Here is last week's thread; appreciate that, ButterflyEffect. I'm busily in the midst of saying farewell to another semester. Each one more hateful than the last.
Anyway. This week I fell so deeply in love with Walk the Moon that I'm probably headed to St. Louis (quite a drive) to see them and some other champions d'art ... in September. And I never know what I'm going to be doing next week, so this is big.
What I'm doing right now is studying accompanied by both rainymood, which you've probably heard of, and Charles Mingus, who you've also probably heard of. It's quite lovely.
I love M. Ward. Always have, always will. When he put out Wasteland Companion last year, I enjoyed it, but wasn't floored at first. Now I am. It possesses such a subtle beauty that it's fantastic if you just sit down in public, put on some really nice headphones, tune out everything else sonically and just look around while listening. Pure Joy and Watch the Show from the album. Additonally, I loved s / s / s when they put out their Beak & Claw EP last year (this is Museum Day from said EP, but I really suggest listening to all four songs). It's a collaboration between Sufjan Stevens, Serengeti, and Son Lux. I started listening to it again recently, as well as finding some of Serengeti's stuff as well. Some of his stuff is really great, the album C.A.R. and Family & Friends are really introspective and sorrowful, lots of looking into addiction, but he also has a this really creative concept where he raps as his alter ego Kenny Dennis, "Serengeti’s hilarious, absurdist, and subtly humane saga of a Chicago-born man with a Mike Ditka mustache, whose lovable delusions and diehard loyalty fall somewhere between Homer Simpson and a Bill Swerski Superfan.", "You don’t want to mess with Kenny Dennis. Even at the age of 50, the bratwurst downing, Brian Dennehy-worshipping rapper can run a mile in 4:14. The KDz remains the most feared slugger on the softball diamond. And he can still take Nitro from American Gladiators on in a game of Powerball. That’s just Kenny." Honestly, it's bizarre as hell for me, but I'm slowly getting into it. It's hilarious, because it's intentionally out of touch with the current scene, but done tastefully. You fully understand the character that's being portrayed and it's creative. It obviously took a ton of work to get it just right, and I can definitely appreciate that. It's enough that it needs to be shared as much as possible. Serengeti is definitely a master of his craft, and this song (Directions) features beats by Odd Nosdam. I always love hearing new things in rap.
I think I've told you this before, but this is the sort of mini-review I was hoping for and anticipating when I started making these threads. I'll make sure to look into s/s/s. Wasteland Companion is beautiful; I own it and a couple of his volumes with Zooey Deschanel, and his stuff with Monsters of Folk, and at least one other ... wow, I've spent more money on M Ward than I have on the Beatles. Huh.
I really want to do something like this for every weekly thread, but I so easily get sidetracked lately with work. M. Ward is incredible. I got to meet him briefly at Coachella in 2010 after a She & Him set. He's alwys seems so downplayed within himself; relaxed, down to Earth. I really respect the guy. Definitely a musical idol and good symbol for music of this generation. As for s / s / s, I hope they do more together. It's going to be a fascinating few years of music between those three and what they're doing so I'd love to see more. And of course, if you haven't already, go listen to Sufjan Stevens, especially his Age of Adz album. That one... that one I could write pages on, and have before.
I love them both very, very, very much for very different reasons. They're incredibly different albums. The difference, however, is that I feel like Age of Adz is potentially historically important. There are so many facets to that album that make it absolutely incredible and unique, not to mention the blending of traditional instruments with electronic creations. It's funny though, if I'm looking to just sit down and listen to Sufjan, my favorite go-to album is the one almost no one talks of, A Sun Came.
I listen to Michigan more than any other. You're right though, they're all wonderful.
I haven't shared anything lately, but this Chance The Rapper just released his new mixtape and he's getting a lot of hype about it. I definetly like the character he portrays. Some of his lyrics are kind of meh, but it's totally worth listening to it because the instrumentals are awesome. Oh and apparently Chance tweeted to listen to it while on acid and apparently it's better, haven't done that but just so you know haha.
Nick Waterhouse has made it back onto my playlist this week. Also, My Toys Like Me.
From your other posts, it seems you're closer to London, where these guys are from. I got their first album shortly after it came out, but where I lived at the time didn't have a reliable postal system, so I opted for the Amazon mp3 download as it was the only other option. My search for a FLAC copy of either album or the various EPs have turned up nothing, but if you can get a hard copy or even one of their 12's and have a good system to play it on, I bet it'd be worth it.
They do have a really nice sound. And yeah, I'm in Ireland, so not too far from England. As for a worthy sound system - not at the moment, sadly.
I'm not sure. But at one point (circa thickfreakness? great record) the Black Keys cared about the blues more than they did the rock, in my opinion. Now they don't. This guy cares about the blues, but he leans to the jazzy soul side of things. It's much truer to 1955, either way.
Ah, I see your point. Although as musicians, the Black Keys and Nick Waterhouse are primarily concerned with creating new music, insofar as they're interested in creating their music. Sometimes I think of the progression of music as a sort of biological or evolutionary process. Blues is an ancestor of rock and roll, which is an ancestor of rock. Blues is also an ancestor of jazz, which is also an ancestor of rock and roll and of course rock. The Black Keys and Nick Waterhouse may make music that expresses recessive musical traits, but it's very much modern music. If Nick Waterhouse were to go back to 1955 people might not recognize what he does as being "true" to the music of the day. Others might clearly see the connection, but the difference would likely be apparent to them as well. The post-modern ideas of how art can be made includes these time travelling moments, that is, the ability to create new works by using elements of prior works. Though the works may be similar or close to works from other eras, the conscious choice in selecting the work's execution shape the intent behind the piece and that's something that defines the contemporary world of the arts.
I particularly like "recessive musical traits."The Black Keys and Nick Waterhouse may make music that expresses recessive musical traits, but it's very much modern music. If Nick Waterhouse were to go back to 1955 people might not recognize what he does as being "true" to the music of the day. Others might clearly see the connection, but the difference would likely be apparent to them as well.
This is interesting. I wonder just how well-received something like Waterhouse's style would be in '55, or maybe, in a different genre, how popular a modern Sinatra-style singer like Buble would be. There are, I'm sure, subtleties that would be picked up on.
Nick Waterhouse also puts on a hell of a show. I've seen him three times since his beginnings and have the fabled 7" he put out. The energy at his shows is just unmatched. He really knows his shit. Side note on that 7" inch: I bought it from his for 10 bucks. He's apparently so popular now that the damn thing is worth over 300.
Skinny Puppy's Weapon won't be released until the end of the month, but for a few days Juno was streaming it. It's gone now, but their label posted a track on youtube. I am excited about this album. Rummelsnuff released a new video. I am not sure I get Rummelsnuff, but his videos are always fun. If you haven't seen them, check out Mongoloid, Trägt die Woge dein Boot, Freier Fall, and Daddy Cool too. Lux Interna - Tongues got released today. They've taken a rockey turn somewhere. Still recognizably them, but edging towards doom metal. I haven't paid any attention to them over the last few years, and I think I should catch up. This is great. edit: album on bandcamp
True Widow on repeat forever. Very conflicted on it. Some of my absolute favorite music out of a current band with some of the dumbest lyrics I've ever read. "Jackyl" I want to be wrong about this but I'm pretty sure this song is actually about the band Jackyl.I heard so long I listened to you
Refined the soul that sleeps to renew
Within the walls I waited for truth
So now it turns elusive in view
This will come to know me only
Take Us Alive by Other Lives from their Mind the Gap EP on TBD Records, 2013 ________________________________________________________________
Psst. Huge sale + 50th record celebration at Count Your Lucky Stars Records this week. I think you'd like their music.
I've listened to it once and all I can say is I need more listens. Which is in itself promising because I'd be concerned if I loved or heated these songs after one listen. I've found my favorite albums require at least a couple lessons before I start "getting" it and liking it. So I enjoyed my first listen but I need more to deliver a fully informed judgement. I guess that's kind of a cop out but it's true.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Nujabes, particularly his first album Metaphorical Music. I'm really liking how there's a mix between mellow, atmospheric tracks like Kumomi mixed in with hip hop tracks like Think Different. I was also listening to a bit of Yo La Tengo - here's Cherry Chapstick. Oh, and on Saturday night I saw these guys live. A friend of mine drank way too much and I missed the first half of the show while taking care of him (his aunt picked him up) but when I got there it was amazing. A group of strangers took their shoes off, and I joined them; my friends followed, and suddenly there was an enormous pile of shoes in the middle of the floor and everyone was dancing with no shoes.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Nujabes, particularly his first album Metaphorical Music. I'm really liking how there's a mix between mellow, atmospheric tracks like Kumomi mixed in with hip hop tracks like Think Different.
Just one of those albums, feels so real. God I loved Nujabes.
Ton of tests this week, not any time for exploring, but I found this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqsMKvkzdwc
Black Coffee - Humble Pie That starting riff. His voice. It's all so good!