Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Living+ 2023: #25 to #1



How is Living+ 2023 even happening? Is another of our grueling 8-months-late end-of-year lists really necessary? Why not just throw together another Spotify playlist and call it a day? Are we really that interested in I wonder what it would look like? to justify that level of time committment? Years ago, we didn't care. We just wrote whatever and posted whatever. What happened to the spontaneity?

Feel free to observe and/or "check out" the carefully selected photos and font sizes, but the track descriptions (mostly Succession pilled) make less sense than ever.

Do not read.

#25. Sweeping Promises "Eraser"
This will age us, but no one should be reading this anyway: From the mid to late 80s, both Nickelodeon and PBS spent much of their budgets on import shows from UK, Canada, and Japan. Something about "Eraser's" super-analog vocal treatment sparks a very specific odd nostalgia for the music on some of these shows. To be fair, we first noticed this (likely unintentional) reference in a few other moments from Good Living Is Coming For You (SPs' Tascam 4-track triumph, released uncharacteristically hybrid from both Sub Pop and Feel It), like the main vocal hook in "Throw Of The Dice" for example.

We'll attempt a pinpoint, but it's just not gonna happen: It's somewhere around 1985, resting between the largely recycled score on BBC's Danger Mouse (reran at 7:30PM daily on Nick through to the end of 1987) and a handful of the outside-commissioned shorts aired between the narrative segments on Sesame Street. Or something else adjacent to one of these faint TV memories. A cluttered list of possibilities could fill yet another gruellingly tedious blog post, so we'll stop right there.

#24. Sedona "Touch & Go"
Again, we're not really interested in zoning on the specific references, but "Touch & Go" would have fit perfectly on our best of 2005 - a fresh POV resting nicely alongside Avril, Clarkson, Hilary, and Jessica's catchiest summer songs. Maybe Sedona will finally release that long-teased LP sometime soon. Or maybe not. All we're saying is, take a good look at how well this formula worked for fellow pop songsmith Chappell Roan: A seemingly endless string of singles (nine total) since 2020 finally got sequenced alongside 4 or 5 new jams to comprise one of the most delightfully solid full lengths of this decade. At this point, Sedona has a strong enough back catalogue to achieve something very similar. Plus, we want that vinyl. Where's the vinyl?


#23. Yo La Tengo "Sinatra Drive Breakdown"



#22. Troye Sivan "One Of Your Girls"


#21. Dazy "Forced Perspective"


#20. 100 Gecs "The Most Wanted Person In The United States"
By the end of 2023, some intern at Fox News selected this wacky jam to segue into a commercial break during one of their cult talk shows for dumbasses. "I turned on the news and it said..." A few million boomers' first exposure to those "boing" samples may have unlocked some extreme impulsions: Hours later, both My Pillow and Liberty Mutual reported mysterious brief skyrockets in their sales figures, likely thanks to The Gecs' bonkers-as-fuck production - perhaps their finest to date.

This brings us to our one gripe: The production is so hilarious and fun that it almost makes it too easy to forgive them for its lyrical laziness, settling on multiple placeholder words throughout a repeated one-line refrain that an average cheeky third grader could have made up during recess. "And it said? THAT I was?" On a 26-minute 10-song album that took them 4 years to complete, that's the best they could think of? "The #1 most wanted in the United States" sounds pretty exciting, but they couldn't think of a more descriptive word than "PERSON?" It's like getting a perfect score on the SATs and then spelling your name wrong. We prefer its smokin' bridge chant "Is it hot like that? Yeah it's hot like that" and juvenile nonsense-verses.

With compartmentalization properly adjusted, we're finally ready to entertain a few rock crits' Ween comparisons dating back to 2019. "Money Machine" is basically "You Fucked Up" for the digital age, while "Doritos and Fritos" could feasibly pass as a lost reimagining from GodWeenSatan-era. Despite these, "The modern day Ween" label feels overall inaccurate, since 100 Gecs are the first of their kind. More accurately, they occupy the long-absent major-label weirdo contingent once fulfilled by the likes of Dean and Gene, alongside Butthole Surfers, Daniel Johnston, Mr. Bungle, Flaming Lips, and The Frogs. With Alex G recently signing to a major, the space is again occupied by at least two of these bands -- not exactly The New Weirdo Renaissance, but perhaps just enough to spark other musicians' creativity in a similar direction. The freaks of Gen Z deserve more ass-kicking weirdos.


#19. The Hives "Bogus Operandi"
Who's been gatekeeping The Hives 2.0 and never told us they were still kicking ass? Without checking every Hives release since 2004, would it be crazy to call this their best song in over 20 years? Does it smoke "Walk Idiot Walk" from 2004? Was "Walk Idiot Walk" a bizarre, underwhelming choice for their 2nd album's lead single? Were we familiar with scene-club indie-dance fashion kids way back in 2004? Why was that a thing? Is the video for "Bogus Operandi" the best video of 2023? Or at least in the top 5? Should we regret not doing a videos list last year? Should we maybe just throw one together right now? Are we able to think of 10 videos off the top of the head? Would it be fair to just say "Got Me Started," "The Hillbillies," the OPN video with The Donut Hole, and "Bogus Operandi" are probably somewhere in the top 6? Was this song a huge hit on modern rock stations, and if not why not?

Please limit your essay response to 100 words because we don't have all day over here.

Extra credit question: Why don't The Hives have a Bandcamp?


#18. Tkay Maidza "WUACV"



#17. Melenas "Bang"



#16. Smelter "New Skin"


#15. Troye Sivan "Rush"


#14. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar "The Hillbillies"
Let's talk about Kendrick and Drake.

Actually let's mostly talk about Drake and the underlying source of his ridicule. Why is he never taken seriously as a rap artist, gettin' in squabbles left and right? Our best guess: Drake lives in denial. He hates that he's has no control over his permanent branding as "pop star that raps," instead of a cred-worthy "rap artist." Dorky, perpetually 22-years-old, unfathomably rich and famous, he's the Justin Timberlake of rappers (minus the DUI). The boy needs to grow up, accept it, and own it, or else this identity crisis will continue for the remainder of his cultural relevance.

Post-acceptance, he can still flex some serious boasts: He's not just a "pop star" but one of the most successful mega-brands in music history. Each new release in his discography has consistantly defied low expectations, despite his cringey forays into Pinkerton-levels of therapy session TMI. The haters (us included) continue expecting a LONG overdue quality plateau, only to be met with a handful of surprisingly edgy tracks year after year, ranging from "challenging and dark" to "bouncy and fun." While nothing earth-shattering, his past decade of releases include none that completely suck. A pop star at his echelon of fame (or infamy, if the POV fits) doesn't need to seek a broad array of genuine dopeness, but it often occurs anyway.

The double-edge sword lies within his tastes and sonic choices. He's clearly a hard worker, dropping "surprise" mixtapes about once per year - a fatiguing pace preferring quantity over quality. But even his more recent drops eventually reveal some edge and dopeness, perhaps due to his desperation for an unachievable level of importance that's entirely on his terms.

He wants what Kendrick's earned - a degree of multi-platinum cred unseen since the days of The Low End Theory and 36 Chambers. But when you're that huge of a pop star, it just doesn't work that way. The degree that he flexes his practically nonexistent "street cred" consistently matches the degree to which he comes off as an oblivious dork.

This trajectory was set in place within the first 10 seconds of his breakthrough smash, 2009's "Best I Ever Had." Over a piano trickle sampling Hamilton Joe Frank & Reynolds' "Fallin' In Love Again," the spoken intro gives major "Lance Bass / Joey Fatone" energy: "You know, a lot of girls be / Thinkin' my songs are about them / This is not to get confused / This one's for you."

Perhaps hurting his case further, "Best I Ever Had" dropped concurrent with an uptick in Noggin's reruns of his 7-season arc on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Fans and non-fans alike will not shake this association. A child star turned rapper that "has bars" is still a former child star. Meanwhile, Kendrick studied and mastered rap throughout his upbringing in Compton. Guess who wins every single time?


#13. Bar Italia "Yes I Have Eaten So Many Lemons Yes I Am So Bitte"
The most frustrating new band of 2023, Bar Italia are perhaps the best recent example of a common issue in indie-rock: Outstanding musical intuition in desperate need of a kickass tough-love producer. On its own, "layer 1" of their canvas glimmers with a refreshing flavor for modern post-punk: Neo-noir, rough around the edges, occasionally weird. But most importantly, their grooves are hot. As the indie-landscape continues its dearth of sexy rhythms, Bar Italia seem effortless in this department - enough that they quickly banged out a surprisingly strong 2nd LP by the year's end.

It's this initial groove-layer that kept us returning, in hopes that their weak spots would eventually grow on us. But they haven't: structural nonsense, grating vocal performances, melodies and lyrics that sound drunkenly shat out at 4AM at an expensive-as-fuck home studio in posh upperclass London.

By the 2nd or 3rd listen through their breakthrough single "Nurse!," we wondered about its creation process too much to enjoy its strengths. Seems transparent enough: One band member recorded the entire song on their own, singing the catchy chorus (the best part) and leaving open space for the others' unwritten vocal parts. It's at this point when lyrics and a "first thing I could think of" vocal melody hastily come together. These pinned-on vocal takes comprise most of our frustration with this project. In a handful of instances, our "grower" theory actually worked, more so on The Twits than on their earlier LP. "Twist" is a good example: A decently structured 6/8 spagetti-western thing with vocals and lyrics that still grate but perhaps not to a degree that drags it to ruins.

Applying process of elimination, their best songs maintain the dope grooves with minimal intrusion from their most destructive tendancies. From these, we hear "Lemons" standing out enough to lock for our Top 20, thanks in no small part to a chill understated vocal performance from the best of their 3 singers (the glasses dude, looks like Adam Friedland).

With all this said, we think they show outstanding potential for future releases, pending they can critically examine their weaknesses and invest some of that inheritance money on a dope producer who can really help them shine. It might even make up for their jaw-dropping trainwreck of a live show, put on full display in their Coachella live stream a few months back. (Mercifully no longer on Youtube, they gave Salem at the Fader Fort something to aspire to.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb7PjuAdwy8

#12. NewJeans "Super Shy"
Is this the video where the entire 300+ student body of a random primary school in Americatown, USA are shown in a super-wide shot dancing in unison in front of their school? It would seem as though the NewJeans video director may have mistakenly thought this creepy-as-fuck image would make random kids say "wow that's so cool, I would also enjoy it if all 300 kids at my school were to dance as one." Luckily for NewJeans the song is catchy and fun enough that it seemed more awkward than genuinely scary. If the quality of the jam were not so hot, nothing about this image would sit well with us. But this may be testament to the song's dopeness, since we almost forgot this part of the video existed.

Here's a great idea for TikTok: The Don't-Dance Challenge. You win the challenge by just enjoying the song. Nothing against The Do-Dance Challenge, if that's your preference, but the dream keeps dreaming.


#11. Pardoner "Rosemary's Gone"



#10. Brain Tourniquet "An Expression In Pain"



#9. Beach Fossils "Don't Fade Away"


#8. Narrow Head "Caroline"
Music supervisors take note:

"Caroline" is exactly the kind of emo-grunge-core we wish we could hear in an indie-film about 20-somethings coming-of-age midway through a quarter-life-crisis while navigating self-discovery, scraping to get by, trying and slacking, succeeding and failing, finding and losing love, etc, etc. It's exactly the kind of pensive, urgent, loud guitar-rock that should be Track 5 on a 15-song soundtrack full of sonically aligned newish bands like Momma, Rocket, Turnstile, Alien Boy, Young Guv, Glitterer, Dazy, Flasher, Cherry Glazerr, Milly, Ovlov, Jobber, and topped off with a couple hardcore-adjacents like Gel and Fury. Now that's a soundtrack worthy of some excitement, not only to spotlight a truly misrepresented subset of modern youth culture, but also to get these clueless airchair dumbasses to shut their traps about the "dead" or "undead" that rock is allegedly experiencing. Tell that to the packed Momma show we saw at Music Hall last year. Say that into the mic at Ovlov's frantic Market Hotel show a few months back, or at the Milly / Hotline TNT show at Baby's All Right when we were by far the oldest people in the room. (All sold out shows by the way, or close to it). The percentage of loud rock kids across the youth culture spectrum isn't exactly a huge number, but it's a much larger one than "the narrative" would have us believe. And their passion for this music is strong. (Also, most of them fuck with Deftones.)

Singles and Trainspotting are probably the two best examples of '90s soundtrack curation that spoke on behalf of a previously ignored generational subset whose numbers were much larger than assumed. The very idea that this isn't currently happening is ridiculous. For their new film I Saw The TV Glow, filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun perhaps achieved the past decade's strongest attempt - a 16-song collection that reimagines the heights soundtracks could have reached in the 2010s, following the strength of 2009-era comps for Twilight and Jennifer's Body. Had its curation occurred in 2016, I Saw The TV Glow's album would fit this exact criteria. But as a 2024 release, it's showcasing a movement that's already been well-covered and packaged as its own era in the rock trajectory. Quickly glancing, we see solo-Hop Along, solo-Chairlift, Phoebe, Snail Mail, Jay Som. You'll hear their pretty/sad voices all the time on NPR and SiriusXMU. 50-something indie dudes love attending their shows. It's not necessarily the exciting, youthful bombshell we're describing here, but it's still the closest we've heard in a while. So keep them coming. The door's wide open. More hot soundtracks, pleeease.


#7. Turnstile "Everything You Know"
Here's the only song on Living+ 2023 that technically hasn't been released yet, and we're not sure why.

Here's our weird anecdote: We binged through Season 3 of I Think You Should Leave about a week after it dropped on Netflix, not realizing the cheesy-sounding rock song prominently featured in episode 4 was a new song from our favorite current rock band. We saw a Stereogum headline mention something about a new Turnstile song appearing on the show, and confusion settled after realizing this same cheesy song was in fact Turnstile. A few months later while compiling thoughts and info for a "2023 TV and Movies" podcast discussion, the extended separation from our initial impression made a huge difference. Suddenly, this mysterious jam became firmly brain-stuck in one of those 3-day extended remixes, subconsiously looping over and over, both at work and during sleep.

We quickly related to the guy from the sketch, fueled with entirely unearned rebellion and youthful excitement. The Turnstile boys are keeping us young. We're dumbfounded why Roadrunner has yet to capitalize on such a great song. Perhaps some legal bullshit with Netflix?

But more than anything else in that moment, we needed a way to hear it while driving. Without a presence on any major or less-than-major streaming services, we tried an old-fashioned mp3 download from Soulseek and still found nothing. No audio extractions, no fan edits. But we did find the episode's video file. So what if we just tried that? Let's give it a shot...

A few minutes after the video file completed, we dragged it into Audacity where a very strange, unexpected discovery occurred: The audio of this episode had split into 6 seperate stereo tracks, perhaps in their respective "surround sound" channels. We're not sure exactly how that works. But even more relevant to our mission, two of these tracks contained only music with no dialogue, making it all the easier to isolate the song for our own special "fan edit." About 30 minutes later, our hasty-yet-asskicking edit was complete.

Should we share this edit with the world? Believe it, we tried. Soundcloud and Youtube immediately rejected our upload citing copyright claims, which must be why it's still impossible to locate an audio stream. The only exception we could find is the one embedded below -- a fan edit that adheres to a conventionally longer 3+ minute structure than what Turnstile likely laid to tape. It's far off enough from the original recording that Soundcloud hasn't flagged it yet, making it the only currently available version.

At least one Reddit poster seems convinced that this song, while written and performed by Turnstile, is actually the band playing a character created by Tim Robinson. The character is "The Everything-You-Knows" performing a song called "Listening." While not unfeasible, this conflicts with the song's metadata tags on Shazam and Spinitron, both of which mysteriously vanished from these 2 services at some point during August 2024. But until a more official source says otherwise, the song info is Turnstile, "Everything You Know," Roadrunner Records, 2023.


#6. Chappell Roan "Red Wine Supernova" / "After Midnight"
The ascent of Chappell Roan is by far the most exciting thing to happen in pop music since the turn of the decade. "Last summer, she was a camp counselor. This summer, she’s a femininomenon." Yeah, no kidding. We're hooked deep into this one, mesmerized by how good it feels to witness her story unfolding in real time. The underdog triumphs. Finally!

Savor this moment, kids. And then brace yourselves for a possible oversaturation. A multitude of story re-tellings might arrive after the album hits #1 (perhaps in the next few weeks, symbolically overtaking Taylor Swift's position), and then re-entering at #1 after the Grammys (where she has a remarkably solid shot of winning Album Of The Year).

The story: Seeds planted upon album release -> Seeds sprout throughout her 2 months of shows with Olivia Rodrigo -> "The little sprout that could" reaches full bloom just in time for Coachella, delivering an explosively ultra-confident yet endearingly human performance, conveniently live streaming to the entire world via Youtube. By the end of the month, she's interviewed by Elton John, while Bonnaroo uncharacteristically but wisely moves her from side- to main-stage.

Seemingly overnight, she's an actual megastar, tapping into a deep level of mature listener connection envied by most pop artists whose initials aren't T.S. As the era of stan culture all but diminishes the impact of the so-called "important" musician, Chappell Roan embodies a non-superficial no-bullshit necessity. She represents so much for so many different types of people, while her palpably loveable and approachable aura only amplifies her album's bangers-per-capita (essentially 10 singles, plus 4 exceptional album tracks that any other artist would gladly drop as their lead single). Bangers, coolness, and actual importance: The ultimate triple threat of 2024.

So now that's out of the way, here's what we really wanted to dig into - the largely unexplored peculiarities of this whole thing:

- She's not a former child star, an actor, or a model. She's not indebted to nepotism.
- Nothing about this record suggests "boardroom approved."
- Released by an offshoot of Island Records who clearly had no idea what they had on their hands, the record was not well promoted upon release.
- There was no "accidental internet glitch" such as the sus Youtube algorithm push for Phoebe Bridgers' "Kyoto" video in 2020.
- Disney's endless PR cash was not on hand to fabricate auto-streaming confrontations or high-profile playlisting favors, such as those ensuring the instant success of a song like "Driver's License" by shoving it in people's faces ad nauseum.
- Initial reviews were mixed. Pitchfork cluelessly scored it a 7.2 and somewhat egregiously described "After Midnight" as "otherwise unremarkable."***
- Typically a Hail Mary promo boost for a pop record of this quality (ie Body Talk, Sucker, Emotion), an end-of-year listicle consensus barely materialized.^^^

It's not like Chappell Roan started the year 2024 from zero, but she made the absolute most of what hints of momentum she could collect and funneled all of it into an explosive live experience that doesn't need pyro, with a refreshingly sparse stage plot - just Chappell, her songs, and an ass-kicking 3-piece backing band. She built her brand almost entirely around her own self-confident stage persona, generating buzz through old fashioned word-of-mouth.

It's as close to organic as ascent-to-stardom can get these days - a success story that owes the machine virtually nothing.



***Note: While working on this very large blog post, we noticed at least 2 other music writers suggesting "After Midnight" as Chappell Roan's worst song, largely conflicting with fans' enthusiasm. We're prepared to defend. If the design of Midwest Princess functions (among a sea of enumerable functions) among the all-time greatest collections tributing the past 25 years of pop stars, "After Midnight" is a great example of homage-surpasses-influence. In this case, it's Katy Perry's Teenage Dream LP - specifically, the party jams "California Gurls" and "Last Friday Night," the latter of which we largely regret placing as our 5th best song of 2011.

^^Note: Friend-of-the-blog Maura Johnston placed it #4 on Time's list, while friend-of-friends-of-the-blog Rob Sheffield largely advised Rolling Stone's #12 placement. But at the end of 2023, nearly all the consensus instead surrounded the comparitively whiny Guts. (Boring.) What should have been 2 very high profile promo boosts felt more like two larger than average droplets landing in a gigantic listicle bucket. While this problem continues suppressing so many of the past decade's best albums, it's refreshing as hell to finally witness a genuine breakthrough side-stepping broken industry norms.

#5. PinkPantheress ft Ice Spice "He's A Liar Pt 2"
“We don’t need to repeat a verse, we don’t need to have a bridge. We don’t need a long outro.”

We would prefer to never know this quote existed. On its own, "Boy's A Liar Pt 2" is one of the breeziest summer songs in recent memory, and doesn't seem deserving of analysis beyond "is it catchy? is it fun? is it summery? yes, yes, and yes." Without the fun-sucking microscopic analysis so inherent to modern pop music, it's easily one of the 10 best songs of 2023.

But since she brought it up...

This is not the first time a flawed-yet-serious jam still felt huge enough to qualify for a year's Top 10. The one that comes to mind most often is "2 On," when Schoolboy Q's distractingly raunchy bridge felt like a phoned-in stain on an otherwise perfect pop song. It's not entirely uncommon these days.

Okay, let's talk about song structure.

So PinkPantheress wants to break the rules of structural pop convention. No problem. Do what you need to do. Robert Pollard's spent the last 40 years writing hundreds of songs that experiment with convention. The difference: Pollard's also written several hundred songs that adhere to those same conventions. Are we purposely removing structural elements for its own sake, just to generate Twitter arguments? Or are we experimenting out of love for the form?

Has PinkPantheress earned the right to become a public figure who decided that she knows better than the past 60 years of successful pop songwriters?

Step one: In order to break the rules effectively, you need to listen and study to gain an understanding of why conventions work as well as they do.

Step two: Learn to create a mental image of "perfect structure." Even without the acumen to articulate why, learn how to identify a perfectly crafted song when you hear it.

Step 2.5: Step two enhances ability to ID tricks and imperfections, when they elevate dopeness, when they make a song slightly worse, when repetition works, when a motif becomes too repetitive or not repetitive enough. ID the basics of key changes and how they may or may not psychologically elevate a listening experience by introducing sounds or notes not yet heard throughout a song. ID examples of when imperfections work or don't work, whether intentional or not, both subjectively and objectively.

Step three: Perhaps the most important step for a writer like PinkPantheress who values brevity, learn to identify when a shorter song feels undercooked instead of just right, or when a longer song earns its length instead of tediously plodding.

We're only just now hearing the original "Boy's A Liar" and learned that PinkPantheress's 2nd verse was removed to make room for Ice Spice's bridge, closing with a 4-line rap cadence strongly suggesting "let's bring it on home," at a point in the song that feels only about 40% finished. The fact that PinkPantheress had an opportunity to improve the song's flow by preserving her 2nd verse feels like such a wasted opportunity, choosing instead to keep the song under 2:30 not to help it sound any better but for the sake of brevity itself.

It's still a great song, but its final version does kind of sound like something was accidentally deleted. The transition from Ice Spice's rap back into the pre-chorus strikes us as one of the most effective pop moments of 2023, making it all the more frustrating that it occurs way too early in the song.

Whoever edits Wikipedia made sure to throw in a paragraph about Rolling Stone and Vulture including "Boys a Liar Pt 2" in their notable Grammy snubs, specifically for Record and Song of the Year. Maybe it would've had a better shot if it was structured like a fully formed song instead of a demo.

Repeating a chorus doesn't have to sound repetitive. After mastering the fundamentals of pop structure, the tricks become more obvious. 2nd choruses don't always but occasionally appear with new arrangement detail, or alter half of the chorus's lyrics, or attach a post-chorus section. There's no law that says a chorus can only re-appear later in a song as an exact copy-and-paste of its first occurance. In fact, we wish newer bands would experiment with this more often. But none of this would ever occur to kids who haven't done their homework.

Stop confusing laziness with "breaking convention." Oh you don't like being called lazy? Then maybe prove you're not by learning how to fix clunky structures instead of just hastily pasting together "production + singer" and killing a dope groove dead in its tracks at the 2:29 mark for no reason whatsoever. There's a lot more to songwriting than you might think.


#4. The Tubs "Illusion Pt II"



#3. Chappell Roam "Casual"
This is somewhat bittersweet. At the time, it was very tough to choose a #1 best song of 2022, and so we ended up tying 3 songs as our Top 3. No regrets, but we wish we had known better. The November 3, 2022 review for "Casual" was Pitchfork's only Chappell blurb for quite some time. It did not receive BNM, making it somewhat of an unfindable needle in the track review haystack. We know music writers have to listen through a lot of bullshit on a daily basis, but so do we. "Casual" isn't a grower at all - its first-listen impact felt as immediate as the best tracks on Anti, to us anyway. Within the album context (track 5), its first listen revealed a truly gifted star, songwriter, and vocalist. Is that yet another triple threat? We believe it is. And hey, her singles are still on Bandcamp. Bless her.


For anyone interested, we uncharacteristically fixed the first 25 tracks on our "Waffle Party 2022" Playlist, sneaking in "Casual" and the excellent "My Kink Is Karma" (also from 2022) to positions that felt more accurate to us:

Waffle Party 2022 - Redux
1. Chappell Roan - Casual
2. SZA - Kill Bill
3. Dazy & Militarie Gun - Pressure Cooker
4. Alien Boy - Wondering Still
5. Flasher - I'm Better
6. Momma - Tall Home
7. Nilufer Yanya - The Dealer
8. Carly Rae Jepsen - Talking To Yourself
9. Sevyn Streeter - 23
10. Alex G - Runner
11. Soccer Mommy - Shotgun
12. Harry Styles - As It Was
13. Momma - Speeding 72
14. Chappell Roan - My Kink Is Karma
15. LCD Soundsystem - New Body Rhumba
16. Built To Spill - Never Alright
17. Snail Mail - Feeling Like I Do
18. Nilufer Yanya - L/R
19. Hatchie - Lights On
20. The Rubs - Yer Trouble
21. 100 Gecs - Doritos & Fritos
22. Chat Pile - Lake Time (Mr. Rodan)
23. Nas - Michael & Quincy
24. L.O.T.I.O.N. - Cybernetic Super Lover
25. The Garden - Freight Yard

#2. Troye Sivan "Got Me Started"
Amid packed daily schedules and the push-and-pull shuffle from agents and managers, it's no wonder that neither Brian Cox nor Troye Sivan have any memory of "When Troye Met Brian" - perhaps the crossover event of 2023 and a cautionary tale of jumble-fatique. Neither party recalls their agents saying "You know them, right? Quick photo. The kids will love it." Both Troye Sivan and Brian Cox sleepily replied "what? what's going on?" in unison. 16 seconds later it was done and over. The following morning, an associate first showed Troye Sivan the now-viral photo. Both were perplexed at how his pants were suddenly missing. They were both certain he had been wearing pants at the time, even slightly recalling Brian Cox remarking "hey nice pants," although they later realized this may have been sarcasm. The "blink and you'll miss it" nature of this shuffle-fatique would later influence the music video for "Got Me Started," which shows people running and eventually throwing themselves into odd choreographed positions that are technically aligned with each other but do not resemble actual dancing in the classic "pop music video" sense.


#1. Kurt Vile "Another Good Year For the Roses"
If you had a good 2014 or 2015, then give yourself a pat on the back because those was the last "good" years in the history of the world. Not amazing. Not great. But "good." Since then, no one has had a good year. And if you didn't have a good year-long-stretch at some point between Jan 1, 2014 and Dec 31, 2015, we're sorry to break the news that you've been waiting longer than some other people.

The only actual non-list TMK post of 2023 was about "good music years" vs "bad music years," and an argument against the poptimist assertion that "every music year is good." (We also assessed 2022 as "okay," which we can now confidently re-assess as "very good!" See our Chappell Roan blurb at #3 for more info.)

We forgot to mention something important though: Just as how we're now experiencing a status quo fueled by hyperbolic praise of the modern era, the opposite can be equally as damaging.

Take 1996 for instance. At no other point in history has such a musically generous year met so much influential negativity, to such an unfair degree that it prematurely derailed the essence of the entire decade. Speaking somewhat broadly, the vibe-shift was practically immediate: By the end of January '97, "Wannabe" broke in the U.S,. kicking off this new era; by December '97, only the poppiest or most watered-down fuzz-guitar alternative or golden-era hiphop lingered in the mainstream. Only 3 years earlier, summer '94 felt like such a triumph with the likes of "Sweater Song" and "Loser" hijacking every Top 40 station. The end of '97 felt comparitively sleek, as if every morsel of grit, edge, and sarcasm had all but disintegrated for no good reason, as if someone of influence decided on behalf of everyone that popular music was in danger of getting too good.

How did this entire era flash by so quickly compared to the endlessness of whatever is happening now? Brat and Chappell Roan defined this past summer, but shouldn't there have been more than 2 fun or exciting moments of musical ubiquity? Can Magdalena Bay join the party, or are they too weird?

Kurt Vile says, "One day I'll sit down and write me a letter / Get my shit together." No, we actually need to get our shit together now. Like, right the fuck now.


Tuesday, January 30, 2024

MTVZ's Top 100 Videos of 2023 Countdown

Hey the new MTVZ is here. Please leave it on.

We had a Top 100 videos of the year list ready to post along with this but then the order got mixed up and we added like 20 more videos and then added some 80s videos so just pretend.

Note: We haven't seen a lot of these before. Lots of educated guesses. (For stuff like this, MTVZ likes to guess "what would the programmers of classic MTV put as their top 100 of the year if these just happened to come out in 1987-2002" or something.)

Okay we'll type out the first few until we get bored:

1. NewJeans - Super Shy
2. Troye Sivan - Got Me Started
3. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - The Hillbillies
4. Sho Madjozi - Chale
5. Julie - Pg 4 A Picture of Three Hedges
6. The Tubs - Wretched Lie
7. DJ Crazy Times - Planet Of The Bass
8. Peggy Gou - It Goes Like Nanana
9. The Hives - Bogus Operandi
10. Yung Lean - Trip
11. 100 Gecs - Dumbest Girl Alive
12. Tyler The Creator - Wharf Talk
13. Latto ft Cardi B - Put It On Da Floor Again
14. SZA - Kill Bill
15. Bar Italia - Worlds Greatest Emoter
16. Beach Fossils - Don't Fade Away
17. Lil Yachty - The Black Seminole (SNL)
18. Pardoner - Are You Free Tonight
19. Milly - Grab The Wheel
20. Margo Price ft Sharon Van Etten - Radio
21. PinkPanteress ft Ice Spice - Boy's A Liar Pt 2
The Replacements - Bastards Of Young (Bonus 80s Videos)
Til Tuesday - Voices Carry (Bonus 80s Videos)
22. Militarie Gun - Very High
23. SZA - Snooze
24. Troye Sivan - Rush
25. Boygenius - Not Strong Enough
26. Paramore - Running Out of Time
27. Kurt Vile - Another Good Year For the Roses
28. Sabrina Carpenter - Feather
29. Promiseland - Bad Days
30. 100 Gecs - The Most Wanted Person In The United States
31. Phony Ppl - Nowhere But Up
32. etc etc...

...

...96. Odd Eye Circle - Air Force One
97. Tyler The Creator - Heaven To Me
98. The Smile - Wall of Eyes
99. Parannoul - We Shine At Night
100. Ghost - Jesus He Knows Me

Monday, January 29, 2024

THE OFFICIAL 2023 SHORT STACK: TOP 61 ALBUMS



But first, a brief word in defense of Pitchfork:

After Pitchfork's post-rebrand '80s albums list in 2018, we decided to listen through all 200 while delivering Uber Eats (one of our 4 jobs at the time), followed by 5 very long FM radio shows with one block from each album. Surprise and delight followed. We're prone to getting lost in "giant music discovery journeys" every few years, and this was among the most fun and rewarding, five years ago this month. (Mixcloud probably won't allow these to stream due to multiple tracks from same artists, but here's the playlists: http://latenightnoisefm.blogspot.com/2019/01/my-final-80s-spectrum-shows-january-2019.html)

This was our 1st complete listen through NIN's Pretty Hate Machine, The Cure's Head On The Door, The Clash's Sandinista (most of it), Iron Maiden's Number Of The Beast (not my thing), Mercyful Fate's Don't Break the Oath (absolutely my thing), Horace Andy's Dance Hall Style, Kool G Rap's 1st LP (curiously still not streaming anywhere aside from Youtube), and lots of golden era rap, reggae, metal, and punk that we hadn't gotten around to yet. Plus, it's always great having an excuse to listen through Rhythm Nation 1814 or Faith for the first time in well over 2 decades.

How's this for embarrassing: It was actually our third time reporting the findings of an entire P4k megalist on the FM radio. We covered their original '80s and '90s albums between 2008 and 2010. As their own self-awareness as an influential tastemaker visibly grew in the next decade, the range of their good and bad decisions widened to an often frustrating distance. We chose to examine the 2018 list partially to assess how that power was put to work. Maybe we'll get to eyeroll and complain. Sounds fun. It's worth the deep dive.

As it turns out, the "'80s canon revisited" is a great example of the countless instances when Pitchfork's "poptimism rebrand" (or whatever you want to call it) entirely worked. From teen pop to adult oriented, the spectrum of '80s FM blockbusters received a fresh consideration alongside the aforementioned genres excluded from their original '80s list in 2002.

After examining and consuming all the records from both, our recommendation extends to checking out any music from either list. In 2002, two records from The Police - Ghost In The Machine and Synchronicity - placed alongside King Crimson, Boredoms, Dukes of Stratosphere, and John Zorn among about 30 others cut from the 2018 version. But they're all great.

If 2018's list could've hypothetically dismissed anything to make room for these, we'd only choose two records: #117 Whitney Houston's self-titled ("How Will I Know" + nine others that are not as good) and #182 ABBA's The Visitors (a fan favorite) seem like the only 2 cases included "because poptimism" or due to name recognition. But even these two aren't necessarily egregious picks, well-fitting within its contextual scope. Our hypothesis blew up in our faces.

Both lists kick serious ass while demonstrating a lot about Pitchfork's strengths and weaknesses: They succeeded in filling many voids, while inadvertently creating others.

About 16 months ago, Pitchfork's most recent all-things-'X0s feature went live: the infamous post-rebrand '90s celebration. 250 songs + 150 albums. Without referring back in depth, we recall a reasonable tracks playlist (of songs we already knew) and a largely disappointing albums canon, lacking much of the adventure in its '80s canon from only 4 years prior. We're not sure how their staff shifted its perspectives so quickly: Reggae, metal, and non-riotgrrrl punk were replaced by hits, hits, and more hits, alongside the same legacy indie records from their original '90s canon in 2003. To their credit, there's about 10 surprisingly great rap choices (despite excluding Dr Octagon), but otherwise we hear no treasures that weren't already heard at a grocery store, kareoke bar, or dentist office. But then we felt relief that we wouldn't have to listen through the entire thing. So that was good.

(If you can find it, last summer's issue of the recently relaunched CREEM magazine includes a well-considered 20-page '90s exploration that fulfilled the level of discovery/re-discovery we were seeking.)

---------------------------------------------------------------

That was our Pitchfork eulogy. We didn't feel like creating a new post for it, so it's here.

We have long imagined that maybe anyone in this great big world might consider deep diving our own painfully considered lists -- which would be the nicest thing anyone could ever do for us -- and then heading on over to Bandcamp.Com on February 2nd (Bandcamp Day) to purchase all 61 of these flapjack flying saucer frisbees. (Yes, including the stuff that isn't on vinyl. You're smart; figure it out.)

61. Lil B BasedGods Pro Skater
October 29, 2023 // Concord, CA, USA
( BasedWorld Records )

Our top story at this hour: The final level of Activision's forthcoming Mark Gonzales Pro Skater includes the standard 10,000 Points Tape and S-K-A-T-E Tape, as well as a hidden tape that reveals itself only after the player (#1) wins an arm wrestling match against a drunken Nashville oaf, and (#2) performs a convincing chair wrestling match while landing The 900.


60. David Nance Shameless Kiss
December 1, 2023 // Omaha, NE, USA
( Self-Released )

More like Lmfao Tolhurst


59. Serpent Corpse Blood Sabbath
July 5, 2023 // Montreal, QC, Canada
( Temple of Misery )

Death Zeppelin. Morbid Maiden. Lord Halen. Dark Leppard. We could do this all day.


58. Belgrado Intra Apogeum
April 28, 2023 // Barcelona, Spain
( La Vida Es Un Mus Disogs )

Here's a band that remembers how the Androids used to swing.


57. Ὁπλίτης [Hoplites] Ψ​ε​Ï…​δ​ο​μ​έ​ν​η
January 1, 2023 // Ningbo, China
( Pest )

Laughing, crying, puking


56. Emily Robb If I Am Misery Then Give Me Affection
October 6, 2023 // Philadelphia, PA, USA
( Petty Bunco )

no you


55. Silicone Prairie Vol II
July 28, 2023 // Kansas City, MO, USA
( Feel It )

Homie likes telling bands to "hurry up" during their set.


54. Palehound Eye On The Bat
July 14, 2023 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Polyvinyl )

Sirius B, also known as the Pup Star, is one of the most massive white dwarfs known. With a mass of 1.02M, it is almost double the 0.5–0.6M average. This mass is packed into a volume roughly equal to the Earth's. The current surface temperature is 25,200 K. Because there is no internal heat source, Sirius B will steadily cool as the remaining heat is radiated into space over the next two billion years or so. A white dwarf forms after a star has evolved from the main sequence and then passed through a red giant stage. This occurred when Sirius B was less than half its current age, around 120 million years ago.


53. Bully Lucky For You
June 2, 2023 // Nashville, TN, USA
( Sub Pop )

Sup Bully.


52. Del Paxton Auto Relocator
October 6, 2023 // Buffalo, NY, USA
( Topshelf )

"Emotions flow like ink on diary pages, weaving a sonorous quilt of heartache and introspection." - ChatGPT


51. Heatmiser The Music of Heatmiser
March 30, 1992 / October 6, 2023 // Portland, OR, USA
( Third Man )

"Everybody Has It" 7-inch included with purchase. Wait... no it isn't. Wtf guys.


50. Bedridden Amateur Heartthrob
January 26, 2023 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Julia's War )

Merch dude was coked up and made me buy this twice.


49. The Serfs Half Eaten By Dogs
October 27, 2023 // Cincinatti, OH, USA
( Trouble In Mind )

Though the Beach Boys developed their image based on the California serf culture, Dennis was the only actual serf in the band. Carl supported, "Dennis was the only one who could really serf. We all tried, even Brian, but we were terrible. We just wanted to have a good time and smoke some fuckin weed."


48. Bory Who's A Good Boy
December 8, 2023 // Portland, OR, United States
( Earth Libraries )

"Mr. Pickles is evil I tell ya" - Grandpa


47. Lifeguard Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches
August 5, 2022 / July 7, 2023 // Chicago, IL, USA
( Matador )

Your crime is time and it's 18 and life to go


46. Obituary Dying Of Everything
January 13, 2023 // Gibsonton, FL, USA
( Relapse )

At the end of the day, Satan ain't such a bad guy.


45. Veeze Ganger
June 27, 2023 // Detroit, MI, USA
( Navy Wavy )

The Veeze secret: Record all the vox during REM sleep.


44. Andre 3000 New Blue Sun
November 17, 2023 // Atlanta, GA, USA
( Epic )

Another Etsy success story.


43. Outta Pocket Waste Of A Man
July 7, 2023 // West Bay, CA, USA
( Streets of Hate )

Yo, R.I.P.


42. Parannoul After The Magic
January 28, 2023 // Seoul, South Korea
( Topshelf )

The shape of shoegaze to come.


41. Model/Actriz Dogsbody
February 24, 2023 // New York, NY, USA
( True Panther Sounds )

Hammerin on the railroad,
Hammerin on that 5th fret,
all the livelong day


40. Rocket Versions Of You
October 27, 2023 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Self-Released )

The band named after SNL-alum Charles Rocket who said "fuck" during that one sketch


39. Ratboys The Window
August 25, 2023 // South Bend, IN, USA
( Topshelf )

"You did real good kid." - Hopper (Stranger Things)



38. Incendiary Change The Way You Think About Pain
May 26, 2023 // Long Island, NY, USA
( Closed Casket Activities )

No you


37. Nourished By Time Erotic Probiotic 2
April 21, 2023 // Baltimore, MD, USA
( Scenic Route )

While we're on the subject, here are the 10 best flavors of Health Aid Kombucha:
1. Ginger Pineapple Belly Reset
2. Cayenne Cleanse
3. Holiday Cheers (seasonal)
4. Ginger Lemon
5. Passion Fruit Tangerine
6. Tropical Pineapple
7. Pomegranate
8. Blood Orange Carrot Ginger
9. Tropical Punch
10. Citrus Immune Boost


36. Godflesh Purge
June 9, 2023 // Birmingham, UK
( Avalanche Recordings )

No you


35. Karenn Everything Is Curly
June 23, 2023 // London, UK
( Voam )

Due to millennials' increasingly common derogatory use, the name Karen has become significantly less popular in the United States since 2017. Millennials also killed hope, jobs, and cash.


34. Hollie Cook Happy Hour In Dub
August 11, 2023 // London, Greater London, UK
( Merge )

noice


33. Home Front Games of Power
March 3, 2023 // Edmonton, AB, Canada
( La Vida Es Un Mus Disogs )

Personal announcement: I am happy to tell you all that I am taking a new position as Financial Director for Silicon Valley Bank. So excited to help innovation take place! 🥰🥰


32. Washer Improved Means To Deteriorated Ends
April 28, 2023 // Philadelphia, PA, USA
( Exploding In Sound )

It all comes out in the washer


31. Water From Your Eyes Everyone's Crushed
May 26, 2023 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Matador )

"Hey Newark." - John Wilson


30. 100 Gecs 10000 Gecs
March 17, 2023 // St. Louis, MO, USA
( Dog Show / Atlantic )

You're telling me a shrimp fried the rice?


29. The Toms The Toms
September 1979 / March 31, 2023 // Hamilton Township, NJ, USA
( Feel It )

Famous Toms throughout history include Scottish-American golfer Tom Anderson, former Alaska representative Tom Anderson, Beavis and Butthead's farsighted neighbor Tom Anderson, and of course Thomas Anderson, also known as Neo from The Matrix.


28. Cherry Glazerr I Don't Want You Anymore
September 29, 2023 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Secretly Canadian )

Our notes say "Something that relates to Cherry Garcia or the cherry atop the ice cream on the John Dwyer album cover at #27"


27. John Dwyer Posh Swat
February 17, 2023 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Rock Is Hell )

Our notes say "Something about Cherry Glazerr on the ice cream, or some sort of word association thing like how "Posh" is Victoria Beckham, and a fanfic tale about the resale app Poshmark valuing her mountain high collection of fancy heels and bags at over one billion US dollars but she accidentally lit the entire mountain on fire after a nearby Tesla explosion and then she chipped a nail and was all like 'fuckin bollocks' or whatever, yea that works"


26. Liquid Mike S/T
March 10, 2023 // Marquette, MI, USA
( Kitschy Spirit )

That's the title.


25. Queens Of The Stone Age In Times New Roman
June 16, 2023 // Palm Desert, CA, USA
( Matador )

Times New Romulus.


24. Graham Hunt Try Not To Laugh
December 15, 2023 // Milwaukee, WI, USA
( Smoking Room )



23. Fu Manchu Fu 30 Volume 1-3
November 23, 2023 // San Clemente, CA, USA
( At The Dojo )

One might call this Fu Manchu's Greatest Hits 2020-2023. Not us though. We would not call it that, even though it has everything they released during those years plus one of those "when the big hit gets recorded for the greatest hits album" like "Mary Jane's Last Dance" or "The Whole World" or "Do I Do" or "Tonight She Comes." It's not streaming though, so the artwork and stream here are actually Fu30 Vol 3 (Feb 2023). But it's all good.


22. Bar Italia The Twits
November 3, 2023 // London, Greater London, UK
( Matador )

The watusi. The twits. Eldorado.


21. Danava Nothing But Nothing
April 28, 2023 // Portland, OR, USA
( Tee Pee )

How do you pronounce Danava? Danava danava bo-banava banana fanna fo-fanava me my mo-manava danava?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2CHFdijWg


20. Larry June The Night Shift
November 10, 2023 // San Francisco, CA, USA
( Empire )

I give.


19. Physique Again
February 14, 2023 // Olympia, WA, USA
( Iron Lung )

"All of my life. Where have you been. I wondering if I ever see you again." - Sheryl Crow


18. FACS Still Life In Decay
April 7, 2023 // Chicago, IL, USA
( Trouble In Mind )

Alternative FACS


17. Otto Willberg The Leisure Principle
September 1, 2023 // London, UK
( Black Truffle Records )

"Long Bass" Album Of The Year


16. KayCyy TW2052
May 26, 2023 // Nairobi, Kenya
( BuVision )

Open up the pit.



15. Troye Sivan Something To Give Each Other
October 13, 2023 // Melbourne, Australia
( Polydor / EMI )

Troye Sivan is like "Hey guys, check it out. My head is this dude's dick," and everyone immediately erupts into hysterics falling on the floor with aching sides.


14. John Medeski The Curse: Music From The Showtime Original Series
November 17, 2023 // Louisville, KY, USA
( Milan )

Nathan Fielder with a big smile says "Hey guys, check out my dick" and everyone silently stares in shock with disgust and revulsion.


13. Yo La Tengo This Stupid World
February 10, 2023 // Hoboken, NJ, USA
( Matador )

"Why oh why must Hannukah come but one night per year?" - Ira Kaplan, at YLT's sold out Hannukah show


12. The Replacements Tim: Let It Bleed Edition
September 18, 1985 / September 22, 2023 // Minneapolis, MN, USA
( Sire / Rhino )

"Don't wanna be an American idiot / All I wanna do is have beer for breakfast" - Paul Westerberg


11. Sweeping Promises Good Living Is Coming For You
June 30, 2023 // Lawrence, KS, USA
( Feel It / Sub Pop )



10. Brain Tourniquet An Expression In Pain
February 24, 2023 // Washington, DC, USA
( Iron Lung )

"Don't you boys know any nice songs?" - Brain Tourniquet's mom


9. Dazy Otherbody
March 20, 2023 // Richmond, VA, USA
( Lame-O )

On the next A.I. Seinfeld: "My non-problematic programmer taught me to sing this other catchy tune, would you like to hear it? Goes a little somethin like this: "Watch a little Day zee grow / Little day zee grow / Push a little Day zee make um come up" " **canned lolz** "Hal, you're scarin' us." **canned lolz**


8. Tyler The Creator Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale
March 31, 2023 // Bel Air, CA, USA
( Columbia )

Tyler buys and sells an Arbys in New Jersey.


7. Tkay Maidza Sweet Justice
November 3, 2023 // Adelaide, Australia
( 4AD )

Guessing last year was not that weird. Yo, remember in 2014 how psyched everyone got for "U-Huh" and Tkay used to like our tweets? What is time?


6. Blawan Dismantled Into Juice
May 17, 2023 // Berlin, Germany
( XL )

Bad acid trip in which the Hudson Yards Vessel becomes sentient, sweating out several hundred gallons of pea soup while crowning itself the new CEO of Waystar Royco.


5. Narrow Head Moments Of Clarity
February 10, 2023 // Houston, TX, USA
( Run For Cover )

You boys are fantastic.


4. Lil Yachty Let's Start Here
January 27, 2023 // Atlanta, GA, USA
( Quality Control )

Hears Dark Side of the Moon once.


3. Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
September 22, 2023 // Willard, MO, USA
( Island )

Somethin like a femineminominanum.


2. The Tubs Dead Meat
February 24, 2023 // London, UK
( Trouble In Mind )

"They call me Mister Tubs" - Mister Tubs (1970)


1. Pardoner Peace Loving People
June 23, 2023 // San Francisco, CA, USA
( Bar/None )

But now the kids say Stereolab is out and Da Share Z0ne's back in