Fluxblog Weekly #32: Jeremih, Logic, Joanna Newsom, Erykah Badu, Archy Marshall, The Long Blondes
I added a special treat this week in the form of adding a writeup of two of the best songs by The Long Blondes from 2008 and 2009. If you've never heard them, you're in for a treat. If you haven't heard them in a long time, I think you'll be happy to get them back in your life.
December 7th, 2015
Yes, It’s Very Extraordinary
Logic “Like Woah”
I wonder about the rappers who write songs about being extremely successful while being only modestly successful, or maybe just possibly eventually successful. Logic is definitely doing well, but I’d put him squarely in the “modestly successful” category. At one point in this song he says he’s “platinum up in this bitch,” which is…untrue. Not that this really matters or negates the feeling of a song about being excited about doing well and having some money, but it is notable. The general mood of this song, from the beat on up, is more about gratitude than showing off, and I’d be lying to you if I told you I don’t feel a bit envious when I hear it.
Buy it from Amazon.
Jeremih “Oui”
I love the way this track frames Jeremih’s silky voice with these bright staccato chords – if the attack was different it’d feel a bit agitated, but the approach is softer, and it makes the whole track feel breezy and light. Jeremih not really doing anything out of the ordinary here, but he sounds genuinely affectionate and kind as he’s singing about wanting to make this girl happy. Maybe that’s faint praise, but I think it means a lot. Also, major points for coming up with a line based on a homonym as clever as “there’s no we without you and I.”
Buy it from Amazon.
December 8th, 2015
The Nullifying, Defeating, Negating, Repeating Joy Of Life
Joanna Newsom @ Kings Theater 12/7/2015
Bridges & Balloons / Anecdotes / Soft as Chalk / Divers / Emily / Waltz of the 101st Lightborne / Have One on Me / Peach, Plum, Pear / Goose Eggs / Sapokanikan / Leaving the City / Cosmia / Time, As A Symptom // Sawdust & Diamonds / Baby Birch
Joanna Newsom “Time, As A Symptom”
I had put off writing about this song for weeks, and then figured I’d wait longer, because I knew I’d be seeing Joanna Newsom play this show. And I still feel oddly under qualified to write about it. The main thing I got from seeing Newsom live is how casual she appears on stage – not just in how she plays her instruments as though they’re purely an extension of gesture and reflex, but in her relaxed demeanor, and how the seriousness of her words don’t overtake the performance of the music. “Time, As A Symptom” is a very heavy song; I would go so far as to say it’s profound in the way it thinks about love and life and time and death. I imagine the chorus like a ladder, and she’s climbing up through the pain and struggle and tedium of life to arrive at the top, and seeing everything with a clear perspective from on high, and what she sees from there is nothing but joy and love. This wrecks me. It is a thought and musical moment so beautiful to me that it’s hard to listen to. I’m not always ready for it, and I think the only reason I didn’t cry when she performed it last night was because I’d been acclimated to the feeling of her music for over an hour at that point. If that climax came any sooner in the night, I just don’t know.
Buy it from Amazon.
December 9th, 2015 1:30pm
It’s Either On Or Off
Erykah Badu featuring Andre 3000 “Hello”
Andre 3000 performances are so rare now that even something inconsequential or phoned-in can seem precious, but this duet with his ex Erykah Badu is lovely and clever and emotionally nuanced and really, one of the best tracks of his career. This song, a version of The Isley Brothers’ version of a Todd Rundgren tune, has them both reckoning with what their relationship has been and what it is today, and cherishing the deep connection they have without forgetting a lot of their complicated history. It’s a very adult song, and something uniquely suited to Andre’s deft blend of wit and unguarded emotion. The humor is really crucial to getting across the deeper feelings here, and so is the use of in-jokes and pet names. This is a song about communication between two very close people; we’re just listening in.
Get it from Apple Music.
December 10th, 2015 1:34pm
The Damage Of How I Live My Life
Archy Marshall featuring Jamie Isaac “Ammi Ammi”
Archy Marshall’s identity is a moving target, switching from Zoo Kid to King Krule to Edgar the Beatmaker and his given name on a whim from record to record. And maybe he feels like that in a literal way, like he’s shifting around to much to stick to one name. But on a musical level, I can think of few young musicians with an aesthetic as fully formed as him – sure, this new record is more electronic in nature than the last King Krule album, but that vibe of sleepy nihilism and depressive sexiness is unmistakable. “Ammi Ammi” feels like a cousin to “Neptune Estate,” with Marshall meditating on some complicated, possibly toxic relationship over a track that feels like it’s gradually drifting away from you even as the beat seems to jog in place.
Buy it from Amazon.
December 28th, 2009
I Don’t Kid Myself About Happy Endings
The Long Blondes “You Could Have Both”
You could just choke on the bitter disappointment and desperation in this song. Kate Jackson’s character is well beyond caring about anything at this point, let alone herself. She just wants some kind of return on her emotional investment, all the while trying to mask her raw emotions with a jaded front. She’s long past reserving her contempt for her rival — she hates herself for wanting someone so badly and being strung along like an idiot. She knows that there’s no winning in this situation, and there is no way having “both” can be a positive thing for anyone at all. She’s driven herself crazy with compromise and there’s only one way out of the problem, even if she hasn’t realized it yet. Until then, you have this mess of anxiety, ego, loneliness, and fear. Frankly, it’s sort of amazing that the Long Blondes could make a feeling so awful and pathetic sound so exciting and sexy.
Buy it from Amazon.
The Long Blondes “The Couples”
The character in “The Couples” has had it. She’s been coming to this same old bar, playing the game, but she always loses. The only men who seem interested have already paired off, and she can’t rationalize being the other woman — or at least, not anymore. It’s not clear whether or not she actually wants to be half of a couple, but she’s certainly fed up with not having the option, and even more annoyed when more fortunate people condescend to know how she feels. It’s all set-up for a truly brilliant chorus: “These people have the nerve to tell me that they’re lonely…you’re not lonely; I am, baby.” Jackson sounds a little bit exasperated, but mostly resigned, particularly when the chorus gives way to a disheartened sigh, or a breakdown in which she imagines her isolation on a cosmic scale.
Buy it from Amazon.