Fluxblog Weekly #207: Kit Sebastian, Beck, Priests, Norah Jones
I wrote about the use of music in Lynne Ramsay's 2002 film Morvern Callar for Decider. This is my first bylined freelance piece in about 7 years, and the first time I've really written about film in about as long. I'll hopefully be doing more of this soon!
April 14th, 2019
Suffocate Thoughts
Kit Sebastian “Mantra Moderne”
“Mantra Moderne” – both the song and its gorgeous but somewhat deadpan video – is essentially a smooth puree of various forms of distinctly mid-20th century sensuality. It’s a haze of psychedelia and jazz, spiced with elements of pop from around the globe. It’s a very elegant sort of stoner music, the kind of music where you’re probably not getting the full effect unless your skin is brushing up against silk or velvet. There’s a winky kitsch to this, particularly in the video, but Kit Sebastian’s craft is entirely earnest and quite impressive. There’s also a subtle creepiness to this music, with the cute aspects of the vocal melody barely obscuring the cryptic menace of the lyrics.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
April 16th, 2019
In A Flash Of Light
Beck “Saw Lightning”
The Beck discography is a spectrum of styles, and “Saw Lightning” is near the center of it, where acoustic folk and funky rhythm meet. This is not an unusual space for Beck to be – this is more or less the spot where “Loser” falls in that continuum, and the same goes for a lot of songs from Guero and The Information. It’s default Beck. The sweet spot, though his greatest work will usually be at the far aesthetic extremes.
“Saw Lightning” is a song Beck completed with the help of Pharrell Williams, and while you can hear Williams’ presence in the rhythms, the flavor of it is still overwhelmingly Beck. Williams is mostly adding a kick to it – a Neptunes-y syncopation, a bass synth nudge that makes the chorus more propulsive, vocals that add dimension and a sense of wild commotion around Beck’s voice. The song has a slightly frantic feeling to it, like Beck is there trying to keep a cool head while disaster strikes. The lyrics allude to natural disasters and climate change, and the feeling of facing down scary, uncertain situations. But Beck sounds brave here – he’s scrambling, but gracefully. He’s in awe of crazy stuff going down, but wise enough to back away. It’s not a song about being terrified of the apocalypse; it’s a song about adjusting to a weird new normal.
Buy it from Amazon.
April 18th, 2019
A Face Without Ambiguity
Priests “I’m Clean”
“I’m Clean” has a cool, crisp tone and a mechanical groove. This sets up a chilly, antiseptic vibe that contrasts sharply with Katie Alice Greer’s voice, which is all messy passion and complicated emotion. She’s singing about negating herself and suppressing her emotions and needs to accommodate a partner’s kinks, and while she generally sounds like she resented this experience, there’s enough ambiguity in her voice and lyrics to suggest she didn’t totally hate it either. It’s a deliberately thorny and tricky song, and it’s handed off to the listener like a challenge. Or maybe it’s more like a mirror – what you get out of the lyrics and music here will depend a lot on your point of view.
Buy it from Amazon.
April 19th, 2019
Stick To My Skin Tonight
Norah Jones “It Was You”
The majority of “It Was You” is smooth and sensual, with Norah Jones singing about a feeling of romantic certainty over jazzy chords. The verses have a different energy – an ascending melody that implies searching and emotional effort, lyrics that suggest an analytical mindset at odds with the gut intuition of the chorus. It’s a contest of head vs heart that the heart wins rather quickly. The back half of the song is elegant and gentle as Jones’ phrasing conveys a feeling of love so strong that it’s weighted by melancholy. Is she afraid this won’t work? Is this actually an unrequited feeling? Or is she so in love it’s bringing tears to her eyes?
Buy it from Amazon.