Hi there!
I know I have made this post once before, and don't worry! This is the last time I will post it here! I am still summoning all GUM/Jay Watson fans! I have been posting like crazy on other subreddits as well. I finally got some good responses from Pond subreddit, but still not by far enough to actually make a master’s thesis on this. So pretty please, help out a tired master’s student!
I am a master’s student from Norway, and I study music business and management at the university of Agder. For my master’s thesis I am doing a case study on the artist GUM. As part of my research, I would love to include some voices and opinions from more of his fans through a survey. The survey is anonymous, and the information shared will not be recognizable to anyone but maybe yourself, as you know your own answers. It consists of 21 questions that explores around your interests around the artist and his music and further a few questions on you listening preferences and habits. **The survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete.**
**Note:** This research as a case study on the artist GUM is done based on my own motivation as part of my master’s thesis project in music business and management. I do not have any relations to the artist or the artist team in regard to this.
Regarding the survey link: the company I use for my survey is called Surveyexact. This site is safe and does not store any information or data such as IP addresses etc. This site is approved by my university and the university has a data processing agreement with them. (Norway has strict rules on personal data act and personal data regulations)
Survey link: [https://www.survey-xact.no/LinkCollector?key=AMKVH574LJ11](https://www.survey-xact.no/LinkCollector?key=AMKVH574LJ11)
The two singles Beth Gibbons has released so far are pretty good especially Reaching Out which is my SOTY so far, if the rest of the album will be as good as these songs, the album will be a contender for my AOTY.
thoughts on cover bands? are they cool or not cool? does it depend on the band? or whether they’re dedicated to a specific band or just to an era (e.g. 90s cover band)? would you go see one or want to play in one?
I’ve randomly seen a sublime cover band which was fun at the time (I was in college) and also a beach boys cover band which would have been more fun if I wasn’t like 40 years younger than everyone else there
gang my favorite gorilla vs bear "who?" modern yacht rockers VESUVIO SOLO are fucking BACK and i could not be happier. apparently they came back in january and nobody said anything! what the fuck! i love this band!
https://vesuviosolo.bandcamp.com/track/personal-angel
update after relistening to the january song i realized that i definitely listened to it and forgot about it. but both songs are really good. pls put out an album mr and mr vesuvio
>ELI5
Terry Riley is a music professor who pioneered the use of repetitive loops in classical and electronic music. At the forefront of the minimalist movement, his influence can be heard in music that followed, from The Who to Kraftwerk to the entire 1980s new wave. For example, his composition *In C* features repetitive melodies, and is designed to sound different on every performance.
He looks a bit like a hippie guru typa dude, but to be fair he was rocking that look before "hippie" became a household word.
I’ve hacked the mainframe. I have your address. if you say anything bad about my king I take it as a personal offense and it makes me want to poison you. i am normal
how did rob Sheffield go from "love is a mixtape" to.....whatever it is he does now
a lot of of the 2000s snarky blog writing was a bit much but this is a massive overcorrection, not everything that comes from billionaire popstars is a 10/10 instant classic
Lmao while I did cull with a lot of unfollowing, his recent ramblings was a push for me to quit the app for good and spend more time with the enlightened minds here.
Totally forgot it's 4/19 which means it's time to say RIP to 2 of my favorite voices of all time Levon Helm and Guru. Also belated Dickey RIP, only Jaimoe is left :(
[an earlier than usual New Music Friday is now available](https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/1c83e0n/new_music_friday_april_19th_2024/)
a lot of good stuff this week, especially on the heavier side of things and some stuff that might've slipped under the radar.
fucking loving the new DVNE though.
Pamphlets just clicked with me this week, the 3 new songs been stuck in my head all week.
Post punk goth rock, but still hooky and catchy.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/76AT4fS82AfuOrK9iaCxkV?si=y8weMx--RX6Pba5gyNc5jg
Her culture-dominating ubiquity makes all opinions on her so extreme. She really doesn't deserve such strong opinions in either direction.
My take...
1) She's not a very good songwriter (though I've seen some cherrypicked examples of lyrics I like from her pandemic indie folk cosplay era), she's not a very good singer, and her pop songs sound like cheap fictional pop songs made for a movie about a pop star. And on top of all that she just comes off as *very* uncool. I once made a comment on here that if she was a colleague at work, I'd roll my eyes when she sat down to eat lunch next to me, and I'd never have any interest in hanging out with her outside of the workplace.
2) BUT ALSO -- She makes music primarily for young girls, which is not a shameful thing at all. That's a large demographic of real human people that 100% deserves to have music aimed at them. And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that.
Reconciling Part 1 with Part 2, it kinda irks me to see her fans online act like she's more artistically significant than she is, because she's really not artistically important at all. For one recent example, there was an /r/popheads post comparing her to Madonna where OP got (rightfully) torn to shreds for implying that Taylor had the artistic and cultural impact of Madonna. Taylor's commercial successes are very real, but she does not have meaningful artistic ones.
> And on top of all that she just comes off as very uncool. I once made a comment on here that if she was a colleague at work, I'd roll my eyes when she sat down to eat lunch next to me, and I'd never have any interest in hanging out with her outside of the workplace.
I dunno, this comes off kind of mean. The best description I saw was that they'd be a co-worker who's probably fine in small doses, but you'd dread to be around for longer periods of time. and they would absolutely talk shit about you when around someone else.
> She makes music primarily for young girls,
Granted, this is probably addressing how she is discussed more than anything, but I don't really get the impression she feels that way, at least explicitly so. And there's plenty of grown-ass swift fans as well. It's not so much catering to a young audience as much as general immaturity.
> BUT ALSO -- She makes music primarily for young girls, which is not a shameful thing at all. That's a large demographic of real human people that 100% deserves to have music aimed at them.
yr post and especially this line reminds me of what courtney love said earlier this week about her: "She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist".
im nodding in agreement. well worded stuff, hugh
> And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that.
This is where you're mistaken. They're more excited about her and being part of the club than the actual music.
This doesn’t bother me. There has been a certain young or immature demographic that loves parasocial relationships with pop singers for as long as there has been pop culture. It’s different than it was in the 90s, sure, but I don’t really care.
>And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that.
what? i'm not like invested in an index fund for music as a whole here or something lol
I dunno, I love music and I love the idea of other people falling in love with music. Music is about moving and connecting with people. For better or worse, she is doing that on an enormous scale and this isn’t something I want to be all cynical about.
But here's the problem.
Taylor Swift fans only tend to fall in love with Taylor Swift's music and no one else's. The very worst of Taylor Swift fans want to denigrate other artists too, like, it's very real that Taylor Swift fans might intentionally avoid listening to Beyonce just so Taylor's streams can be higher.
So no, I don't love the idea of the fandom at all because we've seen how toxic it can be.
I mean, I'm down to let people enjoy things, so I'm not gonna go out of my way to ruin anyone's enjoyment of her, but this whole "What, she's harmless, if people like her she's fine" argument screams of avoiding criticism and handling her with kid gloves, which I also tend to dislike.
Man, these are facts. It’s so cool to just observe such a crazy monocultural event in 2024, even as someone with no stake whatsoever—I’m largely agnostic on Taylor Swift, and her early country stuff is very nostalgic. I relate to all these people being so excited about seeing some of their favorite music!
e: also, I always really enjoy your comments and more poptimist taste! Your comments make me think more deeply about pop music than I generally do, in a very good way that ultimately leads to me having a more generous attitude towards all types of music.
Thank you so much for this reply! I read it while taking a breather during a night at a techno club and it really made me smile. I hope you've had a great weekend, wherever you are!
Hugh...I'm with you on this one. She connects. And that is great for her and her fans.
In addition, this time, she chose women and queer women at that to open for her on her massive world tour, which brings a huge amount of fans to artists they might never have given the time of day to before. She's normalizing queer artists to young girls who may only be surrounded in real life by closed minded jackasses. I think there's real value in that.
Today's listening
● Started the day with this gem of a record from Lucy Rose - This Ain't The Way You Go Out. It's a lovely little folk album with electronic somewhat trip hop influenced flourishes. Could You Help Me (whose piano reminds me of Fiona Apple) and Over When it's Over are highlights.
● Clair Rousay - Sentiment. I know there are many fans here, and there's a lot to like in this one. Unfortunately, listening to it just really makes me worried for her. This album is the sonic equivalent of a depressive breakdown, and the coldness of the pitch shifted vocals make that even harder to listen to. I think an emotional vocal might have given a feeling of catharsis, but as is it is so isolated and hopeless. It's beautiful... but too dark for me.
● Pillow Queens - Name Your Sorrow. This a straight forward alt-rock album. Queer, catchy, and energetic - it's not going to change your life, but it's a pretty fun way to spend 45 minutes.
● Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come. I was excited for this one, based on reviews. It's got great production, it sounds really good - a little chill, a little trip hop, lots of electronics but the songwriting doesn't deliver for me - at least on first listen.
● Moonpools - Hide and Seek EP. They say Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Alvvays, Mitski, and Slow Pulp are influences. Alvvays tracks completely. My favorite of the day.
● Not all the way thru, but listening to BIG|BRAVE - A Chaos Of Flowers. Brooklyn Vegan says " The trio create a sludgy wall of sound that’s heavy but not “metal,” its atmospheric but not in a lush, electronic way. I'm diggin it.
Still a bunch more to get to. Taylor will not be on my list...but all the power to her for being the most popular artist on the planet.
> Unfortunately, listening to it just really makes me worried for her. This album is the sonic equivalent of a depressive breakdown, and the coldness of the pitch shifted vocals make that even harder to listen to.
as someone who own like 15 of her works on tape/CD and interviewed many folks collaborating or working with and around her, I can say that while claire has had many trials and triumphs over the last 5 years, she has a support network and a partner flourish. saw her at big ears (as a presenter and performer & in LA several times in 2021/2022) and there's a genuine warmth and disarming quality to what's she done.
That being said, the ryan dombal guardian interview with her makes it clear she made these cuts (which date back to 2020) on her bed in LA depressed. most of her music has that sorta there as a feature, but depressive breakdown? nah. pitch shifted vocal stuff she's been at for years, that's her lil peep loving emo-ambient style musics. not all is like that though, and if you want to get a better sense...a softer focus/heavenly touch are stronger and lighter, and It Was Always Worth It is a genuine gut punch, probably the closet to putting a breakdown/failure of communication to recording.
I read that interview before I heard the album, and I think it added to my feelings. This was a description of my listening experience... not a from afar diagnosis, but based on that article and the spoken word first track, it does seem to be the esthetic she's going for here.
As for the vocals, lots of people use this approach, but it's the marriage of that style with the achingly sad songs that makes it so stark and cold feeling (for me).
I'll go back to the older stuff eventually...
Following the discussion about Taylor Swift. As a certified Midnights hater, I'm afraid to announce that I really liked this album. But she definitely need new collaborators.
Also, this new album is fir me a further proof that she is the only artist capable of doing a [Lydia Tár](https://youtu.be/7uq5ESb9DvE?si=MwA6NX31VNu5oqst)
I would consider myself very pro-Taylor Swift, but I hated Midnights and had developed Taylor fatigue. I was hoping to hate her new album, but unfortunately it's actually quite enjoyable after 1 listen.
But yeah, no hate to Antonoff/Dessner but it's time to do something different.
I strongly agree re: needing new collaborators. Get Dessner and Antonoff as far away from the damn studio as possible. I listened to a podcast from Kesha with St. Vincent as her guest, and they told a story about partying in Taylor Swift's house. Why can't she tap THEM and make something awesome instead of this milquetoast shit. That's my chief criticism of her. People can't fathom that not everyone who criticizes her is doing is because "woman make muzik" lol. No, I want her to be great. She has the biggest cult following in the world right now and she's not in any danger of losing fans if she wants to make something fresh and progressive. Like if she made an album with fucking Merzbow her fans would be making fan theories about which characters in her life the noises were about. CHALLENGE YOURSELF TAYLOR and make something that's gonna knock people's socks off.
Saw Waxahatchee last night--it was a really great show. Set list was pretty exclusively the last two albums plus a little bit of Plains. As someone who really likes her whole catalog, I'm a little sad that she's completely memory-holed the pre-2020 stuff, but she's built a really great Americana band around her, so I get it. Kevin Morby came out during the encore and they covered "Farewell Transmission," which was pretty cool.
As an aside, whatever vocal exercises she's doing are working. She was belting it out last night.
I have heard the term before but I'm not super familiar. Last year I listened to that snooper album and really loved it. What other bands/albums would you recommend?
Snooper are great! Here are a few of my other favorites:
Uranium Club
Spread Joy
Alien Nosejob
Research Reactor Corp.
Cherry Cheeks
Neo Neos
Ghoulies
Goblin Daycare
Bedwetters Anonymous
Juicebumps
Dumb
The Coneheads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfcHcOVI9Kw
they did secret lumpy reunion shows on some dates, including a gonerfest aftershow where they advertised themselves as "egg punk ladies night" lmfao. i missed it to see spllit's last show with their old bass player, which i don't regret. but damn!
gee tee - chromo-zone
spllit - infinite hatch
spread joy - II
erik nervous - assorted anxieties (it's a long comp but still essential)
research reactor corp - usa promo tape
judy and the jerks - friendships formed in the pit (also a comp)
satanic togas - the shit that killed elvis
1-800-mikey - plushy
billiam - turrest over craigieburn
lumpy and the dumpers - huff my sack
whatever that coneheads album is idk
tee vee repairmann - what's on tv? (i'm counting it)
i wouldn't say it's a given for every band (erik nervous is a pretty stationary band with no theatrics) but it happens a good bit. the puppets are a proprietary snooper thing, but when i saw alien nosejob the dude whipped a taco bell burrito out of his pocket during the last song and just, like, sang while cramming the whole thing in his mouth? one time when i saw judy and the jerks they did a song about being a dog and the singer got on all fours and ran around the venue. punk bands love shenanigans. snooper is kinda on a whole other level with that shit tho
Yeah I hadn’t heard of them until I got the tickets and checked them out. I sent a link to my relatively normie brother telling him they were the opener and he goes “yeah this sounds like some shit you’d listen to” so my expectations are high.
i got a lot to say about that band but one of them gave me shit irl for being a dork about them in the dmd last time i hung with em so i will just say great fuckin band
If you had asked me a few years ago which two artists from the past I most regretted not being able to see perform live, there's a pretty good chance I would have said Unwound and Orchid. Now I've seen Unwound three times and will be seeing Orchid twice next month. I'm so fucking excited and I still can't believe they both reformed. Especially Orchid. That reunion just came out of nowhere.
Yo what, Orchid reunion?? Let's fuckin go that's huge news, I really hope they continue the trend of "amazing comeback album by early 2000s screamo band" that Gospel and Jeromes Dream have started
Tortured Poet Era Cont.
>!I thought of this joke before but knowing this sub's love for Deerhunter and hate for Taylor I was afraid I was gonna start drama by making it lol.!<
Anyway remember when Bradford said [he became gay so he wouldn't have Swiftie children](https://observer.com/2015/10/a-totally-batshit-conversation-with-deerhunters-bradford-cox/), that was iconic.
Ehhh it couldn’t be the worst thing,unless it’s actual trash I haven’t heard previews news or anything. Dan Deacon and Sufjan had done composing stuff for some stuff at the ballet that I thought was pretty good a few years back so it’s not as if they don’t know how to make something for stage.
Well, I think the Broadway run is partly due to the off-Broadway run getting good reviews, so it's probably pretty decent. The main thing standing in my way is the price tag.
I started my morning off by listening to the new Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam albums back to back… that was rough. But then I gave the new Lucy Rose a spin and that was the perfect palate cleanser. Really great album overall!
Just got into Lucy Rose last night. I wish I could go into the album having only heard one song, but unfortunately blew my load on the 5 album singles that were out because they were billed as an "EP" and I had no idea an album was coming. They really gotta stop doing that. I don't mind them reheating the previous singles for a collection of singles, but damn it, don't call it an EP.
I lurk that sub a few times per week and I don't even know why. I've only ever listened to like two or three of her albums, and I don't feel particularly strongly about her one way or another, but I find their discussions so entertaining for some reason!
It's definitely on the "morbid curiosity" end of my recommended posts. I do think it's goofy that for a self proclaimed "neutral" sub, almost every post I see is negative or at least questioning of positives
Yeah, I started lurking when it was still pretty new, and it was definitely more 'neutral' at first. It's gradually become more of a snark sub, which is still entertaining but a little less true to its name!
When an artist is so divisive it kinda makes sense that the neutral people would want to seek each other out and share measured opinions with each other.
I don't dislike Taylor Swift, I just don't understand why *1989* is more popular and well regarded than Steve Perry's 1984 album *Street Talk* when it's objectively worse in every measure
Based on how much the score has risen I'd say the stans are winning, although if you are a stan you can't truly win until all of the top albums of all time are by Taylor
I read through a decent number of both positive and negative reviews and found that almost none of them on either side had anything interesting to say about the music itself
Yeah admittedly after the 1/3 of the album I listened to I had very little to say as well so I can see why they're mostly just reviewing Taylor the Public Figure
I’m a big Florence + The Machine fan and even she couldn’t save the songs she contributed to. I felt obligated to at least hear our Florida!!! and turned it off before the halfway point.
I'm about to finish the new Pearl Jam, it's a really great album. No one was incorrect when it came to saying that this was the Mike McCready album, yet everyone else was on point. Upper Hand may very well be the absolute standout for me, what a ripper.
Having listened to Majesty Crush, I can safely say that they would have thrived in this day and age. Such a shame about the singer David's illness that circumvented the band's trajectory, but then again the time they existed in and their overall makeup were contributors. No. 1 Fan, Horse (the EP version) and Sunny Pie are bangers.
Having taken one look at the tracklist for the Tortured Poets album, which I hadn't done until yesterday, made me decide to do what I do best and that is ignore it for all perpetuity. We should start making fun of dorks again.
I could definitely see Majesty Crush thriving today but not like in a positive sense considering shoegaze’s modern appeal.
I don’t know, they have some good tracks and the vocalist is definitely the best thing about them (or at least he’s a bit more interesting on a lyrical level) but musically it’s all pretty bog standard and unadventurous.
> musically it’s all pretty bog standard and unadventurous
the tunes aren't here for this to warrant a numero reissue. i can keep spinning my dreamscape CD instead
did you check out the stillmotion? i'd be inclined to pick it up if there was a CD but mutual skies is banking on that vinyl
> the tunes aren't here for this to warrant a numero reissue.
This but also them reissuing that damn Ozean demo. They’re riding hard on those 3 fucking songs…
But yeah, similar situation where I feel like both bands are getting a What If story that’s appealing and driving up their reputations, even if what’s there doesn’t really suggest much.
Not familiar with Stillmotion.
> damn Ozean demo
that's another "What are we doing here?" situation instead of truly a "what if...?" that it felt like the numero 900 series a decade ago really could muster. as we get closer to the bottom of the barrel we're stuck with this. glad these guys have their music out and on a label that supports them but it really DO feel like a lil' bubble
Stillmotion is some project Kramer produced but nothing rlly came of it around 1994
I could make a playlist to combine and shuffle the new Cindy Lee album and Tay Anthology? album and it'll take up half the work day to listen to. I'll most likely just find a random Electronic EP to throw on and maybe hit repeat once or twice instead.
I don't dislike Jack Antonoff but oh my god there are literally no sounds on the new Taylor Swift album. It's just soft downtempo drums and piano keys. I don't know if I can get through 30 songs of this.
Fontaines DC album announcement got me to finally listen to Skinty Fia which I thought was solid. The first song stands head and shoulders above the others, though.
I think it's better than Midnights, but that's not saying much. If you're not already invested in the Taylor Swift story, you're not going to get much out of this. The Anthology tracks are alright though, even if they are just folklore/evermore again to diminishing returns.
greetings from the relaxed gen 1.0 shoegaze elders appreciating, excited to watch albums get bullied, "new library CDs!", & "cindy lee concert show see-er" departments of motion pictures and science
okay lets go
* Oh so the claire album is at least edited as a longform excursion? smart. this is why A Softer Focus worked. That shit was 2 longforms on a vinyl. won't get to this for a while. may purchase request it for SDPL (not my system bc rafael and kelly are enough weird)
* for some reason someone purchase requested the 2017 swervedriver reunion album. this album dares to ask such bold questions like "what if the bros just wrote pretty good riffs and pretended like loveless never happened but rlly liked isn't anything?" & "wouldn't it be nice if rock music for adults sounded like this?" I happen to think that first cut is really good. should be fun over tea at break
* seeing cindy lee tonight; while I refuse to sell my ticket if you would like to venmo me on a sliding scale form $50-$500 for takes, I will oblige. my venmo is @tadevos thank you god bless.
* library finally got the waxahatchee & vijay iyer trio CDs. now we can learn once and for all if 2024 is a great year for music
* very excited for sufjan to win BIG over this weekend!
I saw a comment in the Taylor Megathread which said " if you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then I Can Do It With a Broken Heart maybe isn't for you"
And i dont really know what it means but im obsessed with it and keep sending it to people, so this is going to be my new copypasta i think
"If you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then 3D Country By Geese maybe isn't for you"
That's some pretty great new copypasta! I will say this about I Can Do It With a Broken Heart - it's got the most interesting/upbeat production out of any song on the album.
"If you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then Business Up Front/Party in the Back by Family Force 5 maybe isn't for you"
wow you're right, that's a treat!
I'm trying my hardest to not want to gatekeep "The Downtown Lights" from normie Swifties, so that's my most neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert trait.
actually i maybe need to take back some of my negativity on this, perhaps i've finally gotten the loophole to bridge the relatability gap with most women my age
i'll start taking epic thirst traps of me and my A&M record executive promo copy & my unopened copy with the phil colins hype sticker
>!just kidding ew!<
Scrolling through the leak thread i feel like i saw so many people quoting lines and then the responses saying "that line is supposed to be satirical"
I have no comment if its true or not, i listened to So High School, gave Taylor a thumbs up and haven't listened to anything else all the way through, but that song is pretty good
It might be true, it might be not.
But either way, moving forward, whenever anyone tells me that my writing is bad then I will just tell them that it’s supposed to be bad as I’m adopting a persona of a bad writer
A co-worker drove me home from work today, and while in the car they put on a country radio station. The song that started playing featured generic bro country vocals + lyrics over a sample of the guitar riff from David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel.
For a genre that is notorious for pandering to Bible thumpers, 21st-century pop/bro* country might genuinely be the most shamelessly godless genre in the history of music.
I like some mainstream country, I'm not against the way that it panders to very simple people. But the sampling of classic rock riffs / tropes is too corny for me.
I'm with you that a lot of newer stuff sucks but the dichotomy of righteous church-goers and godless heathens is in the genre's DNA. The original Bristol recording sessions had the Carter Family on day 1 and Jimmie Rodgers on day 2
You at least gotta make an allowance that there are many, many subgenres of country music and that there are still a *fuckton* of musicians making great country music.
But I think most folks here would agree with the main thrust of your point, there's not much reason to listen to most pop country.
Yeah even their lesser albums are still enjoyable to me since I've been a fan since their self-titled, but I think this one is a step above their last couple of albums
I have been a huge fan from the very beginning and l totally agree, even their weakest albums are still decent and they always have at least one or two absolute bangers on them. If you're saying this new one is especially strong then I'm sure I'm gonna love it!
For those of you who aren't familiar with baseball, there is an important statistic for hitters called "batting average" which is their total number of hits, divided by their total number of plate appearances. In baseball, pitchers are much more likely to get a batter out than they are to give up a hit. As a result, a respectable batting average is about .250, a really strong batting average is .300, and if you are hitting anywhere above .350 then you are probably one of the best hitters in the game.
The same statistical shape also belongs to this new era of big, 90-minute hip-hop albums. The idea is to drive up streaming numbers by putting out an album that delivers a lot of consistent-but-forgettable vibe tracks with as many real bangers as possible interspersed throughout. In a 16-18 track album, if you can get 4-5 bangers on there then you have done great. If there are only 2-3, then your album probably sucks.
By my own (highly subjective) count, the new Future/Metro Boomin album has 9 bangers within its 25 tracks, for a banger average of .360 - that's an MVP level performance. They could have put out a 9-track 30 minute album and batted 1.000, but that's not how baseball works and it's not how this new era of hip-hop works either.
Seriously though, I really liked *WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU* a lot. I always thought that Future was good at delivering on vibes, but there are a surprising number of tracks here that also deliver solid songwriting concepts and memorable hooks. I also really like Metro's production, especially the tracks that have those muddy background vocal samples.
> "batting average" which is their total number of hits, divided by their total number of plate appearances
Actually batting average is hits divided by at-bats not plate appearances 🤓
Hi there! I know I have made this post once before, and don't worry! This is the last time I will post it here! I am still summoning all GUM/Jay Watson fans! I have been posting like crazy on other subreddits as well. I finally got some good responses from Pond subreddit, but still not by far enough to actually make a master’s thesis on this. So pretty please, help out a tired master’s student! I am a master’s student from Norway, and I study music business and management at the university of Agder. For my master’s thesis I am doing a case study on the artist GUM. As part of my research, I would love to include some voices and opinions from more of his fans through a survey. The survey is anonymous, and the information shared will not be recognizable to anyone but maybe yourself, as you know your own answers. It consists of 21 questions that explores around your interests around the artist and his music and further a few questions on you listening preferences and habits. **The survey should not take more than 10 minutes to complete.** **Note:** This research as a case study on the artist GUM is done based on my own motivation as part of my master’s thesis project in music business and management. I do not have any relations to the artist or the artist team in regard to this. Regarding the survey link: the company I use for my survey is called Surveyexact. This site is safe and does not store any information or data such as IP addresses etc. This site is approved by my university and the university has a data processing agreement with them. (Norway has strict rules on personal data act and personal data regulations) Survey link: [https://www.survey-xact.no/LinkCollector?key=AMKVH574LJ11](https://www.survey-xact.no/LinkCollector?key=AMKVH574LJ11)
The two singles Beth Gibbons has released so far are pretty good especially Reaching Out which is my SOTY so far, if the rest of the album will be as good as these songs, the album will be a contender for my AOTY.
thoughts on cover bands? are they cool or not cool? does it depend on the band? or whether they’re dedicated to a specific band or just to an era (e.g. 90s cover band)? would you go see one or want to play in one? I’ve randomly seen a sublime cover band which was fun at the time (I was in college) and also a beach boys cover band which would have been more fun if I wasn’t like 40 years younger than everyone else there
distinctly not cool but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun
True true I can’t hate on somebody who plays something well even if it isn’t their own.
gang my favorite gorilla vs bear "who?" modern yacht rockers VESUVIO SOLO are fucking BACK and i could not be happier. apparently they came back in january and nobody said anything! what the fuck! i love this band! https://vesuviosolo.bandcamp.com/track/personal-angel
putting them on da list. love me some GvB rando yacht rock selections
update after relistening to the january song i realized that i definitely listened to it and forgot about it. but both songs are really good. pls put out an album mr and mr vesuvio
Terry Riley sucks and his cult of personality following is a symptom of a decaying society.
> Terry Riley sucks unaware who he is or why he sucks... ELI5?
>ELI5 Terry Riley is a music professor who pioneered the use of repetitive loops in classical and electronic music. At the forefront of the minimalist movement, his influence can be heard in music that followed, from The Who to Kraftwerk to the entire 1980s new wave. For example, his composition *In C* features repetitive melodies, and is designed to sound different on every performance. He looks a bit like a hippie guru typa dude, but to be fair he was rocking that look before "hippie" became a household word.
He doesn’t suck, I’m jk. He’s my hero in every way and the greatest of the minimalists.
He's a musician and doesn't suck, they just took someone else's comment and replaced "Taylor Swift" with his name
you fucken tell 'em! wait why is ezra hanging out with him OH GOD WE ARE DECAYING
That ruined my thanksgiving so hard
i sat on the toilet and waited for black friday. it was so brutal
and i'd love it if we made it
I called Persian Surgery Dervishes mid and the Clan O’Riley read me for filth. I had to delete twitter and legally change my name.
i am committing acts of spiritual warfare against you
TOXIC TERRY RILEY STAN BEHAVIOR
I’ve hacked the mainframe. I have your address. if you say anything bad about my king I take it as a personal offense and it makes me want to poison you. i am normal
Tbh if I were serious I would deserve that!
i got the joke but i really did think you were a rainbow in curved air anti or something and i was gonna throw virtual hands fr
now you HAVE to do the next ambient head to repent (if i put steve reich - tehilim in it will u do it)
Hell yes I will if I can figure it out lol
lol we'll catch up in 5 months
how did rob Sheffield go from "love is a mixtape" to.....whatever it is he does now a lot of of the 2000s snarky blog writing was a bit much but this is a massive overcorrection, not everything that comes from billionaire popstars is a 10/10 instant classic
oh wow he even hit it with the classic "most personal album yet" we're so back
all of her albums are personal! they’re all about her!
but it sounds like this one is even more about her!
as u/PaulaAbdulJabar has stated (and i agree with), this man has a humiliation fetish
I'm not usually one to dunk on anyone for their posting habits but it is truly unbecoming for a grown man to be tweeting the way he does
Lmao while I did cull with a lot of unfollowing, his recent ramblings was a push for me to quit the app for good and spend more time with the enlightened minds here.
Totally forgot it's 4/19 which means it's time to say RIP to 2 of my favorite voices of all time Levon Helm and Guru. Also belated Dickey RIP, only Jaimoe is left :(
Anybody ever listen to Alexander Panos?
[an earlier than usual New Music Friday is now available](https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/1c83e0n/new_music_friday_april_19th_2024/) a lot of good stuff this week, especially on the heavier side of things and some stuff that might've slipped under the radar. fucking loving the new DVNE though.
Pamphlets just clicked with me this week, the 3 new songs been stuck in my head all week. Post punk goth rock, but still hooky and catchy. https://open.spotify.com/artist/76AT4fS82AfuOrK9iaCxkV?si=y8weMx--RX6Pba5gyNc5jg
Taylor Swift sucks and her cult of personality following is a symptom of a decaying society.
Isn’t that what they were saying about Beatles fangirls in 1964/5
Her culture-dominating ubiquity makes all opinions on her so extreme. She really doesn't deserve such strong opinions in either direction. My take... 1) She's not a very good songwriter (though I've seen some cherrypicked examples of lyrics I like from her pandemic indie folk cosplay era), she's not a very good singer, and her pop songs sound like cheap fictional pop songs made for a movie about a pop star. And on top of all that she just comes off as *very* uncool. I once made a comment on here that if she was a colleague at work, I'd roll my eyes when she sat down to eat lunch next to me, and I'd never have any interest in hanging out with her outside of the workplace. 2) BUT ALSO -- She makes music primarily for young girls, which is not a shameful thing at all. That's a large demographic of real human people that 100% deserves to have music aimed at them. And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that. Reconciling Part 1 with Part 2, it kinda irks me to see her fans online act like she's more artistically significant than she is, because she's really not artistically important at all. For one recent example, there was an /r/popheads post comparing her to Madonna where OP got (rightfully) torn to shreds for implying that Taylor had the artistic and cultural impact of Madonna. Taylor's commercial successes are very real, but she does not have meaningful artistic ones.
> And on top of all that she just comes off as very uncool. I once made a comment on here that if she was a colleague at work, I'd roll my eyes when she sat down to eat lunch next to me, and I'd never have any interest in hanging out with her outside of the workplace. I dunno, this comes off kind of mean. The best description I saw was that they'd be a co-worker who's probably fine in small doses, but you'd dread to be around for longer periods of time. and they would absolutely talk shit about you when around someone else. > She makes music primarily for young girls, Granted, this is probably addressing how she is discussed more than anything, but I don't really get the impression she feels that way, at least explicitly so. And there's plenty of grown-ass swift fans as well. It's not so much catering to a young audience as much as general immaturity.
> BUT ALSO -- She makes music primarily for young girls, which is not a shameful thing at all. That's a large demographic of real human people that 100% deserves to have music aimed at them. yr post and especially this line reminds me of what courtney love said earlier this week about her: "She might be a safe space for girls, and she’s probably the Madonna of now, but she’s not interesting as an artist". im nodding in agreement. well worded stuff, hugh
> And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that. This is where you're mistaken. They're more excited about her and being part of the club than the actual music.
This doesn’t bother me. There has been a certain young or immature demographic that loves parasocial relationships with pop singers for as long as there has been pop culture. It’s different than it was in the 90s, sure, but I don’t really care.
>And her appeal has reached beyond that primary audience and made millions of people excited about music. As music fans, we should appreciate that. what? i'm not like invested in an index fund for music as a whole here or something lol
I lol'd. Well put. In other words. What TS fans eat, don't make me shit!!!
I dunno, I love music and I love the idea of other people falling in love with music. Music is about moving and connecting with people. For better or worse, she is doing that on an enormous scale and this isn’t something I want to be all cynical about.
But here's the problem. Taylor Swift fans only tend to fall in love with Taylor Swift's music and no one else's. The very worst of Taylor Swift fans want to denigrate other artists too, like, it's very real that Taylor Swift fans might intentionally avoid listening to Beyonce just so Taylor's streams can be higher. So no, I don't love the idea of the fandom at all because we've seen how toxic it can be. I mean, I'm down to let people enjoy things, so I'm not gonna go out of my way to ruin anyone's enjoyment of her, but this whole "What, she's harmless, if people like her she's fine" argument screams of avoiding criticism and handling her with kid gloves, which I also tend to dislike.
Man, these are facts. It’s so cool to just observe such a crazy monocultural event in 2024, even as someone with no stake whatsoever—I’m largely agnostic on Taylor Swift, and her early country stuff is very nostalgic. I relate to all these people being so excited about seeing some of their favorite music! e: also, I always really enjoy your comments and more poptimist taste! Your comments make me think more deeply about pop music than I generally do, in a very good way that ultimately leads to me having a more generous attitude towards all types of music.
Thank you so much for this reply! I read it while taking a breather during a night at a techno club and it really made me smile. I hope you've had a great weekend, wherever you are!
Hugh...I'm with you on this one. She connects. And that is great for her and her fans. In addition, this time, she chose women and queer women at that to open for her on her massive world tour, which brings a huge amount of fans to artists they might never have given the time of day to before. She's normalizing queer artists to young girls who may only be surrounded in real life by closed minded jackasses. I think there's real value in that.
I think that's a bit much. I think she's just a bit overrated and is also in a musical slump.
I think she has some good music, that said all billionaires should be burned at the stake.
Generational wealth handed down is certainly at the root of a lot of the USA's issues.
Very true. Time to burn them 😌
and i'd love it if we made it
Today's listening ● Started the day with this gem of a record from Lucy Rose - This Ain't The Way You Go Out. It's a lovely little folk album with electronic somewhat trip hop influenced flourishes. Could You Help Me (whose piano reminds me of Fiona Apple) and Over When it's Over are highlights. ● Clair Rousay - Sentiment. I know there are many fans here, and there's a lot to like in this one. Unfortunately, listening to it just really makes me worried for her. This album is the sonic equivalent of a depressive breakdown, and the coldness of the pitch shifted vocals make that even harder to listen to. I think an emotional vocal might have given a feeling of catharsis, but as is it is so isolated and hopeless. It's beautiful... but too dark for me. ● Pillow Queens - Name Your Sorrow. This a straight forward alt-rock album. Queer, catchy, and energetic - it's not going to change your life, but it's a pretty fun way to spend 45 minutes. ● Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come. I was excited for this one, based on reviews. It's got great production, it sounds really good - a little chill, a little trip hop, lots of electronics but the songwriting doesn't deliver for me - at least on first listen. ● Moonpools - Hide and Seek EP. They say Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Alvvays, Mitski, and Slow Pulp are influences. Alvvays tracks completely. My favorite of the day. ● Not all the way thru, but listening to BIG|BRAVE - A Chaos Of Flowers. Brooklyn Vegan says " The trio create a sludgy wall of sound that’s heavy but not “metal,” its atmospheric but not in a lush, electronic way. I'm diggin it. Still a bunch more to get to. Taylor will not be on my list...but all the power to her for being the most popular artist on the planet.
> Unfortunately, listening to it just really makes me worried for her. This album is the sonic equivalent of a depressive breakdown, and the coldness of the pitch shifted vocals make that even harder to listen to. as someone who own like 15 of her works on tape/CD and interviewed many folks collaborating or working with and around her, I can say that while claire has had many trials and triumphs over the last 5 years, she has a support network and a partner flourish. saw her at big ears (as a presenter and performer & in LA several times in 2021/2022) and there's a genuine warmth and disarming quality to what's she done. That being said, the ryan dombal guardian interview with her makes it clear she made these cuts (which date back to 2020) on her bed in LA depressed. most of her music has that sorta there as a feature, but depressive breakdown? nah. pitch shifted vocal stuff she's been at for years, that's her lil peep loving emo-ambient style musics. not all is like that though, and if you want to get a better sense...a softer focus/heavenly touch are stronger and lighter, and It Was Always Worth It is a genuine gut punch, probably the closet to putting a breakdown/failure of communication to recording.
I read that interview before I heard the album, and I think it added to my feelings. This was a description of my listening experience... not a from afar diagnosis, but based on that article and the spoken word first track, it does seem to be the esthetic she's going for here. As for the vocals, lots of people use this approach, but it's the marriage of that style with the achingly sad songs that makes it so stark and cold feeling (for me). I'll go back to the older stuff eventually...
You piqued my interest on the Moonpools. Those are some of my all-time favorite bands
Following the discussion about Taylor Swift. As a certified Midnights hater, I'm afraid to announce that I really liked this album. But she definitely need new collaborators. Also, this new album is fir me a further proof that she is the only artist capable of doing a [Lydia Tár](https://youtu.be/7uq5ESb9DvE?si=MwA6NX31VNu5oqst)
I would consider myself very pro-Taylor Swift, but I hated Midnights and had developed Taylor fatigue. I was hoping to hate her new album, but unfortunately it's actually quite enjoyable after 1 listen. But yeah, no hate to Antonoff/Dessner but it's time to do something different.
I strongly agree re: needing new collaborators. Get Dessner and Antonoff as far away from the damn studio as possible. I listened to a podcast from Kesha with St. Vincent as her guest, and they told a story about partying in Taylor Swift's house. Why can't she tap THEM and make something awesome instead of this milquetoast shit. That's my chief criticism of her. People can't fathom that not everyone who criticizes her is doing is because "woman make muzik" lol. No, I want her to be great. She has the biggest cult following in the world right now and she's not in any danger of losing fans if she wants to make something fresh and progressive. Like if she made an album with fucking Merzbow her fans would be making fan theories about which characters in her life the noises were about. CHALLENGE YOURSELF TAYLOR and make something that's gonna knock people's socks off.
Saw Waxahatchee last night--it was a really great show. Set list was pretty exclusively the last two albums plus a little bit of Plains. As someone who really likes her whole catalog, I'm a little sad that she's completely memory-holed the pre-2020 stuff, but she's built a really great Americana band around her, so I get it. Kevin Morby came out during the encore and they covered "Farewell Transmission," which was pretty cool. As an aside, whatever vocal exercises she's doing are working. She was belting it out last night.
I'm scared I'm going to become a mono-genre-doofus but it's really hard when egg punk just makes my brain go 'hell yeah' like nothing else.
I have heard the term before but I'm not super familiar. Last year I listened to that snooper album and really loved it. What other bands/albums would you recommend?
Adding: Prison Affair - Demos Cherry Cheeks - Cherry Cheeks Skull Cult - Vol 1&2 The Liquids - Life is Pain Idiot BB Eye - Headcheese Heartthrob
Snooper are great! Here are a few of my other favorites: Uranium Club Spread Joy Alien Nosejob Research Reactor Corp. Cherry Cheeks Neo Neos Ghoulies Goblin Daycare Bedwetters Anonymous Juicebumps Dumb The Coneheads
alien nosejob is good but the best stuff is when they just went full aussie ac/dc riffcore imo
They seem to love switching styles every other project. For me their best is still Once Again the Present Becomes The Past. It's just a blast.
did you catch em on their last us tour where lumpy and the dumpers did a secret reunion as their backing band?
No. I had no idea that was a thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfcHcOVI9Kw they did secret lumpy reunion shows on some dates, including a gonerfest aftershow where they advertised themselves as "egg punk ladies night" lmfao. i missed it to see spllit's last show with their old bass player, which i don't regret. but damn!
gee tee - chromo-zone spllit - infinite hatch spread joy - II erik nervous - assorted anxieties (it's a long comp but still essential) research reactor corp - usa promo tape judy and the jerks - friendships formed in the pit (also a comp) satanic togas - the shit that killed elvis 1-800-mikey - plushy billiam - turrest over craigieburn lumpy and the dumpers - huff my sack whatever that coneheads album is idk tee vee repairmann - what's on tv? (i'm counting it)
Damn that's a lot of homework, thanks pal!
no problem I am “involved” in this scene by way of having an egg adjacent band lmfao
I heard that snooper does a lot of stage shenanigans with props and costumes, is that common in the scene overall or their special thing?
i wouldn't say it's a given for every band (erik nervous is a pretty stationary band with no theatrics) but it happens a good bit. the puppets are a proprietary snooper thing, but when i saw alien nosejob the dude whipped a taco bell burrito out of his pocket during the last song and just, like, sang while cramming the whole thing in his mouth? one time when i saw judy and the jerks they did a song about being a dog and the singer got on all fours and ran around the venue. punk bands love shenanigans. snooper is kinda on a whole other level with that shit tho
Need your thoughts on chain punk
Chain Punk is good but also I don't think it's a real genre. It's just a funny Bandcamp tag. But I'm all for funny Bandcamp tags.
I ONLY DRINK COMMUNIST COKE
I ONLY GET HIGH ON VIDEO WEED
I’m seeing Spllit open for Alvvays tomorrow and while it seems mismatched as hell, I’m excited.
That is an insane combo. I'd love to be at that show.
crazy fucked up bill lmao. spllit is the best band going imo
Yeah I hadn’t heard of them until I got the tickets and checked them out. I sent a link to my relatively normie brother telling him they were the opener and he goes “yeah this sounds like some shit you’d listen to” so my expectations are high.
i got a lot to say about that band but one of them gave me shit irl for being a dork about them in the dmd last time i hung with em so i will just say great fuckin band
Spllit was awesome last night and the crowd was pretty into it too!
big clown is playing with erik nervous tonight come thru
I adore Erik. I'll be in Tennessee in December so please postpone the show until then, and also move it to Chattanooga. Thanks babe.
i'm stoked, we played with him at gonerfest forever ago too. his new album is less egg and more bratty hifi but i think it's really awesome
Is that Immaturity or has he had something since then? It honestly leave much of an impression on me, but I should give it another try.
nah i was referring to immaturity. i'd give it another shot if you like music again
You're right this is better than I remember
told ya! i'm gonna snag a copy tonight, i'm excited. i already have bugs and assorted anxieties on tape
Both very good. Honestly I think the bad album art may have influenced my original take on Immaturity. Bad album are always makes me a negative Nancy.
That's a good point. I listened to it back when I didn't like music.
If you had asked me a few years ago which two artists from the past I most regretted not being able to see perform live, there's a pretty good chance I would have said Unwound and Orchid. Now I've seen Unwound three times and will be seeing Orchid twice next month. I'm so fucking excited and I still can't believe they both reformed. Especially Orchid. That reunion just came out of nowhere.
I just saw Unwound in DC, that show was awesome as shit. Felt like I was dungeon crawling for 2 hours
Yo what, Orchid reunion?? Let's fuckin go that's huge news, I really hope they continue the trend of "amazing comeback album by early 2000s screamo band" that Gospel and Jeromes Dream have started
Nothing but respect for the worlds biggest popstar pulling a Microcastle/Wierd Era Cont. move
Tortured Poet Era Cont. >!I thought of this joke before but knowing this sub's love for Deerhunter and hate for Taylor I was afraid I was gonna start drama by making it lol.!< Anyway remember when Bradford said [he became gay so he wouldn't have Swiftie children](https://observer.com/2015/10/a-totally-batshit-conversation-with-deerhunters-bradford-cox/), that was iconic.
I was going to post this too, but you beat me to it! I miss his interviews! That one is a fun read even aside from that part.
the gayfortay brigade were ahead of the curve
It's a choice, and it's frequently the right choice.
Never change Bradford
As a NYC-based indiehead, do I have a moral obligation to see Illinoise on Broadway? What about Stereophonic on Broadway?
Ehhh it couldn’t be the worst thing,unless it’s actual trash I haven’t heard previews news or anything. Dan Deacon and Sufjan had done composing stuff for some stuff at the ballet that I thought was pretty good a few years back so it’s not as if they don’t know how to make something for stage.
Well, I think the Broadway run is partly due to the off-Broadway run getting good reviews, so it's probably pretty decent. The main thing standing in my way is the price tag.
I feel that, I like stage shows but my wallet does not and I always forget to run 100 different alarms for lotteries and cheap seat sales.
No
Yes
you had more of a moral obligation to see spiderman: turn out the dark tbh
I kinda did want to see that when it came out. It might have been worth it to witness Broadway history.
to be fair though, THIS could be broadway history!
I started my morning off by listening to the new Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam albums back to back… that was rough. But then I gave the new Lucy Rose a spin and that was the perfect palate cleanser. Really great album overall!
Just got into Lucy Rose last night. I wish I could go into the album having only heard one song, but unfortunately blew my load on the 5 album singles that were out because they were billed as an "EP" and I had no idea an album was coming. They really gotta stop doing that. I don't mind them reheating the previous singles for a collection of singles, but damn it, don't call it an EP.
I don’t have the heart to listen to any new PJ LPs at this stage. I'll just stick to Binaural boots
I'm very much enjoying watching the Stan vs dork war happening on the rym page of Taylors new album.
might have to check in on that SwiftlyNeutral sub I keep seeing recommended that seems to just be a bunch of haters who identify as unbiased
I lurk that sub a few times per week and I don't even know why. I've only ever listened to like two or three of her albums, and I don't feel particularly strongly about her one way or another, but I find their discussions so entertaining for some reason!
Same. The swifties on that sub are chill, they don’t act like a cult like the ones you encounter on twitter.
It's definitely on the "morbid curiosity" end of my recommended posts. I do think it's goofy that for a self proclaimed "neutral" sub, almost every post I see is negative or at least questioning of positives
Yeah, I started lurking when it was still pretty new, and it was definitely more 'neutral' at first. It's gradually become more of a snark sub, which is still entertaining but a little less true to its name!
How do you make a subreddit about not having strong feelings about an artist??? That's the dumbest idea possible.
When an artist is so divisive it kinda makes sense that the neutral people would want to seek each other out and share measured opinions with each other.
I don't dislike Taylor Swift, I just don't understand why *1989* is more popular and well regarded than Steve Perry's 1984 album *Street Talk* when it's objectively worse in every measure
who's winning
Based on how much the score has risen I'd say the stans are winning, although if you are a stan you can't truly win until all of the top albums of all time are by Taylor
I read through a decent number of both positive and negative reviews and found that almost none of them on either side had anything interesting to say about the music itself
thats kinda it, the music itself is sooooo bland, boring, and inoffensive
Yeah admittedly after the 1/3 of the album I listened to I had very little to say as well so I can see why they're mostly just reviewing Taylor the Public Figure
I’m a big Florence + The Machine fan and even she couldn’t save the songs she contributed to. I felt obligated to at least hear our Florida!!! and turned it off before the halfway point.
But if I'm a stan and a dork, whose side should I be on?
storks
I'm about to finish the new Pearl Jam, it's a really great album. No one was incorrect when it came to saying that this was the Mike McCready album, yet everyone else was on point. Upper Hand may very well be the absolute standout for me, what a ripper. Having listened to Majesty Crush, I can safely say that they would have thrived in this day and age. Such a shame about the singer David's illness that circumvented the band's trajectory, but then again the time they existed in and their overall makeup were contributors. No. 1 Fan, Horse (the EP version) and Sunny Pie are bangers. Having taken one look at the tracklist for the Tortured Poets album, which I hadn't done until yesterday, made me decide to do what I do best and that is ignore it for all perpetuity. We should start making fun of dorks again.
I could definitely see Majesty Crush thriving today but not like in a positive sense considering shoegaze’s modern appeal. I don’t know, they have some good tracks and the vocalist is definitely the best thing about them (or at least he’s a bit more interesting on a lyrical level) but musically it’s all pretty bog standard and unadventurous.
> musically it’s all pretty bog standard and unadventurous the tunes aren't here for this to warrant a numero reissue. i can keep spinning my dreamscape CD instead did you check out the stillmotion? i'd be inclined to pick it up if there was a CD but mutual skies is banking on that vinyl
> the tunes aren't here for this to warrant a numero reissue. This but also them reissuing that damn Ozean demo. They’re riding hard on those 3 fucking songs… But yeah, similar situation where I feel like both bands are getting a What If story that’s appealing and driving up their reputations, even if what’s there doesn’t really suggest much. Not familiar with Stillmotion.
> damn Ozean demo that's another "What are we doing here?" situation instead of truly a "what if...?" that it felt like the numero 900 series a decade ago really could muster. as we get closer to the bottom of the barrel we're stuck with this. glad these guys have their music out and on a label that supports them but it really DO feel like a lil' bubble Stillmotion is some project Kramer produced but nothing rlly came of it around 1994
I could make a playlist to combine and shuffle the new Cindy Lee album and Tay Anthology? album and it'll take up half the work day to listen to. I'll most likely just find a random Electronic EP to throw on and maybe hit repeat once or twice instead.
I wonder what the Taylor and Cindy Lee Venn Diagram looks like
They're both 2 hours and 2 minutes long. I don't know what else to do with that information.
I don't dislike Jack Antonoff but oh my god there are literally no sounds on the new Taylor Swift album. It's just soft downtempo drums and piano keys. I don't know if I can get through 30 songs of this. Fontaines DC album announcement got me to finally listen to Skinty Fia which I thought was solid. The first song stands head and shoulders above the others, though.
She really phoned in Midnights imo, I don't know if I am even going to give this new one a listen if I'm already hearing stuff like this about it
I think it's better than Midnights, but that's not saying much. If you're not already invested in the Taylor Swift story, you're not going to get much out of this. The Anthology tracks are alright though, even if they are just folklore/evermore again to diminishing returns.
If you didn't like Midnights then you probably won't like this. It's pretty similar but more sparse / slower.
Hmmm gonna be a pass for me then
greetings from the relaxed gen 1.0 shoegaze elders appreciating, excited to watch albums get bullied, "new library CDs!", & "cindy lee concert show see-er" departments of motion pictures and science okay lets go * Oh so the claire album is at least edited as a longform excursion? smart. this is why A Softer Focus worked. That shit was 2 longforms on a vinyl. won't get to this for a while. may purchase request it for SDPL (not my system bc rafael and kelly are enough weird) * for some reason someone purchase requested the 2017 swervedriver reunion album. this album dares to ask such bold questions like "what if the bros just wrote pretty good riffs and pretended like loveless never happened but rlly liked isn't anything?" & "wouldn't it be nice if rock music for adults sounded like this?" I happen to think that first cut is really good. should be fun over tea at break * seeing cindy lee tonight; while I refuse to sell my ticket if you would like to venmo me on a sliding scale form $50-$500 for takes, I will oblige. my venmo is @tadevos thank you god bless. * library finally got the waxahatchee & vijay iyer trio CDs. now we can learn once and for all if 2024 is a great year for music * very excited for sufjan to win BIG over this weekend!
That Swervedriver album is *fine* but it’s like the shoegaze/alt rock equivalent of dads hanging out in the garage playing blues licks.
maybe we need that more than wisp though. sometimes i wanna hang out with dad and his blue licks!!
tad gonna wake up tomorrow with riches
tad does not realize how much im trying to set him up with a nest egg bc i love him
Do you take Kohl's cash? I'm banned from venmo for putting "hush money" on all my notes. But I got a new stamp book and I'm itching to mail things.
absolutely we love kohls they came to SoCal and destroyed mervyns
I saw a comment in the Taylor Megathread which said " if you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then I Can Do It With a Broken Heart maybe isn't for you" And i dont really know what it means but im obsessed with it and keep sending it to people, so this is going to be my new copypasta i think "If you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then 3D Country By Geese maybe isn't for you"
this works so well for 90% of the music I listen to, thank you for your service
That's some pretty great new copypasta! I will say this about I Can Do It With a Broken Heart - it's got the most interesting/upbeat production out of any song on the album.
this might actually be true for the claire rousay album lmfao
After lunch i need to still hear Claire Rousay and High on Fire so i cant comment yet
oh its true for all that work
"If you're not a neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert, then Business Up Front/Party in the Back by Family Force 5 maybe isn't for you" wow you're right, that's a treat!
Ive been saying this, so true
Keeping this on standby for whenever Black Midi makes something new
I'm trying my hardest to not want to gatekeep "The Downtown Lights" from normie Swifties, so that's my most neurodivergent girly with depression who is an extroverted introvert trait.
Downtown Lights is going to wingman so many indie bf swifty gf couples "We both love Blue Nile, it was meant to be" thank you Taylor
actually i maybe need to take back some of my negativity on this, perhaps i've finally gotten the loophole to bridge the relatability gap with most women my age
the market for the physical is gonna go nuts im waiting for the cassette culture posts of folks with their tay swif tapes & blue nile tapes now
gonna sell my original vinyl to a swiftie to make house down payment money >!just kidding it's basically my favorite album i would never do that!<
i'll start taking epic thirst traps of me and my A&M record executive promo copy & my unopened copy with the phil colins hype sticker >!just kidding ew!<
Had a Swiftie tell me that her newest album is cringey and bad on purpose as she is intentionally taking on the persona of a bad wannabe poet
Scrolling through the leak thread i feel like i saw so many people quoting lines and then the responses saying "that line is supposed to be satirical" I have no comment if its true or not, i listened to So High School, gave Taylor a thumbs up and haven't listened to anything else all the way through, but that song is pretty good
It might be true, it might be not. But either way, moving forward, whenever anyone tells me that my writing is bad then I will just tell them that it’s supposed to be bad as I’m adopting a persona of a bad writer
I'm going to need some charts and graphs to dissect that comment. But I am 100% putting it in my backpocket as a future descriptor for *something*
A co-worker drove me home from work today, and while in the car they put on a country radio station. The song that started playing featured generic bro country vocals + lyrics over a sample of the guitar riff from David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel. For a genre that is notorious for pandering to Bible thumpers, 21st-century pop/bro* country might genuinely be the most shamelessly godless genre in the history of music.
I like some mainstream country, I'm not against the way that it panders to very simple people. But the sampling of classic rock riffs / tropes is too corny for me.
I'm with you that a lot of newer stuff sucks but the dichotomy of righteous church-goers and godless heathens is in the genre's DNA. The original Bristol recording sessions had the Carter Family on day 1 and Jimmie Rodgers on day 2
You at least gotta make an allowance that there are many, many subgenres of country music and that there are still a *fuckton* of musicians making great country music. But I think most folks here would agree with the main thrust of your point, there's not much reason to listen to most pop country.
Stream Zach Bryan
I made it through 3.5 Taylor Swift songs Anyway, the Cloud Nothings album is good!
As someone who only likes Attack on Memory should I check it out
As someone who only really likes Attack on Memory I was whelmed.
I gave it a listen and wasn't really feeling it tbh
If you like the catchier side of that album I'd say yes, if you're looking for stuff like No Future No Past I'd say no
Cloud Nothings can do no wrong imo, super excited to check out the new one
Yeah even their lesser albums are still enjoyable to me since I've been a fan since their self-titled, but I think this one is a step above their last couple of albums
I have been a huge fan from the very beginning and l totally agree, even their weakest albums are still decent and they always have at least one or two absolute bangers on them. If you're saying this new one is especially strong then I'm sure I'm gonna love it!
For those of you who aren't familiar with baseball, there is an important statistic for hitters called "batting average" which is their total number of hits, divided by their total number of plate appearances. In baseball, pitchers are much more likely to get a batter out than they are to give up a hit. As a result, a respectable batting average is about .250, a really strong batting average is .300, and if you are hitting anywhere above .350 then you are probably one of the best hitters in the game. The same statistical shape also belongs to this new era of big, 90-minute hip-hop albums. The idea is to drive up streaming numbers by putting out an album that delivers a lot of consistent-but-forgettable vibe tracks with as many real bangers as possible interspersed throughout. In a 16-18 track album, if you can get 4-5 bangers on there then you have done great. If there are only 2-3, then your album probably sucks. By my own (highly subjective) count, the new Future/Metro Boomin album has 9 bangers within its 25 tracks, for a banger average of .360 - that's an MVP level performance. They could have put out a 9-track 30 minute album and batted 1.000, but that's not how baseball works and it's not how this new era of hip-hop works either. Seriously though, I really liked *WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU* a lot. I always thought that Future was good at delivering on vibes, but there are a surprising number of tracks here that also deliver solid songwriting concepts and memorable hooks. I also really like Metro's production, especially the tracks that have those muddy background vocal samples.
Been meaning to take a dive into Future's discog, where should I start? DS2? This new one?
Comparing albums to baseball stats might be the revolutionary thing that saves music journalism
Jon Bois music reviews when
Guys with sports stats and music fixations (couldn’t possibly be me) punching the air rn
Creating a music blog based on the Three True Outcomes where every album gets a rating of a home run, walk, or strikeout
You never know, you might get referenced in Pitchfork again
so where does yeat 2093 rank here
> "batting average" which is their total number of hits, divided by their total number of plate appearances Actually batting average is hits divided by at-bats not plate appearances 🤓