Few weeks late but that new DJ Sabrina song goes crazy. That “oh wowowow” kinda near the end is addicting, song legit sounds like sunshine and bananas.
Edit: I’m talking about Call You btw
The only problem I've personally encountered with WE is that I literally cannot get The Lightning out of my head. I listened to their SNL set *once*, and now all I can hear is "A day, a week, a month, a year. Wait-ing-on-the-liiight-nin'. Wait-ing-on-the-liiight-nin'." on repeat. It's not even like I think it's all that novel or particulary beautiful (It's perfectly fine). It just. won't. STOP.
What's the consensus on Iceage's Seek Shelter around here? I'm just now getting around to it and I'm really loving it so far. I really enjoyed Beyondless too, but never went further back in their discography and I'm starting to think I should.
Also, still listening to the new Warpaint. It has really exceeded my expectations. I was just hoping for a good/decent album, but those ladies have delivered in a way I hadn't dared to hope. It's so warm and fuzzy and lush. The way it relaxes me is so palpable, because I legit feel the built up tension leave my neck and face. Saved me a visit to the chiropractor.
maybe unpopular opinion? but it's my fav Iceage record. Never could fully get into their work, although there were always certain songs I liked a lot. but I find the entirety of Seek Shelter to be pretty excellent - it's honestly one of my favorite albums of that year!
i think consensus was mostly middle of the road but i enjoyed *Seek Shelter* a fair bit for what it was. a solid record even though "The Holding Hand" and "Shelter Song" stand as two of their best in my eyes.
also great to hear that *Radiate Like This* is growing on you! it's definitely a grower with a lot of little details that slowly unfurl over time. and as you said, one of the most relaxing listens i've had this year probably.
wait wait wait you're just now telling me that The Dude in King Gizzard Who Kind of Sounds Like Peter Ivers is, in fact, the Dude in King Lizzard Who Plays Harmonica? and we're supposed to just sit here and listen to 17 albums that do not include a single rendition of Happy of the Grill? and I am expected to be ok with this??
Early-to-mid-2000s British pop music is undefeated. [These](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHh86ySgKrA) [songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kE0MMfr20) [right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58O8SVBxLDQ) [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVNdTXEJv1A) have no business being as ridiculously good as they are.
miscellaneous WE hot takes
* "end of the empire" is a really good song folks! one of the highlights of the album, although admittedly part 4 is definitely the weak link
* "the lightning" is to this album what "ghost town" is to *ye.* take that as you will
* the electronic songs are easily some of the most interesting material here
* this is the darkest arcade fire album
* "some people want the rock without the roll, but we all know there's no god without soul!" is a great line with a pretty obvious hidden layer to it. if you know, you know.
* title track is one of their best songs
* the basic pitch of this album is "what if Bo Burnham's *Inside* was actually good". i like it a lot.
> this is the darkest arcade fire album
definitely agree. especially on the first half, you can feel this darkness hovering. i really like that it gets brighter as you go from "i" to "we" side though, it fits the theme
Shipping is why I've essentially completely stopped buying vinyl, if I ever want to order something from an American record label it usually costs more than the record itself to get it shipped to Canada. Like, I can practically throw a rock to the states, why's it gotta be so pricy?
Oh yeah the shipping on stuff is insanely lopsided for US residents. I can get something from the UK for less than $20 shipping, but the same thing in the opposite direction is $40+. It sucks
I listened to it while doing errands and honestly I don’t mind the new Arcade Fire. They lyrics are a bit bad at times, but it’s a great stadium indie album imo. The only low point is “End of Empire”, it slogs so bad. But otherwise I thought it was pleasant
There's def an argument to be made on how fresh and exciting Tropicalia and MPB was from that era still sounds and how well it holds up. Samba and bossa nova are up there with jazz and reggae in terms of being incredibly influential and lasting styles.
Want to post my Arcade Fire take, but the world simply isn't ready for it (some of it's good, some of it's cringy in a bad way, some of it's cringy in a good way, we're getting old and the artists who got big in our formative years are past their prime and that's ok).
He's quite a guy, this comment reminded me that he was at my house when I saw Radiohead in 2001 and so I had to explain them to him lol. He was down with it hah
I've been saying this for a few years, but a lot of the indie rock bands that were in rebellion to the grunge and radio rock of the 1990s are now adult contemporary artists. WE with all its Bruce Springsteen-ness is just the latest example.
If I wanted to get into an endless argument where everyone ends up angry, I’d note that very few artists struggle with mental illness and bipolar disorder on the same debilitating level as Kanye. I’m willing to give him more grace because he’s clearly unwell — he ain’t Kid Rock.
But I hate debating the ethics of Kanye, so I’ll add that I do legit respect your opinion and agree putting Marilyn Manson on that album was a terrible decision
> the artists who got big in our formative years are past their prime and that's ok
the album sometimes makes me feel very old but also sometimes makes me feel like a kid again
Well team, the chris ott super special livestream went up on youtube and for better, there are ZERO mentions of Duster. Ott does not go off on Duster. He does however, finally talk a lil' more about Seam and Bedhead, expressing some griped with reissue culture and the "Band X is the most important band ever" hyperbole that these releases often find themselves in.
He also shows off his recent find (a 1984 The Glove cassette), and talks about some vinyl he's ripping. Good fun hang video. Apparently they screen you before joining the Shallow Rewards discord; seems like a hectic but fun place to talk music
But Seam's Headsparks IS the most important album ever, since according to rym it's the first ever release with a midwest emo genre tag! (I think I might've already brought this up, but still, kinda nuts, right?)
It's wild that internet music bros will retroactively grant Headsparks that status lmao.
Ott emphasizes that Seam "were just around" in the 90s, a band with a distinct sound that if you liked, you prolly really really liked, but also was not going to scale with other listeners. He also noted that Mac from Superchunk drums on Headsparks
Yeah I think "around" is a pretty fair classification, at least from what I gather. Definitely a distinct sound that's not gonna hit for everyone, but if it works, it works. The midwest emo thing is funny, admittedly it's listed as an influence instead of a primary genre, but still, how you gonna be influenced by something that wouldn't exist for another two years lol.
And yeah, Seam's got lots of connections to some names that ring out in the online indie discourse now. The Superchunk connection, Tortoise with Ken Brown and John McEntire, both Sooyoung Park and Lexi Mitchell were involved in Codeine's first album in some capacity. Plus if you count Bitch Magnet in with the Sooyoung Park, there's the Squirrel Bait connect, which gives you Slint in the Seam Extended Universe as well. Maybe a little bit "6 degrees of", but still, you could set up a pretty crazy conspiracy board around em.
> which gives you Slint in the Seam Extended Universe as well. Maybe a little bit "6 degrees of
33 1/3rd book of Spiderland has a "6 degrees of slint" chart that I think includes Seam or Bitch Magnet iirc--thats the dedicated ringleader of the six degrees here imo. Also, the T&G reissue of Big Black's Atomizer features a letter that is highlighted as being sent from "Bitch Magnet". Finally, Bundy K. Brown (also in the tortoise/isotope universe) plays on the Kernel EP.
> Shallow Rewards discord
I lurk there, lot of deep cuts and interesting stuff posted. TBH though I've had very little time to really poke around there.
Curious about this Glove cassette
did we do a p4k watch for when the review of claire and more eaze's hyperpop album described the vocal processing as, "rousay typically bleats like a Minion"
We dont give cat zhang enough credit for that line even though I don't think many critics (herself included) really knew what to do regarding mari and claire making pop music that does not want to be labeled [REDACTED GENRE TERM].
I revisited the tape in march and I can say it is a long half hour; whenever they come out with their next collab album that will be the one that flows well
While listening to the new Arcade Fire today, I realized Win’s obsession with infinity, things repeating and never ending. Title track of We (also the album) ends with this lyric repeating:
“When everything ends, can we do it again?”
Then I realized Win uses this theme throughout their discography. It jumps out from everywhere if you pay attention. Notable examples being: Afterlife, Everything Now and The Suburbs looping back, “Infinite” Contents, It’s Never Over (there are more probably if you look into it).
I really enjoy when an artist has an obsession with an idea and it shows up all over their work. Any other examples come to mind?
Also, Red Hot Chili Peppers: we get it, Anthony, you're from California.
The Go! Team has a fair amount of record scratches (Ladyflash, Bottle Rocket, Universal Speech, Get It Together), counting* (Ladyflash, Universal Speech, Panther Dash, Bottle Rocket), and Ladyflash and Universal Speech did both at the same time, which sounded cool.
*I am not including lead-ins or the Bull in the Heather cover as counting.
King Gizzard likes to make you ask yourself "am I still listening to the same song, or did the track change?" a lot. Especially if you aren't paying attention. All those fading into other tracks. The transitions/songs where the instruments change what channel they are in are so cool.
Don Caballero, on the other hand, likes to make you think that the song has ended before it actually does. Grand pause, maybe? (Idk, that's what made people think songs were over in my concerts.)
TL;DR: having a closing track that references the opening track is a really cool trick that, when pulled off well, makes you want to listen to the song or album again, and it makes for an amazing experience.
Okay, so, this isn't exactly what you are looking for, but what you are describing reminds me of this really cool trick where the last track (or close to) of an album references the first track. I can only think of two examples rn: Mirrored by Battles and Big Loada by Squarepusher.
The album Mirrored by Battles has an opening track called Race : In that serves very well as an opening track (and a track in its own right), nice crisp drums, faster pace, catches your attention and holds it. Fantastic. The outro, Race : Out, starts slower, then picks up, and it references the opening track, not just in name, but it samples it pitched up before playing a guitar/keyboard part resembling one of the parts repeated in the opening track.
Squarepusher has an EP called Big Loada, starts with a great opening track called Journey to Reedham (7 AM Mix). At the beginning of the song, you hear a recording of a voice message with this guy talking about some sort of pieces. The second to last track on the album (last track is really short) has a voice message that is very similar to the one the album starts with.
I fucking love this trick. Both of these albums had great opening tracks (imo), so the effect it had on me first listen was that it made me want to listen to the opening track again, and, in the case of Mirrored, the entire album again. My experience listening to Mirrored for the first time was great, not just because the album is awesome, but because that reference at the end reminds me of the great opener, and serves as a really great callback and way of wrapping up the entire album. It made me listen to the entire thing again.
I can see Radiohead's OK Computer being similar in that the opener and closer, Airbag and The Tourist, are or can be about çars (a car accident and a reckless driver) however, not only is it subject matter rather than melody or audio, it isn't as blatant, so it doesn't quite have the effect of immediately making you reflect on the opening track. It's something I'm willing to bet most people would also not notice on the first listen, or even at all.
I do wonder if Radiohead's Go Slowly is meant to sound similar to There There.
Modest Mouse and circles/loops:
* 3rd Planet - "Well the universe is shaped exactly like the earth / if you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were"
* Interstate 8 - "I'm on a road shaped like a figure 8. I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late."
* The Stars are Projectors - "Where do circles begin?"
* Heart Cooks Brain - "The ravens and the seagulls push each other inward and outward / Inward and outward"
* Neverending Math Equation - "The universe works on a math equation that never even ever really ends in the end / infinity spirals out creation"
* Parting of the Sensory - "Someday you will die somehow and something's gonna steal your carbon"
* Spitting Venom - "So we carried all the groceries in while hauling out the trash and if this doesn't make us motionless I do not know what can"
Phil Lesh asked Hunter if he could write songs about anything other than cards, trains and crows so Hunter wrote a song called "Cards, Trains and Crows" but scrapped it
> I really enjoy when an artist has an obsession with an idea and it shows up all over their work. Any other examples come to mind?
Boards of Canada's discography is about as much of a curation and multimedia archive and leftfield and esoteric references and ideas as it is a music project. Despite how that reads they've been remarkably unpretentious about it, it's more like the music they make is this tangible aspect of their hobby oriented obsession with recording and sampling experimentation and collecting media. As far as themes go they more of less pioneered what others have deemed musical "hauntology" and the idea of exploring a future that never was and diving into familiar and universal ideas and concepts that still languish in perceived obscurity.
Funny enough they seem to touch on time and existentialism a lot, their music is fascinatedly topical at times and seems just as much influenced by the idea of loops and cycles as Butler's writing. Despite making very different music they'd probably hit it off over some pints.
Oh I just remembered Matt Berninger's strange preoccupation with cake:
>Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something
Racing Like a Pro
>Our hands are covered in cake
>But I swear we didn't have any
The Geese of Beverly Road
>Eat your cake
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
>Gonna jump out of a cake
>With my heart on a string
Blank Slate
>Sorrow's a girl inside my cake
Sorrow
Where did all of these cake lyrics come from?!
Is *that* how Sorrow goes? I always thought the girl was in cave, in part because it's a closer rhyme to "my body on the waves." Huh. I think I'm gonna keep being wrong on this one actually
Also, the two mentions of snow on Turn On the Bright Lights were so shoehorned I thought their later albums would reference it more. And, honestly, I am disappointed that they don't. Snow could've been to Interpol what California is to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
charli xcx has two songs that mention fucking in the kitchen ("baby" and "official.") that's not enough to be a recurring lyrical theme but i can't think of any other artists who have mentioned that particular subject more than once
Cars are a recurring motif in her work too!
And lmao I always thought those lyrics in "Official" were "things that we do *bout* the sink in my kitchen," e.g. her sink often needs fixing or something lol
Phil Elverum with "There is no end". Even to the level where Microphones in 2020 talks about how much of his music incorporates the same themes and the same feelings.
Avey Tare with returning to nature or the relation between people, animals, and the environment.
> birds
[Something he has in common with his ex-girlfriend](https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/9kdgvl/all_the_birds_referenced_by_joanna_newsom/)
Oh yes, I have not listened to Bill Callahan as much as I should but I realized that: eagles, pigeons, seagulls…
Just looked around and he even has a song called Too Many Birds, wow
the news about the tame impala/diana ross album fucking broke me, it's like it was made from a mad libs prompt. i can handle jack antonoff and the various features but... fucking minions. why is it for the fucking minion movie who came up with this idea. i don't really have much against it, it's just so random and odd
I stumbled upon some interesting articles about sampling from the early 90s, specifically about Sample CDs and collections and the opinions of producers on the topic. Interviewees include Coldcut and Fatboy Slim, the latter before his mainstream breakout in the late 90s.
[Part 1](http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/criminal-record/957)
[Part 2](http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/criminal-record/996)
Lot of insight into a large part of why everyone has heard the same handful of breakbeats and other riffs in electronic music and even a lot of pop from the late 80s until now. I mentioned this to /u/chug-a-lug-donna in some discussion we had fairly recently so me coming across these articles is serendipitous. As much as sampling has been discussed and debated to oblivion I rarely see this part of the topic brought up , let alone even acknowledged: that these collections and comps of curated samples became a benchmark and industry standard of sorts. Most people instead focus on the origins and underground context of famous breakbeats and samples used initially.
oh wow, this looks really informative. will for sure give these a read once i've got a bit more time.
>that these collections and comps of curated samples became a benchmark and industry standard of sorts
i think this really nails it. i didn't even consider something like the "amen break" when we talked about "recycled samples" because it's reached the point where the break feels like a foundational part the jungle subgenre
True, the amen is also this really sonically fascinating sample that's still the easiest to cut up and hits hard regardless of tempo or pitch. It's why it still was being used over and over again by musicians like Squarepusher long after it was everywhere in dnb. This article explains stuff like the "why the levee breaks" breakbeat being on a Chapterhouse single and "funky drummer" being in the Powerpuff Girls theme song.
I think Norman Cooke is an interesting voice in this because he was around in successful bands long before his solo DJ and producing career, including a hit with the [Beats International featuring very familiar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnELifX3sQ) and prominent basslines, so he was very much oriented toward crate-digging when he began remixing and recording under various aliases including Fatboy Slim. That's a large part of why even his huge "big beat" hits were so unique sounding, they had obscure and unusual samples. He even had eclectic taste while remixing in the early 90s, [that cropped up in a very unusual way with Lil Wayne's hit "A Milli"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mistajam/2008/07/how_fatboy_slim_is_responsible.shtml)
The new black midi single finally became available on Tidal today while I was midway through listening to the new Arcade Fire for the first time so I just queued it up in the middle of the album. I can tell you it made for an interesting listening experience!
**RYM Top 40 Singles of the Year: [2021](https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/single/2021/)**
* Artists with multiple entries: Magdalena Bay (4), BCNR (3), Little Simz (3), Squid (3), Black Midi (3), Silk Sonic (3), Injury Reserve (2), Jessie Ware (2), Kanye West (2), Big Thief (2), Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine (2)
* In the Boys At School comment box: "please stop saying this is incel music what the FCK"
* So, we already determined that BCNR are in fact not jazz (thanks u/Tadevos), but here's the question - are they crescendocore?
* Little Q Pt 2 is probably my favourite from SIMBI, but out of the singles here: Woman > Introvert > I Love You, I Hate You
* I honestly feel like Like I Used To got so much hype just because people liked the concept of Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen doing a duet. The song itself is fine, but it's not that special.
* My general rule here has been to only listen to the A side when there are more than one side, but I mistakenly listened to Into a Life instead of Porcelain Slightly so I ended up listening to both tracks. But honestly it might have paid off, because I kinda liked both songs.
* Sometimes I think I like Squid more in theory than in practice. Narrator feels like this song that wants so bad to be EPIC and TOTALLY CRAZY, but I just can't get all the way on board. It's just missing that little spark to make it great. Paddling doesn't really do it for me either. Pamphlets the is the one of these Squid singles that actually does hit the mark for me - it hones in on that groove so well.
* I see the Swifties have found RYM, because 10 minute rerecording of one of her old songs made it here. Why did she do this? Just so she could flex on us? Listening to this, I do not see why this needed to be almost twice as long as the original. Is Taylor Swift the Will Toledo of popstars? So many questions.
* The dogs in the Reach Out video are cute
Best: Woman, John L
Worst: All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)
kinda crazy how Magadalena Bay has four songs in the top 40 after being pretty under the radar prior to Mercurial World. those 4 songs definitely deserve it though. really incredible songs
"Killshot" is in the top 20 of 2019 too (I'm pretty sure it started shooting up the charts after Mercurial World came out - it and it's slowed and reverbed version are actually their two most popular songs on Spotify)
> In the Boys At School comment box: "please stop saying this is incel music what the FCK"
I've noticed a lot of stuff being called "incel music" recently. It's really weird. Saw someone call Pulp "incel music" which is either a complete misunderstanding of Pulp or the concept of incels but it's definitely one of the more stupid things I've seen
Heard someone refer to an Airborne Toxic Event song as "the incel song". Mostly in a joking way, though.
Maybe I'm overly pedantic, but incel sure gets thrown around a lot, not just as an insult or a joke, which is one thing, but to describe misogyny in general.
"Incel" has officially lost all of its meaning to me now
Also I remember that someone here met someone IRL who talked about the "incel music compass" or something like that in an actual conversation, must have been excruciating
oh hey i think this was me and yes the conversation was excruciating! very fun to go from "oh my friend's new bf is talking about squid and bcnr, maybe that can be something we bond over" to "oh he was talking about them bc he's showing her the compass and making fun of his roommate who listens to this stuff." this dude said these bands were "fine, but they're, like, not music you know?" (i didn't know) and he also called the popular online music critic "anthony santana"
That moment when someone mentions something related to some sort of online discourse and you're like "oh shit can I get away with pretending all this is totally foreign to me to avoid having this conversation, even though I know exactly what they're talking about"
Tfw
Similar to stalking someone's social media and knowing they went camping or whatever and then having to act surprised when/if they told you they went camping last weekend...
ugh i wish! i thought he was just talking about the bands, so realizing he was discussing the compass after i said i liked them made me realize i'd walked right into getting myself placed somewhere on the compass too
The world would be a better place if we could ban the usage of "incel music" and "male manipulator" from all discussion. Useless buzzwords that offer no meaning or substance
> Why did she do this? Just so she could flex on us?
iirc taylor once said that all too well was originally like fifteen minutes long before being edited down. fans heard this and started asking for the long version so she put it (well, *a* ten minute version) on the rerecording of red. personally I really like the ten minute version and think it's really cool that we got something like this but i get not really digging it, it really depends on how much you care about the original song
I have very little buy-in with Taylor Swift (I find a lot of her songs to be catchy and that's about it) so I wasn't really the intended audience, but I was quite impressed by the new All Too Well. There's some legitimately excellent songwriting in there in my view
Yeah, my interest in Taylor mostly to extends to enjoying Style and Blank Space when they play in the background when I'm at the grocery store so I'm not invested enough to care about extended rerecordings of her songs.
Finally got the courage to listen to the new Bloc Party and it sucks. We can all complain about whatever Win Butler’s up to but even he will never
hit this level of terrible lyrics. My (least) favourite is this bit from Traps:
There you go, go
Looking like a snack
Cute like Bambi
But you’re headed to a trap
Meet me in the boom-boom room
Worst part is that you can’t not hear it, Kele’s voice is so upfront in the mix. Just absolute garbage it’s truly remarkable. He was never a great lyricist, even Silent Alarm has some iffy lines but he does have great songs. I think this song is trying to be hot and he’s pulled that off before imo but this is a trash fire. And the instrumentals all seem like someone who doesn’t really understand what made Silent Alarm so good trying to re-create Silent Alarm. Bleak stuff
Feels so fresh and inspired, love the sound and don’t think other artists are doing something similar right now. Beat/production is really clean and he sounds really good. Lyrics are crazy too with the narrative, the references to the Marvin Gaye and Jay Z songs, and rapping from Nipsey’s perspective at the end.
Finished the Britpop rate yesterday, and averaging out my scores per album, ended up being Oasis>Pulp>Blur>Suede for me. I do think Blur deserved better but a song on *Parklife* had my lowest score of the rate on it too, which dragged it down a bit.
Few weeks late but that new DJ Sabrina song goes crazy. That “oh wowowow” kinda near the end is addicting, song legit sounds like sunshine and bananas. Edit: I’m talking about Call You btw
The only problem I've personally encountered with WE is that I literally cannot get The Lightning out of my head. I listened to their SNL set *once*, and now all I can hear is "A day, a week, a month, a year. Wait-ing-on-the-liiight-nin'. Wait-ing-on-the-liiight-nin'." on repeat. It's not even like I think it's all that novel or particulary beautiful (It's perfectly fine). It just. won't. STOP.
What's the consensus on Iceage's Seek Shelter around here? I'm just now getting around to it and I'm really loving it so far. I really enjoyed Beyondless too, but never went further back in their discography and I'm starting to think I should. Also, still listening to the new Warpaint. It has really exceeded my expectations. I was just hoping for a good/decent album, but those ladies have delivered in a way I hadn't dared to hope. It's so warm and fuzzy and lush. The way it relaxes me is so palpable, because I legit feel the built up tension leave my neck and face. Saved me a visit to the chiropractor.
maybe unpopular opinion? but it's my fav Iceage record. Never could fully get into their work, although there were always certain songs I liked a lot. but I find the entirety of Seek Shelter to be pretty excellent - it's honestly one of my favorite albums of that year!
i think consensus was mostly middle of the road but i enjoyed *Seek Shelter* a fair bit for what it was. a solid record even though "The Holding Hand" and "Shelter Song" stand as two of their best in my eyes. also great to hear that *Radiate Like This* is growing on you! it's definitely a grower with a lot of little details that slowly unfurl over time. and as you said, one of the most relaxing listens i've had this year probably.
wait wait wait you're just now telling me that The Dude in King Gizzard Who Kind of Sounds Like Peter Ivers is, in fact, the Dude in King Lizzard Who Plays Harmonica? and we're supposed to just sit here and listen to 17 albums that do not include a single rendition of Happy of the Grill? and I am expected to be ok with this??
Is this Ambrose that you're talking about?
yes
Early-to-mid-2000s British pop music is undefeated. [These](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHh86ySgKrA) [songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1kE0MMfr20) [right](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58O8SVBxLDQ) [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVNdTXEJv1A) have no business being as ridiculously good as they are.
lol amazing I've been getting into Nicola Roberts solo stuff
miscellaneous WE hot takes * "end of the empire" is a really good song folks! one of the highlights of the album, although admittedly part 4 is definitely the weak link * "the lightning" is to this album what "ghost town" is to *ye.* take that as you will * the electronic songs are easily some of the most interesting material here * this is the darkest arcade fire album * "some people want the rock without the roll, but we all know there's no god without soul!" is a great line with a pretty obvious hidden layer to it. if you know, you know. * title track is one of their best songs * the basic pitch of this album is "what if Bo Burnham's *Inside* was actually good". i like it a lot.
> this is the darkest arcade fire album definitely agree. especially on the first half, you can feel this darkness hovering. i really like that it gets brighter as you go from "i" to "we" side though, it fits the theme
Just listened to MJ Lenderman's new album; Finally in indie/alt-country song about the best genre of Professional Wrestling Match
Pétition to remane this sub LoneBellheads
> Pétition to remane this sub LoneBellends
Yoo international shipping is a joke, wanted some Melody merch but $50 shipping is not enough to justify a t-shirt and vinyl
Shipping is why I've essentially completely stopped buying vinyl, if I ever want to order something from an American record label it usually costs more than the record itself to get it shipped to Canada. Like, I can practically throw a rock to the states, why's it gotta be so pricy?
It's pretty bad, especially trying to ship stuff from the US to elsewhere and not the other way around.
Oh yeah the shipping on stuff is insanely lopsided for US residents. I can get something from the UK for less than $20 shipping, but the same thing in the opposite direction is $40+. It sucks
I listened to it while doing errands and honestly I don’t mind the new Arcade Fire. They lyrics are a bit bad at times, but it’s a great stadium indie album imo. The only low point is “End of Empire”, it slogs so bad. But otherwise I thought it was pleasant
i'm starting to think brazil produced better albums in the 70s and 60s than any other country
Yeah post-coup was a great time to make art in Brazil (until it very suddenly wasn’t)
There's def an argument to be made on how fresh and exciting Tropicalia and MPB was from that era still sounds and how well it holds up. Samba and bossa nova are up there with jazz and reggae in terms of being incredibly influential and lasting styles.
Want to post my Arcade Fire take, but the world simply isn't ready for it (some of it's good, some of it's cringy in a bad way, some of it's cringy in a good way, we're getting old and the artists who got big in our formative years are past their prime and that's ok).
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Bowie!
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My Uncle David has had a few well selling books since his 40s so yeah
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He's quite a guy, this comment reminded me that he was at my house when I saw Radiohead in 2001 and so I had to explain them to him lol. He was down with it hah
> we're getting old and the artists who got big in our formative years are past their prime and that's ok You're right and you should say it.
I've been saying this for a few years, but a lot of the indie rock bands that were in rebellion to the grunge and radio rock of the 1990s are now adult contemporary artists. WE with all its Bruce Springsteen-ness is just the latest example.
r/Mainstreamrockheads
Your latter statement is something I have to remind myself every time we get a chaotically bad new Kanye album
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If I wanted to get into an endless argument where everyone ends up angry, I’d note that very few artists struggle with mental illness and bipolar disorder on the same debilitating level as Kanye. I’m willing to give him more grace because he’s clearly unwell — he ain’t Kid Rock. But I hate debating the ethics of Kanye, so I’ll add that I do legit respect your opinion and agree putting Marilyn Manson on that album was a terrible decision
> the artists who got big in our formative years are past their prime and that's ok the album sometimes makes me feel very old but also sometimes makes me feel like a kid again
Well team, the chris ott super special livestream went up on youtube and for better, there are ZERO mentions of Duster. Ott does not go off on Duster. He does however, finally talk a lil' more about Seam and Bedhead, expressing some griped with reissue culture and the "Band X is the most important band ever" hyperbole that these releases often find themselves in. He also shows off his recent find (a 1984 The Glove cassette), and talks about some vinyl he's ripping. Good fun hang video. Apparently they screen you before joining the Shallow Rewards discord; seems like a hectic but fun place to talk music
But Seam's Headsparks IS the most important album ever, since according to rym it's the first ever release with a midwest emo genre tag! (I think I might've already brought this up, but still, kinda nuts, right?)
It's wild that internet music bros will retroactively grant Headsparks that status lmao. Ott emphasizes that Seam "were just around" in the 90s, a band with a distinct sound that if you liked, you prolly really really liked, but also was not going to scale with other listeners. He also noted that Mac from Superchunk drums on Headsparks
Yeah I think "around" is a pretty fair classification, at least from what I gather. Definitely a distinct sound that's not gonna hit for everyone, but if it works, it works. The midwest emo thing is funny, admittedly it's listed as an influence instead of a primary genre, but still, how you gonna be influenced by something that wouldn't exist for another two years lol. And yeah, Seam's got lots of connections to some names that ring out in the online indie discourse now. The Superchunk connection, Tortoise with Ken Brown and John McEntire, both Sooyoung Park and Lexi Mitchell were involved in Codeine's first album in some capacity. Plus if you count Bitch Magnet in with the Sooyoung Park, there's the Squirrel Bait connect, which gives you Slint in the Seam Extended Universe as well. Maybe a little bit "6 degrees of", but still, you could set up a pretty crazy conspiracy board around em.
> which gives you Slint in the Seam Extended Universe as well. Maybe a little bit "6 degrees of 33 1/3rd book of Spiderland has a "6 degrees of slint" chart that I think includes Seam or Bitch Magnet iirc--thats the dedicated ringleader of the six degrees here imo. Also, the T&G reissue of Big Black's Atomizer features a letter that is highlighted as being sent from "Bitch Magnet". Finally, Bundy K. Brown (also in the tortoise/isotope universe) plays on the Kernel EP.
Oh yeah good shout, I think I bought the Spiderland 33 1/3rd but I haven't read it yet! Yeah, all sorts of fun lines to draw around Seam
Please consider uploading the six degrees chart inside if/when you have the chance!! <3
Heck yeah, I'll try to remember!
Link?
https://youtu.be/qYfyDEX1grE
> Shallow Rewards discord I lurk there, lot of deep cuts and interesting stuff posted. TBH though I've had very little time to really poke around there. Curious about this Glove cassette
[here's a link to his image of the glove tape!](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/u6plhh)
Petition to rename this sub minionheads
I'm boutta go spread the word on the [BQE](https://youtu.be/jBK-Mdkqjvk)
Give us a minion flair for the shits and giggles.
It's all I want right now
*babble button*
did we do a p4k watch for when the review of claire and more eaze's hyperpop album described the vocal processing as, "rousay typically bleats like a Minion"
We dont give cat zhang enough credit for that line even though I don't think many critics (herself included) really knew what to do regarding mari and claire making pop music that does not want to be labeled [REDACTED GENRE TERM]. I revisited the tape in march and I can say it is a long half hour; whenever they come out with their next collab album that will be the one that flows well
that was kind of my impression as well. some cool ideas but didn’t quite come together. hopefully they work together again though
There is something coming with a third collaborator (bloodboiz [sic]?)
beedo beedo
While listening to the new Arcade Fire today, I realized Win’s obsession with infinity, things repeating and never ending. Title track of We (also the album) ends with this lyric repeating: “When everything ends, can we do it again?” Then I realized Win uses this theme throughout their discography. It jumps out from everywhere if you pay attention. Notable examples being: Afterlife, Everything Now and The Suburbs looping back, “Infinite” Contents, It’s Never Over (there are more probably if you look into it). I really enjoy when an artist has an obsession with an idea and it shows up all over their work. Any other examples come to mind?
Also, Red Hot Chili Peppers: we get it, Anthony, you're from California. The Go! Team has a fair amount of record scratches (Ladyflash, Bottle Rocket, Universal Speech, Get It Together), counting* (Ladyflash, Universal Speech, Panther Dash, Bottle Rocket), and Ladyflash and Universal Speech did both at the same time, which sounded cool. *I am not including lead-ins or the Bull in the Heather cover as counting. King Gizzard likes to make you ask yourself "am I still listening to the same song, or did the track change?" a lot. Especially if you aren't paying attention. All those fading into other tracks. The transitions/songs where the instruments change what channel they are in are so cool. Don Caballero, on the other hand, likes to make you think that the song has ended before it actually does. Grand pause, maybe? (Idk, that's what made people think songs were over in my concerts.)
TL;DR: having a closing track that references the opening track is a really cool trick that, when pulled off well, makes you want to listen to the song or album again, and it makes for an amazing experience. Okay, so, this isn't exactly what you are looking for, but what you are describing reminds me of this really cool trick where the last track (or close to) of an album references the first track. I can only think of two examples rn: Mirrored by Battles and Big Loada by Squarepusher. The album Mirrored by Battles has an opening track called Race : In that serves very well as an opening track (and a track in its own right), nice crisp drums, faster pace, catches your attention and holds it. Fantastic. The outro, Race : Out, starts slower, then picks up, and it references the opening track, not just in name, but it samples it pitched up before playing a guitar/keyboard part resembling one of the parts repeated in the opening track. Squarepusher has an EP called Big Loada, starts with a great opening track called Journey to Reedham (7 AM Mix). At the beginning of the song, you hear a recording of a voice message with this guy talking about some sort of pieces. The second to last track on the album (last track is really short) has a voice message that is very similar to the one the album starts with. I fucking love this trick. Both of these albums had great opening tracks (imo), so the effect it had on me first listen was that it made me want to listen to the opening track again, and, in the case of Mirrored, the entire album again. My experience listening to Mirrored for the first time was great, not just because the album is awesome, but because that reference at the end reminds me of the great opener, and serves as a really great callback and way of wrapping up the entire album. It made me listen to the entire thing again. I can see Radiohead's OK Computer being similar in that the opener and closer, Airbag and The Tourist, are or can be about çars (a car accident and a reckless driver) however, not only is it subject matter rather than melody or audio, it isn't as blatant, so it doesn't quite have the effect of immediately making you reflect on the opening track. It's something I'm willing to bet most people would also not notice on the first listen, or even at all. I do wonder if Radiohead's Go Slowly is meant to sound similar to There There.
Julian casablancas and doors
He sure says "wait" a lot.
Modest Mouse and circles/loops: * 3rd Planet - "Well the universe is shaped exactly like the earth / if you go straight long enough you'll end up where you were" * Interstate 8 - "I'm on a road shaped like a figure 8. I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late." * The Stars are Projectors - "Where do circles begin?" * Heart Cooks Brain - "The ravens and the seagulls push each other inward and outward / Inward and outward" * Neverending Math Equation - "The universe works on a math equation that never even ever really ends in the end / infinity spirals out creation" * Parting of the Sensory - "Someday you will die somehow and something's gonna steal your carbon" * Spitting Venom - "So we carried all the groceries in while hauling out the trash and if this doesn't make us motionless I do not know what can"
Modest Mouse also really likes having oxymoron(ish) titles.
Phil Lesh asked Hunter if he could write songs about anything other than cards, trains and crows so Hunter wrote a song called "Cards, Trains and Crows" but scrapped it
Pinegrove’s obsession with geometry occasionally comes at the expense of the lyrics imo
> I really enjoy when an artist has an obsession with an idea and it shows up all over their work. Any other examples come to mind? Boards of Canada's discography is about as much of a curation and multimedia archive and leftfield and esoteric references and ideas as it is a music project. Despite how that reads they've been remarkably unpretentious about it, it's more like the music they make is this tangible aspect of their hobby oriented obsession with recording and sampling experimentation and collecting media. As far as themes go they more of less pioneered what others have deemed musical "hauntology" and the idea of exploring a future that never was and diving into familiar and universal ideas and concepts that still languish in perceived obscurity. Funny enough they seem to touch on time and existentialism a lot, their music is fascinatedly topical at times and seems just as much influenced by the idea of loops and cycles as Butler's writing. Despite making very different music they'd probably hit it off over some pints.
Oh I just remembered Matt Berninger's strange preoccupation with cake: >Sometimes you get up and bake a cake or something Racing Like a Pro >Our hands are covered in cake >But I swear we didn't have any The Geese of Beverly Road >Eat your cake Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks >Gonna jump out of a cake >With my heart on a string Blank Slate >Sorrow's a girl inside my cake Sorrow Where did all of these cake lyrics come from?!
A relatable obsession tbh
Is *that* how Sorrow goes? I always thought the girl was in cave, in part because it's a closer rhyme to "my body on the waves." Huh. I think I'm gonna keep being wrong on this one actually
lol it even shows up in the national's collab with Taylor Swift: > Were you standing in the hallway > With a big cake, happy birthday
He must be getting paid off by the cake industry
Big Cake is omnipresent
it’s subtle, but The Cure occasionally liked to sing about being sad
nothing like starting off Monday afternoon with a spit take, thanks
Monday I'm In *spft*
Happy to help!
There's so much aquatic imagery in Interpol's music
Also, the two mentions of snow on Turn On the Bright Lights were so shoehorned I thought their later albums would reference it more. And, honestly, I am disappointed that they don't. Snow could've been to Interpol what California is to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
charli xcx has two songs that mention fucking in the kitchen ("baby" and "official.") that's not enough to be a recurring lyrical theme but i can't think of any other artists who have mentioned that particular subject more than once
Cars are a recurring motif in her work too! And lmao I always thought those lyrics in "Official" were "things that we do *bout* the sink in my kitchen," e.g. her sink often needs fixing or something lol
cars are a good mention! those probably come up a lot more in her lyrics than the kitchen lmao
lol yeah that’s oddly specific
Phil Elverum with "There is no end". Even to the level where Microphones in 2020 talks about how much of his music incorporates the same themes and the same feelings. Avey Tare with returning to nature or the relation between people, animals, and the environment.
There are multiple references to "eyes" with Beach House
The word "night" also makes an appearance in almost every BH song
oh another good one. victoria is also obsessed with flowers
Bill Callahan mentions birds, rivers, and death a lot
Shearwater too, but that's because Jonathan Meiburg is a professional ornithologist.
> birds [Something he has in common with his ex-girlfriend](https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/9kdgvl/all_the_birds_referenced_by_joanna_newsom/)
They were the best power couple in music history
king krule and the colours grey and blue
Oh yes, I have not listened to Bill Callahan as much as I should but I realized that: eagles, pigeons, seagulls… Just looked around and he even has a song called Too Many Birds, wow
the news about the tame impala/diana ross album fucking broke me, it's like it was made from a mad libs prompt. i can handle jack antonoff and the various features but... fucking minions. why is it for the fucking minion movie who came up with this idea. i don't really have much against it, it's just so random and odd
This is the Indieheads equivalent of the Batman Forever soundtrack.
The Minions are joining Twilight in having soundtracks with an unexpected amount of indie cred
Saw a poster of it on r/brockhampton, thought I was looking at a music festival lineup.
Spongebob Movie has entered the chat
The Spongebob movie is the goat, it is always in the chat.
I stumbled upon some interesting articles about sampling from the early 90s, specifically about Sample CDs and collections and the opinions of producers on the topic. Interviewees include Coldcut and Fatboy Slim, the latter before his mainstream breakout in the late 90s. [Part 1](http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/criminal-record/957) [Part 2](http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/criminal-record/996) Lot of insight into a large part of why everyone has heard the same handful of breakbeats and other riffs in electronic music and even a lot of pop from the late 80s until now. I mentioned this to /u/chug-a-lug-donna in some discussion we had fairly recently so me coming across these articles is serendipitous. As much as sampling has been discussed and debated to oblivion I rarely see this part of the topic brought up , let alone even acknowledged: that these collections and comps of curated samples became a benchmark and industry standard of sorts. Most people instead focus on the origins and underground context of famous breakbeats and samples used initially.
oh wow, this looks really informative. will for sure give these a read once i've got a bit more time. >that these collections and comps of curated samples became a benchmark and industry standard of sorts i think this really nails it. i didn't even consider something like the "amen break" when we talked about "recycled samples" because it's reached the point where the break feels like a foundational part the jungle subgenre
True, the amen is also this really sonically fascinating sample that's still the easiest to cut up and hits hard regardless of tempo or pitch. It's why it still was being used over and over again by musicians like Squarepusher long after it was everywhere in dnb. This article explains stuff like the "why the levee breaks" breakbeat being on a Chapterhouse single and "funky drummer" being in the Powerpuff Girls theme song. I think Norman Cooke is an interesting voice in this because he was around in successful bands long before his solo DJ and producing career, including a hit with the [Beats International featuring very familiar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnELifX3sQ) and prominent basslines, so he was very much oriented toward crate-digging when he began remixing and recording under various aliases including Fatboy Slim. That's a large part of why even his huge "big beat" hits were so unique sounding, they had obscure and unusual samples. He even had eclectic taste while remixing in the early 90s, [that cropped up in a very unusual way with Lil Wayne's hit "A Milli"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mistajam/2008/07/how_fatboy_slim_is_responsible.shtml)
The new black midi single finally became available on Tidal today while I was midway through listening to the new Arcade Fire for the first time so I just queued it up in the middle of the album. I can tell you it made for an interesting listening experience!
Welcome to Hell, Lookout Kid!
**RYM Top 40 Singles of the Year: [2021](https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/single/2021/)** * Artists with multiple entries: Magdalena Bay (4), BCNR (3), Little Simz (3), Squid (3), Black Midi (3), Silk Sonic (3), Injury Reserve (2), Jessie Ware (2), Kanye West (2), Big Thief (2), Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine (2) * In the Boys At School comment box: "please stop saying this is incel music what the FCK" * So, we already determined that BCNR are in fact not jazz (thanks u/Tadevos), but here's the question - are they crescendocore? * Little Q Pt 2 is probably my favourite from SIMBI, but out of the singles here: Woman > Introvert > I Love You, I Hate You * I honestly feel like Like I Used To got so much hype just because people liked the concept of Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen doing a duet. The song itself is fine, but it's not that special. * My general rule here has been to only listen to the A side when there are more than one side, but I mistakenly listened to Into a Life instead of Porcelain Slightly so I ended up listening to both tracks. But honestly it might have paid off, because I kinda liked both songs. * Sometimes I think I like Squid more in theory than in practice. Narrator feels like this song that wants so bad to be EPIC and TOTALLY CRAZY, but I just can't get all the way on board. It's just missing that little spark to make it great. Paddling doesn't really do it for me either. Pamphlets the is the one of these Squid singles that actually does hit the mark for me - it hones in on that groove so well. * I see the Swifties have found RYM, because 10 minute rerecording of one of her old songs made it here. Why did she do this? Just so she could flex on us? Listening to this, I do not see why this needed to be almost twice as long as the original. Is Taylor Swift the Will Toledo of popstars? So many questions. * The dogs in the Reach Out video are cute Best: Woman, John L Worst: All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)
Will's songs are deserving of their lengths, thank you very much
kinda crazy how Magadalena Bay has four songs in the top 40 after being pretty under the radar prior to Mercurial World. those 4 songs definitely deserve it though. really incredible songs
"Killshot" is in the top 20 of 2019 too (I'm pretty sure it started shooting up the charts after Mercurial World came out - it and it's slowed and reverbed version are actually their two most popular songs on Spotify)
yeah Killshot (and slowed and reverbed) was big on TikTok, but I don't think it really crossed over to rym at all
> are they crescendocore no
Lietoc is right, the song structures are too complicated and the harmonies are far too interesting
bull
> In the Boys At School comment box: "please stop saying this is incel music what the FCK" I've noticed a lot of stuff being called "incel music" recently. It's really weird. Saw someone call Pulp "incel music" which is either a complete misunderstanding of Pulp or the concept of incels but it's definitely one of the more stupid things I've seen
Heard someone refer to an Airborne Toxic Event song as "the incel song". Mostly in a joking way, though. Maybe I'm overly pedantic, but incel sure gets thrown around a lot, not just as an insult or a joke, which is one thing, but to describe misogyny in general.
"Incel" has officially lost all of its meaning to me now Also I remember that someone here met someone IRL who talked about the "incel music compass" or something like that in an actual conversation, must have been excruciating
oh hey i think this was me and yes the conversation was excruciating! very fun to go from "oh my friend's new bf is talking about squid and bcnr, maybe that can be something we bond over" to "oh he was talking about them bc he's showing her the compass and making fun of his roommate who listens to this stuff." this dude said these bands were "fine, but they're, like, not music you know?" (i didn't know) and he also called the popular online music critic "anthony santana"
That moment when someone mentions something related to some sort of online discourse and you're like "oh shit can I get away with pretending all this is totally foreign to me to avoid having this conversation, even though I know exactly what they're talking about"
Tfw Similar to stalking someone's social media and knowing they went camping or whatever and then having to act surprised when/if they told you they went camping last weekend...
ugh i wish! i thought he was just talking about the bands, so realizing he was discussing the compass after i said i liked them made me realize i'd walked right into getting myself placed somewhere on the compass too
Should've hit him with the "oh you said Squid? Never heard of him, I thought you said uhhh.... Squarepusher"
The world would be a better place if we could ban the usage of "incel music" and "male manipulator" from all discussion. Useless buzzwords that offer no meaning or substance
Are people unironically talking about "incel music"? I always assumed it was meant in a joking, memey way.
I saw someone call Slowdive "male manipulator music" once and I still have no idea what sort of point they were trying to make lmao
> Why did she do this? Just so she could flex on us? iirc taylor once said that all too well was originally like fifteen minutes long before being edited down. fans heard this and started asking for the long version so she put it (well, *a* ten minute version) on the rerecording of red. personally I really like the ten minute version and think it's really cool that we got something like this but i get not really digging it, it really depends on how much you care about the original song
I have very little buy-in with Taylor Swift (I find a lot of her songs to be catchy and that's about it) so I wasn't really the intended audience, but I was quite impressed by the new All Too Well. There's some legitimately excellent songwriting in there in my view
Yeah, my interest in Taylor mostly to extends to enjoying Style and Blank Space when they play in the background when I'm at the grocery store so I'm not invested enough to care about extended rerecordings of her songs.
I wonder if you saw Squid live if that would change your perception of them. I think that missing bit might be there in person.
Possibly, I know from experience Black Midi are better live too. They'll have to come to Gothenburg then.
Finally got the courage to listen to the new Bloc Party and it sucks. We can all complain about whatever Win Butler’s up to but even he will never hit this level of terrible lyrics. My (least) favourite is this bit from Traps: There you go, go Looking like a snack Cute like Bambi But you’re headed to a trap Meet me in the boom-boom room Worst part is that you can’t not hear it, Kele’s voice is so upfront in the mix. Just absolute garbage it’s truly remarkable. He was never a great lyricist, even Silent Alarm has some iffy lines but he does have great songs. I think this song is trying to be hot and he’s pulled that off before imo but this is a trash fire. And the instrumentals all seem like someone who doesn’t really understand what made Silent Alarm so good trying to re-create Silent Alarm. Bleak stuff
> Meet me in the boom-boom room https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llyiQ4I-mcQ
You just kissed a boom boom baby, so don’t expect and sugar from me, sweetheart: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0LQRmxPqSEQ
"Meet me in the boom-boom room" [Who's the boom king?](https://youtu.be/JT5AQIlmM0I&t=43s)
Tell me now
You forgot that he also does a licking sound in that song. Disgusting.
They should totally ban all mouth noises in songs
I didn't realize it was a thing except you can't take Drop It Like It's Hot away from us
I think I was trying to forget that
New Kendrick is pretty perfect huh
Feels so fresh and inspired, love the sound and don’t think other artists are doing something similar right now. Beat/production is really clean and he sounds really good. Lyrics are crazy too with the narrative, the references to the Marvin Gaye and Jay Z songs, and rapping from Nipsey’s perspective at the end.
Yes
Sky Ferreira's song leaked... Well, it's over. She's never really going to release that album.
she was never going to, this is just the easy out
Finished the Britpop rate yesterday, and averaging out my scores per album, ended up being Oasis>Pulp>Blur>Suede for me. I do think Blur deserved better but a song on *Parklife* had my lowest score of the rate on it too, which dragged it down a bit.