This video is old and I haven’t written a post about Gang Gang Dance in a while, but neither fact matters. This is a freewheeling ode to getting high on your music.
I really can’t say more. Watch the video.
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The Weeknd – The Knowing
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
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.
Destroyer – Savage Night At The Opera
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:
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble – Drips/Take Notice
I had nearly forgotten: this is one of my favorite things ever.
Or at least the past year.
In late 2010 this clip from a July 23 concert in Los Angeles was posted and I realized how much of an incredible force of nature Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is. Flying Lotus fans know him as the guy providing the string arrangements in the legendary album Cosmogramma, while those more familiar with J Dilla probably smile at the thought of his work as headliner of the Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes album, a sweeping orchestral take on the late James Yancey’s productions. This 13 minute alchemic beast weaves a stargazing intro from the former into one of the sparkling highlights of the latter’s final statement, the Ruff Draft EP, into an uplifting, hard charging masterpiece.
Truly an all star production, this band includes none other than Flying Lotus himself, Thundercat (best known for 2011’s Golden Age of the Apocalypse and making Cosmogramma jump like frogs in a dynamite pond), Rebekah Raff (another Flylo alum, she of the Alice Coltrane-worthy harp ethereality) and a full set of accomplished musicians I’ll list below.
Flying Lotus (laptop)
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (violin)
Evan Francis (flute)
Dontae Winslow (trumpet)
Joey Dosik (alto sax)
Kamasi Washington (tenor sax)
Garrett Smith (trombone)
Rebekah Raff (harp)
Marcel Camargo (guitar)
Brandon Coleman (keys)
Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner (bass)
Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave (drums)
Nikki Campbell (percussion)
I’m just hoping this hints, if not at Flying Lotus‘ next album (which will be announced at Coachella) perhaps a collaborative effort or even a full length release from this Ensemble itself.
Dramatic Eleventh-Hour Return
Hello there. I’m no longer on hiatus from the internet and I’m eager to share a hell of a lot of great music I’ve been into the past couple months. Most of the year, in fact. With so much on my plate so often, it was hard to get a few words in despite my constant enthusiasm. Now I’m ready.
Thanks must go out for the few helpful comments on my last post, and to everyone who still checks in on Optimistic Underground. I’m grateful for each and every person who reads, and all my music friends who help make this all possible.
This is how I feel right now. I hope you’re smiling too.
Found A Job
First: sorry I’ve been sort of quiet for a few weeks.
Second: this.
It’s true. This one pays far more than my prior occupation so it’s worth the being-busy-all-the-time aspect. However I have not – cannot – neglect music and thus always have something worth sharing with the world. Every commute, every bicycle ride, every nighttime book devouring session is accompanied by something new, expansive, exciting… punctuated by old favorites I find myself doubled over with joy upon re-hearing. So I’ve got something to say.
Unfortunately I worked my brains out today and must save the in-depth breathless praise and wild exhortations to purchase vinyl for the remainder of the weekend. I will simply state that there are a few albums I’m quite taken with, continually listen to, and wish that more people would get familiar with. These are a few of them:
United Waters – Your First Ever River
Sensations’ Fix – Fragments of Light
Robert Fripp – Let The Power Fall
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
Drive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Thundercat – Golden Age of the Apocalypse
and finally, with apologies to the artist herself:
Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens De Colour Libres
Because this is, by some distance, one of the most powerful and heartfelt albums of 2011 and I really should have shared all about it when I got it months ago. I promise – I swear – I will soon. Keep an eye on this page, and stay ready for the deluge.
Optimistic Underground 