a video.
starring ani difranco.
ROLLING STONE: Watch Ani DiFranco's Tender 'Deferred Gratification' Video
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
freetown sound.
starring blood orange and his boiler room weekender set.
PITCHFORK: Watch Blood Orange’s Full Boiler Room Weekender Set
PITCHFORK: Watch Blood Orange’s Full Boiler Room Weekender Set
troubled times.
a lyric video.
from green day.
ROLLING STONE: Watch Green Day's Trump-Trashing 'Troubled Times' Lyric Video
from green day.
ROLLING STONE: Watch Green Day's Trump-Trashing 'Troubled Times' Lyric Video
Friday, January 13, 2017
Thursday, January 12, 2017
odelay.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"Whether you have approved of the Obama presidency as a matter of policy or not, it is impossible to argue that Obama was not a man of principle. Whether you agree with individual decisions or the content of his rhetoric, it is impossible to argue that he did not conduct himself with dignity and respect and that he did not lead the country with those values as a guiding light.
I have not always agreed with the president’s positions or tactics, and this feels normal to me. Freethinking people are bound to disagree occasionally, even if a vast majority of their values align.
...none of those differences in opinions about strategy injured in any way my profound respect for the characteristics of the man we came to take for granted: bracingly smart, exceptionally well educated, literate in the grand tradition of the great men of letters. He was scholarly, erudite, well read and an adroit writer.
And he was an orator for the ages. We got so used to elegant, sometimes masterly speechifying, that I will admit I sometimes tuned it out. We had an abundance of riches in that regard.
But listening to the president’s farewell address, I was hit with the force of a brawler that the decency and dignity, the solemnity and splendor, the loftiness and literacy that Obama brought to the office was extraordinary and anomalous, the kind of thing that each generation may only hope to have in a president."
...Obama wasn’t perfect, but neither is anyone — you or I — and neither was any other president. But Obama is a good man and a good president. Some would argue that he was great on both counts.
We will remember that — and miss it — when Trump’s whirlwind of scandal, conflict, crudeness, boorishness and vindictiveness barrels into Washington."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Ode to Obama
words.
"Whether you have approved of the Obama presidency as a matter of policy or not, it is impossible to argue that Obama was not a man of principle. Whether you agree with individual decisions or the content of his rhetoric, it is impossible to argue that he did not conduct himself with dignity and respect and that he did not lead the country with those values as a guiding light.
I have not always agreed with the president’s positions or tactics, and this feels normal to me. Freethinking people are bound to disagree occasionally, even if a vast majority of their values align.
...none of those differences in opinions about strategy injured in any way my profound respect for the characteristics of the man we came to take for granted: bracingly smart, exceptionally well educated, literate in the grand tradition of the great men of letters. He was scholarly, erudite, well read and an adroit writer.
And he was an orator for the ages. We got so used to elegant, sometimes masterly speechifying, that I will admit I sometimes tuned it out. We had an abundance of riches in that regard.
But listening to the president’s farewell address, I was hit with the force of a brawler that the decency and dignity, the solemnity and splendor, the loftiness and literacy that Obama brought to the office was extraordinary and anomalous, the kind of thing that each generation may only hope to have in a president."
...Obama wasn’t perfect, but neither is anyone — you or I — and neither was any other president. But Obama is a good man and a good president. Some would argue that he was great on both counts.
We will remember that — and miss it — when Trump’s whirlwind of scandal, conflict, crudeness, boorishness and vindictiveness barrels into Washington."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Ode to Obama
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Saturday, January 07, 2017
Friday, January 06, 2017
Thursday, January 05, 2017
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
01/solange/a seat at the table
When you can't even be you up in your home. When you're sick of asking "Where's the peace?" "Where's the glory?" When you're sick of being asked and answering the same questions at the wrong damn time again ("Why you always talking shit? Always be complaining?") and again ("Why you always gotta be so mad?") and still find yourself unheard or misunderstood. When they don't understand what this all means: where we choose to go, what we're meant to know; these feelings that we wear. When you got all this Magic that can no longer and should no longer be contained. When everybody wanna be the teacher, but don't want to go school.
When all of this continues to add to your growing sense of weary towards the ways of the world, and it's keeping you from leaving your mark on the world, it's enough to make you question your purpose in life, or question if you even belong.
"I do..."
"I do", she said, early on. "I belong". So she sought glory by looking inward. She sought salvation in the task of keeping the rhythm, just like the greats did before her, Black, of kin and not. She found beauty in being Black, comfort in her expressions of this pride, the shit that's "for us and by us": that good old soul music; activist and joyous rhythm & blues not too far removed from that of the 70s and early 80s. She fell in her ways, in order to not crumble. Gathered herself and her thoughts in order to be heard clearly, understood. These feelings she wears.
She walked in her ways so she could sleep at night. She spoke up because "you can't pull a plug on us and tell us it's over", not she. She got sick of being asked the same damn questions at the wrong damn time. Being told how to police her grief, wear her hair, when, where, and how she can and should speak up.
So she took a seat at the table and spoke on it. And when they asked her if she belongs, she replied with this, an "I do" so loud and confident and full of magic. So she would not crumble. So she can sleep at night. So that she can make her place in the world with a clear mind and open heart. So that she can keep her head above water in an increasingly tumultuous world. She pulled up a chair and spoke on it so that she can wake up, keep the rhythm, and continue to rise like those who came before her did, and like those of us must continue to do from here on out, til death do us part.
KEY TRACKS: Cranes In the Sky/Mad/Don't Touch My Hair
02/frank ocean/blonde
03/angel olsen/my woman
04/danny brown/atrocity exhibition
05/blood orange/freetown sound
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
Sunday, January 01, 2017
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
01/kanye west, kelly price, chance the rapper, the dream & kirk franklin/ultralight beam
Serenity,
Everything,
Loving.
We know we need it.
And so he sought it out and created it for us in song form.
Sought it out in the sound.
A god dream.
In order to keep his faith, feel safe; End his holy war.
Ours, too.
He looked to the light.
Admitted fragility,
Sought assistance.
Found it in Kelly. Found it in Chance, Kirk, The Dream, his Faith.
In these declarations. In this collaboration. In these sounds.
Kindred spirits, on the same quest for completeness.
For those who feel they are not good enough, are too messed up.
For everyone who's said I am sorry too many times.
For those who want to be better, do better, and keep working at it.
For everyone who needed the reminder that Hip-Hop can and forever will inspire and uplift.
Madonna sang a few years back: "I'm not religious, but I feel so moved..."
That applies here.
Still.
And forever, until the end of the time.
Serenity.
An ultra light beam.
This is everything.
This is everything.
02/anderson .paak/the bird
03/solange/cranes in the sky
04/childish gambino/zombies
05/schoolboy q featuring kanye west/that part
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
02/frank ocean/blonde
"Be Yourself."
Moms drops a lot of knowledge on that voicemail message to Frank, but it's this point that stands out.
"Don't try to be someone else. Be yourself and know that that's good enough. Don't try to be someone else... Be secure with yourself."
She signs off and waves goodbye and we're back with Frank, "Solo", finding ourselves at the start of a block of songs ["Solo" to "Pretty Sweet"] where Frank lets those words from Mom linger in the back of his head, and echo + color this creative outpouring from his heart.
"Be Yourself."
Those first few rounds with Blonde I was underwhelmed. I wanted an instant attachment. I wanted catchy hooks, call backs to soul giants past, quotable bangers, repeatable love songs. I wanted something to latch onto like I latched onto Channel Orange. I did not want to be challenged or work too long or too hard to find a soft place in my heart for Frank Ocean's Blonde.
And then one day a funny thing happened. That thing where you hear an album differently. Where, for some reason, the connection is finally made, and you get it. You come around.
It happened. Some day. Can't even recall the date or the time, but it happened. I was moved. I got it. I loved "Nikes". Still do. And "Ivy". And the N*E*R*D vibes of "Pink + White", but that day it was all about what I heard and experienced after skipping thru "Be Yourself" again and diving into the songs that followed.
(After a while, "Be Yourself" was just too real to sit through & experience every time)
You experience this throughout the album, but it is during this block of songs where what is truly great about Blonde, clicks. Frank Ocean not trying to be someone else. Frank Ocean having the freedom as a Black Male Artist to be just that, an artist. Not just an R&B artist. Not just a verse-hook-verse-hook, ear worm heavily processed artist, no.
A poet. An old soul. A spoken word artist. A tortured balladeer. A free spirit. Queer. Open. An inspiration.
And all the reasons why he's important. Showcased here. Why we spill so much ink on the musical offerings.
"Be Yourself", she said, Frank Ocean.
And he listened. It took. It's why Blonde is often awe inspiring. This is joy, this is summer. So secure with itself, and a sight to behold because of that.
KEY TRACKS: Solo/Nights/Futura Free
03/angel olsen/my woman
04/danny brown/atrocity exhibition
05/blood orange/freetown sound
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
Saturday, December 31, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
02/anderson .paak/the bird
I'll never forget the first time I heard anderson .paak & his "the bird". I'll never forget the moment because as a music fan it was just too perfect and contained so many of my favorite things: cooking, a relaxed state, and an intriguing musical discovery.
It was just another day, in another month, in the kitchen, again. KCRW supplying the tunes and atmosphere music. This one grabbed me instantly. So much so that I had to stop what I was doing and just listen. I was intrigued. Captivated.
Here was this song. This origin story. This bluesy, jazz infused soliloquy so honest, so open; familiar, and aware. A self-assured rhythm & blues number heavy on the inspiration from the latter half of that equation. Almost a call back to all of the great blues & soul music that came before it, but not mimicry.
And not a tale of woe or hopelessness. It's a confident, lo-funk affair with a smooth bass line riding underneath and thumping along as the song's heartbeat and lifeline familiar, welcoming for this soothing tale of how he got over, inspired by what the Black greats did and always do. It's an introduction for the new and a reminder for those familiar that change done come. It's time to celebrate and make it through. He's got his patience and he's making do, and he's here to share that light; Produce it in song form and give it back. Just like the greats did and will always do.
Doing the best he can, Anderson makes do and impresses by doing him and embracing all that has gotten him here and inspired him in life and in sound. And you hear that, feel it, and get inspired to make such a feeling constant in your life as he does here.
03/solange/cranes in the sky
04/childish gambino/zombies
05/schoolboy q featuring kanye west/that part
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Friday, December 30, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
03/angel olsen/my woman
At the heart of My Woman lies a simple request. A dare actually. A dare that is explicitly stated during the late album highlight, Woman. In this space, as is the case during the entirety of My Woman's back half, Ms. Olsen gives herself the time and space that is needed for this request to be heard clearly and be understood. Her demand? That you understand what makes her a woman. This woman. That you, me, us, Him simply take the time to notice and understand exactly what it is that makes this woman tick. Take stock of her wants, and her needs, and her hangups, and all the ways in which she works to let a little light shine in.
Take her up on this offer.
Take a few minutes to understand why she still wakes up and strives to be somebody, day in and day out. Listen and take note of why she won't give up and can't help feeling the way she do. Press play and find out + understand why it is she chooses to "go where nobody knows" and follow her heart down that wild road. Listen and immerse yourself in the creative energy and bliss of a strong-willed singer songwriter whose presence and musical output brings to mind the fire and spirit of a young PJ Harvey or Liz Phair. Listen and vibe with why she opens up and screams for you. Press play and find yourself in the presence of one of the best solo rock records of the year from a woman who is speaking to and coming at us with her heart on her sleeve, unguarded.
Go on and take her up on that offer, and get familiar.
Press play and take the dare.
KEY TRACKS: Shut Up Kiss Me/Sister/Woman
04/danny brown/atrocity exhibition
05/blood orange/freetown sound
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
03/solange/cranes in the sky
"Sometimes you ask yourself 'where's the peace?' Everybody always talking about peace, but as long as you find peace in what you are doing then you successful. You gotta do stuff to where you can go to sleep at night because the glory is in you..." - Percy Miller
You can seek salvation in a hairdo, that new dress, or travel over 70 states, but that glory is in you. You can attempt to drink away your troubles or roll them all up and away in a spliff, but that glory you seek can only be found within you.
And it is in her. And in Cranes in the Sky, a timeless on arrival meditation on finding inner peace and casting out all those things which keep you from maximizing the momentous glory that is within you. What's most beautiful about Cranes in the Sky is listening to Solange reach that mountaintop within herself. She composed and arranged this gorgeous, contemplative R&B track (with a smooth, sensual assist from Mr. Raphael Saadiq) so that she can go to bed each night feeling successful. So that she can go to sleep at night and feel whole. When those euphoric Minnie Ripperton like falsetto harmonies arrive and begin their ascent into the heavens at the song's end, the euphoria and her release feels earned. Her glory has been activated and peace has been found. It is, again, an inspiring, incredibly warm and stunning reminder of the beauty and clarity that awaits each and every one of us once we fully tap into the glory and potential that lies within us all.
04/childish gambino/zombies
05/schoolboy q featuring kanye west/that part
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Thursday, December 29, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
04/danny brown/atrocity exhibition
Present day Danny Brown is sitting pretty. He's got four bank cards
and a crib that attracts deer in the front. He's living good and
selling out shows from Cancun to Spokane, but all of that's not
important. Those are just material things, the trappings of celebrity.
And Danny is not here for just that. What's more important are the
things that got him to this point. What matters most is the reason why
all the bitches know his name from Cancun to Spokane: that talent. Those
bars. "I just wanna make music, fuck being a celebrity, cause these songs that I write leave behind my legacy!". And what a legacy the man continues to build, as Atrocity Exhibition is another unfuckwitable entry into the man's catalog. Atrocity Exhibition
is yet another fearless showcase from a man rapping as if he is (a) the
best rapper alive, without peer (b) the most adventurous & creative
rapper alive (c) Hip-Hop Personified, and (d) his life depends on it.
The beat selection, the energy, and that flow are truly unique, and of
top shelf quality that few of his peers in the game can match. And he
knows it, feeds off of it in order to eat other rappers alive like a
fucking last steak. But Atrocity Exhibition is not just about
them or that. It's about the love of the rap game, and the joy of
creating and cooking in the lab. It's an exhibition for seizing the
moment and going in; diving into the deep end; that get on up, up on the
floor, please believe.
Really doe, like really doe.
KEY TRACKS: Ain't it Funny/Pneumonia/Dance in the Water
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
04/childish gambino/zombies
The Zombies are all around us. They can smell your money, and they want your soul. These hounds, those leeches, them blood suckers. They're everywhere and there's no place to hide from them. It's an often heard message of utmost importance, presented here in a cinematic, silky smooth Blaxploitation scope. That era's Black art is a huge influence throughout "Awaken, My Love!", but it is not until Zombies, arriving at track number four, that all of that inspiration + Donald's creative muscle and showmanship falls into place, seamlessly. Zombies announces itself like a Lion's roar, stomping in and around the sounds and vibes of 70s funk & psychedelic soul with the same strength and confidence of a classic soul song that has been tasked with enhancing a scene of old school Black cinema, while also elevating the culture. It's a sexy, funk laced survival guide whose main goal is to ensure your survival via a baptism of funk. And it succeeds. Another job well done, Mr. Glover. Good looking out.
05/schoolboy q featuring kanye west/that part
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
05/blood orange/freetown sound
One of Freetown Sound's most arresting moments comes at the tail end of the late album highlight Juicy 1-4.
"...Heat you felt when you were cold/Real as gold/Chains and all/All the things that make us bold/Make us bold/BLACK IS GOLD/RIGHTLY SO..."
These lines are repeated twice to close out the song. And on that second go round Dev -presented here again to you and yours as the enchanting musical polyglot Blood Orange- lets his voice go up a register til those last lines are almost a shout, as if they are his dying words.
He sings them cause he needed to hear them. He let the words come to life because he needed the reminder.
That Black is light.
That Black can get you over; can let you move forward.
And with Freetown Sound he shares this reminder for us and lets this light color his ambitions and ground him. Along with these gorgeously arranged rhythms and movements courtesy of his father's birthplace of Sierra Leone and contemporary black music. It gives him the confidence and the strength to tell you why we mad. Not only in his voice, but also from the voices of others: Brothers, Sisters, Queer, Different, Black.
Calmly, beautifully.
Repeated until it sticks cause it needs to. Repeated until it sticks cause it has to.
The reminders enclosed here.
Repeat them as needed.
Repeat them cause it's necessary.
KEY TRACKS: But You/Hands Up/Juicy 1-4
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
05/schoolboy q featuring kanye west/that part
The best rap songs touch instant classic status after the first run through. And after your first experience with this song right here, you soon come to realize that (a) this is one of those songs, and (b) it is a certified banger. And like the best Hip-Hop Joints, That Part doesn't concern itself with that fake shit. With Schoolboy Q behind the wheel & Mr. West in the passenger, That Part comes dripping with style on top of style. From that low, gangsta leaning intro forward it's all repeat worthy bars on top of bars and punchlines for days. It's that crack music; Stadium Status Superhero AND Villainous music. They feel like Jordan in his prime, fresh like a new fit, and reloaded, harnessing all the fun and looseness of a superb freestyle joint, no matter how much work went into the song behind the scenes. As do you whenever it plays. You too go gangsta and wild out. You too lean back and rock with it. You too feel like a walking living legend, or O'Shea wreaking havoc on the ignorant and uninformed. You too revel in and aspire to reap the blessings on blessings on blessings earned, lived in, and reflected upon in this spare, bass heavy ride with the top down. Bang it in ya hood, while you're vibin' switching lanes, or just need to feel like you're twenty feet tall while walking down the street and doing you (as I did far too many times to count this year). Let it do its part and get you lifted cause it will, every time. Trust.
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
06/kanye west/the life of pablo
Here goes that new Kanye, mixed in with the old Kanye. A beautifully chaotic, far reaching, and slightly messy Kanye. The chop up the soul Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye. That always rude, 38 year old 8 year old spaz in the news, behind the boards, and on the mic Kanye. The Ringleader Kanye. Master of Ceremonies Kanye. The Kanye that writes songs about Kanye missing the old Kanye. Here goes that sweet Kanye, that dark and hilarious Kanye. The still vocal, too black, and too flagrant, Kanye. The mad scientist Kanye, Cooking Soul Kanye, The fragmented, fleshed out, and brief thoughts of Kanye. There goes that id of Kanye, all consuming ego of Kanye. That forever moving, tinkering, ever expanding mind of Kanye. Shifting the idea of what a Hip-Hop album can feel and sound like, Kanye. Just letting his guests have fun with it, Kanye. Mind altered, higher power seeking, ultralight beam Kanye. The "I know you wish I would go ahead and fuck my life up!" Kanye. Still living life without limits Kanye. Pouring out his feelings, rich slave in the fabric store picking cotton, Kanye. The top 10 Kanye. That still got it Kanye. Still loving music, pushing boundaries, and reminding you of why you still love Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye.
KEY TRACKS: Ultralight Beam/Waves/Real Friends
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
06/danny brown featuring schoolboy q/pneumonia
On Pneumonia we learn that Danny Brown can make 30 bands in 30 minutes. We hear how he was once prone to getting locked up on charges, but is no longer bout that life (he's too busy monitoring expenses across four bank cards from his crib in the forest with the deer in the yard for all that right now). We listen to him speak on his talents, and how he has half a key of raw lying inside his verses. How, like a surgeon with a scalpel he can (and most certainly does) bring a track to life. And we believe him and take him at his word, cause Pneumonia, like most Danny Brown joints, talks a lot of shit and backs it up right in front of you in real time as you listen. Pneumonia is another menacing & icy "if you don't know, now you know" sneer from Danny to every man, woman, and child who steps into his arena and dares to question his stature or authority. It's hip hop with no filter riding dirty atop a dark cacophony of sounds (bottles clacking, chains and fences clanking, the gruff of domineering canines, boots hitting the ground, Schoolboy Q's largely wordless taunts and grunts and nothing more), all going hard in the paint and showcasing why the flow, like man behind the mic, is indeed, sick like pneumonia.
07/frank ocean/nikes
07/frank ocean/nikes
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
father figure.
a moment of clarity.
words.
"There weren’t many major male pop stars who were openly gay back then. (Scarcely any are now. Elton John said he was bisexual in 1976, and officially stayed there for more than a decade. He could hold a pose.) Lots of men hinted. Lots of men messed around with masculinity, and not just the megastars. For every David Bowie or even Boy George, there was a Jermaine Stewart or a Good Question, many rungs down the fame ladder. And for reasons that make no cosmic sense, a few of those men — Prince, David Bowie, Prince Be of P.M. Dawn, and now Mr. Michael — died in 2016, a year in which dismaying ambivalence about aggressive, invasive male behavior was matched by the reinstatement of duller performances of masculinity in both our pop music and our politics. The Princes and the George Michaels seem as radical as ever.
...Last spring, Key & Peele’s stoner, shoot-em-up comedy, “Keanu,” came and went. But there’s a running gag that’s stayed with me. It’s just three Los Angeles thugs and one uptight bureaucrat named Clarence (Keegan Michael Key) pretending to be a thug (long story; a good one, though) chilling in Clarence’s minivan. To pass the time, they turn to the fake thug’s iPhone for music, and up comes George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90.” One dude says, “That sounds kinda white.” And Clarence begins a quick defense of his taste, studded with the n-word, that also makes a flashy British pop star sound like a gangsta from Crenshaw.
The sequence culminates with their being oblivious to the shootout in the house they’re parked in front of, belting “One More Try” like a pack of wolves baying at the moon. For about 25 minutes, “Keanu” is smarter than the bad action comedy it turns out to be. And one thing it’s brilliant about is the partial meaning of George Michael.
Who knows if Mr. Michael found that annoying. Who knows if he was aware that “Keanu” existed. But the crush this movie has on him is the crush almost everybody did. At some point, Clarence takes a hit of some hot new street drug, and the first place his high takes him is dancing with Mr. Michael in the “Faith” video. He’s up where even Mr. Michael’s slowest, saddest music could take you. He’s in heaven."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: George Michael Mattered Beyond the Music
words.
"There weren’t many major male pop stars who were openly gay back then. (Scarcely any are now. Elton John said he was bisexual in 1976, and officially stayed there for more than a decade. He could hold a pose.) Lots of men hinted. Lots of men messed around with masculinity, and not just the megastars. For every David Bowie or even Boy George, there was a Jermaine Stewart or a Good Question, many rungs down the fame ladder. And for reasons that make no cosmic sense, a few of those men — Prince, David Bowie, Prince Be of P.M. Dawn, and now Mr. Michael — died in 2016, a year in which dismaying ambivalence about aggressive, invasive male behavior was matched by the reinstatement of duller performances of masculinity in both our pop music and our politics. The Princes and the George Michaels seem as radical as ever.
...Last spring, Key & Peele’s stoner, shoot-em-up comedy, “Keanu,” came and went. But there’s a running gag that’s stayed with me. It’s just three Los Angeles thugs and one uptight bureaucrat named Clarence (Keegan Michael Key) pretending to be a thug (long story; a good one, though) chilling in Clarence’s minivan. To pass the time, they turn to the fake thug’s iPhone for music, and up comes George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90.” One dude says, “That sounds kinda white.” And Clarence begins a quick defense of his taste, studded with the n-word, that also makes a flashy British pop star sound like a gangsta from Crenshaw.
The sequence culminates with their being oblivious to the shootout in the house they’re parked in front of, belting “One More Try” like a pack of wolves baying at the moon. For about 25 minutes, “Keanu” is smarter than the bad action comedy it turns out to be. And one thing it’s brilliant about is the partial meaning of George Michael.
Who knows if Mr. Michael found that annoying. Who knows if he was aware that “Keanu” existed. But the crush this movie has on him is the crush almost everybody did. At some point, Clarence takes a hit of some hot new street drug, and the first place his high takes him is dancing with Mr. Michael in the “Faith” video. He’s up where even Mr. Michael’s slowest, saddest music could take you. He’s in heaven."
THE NEW YORK TIMES: George Michael Mattered Beyond the Music
Monday, December 26, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
07/radiohead/a moon shaped pool
If you take Thom Yorke's words to heart then A Moon Shaped Pool is a "low flying panic attack". A place where worlds come crashing down and you feel cold, "from the inside out". It's a place where panic comes on strong, and "broken hearts make it rain".
Lyrically. On paper.
Elsewhere, A Moon Shaped Pool is a place where the 'serenity now(!)' call is answered and applied to the gorgeously warm soundscapes and textures that underline the chaos and heartache that is present in the lyric sheets. Comfort is sought in the melodies, and A Moon Shaped Pool finds its solace in its quiet yet open and expansive moments. You see it in the way each song seems to be awakened by our pressing of play, stretching and coming alive at a slow and steady pace, letting things fall into place as they may and are meant to. You see it in the brooding, and contemplative string laced exit that attaches itself to Daydreaming; In the entirety of True Love Waits. In their darkest hour Radiohead do what they continue to do best: bend rock music to their will in order to center themselves and bring things back down to earth.
KEY TRACKS: Daydreaming/Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief/True Love Waits
08/anderson .paak/malibu
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
07/frank ocean/nikes
These bitches want Nikes. Or a check. Him? He wants to connect; Exist in the moment outside of material things, see the future first. He wants to be chill about it. Do it on his own terms. Catch a feeling, an emotion, stretch it out over the course of a swampy & cosmic lo-fi southern R&B kickback. He wants to tell you about yourself, seek something deeper. Walk us through a day in the life, the missed connections, and the ups and downs that comes with being young and actually trying to succeed at the game of hearts. He will present this to us from a narrator whose voice is familiar, but also similar to that of Prince's Camille alter ego. He will make us wait to hear from him directly, in the voice that we came to hear from in the first place. But we won't mind. Cause he will bring that knowledge. That wisdom. These observations. This groove. So we don't mind. Have not minded. We here. Been here. Listening, in awe of the fresh Nikes swirling in and around his yearning for something more on his own terms. Still.
08/beyonce/sorry
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Sunday, December 25, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
08/anderson .paak/malibu
Malibu is for the California dreamers. For those who have made it over the hump and are now seeing brighter days. It's for all the little dreamers. And the ones who never gave a fuck. The products of the tube and the free lunch. For those who enjoy some of the old and some of the new, and that fine balance that exists between the two. It's for those who like Hennessy and record players; Teddy Pendergrass and Sammy Davis. And Rick James. And Ray Charles. Curtis Mayfield, Kool and the Gang, Prince; the vibes of DJ Quik. It's for those who like rhythm, and for those who find solace in the blues. For the old heads and the young bucks. For the parking lots, the roller rinks, and the kick backs. It's for those who have let it go and are over sitting back and talking about what could have been. It's the party and the soundtrack, brought to you by Mr. Anderson .Paak, so get up on the good foot and celebrate as he wants us to, and while we still can.
KEY TRACKS: the bird/am i wrong/come down
09/helado negro/private energy
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
NICE AS F*CK! : The Songs, 2016.
08/beyonce/sorry
She tried to tell y'all way back in 2006 that she was not one to be messed with. That she is not the one to be played. Nope, you must not know bout her. She can have another you in a minute, cause you are not irreplaceable. Nope, he must not have heard her. Must not believe that "fat meat's greasy" cause here we are again in 2016, and you done gone and bumped your head. Out here playing games and being foolish as if you're invincible, as if this is all a game. And here she is with the quick, sharp reminder that two can play this game and be just as petty and indifferent. But where Irreplaceable almost felt too put on and maudlin -a "Tyler Perry presents Beyonce in Tyler Perry's 'I Can Do Bad All By Myself'" in song form- Sorry takes on a more joyous tone for the situation at hand, with Beyonce taking a slight gangsta lean into the beats and rhythms currently bubbling up from the hip-hop scenes in the South. Dipping back with no fucks to give, Beyonce ain't picking up her phone, ain't thinking bout yo' trillin' ass, is throwing up middle fingers, and shouting "BOY BYE!" "Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks."
And you, my dude. Sorry.
You better call Becky with the good hair.
09/blood orange/chance
10/jessy lanza/never enough
11/kaytranada featuring syd/you're the one
12/dirty projectors/keep your name
13/britney spears/private show
14/devendra banhart/fancy man
15/angel olsen/shut up kiss me
16/parquet courts/i was just here
17/badbadnotgood feat. samuel t. herring/time moves slow
18/of montreal/it's different for girls
19/nice as f*#k/door
20/flume featuring beck/tiny cities
21/the weeknd/false alarm
22/amber coffman/all to myself
23/bruno mars/that's what i like
24/car seat headrest/destroyed by hippie powers
25/savages/adore
Saturday, December 24, 2016
NICE AS F*CK! : The Albums, 2016.
09/helado negro/private energy
His skin glows in the dark, shines in the light, empowers him to stand tall, shine bright. Shine bright like a diamond. Like the Tinsel Mammal dancer being embraced on the album cover up above. And on album number five, Helado Negro comforts and inspires by tapping into that private energy and projecting it back out at us to feed off of and vibe with. Combining the sounds and textures of his Ecuadorean + South Florida roots with the rich tapestries of lo-fi folk-pop, Helado's PE emits a calm, psychic energy that radiates from every track. It's the work of a man who is young, latin and proud, and eager to share this with you so that you too can reflect on the joy that comes from looking within and standing tall; fully aware of who you are, and thankful for that which has groomed you and shaped you, and gotten you to this point. his private energy. our private joy.
KEY TRACKS: young, latin and proud/it's my brown skin/we don't have time for that
10/car seat headrest/teens of denial
11/beyonce/lemonade
12/a tribe called quest/"we got it from here... thank you 4 your service"
13/nxworries/yes lawd!
14/nice as fuck/nice as fuck
15/childish gambino/"awaken, my love!"
16/rihanna/anti
17/parquet courts/human performance
18/kaytranada/99.9%
19/devendra banhart/ape in pink marble
20/david bowie/blackstar
21/the julie ruin/hit reset
22/jessy lanza/oh no
23/junior boys/big black coat
24/majid jordan/majid jordan
25/badbadnotgood/iv
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