Monday, March 18, 2013
Birthday Mix!
Another March 16th has come and gone and it's time (or perhaps a bit past time) for another birthday mix. The rules are that I can only include songs I discovered or became interested in between my last birthday and my most recent one.
Even though this mix on the longer side, I cut it down significantly from the first draft. There is so much amazing music being made right now and it can be a bit overwhelming.
This was a pretty important year. I got married, started a business, moved to a new apartment. It's been wild, but I wouldn't change a thing. In a way, this mix is representative of the songs that acted as the soundtrack to those major decisions in my life. I feel like each song gave me comfort or food for thought or captured my energy and excitement. In short, I'm a huge nerd and here's a glorified mix tape that I assembled for no one in particular.
Track List
1. Autre Ne Veut - "Play By Play" I have a lot of reasons for including this song. It has an interesting linear song structure that breaks away from the verse/chorus progression that is ubiquitous in a lot of R&B (and a lot of popular music in general). The hook is fantastic. I could go on, but the real reason I included this song is because the synths sound like god. Like fucking god.
2. Japandroids - "The House That Heaven Built" This song sounds like teenagers making promises to themselves about how their lives are going to be when they get older.
3. Spider Bags - "Simona La Ramona" I like garage rock as much as the next person who doesn't get off by playing low-fi 45s to their music nerd friends. Nonetheless, the aesthetic has some real limitations. Spider Bags push those boundaries and Shake My Head was a really fun and relatively eclectic album. Simona La Ramona was my jam largely because of the outro and I think it's indicative of the band's talent.
4. Twin Shadow - "Run My Heart" There was a hot dog restaurant I used to go to when I was younger. It was in the center of the suburb I grew up in. It had the dubious distinction of being the second best hot dog place in town. The restaurant was oddly decorated and probably hadn't been updated in years. The walls featured these posters of 80s pulp comic strips, often featuring scenes involving forlorn lovers and people in romantic entanglements. They were fun, angsty, and obviously overly-dramatic for a hot dog restaurant. I wish they hadn't made an indelible impression in my brain because I would really like to use that real estate for more important things, but they did. Anyway, Twin Shadow totally sounds like those 1980s pulp comic strips in the second best hot dog stand in town, and I mean that as a compliment.
5. Major Lazer - "Get Free" What a beautiful, sad song. Wealth and opportunity inequality can be so cruel and devastating. We need reminders of those who lack the resources and ability to improve their situation. We need to understand that we have priced people out of their middle class dreams.
6. Cloud Nothings - "Wasted Days" I saw Cloud Nothings play at Pitchfork last year. They played a great set despite intermittent rain. Towards the end of the instrumental bridge in "Wasted Days," the sound started to crackle. The vocals cut out entirely but I believe there was still some instrumentation. Instead of stopping the song, the band played on and the audience chanted along, screaming "I thought I would be more than this," while the rain kept pouring. It was moving to watch. My generation was hit especially hard by this recession. There are fewer opportunities. More college graduates are moving home or taking jobs that don't utilize their skills. Unpaid internships are not only commonplace, but seemingly a requirement for anyone looking for work. So many of us grew up and paid for education when it seemed like hard work and the right credentials would secure a good future. After the checks were cashed and the plans made, the rules changed. This song captures that feeling spectacularly well.
7. Kendrick Lamar - "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" good kid, m.A.A.d. city is the best rap album of 2012 and probably one of the best rap albums I've ever heard. Seriously. It plays as a clever concept album (with a cohesive and engaging narrative) and as a collection of interesting and catchy songs. So many concept albums are cluttered with ideas or drop the storyline in the name of including a radio single. For anyone who hasn't heard it, the album is a semi-biographical account of Kendrick growing up as a kid in Compton. The songs feature the narrator navigating teenaged impulses and social pressures while developing into a popular rapper. "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" is absolutely not what the song title or hook sounds like.
8. Crystal Castles (featuring Robert Smith) - "Not In Love" I love Crystal Castle's production, but sometimes I wish it was just a little catchier and a bit more British and maybe a bit sadder in a wearing-too-much-eye-liner-during-the-1980s sort of way.
9. Vampire Weekend - "Horchata" I wish I knew what this song is about. It's so engaging, but I always feel a little silly assigning meaning to it. That said, when I was thinking of quitting my job, I used to listen to this song and think about all the promises I made to myself when I was planning on going to law school. I had so many dreams about the lawyer I wanted to be and the firm I wanted to work for. At some point, it became clear that I would have to make my own opportunities. It was a really wonderful and powerful realization.
10. Purity Ring - "Ungirthed" Fact: I love me some vocal manipulation and oscillating synths.
11. Miguel - "Do You..." Great, catchy song, sure, but it's on here because I played bass for years and the rhythm section owns this song. I hope this is a live drummer, because that man deserves a medal.
12. Grimes - "Genesis" I have so many vivid memories of listening to this album at my old apartment when it was too hot to do anything but sit and sweat. All of the windows were open, every fan was on full blast, and this album was constantly playing. It sounds like summer to me.
13. Iron and Wine - "Far From Home" If you don't like the heart-on-sleeve earnestness of Iron and Wine, we probably shouldn't talk about this song.
14. The Mountain Goats - "Heretic Pride" What a fun song about being killed by a mob for holding cultish religious beliefs!
15. Future - "You Deserve It" Not only did I make fun of this song when I first heard it, I remember what I said. I asked my friend, who had put on the album, what I did to deserve autotune. Zing! I'm a moron. That's a great song.
16. A$AP Rocky - "Palace" There are a few A$AP songs I could or should put on this mix, but I'll use "Palace." A$AP is the best rapper currently recording music. I don't mean that every A$AP song is better than every other rap song, just that when things click for him, there's nothing better. "Palace" is actually a somewhat hard-to-approach Clams Casino instrumental track that was not composed with vocals in mind. You'd never know. "Palace" is the first track on A$AP's debut solo mixtape and it sounds every bit as hungry as it should.
17. MNDR - "Cut Me Out" I love the shit out of like 4 or 5 MNDR songs. This is one of them.
18. Baroness - "The Gnashing" I still listen to metal albums since hearing Baroness' Blue Record, but I don't really have to.
19. Death Grips - "Stockton" I have had so
many arguments about whether I can categorize Death Grips as hardcore. Seriously, this is how I spend my time. That I'm even having these fights is illustrative of why I think Death Grips is so good and, in a way, so important. Good hardcore should be threatening, and not only in a physical sense. It should be a rejection of old and outdated ideas, both sonically and philosophically. I don't need another 2.5 minute hardcore song with a guitar hook, verse/chorus structure, half-time breakdown, and chanting outro. I don't need to hear about how angry or distressed someone is in a traditional pop music format, accompanied by power chords and a 4/4 time signature. It's safe and played. It's in total conformity with the unwritten rules of the genre and lacks any real urgency. Death Grips make me uncomfortable. They frequently change time signatures (not in this song), use bizarre sound samples, and scream like they mean it. I don't mind calling them rap, or noise, or whathaveyou, but refusing to recognize the hardcore influence has less to do with how the band sounds and more about keeping hardcore a safe and exclusive country club of angry white dudes with guitar fetishes.
20. Swans - "Mother of the World" This song is hard to listen to. It's a stunning study in contrasts and time shifting. It's worth the effort, but it does require concerted effort.
Even though this mix on the longer side, I cut it down significantly from the first draft. There is so much amazing music being made right now and it can be a bit overwhelming.
This was a pretty important year. I got married, started a business, moved to a new apartment. It's been wild, but I wouldn't change a thing. In a way, this mix is representative of the songs that acted as the soundtrack to those major decisions in my life. I feel like each song gave me comfort or food for thought or captured my energy and excitement. In short, I'm a huge nerd and here's a glorified mix tape that I assembled for no one in particular.
Track List
1. Autre Ne Veut - "Play By Play" I have a lot of reasons for including this song. It has an interesting linear song structure that breaks away from the verse/chorus progression that is ubiquitous in a lot of R&B (and a lot of popular music in general). The hook is fantastic. I could go on, but the real reason I included this song is because the synths sound like god. Like fucking god.
2. Japandroids - "The House That Heaven Built" This song sounds like teenagers making promises to themselves about how their lives are going to be when they get older.
3. Spider Bags - "Simona La Ramona" I like garage rock as much as the next person who doesn't get off by playing low-fi 45s to their music nerd friends. Nonetheless, the aesthetic has some real limitations. Spider Bags push those boundaries and Shake My Head was a really fun and relatively eclectic album. Simona La Ramona was my jam largely because of the outro and I think it's indicative of the band's talent.
4. Twin Shadow - "Run My Heart" There was a hot dog restaurant I used to go to when I was younger. It was in the center of the suburb I grew up in. It had the dubious distinction of being the second best hot dog place in town. The restaurant was oddly decorated and probably hadn't been updated in years. The walls featured these posters of 80s pulp comic strips, often featuring scenes involving forlorn lovers and people in romantic entanglements. They were fun, angsty, and obviously overly-dramatic for a hot dog restaurant. I wish they hadn't made an indelible impression in my brain because I would really like to use that real estate for more important things, but they did. Anyway, Twin Shadow totally sounds like those 1980s pulp comic strips in the second best hot dog stand in town, and I mean that as a compliment.
5. Major Lazer - "Get Free" What a beautiful, sad song. Wealth and opportunity inequality can be so cruel and devastating. We need reminders of those who lack the resources and ability to improve their situation. We need to understand that we have priced people out of their middle class dreams.
6. Cloud Nothings - "Wasted Days" I saw Cloud Nothings play at Pitchfork last year. They played a great set despite intermittent rain. Towards the end of the instrumental bridge in "Wasted Days," the sound started to crackle. The vocals cut out entirely but I believe there was still some instrumentation. Instead of stopping the song, the band played on and the audience chanted along, screaming "I thought I would be more than this," while the rain kept pouring. It was moving to watch. My generation was hit especially hard by this recession. There are fewer opportunities. More college graduates are moving home or taking jobs that don't utilize their skills. Unpaid internships are not only commonplace, but seemingly a requirement for anyone looking for work. So many of us grew up and paid for education when it seemed like hard work and the right credentials would secure a good future. After the checks were cashed and the plans made, the rules changed. This song captures that feeling spectacularly well.
7. Kendrick Lamar - "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" good kid, m.A.A.d. city is the best rap album of 2012 and probably one of the best rap albums I've ever heard. Seriously. It plays as a clever concept album (with a cohesive and engaging narrative) and as a collection of interesting and catchy songs. So many concept albums are cluttered with ideas or drop the storyline in the name of including a radio single. For anyone who hasn't heard it, the album is a semi-biographical account of Kendrick growing up as a kid in Compton. The songs feature the narrator navigating teenaged impulses and social pressures while developing into a popular rapper. "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" is absolutely not what the song title or hook sounds like.
8. Crystal Castles (featuring Robert Smith) - "Not In Love" I love Crystal Castle's production, but sometimes I wish it was just a little catchier and a bit more British and maybe a bit sadder in a wearing-too-much-eye-liner-during-the-1980s sort of way.
9. Vampire Weekend - "Horchata" I wish I knew what this song is about. It's so engaging, but I always feel a little silly assigning meaning to it. That said, when I was thinking of quitting my job, I used to listen to this song and think about all the promises I made to myself when I was planning on going to law school. I had so many dreams about the lawyer I wanted to be and the firm I wanted to work for. At some point, it became clear that I would have to make my own opportunities. It was a really wonderful and powerful realization.
10. Purity Ring - "Ungirthed" Fact: I love me some vocal manipulation and oscillating synths.
11. Miguel - "Do You..." Great, catchy song, sure, but it's on here because I played bass for years and the rhythm section owns this song. I hope this is a live drummer, because that man deserves a medal.
12. Grimes - "Genesis" I have so many vivid memories of listening to this album at my old apartment when it was too hot to do anything but sit and sweat. All of the windows were open, every fan was on full blast, and this album was constantly playing. It sounds like summer to me.
13. Iron and Wine - "Far From Home" If you don't like the heart-on-sleeve earnestness of Iron and Wine, we probably shouldn't talk about this song.
14. The Mountain Goats - "Heretic Pride" What a fun song about being killed by a mob for holding cultish religious beliefs!
15. Future - "You Deserve It" Not only did I make fun of this song when I first heard it, I remember what I said. I asked my friend, who had put on the album, what I did to deserve autotune. Zing! I'm a moron. That's a great song.
16. A$AP Rocky - "Palace" There are a few A$AP songs I could or should put on this mix, but I'll use "Palace." A$AP is the best rapper currently recording music. I don't mean that every A$AP song is better than every other rap song, just that when things click for him, there's nothing better. "Palace" is actually a somewhat hard-to-approach Clams Casino instrumental track that was not composed with vocals in mind. You'd never know. "Palace" is the first track on A$AP's debut solo mixtape and it sounds every bit as hungry as it should.
17. MNDR - "Cut Me Out" I love the shit out of like 4 or 5 MNDR songs. This is one of them.
18. Baroness - "The Gnashing" I still listen to metal albums since hearing Baroness' Blue Record, but I don't really have to.
many arguments about whether I can categorize Death Grips as hardcore. Seriously, this is how I spend my time. That I'm even having these fights is illustrative of why I think Death Grips is so good and, in a way, so important. Good hardcore should be threatening, and not only in a physical sense. It should be a rejection of old and outdated ideas, both sonically and philosophically. I don't need another 2.5 minute hardcore song with a guitar hook, verse/chorus structure, half-time breakdown, and chanting outro. I don't need to hear about how angry or distressed someone is in a traditional pop music format, accompanied by power chords and a 4/4 time signature. It's safe and played. It's in total conformity with the unwritten rules of the genre and lacks any real urgency. Death Grips make me uncomfortable. They frequently change time signatures (not in this song), use bizarre sound samples, and scream like they mean it. I don't mind calling them rap, or noise, or whathaveyou, but refusing to recognize the hardcore influence has less to do with how the band sounds and more about keeping hardcore a safe and exclusive country club of angry white dudes with guitar fetishes.
20. Swans - "Mother of the World" This song is hard to listen to. It's a stunning study in contrasts and time shifting. It's worth the effort, but it does require concerted effort.
# posted by seventeennightsinthecity @ 10:00 AM 
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