Music for 6/30/20!!! The Positive Force, Beyonce, Lionmilk, Shy Troy

@@@ The Positive Force: The African in Winter (Jazzman, 2007) I got to this retro funk/spoken word via the reissue site Stranded Records.  Imma on their email list.  The bandcamp page for this release shows a June 4, 2020 release date so this should be a remastered recording.  It’s got a chill funk jazz retro vibe, a bit like Alice Coltrane but not as transcendant as that.  A couple of horns playing in unison and it’s a fully, no wait here’s the spoken word part about an African man freezing his ass off in Detroit.  I’ve heard a fair amount of jazz spoken word and this is a solid specimen — solid groove, nice horn melodies and an austere spoken word section.

@@@ Beyonce: Black Parade (Columbia/Sony, 2020) I saw this on the Twatter.  I’m pretty convinced that Beyonce has cultivated such a cult of personality that she could fart in a microphone for 5 minutes and people would throw their hands up in the air in ecstasy.  Oh Beyonce, what a glorious fucking fart you dropped on us unworthy peasants.  It opens trunk shaking with some nice fat bass, a thick layer of chopped vocal bits and her.  Motherland drip on me, that’s all right.  As the song builds it starts to get more epic and mainstream and Disney sounding which I find unfortunate.  Lyrically Beyonce loves to refer to things while not really defining anything with a big vocal hook.  The melodies are all solid and the bass is my favorite part of the track.  It’s a lot of lyrical fragments and it feels long but I’m a bit prejudiced against her.  If a late Michael Jackson song had a baby with itself and got stick blendered it would sound like this.

@@@ Lionmilk: Break My Legs (leavingrecords, 2020)  I saw this label namechecked on the Twatter.  The twatter be rocking, well in this case it be helping to push electro r&b styles out into the Twatter-sphere.  Falsetto singing, a fairly big stack of woven vocal tracks, a side stick snare sound and pumping keyboard flavors.  Think lofi drippy Prince, I dig it.  It clicked through to the next track which is more dancefloor-y.  I think a murky, trippy flavor unites all the tracks I’ve heard, I’m checking the opener which I’m feeling most of the three I’ve heard to this point.  Nice sounds, funky and organic.

@@@ Shy Troy: Up in Smoke (LW Records, 2020) I saw this Australian musician’s debut single on a Australian music magazine email.  Folks in the USA don’t really believe in rock anymore but it’s still alive in other parts of the world such as Australia.  Here we have an example of literate guitar rock with a mainstream production style.  The vocals are right up close to your ears and there’s a sinuous guitar part that drives the tune.  I’m waiting for the tune to fully rock but sometimes it doesn’t but I’m thinking it might.  I dig there are a lot of words at the same time I don’t have the energy to pay attention to all of them.  I don’t think there’s gonna be a big rock part.  The lyrics consist of a hook saying ‘let’s pretend that I’m cool.’  Okay, you’re cool.

YTD recordings listened to: 500
Good music, not list worthy: 254
Not good music: 222

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem, Mekons

Music for 6/29/20!!! Lilla Vargen, The Mekons, Braids, HAIM

@@@ Lilla Vargen: Cold (Futurekind, 2020) Line of Best Fit listen!  Hold up your umbrella cuz it’s raining drama.  Mad feelings storm!  Ringing piano chords, stacks of background vocals panned hard left/right.  Is she a fool for loving you??  I don’t know the answer to that, but 9 out of 10 nutritionists recommend that folks ease up on the cheese and the sugar especially at the same time.  Light sprinkles of cheese and refined sugar but Ms. Vargen went full cheese/sugar.  Girl yer right, he’s gonna let you down and I want what’s best for you despite the cheesy production going on in this song.  You can partially blame Celine Dion for this arena biscuit ballad, she made mad bank on this flow.

@@@ The Mekons: Exquisite ( , 2020) I saw this legendary punk group’s new record shouted on the Twatter.  Me Likey the Twatter!  These guys are more hyper-artistic than mohawk spiked hair punks and the manner in which they assembled this record is testament to their creativity.  The parts to these tracks were stacked and passed around the interwebz sequentially and then assembled and optimized/mixed.  They’re certainly structured but not in the same way as a band playing in a room.  The sounds are mostly classic rock and the record sounds more than a bit like The Clash with haunted ballads and unison singing.  I like the spirit of these tracks — they’re a bit melancholy, they’re a bit rockin’ and a bit art school.

@@@ Braids: Young Buck (Secret City, 2020) Another Line of Best Fit listen!  It’s a Victoria Secret catalog cover clipped below and they get into some ’80s video game feels combined with feel good vibes.  Cheery vocals, friendly white people drum patterns, but it’s mostly on the singer here and she’s quite waif-y.  It’s the combination of the synth sounds and the vocal stylings that make me a bit underwhelmed but I understand I’m in the minority on this — tons of folks are up for comforting sounds and feeling good.

@@@ HAIM: I Know Alone (Columbia, 2020)  HAIM’s label has been trying to foist this femme trio on the world for a bit now.  I don’t really know where the meta project stands but I haven’t head anything quite pants shitting yet.  But I will peep it and if I have to shit my pants I will jump up and down and shit my pants.  I think these gals have focused more on guitar type stuff but here we have some bedroom indie r&b with a thick layer of vocal harmonies and some somewhat funky sounds.  It’s not bad, it’s not great.  This vibe of sad funk was perfected by Prince so I would check out something like 17 Days or Sometimes it Snows in April.  Feels more like a bite job than a heartfelt expression but that’s partially because I’m skeptical of major label acts and their handlers.

YTD recordings listened to: 496
Good music, not list worthy: 252
Not good music: 221

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem, Mekons

Track of the week!

Music for 6/24/20!!! Pineapple Thief, Bella Blair, Orkesta Mendoza, Kate Teague

I forgot to post this on 6/24.

@@@ The Pineapple Thief: Threatening War (KScope, 2019) I got to this arena rock outfit via an old ass All Music notable release email.  If you take Radiohead and strip away the darkness and the spaciousness and leave the fragile vanilla rock part it would sound like this.  It’s very nice acoustic guitar playing, nice vocal harmonizing but definitely tame when I love wild business but that’s just me.  It does bust out and rock later in the track but it’s still tame.  I made it halfway through.  It’s not that it’s bad it’s just not for me.

@@@  Bella Blair: Gimmie A Light (Frankie, 2020) Modern dancehall off this week’s WRIR playlist email and right off the bat I hear some stony trap sounds put up in here before it busts out into a dancehall thing.  It’s sports both an intimate vibe and a thick dancefloor sticky thing.  The female rapper/singer Bella Blair works the microphone with flavor.  It’s a pro-weed anthem and she goes so far as to sing she can’t imagine life without weed which I find a bit weird.  Tasty ass sounds here folks should peep this.

@@@ Orkesta Mendoza: Paleta (Glitterbeat, 2020) Off this week’s WRIR playlist email.  Glitterbeat usually rocks the African business but they’re taking a step to the side and doing some cumbia rock with this release.  Oh man, there’s nothing I love more than accordion unless it’s a cowbell which is the shit.  A thick stew of melody and rhythm including violin, electric guitar, multiple percussion instruments (including the cowbell’s skinny cousin the metal triangle!!)  Interplay between a male singer and female backup singers.  I’m checking out the third tune Boogaloo Arizona because these rightwing Boogaloo bitches are in the news and I like this a bit better.  Sweeter and less rocking but with some really beautiful horn work and vocal arrangements.

@@@ Kate Teague: The Temporary (Muscle Beach, 2020) An indie Twatter listen!  Will it be guitar indie or synth indie?  It’s synth indie with an ’80s guitar sound so it’s both and neither at the same time.  God bless you indie pinheads out there!  Teague comes on breathy and this is a super lush biscuit like a blast of air conditioned air across your bare ass on a super hot day.  I assume many of you are partially nekkid by the A/C, wait ’til climate change really kicks in ya ignorant bitches!  There I go entertaining myself which is what I do when the music is fine but I’m not super engaged.  I like one of the synth elements, this sort of tricked delayed bit but the singing and the general purpose agenda of the track doesn’t sync with where I’m at.

YTD recordings listened to: 484
Good music, not list worthy: 246
Not good music: 215

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem

 

 

Music for 6/26/20!!! French Mouth, Gregory Allen Lisher, Teyana Taylor, John Legend

@@@ French Mouth: Paper Tiger (Frank Haus, 2020)  A post-punk hard rocker I got to via a music publicist email.  Has a bit of At the Drive In wildness to it with jumpy sections to the song and fresh guitar sounds and vocal stylings.  I’m looking at the promo photo and I see non-white faces and I hear it a bit in the playing.  Hard to put into words but it’s subtle.  I like this and would listen to more though I would mention that I could take even more chaos.

@@@ Gregory Allen Lisher: Three Kings (N/A, 2020) I got to this pre-release track from a Camper Van Beethoven guitarist via a music publicist email.  It’s an interesting blend of sounds — a little folk, a little proggy, a little hippie business and a little rock all swirled up.  There’s a shaker in the track but no drums and a supporting cello part I really like.  Now when we are discussing the shaker we should mention the idea that maybe the tune could be remixed with a cowbell.  Nothing would be finer than more cowbell up in this pastoral track.  I was not expecting to dig this but I like it.

@@@ Teyana Taylor: Boomin’ (Def Jam, 2020) Missy Elliott is always a good thing, Future not so much.  Taylor comes on thick and sensuous on this slow booty jam.  Very sultry voice, occasionally skittering beats, fat ol’ bass.  The keyboard sounds and arrangement is a perfect layer of trippy frosting that glues this piece of cake together.  Future is a bit of a distraction to my ears, I would much rather listen to Taylor and the sounds that aren’t him that surround her.  There’s not a lot of Missy Elliott to be had here which is fine.

@@@ John Legend: Bigger Love (Columbia, 2020)  I think John Legend is a high quality human being who makes pretty cheesy music.  Those two things can co-exist as bad humans can make great music, music quality and human being quality are not connected!  Looks like John Legend had a medium sized glass of Drake loverboy business and Imma little scared.  Oh, he drops the Drake business in the chorus and goes for the full cheesebomb.  It’s a big chorus for a tune called Bigger Love.  I associate Legend with Disney style sounds and he does retain some of that but the tame dancehall beats is unexpected.  You can think of this as big ol’ Chipotle/Disney burrito with a plantain on the side.  Yikes that was a rough listen.

YTD recordings listened to: 492
Good music, not list worthy: 2250
Not good music: 219

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem

Music for 6/17/20!!! Ambrose Akinmusire, Melanas, Modern Nature, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Aargh, I keep not posting old posts.  Enjoy this post from the great time that was June 17th!

@@@ Ambrose Akinmusire: On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note, 2020)  First off great album and from checking out his videos on GooglePimp he’s a specialist.  The first tune is called Tide of Hyacinth and I dig it.  The focus here is way less on a stereotypical straight jazz feel and more of a janky sonic exploration.  Interplay between musicians and the ebb and flow of energy is high.  I haven’t liked anything from Blue Note in a long long time.  It could be a great first tune situation so I will peep a bit more to see if straightens out into a more predictable flow.  The second tune is a ballad where I could have used more fire.  The third tune has a female singer and it looks like the album will bounce around various jazz subgenres which is perfectly within an artist’s right but I was looking for a boatload of that first track as it’s quite rare these days.

@@@ Melanas: Dias Raros (Trouble in Mind, 2020)  Four young women from Spain doing an indie guitar thing.  The tune itself is purposely familiar but they put a bit of trippy into it which is cool and the general sound is a bit different from the American version of this.  I also like the presence of the organ here.  I understand the dreamy female vocal approach but it’s not my favorite thing to listen to.

@@@ Modern Nature: Flourish (Bella Union, 2020)  I clicked on this track and it came out with an intimate jazz-ish feel to it.  The singer comes in a tad freaky on the mic and they’re just doing their thing.  Most indie/alternative doesn’t have saxophone but also it’s pretty standard musically while this has quiet weirdness in a lot of places.  We’re on to the next tune and I’m most impressed with the drummer, he’s killing it.  I dig the singer though he kind of stays where he started and I could use more flavors there.  The guitar player does some interesting things as well.  This is not jump and down music for me but it’s not standard indie.  Plus it has a shaker in it — I hope they at least tested out cowbell for the same gig.  It’s the right thing to do.

@@@ Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Cars in Space (Sub Pop, 2020) An Australian quartet serving up a ramped up old school guitar indie platter reminiscent of the Feelies, Yo La Tengo, that nieghborhood.  The brisk tempo sure makes the medicine go down for me.  I like the singer and the drummer is killing it.  Somehow they flirt with cheesy indie and don’t fall in the fondue pot.  I’m thinking I dig the singer cuz he sounds more than a bit like Alex Chilton.  The song is cool enough but it’s the energy and those two performances that make it work.

YTD recordings listened to: 460
Good music, not list worthy: 234
Not good music: 203

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole

Music for 6/25/20!!! Public Enemy, Wayne Alpern, Peacebird, Bad Wolves

@@@ Public Enemy: State of the Union (STFU) (Enemy Records, 2020) I got a music publicist email for this track and I’m a huge Chuck D fan — a super high quality human being for sure.  It’s not fully retro sonicallybut it’s a thick ass Public Enemy mix — stacked up samples with Flavor Flav doing his full street show.  It’s an anti-Trump track and they just go off on the Pumpkin.  State of the Union, shut the fuck up, sorry ass motherfucker, stay away from me — that’s the hook in the chorus.  You don’t get more direct than that.  It’s not full en fuego Public Enemy from back in the day but they don’t pull any punches and I love listening to Chuck D rap.

@@@ Wayne Alpern: She’s Not There (Self-released, 2020) A straight jazz record of covers, this one that ol’ track She’s Not There.  I like the addition of violin and btw I got to this via the CFUV weekly playlist email.  He does Thriller and I had to click over to his cover of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing a classic piece of cheese from back in the day.  I give big ups to picking this track — I’m not expert but I don’t think most jazz cats wouldn’t choose this track.  He does a good job making me like it much more than the original.  If you click around a bit you can enjoy a straight jazz cover of Journey’s mega hit/cheesebomb Don’t Stop Believing and it is as delicious as it sounds.

@@@ peacebird: redsphere (Self-released, 2020) I got to this electronic music via this week’s CFUV playlist email.  It starts out ol’ school video game style and then starts bringing in more elements including drum and bass and just nutty fast electronic sounds.  then a techno dancefloor banger synth melody with some four on the floor action.  i think i heard this before but i’ll give it a second spin but i ‘member these drum and bass feels.  i like ’em and want an updated version of this track.  The video game sounds, i used to hate them and now i find them entertaining.

@@@ Bad Wolves: Sober (Eleven Seven, 2020) I got to this track via sometimes right-sometimes wrong music biz honcho Bob Lefsetz.  It’s slotted as metal on Apple Music but as it opens it’s a grunge/hard rock combo platter.    The lyrics are the centerpiece here but for me the cheesy presentation detracts from the admirable mission.  Big stacks of vocals and hand claps and other production flourishes end up over sweetening a dark-ish subject.  It’s a ballad about having an alcoholic partner.  I’m not a hits guy and this track is why.

YTD recordings listened to: 488
Good music, not list worthy: 248
Not good music: 217

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem

Music for 6/23/20!!! BL Shirelle, Arca, Sugi Dakks, Jenny Bath

@@@ BL Shirelle: SIGS (DJC, 2020) A friend of mine sent me a link to an NPR article profiling this black female artist who works in prisons doing music with peoples in jail.  Sounds good to me.  I’m guessing this is going to be uplifting hip hop but we’ll see.  The sounds are mostly that though these are trap beats.  Shirelle has a husky voice and there’s a delay on it which I’m not sure I’ve encountered a lot in my hip hop travels.  Her voice is my favorite component here and the piano (then the string synth) is my least favorite sound.  SIGS is slang for a German hangun and the lyrics here focused on an act of violence she was part of in the past.  The lyrics are not uplifting and Hollywood (I wrongly concluded that from NPR running the article)  That’s what I’ve concluded without being entirely sure of the lyrics as the delay makes it a bit tough to hear her.

@@@ Arca: Time (XL, 2020) I saw this record posted on last week’s Stranded email — they do reissues and new vinyl.  Another pre-release track as is the track above.  This comes out ’80s synth flavored and a female voice absolutely soaked in reverb with delay and all spaced out and shit.  More layers of delayed vocals and some skittering noises with delays so by the time it’s fully puffed out and engorged you might think you’re have a bit of a schizophrenic hearing voices kinda dreamscape/nightmarescape.  I give respect to the weirdness of it and I like some of the sounds, not a lot of them but some.

@@@ Sugi Dakks: Guap Niga (N/A, 2020) I have to resign myself to GooglePimp and I find this track interesting as he’s going off on the microphone while he plays piano — I’m hoping he’s really doing this piano playing but I can’t be sure.  I’m feeling the combination here, his vocal energy is high and the combination with the piano is pretty ridiculous.  This is a lesson in how you lose your shit in a creative manner.  This is exciting shit, folks should check it out.  This shit is fiery and on fleek.

@@@ Jenny Beth: Flower (20L07, 2020)  I got to this track via an Australian music magazine that I get in my email box.  Super intimate vocals over a combination of Nine Inch Nails/trap sounds and other sounds.  It’s a fresh set of contrasting sounds.  The chorus explodes out with a plethora of vocal tracks and I’m not sure if I like it more or less than the verse.  She sings about ‘how to touch her’ so this might be a sapphic anthem aka lesbian action.  You can’t go wrong with lesbian themed lyrics!  It’s a nebulous platter of rock feels, electronic business and wee hip hop/electronic feels.  It’s interesting, I can’t say much more than that without not thinking more about it.

YTD recordings listened to: 480
Good music, not list worthy: 244
Not good music: 213

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem

Music for 6/22/20!!! DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Travis Scott

@@@ DaBaby: Rockstar (Interscope, 2020) I was reading an interview with an African American science fiction writer and she said we would reach equality when the mediocre word of black folks is accepted and celebrated in the same manner that the mediocre work of white folks is celebrated.  It already is!  There’s plenty of mediocre hip hop getting major spins — lots of anthems and stoned out celebrations of pussy and weed, so I’m guessing a track called Rockstar by this MC might be in that neighborhood.  It opens with some nylon string guitar and some half sung MC action.  A real n*gga rockstar, this is no guitar it’s a glock.  Well there you go.  Fat distorted bass, it’s awesome bass I love, the guitar is unusual but not particularly interesting.  The rapping is energetic, the subject matter pretty mundane.  It’s a just below above average track and not jam of the summer to my ears.

@@@ Megan Thee Stallion: Savage Remix (300 Entertainment, 2020) Beyonce is up in this track so nobody can’t say nothin’ negative with Beyonce sprinkling her troll ass gold flakes on this track.  Classy, boozhy and ratchet.  Beyonce stays mostly in the back adding background vocals while Ms. Megan struts her business.  Personally I find the background vocals to be superfluous and clutterous but it’s Beyonce so that’s where it’s at.  She takes a primary position on the mic towards the end for a little bit and it’s better than the background bits.  The arrangement is tough and steady with the keyboards especially driving the track, letting Megan stomp.

@@@ Doja Cat: Say So (Kemosabe/RCA, 2020)  White girl disco with Nicki Minaj flavor pack dropping by to snap some dicks off right at the root.  She scare me!  She put the cookie on quarantine — you can count on Nicki Minaj to let you know where her va jay jay is at.  You can count on it.  Nicki hits the verse and then the white girl cleans up in the chorus with her bubblegum chorus.  Doja might actually rap ‘pon the mic but I’m not sure.  The best part of this tune is Nicki Minaj, then the chorus it’s all right and then the sounds which are a little tired, they need a Red Bull refresher and whatnot.

@@@ The Scotts: The Scotts (Epic, 2020) The last entry from Slate’s songs of the summer.  It’s got an interesting blend of indie flavors, and then busts into trap fatness.  There’s a great spaceship blip that catches your ear more than the MC does.  Some nice production touches that delineate the sections.  Kid Cudi does a guest rap and I like him better than Travis Scott.  I’m not gonna lie that these lyrics are anything more than basic stoned out adventures with horny women but some of the sounds are very nice and they keep changing and are engaging.  The proggy keyboard solo at the end will make you laugh, probably harder if you’re stoned off your ass but they bit that from ol’ school white dudes.  And they shouldn’t have.

YTD recordings listened to: 476
Good music, not list worthy: 242
Not good music: 211

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem

Music for 6/21/20!!! No Age, Naeem, Drug Store Romeos, Mel C

@@@ No Age: Feeler (Drag City, 2020) Off last week’s All Music notable release email.  The label Drag City sits towards the top of the indie rock mountain with extreme preciousness and this comes out as a ramped up Pavement slack rock thing.  Pleasantly blustery with a lot of drums and guitars.  I’m attracted to the rocking energy and the hipster wail but I wouldn’t mind a new sound or new place or something to make me pay attention.  It’s super well done with really nice guitar sounds so given what we have here this is for the hardcore indie heads.

@@@ Naeem: You and I (37d03d, 2020)  A pretty jarring record cover with a black dude darkened/dipped/coated in what could be anything.  It opens with a lot of voices, intimate vibes, fears and feeling vulnerable that’s what I hear.  I really like the singer as he switches feels frequently — he sounds a bit like Prince mashed up with Billie Holiday.  It is slotted as hip hop on Apple Music but I hear black church singing, Hendrix style guitars, but not a lot of hip hop so I will peep some snippets of a couple of other tracks.  The second tune gets into more standard rhyming, still very emotionally focused with a sprinkle of Prince and now we’ve switched over to some a very new but not quite trap formula.  Wow, I dig the freshness of this, sonically it’s got some really nice elements working together.  I guess Naeem had a big release in 2006 and this is his first record in 9 years.  Imma swing back on this, it’s got a lot of the things I want to hear in a record.

@@@ Drug Store Romeos: Quotations For Locations (UMG, 2020)  Coming out it a bit indie, a bit electro, and a little mainstream.  Intimate vocal style and video game synths stand out before the drum machine comes in and she throws in some chill sounds in the back that make you crave the pool floatie and the oxycontin.  For a major label offering this is surprisingly not cheesy.  I must say Imma bit shocked.  Some nice arrangements of solid sounds with big ups to the bass player and the sound that comes with it.  I like the vocalist well enough because she keeps this sound under control.  Lyrically I don’t find myself engaged, maybe a bit abstract for my tastebuds.

@@@ Melanie C: Blame it On Me (Red Girl, 2020)  A former Spice Girl comes back with a dancefloor banger.  They put a diva reverb patch on her voice and she is presented as the central component.  Her voice is all right, she’s not a diva but she is a former Spice Girl.  It’s a relationship dancefloor banger as she’s singing about toxic masculinity and the vocal hook is a tongue in cheek ‘why don’t you just blame it on me?’ as if anybody volunteers for being blamed.  The sounds are not quite canned but they’re pretty standard and I’m guessing that’s purposeful.  She’s a mainstream musician so they’re going to aim her music at mainstream listeners.  I could use more funk, a guitar maybe, and just some freshness.  This is more a Dunkin Donut donut than a cronut and I’m a fan of cronuts.

YTD recordings listened to: 472
Good music, not list worthy: 240
Not good music: 209

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, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, schroothoop, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem