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Foreign Exchange - Iron Man goes Up Up and Down Down

Iron Man (Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng) - Sroeng Santi

Making not just one of the most interesting takes on Iron Man, the iconic Black Sabbath song, Sroeng Santi has a discography full of fuzzy guitar and psych rock gems.

Keeping only the iconic riff and bare musical frame, Sroeng Santi adapts it to a contemplative song on rising and falling. What exactly is it that is rising and falling, he leaves unclear.

But I’m pretty sure it’s an allusion to his junk.

Other gems include

A cover of Kung Fu Fighting

Go Away (Pai na Pai)

And my personal favorites - สรวง สันติ /Pu Yieg Yai /900 Pawn Shops

Songs like these are more than just attempts to imitate western music. There is a real heart and creativity to his covers and compositions. It’s an energy and a take on funky psych-rock that is wholly original, and I am so glad there are places like Finders Keepers Records and Paradise Bangkok and especially that there is a crate digger and Vinyl Indiana Jones like Chris Menist who push these songs out for the entire world to enjoy.

Iron Man - Black Sabbath

You know who Black Sabbath is. You definitely know the riff. But maybe next time you’ll be singing a different set of lyrics.

Lyrics that go

ขึ้นขึ้นลงลง ลงลงขึ้นขึ้น

And doesn’t that just say everything?

-Matt @variedvery

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Foreign Exchange - a SUNNY Pink Letter

WWWater - Pink Letter

〰〰〰 HUMBLING POWER, SACRED SHOWER 〰〰〰

This is straight ctrl c+v off the Spotify biography for WWWater, and it boils down whatever words I could possibly write about her music, but please indulge me.

Real name Charlotte Adigéry, WWWater is a Belgian artist who makes songs that are both minimalist and hypnotizing and has been compared to Solange if not only for the sake of convenience.

She is not Solange. She is WWWater. And she is an original.

Pink Letter is from her album La Falaise. Her voice is ethereal, following a simple beat like a ritualistic chant. The rhythmic droning of bass pulsates and fills your body, as the melody bathes you in a simple emanating warmth.

Brockhampton - SUNNY

It’s Brockhampton, America’s favorite boy band. And I don’t mean to judge you like an early 2000′s teen girl, but if you don’t know who they are by now then you can’t hang at my table during 2nd-period lunch.

With their trilogy of albums, Saturation 1 through 3, Brockhampton has erupted in popularity as one of the most interesting and new hip-hop groups. With a new album coming out Thursday right NOW, I would highly recommend checking out all their projects and the new album, iridescence.

These songs go incredibly well together. In SUNNY, the dreamy and sleepy guitar sliding up and down and the occasional bright chimes that accent an otherworldly hook make for a spacey atmosphere similar to Pink Letter. 

These are two songs that take you to a summer sunset with your friends. You’re eating cheap ice cream on a street curb. The sun is pink and red and all shades in between. Ice cream drips onto hot asphalt.

-Matt @variedvery

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Foreign Exchange - Kung Fu the umpire

Fighting the Umpire at a Charity Softball Game - Ben Quad

Ben Quad, a shortening of the renown Star Wars prequel pod-racer Ben Quadrinos, is a self-described group of “sad bois.” 

Coming from all parts of Oklahoma, this emo band released Split, a collaborative EP between them and My Heart & Liver are the Best of Friends.

This track is definitely one of my favorites of the band. The melodic and mathy guitar interludes are super catchy, and the explosive culmination at the end leave me as breathless as it probably did to actually sing it.

Now. ONTO THE EXCHANGE PORTION OF OUR PROGRAM!

Haruka Kanata- Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Probably one of better-known bands of Japan, Asian Kung-Fu Generation is a must listen for anyone looking to listen to the best of Japanese rock. Just recently, a lot of their music has been made available on Spotify and I highly recommend to give a listen through.

And this song is probably the first time I had heard any Japanese. Will I deny that it was because it was used as the Naruto theme?  No. But is there also a bigger anime sad boi than Naruto?

Find out next time on... Dragon Ba-- ahem. Foreign Exchange! 

-Matt @variedvery

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Foreign Exchange (DRUNK YELLING%#$!)

THE CHERRY COKE$ - RISE AGAIN

It’s loud. It’s boisterous. It demands drunkenness.

And no confines of international borders can prevent the spread of Celtic punk. Taking cues from The Dubliners, The Pogues, and the taste of sea salt and alcohol, The Cherry Coke$ offer their unique style of energetic rock music to punks around the world, whether you can understand them or not.

Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies

The Cherry Coke$ have previously toured with Flogging Molly and the Cherry Coke$ are releasing their eighth album titled The Answer later this year. I’m spending my summer as an intern for some merchant marines just to prepare.

-Matt @variedvery

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Foreign Exchange (It’s SPRING)

Machi wo Arukeba - Special Favorite Music

Special Favorite Music is a Japanese indie band made up of seven members playing guitars, synth, sax and bass with an easy-going and bright sound that makes it perfect for the spring. From their very first EP, Explorers, Machi wo Arukeba means If I Walk the Town and listening to this definitely puts the urge to get up and do just that.

Squirrel of Possibility - Punch Brothers

Along with this, I have paired up a song by the Punch Brothers, a genre-bending bluegrass band. Off their 2012 EP, Ahoy, this song has a similar melody and pluckiness to Machi wo Arukeba. While simpler in its instrumentation and being only instrumental, Squirrel of Possibility feels like it is cut from the same cloth. For these songs, I tend to file them under prancing in tall fields of grass and flowers, tree climbing, and if you can't find either then just endlessly spinning in circles out in your backyard.

-Matt @variedvery

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“I’m willing to do what’s right... I don’t want to go through what I’m going to go through when I get back,” - A teenager following the band, Ten Years After. 

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Brockhampton has been music hallmark for me this 2017. Listening to each album was so hype and exciting. I can’t wait for more projects next year.

a boyband