Artist: Vic Juris
Title: Two Guitars
Label/Year of release: Steeplechase, 2019
Link: Saw his passing mourned on the Twatter
Music: Jazz guitar in a quartet setting
Lyrics: Not applicable
Arrangement:
Production: Standard
Originality:
Comments: Not my favorite guitar tone but technically quite accomplished. Not a huge straight jazz fan but I post a video out of respect for these jazz cats who don’t have it easy. I’ve read multiple posts about him and apparently he was a great teacher and could play in a ton of different sytles.
Artist: Freddie Gibbs & Mad Lib
Title: Bandana Beats
Label/Year of release: Keep Cool/RCA, 2019
Link: Twatter
Music: Left field hip hop.
Lyrics: Classic ghetto themes of self-empowerment, strength, philosophy and maybe not the hippest attitude towards women. Smooth and concise microphonic work.
Arrangement: A mash of soul records and hip hop sounds.
Production: Excellent. Somehow the sounds come off as if you’re listening to a band.
Originality: Retro hip hop sounds done really well.
Comments: Would like it more if it was not so anti-woman.
Artist: Justin Bieber
Title: Yummy
Label/Year of release: (Def Jam, 2020)
Link: Apple Music banner placement at the top of the page
Music: Electro with trap flavorings.
Lyrics: It’s Justin Bieber, it’s gonna be a low IQ ride. He does a bit of rhyming mixed in with his loverboy singing and boy has he been milking the white sex god titty for a long while now. #tiresome.
Arrangement: Solid but he’s biting a lot of black artists with this sonic heist.
Production: Major label manicure.
Originality: Not a goal.
Comments: I don’t know who approved the picture on the Apple Music banner but man it really shows what a dim bulb Bieber is.
Artist: Kiko El Crazy
Title: La Pampara
Label/Year of release: (Nabru/Rima, 2019)
Link: Off a 2020 preview at the Guardian here.
Music: Boombaton/reggaeton/Latin dancefloor
Lyrics: In Spanish
Arrangement: Fat minimalist beat with speedy rhymes over the top.
Production: Transparent and pumped for maximum booty shaking
Originality: Pretty standard sound and lyrics.
Comments: Smells like a music publicist got the ear of the article writer. I’m not hearing anything out of the ordinary that would make me flag it as overly interesting and engaging.
YTD recordings listened to: 14
Good music, not list worthy: 7
Not good music: 7
Best: 0
Honorable Mentions: 0
Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, The Oh Sees, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Tarek Atoui, Saicobab, General Purv, Shipping News, Big Thief, Mariachi El Bronx, Pour Me a Grog, Sudan Archives, Lakou Mizik, Moodymann, Pharmakon
Deep In the Music 