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dustedmagazine · 7 months ago

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Dusted Mid-Year 2024, Part II (Lumpeks to Z-Ro)

Rosali

Part two of our mid-year round-up provides a second perspective on albums that at least one Dusted writer loved. Here we cover the second half, alphabetically by artist, with entries from Lumpeks to Z-Ro.

If you missed Part I, check it out here.

Lumpeks — Polonez (Umlaut)

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Who nominated it? Bill Meyer

Did we review it? No

Ian Mathers’ take:

I’m honestly not familiar enough with either jazz or traditional Polish dance music to be able to spot or articular exactly where this intriguing and very enjoyable fusion of the two has joined them. There’s a similar feel to other acts I’ve heard that both clearly deeply respect the traditional music they draw on and are unafraid to put their own spin on that source material (both Xylouris White and Black Ox Orkestar came to mind), and as with those other cases the results on Polonez could equally be ancient or brand new. That the quartet’s main instrumentation (which also includes Louis Laurain on cornet, Pierre Borel on alto sax, and Sébastien Belief on double bass) includes steady, deep frame drumming (using a local variation called a bębenek obręczowy) from Olga Koziel (who also sings) gives it plenty of distinct character. And the mostly French group cares enough about actually understanding and respecting that traditional Polish music they made a short documentary about the field research that went into making Polonez. There’s an energetic, joyous swing to both the jazz and folk sides of Lumpeks’ music that makes the result much more than just an academic curiosity.

Mdou Moctar — Funeral for Justice (Matador)

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Who nominated it? Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? No, but we did a Listening Post. In the intro, Jennifer Kelly wrote, “The new record is as sharp and impassioned as any Moctar and his band have done so far, and it is inflamed with political energy.”

Andrew Forell’s take:

Mdou Moctar is an extraordinary guitarist and must be incredible in a live setting. The rhythms, the vocal back and forth and the moments Mochtar sprays power chords and shards of riffs that explode like bombs are all great. You feel his rage and frustration even when you don’t understand the lyrics. But the super intricate, high-speed soloing, whilst impressive, had the same effect on me as listening to electric blues-rock. I’m caught between the passion of the band, the eloquence of their anti-colonialist, pro-African politics, and the technically brilliant guitar noodling. The title track is a fantastic meld and it’s hard not be carried along but I really prefer the slower tracks, particularly “Takoba” and “Imajighen”, which lope along behind the drums while the bass darts around between entwined guitar lines and call and response vocals. Funeral for Justice is an album I admired and enjoyed hearing but, for me, the pyrotechnics get in the way.

Jessica Moss – For UNRWA (self-released)

Who picked it? Ian Mathers

Did we review it? Yes, Ian said, “sorrow and elegy and rage and strength all course throughout the piece.”

Bryon’s take:

This is a beautiful album born from an ugly situation. Violinist Jessica Moss released this Bandcamp-only album to raise money for the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) after nation states halted funding when it was erroneously thought a few of its members were aligned with Hamas. It’s a 42-minute suite of violin, electronics, and vocals that Moss captured at a live set in Berlin. As someone who hasn’t had the pleasure of investigating her solo work but is enamored with her contributions to Silver Mt. Zion and other bands, I find this album to be an effective port of entry. It swells with all the emotions that Ian describes in his review, unfurling with a beauty and grace that at times evokes stillness and at others exudes passionate fervor. Based on this piece alone, I’ve decided that I need more of Moss’ music in my life.

NYSSA — Shake Me Where I’m Foolish (Six Shooter)

Who nominated it? Alex Johnson

Did we review it? No.

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

NYSSA gets its kick from the charisma of the eponymous front woman, a wailing, belting, crooning dynamo, whose delivery is part punk, part roots rock, part blues and part adrenalized, corruscating confession. NYSSA’s first album, Girls Like Me, was long-listed for the 2021 Polaris Prize. This follow-up is less synthy and more rock, fleshed out by a ripping band. It’s larger in every way, from the stomping, vibrato-laced rager, “Werewolf,” to the torchy, piano-bar introspection of “Blessed Turn.” “I’m good for nothing but the hell I raise,” NYSSA intimates on the rollicking “Hell I Raise,” but she’s wrong. She’s good at lots of things.

Rosali – Bite Down (Merge)

Who picked it? Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? Yes. Christian Carey wrote: “Rocking out is on the menu” and “the connections between pleasure and pain seem to coalesce in Rosali’s work.”

Alex Johnson’s take:

It’s a ferocious album, but intimate too. I hear a lot of Christine McVie in Rosali’s vocal. The way her delivery of “I want to feel right at the end of the day/I’m letting things come as they may” on “Rewind” contains warmth and sadness and joy and a sense of power in powerlessness that’s somewhere between cynicism and hope. It’s right out of Rumors. There’s some Fleetwood Mac in the groove of the title track too. But the spaciousness and spontaneity that Rosali and Mowed Sound capture remind me more often of the Oldham family — Will, Ned, et al. — from the raucous and inviting Viva Last Blues of “My Kind” to the clanging Anomoanon-ish country rock of “Hopeless.”

This is music that not only lets you in but keeps you there. Like how the primordial bass drum in “May It Always Be on Offer” both grounds the rhythm and carves out a space you can practically sit in. The charismatic draw of Bite Down, though, is the guitar work. There’s so much texture and dimension in, say, the fraught duet that rips through “Change is in the Form” or the gravelly solo patched under the strings of “Slow Pain,” echoing the toughness of “maybe I’m just used to it/maybe I don’t give a shit.” With their various yelps and rumbles, the guitar tones that run through “Hills on Fire” don’t so much create the atmosphere as define it, adding a palpable, tectonic heat to the song’s otherwise easy daze.

Bite Down is a big, organic album, full of sensations — heard, articulated, and felt. Someone yells “act natural” as “My Kind” gets revved up — I’m surprised the band needed a reminder.

Thou — Umbilical (Sacred Bones)

Who nominated it? Jonathan Shaw

Did we review it? Yes, Jonathan wrote, “If we set aside Umbilical’s thorny thematics, we still have a superlative metal record, loud, as aggressive as it is palpably aggravated.”

Andrew Forell’s take:

At the end of his typically on point review of Umbilical, Dusted’s Jonathan Shaw pondered whether Thou singer Brian Funck might agree with his assertion that “pleasure isn’t what we need most from culture right now” and asked, “Should we listen to him?”. On the first point, there’s not much pleasure evident on Thou’s new album, which perversely or not appears to be this half year’s metal album de jour with even The Guardian unguarded in its praise. And yes, there are so many reasons right now when pleasure seems futile in the face of No Future. To the second point, a definite yes! Once you acclimatize to Funck’s voice, a dyspeptic shredder of a thing which renders his lyrics nigh indecipherable, the wall of sound coming at you is a caustic bath for the ears. The drums and bass a thumping foundry shaking and burning whilst the guitars surround you like a swarm of rusting chainsaws. Amidst this maelstrom, Funck screams as if his spleen is about to join his word splatter. Now, that’s a t-shirt I’d wear again without washing. Umbilical is a nasty, irate fury that I will be revisiting.

Uranium Club — Infants Under the Bulb (Static Shock)

Who picked it? Alex Johnson

Did we review it? Yes. Alex wrote, “these enigmatic Minneapolitans fling their conceptual heft in a new direction and expand their musical objectives without ceding much, if any, of their signature, careening tension.”

Patrick Masterson’s take:

When I first heard Infants Under the Bulb in the spring, it was with only a cursory commitment; I understood its tinny, furiously strummed contours, but the full thrust of its oddball conceptual heft passed me by. A second, much closer listen for this midyear exchange has proven far more rewarding, and while Alex pretty well nails what makes this record so interesting in his review, what I keep coming back to are the myriad voices across this record. I think core members Brendan Wells, Harry Wohl, Ian Stemper and Matt Stagner all take a turn behind the mic, though liner notes prove frustratingly (appropriately?) limited, and Molly Raben drives the four-part “Wall” sequence. A few points of order unite the Club and its associates — namely, all of them take pointed barbs at contemporary society in different ways, all of them play with noticeable tightness (even Raben in the New Age-y “Wall” songs), and none of them can sing. Musically, “Small Grey Man” might be an obvious single to that effect, but it’s the guitar licks in “Game Show,” “2-600-LULLABY” and “Abandoned by the Narrator” to which I keep returning. More than anything else in Alex’s review, what hits home hardest is very succinctly tucked away in its middle (my emphasis): Chorus of voices aside, Uranium Club has been and remains a great guitar band.

Waxahatchee — Tigers Blood (Anti-)

Who picked it? Christian Carey

Did we review it? Yes, Christian said, “Tigers Blood doesn’t have a weak cut on it. One imagines it will be in heavy rotation for many long after its release.”

Tim Clarke’s take:

Tigers Blood starts out promisingly enough. On opening track “3 Sisters” it’s immediately evident that Katie Crutchfield has an intensely expressive voice, plus the skill to wield it with nuance. There’s plenty of space for her to emote, then when the song takes off, it feels well earned. From there, things start to feel too rote to fully engage. The band is clearly playing in the country-rock pocket, but there are no surprises to be found in the songwriting to capitalize on the promise of that opening song. Ultimately, it mostly ends up sounding a little hokey. A genuine shame, as I had high hopes coming into this one.

Whitelands — Night-bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day (Sonic Cathedral)

Did we review it? Yes, Ian said, “Right from the start, there’s a clarity and focus in the songs here that belies their sometimes diaphanous settings.”

Tim Clarke’s take:

Right from the opening blare of guitars, British quartet Whitelands nail a particular shoegaze aesthetic: Ride’s Going Blank Again. The six-strings are loud, but with enough delay and reverb to create a blurry wall of sound, while the rhythm section keeps things punchy to give the songs plenty of momentum. Can’t say there’s anything here that quite rivals the first wave of shoegazers who combined hallucinatory sonics with catchy songwriting, but Whitelands are clearly tapping into some inspiring sounds, which will hopefully mean their next release will have its own distinct personality.

Winged Wheel — Big Hotel (12XU)

Who nominated it? Bryon Hayes

Did we review it? Yes, Bryon wrote, “No Island hinted at Winged Wheel’s ability to craft such a sonic space, but that record was merely an appetizer for the hefty dose of momentum that Big Hotel provides.”

Christian Carey’s take:

A collection of artists who also belong to other bands, Winged Wheel coheres far more fluidly than most “supergroups.” On their second recording, Big Hotel, the band recorded in the studio together rather than remotely collaborating as they did on 2022’s Big Island. The difference is palpable, particularly in the power and execution of the rhythm section, which now includes Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. At the beginning of the recording, the one-two combo of the spacy and clangorous “Demonstrably False” and “Sleep Training,” on which Whitney Johnson supplies beguiling singing amid a raft of guitar textures. The songs tend to move directly into one another, underscoring their interconnectivity. Most of them stretch out a bit, clocking in at around the six-minute mark, but “Aren’t They All” and the album-closer “From Here Out Nothing Changes” are both under three minutes. The former is a bustling instrumental featuring oscillating riffs and urgently rendered and foregrounded percussion. The latter begins with a brief, disjunct, nasal wind solo and a discordant guitar duo, that rhythm section punching away. Johnson shares a brief, delicately delivered vocal, which then disappears into a concluding maelstrom.

Z-Ro—The Ghetto Gospel (One Deep Entertainment)

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Who nominated it? Ray Garraty

Did we review it? No

Jonathan Shaw’s take: Much contemporary hip hop is lost on me, and The Ghetto Gospel doesn’t do much to convince me that I should be paying more attention. That judgment has little to do with the record’s sonic qualities, which I am in no competent position to evaluate closely; but I like the mix of late-1970s hard funk, R&B swooniness and occasional flashes of (yep) gospel’s dramatics. And Z-Ro’s flow and vocals are pretty great to groove on. His seamless, artful shifts into more conventional singing, especially at some tracks’ refrains, are deft and pleasurable. But the constant focus on money—having it is unassailable proof of virility, craft, power, self-worth; when one’s antagonist doesn’t have it, or doesn’t have as much of it, that confirms he’s a fool and a loser—is by turns tedious and sort of depressing. The just as constant self-aggrandizement, endemic in the genre, is so ever-present that it’s completely unconvincing. When I can tune out the lyrics’ content, The Ghetto Gospel is just fine. Patient, cool, smooth. When, inevitably, I begin paying attention to Z-Ro’s rhymes and their themes and figures, the record irritates me. If I had the savvy to place his performances of black masculinity in hip hop’s regionally or generically specific modalities, I might find them more engaging. But that would require plowing through a lot more music, much of it singing the praises of cash as an end in itself and celebrating “pimpin” as a variety of socially compelling activity. It ain’t for me.

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perezhilton · 3 months ago

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Will talk about this on our next Patreon show!

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killed-by-choice · 1 year ago

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Harjit Kaur, 30 (Australia 2024)

Harjit with her four-year-old and two-year-old, who she loved dearly

Harjit Kaur had so much to look forward to. Thanks to her hard work, she had just gotten a new job and she and her husband Sukhjinder Singh were about to buy a new home where they would raise their children. The future looked bright.

Harjit already had a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son. When she found out she was pregnant with her third child, she didn’t feel ready. Harjit underwent a “consultation” where she was told surgical abortion was “very safe” and that “she would be able to go home in a couple of hours.”

First-trimester surgical abortion is not as safe as she was led to believe. The uterus, cervix, the intestines, bladder, and nearby blood vessels are at risk of being torn. Risks include hemorrhage, infection, organ perforation, embolism and death. A few of the other women and girls killed by “safe and routine” first-trimester legal abortion include Kenniah Epps, Ruth Montero, Maria Gomez, Sandra Williams, Luz Maria Rodriguez, Elise Kalat, 17-year-old Chivon Williams, Erika Charlotte Wullschleger, Tia Archeiva Parks, 19-year-old Lisa Marie Hoefener, Pamela Colson, Maria Leho, Jennifer Hallner, Louchrisser Jackson, Regina Johnson, “Audrey Roe,” “Betty Roe,” “Dawn Roe,” “Evie Roe,” “Dorothy Roe,” “Vanessa Roe,” “Saanvi Roe,” and “Roxanne Roe.”

On January 12, 2024, Harjit went to the Hampton Park Women's Health abortion facility in Melbourne. She had told this was “safe” and a “routine procedure,” and she believed it. She was headed to the operating room at 12:57, when she messaged her husband and said she would call him after the abortion. That was the last time her family ever heard from her.

Abortionist Rudolph “Rudy” Lopes called Sukhjinder later that day to tell him what happened. Moments after the abortion was over, Harjit was being moved to another room when it was discovered that her heart had stopped. An ambulance was called and CPR administered for 45 minutes. Despite all this, Lopes described the abortion as “successful.”

Sukhjinder immediately drove to the facility, but when he arrived the staff refused to let him see Harjit. He was kept out of the ward entirely. He described the horrible day to news sources later:

“Five minutes later the doctor came to me and said, "Sorry your wife is dead".

“I was dead then. My life destroyed in a second.”

Staff finally let Sukhjinder into the room where Harjit’s body lay. “I begged her to come back for our little kids,” he said.

An investigation is now underway, with police and the coroner involved in the case.

Sukhjinder is devastated and doesn’t understand how Harjit, who was perfectly healthy, was killed by something they were repeatedly told was “safe and routine.” He struggles to comprehend what his future will look like without her and has described her needless death as unacceptable.

Harjit did not have to die. It is unacceptable that she was not warned of the potential dangers of the operation that killed her. More support should also be made available for families who are unsure if they are ready to care for a new baby. Resources to help her and Sukhjinder care for the new baby or for adoption could have helped. She and her baby should both be alive. Harjit deserved better than to be collateral damage of an industry that has already killed so many.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family. (Please consider donating to help them if you can.) https://www.gofundme.com/f/for-my-wifes-funeral-and-kids-support

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/shock-as-melbourne-motheroftwo-dies-at-hampton-park-medical-clinic/news-story/d41ffb636ea8173bc75fb741f39ed541

#tw abortion #unsafe yet legal #tw murder #tw ab*rtion #abortion #abortion debate #death from legal abortion #pro life

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joslincox · 9 months ago

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Middle School: Biology Immune Soundtrack

Genres: Hip Hop • R&B • Alternative Rock

Track Listing:

Air Force Ones - St. Lunatics

Let Me Blow Your Mind - Eve ft. Gwen Stefani

The Hell Song - Sum 41

What If - Aaliyah

Foolish - Ashanti

Ruff Ryders Anthem - DMX

Hot In Herre - Nelly

Lose Yourself - Eminem

Jenny From The Block - Jennifer Lopez

Caramel - City High ft. Eve

Full Moon - Brandy

Work It - Missy Elliott

Still Fly - Big Tymers

Sk8ter Boi - Avril Lavigne

The Anthem - Good Charlotte

Grow Up - Simple Plan

All The Small Things - Blink-182

Uh-Huh - B2K

Good Times - Styles P

All I Have - LL Cool J ft. Jennifer Lopez

It's The Weekend - Lil J ft. Kandi

No Scrubs - TLC

Po' Folks - Nappy Roots

Stingy - Ginuwine

Too Hood - Monica

Still Dre - Dr. Dre

Ooh, Ooh - Willa Ford

Where The Party At - Jagged Edge

Stay The Night - IMX

Call Me - Tweet

Welcome to Atlanta - Jermaine Dupri

Addictive - Truth Hurts

Thug Lovin' - Ja Rule ft. Bobby Brown

I Wanna Know - Joe

Playas Gon' Play - 3LW

U Got It Bad - Usher

Braid My Hair - Mario

Wait A Minute - Ray J ft. Lil Kim

Just In Case - Nivea

I Heard It All Before - Sunshine Anderson

2 Way - Lil Romeo

Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio

Steelo - 702 ft. Missy Elliott

I Do - Blaque ft. Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes

All I Need - Aaliyah

I'm A Thug - Trick Daddy

What's My Age Again - Blink-182

Basket Case - Green Day

Flavor Of The Weak - American Hi-Fi

Still Waiting - Sum 41

Party Hard - Andrew W.K

Turn It Out - De La Soul ft. Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham

Makin' Good Love - Avant

You Know That I Love You - Dontell Jones

7 Days - Craig David

Why Did You Have to Be - Debelah Morgan

Why Don't We Fall In Love - Amerie

I Should Be... - Dru Hill

Mesmerize - Ja Rule ft. Ashanti

Solo Star - Solange

Fabulous - Jaheim

Punk Rock 101 - Bowling For Soup

Fome Is Dape - Little T and One Track Mike

It Wasn't Me - Shaggy

Bounce With Me - Lil Bow Wow ft. Xscape

Bootylicious - Destiny's Child

Unpretty - TLC

Bad Boy For Life - Diddy

Who's That Girl - Eve

Welcome to Paradise - Green Day

Come On, Come On - Smash Mouth

Bounce - System Of a Down

Ms. Jackson - Outkast

Open - Brandy

We Need a Resolution - Aaliyah

Lapdance - N.E.R.D

Hey Ma - Cam'ron

Case Of The Ex (What'cha Gonna Do) - Mýa

Break Ya Neck - Busta Rhymes

Area Codes - Ludacris

Take It To Da House - Trick Daddy

Here We Go Again - Nappy Roots

Without Me - Eminem

Watch Me Do My Thing - IMX

Key To My Heart - Craig David

Summer In The City - St. Lunatics

2nd Best - Cherise ft. Dino

Cool Daddy Cool - Kid Rock ft. Joe C

Who's There - Smash Mouth

Perfect - Simple Plan

Girl All The Bad Guys Want - Bowling For Soup

One Step Closer - Linkin Park

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Toxicity - System Of a Down

Pull Over - Trina

In Da Wind - Trick Daddy

What Would You Do - City High

Rider Like Me - Ezekiel Lewis

U Don't Got To Call - Usher

Don't Mess With My Man - Nivea ft. Jagged Edge

Dilemma - Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland

Big Ball - Drama

Freaks Come Out At Night - Uncle Kracker

Back That Azz Up - Juvenile

What About Us - Brandy

Satellite - P.O.D

Formal Invite - Ray J ft. Pharrell Williams

Jump - Kriss Kross

It's Tricky - Run DMC

Intergalactic - Beastie Boys

Waterfalls - TLC

More Than a Woman - Aaliyah

Son Of a Gun - Janet Jackson

Knock Yourself Out - Jadakiss

You Rock My World - Michael Jackson

Can't Deny It - Fabulous

Move Bitch - Ludacris

Love Me or Leave Me - Ms. Toi

I’m Real - Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule

Fallin' - Alicia Keys

Video - India.Arie

How You Remind Me - Nickelback

Private Eye - Alkaline Trio

The Rock Show - Blink-182

Fat Lip - Sum 41

The Middle - Jimmy Eat World

She Is Beautiful - Andrew W.K

Complicated - Avril Lavigne

Take It Off - The Donnas

I'm Just a Kid - Simple Plan

Swing, Swing - The All-American Rejects

The Real Slim Shady - Eminem

Country Grammar (Hot Shit) - Nelly

The Next Episode - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg

Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliott

It's All About Me - Mýa

The Boy Is Mine - Brandy and Monica

Fill Me In - Craig David

Independent Women - Destiny's Child

Don't Think I'm Not - Kandi

Opps (Oh My) - Tweet

No More Drama - Mary J. Blige

Love Don't Cost a Thing - Jennifer Lopez

Island in the Sun - Weezer

Rollout (My Business) - Ludacris

No More (Baby I'ma Do Right) - 3LW

As If - Blaque

#middle school biology immune #middle school the worst days of my life #middle school #2002 #osmosis jones #ozzy and drix #soundtrack #hip hop #r&b #alternative rock

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