#same with taylor and ESPECIALLY julien | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writerthreads · 3 years

Text

The top 10 classic fears in literature

By Prof. Marianna Torgovnik on TedBlog

Fear #1: Death, death, death—did I mention death?

An almost universal fear, death recurs in literature more than any other fear, all the way from canonical works through fantasies like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I list the fear of death three times since it occurs in many forms: fear of our own deaths, fear of family members or close friends dying, fear of children preceding parents, the death of an entire culture.

Some examples: Shakespeare’s Sonnets (“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore”; Hamlet (“To be or not to be”); John Keats (“When I have fears”); Virginia Woolf, The Waves; Pat Barker, The Ghost Road. This list could go on and on, because the fear does.

Fear #2: Avoiding death for the wrong reasons.

Literature loves paradox and so, paradoxically, the second greatest fear is avoiding death for the wrong reasons: when death will inevitably follow a noble or moral act or out of cowardice, especially in war. For understandable reasons, this fear is less common than more general fear of death, but it is out there and memorable nonetheless.

Some examples: Sophocles, Antigone (to bury her dead brother, Antigone famously courts death); Shakespeare several times — Hamlet again (“There is a providence in the fall of a sparrow”) and Antony and Cleopatra (to avoid capture by Octavius); Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (“It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done”); Harry Potter in his pursuit of Voldemort.

Fear #3: Hunger or other severe physical deprivation.

Survival tends to trump the finer emotions when it comes to fear. Sometimes time specific, the fear of hunger nonetheless reminds us of basic things. In romantic novels or poems, it can be and often is a symbol for more abstract needs, like love. In Holocaust literature, it portrays humanity strained to the core.

Some examples: Dante, The Divine Comedy (Count Ugolino and his children); Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (“Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink”); Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre; Elie Wiesel, Night; Susanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

Fear #4: Killing or causing the death of someone you love.

Whether by murder, negligence or a set of circumstances beyond our control, the fear of causing the death of someone we love is a big one. It’s a stock feature of numerous spy and crime dramas, where we tend to brush it off since the hero (think James Bond) or (more rarely) heroine’s beloved is almost always a goner. Numerous operas by Verdi, including Rigoletto and Un Ballo in Maschera use this theme, sometimes more than once; in fact, opera thrives on this fear, as in Bizet’s Carmen. It usually takes serious and even majestic forms in literature.

Some examples: Patroclus dying for Achilles in Homer’s The Iliad; Othello killing Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello; Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure (“Done because we are too menny”); D.H. Lawrence’s Women in Love (Gerald choosing to die rather than kill Gudrun); Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl.

Fear #5: Being rejected and/or being loved by the wrong person.

At last we come to a fear that can have a lighter side and, sometimes — though not always — a happy ending. In literature, characters fear being rejected, being loved, and being loved by the wrong person in almost equal proportions. Once again, the examples span the ancient classics all the way up to the present.

Some examples: Woman loves step-son madly in three versions of the same story, none with a happy ending (Euripides, Hippolytus; Racine, Phaedra; Mary Renault, The Bull from the Sea); mixed up couples set right in Shakespeare’s As You Like It; love triumphs by the end in Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice; two different kinds of love lead to tragedy in Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles; mixed results in Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot.

Fear #6: Illness, disease and aging.

Closely allied to the fear of death — but not identical to it — the fear of illness is another constant though, as we’d expect, the disease most feared changes over time. The bubonic plague used to be the leading contender; TB enjoyed a long dominance until cures were found. Nowadays, cancer and, more often, dementia are far greater fears. There is at least one stunning example in this category of embracing the fear being absolutely the right thing to do: Flaubert’s St Julien, L’Hospitalier, in which the saint embraces a leper and achieves transcendence.

Some examples: Giovanni Boccacio’s Decameron; Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year; Oscar Wilde, The Portrait of Dorian Gray; Albert Camus, La Peste (The Plague); Ian McEwan, Atonement; Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections.

Fear #7: Lost reputation, divorce or scandal.

People used to fear this one more than they do today, when our motto seems to be that no publicity is really bad publicity and unseemly revelations are the order of the day. Still, this is a significant fear, and one that even recent books revisit in original ways.

Some examples: Sophocles, Oedipus Rex; Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina; D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover; Thomas Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities; Phillip Roth, The Human Stain.

Fear #8: War, shipwrecks and other disasters.

The fear of shipwrecks can seem archaic — but they were the airplane crashes of yesteryear. Shipwrecks can be mere episodes or the core of the plot; in early literature, they are closely allied with war, a more global disaster. While other disasters arouse fear — earthquakes, volcanos — war and shipwrecks lead the field. Both change characters’ lives, with variable results.

Some examples: Homer, The Odyssey; Defoe, Robinson Crusoe; Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels; Tolstoy, War and Peace; Yann Martel, Life of Pi.

Fear #9: The law and, more specifically, lawyers.

Fear of the law is a surprisingly classic fear, weighing in at number nine. But what’s meant by the law changes over time. While fear of God’s judgment remains plausible in literature, it is far less common today than fear of society’s laws — and specifically the rapacity of lawyers and the law’s ability, in Dickens’ words, “to make business for itself.” In some modern books, the law becomes a metaphor for the meaning of life.

Some examples: The Bible; Aeschylus, The Oresteia; Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter; Dickens, Bleak House; Franz Kafka, The Trial; Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

Fear #10: That real life won’t resemble literature.

While this might seem the most trivial of fears, in fact it drives a lot of great literature. Some characters want life to be elevated, inflated, like epic or romantic literature. Deprived of that illusion, they die or take their own lives—looping us back to fear #1. Other characters favor codes of renunciation that have been called by literary critics “the Great Tradition,” fearing that they will gain something by immoral or amoral actions; a variation on this fear is the fear, as George Eliot’s Dorothea puts it, “I try not to have desires merely for myself.” Not at all light for avid readers, this fear usefully reminds us that life is not really like a Henry James novel.

Some examples: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote; Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary; George Eliot, Middlemarch; Henry James, The Ambassadors; Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending.

36 notes · View notes

chairismaticchair · 4 years

Text

Star Crossed Enemies

Happy Holidays @yellowartistsunshine ! @sanderssidesgiftxchange

Summary: When two rival theatre majors get cast as the leads in "Romeo and Juliet", something blossoms between them. Something beautiful.

This is Roceit, there are some swears. I had lots of fun writing this, especially since this was my first roceit fic!

If Roman despised a single person in the world with all his body and soul, that would be Janus Taylor. He hated how snagging lead roles in plays and musicals always became a fight between them. He hated how smug Janus constantly acted. He hated his stupidly posh accent that was only really obvious when he was on stage performing Shakespeare. He hated how he couldn't have any straight (not that it was possible with Roman any other way) or slightly logical conversation with Janus. He hated him, from the tip of his dumb black beanie, to the soles of his beige loafers. Overall, he hated Janus.

Whenever they passed in the college, there would be a flurry of middle fingers and middle-school-grade insults like "shit head" and "dumbass" thrown about with as much malice as two theatre majors could. They seemed to lose all common sense when in the mere vicinity of each other, instead becoming caricatures of theatre rivals. Arguably, that was exactly what they were.

"Taylor." Roman spat out. "I heard the LGBTQ+ Club's putting up another play soon. Suppose you're going to want the lead role. But it's mine." He declared, as if no one had expected Roman Diaz Santos to want the lead role.

Decei - shit sorry, Janus hissed back. "I heard it's gonna be Shakespeare, and guess who always gets Shakespeare roles? Me. Shithead." He added the “shithead” as an afterthought, as if this was his first rivalry and he had almost forgotten rule #315 of the Rivalry Book of Rivals.

They then tossed each other middle fingers like mutual salutes and marched off, heads held up high and refusing to turn back.

"Man, Janus really is a dick isn't he?" Roman complained to his best friend Virgil Teo, who sighed.

"Yes, Roman. Just like the -" He pulled out a notebook and made a little mark. "534 other times you've told me. This year. I don't even know what's that bad about him."

"Well of course you don't get it. You two dated freshman year. Honestly, I thought you had better taste."

"And I do. That's why we broke up." Virgil slapped Roman's shoulder playfully. "Who are you to insult my dating life? You haven't had a single date since the start of college."

"I've had dates." Roman protested.

"Bad dates, Princey. Those don't count. Maybe you could send it to the Guinness World Records."

Roman gasped in mock annoyance. "How dare you, Virgil.” He gave a wistful sigh. “Anyways, I just want to find my soulmate. They’re out there, I can just feel it. A Juliet or Julien to my Romeo.”

"You're always are full of bullshit, aren't you, Roman?"

---

Patton, a senior, walked up to the front of the leture theatre and tapped the teacher on the shoulder. He whispered something in her ear and the teacher sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose frustratedly. "Hi! The LGBTQ+ Club is putting up two Shakespeare plays for this November! The first one will be a gay Romeo and Juliet, called Romeo and Julien. The other will be a sapphic 'Much Ado about Nothing'. Audition sign ups start next week Monday and end on Friday! Thank you!" Patton was very chirpy for 8 a.m. .

Now, this was when shit hit the fan and our story gets exciting. Roman turned to Virgil enthusiastically. "I'm totally auditioning for Romeo." Meanwhile, all students in the near vicinity who wanted Romeo's role sighed in unison.

Across the lecture theatre, Janus turned to his friend Remus excitedly. "I'm auditioning for Julien! This is gonna be great."

"For fucks sake." Someone in the near vicinity groaned and his friend patted his back sympathetically.

---

Roman sat outside the auditorium, swinging his feet while waiting for his turn to audition. Walking down the corridor, Janus turned to Roman and picked up the chair beside him. He moved 6 feet away and plopped the chair down.

"So, Santos." He started, staring intensely at the auditorium door.

Roman found his shoes absolutely riveting. "Yeah?"

"What role are you auditioning for?"

Tapping the side of his chair, Roman said, "The lead one, obviously."

"Oh." Janus paused and turned to look directly at Roman. Sticking out his hand, he gave him a slight smile. "Well may the best one win."

Roman took the hand hesitantly. "Yeah Janus. Break a leg."

---

The large board outside the auditorium was a crowd favourite among students. It was constantly updated with rehearsal times, casting choices and upcoming performances, you know, the classic cool stuff.

Roman and Janus were the first to arrive at the board and glanced at each other before looking down the corridor with longing.

A boy with big circular wire framed glasses bounded down the corridor, an A4 paper in his hand. He waved excitedly at the two in front of him. "Hi Roman! Hi Janus! Waiting for results?"

The two nodded in synchronisation.

"Oh, well I got them here!" He got out a stapler and stapled the paper to the board, the sleeves of his turquoise hoodie large and dangly.

Romeo: Roman Diaz Santos

Julien: Janus Taylor

The two boys turned to each other in horror.

"Y - you mean -"

"You thought-"

"Julien."

"Romeo."

"WAS THE LEAD ROLE?"

The boy, Patton, looked at them in amusement. "Well, you both got main roles, so congrats! Rehearsals start in two weeks and I'll give you guys your scripts tomorrow. Have fun!"

He patted them both on the back before heading off, skip in his step.

Janus and Roman turned to look at each other in horror once more.

---

There is a moment in one's life, where they will reflect on everything they have done, and wonder what mistakes they had made to lead them down this path. As Roman flipped through the script Patton had handed him, that was exactly what he was doing. "You mean to say, I have to kiss this - this snake 5 times? Outrageous. Unacceptable."

They sat in a circle, everyone who participated in the play knee against knee. It was far too close for comfort and Roman was probably going to vomit onto the rest of the cast.

Virgil, who was in charge of lights and sound and sitting next to him, smirked. "Princey, this is literally a play about you two in love. 5 kisses are the minimum."

"And I am right here, you know." Janus looked slightly offended, leaning over and looking at Roman, who was a Virgil away. "And I'm not that bad at kissing. Ask Virgil. "

Virgil choked.

Before Roman could retort, Patton interrupted them. "Okay guys! Don't forget to practice your lines. Rehearsals start in two weeks so I hope you manage to memorise some of your lines."

As they left the auditorium, Roman whispered to Virgil. "Is Janus actually good at kissing?"

Virgil just shrugged.

Patton called after the leaving group. "Roman? Janus? Please get whatever feud is going on between you two and throw it away. You two need to cooperate so that we can all work together. Go bond over the next few days. Thanks!”

Bond? With Janus? Roman never wanted to hear those words in the same sentence ever again. There was an odd creeping feeling that grew in his stomach and crawled up his throat invasively. It was foreign and weird. Maybe an allergic reaction.

“Oy! Janus! We probably have to - to get to know each other better.” Roman could feel heat spreading from his toes all the way to his cheeks. Why was he blushing? He should not be blushing. “So, do you wanna go grab some food tonight?”

Janus’ eyes widened and he physically stepped back. He pointed at Roman, before pointing back at himself. “You? Offering me? Dinner?”

Roman shot a wink at Janus cheekily, before turning around to hide his blush. What was he doing? He never flirted with his rival. Was that even flirting? Tugging his hair down in a pitiful attempt to hide his burning red ears, he turned to Virgil.

Virgil wiggled his eyebrows mischievously, before elbowing Roman in the side. “Stepping up your game, Santos? Impressive.”

Roman blushed even harder, and looked away.

---

Roman had had his fair share of dates, if that was what you called a dinner like this, and he never knew what to say. He pulled out his best card.

“So...ya like jazz?”

Janus choked on his iced lemon tea. "Fucking Bee Movie?”

“Well, you do wear black and yellow 80% of the time, so you clearly like bees. Ergo, Bee Movie.”

An eyebrow was raised. “Impressive. You almost sound as smart as Logan.”

“I wish. He’s an absolute genius.” Logan was studying law, would probably become the valedictorian, and was dating Patton. Truly a legend.

“What’s your favourite animated movie then?” Janus asked. “Mine certainly is not the Bee Movie. There are loads of better Dreamworks films. I love Megamind."

“Oh, Megamind is really good! Choosing a favourite… that’s so hard though!” Roman bounced in his seat. Another movie lover? Perhaps, Janus wasn't too bad.

Janus laughed and the food must have been tainted or something, because Roman’s heart skipped several beats.

---

“Right! Let’s start at Act 1, Scene 5. You guys are at the party and this is when Romeo meets Julien for the first time. Action.” Patton, perched on the edge of a chair, announced, eyes shining with excitement.

Roman glanced over at Janus, clad in a hoodie and jeans. He was flipping through his script and mumbling lines to himself. It was their first rehearsal so they were still allowed to look at their scripts. It also happened to be their first kiss scene. Pink tinted Roman's cheeks at the thought. Kiss… Janus? The two words seemed so foreign next to each other, yet they felt as though they were meant to be. He couldn't stop his eyes lingering over Janus' light pink lips. He turned away quickly, glancing at his script. Romeo kisses Julien.

Romeo.

Kisses.

Julien.

Shaking his head, he looked up at the people on stage, waiting for his cue. He had to stop thinking so much. Thoughts were dangerous. Who knows where they may lead?

Roman wondered what Janus' lips tasted like.

Oh for fucks sake.

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. Roman shoved his face back into the script, mumbling his lines under his breath and waiting for his queue to come on stage.

Stepping onto the stage, he channeled Romeo Shakespearean thoughts. It was a little hard in his button up shirt and jeans, but he was a professional. “What lord is that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?” He gestured towards Janus.

A server bowed politely. “I know not, sir.”

“Oh, he doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems he hangs upon the cheek of night. Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear, beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows. As yonder lord o'er his fellows shows. The measure done, I’ll watch his place of stand. And, touching his, make blessèd my rude hand.” He spoke to the audience, but couldn’t help think about how accurate this was. Janus too, was really hot.

Roman spoke some more about how hot Julien was, and the rest of the rehearsal was a blur. He wasn’t Roman anymore. In front of this audience? He was Romeo, a rich lovestruck teenager.

Then suddenly, he found himself staring into Janus’ eyes, and he was Roman all over again.

Janus’ eyes, a deep, rich brown that gave Roman a steady look, pierced into Roman’s heart. He spoke towards the audience, but he sounded so genuine and sincere as he uttered his lines. “Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.”

Roman gave Janus a soft smile, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Then move not, while my prayers’ effect I take.”

Closing his eyes, he leaned in and brushed Janus’ lips. It was hesitant, and soft, and he could hear Janus' quiet gasp, as if he wasn't expecting it. It was barely a kiss, more like a peck, but Roman could feel heat rushing into his cheeks. “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.” He said, loud enough for the audience to hear him.

“Then have my lips the sin that they have took?” Janus cocked his head to the side, looking far more innocent and coy than Roman had ever seen him behave before.

“Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.” This time, Janus stood on tiptoes and kissed him. A proper kiss that made the butterflies in his stomach flutter, and Roman wanted to stay like that forever and ever. The scent of Janus' cologne made him giddy and he took Janus' hands, pulling him closer. On one hand, they were playing parts in a play, and on the other hand, everything felt oh so real, from the hoodie toggles that tickled his button up shirt to Janus' soft fingers gripping his hands tightly.

When they finally pulled away, Roman gazed at Janus' shining brown eyes in what must have been a lovestruck expression. He found his Julien.

---

"You BITCH!" Virgil slapped the study table violently.

"What did I do?"

"1 year. 1 fucking year of you making fun of me falling for a white guy and here you are, falling for the exact same white guy." Virgil looked vaguely irritated. "Even my mom was like," He put his hand at his ear like a phone and did an exaggerated Chinese accent. "Aiyah ah boy, I know you like boys, but an angmoh gao is too too much already. But don't worry lah, 4 months is not long, you still can leave him.” Do you even know what that means, you ass?”

He suddenly burst out in laughter. "This is great, it's my turn to poke fun." He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "What was the kiss like? Was it...spicy?"

"Weren't you there?"

"Yeah, but I want a personal recount. Actually, no. Give me the P.E.E.L. format. Point, evidence, example and link on Janus' kissing skills. Go."

"Oh, er. Janus was a… good kisser?" Roman didn't kiss much. "Um, point. His hair is all fluffy and I feel it brushing against my forehead, which gives me butterflies and this warm tingly sensation that ran through my body and gave me goosebumps. And he makes this noise whenever we kiss that is so cute, he honestly sounds genuinely surprised whenever it happens, even though we're following a script. And his cologne smells so good, oh my god I need to get the brand name, it's like kinda ashy, but not quite and it was a bit light, like a nice stroll in a forest. Holy shit it smelled nice. And-"

Virgil raised an eyebrow and paused Roman's tangent. "He wore cologne? He never wears cologne."

"Oh." Roman's eyes widened.

"Maybe…" Virgil wiggled his eyebrows. "He wore it for the kiss scene."

The heat that decided to congregate on Roman's cheeks was undeniable. "Why - why would he do that?"

"He likes you, ya dumbass. And he wanted to impress you, so he decided that hoodie plus beanie plus cologne was a good combo."

Roman stared at his feet. "It was."

Virgil stood up and patted Roman on the head comfortingly. "There, there, it's alright. White guys aren't all that bad."

"Oh fuck off."

Virgil bowed and shot Roman the finger. Truly a man of eloquence and class. Roman opened a picture on his phone from his date with Janus. Janus was smiling, and Roman could feel himself smiling too as he looked at the picture of Janus. Of his Julien.

#secret santa #sanders sides #janus sanders #roman sanders #ts #thomas sanders

15 notes · View notes

peppersjam · 4 years

Text

My Top 10 Albums of 2020

Ok, it's nearly February. Let's do this.

Revisiting the 2019 list, I'm struck by how my taste hasn't really changed. All of those albums are still in my regular rotation. This might be the first time that's been true year over year. The only one that has sorta fallen off is My Finest Work Yet but that's just because it's up against Andrew Bird's entire oeuvre.

Runners up: - Fleet Foxes - "Shore" (I got into Fleet Foxes pretty heavily in the Fall when this came out, but I found myself gravitating to their older albums. It's hard to disentangle that) - Caribou - "Suddenly" (It's good) - The Avalanches - "We Will Always Love You" (Also good) - Four Tet - "Sixteen Oceans" (Yes, good)

The pre-2020 albums that should've ranked:

Sharon Van Etten - "Tramp" (2012)

Sharon Van Etten - "Are We There" (2014)

Sharon Van Etten - "Remind Me Tomorrow" (2019)

🙃

10. Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters

I didn't listen to Fetch The Bolt Cutters many times, but it was one of my most memorable listens of the year: I took a day off of work for the first time since COVID protocols began, and I went on a long walk around Pittsburgh with FTBC in my ears. It's hard for anything to live up to a Pitchfork 10/10, but for one afternoon, at least, I agreed.

9. Sylvan Esso – WITH

A live album? But Sylvan Esso dropped a new new album this year. And wait, I've never even had any Sylvan Esson on my year-end lists before!

I miss live music so much. I didn't know that I would, though. Lately I've found myself (like many 30-somethings, probably) having a little bit less fun at concerts than I used to. They're too loud and you have to stand still for too long if you want to have a good view of the stage, and people don't dance as much as you wish they did, etc. etc. The last show I went to was Big Thief at The Fillmore in late November 2019. I stood up front like I used to (sore legs and all), but thank god I did.

WITH is not just a live album but a concert film. They formed a band of their musical friends and performed as a large group rather than as a duo, and the result is, surprisingly, my favorite Sylvan Esso album.

Ugh, and the crowd singing on "Coffee," "my baby does the hanky panky... my baby doessss..."

8. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart On Fire Immediately

This is yet another spectacular entry into the Pefume Genius catalog. Shrug emoji.

7. Taylor Swift – folklore / evermore

CHEATER ALERT! Two albums for the price of one! If I had to pick one of these to keep on a desert island, I'd probably pick evermore. It might be recency bias, but Taylor sounds like she's having more fun on that one. Regardless, Taylor delivered on (a) making TikTok go absolutely bananas trying to decipher hidden messages and (b) giving us the ultramainstream National(Dessner)-produced pop we didn't know we needed.

6. Charli XCX – how i'm feeling now

This album was a perfect palate cleanser to 2019's underwhelming-to-me Charli. She managed to capture the essence of being in COVID lockdown without losing sight of what makes her Charli XCX (i.e., all caps EARWORMS).

5. Adrianne Lenker – songs / instrumentals

CHEATER ALERT PT. 2! I talked a lot about Big Thief on my list last year because of their double whammy of U.F.O.F. and Two Hands (for which I did not, mind you, cheat). Adrianne's 2020 albums were released on the same day, so they're basically one album (right?). Adrianne spent some time with a binaural mic in a cabin in Western Massachusetts and recorded - complete with diagetic birds and windchimes - the most intimate indie rock/folk album I can recall. That entire sentence is Steve catnip.

4. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

I had a big Waxahatchee phase in 2018, so I was looking forward to 2020's Saint Cloud, especially after seeing glowing reviews. But I bounced off of it hard after a couple listens.

Sheep that I am, I decided to give it another shot when it started showing up at the top of end-of-year lists. And of course, I loved it.

3. Andy Schauf – The Neon Skyline

This is the only album on this list that I listened to pre-COVID. So there's something special here, for sure. It hooked me with its storytelling, which is smaller in scale than a lot of "story" music. But the smallness is key because it makes everything plausible. There are a bunch of "sad" albums on this list, but none of them wrecked me quite like this one.

2. HAIM – Women in Music Pt. III

Pt. III improves on the HAIM formula in every way. The choruses are catchier and the experimental bits are weirder. I think HAIM may have blown up this year if it weren't for gestures broadly. Not saying they aren't successful as is - but this is an album full of should-be festival hits.

1. Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

Phoebe's Punisher arrived at the perfect time. Me and everyone on TikTok (at least the TikTok that I was algorithmed into) needed a sad album to lose ourselves in. A lot of these people didn't know Phoebe before this album. I'm jealous of their getting to discover this and Stranger In The Alps and boygenius (and BOCC, I guess) at the same time.

When I saw boygenius in 2018 (HOW was it that long ago?) I came away stunned by Lucy's performance and Julien's raw emotion (mirroring my thoughts from her captivating Outside Lands set in 2016(?!)). But I didn't know exactly what I thought about Phoebe.

I figured it out though! It was very obvious and I am very dumb for not realizing it until Punisher. Phoebe is a brilliant writer. She captures everything with a specificity that that simultaneously draws you into her brain and ejects you out into space.

So it wasn't just that we collectively wanted (needed) a good cry, it's that we were asking (begging) to be ejected from Earth completely, to return when everything was some facsimile of normal again. Phoebe delivered - not just with her patented ballads but with the hilariously uptempo "Kyoto" that asks us to dance alone in our apartments to I wanted to see the world / through your eyes until it happened / then I changed my mind. Yep, this was the perfect year for the equal parts earnest, funny, and sad 2nd Phoebe album.

#Phoebe Bridgers #haim #andy schauf #waxahatchee #adrianne lenker #Charli XcX #taylor swift #Perfume Genius #sylvan esso #Fiona Apple #Sharon Van Etten

10 notes · View notes

musicmixtapes · 6 years

Text

September 26, 2018 Mix

This week as I was curating the playlist, I got to thinking a lot about the way that our mood at a particular moment affects the music we choose to listen to. Some people say that they pick music the opposite of their mood to counteract a bad day, some choose to delve into that feeling and get in touch with it. I, being the latter, am having a memory ridden, reflective sort of week, so I chose songs that talk about the past a little bit and how they can influence the present/future. I hope you enjoy and find something that suits your mood.

Spotify Playlist 1. Planet Hunter by Wolf Alice - This song is all about trying to recreate memories of something or with someone that happened awhile back, events which were really positive, but they cannot be rehabilitated. The artist reminds me of if Taylor Swift had not become a pop music sellout and instead taken a dark moody indie music route, and well, the results are stunning because she creates a depth of feeling to the music that most pop cannot do, in my opinion. The part I relate to the most that struck me was the repeated phrase of "I left my mind behind in 2015" which reaches a point where we, as listeners, realize that there are peaks in our lives that we wish to return to, especially at some of our valleys. I love this because it is an upbeat song about feeling out of place in the present, which is really fascinating. 2. St. Paul by Ritchy Mitch & The Coal Miners - Honestly, the piano that tinkles into a wonderful melody/rift in the beginning has to be the most alluring part of this song, which eventually becomes a much bigger feeling as it continues on. There aren't many striking piano-driven songs these days, so I was impressed with that along with the fact that this song clearly disses a saint, yet doesn't seem offensive in the slightest because it is so personal and not an attack on anything but oneself's feelings. The instrumentals and their uncertainty directly correlate with the restlessness of the lyrics and the crunchy sound of the singer's vocals; we love to see a parallel of the sound of the music to the actual meaning behind the song. All the literary techniques used to write a song is the reason why our ears are so attuned to it. 3. Window by Nana Grizol - Going along with the recurring theme of memories and the past, this song is literally a metaphor for a window looking into the past of what something once was. The defining line of this song comes when the singer refers to the window of the past and saying that "we can lift them/and focus on the moments that we lift in" which is a beautiful shift in tone from a reminiscent tune to one that look towards changing for the better and leaving the memories (whether good, bad or ugly) behind for someone else to revolve around. The artist, Nana Grizol, often covers really broad topics, such as negative feelings, the passing of time, moving on in a really succinct way that reaches an audience who needs to hear mantras in a refreshing way. I like to think of this song as a meditative yoga for the ears, please practice daily. 4. Solitary Daughter by Bedouine - I found this song in the most interesting way, so here it is: I was in the Mcnally Jackson bookstore on Prince Street in the city, rifling through the poetry section (as one does) and stumbled upon a book that transcribed songs into poems and included commentary from other writers and from the artists themselves, in a lot of cases. Reading these lyrics as a poem in a book was so thrilling because I often talk a lot about how some songs are really just poetry set to music, and in this case, other people must have thought so too. This piece is incredible in its way of speaking about a woman not needing someone to rely on or anything to sustain her, except for her own self, her home is herself, which is so liberating to both hear and read. I highly recommend reading the lyrics alongside listening. 5. Chemicals by Gregory Alan Isokov - Off of his brand new EP "Dark, Dark, Dark" which was released not but six days ago, is this peaceful and meaningful acoustic folky ballad by a personal favorite of mine. This piece is especially interesting because it plays off of the notion of the different ways in which chemicals can affect a person's body, kind of like the way a person who is really important in one's life can do the same. An image that I love to see showing up in art is the trope of hands trying to reach one another, whether it be in the "Creation of Adam" or an old film. This song plays with this lost hands imagery, in the line "how my hands can't seem to find your hands in the dark", which if I wasn't already in love with the song, sealed the deal for me 100%. Definitely check out the other two tracks off of the EP, they are wonderful as well. 6. Slipped by The National - This week's mix all began with this one sad ballad by my current favorite group and it just built off of this. I cannot express with words, on paper or in person, how much I am tethered to the lyrics of this song. Something about the raw and honest way that this was strung together speaks to a person who is done with being vulnerable to someone who has no intention in showing hidden parts of themselves back. In this narrative song, the speaker is talking to a girl who left the city to go to a more rural area in the South, thus separating the two, and telling how tragic it is to break away from something when he could not be what she wanted him to be. This is a solemn and intense vow to oneself that they will not break down and fall apart because of a love ending, this is another mantra. 7. We're So Lost by Voom - Upon first instinct, I would like to classify this song under tracks I would listen to whilst laying under the stars and thinking about our existence in such a big place or while slow dancing with someone and contemplating what is going on. But now, even in a good mood this song makes sense because no matter how you feel in terms of being in this world, everyone can agree that we have no idea what we're doing most of the times and are mere beings that are floating through time and space, trying to determine why we were placed here in the first place. In some ways, this can be thought of as a slow rock philosophical crisis song, or you can just love it because of the waltz like beauty of it. Your choice. 8. Fuck Love by Lalić - I definitely expected a cynical, bitter, anger driven song when looking at the title, but if I can say any cliché here, it's don't judge a song (book) based on its title (cover). If anything, it's more of a love song, explaining that the speaker has no real reason to be saying things like "fuck love". I think this is interesting because oftentimes, people don't like to be honest with themselves about their emotions, so instead they put up their walls immediately and turn to sarcastic, defensive comments like "i hate everyone" "love suck" or.... "fuck love". Being one of these people, this song opens up that term and exposes us hate poseurs who are very sensitive and truly love to love. The low fi rock sounds with a strong guitar line is nice to hear as well. 9. Blood Bank by Bon Iver - He is so detailed in his description of bags of blood, I have to believe that he actually had a conversation with someone he loved at a blood bank, discussing the differences between people's blood... which is... interesting. It is also vital to this song to understand that the two separate memories he tells about are very closely related because he is explaining the variability of relationships and how to decide whether it is prudent to enter into an affair or to be your own person and indulge in lonely behavior. Of course, it never hurts to be told really emotional things like this with Bon Iver's delicate crooning and layered harmonies that build throughout with such simple complexity, unmatched by other singers in his genre. 10. How It Gets In by Frightened Rabbit ft. Julien Baker - Your first question after listening may very well be "how what gets in?" as my first question was this exact thing. Maybe what gets in is this undeniably wonderful call and response song along with angelic harmonies. But maybe, what gets in, at least in terms of this song, is the literal healing of an open wound and how to properly dress it and make sure it doesn't get infected, or at least that was what was accounted by the singers in question. I interpreted the song to be a recounting and lesson on how love can come into one's life in unexpected places, and how just because there was hurt and pain in the heart for a long time, does not mean it has to stay that way forever. 11. NFWMB by Hozier - This acronym is probably the smartest thing I have experienced in a song's title in a long time: NFWMB is really Nothing Fucks With My Baby, expressed in a classy way, courtesy of the forest prince and love of my life, Andrew Hozier-Byrne. As always, there are several biblical references and apocalyptic death metaphors, which always leaves me feeling very confused and inspired at the same time. The very jazz and blues influenced low key rock song is so different from other love songs that it kind of creates its own category in that sense. It is described by others as "the love song for the end of the world" therefore going back to my feelings of apocalypse, decay and biblical tellings. 12. One In A Million by Hudson Taylor - "You gotta be cruel if you wanna be kind" ok this just hit me way too hard and true. The only way I even discovered this artist is actually because they are opening up for the Hozier concert I am attending tonight and now I am super excited to see them perform as the opening act as well. They remind me of a toned down version of The Kooks in a lot of shared vocals and chord progressions and upbeat instrumentals, except they are a duo hailing from Ireland and they classify themselves a folk band, though the punk/alternative rock influences found in this song are undeniably present. Also present is the message of knowing someone doesn't care about you the way you care about them and needing to be released from that sort of madness... cool. 13. Into The Mystic by Van Morrison - I'm probably not introducing anybody to this song for the first time right now and certainly not the last, but something about the changing of the seasons and the shift of weather from summer to autumn calls out to the mystical and slow dance vibe that this classic and iconic folky rock song inspires. There is absolutely nothing better than the buildup from quiet lull to the horn heavy chorus and interlude that just makes you want to stop and dance wherever you are in your day. Another musical aspect that is highly appreciated by yours truly is the intricate acoustic guitar rift that is taken and shifted into a lot of newer acoustic based songs that we hear all the time these days. The past influences the present and the present is heard in the past all the time, especially in music. 14. Size Of The Moon by Pinegrove - Shifting into a more heavy punk, angst themed style of music is this memory driven song which tells us about a time where the speaker is thinking on the communication issues that occurred in a relationship and how they could have easily been remedied, but there was no effort on the other half's side. From an interpretation of the song, one person smartly said, "It’s really easy to indulge in nostalgia when you’re at a rocky part of a relationship. Suddenly everything appears better than the present, no matter how imperfect those times were." I have to concur with this notion because our perception of the past changes over time and when we miss someone, at times, we look at bad memories and they even start to seem better than being alone... but they are not. 15. Kathleen by Catfish and the Bottlemen - Another song geared towards a relationship not working out the way it's supposed to is from a band that is one of my all time favorites. Their comical British style of lyrics is so appealing to my American way of thinking of things and the heartfelt honesty heard in their songs play along quite nicely with the super power rock style in which they are written. This tune in specifics, is not about the past, but the present and trying to reflect on what is going on in the "now" which is a really complicated thing to try and do, when you are infatuated with someone. The instability is heard not just in the lyrics, but also in the interchanging chords of the electric guitar and the fast paced anxiety ridden drumbeat, which is awesome.. 16. Holland, 1945 by Neutral Milk Hotel - This band is one of the weirdest, coolest ones that only the people who love grating vocals and intense lyrics can truly appreciate to the desired capacity. The whole album, from the 90s, "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" depicts the story of Anne Frank and the tragedies behind what happened to such an innocent person, along with her youthful romance and how it all devolved in such a short time. A lot of fans of this album have also speculated that there is a second layer of meaning between the World War II references, being that is expresses the kind of tension and tragedy that occurs when you lose some so important in your life, and how the mourning of this loss can only be remedied through appreciating this person afterwards. 17. I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You by Black Kids - Okay, so I'm pretty sure that we can all understand the meaning of the song strictly through the title of this song, negating my opinion before on how you should not judge a song based on its title... well in this case, you can absolutely do that. Not only does it have the best dance tune in the world, but it is also so adorable that the singer's only common connection with the girl he is speaking about is their affinity and adeptness with dancing. Although I definitely have "two left feet" as the singer describes the boyfriend having in this song, I relate to this in terms of music. If there is a person who I really care about, the connection I automatically have is usually in a musical sense, and I am greedy about this relation. We all have something we won't teach someone else's boyfriend/girlfriend if we care about them. 18. 123 by Girlpool - I love this so much. It depicts a relationship where the speaker is asking the partner/SO to tell them everything that is wrong with them in a really sarcastic and aggressive way. It's comical and honest and vulnerable all at once which I have to give a hand for because mixing comedy with painful relationships is something that I always attempt in my writing. The song deals with an interpersonal relationship that is simultaneously “toxic and loving" as described from a contributor on Genius Lyrics, which is a website I often refer to on advice and other commentaries on music I really enjoy. The girl rock power that is disseminated with this track is so strong and empowering, for any gender, so please don't hesitate to sing this when you're feeling angsty about someone. 19. Million Years Ago by Adele - I don't think I ever really talk about my deep appreciation for Adele on here, because I try to branch out from popular artists and focus on more under-appreciated and undiscovered types; but I'm making an exception because although she is one of the most iconic voices of the modern generation, this specific song is so underrated in terms of her best songs. It sounds so french/spanish acoustic ballad inspired and makes me feel like I am transported to a black and white film from the 50s with the sadness and depth that it gives me in such a simple way. It ALSO follows along with my theme of the week, which is looking back in order to look forward, because she sings about the troubles of missing things from the past and dealing with the issues of transforming into a different person. 20. Apocalypse by Cigarettes After Sex - Finally, one of the best mixes of every song I have spoken about previously, is this moody sad love tune by the moodiest, saddest, love bands of the modern generation. There is an unspoken cheesiness of Cigs After Sex songs that for some reason, I am completely enamoured with because I feel like the notion of expressing things in a hyperbolic way has been tossed by the wayside. This group brings back the feeling of needing to tell someone how much they care and not caring about what anyone else thinks, which is important in a world that so often ridicules the ridiculous emotions that love brings about. In particular this song speaks to the feelings of needing to get someone out of a feeling they are trapped in, so to be with them fully, and telling the person they will be there in their lowest and darkest times.

Hope you enjoyed listening with me, see you next week!

2 notes · View notes

tarpsybaby · 4 years

Text

The Best Albums of 2020

What can I say about 2020 that hasn't already been said a hundred times before? Yes, I have learned many things throughout the last 365 days, but one thing that I have always known, but have now emphatically proven this year is that - "Music (really) IS Life".

When the world outside is as dark as it has ever been, I know that I can always put on my headphones to escape from the sheer madness of it all for a little while, and feel completely comfortable and peaceful within the walls of my own mind.

Though your experience has been undeniably different, these are my life defining albums from the year that was 2020. I hope that you are inclined enough to share YOUR favorites and your reasons for being so.

Happy New Year, my MUSIC friends.

31 - Lil Wayne - Funeral

This was the first album that I had added to the "Best of" list back in very early January. Back before the everlovin' shit hit the fan in the world! I loved the first half of the album so much that it was constantly on repeat, though it certainly isn't Wayne's best album. The insanely fun and erratic tracks "Mahogany" and "Mama Mia" may very well be some of my all time favorite beats of the last decade. Especially in a time where the greater majority of modern rap production sounds exactly the same, with little focus on the beats. As the year continued on and I listened to hundreds of albums, Funeral didn't hold up quite as much as I would have thought. With 24 tracks and a runtime of an hour and sixteen minutes, the album is one that goes on well after the juice has run out. The first half is compiled so well though, that I still consider it one of the best, and I’d already written the review before I counted my “Best Of”. Hence the extra album review this year! ;)

30 - Lapsley - Through Water

This album was recommended to me from my boss when we were all first working from home in the height of the pandemic. Immediately I knew it would have a home on one of my most favorite playlists that I have been building for the last decade. The playlist is called my "H20 Mixologist" mix and if you've ever been with me at the beach, you already know that the only rules for this playlist are that it must be played by water. Preferably a beautiful ocean, though a bathtub and a healthy dose of imagination will work just fine! This album came out right around the time when we weren't afraid to stay inside quite as much and we were no longer opposed to going to our neighborhood pool as a break from our own four walls. This album will forever remind me of the truest and most pure joys of sunshine, fresh air, and the freedom one feels when outside surrounded by nature.

29 - Tame Impala - The Slow Rush

I have always loved me some Tame Impala, and this is certainly not Kevin Parker's best album to date... but even the most average material, is still some of the strongest of the year overall. Still bringing the same consistent level of dreamlike alternative pop melodies that Tame Impala has been known for in the last decade, it is an album to easily get lost in... and that was beyond helpful this year.

28 - Car Seat Headrest - Making A Door Less Open

I have been an excited fan of Car Seat Headrest since I first head "Teens of Style" back in 2015 after I had just moved to Florida. As the years have gone on and more albums have been released, I love the band even more. I've been saying for years that Will Toledo is the ‘Beck’ that I have always wanted the real Beck to be, but has never fully become. The single "Can't Cool Me Down" is singlehandedly one of the best tracks of the year, by far! Led by the most basic bass riff that fully drives the song forward, its those little odd and eccentric instruments used for accent that really hit when you are listening through a really good pair of headphones! In a year where the outros on songs have been more prevalent in any years that I've ever noticed before, this was the first mind bending outro to fully grab my attention. An absolute must listen and a significant album to add to the bands catalog!

27 - Fontaines DC - A Hero’s Death

This is the first of the albums on my list that had been suggested to me through one of my Twitter music friends, and there have been quite a few of these suggestions this year, which makes me incredibly happy - as that was the whole idea of the account! There was a genuine buzz around the sophomore album from this Dublin band that I had started to notice online, and I was excited to see what all the fuss was all about. Immediately I was drawn into the sullen voice of Grian Chatten after watching the video for “Televised Mind”. “A Hero’s Death stands out significantly for me after listening to their first album, but I love the significant growth that happened in the year in between. This is a band that I am very curious to see how they continue to grow in future years.

26 - Mac Miller - Circles

I was one of those people who discovered Mac Miller too late. Young Frankie got me into him, as he always had Mac playing throughout our house. One day, I simply decided to start at the very beginning of his discography. I fell in love with his energy, his humor, & his blunt honesty about his battles with depression and addiction. Listening to "Blue Slide Park" for the first time made me feel like I was in college again. It would have been my favorite album had it come out at that time in my life. For some, it did & I envy you all for that. With all my love for him, listening to Mac can be painful when you sit and listen in chronological order You can hear actually him deteriorate over the years, much like Jim Morrison with The Doors albums in chronological order. As honest and sincere as this final record is, it is incredibly sad to listen to Mac on "Circles" when you know there will never be a follow up. Sadly the album does serve as a beautiful bookend to a tragically short story.

25 - The Strokes - The New Abnormal

I've been a huge fan of Julien Casablancas and everything he has done for years, especially his most recent work with The Voidz. However, the thought of a new Stokes album brought about some nostalgia for younger years when they were at their peak. From the first listen, everything about this album sounds as catchy and familiar, just what we have always come to expect from The Stokes, but at the same time, new. You hear one lick from Hammond Jr's guitar and you know exactly who you are listening to. Even with seven years off, they are still capable of producing some serious quality work and it makes for some of their best.

24 - Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons - We're the Bastards

This album was one of my accidental finds on Apple Music one day early in December when I thought all odds of discovering any new music before the end of the year was impossible. Considering Campbell is the lead guitarist of Motorhead, I was expecting something a little different, perhaps a little harder? What I found was a solid family band rock album! I love the idea that Phil has created a band with his three sons, on all instrumental duties. The lead front man of Attack! Attack, Neil Starr, lends his vocals, and sounds a lot like a cross breed of Corey Taylor and Jacoby Shaddix that I actually find quite endearing, considering I am a fan of both of their bands respectively. At a time where rock music seems to be something that you have to dig deep for, this was a fresh album to get very excited about.

23 - Run The Jewels - RTJ4

Run The Jewels has been one of my favorite hip hip groups in recent years, as they have always created what I call "smart rap". Smart rap has something to say ...it makes you listen, but more so - it makes you THINK. RTJ4 came out at EXACTLY when the world needed the album and words as an anthem. Much more than just music, the lyrics in "Walking in the Snow" seemed prophetic at the time in the death of George Lloyd. Looking back on it, the lyrics weren't prophetic at all. Tragedies like George Floyd just happen FAR TO FUCKING OFTEN. If you haven't listened to this album in its entirety, you need to... and you need to make sure you listen to every single syllable of every single word.

22 - PVRIS - Use Me

Later on this list, you will hear me talk about the rash of female fronted bands that came out in the last few years that were never able to fully separate themselves from each other in my eyes. PVRIS is one of the female fronted bands that I have always had an affinity for. With that being said, this album was a complete change up of sounds than albums prior. Much more dance-y and poppy than anything from their past, though it does work well. You will later see another band on this list who were able to steal the higher place, just for being more authentic and true to themselves. Stay tuned!

21 - Johan Johannsson - Last and First Men

I definitely experienced many moods during quarantine and this album set off a rabbit hole in which I thoroughly enjoyed traveling through, as well as looking forward to continuing down. I highly suggest everyone starts looking into Icelandic composers, especially Johann Johannsson. His tragic story is just that, but his beautifully haunting music is still very much alive. Not only is "Last and First Men" an audiophiles dream from start to finish, learning that Johannsson scored one of my favorite movies of all times "Arrival", made complete and perfect sense. Total mood music, and sometimes that mood just happens to be fucking apocalyptic. Especially this year.

20 - Pearl Jam - Gigaton

I'll just put this out there, Pearl Jam lost me as a fan for a great many years. If I am being candid, and I always am - they lost me after Vs. When the single "Dance of the Clairvoyant's" was released, I was blown away that somehow they were still putting out great music and I had to go back through the entire catalog to see what I had really been missing since Vitology, when I had officially decided that I didn't like the softer route the band was taking. Man, have I been wrong for far too long and am happy to admit it. What an actual EPIC band! No real bullshit in their history, just a bunch of really good dudes making solid music for 30 years. If you are like me at all, this is the album that you need to check out immediately. Pearl Jam are back, even though they never really left!

19 - Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind

This has to be one of the coolest, most trippy and adventurous albums of the year in my opinion. This is yet another one, that came out at height of COVID and I loved it instantly the dark & twisted imagery that it can conjure up, while still being soulful and new. "Gospel For A New Century" was the song and video that really gave this album some definitive visuals to work with, as Tumor wears some seriously creepy horns, reminding me of the devil in the Tom Cruise movie "Legend" from back in the 80's. An absolutely intriguing album and one to revisit many times over, as there is nothing else like it being made today. 1

18 - Agoria - Lucky: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

I can't even remember how I found this little treat, but I did! I've tried to find the movie that its attached to many times, and have been quite unsuccessful so far. With that being said, this is an insanely fun little electronic soundtrack. "Visit", "Satan", "All Over You", and "Police" are standout tracks from an album that brings electronic tribal percussion to your ears that is capable of making you dance in your seat. After listening to this album repeatedly throughout the year, it makes me want to hire Agoria to score all of the most adventurous scenes of my life!

17 - Eminem - Music To Be Murdered By

Two surprise albums by Eminem in 2020, and that isn't always a good thing. It doesn't matter who is reviewing anymore, everyone seems to hate Eminem now a days. Not sure why, as he IS the lyrical genius he has always been... even if you still aren't in on the joke. Sure, he is just as offensive as always, but everyone has that friend that gets booed and yelled at for being the one to make a joke "too soon". After listening to Eminem for the last 22 years and being from metro Detroit, he has always been that friend to me, even though he will never know it! The two surprise albums this year were significantly better than anything since MMLP2, and the lack of beats and production from Kamikaze and Revival are all but forgotten here . We finally had some new slick beats, the kind that work very well with Em's style. Deny it all you want, Marshall Mathers is still relevant today.

16 - Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon 3

I knew that new music was coming from Cudi, but thought it was expected to be in the new year. However, I woke up on release day in late December with a text message from Apple Music saying that it was here. What?! I have always loved some Cudi, but this has been the year where he has played more of a soundtrack than ever before & had already made it into my all time favorites. At first listen to MOTM3, I realized that it was going to need a few listens to really soak it all up, so I kept at it all day. I read many critic and personal reviews and everyone seemed to be loving it, but why wasn't I? I kept at it, for days and days... and it worked. I will say there is certainly more modern trap music than I like from my Cudi, but if he has to integrate it in his music, he does it well enough. "Tequila Shots" is the stand out that has had the most airplay in our house, as it is the most quintessential Cudi sounding on the whole album. The autobiographical "Elsie's Baby Boy" is another track that we've had on constant rotation. All it takes is a Cudi hum, and I am sold.

15 - HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III

As I slightly eluded to back in my PVRIS review, I have never been a huge fan of all female bands, mainly as most came out at a time where there was a rash flooding of all female bands. Obviously, I have nothing against this, as long as they all don't sound the same! HAIM hadn't caught me until this album, but wow. The harmonies on "Darling" , Up From A Dream", "Don't Wanna", and "Leaning On You" are so flawless that this band finally got the recognition from me that they deserve. This album sets the band apart from the rest of the pack, as well as themselves! Leaps above PVRIS, CVRCHES, Soccer Mommy, and the rest - this is the best female band fronted album for me in years.

14 - Bassnectar - The Lockdown Mixtapes Pt: 1 - Inside For The People

The better part of 2020 quarantine was spent in extreme close proximity with family while trying to hold down different non-negotiable responsibilities. On my part, this usually included Air Pods in my ears any time I had to "be on" and work from home. Early on, it was impossible not to feel a little trapped and frankly pretty fucking sad. This album came out at precisely the right time of quarantine to bring you out of the funk, even if only temporary! Listening to this for the first time, and hearing Biggie's voice come to life behind the beats was a smack in the face of 90's nostalgia that is was comforting... and something that I didn't even know I needed at the time. The use of the "American Beauty" dialogue in the outro was also oh so nice, and perfectly placed at the end. It was unfortunate that the second Lockdown Mixtape came nowhere close to this first installment. This is a must though, and it will always be an integral album to pull out whenever I am feeling a little claustrophobic.

13 - Gorillaz - Song Machine, Season I: Strange Timez

One of my all time favorite bands for the last twenty years, even though they have missed the mark in the past. This album brings back a lot of the sounds and creativity sparks that have been missing the last few albums. The moment you hear Robert Smith's voice start torture crooning about Strange Timez, with a Damon Albarn echo, you know you're going to be in for a fun trip. The Schoolboy Q featured "Pac Man" is without a doubt the most authentic Gorillaz song recorded in years. This has also been the most cohesive complete album they have produced since Plastic Beach. Paying attention to the recipe that made them one of the best, is a good way to move forward. More of the same please, Damon.

12 - Creeper - Sex , Death, & the Infinite Void

This album was recommended to me by a friend on Twitter & I was a little shocked on how much it reminded me of some of the pop, punk, emo , alt rock bands that came out of the 2000's. More specifically, My Chemical Romance, and I mean that in the best way. I have often found myself loving some sort of incredible theatrics with my music and this album truly has more black eyeliner than I do. Categorized as English Horror Punk, this sophomore effort by Creeper has rock opera written all over it. The intro had me a little skeptical on first listen, but once you settle in with "Be My End" you start to have a feel of where you are going and it isn't as scary as a first impulse indicate!

11 - Smith & Myers - Volume 1 & 2

One of my absolute favorite discoveries of 2020! I have always been a fan of Shinedown & have some incredible memories of seeing them live at Rock on the Range years ago - so I was incredibly happy to discover this stripped down side project that only features vocalist Brent Smith and lead guitar Zach Myers performing acoustic covers. Songs like "Unchained Melody" are done so perfectly, the sound like they were initially written for Smith's voice, which is a national treasure in itself! My absolute favorite cover off both volumes is "Valerie", most famously covered by Amy Winehouse, though originally written and performed by The Zutons. i dare you to sing along to this cover and NOT smile. The rest? See for yourself. 1

10 - Marcus King - El Dorado

Early in the year, I saw a few friends had been listening to this album on Apple Music. I had to check it out and immediately loved how different it was for a new country rock and blues album. I was not shocked to discover that Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys played an integral part of its creation. If you haven't discovered King yet, you should head right over to YouTube and check out any of his live performances. This is the kind of dude you HAVE to see live, when this world ever gets back to being able to see live shows. "El Dorado" did for me this year, what Sturgill Simpsons' "Sound of Fury" for me last year. Another act that I cannot wait to see what comes next.

9 - BAMBARA - Stray

To me, this is Mullholland Drive music. I picture California, up in the LA Hills, very late at night, cruising around, up to no good in some sleek, sharp convertible old school car. The big brass gives the music edge and age and its fucking glorious. This it the band that I would love to see do some sleazy and metaphor fueled track with Lana del Rey at some point in the future. Oh, what a combo that could be. BAMBARA also brings to mind a Stooges/Iggy Pop meets Jim Morrison head on, kind of vibe and I love it a lot. Check out their KEXP performance on YouTube, as it is absolute gold. Even though they refer to themselves as post punk, I'd like to refer to it as underground filth glamour... and its never been more beautiful.

8 - Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist - Alfredo

Freddie Gibbs is one of the most exciting artists in modern hip hop, mainly because everything he puts out has that classic hip hop vibe that I have been missing. Last year Gibbs made this list with his collaboration with Madlib, "Bandana". Whereas Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Kid Cudi have released some great albums this year, "Alfredo" is another cohesive piece of work that you just don't find often. When the track placement doesn't matter, as they are a seamless piece, meant to be listened to from beginning to end, every time. This album does for hip hop what Tyler The Creators, Igor, did last year. Its only appropriate there is a Tyler cameo. Once again, bringing soul to the forefront of hip-hop, and I am totally here for it.

7 - Chris Stapleton - Starting Over

This is the kind of modern country that I like. Bar rock country music! Even though Stapleton hails from Kentucky and its true country, something about his voice and this album makes me nostalgic for my childhood and those great Michigan summers growing up. In a time of 'pretty boy' country, Stapleton gets to the grit of it. This album conjures up the want for whiskey shots and dirty dancing. There aren't many like it, but this is a greatest hits album from start to finish.

6 - Benny Yurco - You Are My Dreams

Benny has always been the absolute best discovery of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, as he THRIVES on his own. As well as I feel I know him as a solo artist, I can't find jack shit on him on his own. Everything you find is all Grace Potter. The little things that I DO know are, is that I am well aware that he is musical instrument collector and finds ways to integrate it into all his music. One thing I love about Benny is his absolute classic and beachy sounds. Even though he hails from Vermont, its like he was made to be on the beach at all times playing his music. All three of his solo albums are so clearly connected, but so different. He always picks up right where the last one ended. It should be noted that anytime Benny comes out with a new album, he ends up on this list. So if you have read about him here and have still never checked him out, you are missing out.

5 - Me & That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol 1

One of the most "mood" albums of the year for me! In the initial weeks of quarantine, I was in a mood where all I wanted to hear was outlaw western rock. I couldn't really put a finger on any specific bands that I considered completely outlaw rock, but I had been listening to Volbeat's "Outlaw Gentleman & Shady Ladies" and the score for Red Dead Redemption for far too long, when I found Me & That Man. Imagine my shock when I discovered the man behind the whole project was Nergal, the man who is also behind the band Behemoth, the black death metal band that I have simply never been able to get into! What a turn from the norm for Nergal and I couldn't have been more excited about the album. Another album that will always remind me of the worst of the worst of the year, but always knowing that music would carry it all and would always make things better.

4 - All Them Witches - Nothing as the Ideal

I have a been a fan of All Them Witches since I first discovered them on Spotify years ago. This is one of those albums that is so fucking perfect from beginning to end that you don't even realized that you have spent 45 minutes having a consistent eargasm. Exactly what a progressive rock band should sound like in 2020, as they draw from all past music and inspire the next round of craftsmanship. This is one that I can't speak/type on too much, as it has to be experience on ones own... at full blast.

3 - Molchat Doma - Monument

One of the best, purest retro albums that has been inspired by 80's in the best fucking way possible. How can you take something that has been done over and over throughout the years and make it sound not at all forced or contrived? This is how. I would call them new wave, but I've been since directed to the appropriate terminology, which is cold wave. Hailing from Belarus, the Slavic language is such a perfect mesh for the sounds that they have created. The rest of the world was ahead of me with Molchat Doma, since one of their older songs hit TikTok and made them quite well known with a younger generation. This album makes me daydream that I am dancing at one of their lives shows, in some dark eastern European club, where I would probably never feel comfortable, in anything outside of my imagination... but I it that though. That is the kind of music that I live for.

2 - Deftones - Ohms

It has been an entire decade since I have fully paid any significant attention to the Deftones, and for me, this has been their best album since White Pony twenty years ago. The excitement that came with the release of the first two singles was enough to generate a massive buzz within me. I made sure to listen to the entire catalog before release day, just to fully prepare... and when the new album finally arrive, it did not disappoint. The last three albums have been the more subtle side of Chino Moreno, which is just fine when working with his side project +++. He actually has one of my all time favorite sexy voices, when he isn't in the full tilt of a wail. When he has the whole band behind him, he fully thrives and can still hit the screams that defined his voice decades ago. This is an album that has made me feel all of the ROCK again and it will be in my rotation for many years to come. As the NYE ball drops this evening, I will be playing Ohms, as that is the best outro of any album to date... and certainly the way to close out the year.

1 - Other Lives - For Their Love

My favorite of the year comes from a band that I had never heard of, despite their three albums that have been released prior! Even though I initially loved this album on first listen, I will candidly admit that I forgot about it for a few months. Somehow I found my way back, and For Their Love was on constant rotation for weeks at a time. There is something about Jesse Tabish's voice that continues to haunt me well after the last note. Other Lives has a sound that reminds me of something old, that has somehow become new and fresh all over again. It is haunting, it is beautiful, and it resonates the soul like a tuning fork. The most beautiful souvenir of an awfully bleak and tragic year. If you check out ONE of my suggestions this year, let it be this...

#bestalbumsof2020

0 notes

heff88 · 7 years

Text

20 albums and 1 EP: my 2017 in music.

Hello all and welcome to my favourite records of 2017!

2017 has been quite a year for many reasons and musically is no different, as this has been one of the strongest years for new music in some time (which may or may not have to do with the current president in the white house and for one of these at least, Brexit). It has been a particularly great year for female voices in music - just under half the acts here are, or include, women or at least are female fronted, with Björk surely to join them - and I'm not sure there has been a time where women have been so well promoted. It is a stupid thing to have to say of course, but it is at least encouraging that change is happening in a positive way. It is also encouraging given the latter half of the year socio-politically has largely been concerned with how much assault and sexism women have to put up with in a very public but important manner (although again, this doesn't seem to be deterring the president, yet anyway.)

This year, I have chosen 20 (and 1 EP because I like to cheat) albums to feature, something I don't think I've been able to do before. This probably has much to do with this being my first full year as a (semi)-professional journalist, something I feel I really marked properly this time last year when I was sent to Prague to interview The Lumineers, which was a fairly mad-yet-incredible experience. However, it's not like I wasn't paying attention before, and I have made a playlist including 50 different records from 2017 I have enjoyed in some capacity and a more concise one for this list.

Since that Lumineers interview, I've had the opportunity to cover from great events and records in 2017, as well as meet a whole load of very welcoming and great people to whom I must say thanks (especially as today is Thanksgiving). To Derek of Drowned in Sound, Tallah from The Skinny, Caitlin from Uproxx and many others, thank you for your continued support and friendship, I couldn't have done it without any of you. In 2017 I got to:

Cover the BBC6 Music Festival in Glasgow, which was a really rather special weekend in my spiritual home. Interview some really excellent people, including: Jeremy Bolm, Touche Amore Angus Andrew, Liars Barry Burns, Mogwai Alex Cameron And finally, Joe Casey of Protomartyr (twice) which was by far the most difficult one, but ended up being pretty great.

I also got to keep travelling in the name of music journalism (what a trip!) by covering Mikkeller and The National's inaugural HAVEN Festival in Copenhagen (a city long overdue a visit - I loved it!) and got to see Iggy Pop be the absolute boss-man, and drink SO. MUCH. GREAT. BEER.

And even more crazily, I got sent out to CALGARY, ALBERTA CANADA to cover Sled Island. There I got to see the likes of Low, Mono and Waxahatchee play in a church, Converge play in a weird British Union Vets centre, Wolves in the Throne Room and Daughters in a dive bar and I got to see The Rolling Stones' mobile studio (which my parents visited just before I was born.) It was an amazing week I will never forget, full of incredible music and new friends, and while I didn't find Bret Hart I did get to tour the city's rather amazing beer scene, which I'm still in disbelief about, to be honest.

I also got to see and have many special live experiences this year less further afield, such as The XX's triumphant show outside SWG3, Glasgow, getting to see City of Caterpillar (!) after all these years in Berlin, Julien Baker play one of my all-time favourite songs, St. Vincent transcend mere mortal status, Mogwai play in a famous Berlin gay club for TV and Thee Oh Sees play in a tiny, cramped basement this summer.

And finally, I RELEASED MY OWN ACTUAL, PHYSICAL ALBUM THIS YEAR!!! It was tough and stressful at times, but I am immensely proud of it and owe so much to my boys Kenni and Joe Campbell who make up FRAUEN, as well as the people around us who supported it, including Lewis Glass, Gary Taylor, Kyle Wood, Sean Campbell, Louise Grace Kenny (& Owen) my wonderful partner Ann-Christin Heinrich, and everyone who put on shows and came out to see us in our favourite haunts of Glasgow, Manchester, London, Brighton, Leeds and Newcastle (to name a few!) put us up for the night, drove us, bought a record, said a nice thing and generally were awesome.

youtube

So, onto the list. As a result of my year, I've decided to order this in release order rather than ranking, although I will point out the top five. A quick glance at this suggests that September was an absolutely ridiculous month (it was) and no I didn't forget LCD Soundsystem, whereas I have nothing in May (Do Make Say Think and Slowdive were... fine but nothing special.) I am currently catching up on stuff I missed as I am writing this, so to Julie Byrne, Aldous Harding, Kelly Lee Owens, SZA, Big Thief, Idles, Sampha, Jlin, Jay Som, Lorde, Vince Staples and as mentioned, Björk you could all find yourself making up your own list in a month's time.

A glaring but now expected omission is Science Fiction by Brand New, which up until a couple weeks ago I ranked as one of my top three records of the year. While of course, everyone should be wary of what we read online, Jesse Lacey's frankly embarrassing and vague response to the matter has, quite likely, put a disastrous end to a previously remarkable and canonised career which was setting itself up for a glorious and perfect ending in 2018. Now, it's very difficult to separate the art from the idea that this is an unsavoury at best, psychopathic at worst, white male who took advantage of his status and the surrounding scene towards young girls and called it a "sex addiction" which is highly troubling. Even his movements towards a "perfect end" to the band now feels slightly chilling, and at the time of writing, it seems as though he will (rightfully) not be rewarded with that. What a horrible turn of events for an artist and a band who have meant so much to so many people for well over a decade, the one band many have kept with them since their adolescence only for it all to go up in flames in an instant. The one (pyrrhic) positive from all this is that the continued conversation is finally giving victims a voice, and that is the most important matter which should never be forgotten.

OK, that unpleasantness behind us, let's get on with the list:

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural (January) *4th

So, just to completely undermine my ordering here, I slept massively on this band and album until the summer, almost six months after release. Thankfully, I caught them just in time to see them play live in Hamburg this June shortly after moving to Germany (oh yeah that happened too, what a year eh?) after seeing they were playing that week at the legendary Hafenklang venue. I checked out 'Jj' and was immediately bowled over, something a completely new artist to me hadn't done for some time. There's a moment in that song, a couple minutes in, where the sensation of "lifting off" occurs both in the music and listening experience, it is a thrill, to say the least. The rest of the album thankfully stood up just as highly (especially it's title track) and I admonished myself for not checking out this band clearly designed for my exact tastes. Live they were a force of nature, each member bringing something exciting, while collectively they reminded me of a tougher version of ESG's "dance-punk". So while I may have missed the boat initially, this record has quietly grown and grown in my estimation, to one of the year's standouts, and will be excited to see what they do next.

youtube

Thundercat - Drunk (February) *2nd

The absolute boy does it again. Anyone who knows me knows Thundercat is one of my all-time boys, he'd be in my wrestling stable without a shadow of a doubt. I've been largely obsessed with Stephen Bruner since his fantastic turn on Flying Lotus's Cosmogramma and he has just got better ever since. For the first half of the year, Drunk was comfortably my favourite album of the record, knowing it would take something special to knock it off its perch (it did, but we'll come to that later). This is, paradoxically, both his most cohesive and chaotic album yet, detailing the wide range of emotions a drunk night on the tiles can elicit while also being his most confident statement musically yet. On top of that, Kendrick Lamar returns the favour for that 2016 Grammy win Bruner played a part in winning for To Pimp a Butterfly, the legendary Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald show up on the lead single, and in the album's clear highlight, Bruner completes his Tron suite with an ode to his cat of the same name.

youtube

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - The French Press (March) - EP of the year, for whatever that's worth.

Australian music, from Melbourne especially, is in a pretty impressive state right now. Along with the above, Alex Cameron, Royal Headache, Julia Jacklin, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Total Control (to name a few) have in recent years created a formidable scene down under, making them a globally recognised force to be reckoned with in the music world. Despite the slightly annoying name, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever hit the BBC Radio 6 Playlists around March (though sadly not the Glasgow Music festival at the time) and with the song 'The French Press' turned many heads. The song gave 'Cause = Time' (a song somehow nearly 15 years old already) by Broken Social Scene a most welcome reboot while maintaining their own charming style. One would be forgiven for thinking this EP of the same name is just a vehicle for that one single, but no, to those who went out in search for more were rewarded with an excellent six tracks from top to bottom. This was only their second release after last year's Talk Tight so it will be very exciting to see what their first full-length LP brings us, hopefully, next year sometime.

youtube

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. (April)

What can I say, it's Kendrick. Like Priests, I took a strangely long time to get round to DAMN. and not even really for any particular reason other than... just listening to other stuff and quietly knowing this would be great when I did finally come around to it. Though DAMN. for me doesn't quite meet the insanely high mark of Lamar's previous two albums, it's still a very, very strong album from one of the best artists of the generation. While this may have the bombast of Good Kid or the sheer scale of Butterfly DAMN. still shows Lamar's incredible skill as a storyteller, dropping the listener into a fully realised world, largely because it's his reality. On top of this, he manages to write a song featuring U2 and it not be the worst thing ever! Outside of that, however, James Blake gets to return on his sparse roots on 'ELEMENT.' ahead of their co-headline tour next year, which singles 'HUMBLE.' and 'DNA.' prove Lamar's chops as an artist able to step back from his bigger concepts and make his point in three-minute bursts.

youtube

Timber Timbre - Sincerely, Future Pollution (April)

One of the most perennially underrated bands out, Canadian creepers Timber Timbre had one of the most quietly solid records of the year with Sincerely, Future Pollution. I've never been sure why they haven't quite caught the wider imagination as some of their peers, such as Grizzly Bear for instance, who sonically have had a very similar trajectory from lo-fi "freak-folk" to a more electronic indebted sound. Whatever it is, in a year where everyone and their dog were (understandably) wanting to comment on the state of things in a post-Trump/Brexit world, Timber Timbre took a more subtle approach (a word that perfectly describes the band overall) as they brought up 80's, Reagan-era sleaze into a modern context, with a healthy dose of Lynchian nightmarish images and structures. Through 9 feverish trips to the classical image of the decaying (in this case, swamp-ridden) city, we see the toxic nature of contemporary Western society poisoning everyone who embraces it, all soundtrack to lounge-jazz samples. It is perhaps the darkest, most sinister record of the year, a prevailing sense of creepiness and uneasiness permeates every beat, every noise, every line of frontman Taylor Kirk's deadpan delivery in a completely different way to say, Alex Cameron's multi-coloured coke-ridden characters. As the album's alluring cover suggests, this is all your favourite black-and-white 70s paranoia films come to life.

Listen: Sewer Blues

Hey Colossus - The Guillotine (June)

Speaking of underrated, how the hell did everyone sleep on Hey Colossus this year? Perhaps they overshot themselves on their epic 2015 double albums In Black & Gold/Radio Static High, but this for me was the best British album of the year and one of the only to really address the mess the UK has got itself into. While the sludge/psyche rock act may not be quite as chaotic or as heavy as some of their earlier output, this is easily their sharpest to date, pinpointing the rage, anger, frustrating, sorrow and even humour in the current idea of being an "Englishman". This is a loose concept album, based on very similar themes and sounds as Timber Timbre's (albeit heavier) which skewers the current public conscious, but also provides genuinely breath-taking moments on songs like 'Calenture Boy'.

Englishman

Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up (June)

Robin Pecknold's triumphant return to music and to Fleet Foxes has been one of the major stories of the year, though he received mixed responses for it. In preparation for this album, Fleet Foxes' third and first in 6 years, Pecknold debuted a few of these songs, solo, supporting Joanna Newsom last year. At the time it was just good to know he was still writing songs, but the sheer ambition and kaleidoscopic scope of Crack-Up is incredible, for a band largely known for kicking off the folk resurgence in earnest. This record is rather like an intense, feverish, psychedelic vision in which Pecknold leads our hand, a singular voice in the void, while the music moves from madness to calm and back again across 11 beautifully composed tracks. The first time opener 'All That I Need' kicks in, it takes the listener completely off-guard, washing them away in the oceans and the incoming storm on the album's artwork sleeve, and the only hope is to try to ride it out and hope you survive. It is a genuinely impressive return to form, one I'm not sure many people thought Pecknold and Co still had in them.

Fool’s Errand

Sheer Mag - Need to Feel Your Love (July)

It's not often where a band, especially as politically fierce as Sheer Mag are, just consistently put a smile on your face and make you raise a fist and shout "YES!" But that's the Philadelphia punk-via-70s-radio-rock band do in spades. They manage to elicit a feeling in their music of so-called "simpler times" while simultaneously bludgeoning you in the face with the bullshit attitudes that were just as much of a problem in the 70s as they are today (in fact, an era partly responsible for them). Led by perhaps one of the best frontpeople in music today, Tina Halliday and guitarist co-writer Matt Palmer, Sheer Mag are the quintessential punk band in everything but their sound, one which the original punks would have openly mocked at the time. The irony, of course, is that those original "punk" acts, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash etc. took largely from 70s glam-rock, they just sped up the songs and make the themes and lyrics angrier. Sheer Mag in many ways remind me of Fucked Up, another punk-band obsessed with 70s revivalism. Both bands understand with loving care and passion that to create truly great punk music, one has to look outside the obvious influences, while keeping an ear open for a catchy hook to couple with prescient themes on oppression, race, sexism, homophobia, police brutality which still plague us today. We need acts like Sheer Mag in these troubling times to remind us, there is another way.

Suffer Me

Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm (July)

Processing a rough break-up is one of music's classic tropes (hell I did it on that album I put out this year - I promise to shut up about that now) but if the recent re-evaluation of the early-to-mid Emo/Pop-Punk scene has taught us anything, it's that even these so-called "sensitive" boys can be just as much of the patriarchal problem as more aggressively "macho" acts out there (and in some instances, actually worse). This is a round-about way of saying, traditionally, we rarely get to hear the female side of the story, and if we do, it is often met with patronising audiences of "poor little girl" syndrome. So what a breath of fresh air it has been to see Katie Crutchfield's Waxahatchee project break free of the shackles of a somewhat suffocating relationship that involved both her romantic and music life and create an album that deconstructs relationships and toxic masculinity in such brilliant fashion. Over the course of these 10 songs, Crutchfield proudly wears her battle-scars and reflects upon where she was and where she is now on Out in the Storm. I saw Crutchfield twice this year, first in the aforementioned church in Calgary, solo, essentially introducing this album to a new audience, and then later, all-female live band featuring her sister Alison (who also supported and is an excellent talent in her own right) and British guitarist Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, Sleater-Kinney) who really helped make this album shine. Every song here is a stunner, but in 'Sliver' we have one of the best songs of the year, an anthem of defiance that neatly sums up this great, great album.

Silver

Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins (August) *5th

One of the big narratives of music in 2017 was the "comeback" of mid-to-late 2000s indie-rock having a resurgence. Along with the aforementioned Fleet Foxes, we also had return records from The National, Wolf Parade, LCD Soundsystem and Liars, for instance, most of whom will show up later in this list (because I'm a nostalgic mark apparently). Grizzly Bear have been one of the most consistent acts in that world and with their 5th album Painted Ruins only continued to prove that. While I'm not sure they'll ever top my personal favourite, Yellow House, in fairness, the band made a statement that they were moving away from the more lo-fi, freak-folk and more towards chamber pop on Veckatimest. Grizzly Bear remain an amazing and consistently surprising act who reveal themselves with every listen, a tactic they've still not lost in over a decade. They can do a big pop song 'Mourning Sound' and the more subtle 'Neighbors' but they still after all this time have the ability to pull the rug from underneath you 'Three Rings', 'Four Cypresses'. While this certainly was a great year for "indie" music (whatever that really means) but Grizzly Bear remain the torchbearers.

Neighbors

Liars - TFCF (August)

I'll admit it, this album may have eluded me if I hadn't been commissioned to interview Angus Andrew this summer. I've never been a huge fan of Liars, but I've always liked their style and ambition to always try something new with every record, even if with varying results. But man, I am glad I had that experience with Andrew, because TFCF, striking artwork and all, is a mini-career benchmark for him. Liars is now just a solo act, after Andrew's partner in crime Aaron Hemphill suddenly departed from the band when recording sessions for TFCF began initially in Los Angeles. Andrew's world was turned upside down by this revelation, so his reaction was to move back to his native Australia, and become a hermit in the bush in New South Wales, outside of Sydney. The result is an album where Andrew fully immerses himself in his surroundings, using field recordings of the natural world he is currently living in as the background sound for him to write songs over. It's an intriguing experience, especially as I don't believe Liars' music have ever really been described as "emotional" before leading TFCF to sound almost like The Moon & Antartica-era Modest Mouse in places. This isn't the only characteristic though, as Andrew jumps around from genre to genre, all unified by this... buzzing of the bush that sits underneath it all. While not quite Andrew's peak of records like Drum's Not Dead or the self-titled album, this is a small renaissance in his career, and it will be interesting to see where he goes next.

Cred Woes

Mogwai - Every Country's Sun (September)

Yeah, it's another Mogwai album, which at this stage feels like a warm cup of tea and a hug, but there's no denying they keep on keeping on. In recent years Mogwai have slowed down their studio album production, favouring soundtrack work for TV and Film in recent years - such as last year's Atomic and Before the Flood, but they remain a solid act and for my money the greatest Scottish and further, British, act outside of Radiohead. Every Country's Sun is a mere reminder of the band's consistent greatness in a year where similar acts Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Do Make Say Think also had strong entries. While there are some familiar tropes on Mogwai's latest, their 9th studio album, they did add one of their poppiest songs ever 'Party in the Dark' and a more subtle use of the Carpenter-esque electronics that characterised Rave Tapes on tracks like 'aka47'. The best is indeed saved for last, however, as the album's excellent title track that closes the album is perhaps one of the band's most epic yet, one I wouldn't be surprised if featured at Celtic or Scotland games in the future.

Party in the Dark

Alex Cameron - Forced Witness (September)

Well, this one came from left-field. Again, like Liars, I may well have missed this one had I not been sent to interview him, and even then, my enjoyment wasn't assured given Cameron's retroactive sound and questionable lyrical content. However, when it quickly became apparent that Cameron is playing a role lampooning the toxic masculinity his characters exude which is seemingly openly everywhere in 2017. While some fans were disappointed Cameron moved away from his singular, lo-fi sound of his debut Jumping the Shark, his move towards 80s sleaze-pop, like Timber Timbre, is an excellent vehicle in which his rather pathetic characters exist. It's an intriguing idea, as rarely do musicians or artists "play the loser", something that only tends to exist in the world of acting. In many ways, Cameron is a performance artist, although in seeing him live (in his semi-hometown Berlin where he recorded the album) he unmasks and speaks about his songs candidly. Whatever it is, Forced Witness is an excellent album full of excellent, catchy ditties, especially his duet with Angel Olsen, who plays her own interesting role in the background of this album, that explore some fairly dark themes with a sense of humour and irony that stay, just about, on the convincing side.

Stranger’s Kiss (duet with Angel Olsen)

The National - Sleep Well Beast (September)

Another year, another solid National album. The National will, it seems, always have a spot on my list, though Sleep Well Beast didn't crack the top 10 when I was voting in my respective publications. Sleep Well Beast, The National's seventh studio album, sees the band try and mix things up with the seemingly inevitable turn towards electronic music that basically every guitar-based band eventually dabble in. The results are mostly successful, though in many ways this isn't as much of a departure as first suggested, remaining very much a National album. The one disappointment, in fact, is that it _doesn't_ go further in it's "electronica" as tracks like 'Guilty Party' prove there are some legs there, but towards the end, they become a bit over-reliant on pretty much one style which gets a little trying. In fact, Sleep Well Beast is probably their most piano-based record as opposed to guitars or electronica, which leads to beautiful opener 'Nobody Else Will Be There'. Meanwhile, the band step back into their older territory on tracks like 'Day I Die' and the somewhat unfairly maligned 'Turtleneck'. It's nowhere near the band's best, but The National are like a familiar friend you can not see for years and dip in with and catch up like no time has passed and will always be welcome to visit. (Fun fact, Ann and I were present for the shooting of the ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’ video as it was at their HAVEN festival, however sadly we didn’t get in!)

I’ll Still Destroy You

Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun (September)

Chelsea Wolfe has slowly been getting better and darker throughout her career. Personally, I'm a little surprised Hiss Spun hasn't featured on more end of year lists, as it is a star turn from the still young LA-based goth, aided massively with Kurt Ballou's MASSIVE production and guitar chops from Queens of the Stone Age's Troy van Leeuwen. Perhaps its because she's fully embraced her "metal-side" that critics have been a little allergic to it, I'm sure there would have been a few raised eyebrows at Aaron Turner (ISIS/Old Man Gloom)'s roar at the end of the excellent 'Vex'. Either way, this is an album from an artist clearly in the ascendancy, and may well prove to be a stepping stone to a masterpiece in the future. Of all the artists currently out there, she's certainly got the most potential for it.

16 Psyche

Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrive Woven (September)

Continuing on with Metal, here is by far the heaviest entry on this list (though Converge, of course, run them close) from Olympia, Washington's Wolves in the Throne Room. I had the pleasure of getting to see the American Black Metal legends (I think we're good to give them that title now) this summer in Calgary and it was an overwhelming experience. To those who don't know, it may seem at odds to describe extreme, heavy metal as "beautiful" but that is Black Metal. Its atmosphere achieves a sensation that is transcendent when done right and WITTR are masters of it. From the second 'Born in the Serpent's Eye' begins, the listener is immediately fully submerged. From there on, this is yet another masterpiece in the band's already exemplary canon and it is good to have them back to winning ways after the disappointing left-turn 'Celestial'.

Born from the Serpent’s Eye

Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent (September) *1st place

Head and shoulders above, this is the best album of the year. Protomartyr have been quietly getting better and better with every record, and almost achieved a perfect record in 2015's The Agent Intellect, a record that has aged incredibly well since its slightly underrated release. Now, there's no avoiding it, the band's first album for Domino records is seeing a much bigger audience for the Detroit post-punk band who next year could well see themselves at the higher end of many festival slots. Simply put, Protomartyr are the most exciting punk act in the world right now. No one is doing anything as interesting, exciting, challenging as Protomartyr, their heavy, philosophical themes mixed with their highly original sounds. Just listen to the opener 'A Private Understanding' and see. Who else would dare open an album and a lead single with one of the weirdest drum-beats every committed, an off-key guitar line, frontman Joe Casey delivering the line "Not by my own hand/Automatic writing by phantom limb/Not with my own voice/Pleurisy made to stand on two legs". While Casey is pretty humble and coy about his band's success and journalists (myself included) who wanted to impose mad theories about "BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?" when really the answer is "truth is a slippery thing, just listen to it." Sage advice indeed, when the music is this good.

A Private Understanding

Wolf Parade - Cry, Cry, Cry (October)

Wolf Parade's triumphant return last year with an EP and Tour was one of the highlights of 2016. Their show at the Scala was one of the best of the year, a renewed vigour that was clearly waning by the end of the previous run was back and they looked fresh and happy to be here. It is perhaps no surprise then that they were able to translate that to the follow-up LP, 'Cry, Cry, Cry' (which came out on my birthday this year). Yes, it's a cleaner more polished sound, but goddamn they can still write a song. In 'You're Dreaming' and 'Valley Boy' we have great pop songs from Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug respectively, but it's when the album goes BIG that it really shines, on such epics as 'Flies on the Sun', 'Baby Blue' and 'Weaponized'. Of course, 'Cry, Cry, Cry' isn't close to their incredible debut, but that's an impossible standard to meet, so the band don't even try it, instead streamlining their later sound into something more confident and coherent (see: 'Am I an Alien Here') and it's a very welcome to have them back.

You’re Dreaming

St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION (October)

A bit like Alex Cameron's Forced Witness, MASSEDUCTION is very much a response to celebrity and paparazzi. Though Cameron doesn't really sing about that (it doesn't really fit with the character) the title and artwork certainly do allude to it, while one of the major themes of MASSEDUCTION is on this. Annie Clark had a very public break up with Cara Delevingne which also takes up much of the record, but you can't really pin this album on any one particular event or theme, other than Clark's re-evaluation and sexual freedom. MASSEDUCTION is an experience worth seeing live, which made the album work for me, which I was initially a little tentative about. I saw glowing reviews but didn't quite match them up to the music. Then, seeing Clark "live" (which has caused much controversy), everything made sense. After a first half set where she ran through her greatest hits in release date order, the second half saw her perform the album in full and it really was a performance. Then everything clicked, in what could be Clark's best record to date, which is an already very high benchmark to clear.

New York

Fever Ray - Plunge (October)

Speaking of sexual liberation, (what a segue!) a couple weeks after St. Vincent's album, Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as Fever Ray, surprised fans with a new album which plays on similar themes to Clark's. While Dreijer's not quite in the public eye the way Clark has become, she instead crafts an album about sexual politics which is dangerous-yet-endearing and seems particularly pertinent in this current spate of highly public reportage of sexual assault incidents currently ongoing. As ever, Dreijer proves why she is such a force of nature in composing these tracks, which are challenging and danceable, poppy and angry etc. with 'To the Moon and Back' she has a defining statement, a manifesto and a rallying cry, carrying on the theme's from The Knife's possible final record Shaking the Habitual perfectly.

To the Moon and Back

Golden Teacher - No Luscious Life (November)

One of Glasgow's best bands, Golden Teacher's debut full length has been waited on for some time. Really, this sextet are best experienced live, as every show immediately becomes a party. It can be difficult sometimes for highly-energised acts to capture that on record, but thankfully Golden Teacher manage it with the help of Emily McLaren & Stuart Evans at Green Door Studios. Golden Teacher are for me the quintessential Glasgow band. They exist in a liminal zone that links the city's art-punk scene with the world-famous electronic scene, hence their inclusion on the legendary Optimo's label. The record mix funk, world and electronic music with a punk energy and are an absolute thrill to experience, it would be impossible to not put this record and not feel the groove.

Spiriton

Converge - The Dusk In Us (November) *3rd Place

And finally, rounding out this excellent year are one of my all-time favourite bands, Converge. While I don't really listen to much heavy music these days, Converge are the exception to the rule in many ways. They exist in their own space within music that is fiercely inventive and original. I recently had an argument with a few people about what genre to classify Converge as and simply put, it's an impossible and unnecessary task. Converge simply don't fit into any easy genre classification, they are just Converge. What is a surprise was that, though Converge have never really had a dip in quality, the fact they have been able to produce such a career highlight this late into their salad days is nothing short of remarkable but also typically them? The Dusk in Us is an incredible achievement by all involved. It is perhaps Ballou's best production job to date, Newton and Koller's most controlled performance and, crucially, Jacob Bannon's most assured vocals to date. It seems ridiculous that the 25-year-old band keep finding ways to better themselves, but here we are. Kudos to you Converge for remaining such an inspirational figure not just in the heavier genres, but music as a whole.

A Single Tear

Thank you for reading! Have a happy new year and great festive season.

#Best of 2017 #music #albums #Converge #priests #thundercat #protomartyr #Grizzly bear

10 notes · View notes

mitchbeck · 5 years

Text

CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON VOLUME 13

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - There has been much activity in the world of the NHL and AHL, especially for the heart of the summer. PLAYER AND COACHING MOVEMENT Former Hartford Wolf Pack and New York Ranger, Marc Savard, who has been doing work as a skills development coach with Petersborough (OHL) was hired as an Assistant Coach by the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. Ex-Sound Tiger, Richard Seeley, after the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL), folded following the season, is now the GM of the Ontario Reign. The AHL roster shuffle continues at a slower pace than at the beginning of the month but remains chugging along. Eric Condra heads from Texas to Colorado. Ian McCoshen gets a one-year, two-way deal with Springfield/Florida of $250K-AHL/$700K-NHL and defenseman Julien Melchiori leaves Springfield for Binghamton. Melchiori, is a much younger cousin to former Nighthawk, Daryl Evans, and former Springfield Indian, Vic Venasky. Tyler Gaudet leaves Milwaukee for Toronto Marlies for a one-year, one-way, $700K deal. Cavan Fitzgerald moves from San Jose to Charlotte. Matt Moulson, with almost a 1,000 NHL games, signs an AHL deal with the Hershey Bears. Max McCormick gets a one-year, two-way deal with Charlotte/Carolina paying $100K-AHL/$700K-NHL after splitting last season with Belleville/Colorado. Four more AHL’ers head off to Europe. Ex-Pack Tom Pyatt, who split last season with Utica/Ottawa, signs with Skelleftea AIK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Pack defenseman, Chris Summers, departs the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins to join his good friend, and ex-Pack, Chris Brown with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany-DEL) on a two-year contract. He will still be wearing number 55 on his jersey. Kerby Rychel goes from Stockton to Orebro HK (Sweden-SHL). Shane Hanna of Texas heads off to Rungsted IK (Denmark-DHL). Those make 61 AHL’ers who have signed off to Europe or Asia for next season. Hampus Gustafsson of Hershey is on a tryout with Rogle BK (Sweden-SHL). Ex-Pack, Paul Crowder, re-signs with the Fife Flyers (Scotland-EIHL) for the fall and winter hockey season while he is presently playing with the Sydney Ice Dogs (Australia-AIHL). Crowder is their third-leading scorer after playing 12 games (11g-29a-40pts) as the team heads into the final month of the regular season. Crowder's brother Tim is tied for the team lead at 50 points and is third in AIHL scoring of the short season league. Goalie, Jackson Whistle, the nephew of ex-Nighthawk, Rob Whisle, leaves Sheffield (England-EIHL) for Nottingham (England-EIHL) Defenseman Joesph Masonius, a former UCONN Husky signs with Reading (ECHL). He played one game in Wheeling (ECHL) and 12 with now-defunct Manchester (ECHL) last year. Philippe Hudon (Choate Prep) signs an ECHL one-year deal with the Florida Everblades. After finishing his Canadian collegiate career with Concordia University (OUAA) in Montreal, the Hudson, Quebec native played 14 games with Florida and three games with Laval. Karl El-Mir, also from Montreal area, the former UCONN Husky (HE), signs with Indy (ECHL) for next year. Jake Cliffords of Arizona St. (Division 1-Independent) signs with Tulsa (ECHL) and a pair of Division III players sign. Zach Borsoi of Utica College (UCHC) signs with Adirondack (ECHL) while Matt Lippa of Manhattanville College (UCHC) puts his name on a contract with Idaho (ECHL). Three more collegians sign pro deals. Freddy Gerard from Ohio State (Big 10) signs with Idaho (ECHL). Timo Kocer departs Division 3 Finlandia University (NCHA) for his native Slovenia to play for HDD Jesenice (AlpsHL). Peter Crinella of Holy Cross (AHA) signs a deal with Wichita (ECHL) making 184 players from Division I to sign North American pro deals, 22 from Division III, 49 sign European deals, making an overall count of 247 collegians to sign pro deals. Former Quinnipiac Bobcat, and briefly a Sound Tiger defenseman, Mike Dalhuisen, a Dutch-native, leaves EC Bad Nauheim (Germany DEL-2) and signs with HK Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL). Travis Culhane, the son of ex-Whaler, Jim Culhane, moves from Western Michigan (NCHC) to Colorado College (NCHC) in the same capacity as Director of Hockey Operations. Besides AHL President Dave Andrews, another hockey honcho will step down following the 2019-20 season. Joe Bertagna, the commissioner of Hockey East after 23 years at the helm will leave the scene, not by his own choice, but the conference directors elected not to renew his contract. He also spent 13 years as the head man for the ECAC before heading up Hockey East in 1997. Bertagna’s name is all over college hockey in the Northeast. Beside commissioning two college conferences, he is an accomplished author of five books on goaltending and was twice the goalie coach for the Boston Bruins (1985-1991 & 1994-95) as well as the 1991 Canada Cup US entry, and the 1994 US Olympic team, that played in Lillehammer, Norway. He was the pioneer in making women’s hockey a Division I sport when he became Harvard’s first head coach of women’s hockey (1977-1979) and actively promoted and developed that side of the college hockey equation. He is already in the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame and the ECAC Hall of Fame. He played from 1970-1973 at Harvard under three big names of collegiate history in Ralph “Cooney” Weiland, Billy Cleary, and the late, Tim Taylor of Yale, who was an assistant at Harvard. Bertagna, being a starter his last two years, was in an era where freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports. He played professionally for two years with SG Cortina (Italy-IHL) and Milwaukee (USHL) then a senior hockey league not in its present junior format. UCONN adds another recruit for this fall’s campaign. Forward Jonny Mulera from the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) commits after playing 49 games and scoring 27 goals, getting 27 assists (54 points). The team’s Director of Player Development is ex-Pack, Bobby Butler. The Yale University Bulldogs (ECACHL) snagged another son of a former NHL’er, Will Dineen, the son of Hartford Whaler great, Kevin Dineen, has made a commitment to Yale for 2020-21. He played this past season for the Chicago Mission U-16 (HPHL) and was drafted by two different US junior leagues this spring. He was taken first taken by Omaha Lancers (USHL) 7th round 98th overall then taken by the Odessa (TX) Jackalopes (NAHL).in the 7th round 162nd overall. Now with the commit to Yale looks more than likely he will be in the USHL come the fall. His father Kevin, as previously mentioned, just signed to be the head coach in San Diego (AHL). He is the younger of the Dineens. Two of his uncles, Peter and Shawn, played for the New Haven Nighthawks, and his other uncle, Jerry Dineen, is the Rangers video coach. Two college graduate transfers are heading to Boston University (HE) in the fall. Wilton CT native, goaltender Sam Tucker, who played his prep school hockey at Choate, takes his Yale degree and four years of collegiate hockey to the Terriers. Also joining him from the ECACHL conference is Alex Brink of Brown University taking the 50-minute trip up I-95 to BU’s campus. Ex-Pack, Jeff Finley, is changing scouting addresses. He leaves Detroit, where he was the Chief of Amateur scouting, to go Winnipeg to replace the retiring Marcel Comeau, a one time New Haven Nighthawks head coach. Need some cool thoughts during the hot days of summer? Here is a superb hockey story to keep you cool and get to read about hockey at the southernmost point in the world; HERE The NHL and college hockey should help in the development of hockey here. Dominic Turgeon, nephew of ex-Whaler Sylvain signed a new one year two-way deal with Grand Rapids for a slight AHL increase from $67,500K to $80K and the NHL money is up from $650K to $750K-NHL). Read the full article

0 notes

upalldown · 5 years

Text

Carly Rae Jepsen - Dedicated

Fourth studio album from the Canadian dance pop artist and former Canadian Idol contestant

8/13

Carly Rae Jepsen clearly didn’t graduate in the same pop-superstar class as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and the like. You might still have ‘Call Me Maybe’ in your head, but it’s doubtful you can name any other tracks from that record. And while her follow up E.MO.TION proved a critical darling, it didn’t quite crack the mainstream in the way, say, anything by the artists mentioned did. It’s hard to put your finger on quite why this is when listening to her latest record Dedicated.

It’s not hard to crave the clubby bass of ‘Too Much’ and the staccato delivery of “I’d do anything to get to the rush/ now I’m drinking and I’m drinking too much,” or the cheeky 80s cheer of ‘Want You In My Room’. They’re seriously sugary tracks filled with all the pristine production you’d expect from an album boasting the likes of Jack Antonoff and Captain Cuts on production assistance.

Despite this surprising lack of limelight, Jepsen has carved out a strident following and those fans will be satisfied by all of the bombastic emoting she’s doing here. First hint of new material ‘Party For One’ is a masturbatory self-love anthem that sees her own her heartbreak with the triumphant call of “you don’t want my love if you don’t care about me/ I’ll just dance by myself/ back on my beat.” This revelatory attitude towards heartbreak is refreshingly primed for the era of empowerment, especially as she breathily delivers lines like, “like pressure points my love can ease him in my hands,” on the sultry ‘Everything He Needs’.

Jepsen's record is a glossy melodrama full of sweeping synths, pitchy keyboard twangs, and bubbling back burner vocals that exude positivity. Despite the gut churning nature of opener 'Julien' which finds Jepsen "forever haunted by our time," Dedicated is a slice of retro optimist sunshine in the bleak grey mists of modernity.

The singer wrote over 200 tracks in the run up to this record, and the constant re-working of the track list is evident in the multiple personalities on show here. The girl next door of 'Happy Not Knowing', the struggling lover in the subdued 'The Sound' - or conversely the satisfied lover on the sax-laden, the Bruno Mars-esque 'Feels Right'. The whole cast is here and they're all fabulous, it must be said, but what sometimes feels like is missing from Carly Rae Jepsen's latest album is Carly Rae Jepsen.

"I need to get a hold of you now," she sings on 'Real Love', and this is exactly how she leaves me feeling. We can listen to a Taylor track and know her, and that's what we want from our pop stars these days. So while Jepsen has once again delivered a stunning hook-filled record that frankly gets catchier every time you hear it, Dedicated may not quite satisfy our lust for connection.

youtube

https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/review/review-carly-rae-jepsen-opts-for-hooks-over-identity-on-the-consistently-catchy-dedicated-155

#carly rae jepsen #dedicated

0 notes

ljbarks · 6 years

Text

Julien Baker, My Father, Two Decades of Noise, and the Quiet

Soda guns make a funny noise. Like a dozen dentists doing work all at once, some suction and a strange gurgle.

Usually, it’s also a noise that happens nonchalantly, especially in a place like this, the gurgle drowned out by the din and dissonance of the band and the crowd and the night.

Right now though, a couple songs into Julien Baker’s set at White Eagle Hall, the soda gun — and the cracking of a fresh beer, the opening and closing of the standard-issue industrial doors at the back of the room, everything — have become some kind of strange and unwelcome accompaniment, dropping in at all the wrong moments, a laugh-track mistakenly placed over A Very Special Episode.

This, of course, is partially my fault. I’m perpetually late and the kind of short where I’ve had to turn my annoyance at the dozens of phones shooting video that’s never gonna be revisited into an argument for how useful all those glowing screens are as periscopes. Too anxious to push my way to the front under some false “I’m looking for my friends” pretense, because I know my friends are not up there because they’re all at home because it’s Tuesday and we’re in our mid-thirties. And then what happens when I get to up there? Then I’m awkwardly planted next to a person who’s not my friends, inserting myself into this stranger’s night like I just hatched from my pod and am enjoying my first moments in this human body, cumbersome and lumbering, exploring the thing the earthlings call music.

Instead, I don’t move from the spot on the floor that I’ve acquired simply by ordering a beer at the bar and then turning and taking only the amount of steps required to get out of the way of the next person. But the hypothetical awkwardness stays, permeating the room in some other way. As I, from my tippy-toes, and the other 799 people packed into White Eagle watch Baker take the stage, it’s to a strange kind of silence.

The first live music I ever saw that wasn’t my father playing the organ in our house — like the first thing that involved a band and instruments, and an in-hindsight surprising lack of any kind of adult supervision — was a punk show at the Rockaway American Legion.

It was 1997.

I was the kid who wore Nirvana shirts to school every single day. A girl in my first period biology class was passing out flyers.

“I think you like music, I don’t know.”

She tossed the thing on my desk. I was never cool to begin with, but in this moment she was infinitely cooler than me.

I convinced my best friend to come, and my father happily volunteered to drive us, depositing two fifteen year-olds in some random parking lot with only a vague idea about when to return to collect us.

This, that he was so willing to do this, volunteered to do it, was a confusing thing about my father. He was angry and strict, though only about the small and specific things. I never had a curfew, but food falling off your fork at dinner as you awkwardly tried to get this adult-sized utensil into your child-sized mouth would launch some kind of international incident. It always ended with slamming doors and crying and him storming out and me climbing up into the treehouse to write some other life in my head.

The flyer, because it was 1997, had a phone number to call “for directions or sex advice.” I blacked out that second part before I showed it to my parents, marching into our kitchen with this photocopied paper adorned with a giant hand-drawn, bug-eyed and bemowhawked creature with a safety pin through its tongue, the names of a bunch of bands they wouldn’t have known even if their entire record collection wasn’t The Kingston Trio, the soundtrack to The Big Chill and Donald Fagen.

I didn’t know the bands, either, really, but I knew I needed to go to this thing and see it. And so I also armed myself with an argument for why I should be allowed to go. Instead, I just got a “yes.” Simple. Too easy. My father, for all the other stuff, became his opposite self when it came to matters of music.

That November night in the American Legion, I found the thing I didn’t know I’d been looking for for all of the 15 years and four months of my life before it. My home, my people, my thing. My father came to pick us up at the end, and I surely got back in the car, tired and happy and smelling of cigarettes, but really, I never left.

Twenty-one years later that flyer hangs on the wall of my apartment.

Through the rest of my high school life, I’d check out the arts listings in the paper, picking out concerts and pulling out the phonebook so my parents could call Ticketmaster, using the money I’d made from working at the family business and then my job at the mall to finance these miniature adventures. And every time, my father would volunteer his services as driver, dutifully dropping us off somewhere in the middle of Manhattan so that we could enjoy a night with The Offspring.

Once I could drive, we’d spend weekends traversing the state following handwritten directions scribbled on a pick from the stack of flyers we’d been handed at the previous show. Living in all the wonder that comes with the kind of places willing to host an afternoon of complicated-looking kids too into something that was mostly dissonance and sometimes childhood music lessons repurposed into bad Bosstones knockoffs. Elks lodges, VFW halls, American Legions, firehouses, basements, the storefront of a diet food restaurant, high school gyms and random rooms in churches.

Then we’d take the train into the city and see the bigger touring bands that came through. Take a quarter for the payphone to call my mom from Penn and let her know the train didn’t derail on the way. Take the Midtown Direct from Dover for Pennywise, All and Strung Out in the city on Friday, drive to Asbury Park for Blink 182, Silverchair and Fenix TX on Sunday, go to school on Monday. Lars Frederiksen stealing my friend’s lighter outside a Dropkick Murphys show at the Wetlands. Smoking in the downstairs of Roseland as we browsed the tables of patches and buttons that lined the room. Summers with multiple Warped Tour dates, a car accident on the way to Asbury leaving the front passenger side door of my ’95 Golf in a permanent state of not closing right, our nostrils still filled with dust from Randall’s Island the day before.

Then, college, a degree I'd never get and mostly shitty jam bands in a small market city not on the way to anywhere. The other nights, more special. When Rainer Maria came to Higher Ground or AFI played at 242. River City Rebels with Catch 22 at a barn in rural Vermont or Bane in the middle of winter in some school gym. Kill Your Idols and Sworn Enemy and Agnostic Front and My Revenge and the show stopping to throw out some boneheads after they tried to rip a SHARP patch off a kid’s jacket. That night Death Cab played at UVM and someone from the band chased a kid who threw a disc golf disc onto the stage through the halls of whatever building that was. That same place where I saw Q and Not U and I think the only two times I was ever in that building. Our little NJ Scene expat crew, four people strong, watching some punk show on the second floor of the extra-strength hippie dorm.

Post-weird four year exile in Vermont, our little Jersey scene had shifted and died and grown up too much, but the city was still there. I’d learned by then never to take New York for granted. I went to shows.

So many.

Our Wilco/Ryan Adams cousins crew getting too drunk in Brooklyn bars and me as the only one over 21 buying bodega tallboys for everyone to drink from brown paper bags in Greeley Square. Getting lost in Macy’s and losing the car in midtown and getting actually lost on the way back from Camden. Perfect nights walking around Williamsburg and sunny Saturdays in Greenpoint and spending the night on Saint Marks after the War on Drugs got rained out. Happy hours at Matchless and tacos at that spot in Port Chester. The conversation before the Ty Segall show that started with me being excited for my friend and ended up with me on Uncle Einar’s first tour two months later. Too hyped after Run the Jewels and dropping my car key in a rest stop toilet because I hadn’t slept and went to see Rancid and Dropkick anyway. Too much whiskey and the side-effects of a tetanus shot and 13 staples in my leg and a Titus Andronicus show at Maxwell’s that I don’t remember. Getting a contact lens straight kicked out of my eye at that Vandals show at Irving Plaza. The lost weekend that was Punk Rock Bowling.

Plenty of solo trips, too, not wanting to miss what could be — because you never know — some band’s last time, and I’m not even going to bother trying to sell it to my friends. Sleater-Kinney five times in a week, the Piebald reunion, the sweatiest night ever when the AC broke at Webster Hall during the Bouncing Souls, and a fear of frostbite at Sonic Youth after putting a Chuck Taylor-clad foot into the depths of one of those curbside lakes the New York winter creates.

A thousand more that escape me now, but show me the ticket stub and I'll tell you the story.

The one constant is noise. There is always noise. The expected kind, of the band and the crowd cheering and singing along. And the annoying kind, of the full-on conversations everyone’s having as the band plays ten rows up, like the Bowery Ballroom is just an extension of their living room.

There is nothing better than a full-crowd singalong.

There is nothing worse than the people behind me at Sleater-Kinney’s first NYC show in nearly a decade having a full-on conversation — as the band was ripping through ‘Start Together’ or whatever — about an article one of them read about a Maraschino cherry factory that was illegally dumping whatever the byproducts of Maraschino cherry-making are into some Brooklyn waterway. It is a bonkers story that also involves a secret basement pot growing operation, but also, in the words of the great Sue Simmons, “the fuck are you doing?”

But both of those parts are also what make up the show. We’re in a room, simultaneously strangers and best friends. Together, doing a thing. That the gaps between songs are filled by this low mumble, that the band sometimes gets treated like nothing more than a backing track to an evening, because this is New York and we’re still too busy to even take this part out of our day to make it an actual part of our day.

There is some strange comfort in that noise, all of it, together.

This night, back at White Eagle, is different. It is silent. Starkly so. In an hour, I will be — we all will be — spit back out into New Jersey’s endless winter, down the steps and onto Newark Avenue, having learned no more about Maraschino cherries than we knew before we entered. I will hear nothing about who’s lunch Susan stole from the fridge at work today, or just how fucked up it was to get to Jersey from Ridgewood on a Tuesday night.

The only conversations I will hear are ones of faintly whispered commentary about how good this is. About “thank you for bringing me.” About “this is amazing.” And at first, it’s weird and jarring and uncomfortable, and every time another beer gets cracked at the bar the people all around me let out some barely audible groan, because for the first time at any show I’ve ever been to, we’re all sitting in that silence, and none of us know how to behave.

The show opens with ‘Over’ and ‘Appointments’ and no one even knows what to do when that’s over. Like, none of us know if we should even clap. Forever and ever, before and after this, the answer is obvious, but here, we’re all in some kind of silent agreement that there’s at least a question as to whether anything should pierce the quiet. Like we’d be as annoying as another person’s vodka soda order being fulfilled if we did.

Slowly, somewhere around the end of ‘Turn Out the Lights,’ we all agree to figure out if clapping is okay. Then light cheering. Eventually we’ve navigated it, all settled into a balance between the silence and the act of being at a show. Some of the people around me even risk a low singalong during parts of ‘Rejoice’ and that one part of ‘Everybody Does’, though the intermittent activity at the bar is still at least as loud.

And maybe, beyond the lack of talking, that’s why I’m so shaken and uncomfortable with this silence. Life is about noise, even in the background. A podcast, music, the TV I’m not watching. The fan that runs at night just so I can sleep. The silence outside my parents’ house makes me uneasy. I am home with sirens piercing the pre-dawn air. Stop the noise and the quiet can make things deafening in your head.

Shows are ringing ears and not knowing if you’re shouting at each other when you talk about how good it was on the way home. Why in some other social setting you’ll find me nodding in agreement even though I didn’t really hear what you just said. It is inherently about noise and sound taking over a room and taking everyone in that room with it.

Here, we’re trying to navigate that same journey with the quiet. Like turning up the volume on the car radio as you try to find your turn.

The thing I know about Julien Baker, because maybe I read The New Yorker while I’m brushing my teeth, is that she came up in some kind of punk scene that I imagine was similar to, though at least a decade and many states removed, from the one I did. Sonically, her music, just a guitar and some loops and piano and the occasional string accompaniment, is miles away from the basements and VFW halls and Elks lodges where I spent my teenage years. But it’s familiar somehow, too.

Maybe it’s because she’s here, on Tuesday night that’s too cold for April, mostly alone on stage, with just her songs and a couple guitars, a pedal board, a piano, and someone sometimes popping up to play violin, and she’s gotten this entire crowd to stop, to be quiet and sit in this silence and in these songs and find solace or something like it, in it, in them, in this. And that? That’s about as loud, and as punk rock, a thing as you can do.

#long reads #music #NYC #NJ #julien baker

1 note · View note

andrewdburton · 5 years

Text

Does the world of personal finance need more politics?

Earlier this week at The Washington Post, Helaine Olen wrote that the world of personal finance needs more politics.

Olen specifically calls out FinCon, the financial media conference I attended last week. I love FinCon. She doesn't. She's disappointed that so many members of our community emphasize personal action and responsibility instead of directing our efforts toward changing the systemic and societal issues that make it difficult for some people to succeed.

She writes:

Spending a few days at FinCon 2019 shows the limits of the nonpolitical approach to improving your financial life…Over and over again, the systemic problems facing Americans are simply accepted as a given and unfixable, and tossed back onto the individual for him or her to solve.

Rarely mentioned are the political system’s many contributions to common economic troubles.

Olen is concerned that there are larger societal and systemic issues that hold some people back and prevent them from achieving financial success. I agree.

I disagree, however, that FinCon is the place to address these issues. And I disagree that we, the financial media, should turn our attention from the personal to the political. In fact, I find the notion absurd.

Personal finance is personal. It's right there on the label.

Politics at FinCon

I don't know how many times Olen has attended FinCon. I've attended every year so far (and have already registered for next year's tenth installment). From my experience, she's wrong that attendees accept systemic problems as “given and unfixable”. We don't.

This year, I had a memorable conversation about privilege with Julien from rich & REGULAR. I spoke with several people in the FIRE community about how we can make the principles of financial independence more accessible to everyone, especially those with lower incomes. (We talk about this all of the time. So much, in fact, that I'm tired of the topic.) In past years, I've had extensive conversations about the challenges women face in mastering their money.

Here's another example: In 2015, the Debt Free Guys attended their first FinCon. Kim and I (and several others) enjoyed hanging out with John and David at the hotel bar. They confided that they were afraid about coming out to their readers. “Do it,” our small group told them. They did. Four years later, they're killing it, and LGBT financial blogs now have a powerful impact.

Financial bloggers talk about systemic and societal issues often. But we talk about these things amongst ourselves, one on one or in small groups, not in hundred-person breakout sessions or, worse, as a 2500-person body in the Hilton grand ballroom.

Why not? Because these conversations are nuanced. They're sensitive. Nobody agrees on any of this stuff. Even two people who have very similar political viewpoints will disagree on solutions. (Case in point: The current Democratic debates.) Imagine what it'd be like trying to do this with hundreds of people from across the political spectrum. Tackling subjects like the “student loan crisis” is best done in small groups, not as a FinCon collective.

FinCon founder Philip Taylor says that past sessions at the event have explored Universal Basic Income, women and money, minorities and money, and more.

This year, there were sixteen attendee-organized sessions with political themes, including an “equity and justice” meetup. Plus, the National Endowment for Financial Education sponsored a community service project.

FinCon in not a political event and never has been. Too, nothing about personal finance is inherently political. Sure, some folks put a political spin on the material they present, but that's an individual choice. And the political spin Dave Ramsey employs is different than, say, the spin Helaine Olen would use.

That's the biggest reason I'm glad FinCon doesn't include politically-charged topics in its official schedule: We are a diverse group with diverse beliefs. Olen writes as if there are universally agreed-upon solutions to the systemic and societal barriers confronting Americans. There aren't.

It's this lack of agreement that causes so much friction in our current national discourse. What does she think would be accomplished by holding these sorts of political discussions at FinCon?

The Political and the Personal

In Olen's article about FinCon, she argues that personal finance has failed. She believes the solution is to move from the personal to the political:

We are facing staggering levels of income and wealth inequality, while facing staggering costs for housing, health care, education and so on. If better personal finance could fix this one by one for more than 300 million Americans, we would know by now.

Here's the thing, though. We do know by now that better personal finance can and does fix things one by one for Americans. I'm not sure why Olen believes that it can't.

I've been writing about money for more than thirteen years now, and I've had hundreds (thousands?) of readers contact me to tell me how they've turned their lives around after deciding to take charge of their finances.

Government doesn't help GRS readers get out of debt.

Government doesn't help GRS readers negotiate pay raises.

Government doesn't help GRS readers increase their saving rate.

No, GRS readers do these things themselves.

Each year, I meet one-on-one with dozens of folks from the GRS community. Without fail, these people are taking action to master their money — and their lives. They're not waiting for somebody else to solve their problems. They're seeking solutions themselves. And while not every reader finds success, most do.

I believe strongly that the focus of my work is (and should remain) personal, not political. I don't believe turning my attention to systemic and societal problems would solve anything for anyone. But by helping individual readers find ways to improve their lives, I can help many people.

If I were to write an article bemoaning the state of student loan debt in the United States, it wouldn't solve anything. I'd just be adding to the noise. If we at FinCon were to hold a panel discussion on student loan debt, we wouldn't solve anything. We'd just be adding to the noise. Frankly, it worries me that Olen believes we should be adding to the noise instead of offering readers tools and solutions that they can apply to their individual circumstances.

It's not my job to change the system. It's my job to give readers the tools they need to thrive within the world we've created. If Olen wants to fight the system instead of teaching readers to better their lives, that's fine. She can do that. I genuinely wish her well. But I'm not sure why she thinks it's necessary for everyone else to have the same goals that she does.

Here's the thing, though. As the 1960s feminist movement made clear, the personal is political. That is, how we live our lives should be consistent with our political (and spiritual) beliefs. Even though I don't discuss politics overtly here at Get Rich Slowly, I hope that my choices and actions for the site subtly reflect what I believe, in a way that leads by example rather than shouts from the rooftops. I hope that I'm “walking the walk”, not just “talking the talk”. That's my goal, anyhow.

Here's an analogy borrowed from my buddy Jim Wang.

A doctor's job is to maintain (and restore) the health of her patients. It is not a doctor's job to battle insurance companies or the pharmaceutical industry. She may have concerns about these aspects of the medical-industrial complex, and she may have a deep desire to see things change, but changing the system isn't why she spent 15+ years in higher education. She did that so she can improve the lives of individual patients.

Likewise, my job is to improve the financial lives of individual readers. It is not my job to solve the student loan crisis, to fight high taxes, or to rail against our modern corpocracy. I may occasionally bitch and moan about how shitty our healthcare system is, and I may secretly wish our corporcracy would die a fiery death, but I generally try to steer clear of politics because my job is to help you build wealth. Period. The end.

Whose Side Are You On?

Another problem that Olen doesn't mention is that there's no unanimous agreement over how to address the problems with our socioeconomic system. There's not even agreement that the things she views as problems are problems. (Conversely, I'm sure other folks would consider some things pressing issues that she'd dismiss as unimportant.)

Olen complains, for instance, that Americans face “staggering” costs for housing, health care, and education. But she doesn't acknowledge that there's no consensus on how to address these problems.

My conservative readers would suggest one possible course of action. My liberal readers would argue in favor of another. People like me who are generally centrist would prefer a third alternative. Which way is right? How can we possibly know? How would arguing about this at Get Rich Slowly (or any other money blog) possibly improve society?

It wouldn't and it won't.

But Get Rich Slowly can make the world a better place by showing people how to pay off debt, start saving, and achieve financial freedom despite the societal and systemic structures that surround us. I can make things better by helping people become more resourceful, helping them develop the skills they need to build wealth. And then these people can teach others.

Over the years, I've received many messages from readers thanking me for keeping politics off this site. While I'm a human being and have my own opinions and beliefs, I do my best to keep the blog itself as neutral as possible. All readers are welcome: gay, straight, black, white, religious, atheist, libertarian, socialist, whatever. I don't care.

This seems like a good time for a Taylor Swift GIF to express my stance:

Because GRS is a safe space, we're able to have civil conversations about topics — taxes, divorce, Taylor Swift — that would provoke heated nonsensical debate on other sites. (Earlier today, I was reading an article about taxes from my local city's newspaper. The comments were ridiculous. Like five-year-olds with larger vocabularies and less civility.)

Besides, the GRS readership isn't exclusively USian. We have many Canadian readers among us. (And my business partner is Canadian.) Lots of people in the U.K. read this site. I've had beer with readers in Turkey, Hungary, Ecuador, Germany, Switzerland, and France. (Well, in France we drank wine and in Switzerland we drank whisky. You get the idea.) If I were to shift my focus to politics, what good would that be for these folks?

About three years ago, Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa launched the Choose FI podcast. These two men have polar opposite political perspectives. But because they keep the politics out of their show and out of their friendship, they've achieved huge success. They're focused on helping people, not on changing the system.

Breaking Bread

On the final morning of FinCon this year, I met Joshua Sheats for breakfast. Sheats is the whipsmart host of the Radical Personal Finance podcast. His mind works at a million miles per minute, and our conversations always make me think. Whenever we meet, I take notes. Even at breakfast.

Joshua and I share drastically different political and religious views. Yet every year at FinCon, we break bread together. We engage in a deep, respectful discussion about the world we live in. It's one of my favorite parts of the conference.

We're only able to do this, though, because we're meeting each other as two individuals. While we disagree on certain fundamental issues, we share a passion for helping others get better with money, and we both believe strongly that ultimately it's up to each individual to improve her own life.

“Are you and Kim married now?” Joshua asked this year, pointing to the ring on my finger.

“No,” I said. “But we're committed to each other.”

“How does that work from a practical financial perspective?” he asked. “My world view is based on the Bible. I understand how Biblical marriage works. I don't understand how a secular partnership like yours would work.” I explained how we manage our shared lives.

Joshua wasn't challenging me. I didn't feel threatened. We weren't shouting at each other. We hold radically different viewpoints, but were able to engage in a civil discussion because we entered the conversation as two individuals with mutual respect.

In Olen's world — in a world where FinCon and money blogs focus more on political issues — this kind of thing would be less likely to occur. Instead of engaging as complex indviduals, attendees would engage as adherents of one or another political movement. When this happens, people stop thinking of others as real human beings. We end up with the sort of political discourse that is already destroying our society. It's as if Olen wants Finconners to give up their mutual admiration and respect in order to become a mirror of existing American culture. That seems insane to me.

We at FinCon come from myriad different backgrounds. The conference is racially diverse. It seems fairly gender balanced. (I don't have precise stats.) There's a large contingent of Christian bloggers. There are many atheists. There are Republicans. There are Democrats. In a way, it's almost as if the conference itself is a microcosm of American society…but without the bickering. It's wonderful.

I don't think FinCon could be this tiny five-day utopia if politics were a prominent part of the discussion. If politics were a central focus, we'd risk shattering this fragile, precious thing, this sublime soup of mutual love and respect.

“I'm taking my son to the Museum of the Bible this morning,” Joshua said as we finished our breakfast on Sunday. “Do you want to join us?”

“I can't,” I said. “I have another meeting.”

But I was deeply grateful that Joshua would ask me to accompany him, especially since he knows my political and religious beliefs. He wasn't trying to proselytize. He was simply trying to engage and share. I'm honored he would want me to be with him.

These sorts of interactions are only possible, though, because FinCon doesn't do politics. The moment that politics become a primary focus, I believe much of the FinCon magic will disappear.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, what bugs me most about Olen's argument is this: By trying to convince readers that societal and systemic issues are too large and too powerful, she strips individuals of agency. She denies them the ability and power to change their own lives. She encourages a passive, reactive mindset instead of an active, proactive point of view.

This seems like a miserable worldview. It robs people of dignity and hope. It's a tacit argument that “you can't control your life; your life is controlled by larger forces”. I don't believe that. I don't want others to believe that.

The fundamental premise of this site is: Regardless the hand you've been dealt, it's up to you to take action to improve your life. You can't wait for somebody else to make things better for you.

At the same time, I agree with Olen. There are problems with our current socio-economic system. And while we may not agree how to remedy these problems, talking about them is important.

But I don't think FinCon is an appropriate venue. Nor is Get Rich Slowly.

I love the idea of a new event dedicated to this discussion, a conference where financial journalists discuss systemic issues and politics and how they relate to personal finance. If this were deliberately inclusive, intentionally designed to include all points of view and to foster respectful discussion, I think it could be awesome. I'd attend.

But it seems misguided to come to an existing event that works, one that's valuable precisely because people can escape politics for a few days, and then complain that it ought to be more political.

Why politicize the non-political?

Whoa! While researching for this article, I found a short 2006 piece I published about the politics of personal finance. In it, I wrote: “Personal finance is non-political. It helps everyone when another person avoids debt, learns to save, and becomes financially independent.” I'm pleased to see my position has remained consistent all of these years!

The post Does the world of personal finance need more politics? appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/personal-finance-politics/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

stevenvenn · 7 years

Text

Steven's Nifty 50 of 2017 - #30 - #21

Here are my favourite albums 30 - 21 (of 50). These are in no particular order just how I saw them relating to each other. Doing a true countdown would be too nerve-wracking. You can listen to my favourite cuts from each of the albums on Spotify and watch them on YouTube (links below). You can also read my thoughts on the albums below the links broken into 5 posts counting down by 10s. Enjoy and feel free to comment.

Spotify playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/user/stevenvenn/playlist/7qSpcgdwXuoLtIStRQeRto?si=Je3qbALHQUCqgEkiBMsCtg

YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqUMf7mP_mnMOmDl94VCPIJPFliPf62a5

NOTES

21. Timber Timbre – Sincerely, Future Pollution (Arts & Crafts)

Over the course of 4 albums Timber Timbre has been the canvas for Taylor Kirk to experiment with gloomy, southern gothic folk, blues and indie rock that feel as much Flannery O’Connor as a rocking sermon delivered by Nick Cave. That spirit is still there in tracks like “Sewer Blues” with its mix of ghostly meets John Carpenter. But here on the newest effort from the Toronto band, they’ve shown that they can also gradually transform into a funky but spooky 70s band a la Alan Parsons Project and even have nods to the brilliance of crooner Bryan Ferry (especially on the opening track “Velvet Gloves and Spit”) without it seeming out of place or character. This is the dark side of the lounge where the scary characters are drinking mai tais. There’s also a kinship with Canadian legend Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man” era in these songs with Kirk’s speak-song style and the song’s 80s synthy sheen. There’s a scary ghost in the machine here and he needs to get out.

22. Cigarettes After Sex – s/t (Partisan Records)

Lethargic, hazy, placid, languid, dreamy. All good descriptors of the debut from Brooklyn’s Cigarettes After Sex which was almost a decade in the delivery (fittingly for the pace of this band). The debut is a collection of songs performed at one slow and steady pace but they do it incredibly well and really know their sound and more importantly its mood. The sleepy and seductive voice of Greg Gonzales compliments the slowly strummed reverby guitar and “barely there” percussion that is akin to other hypnotic Nyquil-paced bands like Mazzy Star (if they were fronted by Rhye's Mike Milosh instead of Hope Sandoval) or the gentle grace of Mojave 3. There’s a distinct wistful romanticism with a touch of melancholy to Gonzales’ songs framed by the band’s gauzy dream pop arrangements that make the album seem more like collection of chapters about the dangers and challenges of love and loss in the same intimate book.

23. Aldous Harding – Party (4AD)

At turns quiet, singing with a voice that is hushed and at other instances operatic and coldly chilling as Nico, New Zealand’s Aldous Harding’s second album is an incredible triumph. She describes her work as “gothic folk” and that’s a good way to describe the feeling of her album. There’s a witchy darkness underneath all the pastoral piano and finger-picked guitar. The real star of course is Harding’s voice that has incredible ranges that soar throughout the fabric of the album, at times whispery and at other times mercurial. The arrangements especially, albeit minimal even downright spartan, are truly magical as well and a great complement to the low-key vibe of Harding’s songwriting.

24. Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness (Ba Da Bing Records)

At the outset of her excellent folk album, Julie Byrne entices the listener with the opener “Follow My Voice” and follow her we do. This gentle and dreamy work is built on the sleepy and melancholic voice of Byrne first and foremost, and her delicately picked acoustic guitar. Byrne is a songwriter exposing her true nature and emotions in a very naked and poignant manner. There is a playfulness as well to her guitar work that reminds me of John Fahey’s better moments at times. Solitude seems to be the goal here that Byrne is reaching for. We get that lovely feeling that one can have at a sunrise when the colours and sounds seem made solely for us in an intimate and independent way.

25. Nev Cottee – Broken Flowers (Wonderfulsound)

Northern England seems to be the place for incredible crooners with deep and sonorous voices that have seen a wee bit o’ life. There’s the timeless Sheffield singer-songwriter Richard Hawley who comes to mind. Add to this the gravel-voiced beauty of Manchester’s Nev Cottee who on album #3 possesses that well-worn patina that made a lot of Lee Hazelwood’s albums so great in his heyday. Broken Flowers (a title taken from the Jarmusch movie perhaps) is a good title for an album of country and psychedelic-tinged songs that would be suitable for a man who is a little past his prime. He’s coming to terms with life as it is, with mistakes and regrets all adding to the present character. Life is not easy but it can be managed and present itself as a lovely melancholic portrait if you are willing to accept and move forward without a lot of unreasonable expectation.

26. The Weather Station – s/t (Paradise of Bachelors)

The solo project of Toronto folk singer-songwriter Tara Lindemann, Weather Station has always been a pure and precise exploration of the folk traditions started by Joni Mitchell (who vocally Lindemann most resembles) and Rickie-Lee Jones. One acoustic guitar and one amazing voice is the true heart of any Weather Station song that is expanded out with the touches of electric guitar, mandolin, rock drumming, and chamber strings. Above all the beautiful prairie rock arrangements is Lindemann’s voice that just cuts through with its nostalgic documentation of bygone moments. Like looking through an album of old photos, forever locked in time.

27. Aimee Mann – Mental Illness (Superego)

Possibly Mann’s most accomplished release thus far, Mental Illness isn’t so much about one person coming to grips with her own emotional challenges as much as telling the story of broken people who have to contend with everyday efforts to keep their heads above water. Mann is not apologetic in some instances about how mental illness can confound those around the sufferer as well. There’s a sense of drama and the cinematic but on a small and intimate scale that once again demonstrates why she was an excellent choice to cover Nilsson on the soundtrack for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia film. There’s a real sense of craft and skill in Mann’s compositions and songwriting that few can match, and she always reminds me of short story writer Raymond Carver in her songs.

28. Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights (Matador)

The sophomore release of Tennessee’s Julien Baker is a lot more layered, piano-driven and orchestral affair this time around, much bigger than her debut Broken Ankle both in the music and in her singing range. She can go from simple whispers along with picked electric guitar to ferocious climaxes of voice on many of these songs. Each song on the album is a document of coming to grips with living with mental illness and having your faith tested. Julien Baker has always been a sensitive and raw singer but here you not only hear the sadness in her voice but can feel it in your bones as it builds on songs like “Appointments.” But there’s never a feeling of glorifying the darkness and wallowing in it just an acceptance that it will always be there and trying to come to exist alongside it.

29. Daughter – Music From Before The Storm (Glassnote)

London trio Daughter have always created darkly emotional and cinematic music so it’s no surprise that in 2017 they were asked to provide the soundtrack for an episodic adventure video game called Before the Storm which is part of the Life Is Strange series. It’s an adventure where the player assumes control of sixteen-year-old Chloe Price who, along with schoolmate Rachel Amber, get up to some teenage mayhem including ditching school, arson, and underage drinking. So angst, invincibility, tenderness, and anger are some of the emotions that are mirrored by Daughter’s incredible score. The album is not just a collection of musical cues but an integrated part of the game.

30. Slowdive – s/t (Dead Oceans)

What can I say when one of my favourite bands from the shoegazer era finally decide to reform after a 20 year hiatus and record a reunion album that is by far one of their best efforts ever? There’s been some incredible growth in musical ability and songwriting for Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell who formed Mojave 3 following the dissolving of the original Slowdive. Halstead would also go on to record some beautiful folk-styled solo albums. Meanwhile drummer Simon Scott collaborated with Fennesz and also became a skillful ambient musician in his own right. With the regrouping there is a definitive new found strength to Slowdive from all of these various pursuits that are informing their new material. The sound is still dream-poppy but there’s a distinct confidence, maturity, and sophistication now that was missing somewhat on their earlier records.

#nifty50of2017 #stevenvenn #bestof2017 #music

0 notes

memoistore · 7 years

Text

2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show After Show Party

The 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show After Party took place on Monday (November 20) in Shanghai, China, with a wide ranging mix of styles.

I decided to split them into categories this year staring with: My Favourites.

Cindy Bruna: This Brandon Maxwell Spring 2017 suit originally stormed the runway with a blouse, but Cindy made the look her own by opting to go without. The excessive boobage might turn off some, but I’m more intrigued by the impeccable tailoring.

Maria Borges: I’m a huge fan of Maria’s style, but I was blown away when she opted to wear this Tiffany Amber gown which proudly showcased her African roots. The dress, the belt and head wrap are gorgeous, but it’s the ‘going against the grain’ statement which I find most endearing.

Jourdana Phillips: You can’t get much chicer than a cream tuxedo dress styled with gold Giuseppe Zanotti rose-gold sandals.

Couture Queens

Lily Aldridge (in Alexandre Vauthier Spring 2017 Couture) and Blanca Padilla (in Ralph & Russo Spring 2017 Couture) also fell into my favourites of the night.

Both showcased that you can work an alluring look with a high level of sophistication.

Not-So Nude Underwear

Taylor Hill (in Fabiana Milazzo), Stella Maxwell (in Georges Hobeika Fall 2017 Couture) and Nadine Leopold (in Julien Macdonald Fall 2017) all opted for semi-sheer embellished creations.

Lining the looks wouldn’t have worked for these ladies, as celebrating skin was their red carpet M.O.

The Jekyll and Hyde Dresses

Alessandra Ambrosio (in Versace Fall 2017 with Gianvito Rossi ‘Aleris’ sandals), Candice Swanepoel (in Aadnevik Spring 2018) and Georgia Fowler (in Julien Macdonald Fall 2017) with a Tyler Ellis clutch) all opted for what I call split personality dresses.

Alessandra Ambrosio: Is it a gown or is it a mini dress?

Candice Swanepoel: Does this dress what to stay on or fall off?

Georgia Fowler: Is it a dress or is it a bikini?

Questions I need the answers to.

One Sleeve, One Arm Pose

Leila Nda (in Mugler Fall 2017), Karlie Kloss (in RtA Resort 2018) and Adriana Lima (in Mugler Resort 2018) were all rocking a one sleeve look.

Leila Nda: Joining Hailee Steinfeld in the plight to bring pointy shoulders back, the model styled her look with a diamond Messika choker and Sophia Webster ‘Lilico’ crystal heels.

Karlie Kloss: My wish is that this look didn’t feel so one note.

Adriana Lima: This Mugler dress didn’t quite work for Adriana. Kudos for doing something new, but I found this look very awkward and unflattering.

Red Hot

Bella Hadid: There seems to be a distinct correlation between Bella Hadid and risqué red dresses. Especially those created by Alexandre Vauthier. Her bustier gown was styled with Gianvito Rossi ‘Manhattan’ sandals.

Jasmine Tookes: The model smoldered on the pink carpet. While some may feel her dress leaves little to the imagination, I love the intricate embroidery. She styled the look with Giuseppe Zanotti sandals.

Lais Ribeiro: Between the colour and the embellishments, this Zuhair Murad Spring 2017 Couture look was my favourite of the red trio. I especially love that she styled her look with rose-gold Giuseppe Zanotti sandals rather than black sandals.

Sheer Black

Liu Wen: Even with the sheer top, I found myself underwhelmed by Liu’s offering, which is a surprising first.

Devon Windsor: The trouble with Devon’s Julien Macdonald Fall 2017 gown is that she will be instantly compared to Jennifer Lopez who wore the same frock to the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.

Sara Sampaio: I’m sure you’re rolling your eyes at seeing Sara rocking granny panties with her Naeem Khan Spring 2018 gown, but at least she’s wearing them. The look was styled with Messika jewels.

The Minis

Martha Hunt: Letting her legs do all the talking, the model wore a simple Priscavera Spring 2018 ultra mini which felt so very fresh.

Herieth Paul: You may not be instantly wowed by this gold frock, but I urge you to check out the back. Nude Christian Louboutin pumps completed her look.

Romee Strijd: There’s a lot going on with Romee’s Raisa and Vanessa Spring 2018 Couture dress, but I love every last detail, especially the fringing. This what you call a party frock.

Final Two

Ming Xi: I’m usually a huge fan of Paco Rabanne’s signature chainmail dresses, but this one had a bit too many nips and tucks for me.

Leomie Anderson: The models Lê Thanh Hoà gown was beautiful, but a tad dated.

Credit: Getty

from Red Carpet Fashion Awards http://ift.tt/2iDGw4q via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Red Carpet Fashion Awards

0 notes

junker-town · 7 years

Text

US Open 2017: Bracket, schedule, and scores for men's draw

The 2017 US Open is here, and we have schedules, viewing information, and full results for the men’s bracket right here.

The men’s draw at the 2017 US Open, the year’s final Grand Slam, is an interesting one. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have been drawn into the same half and can meet in the semifinals, but other than those two, the tournament is missing some of its biggest names.

That’s especially true as second seed Andy Murray pulled out of the tournament less than 48 hours before the start of it. Murray is dealing with a hip injury and could not participate, and he joins a long list of top seeds who won’t be able to play.

Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic, and Kei Nishikori are also out of the running for various reasons, primarily injury.

So it seems to be down to Federer and Nadal, who have never met at the US Open. Federer is enjoying a nice career resurgence and has beaten Nadal the last four times they have faced each other, including in the finals of the Australian Open earlier this year.

The bottom half of the bracket should be interesting, with guys like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who would have met Murray in the quarterfinals, and Alexander Zverev, who would have met Murray in the semifinals, benefiting from the lack of big names.

We’re going to have daily coverage of the year’s final Grand Slam, including brackets, viewing and live streaming information, schedules, and results, all of which you can find below.

Bracket

Bracket courtesy of the official US Open website.

Viewing information

The 2017 US Open will be broadcast by ESPN and ESPN2 in the United States, as usual. Coverage will primarily exist on the flagship ESPN, but some days the coverage will move to the secondary channel.

An online stream of simulcast ESPN coverage as well as live streams of each court over the course of the tournament will be available via WatchESPN and the ESPN App. Any other streaming services that have ESPN in their various packages, such as Sling TV or PlayStation Vue, will also be used for streaming.

Below is a list of days and which channels you can watch the hard court action on, and below that is the full tournament schedule and results, updated daily.

How to watch the US Open

All Times Eastern

Schedule

Day 1, Monday, Aug. 28 (recap)

No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. Darian King, 7-6(9), 7-5, 6-4 No. 5 Marin Cilic def. Tennys Sandgren, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Marius Copil, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 No. 10 John Isner def. Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta def. Evan King, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5) Jordan Thompson def. No. 13 Jack Sock, 6-2, 7-6(12), 1-6, 5-7, 6-4 No. 16 Lucas Pouille def. Ruben Bemelmans, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 No. 17 Sam Querrey def. Gilles Simon, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 No. 19 Gilles Muller def. Bernard Tomic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 No. 20 Albert Ramos-Vinolas def. Denis Istomin, 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-5 Mikhail Kukushkin def. No. 21 David Ferrer, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 No. 23 Mischa Zverev def. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 Yen-Hsun Lu def. No. 25 Karen Khachanov, 4-6, 62, 6-3, 6-3 No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. JC Aragone, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 No. 29 Diego Schwartzman def. Carlos Berlocq, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 Kyle Edmund def. No. 32 Robin Haase, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3

Day 2, Tuesday, Aug. 29 (recap)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Dusan Lajovic, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-2 No. 3 Roger Federer def. Frances Tiafoe, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 No. 6 Dominic Thiem vs. Alex de Minaur, to finish: 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov vs. Vaclav Safranek: postponed No. 9 David Goffin vs. Julien Benneteau: postponed No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Andreas Seppi: postponed No. 14 Nick Kyrgios vs. John Millman: postponed No. 15 Tomas Berdych vs. Ryan Harrison: postponed No. 18 Gael Monfils vs. Jeremy Chardy: postponed No. 22 Fabio Fognini vs. Stefano Travaglia: postponed No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro vs. Henri Laaksonen: postponed No. 26 Richard Gasquet vs. Leonardo Mayer, to finish: 6-3, 2-6 No. 27 Pablo Cuevas vs. Damir Dzumhur: postponed No. 30 Adrian Mannarino vs. Ricardas Berankis: postponed No. 31 Feliciano Lopez vs. Andrey Kuznetsov: postponed No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Tim Smyczek: postponed

Day 3, Wednesday, Aug. 30 (recap)

Borna Coric def No. 4 Alexander Zverev, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(1), 7-6(4) No. 5 Marin Cilic def. Florian Mayer, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 No. 6 Dominic Thiem def. Alex de Minaur, to finish: 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov def. Vaclav Safranek, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 Denis Shapovalov def. No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3) No. 9 David Goffin def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 No. 10 John Isner def. Hyeon Chung, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(1) No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta def. Cameron Norrie, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 John Millman def. No. 14 Nick Kyrgios, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 No. 15 Tomas Berdych def. Ryan Harrison, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(4) No. 16 Lucas Pouille def. Jared Donaldson, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 No. 17 Sam Querrey def. Dudi Sela, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 No. 18 Gael Monfils def Jeremy Chardy, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 Paolo Lorenzi def. No. 19 Gilles Muller, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 Nicolas Mahut def. No. 20 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 Stefano Travaglia def. No. 22 Fabio Fognini, 6-4, 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-0 No. 23 Mischa Zverev def. Benoit Paire, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(3), 7-5 No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro def. Henri Laaksonen, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) Leonardo Mayer def. No. 26 Richard Gasquet, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 Damir Dzumhur def. No. 27 Pablo Cuevas, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-1 No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 No. 29 Diego Schwartzman def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 No. 30 Adrian Mannarino def. Ricardas Berankis, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 No. 31 Feliciano Lopez def. Andrey Kuznetsov, 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-2 No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Tim Smyczek, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4

Day 4, Thursday, Aug. 31 (recap)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Taro Daniel, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 No. 3 Roger Federer def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 No. 6 Dominic Thiem def. Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 Andrey Rublev def. No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3 No. 9 David Goffin def. Guido Pella, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-3 No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut def. Dustin Brown, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3) Alexandr Dolgopolov def. No. 15 Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-2 No. 18 Gael Monfils def. Donald Young, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro def. Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(3) No. 30 Adrian Mannarino def. Bjorn Fratangelo, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-2 No. 31 Feliciano Lopez def. Fenando Verdasco, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Santiago Giraldo, 6-2, 6-1, 3-0 (retired)

Day 5, Friday, Sept. 1 (recap)

No. 29 Diego Schwartzman def. No. 5 Marin Cilic, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 No. 23 Mischa Zverev def. No. 10 John Isner, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 No. 16 Lucas Pouille def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 No. 17 Sam Querrey def. Radu Albot, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. Borna Coric, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 Denis Shapovalov def. Kyle Edmund, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 1-0 (retired) Paolo Lorenzi def. Thomas Fabbiano, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4

Day 6, Saturday, Sept. 2 (recap)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 No. 3 Roger Federer def. No. 31 Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 No. 6 Dominic Thiem def. No. 30 Adrian Mannarino, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 No. 9 David Goffin def. No. 18 Gael Monfils, 7-5, 5-1 (retired) No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro def. No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. John Millman, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 Alexandr Dolgopolov def. Viktor Troicki, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 Andrey Rublev def. Damir Dzumhur, 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4

Day 7, Sunday, Sept. 3 (recap)

No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta def. Denis Shapovalov, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 7-6(3) No. 29 Diego Schwartzman def. No. 16 Lucas Pouille, 7-6(3), 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 No. 17 Sam Querrey def. No. 23 Mischa Zverev, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. Paolo Lorenzi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4

Day 8, Monday, Sept. 4 (recap)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 No. 3 Roger Federer def. No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro def. No. 6 Dominic Thiem, 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4 Andrey Rublev def. No. 9 David Goffin, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3

Day 9, Tuesday, Sept. 5 (recap)

No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta def. No. 29 Diego Schwartzman, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. No. 17 Sam Querrey, 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7)

Day 10, Wednesday, Sept. 6 (recap)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Andrey Rublev, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro def. No. 3 Roger Federer, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4

Day 11, Thursday, Sept. 7

Women’s Semifinals

Day 12, Friday, Sept. 8

No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 24 Juan Martin del Potro No. 28 Kevin Anderson def. No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4

Day 13, Saturday, Sept. 9

Women’s Final

Day 14, Sunday, Sept. 10

Men’s Final

0 notes