03/21 - There's Hideous Demons and Creatures At Play

A healthy dose of anger and unruliness. See it as a gift.

 

 

Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire

I try to cancel YouTube's autoplaying to not get sucked in, but the other day the algorithm threw up one of the best music videos ever, and I could not help but let it play. There might have been a time when I thought I was over my RATM phase, but these days I capitulate: they're jsut as good, if not better, as I thought when I was in my teenage years. Why do they hold up? Because they were right, they were righteous, and they had the best riffs.

 

 

Bonnie 'Prince Billy & Matt Sweeney - Make Worry For Me

A while ago I ventured that OD'd in Denver was the best of Will Oldham's collaborative singles from last year, but I don't know. This might have the edge after all. Meaner, grittier and with a venomous guitar solo to match.

 

 

These New Puritans - Where The Trees Are On Fire

Don't get used to dystopia.

 

 

Memnon Sa - Golden Ram of the Sun

I heard a hedgefund manager on the radio, saying everything was fine and that he was just doing his part to make the system work optimally. I heard billionaires saying more capitalism will solve the climate crisis. I heard centrist columnists equate right wing extremists and socialists...

Here's an incantation to exorcise the demons of neoliberal hegemony.

 

Phoebe Bridgers - I Know The End

A song that claims to know a few things about ends, and goes on to prove it by providing a rather spectacular ending of its own. A musical impression of "do not go gentle into that good night"...

02/21 - Boss Up And Change Your Life

OK, sulking time is over. Time to shape up and do something productive. Here we goooo!

 

 

Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

Speaking of being productive, at work the other day we listened to this, and I tell you, with Idris Muhammad in the bluetooth speakers even making minute retouches to dark brown windowframes becomes a labour of love. Although by the time you get to that fuzz guitar solo at 7:17 the brush might need to be put aside. Careful antique conservation doesn't always go well with getting over-excited. I believe we learnt that from 'monkey jesus'.

 

 

Lizzo - Good As Hell

After almost a year I've finally added some pandemic-specific social habits. A zoom drawing club and a concert stream chat group. In the latter we simultaneously press play on a chosen YouTube concert every Sunday eve. A couple of weeks ago we watched Lizzo's Glastonbury gig, and if you need some pep and good feeling, that's the prescription. Just do your hair toss, check your nails, and... off you go!

 

 

U.S. Girls - 4 American Dollars

On my to-do list now that I've decided to be proactive: abolish capitalism. Preferably with this joyously sarcastic tune on the stereo.

I don't believe in pennies and nickels 

And dimes and dollars and pesos and pounds 

And rupees and yen and rubles, no dinero

 

 

Helado Negra ft. Xenia Rubinos - I Fell In Love

Well, I didn't. As usual. But you know, it's a nice sentiment. Presented in a really lush, sweet and compassionate way. Would have been my Valentine's tune if I'd chosen to recognise that day.

 

 

William Doyle - Blue Remembered

Posting this list on the heels of one of the most astounding long winter weekends I can remember, with each day outdoing the last in terms of sunrises, sea vistas and crispy, blistering icescapes; the colour I see when I close my eyes is definitely an icy blue remembered. This kind of beauty can be difficult to handle. You feel compelled to stay outside until frost starts biting your cheeks and you're getting a headache from all the intense white light, and exactly like this piece of music, the crescendoing, layered intensity of experience needs to be cut off, just so. 

But the easement came
In the form of the terrain
Colour spread again
Blue remembered
Freedom downhill came
With the fall of the terrain
Colour spread again
Blue remembered,
Green and red regained

01/21 - Did You Miss These Rhymes When I Was Gone?

What's up with the colours of this blog?, one might ask. Well, I have gone through the yearly process of considering whether it's time to retire this unpopular endeavour, only to end up with a whole bunch of tracks I still feel the urge to make into an impeccably curated playlist, non-existant readers be damned! So here's yet another revamp. This time slightly sickly and dark, like the times. And since I haven't made a list since the news of his passing, I can't move on before posting a tribute to the creative genius of Daniel Dumile. DOOM will live forever!

 

 

Madvillain - Figaro

I've stated before on this blog that my job's not done until every track from this album has been on a list. So I guess that's as good a reason as any to keep posting. Truly one of the most sublime records in the annals of rap.
 

 

 

 

Beverly-Glenn Copeland - River Dreams

I considered putting nothing but MF DOOM tracks on today's list – and I certainly had enough candidates – but I liked the idea of spacing them out with some reflective, serene pieces, like a proper commemoration service.

 

 

MF DOOM ft. Mr. Fantastik - Rapp Snitch Knishes

Not only did DOOM build up a whole universe with different pseudonyms of his own, but he also introduced mystery collaborators. As far as I can figure out the identity of 'Mr. Fantastik' is still not known. Considering he almost manages to hold his own next to DOOM it's pretty insane that he's stayed anonymous, and hasn't – as the song would have it – snitched on himself.

True, there's rules to this shit, fools dare care 

Everybody wanna rule the world with tears for fear 

Yeah, yeah, tell 'em tell it on the mountain hill 

Running up they mouth bill, everybody doubting still

 

Ana Roxanne - Suite Pour L'invisible

...

 

 

MF DOOM - That's That

Surgically splicing together more rhymes in a single line than some rappers use for an entire track, only to without warning disappear into an imaginary and imaginative parallell cartoon world. And that's that.