Album Review - A$AP Rocky - At.Long.Last.A$AP

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If A$AP Rocky’s first album was fogged in codeine and cough syrup and chopped up like his influences down South, his new album is a hazey dream on doper hallucinogenics searching for substance. In what is a surprising display of restraint and patience for an artist on a second album, A$AP’s record drifts along while I slowly visualize the world he sees. The world as described isn't all that interesting, but the music sure as hell is.

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Monday Mixtape, Vol. 9

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The Weeknd has always had an original voice and a unique sound, so I was thrown for a bit of a loop that his vocals sound so much like Michael Jackson on "I Can't Feel My Face." It's apparent with each note that he's in a range or tone he hasn't hit before, but I imagine this one could be a big hit. Definitely deserves the first track on the mixtape!

I couldn't really get into Unknown Mortal Orchestra's new album, but this song has all these different elements, from the weird Wild West-sounding start, to the funky rhythm, to Ruban Nielson's delicate vocals.  

Hopefully you remember "Polish Girl," and if not, please listen to this immediately:

(Side note: If you really like this track, check out my Stop, Drop, Electro-Pop, Vol. 1 playlist, which is a totally kick ass set of electro-pop jams which I made back in 2012 (so yeah, the tracks may be a bit old but they're still awesome). Does anything beat the start to "Shuffle???":

A playlist within a playlist?? So meta.)

Back to the story at hand, Neon Indian has been out of the spotlight for a bit (his last album was in 2011), but he's dropped his first single, "Annie," which many are hoping will lead to a new album!

Cheerleader, a band from Philly who just released their debut album, is in the pop rock genre similar to a band like Walk the Moon. These loud pop songs with distortion always seem to get me!

I stumbled upon Seoul somehow, and I placed the first and second track back to back because the first track slowly sets up a perfect transition into the second song, the catchy but sedate "The Line." Just listen to how well it flows! So cool. I have a thing for first tracks that intentionally bleed into the second, as I've spoken about with The Maccabees and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Florence Welch has a voice that commands respect. There aren't many making music with vocals like hers. She sounds like she's screaming from the top of a mountain for the world to hear while hitting notes mere mortals could barely even play on a piano. "What Kind of Man," is a Florence lashing out against a lover who she can't seem to leave, and she sounds pretty pissed about it. Can't wait to see her live at OSL!

5 Faves - Tame Impala

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Parker dropped a few interesting tidbits, including:

  • Michael Jackson is his favorite artist ever;
  • Parker and the band were pretty drunk at their Coachella set (which I got to see), and he says he started drinking right after the show "to wash away the sorrow" of what he thought was a poor performance. For the record, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as their ACL set or show at The Fox last year;
  • Currents was written entirely on tour and is the kind of album Parker thought "indie snobs would turn up their nose at." The truth is now Parker has hit that Messiah Complex where everything he does will be loved by critics because he's made so much flawless music, so when he shifts gears and goes a bit poppier, all is forgiven because he's a genius. We'll see what I think of the new album, I will definitely have a review!
  • "Let It Happen" is basically about evolving as a person and musician, from his introverted ways as a musician on his first two albums to what he describes as being more extroverted these days;
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Playlist - Outside Lands Festival, August 7 - 9, 2015

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Outside Lands, San Francisco's three day music festival in Golden Gate Park, is only two months away! This will be my third year in attendance, and I'm really looking forward to this year's lineup. The last two years had a number of memorable performances. 2013 boasted a ton of great acts, including Gary Clark Jr. (a man who will never disappoint a festival crowd), Band of Horses (who get credit for the best setlist of the festival), Jurassic 5 (playing their first show in years and killing it), the Chili Peppers, and Paul McCartney (who put on such a memorable show). 2014 had Cut Copy (my highlight of the festival - there's nothing like thousands and thousands of people losing their minds, dancing their pants off), The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Tom Petty, Run the Jewels, Atmosphere (easily one of the best shows of the festival), and a disappointing Kanye (wah wahhh - but for the record, I still somewhat begrudgingly love Kanye). 

So on to 2015, a lineup that I would argue may be better than Coachella's lineup this year. There are very few DJs (yay!) and a ton of varying genres of music to keep it interesting and different. There are way too many bands that I'm excited to see that I would love to talk about at length, but in the interest of time, I'll keep it a bit shorter.

With apologies to Local Natives, Tame Impala is unquestioningly my favorite band at the moment.  I crave every show I can attend, and I believe this will be my fourth show of theirs. By August their new album will have been released which will set up the show to be downright epic. I CAN'T WAIT.

St. Vincent, a super talented and original artist, one who shreds the guitar and looks damn sexy doing it (side note - I read she was dating Cara Delevinge = power couple! Side note to the side note - Cara Delevinge had a profile in the Wall Street Journal Magazine which I thought was interesting and painted her in a bit of a different picture, not as celebrity and attention craved as you would imagine, maybe worth a read?) is always an act to see. Can't wait.

D'Angelo (assuming he doesn't cancel his show like he did two years ago at OSL) will be a total treat to see live. I wonder, because his music and voice is so fragile and intimate, if a festival setting will work for him. I think his backing band, The Vanguards, will bring the funk and be loud enough to absorb the place and crowd, but we'll see.

I love love love Wilco. I saw them for the first time at Austin City Limits, and I was disappointed in the set list, and I thought the performance was just dull. I don't expect that to happen twice for a band who has one of my favorite live albums ever, Kicking Television - Live in Chicago.

Hot Chip will be this year's replacement for Cut Copy. Though I like Cut Copy a lot more, Hot Chip has a ton of great and identifiable songs that the crowd will lose their minds to. It'll be a dance party. In the same vein, Classixx should put on a similarly great show. 

I will see St. Paul and the Broken Bones this time. I promise! 

Elton John is going to be awesome. I don't even know too much Elton John, I just know that he's a hell of a performer, one who will tear up his piano and belt out the hits. I think the crowd is going to really be into this one.

I've heard that Kendrick Lamar isn't performing much stuff from his new album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which makes me wonder whether A) it's too complicated or expensive to play live (as the instrumentation in that album sounds pretty expansive with a ton of different instruments)  or B) this is some "artistic" statement that he won't play it for the masses because this is his album and he won't be pimped to play it. Whatever man. Don't make an album and then not play it. What is that about? (Update: Lamar just started playing some tracks from the new album at his appearance at Summer Jam this past weekend, so hopefully that means we'll get to see new stuff at OSL -though bummer for all the people who saw him prior to this). I saw Lamar at Austin City Limits a couple years ago, during the madness of his last album, Good Kid M.a.a.D. City, and I thought it was somewhat disappointing. But he's had a ton of time to get better so we'll see!

Two headliners that I'm 50/50 on - shows that I will certainly plan to see (assuming there aren't any other bands I have to see playing at the same time) that could be great but might also lose my interest - Mumford and Sons and The Black Keys. I saw The Black Keys at ACL, and I just feel like those guys need to be in a dingy, small venue to get the real experience of that sound and energy. A festival is too wide open and pristine of a setting. Mumford and Sons have festival ready songs which I think will be great, but I'm not sold on the new album, so that show will be a TBD.

Ok, so that was a bit longer than expected, sorry, and I'm sure I'll be writing more about OSL as the schedule is released, and I plan my days, but as for the playlist, these are my favorite tracks of each artist that I would like to see at OSL. Those with multiple tracks I am probably more interested in seeing, but each band has a gem or two worth hearing live. Probably best to just put the playlist on shuffle, buy your plane ticket to SF, crash on my couch, and come to a great festival!

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 8

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Good Morning! Hope the weekend treated you well. It's especially a good Monday because The Maccabees are back on Spotify! For some reason (due to their record label I imagine), their amazing album, Given To The Wild, written up and loved by yours truly, is not on Spotify, but their new album is set to release sometime in 2015, and their first single, "Marks To Prove It," IS on Spotify, so hopefully the album will be as well. The single is an in-your-face rock song that I've been listening to incessantly for a few weeks. Their sound changes constantly from song to song, so I still have no idea what the new album may sound like, but needless to say, I'm pretty excited.

Halsey, a 20 year old American, just released this track that should instantly remind you of another talented young singer, Lorde. This song is pure pop. It's catchy as hell, and I love the disdainful lyrics about the music industry complex, again like Lorde. 

Although I wasn't overly impressed with Strange Names' debut album, "Ricochet" is a great track!

For the hip-hop heads out there, "Countdown" has to be right down your alley. Great beat, great hook, and Consequence and Lupe Fiasco together on a track?? Yes please.

Jamie xx's (member of The xx) debut album, In Colour, has been getting a ton of love from critics all over. I've been enjoying the album as there are so many different types of music packed into the album which really showcase the true ability of a DJ - to understand and appreciate the multitudes of elements and genres of music yet make them intertwine seamlessly to the listener. It's a hell of an accomplishment of an album to veer so heavily in different directions yet still be listenable from front to back. Jamie xx's track on this mix, "I Know There's Gonna Be (Good Times)," starts will some old soul sample then veers into a reggae-ish beat with "it" rapper Young Thug giving his off-kilter signature delivery. Yeah, it's a bit weird, but we all need to keep it weird (right, Austin?). 

Finally, Moses Sumney is a singer/songwriter I just stumbled upon because Pitchfork named one of his tracks Best New Track. This track, "Plastic," is just a simple ballad that spoke to me. Simplicity at its best.

Attention Alpha Males

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Clearly, our alpha male stereotype could use a corrective makeover. Men can learn a thing or two from real wolves: less snarl, more quiet confidence, leading by example, faithful devotion in the care and defense of families, respect for females and a sharing of responsibilities. That’s really what wolfing up should mean.

- Carl Safina, Tapping Your Inner Wolf, New York Times, June 5, 2015

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