#two whole albums out on spotify! Hits my nice and Typical sounds of nice. you agree. stream

[roxyandelsewhere]

with all the love rn for the "women are my favorite guy" song i feel like yall would like Jesus Quisto (means Jesus Cyst) and their english bops. They started out as a fictional band in a portuguese show that parodied soap operas and now they do major concerts irl in character. the female singer is a lesbian and has a kid with the bass player. the male singer used to date that bassist but then married a cherries/racehorses empire heiress. get with it. they also do ballads

[0613magazine]

071323 Variety

Jung Kook of BTS Launches Solo Single, ‘Seven,’ With a Surprise Latto Feature: ‘I Want to Show a More Mature and Grown Version of Myself’

Jung Kook launched his first major solo single, “Seven,” at the stroke of midnight ET Friday morning, as promised. It came with a surprise that was unpromised: the appearance of one of the hottest female rappers of our day, Latto, making a featured appearance on the track. The lyrics talk about some hot action that is due to go down between the two, but the music, however, high-energy, feels deeply chill. In other words, it feels designed to be a late entry in the “songs of the summer” derby.

In an email interview with Variety, Jung Kook acknowledges the summery vibe but sounds almost surprised to hear a hit-status projection for the tune, as if this crossed his mind about the Andrew Watt/Cirkut co-written and -produced track belatedly. “I honestly didn’t have a huge goal in mind, but since you said that, I’d be ecstatic if it becomes a ‘hit,'” he says. It’s not just a distant possibility — “Seven” won’t disappoint the fans who’ve waited to see whether he would come out with a bop as well as a bang, as well as find favor with a lot of pop radio listeners who haven’t yet declared their BTS fandom.

Due to translation issues, Jung Kook did the interview with a translator sending his answers via email. In it, he vows — or at least hopes — that the BTS ARMY can expect a solo album before 2023 is up, without giving too much away about how much is already in the can and how much remains to be done. In the meantime, fans can see how his solo charisma comes off, minus group chemistry, as he performs “Seven” in an appearance on “Good Morning America” Friday morning.

Even though “Seven” is officially your global solo debut, you’ve had songs that have already topped a billion streams on Spotify. And you recently re-released “Still With You” and “My You” to more platforms, and “Still With You” has kind of been a streaming hit in its own way. Was the strategy to use these to help ramp up hunger for “Seven”? Did you have confidence that having fans support those songs would not take anything away from the thirst for a new song?

“Still With You” and “My You” were released as free tracks, meaning they weren’t officially released. I thought it’d be nice for fans to listen to my previous solo tracks on streaming platforms before the release of “Seven,” which marks my official solo debut. It’s like a token of gratitude, so to speak. It wasn’t a strategic move or didn’t had anything to do with my confidence. 

Were you working on a lot of songs, and “Seven” ended up being the strongest to put out as your first global single after you had a selection — or was it always going to be “Seven” and you just focused on perfecting that?

Upon hearing “Seven,” I thought, “This is it.” After that, I focused on practicing and recording the track multiple times to perfect it. I hope that many people can feel as I felt when I first heard the song.

These are two big-name producer-writers on the track. What would you say about their contributions?

Andrew (Watt) and Cirkut worked on the songwriting and producing for “Seven.” When recording, Andrew was so passionate about giving directions, which led the recording to go very smoothly. I’m truly grateful to them for helping me debut as a solo artist with great music.

You could have had your choice of a number of guest artists. What was it about Latto that made you want her to be the featured artist?

We thought about who would be the best rapper for this summer song, and one of the producers recommended Latto. So, we reached out to her, and she gladly agreed to work together for “Seven.” I personally like her rapping voice, and I thought her voice adds another layer of liveliness.

The whole song is sexy, but the lyrics of Latto’s rap make it a little more overtly sexual. That’s typical with a guest rap. But were you good with her taking it just a little more direct or extreme than you did?

I thought it’s important that it suits the overall mood of the song, and Latto’s unique charm came through very well.

Something about the acoustic guitar in combination with the rhythm will feel breezy to people — in other words, summery. Were you looking for a “summer single,” per se?

The song does have the breezy and summery vibe. I hope that anyone who listens to “Seven” can have a fun summer whenever they listen to it.

As far as BTS members releasing solo material, you are kind of in the middle of the pack, with some preceding you, some to follow. Do you have any thoughts about where you have ended up in the release schedule?

I don’t place a great deal of significance to which order among others my solo work is out. Each person is putting out his solo work at the time of its completion. Personally, I really enjoyed being able to watch the other members’ music, story and promotions that express their own uniqueness and tastes. That was a fresh source of inspiration for my own solo endeavors.  

Some of the group members are using their solo albums to explore sides of themselves that are maybe darker or at least don’t get as much play in group situations. But you seem very comfortable with mainstream pop music, judging from this song. Do you feel like you have a side of yourself, musically or personally, that you hope to be able to show that hasn’t gotten as much spotlight?

It’s my official solo debut, so everything is a challenge and feels new and fresh. Of course, I think a lot about delivering good music and performance while working on my music. But above all, as this is my first step forward in the spotlight as a solo artist, I want to show a more mature and grown version of myself.

This feels like it could be a big song… I’m sure expectations are high. Do you have goals you’re setting for it?

Thank you for your compliment! I’d love it to be a “big hit” (laughter). I honestly didn’t have a huge goal in mind, but since you said that, I’d be ecstatic if it becomes a “hit.”

The BTS book that just came out spotlights some of the relationships within the band. Are you aware of how much fans love to hear about interpersonal friendships even within the band, like the one you apparently have with Jimin, and that means as much to them as the whole-group dynamic?

Yes, I’m aware of it. I love that our members can create great chemistry no matter which member they are with, and that our fans love each and all of us’ chemistry. 

What’s going to follow this single — how much more is in the pipeline?

I’m working hard to release a solo album this year. It’s early to mention anything specific, but look forward to it!

You’re going to be doing the “GMA” summer concert series on Friday morning, not many hours right after the single comes out. Does it feel like it comes naturally, to be the sole focus, or does it feel a little strange to not have to think about how the balance with others comes out?

When I performed “Dreamers” on a big stage like the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, I did feel the members’ absence. But to be precise, I’d say I have a different mindset going in. When I’m on stage with the members, I focus on the balance as a team, and when I’m on stage alone, I focus on filling up the stage with my own energy. No matter when, it’s always good, if I have our fans with me or BTS.

Everyone always talks about how the group got little or no rest over the years. What’s it been like to get some of that? Or do you feel like you’ve still been too busy preparing a solo career to really know what rest is yet?

Lately, I’ve been quite busy again working on “Seven.” It’s good that we all have time to grow individually, including our solo projects. Whether we are getting rest, learning what we wanted to learn, or focusing on our own music, I think it’s important that we all take some time off like this for us. And after this period, I think we’ll be even greater BTS.

Source: Variety

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

INTERVIEW: Alecia 'Mixi' Demner of Stitched Up Heart (March 2020)

LIVE METAL: Before we get into the fun stuff, we should touch on the big issue in the world happening right now, the coronavirus pandemic. It’s affecting musicians with tours and festivals being canceled. Stitched Up Heart has a bunch of dates scheduled coming up later this month. Are those still on as far as you know?

ALECIA “MIXI” DEMNER: I just got the call, and it’s pushed to the fall. This whole thing is insane. Obviously, there’s a lot of planning and stuff that goes into a tour. We’ve been preparing, whether it be gear, whether it be flying people places to make sure our crew is ready. The crew has to make sure that they’re available during that time with whatever their side jobs are. So everything—RV rental, merchandise—everything gets pushed and put on hold for this. So a lot of people are really disappointed

I’m trying to look at the positive of it, and I actually already have set up a ton of writing sessions during this time, and I’m gonna try to pump out another album during this time. I’m just trying to stay productive, and since there’s a bunch of people that are usually on tour that we would typically get together with or we’re usually trying to find time that’s available to everyone. Now this time just freed up, and I’m basically trying to fill it.

Trying to make something good out of an unfortunate situation.

That’s always the way to look at it, right? How can this turn into a positive? There always is a positive in it. This whole pausing the music industry thing—I was just thinking about it on my way back home—is going to actually probably affect the music industry afterwards in such a positive way, because you’re taking it all away from everyone. Nobody can go to shows. They’re stopping people from being able to go out and do something. So once people are allowed back out again to go to shows and be at places that allow more than 100, 250 people a venue, they’re probably gonna be really, really excited about it.

Switching gears, the new album, “Darkness,” comes out tomorrow. You’ve been slowly releasing the songs one by one for a while now, but it’s still got to be exciting to have the end product finally out there.

Oh yeah. It’s been a really, really interesting process as far as this release goes. We wanted to try something new with this waterfall effect, and it’s not something that rock bands have really tapped into. So we were curious to see what kind of result we would get. I think the rock fan base is very loyal, and they usually buy albums, but it still has changed over time. I mean, our last record was released in Best Buy. It’s changed so much that now streaming is such a big thing. I even stream. I listen to stuff on Spotify when I want to hear something new. We can’t really be upset about it. So I think that having streaming and having something new and building momentum and keeping things fresh in people’s minds is an interesting way to go about it, and it seems to be doing well for us.

I would think this strategy would allow you to see even more which songs people are really getting into. Have you noticed anything like that or any surprises?

Oh yeah, absolutely. Having each individual song released as its own is so different from just having a whole album and then skipping over a song every once in a while, and then maybe a year from now, you go, “Wow, that song’s actually really good. I never really paid attention to it.” Each song gets a little more notoriety on its own.

I think streaming, in general, you can tell singles are really, truly these days based off whether or not the listeners are responding well. It’s not so much this is the single everybody thinks will be the big one. It’s more this is the one that’s getting the most response based off people streaming it. So you can see it a little more.

With having this longer release process, has it been hard to sit on some of these songs for longer than usual?

For me, no. For the listeners, probably yeah. For me, I’ve already heard them. (laughs) I practiced them a million times. It’s kind of nice having that. But yeah, I could see it would be frustrating for some people—”Give me the album already! Give me the album!” But something to look forward to is exciting to me.

How long was the process of writing and recording these songs?

We probably started in about February and finished the whole thing, after 70 songs, in September, I want to say, of not last year, the year before. So it’s been a whole entire year, because we released everything throughout a year. But the actual songs out of the 70 that we ended up using were pretty much all written at the very end, within a two-month period.

So how did that work out? Was there something that changed along the way that made you decide those were the ones you wanted?

I think just like anything you do in life, the more you do it the better you get. Especially with this record, we tried to try new things, and the beginning as all experimental. Eventually, we found a lane that everybody liked and was happy with, and the producer that we wanted to use, which was a huge, key element. We finally found what I wanted to say, ‘cause that changed also. Originally, lyrically I wanted to just sing about being strong and all this powerful stuff, but I realized that it wasn’t coming out as authentic, because there’s so much it takes to teach you to be strong. So lyrically, I really needed to grow in that sense and find the right deep, dark stuff that I had to pull out of me. Musically, we found a modern rock sound that worked really well, we felt like, for an evolution and not to stray too far from our original identity.

As you said, it’s been a while since the first album. It’s been almost four years. How have you and the band changed during that time?

Oh, gosh. A lot. (laughs) So much. When “Never Alone” was being written, we’d just got our first record deal after touring as a band for five years. I just became sober right when that writing session was happening. We didn’t even know what Active Rock Radio charts were. We hit the ground running with that album, and it just evolved. We met so many people. We made so many relationships over the last couple years. It’s been really cool. We’ve grown, obviously, as performers, as songwriters, as people in general. We’ve learned so much.

Do birds have some kind of special meaning to you? They’ve been on the covers of each album.

Yeah. I feel like a bird is something like what music does. It kinda takes you away from everything. You can fly out of your life and just be sucked into this whole other world, and it’s this freedom. And birds kind of feel like freedom to me. With “Never Alone,” because I was a bright-eyed, doey-eyed baby in the real rock industry at the time and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and everything was looking amazing, and the doves coming out of the darkness was this, OK, there’s a light. And I went through a lot of stuff afterwards, and I kept seeing crows everywhere. I didn’t even plan to do this bird theme, but it just worked. They were everywhere, and I kept noticing them. I was like, “That’s got to be some sort of sign.”

I started looking into what they represent, and they’re very, very wise creatures. They’re supposed to be messengers almost from a different realm or a spiritual realm. I looked at it as there’s a sign in this. The lyrics, how I went through some dark times again, the whole thing kind of tied in really well together with the dark crow coming out of the light, like I just went through greatness, but look, stuff is happening and you have to go through it, and that’s part of life and not to be afraid of it anymore because you know you made it through it before.

But yeah, it’s a sense of freedom and being able, musically, to take you out of whatever your day-to-day life is.

I noticed following the band on social media that on your last tour, you had started to play guitar on stage a little bit. Had you done that before?

Yeah, that’s how I started writing songs when I was in high school. I got my first guitar at 15, and I would go to open mic nights three nights a week and play acoustic and sing along. For the longest time, in every band I was in I either played guitar or bass. When I started this band in 2010, the guitar player was so good, the first guitar player was so good, I just quit. (laughs) I was like, “Dude, I will never be that good. I’m gonna leave it up to you, and I’ll just sing and scream, and focus on that.”

For the longest time, I hid behind the guitar. That guitar was like my safety net, my blanket, and I realized I could actually perform without it, which was a whole new learning experience. Then for I don’t know how many years, we would hire a rhythm guitar player, and we just kept having this revolving door with this one guitar player position.

When we thought about it the last tour we did with Steel Panther, we decided that it might be smarter for us to get a sound guy out front instead of a second guitar player, because we found a guy that was really good and the chemistry was great. So we decided to try the last tour out with it, and I was like, “What songs need a second guitar?” And “Catch Me When I Fall” was the only one that really needs it. So I was like OK, I’ll learn this one song and we’ll see how it goes. And I was super nervous. (laughs) It had been nine years since I played on stage with a guitar. I was even nervous to practice with the band. I was like, oh my god, I’m gonna be horrible. The first show, I hit one wrong note, but no one noticed—I did. I practiced every day, just the one song, and it went well, and it sounded great.

So we decided we don’t need a second guitarist for the moment. It’s just more fun for me. I learned another song of ours that I’m gonna bring in. I don’t want to play every single song on guitar, ‘cause I still have to perform. It’s kind of breathing life into me, to be honest.

What was it like to tour with Steel Panther?

Well, what happens backstage stays backstage with that band, but they are such great people. They really, really made sure we were happy. Just really great people, super supportive. Michael Starr literally watched every single set. He watched us play every single night. We hung out, and we’d have little meetings, check in on each other, see how everybody’s doing. And actually the fan base—this was the thing I was most surprised of—the fan base, I didn’t know how they were gonna react to us, being that we’re, obviously, a different kind of style of music. I was scared they were gonna ask me to show my boobs or something (laughs), because some of the audience might be a little crazy. But they were so receptive and responsive. We were really shocked, because everybody was just so excited to be at a rock show that they were probably the most energetic crowd we’ve ever played for and super exciting and fun. And I think that’s how the Sebastian Bach tour ended up happening. We didn’t realize that’s a whole entire different kind of rock genre that we hadn’t explored, and we might be OK in the ‘80s hair metal scene—I don’t know.

I think that’s all the questions I’ve got for you right now. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

No, just with the tour being postponed, in the meantime I have already set up a ton of writing sessions, and I probably am going to be fostering some more bottle baby kittens, which I usually do when we’re not on the road. If anybody is interested in helping this rescue that I’m super passionate about, their website is kittenrescue.org.

[markrichardson]

My Year in Spotify Listening

Like a lot of people I checked out the Spotify year-end summary thingy, and since Spotify is only a certain percentage of my listening, the results were surprising, and I tried to figure out what it meant. In general, I listen to new music via iTunes, if I am sent promos. That only encompasses a certain amount of new music of course, but if I’m sent a download, I tend to use that for my listening all year long. Often, I’m “done with” an album more or less by the time it comes out, but sometimes I’ll keep listening (as w/ DJ Koze this year) and I do that with my promo files. My Spotify listening tends to be a mix of things I stick on a few different playlists based on mood or genre, and they could come from anywhere (but they aren’t usually new). 

In terms of my favorite artists (Bill Evans wound up in my top spot, somehow, followed by Joni Mitchell) it was hard to figure out how it’d happened, because I didn’t spend the year obsessed with either. Then I looked at my 100 most played songs, and that did bring back a few things. I’m not sure if the whole list is in order, but the first 5 songs in the playlist are the 5 listed when Spotify gave me my most-listened-to tracks of the year, so I think so? Anyway, that’s what I am going with here. This is how my Top 10 songs show up on the playlist, in order, with one exception: in the middle of the list was Bow Wow Wow’s “See Jungle,” which I already wrote about on Tumblr 8 years ago (and about which I have very little to say now, except that yes I do still listen to this song a fair amount), so I’ve omitted that and included No. 11. 

Wussy: “Runaway” This was my favorite song of the year, it has 600 plays on Youtube and 5,400 on Spotify, which makes me a little sad. Technically it’s not from this year—Wussy put this out on a small-release tape or CD-R a few years ago—but I’m still counting it. This is the rare case where the streaming media playcounts tend to match the responses of folks I’ve talked to about this song—I mentioned to 4 or 5 people, and in each case they said “Yeah that’s kind of nice I guess...why do you like it so much?” I’ll try to answer that here.  

First I should say that I have no real interest in or knowledge of Wussy. They’re an indie rock band from Ohio, most notable at this point for the fact that Robert Christgau loves them, and has written rapturous reviews of their work over the years, which surely has helped them to achieve whatever small amount of notoriety they have. I checked them out here and there but they didn’t make much of an impression on me. I wish I could remember how I came across this particular song, but I can’t, probably either Twitter or a streaming media algorithm. But I loved it immediately, like, stop-what-you-are-doing-and-listen kind of loved. It just clicked. 

The first thing that comes to mind is the chorus: “I love you, let’s run away.” That’s the theme of so many of my favorite songs, I mean, the first album I bought in my life was “Born to Run,” and if you could sum up the first three Springsteen albums in in 6 words, “I love you, let’s run away” wouldn’t be bad. And I think I liked that this song didn’t try for poetic phrasing, just said it in the simplest way possible.

But the romance of a song like this has a shade of darkness to it, and that draws me in even more. Escape is never a long-term strategy. Eventually you have to figure out how to make life work when you’re in the thick of it. So while it’s such an appealing dream to exit the world with someone you’re crazy about, there is a shelf life to that sort of gesture. I relate to this idea of being fed up with everything in the moment and wanting to jump in the car with the only person who gets you, but eventually, the car is is going to need gas. What then? 

I didn’t know when I first heard this song that it was a cover, so the immediate impact of it was as a Wussy song. But I learned that it was written and recorded by another Ohio artist that people in the band had known, a woman named Jenny Mae. She died last year. Pitchfork did a news story on her passing. She was 49. And when I found that it was her song, I listened to her version and I loved it almost as much (but not quite), though her take also made my Spotify Top 20. I did think enough of her version to order the 7-inch, which was her first release. When I read about Jenny Mae’s life, the song took on another layer of meaning. She suffered from mental illness and self-medicated with alcohol. And she was described by people who knew her as brilliant and creative and hilarious but also impulsive and self-destructive. Which for me gives a sentiment like “No one likes us anyway / I hate my job / Sweet, sweet are the innocent / I love you, let’s run away” and “40 ounce between your legs/ Shakin up my heart / Turn around and look at me / Light another smoke” a different tint. These are the kinds of things you say when in the throes of a rush of feeling, but they’re not impulses you can safely follow for a lifetime, even though goddammit, sometimes I want to.

Bo Diddley: “Nursery Rhyme” In Richmond early this year I bought an old Bo Diddley album called The Originator. I saw it in a used bin, it was $20, and, it was pure instinct, I had a feeling it was interesting. For me, buying used records, $20 is a fair amount of money, I don’t pay that for something I’ve no idea about, typically. But something compelled me to pick it up. I was intrigued that it had none of the hits I knew. And I took it home and when I put it on a short while later it blew my mind. This surprised me because on the one hand it sounds so much like the idea of “Bo Diddley” I keep in my brain, the one rhythm we know from the song he named after himself, but this was just so controlled, so well rendered, with so much atmosphere. The whole thing is brilliant. I became particularly obsessed with this cut from the record, and then I started exploring the “Bo Diddley” beat in general, reading whatever I could about it and listening to examples. This kind of random deep-dive is the best thing about the internet era for a music fan. 

Mulatu Asatke: “Tezeta (Nostalgia” At nights when I hang out with my Mom at her condo in Michigan I play music over a Bluetooth speaker I bought a year ago. My Mom’s default has for a while been to put the television on, but at some point I asked her about playing music instead so we could talk or just hang out, and she grew to like it. Sometimes we’ll chat about stuff, and sometimes she will play Candy Crush on her iPad while I do things on my phone, which sounds distant but is actually very comforting to me. One of the things I’m doing on my phone during these evenings is finding songs to play. It’s quite fun (and interesting) for me to say to myself “What is a playlist that would make my Mom happy?” and then try and figure out what that might be on the fly. She was never really a music person so I don’t have a lot to go on, mostly her age, a story or two about a song she liked, and a vague knowledge of what she might have heard on the radio in my lifetime. 

In September, my Dad died, and I stayed with my Mom in her condo for a number of days that month. I felt a strange mix of feelings. On the one hand, he was father, I missed him, I thought about never being able to talk to him again, to not be able to share the things in my life. I thought about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to learn more about his life, my knowledge of which is pretty sketchy. There were all the usual things a person would be sad about. But then there was the fact that he had a severe and debilitating case of Parkinson’s disease for the last eight years, and at times he suffered so terribly. I remembered how on a few occasions he called me while he was delusional, he would tell me that he was sure he was going to die. One time, he told me that he saw someone in the driveway who was going to kill him. Another time, he said that it was hard to explain but that he had been split into two people, and he couldn’t take it, he was terrified. I told him that it would be better tomorrow and he yelled, “I’m going to be dead by tomorrow!” I would get calls like this while I was walking to work in Brooklyn 700 miles away, and I would feel so helpless. And so when he passed, I thought about him during situations like that, and also felt like maybe not he had some peace. 

A night or two after my Dad died I was sitting with my Mom, talking, and playing music. She dug out some old photos and we were looking at them, pictures from her in high school that I had never seen. I wanted to see everything, learn every detail. And over that Bluetooth speaker I was playing some random playlist I had found called something like “Jazz for late night.” I wanted background music. And while we were hanging out and talking, this song came on, “Tezeta” by the Ethiopian jazz bandleader Mulatu Astatke. And man, it’s hard to describe, but the mood of this song so perfectly captured the exact feeling I had. The phrase that comes to mind is “bombed out,” that’s the way it seemed, like I’d been beaten up and thrown in a ditch and my ears were ringing and now I was trying to reorient myself after all that had happened. There was a feeling of weariness and sadness but also a feeling that life continues, that we have to gather our memories and keep on. And this impossibly beautiful song captured every bit of that, the one-chord riff moving ahead, in spite of it all, while the sax line captures all the sadness dripping off everything at the same time. I listened to it constantly in the weeks afterward.  

Galaxie 500: “Fourth of July” (live) One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite band in my favorite version. This song is indicative of how (as with all songs on this list) when I’m in the mood I can listen to one track over and over. On a couple of occasions in 2018, I listened to this maybe 8 or 9 times in a row, immediately hitting “back” when it had finished. And the thing I was typically listening to was Naomi Yang’s bassline, which to me holds the lion’s share of the song’s feeling. Her bass playing in Galaxie 500 is so incredibly emotional to me, and it was never more so than here. 

Pusha T: “Infrared” The one truly “new” song on here.” I didn’t have an advance of this record so I listened on Spotify when it came out and I loved it. And this song in particular seemed so perfect, the carefully constructed rap, executed as if it’s coming off the top of his head, the sample—I listened to this many times in a row on a few occasions, and it also sent me to revisit Clipse, which brought me a lot of joy. 

Joni Mitchell: “Carey” Another song about freedom, but here it’s real. Blue is a perfect record but I probably revisit this one more than any other single song because I’m so in love with the production—that bass, that hand percussion...sonically, an album recorded almost 50 years ago simply cannot be improved upon. I remember hearing this one on AM radio when I was very young. It was a single, b/w “This Flight Tonight,” one hell of a 7-inch. I’ve always thought the picture it painted was so incredibly romantic—”Maybe I’ll go to Amsterdam, maybe I’ll go to Rome / And rent me a grand piano and put flowers 'round my room.” Hey, why not! And if Carey is indeed keeping her in this tourist town, we know it’s only for another hour, another day, another week, whenever she’s ready, she can’t be tied down. But then, that’s the future: this night, now, is a starry dome, and we’re alive, inside it. 

Arthur Russell: “That’s Us/Wild Combination” Sometimes w/ my favorite Arthur Russell songs you can hear the strain as he creates a new genre trying to get a particular unnamable feeling across. But not this one. Sitting in a room with his friend Jennifer Warnes he made a song that feels as natural as a breath. 

Carole King: “Pleasant Valley Sunday” I’m in awe of Carole King’s ability to write songs that sound perfect on the radio. Even if her prime hitmaking years only lasted a bit over a decade, the number of her songs with her name on them that left a huge mark on culture is staggering. Her demo for the Monkees hit “Pleasant Valley Sunday” shows how perfect everything was before the artist who would bring the song to the public got anywhere near it. I found this one on Youtube 8 or 9 years ago and it’s been in regular rotation since. 

Hank Williams: “The Angel of Death” In February and March I was doing research my Pitchfork Sunday Review on Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. It’s one of my favorite records, and I’ve wanted to write something long on it for years, so spending time w/ it as the winter wound down was an intense pleasure. It’s common knowledge that Springsteen was listening to a lot of Hank Williams when he was writing the album, and when I came across this song, I became obsessed with it. One, the melody sounds right off Nebraska, and “My Father’s House” (another song I listened to a lot this year) especially seems directly modeled on it. But this song has so much going for it on its own. It’s about death and the moment of judgement, but Hank’s melody and phrasing don’t sound frightened. It’s hopeful, a prayer instead of an admonishment. 

Guided by Voices: “Motor Away” I’ve loved this song for years but I listened to it intently around the same time I was playing the Hank Williams, when I was thinking about leaving Pitchfork. I’ve never been a big fan of Robert Pollard’s lyrics (though I love many of his tunes), but he second line here is the one I couldn’t put out of my mind: “When you free yourself from the chance of a lifetime.” That’s where I felt I was. Editing this music magazine that I cared so much about was the culmination of a dream that took a long time, a ton of work, and a fair amount of luck to realize. When the chance of a lifetime comes along, you’re supposed to hold on to it as tightly as possible for as long as possible, until someone finally pries it away, which will happen eventually. I knew that. And yet, deep down, I knew that after 11 years, I wanted to try something else. Run away, motor away, drive away. Sometimes a song can give you the tiniest push.

[talkfantasytome]

Hi! It's your secret santa:))

I was wondering if you had a favourite fic? From the ones that you've written?

Also who are your top 5 artists/groups/bands?

🎅🏼🌟

Hi Santa! Hope you're well and that you had a lovely weekend! 😄

Those are really tough questions! I think my personal favorite AU I have is for "Velaris State Chronicles". I was exceedingly please with my recent part, part 2 for "Evening Etiquette". lol But I also just enjoy the AU. However, for specific fics...I did really like "Something Deeper" (If You Love Her | The Way I Loved You). I also love "The Girl in the Hat", it just holds the piece of my heart I put into it. And lastly, I'm still quite attached to "Did You Know You Have a Freckle?" within my "Velaris Tattoo Parlor" AU. I just was really happy with the concept and execution of it, just that sweet, loving way he was watching Nesta, learning her as he thought about the previous night had me very 🥺.

Um, the next question's answer got long, so adding a quick break...sorry...asking me about my music tastes is not a simple question. 😬

As for artists...oh gosh...I honestly don't know if I truly have a top 5, because it can really shift and change a lot. Vocally speaking, no one beats Ramin Karimloo. But he mostly does covers and showtunes (though often super beautiful ones). I'm also actually a fan of Frank Sinatra, at least some of his stuff. I do love Taylor Swift, of course, though not Reputation or Lover, and only, like, three songs from 1989. Those albums just aren't really my style. I like early Beatles, but not the biggest fan of their later stuff. Otherwise, I typically have a larger handful of current "favs" all for one song or two songs...Spotify was made for people like me. 😂

However, if this helps, I tend to enjoy music, and there's not a lot of stuff out there I really hate. But, I often gravitate more toward acoustic, maybe some indie type styles, softer styles in general, and most importantly: melodic. If the melody doesn't draw me in, I'm not likely to enjoy the song no matter how amazing the lyrics are. It's why I don't tend to go for Hip Hop, because it's not really a melodic style of music (but, yes, I love "Hamilton"). Also, no metal. Heavy or otherwise. Just not a metal person. I don't solely like acoustic and softer styles, though. I enjoy power ballads, country, tend to love late '50s and early '60s (though not really Elvis, cause I just don't really like his voice), and I'm actually a fairly big fan of ABBA. Def enjoy some classic rock, though typically not the "big" classic rock bands as much as lesser known stuff that randomly shows up on my Spotify or on the radio and I'm like "oh, this is nice". And, of course, big fan of showtunes. My favorites include Les Mis, Phantom, and I actually adored all the new pieces added for the 2017 Beauty and the Beast (sorry, not sorry, that live action remake wasn't a waste like some were, and I prefer Dan Stevens' Evermore to Josh Groban's - feels like blasphemy, but he hits that one sound that just brings me to my KNEES when a guy hits it).

OH, THAT REMINDS ME! So, I absolutely love plenty of female artists, but in general I tend to prefer male voices. Typically, if I'm listening to a woman artist, it's for the music, the lyrics, because she sounds good doing it of course, and the whole thing. But with male artists, I often find myself enjoying all of that, and also really appreciating their voices in a way I just don't typically with females. And it does lead to me tending to have more male artists than female artists on my playlists, pending the playlist and purpose. My "I Got This" playlist is littered with females doing power ballads and songs about how they'll rise up and succeed and stuff like that. XD

So, yeah, that's now a lot of information because my music tastes are kinda complicated. 😂 But, if you have further questions, I'm happy to answer them!

[segenassefa]

10: Musical Discourse: Slime Language 2

Young Thug’s new project, Slime Language 2, is almost reminiscent of Pi’erre Bourne’s TLOP4, except more features (Thug got all these niggas in the studio and told them “We’re doing this now or never”), including ex-girlfriend and entrepreneur Karlae, Jim Jones, Drake, Travis Scott, and Coi Leray. There is a heavy YSL l influence (obviously) as well as some OVO features (hey Drake, hey Nav!), Coi Leray (no comment), and even a Rowdy Rebel feature, fresh from the pen. This project does a good job at touching different extremes of the rap music spectrum – Thug manages to get some songs for the ladies (“I Like”, which, to me, is very reminiscent of the City Girls, “On the Low”, and “Trance”), typical athlete walk-out music, and some songs that follow that “no one ever believed in me/everyone leaves me” kinda vibe.

If we’re gonna keep it 100, the album in itself is not necessarily a stand-out – very few songs have that “wow” factor - and to be honest - it’s mid, as the kids would call it. BUT, in the spirit of neutrality, I’ll be breaking down my favourites, as a self-proclaimed know most and trap music enthusiast, especially since today marks the one-month anniversary of its release - and if you disagree, suck ya mum (JK….kinda.)

“Take It to Trial” – Young Thug, YSL, Gunna, Yak Gotti

This track is probably one of the best on the album, and not just because the Yak Gotti feature ties it all together, but for the overall cohesiveness of everyone on the track, which almost makes it sound like one person entirely throughout. Take It to Trial was one of the tracks on the album that was released before the drop of SL2, giving it some time to marinate before the drop of the project in its entirety. While the beat is nothing too crazy, it’s still a standout due to the lyricism of the track and the abnormally high pitch Thug manages to hit on the chorus, as he adamantly requests to take this shit to mf’in trial.

I don’t know if the herpes bar making me think of NBA YoungBoy makes me a bad person, but I guess only time will tell.

“I Like” – YSL, Karlae, Coi Leray

Now, listen. I am not going to lie and say that I support all women. Somewhere in my heart, I know Coi Leray got to where she is due to a combination of light skin privilege (insert noises of disgust), some form of nepotism, her marketability, and her longstanding time in the industry (she was, in fact, one of the Mindless Behaviour video girls, so that in itself should tell you how long she’s secretly been in the game. She’s almost like a slightly darker Alexa Demie, except she isn’t lying about her age).

But this song???

THIS MF SONG?

There has to be crack in it. Because it’s not that good - the beat is not one which you run back for its complexity, nor its lyricism, but DAMN, it’s a good ass song.

Both she and Karlae captured the effortless sexy feeling certain songs are supposed to give you (fellas, not sure if you’ve ever felt it, but I feel like the laydeez know what I mean). It’s giving very much Uber Black on the freeway in an amazing outfit, drunk out of your mind - and I’m here for it! While I do feel like Karlae can rap circles around Coi, if given the opportunity, I think one thing I can say is that Coi does have the unabashed confidence of a man in her same position and that in itself makes this song *that* much more powerful.

“Mil in Vegas” – YSL, Young Thug, NAV

When I’m old and in my nursing home of choice (Astagfurallah, but you never know), I hope Young Thug drops a purely R&B album; something like Hndrxx but a lil’ less suicidal.

Or that the nursing home has enough money to hire him for a mid-afternoon senior citizen concert, but let’s tackle one problem at a time.

This track is almost like the niggas’ version of “I Like” but instead of boo boo Mizz Leray, we get a melodic NAV feature. In addition to my appreciation of him realizing he needs to stop using the fucking n-word (he shouldn’t have been using it in the first place, but progress is better than perfection), I think there’s something to be said with rap songs that are done outside of the major key; it def adds a little pinash, and some depth that wouldn’t have been there before – and NAV’s voice is suited perfectly for these otherwise challenging scales.

The only other thing going for this song is the way Thug looks in that yellow turtleneck on the Spotify visualizer – and with that being said, I hope niggas will be rocking more bright colors in the seasons to come.

(Also, what the fuck is NAV’s obsession with Los Angeles? I swear there’s at least one bar in every song).

“Slatty” – YSL, Young Thug, Gunna, Lil Duke, Yak Gotti

Mark my motherfucking words - when we have in-person sporting events, I will bet my Large Telfar bag that at least one draftee has this song as their walk-out music.

This track incorporates the one word that every nigga in YSL records (and current rap culture) has heat-stamped in their vocabulary, and while the word “slat” has been massacred by hordes of white teenage boys on TikTok, I will say that this chorus is catchy as fuck.

The real star of this song (shockingly) is the juxtaposition of Yak Gotti’s gritty, emory-board vocal cords, the raspy voice of Lil Duke, and the familiar buttery sound of Thug’s vocals.

Why the visualizer has P. Diddy in it, God only knows. But our adeer is doing his thing in those big ass Versace shades, so who am I to say anything.

“Diamonds Dancing” – YSL, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Gunna

I have no commentary other than asking rappers to please stop using Dr. King for any of their metaphors – he cheated on Correta with a white woman (and only one that we KNOW of, for that matter).

So, I stand here humbly before you, petitioning for the alternative bars including:

“Dripped in Dolce & Gabanna / Black diamonds like Thomas Sankara”

“New girl like Lori Harvey / chain Black like Africa, Marcus Garvey”

or something along those lines. Even a Sojourner Truth bar, at this fucking point.

  “Solid” – YSL, Young Thug, Gunna, Drake

Of course, OF FUCKING COURSE, this track was saved by none other than the culture vulture himself - the man, the myth, and apparently now, the fucking candlemaker, Mr. Aubrey Drake Graham.

(Sidenote: Why is graham such a hard word to spell?).

I know y’all niggas heard - and felt - him very clearly when he said he needed some head and some moral support right away (not like y’all are gonna get any, but understandable if you felt it).

Something about the subtle use of steel pan, and mafioso type beat that the OVO clan has such an affinity for, really brings this hoe all the way together.

Another interesting point to note – and why I think Thug and Gunna make such an incomparable duo - is the fact that Thug and Gunna could almost pass for one another on the second verse, and even in the chorus. The only distinctive giveaway in this is the fact that Gunna does not make use of the whimsical bars in the same way that Thug does (because who the fuck is putting macaroni and cheese in their pockets besides the man who made a whole Instagram live about having a dirty dick? Exactly.)

Surprisingly though, this is one of the only songs on the album that hasn’t drilled holes in my eardrums, even after listening to it for an entire month, so bravo on them for that.

“Proud of You” – YSL, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Yung Kayo

I’m going to use this song to expose my corniness in saying I’ve definitely thought of using this song for some Instagram captions.

I think the combined genius of Thug and Uzi is often overlooked due to everyone wanting to worship Uzi with the androgynous Vampire Ma- I mean, Carti (who also makes a great duo with Uzi in his own right, but Uzi and Thug just remind me of two eccentric uncles, minus a few decades).

It was also rumored in 2018 that these niggas had over fifteen hundred songs together and I honestly wouldn’t it put it past them for that to be true.

Will they all be hits? Probably not, but it’s nice to be a dreamer – plus, their previous tracks (What’s the Move, It’s A Slime and Strawberry Peels) can’t be disregarded either.

“Really Be Slime” – YSL, Young Thug, FN DaDealer, YNW Melly, Bslime

In my honest opinion, I think YNW Melly (and TayK!) should have been pardoned from jail way before Reptar (Kodak) or the other gremlin, Mr. Weezy F Baby – not doubting this artistry, but I do think this man requires a serious rest; musically, emotionally, and physically).

This nigga Melly bodies every feature and brings such mischievous energy to every single track. Also, the minute the rhymed “butter pecan” and “Puerto Rican”, he was fr a genius in my high school eyes.

You can’t deny that the other niggas on the track, even Young Thug himself, fall a little short and that FN DaDealer is trying a bit hard to give us Lil Baby teas, but for what it is, it’s not a bad song. The beat, again, nothing too impressive, but I’m honestly just so glad to hear a YNW Melly feature after what feels like forever.

And that about wraps it up – overall, I’d give this project a solid 5/10. It could have done a bit more; and for the number of features (as well as their duality), honestly could have been more experimental. I get that this was highly anticipated, but in that case, I’m sure niggas wouldn’t have minded waiting a bit longer for it to go the extra mile.

If you feel like I missed any important tracks, that’s too damn bad; but feel free to argue with me in the comments of Instagram.

Until then…*turns on “I Like”*.

[bobbystompy]

My Top 120 Songs Of 2017

Previously: 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

The one saving grace is we do have 12 fewer than last year.

As always, criteria and info:

This is a list of what I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs for an artist, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track; not the ultimate factor, but it typically makes sharing the music easier

Speaking of… each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check any or every out for yourself

Oh, also, off the suggestion of Mike Gilkes -- and a few others -- I made this whole thing into a Spotify playlist, which you can peep here (includes 114 of the 120):

Let’s go?

120) Big Sean & Metro Boomin f/ 21 Savage - “Pull Up N Wreck”

Some mediocre, listenable rap made by dudes who know a bit better (well, at least 2/3rds of them).

119) Maroon 5 f/ Future - “Cold”

This song makes me feel mostly nothing... but the first minute of the video does have some solid Adam Levine alone-in-the-car acting.

/oh my god it has 119 million views

This was a lot easier to enjoy when I assumed it went unnoticed. Bonus points for the Wu-Tang shirt at the end.

118) Bleachers - “Hate That You Know Me”

Closed out 2017 undecided as ever on one Jack Antonoff. Should we hate him for dating Lena Dunham? Somehow respect him more? Give him mega credit for his big time pop songwriting collabs? Or is that a ding? Is he a nerd or the coolest guy in the cocktail bar? I do not know the answers to any of these questions, and this song is merely OK.

UPDATE: THEY GAWN

117) B.o.B f/ T.I. & Ty Dolla $ign - “4 Lit”

Real bad song with a mindless/terrible/misogynistic chorus. Yet... something about professional musicians sitting in a room and coming up with “4 Lit” as some sort of escalated to catchphrase to “lit” is just hilarious.

116) Prophets of Rage - “Unfuck The World”

Sure, this hits a lot of the same beats as Rage Against The Machine’s “Sleep Now In The Fire” from 18 years ago, but in these increasingly polarized, political times, I welcome their voice.

115) Kacy Hill - “Like A Woman”

This song is so chill and ethereal that it seems almost unfeasible for my punk/hip-hop/XX chromosome havin’ ass to completely sync with its wave.

114) The Decemberists - “Ben Franklin’s Song”

What happens when pop indie teams up with the lyrical stylings of Lin-Manuel Miranda? Well, this. I’m not sure if The Decemberists drop f-bombs in any of their other songs, but it pleases me to think it only happened here.

113) Offset & Metro Boomin - “Ric Flair Drip”

Mostly here for the beat.

112) Hurray For The Riff Raff - “Hungry Ghost”

A cool song that’s hard to put into a box. Indie? Pop? Rock? Forget labels, just enjoy.

(Minus a few points for the low hanging “girl/world” rhyme)

111) Wavves - “Dreams Of Grandeur”

I was pretty let down by the new Wavves LP, but this song sounds enough like the old stuff to be a net positive (despite being, like, 70 seconds too long)

110) Culture Abuse - “So Busted”

Culture Abuse got on my radar with last year’s all-timer, “Dream On”. It was an unrelenting, robotic pulverization. “So Busted” is more of a drug comedown; a ballad, even. While “Dream On” wanted to seek you out and kill you like a terminator; “So Busted” just wants a cuddle.

109) Trey Songz - “#1Fan”

This song is so dumb and funny and pseudo competent. Really not sure how the R&B guys get away with this shit.

108) The Killers - “The Man”

Is this in a movie? It should be in a movie. It’s kind of, like, a better version of what Arcade Fire has been trying to be.

107) New Lenox - “Protest Sweater”

A good song for the ending 2017 -- or any year, really -- and its run time (1:30) would make Joyce Manor proud.

106) Logic - “Everybody”

This is really good, but it reminds me so much of Kendrick that it becomes distracting.

105) Gorillaz f/ DRAM - “Andromeda”

Didn’t spend enough time listening to the new Gorillaz record, but I actually put the blame on them: it was long, man. So while I woulda loved to pick one of the songs with a cool cameo (hi, Vince Staples!), this is the one I actually had around the most. It’s all we’ve come to expect from this cartoon band -- kinda British, kinda futuristic, very undisturbed. Also, if it gets you back to the album before me, I heard that Damon Albarn told all collaborating artists to record their parts like the world was ending tomorrow.

104) Dropkick Murphys - “Blood”

If you know me at all, you know I historically have not been a fan of this band. But for whatever reason, this one connected -- bagpipes and all.

103) Captain, We’re Sinking - “Books”

CWS was never, ever going to top the falling-apart-desperation of 2013′s “The Future Is Cancelled”, but this song comes pleasantly close.

102) IRONTOM - “Be Bold Like Elijah”

My buddy Crooks rec’d this band, and the guitars give me Queens Of The Stone Age vibes in the best possible way. A bio on lastFM compared them to Arctic Monkeys, and you know what? I agree with that, too.

101) Jidenna - “A Bull’s Tale”

This song feels primed to explode and makes you wanna rip the shirt off your chest; only we don’t know if the bomb’s gonna blow in the middle or at the end.

100) Jeff Tweedy - “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”

Yeah yeah, the original version of this dropped in 2002, and yes, it’s just a cover by the dude who originally sang it. I... do not care. It made me appreciate the confessional regret all over again.

99) Talib Kweli f/ Yummy Bingham & Jay Electronica - “All Of Us”

It was all bad just a week ago

Kweli and Jay Elect are a collab made in conscious rap heaven, so this song was more than a pleasant surprise.

98) Rise Against - “House On Fire”

This song could have been on “Revolutions Per Minute”. Or maybe I’m just saying that because of the hand grenade lyric in the chorus.

97) HAIM - “Want You Back”

Can’t imagine there being a lamer song on this list. HAIM and Bleachers should get in a wuss rock beef that ends with pistols.

96) The Bigger Empty - “By Its Own (So What)”

My producer plays bass in this band. This song is super solid, and, maybe most importantly in these completely divisive times, unoffensive and approachable. Kinda Hush Sound-y.

95) Little Big Town - “Lost In California” (note: link is to live version)

From the bros and broettes who brought us “Day Drinking” comes this much more subdued track. If you squint, it doesn’t really even seem like country. Granted, if they sang “Alabama” instead of “California”, you could probably call that claim out immediately.

94) Lana Del Rey - “Heroin”

Another beautiful/dreamy song from an artist who’s near-perfected that niche.

93) Wavves & Culture Abuse - “Up And Down”

Wavves and Culture Abuse have already made appearances on this list, and we haven’t even cracked the Top 80. Fortunately, their collaboration scored a little higher than their individual outputs. Shout out to their uplifting outro “I’ll just get high and I’ll die alone”.

92) The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - “Something Just Like This”

This song played at my gym all the time, and I was positive it was Coldplay. Then someone told me it was The Chainsmokers. Then I looked it up on YouTube, and it says “The Chainsmokers & Coldplay”... so what’s the deal, assholes?

91) Lil Peep f/ Lil Tracy - “Awful Things”

I hadn’t heard of Lil Peep when I found out of his passing in 2017. After looking up some pictures, I was nearly 100% positive his music was not for me. This was incorrect. I haven’t really listened to songs that sound like his; it’s kind of like rap that treads this line of being bad while also kinda sounding like alternative rock; destructive love song that doesn’t flinch.

90) AFI - “Dark Snow”

Nothing new, but Davey Havok can still sing circles around almost anybody.

89) Dashboard Confessional - “Love Yourself” (link is to live, partial version)

Well, Dashboard covered Biebs, and we all lived to tell the tale.

88) Garrett Dale - “2016 Was...”

This song would be a blast as a singalong in a late night hotel room. There’s something calming about celebrating -- or at least acknowledging -- everything sucking.

87) Katy Perry f/ Skip Marley - “Chained To The Rhythm”

Got more than a few issues with this song, but it’s catchy, so they’re mostly forgiven. Even though it’s Katy Perry, I was pretty surprised to see it racked up 444 million views.

And seriously who the hell is Skip Marley?!

86) The Ramblin’ Boys Of Pleasure - “Glug, Glug, Glug”

Now is probably a good time to plug the lead track from my band’s b-sides record that came out this year (ten years in the making, baby!). Mandatory listening if you’ve ever bonged brandy, partied in Champaign, or counted down in a country voice.

85) Charly Bliss - “Glitter”

It’s been nearly a year, but it’s still somewhat difficult to calibrate this singer’s voice. Is it a little too saccharine, too childlike, or just perfect? You be the judge.

84) Emperor X - “Wasted On The Senate Floor”

This singer is real god damn frenetic.

83) Father John Misty - “Total Entertainment Forever”

/obligatory “yes, this is the one with the Taylor Swift lyric” reference

FJM has such a pro’s pro voice and makes super sound music... but it’s also kinda hard to have an overall opinion. The more 50-50 I get, the more I think it’s not all that great. The video is a microcosm. Like... why is Macaulay Culkin paying Cobain? Is this a commentary on capitalism? Oooh, nah nah nahs are nice! As divided as I still am, I’m pretty positive this song is good-if-not-great.

82) St. Vincent - “New York”

This song is further proof that soft, radio friendly music can still benefit from a well placed “motherfucker”.

81) Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - “Dead Man’s Dollar”

As long as Andrew McMahon’s project is called “Andrew McMahon In the Wilderness”, I will make fun of him like clockwork.

This song is nice. I sometimes sing “I want Thon Maker” when he says “I want to make a” in the chorus.

80) Kele Okereke - “Streets Been Talkin’”

Kele’s most impressive feat was sneaking “bae” right into the chorus without me noticing until literally right now.

79) Rick Ross - “Summer Seventeen” 

How the hell did this dumbass song get so high up on the list? I have no explanation. Classic Roazy though -- aim high, fake it till you make it. When I started my new job in August, IT reset my password to “summer2017″, and I had this song’s hook in my head nearly every time I typed it in. All told, a pretty hilarious way to start a work day.

78) Michelle Branch - “Best You Ever”

This song sounds so dark and sultry, but I’m not totally sure why. Branch rules.

77) Calvin Harris f/ Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean - “Feels”

The best way to ruin this song for anyone is to point out how much the hook sounds like Katy Perry singing “Don’t be afraid to catch fish”.

76) Morrissey - “Spent The Day In Bed”

This is a very low maintenance lyric video. So you can either make fun of that or the “I spent the day in bed / I’m not the type, but I love my bed” line.

75) Red City Radio - “If You Want Blood (Be My Guest)”

The “We don’t need a god damn thing from you” chorus is a little punk cliche to win me over, but the Oklahoma City reference (”where our dreams come true and die”) is the line I’ve been waiting for since I found out RCR was from there.

74) Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs - “Talk 2 Her”

The closest we’ll get to a new Clash song in 2017.

73) Bad Cop/Bad Cop - “Womanarchist”

Factoring in the 2017′s themes (#MeToo, Harvey dead, etc.), this has to be the song title of the year. I smiled ear-to-ear watching this music video.

72) The Movielife - “Mercy Is Asleep At The Wheel”

Hey, The Movielife reunited!

71) The Rocket Summer - “Gone Too Long”

Unlike that lazy ass Morrissey, The Rocket Summer gave us a lyric video that basically passes as a legit music video.

70) Miguel f/ Travis Scott - “Sky Walker”

Me, every time I listen to this song:

“Ooh, beat is pretty solid.”

“Ah yeah, the hook’s good. I thought I really liked this song though...”

/falsetto part

“AW YEAH.”

69) Queens Of The Stone Age - “The Way You Used To Do”

Had never known about the Josh Homme/Elvis comparisons, but after hearing this, I totally get it now. Also: god damn it, man.

68) Macklemore f/ Skylar Grey - “Glorious”

What can we do to make Skylar Grey more famous? She Ginger Rogers’d for Em on “SNL” -- seriously, she played piano and sung Dido, Beyoncé, and Rihanna hooks (that’s a solid ass trinity!) -- has unarguably awesome songs, and never takes anything off the table. I honestly don’t care if she has another hit... let’s just, like, all Venmo her five bucks or something.

One of my fav music videos on the list so far. Be as skeptical of Macklemore as you want, but when his grandma offers him a drink (haha) then says she wants to “do it all” with their day together, it warms the hearts.

67) Direct Hit! - “Blood On Your Tongue”

Direct Hit! continues to be the best modern version of Green Day, The Ramones*, and themselves.

(* - without being Ramones-core)

66) Boyd & The Stahfools - “Party Penguin”

I’ve been in the game for a long while, but, for the first time in my career, I finally was part of a music video. If you told me it was a 2Pac parody that advertised craft beer, I’d, well, I’d believe you. We got Dave Hernandez on the hook, Mike Healy as Dr. Dre, and yours truly as Makaveli.

And all jokes aside, “On vacation like Bev D’Angelo” is one of my favorite penned lines.

65) Rancid - “Telegraph Avenue”

I like when Tim sings about grabbing his left-handed guitar.

64) Big Sean f/ Jeremih - “Light”

Sean Don made a forgettable 2017 album with many throwaway tracks -- but “Light” ain’t one of ‘em. I liked this song even before the touching video cemented its power.

63) blink 182 - “Parking Lot”

This is that weird mix of what makes all new blink really good and really eh at the same time -- Skiba involved (for better or worse), inspired Mark (for better or worse), and Travis’ overplaying (for better or worse). It’s for sure easier if you just turn your brain off and go with it.

Why does he reference Chicago in the verse then California in the pre-chorus?

I SAID “OFF”.

62) New Found Glory - “Your Jokes Aren’t Funny”

This song doesn’t break a ton of new ground, but it’s got this circular, easy chorus that keeps me coming back.

61) Teenage Bottlerocket - “Goin’ Back To Wyo”

Similar to Red City Radio writing about OKC, I can’t get enough of TB writing about their home. Did I blast this song while driving across the entire state alone this summer? Do you know me an ounce?

60) Frank Turner - “The Sand In The Gears”

A little dissatisfied with the current administration? Frank may be from across the pond, but he’s with you on this one, man. One of my favorite parts of this song is when he breaks the rhyme scheme just to angrily say “I thought that we were winning the war against the homophobes and the racists”.

59) Billy Bragg - “Not Everything That Counts Can Be Counted”

Billy Bragg is here for all of us, with perspective, wisdom, and insightful guidance in tow.

58) Dave Hause - “The Flinch”

Send this one to an old flame if you’re hoping, you know, to maybe rekindle.

57) Selena Gomez f/ Gucci Mane - “Fetish”

That’s right -- “Bad Liar” got beat out by this significantly less popular single featuring one of my least favorite rappers.

/looks up play totals

”Fetish”... 130 million

“Bad Liar”... 214 million

Comparably popular, I say! For me, this one is all about the chorus -- and that beat’ll get you swayin’.

56) Jay Electronica - “Letter To Falon”

‘Cause who gon’ save them babies? / And finally put a definite to all those maybes

Death, taxes, maybe death again, and Jay Electronica never releasing a full length album. Our man has been on Roc Nation for nearly ten years. I hate him so much. /anxiously awaits his next move

Jay Electricity in his zone on this one; so comfortable, in full operation within the confines.

55) Laura Jane Grace - “Adore”

I don’t know who Amy Shark is, but LJG covered her song and punted my heart into Lake Michigan.

54) Russian Girlfriends - “Antidote”

Upbeat, direct song that starts kinda Metric-y with the riff but then gets more pop punk as it progresses.

53) Brian Fallon - “If Your Prayers Don’t Get To Heaven”

My fiancee laughed when I looked up how to play this song on the guitar and the guy who tabbed it out wrote “Typical Brian Fallon open chords” in the intro.

52) Cloud Nothings - “Enter Entirely”

If “Womanarchist” is the ‘best’ song title of the year, “Enter Entirely” is certainly the coolest. And please don’t let the very boring music video fool you -- this song gets after it, man. If you are a fan of rock music, it would blow me away if you found this song remotely objectionable.

(After seeing CN open for Japandroids on back-to-back nights this November, it feels criminal to have such a slow song represent the band, as their drummer is the Russell Westbrook of the indie scene. That dude does not tire and comes off as more machine than man.)

51) Conor Oberst - “Napalm”

Oberst released a 10-song album in 2016 that was super brooding and piano-y... then he released another album in 2017 (17 songs) that had every track from his previous record and seven new ones. Kind of a weird move, no? This is one of those seven; suffice to say it’s a little more upbeat.

50) Sorority Noise - “No Halo”

You could tell me this song came out in 2002, 2007, or both -- but not 2017. How is this not a time capsuled rival of Taking Back Sunday or My Chemical Romance? I don’t know, but if you like a lot of death, this one’s for you.

49) N.E.R.D f/ Rihanna - “Lemon”

Let’s lighten the mood back up with some RiRi rap. My buddy Crooks’ take: “That's how every 2017 hip-hop beat should sound.”

48) Kesha - “Praying”

It’s damn near impossible to talk about this song without talking about The Note. It occurs at 4:21, and it will make you a little faint.

Kesha dusts herself off and gets beyond empowered in this one. This song could legitimately soundtrack the entire #MeToo movement. When the drums kick in halfway through, you’ll be ready to fight back too.

When I’m finished, they won’t even know your name

47) The Smith Street Band - “Laughing (Or Pretending To Laugh)”

This soft, hopeful love song is almost *too* respectful when it comes to interactions with the opposite sex. I’m not sure there’s a more endearing 2017 lyric than “And I don't wanna marry you just yet / But at least let me get you a cider / And I don’t even think I’d have to pay for it / Hopefully there’s a couple left on the rider”.

46) Run The Jewels - “Legend Has It”

Whenever I think of this song, I will always have that image of El-P holding up that gun to the bunny’s head. This song is braggadocious, each line one-upping the previous in perpetuity. Man, they probably rule live.

45) Vic Mensa - “Say I Didn’t”

Vic Mensa's Roc Nation debut (CAN YOU HEAR ME AT ALL, JAY ELECTRONICA?!?!?!?!?!?) was real strong, and this one gives you a good taste of what he’s about. He’s intense but controlled and even gets a little soulful. And depending what sphere you come from, you’ll either be extremely more or extremely less interested after he drops a Weezer reference. If that gives you trepidation, maybe the Nate Dogg namedrop will reel you back in?

44) Kendrick Lamar - “HUMBLE.”

I like Kendrick Lamar and will always recognize his talent, platform, and body of work (there’s a real case to be made that his “Control” verse killed hip-hop, and it’s just been an animated zombie ever since). Having said that...

He doesn’t always make it easy. The all caps song titles, the weird high pitched flow, the massive reliance of “bitch” in his choruses... yet, he’s the same dude who begs for stretch marked butts and body positivity. I don’t know, man. By the time he hits the “I make a play fucking up your whole life” line, I’m nearly all the way back in.

Last complaint: that organ-y keyboard thing could be so much louder. The beat almost feels diet because of that decision.

43) PKEW PKEW PKEW - “Cold Dead Hands”

This song is about how you can’t freeze this band to death, because they’ll party their way out of the situation.

42) Weezer - “Any Friend Of Diane’s”

This song puts me in a trance; they sing the same chorus lyric a million times, and I still almost want more.

41) Taylor Swift - “I Did Something Bad”

If this song isn’t a hit in 2018, then I do not know anything. For as uneven and questionable as her new singles were, this song has none of that. By the time she’s rolling on the tremendously magnetic “over and over and over again” part, you’ll feel like it’s 2009.

Maybe the old Taylor is still alive after all.

40) Best Ex - “Someday”

What’s that, you want your pop with a lot less baggage? This song is currently at 1,042 views, which is further proof of no justice in this world. I remember grocery shopping with this in the headphones, and you woulda thought it was the happiest moment of my life by the expression on my smiling, dumb face.

39) White Reaper - “Judy French”

“There are no good new rock bands wahhhhh”

Nah -- you just suck at finding music when it’s never been easier in human history, I guess?

38) Anti-Flag - “The Criminals”

This band has always lived in this dramatic life-and-death world, and it’s been going on for so long, that it’s like their vision of what they were always rebelling against was willed into existence.

37) French Montana f/ The Weeknd & Max B - “A Lie”

My dislike of French Montana is so high that I sometimes think about having to answer for saying something heinous about him. Kinda like when Kevin Garnett was accused of calling Charlie Villanueva (who has alopecia) a “cancer patient.”

KG’s all-time response:

“I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night. My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact ‘You are cancerous to your team and our league,’" Garnett said in a statement to the media on Wednesday.

Hahahaha.

French, you are a cancer to hip-hop and our league. His verse even references stupid Karl Malone, because why wouldn’t it? The good news is we have The Weeknd on the hook *and* in the first verse, so you can basically just pretend it’s his solo song with a few regrettable cameos.

36) The Penske File - “Oh Brother”

The Penske File make it look effortless sometimes. After hearing this song and doing a Malört shot with their singer, I have higher hopes than ever for their 2018 full length.

35) The Front Bottoms - “Don’t Fill Up On Chips”

TFB’s new album didn’t give me everything I wanted in terms of uptempo bangers, but the lyrics, sentiment, and craftsmanship are all still very much present.

34) Vince Staples - “Big Fish”

The Juicy J chorus might not win a Pulitzer (”I was up late night ballin’ / Countin’ up hundreds by the thousand”), but Vince is rapping invincible, and by the time the lyrics call back his monster single (“Norf Norf”), you won’t be questioning anything anymore.

33) Julien Baker - “Shadowboxing” (link is to live version)

I know that you don't understand 'Cause you don't believe what you don't see When you watch me throwing punches at the devil It just looks like I'm fighting with me

I swear, Julien Baker might be one of the only people on this planet with the power to shut us all up and listen.

32) Paramore - “Fake Happy”

Paramore is a band that does dumb shit all the time. Infighting, legal drama, horrible makeover after horrible makeover. Seriously, this is real:

But through it all, there’s that unbreakable Hayley voice, and it’s like everything is gonna be OK again. I mean, no, it’s not -- but let’s still enjoy these fleeting moments, full blown pop transition or not.

31) Nothington - “Cobblestones”

This song briefly sounds like Lucero before turning into no nonsense despair punk.

30) Lorde - “Perfect Places”

Such a phenomenal album closer; great to have her back in the pop music fold. Car, headphones, party, whatever -- this song goes all around you.

29) Remember Sports - “I Liked You Best”

If Kesha’s high note in “Praying” was pop music’s peak vocal moment in 2017, I’d like to nominate the “You made this me-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-hess” (2:37) part as punk’s.

28) Phoenix - “J-Boy”

This band makes such gorgeous music.

27) Drake - “Free Smoke” (no link)

Drake’s full album output, in minutes, for the last four years:

2013: 59 minutes 2014: N/A 2015: 108 minutes 2016: 81 minutes

And this doesn’t include stray singles, diss tracks, or cameos (2014 had “0 To 100″, for example). What I’m saying is, despite high quality material, Aubrey has saturated us with music for nearly half a decade. So even though I dig him lots, it was like “Really?!” when I heard he was releasing 2017′s “More Life” and “WHAT” when I found out it was another 81 minutes (the same length as 2016′s “Views”). Though the record is stylistically very different -- I keep hearing people use the word “grime”, though I have no idea what it means -- it’s still got bars. My favorite stray lines (they add up):

- “More life, more everything” - “I dunk text J-Lo / Old number, so it bounce back” - “Hilton rooms, gotta double up / Writin’ our name on a double cup” - “I fall asleep in sororities / I had some different priorities” - “Women I like was ignorin’ me / Now they like ‘Aren’t you adorable?’ / I know the question rhetorical” - “I make too much these days to ever say ‘Poor me’” - “I wanna move to Dubai / So I don’t never have to kick it with none of you guys”

But, it wouldn’t be Drake without making fun of him some. The song beings with, well, him sampling himself at an award show. The sample: 

And more chune for your headtop So watch how you speak on my name, you know?

Which begs the question: did he do the weird Jamaican accent knowing he was gonna sample it? It treads this weird genius/calculated doofus line. All I know is it makes me laugh.

26) Tigers Jaw - “Favorite” 

This song could make me pensive and unhappy on the sunniest of days.

25) Tee Grizzley - “First Day Out”

Like many, I first heard of Tee Grizzley from a LeBron James Instagram workout video. It was an easy sell: Detroit, ferocious beat, and the dude goes *hard*. I got a little too excited and emailed my hip-hop friends: “What the fuck is this? This is GOOD.”

This was before I realized he kinda sounds the same in every song. It’s no matter -- we’ll always have “First Day Out”, a brief time in June 2017 where I thought Tee Grizzley could be the next to run the game.

I can’t even be in public with my hoodie on

24) The War On Drugs - “Strangest Thing”

It’s very difficult to write about The War On Drugs without mentioning how transcendent it is to listen to them in the car. Everyone is right about that, but, for me, I also have to mention how much this dude sounds like Dylan. People say Springsteen, but I hear so much Bob. You don’t necessarily have to get “past” it, but you do kinda have to get used to it. Once you do, the lead guitar will carry you into the clouds. This music will make you contemplate and reflect.

23) Foxing - “Night Channels”

Let’s keep the mood contemplative; you almost feel sleepless if not completely locked in to this one.

UPDATE: This dropped in 2015, /sigh

22) Craig Finn - “God In Chicago”

This is more of a movie than a song -- and the visuals agree. Focus in on the lyrics, take in the story, and then do it again soon because you’ll catch new wrinkles each time. One of the year’s best videos, for sure. Punk News phrases it well: “Here he’s made a solo album of losers who have no idea they’ve already lost.”

21) DJ Khaled f/ Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper, Lil Wayne - “I’m The One”

No one wanted you to know he had sex in 2017 more than DJ Khaled. He made his infant son Asahd the “Executive Producer” for this video. Why? Because he’s an idiot. Khaled’s still existing fame continues to confound. He’s more faux-platitudes than man at his point. So why do the best artists in the world collaborate with someone so seemingly unintelligent? I don’t know, but this song bangs and was probably my Song of the Summer. We got JB on the hook, a dumb-but-amusing Quavo*, Wayne trying to gain footing, and Chance running across the finish line backward with Best Verse title belt. But Khaled won’t let you forget about him, blaring DJ tag and all. This song suffers for that, and it’s all his fault. 

(* - his ad lib of just repeating everything becomes charming once you start to get Stockholm Syndrome with the song)

20) Ed Sheeran - “The Shape Of You”

What a 2017 for the man behind the year’s best (super successful) pop song.  At the turn of the calendar, I barely knew who he was, but before we all knew it, there was a legitimate public outcry because he was on “Game of Thrones” for, like, two minutes. What a time. Oh, also, the “Come on, be my baby...” bridge gave me some “Real World: New Orleans” acid flashbacks.

Great meme, take us out.

19) Minus The Bear - “Last Kiss”

If the shattered neon heart didn’t give it away, this is a “the relationship is definitively over” breakup song. Seeing them play it at Riot Fest made me miss my late friend Luke; I wish he could have heard this.

18) Hot Water Music - “Never Going Back”

I’ve always maintained Chuck Ragan plays guitar and sings songs like a running back. Well, this song carpe diem’s me enough to play actual running back*.

(* - jk, would never do this unless it was against very small children)

17) Lucky Boys Confusion - “Good Luck”

My hometown heroes released their comeback album in 2017, and I’m not sure any track sums up the effort better. By the time Adam sings “Burned out, they call us / Screw ‘em, we got endless memories / Punk rock and the polish / I hope it gave you something to believe”, there are no dry eyes left.

(And yes, this could totally be an AM Taxi song, but with Ryan Fergus’ killer-fills-only drumming, I’m glad it wasn’t.)

16) Hodera - “Baltimore”

This song would likely have a Top 5 objective approval rating of any on the list.

...“The Wire” forever.

15) Iron Chic - “A Headache With Pictures”

It ain’t heavy, it ain’t heaven

If Hot Water Music is carpe diem, what is Iron Chic -- seize the life?! My favorite description of the band came from Sam Sutherland, who tweeted: “Whose day has already been derailed by the unavoidably weighty introspection of listening to the new Iron Chic record.”

They are a certified run-through-brick-walls outfit. One of my final 2017 memories of this song was subtweeting “Now I know” the night I got engaged and having my buddy Ricky think she might’ve declined the proposal. May have to include a ring emoji next time.

14) The Flatliners - “Indoors”

Had to listen to this, like, five or six times before its brilliant greatness overtook me like falling into a river. The chorus is so, so heartfelt.

Don’t sleep on the video, either (especially the end).

13) Sylvan Esso - “Die Young”

Though I have tickets to see them for the first time in 2018, I am not mega-versed in the catalogue of Sylvan Esso. But this feels like their best song. Imagine if Romeo and Juliet turned out OK.

12) Oso Oso - “Shoes (The Sneaker Song)”

Jade from Oso Oso would likely want all of the above stylized in lowercase -- but this ain’t Jade’s list. This was my favorite new band of 2017, and I do believe they made the year’s best album. It’s early-2000s emo at times, pop punk at others, and all ear candy.

11) Sincere Engineer - “Corn Dog Sonnet No. 7″

Staying in the new artist lane, I proudly introduce Sincere Engineer. This band sounds like if Modern Baseball had a little sister. By the time singer Deanna Belos sings “I’m still learning how to be”, you want to pat her on the back and give her all your best advice.

Fantastic music video -- and she confirmed to me this past weekend that it’s real mustard, not puffy paint (“I have a towel that is all yellow from cleaning it up”).

10) new.wav - “Girls”

Alright, so stick with me on this: new.wav is the band, covering The 1975′s song “Girls” in the style of “Enema of the State”-era blink-182. Confused? Yeah, I was too, but check it out. Maybe more impressive than the arrangements/performance is how they were able to match blink’s production style -- no easy task.

9) Jay-Z - “Family Feud” (starts around 5:30; partial version)

Shawn Corey Carter wants to get right with everyone -- America, his peers, and, of course, within his own home. And though I may never understand the “New n****s is the reason I stopped drinkin’ Dos Equis” lyric, I’m on board with about all else. Similar to the Oso Oso record, “4:44″ is such an album that it feels unfair to single out a song to represent all of its parts. Stripped from the LP, the song does not hit as hard, but in the groove of the record, it’s the apex. And despite Hov seemingly desiring peace, the song does have more than a few call outs:

- “My stash can’t fit into Steve Harvey’s suit” - “And old n****s, y’all stop actin’ brand new / Like 2Pac ain’t have a nose ring too” - “Al Sharpton in the mirror takin’ selfies / How is him or Pill Cosby s’posed to help me?”

In the latter stages of his career, it’s hard to call everything Jay does ‘necessary’, but “4:44″ definitely checked that box.

8) Rozwell Kid - “Wendy’s Trash Can”

Vacillated all year between this one and “Michael Keaton” and literally flipped a penny my cousin Maggie loaned me to decide. “Wendy’s Trash Can” was heads.

7) The Weeknd - “Reminder”

This one got backdoored in as a latter single from The Weeknd’s 2016 album. One of my favorite parts about Abel is how little he has had to change to succeed. Sure, it’s silky smooth, but he hasn’t sacrificed the drugs, darkness, or ego that should offend (but doesn’t because it he pulls it off so well). After bragging early in the song about he won a kids award for singing about cocaine, he calls out peers for biting his sound, blings out his entire crew, and, well:

When I travel 'round the globe, make a couple mil' a show And I come back to my city, I fuck every girl I know

/clutches pearls

6) The Bombpops - “Be Sweet”

The guitar riff in this song is why I fell in love with punk music. Also, super cool story behind the lyrics:

“'Be Sweet' is an homage to our dear friend, the late Brandon Carlisle of the band Teenage Bottlerocket," vocalist Jen Razavi told AP. "Back in 2010, we were partying in a hotel room with Brandon and Ray Carlisle. There was a guitar in the room and Brandon was showing us an idea he had for a song. He had written it for his wife, but he told us we should play it and change the lyrics to 'getting rad with my boyfriend.' He wrote down all the lyrics on four sheets of hotel notepad paper. Since then, the melody and the chord progression were forgotten, but I still had the lyrics. So we wrote our own version of the song in the studio and used every single lyric that Brandon had written down.

Did I mention the video has an “In Bloom” feel? Stop reading, go listen.

5) Action Bronson - “Let Me Breathe”

Action Bronson ain’t givin’ nothin’ up. This is my pick for rap song of the year. It’s got TV brags (”I got two shows, I’m about to pitch another”), a tight chorus (”Let me breathe for a minute / White Range Rover blowin’ trees all in it”), and whimsy shit too (“Honey bouncin’ up and down, she nearly broke my dick”). Ghostface’s disciple is having more fun than just about anyone.

4) Japandroids - “North East South West”

Only a Canadian band could get me to care this much about my own country. The Vancouver duo penned an Americana ode to the road -- but there’s a twist... they talk about their cities too. For every New Orleans, there’s a Toronto. For every California, a Vancouver.

Maybe they’ll be the ones to end all the border wars.

3) Alex Lahey - “Every Day’s The Weekend”

This is the only submission on the list I’d feel comfortable calling a perfect song. Relatable themes, a chorus that’ll tangle you up, f-bombs in all the right places, and every part maximized. She has this way of weaving between cool confidence and youthful insecurity, all in the matter of one verse.

2) Carly Rae Jepsen - “Cut To The Feeling”

When it comes to “Call Me Maybe” and its legacy, I do not fuck around. This song gets really, really, really close. Just watch this dude.

Queen Carly blessed us with another one. The chorus soars, arms go up, and clouds are your closest companions.

1) The Menzingers - “After The Party”

It's the little things my mind commits / To etch behind my eyelids

When this song dropped, my buddy Dave Rokos called it his favorite Menzos song ever. That felt like high praise, but man, he might be dead on. “After The Party” rips me in half with its lyrics of palpable desperation:

Like a kaleidoscope in vibrant hues I navigate around your tattoos Said you got that one on a whim when you were breaking up with him And that Matryoshka Russian doll That lines your shelf from big to small What a way to start anew To shed your skin and find the old you 

If Carly’s chorus flies, this one holds us down like gravity. You feel everything, you feel nothing, you feel full yet voided, but after all of this -- the life, the party, the friends, the bars, the experiences, the nights, the lights, the fights, the city you live in -- it’s still her and you. Or him and you. Or whatever it is you come home to at the end, when it’s finally quiet.

[bthenoise]

Q&A: Eric Vanlerberghe on I Prevail’s Evolving Sound, ‘Trauma’ And Telling Doubters What He Really Thinks

All photos by Julius Aguilar 

Vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe isn’t afraid to speak his mind, especially when it comes to those who doubt the success and vision of his battle-tested metalcore outfit I Prevail. 

Take the band’s head-jarring, aptly titled track “Deadweight,” for example. “Keep it up motherfucker, I'll cut you out,” he warns ahead of the song’s vicious breakdown.  

Using I Prevail’s triumphant second full-length Trauma as a place to openly and honestly discuss things like internal negativity surrounding the band’s camp, co-vocalist Brian Burkheiser’s battle with a vocal polyp, and the recent unexpected passing of a close friend, Vanlerberghe and his bandmates put it all out in the open for fans to fully digest.    

“We want to write the music that we want to write. We want to try something different. We want to do what we want to do,” says Vanlerberghe about working on I Prevail’s latest 13-track effort. “So going into that whole process, I think that's why we all couldn’t be prouder of what we put out. We couldn't be prouder of what we wrote. And to see the reaction of the fans, the only people that matter, I'm so glad. I can finally just, to everyone that was in our ears, give them all the middle finger and be like, ‘See, it doesn’t matter. We told you so. We're gonna keep doing it our way.’”   

Opening up more about the punishing and genre-blending LP from the Michigan natives, including his venture into the world of hip-hop rapping on tracks like “DOA” and “Goodbye,” Vanlerberghe sat down with The Noise to discuss all things Trauma as well as their first headlining tour in nearly two years. 

To check out our chat with Vanlerberghe, be sure to look below. Afterward, make sure to pick up a copy of Trauma and grab tickets to see the band out on tour with Issues and Justin Stone here. 

So you’re a few dates into the tour. How’s it been going getting back on the road again?

Eric Vanlerberghe: It's been going fucking great, man. Every night has just been topping the last one. So that's all I can ask for.

Was there any rust getting back into things?

It’s been about a year and a half since we toured and a little bit over that, I think, since we had Brian on the road with us after he had vocal surgery. And we played a few festivals without him. So when we were practicing and rehearsing these new songs after the record was finished, it felt good getting back in the swing of things, you know, as the whole full band. And then when we were rehearsing going towards tour -- I feel like the first two, three tours, we did [in the beginning] we were so practiced up to the last minute and we're like, “Okay, we're good, we're good.” Now we just get to this feeling like, “Alright, we're at 85%.” There's no way we can be at 100% going into tour because you're not going to be there until you're in front of those fans and having people sing back to you and all the technical problems that you'll run into on the road. But yeah, it felt like [we] had a little bit of rust coming into it. But once we hit that first show, once we played that first song, I think that's when I was like, “Oh man, this is easy. I feel like me.”

How awesome was it just having Brian back on stage with you?

You feel whole again. It felt like we put training wheels on our last set [without him]. When we didn't have Brian, it felt like you're taking a step backwards and it's like, “Man we're not at our full potential yet.” So to finally have Brian back, it's perfect. I Prevail’s sound live is 100%. And Dylan [Bowman, guitarist] did a great job covering his parts when we had to take over for Brian, but there was just a little something missing to it and now I feel like we're back.

Is it nice not be the sole center of attention now that you have Brian up there by your side?

Yeah, definitely. I have these problems where I'll start talking fast and my brain can’t think and I'll be like, “So yeah, anyways, I'm talking about black matter and energy. Why the fuck am I talking about this onstage? Help me out. Where am I at right now?” So it's helpful to have someone there to be like, “Hey, anyways, you guys having a good night?!” before I go on this whole space talk or something. You know?

Totally. What’s it been like playing these new songs live?

I feel like we talked about this before Lifelines. [During that album cycle] it was great to have people come out and sing those songs and what a great feeling. Coming out here [now] it's like, “Oh man, it's gonna be cool having these people sing the songs back” thinking that the first three singles that were released, kids are going to sing along to and the rest of the people are going to be filming or listening or just wanting to hear it. 

[During these shows] not a single damn song was there a kid not singing the words. It's unreal. It blew us away. I mean, we thought we knew what we were expecting. And just be like, “Oh yeah, the kids singing along and pushing people and having a good time.” But when it came to it, some of the deeper cuts that we think are not the [frontrunners] for like “show songs” -- we weren't gonna play “Low” [for example]. It came to the last week of practice. We're like, “Man, I really want to play it.” Steve’s like, “Yeah, I do too.” And Dylan and Brian were like, “Fuck. Let's throw it in there.” We come out here and kids are singing that as loud as they're singing “Bow Down” and “Breaking Down.” So it's so cool, man.

Obviously there's a newer musical style with the record. So were you nervous playing those songs live for the first time and what the reaction would be?

Yeah, we had a little bit of anxiousness going into it. We all love all these different genres and being able to try and explore what we really want to sound like and really want to do -- [so we had] a little anxiety going into that and putting that out there. You feel somewhat naked putting out a new style and on top of that, I'm doing a lot of the rap and going out onstage and if I forget a word or something, I can just go [*heavy vocals*] and people are like, “Yeah!” and I can save my ass. It's way different to perform some of the songs than what I'm used to. And the first night I was having a little nervousness going out there but after seeing the reaction, seeing how well received it is, I get this confidence and it's like, “I'm not even worried anymore. This is great.”

So with you rapping onstage, do you have a newfound respect for rappers who do it every single night?

Oh man, I’ve always loved rap. I grew up with metal and rap and rock and everything. And to be able to perform with no band behind you, that takes something, man. That does. And now doing it ourselves, in a small way -- yeah, I do [have] a lot more respect for these artists, man. It's crazy to be the only person onstage and have to build hype and just be on and it's about having this confidence, swagger, and stuff like that. There’s a lot to it, man.

Has it been interesting watching Justin Stone rap every night on this tour knowing you're going to be doing something similar later on in the evening?

Yeah, it's cool to watch. And seeing our fans get into it, it's nice to know that most of our fans are open-minded and not like, “Oh, it's not screaming? It's not rock and roll. It's not metal.” It's like, “Fuck off, man. It's music.” If you can just look past your little insecurities about what you like and just enjoy what you enjoy, you're gonna have a fun time. So watching these kids get hyped for Justin and watching his set, it's dope. It's really dope. And then right after that, you have Issues who have heavier instrumentals. And you have Tyler Carter, who's got the voice of a frickin’ angel. It sounds super smooth -- R&B, hip-hop kind of stuff. And it's just a cool mix overall on the tour to have all these genres just kind of feel like it blends well together. It's a cool melting pot we have out here.

Talking about rappers. Who were some of your favorite rappers growing up or that you still listen to today?

Oh, man. I remember the first CD I ever got was 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. I got that jewel case CD somewhere in my parent's house and it’s smashed because I think my sister stepped on it. But yeah, I grew up listening to that, G-Unit, Eminem and like, nothing crazy. Anything that was on the radio that I could sneak past my parents, you know? But nowadays I like Joyner Lucas, Token. He's sick. 

NF? 

NF for sure. Yeah, love NF. Recently, I've got my Spotify on and it's like Bones, Scarlxrd, Pouya, Shakewell. Shit like that. And then the other one’s got Joyner, NF. 

When you were going into the booth to first record your raps, was there a certain artist that you listened to to hype you up and help bring your flow out?

Honestly, I tried not to listen to as much rap when we were recording those songs. I just wanted to try a bunch of different ways and feel what was comfortable and what I wanted to sound like. I didn't want to be the typical rock rapper [where] it just kind of feels the same. And maybe it does sound the same. Maybe what I'm doing sounds just the same. Who knows? But I wanted to do that for myself. I wanted to go in there and try seven different ways and be like, “Alright, that one feels good. That feels like me.” That's what I want out of it. And that's how I feel about a song we have, the interlude called “Goodbye.” And then you got “Breaking Down” where I just I get more aggressive with it. And “Breaking Down” is a perfect example. I kicked everyone out of the room and sat down with the producer and sat in there for half an hour just doing that one verse over and over and over and over and over just to be like, “That's what feels good. Okay, got it. Let's do it again.”

Was that difficult? Considering you're obviously comfortable screaming and you might be able to do that in one or two takes but then rapping - you're like, “Why is this taking so long?”

Yeah, definitely. There's an art to it, man. I feel like a lot of kids out there that are like, “I hate [rap] music,” it takes -- maybe not everyone on the Top 40 is quote on quote, talented -- but rap it takes talent, man. It takes a lot of skill to track something and make it sound good. Not just like, “Cool. I'm rhyming a bunch of words, or I'm saying something.” There's something to it, man. There's a magic to it.

So you guys obviously spent a lot of time on this new record Trauma. What was it like compared to your previous recording session? There was a lot of pressure during Lifelines because it was your first full-length. So do you feel as though there was more this time around?

Yeah, because going back to our first record -- being new and we just did the [Heart Vs. Mind] EP and then you have this full-length record that you're supposed to put out. And you have your management, the label, other musicians, or your A&R guy all in your ear trying to tell you what's best. Like, “Oh, you need to go this route or that route” and for Lifelines, we started taking that direction. We're like, “Oh, that? Alright, we'll give that a shot.” And we’ve always had this model to keep an open mind like, “Let's be us but let's just take direction.” 

Throughout the [recording] process, we just got more and more like, “This ain’t it.” So we left LA, went back home and redid it all. Didn't rush it, but kind of had this feeling like, “No, it's gotta be this.” And we put all this pressure on ourselves and I think it was needed as a first record to get out there and reach all these people, but the next time around when people started saying like, “That was great. Now you need to follow up with something like that.” That's not what we want to do. We want to keep stretching the boundaries of our music. On our EP, we had a super heavy [song] and then we had a really light acoustic one. And all these people talking shit like, “I Prevail is putting this EDM hip-hop garbage in their music.” Go back to our EP. We've had electronics in our music. We've had sounds like that. 

So on Trauma, we wanted to do shit that was outside of the box. Like on “Paranoid” where instead of a chorus, it goes into an electronic drop. It’s different and then it goes no third chorus, no breakdowns, it just goes out. And when we started doing that, we had people like, “Oh no, that's not how you do it. That's not going to make you money.” We want to write the music that we want to write. We want to try something different. We want to do what we want to do. So going into that whole process, I think that's why we all couldn’t be prouder of what we put out. We couldn't be prouder of what we wrote. And to see the reaction of the fans, the only people that matter, I'm so glad. I can finally just, to everyone that was in our ears, give them all the middle finger and be like, “See, it doesn’t matter. We told you so. We're gonna keep doing it our way.”

Do you have a favorite song on the record?

Oh man, that's tough. That's so tough. Right now I think my top three are “Bow Down,” “Paranoid,” and it’s tough between “Gasoline” and the interlude “Goodbye” because that's a close personal [song].

“DOA” is a banger too.

That's another one. [We’re] playing that every night. That’s what I’m saying, listening to the record when we were writing it was like, “All of these [songs] are great. They'd probably be my top contenders for [playing them live]. And these [songs], I'd like to play those.” And then there's [no songs] that we're like, “Nah, we'll just not play that.” “DOA,” right now, that's pushing to the top [of my favorites]. It's so fun to play. It's one of my favorites.

With songs like “Bow Down” or “Breaking Down,” it seems like sometimes the style of the song dictates if you or Brian sing more on the track. Is that something you guys consider when you’re writing and recording? To maybe try and even out the “Eric songs” versus the “Brian songs?”

When we were writing the songs, I think every process is a little different. And sometimes that starts with a melody that we came up with or an instrumental or an idea or whatever. But when it gets to writing it sonically and the song’s getting 50%-75% of the way there and we start going through with melodies, verses, choruses and all that, we'll try a couple different things and be like, “That's the best.” Whether it's putting a big hook or putting a crazy heavy part or even the rapping on some songs like “Paranoid.” That could be singing all the way through [or] I could see maybe a little bit of screaming here and there, but it's just what felt right. Then when I tried that rapping part, right after Brian comes in like, “Oh man, I think that was it. Yeah, you guys feel that? Alright, cool.” Other than the ballads and stuff like that, it's all mainly just been going off of feel.

So moving on -- not that we need to look into the next record since you just put all this time into Trauma -- but how experimental do you guys want to get moving forward?

The best way I can answer that is I think for the next process I want to just take what we have -- what we did with the EP and what we did with Lifelines, the sonic sound side of everything -- then we [have] Trauma, where we took a step out on our heaviest songs “Bow Down” and “Gasoline” and then we have these experimental [songs] like “Goodbye,” “Paranoid,” and stuff like that where it pushes those boundaries. I want to do that on the next record [and be] like, “Fuck man, maybe put a death metal song and have like a full on rap Top 40 song on the same record.” I want to get to the point where we can do that kind of stuff because who says a rock band or a band in general has to stick to one sound? So I just want to keep pushing the boundaries and never lose what I Prevail is at the core.

Yeah, at the end of the day, you're all musicians.

Exactly.

You don't have to play one specific sound.

Exactly. I listen to from slam death metal -- like the Ingested shirt I'm wearing right now -- to like I said, the Top 40 stuff. So like rap and hip-hop to whoever. There's no reason to like be like, “Oh, I only listen to this. I’m better than you. I'm going to type with my Cheeto crusty fingers on the internet why this genre sucks.” What good is that doing? Just enjoy this shit. If you don't like it, move on. Find something else. But why live in a world where you just have five songs or five albums you listen to? I got so many albums on vinyl or my Spotify playlist I've only listened to once or something just because I like it. I know eventually I'm going to go back and listen to it. Why not have a shit ton of music? Whatever man, there’s too many people focused on being too narrow-minded.

[airadam]

Episode 124 : Trophies

"I will not lose."

- Jay-Z

Back on the road after an unscheduled absence, and now with a fully operational battle station (see my IG stories for more). This month's selection starts with a few tracks to test your audio installation, remembers 2Pac twenty-three years after he passed, and is pretty much guaranteed to hit you with at least one track you didn't already know! Let's begin...

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Federation ft. Daz Dillinger : We Ride

I've been banging this one hard for months, and it seemed like an appropriate one to start the episode with! That little pre-chorus amuses and entertains in equal measure, and gives a breather each time before Rick Rock's stomping beat comes crashing back in. This is a great tune from Federation's 2004 eponymous first album, and they rep Fairfield hard on the mic while also bringing in Daz from Tha Dogg Pound for a cosign from a veteran. One to crank your car system to, for sure!

DJ Quik : Ladies & Thugs (Instrumental)

This is far from my favourite track on the excellent "Trauma" album, but the beat fit really well here - and DJ Quik was generous enough to release an instrumental version of this album for us to hear his wicked beats taking centre stage.

Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Static Major : Change The Game

Keeping it west coast on the production, Rick Rock is on the boards once again with what was arguably his national break-out tune. Jay-Z scooped up some of that Bay Area mob music vibe on this one, and featured two of the foremost MCs of the Roc-A-Fella roster of the time. The hook was provided by the sadly departed Static Major, and it fits perfectly. This was a big single from "The Dynasty : Roc La Familia", but didn't make anywhere near as much noise on the charts as the track that followed it on the LP - "I Just Wanna Love U". 

80s Babies ft. Chaka B : Technology

This crew is made up of Tall Black Guy on the beats and Dee Jackson AKA Shogun on the mic, and their "Sonic Music" album is somehow almost ten years old already. "Technology" and the track that follow just happen to fit together nicely, with no deliberate plan to have a tech critique theme in this section! The lyrics lament the state of the modern world when it comes to our reliance on technological solutions, with some maybe being more useful than others. TBG is dope on the beat as always, and if you pay attention you may hear a little callback to a track from his hometown of Detroit...

OutKast ft. George Clinton : Synthesizer

George Clinton was a big feature to get when this came out on "Aquemini", and I'm sure he was drawn to OutKast's outer space vibes. This was released in 1998, pre-social media and in what was almost another technological age - despite this, the themes discussed have held up surprisingly well for a track over twenty years old. As much as anything, maybe OutKast were just rapping ahead of their time!

2Pac ft. Dogg Pound, Method Man, and Redman : Got My Mind Made Up

This is one of my favourites from the over-long "All Eyez On Me" album, but the background to this one is weird. There's about half a bar of background vocal from Inspektah Deck right at the end - he actually recorded a whole verse (as did Lady of Rage) which was omitted from the final version after a mix-up when tapes were being transferred. Daz Dillinger did the production as well as rhyming on the track with his Dogg Pound compatriot Kurupt, but Dr Dre allegedly claimed it at one point. Meth and Red somehow didn't get any publishing or plaques from this track, despite being major artists at the time who contributed typically dope verses. Industry rule #4080...

[K-Murdock] & Mega Ran : Player Two (Instrumental)

The vocal version of this from "Forever Famicom" is well worth hearing, but for now you get to hear just K-Murdock's quality beat. It works in groups of three bars, so catches you a little off-balance at first! 

Blu & Oh No ft. Definite, Ca$hus King, and M.E.D : Boogie To Flex

From "A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night", we have tales of when the party goes all the way wrong and the gangsta business sets off! Oh No's beat is somehow bright and dark at once, bringing the tension, and every single guest MC brings it to the point that Blu only needs to come in with the perfectly-done hook.  

Royce Da 5'9" ft. Tre Little, Cha Cha, Cut Throat, Jah 5'9", and Billie Nix : D-Elite, Pt. II

Both parts of this mini-series to the B-side of the pretty so-so "You Can't Touch Me" once again proves Chuck D right! I actually prefer the first one overall, but it's very short and tonally wouldn't fit here. Part II is no slouch, with Alchemist on production and a host of guest MCs - the D-Elite of the title, who Royce cedes the floor to.

Reks : Forrest Gump

I'm wondering if the 2013 "Revolution Cocktail" album has been deleted - I can't find it on Amazon, Spotify, or even Bandcamp! Listen to it if you get chance because there is some serious heat on there from the Lawrence, MA veteran.

Curren$y : Billy Ocean

When the going gets tough, the tough get blunted. New Orleans' own Curren$y is on some paid rapper lifestyle business on this selection from "The Spring Collection" mixtape. Cardo and Sledgren provide the midtempo but chilled beat.

Luxury Elite : Upscale

A little vaporwave instrumental break courtesy of West Virginia's Luxury Elite, from her "World Class" album. So eighties, so good.

Tobe Nwigwe : Mo City Don Freestyle

I'm going to keep telling you how ill this Houston MC is until you believe me for real! Pure bars on this track that pays homage to the legendary Z-Ro's "Mo City Don" freestyle from his "Let The Truth Be Told" LP - which itself pays respect to the great Eric B & Rakim's "Paid In Full". Don't ever believe that real Hip-Hop isn't still alive and well in our era.

Zion I ft. Pep Love : Warrior's Dance

Back to the "Deep Water Slang v2.0" LP for a track that's motivational and bouncing at the same time - nothing less than you'd expect of this crew from Oakland, home of the Black Panthers! Fellow Oakland MC Pep Love of the Hieroglyphics family guests on here, taking half of each verse as well as the very last rhymes of the final verse. This is a salute to freedom fighters over a solid Amp Live beat.

Large Professor : Live In Stereo

This is very distinctly new-era (well, 2002) Large Pro, with the more electronic sound he started developing after the SP-1200 days that first made his name. The "1st Class" LP is Large Pro's second album, but the first to actually be released after "The LP" was shelved by Geffen and subsequently heavily bootlegged - finally surfacing in 2009.

Wretch 32 and Avelino ft. Bobii Lewis and Super N£ro : Nothing Will

This is such heat, and may well have slipped past the radar of many. Wretch 32 and Avelino are MCs who represent Tottenham heavy - at the time of this recording, Wretch being a relative veteran and Avelino the up-and-comer. A standout on the 2015 "Young Fire, Old Flame" mixtape, this tune has all MCs dropping deep quotables all over the DJ Smasherelly track, and Bobii Lewis with a great performance on the hook too. 

Pete Rock : Heaven & Earth

A gentle head-nodder from a man who has been bringing us classic production for almost thirty years now! If you like this, be sure to get the "Petestrumentals 2" album.

Nas : We Will Survive

After watching the episodes of the latest "Hip-Hop Evolution" series on the tragic beef between Death Row and Bad Boy, this track stood out for me while listening to Nas' third album "I Am". It's definitely one of the best on the LP in my opinion, with Nas speaking on his relationships with the late 2Pac and Biggie Smalls. The beat is a reflective number by Trackmasters and Jamal Edgerton, working a (cleared!) Kenny Loggins sample. This was a fitting song to end the episode with. 

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

  Check out this episode!

[musicmixtapes]

December 5, 2018 Mix

Hello! Hope you're having a great week so far, hopefully this will make it even better. I love this mix and would love for everyone to enjoy it equally as much.  Spotify Playlist 1. I Was Young When I Left Home by Antony & Bryce Dessner - So on the last mix I believe I included a wonderful song by Antony and had mentioned how infatuated I was with the unique tone of his voice. Now, we get to enjoy it once more in coordination with a member from The National on guitar, which is always awesome. This song is a cover of one originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan from his Love and Theft album, which I highly recommend listening to if you like this version of it! Like most songs penned by the Nobel Prize winning lyricist, this piece tells a thoughtful narrative story about a traveling man trying to find his way back to something that isn't quite there anymore. The sense of traveling back tone of the song is carried out in the music as well because the guitar moves around with finger picking a lot, but always returns to the original dominant chord which resonates quite beautifully with the equivalent lyrical meaning. There's nothing quite like laying on your back at night and letting this lull you to sleep 2. Manhattan by Kings of Leon - So, the title of the song seems pretty self explanatory, but in fact, I think it's a great contrast to the actual meaning of the piece we get to hear by one of my all time favorites. Caleb of KOL said about this piece, "Yeah, Manhattan, I think it means the hilly island, or something like that. As soon as my friend … I was playing it and I said, ‘Man, I think I’m going to call this song “Manhattan,” and I hadn’t even written the lyrics yet, and he said, 'Yeah, man. That’s a Native American word.’ And I was like, ‘Really?’ And I already had the first line, “I like to dance all night and some of the day.” And it worked out." So there you have it; most songs glorify and bask in what we know as the city we have today, but very few know the true history behind it and the cruel way the land was stripped from its original owners. I think it is a really outside the box way to create an alt rock song, I mean we don't see artists going around describing horrors of American history all the time. This goes to show that some of the worst topics about the worst cruelties can be taken and learned from and told in a way that speaks to people on a personal level. 3. we fell in love in october by girl in red - Wait... you're probably thinking I'm making some huge mistake by including a song with the word 'october' in the title when we are already well into December, right? I would disagree if you thought this, and here's why. I do not like songs that talk about falling in love at the exact moment that it is happening, like "hey, i'm looking at you right this second and i can tell i'm falling in love." First of all, this is super unrealistic because no one always first person narrates songs in their head while their falling in love. Second of all, people usually don't notice that they are falling in love until after they have done so. This song is great because it shows the realization of exactly when the falling has happened and coincidentally it is also when the leaves of autumn usually begin to fall, so it has happened very perfectly timed (or at least for the sake of this song it has). This bedroom pop artist always makes me feel like I am in the scenario she is describing, on a roof top or watching stars or smoking cigarettes with a girlfriend... so lovely. 4. Looking Out for You by Joy Again - This is so typical "nerdy indie man singing about a girl who probably doesn't know he exists, but then hears the song and falls in love with him because oh he's so cute and shy and look he sung about me" type of song... and I entirely fell for it in every type of way. This just reminds me of a less angry and angsty and stripped down Front Bottoms style of song with a little STRFKR and MGMT electronic dreamy type of vibes added into it as well. But in another sense, I think this song is pretty genderless in the way that a person can get the feeling that they have a huge, huge, huge crush on someone who literally does not think about them at all (if you are my friend in the city you definitely have heard me reference this happening to me with people a lot of times). Also details the way that two friends could have one sided love tension that the other is oblivious of, which is very Harry Met Sally-esque (if you are my friend at all you definitely hear me reference this movie as my favorite). 5. Lottery by Jade Bird - All credits for discovery of this song go solely to my mother, if this was someone else I might forget to put a disclaimer but my mom literally reads every one of my blogs which is so amazing and heartfelt, so shoutout! This song centers all around the idea of numbers, logistical thinking and winning a lottery in terms of a relationship, which is pretty ridiculous because that just sounds like solving a word problem in math class. But, I was so genuinely surprised by my pure joy listening to this song because of it's ever so accurate portrayal of the way some people treat the aspect of "feeling so lucky" to have met someone and that it had to have been a stroke of luck, or that certain things just added up. I am a nonbeliever in this respect, not because I'm a cynic or not romantic, but just because I don't believe things happen because of luck, I think they happen because of partially just chance and partially work that is put into a relationship. I believe Bird's beliefs fall more in line with mine because she's disagreeing with the man who told her love was "a lottery.... a game". 6. Touch by Ghostly Kisses - As a child of the early 2000s, I was very influenced by certain music like the styles of artists such as Evanescence, so when I heard this song I was thinking oh my god, it finally happened, Evanescence and Enya finally came together and had a baby. I am very pleased with the outcome of this song because it is so emo and questioning, but at the same time keeps the same tempo and strength throughout the whole track, which is surprisingly a very hard thing to do in music. Usually, I find that when songs have dramatic swells, it all becomes like something I have heard hundreds of times in music, so I am more impressed when the levels are balanced throughout without being altered too much or impregnated with unnecessary sounds. Also, I tend to write about touching and spirits and ghosts a lot in my own writing so this was very much catered to my personal style of music and writing but I think the universality of the unknown and ephemeral presence is very nice to see in music. 7. 1980s Horror Film by Wallows - Oh my god, this is great for numerous reasons. I literally was not expecting the lowkey acoustic song at all looking at the title and was pleasantly surprised by what followed. At first we totally go in thinking it's going to be a typical song about a guy and girl falling in love or going on a cheesy date together to see a movie or whatever, which is perfectly fine if you want to listen to that, I have no qualms with such songs. And for awhile, it totally fits that line of thinking... then it totally doesn't. The twist ending, which is SO fitting with the 80s horror film vibe, is that the girl "is not that into guys" which I loved so much, I just replayed that section like five times before adding it to the mix. We always hear people getting upset about not being liked back, but never getting a reason why; this is the opposite because the guy just can't get mad at the girl for not reciprocating, which is so fantastic and a-typical of music we listen to all the time. More twist endings in songs, more storytelling in songs, more friendships in songs please! 8. Say, Can You Hear by Men I Trust - The throbbing bass in the beginning of this song sends out the immediate vibe that the message sent to our minds is going to be succinct and probably pretty serious, and this remains true. This song's lyrics hit really hard because it details a person asking someone they are close to about their grief and sadness and the way they go about making other people miserable with it. The 'self absorbed, cryptic ways' she sings about concerning the subject of the song is so relatable on both ends because I think that at one point or another we have been both on the giving and receiving end of this notion. At some time, we have caused someone pain by being self obsessed and emotional about small things and on the other hand, we have probably also experienced someone not giving us a second thought because they were so wrapped up in their own issues. We can always trust Men I Trust to be the most real about issues and tell us how we are feeling. 9. Riverside by Agnes Obel - This song works in just about any background of any film or TV show in some contemplative/dramatic/sad/tragic scene, thus also working on any of my morning, afternoon or nighttime walks in the city or at home in Jersey. Honestly, I truly could not decide if I like the dynamic piano or the simple melodic and harmonic pairings of the vocals in this piece because together, it is so strong and deeply striking. This song, not only in lyrics, but the musical aspect, is so transformative because it starts very simplistic with just a few notes being struck back and forth, and the same chords throughout the song are extended and arpeggiated in such a modernized classical piano type of way. The singer/songwriter genre is something that is not recognized as much nowadays, but I think that Agnes Obel is someone who never fails to remind us of this ever present thriving solo artist type of person. 10. Pills by Joji - I was just listening to the beginning of this song again and realized that the beginning chords of it with just the guitar are so similar to the song 'I Was Young When I Left Home' which is literally the first song featured on this week's mix. It's so funny the way your brain has certain neural pathways that are created when listening to certain songs and they definitely overlap with certain pieces and create this wonderful shared quality with one another. Joji, as I have mentioned before, is a great artist who takes the hip hop experimental genre to a fresh perspective and without being vulgar and cliched with his music, is able to have sincerity and honesty in every line. In this specifically he talks about not feeling mentally well and needing to get away from this problem, while missing someone a lot at the same time (possibly the cause of his depression that is outlined in this piece). I just love him as an artist in general because he proves that you don't have to adhere to the rules of 'genred music' and you can just be a musician in whatever way you see fit. 11. Fear of Intimacy by zack villere - Finding a song that correctly represents and identifies what falling in love with someone whilst struggling with really terrible anxiety is very hard to do. Sure, some songs talk about getting generally nervous around a crush or feeling uneasy, but true anxiety based songs are very hard to come by probably because it's difficult to explain in a candid way. The sound of the click clopping throughout this song reminds me of a really fast heartbeat happening because of a panicked state, which I think was surely the intention of the artist. The artist actually has talked in various platforms about what this song means and what it means to him, which is a rare thing in the musician world. In one of his tweets, villere said, "takes me a while to warm up/be comfortable around new people & that shit is so frustrating dude especially here meeting new ppl all the time/but i guess ill get better w time or people are just gnna have to get used to me being quiet at first." I really like this sentiment of coming to a realisation that if someone cares about you truly, they will have to accept the anxiety and shyness of a person. 12. Movement by Hozier - I will never forget the moment that my best friend Shivani and I were at the Hozier concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York earlier this fall, watching the majestic and godly Andrew Hozier Byrne perform. As if the night could have gotten any better than it was already, he told us he was going to play a song that had not yet been released to see if we enjoyed it... this is that song. Ever since hearing it (I took a video of course too) I have been waiting for such song to be released to the public so I could literally talk about how I already heard it live two months beforehand, and here I am now doing exactly that. Also, we need not forget the huge shift of sound and rise of instrumentals in the last quarter of this song, where organs, a choir and several more background noises are added in so magnificently. The title is so evocative of exactly what you will hear for four minutes, a song that moves you, changes your hearing and most of all, makes you feel like you can sing as well as Hozier for a few minutes of your life. 13. Alligator Girl by Langhorne Slim - Deeply regretting not being more appreciative of having the ability to have seen LS perform live with Lumineers a couple of years ago at an outdoor venue in the height of the summer. I don't remember much about them from that performance, but I do remember thinking that they had a folk sound that was unmatched by few artists in the present day company that they have. Interestingly enough, I have gotten really into them this year because I love the narrative storyline they give with their songs, again in a very folk Bob Dylan style... just going back to the first song again, I think my brain is having a big renaissance of Dylan and his musical influence, just because of how expansive and powerful he is as a musical influence and probably will be forever. For this song, I really love the soulful jazzy, New Orleans style of piano played because it so matches the meaning of the song which rambles about meeting a woman in that area of the country. 14. Snake Song by Jess Williamson - I originally found out about Williamson from a book of poetry as lyrics that I've mentioned here before; to sum it up, there are a bunch of songs that are especially poetic in the book, written as poetry instead as songs. This gave me so much material to listen to, and she was one of the singer/songwriters featured in the book, thankfully. There are no descriptions of this song that helped or guided me in the determination of what it was about, so bear with me here. I see it as a maturation of a woman in the sense where she understands the intentions of someone's actions and motivations towards her. Instantly, the image of the snake evokes biblical metaphors of Eve in the garden being coerced and tricked by a snake, offering her something that was not his to give and the woman being painted out as a villain mistakenly. I'm not sure if this is at all what she intended while penning this strange but lovely song, but I think musical meanings are always subjective to the listener. 15. All I Want by Joni Mitchell - I have a long standing love affair with Mitchell's music, due in part to my father and in other part to my grandpa (who is a huge Joni fan and also reader of this blog, Hi Pops!). The thing about this song specifically that I enjoy is that there is not one shred of negativity towards the subject from the speaker of the song. This is a very difficult hard facet of a track to find in modern music, so sometimes I must turn to the older indie classics to hear a really pure intentioned song. And the second best part of this song is that Mitchell fully knows the cliched tone of the song and instead of denying it, leans into it in the lyrics, categorizing each 'cliche' that she wants to do with the subject of the song, which I think is just such smart songwriting. Also I love to analyze titles in correlation with the song because the "all i want" phrase is often used to list the ONE thing that someone wants from another person. But this piece is ironic in the way that she is listing a ton of things she wants to do with that person, not just one thing. Good job Joni. 16. Quarter Past the Hour by Jack and Eliza - Quick brag before we continue with an anaylsis of this song: Jack Staffen, the Jack of Jack and Eliza, went to NYU literally four years ago and is now absolutely thriving so shoutout to an artist hailing from my very artistic, very success driven university. OK, continuing. This piece is so evocative of a relationship where the two people have known each other for a long time, but things are starting to get lonely and the people are drifting apart subconsciously. I think sometimes without knowing I choose songs that could narrate my past experiences because I literally heard the lyrics of this and was like, Wow this exact thing happened to me and _____ and I can't believe some else wrote about it so perfectly. The idea of getting called 'past the hour' signifies that the person is late to show up, is trying but not hard enough, they just don't have the time to be in the relationship anymore... sad but true. 17. Eyes Like The Rest by Matthew E White - A swell of dramatic strings and then a smooth baritone with a cool bass line in the back --- it seems like I could be describing a song from one of the Beatles' later albums when they start to tap into their grass roots style (late 60s!) but alas, I am not. Let's talk about this super bluesy alternative track by the completely underrate artist that is Matthew White. The uncomfortable chords given when the words pause are quite similar to the intended meaning of the words. I think this is mostly about trying to have an honest conversation with someone about a difficult topic and it feeling very eerie and complex to get through, especially when the speaker has a little bit of a temper - his repeating of the line "I ain't gonna lose my shit" makes me think he has lost his shit in the past- and he needs a little bit of help to get through said conversation. The phrase that someone has eyes just like the rest of pluralized "you" signifies that there is common ground amongst people and perhaps some good could come out of a conversation between the two. I like the slight hopeful tone in the speaker's voice, despite deep hesitation that we can explicitly hear. 18. Into the Ether by Leif Vollebekk - Sometimes, songs have very convoluted meanings that could be analyzed for decades and perhaps never have a clear meaning on; other times, songs slap you in the face with a blunt story and that is great too. In this case, this song does not fall into either one of these categories. In an email sent to The FADER, Vollebekk said, "Into the Ether was the first song we tried to record but it didn’t come out right. It was only when I went swimming one day that this very simple drum groove came into my mind and I knew what had been missing. […] This song is the kind of song you might sing to yourself in a dream or perhaps in someone else’s. I was thinking a lot about Freddie Mercury when we did this one." The funniest thing is, I thought for sure I could have been the most insightful on this song over all the other ones on this playlist, but sometimes, isn't it better to not think about the meaning? I mean, for this one at least, just sit back and put some headphones in and let it wash over you completely. 19. We Walked Downtown by Flatsound - I'm 99% sure that the writer of this song must travel with me on my walks in the Village on any given day because this is very close to how I feel on a cold end of autumn day when I am all alone, thinking of perhaps having had walked the same route with a person I don't talk to anymore. Flatsound isn't really a popular artist, even in the indie or low-fi world, mostly because their music does generally consist of the same type of sound running through a lot of the songs. But, I actually enjoy when an artist is comfortable with writing music that flows together beautifully, especially when the lyricism is so wax poetic, like this artist has done with much of their discography. The title of the album that contains this song is, 'I Stayed Up Until Sunrise But Got To Fall Asleep To The Sounds Of Birds Singing', which I think just shows the experimentation and creativity that words can contribute to a musician or a group, and in turn tell a cohesive story. 20. Used to Be by Beach House - We all know that ending a mix with a song by BH is always the right way to go. Something about the peaceful, melodic quality of their pieces while saying the truest statements ever is very comforting for a person who overthinks pretty much everything all the time. This piece actually made me think about the music of Fleet Foxes a lot because of the chords used along with the echoic harmonies splayed throughout the track and the backing tracks as well (and the awesome tambourine thrown in for depth). This song is definitely a bit different than some other work by BH because it's more folky and less space cadet vibes which is what I usually get from them; this could also be because it's one of their earlier tracks where they were still finding their sound and influences fully. More than anything, though, this puts me in the location of the end of some coming of age film (perhaps my own) where summer is winding down and the protagonist has to realize that they must become single and independent.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 27th May 2018

Rushed episode is rushed, but hope you enjoy anyways.

Top 10

When I said the top 10 was stagnant yesterday, I meant it. We have a few shake-ups, but otherwise, especially at the top, nothing’s happening. Is that a good thing? Maybe, but for now, we still have “One Kiss” by Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa at the top, and wow, it’s grown on me a hell of a lot. I hope this becomes a hit in the US because this has a chance of making my best list. If you wanted a reason to take my initial reaction and review of songs here with a grain of salt, here it is.

Oh, yeah, and “Nice for What” by Drake is still at the runner-up spot.

“No Tears Left to Cry” by Ariana Grande has no spots left to climb at number-three.

“2002” by Anne-Marie moved up one spot to number-four, thanks to another song absolutely collapsing – more on that later.

“Answerphone” by Banx & Ranx and Ella Eyre featuring Yxng Bane has moved up two spots into the top five.

“I’ll be There” by Jess Glynne has shot up seven spaces to number-six – joy!

“Flames” by David Guetta and Sia has lazily enunciated its way to number-seven, taking a two-spot jump from last week.

“Paradise” by George Ezra is still at number-eight. Nothing changed there.

“This is America” by Childish Gambino featuring Young Thug has fell by three spots to number-nine.

Finally, for some reason, “Better Now” by Post Malone rebounds a spot to number-ten, rounding off the top of the charts.

Climbers

We have some pretty big climbers at the bottom of the top 40, like “If You’re Over Me” by Years & Years zooming up 14 spaces to #24 off the debut, “First Time” by M-22 featuring Medina finally gaining some traction, moving up seven spots to #26, Yxng Bane living off his “Answerphone” fame to get “Vroom” up five to #27, “Man Down” by Shakka featuring AlunaGeorge somehow taking 12 spots in a leap of faith up to #28, overtaking “Back to You” by Selena Gomez, which also jumped 10 positions to #29.

Fallers

Okay, I said once when this track made the top 10, that I would never mention it by name because it was that despicably bad. However, I’ve got to give myself a victory screech and a celebratory drink because “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky featuring Chris Brown has tumbled 11 spaces to #15. Hopefully, this will be off the charts soon enough. Unfortunately, it took “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes down with it, falling eight spaces down to #18, though it’ll rebound next week after the album impacts. We also have pretty intense 10-spot drops for “Paranoid” by Post Malone and “Call Out My Name” by The Weeknd, to #37 and #38 respectively.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

For dropouts, we have (finally) “Feel it Still” by Portugal. The Man, dropping out from #34, as well as “Mad Love” by Sean Paul, David Guetta and Becky G dropping out from #31, but nothing else is worse than the massacre that Arctic Monkeys faced, with “Four out of Five”, “Star Treatment” and “One Point Perspective” dropping out from #18, #23 and #26 respectively. As for returning entries, we have two songs from The Greatest Showman, “Never Enough” and “A Million Dreams” coming back again, to #39 and #33.

Before we get to our new arrivals in the top 40, I want to talk about what’s just right outside of it, and thought I’d never talk about on this channel – K-pop.

Special Feature

#42 – “Fake Love” – BTS

I’ve not really been exposed to much K-pop, and to be honest, I don’t like a lot of snippets I’ve heard. However, there was a charm to BTS’ most recent album, in its polished production, catchy hooks and just clever pop writing. This song in question? Yeah, I love it. You start with that simple guitar strumming as the synth noise builds up into the first of like six freaking hooks on this song – it’s catchy as hell – where the trap snares kick in and we get a typical pop song, but instead, with charismatic rappers and singers, performing pretty fantastically over an otherwise somewhat cliché beat – but that beat is still great, don’t get me wrong. It is a perfect backdrop, like any pop beat should be, to the performers. It isn’t amazing, but it isn’t horrid. There’s a barking noise for some reason, and I love it. The rappers here flow surprisingly well here as well, especially the second dude who comes in before the smoother singing on the bridge. This song will be in your head for years and is a fantastic presentation of how simple trendy pop can be done very well.

NEW ARRIVALS

#40 – “Family Tree” – Ramz

So, this is Ramz – you may know him from his #2 hit “Barking”. Well, he’s finally back, and he’s been spending time fine-tuning this new song, “Family Tree”, which is his official follow-up to his last hit. Is it any better than the last one? Well, kind of. The autotune is more obvious and blatant here, used to accentuate his otherwise dull performance, with a joyful, childish melody on what seem to be steel pans behind the trap snares and reverb-drowned vocal samples, as well as a great concept from Ramz, where he just starts to talk about his “family” – rather, his friends or “squad” he met in primary school who he has stuck with through his whole life. Listen, this isn’t reinventing the wheel or anything, hell, I doubt Ramz has a grasp on how to draw a wheel yet, but for what it is, it’s a solid dancehall tune. No real complaints here, but nothing to write home about.

#35 – “Leave a Light On” – Tom Walker

This took so long to finally breach into the top 40. It’s been bubbling under in the top 100 for a few weeks, if not months, but due to its use in an advertisement (of course), it debuts at #35, and you know, maybe this wasn’t worth the wait. Backed by a piano, Tom Walker croons pretty clumsily with a somewhat raspy voice that loses all its edge in the verses – where he goes for an annoying, Passenger-type nasal delivery, only bursting out in the chorus, which is unfortunately very anti-climactic, with its calmer synths and skittering trap percussion, as well as brief interjections from a female singer. Then it kind of ventures into perfection in the bridge, with Walker screaming through distortion over the ironically calm drop, which ends the song proper, before a few scattered notes are played on the piano and Walker calms down with a few repeats of the title, and you notice it’s too little, too late to save an unnecessary addition to pop radio. The Cheat Codes remix is just as bad, but Chaney’s efforts to remix the song aren’t half-bad. I’d check out that groovier version before the original any day.

#12 – “Solo” – Clean Bandit featuring Demi Lovato

Okay, what is it with EDM producers censoring the F-word? I know I’m not one to talk, but am I the only one annoyed by this? Is it because they want more plays in clubs or whatever? I’m not talking about the radio edit here, no, I’m talking about the official version provided on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, whatever streaming service of choice. So, there was another “solo” dance hit last year, “Solo Dance” by Martin Jensen, which I absolutely love, for the record, but to be honest, I think “Solo” – with its contradictory name – might be up there in terms of quality. Now, at first listen, I hated this and wanted to tear it to shreds, but then I noticed that all the half-hearted, clumsy production kind of accentuated the lyrical content, that Demi wants to go solo and do everything in her own way, no matter how much she thinks she needs company. She sings it like it’s a rebellious, reckless thing to do, and that really puts the careless arrangement in perspective.

So, we start with a somewhat tropical synth backed by a pitch-shifted singer shouting Offset ad-libs (they return throughout Demi’s well-sung verses) and some strings as always, but then as we get into the verses, we have an unusually autotuned performance from Demi Lovato, which is so blatant that it makes her sound robotic, turning her into an instrument, similarly to how Blank Banshee chops up vocal samples to make a synth noise that fits in with the airy trap beat, which is pretty clear in the chorus, before the absolutely heavenly drop, which is anti-climactic but it works because there’s no real build-up, rather just Demi being more affected and distorted by the production, until she turns into a void of Ric Flair ad-libs, orchestral elements and an oddly comprehensible Vocaloid melody, also known as the drop. It sure is an interesting song that I’ve grown to love out of its pure quirkiness. Yeah, I prefer “Solo Dance” and it’s pretty middling as far as Clean Bandit go, but this is great too. Check it out.

Conclusion

We only have three songs this week, so no Honourable or Dishonourable Mentions, rather just Best of the Week, which I wish could go to “Fake Love” by BTS, but sadly, it doesn’t count, so it’s easily going to “Solo” by Clean Bandit and Demi Lovato, and Worst of the Week, which goes to “Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker. See ya next week!