The Week In Music

What I’m Into This Week (6/12 – 6/25)

/ David James / Leave a comment

Aphex Twin laying in grass

The past two weeks rolled with dark gravity, anchored by the massacre in Orlando that saw 49 people killed in an LGBT dance club. It may be only the latest in a nearly constant string of mass shootings in the US, but it’s the most devastating in my lifetime. I’ll never forget the gut punch of hearing the news.

It’s important to seize on the image of us at our worst, not just to examine how and why, but so we can truly appreciate us at our best. Still, it’s just as important to grasp the good news when we have it. With that in mind, I want to share the great musical discoveries I made in the past couple weeks.

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What I’m Into This Week (6/5 – 6/11)

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Witcher 3 Ciri and Geralt

This week has been as busy as ever so I didn’t have a ton of time for new music, but I made up for that with deep enthusiasm for what I did discover.

Thanks to Dam-Funk’s excellent new entry in the DJ-Kicks series, I’ve been looping a certain new-to-me album half a dozen times over the past day alone. I’ve also spent time in one of the most sublime virtual worlds ever created, in The Witcher 3.

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What I’m Into This Week (5/22 – 5/28)

/ David James / Leave a comment

Uncharted 4 jump

This week has burned by in a whirlwind of heat and new music, pushed along by the constant pulse of discovery. I stumbled up loads of totally new artists and revisited some recent material, resulting in radical newfound appreciation.

Since it’s finally acceptable weather here in Michigan, I’ve spent a lot of time outside. But I brought my music with me. D.K., Studio OST, Sepalcure, and even Drake enhanced my time in the humid lakeside.

Let’s get into it.

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What I’m Into This Week (5/15 – 5/21)

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Lost Locke

This week I finally got on the literal saddle and biked every single day. It’s done wonders for my outlook. The days bloomed with a bright sense of openness, movement, and growth.

I find that optimism leads me to seek out new things with more enthusiasm. I ended up listening to a whole cavalcade of albums both brand new and new-to-me. I couldn’t fit them all so I’ll discuss the three that had the biggest impact on me.

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What I’m Into This Week (5/8 – 5/14)

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Repo Man Emilio Estevez

This week saw a small explosion in surprise music releases, with both Radiohead and James Blake dropping new albums mere hours after announcing them. It also brought one of the best politically charged albums I’ve heard in a very long time, from Anohni, formerly known as Antony Hegarty. This trio of releases opened a bold new chapter for gorgeous British vocals in 2016.

As someone who listens mostly to instrumental music, it was a refreshing change of pace. Let’s get into it.

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What I’m Into This Week (5/1 – 5/7)

/ David James / Leave a comment

Pacific Rim Gypsy Danger

This week was shot out of a cannon. I was out of town, spending the weekend in Chicago, visiting the aquarium and accidentally joining a political protest, but I returned to great news.

Radiohead was suddenly back and doing interesting things. I had new vinyl from Can and Andy Stott. Beyoncé was still riding high on the crest of a mighty art-pop wave, and her album was still lodged in my car stereo. Then, after the worst storm of the year, the sun came out to play.

Let’s get into it.

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What I’m Into This Week (4/24 – 4/30)

/ David James / Leave a comment

Beyonce - Lemonade still

What happened this week? What didn’t happen?

No more rock gods died. We’ve got that going for us. Aside from continuing my Prince binge and getting cereal lessons from Kendrick Lamar, I replayed one of the greatest video games of all time. I luxuriated in some deep house tunes. Oh, and Beyoncé dropped one of the biggest surprises I’ve ever heard from a pop star.

Things are looking pretty good from here.

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