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[rll-sohi]

Some of my favourite music!

The Brave Little Abacus - Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are

An incredible mash of Math Rock, Midwest Emo, some elements of Progressive Rock, and probably much more, I have no idea honestly. This is a hard album to classify; I had never heard anything like it before the first time I listened to it and still have not. I happened to come across this album when I was first getting into music and when I had first made a Spotify account, about January 2019. It immediately enthralled me, with vocalist Demirjian's harsh yet emotional vocals, the constantly innovative rhythms, and a sound unlike any I had heard before and did not know how to classify. I quickly found out: I would spend the next month consuming these new genres I had discovered called "Midwest Emo" and "Math Rock". I believe this album is what really gave me my jumpstart in music listening. If I had not discovered it I probably would have given up on personally looking for music and gone back to listening to whatever was on the radio or in media I consumed lol.

Eventually I found that Midwest Emo was not my absolute favourite genre, but this album has still influenced me to have a love for kickass riffs and any kind of experimental rock. Map of the Stars is the best song ever btw

Deerhoof - Love-Lore

Oh boy what can I say about this. A short, mathy and noisy trip of 34 minutes, but one that will stick with you for a long time. I would not hesitate much to say that Deerhoof is my favourite band; these guys have been pumping out some of the most consistently intricate and interesting arrangements For the past couple decades, and this is them at the pinnacle of those two descriptors I think. Every track on this is great, but I have to highlight 2 and 4.

The second track is, for the most part, a smooth guitar riff backed by an arrangement I can only describe as being similar to a factory assembly line; everything falls into place as if deliberated according to calculations. Satomi's mechanical vocals add to this mood, and her sugary voice keeps it interesting. A couple minutes of waiting pays off, when the guitar explodes into a new riff packed with noise and Satomi attacks her vocals with renewed energy.

Track 4 is 19 minutes, which may be daunting but is definitely worth it. Sections of dissonant guitar plucking, simple rock made enjoyable by Satomi's cheery vocals backed by Deerhoof's characteristicly noisy guitars, and even a section of very spaced notes somewhat akin to Glenn Branca's no wave classic "Lesson No. 2".

Love - Forever Changes

A 1960s Psychedelic Rock classic, but also on top of that a product of folk and classical music. This is, in my humble opinion, the best executed album ever. The instrumentation is nothing insane: vocals, acoustic guitar, drums, violins, and pretty much anything else you would find in any and every other album that those genres listed above encompass. The rhythms are not crazy either. It is the way the instruments interact with each oher that makes this album shine so much. "Alone Again Or", for example, is so dreamy, with Arthur Lee's vocals climbing up and down and doubling each other, while the violin and guitar somewhat subtly climb pitch and volume in the background until both instruments and the vocals explode for a short refrain, immediately followed by a quiet guitar solo to regather everything.

This shit really is psychedelic though, the way Arthur Lee and his army of acoustics pick you up from "Alone Again Or" and keep you enchanted all the way until the end of "You Set the Scene", which is an outright incredible closer by the way. I have listened to this album in full something well over a dozen times and it still never fails to keep me interested. I even get something new out of it everytime: truly, Forever Changes.

Radiohead - OK Computer

I am not going to spend my effort adding more words to the multiple Bibles-length amount of words already written about this album dude All I will say is that it really does deserve the hype

Mr. Ye - The Life of Pablo

This is simultaneously the funnest hip hop album ever and at other times the realest. It is certainly a mess to listen to but that kind of adds to the fu,n and more importantly, the worth of its themes. Something something Kanye knows he is flawed and tries to enjoy life regardless but it gets to him at times, which is very evident in the up and down nature of the album. Sound-wise there is obviously a lot of experimenting, as is characteristic of Kanye. Noise rock fans might be drawn to "Feedback".

Well, that is it I suppose. There are a couple of interesting albums I have been racking hours on recently, so this list may have some new additions. For now, I would like to list some honourable mentions:

Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (Some of the coolest guitar tunings and transitions ever hoooollyyy this album is so raw)

Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind (This 2 hour and 21 minute behemoth is the most expansive album I have ever listened to. How the hell is an album at times no wave, musique concrete, and at One point EDM?? And it has a cohesive mood throughout the whole runtime?? Gira outdid himself.)

Bladee - Gluee (I apologize for listing a Bladee album along with these other titles but it is such a fun album LMAOOO)

Sweet Trip - Velocity: Design: Comfort. (This album really should not work. I think if it was order one track differently I would not have liked it. GG made me feel like I was having a stroke good album)

Polvo - Exploded Drawing (Avant-garde and post-hardcore goodness. "Fast Canoe" is great.)