Fluxblog 309: Indie/Alt 2000-2002 | Jane Weaver • Chai • Lionel Boy • Asta Hiroki
Plus: Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley interviewed on the podcast
This week’s episode of Fluxpod features the musicians Matthew E. White and Lonnie Holley. We mostly talk about their new collaborative album Broken Mirror, A Selfie Reflection, which was inspired by early '70s jazz fusion, specifically Miles Davis' classic On the Corner, but we also discuss White's company Spacebomb, which is a studio/label/artist management company mostly servicing artists in Richmond, Virginia, as well as Holley's long history as an artist and musician. You can find the show on all the major podcast platforms and on the Fluxblog Patreon.
This week’s playlist is THE GAP: INDIE/ALT-ROCK TRANSITIONS 2000-2002, which covers a very odd period of time in which the ‘90s are over but in many ways the 2000s haven’t quite begun. It’s a crossroads moment where different branches of indie and alt that had coexisted through the ‘90s – largely out of commercial expediency – diverged into separate paths and cultural lanes. If you look close enough you might notice how these schisms mostly happen along class divisions.
I’m always interested in these sort of liminal cultural phases, but I have some sentimentality for this era – more than I actually expected, to be honest with you! It makes sense in that all of this overlaps with my art school years, but I don’t actually have much fondness for that time in my life.
Surrounded By Beautiful
Jane Weaver “Revolution of Super Visions”
“The Revolution of Super Visions” hinges on a question repeated in a funky refrain: “Do you look at yourself and find nothing?” The music calls back to the psychedelic of Sly and the Family Stone and Funkadelic, and Jane Weaver’s phrasing owes something to the way Sly Stone and George Clinton could position song lyrics as a sort of conversation with the listener in which their worst impulses are challenged and their best qualities are affirmed. Weaver pokes at the listener’s insecurities while trying to build them up, to be the sort of confident, self-loving, fully actualized person they could be if they could deprogram what they’ve picked up from culture. She’s not being didactic – more is conveyed by suggestion than explication in the words – but her positive intention is very clear. It’s nice to hear a song that is earnestly rooting for you to become a better and happier person rather than asking you to be or expecting you to have already figured this out.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
If You Want Joyful Living
Chai featuring Ric Wilson “Maybe Chocolate Chips”
The keyboards in “Maybe Chocolate Chips” are played with an exaggerated portamento effect that makes it sound very warped and woozy but also quite bright, as if you’re listening to scrambled rainbow lasers. This combined with the soft, gentle voices of the women of Chai, make the song seem cute but also a little awkward and very introverted in tone. This makes sense for the lyrics – they’re singing about the bass player learning to appreciate her moles, so there’s some residue of embarrassment along with opening up and being vulnerable. Ric Wilson shows up for a mid-song rap verse that’s as sweet as everything else. He’s basically there to offer support and reinforce the self-love, just a really wholesome dude who shows up out of nowhere to be very kind.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Dozing Over Daisies
Lionel Boy “Flower Girl”
“Flower Girl” feels very relaxed but not exactly untroubled, though the tensions and concerns aren’t being deliberately buried in a pleasant haze. It’s more like a state of equilibrium, and the lyrics invite someone – the “flower girl” – into this mindset, as though this is a vibe that can potentially be shared. It’s a warm and generous both musically and lyrically, as though Lionel Boy is just doing their best to bring people – not just the flower girl, but like, especially the flower girl – into this peaceful easy feeling. The guitar and keyboards set a lovely ambiance but the most effective part of the song is most definitely the bass, which thumps gently as if to subtly encourage you to match your heart rate to this tempo.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Everything Looks So Still
Asta Hiroki featuring Dontmesswithjuan “Slumber”
Dontmesswithjuan sings a phrase near the end of “Slumber” that works as a description of the song itself: “magnificent scene at really small scale.” Asta Hiroki’s track evokes a microscopic smallness, the sort of ultra zoomed-in detail that effectively removes all recognizable context. The music feels extremely slow and hazy but the beat is actually fairly busy, snapping and clicking along beneath the thick atmosphere of the keyboards and Dontmesswithjuan’s breathy vocals, which are mixed loud enough that it seems as though they’re whispering directly into your ears. The lyrics are poetic and seem profound, but still wash over you with the music, as though you’re not really meant to fully comprehend what you’re being told.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Here’s a terrific article in Rolling Stone by Angie Martoccio about Judee Sill’s difficult life, tragic death, and small but incredible body of work as a songwriter.
• The new episode of Pharrell Williams’ podcast OTHERtone features a conversation between him and Beck, which is pretty interesting on a lot of levels but particularly in how you get to hear how enthusiastic he is about Beck’s work, most especially “The New Pollution.”
