I started this project about a month ago, mainly as an effort to get better at staying current with new music and to force myself to try new things. I started small with my favorite songs for each week, mainly due to past experiences with biting off more than I can chew with personal blogs. At this point, though, I think I’m ready to expand things with a new topic: album roundups!
Starting with June, I’ll make a post rounding up my favorite albums of each month. The cadence may be changed in the future, especially if there’s too many albums to write about each month. I am certainly not a savant with endless musical knowledge, and my music tastes have a definite lean towards pop, rock and indie. That said, I’ll try my best to step out of my comfort zone and give quick, honest thoughts!
But how shall I score them? Boring numbers? Move over, Pitchfork. Stars? You can go to rateyourmusic.com for that. Let me introduce you to my pal EDNEY, who’s going to help me with scoring records, serving as a quick reference to how I feel about them. Edney will give an album one of six possible ratings, which are as follows:
I finally checked out Bo Burnham’s Inside special on Netflix this weekend, and boy was that something. The special is a fascinating hybrid of a sketch comedy and an anxious documentary about its own creation, serving effectively as a time capsule of Burnham’s solitary life throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the type of film where you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Its charming soundtrack is one of the reasons Inside works so well. Burnham sounds like a disciple of Weird Al, but his music in this has a gravitas that makes it transcend simple comedy. While “Welcome to the Internet” may have more meme power, the special has plenty of emotional highlights, one of which is “White Woman’s Instagram.” This one initially seems like one of the simpler gags in Inside. The sometimes vacuous world of Instagram is a pretty easy target for ridicule, and ridicule Burnham does.
“An avocado, a poem written in the sand, fresh fallen snow on the ground, a golden retriever in a flowercrown.” The lyrics do a wonderful job of capturing the feeling of scrolling through an Instagram feed, watching people who try to present their lives as perfect little vignettes, even as the world descends into crisis around them. “Is this heaven? Or am I looking at a white woman’s Instagram?”
Within the context of Inside‘s isolation and claustrophobia, “White Woman’s Instagram” plays perfectly into its themes of how the internet age has given a platform for people who feel the need to share every single thought that comes into their head, whether it be as dangerous as instructions on how to make a bomb, or as inconsequential as a picture of a salad. While it’s easy to make fun of people who dedicate their lives to this, what makes “White Woman’s Instagram” so powerful is how it reminds us that behind this seemingly empty world of illusion, there is a real person with very real, human pain.
“Her favorite photo of her mom, the caption says: ‘I can’t believe it, it’s been a decade since you’ve been gone. Mom I miss you, I miss sitting with you in the front yard.’” The song’s bridge brilliantly puts the listener on the spot. While it may seem pointless to a random viewer, these pictures have meaning to the person posting them. It’s almost as if the titular woman uses her Instagram account as a means to communicate with her mother from beyond the grave. “‘Mama, I got a job, I live in my own apartment. Mama, I got a boyfriend and I’m crazy about him. Your little girl didn’t do too bad.'”
Inside‘s soundtrack as a whole isn’t perfect, but man is it extremely poignant at points, with this being a prime example. The way it captures so many emotions in such a simple composition is truly commendable. If I ever need to show future generations the complicated mental state of someone living during the tumultuous year of 2020, this will be what I show them.
New Zealand pop superstar Lorde has returned with the lead single to her third album, “Solar Power“. Once you get past the initial shock of one of pop’s historically moodiest songstresses embracing sunny euphoria (Her last record was aptly named “Melodrama” after all), it’s clear that we’re getting treated to something truly special here.
Most of the song seems unremarkable at first, consisting of Lorde’s hushed vocals and a thumping acoustic guitar, until some angelic backing vocals lead us into the song’s psychedelic rock inspired coda. After that point, Lorde and a selection of background vocalists (Including a cameo from Phoebe Bridgers) repeatedly sing the song’s title to lead us out of the song.
It’s a structure with some quite obvious influences, namely late 1960s anthems such as the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” or the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” At the same time, Lorde’s personality still shines through, due primarily to the evocative and weird lyricism that feels comforting and eerie at the same time. The production has small touches of modern pop that differentiate it from its inspirations, such as pitch-shifted vocals and some light synth notes here and there.
Speaking of the production, this song reminded me quite a bit of St. Vincent’s newest album, Daddy’s Home, which was released last month. That album was also produced by the illustrious Jack Antonoff, and also drew upon a lot of classic rock influences. Hell, this song’s chord progression and melody do remind me of one particular song on that record–“…At the Holiday Party.” Despite these overwhelming similarities, the two songs conjure completely different moods. If the songs from Daddy’s Home feel like a being lost in a dark, grimy city, “Solar Power” instead feels like the sun breaking through clouds. It’s clear-headed and optimistic; even heavenly. Lorde says it best herself: “Forget all of the tears that you’ve cried, it’s over.”
I can’t think of a more perfectly timed song release, to be completely honest. After the hardship we’ve all been through over the past year, it seems that things are finally starting to return to normal. Even then, it’s still hard to shake the feeling that we live in a dangerous and chaotic world. Lorde has made a song that feels like a cultural directive in the midst of all this: go outside, throw your phones in the water, and just bask in the sunshine. Come on and let the bliss begin.
Billie Eilish has dropped yet another taster from her upcoming sophomore record, titled “Lost Cause“. This new single does not quite follow up on the folky direction of “Your Power,” running more closely to Eilish’s signature style heard in previous singles such as “Therefore I Am” and “My Future.” Like some of her best songs, it comes off as minimalistic and bare compared to a lot of pop music, but it thrives because the components that are here are very well done.
I have to start by giving props to the bass in this track. This might be the catchiest bassline in a Billie Eilish song since “Bad Guy.” That’s good, because there isn’t a lot more here in terms of instrumentation. Aside from a very simple percussion track and some light synth embellishments, the bass is the beating heart of “Lost Cause.”
I was a little put off by how plainly the vocals lie in this mix, though. This is something quite typical to Finneas O’Connell’s production work on Billie’s music. It sounds as though Billie is singing very close to the microphone, and the lack of any effects make it feel almost like Billie is whispering directly into your ear. Things do come together as the song widens, though, with some lovely harmonies coloring the background of the song’s final leg, creating some much needed space.
“Lost Cause” still leaves me wondering what kind of direction Billie’s upcoming record, Happier Than Ever, will take. While “Your Power” hinted at a sadder, more vulnerable Billie, “Lost Cause” paints her as defiant. You can bet I’ll be paying close attention to this record once it comes out in July.
“Hogwash and Balderdash” is a new cut from Black Midi’s recently released sophomore record, Cavalcade. This new record from the British experimental rock group is one of those rare “mind blowing” moments you occasionally get in music. Their blend of noise, prog and math rock in their 2019 debut was compelling enough, but their new record’s nightmarish incorporation of jazz rhythms and avant-garde composition take things to some wonderful extremes.
“Hogwash and Balderdash” is not a single, but it sure as hell could be. At a mere 2 minutes and 32 seconds, it compresses everything that makes Black Midi so interesting into a tiny package. It’s based around a sinister looping guitar riff with some truly scary hits of what can only be described as screaming horns.
Like the rest of Cavalcade, it also takes time to break things down to give you a little break from just how incredibly aggressive this track is, with a quiet 6/8 section that just lets all the tension rebuild. Despite all of the aggression and noise, there is just a hint of playfulness in this performance due to how cartoonishly lush the instrumentation is. Black Midi wants to make music that sounds hair-raising, but they’re doing it with a wink and a nod.
With Cavalcade, Black Midi pushes their art form into new territory, and shows that there is still new ground to be covered in rock music.
Hello! Starting today, I’m going to try to chat about my favorite song of the week each Tuesday. This should lean towards brand new songs released in the past week, but I may reach further back if there’s a slow release week.
This week, it’s Lil Nas X with his brand new single, “Sun Goes Down.” Famous for his addictive hip hop/country crossover, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X has been dropping a string of new singles leading up to his debut album. While the vibes have certainly been varied, things seem to be headed in a glossier, decidedly pop direction for this artist.
“Sun Goes Down” is one of Lil Nas X’s most sentimental and emotional tracks. In it, he recalls past feelings of inadequacy over his sexuality and body image, things that drove him to suicidal thoughts (“Don’t wanna lie, I don’t want a life, send me a gun and I’ll see the sun”). The whole thing is wrapped up in this nostalgic package, with Lil Nas X recognizing that things have worked out for him and that he now feels happy and loved by his fans.
The production on “Sun Goes Down” is mostly impeccable. It’s a typically clean pop sound, but it also has a lot of character, thanks to the dreamy guitar tone and clicky drum beat. The vocals are the only thing that seem a little too cleanly performed, to the point where the verses can sound mechanical. That said, the lyrical content and soaring chorus are enough to make up for it.
If I still went out and about, I just know that “Sun Goes Down” is the type of song I’d be hearing everywhere I go. It’s just so damn catchy, and it’s a really promising sign for Lil Nas X’s upcoming record.
Amped! 