Fluxblog #400: Little Simz • Eliza Rose • NewJeans • Ice Spice
Also, let me remind you of a bunch of the playlists I made for you this year
Happy holidays from me and the boys!
This week’s newsletter is going to start with regular posts, then I’ll highlight some of my favorite playlists I’ve made this year, and then there’s some links. Next week I’ll feature some more of my favorite things I’ve made this year, plus some links to stuff I liked by other people. As always, this newsletter is free but I appreciate your support in the form of one-time donations on Ko-Fi or subscriptions to the Fluxblog Patreon.
Cut With A Different Scissor
Little Simz “Gorilla”
I didn’t realize that this new Little Simz record was entirely co-written and produced by Inflo of Sault at first, but I did notice the loose and organic sound of the music, which often comes close to the sound The Roots get when approximating studio-centric rap aesthetics as a live band. This is a perfect sound for Simz – the tight pocket sound matches the discipline of her writing and the “live” feel highlights the raw presence of her performances. “Gorilla” has classic rap aesthetics but is skewed by Simz and Inflo’s particular finesse. It sounds a million miles away from most anything else going on in mainstream rap but doesn’t strike me as either contrarian or conservative, just two artists clicking together and feeling totally comfortable in who they are and what they do. It’s defiant yet laid back, and reminds me a bit of how in her prime Lauryn Hill could sound like she was chastising the listener while also conveying that she was entirely above the fray.
Buy it from Amazon.
Craving Your Sweet Love
Eliza Rose feat. M4A4 “Delectable”
“Delectable” is such a food word, one I’d associate with a restaurant critic or copy associated with food marketing, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard it used in a pop song. It’s an inspired choice in this song – it suggests that Eliza Rose’s desire for the person addressed is not some ordinary lust, but rather the refined taste of a connoisseur. The word also rolls off her tongue so naturally, like these four syllables have always been right there waiting for the right jazzy inflection bouncing off the right UK garage beat. Rose’s phrasing in this song is lovely and delicate and heavily indebted to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, but her voice has just a touch of house diva punch to it, if just to stand up to the intensity of the groove.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Maybe You Could Be The One
NewJeans “Hype Boy”
There are countless songs about having a powerful crush or falling in love, and distributed among the endless variation on this theme across genres and eras you can find all the variations on this basic human experience. It’s a beautiful thing, and part of why I could never be bored with new variations. There’s always new contexts and complications, new ways of mediating experiences, new tools to communicate emotions, new angles on describing how it feels. I like the angles in “Hype Boy,” and the way the song plays around with what “hype” means through the verses and hooks. It’s hype as in hyperactive emotions, it’s hype as in hyperbolic notions about the situation, it’s hype as in this guy’s style, it’s hype as in cheering him on. The music is surprisingly low key for K-Pop and the subject matter. It’s bright and energetic, sure, but the groove is fairly mellow. There’s a cool and collected center to this that conveys a kind of certainty that you don’t always get in songs like this, which typically have some root of desperation in the face of high stakes.
Buy it from Amazon.
Think About That When You Type
Ice Spice “Bikini Bottom”
Ice Spice is striking in the context of the recent vanguard of female rappers led by millennials Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, who present as larger than life sexual superheroes with aggressive, dominating vocal styles. Ice Spice goes hard in the opposite direction, presenting herself as an extremely cool and attractive ordinary person with a very relaxed vocal presence, like some girl you might actually know or see in passing at the kind of unglamorous parks and bodegas that serve as the backdrop of her music videos. There’s no problem with what Cardi and Megan et al are doing but this feels like interesting counter programming that could also be a sign of a sea change in what the youngest end of the rap audience is looking for, like the shift from hair metal to grunge in the early 90s.
The fact that Ice Spice raps over drill tracks also helps differentiate her, as the production is one more aspect of this that feels removed from a more millennial aesthetic. But it’s her voice that really stands out – her tone is so unbothered and casual that the confidence expressed in her lyrics feel lived-in, not cartoonish. It’s all so matter of fact, it’s all so cool. And coming across as the coolest and hottest person you might now seems more powerful to me than an expensive over the top abstraction of self.
Buy it from Amazon.
My most popular playlist this year by far was THIS WAS INDIE SLEAZE 2002-2008, a tighter and far more historically accurate version of someone else's idea. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
I iterated on this idea in two ways – READY FOR THE FLOOR: INDIE REMIXES 2008-2011, a sequel focused on the glory days of Blog House [Spotify | Apple | YouTube] and the continuously updated INDIE SLEAZE IS BACK, BABY which is documenting the revival of the indie sleaze/electroclash aesthetic and is only available on Spotify.
SEETHERS: WOMEN IN 90s ALT-ROCK, a collection of songs from the golden age of alt-rock, 1992-1997. This one was very popular, but that wasn’t too surprising as it had been requested a lot in the past. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
THESE CHARMING MEN: LITERARY INDIE 1983-1986, in which bookish jangly rock music emerges and thrives in the UK and Ireland in the Thatcher era. To sell this one another way – this is basically "hey, wanna hear 45 bands that sounded somewhat or a lot like The Smiths and existed at the same time?" [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
A SPLINTER IN YOUR EYE: AMERICAN JANGLE 1982-1986, a sibling to the previous playlist focused on the UK. Just as that one is a testament to the influence of The Smiths, this one shows the impact of R.E.M., though I think both playlists show that jangle was simply one of the major musical trends of the 1980s more generally beyond the commercial momentum behind two game-changing bands. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
NERD WAVE 1978-1982, a look back on a pivotal post-punk moment in which the nerd emerges as a new wave rock archetype with a distinctive twitchy affect. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
TEEN CITY ROCK: POWER POP ERA 1974-1980, a broad view of fun, normal-style rock bridging glam and punk/new wave. Do you want a lot of catchy songs about girls, boys, crushes, being a teen, hating school, and loving parties and rock & roll? Well, this is the playlist for you. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
WELCOME ABOARD: LUXURIOUS GROOVES 1977-1982, a collection of mellow R&B, smooth soft rock, and gentle disco with immaculate production aesthetics. I’ve always despised the “yacht rock” term and think it’s mired in tacky and condescending Gen X irony and has resulted in a lot of poorly curated playlists and live events. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
WHAT INSTITUTION ARE YOU FROM?, a soundtrack for an imaginary late 90s indie movie comprised entirely of cool girl music from the period including Helium, Elastica, Veruca Salt, Buffalo Daughter, Luscious Jackson, Lush, Free Kitten, Garbage, Royal Trux, Blonde Redhead, and Cibo Matto. This one is inspired this photo from a Spin fashion pictorial circa 1997. [Apple Music | Spotify]
WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO?, a soundtrack-style 90 minute mix inspired by this image of model Lisa Marie by Just Loomis from a fashion pictorial by Laurie Schechter in Rolling Stone November 1986. This has a very specific vibe – decadent, self-destructive, glamorous, all early to mid 80s with songs by Cristina, Madonna, Grace Jones, Sonic Youth, Berlin, and Soft Cell. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
PARTY IN THE USA: THE OBAMA VIBE SHIFT 2008-2011, a set that explores the brighter, more optimistic, and energetic aesthetics that coincided with and in some cases directly responded to Barack Obama becoming President of the United States. There’s a lot of songs I love in this, but it’s funny how pretty much all of it seems at least a little psychotic or delusional in this context. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Amanda Petrusich on the oddball charms of Steve Lacy’s mega hit “Bad Habit.”
• Maureen Tkackik and Krista Brown put together a well reported deep dive on the dark history of Ticketmaster for Prospect.
• Emma Garland asks why men, specifically, dislike The 1975? (Personally, I just don’t think they have many good choonz.)
• Jeff Slate got a lot of interesting things out of Bob Dylan in this Q&A promoting his new book.
Just now listening to this Obama Vibe Shift playlist. Very accurate.