The Weeknd – The Knowing

/ David James / 6 Comments

So I’ve had the album for a year now.  We’ve had the entire trilogy for a while, in fact.  Only just now I realized there are videos: this one is compellingly odd and surprisingly fun for those with an eye for cinema.

Watch the entire video for an indulgent mini-opera of how singer Abel Tesfaye compares a messy breakup with the violent overthrow of an Ethiopian king, while the lyrics paint an unflattering story of misbegotten sexual revenge.  Honestly, it’s a lot more fun than that sounds.  The song is a crumbling finale on his first album, House of Balloons; although not my favorite, it’s a perfect end to the party-life-gone-to-seed theme of his work.

But for certain people (me) the highlight appears around 2:20 with a direct reference to one of the greatest films of all time.  You may recognize it from the little image appearing next to the address bar in your browser right now.

If you aren’t yet familiar with this artist, I suggest you hit the-weeknd.com where all three of his albums are available completely free and are, to my ears, nearly equally brilliant.

Spiritualized – Hey Jane

/ David James / 1 Comment

jason-pierce-of-spiritualized-at-camden-roundhouse

So an artist I’ve loved for over a decade is about to release (maybe) the best album in that time, and it’s preceded by a video I’ve waited criminally long to share with everyone. I feel like a jerk. Sorry.

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This Week

/ David James / 1 Comment

Here is a quick round up of some things I’ve been into lately:

  • Kraftwerk 1

One of three albums in their “lost” period before Autobahn, this is more akin to Popol Vuh and Ash Ra Tempel than the ‘man-machine’ electronic pioneering sound they’re known for.  Alternating dark drones and punchy pysch hairiness, it pairs well with my pitch black coffee and readies my day for the noise ahead.

[check it out]

  • Machinedrum – Room(s)

I sort of liked this when it came out last year.  I wasn’t excited for it, I wasn’t into high speed clipped vocals and juke rhythms, and I was probably just into something completely different at the time.  When I brought it back out on a whim a couple months ago, Room(s) already felt fresher – then I made a copy for my car.  Now it’s become a favorite driving accompaniment and sounds exponentially better with volume properly cranked.  Hell, I included its moodiest track in the Shadow Piece mixtape.  It’s fast and reveling in footwork colors and properly alien to first-time listeners, but there’s a depth and range of feeling here that doesn’t often crop up on dance albums.  It’s this emotional tug that keeps it spinning and my interest pegged.

[seriously get it]

  • Ryan Teague

This guy just released Field Drawings and it’s been floating me for weeks.  It was actually the first new album I heard after my mother passed and felt like it was piercing my dark world with a bit of much needed light.  I’ll have more to say about this in another post.  Just listen to the intro track above.

  • This handsome devil.

This is Tres, my cat’s cat.  He was third in his litter, hence the name.  Not everyone is a fan but to me, this is the most affectionate animal I’ve known.  He’s a needy little bastard and seems nervous despite his unapologetic laziness.  He is a bit out of shape but he’s spry.  I think he’s allergic to pollen.  He’s sitting on my lap as I type so I thought I’d share.

Shadow Piece [mixtape]

/ David James / 9 Comments

Change begs itself.

I needed to do something different here.  Too much has happened to remain the same.  This will now be a home for mixtapes.  I will still write about music that I love, sometimes even in the same fashion as before, but this place will change.  I have a large mix backlog that can and will be shared, but I assembled one special for this occasion.  Here is the inaugural Optimistic Underground mixtape:

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BEST OF 2011

/ David James / 26 Comments

In 2011, like every year since I’ve discovered how to harness the power of the internet (and a handful of discerning friends) to expand my horizons and unveil whole dimensions of music, has been an incredible year for listening: another slab in my monument to Why You Should Pay Attention.  I held crushes on a number of albums and fell deeply in love with a select few.  All deserve acknowledgement but only the most striking motivate me to gush at length.  With a little luck, I can turn people on to something which will enrich their lives and change perceptions in small or significant ways.  Or maybe even sell an album for one of these deserving artists!

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Destroyer – Savage Night At The Opera

/ David James / 4 Comments

This video dropped halfway through the year and I feel terrible for failing to share it immediately.  The song is one of 9 front-to-back highlights on a pop masterpiece I wrote about in February and the video is something odd and special, inventive and thoughtful.  And unexpected.  And fun.

Yes, this is a first person race through the streets of Vancouver on a fast motorcycle.  The driver blasts through stoplights and throughfares with abandon and although the imagery pairing with this song feels arbitrary at first, the conclusion leaves no doubt as to its artistic intent.  It reminds me of Gran Turismo and Stockholm Getaway and my own attempts at taping rides through the city (albeit on a bicycle, in my case).  This is an experience, as much as the song (and album) itself is a blistering neon-lit ride through a dark night of Dan Bejar’s soul.  Watch to the end.

Speaking of bicycle rides, I wish this was me: