Fluxblog Weekly #164: Kids See Ghosts, Jorja Smith, Jeremih, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sophie
June 10th, 2018
Died And Came Back Twice
Kids See Ghosts “Freee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)”
Whereas the guitar parts in “Ghost Town” were relatively subtle in shaping the mood and feeling of the song, the guitars in “Freee (Ghost Town Pt 2)” are thundering and bombastic. The ambivalence and conflict of the first song is gone, replaced by unambiguous triumph, with Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Ty Dolla $ign declaring themselves free of all pain. (This is an… interesting… thing for Kanye, a guy coming off opioids, to say.)
“Freee” comes from a few different perspectives. It starts off with a sort of foreword from Marcus Garvey, who speaks about the power of self-knowledge. Ty Dolla $ign’s lines are paranoid, expressing a frustration with how fickle other people can be. Cudi sounds like a guy who has found some peace, while Kanye’s declaration of freedom comes off as slightly spiteful and vindictive. He makes it sound more like a status than a feeling.
It’s interesting to hear so much rock in Kanye’s new songs, whether he’s building a rock feeling out of purely hip-hop sounds on Pusha T’s “If You Know You Know,” or going for straight-forward arena rock vibe here. The main things Kanye is importing from rock are dynamics, swagger, and drama. (He’s done this before, most notably on “Black Skinhead.”) In absorbing these aesthetics into his established style, he’s highlighting valuable aspects of rock music and offering new ways of framing these core competencies. Hopefully some rock people are paying attention and taking notes.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 12th, 2018
The Thought Of You
Jorja Smith “Lost & Found”
Jorja Smith sings with poise and precision, and her songs are mostly laid back and tranquil. But that’s all on the surface – the songs themselves are about subtle turmoil and nuanced emotional dilemmas. “Lost & Found,” her loveliest and most accomplished song, is about an infatuation that’s become an entanglement, but not quite a relationship. Smith sounds like she’s processing it all in real time, with changes in her melody and vocal cadence reflecting different stages of delusion, denial, and acceptance. The chill vibe of the song is not necessarily at odds with the neuroses of the lyrics – I think part of the point is that she’s holding herself together well, and coming to a mature realization. It’s a low-key feeling, more bittersweet than emotionally devastating.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 13th, 2018
Posted On The Wall
Jeremih featuring Ty Dolla $ign “The Light”
Ty Dolla $ign’s first line in this song is so exuberant and direct that it cracks me up: “Let’s haaaaaave sex!” Like, why bother with euphemisms, right? This song is too funky to put this politely. But scratch that, this actually is kinda polite, as he immediately adds a series of caveats: not without the foreplay, or a first date. When Jeremih comes into the song, he sounds twice as smooth and ten times more lascivious. The chords in his section have a cool, relaxed vibe, and make lines like “I’m tryna fuck you on top” seem a lot more gentle and romantic than they might seem otherwise. The sequence of grooves here is all about tension and relief, and the shift in lyrical perspective keeps the lust and sensitivity equally balanced.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 14th, 2018
Nothing But A Body
The Smashing Pumpkins “Solara”
Billy Corgan’s output over the past decade or so has been split between the music he makes for himself – the personal stuff, the formally or conceptually experimental stuff – and the music that seems like him trying to give people what he thinks they want. Some of the music in the former category has been good, and some of the music in the latter category has been good too. But I think for the most part, a lot of it has been lackluster because the songs he wrote at his creative and commercial peak was all in the Venn diagram overlap of those two motivations. Some things are only meant for hardcore fans, and that’s fine, but it’s not very fun to listen to music by someone who seems to be half-heartedly aiming to please.
“Solara,” the first song he’s released with both Jimmy Chamberlain and James Iha in the band with him since 2000, falls in that perfect overlap. He sounds both genuinely fired up AND eager to please, and is more generous with hooks than he’s been in ages. “Solara” glides from hook to hook with supreme confidence, and every member of the band sounds like they want to prove that they can still bring it. I don’t think this is quite Siamese Dream level, but this is strong stuff, and probably what radio stations would’ve liked them to deliver circa 1997/1998 than their Adore material. It’s all oomph and momentum, and the key line – “I am nothing but a body in my mind” – brings a new sort of anxiety into the classic Corgan angst matrix. Hopefully this incarnation of the band can keep this focus, enthusiasm, and raw energy going for a while.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 15th, 2018
Where Do I Exist
Sophie “Immaterial”
“Immaterial” is the thematic and emotional climax of Sophie’s debut album, a song expressing the pure joy of embracing one’s power to decide for themselves who they want to be. In this song, fluidity of identity is a blessing, not a curse. It’s an opportunity, and a path to freedom and fun. The music starts off feeling like a burden being lifted, but moves into a hyperactive dance pop zone – imagine Calvin Harris, but more sparkly and camp. It’s the sort of song that sounds like a huge epiphany, and listening to it without directly relating to the experience makes it all seem very aspirational.
Buy it from Amazon.