Not too long ago I decided I was going to start a new trend — summer resolutions. A few years ago, I tried to start “December 1st resolutions”: if you’re going to make New Year’s resolutions, why not one-up yourself and start a month earlier?! Well, obviously that failed, because nobody wants to start making resolutions in fucking December, so I went back to attempting (and failing at) regular old New Year’s resolutions. BUT this idea is going to be different. Summer resolutions!
In my newfound spirit of self-improvement, I was led — from the arresting conclusion that I don’t get enough sleep — to download an application for my laptop called f.lux. Once installed, f.lux automatically adjusts the tint of your monitor based on the time of day — the idea being that the hue of light experienced in an environment affects the circadian rhythms (in general, blues are desirable in the morning and reds are ideal for evening). And let me tell you — ever since, I’ve been on cloud fucking nine. I feel like a million bucks, constantly. I sleep like a baby for 8.25 hours a night, wake up feeling refreshed and earnest, quit drinking. You guys have got to get f.lux.
Happy summer!
Naive Thieves “Anxiété” (Cave and Canary Goods, 2014) You know you’re getting old when you start referring to things as “Strokes revivalism”….normally I don’t endorse faux-frenchiness but this song’s undeniable catchiness earns it plenty forgiveness points.
Marvelous Mark “Bite Me” (Bad Actors, 2014) Another Newtown Radio discovery (newtownradio.com). If Naive Thieves’ opening track earned them “plenty” of forgiveness points for catchiness, Marvelous Mark here has just earned himself a lifetime supply.
Tobacco “Eruption (Gonna Get My Hair Cut at the End of the Summer)” (Ghostly International, 2014) Amen to that, right?! Resolution #2 for summer (#1 being downloading f.lux): DON’T get your hair cut! Fall is the time to get all square, but for now, it’s summer baby — let it FLOW! Anyway, I’m really grooving on the stuff Tom Fec is doing — Tobacco is his solo project, while his primary group is Black Moth Super Rainbow (another music club alum, December 2012). The unique sound of the two artistic projects quite unmistakably hails from the same source, but it’s so simultaneously hedonistically catchy and creepily complex I’m glad there’s twice as much output.
Death Grips “Billy Not Really” (Harvest / Third Worlds, 2014) Death Grips, leading purveyors of high-concept art packaged as experimental hip-hop, released the first half of a planned two-part album for free online, and then broke up. The album is notable in that all eight tracks feature the vocals of Björk (chopped and looped past recognizability), and that it lacks disturbingly grotesque and/or pornographic cover art (see examples of prior releases). Although I’m sad to see Death Grips go, considering they’re essentially at the cutting edge of wherever hip-hop intersects with the avant-garde, I suppose it would only be in the precise spirit of such to quit while ahead. Better to destroy the thing before it becomes the thing, you know?
Tijuana Panthers “Cherry Street” (Innovative Leisure, 2014) Nothing particularly special about this one, just can’t stop listening to it.
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart “Kelly” (Painbow Music, 2014) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart will always hold a special place in my, um, heart as part of my indispensable summer soundtrack. Perhaps because of my dad’s borderline-religious tendency of also doing so, I’ve adopted a schedule of playing certain albums at certain times, and The Pains’ debut full-length is a “summer friday” staple of mine. Their third full-length in, Days of Abandon, finds them with sharpened production values and lyrical content that’s hardly advanced an inch; get ready for angst, nostalgia, and youth, youth, idealized youth.
TV Girl “Birds Dont Sing” [sic] (self-released, 2014) My heart skips a beat every time I get to use [sic].
Chain & The Gang “Devitalize” (RADICAL ELITE, 2014) Typical punk idealizing destruction rather than actually doing it, Chain & The Gang play to the fears of their declared enemy, the middle class, threatening its various forms of stability and comfort with relative specificity. Joke’s on them, of course — give ‘em fifteen years, a couple kids, they’ll be the ones fending off the passive-aggressive subversions of punks fucking with their produce and politicians.
Popstrangers “Country Kills” (Carpark Records, 2014) There’s something R.E.M. about this song — maybe the lyrics, maybe the way the vocals in the verses interplay with the guitars, maybe the androgynous cover art. I’m simultaneously frustrated with being unable to figure out what the song is about and unable to get it out of my head. But hey, take that any day over a song you can figure out and get out of your head.
Antwon “rain song ft. Lil Ugly Mane” (Aesop, 2014) Though Antwon doesn’t seem particularly good at rapping on a technical level, there’s a certain je ne sais quoi about his rhymes that keep me coming back. I suppose that’s what hip-hop is all about. But the real star of this song is Lil Ugly Mane, who — via his production alias Shawn Kemp — has crafted a masterpiece of eerie, disorienting self-loathing, and — via his rapping alias Lil Ugly Mane — shows up Antwon on his own song.
Danny Brown “Dip” (Fool’s Gold, 2013) 2013 joint!! At some point not too long ago, the epicenter of whatever it means to be cool and authentic in rap shifted from drug suppliers to drug consumers. If the catalyst for this sea change can be traced back to last decade’s “great schism” of gansta-rap-vs-Kanye-West and the latter’s redefining of humanity in hip-hop, its cresting wave is likely Danny Brown — a raw, disgusting physical incarnation of all that is beautiful and horrible about vices of the flesh. Where in another era Brown’s rather graphic escapades might’ve been read as pure braggadocio, we here and now find what adds up to a troubling self-portrait of pleasureless indulgence and inescapable excess. Sure, no doubt he’s proud of the things women do in his presence, the staggering volume and variety of drugs he consumes, even the strung-out days awake on end spent composing the very tales we’re hearing — but his haggard delivery belies the knowing that none of it comes without the searing hangover, the morning-lit pallor, the festering ache of the downward spiral towards meaninglessness. Hope 2014 is treating him better….
Beastie Boys “B-Boys Makin’ With The Freak Freak” (Grand Royal, 1994) It is a dual occasion that necessitates our inclusion of this track this time around; triple if I’m selfish. The month of May saw the 20th anniversary of the release of the Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication, that wonderful, colorful collage of sound that marks not a beginning nor end nor any other milestone of anything besides a band atop a broad peak of creative confidence and fearless individuality. In addition to containing some of the Beasties’ most recognizable songs, the album contains some of their most left-field, expressive, and personal ones too. I could harp for hours on this topic but instead I’ll just point you in the direction of one of my favorite music writers, Tom Breihan, for those interested in further reading: http://www.stereogum.com/1682915/ill-communication-turns-20/franchises/the-anniversary/.
The second occasion at hand is a solemn one: May 4th marked the two year anniversary of the death of member Adam “MCA” Yauch (for you newbs, he’s the one with the gravelly voice). I’ll also avoid getting too sentimental here, but suffice it to say his death remains the most impactful on me personally of any celebrity’s. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe he’s actually gone.
Third — I know the vocals are a little fuzzed out, but if you listen closely, the Beasties dedicate a large chunk of the final verse to a discussion of golf course fashion. As many of you know, golf fashion is a huge passion of mine and a crucial cause that’s been woefully neglected elsewhere in the music world. Thank you, Beastie Boys — thank you.
Stephen Steinbrink “Now You See Everything” (Melodic, 2014) A beautiful slice of pastoral pop, recalling both the musical and lyrical poeticism of the 60s and early 70s. Stephen Steinbrink has been recording and releasing music for a few years, but his most recent release, Arranged Waves, turns a palpable corner from the loner-minimalist DIY folk of his prior work to more fleshed-out pop arrangements, to the immediate gratification of the listener.
Alvvays “Archie, Marry Me” (Polyvinyl, 2014) I’m so pissed at how clever their band name is. But otherwise, I’m totally thrilled with everything these guys are bringing. This song is totally mainstream too — got a shoutout in Rolling Stone.
Cam’ron & A-Trak “Dipshits (Feat. Juelz Santana)” (Federal Reserve, 2014) Okay… where to begin? First, I suppose, I should acknowledge that I’ve already included a Cam’ron track in this year’s series of music club mixes — but I’ll stop short of apologizing since I’m not sorry about that. That previous track of his was included as the token “ten year old” track on a prior mix, and goddamn — this one could probably pass as the same. Cam wastes no time dating himself with a drop of “no homo” within the first few seconds of the song; Juelz Santana graces the Just Blaze production with a competent hook; Dame Dash even grabs the mic for a spoken-word outro (in which he, too, manages to encroach on homophobia with a drop of “pause”). It’s unclear to me exactly what role Fool’s Gold labelhead A-Trak plays here (perhaps production assistance?), but I like the concept of that collaboration.
The Proper Ornaments “Summer’s Gone” (Slumberland, 2014) Because if you blink….
Alex G “Hollow” (Orchid Tapes, 2014) Alex G’s debut album DSU follows the Elliot Smith indie framework of sad-guy acoustic and soft, high-pitched voice — this mould has been used so much it’s practically in the public domain by common law now, and a million kids in their bedrooms with a guitar and enough spare time to feel lonely vie for the title of the genre’s crown holder. Alex G makes a respectable bid here; standout track “Hollow” has enough of the mopey stuff to suck you in, but a welcomed electric tinge to keep you from nodding off.
Yonatan Gat “Escorpião” (Joyful Noise, 2014) BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!
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