Fluxblog Weekly #165: Bey-Z, Gorillaz, Neko Case, Darwin Deez, Sales
June 17th, 2018
With Heaven On Our Side
Beyoncé & Jay-Z “Lovehappy”
Everything Is Love seems as though it was deliberately designed by Beyoncé and Jay-Z to be the third part of a trilogy about their marital troubles that began with her Lemonade and his 4:44. Those records are both quite good and focused, examining potent emotions of betrayal and guilt while also delivering thoughtful meditations on race and culture. This one is more like a victory lap in which they spend a little time addressing the dynamics of their reconciliation, but mostly flaunt their outrageous wealth, treat their small children like IP, present their family as an aspirational brand, and air petty grievances with the music industry. (They’re not appreciated enough, you see.) The music is pretty good relative to other people’s records, but compared to what Beyoncé does regularly and what Jay-Z accomplished with No-ID on 4:44, it’s all rather ho-hum. It mostly just sounds smug to me. And complacent.
I feel bad saying this. I like both of these artists a lot, and respect them deeply. I recognize what Beyoncé in particular means to people, and I don’t begrudge anyone’s enthusiasm about this record. But it’s 2018, and it’s hard for me to stomach any kind of ostentatious wealth, particularly when it’s presented as this aspirational luxury lifestyle that pushes people to buy into the worst aspects of capitalism. I have personally moved too far left to not feel alienated by prosperity gospel bullshit. I have no love for celebrity culture, and only really care about these people as musicians. I also don’t like the way Beyoncé has figured out that surprise album drops kills all critical takes on her work by drowning it out in enthusiasm and online publications’ desperate need to hype up trending topics. It makes even minor dissent seem contrarian, or the griping of a killjoy.
“Lovehappy” is the final song on the record, and its lyrics essentially summarize the talking points of the project. It’s also the most musically impressive song – it starts off in a very mid-’90s NYC rap track, but shifts into more of a warm, soulful R&B tune that allows Beyoncé to emote as she faces the future of their relationship with genuine optimism. In some ways it is a thematic reiteration of Beyoncé’s “All Night,” but hey, you didn’t get Jay-Z on that track. I appreciate the nuance of this song, and how it embraces the complexities of adult relationships in a way that rejects binary morality. “We’re flawed but we’re still perfect for each other,” she sings, and I believe that’s probably true. These are two incredibly competitive people who live to triumph over obstacles. This is a love song about doing that.
June 19th, 2018
Calling The World From Isolation
Gorillaz featuring George Benson “Humility”
“I don’t want this isolation,” Damon Albarn sings, alluding to both personal loneliness and the self-destructive political impulses of England (and for that matter, several other nations in the recent past.) The music is melancholy yet tranquil and idyllic. It makes me imagine someone wandering alone through a vacation resort at sunset, looking at couples and families with muted envy. It’s the sound of desperately wanting connection and community, but feeling hobbled by bad decisions and anxieties. Albarn holds back the more robust tones of his voice here, opting to sound more fragile and exhausted as he tentatively reaches out for help. “I need you in the picture, that’s why I’m calling you,” he sings, and I find the lack of pride in his voice – the humility! – to be incredibly moving and inspirational.
Buy it from Amazon.
June 20th, 2018
Have Mercy On The Natural World
Neko Case “Hell-On”
“Hell-On” has a nervous, cautious sound to it, as if Neko Case and her band are trying to keep it down to avoid waking a wrathful infant. And in the context of Case’s lyrics, that wrathful child is God – or, as she makes clear, the natural world. Case writes about the unpredictable brutality of nature with both reverence and fear, and uses cold, dispassionate language in describing seemingly random destruction. She shifts perspective midway through the song, and speaks on behalf of the planet itself, addressing humanity with condescension and contempt. “You’ll not be master, you’re barely my guest,” she sings. That verse ends with a line that’s delivered gently, but only out of pity: “Be careful of the natural world.”
Buy it from Amazon.
June 21st, 2018
Before Your Lips Become Predictable
Darwin Deez “The World’s Best Kisser”
“The World’s Best Kisser” is a work of very carefully considered minimalism in which basic musical elements – accompaniment, rhythm, chords, counter melody – are withheld for substantial stretches of the song so that when they’re deployed they have maximum impact. The opening a cappella goes on much longer than expected but is melodically and lyrically interesting, and it just makes me hang on every turn of phrase. The song has an interesting feeling to it – it’s not tense, but there’s a lot of suspense, and when sounds are introduced it feels like a relief. This is particularly true when guitar chords come in on a brief bridge, and it’s sort of like getting a blast of cold AC while walking down the street on a hot, humid day.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
June 22nd, 2018
This Is Not A Test
Sales “White Jeans”
Sales’ songs all feel intimate and low-key dramatic, with singer Lauren Morgan delivering her lyrics as though she’s pulled you aside to tell you a secret. “White Jeans” is a song about having some hot person flirt with you at a party, and dancing with them, and loving every bit of the moment while still being a bit in your head. It’s not an anxious song, but it is loaded with anticipation and vague confusion. “This is not a test, this is not a dream,” she has to tell herself early on. But by the end, she’s dancing and letting go and just feeling the feeling. The music itself is danceable but in a rather muted way – it sounds almost like a pop song heard from a distance, or reduced down to just the most delicate sensations.
Buy it from Bandcamp.