What I’m Into This Week (2/21 – 2/27)

joanna-newsom

I feel like I’m going to start doing a weekly post about the albums I’m listening to. That way, even if I don’t end up writing something lengthy about a given album, I’m still spreading the good word.

So here goes.

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Ohmu

Tonight I’m feeling like this.

nausicaagif

Because I’m listening to this:

Seriously, I feel like a post apocalyptic princess fulfilling a prophecy by befriending a hyper-intelligent bug, saving the world from mutant nuclear annihilation.

Thanks for the incredible song, Dip In The Pool.

I heard of this band because of CFCF. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know why.

Happy Birthday, Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono is one of my greatest inspirations, a true artist in every fiber of her being. Her words have symbolically marked my mixtapes, and her book, Grapefruit, sits always on my desk at work.

She isĀ 83 today, and still making daring music that puts most artists a quarter of her age to shame. Here’s hoping there’s more to come.

In November of 1980, a few days before John Lennon untimely death on December 8, photographer Allan Tannenbaum had unique and total access to Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono, who were emerging from five years of seclusion, ready to release a new album, "Double Fantasy." Many of the photographs never released before are now in the book "John & Yoko, A new York Love Story", release by Insight Editions, November 2007.///John Lennon and Yoko Ono during filming of the "Starting Over" video.

In November of 1980, a few days before John Lennon untimely death on December 8, photographer Allan Tannenbaum had unique and total access to Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono, who were emerging from five years of seclusion, ready to release a new album, “Double Fantasy.” Many of the photographs never released before are now in the book “John & Yoko, A new York Love Story”, release by Insight Editions, November 2007.///John Lennon and Yoko Ono during filming of the “Starting Over” video.

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HKE – Omnia

hke-omnia

This album changes everything for the Dream Catalogue mastermind.

With last month’s deep-dive into the Dream Catalogue roster, I became aware that label co-founders telepath ćƒ†ćƒ¬ćƒć‚šć‚· and Hong Kong Express had each released an incredible amount of material in the past year. Their output rivals that of every other artist on the label combined, and incredibly, most of it is top notch. Sure, a handful of them tread in the same ultra-drifting waters, but somehow there’s a fascinating diversity of styles between the pair, all lit with the signature cyberpunk glow of the burgeoning label.

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Kanye West “30 Hours”

I still haven’t heard Kanye West’s new album The Life Of Pablo, but he apparently just added a handful of tracks to it, in addition to the official list released yesterday. This is the first one I’ve heard and it’s incredible.

On 30 Hours, Kanye samplesĀ Arthur Russell, quotesĀ Nelly, and completely reset my expectations for the album.

This is good.

To be honest, all I had to hear was “sampled Arthur Russell” and I was all over this. The tune comes together really well, and Kanye’s rhymes still appear to be in peak form. I’ve got high hopes for the album.

kanyewest

Hopefully he changes the cover art too. I really like this faded photo.

Future – EVOL

future-evol

This isn’t a review because I’m just listening right nowĀ myself. I’m just letting everyone know that, despite all the Kanye hype this week, Future is the rapper you can actually listen to today.

I’m also publishing thisĀ because, as of one full listen,Ā EVOLĀ is fuckingĀ fire.

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Fishmans – Uchu Nippon Setagaya

fishmansalbum

Have you ever heard of Fishmans? If not, that’s okay, because you’re here. I’m sharing their most incredible album. Uchu Nippon Setagaya is pure dub nirvana from Japan.

As a true believer in dub in all its permutations, I wholeheartedly consider this one of the best examples of the genre. Fishmans lit a constellation spanning the night sky from Kingston and Tokyo, mixing lush electronics, deep, wobbly bass lines, and the utterly distinct, androgynous vocals of lead singer Shinji Sato. Their final album may be the purest expression of this unmistakable sound.

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