#dannybrown – Eyes Like the Summer

It’s a lovely spring day here in my beloved city by the lake (the linden trees finally bloomed so the neighborhood is redolent with the sweet scent of their blossoms) so figured it was a good time for a post from the porch. Today’s batch of boomers are a motley mix, blending hip hop, legendary punks, and pleasant pop, so should serve something to everyone before we’re done.

We’ll start with the oldest on the list — in terms of how long it’s been sitting open on my iPad, not the longevity (or absence) of its creator (both of those distinctions are held by another outfit, as we shall soon see — though both call the same town home…) This one’s from Detroit’s Danny Brown and his sixth album Quaranta, which came out late last year (his second of the year, alongside his collaboration with JPEGMafia). It’s unfortunately another hit or miss affair, continuing the trend of his last few albums — gone are the deliriously energetic and unhinged cuts of his early outings, replaced by a spacier, more subdued tone. This seems likely a reflection of recent life events (Brown recorded it after spending time in rehab to get his drug and alcohol abuse under control), but there are still moments of that frenetic, insane cadence of old. This one’s a good example, finding Brown partnering up with label/posse mate Bruiser Wolf (of Brown’s Bruiser Brigade) — check out “YBP” here:

We’ll stay in the cut and grab another entry from the support group (heep…heep hop…heep hop anonymous…), this time from another pair of old salts, legendary producer Pete Rock and hometown spitter Common. The two have worked together on tracks here and there before, but recorded an entire album recently and despite not having an official release date it’s already presaging a possible sequel. For starters it’s titled The Auditorium Vol. 1, but Common has also said it’s his third best album behind 2000’s Like Water for Chocolate and 2005’s Be, so the bar has been set. Judging by the first single, we’re off to a good start to those claims proving true — it’s got a classic Pete Rock beat (sampling MC Shan’s “The Bridge”) and some amped up verses from Common who sounds sharper than ever here. Really curious to see what else they dish out — enjoy “Wise Up” while we wait for the album:

We’ll close the hippity hop section with a somewhat surprising entry, both in terms of content and purveyor. The song itself is about the Palestinian crisis and the pounding its civilian population is taking at the hands of the Israeli military in its hunt for Hamas. (Death toll currently around 35k and counting…) That any song takes on as sensitive a subject as this — let alone anyone in modern hip hop, which almost exclusively doles out meaningless materialistic nonsense these days (outside acts like Run the Jewels, for example) — is something. That the person doing so is Seattle’s Macklemore, known primarily for his overly earnest (and occasionally ham-handed) lyrics, is another. That he does such a good job here, keeping his anger mostly in check and focused on the real issues (people’s reaction to the protests and not why they’re there, the weak (or absent) condemnations from US politicians and artists, etc) is even more impressive. It’s worth a listen — solid beat, sharp lyrics (“What you willin’ to risk? What you willin’ to give?”), and a topic that should be talked about more. Check it out here:

We’ll shift to less sensitive subjects and another somewhat surprising return, this time from Portishead frontwoman Beth Gibbons and her long-awaited solo debut, Lives Outgrown. It’s somehow been over 15 years since her last turn with that iconic outfit (their last, 2008’s aptly named Third, appropriately landed in said spot on my year end list) and it’s been well over 20 since she recorded any original material without them. (2002’s partnership with Rustin Man, Out of Season.) Unfortunately I can’t say it’s been worth the wait — while Gibbons’ voice remains an ethereal, otherworldly vessel for vulnerability, there’s something missing here that largely squanders that tremendous gift. Portishead always juxtaposed that voice against somewhat foreboding, moody backdrops, ones whose mystery and danger heightened the peril and fragility of Gibbons’ delivery. The terrain here is much safer and more sanitized, which strips that much needed tension from the proceedings. There are a couple anomalies — the sinister smoldering on the opening “Tell Me Who You Are Today” or the Indian-inspired freakouts on “Rewind” — and the killer “Floating on a Moment” could have been the capstone on an excellent album if there were a few more like it. Enjoy it in all its brilliance here:

We’ll step into the light now and bask in some much needed sunlight with a track from Oklahoma’s Wilderado who recently released another track off their upcoming sophomore outing. The album, Talker, isn’t due out until September, but the band have already released a third of its tracks, including this lovely little gem. Judging by the four we’ve heard thus far it doesn’t sound like they’re making any drastic changes (thankfully — their self-titled debut landed at #7 on my year end list in 2022 and has some irresistible ear worms on it), so hopefully we’ve got 8 more winners to look forward to in a few months. In the meantime enjoy this little slice of heaven, “Sometimes:”

We’ll close with a punky pair of surprising returns, the first from the aforementioned owners of both the longest absence and the longest tenure on the list, both of which clock in at over FIFTY YEARS(?!?) The resurrected ghosts are the legendary Motor City Five — better known as MC5, who are set to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a few months. It will be a bittersweet induction as their sole remaining members — frontman Wayne Kramer and drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson — passed away earlier this year. Rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that not only will they miss that accolade, but also the release of their new album — just the third in the band’s five decade career and their first since 1971’s High Time — which Kramer in particular has been teasing (and ostensibly toiling on) for years. They just dropped the first single from it and it’s pretty good — definitely not the “phone it in” flimsiness you might expect from a “vintage” rock band this late into their career. There’s the swinging swagger, the fiery guitar, even some of Thompson’s trademark snare blasts — let’s hope the rest is as good as this. Give it a glimpse here:

Last but definitely not least is the return of the beloved Lizard — the Jesus Lizard! — back with their own surprise announcement of an upcoming new album, Rack. The Lizard haven’t released anything in two and a half decades — 1998’s Blue was their last — and while there have been a handful of reunion tours since then, the band had been pretty consistent about the low likelihood of there ever being new music. Front/wildman David Yow had thrown himself into his side projects, be they his acting, art, guest vocals for a number of bands, or his solo album. Guitarist Duane Denison kept busy as part of Tomahawk, who last released an album (their fifth) right before the pandemic shut the world down in 2021. Meanwhile drummer Mac McNeilly and bassist David William Sims seem to have been content to slip into civilian life, bowing out of the spotlight by and large. I’m not sure what changed, but maaaaaaaan am I glad it did — and more importantly that as with the previous band what they’re coming back with doesn’t sound like some watered down memory of their ferocious former selves. The lead single straddles the line between echo and advancement, giving just enough sonic reminders of their old stuff while sprinkling in some fun new tricks to keep it from being a boring retread. Denison’s guitar work is vintage, as are Sims’ chugging bass line, McNeilly’s gunshot crisp drums, and Yow’s deranged yowls, and the stop-start bits at the end give it a nice, menacing lurch (or drunken wobble, depending on your mood). They announced a tour to accompany the album (though somehow are NOT playing any hometown gigs?!?), so am looking forward to seeing both in the near future. The album’s due out in September, but in the meantime crank this bad boy up and get ready to thrash:

That’s all for now — until next time, amici…
–BS

After another fun week of service and subsequent spiritual satisfaction, wanted to revisit the topic of a post from a few weeks ago, that of my beloved Orwells’ quietly dropping a new album, and what the right response is in light of the serious allegations against three-fifths of the band. The reasons for revisiting are twofold — 1) it’s a good album, one I’ve listened to dozens of times since that post, including this morning when I woke up with its “Silver Medal” in my head. (That one’s opening lines — “Not a fan of making up this time, got a lack of training. Go ahead and keep me out of mind, no one hears what you’re saying” — sports a clever homonym possibly referring to the broader allegations, indicating “no one here’s what you’re saying.”) That one’s almost beside the point, though — good, bad, love it, hate it, those feelings are almost irrelevant because of 2) the double standard regarding how we handle these artists and situations, as we partly discussed before.

This latter one feeds off the first and reared its head as the weeks passed with me waiting for reviews from the various blogs and magazines. In addition to discussing the music, I hoped they might have additional information on the broader situation to help me figure out the “what’s the right response?” question. Unfortunately, despite over six weeks elapsing I have yet to find a single review on any of the normal outlets — nothing on Allmusic, Pitchfork, or Stereogum — or anywhere else for that matter. This is the part that I find slightly annoying — the opaque, inconsistently applied criteria for how they (and we as a broader society) handle these things.

It’s almost certainly not attributable to their not knowing about the release — these sites regularly catch such hard breaking news stories as Moby’s new neck tattoo, the Twitter beef between Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Justin Bieber, and the time David Hasselhoff covered the Jesus and Mary Chain. And those are just some of the ridiculous ones I noted this month — so there has to have been a conscious decision made to not acknowledge and/or review the release, which is where the frustrating double standard comes in. These sites continue to cover similarly troubled/accused artists — R Kelly, Michael Jackson, and Chris Brown being but three giant examples, each accused, tried, and/or convicted of sexual abuse. (Repeatedly.) And yet they remain acceptable topics to cover and/or play — why?

What’s the line for who gets talked about and who gets shunned? Allmusic has reviews on each of those artists’ albums, as well as questionable/convicted scumbags of yesteryear (who also happen to be incredibly talented musically). There’s a lot of them — Ike Turner (beat his wife, the inimitable Tina), James Brown (beat his wives, possible rape), Miles Davis (beat his wives), Elvis (questionable relations with young girls, including his future wife Priscilla who was 14 when she met him (he was 24) and was subsequently left for another 14 year old after the birth of their first child), Chuck Berry (went to prison for sex with a 14 year old), Jerry Lee Lewis (married his 13 year old cousin, attempted murder). There’s plenty more, but all of these remain “safe” in the eyes of broader society — both to listen to and/or write about. (Oh they’re also OK to reward with accolades, as all of them have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among other honors.)

So why do those artists get the pass while others like the Orwells are exiled and no longer acknowledged? The allegations, amount of evidence behind them, and legal repercussions faced as a result are similar, if not weaker, than most of those examples. (There’s still no reports of charges being brought or evidence outside of that infamous, partly anonymous Google Doc.) And yet those artists remain in the light while the Orwells have been cast into the darkness, ghosts in an age where virtually everything seems acceptable enough to discuss on the internet.

This is not an attempt to dismiss the charges against the three band members or argue away their awfulness — if true they should all be prosecuted and do time for their crimes. Nor is it an argument to say the value of the art outweighs (or excuses) the bad behavior. These guys were always a questionable cocktail of dickishness and mischievous — both were invariably in there, you just couldn’t tell quite what the balance was and how much was an act and how much was sincere. (The last time I saw them Mario spit on, and then wiped his ass with, my beloved Chicago flag, for example, which is enough to get pounded for on the best of days.)

This is, however, an argument for clarity and consistency. I think we need to be clear in what our criteria are for handling these types of things — whether for bands like the Orwells, comedians like Louis CK, actors like Kevin Spacey, or public figures like Joe Biden, Al Franken, and the President (among dozens of others) — and consistent in their application. All things being similar, if the allegations and evidence are comparable, then so should our response be to the accused. And there should be no question over why — because we’ve made clear what our standards are for handling these types of situations: what’s acceptable, what’s inexcusable, and what’s still in the gray in between. To not do so creates confusion, a double standard, and an unacceptable acceptance of some people’s wrongdoings.

Alright, enough serious stuff — let’s lighten things a bit with some fresh catches from the previous weeks, first with a brief parody video starring the Black Keys. It’s a spoof of the online MasterClass series that offers “online courses taught by the world’s greatest minds.” This one has Pat and Dan being deadpan pretentious rock stars and it shows they, like fellow rocker (and guy I’d love to have a beer with) Dave Grohl, have a pretty good sense of humor. It’s a good palate cleanser from the above — check it out here:

Next we’ll shift to another long time face from this page, that of Austin indie legends Spoon, who recently released an outtake from their 1998 sessions for their second album, A Series of Sneaks. It’s somewhat surprising it didn’t make the cut — it’s in line with their more straightforward, rocking sound of the time and a solid song. Makes you wonder what other gems they’ve got stashed away. Check out “Shake it Off” here:

We’ll move to the land of hippity hop for a bit, first with the latest single from the relentlessly productive Drake (he just released a double album, Scorpion, last year). This time he’s dropping a song for the British show Top Boy that he’s apparently a big fan of. (Season three is airing on Netflix now.) Unlike most of that last album, it’s a solid song — good beat providing a backdrop for Drake to talk about his usual fare of “Rs and Vs and Os” and his endless material vices (Versace, Nobu, Milan, etc). Substantively might not break any new ground, but still a good listen. See what’s “Behind Barz” here:

Next we’ll check in with the wildly eccentric (or eccentrically wild?) Danny Brown, whose new album (uknowhatimsayin?, due 4 Oct) is being produced by none other than hip hop legend Q-Tip. I’ve cooled on Brown a bit since his debut (Old landed at #9 on that year’s list) and the pairing with Tip is curious, but this single does right by both parties, marrying Brown’s manic delivery with a vintage old school sample that easily could’ve landed on a Tribe album. It’ll be interesting to hear how the rest of the album shapes up — give “Best Life” a try in the meantime:

We’ll end our trip through hiphoplandia with a surprise release, the first single from the legendary Gang Starr in sixteen years (!), which features a new verse from Guru (sadly gone for ten years now (!!) and a guest verse from J Cole, all over another vintage beat from DJ Premier. Called “Family & Loyalty,” it doesn’t appear to be attached to any specific project (no box set or rarities album upcoming, sadly), but that doesn’t diminish the enjoyment in the slightest. These guys remain a criminally overlooked outfit (their 1998 album Moment of Truth is but one of many classics in their catalog that I’ve worn out over the years) so it’s a thrill to get something new. Give it a listen (and dive back into those old albums immediately after) here:

We’ll head back to indieville for our final entries, first a deep cut from the latest Lumineers album, III. The album is a bit of a departure for the band — it’s the first since the departure of founding member Neyla Pekarek, whose cello and voice featured so prominently (and beautifully) on their first outings, and also the first to delve wholeheartedly into less than lovey dovey matters lyrically. This one (the band’s third) tells the story of three characters over three song cycles (hence the title) — Gloria, Junior, and Jimmy Sparks — only instead of soaring, sunny songs, this time the tracks deal with things like alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling addiction. Still, frontman Wesley Schultz and drummer Jeremiah Fraites weave a lovely web without sounding maudlin or overly morose. Case in point the closing “Salt and the Sea,” which showcases both the storytelling and songwriting well. Give it a ride here:

We’ll close the same way we started this section, with a little levity to accompany a new find — this one from hometown heroes Wilco whose new album, Ode to Joy, is due out next week. We highlighted the lead single, “Love is Everywhere (Beware),” a few weeks ago and the latest, “Everyone Hides,” is another solid outing. What’s unique is that the video almost outshines the song — I hardly ever watch videos these days (I honestly couldn’t tell you the last one worth remembering), but this one shows a game of hide and seek as the band members comically spread out in my (our) beloved city by the lake. Take a look here:

Until next time, amici… –BS

Tag: #dannybrown

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