#the powers that b

[orange-calx]

death grips album covers in the style of keith haring, by gosh-z

[ruinedholograms]

Death Grips (2015)

[pascalishere]

Ok, here are some thoughts on Death Grips, cause I forgot earlier whoops

I’ve been feeling some latent frustration with how I see a lot of people online engage with their music. I don’t mean to be some kind of elitist about this, but a lot of the (deserved) praise that I see them getting feels kind of…detached? It’s almost always coming from the kind of “woah, this music is crazy…but it works somehow?” mindset. I know I’m absolutely making a strawman argument here, but I’ve seen it enough times to where I feel like it’s not just a person I’m making up in my head to be mad at.

I feel like some people don’t get that DG isn’t good in spite of the “insanity”, they’re good because of the “insanity”. And I’ll admit, a lot of their music can be quite alienating! They use lots of abrasive textures, MC Ride’s performances can get very intense, it’s all a lot. But I feel like there are tons of moments of sheer beauty within DG’s discography. The riff from Centuries of Damn comes to mind, it’s so tired and desperate sounding, it’s incredible.

Hearing the incredible art that DG puts out is great, but to see a lot of people in it for the pure spectacle is a little disheartening. And I’m not trying to claim to be the only one who really gets Death Grips, at least I hope I’m not. I just really only see people talk about how crazy they are instead of how flat-out good they are.

Like, each member of DG itself is so talented!

Ride’s ability to channel that much visceral feeling into his performances is impressive on its own, it’s a miracle his throat hasn’t completely given out yet. But it feels so shitty to pigeonhole his style into “Funny homeless man screaming”. First of all, that’s just fucking rude. Second, that’s so reductive! Screaming isn’t all he does, he’s a really damn versatile performer! I never feel like he’s phoning it in or reusing a vibe, he does exactly what needs to be done, every single track. Lots of the most memorable moments of DG’s music are when Ride drops the yelling, and just talks. It’s chilling every time. Plus, his ability to keep a consistent flow over the off-kilter production is a feat all on its own.

Speaking of which, I think Andy Morin might be one of my favorite music producers right now. Right up there with Arca, Patricia Taxxon, Nigel Godrich, that real legendary shit. Like Ride, it never feels like I’m hearing the same thing twice. Each DG track sounds and feels so distinct, even while keeping within the general industrial, electronic, and punk sound palettes. Even my least favorite DG project in terms of production, NLDW, never ever felt lazy or unfinished. I think it’s an excellent project, I just don’t personally enjoy it as much as other DG albums, for very superficial reasons. On projects I prefer more, I still strongly feel that he’s very skilled at creating unique sounds, while still maintaining a sense of familiarity within the outlandish production.

Regarding Zach Hill, I think his drumming speaks for itself. Like, watch any video of a live Death Grips performance. That man goes absolutely ham on the drums, every single time. It’s a wonder he hasn’t snapped his wrists more often. Admittedly, he is the DG member I have the least to say about. I tend to get lost in the electronic elements of most DG tracks, I don’t pay as much attention to the drumming. I also have yet to check out Hella, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. Moving forward, I’m definitely going to try to keep my ears open to what he’s doing while the other elements of the tracks pass me by. I’m certain I’ll find something incredible.

Put together, they’re easily one of the most unique and consistently astonishing bands ever. I say that with my full chest. I don’t know, I just really like them! Sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to get all of this out there. Bottom line, Death Grips Good.

[petergabrielyuri]

i fucking love death grips

[huskyheroine]

Finally got around to listening to all the mainline Death Grips albums, here's the feeling each of them gives me.

Exmillitary: What it feels like to be an actual rebellious punk.

Money Store: Rap album aliens would make if ancient aliens were real.

No Love Deep Web: A warning of technological dystopia, a cyberpunk closer to our current reality than most depections.

Government Plates: Vibing in the Club while you're also running from a murderer, and you don't know what they look like.

The Powers That B (NOTM): One long semi-controlled mental breakdown.

The Powers That B (Jenny Death): One long uncontrolled manic episode.

Bottomless Pit: A really bad drug trip at a concert.

Year Of The Snitch: Classic Rock album but it came from hell.

[nmfonsek-art]

peace of mind.

[welcometogrouchland]

[ID in ALT] I've made posts before about Talia/Dick co-parenting Damian moments (will never happen but let me dream) and this came to me in a vision. Took me ages to finish for some reason 😭 and then even longer to post

[sorcerous-sewer-rat]

So I have now finished the powers that B, what follows is a not even remotely professional review

my initial thoughts:

the album represent some of death grips strongest points, fierce experimentation, violent often sexually violent lyricism, aggressive rhythms and an unashamed ferocity, with its main weakpoint being in that it overstays its welcome after the 1hr mark for the small benefit of feeling the sonic transition from the harsh, punky industrial hip-hop of the first part to the blaring noise rock of Jenny Death

rating 7/10, with the caveat that individually the first half and Jenny Death are both easily 8/10s

I will probably not listen to this album in full again for a long time, rather as two seperate albums

thank you for reading me waffle about Death Grips

[turtlevariabilis]

Special times when only Donnie and Mikey were like a team.

[gloriousmonsters]

love when you can ask the Narrator why the Princess is a Princess and he's like 'well i uhhhh YOU did that. maybe it's because uh... something something about her being above you... but still approachable... look i don't want to analyze or anthropomorphize your--' my guy. i am a primal being of Order and Eternity and Shaping. You're the one who convinced me I was some dude and were quite willing to take credit for shaping my view on the world through narration five seconds ago. Are you gonna look me in the eye and tell me the desire to interpret something worthy of adoration and more powerful than me as a dommy princess is written in the very nature of the universe or are you going to show me your browser history like a man

[ryllen]

Try to pull him for the fifth time, ended up shoved to Jack SSR instead

[pascalishere]

Are we feeling more *outro of Hot Knife by Fiona Apple*, or *outro of Big Dipper by Death Grips* today?

[vordemtodgefeit]

‘nobody wants a general election, obviously’, says second PM in a row that wasn’t voted in by the general public, wasn’t even voted in by members of the party let alone the people he claims to represent, and whose party is predicted to lose said general election