thisisnotacomp

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Smoothest track I have heard in 28 months. I’ve circled the sun for 40 years, been digging deep into music for at least 27 years and this track never made it to my ear holes. On one hand, I wish I heard it sooner but on the other it gives me hope knowing that gems still remain un-dug.

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Banger

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I am iron man

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Andrés - New For U

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BasedGod

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Plant Workshop

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Track of the day // Young Fathers - I Saw

From the album Heavy Heavy, out February 3rd via Ninja Tune.

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Fix Up, Look Sharp

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Blind Snooks Eaglin - That's Alright

Blues is sounding perfect to these ears today. A brief reprieve from the Christmas music onslaught

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Bootsy Collins - I'd Rather Be With You

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Picked up the Garbology LP from Sonic Boom on Friday. Solid from start to finish.

Aesop Rock x Blockhead - Jazz Hands

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“Don’t talk about my moms yo”

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Man, this list is a walk through musical history. Fantastic work right here. Thankful that Pitchfork puts these types of articles as a record for future generations. I mean it has entries for PBR&B, Chillwave, Electroclash, lo-Fi House, and Witch House among others.

Just imagine someone finding this list in 2030 and first hearing some of these tracks. Minds will be blown. While I can't say I followed all of these, I have watched quite a few of these grow up and burn out so I figured I would add a few additional tracks to the list:

Blog House - This almost seemed like a reinginition of the French Kiss sound from the late 90's. So many great artists and great releases to choose from. Justice's Cross LP has to be the flag bearer. Also dig into Digitalism and Boys Noize. I am a sucker for house music. The track that first comes to mind for me is Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix). Listen here. But while it might not technically be Blog House I have to add this track. Still so damn good. Also D V N O 4 capital letters.

Chillwave - The obvious jump off point here is Washed out Feel It All Around. Listen here. But the impact that Chillwave has had since its inception can not be understated. The closest thing I can compare it to is Fusion from the 70's. It was the next logical step and created amazing music but also ruined a lot of shit since it was an easy template for artists to follow.

Electroclash - Man, remember Fischerspooner? Their debut self-titled LP was something else. I remember buying this CD with the companion disc of videos. That shit was awesome. The visuals were on another level compared to what was playing on MTV at the time. Also Megacolon? I mean what? Quite a release. Side note, Electroclash always seems connected with the Mashup scene at the time. That shit was also wild. Then Girl Talk took it to an new level. Fucking madness. Those were the days man, those were the days.

Freak Folk - I had a love hate relationship with Freak Folk. Shit was cool. Some tracks were amazing but for the most part listening to an entire album was maddening. Animal Collective is a perfect example.

Lo-Fi House - As mentioned before, I am a sucker for house music. In a good year there are maybe 3 great house LP released. In a bad year you might get one good release. When the Lo-Fi house movement hit the scene there were like 3 great LP's and another 5 or 6 great EP's. What's interesting about this sound is that the tracks probably would have been better if they didn't sound like shit. But the fact that they did sound like shit really allowed me to find other artists who were releasing similar music. I put together a playlist of Lo-Fi house which you can listen to here.

Night Bus - I think this one was a bit of a stretch to be honest. I listened to a TON of dub-step and everything that came after it and I had never heard someone call it Night Bus. I mean it is just the name of a Burial track. It's more of a revisionist history sub-genre. That said, would be great if someone would go back and pull together all of the related tracks. Pitchfork linked to CFCF’s 2010 Fader mix Do U Like Night Bus? which is fantastic. Burial's sound blew my mind at the time and still sounds futuristic today.

PBR&B - One of the best named micro-genres of all time. The first track that comes to mind when I hear it is Millionairess by Inc. The track is PBR&B adjacent but in my mind really shows what groups were doing to expand sounds at the time. Listen here.

Purple / Wonky - This shit was rad. It was so over the top. Purple burned bright for a short period of time while Wonky had a much longer run. The first iteration of Dub-Step was splintering into so many different sounds it was almost impossible to keep track of. Of all the genres in my lifetime it would be the one where I would want to read a definitive history of. Or even better if someone mapped out the spider web of artists and sub-genres through time would be something on the level of the Rosetta stone of electronic music in the early 2000's.

Skweee - This one is easy. This is the smallest of all of the genres listed. Just go to Spotify and search Eero Johannes. That's all you need to know.

Vaporwave - Another madding one. Vaporwave was a lot bigger than music. It contained all areas of art. But its main ascetic is almost anti art. More than anything Vaporwave was a catch all term for early internet nostalgia vibes. An easy entry point is Hit Vibes by Saint Pepsi. Listen to that full LP here. It's more of a disco-house release but its firmly planted in the vibe.

Witch House - Another one that burned bright for a few short years. Easily the biggest artist to come out of Witch House was Clams Casino. Again, he wasn't specifically a Witch House artists but did release his early work on Triangle Records which was the home of the early sound. Just listen to "Frost" by Salem or “See Birds” by Balam Acab. Then listen to "Motivation" by Clams. Then listen to Lil B's version here. Then Lil B's 'I'm God' also produced by Clams. Then move to A$AP Rocky's Bass. It is a direct path from Witch House to what was at the time the cutting edge of pop music. All started with Triangle Records. That was a tangent. Here is the definitive Witch House banger! White Ring - IxC999

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5 Miles Davis albums everyone should hear

Miles Davis Passed away 30 years ago today on September 28, 1991. To mark his passing I thought I would put together a list of his albums that every music lover should hear. The first 5 are the albums I come back to most so start there. The second

1. Sketches of Spain - I have listened to Sketches of Spain more than any other Miles album. Beautiful music start to finish. Small group setting + Gil Evans = Magic

2. Jack Johnson - Jack Johnson is the second most listened to Miles album for me. I keep coming back to it. Miles added some rock to the long tracks on this release. This is pure and uncompromising music.

3. In a Silent Way - Released in 1969, a seminal year in music. The electric sounds Miles added really come together on this release. This album was a turning point in his catalogue. For the next decade Miles would push jazz and music for that matter farther than anyone thought possible. Side note. I purchased a warped copy of this release a while back. Was pissed when I noticed it was warped when I brought it back home. Found another clean copy at Goodwill a few months later for a dollar. I miss the days that records could be purchased for next to nothing...

4. On the Corner - Every time I put this album on I hear something new. Just play the first track... It might be his most forward thinking release when it came to the forms of music that at the time were yet to be realized. This is a release that created pop music foundations for years to come. When you listen, pay attention to the transitions, the drumlines the guitars and the in-between spaces. Then the differences between this and the music Miles released before On the Corner. What is amazing is for the most part, the sounds were there but here he creates something brand new. As the title implies, this is the sound of Jazz moving out of the studio/venue and out onto the street.

5. Nefertiti - Miles had many peaks in his long career and for me Nefertiti was one of them. It is a subtle release. Miles moved away from the obvious and fully embraced the mood here. This is a mid day low key release that is best enjoyed when distractions are removed.

After you have heard these move a bit deeper into his discography:

6. Porgy and Bess - Another Miles and Gil Evans colab. Honestly as a single, Summertime from Porgy and Bess is the highlight of the collaboration between the two artists. Miles Ahead, Porgy & Bess and Sketches of Spain is quite the 3 album run.

7. Bags’ Groove - Miles, Monk and Rollins play a beautiful set here. Great entry point into the 2nd tier of his well known discography. This is up there with my most listened to releases. Mostly because I found a super clean copy at a record store that was missing the cover when I first started buying vinyl. Because it was one of the first classic jazz albums I owned I played it a ton. If I remember correctly that same day I found The Art of Coltrane The Atlantic years, Time Further Out and a Cannonball Adderly release.

8. Milestones - Similar to Bags Groove here we find Miles in classic form with Coltrane & Cannonball Adderley.

9. 'Round About Midnight- 'Round About Midnight & Tribute to Jack Johnson are my Miles Davis album covers. But you should also listen to the album as well since its amazing.

10. E.S.P. - Great Hard Bob release. Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams were all in sync.

Finally, here are a few albums you have probably heard but should listen to again:

11. Birth Of Cool- Just the title of this album shows you how much confidence Miles had at a young age. Release in 1957 it influenced Jazz for decades to come.

12. Kind of Blue - You know it. I know it. Everyone knows this album. Why list it then? Because there are still ears out there that have yet to hear it.

13. Bitches Brew - Of all the release I am including, Bitches Brew is the toughest listen. It is just so far out. And it's not an album in the normal sense of the term. Its hours and hours of improvisation cut down into manageable bites which were then compiled into a set of songs. This is dense and at times feels like madness. Honestly at times I lose the music and have to focus to get my brain back on track. The album is a challenging and while it might not be everyone's taste, everyone who listens to music should hear it.

Listen to more Miles Davis and your life will be better. That I can guarantee.

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Just picked up Beats, Rhymes and Life on vinyl today, an album that had a huge impact on my life in music. When I was a kid I was looking through used CD's at Half Price Books with my mom. Everytime I went I would go through everything they had and rarely would there be a hip-hop album I could get my mom to buy for me. But for some reason she gave in this time and paid something like $8.99. I was stoked to say the least. We didn't have a CD player in the car so I had to wait to hear it until I got home to my 3 piece combo sony unit. First thing I did when I walked in the door was press play sitting in my room on a dreary & dark Seattle evening.

From the first beats of Phony Rappers, the albums opening track I became a Tribe fan. 20 plus years later, still a Tribe fan. At the time I had only heard Tribes radio hits and didn't know a ton about them. That changed. This album opened me up to years of digging into hip-hop. Searching out producers, samples and sounds. If you were to ask me what my gateway to hip hop was, Beats Rhymes and Life would be my answer.

Anyways, I found this article in fact from a few years ago taking a look back at the album. I found it super interesting and worth a share. I knew a lot of people were disappointed when it was released because it wasn't the Tribe of the previous releases but damn didn't know how much people shit on it at the time. Also, it was there best selling LP per Wikipedia.

This is just a long way of me saying that Tribe is the greatest rap group of all time. This album means a ton to me and if you listen back you might be surprised how well it has aged. Also how can you not want to revisit those Dilla beats...