Much to parse in your thoughtful comment, but I'm amazed that people still clutch their pearls over a popular songwriter saying "fuck," to the degree that we went through another version of this controversy when folklore came out back in July. Is everyone a child? That's the last time I would've been shocked to hear that word, personally.
I've been kind of surprised to see the mixed reactions to Ascension, given it seems like most everyone has come around on this initially divisive (and sonically similar to Ascension) album. I guess Adz has more of a sense of discovery/earnest wonder that tends to characterize the Sufjan music that's most celebrated? Regardless, it's a testament to how good Sufjan is that he has these two different modes of instrumentation - folk and electronic - that are both wondrous and revelatory in their own distinct ways.
So excited for this one - Stage Four hit hard and still hits hard, and it was the kind of emotionally open lyrical statement that really endears to the artist behind it (or did for me anyway). Glad to hear that Bolm's in a better space now and making meaningful art about his journey getting there.
Also really enjoying the new Rian Treanor album File Under UK Metaplasm, which should sufficiently scratch my Autechre itch until their new one next week. Very glitched out and crunchy in the right ways.
Savage Mode II is so good! Appropriately big budget sequel to what’s proven to be a sneakily important rap release in the years since its release. Both 21 and Metro are more versatile and technically proficient than I initially gave them credit for, this new one feels seismic from my corner of the rap-listening internet.
Also, I know there are far more important things going on in the world, but I’m still reeling from Drake’s announcement that he and SZA hooked up in 2008.
This is probably my fav album ever, which isn't exactly a novel opinion but one I don't think too many people here would begrudge me. Received a poster of the album cover as a gift in college that hangs in my room to this day - an album that sounds like just as much of an all-timer masterpiece as it did the first time I heard it.
One small gripe amidst all the recollections, though - I'd like to see more writing about the album from people who're more fluent in the artists who served as inspiration for the album (like Autechre or the above-referenced Mingus). The "insane pivot from OK Computer" angle of its mythology feels over-represented in the Kid A discourse to me, and in general I get more from the album when I think about how it distills experimental influences into an approachable package that remains experimental/otherworldly. But that might be my objection to more straightforward critical narratives talking.
This might be the Trent Reznor project I still return to the most, more so than anything NIN-related even. I think it does an amazing job applying Trent's ear for simple, direct melodies to the context of a film soundtrack, the best of which are made up of many simple, direct melodies. Also a real level up moment for Trent's production skills, both more texturally precise and masterful with sound design than anything he'd done prior. Definitely marks a creative reinvigoration for his career, and - as pointed out in the write-up - has proven very influential.
Rewatched Gone Girl this past weekend and that soundtrack still absolutely goes as well.
This is a personal bugaboo, but I wish folks would just say "vote for Democrats" rather than "vote." That's the argument that's really being made here, as it always is, and I would actually rather MAGA folks not vote, sorry not especially sorry.
Gosh, I think The Ascension is probably a masterpiece? It sounds to me like a simultaneous refinement and expansion of the Adz palate, with these deceptively simple compositions that are still very dense/textured and often pivot towards unexpected melodies. I also think Sufjan's approach to presenting intimate feelings on a massive scale resonates during an extremely solitary year for most of us.
It's sort of like a bedroom pop epic, or at least it sounds epic in my bedroom (the place where I do a lot of my music listening these days).
Curious to hear other folk's thoughts, it seems like this one is divisive!
"Animals" is a cover of a track from Garden of Delete! OPN also co-produced "Lil Song" of A.G.'s 7G, so it definitely seems like they're entering each other's orbit.
Outside of Boldy James, the Griselda Records stuff hasn't really been my cup of tea - a little too "oldhead" in its sensibilities and reference points for me, I guess. That said, they work hard and their recent success is a testament to that - it reminds me of that early 2010s wave of TDE albums and corresponding escalation of hype.
I loved the more inward, knotty journeys on Crack-Up, but there's something about the spirit of renewal that pervades Shore that really *hits* right now. It's a positive album and I appreciate that.
I guess the new Sufjan track(s) isn't everyone's cup of tea? Still feverishly excited for his new album next week - have really loved his approach to building out electronic symphonies in the past (on Age of Adz and Planetarium especially) and it seems to be the genre terrain he finds the most inspiration on these days.
"Saba is up to something," or "I've received an email from Saba's label about a new Saba full-length to come" ;)
Still soooo good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ZsSWlcEDo
It’s many months old at this point, but I’ve been circling back to the deluxe version of Eternal Atake in the last few weeks and have been loving the shit out of it. Shockingly high batting average for being like 30 songs long, and I really appreciate how the two discs compliment each other, with the first half comprising a bunch of star-studded collabs and giving way to the moody, spaced out vibes of the second disc. Sorta like eating way too much candy and starting to feel the sugar crash in real time (but in a good way). Impressive stuff, it’s ended up being one of my rap favs of the year for sure.
"NO DREAM — one of the best albums of 2020 so far" indeed!!! Comes clearer and clearer into focus the longer I live with the album, and I already liked it a lot upon release.
Bummed that this isn't out until December, Wildflower made for a great late summer/early fall soundtrack. Avalanches music really comes alive in nicer weather for me.
This comment implies that Eno's ambient albums and various full-length collaborations from the late 70s/early-to-mid 80s are "fuckwithable," which I simply can't condone.
The way he works the Major Tom iconography back into "Ashes to Ashes" and twists it to mean something else always gives me chills when I hear it, scary and visceral indeed.
Top 5 Bowie release for me, not sure it fully gets its due respective to his other masterworks. I think it does a great job delivering the sheen/hooks that eventually became empty calories from him later this decade, while also staying true to the oddball, creative sensibilities of his 70s period (and working with the best to boot - beat Daft Punk to Nile Rodgers by like 30 years!).
Getting a little tired of these strident, slick, rock radio-ready first singles off new Bruce Springsteen albums ("Working on a Dream," "We Take Care of Our Own" and now this). Much love to Bruce's canonical material, but dude has been stuck in Rising-mode for going on twenty years now.
I finally caught up with One More Time With Feeling recently (ended up in the hospital the night I was supposed to attend a screening back in 2016...) and was pretty blown away. I thought it did a really interesting job bending his persona and what we know of his recent autobiography into new, unfamiliar shapes that deepened my appreciation of what was achieved on Skeleton Tree. Hope this new one is able to do something similar with his recent online Q&A series, and particularly with Ghosteen, which remains one of my favorite Nick Cave albums about a year after release.
Every character has exactly one trait, and it's all pitched in the shrillest tone possible. L.A. is so full of sin that it needs to be cleansed by a literal biblical plague...come on, man.
I don't really like his earlier films - the first two are too Scorsese-parody for me, and Magnolia is actively embarrassing - but I think he's really hit his stride with these last few (The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread). With Bradley Cooper in his corner for this upcoming one, I don't see how it can miss.
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