BOWIE UNIVERSE / BJÖRK UNIVERSE
Plus new music by Ari Lennox, Of Montreal, and Jessie Reyez
This newsletter is free, but the work that goes into making Fluxblog and the playlists and the podcast etc takes up a lot of my time. I don’t like pestering people into signing up for the Patreon or doing one-time donations on Ko-Fi, but I will say that right now would be an excellent time to do this as I’m entering a very precarious economic situation. Your donations are always appreciated, but I can say for sure that right now they’re more appreciated than ever.
Anyway!
New playlist format just dropped! This week I have two “universe” playlists for you, which present a career retrospective for a particular artist along with music by their collaborators, inspirations, and fellow travelers. I think it’s a great way to dive into a catalog or go back to it with some fresh perspective.
The first of these playlists is BOWIE UNIVERSE, a full David Bowie career retrospective that goes heavy on presenting the work of his various sidemen and collaborators, plus some original versions of songs he covered or referenced and a smattering of remixes and live recordings. I was inspired to make this in large part because I just recently saw Brett Morgan’s new Bowie retrospective film Moonage Daydream, which I strongly recommend particularly if you have the opportunity to experience it in IMAX so you can really appreciate the sound design. [Spotify | Apple]
Here are the liner notes for BOWIE UNIVERSE with some explanation for song selection.
This playlist is BJÖRK UNIVERSE, basically the same idea – classic songs from her entire career from the Sugarcubes up through her forthcoming record Fossora, plus music by her collaborators and remixers. [Spotify | Apple]
Here are the liner notes for BJÖRK UNIVERSE with some explanation for song selection.
And now for some regular posts…
Sure Would Be Sweet
Ari Lennox “POF”
“FOH” opens Ari Lennox’s second album like a thesis statement that she explores in every subsequent track, and while those facets get very interesting I find this song in which she just lays out all her questions the most compelling. Why does she keep getting involved with lackluster men? Why does she feel pressured to get into a serious romantic relationship as she enters her 30s, and why does that feel necessary if she’s happy with her current success as a musician? She doesn’t spell that out exactly, but her lyrics are plain enough that I’m only lightly paraphrasing her words. I hear a lot of Erykah Badu circa Mama’s Gun in Lennox’s phrasing and arrangement here, which is in and of itself high praise and reason to recommend this song, but there’s a bit more open hostility in her tone. A lot of this song is just understandable frustration and bile as she questions why both her expectations and realities have let her down. She finds some strength in this, but the beauty of this song is in the ambiguity of where she might go from this point where she recognizes the problem but hasn’t yet thought of a viable solution.
Buy it from Amazon.
Doing Confrontational Yoga
Of Montreal “Ofrenda-Flanger-Ego-à Gogo”
One of the pleasures of following Kevin Barnes’ career in real time is that each Of Montreal record truly feels like checking in with them, each record like a scene report on their inner life. In recent years Barnes has cycled through a sort of psychosexual rebirth, new love, paranoia about politics, and embracing/accepting chaos as part of life. This time around on Freewave Lucifer f>ck f^ck f>ck Barnes is responding to pandemic-era uncertainty with escapism and dissociation, diving deep into subconscious modes as a response to being cut off from the world. The results are stylistically scattered and a little uneven, but “Ofrenda-Flanger-Ego-à Gogo” stands out as one of their best songs in a psychedelic folk mode. Barnes is no stranger to free-association lyrics but the words slip out in this one like each new phrase reveals something about the previous line. It’s not really a narrative, but it’s a feeling given more context. Broadly speaking, this is like Barnes moving to some astral plane and witnessing depressive disconnection at a grand level, like something making its way through a large system.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Retired From Everyone
Jessie Reyez “Only One”
Jessie Reyez’s lyrics in “Only One” could be read as needy, but I think it’s more that she’s being vulnerable enough to ask for what she really wants of a partner and isn’t afraid if that makes her seem insecure or demanding. Like a lot of classic R&B songs before it this is about negotiating for what you need out of a relationship and advocating for one’s desires, and she’s not asking for anything crazy here – monogamy, being someone’s priority, someone who’s open to exploring her cultural interests. She’s speaking it into the world to draw it to her, manifesting it in either the person she’s addressing or someone else entirely. The song has a strong mid to late ‘90s R&B energy – a loud and kinda cold processed beat contrasted with warm bass and emotive vocals, a go-to combination for evoking a hard exterior and soft interior.
Buy it from Amazon.
