SONGS OF THE SUMMER 2019 - What I'm Listening To
Starting in the spring of 2008, I started making a mix CD based on the latest singles from bands I like. Kind of my own version of Now That's What I Call Music! I did that pretty steady until 2014, dropped it, then picked it back up last year. (I guess you can count all the new music I played on my radio show Expect The Unexpected, may it rest in peace. So I'm gonna do things a little different this week and offer my commentary on my picks for songs of the summer [Link to Youtube Playlist]:
1. "Old Town Road" (Remix) Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
Given how ubiquitous this is, it was almost mandatory. I gave the 7 EP a pretty glowing review, but I think I'll save "Panini" or "Rodeo" for the Fall. This deserves to kick off the proceedings. (And somehow I'm only sort of sick of it! Considering how often I hear this, that's a fucking miracle!)
2. "Talking Heads" black midi
Went with this one because it's not on their album and I thought it deserved a shout out. It's really good jittery indy math rock (and not Black Midi music like the band name suggests). Probably the most high energy thing on here.
3. "Darjeeling" Barrie
An incredible warm blanket of a song. It's head bobbing, but so laid back that its breezy rather than groovy. A great texture to a confection.
4. "Old Man" Stella Donnelly
The more I hear this song, the more I think the opening chords are the best riff of the year. (For those expecting to hear rock, you'll be sorely disappointed.) It sets this scene of picturesque pleasantry and immediately undercuts it with lyrics about how we're not gonna put up with sexual assault any fucking more, do you understand me? The juxtaposition and "bless your heart" acidity of the delivery make this song sneakily powerful.
5. "Organ Farmer" King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
And now for the aggro portion of our show: King Gizzard, fresh off their boogie-woogie blues album with harmonica and a bunch of electronics at the end for some reason, is now coming out with a straight ahead lo-fi thrash album. This shit is dirty, it fights dirty, it sounds dirty, it'll even kick dirt in your eye. The vocals go so hard too, with one part where I think he's growling "Holy Father" but he's saying "Organ Farmer" which is pretty metal too when you think about it. You could even say this has guts...
6. "Jailbreak The Tesla" Injury Reserve & Amine
Continuing with aggression in a different lane, here's a rap song about hacking a Tesla. At least that's what it says on the tin: One verse ponders what it would be like to upgrade the whip like a jailbroken iPhone. Another is a stereotypical brag rap about a car as a status symbol, but it comes off as unique because it's about this crazy future car rich people have access to. The things to brag about are...unique. That, the sound effects and the knock of the beat are what make this song something to behold.
7. "Power Is Power" SZA, The Weeknd & Travis Scott
Like I said before, this is "Pray For Me" Part II. And since that was my 12th favorite song last year, ain't nothing wrong with that.
8. "Warm Pants" Dua Saleh
This is one I picked up from listening to Brave New Faves. I liked it so much I wound up buying the EP. This song is torporous but in the kind of way that being warm in bed makes you want to wake up even less. Why face the garbage cold of the outside world when you could hang here for...well, the song's not quite six minutes, so you'll actually get more mileage out of the snooze alarm, but I wouldn't sleep on Dua Saleh because this song has great atmosphere.
9. "Borderline" Tame Impala
For only liking like five or six songs by this band, damn did this one get me right off the bat. That's the thing: Tame Impala as a whole, on the average, bores the shit out of me. But when they do a song I like I fucking love it. "New Person, Same Old Mistakes", "The Less I Know The Better", even "Daffodils" (which is technically a Mark Ronson song, but Ronson only does keyboards on it; Kevin Parker wrote, produced, played almost every instrument and sang on it; it's basically a Tame Impala song). "Borderline" goes in that pantheon.
--. "Borderlines" Baroness
I didn't number this one because due to some weird accident, Baroness's album Gold & Grey was taken out of my Google Play library. It's back now, but thing is I didn't realize it until I compared my typed up list to the digital one and saw there weren't the same number of tracks. I've listened to this mix multiple times and never noticed this song was gone. It's a good tune from an interesting album, but since I didn't miss it, I'll leave it here for you to peruse. I didn't even put it in the Youtube playlist because I like how it flows better without it. Also, it felt a little too cute putting "Borderline" next to "Borderlines". Whattaya gonna do?
10. "Maybe You're The Reason" The Japanese House
I really wish I'd gone to see this act at the Collectivo back room when they were here in late April. Really like the chorus on this one; the jazzy inflections of the pre-chorus vocal too.
11. "Begin Again" Norah Jones
Definitely the most promising tune from the new Norah Jones project of the same name. I didn't have much interest in this song compared to the others, but I figured if I put it in the list it would grow on me and boy has it. It's not just the only kind of remarkable piece of an otherwise dull puzzle that bears its name, but it makes me want to go back and listen to the rest of the album and see if anything else gets close to this. (Probably not, but hey, we'll see.)
12. "Strange Land" Joe Jackson
I'm finally starting to get into Joe Jackson, which is weird given "Steppin' Out" is one of my favorite songs of all time and "Got The Time" was covered by Anthrax. You'd think before this year I'd've tried one of his albums at least, but lo and behold it wasn't until 2019 that I tried his 1982 release Night And Day and this year's Fool. "Strange Land" has some interesting melancholy piano chords to lead in and an amazing chorus with pathos for miles. It's not clean, but bewildered and tired. Squeaky voiced and imperfect. Lonely. The perfect comedown for the near midpoint. Which leads us to the rebuild:
13. "We've Got To Try" The Chemical Brothers
Some weird Jackson 5-esque sample makes a hard left turn into some creepy synth funk with bassy kickdrums. The synth line will give you the screwface when it kicks in and you'll bob your head. The Chemical Brothers are back at full strength.
[Blogger's Note: Because the video is super distracting I would normally just put the audio version but HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS VIDEO STARTS CRAZY AND JUST GOES UP FROM THERE. DOGGO DRIVING A FORMULA ONE CAR. AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WEIRD PART. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS IMMEDIATELY:]
14. "I've Gotta Be Me" The Sherlocks
A sub-two minute upbeat indie punk song about the power of positivity. No album attached to this, but that kind of makes it perfect for a playlist.
15. "Nice Things" Tank and the Bangas
One of the more normal songs on this pretty odd album. I need to give this one another couple of listens because there's some interesting shit in there but parts of it were kind of distracting in their strangeness; best solution to that is to breed familiarity. This song is fun, though.
16. "101FM" Little Simz
The more I hear this song, the more I fall in love with the beat. No joke, Little Simz has a good chance to land in my top ten. In 2019, midst the never ending torrent of new music, this is still one of the most unique listens I've had all year. This song is dope as hell. If you're into rap at all, listen to this.
17. "children" Lowly
For an album that hides behind twee mumblecore for the most part, this fucking fireball halfway through, rolling down a hill in slow motion as it crashes into people and property alike comes out of nowhere. Where the fuck is this kind of power in the rest of their material? And thing is: It's really only built on one lyric "Tell your children not to try this at home". The rest of the words are inconsequential. I should also mention it's a slow burn that takes exactly half of its run time to build up the head of steam that makes it combust, but it will hit you and you will be moved.
18. "Student Housing" Truth Club
Another in the "How did this band do a song this amazing when the rest of the album sucks?" department. The chorus is so dark and beautiful I don't even know what the words are. I don't care; it just makes everything work. Then the distorted guitar out of the second chorus which becomes the abrupt ending in short order ratchets up the tension even further.
19. "Marrow" Jealous Of The Birds
Another [HREF] Brave New Faves [HREF] find. Another song with a killer chorus. The rest of it is nice too, but yo. That's where it's at.
20. "Fire Lily" Sound Of Ceres
This is another song that is a loose single with no known project attached. It's more about atmosphere than chorus, but that is where the synth line hits its crescendos so maybe it is? Laid back sad 80's shit for the new millennium.
21. "No Such Thing" Sara Bareilles
You may have noticed a lot of these songs are downbeat, moody, slow, depressing...even this song which is technically in a major key for the verses is a really slow, quiet piano ballad. I quite like the new Sara Bareilles and would recommend it if you're a fan of her or any artist like her at all. It's solid.
22. "EARFQUAKE" Tyler, The Creator
This song, like all three of the first tracks on IGOR took some getting used to because of the squeakiness of the vocals, but once you get past that you feel the heartbreak slam into you over the course of the song.
23. "Tempo" Lizzo & Missy Elliot
Yeah, I said it: Accessorary. Come on, it's Lizzo. She's great, this song slaps, fuck else you need?
24. "Right Where I Belong" Ashley O (a.k.a....)
No joke, if I can get this song out of my head in the next day or two before I get terminally sick of it, this two minute Miley Cyrus song from an episode of Black Mirror (which I don't watch) might wind up being my favorite song of the year.
I don't know how, but this song strikes such a chord. I've been thinking about how escapism has completely failed me lately and how I don't even try to engage in it anymore. Any place you could actually escape to is going to be foreign to your experience and after a short while you'll just want to go home again, and with any escapist entertainment I can see the wires and can't get lost in it at all. But dreams, while you're having them, are absolute. If you can make a dream reality, a lucid dream, then you could truly escape to somewhere where you have control. It could, in theory, work. For a little while at least. Take two minutes out right now and listen to this dream of a song, would you?
25. "U Ouchea" Christelle Bofale
Actually, this song is a frickin' dream. Everything about it I would describe as "dreamlike". The cover of the EP is the singer on a beanbag in a backyard somewhere wearing a swimsuit and her head is obscured by a giant bubble somebody blew off camera. The EP's called Swim Team and the aquatic ambience of "U Ouchea" flows around and through the listener, encapsulating them in a shimmering soundscape. Then the bridge hits you with "You are...a figment of me...You are...imaginary". What are we supposed to do with that? Puzzle the mystery in your mind. Figure it out for yourself. Your own answer is all you have...
26. "Bed Bug" Heavy Heart
Another honey voiced woman singing over jangly melancholy chords. What can I say, I have a type. Normally, I'd let this be the conclusion since it has "closer" written all over it, but I had one more piece of business in mind.
27. "Alligator" Of Monsters And Men
A HARD left turn for this group, but a fucking anthem nonetheless. I don't care if it sounds dated, I'll use this to fuel my fire. Can't wait for the album.
And there you have it. Hope you heard something you like and hope it becomes something you love. If not? Eh, I shared. Put some songs you like in the comments, or if you have a similar list, lay it on me! I'll give it a shot. Until next time, stay cool out there.
1. "Old Town Road" (Remix) Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
Given how ubiquitous this is, it was almost mandatory. I gave the 7 EP a pretty glowing review, but I think I'll save "Panini" or "Rodeo" for the Fall. This deserves to kick off the proceedings. (And somehow I'm only sort of sick of it! Considering how often I hear this, that's a fucking miracle!)
2. "Talking Heads" black midi
Went with this one because it's not on their album and I thought it deserved a shout out. It's really good jittery indy math rock (and not Black Midi music like the band name suggests). Probably the most high energy thing on here.
3. "Darjeeling" Barrie
An incredible warm blanket of a song. It's head bobbing, but so laid back that its breezy rather than groovy. A great texture to a confection.
4. "Old Man" Stella Donnelly
The more I hear this song, the more I think the opening chords are the best riff of the year. (For those expecting to hear rock, you'll be sorely disappointed.) It sets this scene of picturesque pleasantry and immediately undercuts it with lyrics about how we're not gonna put up with sexual assault any fucking more, do you understand me? The juxtaposition and "bless your heart" acidity of the delivery make this song sneakily powerful.
5. "Organ Farmer" King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
And now for the aggro portion of our show: King Gizzard, fresh off their boogie-woogie blues album with harmonica and a bunch of electronics at the end for some reason, is now coming out with a straight ahead lo-fi thrash album. This shit is dirty, it fights dirty, it sounds dirty, it'll even kick dirt in your eye. The vocals go so hard too, with one part where I think he's growling "Holy Father" but he's saying "Organ Farmer" which is pretty metal too when you think about it. You could even say this has guts...
6. "Jailbreak The Tesla" Injury Reserve & Amine
Continuing with aggression in a different lane, here's a rap song about hacking a Tesla. At least that's what it says on the tin: One verse ponders what it would be like to upgrade the whip like a jailbroken iPhone. Another is a stereotypical brag rap about a car as a status symbol, but it comes off as unique because it's about this crazy future car rich people have access to. The things to brag about are...unique. That, the sound effects and the knock of the beat are what make this song something to behold.
7. "Power Is Power" SZA, The Weeknd & Travis Scott
Like I said before, this is "Pray For Me" Part II. And since that was my 12th favorite song last year, ain't nothing wrong with that.
8. "Warm Pants" Dua Saleh
This is one I picked up from listening to Brave New Faves. I liked it so much I wound up buying the EP. This song is torporous but in the kind of way that being warm in bed makes you want to wake up even less. Why face the garbage cold of the outside world when you could hang here for...well, the song's not quite six minutes, so you'll actually get more mileage out of the snooze alarm, but I wouldn't sleep on Dua Saleh because this song has great atmosphere.
9. "Borderline" Tame Impala
For only liking like five or six songs by this band, damn did this one get me right off the bat. That's the thing: Tame Impala as a whole, on the average, bores the shit out of me. But when they do a song I like I fucking love it. "New Person, Same Old Mistakes", "The Less I Know The Better", even "Daffodils" (which is technically a Mark Ronson song, but Ronson only does keyboards on it; Kevin Parker wrote, produced, played almost every instrument and sang on it; it's basically a Tame Impala song). "Borderline" goes in that pantheon.
--. "Borderlines" Baroness
I didn't number this one because due to some weird accident, Baroness's album Gold & Grey was taken out of my Google Play library. It's back now, but thing is I didn't realize it until I compared my typed up list to the digital one and saw there weren't the same number of tracks. I've listened to this mix multiple times and never noticed this song was gone. It's a good tune from an interesting album, but since I didn't miss it, I'll leave it here for you to peruse. I didn't even put it in the Youtube playlist because I like how it flows better without it. Also, it felt a little too cute putting "Borderline" next to "Borderlines". Whattaya gonna do?
10. "Maybe You're The Reason" The Japanese House
I really wish I'd gone to see this act at the Collectivo back room when they were here in late April. Really like the chorus on this one; the jazzy inflections of the pre-chorus vocal too.
11. "Begin Again" Norah Jones
Definitely the most promising tune from the new Norah Jones project of the same name. I didn't have much interest in this song compared to the others, but I figured if I put it in the list it would grow on me and boy has it. It's not just the only kind of remarkable piece of an otherwise dull puzzle that bears its name, but it makes me want to go back and listen to the rest of the album and see if anything else gets close to this. (Probably not, but hey, we'll see.)
12. "Strange Land" Joe Jackson
I'm finally starting to get into Joe Jackson, which is weird given "Steppin' Out" is one of my favorite songs of all time and "Got The Time" was covered by Anthrax. You'd think before this year I'd've tried one of his albums at least, but lo and behold it wasn't until 2019 that I tried his 1982 release Night And Day and this year's Fool. "Strange Land" has some interesting melancholy piano chords to lead in and an amazing chorus with pathos for miles. It's not clean, but bewildered and tired. Squeaky voiced and imperfect. Lonely. The perfect comedown for the near midpoint. Which leads us to the rebuild:
13. "We've Got To Try" The Chemical Brothers
Some weird Jackson 5-esque sample makes a hard left turn into some creepy synth funk with bassy kickdrums. The synth line will give you the screwface when it kicks in and you'll bob your head. The Chemical Brothers are back at full strength.
[Blogger's Note: Because the video is super distracting I would normally just put the audio version but HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS VIDEO STARTS CRAZY AND JUST GOES UP FROM THERE. DOGGO DRIVING A FORMULA ONE CAR. AND THAT'S NOT EVEN THE WEIRD PART. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS IMMEDIATELY:]
14. "I've Gotta Be Me" The Sherlocks
A sub-two minute upbeat indie punk song about the power of positivity. No album attached to this, but that kind of makes it perfect for a playlist.
15. "Nice Things" Tank and the Bangas
One of the more normal songs on this pretty odd album. I need to give this one another couple of listens because there's some interesting shit in there but parts of it were kind of distracting in their strangeness; best solution to that is to breed familiarity. This song is fun, though.
16. "101FM" Little Simz
The more I hear this song, the more I fall in love with the beat. No joke, Little Simz has a good chance to land in my top ten. In 2019, midst the never ending torrent of new music, this is still one of the most unique listens I've had all year. This song is dope as hell. If you're into rap at all, listen to this.
17. "children" Lowly
For an album that hides behind twee mumblecore for the most part, this fucking fireball halfway through, rolling down a hill in slow motion as it crashes into people and property alike comes out of nowhere. Where the fuck is this kind of power in the rest of their material? And thing is: It's really only built on one lyric "Tell your children not to try this at home". The rest of the words are inconsequential. I should also mention it's a slow burn that takes exactly half of its run time to build up the head of steam that makes it combust, but it will hit you and you will be moved.
18. "Student Housing" Truth Club
Another in the "How did this band do a song this amazing when the rest of the album sucks?" department. The chorus is so dark and beautiful I don't even know what the words are. I don't care; it just makes everything work. Then the distorted guitar out of the second chorus which becomes the abrupt ending in short order ratchets up the tension even further.
19. "Marrow" Jealous Of The Birds
Another [HREF] Brave New Faves [HREF] find. Another song with a killer chorus. The rest of it is nice too, but yo. That's where it's at.
20. "Fire Lily" Sound Of Ceres
This is another song that is a loose single with no known project attached. It's more about atmosphere than chorus, but that is where the synth line hits its crescendos so maybe it is? Laid back sad 80's shit for the new millennium.
21. "No Such Thing" Sara Bareilles
You may have noticed a lot of these songs are downbeat, moody, slow, depressing...even this song which is technically in a major key for the verses is a really slow, quiet piano ballad. I quite like the new Sara Bareilles and would recommend it if you're a fan of her or any artist like her at all. It's solid.
22. "EARFQUAKE" Tyler, The Creator
This song, like all three of the first tracks on IGOR took some getting used to because of the squeakiness of the vocals, but once you get past that you feel the heartbreak slam into you over the course of the song.
23. "Tempo" Lizzo & Missy Elliot
Yeah, I said it: Accessorary. Come on, it's Lizzo. She's great, this song slaps, fuck else you need?
24. "Right Where I Belong" Ashley O (a.k.a....)
No joke, if I can get this song out of my head in the next day or two before I get terminally sick of it, this two minute Miley Cyrus song from an episode of Black Mirror (which I don't watch) might wind up being my favorite song of the year.
I don't know how, but this song strikes such a chord. I've been thinking about how escapism has completely failed me lately and how I don't even try to engage in it anymore. Any place you could actually escape to is going to be foreign to your experience and after a short while you'll just want to go home again, and with any escapist entertainment I can see the wires and can't get lost in it at all. But dreams, while you're having them, are absolute. If you can make a dream reality, a lucid dream, then you could truly escape to somewhere where you have control. It could, in theory, work. For a little while at least. Take two minutes out right now and listen to this dream of a song, would you?
25. "U Ouchea" Christelle Bofale
Actually, this song is a frickin' dream. Everything about it I would describe as "dreamlike". The cover of the EP is the singer on a beanbag in a backyard somewhere wearing a swimsuit and her head is obscured by a giant bubble somebody blew off camera. The EP's called Swim Team and the aquatic ambience of "U Ouchea" flows around and through the listener, encapsulating them in a shimmering soundscape. Then the bridge hits you with "You are...a figment of me...You are...imaginary". What are we supposed to do with that? Puzzle the mystery in your mind. Figure it out for yourself. Your own answer is all you have...
26. "Bed Bug" Heavy Heart
Another honey voiced woman singing over jangly melancholy chords. What can I say, I have a type. Normally, I'd let this be the conclusion since it has "closer" written all over it, but I had one more piece of business in mind.
27. "Alligator" Of Monsters And Men
A HARD left turn for this group, but a fucking anthem nonetheless. I don't care if it sounds dated, I'll use this to fuel my fire. Can't wait for the album.
And there you have it. Hope you heard something you like and hope it becomes something you love. If not? Eh, I shared. Put some songs you like in the comments, or if you have a similar list, lay it on me! I'll give it a shot. Until next time, stay cool out there.
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