The Marvelettes

As long as I’m resurrecting various hobbies and activities, for anybody that is curious, I’ve got a game design that I’ve been working on that’s pretty far along. I’ve been blogging about it on my other site, with the articles available here. I actually just made what I think is potentially a very cool rules change, and I can’t wait to try it out. OK! Let’s crank up the tunes!

Rocket From the Crypt, “Birdman”

For most of the summer, I’ve been listening to a lot of punk and various punk-inflected rock bands. It’s kind of me circling back to one of my forever loves in music, driven by discovering see/saw. It’s a genre that really just kind of thrives on execution, which is funny for a genre with a reputation for sloppiness. But execution doesn’t mean precision, just that the band’s songs, energy, and approach have to be aligned for things to really work.

The Marvelettes, “Please Mr. Postman”

“Please Mr. Postman” was the first ever number one hit for Motown, setting the precedent that so many other songs would later follow. And it’s easy to see, especially with that lead vocal performance. This is still a serious jam.

NxWorries, “Best One”

NxWorries is a delightful collaboration between Anderson .Paak and underground hip-hop producer Knxwledge, and it smokes. Knxwledge has always excelled at these kinds of dense, funky, kind of abstract beats, but working with .Paak gives them a purpose that showcases them better than his solo work. I’d love to hear a follow-up record to this thing.