BOUND: The Albums, 2013.

11/Danny Brown/Old 

Old is the origin story. It's the what and the why of who Danny Brown is. It's a snapshot, and a few days in the life. A riveting narrative told many times before that's just as captivating and illuminating when told by Danny B. Old is the presentation of another young american male hitting his 30s and asking all and everything around him, "alright, what it do?". Old is Danny Brown unfiltered; Danny Brown "red 2 go". It's relatable. Often unflattering, but always real. Old is a man no one expected to go beyond local, from those parts of America's motor city we don't often glamorize, trapped and talented in an arena that rather see him dead or locked in a prison but still, "red to go". It's the jump off, and the way forward. Old is Hip-Hop expanded and respected, given thanks for coming thru once again on the way out and inspiration tips.
KEY TRACKS: Wonderbread/Red 2 Go/Float On

12/Deerhunter/Monomania

13/Foxygen/We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

14/Daft Punk/Random Access Memories  

15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights

16/John Legend/Love in the Future

17/Devendra Banhart/Mala

18/David Bowie/The Next Day 

19/Disclosure/Settle

20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks

21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob

22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin

23/Rhye/Woman

24/Lorde/Pure Heroine

25/Savages/Silence Yourself

BOUND: The Singles, 2013.

11/Alicia Keys & Maxwell/Fire We Make



12/Blood Orange/Chamakay

13/Danny Brown/Dope Song

14/Iggy Azalea/Work

15/Holy Ghost!/Dumb Disco Ideas

16/Chance the Rapper/Juice

17/Charli XCX/Take My Hand

18/A$AP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar/F**kin' Problems

19/Britney Spears/Work B**ch!

20/Deerhunter/Monomania

21/Sky Ferreira/You're Not the One

22/Janelle Monae/Dance Apocalyptic

23/Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z/Suit & Tie 

24/The Dream/IV Play

25/Queens of the Stone Age/My God is the Sun

BOUND: The Albums, 2013.

an exaggerated or obsessive enthusiasm for or preoccupation with one thing. 

12/Deerhunter/Monomania

A few afternoons ago I took a few minutes to revisit the Rolling Stones' back catalog. At some point during the streaming of one of the classics - it might have been Let it Bleed or Some Girls-, the words, "man, the Stones sure were good mimics" came tumbling out of my mouth. I did not mean this as an insult. It's just that, when I went back to their long players I heard the Stones, yes, but more than anything, I heard everyone and everything else that came before them. I had realized that for the most part, these albums were expertly crafted/curated walks through (largely American) blues/country/rock & roll stances and histories. 

Initial listening sessions with Deerhunter's Monomania triggered the same reaction. I did not outright reject the album, but it was neglected for some time. And it's not like this particular stance or present surroundings were new terrain for the band. This time around I just wasn't hearing Deerhunter (that I was becoming accustomed to). 

Come to find out, this was intentional.

In the lead up to and throughout this album's release, Bradford Cox constantly spoke on wanting to reach back, span the decades -Hank, Diddley- show some love to the blues, burnt country, and bare rock and roll that came before him. A simple task, difficult to execute. Quick to get a cry of "mimic". Until you go back and give Monomania another spin. And another. And another, and realize that sometimes (as was the case with the Stones before them, yes) when executed properly and given the right amount of dedication, influences can be honored and provide inspiration without holding a smothering presence over a band. At the end of the day, this music's all Deerhunter. "avant-garde rock & roll" at its finest in a packed year of many looking back to push things forward.

KEY TRACKS: T.H.M./Sleepwalking/Monomania 

13/Foxygen/We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

14/Daft Punk/Random Access Memories  

15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights

16/John Legend/Love in the Future

17/Devendra Banhart/Mala

18/David Bowie/The Next Day 

19/Disclosure/Settle

20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks

21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob

22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin

23/Rhye/Woman

24/Lorde/Pure Heroine

25/Savages/Silence Yourself

And anotha one...

#YEEZUS

Meanwhile with Kanye West and the Anti-Defamation League...

words.

"I don’t know how being told that you have money is like an insult. That would be like if somebody complimented black guys and said, ‘All black guys have big penises.’ You don’t want to be the black guy who raises his hand and says like, ‘That’s not true. I have proof!’" - Kanye West 

PITCHFORK: Kanye West Responds to Anti-Semitism Accusation, Calls Comments "An Ignorant Compliment"

The Devil is a Lie.

Stream here.

BOUND: The Singles, 2013.

12/Blood Orange/Chamakay



13/Danny Brown/Dope Song

14/Iggy Azalea/Work

15/Holy Ghost!/Dumb Disco Ideas

16/Chance the Rapper/Juice

17/Charli XCX/Take My Hand

18/A$AP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar/F**kin' Problems

19/Britney Spears/Work B**ch!

20/Deerhunter/Monomania

21/Sky Ferreira/You're Not the One

22/Janelle Monae/Dance Apocalyptic

23/Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z/Suit & Tie 

24/The Dream/IV Play

25/Queens of the Stone Age/My God is the Sun

BOUND: The Albums, 2013.

 13/Foxygen/We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

At numerous points throughout Foxygen’s third LP, it almost seems as though the boys in the band don’t want you to take much or any of what they are presenting too seriously. Fantastical lyricisms here, a put on vocal turn there, the entire four minutes and twenty-eight seconds of the title track and, of course, the album title itself (“We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic") are all a testament to this belief. It’s all enough to make you wonder just who Foxygen (think they) are, and if your spending time trying to digest or understand it all is even worth the effort. Fortunately, repeat listens are quite rewarding, and ultimately have you saying yes to that last quandary, as they reveal a retro leaning album that, underneath it all, is simply a rollicking batch of silly little love songs. It’s as if Jonathan Rado and Sam France purposefully throw distractions in the mix and let songs go off the beaten path in order to disguise this fact/act of going thru love’s/girl’s/companionship’s motions. Some of the last words sung on the album are “if you believe in love, everything you see is love”, and this is completely fitting. Those few words loom large on We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, extending themselves to the music as well, where Foxygen show love for and believe in the love of a good bluesy, rock & roll, honky-tonk stomp/rip & tear. About this, they are so serious, and you/me/them/all the music attached is all the better thanks to this. Yes, the creeds have been provided and heard and repeated. I think I got it now. No tear downs, and no destruction. Just a few spoonfuls of  that old fashioned lovin'. I can dig it.
KEY TRACKS: No Destruction/San Francisco/Oh Yeah

14/Daft Punk/Random Access Memories  

15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights

16/John Legend/Love in the Future

17/Devendra Banhart/Mala

18/David Bowie/The Next Day 

19/Disclosure/Settle

20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks

21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob

22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin

23/Rhye/Woman

24/Lorde/Pure Heroine

25/Savages/Silence Yourself

coming attractions.

PITCHFORK: Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, Chic, Laurie Anderson, Avey Tare, More Set for Moogfest

listen.

PITCHFORK: Listen: Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and Serengeti Announce LP as Sisyphus, Share "Calm It Down"

acid rap.

with Nardwuar & Chance the Rapper.

BOUND: The Singles, 2013.

13/Danny Brown/Dope Song



14/Iggy Azalea/Work

15/Holy Ghost!/Dumb Disco Ideas

16/Chance the Rapper/Juice

17/Charli XCX/Take My Hand

18/A$AP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar/F**kin' Problems

19/Britney Spears/Work B**ch!

20/Deerhunter/Monomania

21/Sky Ferreira/You're Not the One

22/Janelle Monae/Dance Apocalyptic

23/Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z/Suit & Tie 

24/The Dream/IV Play

25/Queens of the Stone Age/My God is the Sun

BOUND: The Albums, 2013.

14/Daft Punk/Random Access Memories

Earlier this year, way back in early May, the Robots returned to walk among us and quite possibly, if they were lucky, take over the world. And just what did they discover upon their return?

The present has no rhythm.

Sure, the catch all DANCE umbrella that we could place the duo's music under was flourishing and experiencing a revived popularity across charts, at award shows, and festivals across the globe, but for these two, something was off, missing even.

"Tell me what you see, I need something more..."

So Daft Punk did what many of us have done in our attempts to both understand and get with the present while also shaping a new path forward: they looked back; Accessing random bits and memories from the underbellies of their genre's past. Taking a breath as their peers and contemporaries keep busy running in place. Random Access Memories aims to give life back to music by showing it some respect and letting it breathe; working overtime to both show and tell you repeatedly over the course of its 75 minute running time how and why this music and all its roots + skeletal components matter. To fully glimpse these ambitions, start at the middle. From here onwards, Random Access Memories grows tired of being overtly educational or on the nose, and lets its hair down, going heavy on the show angle of their look back. Album highlight/centerpiece Touch sets things off in full, playing almost like the lead in for what is ultimately the album's crisp, perfectly sequnced side two, angels and choirs at the gates and all. From here on out til the robots lift off and bounce, the duo & their merry band of collaborators illuminate your airwaves with clean, well tailored assemblages that dabble in disco, yacht rock, 80s R&B, electronica, funk, whatever, requesting that you lose yourself to dance while they all barely break a sweat putting it all on the table. Heartbeats & rythms? Restored. Coast to the stars.
KEY TRACKS: Touch/Get Lucky/Doin' It Right

15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights

16/John Legend/Love in the Future

17/Devendra Banhart/Mala

18/David Bowie/The Next Day 

19/Disclosure/Settle

20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks

21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob

22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin

23/Rhye/Woman

24/Lorde/Pure Heroine

25/Savages/Silence Yourself

I'm Aquarius.

A video.

From Metronomy. 

Who You Love.

A video.

Starring John Mayer & Katy Perry.

BOUND: The Singles, 2013.

14/Iggy Azalea/Work



15/Holy Ghost!/Dumb Disco Ideas

16/Chance the Rapper/Juice

17/Charli XCX/Take My Hand

18/A$AP Rocky feat. Drake, 2 Chainz, & Kendrick Lamar/F**kin' Problems

19/Britney Spears/Work B**ch!

20/Deerhunter/Monomania

21/Sky Ferreira/You're Not the One

22/Janelle Monae/Dance Apocalyptic

23/Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z/Suit & Tie 

24/The Dream/IV Play

25/Queens of the Stone Age/My God is the Sun

. . .

BOUND: The Albums, 2013.

15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights

On Afraid of Heights, frontman Nathan Williams is holding a gun to his head, going on about how none of us will ever understand him, and he's ugly, and you're boring, and the world is his enemy. Beat him up, cause hey, EVERYTHING is his fault, that's on him. (And this is all before a song titled gimme a knife).

In other words, an album of positive affirmations this ain't. Despite all this, the album sticks, and is not off-putting, thanks largely to the pairing of Nathan and co.'s sorrows and inner demons with some top notch pop/punk/alt rock melodies & production. Production that recalls heavily the best and brightest of those beloved scenes. Afraid of Heights wallows deeply in all of this in quite the genuine manner, giving no fucks, adding a whiff of relatability to what's being expressed and shared with the group while also taking you back, and making you root for the wounded, asking that you embrace it, and lunge forward.
KEY TRACKS: Afraid of Heights/Beat Me Up/That's On Me

16/John Legend/Love in the Future

17/Devendra Banhart/Mala

18/David Bowie/The Next Day 

19/Disclosure/Settle

20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks

21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob

22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin

23/Rhye/Woman

24/Lorde/Pure Heroine

25/Savages/Silence Yourself

New Slaves.

A Moment of Clarity.

 words. 

"Whatever they are as creative forces and all-around tastemakers, the Carters also embody black wealth in the 21st century. It’s a main subject of Jay Z’s raps on the less-than-brilliant Magna Carta Holy Grail, and the mise-en-scène of Beyoncé’s “visual album.” (It’s easier to see luxury than to hear it, though it’s definitely present in her beats, too.) I think it’s hugely important, even or maybe especially when talking pop culture, to remember that income equality is the most important social issue of our time. It bubbles underneath the debates on health care and the budget that shut down Congress; it’s altering the demographics and architecture of our greatest cities, perhaps permanently; it’s undermining public education and, in fact, heavily influencing what the soda-swilling kids of America are fed by their struggling, overworked parents. And in terms of subject matter, income equality was all over the charts this year, with responses ranging from the compassionate Horatio Alger tales that Jay and Bey present; to the boho rejections of consumerism crafted within Lorde’s “Royals” and Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop”; to the working-class pride of Kacey Musgraves, fighting back a tide of country hits that approximate Chevy truck ads to stump for trailer park dwellers and shift workers blowin’ smoke."

...Unsurprisingly, Kanye West—music’s favorite troubled and troublesome soul for nearly a decade by now—issued the year’s most intense meditation on inequality, race, and privilege. Yeezus is a meditation the way the late Lou Reed’s master-middlefinger Metal Machine Music was one: Its noise and fury induce a headache that re-arranges your thought waves."

SLATE: The Music Club, 2013: Entry 4: Pop music’s great subject this year: income inequality.

Boys in the Wood.

Starring Black Lips.



PITCHFORK: Listen: Black Lips: "Boys in the Wood"