Fluxblog 461: 80s sleaze funk classics
Plus new songs by Astrid Sonne, Mary Timony, and Sly5thave
This week’s playlist is I NEED A FREAK: 80s SLEAZE CLASSICS, three hours of sweaty, erotically-charged songs from the early to mid 80s by freaks, for freaks. This one features music by Prince, Egyptian Lover, Grace Jones, Rick James, Depeche Mode, George Clinton, Berlin, and many more. [Spotify | Apple | YouTube]
I Think To Myself
Astrid Sonne “Do You Wanna”
In most cases the implication of a song title like “Do You Wanna” is yes, you definitely wanna. You wanna have fun, you wanna have sex, you wanna get high, you wanna be free, etc. Astrid Sonne goes hard in the opposite direction, presenting the question full question – “do you wanna have a baby?” – and then leaving you in anticipation as it hangs in the air and a loud, clipped beat slowly moves you towards her next line. She makes you run through the possibilities in your head. Do you wanna commit to bringing a child into the world, the world we’re in right now? Do you wanna really commit? Do you wanna trust the other person to stick around? Do you wanna disappoint them by declining? Her answer ends up being “I really don’t know,” and she really makes you feel that confusion and uncertainty in your gut.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
When Trouble Held Me In Its Cruel Smile
Mary Timony “Looking For the Sun”
I hear a lot of English folk psychedelia in the songs on Mary Timony’s new record Untame the Tiger and I think it suits her very well, especially after an extended spell of records with Ex Hex which went for a more blunt new wave minimalism. “Looking For the Sun” is a different sort of minimalism, I suppose, but the scope suggested by her guitar feels much grander than that. She makes the verses feel like an expanse of barren desert, which only makes the brighter chords on the chorus sound more like a burst of sunlight through parting clouds. Like a few other tracks on the record, the lyrics describe a rather bleak state of mind in direct but not unpoetic language. She imagines misery as a bad friend, and misfortune only exacerbating a fear of everyone else. But despite all that the song mostly sounds like an expression of optimism, or at least faith in the light at the end of every tunnel.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
High With You
Sly5thAve “Monoxide”
I’m never unhappy to hear music that’s obviously influenced by D’Angelo, much less jumping off from ideas he laid down on Black Messiah. “Monoxide” starts from a similar point as the more gnarly tracks on that record but pushes a little further into jazz territory, with some bits recalling Herbie Hancock in his grandiose space-funk Sextant era or Miles Davis in fusion mode. Sly5thave is demonstrating a high level of both taste and skill here, and while I think it’s a fairly easy game of “spot the influence,” you can hear his distinct character in the disorienting quality of the music. The lyrics are basically just saying “I want to get high with you” over and over, but the music suggests a level of being stoned that would make communicating with someone a little challenging.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
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• Devon Ivie interviewed Pino Palladino, one of the best session bass players of all time, about some of his favorite performances for Vulture.
• Josh Terry of No Expecations guest starred on last week’s Fortune Kit to play some live Grateful Dead recordings for Charles and Alex.
• Arielle Gordon interviewed Mary Timony for Stereogum’s We’ve Got A File On You series.