It’s a little hard to describe Flying Lotus accurately. “Electronic” feels wholly inadequate. “Fusion” is accurate, yes, but also feels like it’s not really highlighting what he’s fusing. There’s lots of jazz and experimental electronic music here, some funk…just kind of lots of everything. It’s great! But hard to describe. Luckily, you can just listen to it.
I don’t always have a ton to say about bands. The Mekons were good!
[Read More]You’re Dead!, the incredible 2014 album by Flying Lotus, is a shimmering mass of fantastic ideas, with constant shifting across tracks, well-chosen guest artists, and lots of surprises across the length of the album. However, it’s one of those records that really works best as an album, and not as isolated cuts, as you miss the overall context of each song if you just listen to a piece.
[Read More]Here’s today, but check out the bonus song I link down below.
The second Goats album seemed like it was chasing the trends of early 90s rap, with plenty of stabs towards rock, jazz, and other types of hybrid styles. It doesn’t hang together particularly well, and it’s mostly forgettable. There are some fun moments on the album, but overall, it’s a miss.
The opener to the second side of Flood, the album that really put the group on the map. And while it has some truly great tunes on that first half, my HOT TAKE here is that the second half is only so-so. It’s that second half that puts this album nowhere near the top of my favorite albums from TMBG.
[Read More]One of the best songs from Take Fountain, the “comeback” album from the Wedding Present that was really them just renaming themselves. Gedge always sounds great in this kind of conversational/confession mode, and the extended outro is nice. This song could easily have been on Watusi, which is a high compliment.
Well, this song certainly takes its time getting going, doesn’t it? And then it sounds like a couple different songs playing at the same time. Honestly, the wall of sound here is sort of the musical equivalent of mumbling really loud. But, I still kind of like it.
[Read More]Some strong hip hop, some great reggae, an instrumental trifle, and some classic rock. It’s Five Songs!
Part of a blossoming reaction to the preeminent aesthetic of late 80s hip hop, A Tribe Called Quest quickly became the greatest of the acts rejecting the posturing of so many of their peers. From their very first album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (which this song comes from), they were already executing a fully realized artistic vision, one perfected in their next album, The Low End Theory. The focus on addressing topics that other groups weren’t talking about along with a sonic palette that included far more jazz than was the norm helped them stand out from just about anybody else, excepting maybe De La Soul (who were frequent collaborators). Simply put, A Tribe Called Quest is one of the giants of hip-hop, and their first three albums are all essential listening.
[Read More]Starts slow, but some interesting stuff today.
Like I said last time, I’ll defend the first couple albums, but this album (X&Y), NOOOOPE. Too boring.
Well, I’m not sure what to do with this album. This is from Zaireeka, the transitional album between *Clouds Taste Metallic and The Soft Bulletin. So, what’s the problem? Well, at the time, the Flaming Lips were doing a lot of experimenting with how music is played back. They were doing “car stereo orchestras”, where they got a ton of cars together and gave each of them a specific tape, to be played in unison to produce a single piece. They decided, hey, that’s cool, and went for an at-home version of that with Zaireeka.
[Read More]No intro today, straight to the tunes!
Propagandhi, avowed anti-capitalists and purveyors of radical left-wing politics, played catchy punk with lyrics that were largely polemics. But they made things work, and their best albums (largely their first two records) didn’t let the propaganda totally take over the proceedings. This song is from a compilation of singles, Where Quantity is Job #1, which is as uneven as most singles comps are.
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