Fluxblog Weekly #143: Soccer Mommy, Panda Bear, Lucy Dacus, Nadine
January 14th, 2018
Your Little Pet
Soccer Mommy “Your Dog”
“Your Dog” essentially inverts the sound and sentiment of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” – moody and pensive rather than aggressive, and bitterly defiant rather than eagerly submissive. Iggy was singing about getting dominated, but he was essentially being a bossy bottom, and in control of a fantasy situation. Sophie Allison is singing about a much more mundane scenario – being in a miserable relationship with a controlling guy who treats you like a prop to occupy his time. The lyrics are direct and unambiguous, the sort of lines you rehearse over and over in your head before actually speaking up for yourself. But even if the verses are bold declarations of independence, the chorus suggests getting out of this won’t be easy – “Forehead kisses break my knees in, leave me crawling back to you.”
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January 15th, 2018
Deities Washed Up In A Sewage Leak
Panda Bear “Part of the Math”
“Part of the Math” is built around a blaring tone that evokes the aesthetics of a loud, overdriven electric guitar without necessarily sounding like it. Panda Bear has done this trick a few times before, and it’s always interesting to me – familiar and alien all at once; a simultaneous embrace and rejection of traditional rock sounds. The rest of the arrangement falls in the same odd zone, with a steady electronic beat and a straight forward and catchy vocal melody both feeling just slightly off-kilter.
This is a great example of what Animal Collective have always done best: Taking bits of pop and rock music that we take for granted and going “hmmm, is there maybe another way of achieving this effect that’d be more interesting?” YouTube is full of cover versions of AnCo songs that all translate the band’s music back into something more normal, and while that can make a good argument in favor of their songwriting, it also highlights the ways they’re always finding a more distinctive and colorful way of articulating themselves.
It’s worth noting that the lyrics of this song take a rather morbid turn about halfway through, just after Panda chastises someone – I assume himself – for “making it all about your shit.” There isn’t a clear narrative here, but it’s interesting to me that his words because more negative and cryptic just after he denies his own feelings or perspective.
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January 17th, 2018
Freeze Frame Tidal Wave
Lucy Dacus “Addictions”
Lucy Dacus’ music is direct and personal in a way that can feel vaguely startling and sorta voyeuristic, like you’re reading texts or emails intended for someone who is definitely not you. The lyrics of “Addiction” in particular are so vivid and specific that your mind rushes to fill in the backstory – who’s this person she was intimate with, and what exactly made them drift apart, and what brought them back together in that car? Does she really want to get back together, or is she just torturing herself in the middle of the night? I think this is resonant at any age, but it all sounds so young to me. It’s the angst of not having a lot of personal precedent, and knowing how things go in other people’s lives and in stories but not really knowing how the narratives will form in your own life. You hold out for the patterns of other people’s lives, or rush to conclusions about how things are for you. You can hear her drift towards the latter extreme as this song goes along, with lines that sound like the beginning of self-fulfilling prophecies.
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January 18th, 2018
Hiding From The Funeral
Nadine “Pews”
The percussion in “Pews” is rather busy and driving, and yet the song overall conveys an odd feeling of status. It’s a bit like jogging in place on a treadmill, or having your life go stagnant while everyone around you is frantic and chaotic. Nadia Hulett sings her parts with the tone of someone who is trying to be clear-headed and serene, but is just starting to betray a repressed impatience and restlessness. The lyrics focus on miscommunication and liminal moments, the bits of life without any focus or definition. It suits the music rather well.
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