Random Music Talk CXXII: 2018 It Is

[kabigon]

That's the joko

 

[Hewson]

That's the joko

I knowo

 

[kabigon]

If you knowo your way I'll knowo mine

 

[Kieran McConville]

if you leave me
can I come too

 

[lazarus]

Any of you SoCal peeps check out the Desert Daze lineup? They’ve only released part of it but Tame Impala is one of the headliners, plus Mercury Rev playing all of Deserter’s Songs, which I’m excited about.

Also they’re relocating from Joshua Tree to Lake Parris (closer to LA), and are going to have swimming and boat rides. Suck it, Coachella, FYF, and Pitchfork.

GET HYPE:

https://desertdaze.org

 

[cobl04]

if you leave me
can I come too

if you wanna leave me (if you wanna leave me)
if you wanna go (if you wanna go)
and if you say no I'm still gonna go
if you wanna leave me (if you wanna leave me)
can I come, can I come too

 

[cobl04]

Just when you thought Win Butler had hit peak idiot, he sinks lower.

According to him, people simply didn’t get what Arcade Fire were trying to do with the album, from its satirical promotional campaign to its overarching narrative. The audience responded to discussion of “evil corporations” as old news, something that had been talked to death. But, Butler said, “I look at the moment we’re in. We’ve got a reality star in charge of the United States, and everything that we love and care about is filtered through this incredible corporate structure.” He noted that we accept Apple as a benign entity, but we don’t really have a reason to. “Like: ‘Hey, we’re not Exxon, we’re the good guys!’ We’ve all just accepted it.”

“I think the American left are crazy, too. I’m an independent, I’ve never been a registered Democrat. I voted for Obama, I’ve only voted for Democrats, but I have no horse in that race, no one I have any affiliation to. My heroes are Martin Luther King and Gandhi. I’m way more on the side of MLK than I am Occupy Wall Street in terms of my personal philosophy. The thing about the civil rights movement was it was about something very specific, and I find that the left is just devouring itself. Concerning itself with things that are not particularly healthy; not focusing on accomplishing actual things, just surface things.”

While he supports activism like the March for Our Lives movement, he admits that he grew up around guns — particularly shotguns — and isn’t convinced the American people are ready for change. “Just putting in a hashtag is not enough. It does feel satisfying, and it’s a useful tool, but it’s really not affecting the thing itself, which is physical, completely human and not even political, really. It has to transcend politics. We’ll see if it can break through that noise ceiling.”

Win Butler on Arcade Fire’s Everything Now: “If that’s the worst thing we can possibly do then I’m at peace”

 

[namkcuR]

A couple of random things for the random music thread...

1. I was listening to Keane's Somewhere Only We Know a few times recently. I know it's not cool to like Keane or whatever, and I honestly couldn't name or hum a song of theirs other than this and Everybody's Changing, but Somewhere Only We Know is a perfectly executed melodramatic heart-on-sleeve anthem. One of the indelible pop melodies of the aughts.

2. I've also been listening to some Smashing Pumpkins records for the first time in a while, and I think I'm one of those people who thinks Adore is their best record, despite the backlash it received from the the SP fanbase. Most would say Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie, and those are great, but I love Adore(+the song Eye, which should've been on it). Ava Adore, Tear, Daphne Descends, Perfect, Crestfallen, For Martha, etc. It's just so dark and the production has this lush, intoxicating quality to it. It's a different flavor to the rest of their work and it's the one I come back to most often.

 

[cobl04]

You should listen to Gang of Youths, then, namckur.

 

[Axver]

Cobbs, do Gang of Youths pay you by the post?

 

[cobl04]

They should be.

Also, in the most WTF news ever, Ben Lee (pleeeeeeeeasssseeeee babyyyy please caaatch my diseeaaaaaassseeeeeeee) has started a band...... with Ted from How I Met Your Mother.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Remember when Ben Lee was in the Three Bens? Yeah, me either.

 

[BoMac]

You should listen to Gang of Youths, then, namckur.

How are they live, Cobbler? Are they quite good? I’m seeing them in August and looking forward to it.

 

[Danny Boy]

OK, Gang of Youths is streaming on Apple Music.

Which album should I listen to?

 

[corianderstem]

1. I was listening to Keane's Somewhere Only We Know a few times recently. I know it's not cool to like Keane or whatever, and I honestly couldn't name or hum a song of theirs other than this and Everybody's Changing, but Somewhere Only We Know is a perfectly executed melodramatic heart-on-sleeve anthem. One of the indelible pop melodies of the aughts.

I love that whole album. The chorus for Bedshaped is just gorgeous.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I love that whole album. The chorus for Bedshaped is just gorgeous.

The only song I really like by Keane

 

[prbiker15]

I love that whole album. The chorus for Bedshaped is just gorgeous.

Yes to both - great band.

 

[cobl04]

How are they live, Cobbler? Are they quite good? I’m seeing them in August and looking forward to it.

This is funny, but in seriousness, yes, they are fucking incredible love. You'll fall head over heels for them.

OK, Gang of Youths is streaming on Apple Music.

Which album should I listen to?

Go Farther in Lightness.

 

[gump]

Saw Lorde tonight and she was so good. Lorde covering St. Vincent’s New York interspersed with Hard Things (with Jack Antonoff on guitar) makes me feel things.

 

[lazarus]

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...


There Is a Way to Tackle London's Knife Crime Problem

 

[Joey788]

Saw Lorde tonight and she was so good. Lorde covering St. Vincent’s New York interspersed with Hard Things (with Jack Antonoff on guitar) makes me feel things.

Highlight of the concert. Such a great, unexpected moment in a fantastic show. It seemed like a surprisingly high amount of the crowd knew the song as well!

Openers were really strong too. Mitski in particular was surprising in how her sound filled the arena. That’s not an easy feat.

 

[iron yuppie]

Damn, Mitski and Lorde is one hell of a double-bill.

 

[gump]

Run the Jewels - Mitski - Lorde. So good.

And yes, surprising how many people knew the lyrics to St. Vincent. I guess I haven't yet gotten used to the fact that "indie" artists like St. Vincent and The National are now really mainstream.

 

[gump]

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...


There Is a Way to Tackle London's Knife Crime Problem

Plus ça change, plus c'est le même couteau, amirite.

 

[Axver]

Run the Jewels - Mitski - Lorde.

One of these is definitely not like the other two.

 

[cobl04]

I'm not even a big R.E.M. fan and within one second of "Starwatcher" from the new Decemberists album I picked up on the vibe.

Interesting record. Better than the last one, though that's not too hard.

 

[LemonMelon]

I thought the new Decemberists record was garbage, at least to their standards. Super weak and repetitive songwriting with limp production and misguided attempts to get with the times.

Two albums I'm really into right now:

Kali Uchis - Isolation. This one just came out today. Somewhat strange and offbeat neo-soul with a very impressive list of features and producers. Extremely engaging and fresh album with a ton of good ideas.

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour. On the back of glowing reviews, this album seems to be bringing in a new music nerd fanbase for Kacey that ordinarily wouldn't listen to country music. She has been a great songwriter for a while now, but this album adds in a warm, appealing layer of Fleetwood Mac-esque soft pop/rock production that sounds absolutely exquisite. It also plays around with disco to great success on High Horse, which is one of the year's best singles. And it's such a relatable album too, just listen to Lonely Weekend. This album is the kick in the ass that the genre sorely needed.

 

[Mack_Again]

One of these is definitely not like the other two.

dude stop being racist

 

[cobl04]

I was only three or four tracks into the Decemberists record when I wrote that post haha. There’s some fucking astonishingly bad songs on it. I cannot fathom how “Everything is Awful” made it onto a real lie album.

It’s a shame though cos I was hella excited after “Once in My Life”, I think that song is terrific. But it falls off a cliff. The King is Dead looks more and more like a masterpiece in rearview.

I listened to that Kacey Musgraves album, it’s really nice.

Final thought for tonight: how does a new Kylie fucking Minogue album get a review on Pitchfork but Gang of Youths have never been mentioned? I’ve half a mind to fucking write a review myself and just send it in. I’m gonna be fucking furious when they really explode next album cycle and they start falling over themselves to pretend they knew all along [emoji849][emoji849]

 

[Mack_Again]

im so fucking hyped for Oneohtrix Point Never, m8.