#women performers are just... no male classic rock musician compares to them

[musicinthebranchesoftheveins]

I'm still not over missing Joan Baez when she performed in Minneapolis for the last time

[fieldtomatoes]

oh no I dropped my monster documentary masterlist I use for my magnum social distancing

[Titles marked with * are restricted to Canada, but might be accessible through a proxy/vpn, any one of them could be on American Netflix/Amazon Prime/Hulu I just don’t know, and if all else fails, most are available on one rental platform or another although I know that’s not ideal.]

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World - 1h43m Covers the influence on all genres of music by Indigenous musicians including Charlie Patton (Blues), Mildred Bailey (Jazz/Swing), Link Wray (Rock), Robbie Robertson (Rock), Buffy Sainte-Marie (Folk), Jimi Hendrix (Rock), Randy Castillo (Metal), Jesse Ed Davis (Rock/Blues), and more, with interviews from Robbie Robertson, John Trudell, Taj Mahal, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Iggy Pop, Martin Scorsese, and more. Probably the best documentary I’ve ever seen. Trailer Available: a slightly abridged version (20 mins shorter, not sure what it cuts out) here, Kanopy, or rental services

The Island President - 1h38m Follows former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, who was elected after 30 years of dictatorship as he fights for his people’s survival and to end the rising sea levels that are washing his country away at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2009. Trailer Available: here

Angry Inuk* - 44m Provides the Inuit perspective on seal hunting; how they have been the victims of propaganda spread by animal activist groups and how increasingly restrictive bans have affected their culture and way of life (obvious tw for footage of raw seal meat, blood, and organs). Trailer Available: here

Genderize* - 13m Comparative interviews from 2012 and 2016 with a sibling trio about their understanding of and experience with gender and growing up. Personal endorsement, Chase is one of my profs and he’s literally the best instructor I’ve ever had. Available: here

Kumu Hina / A Place In The Middle - 1h17m / 25m The story of Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a teacher and community cultural figure who is Māhū (embodies femininity and masculinity; is in the middle). “A Place In The Middle” is the abridged version that focuses on the story of Kumu Hina’s Māhū student, Ho’Onani, joining the all-male hula troop, which is the B-plot of the original documentary. Trailer Kumu Hina available on: Kanopy or rental services // A Place In The Middle available: here

I’m Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas* - 52m Chronicles the writing of classic Christmas songs such as “Silver Bells”, “The Christmas Song”, “White Christmas”, and many others that were actually written by Jewish composers, with integrated performances of said songs by Canadian musicians including Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies who has contributed his fair share of amazing Christmas songs as a Jewish musician. Trailer Available: here

And We Knew How to Dance* - 55m Contributions of Canadian women during the First World War, told by the women themselves from interviews conducted in the early 1990s. Includes women who moved to the prairies to take over farms, were nurses and ambulance drivers on the western front, and became floor managers of factories, among other jobs, and discusses the sexism they faced. Available on: National Film Board

Reel In The Closet - 1h22m Showcases and discusses the home movies of LGBT people going back to the 1930s, and how they documented their hidden, but full, lives. Trailer Available on: Kanopy

Reel Injun* - 1h32m Examines the portrayal of Indigenous people in film throughout the 20th century and the evolution of the “Hollywood Indian”. Features interviews with Adam Beach, John Trudell, Charlie Hill, Sacheen Littlefeather, Robbie Robertson, Graham Greene, and more. Trailer v1 / Trailer v2  Available on: Kanopy or rental services

The Legacy Of Brendan Burke* - 45m Discusses homophobia in the National Hockey League and the awareness that was brought to that topic when Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM Brian Burke’s son, Brendan Burke, came out on TSN with a message of solidarity with all of the closeted players in the league. Features anonymous testimonies from gay players as well as interviews with Mark Tewksbury, Patrick Burke, and Georges Laraque, among others. (Important to note: the NHL is the only major sports league in North America to have never had a player come out, either during or after their career). Available: here

Tab Hunter Confidential - 1h30m Tab Hunter recalls what it was like being a closeted gay man in the 1950s, while also being one of the biggest stars of the golden age of Hollywood. Provides insight on the lengths that pioneering movie studios went to to conceal their LGBT actors’ sexualities. Trailer Available on: I found a free version after a google search, or rental services

Jon Richardson - A Little Bit OCD - 47m British comedian Jon Richardson, often mocked for his “OCD tendencies” investigates the disorder, how it affects the lives of nearly 1 million people in Britain, and whether he might be one of them. Available: here

No Sad Songs - 1h02m An Aids Committee of Toronto (ACT) film from 1985 that profiles Jim Black, a young man with AIDS and documents the gay community’s response to the AIDS epidemic through interviews and artistic interpretation. Considered to be the first major documentary about AIDS. Available: here

INVASION - 18m “In this era of ‘reconciliation’, Indigenous land is still being taken at gunpoint. INVASION is a new film about the Unist’ot’en Camp, Gidimt’en checkpoint and the larger Wet’suwet’en Nation standing up to the Canadian government and corporations who continue colonial violence against Indigenous people.” A feature length film is coming later in 2020. Available: here

More resources:

PBS

CBC DOCS (imo better selection and layout than PBS, worth using a proxy if you’re not Canadian)

National Film Board (if you go to a Canadian university, go through your library’s database link for more options)

[lucioarmytage]

How Punk Formed Electronic Music

Musical genres are classes which comprise music which share a sure model or which have certain elements in widespread. Certainly one of rock's problems seems to be demographic. Trendy rock music is mainly being bought by young, white males. Women and girls forty and under mainly purchase pop music. Regardless of the success of some later feminine rockers like 10,000 Maniacs and Alanis Morissette, modern rock nonetheless seems to have a problem attracting female patrons. In 2006, the web site surveyed girls all over the world on their music style. Whereas the survey did not present percentages, rock solely appeared in the other class and that was just a tiny slice of the general pie chart. Now, it is doable that some rock fans chose different (which covers several genres) but this was still less than half the size of the pop class. A two time Grammy Award successful singer-songwriter & activist from Benin. She is famous for her various musical influences & inventive music movies that has earned her the title of ‘The best livening African Diva'. Based in London, Thackray, 27, composes jazz and digital music, launched her Walrus EP in September , and will be re-scoring It Follows with a reside orchestra on October 31st in Leeds. Nation and rap are both very different genres. Combining the 2 just creates one of the worst sounds ever.

A seven-time Grammy winner, Prince had Prime 10 hits like Little Crimson Corvette," When Doves Cry," Let's Go Loopy," Kiss" and The Most Beautiful Lady within the World"; albums like Soiled Mind," 1999" and Sign ' the Times" were full-length statements. His songs also became hits for others, among them Nothing Compares 2 U" for Sinead 'Connor, Manic Monday" for http://www.audio-transcoder.com the Bangles and I Feel for You" for Chaka Khan. With the 1984 film and album Purple Rain," he instructed a fictionalized version of his own story: biracial (though Prince's parents have been each African-American), gifted, spectacularly bold. Its music received him an Academy Award, and the album sold greater than 13 million copies within the United States alone. The music of these days was a reaction to actuality. The military that ruled Nigeria for a greater part of its fifty eight years' independence had created so many problems. The urge to struggle back was there, however at all times suppressed. Fela stood out as a result of he stepped in aggressively together with his music. The description of a style is a collection of patterns. Songs that share patterns could be grouped in a genre that describes those patterns. You could find these patterns in any music dynamic: rhythm, speed, development, key, instrumentation, no matter. Provided that we do discover that MySpace musicians group genres into constant complexes (3 worlds, sixteen style communities), we turn to our third question, in regards to the structural dimensions of those complexes. To do so, we study the extent to which the permeability of style communities' boundaries range. Here we return to the 2x2 desk from above, and present how the main style complexes in the MySpace universe match within it. Spoken phrase has at all times raised eyebrows with regards to music. Some view it as poetry, while others respect it as every other music. Spoken phrase performances have brought new ideas of offering entertainment. This consists of collaborating with other musicians in addition to adding instrumentals to the artistic performance. Music to be careful for contains that from Jemedari, Quantity 8, Specifyd" and others. Music comes in many differing kinds and styles starting from conventional rock music to world pop, easy listening and bluegrass. Many genres have a rich history or geographical significance, a cult following or music roots that go far past the twentieth century. The rise of EDM has been powered by expertise, with social media helping construct the profiles of rising artists such as the Belgian techno DJ Amelie Lens. It has also remodeled the music distribution model. Regional Mexican music is among the best-selling genres of Latin music within the United States with such artists as Vicente Fernandez , Espinoza Paz, Los Tigres del Norte, Gerardo Ortiz, Banda El Recodo, Jenni Rivera , Selena , La Arrolladora Banda El Limon, and Marco Antonio Solis collectively bringing in tens of millions of report sales.

After all, there are lots of limitations in our study and our survey did not embrace all attainable music genres. There are such a lot of varieties of music that we've not included in our research. In future studies, we are going to address this issue and we would conduct exploratory research to seek out out exactly why listeners from each genders desire sure genres. This way we can have a greater overview of the differences between female and male music preferences. The facial ink is only one hallmark of SoundCloud rap, a as soon as underground scene with its roots in southern US trap music that within the final 12 months has crossed over into the mainstream, and is quick becoming one of the crucial widespread musical genres for teenagers and young adults.

Music in America is presently in an fascinating place. The internet has made it easier than ever for artists to release their music for the world to hear, however on the similar time it may really feel like a smaller group of artists is capturing the top of the charts. Still, when it comes to touring exhibits and local scenes rock and nation musicians are serving to to bring fans together all throughout the nation. Whereas the charts could be dominated by music that is streamed over telephones and computers the local concert venues are full of individuals looking for that classic mixture of drums, a guitar, and a singer that can make them really feel something.You would possibly discover those that want to purchase your music after you've got spent cash on social media promoting however you'll never turn into famous. What these gross sales amount to is probably just a few thousand dollars a yr. Typically you'll be making less than any individual making minimal wage that works at a 7-eleven store. If you're utterly honest with yourself, most individuals don't get into this business to generate income at first. They want that FAME. That fame will finally get the ball rolling and bring in the cash later like in the case of Metallica.Maybe it is the hybridized nature of rock music, the myriad influences which have melded to make the shape, that lends itself so properly to debate - Stones vs. Beatles, Beatles vs. Elvis, garage rock vs. area rock - however nevertheless, it may be this side of the genre that most appeals to the ever desirous to argue Debaters. Or it might simply be the inherent contentiousness of rock as a complete, the rebellious spirit that defies categorization whilst finer lines are drawn - both manner, individuals with the Debater persona kind might have an elaborate set of justifications for why their bands are worthy of inclusion in the pantheon of rock, whereas others ought to be condemned forevermore to the bargain bins of history.

[wmucradio]

Avril Lavigne, NPR and the Future of Femme Musicians: A Conversation with Diet Cig

Pop-punk duo Diet Cig graced D.C.’s Rock And Roll Hotel last week in front of an eager sold-out crowd. Front-woman Alex Luciano, known for her contagious energy and sweetly provocative lyricism, left no one disappointed with her hyperactive splits, kicks and jumps while drummer Noah Bowman held down the fort by keeping time.

Diet Cig’s latest release Swear I’m Good At This made up the majority of the set, grabbing the audience immediately with “Sixteen,” then progressing through hits like “Maid of the Mist”, “Barf Day” and “Tummy Ache.” Woven between the new material were classics “Harvard” “Dinner Date” and “Sleep Talk.”

Diet Cig was supported by Seattle-based rock group Great Grandpa and Scottish queer-punk band The Spook School for a night of powerful rock and roll, laughter and occasional intimacy.

WMUC had the privilege of talking to Diet Cig before the set, affirming that the cheerful persona Luciano and Bowman maintain while performing, is a reflection of their authenticity even off stage:

Jordan: This show brings you to the last leg of the tour! How does this compare to tours you’ve had previously?

Alex: It’s been really different because we’re traveling as a four-piece, so playing as a four-piece has been probably the biggest change, which has been super fun. It’s still the same songs and the spirit of Diet Cig is the same, but it’s just more stuff.

How has being a four-piece affected your normal dynamic?

Noah: It’s definitely a fuller sound. It feels like we can actually do a lot more of what the record sounds like—like having the synth lines on the record that we couldn’t do before, having the bass to fill in the low end—it feels really powerful now.

Alex: I have to be more careful on stage to make sure I don’t kick anyone.

Noah: The first couple shows, you and Anna hit headstocks.

Alex: I knocked myself out of tune. But it’s been really fun to have more people on stage to goof around with.

And this isn’t the first time you’ve been to D.C. You just played an NPR Tiny Desk not too long ago. How was that?

Noah: It was wild. It was one of those things where you’ve seen it so many times and then you’re there and you’re just like “whoa.” Kind of an out-of-body experience.

Alex: We were so excited and honored to have a Tiny Desk performance, and so we wanted it to be perfect and so good. I think we were pretty nervous because we love and respect it so much, but it ended up being really fun and cool. We’ve never done anything like it before so it was really special.

—It looked like you were having a lot fun standing on the desk. Has that happened before? Did they say anything?

Alex: I don’t think so…maybe like one time before.

Well that’s an honor then, you should get a plaque for that.

Alex: Yeah haha. And for not breaking the Tiny Desk…

This is random, but I was reading around and learned that Avril Lavigne was one of your favorite artists growing up.

Alex: Yeah, I love Avril! That was my first concert ever.

In what ways do you think she inspired you?

Alex: I think the thing with Avril Lavigne was she was the first rock artist that was not a white-cis male. And I don’t think I necessarily currently take a whole ton of inspiration from her music, but I think as a kid it was really important for me to see a femme person rocking out and doing their thing unapologetically like that, and I think that was like very formative.

Speaking of your music, Swear I’m Good At This got an unusually negative review from Pitchfork. How do you respond and bounce back from opposition like that?

Alex: Honestly, it definitely sucks, but we have such incredible, sweet fans of our music that their support means more to us than anything a publication could write. Even when we get great press and people are like “Oh my gosh you got this write-up in The New York Times you must feel so validated!” Honestly, the press is not the thing that validates us. It’s really cool, but the real stuff that makes us feel good is seeing our fans at shows and interacting with them. 

The Pitchfork thing was a bummer, but we don’t do it for the press because we love our fans and we love making music, and that interaction is the most validating part. So we just brushed it off and were like “Okay, cool, let’s go play a show and be with our fans who are on the same page as us.”

Have you noticed a change in your fanbase from when you started making music to currently?

Noah: I guess it’s just growing. More and more people are coming out and more people know the words. The cool thing is what songs resonate with different cities. Sometimes “Bite Back” will be the song that everyone is yelling, and then “Sixteen” is always the one everyone misses the cue.

Alex: Everyone always beats me to it…it’s really funny. It’s been really cool to watch our fanbase grow. It feels so wild and amazing to return to cities we’ve been to and sell them out, and meet folks who like our music from the very beginning, and meet folks who are like “I found you on Spotify three days ago and I’m obsessed with your band.”

Noah: Or the ones who are just like “I found out about you just now. My friend brought me here, and I had no idea and now I’m a fan.” That’s awesome.

Alex: I feel like the demographic of our fans isn’t necessarily changing, but broadening. It’s interesting to see the newer groups of people who gravitate towards our music. We’ll have moms come and be like “I love your music. I’m going to show it to my kids who can’t come tonight” or really young kids who love it, or bro dudes who are jamming to “Tummy Ache” and I’m just like “How does that even resonate with you?” But they love it, and it’s kind of a funny thing to see how so many different people have been coming to our shows and like having a blast all together.

You guys are from New York, right? How does it feel when you play back home—is it any different from your other tour destinations?

Noah: It’s just kind of a special thing because all of our friends are still there. We don’t live in New York now, we live in Richmond, so going back is a treat.

Alex: And our family comes.

Noah: It’s always a special show every time we go back to New York.

Alex: And most of the people we work with professionally are based in New York, so our whole team is there. It’s almost like when people at their wedding joke that they never get to talk to everybody. It’s almost like that. We have so many friends and people we want to talk to and hang out with, but it’s so hectic. It’s like a tornado of love.

Alex, you mentioned The New York Times earlier, and in their piece they released last fall about women making the best rock music today you mentioned how you feel that there’s a preconceived expectation placed on you as a “small girl” on stage. What are these expectations for non-male musicians, and how do you combat them?

Alex: There are so many expectations put on non-cis-male musicians, especially contradicting ones. Like, you can’t be too bitchy but you have to be tough. It’s like you’re never enough as you are. I think our record especially is super honest and emotional, and it really covers a lot of ground across the spectrum, and I think I wanted to show that every emotion and every nuanced bit of myself and others is important. Even the stuff that is not super powerful. Even the stuff that is gross and annoying and angry.

I think just being honest and vulnerable on stage and in my writing is a really radical way to combat this view that women and non-cis-men have to be some type of way. And it’s bullshit. Rock and roll is for everybody, and your feelings are valid regardless if they aren’t easy to swallow. I think being unapologetically yourself as you make our art is a really radical way to combat that sentiment.

On the flip side, Noah, what kind of things have you experienced on this topic from your perspective?

Noah: I feel like I’ve become more aware of what is going on now, having Alex be the front person and dealing with everyone around. I kind of hate dudes sometimes. I get really almost defensive and protective. The other night this guy came on stage while we were playing. I immediately stopped, and it wasn’t a malicious thing at first, but I was just like “I don’t know what’s going to happen because when a guy comes on stage, we’ve all seen the worst that’s happened.”

Alex: I feel like you totally have our backs in a really important way.

Noah: I hate too when people come to me to ask questions about what Alex is doing, about the guitars. I’m just like “I play drums. I don’t know the answer to that question. Maybe you should ask the person who’s playing guitar.” It’s a lot of going to the guitar store and the guy’s talking to me and I’m like “I’m with her. You should ask her.” I hate that most men just go straight to the other dude. I don’t even play guitar, I can’t even have a conversation with why are you coming to me? Alex could talk you out the freakin door about guitars. I can’t. That’s what I’ve noticed.

What can you say about the community of female artists right now? Is it tight knit?

Alex: I think it’s tight knit, but not in a way that feels cliquey or anything. It’s super supportive, and the internet is really cool because we can all have each other’s backs even if we don’t live in the same place. Like Karli who plays keys with us plays in a band called Plush, who we’ve met through playing shows in San Francisco where they’re based out of. It’s really cool how connections like that have been forged by playing together and collaborating now because we’ve always supported each other’s projects.

What does the future look like for gender diversity and femme presentation in the music scene?

Alex: I think the future is looking so hopeful and amazing, and I think there has always been incredible femme musicians. I mean, women created rock and roll, and the presentation in the media and in major outlets will keep increasing. Women and femme folks will get more coverage in a way they’ve always deserved.

I feel super privileged to be making music in this time because of that, and am thankful for everyone who has come before me. I feel like it’s coming to a time where women are even more recognized for their achievements, not only as artists, but as team members: management, booking agencies, and the parts of the industry that you don’t hear a lot about. The ones that have been traditionally run by men at the top for a very long time, and I think changes are being made in big ways right now in the industry, and more women are running shit and more femme folks are taking over management and giving artists an experience that is inclusive and safe and I think that more than anything is going to change the face of music in general.

And just wrapping up, what are your plans for after tour?

Noah: We go home, and sleep in our own beds for a second, have a couple shows at some colleges, and then we’re pretty much writing our next record. So, that’s the next big thing we’re thinking about.

Written by WMUC Music Director and Socks And Sandals DJ, Jordan Stovka.

All Photos by Jordan Stovka.

[tweefunk]

Fuckin’ things man.

IDK, my BFF Jill? I want to write nice things I really. I don’t like being a negative Nancy.

The Orwells-Terrible Human Beings

4/10

Eh. Dangerous sexuality only works as an aesthetic when it's tragically hip and elegantly disheveled. See all hyped indie-rock from 2001-2005.

When a bunch of gangly-ass white eggheads from the suburbs consciously re-create it a decade late(r) as a marketing ploy it's just nauseating.

Unfortunately, this isn't that entertainingly awful. It's worse. Boring.

Suicide Silence-S/T

3/10

Suicide Silence attempts what other metalcore acts have done more successfully; transition to an accessible mainstream rock sound and audience. It worked for BMTH and ADTR, but here it just further accentuates that Suicide Silence is a one-trick pony.

The terrible lead single “Doris” set the bar low and became an instant meme, but unfortunately, it’s one of the comparatively bright spots on this underwhelming record. 

Suicide Silence’s attempts at a radio-rock crossover sound come across like a garage band stumbling through bad Deftones covers at their first practice. The sheer ineptitude, combined with the fact that a label was even willing to release this, is astounding.

This mediocrity (to put it mildly) casts the remnants of Suicide Silence’s old deathcore sound in an unfairly favorable light. The brief forays into competence provide welcome relief.

I expect a severe course correction on their next release.

Dirty Projectors-S/T

2/10

Let’s just get this out of the way early. Dave Longstreth is exceptionally talented. He possesses an Ivy League music degree, and it shows. His understanding of melody, harmony, and tonality is nearly unparalleled in pop music, and I’m just some jackass with a tumblr page.

I guess now is as good a time as any to admit (if you couldn’t figure it out for yourself) that I don’t review music in an objective, structural sense. I review music in a subjective, what-does-it-all-mean, how-does-this-relate-to-the-culture-at-large, how-does-this advance-the-medium/genre kinda way. I don’t get into the nuts and bolts of production, or cadences, or harmonic structures unless it’s distracting from the overall message of the product. 

Take punk for example. No one would ever mistake the Ramones for virtuosos, but you would be an idiot to write them off since pretty much all mainstream rock since the late 70′s owes at least a foundational aesthetic to them.

Speaking of punk, (SEGUE!) the first Dirty Projectors album anyone cared about was 2007′s Rise Above the post-modern circle jerk in which the group re-imagined (read: drained of all life, and ignored the cultural context behind...) Black Flag’s 1981 opus. The ironic, self-satisfied condescension of a bunch of literal art-school rejects layering dense fussed-over harmonies onto songs that were imagined as blinding, cathartic rage against both internal emotional and external structural oppression is still nauseating a decade later.

Some dipshit tried to fight me in college for saying that once. 

While Dirty Projectors are once again a solo act, the same sense of narcissistic genre-superiority is still alive and kicking. Except now there is nice dollop of nice-guy woe-is-me misogyny AND a desperate attempt to fit in with the kids and their hippity-hop. In “Up in Hudson,” Longstreth whines “Now I'm listening to Kanye on the Taconic Parkway/riding fast/And you're out in Echo Park/blasting 2Pac/drinking a fifth for my ass.” As you might know, this record is about the breakup of Longstreth and his lover/bandmate Amber Coffman. The above lyric might not be so gross if it weren’t for the fact that opening lines of the record are “I don't know why you abandoned me/You were my soul and my partner.” Well, I’m sure your whiny victim mentality didn’t have anything to do with it.

This tack continues as Longstreth continues to make not-so-subtle jabs at the moral and artistic credibility of his ex. Returning to the opening track, Longstreth delivers this particularly pissy kiss-off: “What I want from art is truth/What you want is fame/Now we'll keep 'em separate/And you keep your name”

Taking this line in context of his east-west dichotomy (LA a symbol of fake plasticity and NY is gritty realism) and the long standing truism that women in the performing arts are often viewed as superficial entertainers providing fun escapism whilst the men get on with such lofty things like “Real” Art, Objectivity, Reason, and Truth.

And in a roundabout way this bring me to my major gripe with the cult of Dirty Projectors and hipsterdom in general. It’s no secret that I grew up as disciple of the early 2000′s pop-punk and emo scene, which has rightly been critiqued as cesspool of vengeful, beta-male “nice-guy” revenge-misogyny. Say Anything’s “Every Man Has A Molly” is perfect example of this with lines like “Molly Connolly ruined my life/I thought the world should know.” 

However, I would argue that Say Anything’s treatment of the subject is more palatable since Max Bemis seems to be capable of self-reflection and critique. In contrast, every time Dave Longstreth comes to close to admitting a fault, it comes caked in backhanded sarcasm since he knows he has to pay lip service to being magnanimous.

And now I turn on the critics: Why the fuck is it ok for an effeté ninny (oh the beautiful irony) to spew this venom, but when a bunch of skate rats in a garage whine about girls ignoring them, it’s an affront to music and good taste? At least the latter group can have a sense of humor about themselves and their genre. But go ahead and lionize the 30-something Yale grad pandering to modern production trends in a desperate bid for self-aggrandizing relevance.

However, as my rating shows, this record isn’t all bad. The mid-album ballad “Little Bubble” is actually quite beautiful and one of the few moments where Longstreth allows his mask to slip and recognizes that this is maybe, partially, his fault.

And lastly, can we laugh at that album art? It’s a fucking broken Nutter Butter.

Thundercat-Drunk

7/10

If you’re into jazz or funk, this essential listening. Thundercat is an incredible musician and his songwriting manages to be hilarious and personal at the same time.

Seriously, one of singles is about Goku. Unfortunately, it gets a little noodly at times, but if you’ve enjoyed his work with Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar, definitely check this out.

Also, the guest appearances from Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald may be final confirmation that the yacht-rock aesthetic is being revived. 

Sun Kil Moon-Common as Light and Love are Red Valleys of Blood

9/10

Anyone who follows my writing knows that one of my biggest complaints about records is that they’re too long, so with a running time of over two hours, I should probably hate this.

Not so.

Mark Kozelek does not make songs, or by extension records, in any traditional sense. Since 2012′s Among the Leaves, he has slowly transitioned away from folky songs about mundane happenings in his life, to creating backing tracks to accompany dramatic readings of his diary.

Ok, that’s an oversimplification, but on many tracks here he drops al pretense to lyricism and recites letters, or just recounts what he was doing on a particular. Right down to giving us the exact date and the entreé he ate for dinner.

On a sonic level, the record moves away from the classical guitar stylings of the last few albums, and bases the sound around hypnotic bass lines and synth textures.

I’m really not doing a good job of selling this, but there’s something disarming about a man who has long ago achieved his place in the music world giving absolutely no thought whatsoever into sales, critical appeasement, or fan expectations.

With the exception of critics, none of this seems to be motivated by angst or spite, but rather from an intense desire to document all that he feels and thinks.

It’s almost Chekovian in a way. The droll observations on daily occurrences, and in some cases, dubious urban legends, allow for the profundity of the human condition to be put on full display.

CALALARVOB works because it takes the listener on a journey of discovery, not only of the world around them, but their own soul as well. If you’re willing to follow Kozelek down the (long, twisting) rabbit holes he regularly detours down, you’ll be in for a treat. 

The only sections that fall flat are Kozelek’s anti-technology rants. He spends so much time mocking smartphone users, that his very valid criticisms of the political climate or music industry circle-jerks at SXSW can get buried under his admittedly self-aware curmudgeonliness. 

This record will drain you with blunt depictions of the world’s horror, and build you up with a steadfast commitment to love and joy wherever you can find it.

Strap in, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.