Fluxblog 477: two hours of summer indie/alt-rock classics!
Plus new music by NxWorries, Dora Jar, and King Krule
This week’s playlist is DRUNK IN THE AUGUST SUN - SUMMER INDIE/ALT-ROCK CLASSICS, a two hour set of crowd pleasers from several generations of alternative rock. This one exists because I was thinking about the similarities between a trio of god-tier all-timers – The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love,” Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man,” and Pavement’s “Gold Soundz” – put them at the start, and just tried to keep that party going for a while.
[Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
I Don’t Do This For My Health
NxWorries “SheUsed”
I wonder if the original plan for “SheUsed” was for Anderson Paak’s voice to be presented normally in contrast with the sped-up soul sample, or if Knxwledge arrived at having Paak’s voice sped up midway through the recording process. In any case, I think it was a smart decision – it’s a nice contrast with the straight presentation of his voice throughout the Why Lawd? album, and it has a way of making lyrics like “once I bust my nut I feel so unattached” sound a lot more quaint and charming. There’s an elegance in the string arrangement of the source sample and a natural warmth in Paak’s voice that doesn’t quite undermine the caddishness of the lyrics in this song, but it does lend a touch of pathos to what he’s singing and implies a dignity he’s trying to project even when his actions aren’t very dignified.
Buy it from Amazon.
A Monster In A Costume
Dora Jar “She Loves Me”
The arrangement of “She Loves Me” is mostly just a melodic baseline, vocals, and percussion – minimalist by any definition, but so generous with hooks, atmosphere, and dynamics that it doesn’t quite come off as minimalism. The song is always moving, which suits a song that’s essentially about the shifting nature of the self. Dora Jar is singing about herself as though she’s observing herself at different points in the timeline, not always relating to herself or even liking what she sees, but finding some thread of affection for herself connecting all her selves.
Buy it from Amazon.
They Say It’s Brand New
King Krule “It’s All Soup Now”
Your interpretation of this song probably depends on your feelings about soup in general. If you love soup – if you’re truly passionate about soup – you might wonder why this guy sounds so sad about it all being soup now. Like, slow jazzy guitar chords and plaintive sax out of a noir soundtrack sad? Murmurs and whispers, howls of pain? This must be a very bad bisque, a cruel chowder, a broth of despair.
Kidding aside, I think this might be the first really good song I’ve heard about COVID. And that feels right given that I think King Krule made the best song about the initial lockdown era before it happened, but released it at the exact right moment.
Buy it from Amazon.
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Ryan Antiart has been in the zone lately, I recommend his recent posts about Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.
• Tom Breihan is facing the highest highs and lowest lows this week in his #1s columns at Stereogum – the glorious perfection of Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Kiss Them for Me” in the Alternative Number Ones, and Meghan Trainor’s cringe-inducing “All About That Bass” in the regular Number Ones.
• Kendrick Lamar debuted “Not Like Us” a few times over at a Juneteenth show at the Forum in Los Angeles and it’s a joy to behold, assuming you’re not a Drake fan.