Fluxblog 486 portraits in black and blue
Plus new songs by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, JPEGMAFIA, and Geneva Jacuzzi
This week’s playlist is PORTRAITS IN BLACK AND BLUE, a two hour soundtrack-style collection of very reverb-heavy indie ballads. I think this is a good vibe for any season, but it feels particularly good for late summer/early autumn. This one features music by King Krule, Cat Power, Jessica Pratt, The Clientele, Cowboy Junkies, Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo, Fleet Foxes, Deerhunter, Real Estate, Cindy Lee, Broadcast, and more.
[Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube]
That Ain’t Peace And That Ain’t Free
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard “Daily Blues”
I was watching an archive of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s random all-acoustic show in Detroit from this weekend and at one point when they were introducing “Minimum Brain Size,” one of them – I think it was Stu? – was talking about the notion of “toxic masculinity” without actually using that now very cringey phrase. He was basically saying a lot of guys in this world need to chill out, and ended by just saying “masculine is good, but just do it right.” I feel like this might be annoying coming from some acts, but the Gizz guys are such dudely dudes that they’re effectively modeling a positive unambiguous masculinity for the audience. It’s kinda like how in the 1990s the Beastie Boys were very effective in showing a lot of guys around my age that there was no contradiction between being a cool bro and treating everyone with kindness and respect.
“Daily Blues” wasn’t played in that show, but its lyrics are very much on this wavelength. Like a lot of the songs on the recent Flight b741, it’s a groovy and harmony-heavy “classic rock” song in the vein of pre-Michael McDonald Doobie Brothers. The lyrics lay out the King Gizz philosophy – strict adherence to faith can be a prison for the mind and soul, “a gaping chasm” between haves and have-nots perpetuates misery worldwide, aggro dudes torment themselves as much as they hurt everyone around them, all the bigots can “go get fucked.” They’re not holding back in their critique of the people making the planet a worse place, but they’re also insistent that empathy and love are essential, even when dealing with your enemies.
There’s a few big call-and-response hooks in the song but the one that really stands out is a part in the middle that they only sing once, though it definitely could have been a heavily repeated chorus – “they’re getting fuck up daily / GETTING FUCKED UP DAILY / they’re getting fucked up daily / GETTING FUCKED UP DAILY!!” This hits like a laddish party boy thing, but in context this is their rationale for showing love to someone you hated. Everyone is dealing with their “daily blues,” and the only way out of it is to show empathy for others’ struggles. It’s a very hippy-ish sentiment, but it’s true.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
The Only One Who Can See Me Is Me
JPEGMAFIA “Either On or Off the Drugs”
There’s countless rap songs in which rappers tell you how great they are, how they’re built different, that they have a vision that can’t be held back. It’s a central trope of the genre, and a lot of the time it’s just innocuous shit-talking and self-mythologizing, making themselves into superheroes or supervillains. But sometimes, as in the case of “Either On or Off the Drugs,” it can come across more like a self-directed pep talk, or trying to understand one’s own artistic drive and motivations. JPEGMAFIA’s voice sounds warm and vulnerable, his cadence isn’t aggressive even when he’s venting frustrations. There’s a casual feel to the song that in some ways makes the boasts land more convincingly – he sounds like he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone but himself. There’s one part towards the middle of the song where he says as much, but presents it more like an affirmation necessary for the act of creation: “I’m Michael Jackson, I’m dancing in the mirror / the only one who can see me is me / the only one who can believe is me.”
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Tragic Mysteries
Geneva Jacuzzi “Laps of Luxury”
“Laps of Luxury” sounds like vintage top-shelf 80s synth-pop – the programming is very Depeche Mode, the vocal melody more along the lines of Pet Shop Boys, the grim but debauched atmosphere closer to Skinny Puppy. Geneva Jacuzzi isn’t straying from genre conventions but she’s got a great lyrical angle on this song, which presents proximity to extreme wealth as something that can scar the soul. The lyrics are very evocative but light on plot detail, so it’s more of a character sketch that leaves you wondering who exactly this woman is and what she’s experienced. “I’ve seen so many things no one should see on the laps of luxury,” she sings in the chorus, inviting the listener to imagine whatever level of depravity they can bring themselves to think about.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
LINKS LINKS LINKS LINKS
• Josh Terry wrote a terrific deep dive on King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s enormous 26 album discography for his consistently great newsletter No Expectations. It provides all the context you need for the King Gizzard intro playlist I posted last week!
• I’m not a big fan of celebrity profiles but Brock Colyar’s New York Magazine cover story about Charli XCX is really great stuff – effortless storytelling and scene-setting, interesting details, a good angle on why she’s suddenly clicking in a big way, and a bit of friction with the subject. Also, NYM broke out the big bucks for a classic-style big production David LaChapelle photoshoot! Can we get LaChapelle Roan next please?
• Is it possible that fewer festivals is a good thing? Shawn Reynaldo at First Floor ponders the upsides of several festivals fizzling out.
LaChapelle Roan!!!!