Fluxblog #320: Anika • Freak Slug • Still Pigeon • Clinic
Plus the POP X FAST FOOD ROUNDTABLE on the podcast!
New regular episodes of Fluxpod resume this week with the POP X FAST FOOD ROUNDTABLE featuring Vulture writer Rebecca Alter and Molly O’Brien of And Introducing. We talk about the various fast food/pop star co-branding and collaborations of the recent past with a focus on what McDonald’s has done with BTS, J Balvin, and Travis Scott, and come up with ideas for combining other musicians and food brands. I had a lot of fun doing this one and Molly and Rebecca are both very funny! If you’ve never heard this show this is a great one to jump in on, and you can find it on all the podcast platforms.
You can also get the episode on the Fluxblog Patreon, where I am also in the middle of a Sonic Youth audio essay series that is exclusively for subscribers. The first two parts are up now and cumulatively cover the band’s early years up through EVOL, Sister, and Daydream Nation, and this Saturday’s episode will be about their jump to the major label world with Goo and Dirty. $5 a month will get you all of the premium pod content I’ve made and a new premium episode every weekend.
I don’t love saying this but if there was ever a time when your Patreon donation would mean a lot for me, this month is definitely it! If you’re not interested in the Patreon stuff you also have the option of doing a one-time or recurring donation on the Fluxblog Ko-Fi. I would greatly appreciate either!
There is no new playlist this week, mainly because I’ve been focusing more on recent music and putting a lot into updating the ongoing FluxCaviar 2021 playlist. If you want to catch up on the best new music from this year so far, I believe this is your best option! It’s only on Spotify, mainly because it’s a nightmare to keep multiple versions of a constantly changing playlist up to date.
Only Interested In One Thing
Anika “Finger Pies”
“Finger Pies” sounds like pacing in a loop, working out enough nervous energy to avoid freaking out, but not enough to provide a catharsis. There’s a low-simmering paranoia to the sound of it, but the anger in it is politely muted. Anika’s vocals, shifting between sung and spoken parts in a German accent that can’t help but make her sound a bit like Nico, makes the most of the ambiguous, unresolved quality of the music. It’s clear enough that she’s singing about being afraid of someone, but the nature of the relationship she’s describing is hard to parse. The point is that she’s not sure who her nemesis is, their identity is all conjecture and speculation, and that mystery only intensifies her fear of them. “Theory is you’re a monster,” she says in a halting tone, “that you hate yourself.” She’s trying to understand why someone has hurt her, why they apparently had no empathy for her, and her only way of comprehending it requires empathy on her end.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Lusty Teens With Different Dreams
Freak Slug featuring Brad Stank “Nostaglia”
I don’t know their specific ages but Freak Slug and Brad Stank are pretty young, young enough that doing a song lamenting the simplicity of teen romance is, for them, nostalgia for the not-very-distant past. The vibe of the music is perfect for that particular milieu though – very relaxed and wistful, but with the subtle suggestion of furtive, secretive actions and just-figuring-it-out awkwardness. The lyrics seem to be from the perspective of a couple reconnecting after this shared experience as kids, with them both attracted to the idea of getting back to something simple and easy but also self-conscious about slipping back into something comfortable for the sake of it. Neither of them seem too stressed out about it, but I think some of the point here is that by actively wanting to return to an uncomplicated situation you’ve already added some layers of complication. You can’t be innocent again.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Land On Soft Pillows
Still Pigeon “Tippy Toes”
Still Pigeon are a band so generous with melody, harmony, and pleasant chords that the only thing keeping their music from sounding fully opulent and luxurious is their roots in indie rock – self-effacing lyrics, a clean but not quite professional production style, and a sense that they’re not quite confident enough to go full-on Sade or Steely Dan just yet. This is part of what makes “Tippy Toes” charming, though. Millie Wild’s vocals remind me a bit of Lily Allen, particularly in the way she balances singing with a bold professionalism while conveying genuine insecurity and pulling off self-deprecating jokes. She’s a slightly neurotic presence in a song that’s otherwise very warm and silky in its tones, and totally calm in its groove. It’s extremely cozy, even before the smooth sax solo comes in at the end.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
All Into The Void
Clinic “Fine Dining”
Clinic have gradually established themselves as the Gen X equivalent to The Fall – a band with an extremely specific style that they use as a template for exploring different tones and aesthetics over a long period of time. Or, as John Peel once described The Fall: “They are always different, they are always the same.” In the case of their new single “Fine Dining” the X factor is mostly in the keyboard tones, which strike me as very Kraftwerk though I’m not sure if they’re actually using the same vintage gear. It’s a tonality that signals a dated notion of futuristic efficiency, and it feels quite strange in the context of a song that otherwise sounds like a demented jingle for a restaurant. Ade Blackburn’s voice often comes across as inscrutable and a little creepy but he pushes that to an extreme in this song, so the phrase “no scruples” sounds especially sinister, and the refrain “all into the void” feels like a trap revealed to you before it’s too late to get out.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
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• I’m pretty fascinated by the LexG Movie Podcast, in which one charismatic and motormouthed middle aged movie obsessive does monologues about his favorite filmmakers – there’s entire episodes devoted to the ouvres of Brian De Palma, Clint Eastwood, Spike Lee, and Joel Schumacher – as well as his attempts to understand the cult movies of younger film nerds, like Scott Pilgrim Vs the World and Space Jam. He also occasionally talks about music, mainly the ‘80s hard rock of his youth, and I can only describe his attitude about music in general as “extremely weird, but very interesting.” He’s a real character and very worts-and-all in how he presents himself, so there’s also episodes sprinkled in where he’s basically on a depressive self-loathing spiral. There’s nothing else quite like it, it’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s an incredible use of the medium that absolutely whips all the more corporate and professional garbage in the podcast space. [Apple Podcasts | Spotify]
• I’m loving Liz Phair’s many appearances on podcasts to promote her long-awaited new album Sober-ish but I particularly recommend checking out her guest spot on The Three Questions with Andy Richter.