was on one of those Pacifica radio stations where you can play anything you want. This is really an interesting evening's music.

6 The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan (Columbia) 1975

With Dylan, so much has been said about him, it's difficult so say anything about him that hasn't already been said, and say it better. Suffice it to say Dylan is a planet to be explored. For a songwriter, Dylan is as essential as a hammer and nails and a saw are to a carpenter. I like my music with the rinds and the seeds and pulp left in - so the bootlegs I obtained in the Sixties and Seventies, where the noise and grit of the tapes became inseparable from the music, are essential to me. His journey as a songwriter is the stuff of myth, because he lives within the ether of the songs. Hail, hail The Basement Tapes. I heard most of these songs on bootlegs first. There is a joy and an abandon to this record; it's also a history lesson.

7 Lounge Lizards by Lounge Lizards (EG) 1980

They used to accuse John Lurie of doing fake jazz - a lot of posture, a lot of volume. When I first heard it, it was so loud, I wanted to go outside and listen through the door, and it was jazz. And that was an unusual thing, in New York, to go to a club and hear jazz that loud, at the same volume people were listening to punk rock. Get the first record, The Lounge Lizards. You know, John's one of those people, if you walk into a field with him, he'll pick up an old pipe and start to play it, and get a really good sound out of it. He's very musical, works with the best musicians, but never go fishing with him. He's a great arranger and composer with an odd sense of humour.

8 Rum Sodomy and the Lash by The Pogues (Stiff) 1985

Sometimes when things are real flat, you want to hear something flat, other times you just want to project onto it, something more like.... you might want to hear the Pogues. Because they love the West. They love all those old movies. The thing about Ireland, the idea that you can get into a car and point it towards California and drive it for the next five days is like Euphoria, because in Ireland you just keep going around in circles, those tiny little roads. 'Dirty Old Town', 'The Old Main Drag'. Shane has the gift. I believe him. He knows how to tell a story. They are a roaring, stumbling band. These are the dead end kids for real. Shane's voice conveys so much. They play like soldiers on leave. The songs are epic. It's whimsical and blasphemous, seasick and sacrilegious, wear it out and then get another one.

9 I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen (Columbia) 1988

Euro, klezmer, chansons, apocalyptic, revelations, with that mellifluous voice. A shipwrecked Aznovar, washed up on shore. Important songs, meditative, authoritative, and Leonard is a poet, an Extra Large one.

10 The Specialty Sessions by Little Richard (Specialty Records) 1989

The steam and chug of 'Lucille' alone pointed a finger that showed the way. The equipment wasn't meant to be treated this way. The needle is still in the red.

11 Startime by James Brown (Polydor) 1991

I first saw James Brown in 1962 at an outdoor theatre in San Diego and it was indescribable... it was like putting a finger in a light socket. He did the whole thing with the cape. He did 'Please Please Please'. It was such a spectacle. It had all the pageantry of the Catholic Church. It was really like seeing mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Christmas and you couldn't ignore the impact of it in your life. You'd been changed, your life is changed now. And everybody wanted to step down, step forward, take communion, take sacrament, they wanted to get close to the stage and be anointed with his sweat, his cold sweat.

12 Bohemian-Moravian Bands by Texas-Czech (Folk Lyric) 1993

I love these Czech-Bavarian bands that landed in Texas of all places. The seminal river for mariachi came from that migration to that part of the United States, bringing the accordion over, just like the drum and fife music of post slavery, they picked up the revolutionary war instruments and played blues on them. This music is both sour and bitter, and picante, and floating above itself like steam over the kettle. There's a piece called the 'Circling Pigeons Waltz', it's the most beautiful thing - kind of sour, like a wheel about to go off the road all the time. It's the most lilting little waltz. It's accordion, soprano sax, clarinet, bass, banjo and percussion.

13 The Yellow Shark by Frank Zappa (Barking Pumpkin) 1993It is his last major work. The ensemble is awe-inspiring. It is a rich pageant of texture in colour. It's the clarity of his perfect madness, and mastery. Frank governs with Elmore James on his left and Stravinsky on his right. Frank reigns and rules with the strangest tools.14 Passion for Opera Aria (EMI Classics) 1994I heard 'Nessun Dorma' in the kitchen at Coppola's with Raul Julia one night, and it changed my life, that particular Aria. I had never heard it. He asked me if I had ever heard it, and I said no, and he was like, as if I said I've never had spaghetti and meatballs - 'Oh My God, Oh My God!' - and he grabbed me and he brought me into the jukebox (there was a jukebox in the kitchen) and he put that on and he just kind of left me there. It was like giving a cigar to a five-year old. I turned blue, and I cried.15 Rant in E Minor by Bill Hicks (Rykodisc) 1997Bill Hicks, blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer and brain specialist, like a reverend waving a gun around. Pay attention to Rant in E Minor, it is a major work, as important as Lenny Bruce's. He will correct your vision. His life was cut short by cancer, though he did leave his tools here. Others will drive on the road he built. Long may his records rant even though he can't.16 Prison Songs: Murderous Home Alan Lomax Collection (Rounder Select) 1997Without spirituals and the Baptist Church and the whole African-American experience in this country, I don't know what we would consider music, I don't know what we'd all be drinking from. It's in the water. The impact the whole black experience continues to have on all musicians is immeasurable. Lomax recorded everything, from the sounds of the junkyard to the sound of a cash register in the market... disappearing machinery that we would no longer be hearing. You know, one thing that doesn't change is the sound of kids getting out of school. Record that in 1921, record that now, it's the same sound. The good thing about these is that they're so raw, they're recorded so raw, that it's just like listening to a landscape. It's like listening to a big open field. You hear other things in the background. You hear people talking while they are singing. It's the hair in the gate.

17 Cubanos Postizos by Marc Ribot (Atlantic) 1998

This Atlantic recording shows off one of many of Ribot's incarnations as a prosthetic Cuban. They are hot and Marc dazzles us with his bottomless soul. Shaking and burning like a native.

18 Houndog by Houndog (Sony) 1999

Houndog, the David Hidalgo [Los Lobos] record he did with Mike Halby [Canned Heat]. Now that's a good record to listen to when you drive through Texas. I can't get enough of that. Anything by Latin Playboys, anything by Los Lobos. They are like a fountain. The Colossal Head album killed me. Those guys are so wild, and they've gotten so cubist. They've become like Picasso. They've gone from being purely ethnic and classical, to this strange, indescribable item that they are now. They're worthwhile to listen to under any circumstances. But the sound he got on Houndog, on the electric violin ... the whole record is a dusty road. Dark and burnished and mostly unfurnished. Superb texture and reverb. Lo fi and its highest level. Songs of depth and atmosphere. It ain't nothin' but a...

19 Purple Onion by Les Claypool (Prawn Song) 2002

Les Claypool's sharp and imaginative, contemporary ironic humour and lightning musicianship makes me think of Frank Zappa. 'Dee's Diner' is like a great song your kid makes up in the car on the way to the drive-in. Songs for big kids.

20 The Delivery Man by Elvis Costello (Mercury) 2004

Scalding hot bedlam, monkey to man needle time. I'd hate to be balled out by him, I'd quit first. Grooves wide enough to put your foot in and the bass player is a gorilla of groove. Pete Thomas, still one of the best rock drummers alive. Diatribes and rants with steam and funk. It has locomotion and heat. Steam heat, that is.

#tom waits #music #pop and rock #culture #bill hicks

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Feature: 2018: Second Quarter Favorites

via WordPress ift.tt/2lRq7dZ

To help make the predictions, we interviewed 45 random fans, 30 venture capitalists, and a handful of media who cover the music industry across the country to get their collective thoughts on what’s imminent. That list is then honed by eliminating long-shot candidates, followed by a double-elimination round to get rid of shitty artists. Nominees are thoroughly vetted, and the groups eliminate candidates throughout the process.

Today, we are proud to present the results: the BEST 26 releases of the last three months (with a shortlist at the end). We predict that these releases will change music forever.

SOPHIE

OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES

[Future Classic]

[WATCH · READ]

Now’s raw doubt flanges in this memory’s mercury, and we’re back in the basement dark, floor paved with silver marbles. We will shine a light on one, outline the floor with reflecting. I ask are you sure of this? and you say no, never not of any thing. You squeeze your foreign-feeling shoulder, slim quick doubt. Then you hold a marble up to your eye, unclipped cuticles before corneas, a silver pearl. It’s okay. Flashlight on. We gape. There is no neat sequence. No light is set Surface contorts seeing. The shining is bent in coils. There is no straight path, just what we can move into in this whole new world. Roll the flashlight, and it’s a world warping, brilliance refracted, reflections re-membering. The world we built in the dark teaches us how being between might be. Our un-insides, SOPHIE’s sound, teaches us that brilliance doesn’t diminish its self, that light and self and is what we call it. And you say call me Vivian. Becoming who we’re becoming, “no matter where I go, you’ll be here in my heart.” –Frank Falisi

Playboi Carti

Die Lit

[Interscope/AWGE]

[LISTEN · READ]

The arrival of Playboi Carti’s debut album proper, following last year’s crucial self-titled mixtape, could seem like a mere victory lap, an easy cop-out that plays up to the well-established framework of overstuffed rap albums in the streaming age. What a pleasure, then, that Die Lit implodes that logic. The heady balance of mood pieces and out-and-out anthems that characterized Playboi Carti is further refined here, but even without that baggage, Die Lit is a success on its own terms, a flickering visage that compounds Carti’s most enticing impulses — barely-there vocals, Reichian repetition, knotty Pi’erre Bourne beats — with all the best facets of the album form. And if Carti is only incidental on the mic, the tracks left in his wake are anything but. Herein lies a set of real Ohrwürmer, the inner soundtrack to your day, long after the album subsides. The cloud bursts forth; lightning really does strike twice. –Soe Jherwood

DJ Healer / Prime Minister of Doom

Nothing 2 Loose / Mudshadow Propaganda

[All Possible Worlds]

[LISTEN · LISTEN]

On DJ Metatron’s 2 The Sky, the anonymous artist threaded a Jake Gyllenhaal interview through intricate waves of house music that helped give rise to this enigmatic and highly gifted producer. This year, his efforts have come twofold, with a double release under two new monikers that plot the same channels of intricacy but through two very different means. In place of the Donnie Darko reflection that deepens the narrative of 2 The Sky is a 2002 Whitney Houston interview with Diane Sawyer, where the troubled singer discusses her drug problems and an unnerving sense of optimism that inevitably collapsed 10 years later. Essentially, the music that accompanies both of these otherwise unrelated samples is the atmospheric gel that binds them together; an actor speaking about his fascination with a perplexing story line, and a generational icon battling with herself, fighting to overcome the very thing that took her life. That disparity lies at the heart of this joint release, which merges two highly distinctive personalities while linking them through religious and personal overtones. Mudshadow Propaganda is perfect in its projection of minimal techno tracks that build on the traits of our secretive producer’s expired alias, The Prince of Denmark, while Nothing 2 Loose is almost confessional in the sincerity that it lays bare. But where both records celebrate the dexterity and imagination of a single producer, they also paint a picture of human existence at its most conflicted, from the carnal and the primitive to the haunted and the divine. –Birkut

Grouper

Grid of Points

[Kranky]

[LISTEN · READ]

In seven tracks and less than 30 minutes, Liz Harris sought to take us nowhere. So she stranded us anywhere. Giving up on finding anything instructive or stabilizing in the passing moan of a stray vocal, the odd cluster of muted piano keys, or the occasional sharp gust of static, it became clear that the only place where anything “new” could happen was in a place where nothing old and familiar was left. “Where are we?” started to sound more like “Where aren’t we?” It might have been some heavenly shoreline where the water was the same perfect gunmetal color as the sky, but it might just as likely have been the vacant parking lot of some long-since-demolished Disneyland. It didn’t really matter. Anyplace we chose to stand and look from was just as good (or bad) as another. “Might as well call this the center,” we figured. Gotta start somewhere. –Dan Smart

Seth Graham

Gasp

[Orange Milk/Noumenal Loom]

[LISTEN · READ]

A symphony of perversions and memories that ignites every time you rapid-fire through your Instagram stories. Refried beans left over from the camping trip you took to a closed beta somewhere off the coast of Spy Kids 4D. A million splintered renderings of classical text that you half-scrawled onto the back of your hand before you realized that you were actually just passed out on the keyboard again. Gasp is like a raw feed of how music itself operates in 2018; brief bursts of genius materializing right before us, only to be swept away and digested into something unrecognizably new. The entire sum of human history rubbing elbows with that ASMR video you had to rush to minimize before your roommate could ask you what the fuck you were just watching. A guy as unassuming as Orange Milk label head Seth Graham conjuring up untold universes of possibility from his home in Dayton, OH, his bank of MIDIs a window into our gentle, distraught, and hilarious world. –Sam Goldner

[pagebreak]

Klein

[Self-Released]

[LISTEN · READ]

“Oh my god! Who’s actually going to listen to this?” asks Klein, lounging with friends, reflecting on her last EP, Tommy and a still-emerging network of diasporic black art and sound. A year and new EP later, cc sees Klein more comfortable in the discomfort, pushing further with her collages of confrontational intimacy. “You have to squint” as the voices build and spiral, like an endless loop of out-of-office replies, a pitch-bent dawn chorus, singing to each other, but listening too. Klein made us think: about blackness, about opacity, about femininity and Disney princesses, all at once. Feelings too, and a lack of language to convey them; anxiety, elation, mania, but less medical, sometimes an incantation, sometimes an exorcism. In cc, Klein created a space of unique and disarming affect and mood: a deeper, darker stage in the process of “me being my own therapist,” the sound of someone finding a plurality of voices, of listening to yourself. –Joel White

Beach House

[Sub Pop]

[WATCH · READ]

Attempting to describe what dreams are seems like a task both impossible and pretentious. But, as it floats like a wandering mind, drifting from thought to thought with each track, 7 certainly feels like a dream. Alex Scally plays guitar, but it sounds like an unfamiliar squall from another universe. Victoria Legrand sings, but it comes out in French. Look at the clock, you’ll be unable to tell how much time has passed. You know, dream stuff. For a genre that gets its name from something as complex as the random images our brains send to us while we sleep, “dream pop” music can often be very formulaic. That’s why, seven albums into their career, it’s remarkable that Beach House have found a way to not only completely refresh their sound, but make perhaps their best album yet. Awash in a chaotic darkness that’s been lingering in different forms throughout their entire discography, 7 hurtles towards oblivion: beautiful, glorious, infinite. –Jeremy Klein

Eartheater

Irisiri

[PAN]

[WATCH · LISTEN · READ]

I keep losing track of Irisiri; it keeps slipping away from me. This isn’t meant as the insult it might scan as. An elegiac spin on the cyber-cyborg-meat-machine kick that everything relevant is twirling toward, this series of sad little processed ditties and twisted car jams charts a swerve back-and-forth between evasiveness and directness. Its unnerving stuff, giving the impression of solidity while remaining impossible to hold. Flirting with hip-hop and electro-acoustic, bedroom pop and sexed-up sopping wet plastic, it keeps moving out of view, even as I keep returning to it. Listening to the album is like chasing an object out of reach, an object I desire without knowning, a body I want without seeing. Also, C.L.I.T. fucking slaps. –Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli

THE HIRS COLLECTIVE

FRIENDS. LOVERS. FAVORITES.

[SRA/Get Better]

[LISTEN · READ]

For a few decades now, raw musical aggression has been underpinned with a lot of unintelligible vocal sentiment. Just steam on in with howling, power riffs and punishing beats please. But what’s that on the edge of the blast radius, dashing in headlong through the smoke? Clear sentiments that uplift, testify, and provide some sharp kicks in heteronormativity’s floppy old dick? Yes please! Even with its closing remix section, the album’s corroded (and collaborative) essence remains triumphantly tight. The perfect way Lilium Kobayashi’s quick stomping techno pop take on “Murdered by a Woman” flits to “Wake Up Tomorrow” when this album is on repeat further dispels any sort of tacked-on/bonus trax superfluousness. The cultural constant of immediate, frothing punk rage is obviously not going anywhere. It’s essential to have an album, in fuck-this-shit 2018, where that rage is specifically righteous, even with its eternally itinerant self-laceration (i.e., humanity). –Willcoma

Delroy Edwards

Rio Grande

[L.A. Club Resource]

[LISTEN · READ]

Delroy Edwards has made the funk (in its many different strains) the connective tissue of his intrepid, joyful, and often perplexing work. It’s an approach never as explicit as in his latest LP, Rio Grande. That might indeed be its greatest success. In Rio Grande, keeping the raw, hissy, determinedly idiosyncratic credentials that first introduced him to the world, Edwards lets the funk take center stage; sometimes riding grimy techno beats, other times pushing beyond the ridiculous-by-design minimalism of the grooves. The goal is simple: to provide his audience with interesting jams to dance to. Edwards takes pride in the anonymous efficiency of that pretense, as the name of his label L.A. Club Resource indicates. He is happy to be the reliable supplier of a service, the invisible demiurge leading patrons to delirium; slipping in some eccentric turns here and there for the kick of it, to the enjoyment of all but mostly because… why the hell not?. And, let there be no doubt, Rio Grande is the most effective toolkit he has yet assembled in pursuit of that goal. –jrodriguez6

[pagebreak]

emamouse X yeongrak

mouth mouse maus

[Quantum Natives]

[LISTEN · READ]

Hey, not to bring this up here, but borders, am I right? Why do we even have these invisible lines dividing my side from yours? We can get so much more done without them, not to mention the added benefit of not having to split up families in real life as they cross the imaginary demarcations. Who on earth has the chutzpah to enact stupid shit like that? Not emamouse — no way. No, emamouse had the opposite in mind as she commented from her Tokyo base of ops, “What’s this thing keeping me out of New Zealand? An ocean? Screw that!” And thus, the BORDER between Japan and New Zealand was erased forever — whether through the magic of the internet or the ocean suddenly turning into a jello trampoline is anyone’s guess. But emamouse was no longer separated from NZ sound slinger/cartoon centipede yeongrak, and together, through the magic of Quantum Natives, mouth mouse maus was born, a sticky, gooey, sugary, epilepsy-inducing strobe blast of video-game grit and played-with-too-much pink slime from a plastic egg. Cookcook, in her review, inferred that utopias can emerge from collectivity, highlighting the compatibility of these two artists. I think what she meant was “Fruitopia,” which someone obviously spilled all over the mouth mouse maus backup hard drive. Remember Fruitopia? That was Coca-Cola’s own attempt to eradicate borders, except they were the borders between taste and… OK, between them and your money. –Ryan Masteller

Félicia Atkinson

Coyotes

[Geographic North]

[LISTEN]

I once went to New Mexico but mostly stayed inside. Reasons why. Félicia Atkinson’s Coyotes, inspired by her own trip to New Mexico, maps a journey I may have taken, among other wonders. The crafted narrative and its exploratory form gestures toward an experiential unknown. Her travel log collages echoes, maps, receipts, dried leaves, sand stuck in the crevices of shoes, plaques, diary entries, signposts, mythology, spirituality, and the facts and facets of the land’s native and colonial histories into a total atmosphere, something approaching a direct translation of a lingering impression. It’s so effective and affecting, because the whole is actually a scrap: “a slip of paper, something/tiny & torn off/lifted by the wind” writes poet Christian Hawkey in Citizen Of. Atkinson lineates her memories into similarly moving verses. –Cookcook

Pusha T

Daytona

[G.O.O.D. Music]

[LISTEN · READ]

DAYTONA by Pusha T is hard work. It’s this blurb being written at 5:20 AM on the 7-train to “the office” a day after having led 46 tweens on a non-stop four-day Boston field trip. It’s teaching about heterosexism and female empowerment, leading sixth grade field day, and handling logistics for eighth grade graduation in a single day. It’s your body feeling like a crash-test dummy on a Wednesday, having left in the early, early morning, putting in 12 hours of sweating gallons for money, and arriving home at 8:30 PM. It’s wearing Terminator shades on 125th Street talking Spanish to people you never met. It’s the endurance of confidence while facing every fear you’ve experienced — focused — diving straight into the freezing water. DAYTONA proves Pusha T and Kanye are relentless professionals that continue to transcend literary and sonic aesthetics in space and time. We need role models like these, forever. –C Monster

DJ Koze

Knock Knock

[Pampa]

[LISTEN · READ]

Many publications have referred to Stefan Kozalla as a “trickster” or a “prankster.” While there are freckles of truth on the face of that assessment, much of his affability comes from his most mistaken quality: his earnestness. It’s what makes him such a delightful musicmaker. Being earnest, of course, is the perfect foil to the kind of negativist universalism that plagues the psychedelics/mindfulness landscape in which DJ Koze so often finds himself (and, also, finds himself). Koze’s House is perfect (see: “Pick Up”) and his plunder-pop turns weird into sublime and vice versa (see: the wails incorporated into “Scratch That”), but it’s his unpresuming and gracious approach to influences, samples, and collaborations that push this record into extraordinary territory. It’s not alien; it’s absolutely Earthly, and it reflects so well the modest subject that is Koze. After all, Koze never changes, except in his affections. –E. Fosl

Elysia Crampton

[Break World]

[WATCH · READ]

Elysia Crampton opens in media res, with a nativity. And then it revs up, restlessly — its machinic gears grind like plant medicine visions; water flows and burbles; disharmonic chords take us in unanticipatable directions. And through it all, the oscollo, the feline guardian of people outside gender binaries, oscillates wildly. Elysia Crampton’s maximalist approach takes it beyond the strings and cackles of 2016’s Demon City, yet Golgotha remains always present. Standout track “Moscow (Mariposa Voladora)” was inspired by Ofelia, a Bolivian mariposa (“femme revolutionary”), and it judders roughly, darkly. Crampton’s Aymara and trans identity are her displaced subjects, particularly in light of the gestural movement between her origins in Bolivia and her current home in the US. But this is not any straightforward folk music revival — rather, it’s a deconstruction that reconstructs. The difficulties and contradictions of critical theory, in particular writers such as José Muñoz and his exploration of queer brown-ness, are braided into the work. The first written reference to queers as mariposillas (“little butterflies”) is from Pedro Cieza de León, in the 16th century, in which he compares “sodomites,” subject to punishment by burning at the stake, to moths drawn to the flame. The suffering of our ancestors can’t be recuperated, but through art, we may yet dance grotesquely but triumphantly on the pyre. –Rowan Savage

[pagebreak]

The Caretaker

Everywhere at the end of time – Stage 4

[History Always Favours The Winners]

[LISTEN · READ]

The late hauntologist Mark Fisher once cruelly noted that the OED lists one of the earliest meanings of the word “haunt” as “to provide with a home, house.” And now that we live in a world that has lost the very possibility of loss, we have also lost the one who can lose, cohabiting with oneself in the present’s presence. Ghosts no longer have a home to haunt in any case, and their yearning and lingering voices are consigned to a past that can never pass away. Although it is haunting and horrifying to behold Everywhere at the end of time’s fourth installment pass from memories to their source — what Kirby calls “the post-awareness stage” — perhaps we must be grateful that someone can forget (for (us)). For, the source of memory must remain, even after all memory has been stripped away from it, even though this source can never be aware of itself. Yet, this source is not, strictly speaking, an identity. What it may be I do not know, but The Caretaker allows you to hear, what, behind those eyes, devoid of any recognition of life; we hope, we plead to be someone who remembers us, yet the only bliss, as transient as it is empty, is the wry smile that, for an instant, says, “Do not save me.” –Evan Coral

Lucrecia Dalt

Anticlines

[RVNG Intl.]

[WATCH · READ]

OK, Hoag. You wake up in 1925, in a different place but with the same objects. Lucrecia Dalt’s Anticlines is playing on the victrola. She sings, “Skinless others/ Oils on waters,” and you realize you’re in the same room as the killer. The only other person in the room is dressed exactly like you, and that person’s talking up the other place — the one you believe you are still in — saying, “I think you’d like it there.” Where again? Both places go out of view. Now possibly dreaming, in a time and place before flight, Gein or radio, you wait at a blue-dipped railway platform as trains roll by on their way to Oclupaca and Ortseam. You’re hoping to catch a ride to somewhere similar but elsewhere, more elemental, past the unseen concupiscence between thermosphere and exosphere, out there where you don’t have to wonder, anymore, what the toys do while you’re away. –Rick Weaver

Tierra Whack

Whack World

[Self-Released]

[STREAM]

In the face of incomprehensible excess and stream-gaming nonsense, Tierra Whack — yes, that’s her real name — provides a grotesque yet charming response with the wonderfully weird “Whack World.” Rather than dragging the tempo or chopping the tracklist, the 22-year-old Philly rapper embraces something like a skip-button aesthetic of preview clips and non-member samples, unceremoniously cutting off her songs as soon as they hit the one-minute mark. With 15 songs in just 15 minutes — an absurdity further heightened by its surreal video — traditional payoffs are just beyond reach, forcing us to sit through a goofy, lighthearted romp of youthful innovation and bizarre genre play that includes everything from slow jams and trap bangers to country parodies and kids pop. It’s delightfully ridiculous and sometimes annoying af, but it arrives with undeniable energy and child-like wonder, bursting out confetti-like from a singular, captivating voice who’s on one of this year’s quickest and most unexpected come-ups. Blink and you’ll miss it. That’s the point. –ミスターおしっこ

GAS

Rausch

[Kompakt]

[WATCH · LISTEN · READ]

I consumed the hour-long experience of Rausch, blaring through my headphones, as golden hour became twilight and the mosquitoes started biting. Luckily, my timing was great; 2017’s Narkopop, with its penchant for forlorn ruminations, ultimately owed a lot to its namesake: pop music. Now, those hopeful moments of liquid sunlight are far away. Rausch finds GAS staying true to its typically ascetic atmosphere, but any strand of accessible melodicism is replaced by shattering layers of dissonant drone upon drone, Doppler effect-synths, and percussive textures that pierce through it all — shimmering cymbals, palpitating kick-snare rhythms. As each funeral march bleeds into the next, the delirious effects of Rausch take hold. My arms are covered in bites, and temperatures still haven’t dropped below 90. For the superimposed intensity of Rausch, a more fitting listening environment couldn’t be created. –Rounak Maiti

The Body

I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer

[Thrill Jockey]

[LISTEN · READ]

It’s so much to bear. We’re expected to carry more than our own weight. The pain and suffering of our past traumas, the present crises, the future uncertainties. More and more, any attempts to alleviate the pain, to share the burden, are undermined. All we ever wanted, all untenable. They demand purity (in lieu of that, submission by “privilege”), individuality, personalization, subscription. They won’t cry for us. Everything must be on you and you alone. Time will not notice you are nothing. You are already hatred as an abstract to someone else. The pull of the personal must end. The allure of ontology and self-indulgence must be shattered in the face of those who leer lewdly into its mirror and contort on the floor in false ecstasy. But it is a painful burden. “I lower my guilty-looking eyes. I’m afraid of looking people in the eye.” War is necessary and proper, to shatter illusions. But it’s all so much to bear. –Ze Pequeno

[pagebreak]

serpentwithfeet

soil

[Tri Angle/Secretly Canadian]

[WATCH · LISTEN · READ]

It’s crazy to think that soil is serpentwithfeet’s debut album. The queer, pagan singer, a former choir boy from Baltimore, emerged in 2016 with blisters, a set of mesmerizing slices of new age R&B delving into faith, superstition, and love. His voice and composition live up to the lofty themes; delicate and meandering, serpent recalled the acrobatic opulence of 90s R&B with brooding, industrial production from The Haxan Cloak. The most visionary artists are those who sound like nothing other than themselves and exhibit a gravitational aura that inspires imitation, lust, and disbelief. soil lurches and waltzes, while Josiah Wise, who prefers to go by “serpent,” remains fully exposed in the mix, employing innovative vocal stacks that whisper, conjure, and croon behind him like a choir of restless spirits. Despite the divine quality to serpent’s voice, which is at times shellacked with layers, often battling against static noise and its own quivering vibrato, the subject matter of soil is immediately relatable and quotidian: the navigation of a shifting dating landscape, the sublime essences of individuals, intimacy and grace in heartbreak, the projection of sorrow onto the world. serpent doesn’t want to be “small sad,” but “big, big sad,” to the point that he’s sure his friends are “tired of him talking.” The domesticity infects us all: How can we properly grieve? How can we redeem ourselves? The occult instrumentation falls away to reveal a queer individual who is merely describing their personal desires. –Ross Devlin

Sarah Davachi

Let Night Come On Bells End The Day

[Recital]

[LISTEN · READ]

I walked through the streets barefoot, clothed only in a robe. The bells were ringing, playing their ancient song, letting the world know that the night had begun. My feet were bleeding from the cobblestone streets, which is how they found me in the morning, just outside of town in the woods. I didn’t drink that night. The evening swept me up, and some tribal instinct forced me outside in virtually nothing. My neighbors looked and closed their curtain as I kept walking, holding the hand of the force that was dragging me. I remember parts like my head hurting and my eyes watering. I remember spinning in the center of town underneath a street lamp. I don’t remember why I left town and headed toward the woods. I don’t know why I left my house. I remember being woken up by the police and being embarrassed to face to my neighbors. They took me home and put me in bed, because the medic cleared me at the site. I’ve never spoken of it since, and I still clench up when the night comes on and the bells end the day. –Sam Tornow

Jenny Hval

The Long Sleep EP

[Sacred Bones]

[WATCH · LISTEN · READ]

Roping in some of her favorite jazz musicians to explore ideas, Jenny Hval has managed to escape the noose of her recent collaborative concepts and delve within to produce yet another stunning act of imagination. The pure reach and weight of The Long Sleep is extraordinary. Hval moves across emotional ground with certainty and delicacy, capturing the subtlest of feelings. Like a soundtrack to a brilliant short, Hval plays with recurring motifs first presented in the “conventional” “Spells,” but then swerves genre expectations along the way, through the piano-led clap frappe of “The Dreamer Is Everyone in Her Dream” to the blissful title track drone. On “I Want to Tell You Something,” her presence is so powerful, as she attempts to express trance closure through an oblique narrative before realizing simple words are all she needs. Fecund, savage, and irresistible, The Long Sleep demonstrates once again why Hval is so intriguing. –David Nadelle

Gemini Sisters

[Psychic Trouble]

[LISTEN]

How does one describe something so beautiful and uplifting — a beacon of light in a shroud a darkness. I was wallowing deep in the muck and mire, desperate to claw out of it rather than sinking down into it. But that tar pit of sorrow and defeat is thick, and it cares not about your will. But I saw the light and followed it. It led me to two helpful, outstretched hands. Jon Kolodij and Matt Christensen met my palm with a hardy grasp and a hefty pull. And I felt the warmth of Gemini Sisters. The sprawling, uplifting sonic aura of the duo’s debut speaks to energy from whence Kolodij and Christensen are christened: the two having their daughters born on the same day of the same year (and those offspring being Geminis). It shows with the delicacy of their aural attack. It is spiritual, reaching toward the heavens to pluck the constellation and bringing its brightness to our darkest places. Right now, the flesh is weak and the mind wavers. But our essence remains pure and chaste. Thanks to Kolodij and Christensen, I have traded the hastened quicksand for a tether to the sprawling galaxy. –Jspicer

Christina Vantzou

No. 4

[Kranky]

[LISTEN · READ]

When you’re in a vehicle moving at a slow, constant speed, sometimes you can convince yourself that you aren’t moving at all. No. 4 moves me like that. I know how tired that metaphor is, and if you listen to gentle drones like “At Dawn” and “Remote Polyphony” and think I’m a hack for digging the spatial metaphor up once again to describe slow, deliberate music, I understand. But I feel that uneasy compromise between motion and rest deeply and at every strange, shimmering moment of the album. It’s in the bells of “Percussion in Nonspace,” ringing in a sort of dual presence and absence; in the little arpeggio that creeps up through “Doorway;” in the pitch-affected choral chant that closes out “Sound House.” Whether we interpret track titles as thematic hints or as mere word games, the names of the tracks on No. 4 suggest, along with the music, that Christina Vantzou wants to domesticate and eventually upend and denature space through sound. Usually a device for ordering abstraction, she turns that hackneyed spatial metaphor into one for abstracting order. This record moves at no speed, in no direction, and toward no goal, except maybe to suspend us temporarily in a kind of beauty without dimension, not far from terror. –Will Neibergall

Kanye West

[G.O.O.D./Def Jam]

[LISTEN · READ]

Just because an album sparks cathartic conversations doesn’t mean it’s good, and not all good albums invite candid dinner table discussions concerning their mercurial merits. Kanye, however, has just as big of a reputation for arousing furor as he does for leaving listeners speechless. Meanwhile, critics scramble for thoughtful words that won’t get them blacklisted for being associated with that black magic that has been infiltrating every aspect of daily life since Cain murdered Abel, thus birthing division. Calling ye a divisive document at TMT would be an understatement, and attributing its inclusion here to justifying countless hours of collectively unpacking just over 23 minutes of noise would obscure what ye actually contains: disturbing spoken word admonitions about premeditated murder, breathless bars on prescription drug addiction, ironic fantasies about butts of sex scandals, gorgeous gospel keys and beautiful dark twisted harmonies, celebratory reflections on fame and success, spectral arena rock vibes, and staggering room for growth cleared out by fear and love and loyalty. Regardless of our own individual feelings, ye keeps reminding us that this music shit that gets us through each day often requires plunging into dark places and reemerging with our own beacons of light. Believe it or not, I still love it, and like watching a bright-eyed child grow up in a world this dark, I’m terrified and excited for what’s next. –Jazz Scott

The Shortlist: King Vision Ultra’s Pain of Mind, Shygirl’s Cruel Practice, Oneohtrix Point Never’s Age Of, Ashley Paul’s Lost In Shadows, James Ferraro’s Four Pieces For Mirai, Larry Wish’s How More Can You Need, Jon Hassell’s Listening To Pictures, Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement’s Red Ants Genesis, Parquet Courts’s Wide Awake!, The Carters’ EVERYTHING IS LOVE, Bernice’s Puff LP, Carla Bozulich’s Quieter, Pinkshinyultrablast’s Miserable Miracles, Duppy Gun Productions’s Miro Tape, DRINKS’s Hippo Lite, Valee’s GOOD Job, You Found Me, and Frog Eyes’ Violet Psalms.

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In my last article, we discussed the Academy Award winning films from 1994. Those were supposed to be the best movies of the year but what about the movies that we all saw? Or at least most of us. What of the blockbusters that made tons of money and had lines of people chomping at the bit to get in? Today, I will be covering the top six highest-grossing movies of the year. Why six? Because I already covered one of these films in my previous piece which can be found here.

PTBN’s Tribute to 1994: A Commentary on the Best Picture Nominees for the 66th Academy Awards

1994 was a good year at the box office as the numbers will show. It’s hard to find a common thread with these six movies. When it comes to legacy, the long lasting impact can be mixed. The movies in question for today are The Lion King, Forrest Gump, Speed, True Lies, The Mask, and The Flintstones. The Lion King just received a remake this year. Forrest Gump and Speed did wonders for the careers of Tom Hanks and Keanu Reeves. The Mask caps off what was an amazing year for Jim Carrey. True Lies and The Flintstones….. exist? But now to dig into the movies that made truck loads of cash for their respective studio.

The Lion King – Worldwide Gross: $763,455,561

The Lion King continued a string of great successes that Disney had with animated films in the 90’s and well before that for that matter. Starting with The Little Mermaid in 1989 and continuing with movies like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, Disney made animated films that were more than just great children’s movies but excellent films in their own right. With solid storytelling, top notch film making, and catchy soundtracks, these movies became the gold standard for movies in the 90’s. The Lion King is no different.

The “circle of life” starts for Simba as it does for all of us with his birth. He is the son of the King Mufasa which means someday he will become the king. Simba “just can’t wait to be king” but his Uncle Scar has prepared other plans. Scar works with a group of hyenas to orchestrate the death of Mufasa and make Simba think it was his fault. Believing he is responsible for his father’s death, Simba escapes to the desert. He is found barely alive by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warhog respectively. They take him to the safe haven of the jungle. Simba finds himself a lion with no home so Timon and Pumbaa take him in, teaching him their worry free way of life. Putting the past behind him, Simba live the “hakuna matata” way of life, growing from a cub to a young lion. He is having a fine time drifting aimlessly through the jungle with his friends until one day an old friend of his tries to hunt and kill Pumbaa. Simba runs in for the rescue and this lioness is Nala, to whom he has been promised for marriage. They “feel the love tonight” and then Nala encourages Simba to return to the Pride Lands. Under Scar’s leadership, the Pride Lands have become a wasteland. Simba refuses to return. He is comfortable with his aimless life and can’t face everyone back home after his father’s death. Simba storms off to collect his thoughts and runs into Rafiki, the mandrill who was present at Simba’s birth. Rafiki lets Simba know that Mufasa lives on in him. Simba speaks with the spirit of his father in the stars. Mufasa tells him that Simba must take his place amongst the great kings and unseat Scar. With help from his friends, Simba confronts Scar. Scar tells everyone that Simba killed Mufasa which tears up Simba inside but everyone else has seen enough of Scar’s reign. Simba’s friends take the hyenas but it’s Simba who takes on Scar. Scar has Simba on the ledge exactly like he did Mufasa and can’t help but gloat about the first murder he committed. Simba hulks up and takes down Scar, who begs for mercy, blaming the whole thing on the hyenas. Simba banishes him forever which Scar doesn’t take well. A sneak attack fails and Scar is left to the mercy of the hyenas, who are very hungry. Simba reigns as king, prosperity is restored to the land, and the Circle of Life continues.

At the time, The Lion King was the highest grossing animated film of all-time for Disney. Currently, it is third at Disney behind Frozen and Zootopia. It is the tenth highest grossing animated film of all time and the forty-fifth among all films. The Lion King was nominated for four Academy Awards. It won two, for Best Score and Best Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.) Speaking of songs, the soundtrack sold over ten million copies. That would make it the best selling soundtrack of the year. The awards and accolades for The Lion King are so numerous that listing them here would be pointless and take all day. Needless to say, this movie connected with audiences in a big way. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Circle of Life” were played on mainstream pop stations throughout the year. It is fitting that this movie is so remembered for it’s music as The Lion King would be adapted as a Broadway play and become one of the most successful musicals of all time. If you are visiting New York, The Lion King is still playing to this day and is the third longest running show in the history of Broadway. The success of The Lion King led to an afternoon cartoon series starring Timon and Pumbaa called appropriately The Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa, which ran from 1995 to 1999.

I think many of us will fondly remember The Lion King game which was released on NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis. I played the Genesis version and it’s an infinitely playable game. It’s a side scrolling, platformer which follows the events of the movies from stage to stage. Appropriately, the game has been praised for it’s visuals and music. If you live in Europe, this was the last game released on the NES. During a time when most games based on movies and television shows were epicly bad, The Lion King and the Disney series of games during the 16-bit generation were exceptional. The amount of care put into those games to make them fun and engaging was amazing and something you didn’t always see back then.

The Lion King might be one of the greatest things to ever come out of the House of Mouse and that is high praise. When you watch this movie, keep in mind that it was hand-drawn by people. The only thing they used computers for was the stampede sequence, which took two years to make. The amount of detail and layering that went into creating the animation was impressive on a level that has never been seen before or since by a film created with hand drawn animation. Over 600 artists, animators, and technicians worked on creating this movie. Generally, most people aren’t interested in watching special features on the DVD set but I really recommend you watch some of the documentaries to fully appreciate what went into making this movie. On a film making level, the scope and ambition of the film was simply amazing. I already mentioned the music but it bares repeating that they were on fire when making this movie. Every song fit perfectly into the movie. “Hakuna Matata”, “Circle of Life”, “Be Prepared”, “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”, and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, all of them are great songs set to great animated sequences. Even Hans Zimmer’s score was firing on all cylinders. To make sure that this isn’t just nostalgia speaking, I had my kids watch this movie just to see what they thought of it. They loved it. I feel like the movie still holds up and has a timeless quality to it. I can say with confidence that 1994’s The Lion King is a movie that will live forever and people will be watching for many future generations.

Forrest Gump – Worldwide Gross: $677,945,399

I covered Forrest Gump in detail in my previous article. Forrest Gump is about a simple man that somehow finds himself at the center of nearly every significant event of the last half of the 20th Century. Because of his simple nature, he is completely oblivious to the gravity of the events happening around him. The movie was a surprise hit which launched Tom Hanks’ career into a completely different direction than that which it had been on, brought in a ton of money for Paramount, and won the Oscar for Best Picture. If there is anything I failed to mention in the first article, it would be the technical achievement that Forrest Gump was. Industrial Lights & Magic worked on the visual effects for this movie and how much of this movie was created by CGI is surprising. Of course, there are the scenes were Forrest Gump is inserted into archival footage meeting with JFK, Lyndon Johnson,and Richard Nixon. They had to line up Hanks while shooting him against a blue screen and he had to create those scenes with nothing to play off of. They brought in voice actors to record the lines of the Presidents then alter the original footage of the to match the lines being spoken. They then had to find ways to blend Hanks seamlessly into the footage. These scenes all worked for me and still hold up. Another scene that stands out to me is the one where Forrest is rescuing Bubba a napalm strike in Vietnam. I had no idea how much of that scene used CGI. It was an incredibly well done sequence which did an excellent job hiding all the tricks they used to make it looked as those Forrest was running away from an explosion while carrying someone out of the jungle. They used CGI to remove Lt. Dan’s legs and made that look convincing. Some movies have difficulty removing someone’s mustache and making it look good. In the years after 1994, the movie industry will rely more heavily on CGI. There are many movies where the effects are obviously contrived and take the viewer out of the movie with just how bad they look. It takes a level of craftsmanship and care to make the effects look as real as possible and on that level, Forrest Gump succeed. And that’s all I have to say about that.

True Lies – Worldwide Gross: $378,882,411

Harry Tasker, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, lives a double life of secret agent for the shadowy Omega Sector and that of a workaholic family man. He has been lying to his wife for years about what his real job is and she is none the wiser. Helen, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is tiptoeing around having a possible affair with used car salesman Simon, played by Bill Paxton. Simon is lying to Helen, telling her he is a secret agent to add some spice to her otherwise dull life. Harry suspects his wife may be having an affair so he uses the resources of a quasi-governmental spy organization to find out about what she is up to, harass her would-be boyfriend, and in the process put her in grave danger. In addition to that, they have a troubled teenage daughter played by Eliza Dushku. This ties into a subplot about an Arab terrorist organization that has acquired four nuclear warheads and have some big plans to use them.

True Lies has everything. Heart-pounding action sequences, romance, intrigue, drama, comedy that is well placed and doesn’t take away from the drama, and Schwarzenegger one-liners. So why didn’t I like it very much? This the first time I had seen this movie and I think I was expecting something closer to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a far superior movie in my estimation. I was expecting that Jamie Lee Curtis would be revealed to be a spy as well, for a rival organization, working the same case, adding a level of drama to their already strained marriage. Or that Bill Paxton would be actually working with the terrorists and the used car salesmen ploy was a plot to draw out Harry. But instead they just play it straight as these two people having an affair. Harry using his job as a super secret spy to snoop on his unfaithful wife really doesn’t play well in a now post-9/11 world. With things like The Patriot Act, unwarranted wire taps, and government surveillance on civilians, too much has happened in the last 25 years for this to all be played off as whimsical or endearing. At one point Harry and his partner Gibs, played by Tom Arnold, kidnap Helen and Simon in the back of their spy van. Harry roughs up Simon a little, telling him to stay away from his wife. It comes off as a humorous enough scene even if it is a bit petty and vengeful. However, when Harry and Gibs interrogate Helen in a room with a two way mirror and voice altering technology, it comes off as extremely creepy. Harry’s plan to romance Helen by making her work a case for his spy group is equally creepy. This results in the couple getting taken by the real terrorists and the interesting part of the movie can start again. This middle part of the movie where Harry is trying to unravel his wives affair and play a prank on her drags on way too long. The pacing is off and it really interrupted the flow of the movie. It’s made all the worse when you realize that the terrorists have four nuclear weapons and Harry has no real leads to work off of. Instead of focusing on not letting U.S. cities get nuked, he places his attention on harassing his wife and her friend.

True Lies is a movie that works so long as you don’t spend too much time thinking about it. Dana, the teenage daughter placed by Eliza Dushku is a good example. She is barely in the film. We see her steal some money from her dad and hop on her boyfriend’s motorcycle, a clear sign that something is wrong. We don’t hear from her again until she is kidnapped by terrorists. I forgot she was even in the movie up to that point and it comes off as some sloppy writing. As if the writers planned out some great action sequences but they needed a reason to have them happen so why not have the daughter get kidnapped? I guess the idea is that if Harry saves his daughter it will repair their fractured relationship but is that really how that would happen? At the end of the movie, Helen becomes a super spy too and now the couple work together on cases of international intrigue. But what about Dana? Now both of her parents are gone all the time, jet setting to Monte Carlo while she is left to her own devices. Is her life really better with both of her parents in the spy game? Shouldn’t Harry be fired for misusing company resources. Sure, he saved the day from the terrorists but couldn’t he have prevented a lot of property damage and lost lives if he hadn’t been dicking around looking into his wife’s personal affairs? And why would they make Helen a part of this spy organization? She is a legal secretary. They don’t just pull any schmoe off the streets to be an international person of mystery. Point is, there is a really clever movie just under the surface and if the writing had been tightened up a little, this could have been a much better movie.

Where True Lies excels is in it’s action sequences and special effects. James Cameron is as good as he ever was in this respect. The filming took several months, they threw every idea they had for an action scene up on the screen and it really shows. One example is the opening sequence where Harry sneaks into a dinner party to gain access to some top secret files and sweep Juno, played by Tia Carrere, off her feet. Carrere is looking amazing in this movie although her character could have used more motivation beyond wanting to make piles of money. This opening action scene is very reminiscent of a James Bond movie. Tom Arnold was particularly funny in this part of the film, trying to organize the operation, navigate icy roads, all while Harry guns down bad guys and blows stuff up. All of the action sequences are over the top with lots of big concepts playing out and tons of moving parts. No one can argue that James Cameron isn’t one of the best action movie directors there have ever been. True Lies may not be as visually impressive as Avatar or Titanic but you can see that compared with other movies of the action genre, Cameron is not to be out done.

True Lies would be not only the third highest grossing film of the year but also the third highest grossing film of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career, behind only Terminator 2 and Terminator 3. When discussing Arnold movies with a group, this is one that isn’t going to be brought up much but it did surprisingly well. There was also a video game on the SNES and Genesis for which the mileage may vary but it did quite well on each system. For such a successful movie, it is hard to say what the legacy for True Lies is. Everyone involved in the film were already established entities so it’s not like this did much for the careers of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, or James Cameron other than keep them on the footing they had already been on. Judging from online commentary, the film hasn’t aged well in the eyes of some viewers, many people calling True Lies offensive. It has yet to get a Blu-Ray or 4K release. I would be very interested to hear what The Nation thinks of this film because I have a hard time placing it with other Arnold or James Cameron movies.

The Mask – Worldwide Gross: $351,583,407

The best year of Jim Carrey’s career rolls on. If you were drafting people for 1994, Jim Carrey would be on the top of most draft boards. He starts out the year with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which does fine at the box office but really found it’s audience on VHS. Dumb and Dumber comes out in the middle of the year, taking the momentum from Ace Ventura and launching Jim Carrey to even greater heights. Near the end of the year, The Mask drops and it solidifies Jim Carrey has a major box office draw. It’s hard to think of any actor who has had a year like that. If you would like to hear more about Dumb and Dumber, I would recommend this excellent podcast.

https://ptbnpop.podbean.com/e/laugh-in-theater-6-dumb-and-dumber-with-jennifer-smith/

Stanley Ipkiss, played by Jim Carrey, is the definition of the nice guy who finishes last. He is a low-level bank employee who everyone pretty much walks over except his best friend Charlie, played by Richard Jeni. Charlie encourages Stanley to show some confidence and put himself out there. Their friendship is pretty endearing even if Charlie can come off as a bit of a sleaze. Charlie invites Stanley to the club but he can’t get in because they just don’t want him in there. Stanley stands by his broken down car when he runs into Tina, played by Cameron Diaz, in her film debut. He met her earlier at his bank and was charming enough but locked up like the brakes on his old car. While driving home in defeat, he stalls out on a bridge. While beating up on the car, he spies what appears to be a person in the water. When he dives in all Stanley finds is a mask. Stanley makes his way home where he is harassed by his landlady. He goes to his apartment and eventually puts on The Mask, becoming a living cartoon character. Everything he does is straight out of a Looney Tunes Cartoon. Giant mallets, bombs in his pocket, bug-eyed reactions, his joking demeanor, and so much more makes the character of The Mask wildly different than that of Stanley. So whereas Stanley would have stayed at home with his dog watching cartoons, The Mask heads out on the town, causing mischief. In the morning, Stanley has no idea what has happened and the authorities are asking questions about The Mask. Through the events of the film, Stanley must learn how to show more confidence without The Mask and how to break up a criminal enterprise with it on while being a complete goofball.

The Mask is a wildly entertaining film that still held up for me. While not the deepest film in terms of plot, it’s well structured and holds up well these twenty five years later. Stanley deals with the consequences of what The Mask does during the day while The Mask is tussling with the Mob at night. Edge City is the fictional city in which the movie takes place. I really appreciate the world building and look of this city. It’s a city that is somewhere between the 1930’s and 1990’s. The center of this town seems to be the Coco Bongo Club and the people really like swing music, putting them ahead of that trend by about five years. The world that The Mask occupies at night has a fantasy element to it where as the day time world of Stanley has a crushing modernity, with it’s pollution, over crowding, and hum drum nature. At one point Stanley visits a psychiatrist played by Ben Stein to try and understand what is happening with The Mask. Turns out The Mask only works at night so Stanley ends up looking like an insane person when talking about the issues he is dealing with. Everything about this and the other daytime scenes are grounded in a realism. Stanley gets ripped off and hassled by mechanics during the day, something we can all relate to. At night, he shows up as The Mask and gets a measure of revenge against them while they are sitting around playing cards, a wicked fantasy for sure but one that people with habitually broken down cars can sort of relate to. My question is why are these mechanics hanging out at work into the wee hours of the night? During the day, the police and journalists are on top of investigating crimes involving The Mask. At night, mobster Dorian Tyrell, who looks like he could have been Matthew McConaughey but is actually played by Peter Greene, runs his criminal enterprise with impunity.

The Mask was a huge hit and it’s all Jim Carrey that is the draw for this movie. I remember the movies rendition of Cuban Pete being played as a music video on MTV, back when they used to show those kind of things. The movie lead to an animated series which I remember being pretty ok. Also there would be a sequel starring Jamie Kennedy, which is best left forgotten. It is also interesting that this was Cameron Diaz first movie. She was a natural and had good chemistry with Jim Carrey. Every couple of years there are rumbles about getting Jim Carrey to make a proper sequel to The Mask. I expect it to happen eventually. With Jim Carrey taking a job as Doctor Eggman in the Sonic the Hedgehog Movie, he will probably chase that Mask 2 paycheck before too long. Then we might have a better sense of what the legacy of this movie is. For people who saw it at the time, it is fondly remembered, fun-loving romp. I don’t know that the younger generation has gone back to view this film or what they think of it. Whether The Mask is evergreen remains to be seen, but it will always be remembered as one of the three films from this year that made Jim Carrey an A-Lister.

Speed – Worldwide Gross: $350,448,145

Pop Quiz Hot Shot. There is a bomb on a bus. The bomb is armed once the bus goes over 50 mph. The bomb explodes once the bus goes under 50 mph. What do you do? In terms of trailers, is there anything that has ever explained a movie more concisely and been so effective? I imagine this was also the elevator pitch for this movie. Speed is so much more than just the bomb on a bus scenario but that line was a really good hook to draw in the audience. 1994 was a pretty good year for the action movie. You have the aforementioned True Lies, A Clear and Present Danger, and The Crow. A tier below that you had movies like On Deadly Ground, Surviving the Game, and Beverly Hills Cop 3. Then you were kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel with some of the action releases to theaters, like Double Dragon, The Shadow, Street Fighter, and Blown Away. The point is that the studios thought enough of the action genre to send a healthy number of action movies to the theaters. Speed is a tricky movie to review. I can’t call it exceptional because it relied on quite a few action movie tropes. It doesn’t try to reinvent the genre, most of what happens here is pretty typical for the genre. Best I can say is that Speed is an action movie done right.

Often when a review says a movie is a nonstop thrill ride, that means the reviewer has nothing to say or wasn’t paying attention to the movie. Speed is very fast-paced in terms of the action. It could be called Worst Case Scenario: The Movie. From the first scene where Dennis Hopper’s character, Howard Payne, stabs a security guard in the head. Hopper’s performance is one of the high points of this movie. The character is not at all subtle and the acting reflects that. His dialogue is feels like it needs another polish in the writing but the way Hopper delivers it is brilliant. I wouldn’t change a line. Payne strategically places bombs in an elevator at the beginning of the movie. He then demands a ransom or he will blow up the elevator along with everyone in it. The LAPD is called in to deal with the situation. Our hero Jack, played by Keanu Reeves, makes an entrance like a champ, with his car jumping about 20 feet in the air over a hill on the way to the scene. Jack volunteers himself and his partner Harry, played by Jeff Daniels, for the most dangerous assignment, right on top of the action. If you were drafting people for 1994, Jeff Daniels would be a good mid-round pick. If you are a binge of 1994 movies, you will get to appreciate Daniels acting chops by watching Speed and Dumb and Dumber back to back. You can see that he has a lot of range as an actor. Oddly enough, his character in both movies is named Harry.

This opening scene establishes a few important things. First that Jack thinks fast on his feet as well as outside of the box. Harry is the bomb expert while Jack has the bravery to get up close to the bombs to inspect them. They make a good team. Jack uses a crane from a near by construction site to hang onto the elevator car while the bombs explode the cables. Of course, because nothing in this movie can be simple, the crane starts to give way and they get the hostages out in the nick of time. And because this is Speed, Jack immediately realizes that Howard is in a near by freight elevator. So after a heart-pounding action sequence, we get another heart-pounding action sequence. Harry gets taken hostage by Howard, who has strapped a bomb to himself to ensure his escape. Jack’s solution to the problem is to shoot the hostage, in the leg to be exact. Howard quickly slips away saying “Mwahahah!” as he heads for a parking garage and seemingly blows himself up.

The movie takes a bit of a lull as Harry and Jack are honored for their actions in taking down the bomber. But it is revealed that Howard is alive and well, watching the ceremony on television and applauding their efforts sarcastically. So one morning Jack is out buying a muffin when a bus explodes. Howard calls on a pay phone and lays out the situation for Jack. A bomb is on a bus. When it hits 50, the bomb will activate, when it goes below 50 the bus blows up. Howard tells him which bus and we are off to the races. Meanwhile, Annie, played by Sandra Bullock, gets on a bus with a cast of characters. I didn’t catch the character’s name but one of them is a tourist played by Alan Ruck, who was Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I prefer to think this is Cameron visiting L.A. Jack hijacks a car and tracks down the bus. He manages to jump on the bus. Everything that can go wrong does. The main plot device is keeping the bus over 50. It certainly builds tension. When Jack writes a note telling them there is a bomb on the bus, the drivers instinct is to slow down. Jack tries to tell the people on the bus what is happening when a criminal gets nervous and shoots the bus driver. Annie takes the wheel and she doesn’t know how to drive. Of course, because it’s L.A., they hit traffic. Having to keep above 50, Annie takes an exit and runs into everything along the way. Now they are maintaining 50 on Western Ave, which as a former L.A. resident, I can tell you is the most unrealistic thing about this movie. The movie keep rolling like this. A complication will pop up, Jack has to find a way around it, another one pops up. The whole time Harry is trying to find out who Howard is. Turns out he used to be former bomb squad. He lost a finger in an accident and got screwed out of his pension, which is why Howard is doing all this crazy stuff.

They get the bus on the yet to be completed 105 Freeway and for a while that solves the problem of having to keep the speed up to 50 mph. Howard is watching the whole thing on the news but he also has a camera on the bus. If they try to get any passengers off, he will blow up the bus. They come up on the incomplete part of the 105 and have to get the bus to move as fast as it can to make the jump, an incredibly exciting part of the movie. Jack thinks fast and gets the bus onto the tarmac at the airport. Now they can keep the bus moving but how are they going to get the people off. Meanwhile, Harry finds Howard’s house and it was rigged to blow up. Turns out, he wasn’t home. He calls Jack to taunt him about it. With the situation getting more desperate, Jack find a way under the bus to take a look at the bomb. Everything with the operation goes wrong and he manages to get back on the bus but not without popping a hole in the gas tank. Time is running out when Jack realizes the reason Howard has been calling Annie ‘Wildcat’ is because of her University of Arizona shirt she has on. They trace the line for the camera and play some footage on a loop. This way they can get the people off the bus and Howard will be none the wiser. Now just Annie and Jack are on the bus. The sexual chemistry starts to heat up and they think of a way to get off the bus without blowing up with it. They find a very suggestive way off the bus but it’s not over yet. The LAPD agree to make the cash drop for Howard. He finds out that the bus has exploded and reacts over the top. He still has a plan though. He kidnaps Annie and makes his way to a train. Jack tracks him down and it’s the final showdown. Let’s just say that Howard doesn’t get ahead.

I love this movie. It keeps on moving. The dialogue is great. Dennis Hopper is fantastic and very enjoyable in this over-the-top performance. Keanu Reeves really came across well in this movie. I have to believe that the success of Speed helped get him cast in The Matrix. Before this, I don’t know that people would have taken him seriously as an action star. Speed did big things for Keanu. I think Sandra Bullock came out of the movie looking good too. She would go on to be in the ill fated sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control. But mostly she would be the leading lady in many Rom Coms among other things. The writing was very tight. The dialogue was witty but took the situation serious the whole time. Speed was a very ambitious production. On a budget of $30 million, they got every nickel they could out of that money. A lot of these stunts had to be very difficult to pull off. Watching this movie again, I had a greater appreciation for what it must have taken to make the movie. Speed was one of the movies they would use in film school as an example of what to do in action movies. Most movies are happy to have a handful of action sequences as exciting as Speed. Somehow, they kept the story moving with most of the movie taking place on a bus. That is incredibly challenging to do. In addition to that, the action sequences lead one into the next, not leaving the audience much time to breath. You would think that would burn out an audience but it worked really well. Speed is just a fun movie. It won three Oscars, all for editing and sound design. The legacy of Speed will probably be that of the fun, summer action movie that takes audiences by storm. They don’t happen as often as they used to but every now and again one will come along and prove that audience love this type of movie.

The Flintstones – Worldwide Gross: $341,631,208.

I saw this movie in theaters back in 1994 and I will be damned if I can’t say why. I wasn’t that big of a fan of the show. I was speaking with some other people from our generation and it seems like the story is the same. Didn’t really like The Flintstones that much but saw it in theaters anyway. This came out Memorial Day weekend and I suspect that many of our parents sent us to the theaters to be rid of us for a couple of hours. Still, I remember liking the movie back then, even if there wasn’t much I could remember from it aside from Halle Berry. I was genuinely shocked to see how much money The Flintstones made, beating out Dumb and Dumber for the sixth spot overall for 1994. Having watched this movie recently, The Flintstones is a really underrated movie.

The Flintstones greatest feature is how much this feels like the show and how much they got right. John Goodman stars as Fred and he plays it perfectly. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Fred Flintstone this well. The same for Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble. Every character feels like they came right from the television to the movie screen. You can’t take this for granted in an adaptation. A lot of adaptations fail to get anything about the original right outside of the name on the poster and the name of the characters. Every inch of The Flintstones was made with obvious love and care for the show. The production design that takes modern things and remake them in a Stone Age way was impressive. They remake the opening and closing of the original show, complete with the theme song and all of it looks exactly right. The story seems like it could be an episode of the show. A corporate executive needs someone he can pin his crime on as he robs the company blind. So he does this by having all the rank and file workers take an aptitude test. Meanwhile, Fred lends some money to Barney so that he can adopt Bam Bam, who will be his and his wife, Betty’s son. Barney vows to pay back Fred and does so by swapping their tests. As a result, Fred gets the big promotion and now, finally he is going to be a somebody. He’s moving up in the world, making more money, and letting it go to his head. Barney gets saddled with Fred’s test results which were so poor that he got fired. This puts hard times on the Rubble household and they stay with The Flintstones until they can get back on their feet. Well, Fred gets very full of himself and forgets who his real friends are. Half of the quarry gets laid off, making Fred hated among everyone who had been his work mates. This builds to a head where Barney is working as a bus boy at a club that Fred, Wilma, and Betty are attending. Barney gets sick of Fred’s attitude and tells everyone that he swapped the tests. This creates a riff between The Flintstones and The Rubbles. While Wilma doesn’t know what to believe, she is also sick of Fred’s attitude. As we go into our third act, the corporate stooge, Cliff Vandercave, reveals to Fred that he has been playing him the whole time. Cliff flat out tells him that he is being framed with embezzlement. Fred, with nowhere to turn and no one to turn to, goes into hiding. All of the evidence that Fred is innocent is on a Dictabird which recorded every conversation in Fred’s office. Betty and Wilma capture the bird. Fred gets caught by an angry mob and as his friend, Barney gets rounded up by the mob too. Fred realizes that he has been a jerk all along and right before he is taken out by the angry crowd, he apologizes for everything he has done. So just in the nick of time, Betty and Wilma prove Fred’s innocence. With everything revealed, Fred stops Cliff from absconding with the money by accidentally inventing concrete and trapping Cliff in stone. Mr. Slate sees this and offers Fred a big promotion. Fred turns it down because when he finally became a somebody, he became somebody he didn’t like. He just wants to have his old job back along with all the other laid off workers. Fred and Barney are friends again, everything is back to normal.

If you are a fan of the show, The Flintstones movie delivers. From the jokes to the way they are delivered, everything is authentic to the show. It’s hard to say what people who have never seen The Flintstones would think of this movie. I thought it was an enjoyable movie. It is a film that doesn’t get much love these twenty five years later. The follow up prequel released in 2000, The Flinstones In Viva Rock Vegas and the direct to video sequels I believe hurt this film a bit. There are a ton of bad sequels starring different actors and I think there may have been “Flintstones Fatigue.” I would recommend people go back and watch this film. Ultimately, the legacy of this film will be as a surprise hit that was just a product made by a studio for the purposes of making piles of money. There was no higher purpose to The Flintstones. I do think credit should be give to everyone involved for taking the care they did with the source material. The people who were handed this assignment made it with love and it shows.

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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odiamoviesngs · 5 years ago

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Rockstar Dj Songs in Hindi

The soundtrack met with rave overviews, with most editorialists refering to it as the best gathering of 2011 Hindi Dj Songs.

The Indian Express Hindi Dj Mix considered the gathering an "accomplishment" all through the whole closeness of Bollywood music.

in like manner, various reviewers have hailed the track "Sadda Haq" as the "pre-grown-up tune of responsibility of India".

A study by Mumbai Mirror wrapped up, "Mohit emanates through with his flexibility, Irshad Kamil's keeps down reason straightforwardness to discharge an impression of being fundamental and Rahman demonstrates who's the boss. Respect." The overview hailed the get-together as the "conglomeration of the year" and as "one of A. R. Rahman's best Hindi scores.

Nikhil Hemrajani Hindustan Times commented that "It may have every one of the reserves of being a miracle, yet the music of this Imtiaz Ali film isn't the littlest piece like its name proposes.

Regardless, Rockstar's music is in no race to get to its objective. Listen to it without a thought for the world and you'll regard it.

Rahman's bewildering control is clear in each piece of the soundtrack Hindi Dj remix, and after a short time reminds us why he's the country's most essential arranger.

We won't be flabbergasted to see this become a jewel." Hindi Dj songs[13] CNN-IBN bestowed that the soundtrack in addition has a spot absolutely with Rahman as his past social occasions in any case

he doesn't incline toward to his veritable potential in 'Rockstar'.[14] Koimoi gave the total four and a half star out of five, and said "when all is said in done,

Rockstar is a not too horrendous album."[10] Music Aloud's review called it "a soundtrack of monster degree", giving it Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the social occasion 3.5 (out of 5) and bestowed, "Since there are gigantic intrigue and excitement to take a gander at what Rockstar brings to the table,

the get-together can be depended on to clear the racks/get downloaded in rapid time. While starting approaches would be principal enough."[15] Critic Baradwaj Rangan granted, "Rahman,

we have set ourselves up to be liberal, paying little character to whether we measure that he is never going to give us a party that we take to in a short minute, and paying little respect to whether

we fear that we are going to flood out by the thousand to purchase our copies of Rockstar duck just to choose the basic response of bemusement."[16] For Bloomberg TV India, Pratish Narayan passed on,

"So it's left to Rahman to recoup the film with a soundtrack and score that is obviously his best and most extraordinary since "Dil Se.." more than 10 years sooner. Credit ought to in like manner go to Mohit Chauhan,

whose voice offers life to fundamentally most of the tunes, going from associating with shake tunes and Indian culture music to certified and dull Sufi numbers and nostalgic ballads."[17]

Planet Bollywood, Atta Khan states, "At any rate for a self-overseeing Rahman soundtrack, The music for the film is scored by A R Rahman overriding Imtiaz Ali's past adornment, Pritam. Mohit Chauhan has credited his voice for nine tunes and he is the voice of character Jordan (played by Ranbir Kapoor).[2] In 2010, during the advancement of the collection, Rahman passed on, "Rockstar is a character-driven film and as one can figure from the title, there will be heaps of guitar".[3] In 2010, a couple social gatherings of Ali and the lyricist brought into a clarification titled, "Words obliterate what I have to state". The tune (Jo Bhi Main) that draws out the issue of the legend. Kamil proposed the last two lines (In lafzon ke maybe journey Kaun badalta hai, essential kehta hoon Kuch, aur Matlab aur koi ho jaata hai) for the particular song.[1] But Ali didn't see the lines in light of the manner in which that the sacred individual ought to have this level of refinement as he was not poetic.[1] To make it sound like something that could make sporadic Jordan, Kamil moderated the first after a couple of more alters of talk the lines were "Jo Bhi Main Kehna Chaahoon Barbaad Kare Alfaaz Mere" in the soundtrack.[1] Upon advancement of the vociferating words Sadda Haq, Kamil passed on that the situation required a politically charged number that Jordan performs before a flooding swarm at the stature of his imaginative angst.[1] The articulation was used by understudies in during Kamil's school days in Punjab to challenge the alliance's optional enunciation of exams.[1] On making stanzas out of "Phir Se Udd Chala", the analogies, he granted on introduction of offtrack lines like "Banu Raavan, Jiyoon Mar Marke" ("I become Raavan by continuing to live each time I kick the can"), "The line was a moral story for character Jordan who like the abhorrent soul Ravan from the stories Ramayana, slumps pitifully different events yet goes on with his life and that is the reason I used the Ravan simile."[1] as indicated by Rahman two tunes Jo Bhi Mein and Sadda Haq try to be in the custom of tune Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones and tune Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd. Further, he regardless, "Much practically identical to most shake tunes tended to people's voices, here other than the central character's cry relates to all of us." In a get-together with Mid-Day, he passed on, "I purposefully declined using twisted guitars and overpowering sweet music. Regardless, I have done it here in Rockstar. Also, most tunes are acoustic."[4] For the tune Katiya Karun vocalist Harshdeep Kaur saw that the tune was recorded at AR Studios, Powai, Mumbai. Rahman referenced the explanation from Katiya Karun declines to which she unveiled the significance to him. The stanzas unwind as, "I turn your cotton for the range of the night, the entire day is spent in this thought, I will live surprising you, Be a turning wheel O' my body." Rahman anticipated that it should be an incomprehensibly dazzling number as it would have a colossal measure of fun tune with Jordan and Heer (played by Nargis Fakhri) all over the place. Rahman started restricting and made the tune plainly before the talented laborer. Kaur conferred that it was certainly not a general populace tune, only the rhyme Katiya Karun has a spot with a Punjabi people content.[5] A pinch of the tune was taken shots at a discotheque and in this way, Kamil put in direct depiction stanzas in the tune lines translating, "I will turn your cotton for the term of the night" that in a distorted way comprehended "I will be at your relationship for the length of the night", thusly giving it a thing tune touch.[1] Rockstar will absolutely at whatever point fit in the 'staggering' gathering.

Just "Kun Faya Kun", "Hawaa" and "Saadda Haq" can be classed as tunes that have the wow factor that we come to associate with his Hindi Dj remix best music.

Unequivocally exactly as expected, making a triumphant 14-tune get-together is an unfathomably Hindi Dj songs marvelous deals sure and there's no denying that his latest fans will be content with the outcome at any rate everything considered, for the people who have had an instance of his confirmed centerpieces, it won't be viewed as one of his best. Concerning Imtiaz Ali, well what are his chances of teaming up with Rahman for successive soundtracks? Along these lines, he may come back to Pritam (or a newcomer) after this short at any rate mesmerizing test with a virtuoso who has a great deal on his plate at the present time. At any rate the short assessment has fulfilled for the specialist - the music of Rockstar works best for the film and its legend Jordan. The soundtrack of the year? Very possibly..."[18] Writing for Yahoo! News, scholastic Satyajit felt, "ROCKSTAR that will deal with the sound stands and will perceive goliath time scope of rational ease of use in months to come".[19] For Bollyspice, Rumnique Nannar passed on, "The Rockstar party satisfies the principal essentials, Rahman has recouped his title as one of the most innovative music experts in the business, and the music is typically radiant. Regardless this is all surface level, the music as impeccable and fundamental on the ears for what it's value. Rahman wandering out of his average degree of affirmation and endeavoring a get-together that interests in all cases and he wins in that. "[20]

In the music CD of the social affair, lyricist Irshad Kamil's name had been dismissed on the gathering spread and on the internal pages. Or then again maybe, the CD has given undeniable credit to essayist Rumi, whose piece was sung by Ranbir Kapoor. Insecurity, Imtiaz Ali passed on, "It is just a managerial botch and sometimes it happens when things are not in our hold. Irshad is my single accessory, who has been there with me from the most prompt starting stage. In the going with a stack of the sound CDs, we will The music for the film is scored by A R Rahman displacing Imtiaz Ali's past partner, Pritam. Mohit Chauhan has impelled his voice for nine tunes and he is a voice of character Jordan (played by Ranbir Kapoor).

#Hindi dj songs

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duluoz2 · 6 years ago

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Musicis historia mea, Part II: The Punk Years

The fist time I heard punk rock, it scared me. It was the first track of the Germs’ “GI” album. My sister had borrowed it from someone, and there it was on the turntable. The cover was black with a blue circle on it; weird. I thought I’d give this punk thing a try. After all, I was an avid “New Wave” fan. I liked Devo, Blondie, Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello; how much different could this punk music be? To be honest, I had seen documentaries about the punks in Britain, and it had seemed pretty creepy; I mean, they had safety pins in their faces! Plus, the scary personification of punk, Sid Vicious, had recently died of a heroin overdose after knifing his girlfriend. No thanks! I’ll stick to the less scary stuff, maybe go as far as liking the Ramones, and, if I really wanted to get radical, the Dickies.

But here was this album by a group called the Germs; my sister got it from a friend of hers who was actually into punk. So I gave it a listen. The first song on the album, by now a punk classic and one that I have listened to countless times, is called “What We Do is Secret.” It starts with a four count kick drum beat, and then it hits warp drive into a sonic onslaught that is atomic. My usual volume for listening to any music when I was 13 was loud, as in LOUD. So of course I had the volume turned up to ridiculous levels. Big mistake. The drumbeat kicked, and suddenly I was pummeled by guitar, bass, and Darby Crash’s demonic screech.

Standing in the line we're aberrations Defects in a defect's mirror And we've been here all the time real fixations Hidden deep in the furor- What we do is secret-secret!

Not that I understood any of the lyrics (nor do I to this day). All I knew is that I felt like Charlie Brown when he was pitching and someone would hit the ball back at him and cause him to spin around in a cloud of dust while his shirt, socks, and shoes flew off. I quickly took the record off. Nope. Too loud, too intense. I’ll stick to listening to my Devo “Freedom of Choice” album. But deep down, I was intrigued. It all came to a head when my sister made the first purchase of a punk album by a member of my family: the soundtrack to The Decline of Civilization (I know what some of you are thinking; “you mean that movie about the metal bands?” No, the original!). Now recovered from my first encounter with SoCal hardcore, I listened. First song. “White Minority” by Black Flag (after some dialogue from the movie, that is). Again, an aural blitz to start things off. This time, however, I was not scared. And so my initiation into punk rock began.

Now, punk still had a bad reputation. The stories about the punk scene in Britain had scarcely faded into obscurity before we were inundated with shocking exposés about the violence and anti-social elements of the LA punk scene. Fights regularly broke out at shows. The local media had run stories and video about the gang-like attacks at Black Flag shows (the band was blamed for doing nothing to stop the violence). The message was clear: decent people stayed away from this type of scene. No good kids were into it. Parents, lock up your children. The LA punk scene even had its own Sid Vicious; Darby Crash, he of the frightening GI album, had OD’d in December of 1980 (he died the same day as John Lennon, which overshadowed things a bit). But again, although I was initially repelled by the whole scene, I was also intrigued. I was a fan. Punk records started finding their way into my record collection. My friends and I slam danced at the eight-grade graduation dance. I tried like hell to spike my hair. The fix was in.

This was circa 1981. The LA punk scene was in its hardcore golden age. Bands like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, Fear, the Adolescents, and Bad Religion were kings of the scene. What I didn’t know then was that the punk scene in LA had a longer and more varied history. The nascent LA punk scene had started in the late 70’s and was much more arty and eclectic. There was also a heavy gay element, since many of the artists were used to being on the fringes of society. The music was slower and more experimental. The bands of that era were X, the Weirdos, Catholic Discipline, and the Bags. Bands associated with hardcore music, like Black Flag and the Germs, were also a part of this earlier scene, but their music was different at that time. The punk scene I got involved with was far less diverse; bands were hardcore, and there was a macho element to everything with the slam dancing and fighting. The kids in the scene were younger and from the suburbs. They were “bored kids with nothing do do,” to put it in the words of the Adolescents. We liked the music loud, hard, and fast. If it was slow, or if, god forbid, a band had long hair, we weren’t interested in it. Thus, bands that would survive the initial influx and go on to some degree of fame in later years by going beyond the SoCal punk scene like the Minutemen, were held in lesser regard than a band like TSOL.

Then a weird thing happened; punk bands started cropping up in the weirdest places. There were scenes in major cities like San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, but bands started coming from places like Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Minneapolis, the heart of the Midwest for God’s sake. They had weird names like Necros, the Meatmen, the Stretchmarks, and, weirdest of them all, Husker Du. They didn’t look like punks. At least, they didn’t look like punks according to my definition. I simply wasn’t’ impressed although I was happy so to see at least a bastardized version of punk going national. Still, Southern California was the place for true punk rock.

And it seemed as if the scene was growing exponentially. More and more bands were formed. Record labels like Posh Boy, Frontier, SST, and Epitaph put out a steady stream of singles, EP’s, and full albums. Live shows were a bit of a problem. By the time I had figured out a way to sneak off to shows, I was either thwarted by the age limit, the club had gone under, or punk bands were banished. Thus, I missed famous venues like the Starwood, the Masque, and Al’s Bar. My first gig was at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and featured an all-star lineup of Black Flag, the Minutemen, the Adolescents, and DOA. I went with my older brother, my sister, and her friend. At the time, the violence at punk shows was all over the news, particularly the violence at Black Flag shows. Needless to say, I was scared shitless. I dressed for the occasion in what I thought were punk clothes: Levi’s 501s, flannel shirt, and Chuck Taylors. When I saw what many of the other attendants were wearing – leather jackets, combat boots, and bondage pants – I was even more gobsmacked. I had what I thought was short hair, over my ears, but most of the guys at the place had shaved heads. Skinheads! The guys who would randomly pick someone out of the crowd and beat the shit out of him. The atmosphere was strange, threatening. I thought at any moment I would get grabbed by the collar and set upon by five or six guys. I sat in the back with the girls and watched the bands. My brother and his friends, veterans of the scene by this time, quickly made their way towards the stage and into the slam pit (we didn’t call it “moshing” then; I still have no idea what the fuck “moshing” is). I stood well back and just watched. I really don’t remember much about the bands that played that night.

The things I remember distinctly are a guy coming out dressed as Adam Ant and dancing to “Ant Music.” Seems that, for some reason, Black Flag fans decided that they hated the Ants, and in particular Adam, and that the best way to express such hate was by beating the shit out him. The ersatz Adam, actually Overkill lead singer Merrill dressed in a full Kings of the Wild Frontier outfit, danced and pranced while various member of the audience tried to climb the stage and smash his face in. None of them succeeded. Then, Black Flag, headliners for the evening, came out and launched into “Six Pack,” the new single the band had just released. After that, it’s all pretty much a blur. I remember loud. I remember fast. And I remember mustering up the courage to move closer to the stage and on the fringes of the slam pit. And it was there, while I watched with fascination the barely controlled chaos of the pit (which did not go in a circle, but went in all directions at once), that my brother reached out mid slam dance, grabbed me by the shirt, and dragged me into the pit. I was a pretty substantial 13-year old, about six feet tall and probably 170 pounds, but I got tossed around pretty well. I remember trying to mimic the “dance style” of the others, which was a kind of stopped over, side to side swinging of the arms motion; the tough part was trying to keep on your feet as you slammed into others and they did the same. I fell, was picked up quickly, started again, fell, was picked up, and finally decided I’d had enough and got out. I don’t know if it was because I was young or looked pathetic, but I distinctly remember falling down and getting picked up right away. Kindness? Maybe. Or maybe they just wanted to toss me back into the fray to take another beating. Whatever it was, I was glad I wasn’t left on the floor to be stomped and kicked. I was also glad when I got the hell away from there.

I got back to where my sister and her friend were siting with a look on my face that must have explained what I had just gone through better than any words could. My sister looked back at me with a look that said, “Don’t even think about going back in there!” Okay, Sis. There was no beating at the hand of HB skinheads, no mayhem or riot. The biggest event was a fight between two legends. A guy named “Xhead” got into a fight with John Macias, the lead singer of Circle One. Xhead had been interviewed in The Decline. He got his name from the fact that he had an X shaved into the top of his head. John Macias was a rather large individual with a Mohawk who looked like he could play the entire defensive line for a football team. I don’t know what started the fight, and I didn’t even see it happen, but I distinctly remember Macias leaving the venue with his friends while holding his bloody ear. Pretty heavy stuff. My brother had seen the whole thing and gave me the details. The two squared off for whatever reason (they were both insane would be my guess), and the crowd had formed a circle to let them fight it out. Macias would later be killed by the LAPD in Santa Monica after going nuts and running around PCH and threatening people; Xhead, who was described by X bassist and vocalist John Doe as a sociopath, faded into obscurity. But such was the electric atmosphere that was ever present at punk gigs in the early 80’s. And into such a scene I now found myself entering.

It wasn’t easy to go to gigs back then. I had to hope that my brother or someone else who had access to a car could take me, and I had to hope that the gig was on a Saturday and that it was all ages. This wasn’t an easy task. Many clubs didn’t want the problems that were attendant with any punk show like vandalism, violence, and general mayhem. While there were those of us who were really interested in seeing a band and maybe getting in some slam-dancing and stage-diving, there was a segment of the audience who were bent on causing trouble. The clubs that would book punk bands became less and less, and oftentimes they were sleazy bars on the outskirts of LA or obscure places that hadn’t been burned by booking punk bands. There were some good venues that had punk shows like the Whiskey, the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Perkins Palace, but there were also odd places like Oscar’s Cornhusker in Azusa, Mindiola’s Ballroom in Huntington Park, and The Timbers in Glendora. They were clearly not suited for such gigs, but they were also some of the only places that would book bands. The Cuckoo’s Nest was legendary. A small club in Costa Mesa, it was located next to a cowboy bar called “Zubie’s.” The punks and cowboys would regularly get into fights (as made famous by the Vandals song “Urban Struggle). It was also the place where a guy named Pat Brown dragged a cop with his car after the cop tried to reach in and grab his keys (again, made famous in a Vandals song; I’ll leave the title to your imagination). Unfortunately, I never set foot in the Nest. My brother attended a few shows there, and my two friends even made it out there to see Black Flag’s first show with Henry Rollins (their parents found out and they got in trouble, so I had that going for me), but I didn’t get a chance (somehow, my mom found out about the Black Flag show and wouldn’t let me go, if I recall). I also never went to Godzilla’s in the Valley, which was a club designed for punk bands. But I did see my share of bands, as I like to explain to the Millenials who think they discovered punk. I saw Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, Fear, Social Distortion, DOA, the Minutemen, Adolescents, MDC, Bad Brains, GBH, the Vandals, the Cockney Rejects, Dead Kennedys, the Mau Maus, Youth Brigade, and many more lesser known bands.

At a Bad Brains gig at the Santa Monica Civic, the scene of my first gig, I actually got backstage. I still don’t know how I managed it. The Bad Brains played an intense, incredible set, and were finishing up one of their 10 minute dub jams (which they interspersed with their atomic punk songs) and, in defiance of the security that was roughly tossing every punk who attempted a stage dive, invited the whole audience to join them. I distinctly remember lead singer H.R. saying something along the lines of “don’t let these yellow shirts stop you!” The floodgates opened, and it seemed like half the venue rushed up onto the stage. The now a part of the show punks slam danced and jumped around, and after the band finished their song, those who remained on stage started diving headlong into the audience. I don’t know where I got the courage, but I decided I didn’t want to leave the stage just then. I slowly creeped towards the backstage, trying not to be noticed. At one point, a security guard stopped me, but somehow I found another way towards the back. I picked up a guitar case to make it look like I was crew, and, before I even knew what had happened, I was backstage. I got into the Bad Brains’ dressing room and talked to HR and lead guitarist Dr. Know. I also met D. Boon from the Minutemen and a guy named Zachary who was the co-host of New Wave Theater, an odd little show hosted by the odd little Peter Ivers that aired on the local UHF station and featured many indie and punk bands. All in all, it was a spectacular night for a young and impressionable teen. I made my way back to the stage and watched the Circle Jerks from the wings for a while before I decided to rejoin my friends, which I accomplished by racing across the stage and doing an epic front flip into the audience.

And that was just one of the many good times I had as a wayward punk rocker. There were some not so good times too, like the time I shaved my head and was yelled at by every adult member of my family, or the time I was slam dancing to Fear at the Timbers in Glendora and some jackass hit me on the head with something hard that caused a nice split in my scalp, or the time I got kicked in the face by a stage diver at a GBH show. But overall, the experience was very cool. I met interesting people, had a couple of articles published in Flipside magazine, started a band called The Insurgents, talked to Henry Rollins and Greg Ginn at the Whisky one night, talked to Chuck Dukowski from Black Flag and Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks on the phone (you’d call the record labels they were on and they would answer; try that with Justin Timberlake), and saw a lot of bands, some talented, and some not so much. It’s a part of my musical history, and in a way, it informs who I am today with my general eschewing of commercial and popular entertainment (I didn’t always walk the walk; there are a few Duran Duran albums in my past). I don’t know if it’s possible for kids to go through the same type of cool experience.

I remember interviewing a guy from a band for a music magazine in the 90’s and we were both reminiscing about the old punk days. He was from somewhere in the Midwest, and I remember him saying that the really cool thing about liking punk in the 80s was that you really had to look hard to track down the music. Bands rarely came to where he lived, and the local record stores didn’t carry much of the music, so it made finding it that much more special. It was an experience just to get access to the music. We both agreed, as older guys always seem to do, that things were better in our day because you had to make an effort; now, everything is easy to find and nothing is unknown. I see a lot of people who have a nostalgia for punk who I don’t remember being around when it was actually a thing. Everybody wants to claim a connection to it, but very few people were really there. Whenever I see a young kid with a Dead Kennedys or Black Flag T-shirt or patch, I laugh to myself. My inclination is to say, “Hey, name five Dead Kennedys songs, and without ‘Holiday in Cambodia.’” But, I realize, I was doing the same thing when I was into the Doors and Jimi Hendrix when I was a teen. I’m more likely to say, “You know, I saw those guys.” It strikes them as weird that any adult would make that claim. I guess they’re just finding what they are into although if you can buy a band’s shirt at the local mall, it kind of takes away the whole rebellion thing. So I write this as a retired punk, a veteran of the scene, as we used to call it, who remembers the glory days and now, annoyingly, won’t shut up about how great it was. But really, it was.

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