Fluxblog 398: Nova Twins • Brakence • RM • ITZY
Plus a playlist covering reggae influence on punk in the late 70s
This week’s playlist is PUNKY REGGAE PARTY: JAMAICAN SKA + PUNK 1976-1982, in which mostly white rockers absorb and emulate Jamaican music in the early days of punk. This one features songs by The Clash, The Specials, Madness, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, The Police, The Slits, The English Beat, Bad Brains, Dexys Midnight Runners, Blondie, and many more. [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
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 in very precarious economic situation as I’m still in the market for a new full time job. Your donations are always appreciated, but I can say for sure that right now they’re more appreciated than ever.
Can You Feel The Power In Your Hands
Nova Twins “Choose Your Fighter”
Nova Twins sound like a collision of turn-of-the-millennium aesthetics – imagine glossy girly pop commandeering nü-metal riffs, spiked with a bit of crunk and screamo. It’s a synthesis of extremely bold styles that comes out sounding more extreme and bold than its genre components, and you can feel how much fun they’re having making this ultra-catchy cacophony in every moment of every song. “Choose Your Fighter” alternates between bouncy and thrashing energies so effectively that it seems impossible for an audience not to instinctively click into its implied choreography of pogoing and moshing. The lyrics sound like they’re from a video game set in a series of increasingly violent mosh pits, tapping into a bit of real anger but blowing it out into a cartoonish fantasy of cathartic aggression.
Buy it from Amazon.
Manic And Exhausted
Brakence “Argyle”
Brakence songs sound like very inventive and glitchy remixes of the most petulant emo boy songs you’ve ever heard – none of the boring off-the-rack musical conventions of that genre but all of the tortured white guy self-pity, if not more somehow. “Argyle” is a breakup song from the perspective of a guy who anyone would be correct to get away from, which seems to be the point, as I think portraying himself as an obnoxious loser is part of the self-flagellation process. There’s no subtext here, just a guy speaking plainly about wanting to die but being “too fucking cowardly to off myself,” and then snidely singing “good luck with your next boyfriend.” It’s interesting to me how his voice and the music conveys a real pain, but he articulates it all in words that invite you to lose empathy for him. But he’s a 21 year old guy, and I can see the worst of myself at that age in this. It’s an extremely 21 year old guy kind of song.
Buy it from Amazon.
Now You Can Feel My Madness
RM featuring Erykah Badu “Yun”
“Yun” is a tribute to the late South Korean abstract painter Yun Hyong Keun, one that draws on the meditative quality of his works but also takes direct inspiration from his ethos – “he always said ‘be human first’.” I like where RM goes with this idea, letting the notion of being a human ground him as an artist despite his massive success as a crucial member of BTS and coming to the creation of pure hip-hop records from a position of humility and genuine passion. RM seems accutely aware of his outsider status in rap but doesn’t produce or perform with any noticeable insecurity or eagerness to please. He has a natural affinity for the more mellow and spiritual side of rap to the degree Erykah Badu seems totally at home on the track, and his blend of English and Korean lyrics flow together with a relaxed grace rather than seeming awkwardly glued together as a matter of commercial concerns. Despite a lot of pressure, he sounds totally…human.
Buy it from Amazon.
If You Wonder Why You Lost Me
ITZY “Boys Like You”
“Boys Like You” is an unrelenting juggernaut of sugar-rush pop, a breed of pop single that was ubiquitous in the 2000s but seems almost alien now unless you’re plugged into the K-pop scene that birthed ITZY. At this point in time K-Pop is massively successful in the United States but seems to mostly exist in parallel with mainstream pop, this thing that you can either opt into as an alternative or actively ignore. Given that “Boys Like You” is sung entirely in English it seems deliberately aimed at cracking the American market on its own terms, but the aesthetics of the song do not budge even a little bit to fit in better on the US charts. It’s bright and bold and unafraid to be obnoxious and cutesy, and like a lot of the best K-Pop it reconfigures the sound of 2000s pop culture in a way that makes it feel slightly off, but also super-charged and weaponized. My favorite thing about this one is how it seems to pile on its bratty little hooks like a Jenga tower, and the most thrilling moment is when they sing the title phrase pushing up towards the song’s highest notes and it all seems to wobble slightly for a moment but it never collapses.
Buy it from Amazon.
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• I enjoyed this piece in Harpers Bazaar by Rachel Tashjian about the brilliant costume design choices on The White Lotus, with an emphasis on the clothing worn by Haley Lu Richardson’s character. I will admit that it was a little surprising to me that anyone thought the character dressed weird – I guess I just live in a bubble!
• Rob Sheffield wrote about the unexpected and unnecessary brilliance of Alex Ross Perry’s Pavement musical for Rolling Stone.