SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

08/alabama shakes/gimme all your love

gimme all your love ain't too proud to beg. it ain't too proud to beg cause it is committed. every lyric, every note, every melody, is committed. committed to being the remedy and making things right. and the work it puts in to get there is monumental and stunning, and incredibly convincing. she's put a spell on you. she and that colossus of a wail has put a spell on you. she and her cohorts have put a spell on you. she and those horns, and that closing guitar solo + instrumental have put a spell on you. and it is mesmerizing. an urgent and confrontational request from the depths of this band's soul. brittany and them have got the blues. them thick, swampy, down home blues. you submit cause you feel it, and you submit cause you have no choice.



09/tame impala/let it happen

10/grimes/flesh without blood

11/kanye west/theophilus london/allan kingdom/paul mccartney/all day

12/chvrches/clearest blue

13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

09/courtney barnett/sometimes i sit and think, and sometimes i just sit

courtney barnett has a way with words. a deep appreciation and affinity for words. and language. and all the myriad ways we can use them to get a point across, paint a scene, or simply communicate effectively. and when she talks, we the people listen. cause as sometimes i sit and think shows, ms. barnett is a masterful wordsmith & storyteller whether she's being smart mouthed or contemplative; a debbie downer, or hopelessly devoted to an object of desire. songs come shaped like songs in the literal structural sense, but they also come as essays or vivid prose; a letter to a loved one, and monologues for others and her army of one. throughout, courtney is witty and observant, the smooth conversationalist everyone in the room flocks to to be entertained. and she shreds or can play it soft, wrapping this 45 minute set in buzzy, razor sharp alt-rock that's as crisp and straightforward as the words she uses to let us in on her thoughts and the things she takes in when she sits down and observes, or just sits down and thinks.

KEY TRACKS: pedestrian at best/small poppies/depreston

10/sleater-kinney/no cities to love

11/d'angelo & the vanguard/black messiah

12/kurt vile/b'lieve i'm goin down...

13/deerhunter/fading frontier

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

09/tame impala/let it happen

that kevin parker is a clever little devil. there's all this noise running around in his head, and it's all (life, girls, whatever) becoming a bit too much. days are bleeding into each other and he's just sleeping thru em, this close to giving up the fight. in other words, it's just not the best of times or the most life affirming subject matter running rampant here. so what does kevin do to pique our interest and garner our sympathy? he sets it all to an eight minute, vamping & finger snapping psychedelic disco jam number. let it happen gets you into the groove and sucked up in the whirlwind, both his internal one and the music, where he truly gets to engage in the art of letting go. give him a shoulder or two and lend him you ear. be hypnotized. let it happen.




10/grimes/flesh without blood

11/kanye west/theophilus london/allan kingdom/paul mccartney/all day

12/chvrches/clearest blue

13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

-INTERLUDE-

mood.

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

10/sleater-kinney/no cities to love

when you listen to no cities to love, nothing else really matters. you could try to put it on as background noise and go on about your day with it as your soundtrack, but that's damn near impossible cause no cities to love deserves and commands your complete and undivided attention. it announces itself loudly at the outset, coming in like a siren, daring you to find entertainment elsewhere, never losing its firm grip on your senses for the next thirty minutes. it's not a new wave, and don't call it a comeback. it is, instead, another rock solid set from the post-punk queens who have returned to us, playing like no one is listening, and as if the only persons they have something to prove to are themselves. with no cities to love we are afforded the luxury of being the fly on the wall to this basement scene where raucous and eviscerating vocals and instrumentation shout in your face, knock you on your ass, and flow together seamlessly. at one point the ladies proclaim that "no outline could ever hold us", and you believe it and pray that never changes, cause music this ferocious should never be contained.

KEY TRACKS: Price Tag/New Wave/No Anthems

11/d'angelo & the vanguard/black messiah

12/kurt vile/b'lieve i'm goin down...

13/deerhunter/fading frontier

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

a moment of clarity.

words.

"What separates us from everyone else is the way we force the members of our society to live in a constant state of fear: fear of going broke, fear of losing your job, fear of getting sick, fear of getting old and being without. We know that there's no safety net for us here in the USA. We are the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" nation, the "you take care of yours and I'll take care of mine" and the "your problems are not my problems" society. Most of us find a way to cope with all of this. We suck it up and take the ulcer for the team. But then there are the few that can't. And with easy access to any kind of gun — and as much ammo as they want — they find a way to act out their frustration and aggression. Not because they saw Kill Bill. But because they live in the home of the brave. That is something we can change.

But first, it will require some of that "bravery.""

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Michael Moore on New Wave of Gun Violence: "The NRA Is Actually Half Right" (Guest Column)

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

10/grimes/flesh without blood

the subject of flesh without blood is never seen nor heard, but about her we know plenty. and it is not good. here is a story of a good girl gone bad and a friendship now deteriorated. good times were had, squad goals were achieved, but in the end it just didn't work.

And Claire doesn't care anymore.

In flesh without blood, Grimes has moved on from all stages of grief and periods of mourning to point fingers, assign blame, and pretty much spend five minutes telling a former bestie "you ain't shit". It's a kiss off in which Grimes sounds like she is having the time of her life telling her friend about herself. The words and tone of it all is snide and blunt -peep the direct, no fucks given line (in a sea of them) of "after all I just don't like you"- but the song itself is a fun, sun drenched ride with the top down, turning the death of this friendship into an exhilarating alt-pop release. when grimes lets out that melodic wail at the end it, it feels highly appropriate and necessary. the final nail in the coffin to a friendship that has gone bad. good riddance.



11/kanye west/theophilus london/allan kingdom/paul mccartney/all day

12/chvrches/clearest blue

13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

m.f.t.r.

 a video.

from pusha t & the dream.

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

11/d'angelo & the vanguard/black messiah

 

there's been too much weeping. too much senseless violence and brown lives cut short too soon. a loss of trust between the people and those who are supposed to serve them. too many instances of having to put boots on the ground in the streets, shouting, having to beg for a hassle free existence that those of another hue often take for granted. too much damn begging to just exist, and be. countless cries out to be respected, and countless moments where we needed to be heard. too many times where all we wanted was a chance to talk, only to find ourselves outlined in chalk shortly thereafter.

we see 12 year old children gunned down without warning by the police while playing in a park. we see black athletes of high standing be tackled to the ground in a case of mistaken identity "because they fit a description". and we see an educated young woman off to start a new professional life have it all taken away following what should have been a routine traffic stop. 

 

so we we shout and hashtag "BLACK LIVES MATTER" as a way to stay sane and rise above it all, to remind ourselves (and the others) of the richness that is being black. To never forget who we are, where we came from and have been, and why we fight. All of us, including D'Angelo, and his black messiah.

when I listen to black messiah I am comforted. when I listen to black messiah I feel warmth. when I listen to black messiah, I love my blackness, and I love yours, too. when I listen to black messiah I am placed firmly in the present, but I hear history, our history: American, social, BLACK. I hear concern, and I hear hope. Most of all, I hear that Black Lives Matter, and I see all that we are capable of and can achieve when we are allowed a piece of the pie and the right to flourish and simply exist.

there's been too much weeping, and too much senseless violence and brown lives cut short too soon. a loss of trust between the people and those who are supposed to serve them. but here, for a few minutes, there's redemption and there's clarity. a reason to dance and a reason to live. and it is black, and it is beautiful, and it is much needed. yesterday, today, and beyond.

KEY TRACKS: 1000 Deaths/The Charade/Sugah Daddy

12/kurt vile/b'lieve i'm goin down...

13/deerhunter/fading frontier

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

new slang.

a moment of clarity.

words.

"So it’s always gone with the rich and powerful, and with capitalism as a whole. But in 2015, there’s a key difference. Millennials are the first generation for whom capitalism can’t promise a brighter future. The American Dream has always worked as a narrative because there’s always been someone — and preferably several prominent people — who lived it. Its allure was always that, hey, it could be you that hits the jackpot. This allowed capitalism to be narrated as meritocracy, despite the fact that the odds have always been stacked in the favor of those already winning. But in 2015, what does capitalism offer the generation that stands to inherit it? A warming planet, political instability, a mountain of debt, crumbling infrastructure, and an abiding sense that their parents’ generation has already had the best of everything. What’s the point of having a fancy house in Los Angeles if you can’t water the lawn?

There’s a growing and ever-more-visible divide between the world capitalism wants us to think we live in and the one we do live in. Politicians continue to lecture us on hard work as a virtue, despite the fact that an economy centered around work becomes ever less viable and more unnecessary as the population grows but the work necessary to sustain it decreases.

...in 2015, we went about our business in the Potemkin village of capitalism, and we did our best to carry on as if nothing was wrong, and if that‘s not the height of absurdity, then what is? We lived with a sort of latent, low-level despair over our chances of ever changing that system, at least until it had sailed itself — and everyone who whose lives depended on it — into the rocks..."

FLAVORWIRE: 2015 in Culture: Pounded in the Butt by Late Capitalist Absurdism

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

11/kanye west/theophilus london/allan kingdom/paul mccartney/all day



12/chvrches/clearest blue

13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

12/kurt vile/b'lieve i'm goin down...

b'lieve I'm goin down begins with kurt digging the scene with a gangsta lean. Out of his head again, not giving much of a fuck. He doesn't recognize the boy in the mirror,  and does not and will not comb his hair. He's weightless, over it. Stuck in place, but a thousand miles away, as time keeps on slipping, and the world continues to spin and go on around him, with or without his participation.

Pretty Pimpin', right?

The Kurt Vile mentioned above is present throughout b'lieve i'm goin down. Losing his head and living in a constant state of disbelief, but never too far gone. There's a lot going on in that head of his, but the words are always clear, as is his focus. And on b'lieve i'm goin down, Kurt collects himself just enough to turn his bouts of misery and inner turmoil into something accessible, and often sublime (hilarious and self-deprecating). The lyricist and vocalist of b'lieve I'm goin down may be at a loss for how best to achieve clarity or serenity in the not too distant future, but the musician and architect of b'lieve i'm goin down remains committed throughout to seeking and exalting strength and clarity via sound. Finding refuge in the trappings of folk and uncluttered rock soundscapes, the music of b'lieve i'm goin down is almost a language unto itself, as wordless backdrops are given the space to float above and around it all, providing a safe space for Kurt when the words and thoughts become too much. Taken together, Kurt and these tracks invoke the steady calm of James Taylor, and the modern rock stance & determinism of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in equal measures, succeeding in shaking out the blues to drown out the noise taking up space in his head. 

Pretty pimpin'.

KEY TRACKS: pretty pimpin'/dust bunnies/wild imagination

13/deerhunter/fading frontier

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

12/chvrches/clearest blue



13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

13/deerhunter/fading frontier

there was an accident. an earth shattering, life altering accident. and as is the case with most tragic or horrific events, it forced the master of ceremonies here to sit still and often be left alone with nothing more than his thoughts, with an emphasis on recovery and a recharge.

fading frontier is a piece of this recovery. for a minute now I’ve come to deerhunter to indulge in the queer. rock that’s off the beaten path with no desire to walk a straight line. and while there is plenty of that here, the tone has shifted slightly, and the veil of secrecy has been lifted. the deerhunter of fading frontier is here in the moment, asking direct questions, and seeking immediate clarity. it is an incredibly grounded album, and another reminder of why deerhunter continues to be one of the best bands around.

KEY TRACKS: living my life/leather and wood/ad astra

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

13/tame impala/'cause i'm a man (haim mix)



14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin

15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

14/tobias jesso, jr./goon

tobias jesso, jr. believes in a thing called love. love between lovers, and love between friends. love for what you do, and love for what’s in store. he also believes in clarity and speaking on what he wants and what is needed. and what is needed is often that thing called love. and with his debut album goon he gets his points across poignantly and clearly, aligning himself with and looking to such greats as Randy Newman and Billy Joel to provide this emotionally rich soundtrack to the act of him placing his heart on his sleeve. two years ago he took up the piano just because, and throughout goon the instrument provides a solid base to mr. jesso’s soul bearing expositions, locked in perfectly with him as if they’ve been acquainted for years. together they bring us an album that you play and quickly realize that what you hear, what it recalls, and what it makes you feel are all things missing in your life that you didn’t even know were gone or much needed. beautiful in it’s simplicity, goon speaks to the heart by being upfront and open while playing it straight, making you believe in a thing called love too.

KEY TRACKS: Without You/Hollywood/Bad Words

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

  
17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

mood.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

14/kurt vile/pretty pimpin



15/jamie xx/gosh

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

15/hudson mohawke/lantern

Lantern operates at one level: STADIUM STATUS. Things begin modestly with a faint whisper of a voice announcing and introducing our master of ceremonies, H. Mohawke. Then the smoke clears, a few bells ring, and the music aims for the rafters and folks in the cheap seats/way in the back, and never lets up. Lantern is a stupendous beast of a record from the Scottish DJ/electronic music duo TNGHT member and frequent Kanye West collaborator that is largely informed by each of those roles and collaborations. The DJ in him makes this record immaculately sequenced and curated while his work with TNGHT colors the proceedings with bass heavy, hip hop infused block rocking beats. The never ending onslaught of blistering, ass shaking rhythms no matter the speed is also reminiscent of the approach and atmosphere present on his work with Kanye on Yeezus. Like the best tracks on that one, Hudson's Lantern is the dank warehouse after party that goes on well into the night (or til the break of dawn) to the fancy dress cocktail soiree that was Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. It's a gritty yet accessible collection that is not afraid to go big, get loud, and show off, asking you to get your back up off the wall, twerk somethin', or shake what ya mama gave ya til the music stops. Gives you no choice actually. So go on and surrender, and embrace the light. 

 

KEY TRACKS: very first breath/ryderz/scud books 

 

16/vince staples/summertime '06 

 

17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

 

 

 

performance art.

LIVE! 

with michael c. hall & the late show with stephen colbert.



PITCHFORK: Michael C. Hall Performs David Bowie's "Lazarus" on "Colbert"

might not.

a video.

from belly & the weeknd.

coming attractions.

with pj harvey.



PITCHFORK: PJ Harvey Shares New Album Teaser

hands down.

a video.

starring remy ma, rick ross, & yo gotti.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

15/jamie xx/gosh



16/erykah badu/cel u lar device

17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

golden years.

a moment of clarity.

for your consideration...

words.

"Hipster, inasmuch as it exists today, is the ability to endorse not just Bernie Sanders but, for audacity's sake, Donald Trump, too. People who can align themselves with both lofty idealism and unrepentant narcissism. Ruin America, make America great again, make America a socialist utopia—it doesn't matter, because there is no wager, really. Hipster is just a man rich enough to dare you to object to him, in all his infinite costumes, because of how inherently unobjectionable a rich white man feels he is at his core. It's all an amusement.

What made hipster culture so persistent was not the knit hats or the glasses or the micro brews, but how it functioned as a sort of permission, a license to veer into mindless recreation and Important Movements in equal measure. Hipster was just what we called the games white people play with their various entitlements.

One man's #occupywallstreet is another man's #champagneshowers."

VICE: Here Lies the Hipster

darkest before dawn.

a short film. 

from pusha t. 



NAH RIGHT: Watch Pusha T’s Short Film Darkest Before Dawn

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

16/vince staples/summertime '06

"I'm just a n__gga..."

This is how Vince Staples introduces himself at the top of Summertime '06. As if to say, "Why bother? Nothing to see here. Just some regular, same old n_gga shit." And yes, the red hot American summer presented here is specific and familiar. As American as apple pie. Pictures from an unfiltered adolescence, a Black adolescent, straight out of Long Beach. Vince Staples. The character, the gangsta, that "real n_gga archetype". Summertime '06 is another grand standing walk through the hood politics and extra curricular activities that have been spoken on and visualized on wax numerous times before.

(or quick drive through, for those of you who steer clear of "the ghetto(s)”)

But to classify this collection of tracks as just another ordinary snapshot from another misguided black male living just enough for the city would be a mistake, cause Summertime '06, more than anything, is a triumphant record. This fact may not make itself known on your first (or second, or third, or fourth...) spin, but it is. As the imagery whirs past, and the beats come thru with the bang, Vince’s retelling of a hard life once lived slowly fade into thoughts of wanting better, needing better, and moving beyond a largely repetitive and expected existence. By the end of Summertime ’06 Vince is ready to depart the school of hard knocks and grab a hold of something better. For him, his homies, Black America, and us. Throughout it all, Vince’s loose, conversational flow sits front and center, always clear, always direct, aided largely by production from No I.D. Beats that are sparse and percussion heavy, taking the music far beyond the region of Northside Long Beach (and often back to the glory days of minimalist hip-hop production from the 80s).

Same old, same old, regular hood shit? Far from it. Not in Summertime '15.

Triumphant indeed.

KEY TRACKS: lift me up/norf norf/like it is

17/kamasi washington/the epic

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

pricks of brightness.

a video.

from ratatat. 

i want it all.

a video. 

starring melanie fiona.

be right there.

a video.

from diplo & sleepy tom.

picture me rollin'.

a video.

starring chris brown.

lazarus.

starring david bowie. 

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

16/erykah badu/cel u lar device



17/the weeknd/the hills

18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

17/kamasi washington/the epic

What we have here is the gospel. Beauty, the way forward, and the light. Jazz in all its forms, History in black & white. Funk, Bossa Nova, the future in technicolor, and rhapsodies in blue. AFRO-AMERICAN & CHURCH. A largely wordless exercise, that jazz made malleable. Minutes upon minutes of controlled chaos and an everything but the kitchen sink mentality that works to serve this set's ultimate goal of baptizing you in the funk. These minds, these bodies, these feelings, offering up spiritual uplift through song with bouts of improvisational flights of fancy, all coalescing together around this idea of taking you higher. Kamasi and them. He and his sax. The epicenter, bandleader, and composer. The way forward & the light. The Epic. Where ladies sing the blues, and stars shine bright. Where melodies and ideas are given the opportunity to just breathe, and layers upon layers of joyous instrumentation coexist with each other in perfect harmony, never interfering with the others' contribution to the pot. Wake up to it. Cook to it. Relax, exercise, and/or make love to it. Don't let the nearly three hour running time & three disc set deter you from basking in the glory and the light that is The Epic. 
KEY TRACKS: DISC ONE: Final Thought/DISC TWO: Seven Prayers/DISC THREE: Clair de Lune

18/grimes/art angels

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

 

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

17/the weeknd/the hills



18/lana del rey/high by the beach

19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

mood.

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

18/grimes/art angels

Art Angels does not mince words.

To recap: three years removed from her last album, Ms. Boucher has since: seen her stock rise tremendously among fans of ecstatic pop in its purest form; worked on an album, then discarded that album; moved to sunny california (who only seems to like her when she’s looking sad); met way too many bad boys and mr. know it alls, fake friends, and women who mistake drama with endearment.

Yes, life was almost one never ending series of “this too much!” events, so to move past it, she spoke on it & looked to her angels to bring us this. Art Angels mixes the ebullience of a layered Janet harmony with the sheer joy present in the melodies and style of K-Pop sprinkled atop Mariah reaching for the heights or telling Dreamlover to come and take her away. (with a little riot grrrl swag and britney spears spunk) written, arranged, and composed by Grimes, letting the light shine in through the music, getting the last laugh while not being normal.
KEY TRACKS: flesh without blood/kill v. maim/butterfly

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

talking heads.

with killer mike & bernie sanders.



PITCHFORK: Killer Mike Interviews Bernie Sanders About 2016 Election, Donald Trump, Social Justice, and More

wrist.

a video.

from chris brown & solo lucci.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

18/lana del rey/high by the beach



19/tobias jesso jr./without you

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

19/kacey musgraves/pageant material

pageant material begins with a raise of the glass to the good times (and those that have yet to come). high time. “to slow my roll, let the grass just grow, and lean way back...” this declaration sets the tone for the second major label album from the 27 year old girl from golden. The dime store cowgirl, always higher than her hair, minding her own biscuits, who ain’t and never will be, pageant material. she’s happy with what she’s got cause what she’s got is all she needs. and this is indeed the truth. kacey and her pageant material shines by simply being laid-back, real, and in the moment, swathed in all the hallmarks of the winning country music that came before her. it’s the sound of a woman winning for who she is, instead of losing for being something she ain’t.
KEY TRACKS: dime store cowgirl/pageant material/miserable

20/shamir/ratchet

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

heartsigh.

a video.

starring purity ring.

fortress.

starring thee oh sees. 

stream here.  

holiday love.

a video.

from tuxedo.

crutches, crosses, caskets.

a video.

from pusha t. 

trap tears.

a video.

from raury & key!

back to sleep.

a video.

starring chris brown.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

19/tobias jesso jr./without you



20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

my head hurts.

a video.

starring wavves.

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

20/shamir/ratchet

shamir bailey.

north las vegas.

21 years old.

young,

gifted,

black.

scene maker.

hot mess.

confident.

romantic.

“wise ass n__ga”.

genderqueer.

ballader & musician.

top dawg.

house lover.

party starter.

ringleader of this fun house circus disco.

saving you.

this is his movie.

immaculately sequenced & incredibly infectious.

it’ll shake your body down to the ground, & move you with its heart + words.

stay tuned for the sequel.

this is he on the regular.

and it's intoxicating.

just so you know.

get your life.
KEY TRACKS: on the regular/call it off/hot mess

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

bb talk.

a video.

starring miley cyrus.

somewhere in paradise.

starring chance the rapper, jeremih, & r.kelly.



COMPLEX MUSIC: Listen to Chance The Rapper's "Somewhere in Paradise" f/ Jeremih and R. Kelly

the greatest.

starring king.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

20/carly rae jepsen/gimmie love



21/kacey musgraves/late to the party

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

it's a holiday soul party.

NPR MUSIC: First Listen First Listen First Listen: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, 'It's A Holiday Soul Party'

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

21/drake/if you’re reading this it’s too late

halfway thru this kickback in the 6, Drake is like,

“I hate comin’ thru stuntin’ on n__gas that I know, aaaahhh that’s the worst boy!”

(On a song titled 6 GOD)

To which I must reply:

“YOU’S A MOTHAF___KIN’ LIE!”

If You’re Reading this Its Too Late is a 70 minute long boast. To the haters, the naysayers, and the people who love them. A surprise album that comes with the note “LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!” attached. Drake is in his lane and in the zone, as if the words “don’t sleep" is framed somewhere close in the studio. This is an album where our smooth operator courts himself a sweet young thing to help him take his mind off of being in his prime (he coos this to soften the blow. the song is titled COMPANY); Comes out the gate with a track titled LEGEND (guess the subject matter); An album that samples Ginuwine’s So Anxious not once, but TWICE within twenty minutes of each other; An album that drops a track like “You & The 6” which is pretty much a “who am i (what’s my name)” wrapped in a “dear mama”. Stuntin’ may be the worst, but it doesn’t stop Drake from doing it and showing why it’s hot up in the six. Respect.
KEY TRACKS: Energy/Know Yourself/6 God

22/son lux/bones

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

 

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

21/kacey musgraves/late to the party



22/disclosure + sam smith/omen

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

22/son lux/bones

Bones begins with a simple request:

"Close your eyes... Swallow the Sun..."

What follows is a spiritual & meditative like walk led by Ryan Lott & company where we & they are given the space to take stock of all that is around us and make sense of our place in this world. Bones is peace. And it is cathartic. An emotional release that is present in every single musical note that comprises this 40 minute quest for clarity & rejuvenation. It is skeletal and primal, generating so much heft with just the basics: drum & bass + plaintive vocals and majestic harmonies that reach far and wide and soar. It’s the raising of your hands to the heavens. A flicker of light in a darkened room. The coming of the sun when the rain has gone. It is quietly powerful and often soft spoken, but it is by no means meek. Close your eyes, swallow the sun, breathe it in.
KEY TRACKS: Change is Everything/Your Day Will Come/Undone

23/disclosure/caracal

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

 

crutches, crosses, caskets.

 starring pusha t & diddy.



NAH RIGHT: Pusha T – Crutches, Crosses, Caskets (Prod. by Diddy)

water.

a video.

starring ra ra riot.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

22/disclosure + sam smith/omen



23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best

24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

23/disclosure/caracal

Settle had its fair share of jams, but it was an album in search of a flow. Similar to a DJ set that lulls in a few places, offering up plenty opportunities to take a dancefloor break or refill that drink until the course was corrected and the momentum got back on track. Not so much with Caracal. As their contemporaries continue to work overtime to craft songs that take you up, down and all around at breakneck speed before returning you to where you started, the brothers Lawerence have worked to master the art of doing all that, not just in a song, but over the course of an album. With Caracal, pace (and patience) is the trick. This time around the set is tighter and more focused, as the brothers continue to hone their craft, seamlessly inserting the necessary highs and lows, rhythm and grooves, and crucial guest vocals that are needed to keep this house party going. Even as the album enters an expected and much welcomed come down sequence of tracks near its end, the momentum never lets up, and the brothers continue to keep you mobile and enthralled. Settle may have helped usher in a few less than worthy contemporaries eager to recapture that magic that it brought to the masses, but with Caracal, the boys inch a little bit further away from the pack, making the act of keeping up nearly impossible for their peers. For the second time in a row.

KEY TRACKS: Omen/Good Intentions/Masterpiece

24/alabama shakes/sound & color 

  

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

hand in the fire.

stream here.

front row.

with npr & t-pain.

long live the chief.

a video.

starring jidenna. 

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

23/courtney barnett/pedestrian at best



24/adele/hello

25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

24/alabama shakes/sound & color

A new world hangs outside the window, beautiful and strange. You hear it. You can see it. And you most definitely feel it. In every full bodied wail, structure supporting bass, and menacing strum of the guitar. It warms and comforts you, exhilarates too. The sounds & colors. (Southern) American Beauty that is urgent & unforgiving, robust & layered; commanding your attention without asking for it, and often shaking you to the core. The sound and the color, these rhythms and blues. Histories referenced and refreshed, tinkered with and made anew. A touch of the blues, large doses of rock, huge lathering of soul. Owned and handled, and quite the sight to behold, with a ferocity that is often jaw dropping, beautiful, and strange. This brand new world & album number two. Sound & Color.  
KEY TRACKS: Don't Wanna Fight/Dunes/Gimme All Your Love

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

one hundred million.

starring charlie hilton & mac demarco. 



PITCHFORK: Charlie Hilton Teams With Mac DeMarco on "100 Million"

in the night.

a video.

from the weeknd. 

count contessa.

a video.

starring azealia banks.

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

24/adele/hello



25/wilco/ekg

SOUND & COLOR: THE ALBUMS, 2015.

25/van hunt/the fun rises, the fun sets

at some point before dawn he rises to pull back the curtains and let the light shine in, taking in the view. he turns, silent for a second before letting out a “we were having fun…” 

the fun sets.

this is what the wistful title and final track bring to mind as it settles into its groove and eases you into your sunrise or sunset. for elastic soul man van hunt it’s the come down from all that has come before it. the end result of a wonderfully seductive game plan comprised of toe taps and hand claps tinted and colored like M. Gaye via the vessel of Rick James. it’s lo-fi and confident, doing that classic soul music move of showing out without showing off. what you see is what you get and what you get is pure uninhibited soul.

“We were having fun?”

please believe.

KEY TRACKS: Old Hat/Teach Me a New Language/…Puddin’

catalina breeze.

a video.

starring the blue jean committee.

m.f.t.r.

starring pusha t & the dream.

stream here. 

SOUND & COLOR: THE SONGS, 2015.

25/wilco/ekg

caretaker.

a video.

starring d.r.a.m. & sza.

romeo.

a video.

starring chairlift.

champions of unrestricted beauty.

starring sleigh bells.



PITCHFORK: Sleigh Bells Share New Song "Champions of Unrestricted Beauty"

-INTERLUDE-

for your consideration.

words.


THE FADER: How Corporations Profit From Black Teens' Viral Content

boy/girl.

starring julian casablancas & jehnny beth.



PITCHFORK: Julian Casablancas and Savages' Jehnny Beth Cover Sort Sol and Lydia Lunch's "Boy/Girl"

mouth mantra.

a video.

starring bjork.

you're my waterloo.

a video.

from the libertines. 

love is free.

a video.

from robyn, la bagatelle magique, & maluca.

back together.

a video.

starring jill scott.

indian steps.

a video.

from hudson mohawke & antony.