This sounds like towering columns of shattered light, the kind of futuristic timbres that I associate with crystalline sky cathedrals in some imagined Final Fantasy game.
existential
Vote Today: November 4, 2014
For US based readers and listeners: I just thought I’d drop a friendly reminder that, however fucked our so-called democracy has become, voting still matters. It’s not only important to voice your opinion where it counts (as opposed to the internet); it’s important to exercise your primary duty as an informed citizen. One reason so many asshole Republicans get into office is that my generation lets old, cynical, fearful people dominate the polls. That is something that could change.
Since this is a music blog, I’m also sharing a song that I’ve probably listened to 40+ times this year.
Sandwell District’s Feed Forward collection is probably the best and dark techno release of the past decade. I can, and have, felt lost in this music for days at a time. Keep this playing as you brave your local polling station.
If you need help with the local issues and candidates, as well as the location of your local station, go here: https://2014.votinginfoproject.org/
Thank you, friends!
Flying Lotus – Never Catch Me [heart stopping music video]
I’m seeing two children hop out of their caskets at a funeral and dance, running for the door. They’re grinning as they look back. I’m grinning as I watch. This is one of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced in a while, and it’s the best music video I’ve seen in years.
My heart is full and I’m beaming. This is the definition of life affirming cinema. Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) and director Hiro Murai have rendered the joy of life on a grand scale, as only those who have lost it may experience.
Progress [mixtape]
I made this in springtime, as I was coming out of an anxious, fearful period of my life. It’s the sound of an airlock opening, of stepping outside for the first time in years. It’s my fucked up, weird nostalgia for the future, and it works. This is the sound of me beginning to feel OK again.
The future’s going to be alright. Things have changed. This is Progress.
Oneohtrix Point Never + Philip K. Dick
Today I’m taking shelter in my apartment while a certain Christian music festival rears its ugly head across the street. Fanny-packed crowds flood the streets below while devotional rock blasts through the windows. I shut the shades and find my Rifts box set, selecting the third and possibly gentlest Oneohtrix Point Never album, Russian Mind.
The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin
Kendrick Lamar – Real
I’m real, I’m real, I’m really really real.
I’d heard a single or two from Kendrick Lamar over the past year, and knew I liked his voice and style but never bothered to grab his Section.80 mixtape. So anyone else who’s heard his official debut good kid, m.A.A.d. City can imagine how completely my hair was blown back in surprise: his bravura storytelling prowess, easy-like-falling cadence, all-star lineup of peripheral talent behind the mic and mixing boards; most of all, the entire album comes together in a cohesive narrative which completely justifies the subtitle of “A short film by Kendrick Lamar.” The spoken interludes are not only enjoyable but essential to wrapping the entire package up. Presented as a series of voicemail tape recordings from Lamar’s mother while he’s out on the town in her borrowed minivan, the final episode unfolds within this song, flipping aspiration to inspiration and leaving a lump in my throat.
Whether it’s the Erykah Badu-like hook and bouncing beat or the way “love” acts as a prism through which several verses are refracted, something about this track in particular allowed it to burrow under my skin and seal the wound from inside. Since Lamar is such a gifted storyteller this almost feels like a spoiler to share a song near the end… but it’s too good to keep to myself. If you haven’t heard the album yet, do yourself a favor and try possibly the best major label release I’ve heard in years.
There he is, eating cereal and sporting what looks like the exact haircut I had in 1991.
You can grab the album on Amazon, but I’m waiting for a vinyl copy.
