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wendyhermansongeller · 8 years ago

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New This Week: Bob Dylan, Trace Adkins, Mastodon, and More

Searching for something to listen to this weekend? Yahoo Music has you covered with a rundown of some of this week’s biggest and buzzing releases, including Bob Dylan, Trace Adkins, Mastodon, and more. Check back every Friday for a fresh list of albums to help fuel your weekend playlists.

Bob Dylan: Triplicate (Columbia). The iconic Dylan takes on a grand task with his very first triple set – a three-disc, 30-track studio album of classic cover songs, with each disc thematically titled, arranged and sequenced. He handpicked the songs from a variety of American songwriters’ catalogs, including such gems as “Stardust,” “These Foolish Things,” “As Time Goes By,” “Stormy Weather,” and more. Music fans of all stripes will be hard-pressed not to find something to delight in on this project.

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Trace Adkins: Something’s Going On (Wheelhouse). Adkins’s 12th studio album is also his first since entering rehab in 2014—his low point yet another event he can add to an already tumultuous past. Fittingly, the 55-year-old singer takes a reflective, somewhat weary, but mature and rich direction on this release, exploring everything from sobriety to heartbreak.

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Mastodon: Emperor of Sand (Reprise). The prog-rock experts get imaginative on their seventh release, presenting a complex journey contemplating the nature of time. It’s been a while since the band has approached a concept album, so this hearkens back in a welcome way to their earlier days. Sonically, it’s every bit as heavy, doom-ridden, and layered as any fan could hope.

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Nelly Furtado: The Ride (Nelstar Entertainment). Ever since Furtado unexpectedly transformed in 2006 from her original folky singer-songwriter vibe to a glossy, sexy pop star, she’s been suffering from a bit of identity crisis. The past decade has found her not exactly taking a solid stance in any musical persona. Furtado changes this uncertainty on her sixth album, choosing to release it independently and do things exactly her way. The result is a balanced effort concentrating on her strong lyrical talent.

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Goldfrapp: Silver Eye (Mute). The British duo has taken numerous detours in sound over its career. For its latest, Goldfrapp returns to what it does best – glittery, uptempo synth-pop that casts an auditory sheen and encourages one to get up and dance.

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Dave & Russ Davies: Open Road (Red River Entertainment). The original Kinks guitarist teams up with his son, an electronic music producer, for a family outing that traverses a variety of musical identities spanning both of their sonic interests.

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Body Count: Bloodlust (Century Media). Body Count has never shied away from being political, heavy, dark, or potentially incendiary. Nothing has changed with the latest release: Ice-T and company have plenty of material to work with post-election. Guest appearances by Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe, and Sepultura/Soulfly’s Max Cavalera are almost gilding the lily in terms of hammering the metal home.

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Aimee Mann: Mental Illness (Superego). Mann has long been lauded for her vivid and quirky songwriting, anchored by a signature understated delivery. On her eighth studio album – and first in five years — she continues in this vein, but if anything is stripped even more bare than usual, presenting lyrics that are guaranteed to make one think…and ache deeply.

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The Mavericks: Brand New Day (Mono Mundo Recordings). The Mavericks have taken their album title literally, changing career directions by choosing an independent release route with this set and taking their time crafting songs to perfection. Frontman Raul Malo explores a variety of emotional issues ranging from the death of his father to today’s political climate.

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Jamiroquai: Automaton (Virgin). The global soul-funksters have been on hiatus for some time – their last album was back in 2010. Their return for this set, their eighth overall, puts a slight update on their classic UK house sound. However, there’s no taking these guys sonically out of their home base ‘90s – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

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British Sea Power: Let the Dancers Inherit the Party (Golden Chariot). This week’s slate of releases includes several politically oriented sets, with this particular one from a UK band putting out its first music post-Brexit. British Sea Power take an almost anthemic approach to exploring the state of world affairs, assaulting the ears with big, pumping, fluttering songs.

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Dailey & Vincent: Patriots and Poets (Dreamlined Entertainment Group). The recent Grand Ole Opry inductees pull no punches when it comes to bringing the best: They are joined on their latest release by bluegrass music’s top musicians, including Steve Martin, Doyle Lawson, Bela Fleck, and David Rawlings.

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MercyMe: Lifer (MercyMe). Time has not tired these longstanding contemporary Christian icons – somehow they just keep getting more and more joyous with each release. On Lifer, they maintain an uptempo, happy, and modern vibe, attempting experiments such as adding rap verses, handclaps, and other fun touches.

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George Winston: Spring Carousel (RCA). Winston offers up 15 piano compositions on this set, all written while he was in recovery from a bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare disorder. The inspiring results are gleaming, swirling, and uplifiting, as benefiting a record celebrating a new chance at life. All proceeds from the record will directly benefit City of Hope.

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La’Porsha Renae: Already All Ready (19 Recordings). American Idol runner-up and fan favorite Renae whetted appetites last year with the release of the single “Good Woman.” She’s delivering the goods on her debut full-length, a celebration of self-identity on which she co-wrote most of the songs herself.

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#_author:Wendy Geller #_uuid:77a3325d-34d9-3423-a9a0-39cd7ee6f6b6 #_revsp:wp.yahoo.music.us #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT

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jamieclawhorn · 6 years ago

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This is how I’d handle the BT share price right now

Could there be a more frustrating share than BT Group (LSE: BT-A) right now? This giant of a telecoms company is popular with investors the length and breadth of the country because of its big, well-known name, and the way it was offered to the public during the privatisation craze in the 1980s.

Even my late grandparents piled into BT shares in the government’s first offering to the public in 1984, and they’d never owned a share in their long lives before that. But they made a packet on BT because they were wise enough to sell their holdings after they’d gone up a lot. When they were sitting on a big gain, they nailed down their profits, as successful traders and investors such as Mark Minervini are fond of saying.

The long trade

But lately, things haven’t been as good for BT investors. The share price is down more than 50% since the end of 2015, driven by a challenging trading environment and a murky outlook. Yet long-termers holding the shares since 1984 will have seen it all before. Back in 2009, for example, in the wake of last decade’s credit crunch, the share price dropped below 80p. And that was after flirting with 1,000p around the turn of the century when the stock market was juiced up on steroids in the dotcom tech bubble. Talk about volatility!

I think if I’d been holding the shares since the eighties, through all of that, I’d clearly be a ‘lifer’ and would keep holding on now to see what happens. I would have enjoyed a decent income stream from the dividend over the past three-and-a-half decades, so the volatile share price would almost be immaterial to me – as long as the firm doesn’t go into a death spiral from here, ending in its demise.

The value and turnaround trade

But what if I’d been tempted into the shares on valuation grounds in the middle of 2018, as many were? The long plunge in the shares had stalled, and operationally BT was in full turnaround mode making all kinds of noises about how it would get its business back on track. To start with, that ‘value’ trade went well. The share price moved from around 203p in May to just above 260p in November, for a gain of about 28%. But as I write, it’s back down at 227p – and looks like its still falling. As I said earlier, frustrating!

The damage was done by the release of the half-year report, I reckon. There was a lot of bad news in the financials that many weren’t really expecting, including me. Revenue and cash inflow were down and net debt was up. Those figures are moving in exactly the wrong direction to support a turnaround. But the biggest sin of all is that the directors trimmed the interim dividend by 5%, which I believe is a negative signal.

Indeed, I reckon the directors’ decisions regarding the dividend in any company can tell us a lot about the health and outlook for the underlying business. In the case of BT, I think the cut in the dividend signals ‘caution’ loud and clear. So I’d now avoid the shares, and sell if I’d bought for the value and turnaround trade in 2018.

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This is what I’d do with the BT share price right now

Kevin Godbold has no position in any share mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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clubofinfo · 7 years ago

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Expert: Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour. — Proverbs 19:4″ James “Mad Dog” Mattis spoke this week, at a pentagon press briefing, saying, among other things, that it was a time for all civilized nations to unite. The use of this trope ‘civilized’ echoes colonial sensibility. It is part of general shifting of meaning in the rhetoric of Empire over the last, say, 80 years. Never mind that the occasion of this speech, as seems increasingly the norm, was based on mostly propaganda. No evidence for a chemical attack was actually provided. Just as the evidence in the Skripal (attempted) murder (sic) is conspicuously lacking. This is a time when war criminals (unprosecuted, of course) can simply count on the utter amnesia of both the public and the quisling western press. So let’s go back and check a few boxes on Mattis. This is the man who oversaw the war crimes of Fallujah and then helped cover them up. One can read about it here… So how is it that Mattis can so confidently count on the silence and complicity of the corporate press? Mattis is no doubt sociopathic. He is a lizard eyed lisping sadist and yet he is fawned over and described as the ‘the most revered Marine in a generation’ by the same prostrate press. The adoration of the military in western media is at an all time high. And entertainment today is laden with the most jingoistic and nativist rhetoric imaginable. Hollywood today produces fiction that is uniform in its opinions and values. Watch this season of Designated Survivor. I know that is asking a lot, but do it anyway. Kiefer Sutherland is one of those actors who in middle age has begun to take on the tight lipped appearance of an aggrieved or constipated Quaker. The show is so stunningly reactionary that one finds some difficulty in arriving at the right words. But it is not an anomaly. Half of network prime time drama is military-based in theme. And today Hollywood staff writers can count on CIA or Pentagon “advisors” taking an active part in the creation of scripts. The blurring of fiction and Imperial fiction, as it were. There are ongoing themes in this Sutherland show about Russian interference in US democracy and most recently a story built around a tiny Asian nation with an insane dictatorial leader who wants nuclear weapons. The depictions of the Asian characters is only slightly less cartoon like than Charlie Chan. And always there are the requisite evil Muslim terrorist. But back to the disturbing figure of Jim Mattis. His call sign is “chaos”. He is reported to be worth in the neighborhood of five million dollars. This is an absurd low ball figure, but whatever. He is a graduate of Central Washington U. and something called the National Defense University. A quick iinternet search reveals this is a special educational institution on the grounds of Fort Leslie in DC and chartered by the Joint Chiefs. One does wonder what a typical class at NDU looks like. As for the “pacification” of Fallujah. Brett Wilkins wrote… According to witnesses and survivors of the assault, Marines indiscriminately killed men, women, children, the elderly and disabled alike. Civilians waving white flags of surrender were cut down by snipers, who also targeted ambulances carrying the wounded and dying to the few functioning clinics not destroyed by US bombs. “I see people carrying a white flag and yelling at us, saying, ‘We are here, just try to save us,’ but we could not save them because whenever we opened the ambulance door, the Americans would shoot at us,” Dr. Salam Ismael, head of Iraq’s young doctors association, told American investigative reporter Aaron Glantz, who covered the battle as an unembedded journalist. “We tried to carry food or water; the snipers shoot the containers of food. No civilizational norms violated there. Nope. Mattis also was the man who had all charges dropped against the soldiers that took part in the rampage at Haditha. Civilians shot point blank, often women and children, and the elderly — in their homes. Callsign “Chaos”. Gary Kohls, MD, writing at Veterans Today…. Several of the PEOTUS’ cabinet appointees are high-ranking “lifer” military officers who have an innate disdain for democratic values (as would be expected for anybody whose career has been lived in the bubble of a hierarchical culture whose main junk values are 1) shoot first/ask questions later and 2) the use of dominative power over “enemies” via military violence. Kohls was primarily writing about Jim Mattis. But honestly, even a cursory examination of ANY four star General will yield similar biographical facts and similar personality disorders. You don’t rise through military ranks without a core ruthlessness, and an innate sadism. After the bombing of a wedding party in the Iraq desert, Mattis is quoted as saying… Ten miles from the Syrian border and 80 miles from the nearest city and a wedding party? Don’t be naïve. Plus they had 30 males of military age with them. How many people go to the middle of the desert to have a wedding party? The rank Orientalism of this comment, the arrogant indifference to the history and culture of Islam, to the Arab world in general, is also the hallmark of the successful military commander. Kill em all and let God sort it out. Of course, at the time of his nomination the NY Times published an op ed whose headline identified Mattis as a “pontential force for restraint”. That crazy old paper of record. And Mattis is routinely described as an intellectual, a ‘warrior monk’, and yet he doesn’t know anything of nomadic desert societies and culture. He didn’t even consider there might be a cultural gap here, or consider he might need to check alternative readings of the Muslim world, ones not provided for by that steller education at National Defense U. Mattis is not an intellectual, not even by the standards of that warped sub phylum of humanity that is the military. The media coverage of Syria, in the UK and US, is blatantly biased and pro intervention. The fact that FOX news reactionary Tucker Carlson is the sanest voice in mainstream media is very telling. Carlson hasn’t “woke”…. he just saw a niche demographic that might boost his ratings. Still…he was, in fact, correct. Danny Haiphong wrote… Tucker Carlson understands that he must appeal primarily to Republican voters weary of US interventions they see as products of Democratic Party-led wars even if establishment Republicans are no less hawkish than Democrats. Meanwhile, Goodman and her funders have subtly aligned with the Democrats as the new leaders of the War Party. War is the only tool at the disposal of imperialism, and there isn’t a single voice in Washington or the “liberal” media unwilling to use it. Under these conditions, infantile leftists and faux socialists in the Democratic Party camp have felt compelled to choose a side in the imperial madhouse. They claim that Democrats are “Presidential” while Putin and Assad are villains of humanity. No criticism is thrown at the Democratic Party, which sent a delegation led by Nancy Pelosi to Israel just days prior to the planned gun down of Palestinian resistance forces in Gaza. It doesn’t seem to matter how many Syrians or Palestinians are killed by the forces of imperialism when the so-called left is under the swoon of the CIA. So-called US leftists have caught anti-Putin fever at the expense of all other political questions. This includes the murder of Black people by the police in the US. Barely any attention was paid in the US to the murders of Stephon Clark and Saheed Vassell over the last few weeks. Only community members and the usual left organizations made any noise about these state-sanctioned murders. The same goes for Israel’s wonton massacre of participants in Gaza’s Great March for Return. In the absence of a mass movement, people in the US and West are becoming mere onlookers in a changing a world. This last few months has revealed as never before both the callous cruelty of the ruling class in the U.S. and UK, but also the degrading of education … for lack of a better description. At the UN, British envoy Karen Pierce, mistakenly thought Karl Marx was a Russian. In a prank phone call Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, thought there was a country called Binimo. And Trump himself noted something or other about an imaginary African country called Nambia. Boris Johnson began an extemporaneous recitation of a Kipling poem (Road to Mandalay) in a temple in Myanmar. And then was told it was inappropriate by an aid, trying to save him further embarrassment, and STILL Johnson didn’t understand. All of these examples are not mere gaffes, amusing mistakes, but rather a general indifference to the cultures of the world, in fact, an indifference to the world beyond their own small corner of it. Indifferent and hostile. Remember when George Bush, now in full rehabilitation mode by his media handlers, mocked Karla Faye Tucker, on death row, who was begging for her life. That is exactly the cruelty one sees across the board in the leaders of the West today. One wonders does Mattis or Bush or Bolton think the use of Agent Orange transgressed civilizational norms? Did Hiroshima? What strikes me most acutely, these last few months, is the extraordinary cultural chauvinism of the U.S., or rather mostly of white U.S., as well as an institutionalized orientalism. Most White Americans, as a general statement, think they are better than the rest of the world. And most Americans have scant knowledge about the rest of the world. So the belief in cultural (and moral) superiority is based on what? The answer is not simple, but as a general sort of response, this trust in “our” superiority is built on violence. On an ability to be effectively violent. Most British, too, think they are superior to those ‘wogs’ south of their emerald isle. But since the setting of the sun on Empire, ‘officially’, the British hold to both a sense of superiority and a deep panic inducing sense of inferiority — at least to their American cousins. They are still better than those fucking cheese eating frogs or the krauts or whoever, but they accept that the U.S. is the sort of heavyweight champ of the moment. Meanwhile, the tragic and criminal fire at Grenfell Towers in London elicited a public discourse that perfectly reflected the class inequality of the UK, but also reflected, again, the colonialist mentality of the ruling party and their constituency. Stephen Brenner wrote of the fire and the government response to it.. There is Sir Martin Moore-Bick,** the former High Court Judge, who has been appointed by May to head a board of inquiry. Fears of a protracted inquiry producing an anodyne report were aroused when Moore-Bick went out of his way to declare that the scope of the investigation would be severely limited to determining the immediate cause of the fire and why it spread so rapidly. Answers to both questions already are known. The Sir Inquisitor-to-be has given the game away in adding that “I do not expect everyone to be pleased by the conclusion of the inquiry” – yet to begin. Moore-Bick’s unprompted utterance shows just how pervasive is the Americanization of British political culture. Unnecessary, embarrassing ejaculations like this have become impulsive – defying the dictates of prudent restraint. No one is confused as to who the “everyone” he has in mind refers to. An impression reinforced by the denial of the residents’ right to ask questions in person as to the scope and form of the inquiry. The only open question is the exact tint that the whitewash will take (stitch-up in British dialect). The first testimony will not be heard until mid-September when panel members, as yet unnamed, get back from their holidays. Graham Peebles adds… Grenfell Tower forms part of the Lancaster Road West Estate in Notting Hill Gate. An area that, like many other parts of the capital, has been subjected to a gentrification assault accompanied by systematic social cleansing that goes back decades and has intensified over the last 10 –15 years. In addition, the Grenfell affair demonstrates that the United States is not alone in its tolerance for actions that should be a national disgrace but are slighted by a political class incapable of feeling shame. The callous, off-hand treatment given the Grenfell victims is reminiscent of how colonial administrators dealt with expendable natives. If a proper criminal process were undertaken, a reasonable verdict would be Involuntary Manslaughter. But that is exactly it. The colonial template is one etched in acid in the collective imagination of the West. At least the English speaking West. Expendable natives…which is what Jim Mattis sees everywhere that he dumps depleted Unranium and Willy Pete. It is what Madelaine Albright saw in Iraq or Hillary Clinton in Libya or Barack Obama in Sudan, Yemen, and…well… four or five other countries. It is what most U.S. police departments see in neighborhoods ravaged by poverty. As in those old Tarzan films, when the sound of drums is heard, the pith helmeted white man notes…”the natives are restless tonight”. When one discusses Syria, the most acute topic this week, remember that for Mad Dog and Boss Trump, or for the loopy John Bolton, these are just natives in need of pacification. Giving money to ISIS or Daesh, or whoever, as a cynical expression of colonial real politik, is nothing out of the ordinary. It is what the UK and US have done for a long while. It’s Ramar of Jungle handing out beads to the *natives*. Domestically, take the example of Flint, Michigan. At the drinking water. When the unelected state appointed emergency manager switched from the Detroit River to the Flint River to supply water to the residents of Flint, the result was a spike in all diseases of insanitation. Everyone knew this was going to happen. The General Motors plant had stopped using Flint River water because it was corrosive to the auto parts they were manufacturing. But poor black kids, who cares. The U.S. has a long history of such stuff, from Love Canal, New York, to the chemical dump in the Elk River in West Virginia. You will notice a theme here. It is class. You don’t find ash spills like what happened near the Emery River in Tennessee occurring in Mill Valley or Scarsdale or Bel Air. Inflicting suffering on the poor is perfectly acceptable to the ruling class. To them, privilege is a sign of superiority. And the less deserving are only there to serve. The problem with the current wave of propaganda from western sources is that very little, if any, evidence is given. The term ‘very likely’ is much in vogue, probably because it leaves such a huge ‘walk it back’ escape route. Except there is less and less effort to even bother. In one sense the solidification of class power came out of neoliberal policies in the 1970s. The top 1% (really, the top half of one percent) increased their wealth dramatically, with the same occurring in the UK. Clinton pushed these principles even further and then Bush and Blair further still. We are now living the dream of the Washington Consensus economists. And it worth noting the founding statement of Hayak’s Mt. Pelerin Society, in 1947. For Hayak was the godfather of neoliberalism and Milton Freidman his heir. The central values of civilization are in danger. Over large stretches of the earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared. There is that word again. Of course, this was really only justification for the 1% to expand the reach of Western capital. To exploit labor and extract resources. And when recalcitrant countries did not submit quickly enough, the CIA was always available (ask Iran, or Chile, or Angola. The latter more of a symbolic lesson for those uppity nations even thinking about not following orders. It also marked open U.S. cooperation with apartheid South Africa. And in opposition to the troops Castro sent to assist the MPLA opposition to the ruthless US supported Jonas Savimbi). This restoration of ruling class power, though, was and is always looking over its shoulder. For the reality is that such profound inequality means life becomes unsustainable, even for the top 0.1% is repressed. And such repression takes effort. And that effort is giving birth to the madness one sees today. From Grenfell Tower to Flint Michigan, to Gaza or Libya or Syria — the principles driving the violence are the same. And it matters not if the urbane and articulate Obama is President, or if the troglodyte Trump, if it is Blair or May, for they are only reciting from a small financial Catechism of financial laws, and these laws are breaking down in the face of environmental degradation and an inequality so extreme that its almost impervious to calculation. They are only the voice of their class. This idea of civilized man has come to be an almost code-word for class hierarchy. The violence against Palestinians is simply inseparable from the violence that killed Stephon Clark. The violence that makes children sick in Michigan is the same one that causes oil spills or disasters such as the Lac-Mégantic train crash near Quebec, Canada. And, it is the same bigoted smug confidence of bourgeoise identity political thinking. The one that demands Islam rid itself of veils, or that ridicules ANY thinking or practice divergent from Western norms. You cannot expect the system to produce change if the system is based on punishing change. The status quo must be protected. For the ownership class world poverty is mostly the fault of the poor. The admission that neoliberalism has failed in terms of its announced goals has forced its proponents to a tactical retreat—defending the broad thrust of the neoliberal policy agenda under cover of “reform.” The result is an augmented Washington Consensus that blames client states and not international institutions or transnational capital for the failures of neoliberalism. It is the poor who are expected to make still further adjustments along neoliberal lines. From this point of view, what comes after neoliberalism must be more neoliberalism. — William K. Tabb, “After Neoliberalism“, Monthly Review, June 1, 2003. This idea of civilizational norms is connected to a deeply rooted assumption about the virtue of Democracy. Israel is described as Democratic but Cuba is not, for example. The reality, of course, is that the CIA and US ruling class spend most of their energy in deterring democracy (to quote Chomsky). Any real discussion of democracy needs to be extended beyond the undemocratic nature of the global economic institutions to a larger discussion of democracy, one that goes beyond whether votes are counted fairly, opposition candidates allowed to participate on an equal basis, and the voices of ordinary people heard by their elected leaders. Democracy needs finally to be discussed in relation to class rule in capitalist societies. — William T. Kabb, “After Neoliberalism“, Monthly Review, June 1, 2003. As Samir Amin pointed out, the “international community” (the G7 plus that bastion of democracy, Saudi Arabia) is utterly unconcerned with the opinions of 85% of the world’s population. So, both on a political/economic level, and on a cultural level, the Imperialist U.S. sees it as an innate right to decide the policies of the global south. It is anti democratic. The ruling class sees the right to enforce inequality as something of a Natural law. The anti Russian propaganda was born when Putin refused to sign off on the Nazi putsch in Ukraine. The US/Japan/NATO alliance is one that demands both economic submission and increasingly a cultural submission as well. And any rejection of this means a military forced submission. Democracy has come to be a shorthand for submission to neo-liberal economic policy dictated by Washington. Freedom is what happens after *we* destroy your country. That Mattis or May or various other servants of Empire can talk of civilzational norms with a straight face is actually pretty remarkable. The list of crimes is so extensive that one barely knows where to begin. We could ask about Gary Webb and cocaine and the CIA. Or about the School of the Americas, or My Lai or the siege at Waco. Or….but I feel this stuff really should be well known by now. I am more concerned in a sense with the small cultural appropriations and the gestures of an Orientalist sensibility that I see almost daily in western media. And the growing anti-semitism which one finds even on the left. And the seemingly intractable racism of white America. I just stop having the ability to keep track of it all. How can the white bourgeoisie demand adherence to their values with such tenacity? Do they really see themselves as somehow representative of some ideal? Tolerance means only adherence to their worldview. To their values. It is this nattering about ecological issues while never questioning the US military machine. But these refrains seem to stick in the collective consciousness of the west…”gas your own people” is one. As if gassing someone else were less objectionable. It is a media universe of entrenched meaningless slogans. It always reminds me of the outcry about steroid abuse. Maybe ask why big Pharma manufacture so many steroids. The medical uses for which are very limited. But no, it is easier to punish this or that athlete who in their desperation is looking for an edge, a way to reach that economic pinnacle so few reach. But question Eli Lilly? Never. The ruling class has always made money, always been ruthless, but again, the 1970s marked the solidification of systematic plunder, a cohesive and seamless river of money upwards. And enforced by the CIA. One should not forget that the CIA was founded by rich white ruling class scions of banking and finance. Allan Dullus, straight out of Wall Street, William Simon, Richard Mellon Scaife, Frank Shakespeare, and Bill Donovan. I mean the CIA calls itself “the Company”…bit of a tip off, that. If one struggles to grasp foreign policy decisions, always look at US business interests in the region. Remember these are ruthless people (MK ULTRA, Operation Mockingbird, etc). And the media was always part of this. The Graham family of Washington Post fame were directly linked to the CIA. William Paley, Henry Luce, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, and hundreds other are all intimate with the CIA. And it is no different now. It was the Clinton cartel that spent inordinate energy and time infiltrating Hollywood. The result is House of Cards, Homeland, Designated Survivor, and all the countless rest. Uniformity of message. Uniformity of values. I do wonder at times the role of Evangelical Christianity as it runs smack into the Catholic stake-outs in the corridors of power. Perhaps they cooperate, I don’t know. Religion is second to money, anyway. And then there is the role of Israel, that anti democratic neo colonial apartheid state in the Middle East. The ascension of the settler fanatic mirrors the ascension of Dominionists in the current US government. Fanatical zealots. Intolerant and profoundly ignorant of most things outside of their narrow set of concerns. And again, anti democratic. Israel serves the U.S. ruling class, not the other way round. There is no global Jewish plot as I keep reading in social media. The feeding of this bit of classic antisemitism is probably sourced by Israel itself. Nothing serves their PR better than spikes in antisemitism. But Israel is, for sure, more powerful than ever before. More influential. There is, best case scenario, a new Cold War in place. Worst case scenario, well, doesn’t matter. The real danger is the generalized ignorance now on display. Ruthless and sadistic one can predict, but irrational zealotry and stupidity…that is harder to deal with. And this is for certain the Age of Stupid. As for civilization, I’m coming to think we might well do fine without it. http://clubof.info/

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the-beta-academy · 1 month ago

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work hard for miss brown, beta. @the-beta-academy. 21+

#millie bobby brown #joi #goon fuel #gooner #low-lifer-uk #low lifer uk

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bootfan · 4 months ago

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#low-lifer-uk

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flanneljammies · 7 years ago

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2017 Top 20

20. Vous Autres - Trente Pièces d'Argent Ominous French metallions playing blackened post-metal. The glacial pace makes the emotional turmoil of the throat-shredding vocals even more harrowing. Slow and low baby. (self-released | Bandcamp)

19. Au Champ Des Morts - Dans La Joie Atmospheric black metal that touches on more than just post-rock and shoegaze. A mastery of dynamics and arrangement allows these Frenchmen to dabble in doom, noise rock, hardcore, and straight-up rock and roll. They also choose to fuck with the established vocal conventions, eschewing throat-shredding shrieking on occasion and slipping into solemnly intoned chants or a sort of hardcore bark. It's desperate and melancholy and yet often strangely uplifting. (Debemur Morti | Bandcamp)

18. Do Make Say Think - Stubborn Persistent Illusions Post-rock stalwarts return to form, making me almost forget about their last several lackluster records. More muscular and bombastic then they've ever been, DMST also seems to be gingerly testing the waters of math-rock. There are still the gorgeous passages of lilting, pastoral beauty, but never at the expense of emotionally wrenching melody. It's no Enemy Airship, but it's a good'un. (Constellation | Bandcamp)

17. Only The Bones - Death And His Brother Sleep This Chicago band describes itself (with tongue planted firmly in cheek one supposes) as "post-Fugazi." They're not far off the mark. Members of Swan King, Snow Burial, and This Computer Kills churn out jagged Dischord-style post-punk hooks that veer off into psych and metal territory occasionally. It's economical, concise, and packs one hell of a wallop. (self-released | Bandcamp)

16. Maximum Busy Muscle - Maximum Busy Muscle Expansive double-drummer noiserock from Athens GA. Unlike most bands trafficking in the post-Touch & Go world, MBM dispenses with vocals entirely and go completely instrumental. But this isn't some namby-pamby post-rock record. This is a tough-as-nails excursion into a maelstrom. The razor-sharp musicianship teases out swaggering noiserock, post-hardcore, and mathrock. But when the band opens up a bit and lets your catch your breath, there's also some sort of weird psychedelic thing going on that I can't quite put my finger on. It's an exhilarating and engrossing roller coaster. (self-released | Bandcamp)

15. Gnod - Just Say No To The Psycho Right-wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine Anarchist drone punk from the UK. Apparently the band has been around for the better part of a decade and their recorded output has dabbled in all sorts of styles. I'm just getting hip to them now and really have only listened to this record. It's got the singleminded motorik of krautrock and the shambolic flip off of early Fall. Gnod manages to wring every last morsel of tone, meaning, and dynamics out of a single riff and still keep me on the edge of my seat. These muscular and ominous mantra-like songs underscore the modern dread summed up in the title. Crucial. (Rocket | Bandcamp)

14. Breag Naofa - II Seattle's Breag Naofa continue their forced march of crushing devastation. Their blackened post-doom is suffocating and yet somehow still sounds like it's about to take flight. Amid the pulverizing riffs and throat-shredding vocals, ugly and twisted melodies emerge from the gloom with just enough hook to ensnare you and pull you struggling and gasping to the surface. This is an epic, sprawling indictment. Subject yourself. (Halo Of Flies | Bandcamp)

13. Ex Eye - Ex Eye Saxophonist Colin Stetson leads this arty post-everything collective. If you're looking some nice jazz sax here, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you're looking for damaged post-rock colliding with extreme metal, you've come to the right place. Ex Eye often reminds me of Maserati without any of that band's restraint and a whole lot more blown-out noisy layers. At other points I'm reminded of weirdo metal like, say, Liturgy but way blacker (both in style and mood) and chaotic. Stetson's sax blends with electronics and guitars so that it's often hard to tell what's going on and who's playing what. This is a stunning, immersive debut. An heir, perhaps, to John Zorn’s crown? (Relapse | Bandcamp)

12. Amenra - Mass VI Slow-burn doom from Belgium. The album begins with air-raid-sirens-in-the-distance feedback before a gentle guitar strum emerges. After what seems like an eternity (but really is only four minutes), the sky comes crashing down with impossibly pummeling guitar and drums and a tortured high-pitched screech. Amenra takes their time in all things. If that riff needs to go on for eight minutes, then goddammit, that's how long it'll go. Vocalist Colin van Eeckhout’s new-found comfort with quiet-n-pretty clean vocals hasn't dulled their brutal edge at all. He's perfectly willing to bide his time for the next round of blood-curdling histrionics. Majestic and crushing, mournful and melancholy, Amenra continues their ascent. (Neurot | Bandcamp)

11. Bereft - Lands Madison's own Bereft knock it out of the park on their second record (and first for Prosthetic). The blackened post-metal of their earlier material is mostly gone here, instead replaced by soaring atmospheric doom. The quartet milk as much mileage as possible out of the interplay between the two vocalists (sometimes hoarse scream, sometimes plaintive incantation). The bruising slabs of down-tuned riffs threaten to swallow voices and strangle guitar melodies. In the end though it's these atmospheric elements and a deft sense melody that elevate Bereft over their low-n-slow brethren. (Prosthetic | Bandcamp)

10. Lardo - Sinking If I didn't tell you Lardo was from Chicago, I'm pretty sure you'd be able tell anyhow. Lardo plays slashing and angular noise rock that will sound familiar to anyone who's ever heard Shellac. Like that band, vocalist Nick Minor delivers matter-of-fact sarcasm about the banal. Musically, they're anchored by a bit-crushed, synthy guitar sound that, on paper, should become really annoying really fast. The fact that it doesn't is a testament to the razor-sharp and inventive playing and laconic songwriting. As stylistically indebted as it is, Sinking still manages to step out from under the shadows and forge its own identity. (Alliterative Accord | Bandcamp)

9. Brutus - Burst This slippery noiserock outfit from Belgium is fronted by a woman with some ungodly pipes -- in fact, I’m constantly bewildered by her power. The tightly wound post-hardcore compositions are ear worms drilling directly into your brain. Add to that a vocalist more powerful even than Julie Christmas and you've got honest-to-gosh, fist-in-the-air anthem material. Burst is spine-tingling in its soaring majesty. (Sargent House | Bandcamp)

8. Human Future - Flat Earth Blues Apparently this London post-hardcore band broke up this year, but they've left us with a compelling swan song. This is tough, grandiose, emotionally affecting stuff that gets under the skin. Sure, there are other bands working in this same general area (Less Art, Self Defense Family, La Dispute), but Human Future's take is decidedly more bombastically rock (rawk?) -- at turns muscular and atmospheric, replete with guitar solos and proggy, psychedelic spaciness. (Truthseeker Music | Bandcamp)

7. Rainer Maria - S/T Ten years after we last heard from them, OG emo kids Rainer Maria are back. And it's a refreshing return to form. This "comeback" record is tougher, louder, and noisier then they've been since their first record. Kaia Fischer's guitar lines are as inventive as ever and Caithlin De Marrais' vocals still channel both emotional turmoil and ennui. Maturity hasn't dulled their edge, if anything they've honed their craft in a way only seasoned musicians and road dogs can hope to do. The amped up aggression and forward propulsion of their new-found joy of playing together again is tempered by well-considered studio experimentation and atmosphere. This is no nostalgia act. This is thoughtful people making vital music. (Polyvinyl | Bandcamp)

6. The Kraken Quartet - Separate | Migrate A quartet of four percussionists might sound like a recipe for disaster, but throw in some electronics and some top-notch playing and compositions and it turns into a post-rock tour de force. This is the record Tortoise should have been making for the last ten years. Richly immersive and percussive (duh), Separate is modern jazz for the post-rock crowd. It's compelling and spellbinding and deserves a much wider audience than it’s likely to get. (Hand Drawn | Bandcamp)

5. Oxbow - Thin Black Duke After a ten-year hiatus, the shape-shifting, iconoclastic Oxbow is back. Eugene Robinson whispers, growls, spits, wails, moans, shouts, and proselytizes over noise-rock filtered through a vaudevillian film score. Sometimes it's muscular and angular and other times it's lush and spooky. It's always uncompromising and beguiling. By the end of the record you may wonder what you heard, but you'll listen again either way. It may feel mostly subdued, but there's real menace beneath the all the layers; like you're poking a rabid bear just coming out of hibernation -- a bit foggy, but intensely hungry and unwilling to take shit from anyone. (Hydra Head | Bandcamp)

4. Less Art - Strangled Light Emotional and arty noise-rock cum hardcore is certainly not what one would expect from members of Kowloon Walled City, Tigon, and Curl Up And Die, but here we are. While Less Art often recalls a kinder, gentler Botch, there's loads of mile-wide riffs and almost-calms that do indeed reference KWC. Mike Minnick's laconic, world weary, sing-speak vocals are the centerpiece, anchoring the serpentine arrangements. These songs heave and writhe, sometimes lashing out, sometimes turning to introspection -- but there's always desperation, anger, and resignation. Strangled Light is a ferocious and formidable debut from lifers who know exactly what they're doing. Here's hoping they tour. (Gilead Media | Bandcamp)

3. Vanum - Burning Arrow This version of black metal is probably trve enough for the kvlt kids, but there's more to it than that. Burning Arrow is triumphant and processional, uplifting despite its claustrophobic maelstrom of blast beats, tremolo picking, and throat torture. The majesty and melancholy take on a narrative quality pulling you along to the next twist in the road. It's hard to explain without resorting to some bullshit sword-vs-sorcery trope, but fuck it... Your're on a journey towards victory. On the battle field you raise your fist in the air, heart swelling as you watch your enemies vanquished. Powerful and uncompromising stuff. (Psychic Violence | Bandcamp)

2. Big|Brave - Ardor Lazy description: Nadja fronted by Bjork. That's not wrong but there are more layers. Glacially paced doom/drone with hiccupy little girl squeals? That's not exactly it either. Crushing, mantra-like riffs à la My Disco with sweet-yet-exotic female vocals à la Blonde Redhead? Hmmm... not quite. A swirling mass of Swans-like noise underpinning Julie Christmas? Fuck it. It's brilliant. (Southern Lord | Bandcamp)

1. Aviator - Loneliness Leaves The Light On For Me I'm a sucker for emotionally wrenching, angularly mathy post-hardcore. This Boston five piece will immediately call to mind La Dispute or mewithoutYou but they're definitely not plagiarists. Hoarse, world-weary vocals are propelled by razor sharp riffs that never fail to tug at my heart strings. It's catchy, frantic, smart, and propulsive. Makes me punch my fist in the air, want to get in the pit, and long for my youth. (No Sleep | Bandcamp)

Other Stuff Other stuff that didn’t make the list, but that I listened to a lot this year.

Breag Naofa - Cearo (self-released) Blackened post-doom from Seattle

BRZRKRZ - Fever Dream Kitchen (self-released) Electronic atmospheric beats for the lounge at the end of the unvierse

Buzzooko - Giza (Retrovox) Giddy Italian Jesus Lizard-worship.

Chavez - Cockfighters (Matador) The influential arty indie band releases a three-song single after 20 years of activity. But come on! Only three songs and no tour plans?!?

Goddamned Animals - My Second Cult Suicide (self-released) Noisy Portland post-hardcore straddling the line between These Arms Are Snakes and San Diego chaotic hardcore.

Heaven In Her Arms - White Halo (Moment Of Collapse) Japanese Envy worship with lots of guitar solos.

Lotus Ash - The Evening Redness (self-released) Doomy sludge or is it sludgy doom? From Milwaukee.

Loyalists - Ride the Trashheap of Sound (self-released) Weird and arty noise-rock from Oakland.

M. Martin - A Harvest of Ice (Rare Plant) Gothy and apocalyptic collection of songs from Coordinated Suicides main man.

Monotrope - Unifying Receiver (New Atlantis) Complex instrumental noisy math rock.

New Cowboy Builders - Used Future (self-released) Final recordings form the Welsh band that is equal parts Fall and Big Black.

Often The Thinker - Better Part of Vice (self-released) Superb 2016 release from this far-flung post-rock collective. Lush arrangements and stellar playing.

Sannhet - So Numb (Profound Lore) The NYC blackgaze band has succumbed to the dark side of shoegaze -- barely a blast beat to be found.

Throane - Plus Une Main A Mordre (Debemur Morti) Claustrophobic blackened doom from France.

Underhand - Roman Numeral One (self-released) Muscular instrumental post-rock from Chicago.

UT - δ γ ε β (Taxi Driver) Chaotic Italian noiserock. Equal parts Blood Brothers and Slint.

Wailin’ Storms - Sick City (Antena Krzyku) Gothy noiserock from Durham NC. I hear loads of Echo and Bunnymen.

When Icarus Falls - Resilience (Czar Of Crickets) Mathy Swiss post-metal. Lots of Cult of Luna-worship.

Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun (Sargent House) Another electro-goth outing from the mysterious chanteuse.

#best-of #review #noiserock #Black-gaze #post-metal #post-rock #electronic #Self-Released #black metal

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nightsky100-blog · 7 years ago

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Rape in India and around the world

The prevalence of rape in India gets it a bad press. Here are some fact-check on Rape in India. 1) India is among the few countries with the lowest rape-rates (ranging 1.8 - 2/ 100,000). In fact, rape rates are low in ALL cultures with non-Abrahamic, continuous nativist cultures. 2) This figure is not on account of under-reporting. Under-reporting is a factor in ALL countries. In the US & Canada only one of every ten rapes is reported; UK 1.5 out of 10; in Europe on an average this hovers at one in every eight), India being one among those better in this respect (5.4 out of 10). 3) India has one of the highest rates of false cases filed under the rape sections and 6 out of 10 rape cases in India that go into prosecution cannot withstand scrutiny in court (in US this figure is 7%). 4) Despite the above, conviction rate in India along with France (which is a close second) is *the highest* in the world (26.2%). This is a dismal 1% in the US, 2% in Canada and 7-8% in Europe and in spite of the fact that India has one of the lowest police personnel to people ratio. 5) India has one of the widest definitions of rape. Eloping with a minor counts as rape. Consensual sex with a minor (say, if a 19 year old boy has sexual relations with a 17 year old girl) if reported counts as rape. Reneging on promise of marriage if consensual sex between two adults has happened may be prosecuted as rape. 6) Marital rape was always covered under the prevention of cruelty act. It is now recognised under an express provision under the domestic violence act. 7) Age of discretion in India is 18 years (as compared to 15 years in US, 14-15 years in Europe). This actually pushes up rape figures since consensual acts/marriage in the 14 - 18 age group get counted as rape. Lastly, rape if proven can get the perpetrator a lifer and if accompanied with extraordinary violence can get death penalty. In Islmic jurisprudence, a female needs 4 witnesses of the highest moral standard who would have witnessed the actual act of penetration to prove rape; otherwise she will be convicted of perjury for bringing false allegation against a gentleman. So, in Islam rape is not a crime; it's your stupidity if you allowed 4 men to witness the physical act!

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ricardosousalemos · 8 years ago

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BNQT: Volume 1

It’s been 17 years since Travis took home NME’s Artist of the Year award, right smack between two album releases that sold millions in the UK alone. Some 15 years have passed since the characters took a shopping break during their fight against zombies in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later to the tune of Grandaddy’s “A.M. 180.” Nearly 13 years ago, Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out” topped the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop poll for singles, becoming an alternative radio staple in the process. And barely more than a decade has passed since Band of Horses made “The Funeral” their first single, eventually reaching ubiquity through features in movies, television, and a particularly inescapable commercial for the Ford Edge.

For Midlake, the fifth band associated with new supergroup BNQT, there isn’t a similar time peg to note a crest of success. Since forming in 1999, their career arc has been slower and steadier than all the aforementioned artists, with bandleader Eric Pulido describing a workmanlike cycle of “write, record, tour, repeat” that can be seen as both a privilege and a vocational rut. So, while touring Midlake’s last album Antiphon, Pulido conceived of BNQT. He would share songwriting duties on the new project with the leaders of bands he had met over the years, each crafting two songs apiece from their respective camps and piecing the elements together both remotely and inside a studio in Denton, TX.

BNQT (pronounced “banquet”) is not a push outside the comfort zone for those involved, but further indication of restlessness from a collection of indie rock lifers, each of whose primary acts made their dent in the blog-rock boom and find their relevance dimming. At that, the optimistically titled Volume 1 serves more to elaborate on its characters than it does to recapture past glory. Midlake’s McKenzie Smith, Joey McClellan, and Jesse Chandler are the chameleonic house band, taking cues from the songs’ originators and finding cohesion in fully-realized arrangements. But it’s the songs themselves that are thin. Pulido is the only artist bringing A-level material with his vaguely-psychedelic “Restart” and his best nod to buoyant ’70s AM radio “Real Love.” They are a pair of songs geared specifically as singles, despite the lack of platforms for such singles to thrive. Travis’ Fran Healy steps out as a caricature of collective recording, with “L.A. on My Mind” begging for a sync with its titular geotag, hand-clap rhythm, and flexing guitar bravado. Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell doesn’t fare much better, as “Unlikely Force” is content with personality-free breeziness and “Tara” buries Bridwell’s best asset, his voice, with muddy harmonies and an uninspired vocal performance.

It’s only Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos that find success under the BNQT banner. Lytle’s usual recordings are so deeply insular that there is something to be gleaned from hearing him apart from his busted-keyboard sonics. His whisper-singing stands up to the orchestration of “Failing at Feeling” and “100 Million Miles” is one of the only songs of the collection that dares to drift beyond classic rock nostalgia. Kapranos, on the other hand, gleefully swims in the opportunity to get weird. Just the word “banana” rolling off his tongue on “Hey Banana” argues for adding smoked-ham lounge singing to his resume.

“I think we could all use a restart,” Pulido claims on the album opener, a song that readily admits that he’s “older now” and “broken but soon on the mend.” It’s a sentiment that could umbrella all five songwriters that have never struggled with maturity but are now toiling with getting old. Where lesser people might simply buy sports cars, musicians do these hapless projects that are more fun for the artists involved than for the listeners, like their own boring social scene. So when Pulido describes BNQT as “a poor man’s version of the Traveling Wilburys” in a press release, there’s some solace in everyone knowing where exactly where they stand. It gives the project the inability to disappoint. Aim low enough and you’ll never fail.

#reviews-albums

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barefootandaimless · 8 years ago

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Tips for living broke/van life/student living

As I am all of these things I feel qualified to write some tips to help other folks make their way through this (important) experience. [Note: our business money is all reinvested in the business, no bullshit here I am these things]

I added important there because I’d say everyone should be broke at least once in their life, it really shows you what you can make of yourself and helps you appreciate what you have/had. Even if parts of the experience monumentally suck! You also learn to appreciate other peoples’ perspectives. I’d say the same thing about being a student, it is absolutely never too late..i was speaking to a friend of mine recently who explained to me the reason he came back to college to study now (even though he’s all grown up with a child and everything) is because he read a story of a man in his 80′s who decided to go and get his degree because it’s something he always wanted to do. Can’t argue with my point now eh? ;) Lets be clear though I’m not saying you should all go get a degree..that doesn’t suit everyone. But if you’ve always fancied learning something don’t put barriers in your way. My brother’s just started Italian classes part time so he can communicate with his Italian friends better. Learning tends to bring satisfaction..and that feels awesome.

Oops got a little sidetracked there eh. Bet you’re going..I thought this blog post was Tips for being broke etc..my bad I’ll get back to it.

The following tips should crossover each other quite nicely I think...*puts down empty cider can* ..but that could be the cider talking.

Hey I just learned how to put these line things in ^^

Tips

Budget ..this word seems to bring dread but don’t fear it. I found a way that works for me..multiple bank accounts! At least one that you can’t access easily..ie cardless account (they do still make those I promise). Have one account your pay goes into then transfer money as soon as you’re paid, into other accounts. This stops you spending all your money all at once. I have an account that gets topped up by just a tenner a month but it’s there for emergencies like van breakdowns and trust me I’ve been saved by it a few times! This’ll work for non van lifers too. Ten pounds a month isn’t too much of a struggle and if you don’t use the account it builds up faster than you’d think. Then if something breaks or you have a larger bill then you expected, you’re not as f*cked as you thought you were!

Learn to live with less - if you live in a van...well duh you have less space. Think more in terms of need not want. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. You’ll have more money and more space. It also feels SO much better when you treat yourself (that’s a mum expression right there) to something you really really want but don’t need. This should crossover to the non-vandwellers too :)

Living in a van with less leads to things like...beer shoes..as seen below vvv

The reduced section - this is both a blessing and a curse. What self respecting broke person/student doesn’t head straight for the reduced section right?! Don’t be caught out..like it says above, if you don’t need it don’t buy it! We’ve all been there.. go to buy two things..one reduced section later..ten things. Damn!

Share - it’s a cliche isn’t it, karma and the whole give and get what you return..ok that last bit doesn’t quite make sense but sort of does at the same time (cider talking now?). Cliched it may be but it works. For example: Your friend needs a lift somewhere, help ‘em out.. This may mean when your van breaks down and you have no where to stay they’ll happily give you a room/sofa/floorspace. This has literally happened to me...the best part..that wasn’t my intention I was just happy to offer lifts to my mates. (What I said about crossover above)

Here’s one of my mates after he introduced me to a freekin awesome bookshop (It has a log fire and everything)! Can’t regret the lift I gave him to town now :)

Save money/warm showers - yep that warranted a puzzled look! Being a student and living the van life means I shower in the college (I did this last year too). There are so many reasons this is good.

You get an actual hot shower! (Except that one time the college’s boiler broke down..that was a..very bracing shower I tell you.)

It’s unlikely you’ll have to wait to get in the shower.

You’ll save money on your electricity/gas bill..especially if you encourage your whole flat to do this. (I know when I lived in a flat the shower used the most electricity.)

You’re already at college so how can you be late!

There’s unlikely to be anyone else knocking to get in/making you hurry up.

If it’s next to the gym facilities go and get some exercise first..double bonus!

If you’re thinking: surely that’s not allowed?! Well answer me this: why not, if you are a student and it’s a student facility? I can’t say for sure (I’m not the oracle of all colleges) but I’ve never had a problem and I can’t see why anyone could get angry with someone trying to be hygienic.

Free/low price haircuts - your local undergraduate college (in the UK anyway) will likely have a hair and beauty course and guess what they need customers! Getting your hair cut by a fellow student may be nerve-racking but I’ve done this multiple times and the haircuts have been better than those I’ve paid top dolla for! My last college would do free hair cuts once a semester and I went every time (squeezed in between classes). My current one is about £6-8 for a womens cut. If you’re like me and have been so broke you haven’t had a haircut for 6 months to a year and looking in the mirror’s starting to get you down this is an easy way to perk back up. Anyone can get their hair done you don’t have to be a student. The salons usually offer other beauty treatments so if that’s your bag then go and get pampered on the cheap. :)

Drink less - she says after squeezing the lime from her g&t all over the laptop! But seriously this works, you feel less shit the next day and your bank account is healthier. Let yourself have a wild one maybe once a week or every two weeks and you’ll enjoy it more while still feeling good and worrying less about whether you can afford it. If you live in a van then it means you’ll be legal to drive the next day rather than stuck in the same place until you are absolutely certain all the alcohol has left your system. Lets face it, it is most definitely not worth the risk (that got serious but it’s an important and valid point)

Find free events - to the naysayers - it bloody can be done. London, perhaps the most expensive city in the UK..I went to work there for two weeks and stayed with my bro’ and visited some old friends. They, like me, were pretty broke and bemoaned the lack of things to do in London when you have no money. Well I stirred things up a bit. I went online and searched free things to do in london and dragged them out to multiple things such as: a seriously trippy Alice in Wonderland exhibition (there were toilets with virtual reality headsets), a mini cuban festival with salsa dancing and we almost went diving for free but the hangover got us (see above tip). If you can do it in London, you can certainly do it where you are (no excuses now).

Photo taken after Crammond Island - a free punk festival.

I feel like this post has got long enough. I’m sure I’ll write another in future with more tips. Let me know any of yours in the comments. Let me know if any of these work for you as well :)

Don’t feel down about your situation you’re just wayward, not lost.

#vanlife #van #vw #camper #vdub #t25 #t3 #vdubclub #vandweller #vanlifer #broke #student #scotland #student living #budget #banks #reduced #london #free stuff #free events

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sonicawareness · 15 years ago

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Phil Herring’s Best Albums of 2016

Phil Herring is a close friend of Sonic Awareness and a concert aficionado, regularly attending 100+ concerts per year. He has listened to a large number of albums throughout the 2016, and we’re happy to have him provide a guest column: his personal picks for the 40 Best Albums of 2016!

Browse the full list below and check out the key tracks on Spotify!

40) BRIAN FALLON – Painkillers

After relentless touring and five records with his main act (The Gaslight Anthem), Brian Fallon steps out on his own with a collection of lovely mid-tempo roots-rock that establishes him as the singer-songwriter we always knew he was. While not quite as personal as the previous Gaslight Anthem record, Fallon allows himself to expand his sound. Fans of The Gaslight Anthem will still find plenty to enjoy but Painkillers is able to retain its own identity.

KEY TRACK: “Steve McQueen”

39) THE NAKED AND FAMOUS – Simple Forms

These Aussie electro-poppers always tend to have a few banging singles and then a bunch of so-so album tracks so it was nice to hear them to put together their first all killer no filler collection. The hook on “Laid Low” alone will ring in your head for days while elsewhere they strip their sound down to focus on vocal interplay between the two leads

KEY TRACK: “Laid Low”

38) CHAIRLIFT – Moth

Sadly this Brooklyn art-pop duo will be coming to an end next year but they really went out with a bang on this one. Their previous records tended to collapse under the weight of their own pretension so it’s nice to hear Chairlift (formerly most well known for their track “Bruises” featured in an iPod commercial) lightening up a bit and indulging in their pop fetishes that were only hinted at before.

KEY TRACK: ”Cha-Ching”

37) GROUPLOVE – Big Mess

Parenthood hasn’t softened indie-poppers Grouplove. They still are able to bring the ruckus to your local festival’s 4pm time slot. Grouplove is one of the last bands standing which can still readily be played on alternative radio and keep a straight face when referring to themselves as “alternative”. The vocal connection between husband and wife duo Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper continues to be leading anchor to this band’s sound. Big Mess also plays well because it avoids getting slowed down by too many mid-tempo anonymous numbers, a trend that many bands in this category fall into. As we go into a very uncertain 2017, Big Mess is a nice joyful break.

KEY TRACK: “Cannonball”

36) BEAR HANDS – You’ll Pay For This

Not totally indie, not totally retro, not totally electro-pop, not totally rock, Bear Hands refuses to sit into any sort of comfort zone. Led by unique instrumentation and singer Dylan Rau’s slacker-influencer vocals, every record these guys do sounds fairly different. Sure, you could probably draw some sort of comparisons to the likes of Passion Pit, Foster The People, etc. but that wouldn’t be telling the whole story. These guys have made their own brand of Brooklyn indie rock that thankfully isn’t indebted to all the passing trends the genre (and city) sees every few years. 2016 gave them their biggest single to date (“2AM”) but the whole record shows each of the band members bringing their biggest strengths to the table which results in their best record yet.

KEY TRACK: “Winner’s Circle”

35) DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS – American Band

There are still American rock and roll lifers in this world and Drive-By Truckers are one of the few who continue to, er, truck on year after year logging endless miles on the road and putting together and incredibly consistent catalog. No Drive-By Truckers record has ever been light subject-matter wise but American Band is likely their most somber and reflective album to date. No doubt inspired by the political landscape and racial tensions in America over the past few years, American Band contemplates exactly what it means to be a southern rock band during this unstable time. Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley have always been excellent story tellers and this record continues to see them evolving in their craft while pleasing their core.

KEY TRACK: “Ever South”

34) SLEIGH BELLS – Jessica Rabbit

Nothing about Sleigh Bells is ever subtle. Like Beach House in their approach (not sound), they continue to tweak and make small changes while still sonically assaulting the listener with gritty guitars and hard dance beats. This time around, the “rock” in their formula is less pronounced which leaves room for more pronounced melodies, beats and overall rhythmic pleasures. It makes for an overall lighter affair but since the songs still stick with you, Jessica Rabbit now makes them 4 for 4.

KEY TRACK: “Rule Number One”

33) DAUGHTER – Not To Disappear

British mope-rock has provided us with plenty of gloomy soundtracks for rainy days. Daughter proved to be one of the stronger candidates with their successful release, If You Leave in 2003. Touring the world a few times over hasn’t softened lead singer/first class mope Elena Tonra. She even wonders if she should “get a dog or something” at one point. If anything, Daughter’s second full length release sounds even more brooding and morose than the first! Years of playing live will beef up anyone’s sound and Daughter doesn’t resist adding a bit more bombast and weight to their post-punk bitter neon-folk. There are still plenty of dark tones and delay pedals present to please fans of the first while giving this young band a whole new sheen. It might sound sad but there’s plenty of joy to be found when listening.

KEY TRACK: “Alone/With You”

32) THRICE – To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere

After going on hiatus back in 2012, Thrice were never actually gone for that long. They bounced back in 2015 playing a slew of festivals while putting together ideas for their 9th proper studio album. The band members, now in their mid-30’s, have put together a fine collection of post-post-hardcore. No longer infatuated will fast tempos and rifts, To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere is one of their most straightforward collection of songs. There’s a new sense of comfort in the music which, to some, might indicate the band is on auto-pilot but Thrice sounds perfectly comfortable streamlining their ambitions in an effort to make a record that pleases both them and their dedicated fan base.

KEY TRACK: “Wake Up”

31) THE HUNNA – 100

Rock and Roll’s true death happened about five years ago at this point but leave it to the UK to still export some excellent guitar-based pop year after year. The Hunna may never get to play a venue bigger than Irving Plaza but their adolescent charm still gets me every time. Here’s hoping that bands like this still continue to exist even after the idea of rock stardom is completely impossible

KEY TRACK: “You and Me”

30) WET – Don’t You

I have no idea why I was so turned off to R&B in the mid-90’s yet when there’s a bunch of pasty white folks from Brooklyn who make it I’m all ears in 2016. There’s a bigger discussion to be had about that topic but in the meantime, Wet’s debut record is a totally competent and fulfilling update to the indie/r&b fusion we’ve been hearing in the past few years. Somber, reflective yet also not excessively melancholy, this was one of my favorite new acts of the year.

KEY TRACK: “Don’t Want To Be Your Girl”

29) THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS – Everything You’ve Come To Expect

On the previous Lash Shadow Puppets record it was really all about Alex Turner. Most people, myself included, forgot that Miles Kane was also a force to be reckoned with. The most likely reason for this, if you’re American, is that Miles Kane’s previous accomplishments were usually only recognized within England and nowhere else. On their second album, eight years after the first, Turner and Kane make it a more democratic practice while taking the R&B-infused rock blueprints from their day jobs. The end result is a sexy, smoky, hazy trip full of late nights out, late-night burnout accompanied by swelling strings in the right places. Both personality’s shine through and all the songs are keepers.

KEY TRACK: “Bad Habits”

28) BASTILLE – “Wild World”

Bastille is a band that is constantly working. In today’s age, you have to be creating constantly to not only get attention but remind your hardcore fans you’re still around. After the success of 2013’s Bad Blood, the band kept busy touring, releasing mix tapes, and more touring. During this time they tightened up their modern approach to pop music and crafted an ambitious 20-song (if you have the deluxe edition) collection of arena-level pop/rock. Their sonic approach remains consistently modern as front man Dan Smith demonstrates the level of influences one would expect from someone who likely grew up with all music available at the click of a button. Lead single “Good Grief” might not have captured the public’s conscious like “Pompeii” did a few years back but Bastille remains one of the most interesting and dynamic pop/rock acts out there.

KEY TRACK: “Good Grief”

27) TOVE LO – Lady Wood

Tove Lo tightens up on her second album of dark pop. This is the sort of thing that can easily sit alongside Katy Perry and Rihanna but there’s a certain darkness that Tove Lo brings to the mix. Added to the fact that the girl has songwriting chops writing hits for the likes of Icona Pop and Amelia Lily. Lady Wood is an overall darker affair than her previous release and a lot more concise. The beats are colder but that suits the bummed-out songs, even if you can still easily sing along to them.

KEY TRACK: “True Disaster”

26) AGAINST ME! – Shape Shift With Me

Laura Jane Grace (formerly known as Tom Gabel) coming out as transgender in 2012 gave Against Me a much needed publicity bump along with, at least somewhat, making the world a bit more tolerant place. What we didn’t know was, perhaps not surprisingly, her marriage was falling apart during this time period due to the recent transitioning. As such, Shape Shift with Me isn’t a traditional break-up record but explores love in broader terms. What is it we all look for and what is it we all need? The band’s snarling punk approach now coupled with a higher level of pop-punk hooks provides a relentless attack and proves this band is still a force to be reckoned with.

KEY TRACK: “Crash”

25) SANTIGOLD – 99 Cents

The usual M.O. after the “difficult follow-up” is to bounce bank with a brighter, more nimble and user-friendly record. Santigold started her career out as an A&R rep for a major label so she has first-hand experience of what artists should deliver in order to maximize return. As such, 99 Cents sounds exactly as its cover art implies. Bright, snappy, sharp and a blend of many genres. This is pop music by any means but its executed extremely well and with a nodding wink that lets the listener know the artist is well aware that it might seem like pandering, but this is pop music constructed by a master.

KEY TRACK: “Banshee”

24) JAGWAR MA – Every Now and Then

Jagwar Ma are one of those groups that gets classified as “electronic” strictly because they don’t normally use traditional rock instrumentation. To be fair, is there is a fair amount of loops and electronic beats but the way they blend both psychedelic melodies and deep house makes for an intoxicating listen. Guitars chime in now and again to add a light human touch but this record is an absolute dance-fueled blast from start to finish.

KEY TRACK: “Give Me A Reason”

23) DEFTONES – Gore

Now all in their 40’s, these nu metal survivors are elder statesmen which usually means diminishing returns for the listener. However, Deftones have aged rather gracefully from their skate metal origins to fully embracing their love of melodic atmospheres, ambient sounds all pushing back other boundaries the metal genre usually does not forgive bands for going past. It’s rare to see a band getting better and better as the years pass which makes Gore even more of a treat.

KEY TRACK: “Hearts/Wires”

22) TEGAN AND SARA – Love You To Death

Playing it safe after a big blockbuster is a common move, particularly for a veteran act like Tegan and Sara who spent years and years building their audience with their polite and charming indie folk. After going full on electro-pop on 2013’s Heartthrob they stuck to the same formula this year and, while it didn’t exactly allow for lightening to strike twice, it still allowed for plenty of replay value with its shiny hooks.

KEY TRACK: “U-Turn”

21) KINGS OF LEON – Walls

I never imagined I’d ever be including any Kings of Leon album ever on my year-ends lists. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have much against the band. I found their early releases and “Southern Strokes” press-boasting was completely off base as they basically just sounded like any bar band you’d find down south. They started to wear me down by injecting more U2 arena pomposity in their music throughout the years (even if their big hit “Use Somebody” was EXTREMELY hokey). Since then, they’ve settled comfortably on being a hooky mainstream rock band without excessive posturing and/or forced Southern rock throwbacks. Walls is their most consistent set of songs to date and I’m glad the band made it through their rough patch struggling with success.

KEY TRACK: “Reverend”

20) TAKING BACK SUNDAY – Tidal Wave

Like Kings Of Leon this is a debut for Taking Back Sunday on my list and, again, like Kings of Leon it is their 7th full length release. After going through a number of ups and downs in the 00’s with a rotating cast of band members, Taking Back Sunday sound fully comfortable moving into middle age while playing tribute to the acts that inspired them. Lead single and title track sounds like a straight up Ramones-tribute amongst 12 other tracks that find the band coming full circle. It may not please the MySpace-core users of the previous decade but this is a great example of an emo band aging gracefully and not letting their sound become dated.

KEY TRACK: “Tidal Wave”

19) FITZ & THE TANTRUMS – Fitz And The Tantrums

After the breakthrough success of their second record, Fitz & The Tantrums tighten up and aim to please even more on their third full release. Their self-titled album is almost like a how-to guide for how you get a late afternoon festival audience up and jumping after hours of dull jangly guitar rock. There’s no omnipresent theme here, other than wanting to make the listener dance, the hopes of love and also the disappointments. Throughout the whole endeavor, the band keeps the beats sharp and the hooks sticky which ensures listener fatigue is not an option.

KEY TRACK: “Fadeback”

18) PANIC! AT THE DISCO – Death Of A Bachelor

Of the mid-00’s emo boom there are very few survivors. Panic! At The Disco (now down to just one member, Brendan Urie) can count themselves among the few. Urie has taken time to slowly reinvent the project to be a post-emo Jock Jam delivery service. Previous records didn’t have much in the way of one consistent theme but Death Of A Bachelor isn’t subtle in that all the tracks throwback to the “glory “days of Urie’s bachelorhood. There’s plenty of camp and sometimes unnecessary pomp but Urie makes it all work through his likeable personality, sharp assisted hooks from various songwriting teams along with a modern production scene that keeps him sounding contemporary. The record is a total blast and who would have thought, in 2006, that the group would be headlining Madison Square Garden a decade later.

KEY TRACK: “LA Devotee”

17) GREEN DAY - Revolution Radio

Don’t listen to anyone telling you this is a “return to from”. Green Day already attempted to do that with the ill-fated trilogy which was immensely enjoyable to some (including me!) but to most, was a bit too much and in all fairness, some of those tracks should have been delegated to a rarities compilation. Using this as a lesson, Green Day comes full circle and finally embraces simply being Green Day without anything to prove. There’s a few melodic pop-punk bangers but also a heavy amount of acoustic balladry and leftover rock-opera theatrics from the 00’s. The band still sounds as confident as ever and it’s nice to see them finally accept their status as elder statesmen while still crafting quality records.

KEY TRACK: “Still Breathing”

16) JAMES BLAKE – The Colour In Anything

James Blake is essentially what Justin Vernon (a.k.a Bon Iver) is working towards (more on that in a little). The Colour In Anything is Blake’s third record and his most sonically ambitious by far. Previously, he was delegated to the less-douchey part of “dub-step”. Here he devotes all resources available to his craft, constructing a full-on adventure in sonic wilderness. There’s no vocal effect or digital nuance he won’t touch during this sprawling 76-minute adventure. All digital glitches aside, his songwriting hasn’t missed a beat since he first was heard from back in 2010 and, at this point, The Colour In Anything stands at his crowning achievement.

KEY TRACK: “Modern Soul”

15) GARBAGE – Strange Little Birds

Unlike many of the 90’s holdovers, Garbage has little interest in relevancy. That’s not to say they haven’t built upon their sound but they no longer have an interest in sounding youthful which makes sense as all band members are now post-50. Strange Little Birds functions as an adult break-up record. There’s a lingering melancholy unlike the usual break-up records because singer Shirley Manson has been around the block a few times and knows, as she reflects in several songs, that sometimes she’s to blame for her transgressions. The band’s dark modern pop still sounds thrilling as they update their sound here and there with a few new tricks but with Manson still leading the way, the band never stumbles.

KEY TRACK: “Even Though Our Love Is Doomed”

14) BILLY TALENT – Afraid Of Heights

While Billy Talent continues to play arenas in their native land of Canada, as soon as they cross the U.S. border they’re reduced to a club band. That’s a shame because these punchy Buzzcocks-style rockers continue to put out great records with snarly melodies, vicious guitar attacks and plenty of pit-ready rhythms. Of course, the band members are easing into middle age so there’s a lot of reflecting and more sensitivity here than previously but that doesn’t take away from the band’s passion. I’m tempted to dock them points for the silly anti-EDM “Louder Than The DJ” but part of growing old is finally succumbing to the fact that you no longer fully understand youth culture. Also, the song still rips so no hard feelings. Here’s to aging as gracefully as Billy Talent.

KEY TRACK: “Leave Them All Behind”

13) BUTCH WALKER – Stay Gold

Butch has noted this is his last full length release so Stay Gold functions as a welcome send-off. Throughout the record, Walker finds himself looking back on his several past lives and reinventions. His love of guitar pop via Tom Petty style never completely disappears but, since this guy has been on pop radio via songwriting in one form or another for nearly two decades, the songs never fail to disappoint. Bonus points for the heartbreaking ballad at the end which is able to be perfectly nostalgic while also, begrudgingly, accepting the future at the same time.

KEY TRACK: “Record Store”

12) SIA – This Is Acting

Hard to believe that so many of these songs were presented to various pop tarts and turned down. Most alarmingly, how did Rihanna turn down “Cheap Thrills”? Their loss is our gain as Sia has a different type of personality and seasoned passion which only comes with years of experience and false-starts. Fully embracing the sounds of today, she crafts her own world (with help) to deliver a stunning set of pop gems. Next time around, something tells me Rihanna will be more open-minded.

KEY TRACK: “Cheap Thrills”

11) ST. LUCIA – Matter

There’s always a lot written in the press about acts being an “80’s or “90’s throwback these days. The real reason for this is those two decades were the last ones where distinct sounds could be tied to them. St. Lucia, the project of Brooklyn via South Africa Jean-Philip Grobler made no secret of their love of 80’s campy synth-pop with their 2013 full length debut. Matter takes that same template and kicks it into overdrive, fully allowing Grobler to embrace his love of huge hooks, cheesy synth lines and 80’s dance beats. They might still function as a “rock” band but this lovely record will delight anyone who has missed when synths ruled the world in the 1980’s.

KEY TRACK: “Help Me Run Away”

10) WEEZER – Weezer (White Album)

In terms of redemption stories, Weezer might not be at the top of the list but they’re coming close. Once they re-engaged with popular culture in the early-mid 00’s they spent the rest of the decade tragically undoing all the good will they built up with old and new fans alike. 2014’s Everything Will Be All Right In The End put them back on track and allowed them to deliver the “White Album” (actually their 4th self-titled) which is a record they’ve been destined to make since their debut in 1994. A classic California beach guitar-pop record with modern flourishes, Rivers Cuomo dreams up his version of Southern California complete with soaring hooks, Beach Boys harmonies and crunching guitars. This isn’t a nostalgia trip by any means as producer Jake Sinclair, a Weezer fan growing up, steers the group to still sound modern and sleek without losing the nerdy and awkward charm that made us all fall in love with Weezer in the first place. Similar to Green Day’s record this year, Weezer finally sounds comfortable simply being Weezer.

KEY TRACK: “L.A. Girls”

09) MIIKE SNOW – iii

Swedes and note-perfect pop music go together extremely well. Miike Snow, the band (not a guy), took some time off after their synth-pop had fully penetrated the U.S. in 2012. Since then, they’ve come back with 10 more bangers stripping their music of pretension and focusing on the important stuff: beats, hooks, melodies and charisma. Some reviews focus on “style over substance” but style is one of the most, if not the most, important characteristic in pop music. It doesn’t always matter what is being sung about so long as there is swagger and personality which Miike Snow offers in spades.

KEY TRACK: “Genghis Khan”

08) THE STRUTS – Everybody Wants’

As I’ve mentioned several times, I’m glad the Brits won’t fully give up on glam-infused rock and roll. The Struts pick up where previous British burnouts The Darkness and Jet left off. Their US full length updates their previous UK debut with a welcome 5 new tracks as well as all the keepers from their first release. If you’re cynical, this is the typical “save rock and roll” album a lot of people turn to when feeling bummed about the genre but there really are plenty of treats here for even the most jaded listeners. Big riffs married with big hooks and big crescendos will never stop being exciting to me.

KEY TRACK: “Kiss This”

07) PHANTOGRAM – Three

Phantogram has been building up to this moment for a while. What started as a lo-fi electronic atmospheric pop project has now turned full-blown arena atmospheric pop. The duo has always been dark but there’s an even darker lingering theme throughout Three as the band had a number of people close to them pass away in the past year, most notably lead singer Sarah Barthel’s younger sister which is reflected in the devastating “Destroyer”. They turn pain into some wicked pleasures, all culminating in the excellent “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” which will rattle around in your head for days.

KEY TRACK: “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”

06) KALEO – A/B

If you didn’t do any research, you’d likely think Kaleo was another gang of Southern boys re-purposing the blues for modern times. I had that same impression until I learned they were actually from Iceland, a place far removed from American blues rock. For cynics, it’s easy to scoff at these foreigners doing their best impression of southern rock but Kaleo pull it off with great success. There’s everything on here from straight-up Black Keys rockers to Bon Iver tributes all while maintain the band’s own identity. For rock and roll purists, Kaleo was as good as it gets in 2016.

KEY TRACK: “All The Pretty Girls”

05) RADIOHEAD – A Moon Shaped Pool

Many were afraid to admit it, but with 2011’s The King Of Limbs Radiohead had painted themselves a little too much into a corner. Bouncing back with A Moon Shaped Pool, they learned to embrace the beautiful non-glitch elements of their sound including instruments played by actual humans while Thom Yorke’s melodies take on prettier pastures. Don’t be fooled, there’s still plenty of “end of the world” type executions here but, being Radiohead, they make it all sound so effortlessly easy and beautiful. Bonus points for finally giving us a recorded version of “True Love Waits”!

KEY TRACK: “Burn The Witch”

04) JIMMY EAT WORLD – Integrity Blues

While the mainstream fell off a long time ago, Jimmy Eat World has been remarkably consistent in their career post breakthrough in 2001-02. I’m realizing there’s a reoccurring theme in this list of addressing getting older (NO idea why that might be, of course) and Integrity Blues continues that trend. While they’ll forever be pegged an “emo” band in the eyes of most, Jimmy Eat World toss off earnest sincerity with such ease its’ second nature to them at this point. After putting out a “grown up break-up record” in 2013, they’ve come full circle with the incredibly well-rounded Integrity Blues. There may not be as much bite in their sound these days but that’s due to continued maturity and also a wider range of influences. They still wear their hearts no their sleeves and Jim Adkins, now in his 40’s, can still easily soundtrack any high school.

KEY TRACK: “Sure And Certain”

03) BON IVER – 22, A million

Justin Vernon is still portrayed as the sad bastard strumming solemn acoustic songs in the woods by the media. Any listen to this record, as well as his previous Grammy-winning self-titled release in 2011, should dispel that notion. 22, A Million is a strange, jarring but still extremely fulfilling listen that finds Vernon adopting a kitchen sink type approach to his music-making. There are still sad moments, yes, but they are spliced up between random glitches, beats and strange vocoder effects. It’s almost as if Vernon is still trying to shake off his success with a healthy dose of sonic confrontation. Underneath it all, the songs are still extremely pleasant and deliver in way listeners want Bon Iver too, even if you can’t fully figure out the odd song naming convention.

KEY TRACK: “7:15 (Creeks)”

02) LUKAS GRAHAM – Lukas Graham

Turning pain into pop songwriting is nothing new. Lead singer/songwriter Lukas Forchhammer grew up a child actor but also lost his father at a young age. He turns his autobiography into a charming theatrical musical-like record bringing you up to speed from his early childhood (“7 Years”) to even imagining his death being a huge party (“Funeral”). Even with the grim subject matter, Forchhammer never totally sounds bummed out, always keeping hope alive in his darkest moments. Perhaps the most honest and charming pop record of the year, I’m excited for what this band has to offer next.

KEY TRACK: “What Happened To Perfect”

01) THE 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

If this list were titled “the 40 most obnoxious album titles of 2016” this record will still be number one. The 1975 has a lot that can get on people’s nerves, most notably the pretentious presentation and unnecessary pomp that American audiences aren’t used to from acts that present themselves as “rock” bands. The 1975 may feature the usual combo of vocals, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards but they are a straight up pop band, through and throughout. Note pop band and not singer. It’s amazing that the band member, who were all born in the late 80’s and early 90’s, have such a fascination with all thing 80’s. If this were a collection of songs, it’d still be great, but their ability to balance the anthemic pop bangers with moody introspective instrumentals and sparse acoustic tracks makes them a fully competent album band. Judging by the band’s success of selling out Madison Square Garden this spring without a true HIT hit single (they’ve done well on the modern rock charts), they might be well on their way to becoming a stadium act in a few years. Plus, try getting “The Sound” out of your head once you’ve heard it.

KEY TRACK: “The Sound”

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