Fluxblog Weekly #256: 90s survey playlists | Dirty Projectors | Margaret Glaspy | Pearl Jam | Childish Gambino
Since I’ve had a lot of time on my hands, and I know that you do too, I put all of the 1990s surveys on Spotify this week. So as of right now, you can find the surveys for 1970-1999 all on my Spotify profile, and here’s direct links to each of the 90s playlists:
1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
March 23rd, 2020
Oh, Fear Is Old
Dirty Projectors “Overlord”
David Longstreth has a very particular style with melody, to the point that his work is immediately recognizable no matter who is singing. “Overlord” is one of his best tunes, in large part because he doesn’t get in the way of how pleasing the melody is and opted to subvert it lyrically rather than musically. The lyrics, co-written and sung by Maia Friedman, come from the perspective of someone fully on board with a fascist mindset and is sincerely selling their point of view to someone else. The warm and wholesome tone of the arrangement and vocal harmonies aren’t necessarily at odds with the lyrics, but highlight the way the seeming safety of fascism can feel welcoming. That is, until the mask slips, and it all falls apart.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 24th, 2020
This Whole Universe
Margaret Glaspy “You’ve Got My Number”
In textural terms, “You’ve Got My Number” is a departure for Margaret Glaspy. I’s all harsh electronic textures and robotic funk, like a more aggressive garage rock take on Jimmy Jam and Jerry Lewis’s production style on Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. But the core of the song is pure Glaspy – elegant melodies that come out sounding casual as she sings them in a light drawl, and lyrics that express a feeling in plain language with asides that allow for conditions and complications. Thematically this one isn’t far off from her breakout single “You & I” in the sense that she’s addressing someone she feels an intense lust for, and laying out the terms of the situation. In both songs there’s an acknowledgment that she has no idea how she’ll feel in the future, and allows for that possibility without stamping out the fire of the feeling in the moment. But whereas the relationship in “You & I” is imbalanced on her side, the tables seem to be turned here, and she’s the one with something to lose. With this in mind, the in-the-red funk feels both persuasive and urgent.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 26th, 2020
A Little Trick I Play On My Mind
Pearl Jam “Never Destination”
When Pearl Jam transitioned into a band that was more invested in live performance than anything else around the early 2000s their records lost a lot of the spark and vitality of their first wave of albums in the ‘90s. Whereas those albums – particularly the first three – have a high stakes do-or-die energy to them, the band settled into familiar patterns and the more stable emotions of grown men with great lives. There’s value in that for sure, but I think anyone who grew up with Pearl Jam in their prime could notice that high drama missing in their music even when they delivered some very strong songs here and there over the past two decades. But now, somehow when the cathartic energy of Pearl Jam feels most necessary, they’ve reconnected with their muse on Gigaton, their most consistently vibrant, tuneful, and emotionally resonant work in years. It’s not much like the robust psychodrama of Ten, but it’s in the spirit of the socially engaged and musically restless energy of Vs. and Vitalogy.
A lot of this comes down to Eddie Vedder feeling freaked out by everything any reasonable person is scared of today – the sense that everything is breaking or broken, that every sort of doom is coming at us at once. He doesn’t get bogged down in topicality – these songs have been gestating for years and are definitely meant to played live for years to come – but they’re rooted in a time and place, and the perspective of someone who’s old enough to have accrued some wisdom but still baffled, confused, and angry.
“Never Destination,” an up-tempo number that feels light and breezy despite the tension at the core of the arrangement, is sung from the point of view of someone struggling with the value of distraction and denial in the face of a crisis. Vedder recognizes the need for it, but he’s skeptical too, spitting out the phrase “more denial!” at the end of the chorus. He’s frustrated but knows he’s just as guilty as anyone in playing “a little trick” on his own mind. I love that he allows for this tangle of sanctimonious anger, guilt, and delusional bliss. It feels very true, especially at this particular moment in time.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
March 27th, 2020
Life Ain’t Fair Everybody Gonna Cheat
Childish Gambino “35.31 (Little Foot, Big Foot, Get Out the Way)”
“35.31” sounds like The Dixie Cups version of “Iko Iko” crossed with M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” with lyrics that directly reference OJ Da Juiceman’s “Make the Trap Say Aye.” It’s a song that calls out for annotation, and I’m sure unpacking all the history in the references and musical elements packed into these four minutes would make for a great book. But as deep as this gets, or as bleak as Donald Glover’s lyrics from the perspective of a young drug dealer can be, the song is ultimately a bouncy, joyful bop above all else. The “Iko Iko” vibe suits Glover very well, flattering all the most charming aspects of his voice and giving him a great opportunity to build a glorious dance spectacle around it that would probably invite a lot of annotation too. I get the sense that Glover enjoys being clever, perhaps out of a desire to be taken more seriously, but I think his impulses as an entertainer prevail in a song like this which is so purely musical that the big ideas are all a bonus.
Buy it from Amazon.