Fluxblog 460: the JOY of sound
Plus new songs by Vampire Weekend, Four Tet, Nourished by Time, and Angelic Milk.
This week's playlist is JOY OF SOUND, a collection of songs that were staples of mixtapes and CD-Rs I made for myself and others between 1997-2001. This is sort of an indulgent one for me as it’s basically a document of my own private history, but the value proposition to you is that this is five hours of nothing but A++ songs. I hope you enjoy it! There’s a few bonus songs on the YouTube version that aren’t available on the other services. [Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
Sifting Through Centuries
Vampire Weekend “Capricorn”
The first four Vampire Weekend records have a very clean tonal palette, to the point that the debut and Contra in particular can feel a little antiseptic and fussy. That wasn’t a problem, really – that crisp just-so quality was a big part of the group’s personality and felt like a musical manifestation of the faux-preppy vibe they were going for. They started with a polished sound that many bands work their way towards from scrappy beginnings, so it makes some sense that their evolution would follow the reverse trajectory and feel comfortable embracing big loud noises on their fifth record Only God Was Above Us.
This is Vampire Weekend, so when I say “big loud noises,” I don’t mean they just slammed on some distortion pedals and played some riffs. The most discordant elements of the new singles “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops” are very tightly controlled and carefully chosen tones that hit very precise marks in the mix. The bursts of what I think are heavily processed keyboards that start midway through “Capricorn” are genuinely surprising and lend a sense of danger and precarity to song that, up until that point, sounds like a pretty standard Ezra Koenig ballad including a piano break that sounds perhaps a little too much like the one from “Step.” (I can’t tell whether that’s an intentional thematic callback, which Koenig is wont to do and makes some sense as both songs are about aging, or if it’s simply a songwriter writing like themselves.)
That noise, which sounds like an oddly sensual version of a BZZZT WRONG button in a game show, doesn’t entirely come out of nowhere. The percussion is presented with an exaggerated room sound that makes the whole song feel like it’s in soft focus. The air feels different in this song relative to previous Vampire recordings – dry and cold, filling a space that’s somehow both more and less claustrophobic. Koenig sounds distant as he sings about someone – a version of himself? – getting older and increasingly frustrated in trying to find answers, or pieces of the past that resonate with his particular place on a timeline. There are no answers in this song but there is some advice: “I know you’re tired of trying, listen clearly – you don’t have to try.” Is that the same as giving up? Not sure, but the music signals so much weariness and potential disaster that it’s at least asking someone to take a break and not be so hard on themselves.
Buy it from Amazon.
The Future Is My Passion
Four Tet “Daydream Repeat”
The first 30 seconds of “Daydream Repeat” go by about as you’d expect from Four Tet, with percussive elements gradually clicking together into an up-tempo groove. Then the noise kicks in. It’s like a screaming vacuum, a massive blade scraping metal, a blast disintegrating everything in its path. It comes and goes through the track like a brutal storm, broken up by sections led by a piano part that sounds very gentle and innocent. The piano is lovely but it’s that digital noise that allures, this sound that’s not quite musical but carries some recognizable humanity to it. It’s like some disruptive furious feeling getting in the way of, but also giving weight to, the more level-headed moments.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Nourished by Time “Hand On Me”
A very cool synth bass part drops around the 1:40 mark in this song, which retroactively makes the first half of it feel a little hesitant, as though Marcus Brown is biding time waiting for this inevitable groove to kick in. That synth bass changes the way everything else feels in the song – what felt a little off-balance feels less precarious, what felt empty feels full. Brown opens the song singing “Have you never loved somebody, I’ve never tried,” and once the song fills out and the groove is complete, it sounds like he’s finally feeling that love he’s denied himself.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Bring Your Coldness Back
Angelic Milk “Diana Ross”
“Diana Ross” is a song for anyone who’d say that they’d prefer to desire than be desired. Angelic Milk conjure the sound of early 60s girl group pop, but more importantly they tap into that sort of cosmic longing. Sarah Persephona sings about unrequited love like a highly aestheticized ritual, a personal religion in which whoever she’s singing about is the deity. They come to her in dreams, time seems to stretch out indefinitely, and songs from The Little Mermaid and Diana Ross are referenced like hymns. She shows some signs of doubt, but she clings to her faith and it’s quite beautiful.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Michael Idov documented the R.E.M. quasi-reunion at the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy R.E.M. covers show in Athens, Georgia for GQ.
• Elise Soutar went very, very deep on The Smiths over at Paste on the occasion of the long-defunct band’s 40th anniversary.
• You really have to listen to Jasmine’s two-parter about Janet Jackson on Black Bubblegum. I particularly enjoyed the second half, which is all about Janet’s post-Super Bowl career.
I’d love to ask the winner of this 1991 sweepstakes from Tower Records’ magazine whether this prize was more of a gift or curse.
Love your writing and recs. But I gotta say the link roundup is always top notch
The Tower Records Sweepstakes ha, incredible. 5000 CDs 😂