25. Fun. - Some Nights.
24. Japandroids - Evil's Sway.
23. Major Lazer ft Amber of the Dirty Projectors - Get Free.
22. Death Grips - Hacker.
21. Flying Lotus - Getting There.
20. Animal Collective - Monkey Riches.
Unfortunately, I could not find the album version.
This live version is fantastic though, so enjoy this instead.
18. A Tribe Called Red - Electric PowWow Drum
17. Zammuto - Groan Man, Don't Cry.
16. Pile - Baby Boy.
15. Beach House - Other People.
14. XXYYXX - About You.
13 Fiona Apple - Every Single Night.
12. TNGHT - Higher Ground.
11. Frank Ocean - Pyramids.
10. Dirty Projectors - Unto Caesar.
9. Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless
8. Perfume Genius - No Tear.
7. John Talabot - Last Land.
6. Grizzly Bear - Sleeping Ute.
5. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Dant Kill My Vibe.
This is the song that convinced me to listen to Kendrick Lamar in the first place, and despite my dislike of the word "bitch," I think the flow and the atmosphere of this song is ethereal. Also, the "bitch" he is talking to is the music industry and not a woman, which makes a difference for me. It details the inharmonious relationship Kendrick has with the industry, the new people around him, having become famous, and his challenge to the typical image of rappers. Rather than wearing expensive watches and clothes to convey his image, Kendrick opts to convey real life situations and emotions, which is something I really respect him for. Musically, the song has a very chilled out backing beat, and the vocal harmony that accompanies the strange effects on Kendrick's voice makes the whole production sound very spacey. Throughout Good Kid M.A.A.D. City I really appreciated Kendrick's self reflection and integrity, and I really feel like this song is somewhat of a mission statement for his project. Its great to see such a popular rapper stick to his convictions in such an enjoyable way.
4. Burial - Kindred
This song is a journey, and I find it oddly comforting. The only thing that stays very consistent throughout this twelve minute long, linear, electronic, epic is the drum sample, which repeats endlessly. But it is something tangible you can hold onto while the actual music of this song is warped and hidden beneath layers of distortion, that pop and crackle like a distant storm. It is also amazing how the vocal sample can communicate as much longing and sadness as it does, without really mentioning any intelligible words at all. All you get is the tattered remains of a person singing "Baby you ah ah." It complements the atmosphere of desolation and ruin that the song builds on for its entire length, especially the moment about four minutes in where only the vocal sample is heard. It is truly inspired, and even though it has the remnants of a dance track with in it, it sounds like a dance song after a catastrophic disaster. Hope still remains in this waste land though, and as the song nears completion I really feel like a survivor, conscious of the beauty and preciousness of life.
3 Killer Mike - Southern Fried.
Since I liked every song on Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music, it was hard for me to pick out one that really encapsulated what I liked about the whole album. I think "Southern Fried" does this nicely. The lyrics are mostly about being from the south, which is a huge part of Killer Mike's personae, but he also touches on his relationship with his wife, the police, and the music industry, and he says them which a bombastic quickness that would make almost anyone run out of breath before the reached the end of one line. The double time percussion also adds hugely to this energetic and fiery atmosphere. Mike's personality rules this song all the way through, and the gospel organs that make up the chorus perfectly reinforce his southern image. Its a completely airtight rap track, with some amazing production from EL-P, and I find it hard not to like.
2. Animal Collective - Honeycomb.
This single from Animal Collective was a nice surprise for me. After the reverb flooded haze of Merriweather Post Pavilion, a return to a more energetic musical style was a welcome move for the band. This single really reminds me of the days of Strawberry Jam, which continues to be my favourite AC album. I love the weird radio sample at the beginning, which leads immediately into some very noisy synth work and weirdly distorted percussion. They play with these filters on it for the whole song, and it sounds like its being stretched out and pushed back together very quickly. The vocal work is also cheery and infectious, even if its nearly impossible to understand what they are saying for any part but the chorus. The structure of the song is very well thought out too, putting a shorter chorus at the beginning, gives you a taste of all the merriment without wearing you out before the chorus really comes in full force later on. I sorely wish that all of Centipede Hz would have sounded as good as this song does.
1. Purity Ring - Ungirthed.
Caution. This video is not safe for work.
Firstly, I love how gargantuan this song is. It starts out with a tender synth line, which leaves you quite vulnerable for the pitch shifted vocal samples, bass, and percussion that come in quite quickly after. "Ungirthed" also has quite a nice flow to it, despite the hard hitting bass, and stuttering hip-hop style percussion. It slides through its different parts with ease, and the drop back into the verse line after the first course is so forceful, it knocks me down every time. The whole song is also permeated by this intense emotional energy, as if it is just fighting to break loose from some kind of apprehension, and scream about death and sadness till it loses its voice. The vulnerability of Megan James' sweet voice, is really at odds with the power of the backing instrumentation which creates a feeling of uneasiness for me as well which is just the icing on the cake.
No comments:
Post a Comment