Author Topic: General Music talk  (Read 83332 times)

FLYmeatwad

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #740 on: February 12, 2021, 04:11:25 PM »
This might be the weekend...

Eric/E.T.

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #741 on: February 12, 2021, 11:46:37 PM »
Well, I'll say something then...

Favorite track of the young year, There's Nothing You Can't Do by (GASP!) Spirit of the Beehive! I just love that a band named themselves after that amazing film. This one has been a round a very short while, but this is the first I've heard of them. Glad I have.

https://youtu.be/UbcThup3lgA
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FLYmeatwad

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #742 on: February 13, 2021, 08:37:28 PM »
This might be the weekend...

Hello, darkness, FLY old friend. Is this truly the weekend? How do we even go about doing this, one may ask. Pretty sure that we wrote about "Bad Boy", but, in the spirit of NMF, we DO NOT go back and look at previous weeks. Want to do a quick recap of things that we have missed in quick hits? Guess so, though tbh I need to make a playlist now that songs are actually out. Get on that, big dog, but first, get on telling us what we might have missed the past few weeks.

So last week we had another Bandcamp release of a new Conway The Machine mixtape called If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed that is another heater from Conway. If you like it, you're like it. If you don't, you ain't with it. Last week there was also the Vampire Weekend EP, 40:42, that I listed to once and will never touch again. I do like Vampy Weeks, but this sucker is a CINECAST!ing slog. They don't do a lot of singing on it and the two songs are disgustingly long.

Before we get in to this week's releases (and I skip over singles from the previous few weeks), we'll take a slightly extended look at OK Human, the latest from Weezer. FLY, being a notable fan of 'new Weezer' along with 'old Weezer', was bummed out that last year's Van Weezer got pushed back so much and still hasn't come out, despite only really liking (and REALLY liking) "Hero" in the lead up to it. But the Van Halen inspired sound is absent here, with Rivers focusing more on a fuller range of instruments that harkens back to older pop rock from like the Golden Era or whatever. Wikipedia is now telling me that it was recorded all on analogue equipment with a 38-piece orchestra. But, as with most of their best projects, it's the songwriting that Rivers brings which makes the album. Kicking off with "All My Favorite Songs" sets the mood for the record, and is a banger in the way that Weezer can make a banger that isn't just some power pop thing from their earlier albums, but looking over the tracklist it's hard to pick a favorite since so many are super strong. It's a reflective album, melancholic, and some would posit that it perhaps captures the current state of mundanity in quarantine. FLY would say that is a bit reductive, as the album covers much more, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. "Grapes of Wrath", "Playing My Piano", and "Bird With A Broken Wing" are my favorites aside from the lead track, but, again, this album is arguably the best one to release in 2021 up to this point.

Which brings us to the current week, and I suppose that we'll start with the singles that stood out to me. Guess we can start with the latest from Guapdad 4000 featuring !llmind called "How Many". Great verse from Guapdad, great sample used, just top notch. Guapdad 4000 was on a heater the other week called "Anime Shawty 2" that I loved. Last week also gave us "Gang Signs" from Freddie Gibbs and ScHoolboy Q that's a CINECAST!ing heater and shows some great chemistry between the two. Spotify also recommended "Everything New" from DJ Pharris featuring Chance, Wiz Khalifa, and Rockie Fresh. Pretty strong Chance verse here, and FLY continues to be warmer on his recent output than a lot of people. "Low Key" sees Doe Boy teaming up with Lil Uzi Vert (presumably recorded before he got his $24 million dollar gem embedded in his forehead), and it's a largely good song, but one I need to listen to more though haven't been compelled to go back to just yet. The other two that stood out are the latest from Death Grips. I knew it had been a while since their last release, but didn't exactly recall how long, but we're entering the third year, and listening to the latest single, "More Than the Fairy" featuring Les Claypool reminded me just how much they have been missed. Standing at three and a half minutes it's standard length, but gives you Death Grips still functioning at top quality. Though seems like FLY missed the real release the other week, which was their "GMail and the Restraining Orders", a single that clocks in just shy of thirty minutes and gives you bascially the full Death Grips experience. Which makes sense, considering that it's almost half an album's worth of music in one song. Need more Death Grips ASAP.

Albums were a bit scattershot this week. There were two strong ones slowthai's TYRON, which probably shines completely in the featured songs, notably the one that features Denzel Curry and, ofc, "feel away" that has James Blake and Mount Kimbie on it, though even on his solo songs slowthai has a unique flow that mostly separates him from his UK contemporaries. Well work checking this sucker out, and I need to give it another full listen. Also very surprised by the latest from Smokepurpp, PSYCHO (Legally Insane) EP, that's really quick, as the EP status implies, but sees Smokepurpp in more of a poprap sound that I found compelling in a way I haven't completely in what other work I've heard from him. On the other side of the coin we have UnCINECAST!witable from Babyface Ray, that feels like one of the most derivative works I have heard in a long time. There's a cool song with Moneybagg Yo that they released the other week, and I liked it then, but that's mostly because of Yo. This album isn't actively bad, but it's painfully mediocre in the way it pulls all the trendy trap rap sounds without bringing much new or unique to the table, and maybe that's worse than being actively bad.

But FLY saved the last entry for the week's best release, and the only thing that'll come close to Weezer at this point: EP2! from JPEGMAFIA. NMF missed the great "FIX URSELF!" on one of our off weeks, but that is definitely one of the best of this shorter project that has JPEGMAFIA building on that great collection of singles from 2020. He's just really operating in top form, and one has to be excited for what will come from a full project when that time arrives. We get the great line in this song as well, "I went from nothing' to sluttin, it wasn't easy babe / shoutout my babes and my husbands, I love yall equally" that encapsulates some of the best qualities of JPEGMAFIA's songs, but doesn't see him straying completely from the deeper qualities of his 'more serious' songs. But at this point he's found that balance, if it was ever in question (it wasn't), and you get this marvelous meeting point of all JPEGMAFIA's best qualities on what's probs FLY favorite song, "THIS ONES FOR US!" where you get meditation on hip-hop press coverage, how so much of it is covered by white people in positions of privilege, and can all exist alongside the great line, "Eating ass, feel like Pac Man". Not a long project, but nothing but heat top to bottom.

I also listed to the Rebecca Black remix of her hit meme single "Friday" that features a few different artists but is largely abysmal and the most blatant 100 gecs ripoff I've heard in a long time. Spotify also surfaced a song called "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" from Taylor Swift, so I figured this was her revisiting a song with a twist, but that's not the case. Being one of only two Taylor Swift songs I like, I was interested in this, but it turns out that it seems to basically just be her re-recording the song with maybe minor differences? I assume it has something to do with her being able to own the master of this version, but hell if I know. Been thinking about Taylor Swift yesterday and today as I saw some people posting celebratory things about her music on Twitter, and it continues to be ridiculous because her music is Bad, though it makes sense why she gets positioned as a contrast point to Kanye because, despite everything, Kanye always feels completely authentic and genuine, even when maybe he's not, while Swift also feels meticulously curated and intentional, even when maybe she's not.

Oh yeah, Demi Lovato was featured on a song the other week too with some guy I have never heard of, but Demi crushed her part as one would expect.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #743 on: February 13, 2021, 10:03:16 PM »
I might try ONE song from the new Weezer, but I'm extremely wary. I have not found anything I like from Weezer outside of their blue album, of which I like most, and My Name is Jonas is an all-time favorite. I should also say that I think that album was released when I was in middle school, but I didn't really listen to it until I was out of college. I have a lot of weird paths to the music I listen to.

I will also try the new JPEG, but I take a dim view on people who constantly release one track after another. I had to stop listening to his individual songs last year, mostly because I just found it overkill. Dude is not Kanye in Hawaii, no one ever will be except Kanye in motherCINECAST!ing Hawaii. But JPEG's best songs stick with me, just threw on Baby I'm Bleeding, so good.

Just listened to More Than the Fairy. Pretty fantastic stuff. I'll tackle the lengthier song later.

You like Cloud Nothings? I quite like the recent track, Nothing Without You. Definitely looking forward to the new album.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2021, 10:05:36 PM by etdoesgood »
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FLYmeatwad

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #744 on: February 13, 2021, 10:20:50 PM »
I don't know if these songs were all released as singles and compiled like they were in 2020, though the one definitely was, so maybe they just passed me by. Worth a listen anyway, though I do agree that no one can hope to match Kanye.

Also didn't start listening to Weezer until sophomore year of college, but think that when Rivers in on he's incredibly compelling. Some would say that the songwriting in their earlier work hasn't aged well, or that modern Weezer at their most successful is just chasing their old sound to diminishing returns, but FLY doesn't take either of those stances. Fantano's review of OK Human ended up being pretty good, though, as usual, I didn't find myself completely in line with his take. That piano version of "Hero" released last year was good, but obviously isn't on this album. Rivers does a killer live version of "Viva La Vida" that I saw on YouTube once and was great.

Have messed with some Cloud Nothings, but never got super in to them. One of the best performances I saw at Made In America festival though. They were on the skate stage (smallest stage) and only had about 20 people in the crowd for them that year (2013), but even outdoor their sound was all encompassing. Was able to get close and right in the center, so the reverberations of the speakers pretty much pounded through me, and they went hard for the seven or eight song set. Skate Stage was always pretty good, saw Pissed Jeans there as well. Obvi Rave Cave was the overall best, but I should check out more Cloud Nothings.

Death Grips are the shit, I need to listen to the long one again with better headphones.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #745 on: February 14, 2021, 01:03:01 AM »
Pissed Jeans, yes!

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FLYmeatwad

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #746 on: February 19, 2021, 07:11:22 AM »
Seems like a bad release weekend, also have to work a bit tomorrow morning and am a bit under the weather, so we’ll see.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #747 on: February 19, 2021, 10:36:57 PM »
New Hold Steady and Animal Collective, two big releases at least in my world.

With that said, The Hold Steady's Open Door Policy seems to be a good-not-great release for a band much beloved by me. It doesn't rock the way they can, as in the more tender moments of Boys and Girls in America are stretched out on this album. That said, there are still some great songs here, especially the middle three in Family Farm-Unpleasant Breakfast-Heavy Covenant. Finn is still telling his Kerouacian stories of people just doing what people do in this mad world, and I'll have to listen to it more to really digest the words.

The Animal Collective one is bizarre. Not that that's the first time anyone's said that about the group. It's a modernist mood piece with very few lyrics, so FLY beware!  ;) It requires a headphone listen for sure, and I'm thinking it might be best to listen to while laying down in the dark. Listening to it, I could be led to think the quarantining had a big impact on the work, as it's even more impressionistic than their past works, and this could be interpreted as this usually very earnest and open band making something a little more closed and difficult. That could be totally off, but I wouldn't be surprised were it true.

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FLYmeatwad

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #748 on: February 20, 2021, 06:57:57 PM »
Did not realize it was a whole project for Anny Co. Spotify had what I imagine is the lead single as my number two recommended song of the week, so was planning on writing it up/will if I do it later tonight, though still feel sickish, though, spoiler alert, that song is cruising for a bad rating. It barely sounds like Anny Co, and, as you say, is basically without any lyrics. I only listened to one new album this week, ended up being a very small release week for me this time, even singles were mostly sparse.

Eric/E.T.

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Re: General Music talk
« Reply #749 on: February 21, 2021, 01:19:47 AM »
I just read that Crestone is actually a film (a documentary about Soundcloud Rappers), and this is Animal Collective's score for it. Makes a lot more sense now. Avey Tare and Panda Bear were not even involved.
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