Maybe the way I phrased the above post was a little incorrect. I don't mean to negate the fear that was felt at the time. However there's a pretty big difference between feeling (only) that fear of a potential reality vs witnessing one in real time. My issue with stoofaloof was that he seemed to cast doubt on the chances of a school shooting, which based on pure numbers, is infinitely more realistic than a bomb dropping on your school. Not that we all have control over the factors that inspire fear within us, but there's a huge difference here.
Nobody dropped the big one on you. How many students die to gun violence? When speaking on how easy it is to be a teen compared to the past, maybe consider how far removed from being a teenager you are.
I don't want to get into it too much but the threat of a school shooting is a very real fear, way more real than whatever nuclear holocaust you're speaking of. Having lived through the mass shooting at UCSB back in 2014 I can't take what you're saying in good faith. Add a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic on top of whatever other ills are facing young people these days and it's not hard to understand that (even despite many many gains we've made in day-to-day life) it's hard being a young person these days. Maybe you should try harder to throw some compassion their way.
and also a pre-emptive fuck you to anyone who commits ANY EFFORT in defending this man. There's basic fucking consideration you have for festival attendees AKA YOUR FANS and this is CRIMINAL
What a fucking nightmare. I wish I hadn't watched the videos. So incredibly heartbreaking. It scares the absolute shit out of me to imagine being there. There's blame to be made across the board but it all starts with Travis Scott and his absolute terrible behavior in routinely encouraging his fans to do reckless, dangerous shit. I've witnessed panic in one of his crowds at Coachella and just being in it then was too much for me, this seems like the worst case scenario. Of course the potential for this is always there at big concerts, but it comes down to what the artist, staff, and team are communicating. And Travis's whole fucking brand is "I'm fucking reckless and don't care about those around me." Watching attendees struggle and fail to get the attention of festival staff breaks my fucking heart.
side note - little detail I didn't know that was circulating on Twitter is that Mimi Parker from Low did backup vocals across Let It Come Down. Had no idea and it was funny finding that out because I had literally only been listening to Let It Come Down and Hey What that whole week
nabbed the reissues of Ladies and Gentleman and Let It Come Down and have pretty much only been listening to Spiritualized the last couple months. really excited about this one. today's a great day
hey everybody-
earlier in the year I shared a song that I did with a friend and said we'd be back with more music. Well we are now a full band called Sour Blue and last week we put out our first EP called Schema and I wanted to share. Here's a link to stream on your preferred platform (and CDs on Bandcamp!) as well as a visualizer film we did for the whole EP.
https://fanlink.to/SourBlueSchema
https://youtu.be/TDErduAjMfg
Recommend if you're into electronic rock, idm (sorry YBB), dream pop/shoegaze, and ambient music. It's meant to be enjoyed in one sitting, the songs kinda melt into each other. Hope you enjoy, another EP on the way soon.
JUST WAITIN!!! JUST WAITINNNNN
I think I caught them three times on this tour and their performances of this album will definitely go down in my mind as some of the more epic live shows I've ever seen. Just a massive scale and huge highs.
My brother had a similar opinion the first time he saw Iceage. I've seen them three times and each time they killed it. You're right, everybody has an off day
The weirder moments on Melodic Blue are my favorite because of how they stand in contrast with a lot of other albums coming out these days. But at the same time I'm trying to figure out what these moments mean. There's a cryptic veil kinda running throughout the album that keeps its meaning at a distance for me and it's kinda made it harder to digest. Like Keem and Kendrick are in on something and they are hiding a message or concept through a lot of these songs. I do enjoy picking apart meaning and trying to wrestle with its significance, but at the same time it's beginning to feel more like an exercise in weirdness rather than something with tangible meaning. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, again I appreciate the weirdness. But I'm not sure how I'm feeling with some of these.
The more I listen to "Praise God" the less I like Keem's verse. Just feels flimsy the more time I spend with it.
I really enjoyed listening to Keem's first couple of projects in the last couple years but I'm a little worried about this album. I think the singles he has put out and his appearance on DONDA feel a bit like a step in the wrong direction. Family Ties is decent but I need more variance in his delivery. I enjoy the higher pitch and his normal delivery, but it feels like too much on Family Ties and kinda comes off as very one note in a bad way. Haven't been going back to that as much as I thought I would.
This song sounds interesting and different in a good way but the performance is thoroughly boring. Very eager to hear the rest of the album but I'm hoping that there's more to it than what I've heard thus far.
and power to you, not trying to change your understanding of it. I think Kanye's an idiot for dooming the critical reaction to his music with extensive nonmusical bullshit. But that's why I'm frustrated. If I'm grading a rollout it's a solid F, if I'm grading this album purely on how it sounds, it's getting a much better score. I understand this will vary depending on listener.
I think too much of music writing invests more in the context of a piece of work than it should, and I think that can often be unfair to the music itself. But Kanye definitely invites this with his bullshit antics. I've had this conversation about the significance of context in an album's perception with a number of ppl in the comments section over the years and know it'll be different for everyone.
He's still capable of putting out longer pieces of work that thematically and sonically sound cohesive. That might be a low bar but given the last 3-4 albums I think that's worth repeating.
I can't really think of many other artists or albums within the genre these days that are able to succeed working with such concise minimalism in the songs. I've heard a lot of complaints about the lack of drums but I think it's a really intersting choice to pair them back more and let the meldoies and vocals sit higher in the mix. I think there's a confidence in that you don't see in many other places. You could argue he's done this before on 808s but I'd argue he took it even farther here in terms of prioritizing the melody.
The way he uses the choir really impressed me and feels like a step up from JIK. He processes them in very exciting ways (thinking of Hurricane here) - I can't really think of another artist doing that but would love to hear other examples.
I do love most of his longer verses here, I think he tries a bit more on this album than he has in a long time. But his hooks are probably even more impressive because I'm finding that many of these songs are getting stuck in my head in unexpected ways.
But I think maybe moreso than everything else, this album was the most he's given us on his love for his mom and the way her passing shaped who he is. He's rapped and sung about this before, has talked in interviews. But I think that for all the attention this thematic content has gotten, I don't think reviewers or listeners have given it the proper praise it deserves. There's something very very special about him sampling his mom quoting Gwendolyn Brooks on "Into the Night" and in other songs that shines brighter than the way he's sampled other material and songs before. It's incredibly personal and layered in its significance. I wasn't sure Kanye was still capable of digging into these emotions but he's gotten a stronger reaction on this out of me than I expected.
Drake makes fast food. It's tasty when you want it, predictable with what you're going to get, and will never really push the needle in a new direction. It'll fuel a conversation about who makes the best burger/spicy chicken sandwich, but outside of listening to a song here or there I'll likely never think about this meal in the week or two after I've had it. It does not disappoint, but I'll never think of it as something that has made a massive impact on my health other being comfort food.
For the sake of comparison because of the times and because of the other album that was released - I'll say that the Kanye album is a feast (for better or for worse depending on how you like it). Some will say it's memorable because of the great food you've had, others will remember it for the terrible arguments or interpersonal bullshit between those who have attended. But I think generally speaking, Kanye releases are a bit more challenging and make you think a bit more than any of the Drake albums.
Personally, I think that Donda is better than most of the reviews that are being said of it. I think Kanye shot himself in the foot and killed his chances of any critical goodwill given his bullshit with Manson and Dababy, but I think it's a shame because the music stands up after repeated listens. Initially I felt like it was too long, but when I go back and re-listen to consider what I'd cut, I generally don't remove all that much. I don't even consider the last four songs (all the part 2s) as part of the album, and I generally don't care for the Pop Smoke song or Heaven and Hell. But everything else has very much stood out to me on repeated listens, there's gorgeous moments across the whole album, and an interesting approach that carves out some new areas in Kanye's sound and discography. The album has a stronger through line that ties all the songs together thematically, moreso than anything he's done since Yeezus, and I think it's commendable.
I can't really say the same thing about CLB because none of this area is particularly new for Drake. It's good. He has more charisma than Kanye, it's a fun listen and there's nothing that offends me.
I think enjoyment of these two albums depends on what you are listening for. If you want to have a good time with something you already recognize, CLB will be the album. If you want something to challenge your understanding of the artist itself, or the times/trends happening in music, Donda will be it.
I want to see that one day. I also just love how ABBA-esque these song titles are. Bumblebee? Keep an Eye on Dan? Ode To Freedom? I can't be happier rn
these sound so great - slot them in along their older material and they fit right in. excited to get more music from the best pop group of all time (outside of the beatles I guess).
I saw the touring ABBA cover band at the hollywood bowl a couple years ago and that was an amazing experience. excited we're finally getting new tunes from the real deal.
God that line was sooooo bad. I will say that there will be a couple lines or verses on this new album that are akin to those sorts of lines, but there's also alot of great and redeemable stuff too.
I mostly agree with you on lyrical content for these last few albums, but I have to say that I was surprised by the new verses he had in the second release party. Felt like he was actually saying something and doing something new on a couple of those. I just hope he actually finishes the simlish placeholder verses and hooks that were still present in a couple songs. There's no excuse when you're employing a staff of ghostwriters lmao
I have enjoyed how this has played with expectations and think there's value to that. I think by now we understand what these "release parties" are. I'm not really having any problems waiting for the album as some are.
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