Low Fidelity

50 from the 1990s

2010-02-09T19:04:00.001-08:00

Angelo Badalamenti – Music from Twin Peaks (1990)
Poison Idea – Feel the Darkness (1990)
Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
Sonic Youth – Goo (1990)
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
Ween – The Pod (1991)
Dr. Dre – The Chronic (1992)
The Mummies – Never Been Caught (1992)
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)
Tom Waits – Bone Machine (1992)
The Vaselines – The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History (1992)
Afghan Whigs – Gentlemen (1993)
Red House Painters – Red House Painters (Rollercoaster) (1993)
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dreams (1993)
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1994)
Fushitsusha – Pathetique (1994)
Global Communication – 76:14 (1994)
The Gories – I Know You Fine, but How You Doin’ (1994)
Gravediggaz – 6 Feet Deep (1994)
Jeru the Damaja – The Sun Rises in the East (1994)
Low – I Could Live in Hope (1994)
Nas – Illmatic (1994)
Nirvana – Unplugged in New York (1994)
The Notorious BIG – Ready to Die (1994)
Outkast – SouthernPlayalisticCadillacMuzik (1994)
Weezer – Weezer (Blue) – 1994
Basic Channel – BCD (1995)
Big L – Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous (1995)
The Consumers – All My Friends Are Dead (1995)
GZA – Liquid Swords (1995)
Oval – 94 Diskont (1995)
Raekwon – Only Built for Cuban Linx (1995)
Scott Walker – Tilt (1995)
Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
Biosphere – Substrata (1997)
Electric Wizard – Come My Fanatics . . . (1997)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F# A# ∞ (1997)
Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
Outkast – Aquemini (1998)
Built to Spill – Keep It Like a Secret (1999)
Disco Inferno – The Five LP’s (1999)
The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (1999)
Gas – Konigsforst (1999)
The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)
Sigur Ros – Agaetus Byrjun (1999)
Tom Waits – Mule Variations (1999)
Wilco – Summerteeth (1999)

50 Albums from the Noughties (Ordered List to Come)

2010-01-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Avey Tare & Panda Bear – Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished (2000)

Electric Wizard – Dopethrone (2000)

Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Yr Tiny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)

Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica (2000)

PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)

Radiohead – Kid A (2000)

Saturday Looks Good to Me – Saturday Looks Good to Me (2000)

Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein (2001)

Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)

Life Without Buildings – Any Other City (2001)

The Strokes – Is This It (2001)

Iron & Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)

Mclusky – Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)

The Mountain Goats – All Hail West Texas (2002)

Saturday Looks Good to Me – Love Will Find You (2002)

Animal Collective – Here Comes the Indian (2003)

Greg Ashley – Medicine Fuck Dream (2003)

The Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic (2003)

Saturday Looks Good to Me – All Your Summer Songs (2003)

Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain (2003)

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops (2001-2003)

The Wrens – The Meadowlands (2003)

Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (2004)

Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner (2004)

Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004)

Joanna Newsom – The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)

Pan Sonic – Kesto (2004)

Jesu – Jesu (2005)

Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury (2006)

J Dilla (Jay Dee) – Donuts (2006)

Liars – Drum’s Not Dead (2006)

Joanna Newsom – Ys (2006)

Scott Walker – The Drift (2006)

Burial – Untrue (2007)

Graham Lambkin – Salmon Run (2007)

Life Without Buildings – Live at the Annandale Hotel (2007)

Lil Wayne – Da Drought 3 (2007)

Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)

Phosphorescent – Pride (2007)

Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)

Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)

Graham Lambkin & Jason Lecalleet – The Breadwinner (2008)

No Age – Nouns (2008)

Portishead – Third (2008)

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Part II (2009)

Shackleton – Three EPs LP (2009)

Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy (2009)

Two Very Overrated Bands

2009-04-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

1. The Clash. I'm not afraid to say it, even though I really like the idea of Joe Strummer.

2. Grizzly Bear. I can't even get through all of Veckatimest.

FIVE from 2009

2009-04-26T18:19:00.001-07:00

As the year is nearly one-third of the way through, I’ve decided to recommend five albums released thus far. I’ve absented Animal Collective’s MPP because so much has already been said about it, and it’s placement in my top 100 of all-time list (first alphabetically if not comparatively) should tip everyone off to my thoughts on its quality. Also, I should note that I’m horrible at keeping up with (and evaluating) new music, as most of my listening habits are retrospective, so there’s no telling whether any of these choices will be anywhere near my top-whatever at year’s end—it all just seems too obvious and Pitchfork-y. I’ve liked some dubstep releases but still don’t know enough about the genre to be able to rate them (though look for a UK garage posting in the very near future, especially since I’ll be spending summer in the London fog). Anyway, I think some of you might enjoy some of these picks regardless of the countless caveats …

Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light

Androgyny has been cool even before the ‘Mats sang its praises on Let It Be. On this record—the follow-up to 2005’s nearly indistinguishable I Am a Bird Now—crooner Antony Hegarty dances with epilepsy and forces evocations of uneasy sadness. It’s better than it sounds.

Blank Dogs – Under and Under

Lo-fi synth punk is a shallow genre that’s too often much worse than it even sounds, but this record is one of its few standouts. Under and Under is a superior successor to last year’s hit-or-miss On Two Sides, as melody finally begins to reveal itself amidst the layers of noisy distortion. That said, nothing on here comes close to its predecessor’s “The Crystal Ladies,” which finished as one of 2008’s finest tracks.

Crocodiles – Summer of Hate

I’m not completely sold on this release. Part of me views it as another retro-New Wave effort in a genre that’s been almost entirely discredited by fraudulent acts like the Killers. (Quick aside: does anyone else find the doofy look on the Killers’ drummer completely fucking maddening? Eh, maybe not.) At least the Crocodiles didn’t take their name from a New Order music video and, to my knowledge, haven’t been touring across the globe covering Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” (we get it, you were influenced by the British post-punk movement). But it is a bit worrisome that this band name might have been inspired by the bridge scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. At least they’re lo-fi enough to keep MTV away, and “I Wanna Kill” is one of the best new songs I’ve heard this year, with a primary riff that sounds like it was lifted from Adventures in Babysitting.

Peaches – I Feel Cream

Before hearing this release, I’d mostly viewed this middle-aged erotic electrotrash artist as a novelty act (perhaps obvious from my wordy description) who could occasionally happen across an isolated success. I Feel Cream is a pretty great record, though, as it trades shock for quality in producing several fantastic pieces that are perfect regardless of whether you’re rolling in an Eastern European dance club or, like me, sitting in the law school library cuffed in a pair of oversized headphones.

Wavves – Wavvves

Wavves creates ultra-lo-fi surf punk that buries coherent songs beneath oceans of fuzz. If that sounds appealing, then Wavvves (with three “v”s) is worth a listen. It also has really cool cover art showing a little kid skateboarding in red-trimmed tube socks.

FINAL (MOSTLY UNRELATED) THOUGHT:

While watching the Real World/Road Rules Challenge last week I was told by MTV that Asher Roth was poised to drop one of the three most influential hip-hop records of all-time. I’ve heard “I Love College” and know that it’s a shitty middle-class Enimem rip, but, even supposing it were somehow less horrible, does MTV even bother to think before it promotes? I mean, the top three most influential hip-hop LPs of EVER??? I’ll start: Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full; NWA – Straight Outta Compton; Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique. According to Music Television, Asher Roth’s sophomore effort is not only more influential than EVERY OTHER HIP-HOP ALBUM EVERY RECORDED (including all of the Eminem releases that provided a blueprint for Roth's hopefully ill-fated career), but it also manages to surpass either, (1) the record that helped to jumpstart modern hip-hop, (2) the record that founded gangsta rap as a sub-genre, or (3) the record that revolutionized the ways in which the genre uses samples and approaches production. Fuck you, MTV, please stick to your specialty: scripted teenage dating farces.

Also, I've been listening to Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs for the first time, and I'll be damned if it doesn't sound exactly like late-era Flaming Lips.

100 of My Favorite Records

2009-04-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1993)
Archers of Loaf – Icky Mettle (1993)
Avey Tare and Panda Bear – Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished (2000)
The Beatles – White Album (1968)
Belle and Sebastian – Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (2005)
Big Black – The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape (1987)
Bob Dylan – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
Bob Dylan – Desire (1976)
Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run (1985)
Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love (1987)
Built to Spill – Keep It Like a Secret (1999)
Burial – Untrue (2007)
The Buzzcocks – Singles Going Steady (1979)
Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein (2001)
Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
David Bowie – Low (1977)
David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
Dead Moon – Echoes of the Past (2006)
The Descendents – Milo Goes to College (1982)
Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me (1987)
Disco Inferno – The Five EPs (1999)
Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner (2004)
Dr. Dre – The Chronic (1992)
Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis (1969)
Eric B. and Rakim – Follow the Leader (1988)
The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985)
The Frogs – It’s Only Right and Natural (1989)
Funkadelic – Maggot Brain (1971)
Fushitsusha – PSF 3/4 (1989)
Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)
Glenn Branca – The Ascension (1981)
Global Communication – 76:14 (1994)
The Gories – I Know You Fine, but How You Doin’ (1994)
Graham Lambkin and Jason Lescalleet – The Breadwinner (2008)
Gravediggaz – 6 Feet Deep (1994)
Guided by Voices – Propeller (1992)
GZA – Liquid Swords (1995)
Hasil Adkins – Out to Hunch (1986)
Iggy Pop – The Idiot (1977)
Iggy Pop – Lust for Life (1977)
Iggy and the Stooges – Raw Power (1973)
Iron & Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
J Dilla (Jay Dee) – Donuts (2006)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (1964)
Jesu – Jesu (2005)
Joanna Newsom – Ys (2006)
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)
Les Rallizes Denudes – ’77 Live (2002)
Life Without Buildings – Live at the Annandale Hotel (2007)
Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
Madvillain – Madvillainy (2004)
The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (1999)
Mclusky – Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)
The Melvins – Lysol (1992)
The Modern Lovers – The Modern Loves (1976)
Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica (2000)
The Mountain Goats – All Hail West Texas (2002)
The Mummies – Never Been Caught (1992)
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)
NWA – Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
New Order – Substance (1987)
Notorious BIG – Ready to Die (1994)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Architecture & Morality (1981)
Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
Outkast – SouthernPlayalistiCadillacMuzik (1994)
PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)
Portishead – Third (2008)
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Ramones – Rocket to Russia (1977)
The Replacements – Tim (1985)
The Ronettes – Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)
Sam Cooke – Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1985)
Scott Walker – Scott 3 (1969)
Scott Walker – Tilt (1995)
Scratch Acid – Scratch Acid (1984)
Silver Jews – American Water (1998)
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (1986)
Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)
Sonic Youth – EVOL (1986)
Sonic Youth – Sister (1987)
Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians (1978)
The Stooges – Fun House (1970)
The Strokes – Is This It (2001)
Suicide – Suicide (1977)
The Terminals – Touch (1992)
Tom Waits – Bone Machine (1992)
Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)
The Vaselines – The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History (1992)
The Velvet Underground –White Light/White Heat (1968)
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground (1969)
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Ween – The Pod (1991)
Ween – Pure Guava (1992)
Wilco – Summerteeth (1999)
William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops (2001-2003)
The Wrens – Meadowlands (2003)
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1994)

Five Songs from the 2000s

2009-03-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

As I was driving home from Maryland last night, I began thinking about my favorite songs from this decade and threw together a group of five that I think all music fans should be familiar with. I've decided not to post blurbs on the tracks, because if you can't immediately grasp their brilliance then perhaps you should ask yourself: "Are we human, or are we dancer?"

In alphabetical order, by artist:

Broken Social Scene, "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl" (2003) (from You Forgot It in People)

The Knife, "Heartbeats" (2005) (from Deep Cuts)

LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends" (2007) (from Sound of Silver)

Panda Bear, "Bros" (2007) (from Person Pitch)

Wilco, "Jesus, Etc." (2002) (from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)

Enjoy!

Top 10 Hip-Hop Records of the Decade (Part 1: David's List)

2009-02-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

1. Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)

The best hip-hop album ever recorded is Wu-Tang Clan’s debut, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. Since that release in 1993, the Clan has struggled to match that record’s brilliance as a collective, but individual members of the Wu have crafted full-lengths that harness the unique feel of 36 Chambers while spinning the music so that it reflects that rapper’s personal styling. The 1990s gave us GZA’s sinister Liquid Swords and Raekwon’s Mafioso manifesto Only Built 4 Cuban Linx; the 2000s have thus far been dominated by Ghostface, with Supreme Clientele being the crown jewel in a remarkably consistent catalog. But this record doesn’t owe its greatness to the greatness of the Wu-Tang discography. It’s great because it showcases Ghost’s aggressive and vivid lyrical complexities while a set of ace tracks provide the perfect complementary atmosphere. And of course, the record is replete with guest spots from fellow Wu members, including a verse from RZA on “Nutmeg” that comes out of nowhere to surpass anything I’ve ever heard from the guru himself. If you’re in the market for just one hip-hop album for a post-2000 world, it should be this one.

2. Jay Dilla (Jay Dee) – Donuts (2006)

I’ve never gotten into much instrumental hip-hop, but lately I’ve been trying to appreciate producers who emphasize instrumentals, samples, and atmospherics without relying on hooks or narrative vocals. This is by far the best record I’ve encountered thus far on my search. The context in which this album was created is essential to fully contemplating its brilliance: hip-hop wunderkind Jay Dee produced the LP while dying from lupus, releasing Donuts just three days before his too-early death. Spread over thirty-one cohesive tracks, Donuts gives the listener a snapshot into Jay Dee’s soul, as it bends and breaks with an uplifting tenor that speaks louder than nearly any other hip-hop record I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. His passion spills from every carefully placed note, and while listening, I can’t help but feel a mixture of sadness and joy for both the magnificence of this swan song and the tragedy of losing a genius so early in his life.

3. Madvillain – Madvillany (2004)

Unlike most much-hyped collaborations, this marriage of underground legends Madlib and MF DOOM is bubbling with creative energy. Madvillain works so well by allowing each artist to shine doing exactly what he’s always done. For 2004’s Madvillainy, Madlib crafted a set of captivating, manic tracks that provided the perfect playing field for DOOM to showcase his lyrical eccentricities while throbbing with a pulse that makes them more than typical hip-hop fodder. For once the producer is as prominent as the MC, and the record is much better for it. Madvillainy is a fractured masterpiece that should continue to inspire the progression of hip-hop for years to come. I should also mention that it includes an accordion.

4. Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)

This record is both easy to underestimate and impossible to forget. Jump-started by Kanye-produced “Izzo (HOVA),” The Blueprint hit stores on September 11, 2001. Jigga has been so prolific since debuting with Reasonable Doubt in 1996—this was already his sixth full-length—and so frighteningly consistent, that it’s easy to misremember just how brilliant this record is. One of the many highlights is the confrontational track “The Takeover,” where Jay-Z focuses his lyrical acumen on a number of targets, most notably fellow-great Nas. While one can overlook the fact that Nas’s reprisal was even sharper and wittier than what Jay-Z gave us, “The Takeover” is perfect in its own right, existing within the flow of the album and never sounding forced or whiny. Add to that exercises in lyrical virtuosity with “Jigga That Nigga” and “U Don’t Know,” emotional tour-de-forces with “Song Cry” and “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me),” and a timeless ode to promiscuity with “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and Jay-Z has given the music world a record that will outlive his countless retirements.

5. Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain (2003)

This effort by MF DOOM (Daniel Dumile) alter-ego Viktor Vaughn was only narrowly edged by DOOM’s collaboration with Madlib. Despite these two records occupying close spots on the list, they aren’t all that similar. While Madvillainy was an all-star project undertaken by two of the biggest acts in underground hip-hop, it was as much a Madlib record as it was an MF DOOM LP. On Vaudeville Villain, DOOM assumes the persona of Viktor Vaughn to spit some of the most inspired and creative rhymes in the genre’s canon. He always has a way of sounding old school without sounding dated, and here he perfects that ability while immersed in a great set of dark, roiling backing tracks.

6. Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury (2006)

Before listening to Clipse, the thought of crack would elicit visions of Chris Rock sweating and convulsing as a fiend in New Jack City; now I think of “diet Coke” and all the wonderful moments in the Clipse discography. Brothers Malice and Pusha T hit the big time with Lord Willin’ in 2002, but it was this 2006 release that cemented the Virginia tandem’s legacy as giants in the genre. Propelled by some of the best production of Pharrell’s career, Hell Hath No Fury is an engrossing and whimsical adventure through drug culture and material fancies. The lyrics are clever and the flows are perfectly lazy, as Clipse somehow succeeds at converting trite themes into something new and compelling.

7. Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein (2001)

In the opening track of this 2001 epic, Cannibal Ox boasts, “Fuck five, I want a hundred and eight mics,” referencing the scoring scale of industry staple The Source. They came pretty fucking close. Produced by mega-name El-P, The Cold Vein is a seventy-three minute experience in icy atmospherics and relentless lyrical gymnastics. The beats are mechanical and crisp but never lacking soul as MCs Vast Aire and Vordul Mega begin with the masterful “Iron Galaxy” and refuse to relinquish the listener’s attention until the close of the ambient-influenced “Scream Phoenix.” Unfortunately, the world never saw a second proper release from CanOx, but I suppose it’s sometimes better to impress and explode rather than slowly smolder into mediocrity. We can only hope that they someday rise from the dead like the mythical creature of the last track’s title.

8. Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner (2003)

Grime might be the United Kingdom’s greatest gifts to hip-hop. Its merger of hip-hop and electronic elements is given a distinctly British twist that provides listeners with insight into a variant of recognized hip-hop culture. This record showcases the genre and serves as a palatable entryway into the complex world of UK garage, which is also known for the darker and less familiar subgroup dubstep. The often-incomprehensible Dizzee Rascal rhymes with a uniquely halting flow over glitchy, crunching beats that are as layered as they are danceable. Boy in da Corner is the grime album to own, and it’s a fantastic demonstration of the diversity that continues to push hip-hop into uncharted frontiers.

9. Lil’ Wayne – Da Drought 3 (2007)

This is the best mixtape in the mixtape-era; and from all I’ve heard, it’s no all that close. And it deserves credit for omitting those painful shout-outs that so often tattoo a record with a DJ’s imprint. As a double album, Da Drought 3 is even more remarkable for it’s exhausting consistency. Wayne comes up aces lyrically, and the beats he selects are generally well suited to his flow and vocal pitch (apart from the cringe-worthy decision to rework Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”). He even manages to reinvigorate a forgotten classic with a fresh take on Nas’s “If I Ruled the World” (appearing here as “Get High, Rule the World”). Weezy is his most creative and insane on this record as he one-ups anything he’s ever dropped on a commercial release.

10. Dead Prez – Let’s Get Free (2000)

Hip-hop has often reached its highest peaks when confronting salient social and political issues. Unfortunately, it seems like this stalwart of the genre has taken a backseat in the new millennium, with material rap overtaking gangsta rap as the chic approach for entrants into the culture. At least gangsta rap was rooted in socioeconomic hardship and acts like NWA aroused consciences through brutal, graphic storytelling. Gone are many traces of pioneers like the Last Poets and Gil-Scott Heron, and although Public Enemy’s genius can never be replicated, it’s sad seeing Flav continually exploit himself on reality television. Enter Dead Prez. This is some of the best “political rap” to come about in the new millennium. Rappers stic.man and M-1 are consistently sharp and wonderfully socially aware, and their lyrics succeed at being militant without ever sounding tiresome. Let’s Get Free also gets bonus marks for using the “Diamonds Are Forever” sample years before Kanye ever got to it.

Why You Should Listen to Animal Collective

2009-01-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

I hope to post a comprehensive review of Animal Collective’s massive new LP, Merriweather Post Pavilion, in the coming week, but in the meanwhile I’d like to take a moment to urge everyone reading this to bring this band into your lives. In 1984, the Minutemen opened “History Lesson, Pt. II” with the timeless line, “Our band could be your life.” Few bands can ever hope to achieve the level of greatness needed to become someone’s everything. Over the past decade, Animal Collective has produced an oeuvre that is as diverse, exciting, challenging, and consistent as that of any band during the same period. And yes, that includes Radiohead. Begin with 1999’s Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, where gentle vocals melt beneath grating high frequencies, and move forward to Here Comes the Indian, where tribal meanderings replace coherent song structures. Then AC gave us progressively poppier efforts, from the organic Sung Tongs to the electronically influenced Strawberry Jam, to 2009’s magnum opus, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Their latest release isn’t even one month old, and the group has already dropped a terrific song that’s nothing like anything they tracked for MPP. “What Would I Want Sky” is a seven-minute electronic piece with sampled vocals that makes a case for its being classed as house music. Not to be outdone by their works as a collective, member Avey Tare has recorded a project made jointly with his wife that the pair released backwards, and member Panda Bear released one of the decade’s best albums with 2007’s Person Pitch. The latter release is one of the most soulfully melodic long players you’re likely to ever hear. The band is always experimenting with every possible aspect of recording, making use of didgeridoos and what sounds like beat boxing on MPP. Beat boxing? I’ll listen to anyone who still beat boxes in 2009. I’d recommend that you do the same.

The Brilliance of Lil' Wayne?

2009-01-29T14:21:00.001-08:00

Lil’ Wayne has become one of the most polarizing artists in the independent music community. Since becoming a hipster darling through Pitchfork’s issuance of glowing reviews for two of the decade’s best mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3, it’s been cool to like him but maybe even more chic to hate him. What makes him different from clowns like 50 Cent and fellow-Cash Money pioneer Juvenile? He made a name for himself with a crew that grounded its business model on the exploitation of conspicuous consumption and boasts like, “I like to fuck her in the ass while he beat up the pussy.” But Weezy has come a long, long way since his exploits as mentee of Cash Money Records founder Baby. It seems that Wayne really found his voice when he embraced his eccentricity and began to operate on a different plane from anyone else on this planet. He’s that rare artist who can relate with comparable degrees of success to casual listeners and self-proclaimed aficionados, and for fans of popular hip-hop as well as those conversant with underground rap music. With his mixtapes, Wayne managed to strike this balance in a way that allowed him to focus his lyrical strengths while building a loyal following amongst cynics who could see that his effort and passion were substantial and not necessarily tied to promises of fortune and fame. He wouldn’t profit from the marathon mixtapes, even though each was clearly the result of tireless writing and included some of his best rhymes dropped over recycled beats. He didn’t need to record these to get his name out, and he surely could have used these lyrics with a set of fresh beats in order to push several more installments of the mainstream Tha Carter series. These tapes were loose and the raps were brilliantly insane. No ordinary rapper concocts lines like, “And when I was five my favorite movie was the Gremlins / Ain’t got shit to do with this but I just though that I should mention,” and “Don’t drink Cristal no more / Just pour it on white bitches’ heads.” Incredible. Weezy’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes and sickly relaxed flow communicate the thoughts of a madman, though whether Wayne is as crazy as he appears or whether this is all an act is always uncertain. He’s like a commercially acceptable version of Kool Keith or MF Doom, though certainly more consistent than the fading former. What’s more, his non-commercial efforts are generally much more exciting and creative than his proper releases. Da Drought 3 is arguably one of the ten best hip-hop releases of the decade, while Tha Carter III was mostly a hit-or-miss affair where Weezy alternated devastating flows over Kanye West production with inexplicable guest spots from Babyface and Robin Thicke. Even so, Wayne’s mega-selling 2008 LP showcased some of the year’s finest moments in the genre, with “A Milli” and “Got Money” conquering hearts by blending the rapper’s quirks with club-worthy braggadocio. The most prolific artist we’ve seen in a long while isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and love him or hate him, you have to appreciate that he’s operating on a different level from the rest of us mortals.

The Ceaseless Interplay Between Context and Art

2009-01-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

Music is often defined as much by context as by the music itself. Consider the following: a widely known and active white supremacist records an album that is technically brilliant and timelessly poetic. The songs give no indication of the artist’s beliefs. Would you still be comfortable listening to and enjoying the music? Some would, I’m sure, but many others would not. The songwriter’s story is joined to the music and is inextricable from what the listener experiences. A true and loosely analogous scenario involves Charles Manson’s recordings (loosely so because I doubt that his music is brilliant, though I proudly admit to never having heard it). Many don’t realize or recall that one of America’s most infamous serial murderers was once an aspiring musician linked to Dennis Wilson. I once even saw a Charles Manson record listed amongst someone’s all-time favorites. I would guess that most people would be morally repulsed by the music of a killer; on the other hand, fans of the record are doubtlessly drawn by the prospect of violence and perversion spilling out of every word, chord, and pause. Why is Manson the way he is? Might the reason be buried in his music awaiting a careful and empathetic ear?

The story of the creator is important, but so is the context of creation and propagation. Fans of independent and obscuro music are often accused of only appreciating art for the sake of its obscurity, unable to take a more objective approach to what they like and don’t like (which is, of course, an inherently subjective process). I’ve lost count of the times when, after disclosing my distaste for Coldplay or some other radio darling, someone has followed with, “Why, because they’re too commercial?” Well yes, that’s partly it, but that isn’t the only reason I prefer not to listen to Coldplay, Fall-Out Boy, or whatever other band that newly occupies the airwaves and mall shelves. For many, the commodification of music is a growing concern climaxing when Metallica sought to have thousands upon thousands of its fans punished for downloading their music and each time Fergie sets foot in a recording studio. The problem is not that musicians want to earn money, which is a rightful reward for having created something that is desired and consumed. This is a fundamental principle of a market economy and artists justly want to capitalize on the transfer of their music. The problem is that the current commercial environment places a premium on sales rather than art, reducing the industry to the pithy truism of quantity over quality. Music is thus seen—by both artists and labels—as a commodity like any other, to be packaged and moved in an effort to gain the greatest possible returns. When some people listen to some brands of music, this commodification is obvious and the music becomes immediately associated with what many see as a wrong of an exploitative business. Context matters, and it matters no less where commercialism is concerned.

Physical beauty is another important contextual marker that attaches itself to music and alters perceptions of what we hear. Think of the Pussycat Dolls: are these really artists in any real sense? Would people listen to their songs if they weren’t so sexually suggestive, transmitted by sexy women in sexy dress? Remember that Milli Vanilli were selected to front the songs of less marketable singers, and in this summer’s Olympics, Chinese officials decided to have someone they saw as more attractive lip sync the performance of another little girl. Image is important (if not everything), and it helps form the context within which the audience hears the song. The guys from KISS understood this, and that’s probably why they chose to cover their monstrous faces with kitschy make-up.

In the independent and lo-fi communities, some of the most significant contextual markers are defined by who did what, when, and how. Artists that have been the vanguards of a movement or genre are generally well respected by these communities almost apart from what the music actually sounds like. Of course, since these artists help to define movements and genres by anticipating trends and experimenting with existing sounds, they often act as default prototypes against which future creations can be judged. The point is that the context of the music’s production is extremely meaningful. While the Velvet Underground are a great band by nearly any measure, their music is all the more extraordinary given their period of activity. You hear a freshness and revolution in the music that cannot be faked and is as rare as the shifting of musical epochs. On the popular front, Nirvana’s release of Nevermind was a comparable turning point. For my generation, the naked baby of the album cover and the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” signaled a giant leap forward from the hair metal and leftover 80s acts still making the rounds on radio and MTV. Despite being less revolutionary to the independent underground, Nirvana became the face of the alternative movement for the masses, and the music’s place in history is reflective of that. (Kurt Cobain’s larger than life persona and suicide further added to the band’s cache. Again, context.) I even recall seeing the “Teen Spirit” video dominate some short-lived Nickelodeon countdown show.

So context matters. It informs what we hear and how we hear it, and it should be clear that no art is ever consumed apart from circumstances that many argue should be ignored or condemned as inconsequential. Perhaps most importantly, the circumstances contribute something meaningful to the consumer and should be welcomed and understood rather than shunned and disconnected.