SIR BAUDELAIRE (Contains Explicit Language)
Heavily sampling Westside Gunn’s “Michael Irving”, Tyler, the Creator takes an already great song and makes it better with another fantastic album opener. Whereas last week’s pick “IGOR’S THEME” was the perfect introduction to Tyler’s 2019 album, “SIR BAUDELAIRE” introduces the audience to his most recent alter ego in a laidback yet luxurious fashion.
Azucar (Contains Explicit Language)
Earl Sweatshirt’s “Some Rap Songs” is known for being a rather depression listen, but the album is not without its moments of levity. My favorite of which is “Azucar”, a brief detour from the darker themes regarding depression and isolation that sounds like the sonic equivalent of the light at the end of the tunnel.
Good Time (Contains Explicit Language)
Hip-hop collective BROCKHAMPTON’s penultimate album “The Family”, is rather deceptively titled, as outside of a brief appearance from vocalist Ciaran MacDonald, only one of the band’s members, founder Kevin Abstract, is featured throughout its entire runtime. I understand why this turned off many longtime fans, but I’ve never understood the complaints regarding the actual music, which I think is the band’s strongest output since 2018, even if calling it a BROCKHAMPTON album at all is a bit of a stretch.
Hold My Head
Connecticut’s own Kenny Beats honored his late father with his debut solo album “Louie”, a particularly strong collection of beats from one of the best producers working today. “Hold My Head” features uncredited vocals from rapper Pink Siifu, whose vocals are woven into the instrumental in a way that makes his voice feel like part of the beat itself. This aspect, along with the sample of “Now I Can Hold My Head Up High” by The Triads, makes the track feel like it could fit right in on The Avalanches’ “Wildflower”, which, if you’ve heard that album, you know is pretty high praise.
XXX (Contains Explicit Language)
While not the length of a double album, Danny Brown’s “XXX” features two sides. The first half of the album is largely upbeat and loaded with crass punchlines that test, and often cross, the limits of good taste. The second half pulls the curtain back and recontextualizes the first set of songs as a character study of a man whose life has been overtaken by drug addiction and his own misogynistic worldview. Whether or not it sticks the landing of its ambitious goals is up for discussion, but I love the way this concept is introduced on the title track.
Heavy Bend
If you’ve got 80 minutes to spare, listen to Big Thief’s “Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You”. If you don’t have 80 minutes to spare, change your plans and listen to Big Thief’s “Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You”. “Heavy Bend” features a darker and moodier atmosphere than a majority of the songs featured throughout the album, as well as a shorter runtime, but maintains the same high level of quality of the songs that proceed it and those who follow it.
April Come She Will
While “Leaves That Are Green” is my favorite song by Simon & Garfunkel that captures the feeling of the seasons changing, “April Come She Will” is probably a close second. And luckily for this episode, it’s the only one of the two that’s under two minutes.
I Will
The Beatles’ self-titled double album is packed with short songs, but only a handful that fit within the criteria of today’s theme of songs 2 minutes or less. While it might not be as noteworthy as songs like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” or “Helter Skelter”, Paul McCartney’s “I Will” ranks among my favorite love songs by a band with no shortage of them.
Bambina
If Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig ever listened to “Friday Night ICE”, he would probably be disappointed that he wasn’t played directly after Paul Simon, but hopefully this is close enough. “Bambina” is one of many brief tracks on “Father of the Bride” but it sticks out for never failing to get stuck in my head after a single listen.
Calm Water Fast Living
The shortest song in today’s episode belongs to Jack Stauber’s Micropop, a side project from the (potentially retired?) indie pop maestro who you might recognize if you’ve browsed TikTok even just once or twice. “Calm Water Fast Living” is one of 99 songs from his somewhat self-titled 2019 release, something I recommend if you’re in the mood for some bite-sized pop jingles.
Strawberry Blond
What makes Mitski such an interesting artist is you never really know if she’s going to break your heart, make you dance, or both, before you play one of her songs for the first time. “Strawberry Blonde” is more theatrical than I’m used to hearing from her, but it’s a sound that fits her surprisingly well, especially when the lyrics feature the same level of emotional depth that fans have come to expect.
King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1
My initial plan for this episode was for every song to be UNDER two minutes, but when I realized that “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1” was exactly 120 seconds on the dot, I knew I had to change the rules a bit. Even though this album has been kind of meme’d to death, and some might see it as “baby’s first indie album”, it’ll always hold a special place in my heart for being such an interesting and exciting listen.
In addition to being a riotous and anthemic burst of energy, “Titus Andronicus Forever” features possibly the most depressing quote attributed to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who states “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on Earth.” Jeez.
Outside
Kero Kero Bonito’s “Time ‘n’ Place” is one of my go-to examples for artists that avoided the sophomore slump by radically changing the sound they became known for with their earlier releases. I know the saying of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but I’ve got to give props to a band who shakes things up on their own accord, rather than as a response to dwindling popularity.
Cover Story: Clay Pigeons
Usually when I begin this segment, I introduce a musician with some long and illustrious career, but this time, the artist in question only has one album. And they’re not even really known as a musician at all, and yet you probably know them quite well. The artist I’m talking about is none other than love interest of Ramona Flowers, sidekick of Ken, and the father of Juno’s baby, Michael Cera.
About 10 years ago, with zero prior announcement, Cera released “True That” on the independent music distribution platform Bandcamp. It eventually made its way over to streaming services, but that didn’t change how much of a minor release this felt like. I don’t mean that as an insult, I think this album is actually really nice, it’s just very laid back and lo-fi in a way that feels most at home on Bandcamp. Most of the songs are really short, entirely instrumental, or both. But the best song on “True That”, as well as its most polished and complete feeling, was a beautiful cover of Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons”.
I’m honestly not sure what it is about it, whether it’s Foley’s lyrics or the sense of sadness and innocence in Cera’s voice, but this song has always struck a chord with me emotionally. I really need to stop putting off getting in to Foley’s discography, as if he has even a handful of other songs as good as this, he could end up being one of my favorite country artists. It really is such a shame that his life was cut so short, but I’m happy that younger generations, like me, are becoming aware of his legacy through covers like this one.
Which one do you prefer? For me personally, while I adore the Blaze Foley original, and obviously have to give him props for being the guy to come up with the song in the first place, my vote goes to Michael Cera. But there’s really not a wrong answer, and I’m not the deciding factor here! I look forward to seeing which one wins the poll! And as always, the winner will be announced in next week’s episode.
Who did "Clay Pigeons" the best?
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Well, now I can say the only reason I can think of for “why not” is if you’re dead set on having a different album be your favorite of 2023, because if you’re anything like me, this one will quickly overtake it. Everything I casually enjoyed from “What’s Your Pleasure?” turned into outright adoration. Virtually every song on it sounds like it could be a #1 hit, so much so that I struggled to pick which 3-song streak I wanted to include in today’s episode. I really do recommend checking this out some time, as your favorite might be entirely different. But until then, I say start with these three.
Shake The Bottle
