I wrote about rock operas, gurus, and Baba O'Riley
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Read MoreMy Favorite Tracks of 2015
My list of favorite tracks of 2013 was topped by Vampire Weekend, who have essentially gone ghost since then. 2014’s list was pumped full of hip-hop. This year, just two of the top ten songs are rap. This list is always my favorite to put together because of how unpredictable it is. You can guess which artists will have great albums, but great songs are impossible to see coming.
With that said, here we go. My 40 favorite tracks of 2015:
40. Father John Misty — I Love You, Honeybear
39. Runaway Brother — Moth
38. Fetty Wap — RGF Island
37. Jamie xx — I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times) (ft. Young Thug & Popcaan)
36. Adele — Hello
35. Yung Lean — Hoover
34. Kendrick Lamar — The Blacker The Berry
33. Drake — Preach (ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR)
32. Vince Staples — Norf Norf
31. Isaiah Rashad — Nelly
30. The Weeknd — Can’t Feel My Face
29. Tame Impala — Let It Happen
28. Father John Misty — Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
27. Kanye West — Only One (ft. Paul McCartney)
26. Pusha T — Untouchable
25. Drake — Hotline Bling
24. Justin Bieber — What Do You Mean?
23. French Montana — Off The Rip (ft. Chinx & N.O.R.E.)
22. Action Bronson — Actin Crazy
21. Runaway Brother — Virgin Rock
20. The Front Bottoms — Cough It Out ▶
The Front Bottoms newest album, Back On Top, was really weird for me. The group released a slew of singles leading up to the album, all of which I positively hated. As a fan of their previous major-label releases, it felt like FB was hitting the tank. Slowly but surely, the album grew on me. I still don’t think it sounds like the same band I fell in love with, but it’s a perfectly fine album, captained by this mega-catchy number.
19. Sorority Noise — Corrigan ▶
“Corrigan” starts sheepish: “All I wanna be is the one you sometimes miss.” And finishes bold: “I will never be the one you need. I only hope to be the solid ground beneath your feet.” It tries to navigate the curious web called love, and also features Modern Baseball’s Brendan Lukens on the second verse, which is neat. [Read my review.]
18. The World Is A Beautiful Place… — You Can’t Live There Forever ▶
In an album with so much energy and emotion, the first breaths of Harmlessness are soft and sweet. “There’s tiny worlds inside your mind, your fingers are a distant sky,” opens “You Can’t Live There Forever,” over muted acoustic guitar. In some weird way, the warm blanket of an intro makes perfect sense as the opener of such a driving album. The song’s blooming point is one of my favorite pieces of music this year. [Read my review.]
17. Modern Baseball — The Thrash Particle ▶
2015’s anthem of rejection and jealousy comes from Modern Baseball. Sometimes we can be petty, but that’s normal. Brendan Lukens sings to the crush that left him hanging, hoping he’s succeeding in upsetting her the same way that she upset him. “Is this the hook you wanted? Is it stuck inside your head?” [Read my review.]
16. Sufjan Stevens — Should Have Known Better ▶
“Should’ve Known Better” seems to be getting praise as the jewel of Carrie & Lowell. Personally, I feel that distinction belongs to a certain song further down this list, but I digress. Sufjan explores the days after his mother’s death and questions the way he chose to handle things before eventually concluding that he’s going to drive himself crazy if he doesn’t give it up. “The past is just the past. A bridge to nowhere.” The ending here is oddly Postal Service-esque. [Read my review.]
15. Travis Scott — 90210 ▶
As with a lot of Travis’ stuff, this one is all about production. “90210” starts slow, tick-tocking through two hypnotizing verses with background vocals from Kacy Hill before picking up speed in a jam-packed, melodic finale about life in the fast lane and the determination to make your family proud.
14. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment — Sunday Candy ▶
Although this first came out last year on Soundcloud, it didn’t get the official treatment until 2015, complete with arguably my favorite music video of the year. It qualifies for this list, albeit on a technicality. Chance The Rapper’s ode to his grandmother gets backed by lush, live instrumentation and a gang of contributors, including a buttery hook from Jamila Woods. [Read my review.]
13. The Weeknd — Tell Your Friends ▶
On “Tell Your Friends,” Abel Tesfaye tries to make you jealous of his lifestyle. I guess whether that works is up to you. Either way, Kanye brings in the piano with great success (how many times has he done that?) and The Weeknd croons about cruising through the West End in his new Benz. This one cracks my Top 15 largely in part to its sing-along appeal.
12. Sorority Noise — Using ▶
“Using” is a tale of successes and failures, the kind that come with depression and addiction. After walking through the valleys, the chorus sprints to the peak, hollering: “I stopped wishing I was dead.” It’ll get your blood pumping. [Read my review.]
11. Future — News Or Somthn ▶
In a year where Future effectively exploded in the hip-hop world with numerous successful solo releases and an album with Drake, my favorite moment came in a cast-off Soundcloud cut from June. Future finds his rhythm and jogs through a tale of trap houses and grim reapers, capped off with a guitar solo. Of course.
10. Modern Baseball — Alpha Kappa Fall Of Troy The Movie Part Deux (2 Disc Directors Cut) ▶
This song was released earlier in the year, but never clicked with me until I heard it in the context of Modern Baseball’s The Perfect Cast EP. The viscous cycle of early 20s passivity and malaise — and the trap it presents — is splayed in a single, dense verse from Jake Ewald. Modern Baseball manages to capture the feeling of stagnation despite the fact that “everything is changing even faster than it was back then.” [Read my review.]
09. Justin Bieber — Love Yourself ▶
Bieber came up firing with the help of Ed Sheeran, crafting one of the catchiest songs of the year. In the midst of an album filled with EDM and R&B, my personal high note was the guitar licks of “Love Yourself.” It also had one of the most sneakily scathing lines of 2015: “My mama don’t like you, and she likes everyone.” [Read my review.]
08. Courtney Barnett — Depreston ▶
We all have to face our own mortality at some point, but I’ll bet few reach that point while house hunting. While touring a potential new home, Courtney Barnett meets reality in the form of what was left behind by the previous owner. “Then I see the handrail in the shower, a collection of those canisters for coffee, tea and flour, and a photo of a young man in a van in Vietnam.” At the end of the song, Barnett wanders back around to the reason she’s there. “I wonder what she bought it for,” she ponders. It’s a snapshot of the brief interaction between two people who never meet.
07. Drake — Know Yourself ▶
The kid who grew up on Degrassi and blew up writing songs about his struggles with fame and his relationship with his parents is currently one of the hottest artists in the world. A career that started with pensive, introspective lyrics has blossomed into arena rock. “Know Yourself” was written for Toronto, and written to be screamed at the top of your lungs. It’s the type of song that was created so this could happen.
06. Destroyer — Times Square ▶
There was a weird couple of weeks this summer when I discovered and became deeply in love with Destroyer’s 2011 album, Kaputt. Having successfully bathed myself in the album, Poison Season dropped in August, much to my delight. While it didn’t reach the flawlessness of Kaputt, it was still pretty darn good, and “Times Square” is one of my favorites of 2015. After the restrained Kaputt, seeing Dan Bejar let it rip feels good.
05. Post Malone — White Iverson ▶
It’s too early to call Post Malone a one-hit wonder, but this song had that kind of explosion to it. This quickly went from neat little song in my Soundcloud likes to something I couldn’t stop playing to Top 10 on the hip-hop charts. Sometimes I can predict an artist’s rise to fame, and sometimes I get completely blindsided when I watch a meteoric rise like this. The correct predictions are more satisfying, but the surprises are more fun.
04. Jack Ü — Where Are Ü Now (with Justin Bieber) ▶
2015’s summer anthem cracks the top five, as if there were any doubt. I guess that’s the craziest thing about this one: It’s a no-brainer list-topper. Last year, I can assure you I would not have guessed a Bieber/Skrillex collaboration would be here, but there’s something magical about what Bieber channeled this year. The beat drop will do this to you.
03. Kendrick Lamar — King Kunta ▶
Kunta Kinte, the main character in Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, was a slave. In “King Kunta,” Kendrick tosses him a crown and lets him stunt on everyone he left behind on the plantation. “I got a bone to pick,” is the way Lamar opens things up. It serves as a perfect warning shot for what’s to come. Kendrick uses Kinte as a parallel for his own personal story, one of escaping the gang mecca of Compton and reaching the top of the Billboard charts. Aside from all that, the bounce is infectious. Try to listen to this with a frown on your face.
02. The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die — January 10th, 2014 ▶
Grandeur trumps a lot of things in my mind. Nothing quite as grand as one woman’s face to face battle with her living, breathing demons. Born out of an episode of This American Life, “January 10th, 2014” rises and falls, whispers and shouts, walks and sprints, cries and bleeds. “Ease the babies out of their wombs. Make your hair blonde. Hop on the number four,” the song opens. It’s beautifully biographical and completely mesmerizing. [Read my review.]
01. Sufjan Stevens — The Only Thing ▶
The most bittersweet song of 2015 was also the best, in my humble opinion. For many artists, the final step in the healing process is one of song, and perhaps this is Sufjan’s. When you lose someone who means so much to you, what’s next? Probably something like this. With a lot of artists vying for ownership of 2015, Sufjan has a very good case for the crown. [Read my review.]
My Favorite Albums of 2015
I normally try not to get too Buzzfeed-y around here, but I let myself have fun at the end of every year. 2015 was a fun year in music, highlighted by the fact that over half of this list was nowhere near my radar 12 months ago. As much as I anticipate certain albums and count the days until a release, six or seven of my top ten every year is something I didn’t see coming. This year is no different. Without further ado, my (fourth consecutive?) Top 10 albums list:
10. Father John Misty — I Love You, Honeybear
Cynical, sappy, self-deprecating, and blunt, I Love You, Honeybear, by the alter-ego of Josh Tillman, is an interesting adventure from front to back. Lyrical dissonance abounds, as upbeat, sunny instrumentation is laced with self-loathing and underhanded love songs. “People are boring, but you’re something else completely,” Tillman sings. The same could be said for the album itself. Jangly, folksy musicians are a dime a dozen, but Father John Misty keeps this interesting with razor-sharp writing.
A song called “Bored In The U.S.A.” features a “save me white Jesus” outburst in the middle of the first chorus, and a “save me President Jesus” in the second. The whole thing is so rich that I found myself picking up a new nugget on each listen. It’s not happy. In fact, it’s pretty bitter and resentful. None of that should matter, because it’s really, really good.
Listen to: “Chateau Lobby #4”
9. The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness
2015 was the year The Weeknd finally clicked with me. Aside from a passing enjoyment of a few early singles and features, I’ve never really bought into the hype. I’m extremely picky when it comes to R&B, and The Weekend was simply annoying to me. There are only so many hazy, drugged-out ballads I can listen to before I just give up. Hardcore fans have told me this album was a disappointing turn towards the mainstream, and that’s apparently what it took to catch me. This album is incredibly poppy, zipping right past “annoying radio hits” to Adele’s these-songs-are-everywhere-because-they’re-amazing territory.
Beauty Behind the Madness served as sort of a 2015 Michael Jackson album, both in style and success. “Earned It” tore apart the radio last year, going double platinum and peaking at #3 on the charts. How can you top that? By doubling down and hitting #1 twice in 2015 with “The Hills” and one of the biggest singles of the year, “Can’t Feel My Face.” Beauty Behind the Madness as a whole will go platinum shortly, and it’s no wonder. This is a parade of pop R&B magic.
Listen to: “Tell Your Friends”
8. Justin Bieber — Purpose
Alright, maybe it didn’t quite reach my overly-lofty expectations, but this was still a really good album, and I’ll defend that stance until I’m blue in the face. It’s not 2010 anymore. If you still laugh at Justin Bieber’s music, you can go back to listening to Mumford & Sons, or Katy Perry, or whoever else was a big deal five years ago. This was Bieber’s best shot to cement his place in the future of pop music, and he pretty much nailed it. A faulty album here and I think he would’ve been left in the dust with the Jesse McCarnteys and the Hilary Duffs of the world. Stacked front to back with huge production and grand slam hooks, Purpose checks all your boxes for pop music in 2015. It’s catchy. It’s genre-bending. It has good features. It’s extremely marketable, and most importantly, it’s really good. It seems like listeners are starting to sour to entire albums of bubblegum pop, and Bieber deftly avoids that trap here.
It has huge staying power, as nearly every song has single potential. “What Do You Mean?” kicked off at #1. “Sorry” currently sits at #2. “Love Yourself” found its way to #4. That makes 3-for-3 on singles hitting the Top 5. If Bieber decides he wants to keep doing the music thing, Purpose will be seen as a career cornerstone.
Listen to: “Company”
7. Drake — If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
The “surprise, here’s an album” release strategy seems to be something that’s here to stay. In Drake’s case, not only was the release date a shock, but so was the entire existence of the album. Nobody had If You’re Reading This on their radar in February, yet this mixtape-y album managed to be a major milestone in music this year.
If I were forced to pinpoint a favorite singular musical moment in 2015, it would be awfully hard to find anything that topped the beat switch on “Know Yourself.” I’m pretty sure nobody knew what Drake was talking about when he shouted that he was running through the 6 with his woes, but that didn’t stop it from being a smash. I think roughly half the tracks on the album underwent a stretch as an anthem. When Drake’s career is reviewed in hindsight, we’ll wonder how he was able to cram so many good songs into one project and keep it under wraps until precisely the right instant. The man has an incredible knack for timing, and this is further proof.
Listen to: “Know Yourself”
6. The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die — Harmlessness
Harmlessness is stubborn, headstrong, and powerful. Harmlessness is the calculated, angry response that follows life’s beatdown. Harmlessness feels like a shouting, teary-eyed monologue, which is what made me fall in love.
Humans by nature are drawn to comeback stories and tales of underdog success. Harmlessness is the musical form of that. So many parts of this album made me feel like applauding. The opener (“You Can’t Live There Forever”), the single (“January 10th, 2014”), and one of the closers (“I Can Be Afraid of Anything”) all come to mind. Rather than wallow in sorrow, this album makes me want to fight back. I really, really like this album, so its placement in the bottom half of this list should tell you all you need to know about how fun 2015 was.
Listen to: “January 10th, 2014”
5. Runaway Brother — Mother
There’s something to be said for experiencing music live. I saw these guys play four times in 2015, all before autumn rolled in. Having this music cranked into your ear canal by large speakers or belted at the top of your lungs in the middle of a crowd only makes it more endearing, which is something the album succeeds at anyways. If coming-of-age is your cup of tea, Mother is your album.
This one’s an 11-track marathon, opening with the dulcet chords of “Harvest” and closing with with the 7-minute “Youniverse,” which features a dead sprint of crashing guitars. It’s young and defiant. “We’re in a boat with many holes, but I can swim and I don’t need a life vest, thanks,” quips lead singer Jacob Lee. “I can preserve my own life.” It also perfectly captures the growing pains of the adolescent to adulthood transition, grasping some kind of maturity along the way. “I will rise above my pessimism. It’s ruining my life.” Mother has something to teach us all.
Listen to: “False Halo”
4. Travis Scott — Rodeo
“Let’s be clear–he’s punk rock.”
Music industry kingpin Lyor Cohen’s description of the 23-year-old Travis Scott isn’t entirely accurate, but the sentiment says a lot about the attitude and aggressiveness that Scott brings to the table. Rodeo is a writing mass of raw energy, splayed over 75 minutes. Nearly every track on this album is designed to rattle your brain a little bit, and the others are buttery smooth. Travis isn’t going to blow anyone away with lyricism, so he bolsters all his work with impeccable flow and melody, weaving in and out of some of the year’s best production like a snake.
Every track on Rodeo has the unique trait of seemingly snowballing out of control by the time it ends. Raw electric guitars on “90210” give way to airy female vocals before piano riffs jump in and nudge the track over the cliff, gaining steam as Travis rides on top. At this point, I’m not really surprised at Bieber jumping on a song and throwing down a rap verse, which means the most unique twist comes on the finale, “Apple Pie,” as Travis ventures away from his mom’s home in search of success. “I don’t want your apple pie, mama. I need my own pepper, please. My own legacy, my own recipe.” With instrumentals that hit you like a sucker-punch and relatable themes that bubble beneath the surface, you gotta believe he’ll find it.
Listen to: “Apple Pie”
3. Sorority Noise — Joy, Departed
Much like Harmlessness at #6, Joy, Departed aims to overcome life’s struggles. While Harmlessness feels like angry determination, Joy, Departed feels like heartfelt longing with a healthy dose of irreverence. “I just hope to be the one you call when you can’t sleep,” begs “Corrigan.” The album also comes to a realization that you’ll almost never hear from emo types. What if I’m just being a little melodramatic? “Maybe I’m my own greatest fear. Maybe I’m just scared to admit that I might not be as dark as I think. Maybe I am not the person that I never wanted to be.”
Depression can be a fickle beast that chews you up and spits you out. It’s hard to get momentum moving in a positive direction, and I think this Sorority Noise captures that struggle here. Joy, Departed is has its ups and downs, but you reach the end with optimism, screamed loud and proud: “I stopped wishing I was dead. Learned to love myself before anyone else. Become more than just a burden. I know I’m more than worthy of your time.”
Listen to: “Blissth”
2. Kendrick Lamar — To Pimp A Butterfly
There are a handful of ways to rank albums, or any art form for that matter. For the purpose of this post, I’m just picking my favorites. However, if you had to rank based on importance and cultural impact, it would be basically impossible to choose anything other than this one. Rarely do you finish your first listen of an album and realize that it will be something that matters decades from now, but that’s exactly what I did.
I was in Europe when To Pimp A Butterfly hit the internet. There’s something bizarre about listening to this album while wandering the streets of Paris or zipping around France and Switzerland on bullet trains. Not only is Kendrick’s story brutal to listen to, but it’s also incredibly American, for better or worse. NPR’s Oliver Wang noted that the album aspires to be a musical version of the Great American Novel, which is the perfect way to describe it. This is 2015’s Grapes of Wrath. Looking at it from a literature context, modifying To Kill A Mockingbird for the title makes perfect sense.
It’s entertaining and captivating in the sense that it’s incredibly well-crafted, but it’s difficult to listen to by any other measure. To Pimp A Butterfly was born out of deep pain, so don’t expect many cheery moments. Kendrick waxes poetic about personal and racial struggles over 79 minutes of funk-ified hip-hop beats, bearing his scars for all to see and, hopefully, understand. At least a little bit.
To Pimp A Butterfly captures America in 2015 better than any other piece of art can. In a year where protesting was such a big deal, Kendrick provided an anthem. Plenty of terrible things happened this year, but Kendrick chimes in with defiance in the face of oppression: “But if God got us, then we gon’ be alright!”
Listen to: “King Kunta”
1. Sufjan Stevens — Carrie & Lowell
I’m drawn to sad albums like mosquitoes to a bug zapper. Last February, Sun Kil Moon’s Benji swept me off my feet with raw, unfiltered emotion, hardly even dampened by melody. 13 months later we got Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell, and I fell in love again, further proving that I’m an absolute sucker for this kind of stuff. The album features a lot of Sufjan’s trademark flowery prose, although it feels more stripped back and straightforward than before. It’s almost as if the subjects he’s singing about have him so worn down that he’s left with no energy to do anything but tell it how it is.
On “Fourth of July,” we hear a deathbed conversation between Sufjan and his mother Carrie, and Sufjan plays both roles, offering parting remarks to himself from his mother’s perspective: “Did you get enough love, my little dove? Why do you cry?” On “The Only Thing,” Sufjan describes his fragile mental state following his mother’s death: “Should I tear my eyes out now? Everything I see returns to you somehow.” Eventually he finds the resolve to push forward: “The only reason why I continue at all … Blind faith, God’s grace, nothing else left to impart.”
Carrie died in 2012, so this album’s release in 2015 is proof positive that these emotional wounds are slow to scab, and that Carrie & Lowell probably plays an integral part of the healing process. It’s visceral and beautiful.
Listen to: “The Only Thing”
Honorable Mention: Modern Baseball — The Perfect Cast EP (read my review), The Wonder Years — No Closer To Heaven, Destroyer — Poison Season, Miguel — Wildheart, Drake & Future — What a Time to Be Alive
Kevin Abstract Bares His Soul
My first recollection of Kevin Abstract was probably just over five years ago. Anyone who knew of the kid at the time likely found him in one spot: KanyeToThe.com. The Kanye West fan forum was a massive time waster for me at one point. The community of stalkers, idiots, trolls, and creatives was enough to keep me entertained for hours. There was a small portion of the forum carved out for users to share their own music and get feedback. One of the few artists I remember getting a consistent buzz was Kevin Abstract. This was probably late 2010, so Kevin couldn’t have been more than 15 years old at the time. To my memory, nobody on KTT was especially talented or fine-tuned at that point, and Kevin was no exception. I don’t remember much about his music aside from his extremely raw talent and an ability to captivate listeners that was beyond his years.
Although I haven’t visited KTT in four years, I would occasionally catch wind of Kevin’s latest creations via friends or blogs like Pigeons & Planes. The mega-curated image became his signature. Insanely ambitious ideas like a website that mimicked his Mac desktop and played his music video captivated listeners in the same way his music did on KTT years earlier. Despite all that, I never sensed a moment when it seemed like Kevin was poised to blow up. He was still just a weird kid with a small, loyal fan base. The content was there, but finding a foothold with a more mainstream audience is a different animal.
He’s “all grown up” now. 19 is a weird age that brings the kinds of growing pains that are unavoidable. There’s no way around it, but the upside is you start to gain some semblance of maturity and wisdom, that, when combined with youthful creative recklessness, can make something special.
Enter “ECHO”.
For the first time in his career, I feel like we may have found a singular launch point. In the first 21 hours, the video amassed well over 15,000 views, which sounds small in an industry dominated by Adeles and Drakes, but is seismic for a self-made artist like Kevin Abstract.
The plodding ballad evokes the pensive (Drive), the disenchanted (The Catcher In The Rye), and the downtrodden (808s & Heartbreak). There isn’t any rapping here, which makes it all feel like some kind of ’90s alt rock single smashed up against a 2008–2010 Kanye West production.
Starin’ at the sky ain’t gon’ fix my problem
Howlin’ at the moon ain’t gon’ bring you back
It’s a tale of loss, escape, and departure set to film by fellow whiz kid Tyler Mitchell. The whole thing is gorgeous, which is huge if you’re trying to make a name for yourself these days. What’s more, it’s all orchestrated by a bunch of kids younger than I am, which serves as pretty much the ultimate manifestation of where we are in 2015. The art direction, production, video, and overall product would’ve been impressive for an established artist 10 years ago, and now it’s being churned out by a bunch of kids who grew up online and have more ideas than they know what to do with.
The next major chapter of Kevin Abstract’s career will come in the early part of next year when his second album THEY SHOOT HORSES hits the internet. He’s laid the foundation. All that’s left is to start going vertical.
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Originally published at fromloveland.com on December 1, 2015.
What Happened to Snacs?
I wrote about Jadakiss, SimCity, and a search for answers
As you have hopefully noticed by this point, the site looks a little different. I finally got fed up with Tumblr and its multitude of limitations and moved everything to WordPress like an adult. It’s not quite perfect, but it works for now. (UPDATE: I’m on Medium now.) I’ll have to iron out the kinks as I go along. In the process of migrating everything over here, I embarked on the envious task of reformatting all my old Tumblr posts so they looked okay over here. In doing so, I came across some early stuff I had forgotten about.
One of my first posts on From Loveland was about Snacs, aka Josh Abramovici. I had recently been made aware of the NY producer by way of his single, “Art Shadow” which had been circulating on the internet a little bit prior to the release of his Weird Ontology project. It’s smooth from front to back, and contains the world’s most beautifully bizarre Jadakiss sample. Check out the old post if you want more thoughts, but the whole thing is really great.
In retooling it for From Loveland 2.0, I thought Huh, I haven’t heard from this guy in a while. I wonder if he’s put out any new music. I search for his Twitter, but it would appear it’s been deleted. A quick glace at his Bandcamp page returns a resounding no. The most recent project available is Weird Ontology. Good, but not new. I head over to Soundcloud, and I’m onto something. Posted three months ago are a slew of tracks with bizarre artwork, all tagged #backlog. Naturally, it looks like this is all old material that has been thrown online rather than collect dust on a hard drive. I’m starting to think Snacs dumped his reserves and called it quits. Following these eight tracks is a set called Backlog, with a description confirming my assumption:
FLUSH EM OUT
OLD TRACKS
Underneath it is something else, however:
STILL OUT HERE THOUGH
@vose106
Ta daaaa! It would seem Mr. Abramovici is still kicking around some new tunes after all. The Vose 106 profile contains a few three-month-old tracks, but a quick Google search reveals a Bandcamp page with a full album. Released August 10 under a Nashville label called Kudzu Productions, CAN’T FIND ME by Vose 106 is the latest from the artist formerly known as Snacs.
It doesn’t sound quite the same as earlier work like Weird Ontology or Swim Tape, but it’s still unmistakably Snac-y. There’s the same trance-like loopiness that listeners will recognize. It’s still very atmospheric, but far less murky and ethereal. On earlier projects, Abramovici always seemed to have a knack for coming up with the perfect song titles, and that trend continues. “Envoy Bop” sounds like something that would play in some kind of futuristic dystopian nightclub. It’s spacey and hypnotic, like something that would make sense in The Matrix.
“SMILIN’,” which seems to be pitched as the single, is not nearly as happy-go-lucky as the title would suggest, featuring a repetition that bores into your head. There’s almost a menace to it. It has the same kind of stark, sparse bounce that made Yeezus so polarizing, just on a much more subtle level.
The thing finds more of an sunnier tone on the finale. “Complexion” introduces more lighthearted bongos in place of the lurching percussion in earlier parts of the project. Despite being much more upbeat, it still has an ominous tone to it. Did you ever play SimCity 3000? That game is awesome, but the music eventually gave me the creeps. It had this unsettling, existential Koyaanisqatsi vibe that parts of CAN’T FIND ME is able to pinpoint. It sounds like elevator music with a dark secret.
It took me some getting used to, and it’s definitely not quite as no-brainier lovable as Weird Ontology was, but I’m still glad to see Snacs is putting out music. As a bonus, my curiousity/stalking unearthed some random Snacs throwback gems like this mix for Utopie Tangible, this interview/mix for The Soul Electronic, and this charming collaboration project with rapper Young Windex called Bomb Ass Soup. Snacs and a rapper sounds as good as you’d imagine.
I guess this was a long-winded way to say that Snacs is kinda still making music, only he’s not Snacs. No word on whether or not Snacs will return. Until then, dive into the weird world of Vose 106.
BADBADNOTGOOD Is Back
I’m a big BADBADNOTGOOD fan. In fact, they’re the first band I ever wrote about on this site, about a year and a half ago. Their first two projects, BBNG and BBNG2, were entertaining mixtape-style jazz projects featuring fresh concepts and cover songs alike. They showcased plenty of potential and got the internet buzzing. They followed those up with III, their first album consisting entirely of original material. It was the perfect progression of their career. The album was great, and ended up being one of my favorite projects of 2014. It was even nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, which is an award given to the best Canadian album of the year.
They came back this spring with Sour Soul, a collaborative project with Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killa. I wouldn’t call myself much of a Wu-Tang or Ghostface fan, but I’ve heard enough of their music to be excited by a collaboration with BBNG. It sounded good on paper, but not much about it really stuck for me. Aside from a couple odd tracks I enjoyed, I haven’t even thought about the album in months.
Today, BADBADNOTGOOD came back with two new releases, which have sorta recaptured the magic for me. By my calculations, these serve as their first solo pieces released in over a year. (They first let loose “Velvet” last October.)
“Timewave Zero,” ironically, sounds a bit Wu-Tang-esque. This feels like the theme song from a dusty ’70s kung fu movie. It’s certainly more experimental than they’ve been on past solo albums, and the percussion alone is enough to mesmerize me.
“Here And Now” feels a bit more like vintage BBNG. The horns on this are incredibly warm, which is almost a prerequisite for good jazz, in my eyes. Leland Witty, saxophone extraordinaire, rolls through for a contribution. I’m not sure if this guy is technically a permanent band member yet, but he should be. After appearing on a couple of early tracks, he delivered one of my personal favorite moments of III on “Confessions” before contributing to Sour Soul. I don’t know what the band’s future plans are, but they really should involve this man.
No word yet on whether or not these two tracks are from an upcoming project, but even if they aren’t, it’s safe to say the group is back in the studio producing solo work. My fingers are crossed for a follow-up to III in 2016. I bet I can guess the title.
The Rebirth of Bieber
Back in September, I wrote about Justin Bieber’s renaissance. Since 2013, I’ve felt like there’s been a shift occurring in his career. It was something that most people were totally oblivious to because of his early music and inescapable persona, but I’ve always separated the kid from the music, so I latched on to him as a fan of his talent and potential. I’m not necessarily unique in this. Plenty of listeners like me have touted him as a capable musician, artist, and human. If you’ve followed his career, it’s not hard to see that there was a lot going on beneath the surface. He’s stayed afloat on the backs of his undying legion of fans, but there’s a reason he’s maintained a sizable portion of followers outside of the teenage girl demographic. That quiet portion of his fan base has steadily grown over the past few years, all the while predicting that a day would come where Bieber would attempt the tricky artistic leap between adolescence and adulthood, finally realizing his true potential as a musician.
For better or worse, successful or not, that day has come.
Purpose is here, giving us our first real, carefully crafted look at Adult Justin. No more swoopy hair. No more high-pitched singing voice. No more singles with Usher, Ludacris, or Nicki Minaj. No more poppy dance instrumentals. This is it. Fans like me have been waiting years for this.
The album opens with “Mark My Words,” which kicks things off softly, taking a more pensive tone. The muted, slow-burn instantly reminded me of the opener that a fellow Toronto native chose for an album in 2011. It must be a big temptation with highly-anticipated albums to open the show with fireworks, but songs like this almost always catch my attention more. Just like Drake, Bieber wasted no time after the opener to throw things into gear.
JB kicks back atop a bucking Skrillex instrumental for “I’ll Show You.” Although the beat hits a fairly chaotic stride for the hook, Bieber’s vocals never progress past a relaxed tone, making this one feel like an epic movie explosion in slow motion. Lyrically, he promises to prove doubters wrong in the face of his struggles with fame. He reminds listeners that he’s a human being after all, which is something that often seems lost on celebrities, especially those of Bieber’s ilk. The song plays a role in the scope of the album, and the production and melodies salvage it all, but I can’t help but feel like this whole thing is a bit trite. Yes Justin, we know “Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing/ When the pressure’s coming down like lightning.”
The unassailable “What Do You Mean?” is next, quickly righting the ship and making me wonder again how J Biebs on tropical house music seems like the most obvious choice on this whole album, and possibly my favorite artistic decision of his career. He goes back to the well with “Sorry,” which is the ultimate collision of old and new Bieber. This is a 2015 version of “Baby,” riding on an Latin-influenced house beat, bolstered by Bieber’s finely tuned falsetto. His bread and butter has always been upbeat, danceable, carefree pop music, and this is the most well-executed version of that we’ve ever seen from him.
It’s ironic that after all the talk of Bieber finding his niche on house and EDM production that the album’s lasting moment comes on one of its most humble, stripped down tracks. Batten the hatches, because “Love Yourself” seems poised to annihilate Top 40 radio. This is criminally catchy, and employs the same kind of lyrical dissonance that made “What’s Up Fatlip?” and Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” interesting. Beneath the upbeat, cute pop ditty exterior is a tale of lost love that Bieber has apparently gotten over, channeling a beautiful irreverence that works so well in any breakup song. This one also contains one of the best underhanded burns you’ll hear in 2015: “My mama don’t like you, and she likes everyone.”
Sheesh, Justin.
Before easing to a stop, the song makes sure to slide into a gentle trumpet riff, channeling the chart-topper Bieber shared the Song of the Summer 2015 crown with.
The tag team of pop music titans seems to have created one of those “impossible to fail” scenarios. Captained by Justin Bieber. Co-written by Ed Sheeran. Produced by pop mega-producer Benny Blanco. Again, this will be all over your radio before you know it.
If you’re somehow bored at this point, we switch gears again for “Company,” which sees Bieber play around on an EDM beat with subtle trap influences like snare rolls. Despite not consisting of any actual lyrics, the back half of the chorus is one of my favorite parts of the album, riding a throbbing bass that makes it impossible not to move around a little bit. At least a toe tap or a head nod. I don’t know if nightclubs are open to playing Justin Bieber, but this seems like a perfect playlist addition.
It’s at this point that I feel like the album makes its first true misstep. There is nothing compelling about “No Pressure.” The whole vibe is cookie-cutter R&B, and the guest appearance from World’s Most Mediocre Rapper Big Sean doesn’t help things at all:
I know you don’t wanna talk, right
We’ve been on and off like the cross lights
You heard I’m playin’ with them h — s like I golf, right?
When I touch you, I get frostbite
Girl you’re so cold, so cold, so cold
How we so young but livin’ so old?
Those are actual lyrics from a world-renowned hip-hop artist. Ugh.
“No Sense” feels more like what Bieber and Sean should’ve aimed for. This one is produced by Travis Scott, and the trap influences here are much less subtle. The vocal performance is still too R&B for my tastes, but at least the beat has some teeth to it. Despite not being known for lyrical talent by any means, Scott still manages to outshine Sean here. Neither are very impressive. I’ve always been a fan of Bieber teaming up with hip-hop artists, but both of these were letdowns.
I’m sure most people have experienced a moment where they wonder if they really love a person, or just the idea of them. Is it love or lust? It’s safe to say that something like this would not have been fair territory for Bieber just an album or two ago, but he doesn’t hesitate to dive into the idea on “The Feeling.” The entire concept almost feels anti-Bieber, at least the version of him that preceded this album. It’s not the kind of happy-go-lucky thing that teenage fans slurp up.
If you’re into production surprises, your time has come. This is the most interesting backing Bieber has ever enjoyed, powered by skittering, rickety percussion and a pounding bass line. Adding to the appeal is the gloriously airy vocal assist from Halsey. I’ll be honest: I have no idea who this girl is. But she’s doing all kinds of awesome things here. Props.
The album continues with its maturity — albeit in a more introspective tone — on “Life Is Worth Living.” JB has never been known for his lyrical prowess, but this track actually leans on songwriting and it works. It’s hard to have a ballad without good writing, and Bieber & Co. pulled it out.
After a short detour into “Where Are U Now,” the album returns with its most baffling choice. I don’t have a single idea what “Children” is supposed to be. Based around some ridiculous The children are the future concept, the song inexplicably lurches into some chaotic fever dream of a beat by Skrillex. I guess it takes something like this to remind you why Bieber and Skrillex have never been known for their artistic sensibilities. Given all they did on this album together, I’m willing to just chalk this up as a loss and move on.
In his cover story with Complex, Bieber turned heads by speaking frankly about his faith:
“We could take out all of our insecurities, we could take away all of the hurt, all the pain, all the fear, all the trauma. That doesn’t need to be there. So all this healing that you’re trying to do, it’s unnecessary. We have the greatest healer of all and his name is Jesus Christ.”
The album comes to a close with its title track, which is a musical manifestation of this idea. I’m sure Justin’s life, especially the most recent chapter, has felt like a marathon. My own life is tiring enough, and I didn’t grow up in the spotlight, living under a microscope. It must be exhausting. The finale reveals the meaning behind the album’s title, as Justin thanks God for putting him on earth for a reason, and for giving his life purpose.
For newer fans, I’m sure Purpose seems unwieldy. When your only experience with an artist is tabloid stories and teenybopper music, something with this kind of ambition is going to catch you off guard. I saw it coming, and some of the nuances still surprised me.
It’s certainly not perfect, and there’s a lot lost in throwaway Big Sean verses and muddled concepts near the end of the album, but Purpose does its job. It’s a proof of concept. JB can make mature music. I’ve been waiting for this album since I first heard “One Time” in 2010. For Justin, this apparently feels like the end of a journey. To me, it sounds like the beginning. Justin Bieber has arrived.
Originally published at fromloveland.com on November 17, 2015.
The Icon Is Back
Female rappers are few and far between, especially ones with critical acclaim. In a genre permeated by men and masculinity, female artists are going to rub plenty of people the wrong way. It’s just a reality for women in the hip-hop world. Despite all that, Missy Elliott has enjoyed nearly universal admiration and respect from critics and peers.
It’s been more than a decade since the last Missy Elliott album, but it’s good to have her back. The grand re-entrance is “WTF (Where They From).” Missy is quick to re-establish herself as an elder stateswoman:
“The dance you doing is dumb
How they do where you from
Stickin’ out your tongue girl
But you know you’re too young”
Missy, by hip-hop standards, is ancient. But she embraces it. It helps that her appeal has always felt timeless. You can be bold and run the show at any age. Her legacy, at least in my own mind, has always been her music videos. For whatever reason, she pinpointed the intersection between innovative and bizarre while still fitting her music perfectly. Few artists can craft a video like Missy can.
Aside from being one of my favorite pieces of music ever, the “Get Ur Freak On” video is all kinds of perfect crazyness. Then there’s the undeniably classic “Work It.” Don’t forget the iconic balloon costume in “The Rain.” Missy is an extraordinarily underrated artist. Few can boast the kind of milestone pieces she has in her catalog.
It’s because of all this that I’ll look the other way when it comes to my issues with “WTF.” One of the best parts of Missy’s music was always the production. I love me some Pharrell, but nothing about this beat catches my ear like early aughts Timbaland. The video approaches her vintage work, but I sure hope whatever follows gets better than half-baked Pharrell beats and verses.
Regardless, Missy Elliott is just someone I’m glad to have back in the spotlight.
My Favorite Videos: Jay Z — 99 Problems
Jay Z was set to retire.
The Black Album was released late 2003 and was to be Jay Z’s eighth and final solo album. As the final album’s final single, Jay had tabbed “99 Problems” as his formal goodbye to the hip-hop world in April 2004. The song was already (and remains to this day) one of his most critically acclaimed tracks, and the video had to be something to live up to the classic Jay Z gold standard.
He originally targeted Quentin Tarantino. I’m a big Tarantino fan, but I have no idea how that would’ve worked. I guess if I try hard enough, I can hear Tarantino elements in the song, but it’s probably a testament to the finished piece that I can’t imagine anyone but Mark Romanek making anything but this video. He had made a name for himself with artists like Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, Madonna, and Iggy Pop. His only real foray into hip-hop videos was a ’91 De La Soul cut, which may as well be a different genre than “99 Problems” entirely. “99 Problems” rode on riotous production from Rick Rubin, and would need a video channeling Romanek’s work with Nine Inch Nails more than anything else.
And that’s just what Romanek did. He went to Brooklyn. He went to Bed-Stuy. He went to Marcy. He came back with what I always tell people is my favorite music video of all time. I genuinely believe this is one of the best music videos ever created. It feels like Brooklyn’s Gummo, crammed into four minutes and 17 seconds.
It’s loud, arrogant, energetic, soulful, honest, iconic, and incredible.
Shot entirely hand-held on black-and-white film, the video portrays Jay Z’s New York, from the inmates to the dancers. It features cameos from actor Vincent Gallo and Rubin. It features a grim funeral. It features the craziest New York subway dance performance you’ll find on film. It features the Brooklyn Bridge. It features a dancing church choir juxtaposed against a scene violent enough to warrant a disclaimer every time the video aired on MTV.
The piece culminates with our protagonist getting riddled with bullets. The assassination was to symbolize his death as an artist, the last time he was depicted on screen as a rapper, the final goodbye. It’s as if Jay Z’s life flashed before his eyes before dying, and this is what he saw. It’s the place and the environment that made him.
A video so perfect can only end like “99 Problems” does. One final shout-out to Brooklyn and a shaky view of Jay Z’s birthplace, Marcy Houses, before cutting to black. Just like his career.
Yung Lean Is Back
I didn’t see this one coming.
Yung Lean dominated 2013 as an internet flash-in-the-pan superstar. If you were into the online underground scene, especially hip-hop, the awkward high school kid from Sweden was unavoidable. With a backpack full of ethereal, atmospheric beats from his friends and a notebook full of random non sequiturs ranging from Zooey Deschanel to Arizona Iced Tea, Yung Lean was getting by on pure sound and aesthetic, and it was great.
The success of Yung Lean was cool because it was so indicative of where music in 2013 was. Lean wasn’t a super talented musician, and you could rarely make out any of his lyrics, but he spread like wildfire because he had managed to bottle some coolness factor and he made music that got people excited. I’m sure plenty of more “talented” artists were left on the sidelines in 2013 just furious over this random kid who was rapping nonsense with his buddies and becoming one of the world’s hottest rappers from it.
He followed up 2013′s Unknown Death 2002 mixtape with his major label debut, Unknown Memory, in 2014. Something about it missed the mark for me, never seeming to get off the ground despite a few strong tracks. That fickle coolness factor had started to wear off, and I had accepted the fact that Yung Thug would forever live in the internet lexicon as that one Swedish kid who released some crazy songs back in 2013.
Today I can say, inexplicably, that Yung Lean is back.
His return with the release of “Hoover” feels like the scene of the movie where the hero dies in a fiery explosion, and just as everyone starts to cry, he comes bursting out of the flames riding a motorcycle. I thought Yung Lean was down for the count, but now he’s back riding muddy motorcycles with his friends, and some movie villain is about to pay.
He slams back onto the scene with a chaotic instrumental that bridges gaps between industrial, trip-hop, and electronic. Lyrics still don’t matter, and there’s not much that’s quickly recognizable on “Hoover,” outside of lines about “ridin’ on a horse with a dead man.” The instrumental and flow are very reminiscent of M.I.A., which is a really interesting development. This does not sound like a classic Yung Lean track, much less single.
This canvas was woven by friend and frequent collaborator Yung Gud, who — despite his elusiveness — is one of the best young producers in the world. Even his solo work is impeccable. The beat drop in “U Want Me” is enough to blow your brains out your nose. “Hello” is a more standard hip-hop fare, but still doesn’t pull any punches.
Young Lean’s old shtick was being sad. This new thing is wonderfully unhinged and apocalyptic. “Wake up and the world is ending,” blares Lean. It makes you want to strap on a helmet and fling mud everywhere with a dirt bike.
Singles for his last album got me excited before ultimately failing to lead to a good album. Only time will tell if “Hoover” is a one-off hit or a sign of things to come. I like the direction. I’m optimistic.
James Bond Will Never Be Boring
As someone who grew up playing GoldenEye on Nintendo 64 in my grandparents’ basement, I’ll always have a place in my heart for the adrenaline and boyhood wonder that James Bond triggers in fans of the franchise. I’m 23 years old and still stare in wide-eyed wonder at whatever James Bond is up to next. I don’t see myself ever growing tired of it.
Despite mixed reviews on its latest installment, I’m convinced that it’s impossible to make a boring James Bond movie. Spectre was pretty great. Was it as spectacular and immersive as Skyfall? Maybe not quite. Does it matter? I don’t think so.
It’s hard to mess up two and a half hours of explosions, guns, British women, martinis, and Aston Martins. I know this may be a bit of heresy coming from someone who has studied film, but the James Bond formula doesn’t need to be messed with. I’ll forgive plenty of plot issues when it comes to the adventures of 007. Whereas an ordinary action film would lose points for the kind of cliches and trite themes that Bond films bathe themselves in, Spectre uses them to its advantage.
Watch Daniel Craig race his Aston Martin DB10 through the dark streets of Rome and then tell me you have a problem with well-worn Bond tropes.
I shouldn’t make it seem like Spectre is just mailing it in. There are plenty of ways this one passes with flying colors. Just like the earlier films in this iteration, the cinematography is fantastic. Hoyte Van Hoytema (responsible for films like Her and Interstellar) did a fantastic job at nailing the gorgeous landscapes afforded to him in Spectre. From London, to Rome, to sandy deserts, to snowy mountains, this film was gorgeous from start to finish. The music followed suit, clearing the bar that was set by Skyfall. While the headline number by Sam Smith didn’t quite hit Adele’s mark, I’m not sure that anything could have. The acting was also up to snuff. As a Tarantino fan, I loved Cristoph Waltz as a villain, and Daniel Craig stuck the landing on what will likely be his final outing as 007.
He’s done a good job of making the character his own. Although not quite to the extent Christian Bale became Batman, Craig has truly carved his mark in the storied Bond legacy.
I think it says a lot about the job Sam Mendes has done that seemingly all lukewarm and negative reviews for Spectre are directly due to Skyfall’s success. If the worst thing someone can say about your film is that it was good but didn’t live up to its predecessor, I think you’ve done a good job. While it would’ve been nice to somehow usurp Skyfall’s crown in Craig’s finale, I’m not shedding tears over it. Spectre was pretty great.
The 10-year-old in me is cheering.
Holy Crap, Why Do I Love The Cleveland Browns?
I wrote about failure, Stockholm syndrome, and the pathetic life of a Cleveland Browns fan
Read MoreThe Curious Case of Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey swept me off my feet. I still remember watching the “Born To Die” video for the first time and being absolutely blown away by the impeccable cinematography, the baroque production, and the way Lana’s voice seemed to fill in all the gaps. I was in love. I had a frame from the video as my desktop background for a while. Just a few days later, Kanye was tweeting his own favorite shots, and I knew this new girl was on to something.
She had the aesthetic, she had the lyrics, she had the production, and she had the best videos. She played Marilyn Monroe to ASAP Rocky’s JFK. It was random and perfect. She was working this angle between Kennedy-era nostalgia and Internet-era style.
Born to Die came out, and I liked it from front to back. 2012 was a pretty stacked year for music. If you release an album in January and — before the year is up — I have albums from Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Tame Impala, etc. it’s going to be hard to stay at the forefront of the year-end discussion. But she did. Born to Die was one of my favorite albums of 2012.
She followed up with the Paradise Edition of the album, which included a handful of songs I really enjoyed. For a bunch of bonus tracks, they were really impressive. Lana Del Rey had hit machine written all over her. In my eyes, she could do no wrong.
Then something did go wrong.
“West Coast” kicked off publicity for her next album, Ultraviolence. It wasn’t too bad, but it had me really worried. Gone was the baroque pop and soaring vocals, instead replaced by a weak beach vibe that didn’t seem to suit her at all. I wrote about my worry that the new single was a sign of a change in direction and mentality. Unfortunately, I was right. Ultraviolence hit, and it was a bit of a misfire.
Rather than take what worked from the first album, go back to the drawing board, and try some new things, it seemed like Lana and her team spun some kind of wheel and landed on “beach vibez” before heaping extra helpings of the best parts of Born To Die into some precast mold. “Less is more” is an expression. “More is more” is not an expression. Someone should’ve told Lana Del Rey this, because Ultraviolence brimmed with excess and overindulgence.
The project had a few high points, to be sure, but most of my favorites paled in comparison to the successes she had earlier in her career. I was able to sum up my thoughts on the album in fewer than 400 words.
Skip ahead to 2015, and she’s back with Honeymoon. I intentionally avoided singles, aiming to swallow the album whole once it came out. I hoped Ultraviolence was a fluke misstep. I noticed critics seemed to be enjoying the album, almost universally, so I was excited to dive in.
Nope. The magic is gone. I needed just 365 words for Ultraviolence. I could’ve done Honeymoon in 140 characters. Evidently it’s just me, because the project managed to earn itself a 78 on Metacritic. (Not that Metacritic is some kind of end-all-be-all, but clearly most people liked the album.) One review seemed to nail my feelings.
Q Magazine wrote:
“At 65-plus minutes’ duration, Honeymoon’s submarine/somnambulant vibe does rather overstay its welcome.”
That’s exactly what it is. I feel like the album drove me into a coma and I came out the other end 12 days later with the desire to listen to something, anything with some life in it. It was an hour of musical quicksand that swallowed me whole. I don’t know what happened to the Lana Del Rey that made Born to Die, but The Ghost of Lana Del Rey isn’t striking the same chords with me.
I haven’t completely written her off, to be honest. I’ve liked a few songs from each project since Born To Die, so I have hope that she’ll come back around. She has the talent, and this isn’t the worst downward spiraling relationship I’ve had with the music of a favorite artist.
I have faith. Things can change. I just want old Lana back.
Childish Gambino & Becoming A Lover
I talk a lot on here about various ways I fall in love with music. Sometimes I know I’ll love something before listening. Sometimes a new artist will come along and instantly click with me on all levels. Sometimes I’ll be completely indifferent about an artist until a project blindsides me. Above all these, my favorite way is when an artist I dislike makes something awesome.
I take a little bit of pride in the fact that I’m not a hater. There are very, very few artists I actively dislike. I’m relatively picky about my music, so I don’t love everyone, but I don’t waste energy hating artists I don’t connect with. Taylor Swift is everywhere. Overall, I don’t like her music. But what she releases doesn’t effect me and she seems like a decent human, so you won’t see me reeling off Twitter diatribes whenever she’s on TV.
Childish Gambino, for whatever reason, always annoyed me. He seemed quirky for the sake of being quirky, and it seemed like he was one of those artists who just needlessly dipped his toes into every art form. He was already a pretty successful actor by the time the rapping thing gained steam. Why bother rapping? It’s corny. Stop trying so hard. These actor-turned-rapper types generally try to blow people away with unnecessary lyricism that tends to pander to the “REAL HIP-HOP” crowd that would worship a Labrador if it could drop 16 bars with a decent rhyme scheme with some punchlines.
And I feel like that’s where Gambino started. My first interaction with Donald Glover as a rapper was on “Bonfire”, from his Camp project. Even listening now, I want to turn it off after 30 seconds. Everything is a punchline, and there’s a lot of “mainstream hip-hop is dumb!” type stuff flying around. It all seemed super gimmicky and designed to appeal to hordes of people, which annoys me. He was popping up on Facebook feeds everywhere, and everyone seemed to think he was the next big thing because he was different. Anyway, I had him written off pretty good.
It started with the lead single. It was way too catchy to hate. The production was great. He found this singing voice that wasn’t amazing, but worked really well for him. It was much less aggressive sounding than “Bonfire” and it seemed like Gambino fell back into something that suited him way better. Alright, now we’re talking.
Thankfully, Because the Internet followed suit. I won’t pretend to love everything about it, and a lot of what I dislike just comes down to preference. But songs like “Telegraph Ave” are amazing, and create a much more colorful tapestry than what he had on earlier songs. The production is lush, and much more diverse. His singing makes a world of difference. It’s not a laundry list of over-written lyrics and punchlines. It’s an album.
On songs like “Shadows”, he still gets to play around lyrically. It’s just so much more mellow than it was before. The fluttering production and uptempo, laid back flow are much warmer and more inviting than what I had Gambino pegged for.
And it’s clear he isn’t just doing this for giggles. He isn’t an actor who delves into rapping to fulfill a boyhood fantasy. If the music itself isn’t enough proof of that, the concept of the album is. If you — like me — love high-concept art, Because the Internet is going to excite you. I won’t delve into it here, but there’s a 72-page movie script that accompanies the album. The concept is intricate, and maybe a little much. But I admire the idea and I think it really shows Gambino’s artistry. He takes this very seriously and worked really hard to make a lasting impression.
And I guess it worked, because the album came out nearly two years ago, and over the past few weeks I’ve found myself returning to it on occasion, surprised at how well it’s holding up and how much it caught me off guard originally.
I was wrong about him.
So that’s how Gambino became one of the artists I flopped on. He used to be one of a handful of musicians who got on my nerves, and now he’s someone I anticipate new music from. After all, it’s way more fun to be a lover than a hater.
Hot Take Express: The Sleeved Cavs Jerseys Ruined My Day
Sometimes you just need to fire off a quick #HotTake about how something is either the best thing ever or the worst thing ever. Welcome to Hot Take Express. The train is leaving the station. Don’t forget your oven mitts when handling this hot take.
These are the worst uniforms I’ve ever laid eyes on as a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers, or any Cleveland team for that matter. These are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of Cleveland jerseys.
I’m a bit of a uniform buff. The Cavs, if they’re going to abandon the 2003–2010 blue alternates, should at least stick to the plain ones I’ve finally gotten used to. There’s nothing exciting about their standard post-2010 jerseys, but I’ll live. Mix things up with one of the many throwbacks. Pick one. They’re all great. This is not a franchise that should be struggling for good jersey options. In fact, I may even argue that I like every single jersey the Cavs have ever worn.
So why am I watching them play in black, sleeved jerseys right now?
They look like an intramural team. If I went to the gym to play a game of HORSE, I’d be wearing the same outfit that Kevin Love is wearing right now. This is a problem. The facts back me up here: The team just shot 36% from the floor in the first half. James, Love, and Williams combined to shoot 33%. LeBron literally destroyed his jersey in order to free his biceps from their fabric prison. He tore his jersey apart like The Incredible Hulk, and then finished the job on the bench with a pair of scissors during the next timeout.
This should not be happening.
Towards the end of the 2013–14 season, LeBron officially joined the list of players on the #AntiSleeves train. After a particularly poor shooting performance against the Spurs, he complained to the media. The New York Times noted his 44.4% 2014 FG% in sleeves. Compare that to his 58.3% average for that season in the traditional sleeveless.
Now LeBron is back home in Cleveland and the Cavs are the favorites to win the NBA Title. Suspiciously, the Cavs now unveil the first sleeved jersey in franchise history. When sleeved jerseys first became trendy, the Cavs were awful and LeBron was in Miami. The sleeved abominations have never made their way to Cleveland… until this year. We all know LeBron James struggles in sleeves. The NBA knows LeBron James struggles in sleeves. Apparel outfitter Adidas knows LeBron James struggles in sleeves.
Suspicious? Yes. Conspiracy? Also yes. Illuminati? Undoubtedly.
LeBron is signed to Nike. Adidas makes the NBA jerseys. Sabotage? #Yes.
The Cavs will win the NBA Championship next June, but not if these t-shirts from hell have anything to say about it.