It’s been slim pickings lately musically — not a lot of new releases after the glut from the holidays and not much in the way of shows, either. Seems like everyone’s still in hibernation, waiting for the cold to finally break and spring to finally show its face. Not that I can complain much — between the puppy and the new gig I haven’t had much in the way of free time, instead passing the hours trying to teach an animal to sit, stay, and remember his name and an office to automate, replicate, and fight at scale. Both efforts have been slow, but making progress, so thought I’d slip away to highlight a few choice items that’ve soundtracked the march to the future. First, it’s the latest from Run the Jewels who recently completed their tour with Lorde and continue their flawless run of releases. This one’s a product of that former pairing with El remixing one of Lorde’s new tracks (“Supercut”) and stamping the pistol and fist on it with a couple solid verses. It works well, marrying the cool, slightly haunting vibe of the melody/Lorde’s voice with Mike and El’s characteristic heat. Check it out here:
Next marks the return of Drake with a couple upbeat releases, and thankfully it’s fun, upbeat Drake, not the mopey, melancholic incarnation we’ve been getting so much of lately. He recently showed up on a remix of N.E.R.D.’s track “Lemon,” which was a catchy little earworm sporting a solid opening verse from Drake and a smoking, swaggering one from Ri. Thankfully he keeps the fire going on his latest release, which notes in the opening line that he knows shorty doesn’t want no slow song. Far be it for Drake to leave a lady disappointed, so he gives the girls what they asked for, three and a half minutes of fun. It’s a welcome return, with a bouncy Lauryn Hill sample to boot, so click play and have a little fun.
Lastly, it was 4/20 yesterday so naturally the LA punks from FIDLAR decided to show up and release a new song. For a band who so gleefully sings about drinking and drugs in their many forms and incantations, they haven’t strayed far from the mold here — but as a fan of those previous offerings, there’s something to be said about the simple pleasures of songs about life’s simple pleasures. This, like the rest of their material, isn’t going to win any awards for lyrical complexity and depth (or the approval of many parents and medical professionals), but it’s fun, catchy, and fits in flawlessly with the rest of their work. So turn off your critical thinking, crack a cold one, and crank up the volume with the kids from California:
——-
Actually, since it’s playoff hockey season (the greatest of all postseason sports, whether my Hawks are there or not) we’ll sneak one more in before the final buzzer. I caught this article on Stereogum this morning on the 20th anniversary of Massive Attack’s classic third album Mezzanine (exhibit #6767 I am OAF) that is worth a read. It does a good job talking not only about the importance of the album based on the quality of the songs (and as good as Blue Lines was, loaded with some absolute monsters like “Unfinished Sympathy,” this one’s hands down my favorite), but also that intangible quality it has, which is at turns foreboding, mysterious, dangerous, and sensuous — often all at the same time. And it’s that quality that really sets the album apart — the article talks about how often it’s been used in TV and film because of how instantly it calls those emotions to mind, and it does the same for me despite 20 years of heavy listening.
It still reminds me of being a twenty-something kid in Chicago, listening to the album obsessively in a way I never listened to their other albums (and still don’t), and one of my favorite things was to get the DJ at the Artful Dodger (one of my long-gone, but never forgotten favorite dives) to play “Inertia Creeps” as the final song of the evening as everyone closed out their tabs and decided where the rest of the night would take them. It’s by far my favorite song on the album (and a top contender for my favorite overall) and I loved watching how the room would respond. It’s an amazing track — part sinister, part sexual, a little cold, a little hot — it’s impossible to get a hold of, and that was the magic of seeing it spread through the room like a fog. Some folks would keep dancing, connecting with the sultrier undertones, some would look around uneasily, sensing the menace, others would just close their eyes and enjoy the song, excellent as it is. It was one of my favorite ways to end the evening (as this was still part of the decades-long span where females found me as interesting as spring training reports and tube socks) and I think of it every time I hear this song. So pop it on and see what it does for you — until next time, amici.. –BS