To be fair, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" is seriously excellent, if flawed. It actually reminds me of Father John Misty at least with how heavy it leans on self-effacement though it's more emotional and touching than anything Tillman's written in my view. That said, it's the only Eggers book I've read and probably the only one I'll ever need to.
Comparisons to Veckatimest in the article and Ys in the comments have got me fucking pumped for this, though I haven't heard the whole thing. I have no problem with obfuscation and complexity so this sounds like it's right up my alley.
I watched the first episode and liked it more than I expected to but I think HoC is pretty trashy really and it's 100% not the same anymore in the current political climate.
Better Call Saul though is fucking excellent.
I can honestly say that I am more excited about the revival than I have been about most other things my whole life. I never finished the series until a couple years ago at the end of college and the finale made me fucking cry. I'm so glad they decided to provide closure to the story.
Have fun with FWWM! It's a crazy underrated movie but it is indeed one of the scariest films I've ever seen. Messed me up for weeks.
I feel weird and I can't tell if it's because I'm turning 23 Monday, PWR BTTM is over, Comey got fired or that I've been bingeing Twin Peaks to an absurd degree. Time to blast Slowdive and drink.
It's definitely an acquired taste and not for everyone. I wouldn't say I "get" something that you don't, I just enjoy listening to it. It's intense, hypnotic music that puts me in a mood that's hard to describe and is definitely a pretty visceral reaction. This particular one's not very fun, but some of his music definitely is (Pop, Konigsforst)
Was literally coming here to talk about Narkopop so glad that it's being repped. Too bleak to be my favorite Gas record but damn it's good, might be my favorite thing I've heard this year.
Love this stuff and I think the ranking is spot on. I personally rep for "Returnal" pretty hard, I think that record is pretty much perfect but "Replica" is absolutely deserving.
Album: Sampha - Process
Song: Cloud Nothings - "Enter Entirely"
Not a lot has really grabbed me yet this year, but that's not to say there's nothing of quality.
Give it up for "Words and Guitars," what a vicious two minutes. I got into this band when I moved to DC for the spring in 2015 to prepare for No Cities, and this was the album that did it for me. Stunning.
Do you know if there's a source for that? I always had heard that Murphy never explained what the song was about to anyone because it was too personal. I always interpreted the lyrics as the loss of a child ("you're smaller than my wife imagined, surprised you were human") but I just assumed that was my own interpretation.
I don't like the album that much, but I also find "Up in Hudson," "Cool Your Heart" and "Little Bubble" to be top notch. I'm especially impressed with "Up in Hudson," which seems to me the tightest distillation of what he's going for and is just musically satisfying for me on multiple levels (that intro AND that outro!)
I listened to Wowee Zowee for the first time this week. It might've been because I was stoned but it blew me away. It's the best album I've heard in a very long time and certainly my favorite Pavement record. I can't believe I've never heard "Rattled by the Rush" or "Grounded" before. What are some albums y'all slept on for way too long?
One of my favorite albums. I got into it during maybe the lowest point in my life when I was about to leave college and went through depression. It's such a beautiful, direct record with ambition and heart in perfect balance. It kept my head above water then and now feels like a close friend.
Top 5 Movies of 2016:
1. Green Room
2. The Lobster
3. Hell or High Water
4. The Witch
5. Cameraperson
I haven't seen a whole lot of stuff cause I get sucked into horror/thriller genre k-holes way too easily but this is still a solid list I think. What are yours?
I've spent most of 2016 reckoning with the discographies of artists we lost, so:
Prince – Dirty Mind
A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders
Leonard Cohen – New Skin for the Old Ceremony
But since the election I've had Dylan's The Times They Are A'Changin on repeat a lot and it's pretty harrowing and perfect. I used to feel somewhat critical of protest music for being too heavy or preachy but I'd never listened to that album before and it just struck an intense, cosmic chord in me on November 9th.
Pretty Years would crack my Top 20 most likely, but put me in the camp that found it a little underwhelming at first blush. I've warmed up to it and think it's really great, especially "4th of July, Philadelphia (Sandy)" and "Mallwalking." I'll admit I'm a LOSE bandwagoner but that record hit me at the right place at the right time and is one of my favorite rock records this decade.
Seriously though, if "Okkervil River RIP" and "Frontman in Heaven" don't do it for you then I don't know what will!
Probably going to get drowned at the bottom, but hey, here's my list. I absolutely concur that 2016 was excellent for music, although heavier emotionally than usual, probably due to how much of a garbage year it was about everyone else. My current list is heavy on the favorites but I snuck in a few that need defending:
1. David Bowie - Blackstar
2. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
3. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial
4. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it from Here, Thank You 4 Your Service
5. Frank Ocean - Blonde
6. Angel Olsen - My Woman
7. Okkervil River - Away
8. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree
9. Weyes Blood - A Front Row Seat to Earth
10. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - EARS
"Away" is the dark horse for me, I guess. Can't really tell you why it resonated with me when it kind of fell by the wayside for everyone else but it might have something to do with the fact that, personally, this was kind of a devastating year for me, which is why "Skeleton Tree" is up there even though I've only listened to it a handful of times. In contrast, though, "Away" is the ray of light in the face of loss.
I listened to The Radio Dept's "Running Out of Love" on my way to vote (early) and for a little while leading up to the election it was all I could listen to. But I began to feel a creeping sense of despair as I realized the resonance the strongest stretch of songs ("This Thing Was Bound to Happen" > "Can't Be Guilty" > "Committed to the Cause") would have if the horrifying reality we now face came to pass... I was right, but that doesn't make those songs not utterly fantastic. The first two are more blunt about it, but it's the intoxicatingly, numbing feeling of "Cause" that really stands out to me. I'm not sure if I've heard a better, or at least more appropriate song all year. Stay safe and peaceful y'all.
I saw him this past Sunday. Incredible. I will cherish that moment of happiness and poetry maybe for the rest of my life considering the week that followed it.
Damn I'm surprised to see Still Life so low. It's a phenomenal album top to bottom. Blackwater Park is also incredible though. I guess I'm one of those sticklers who prefers the run from My Arms, Your Hearse to Ghost Reveries and don't care much for the early or later stuff. Haven't checked Sorceress yet though and probably will as a huge prog junkie.
Just got back from Hell or High Water and loved it. Great soundtrack from Cave and Ellis. A very thought-provoking, character rich, beautiful, fun film. Check it out if it's still playing near you! Have a great weekend!
Adding my voice to the pile of Cymbals love, and I gotta say that the thing I think I appreciate the most about them is how they've successfully varied their sound across each record. None of them really sound that much alike. I don't think Pretty Years tops LOSE - which for me is an impeccable unsung classic, seriously if you haven't sat down and listened to that one front to back with a lyrics sheet and no distractions, you absolutely should - but I really appreciate John Congleton's production and the adventurous sounds of tracks like "Mallwalking." It's good.
That said, Skeleton Tree has a stranglehold on me down hear in a sea of black ink, so it's gonna be a while before I appreciate all these wonderful musical gifts the year has given us.
Phenomenal record. "I Need You" physically hurts to listen to but it's also unrelentingly gorgeous. As soon as I finished my first listen I thought, "I'm not going to be able to listen to this that much" and then an hour later all I wanted was to listen to it again. It's unlike anything I've encountered in quite some time.
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