Artist Record Label 1 LOMELDA Hannah Double Double Whammy 2 BARTEES STRANGE Live Forever [Advance Tracks] Memory 3 DOUBLE GRAVE Goodbye Nowhere! Forged Artifacts 4 BULLY SUGAREGG Sub Pop 5 OSEES Protean Threat Castle Face 6 GIRL FRIDAY Androgynous Mary Hardly Art 7 BETHS, THE Jump Rope Gazers Carpark 8 FONTAINES DCA Hero’s Death Partisan 9 HOLY MOTORS Horse [Advance Tracks] Wharf Cat 10 TAPEWORMS Funtastic [Advance Tracks] Howlin’ Banana 11 JAMES TILLMAN Vm2 [EP] Musella Creative 12 ILLUMINATI HOTTIES FREE I.H.: This Is Not The One You’ve Been Waiting For Self-Released 13 SHIVUM SHARMA “Diamond” [Single] Self-Released 14 YOUNG FLETCHER “Energy” [Single] Stack Dollars Empire 15 PLANET 1999 Devotion PIAS 16 DIVINE INTERFACE Seeking Arrangements 2MR 17 CUTTAMAN 100GRAN “45” [Single] Polished Gods 18 REMADumebi: The Remixes [EP] Mavin 19 LAILIEN “Fly With You” b/w “Money” [Single] Self-Released 20 LIME CORDIALE 14 Steps To A Better You Chugg/London Cowboys 21 JUSTIN STARLING “Easy” [Single] ADA/Starling 22 AMINE Limbo Universal Republic 23 MARMAR OSO Love Don’t Cost A Thing Free The Lost/EMPIRE 24 CECILE BELIEVE Made In Heaven Self-Released 25 DISCLOSURE ENERGY Capitol 26 LIV.E Couldn’t Wait To Tell You…In Real Life 27 SKYXXX “Hotboy” [Single] Warner 28 HOOK “Street People” [Single] GC 29 RICO NASTY “IPHONE” [Single] Sugar Trap 30 DON TOLIVER Heaven Or Hell Cactus Jack/Atlantic
TOP ADDS
1 OBSCURA HAIL Siren Dot Dash 2 DOVES The Universal Want Imperial 3 BUMPER Pop Songs 2020 [EP] Self-Released 4 MATT BERRY Phantom Birds Acid Jazz/PIAS 5 DELTA SPIRIT What Is There New West 6 HAPPY FITS, THE What Could Be Better Self-Released 7 BEAU DEGA OOF Self-Released 8 AREA RESIDENT Jardinova Self-Released 9 CAYUCAS Blue Summer [Advance Tracks] Park The Van 10 WILL BUTLER Generations Merge
Artist Record Label 1 PLANET 1999 Devotion PIAS 2 ELKKA “I. Miss. Raving” [Single] Local Action 3 TAMA GUCCI “I Let You” [Single] b4/4AD 4 BIICLA No Place [EP] Good Luck Have Fun 5 JAYDA G Both Of Us/Are You Down [EP] Ninja Tune 6 JESSY LANZAAll The Time Hyperdub 7 YVES TUMOR Heaven To A Tortured Mind Warp 8 SYSTEM OLYMPIA Delta of Venus Huntleys + Palmers 9 KITTY Charm And Mirror [EP] Pretty Wavvy 10 YAEJI What We Drew XL/Beggars Group
It’s that special time of year again! The seasons are changing. Midterms are coming up. Election day is right around the corner (click here for DJ Butter’s guide to voting in NC). Yes, it truly feels like the 21st night of September. Do you remember?
September by Earth, Wind & Fire is one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s one that was burned into my consciousness from a young age. From the last cookout of the summer to dancing at my cousin’s wedding, September was the soundtrack. For me, it’s one of those songs that boosts my mood as soon as it comes on.
So what is the significance of the 21st night of September? According to Allee Willis, co-writer of the song, the date is arbitrary. Her and lead songwriter Maurice White went through every date – do you remember the first, the second, and so on. To quote Willis, “the one that just felt the best was the 21st.”
So there you have it: the most important holiday of the year was conceived simply because it sounded right. No symbolic significance, no deeper meaning – nothing. But I think there is a lesson to be learned in light of this revelation. In our digital age, we are inundated with messages and media that are supposed to “mean” something. But perhaps these artifacts have no intrinsic meaning at all, and our perception that one exists is a reflection of our human need to make sense of the world. I, for one, spend so much time dissecting things that sometimes I forget to enjoy them for what they are instead of what they mean.
During the recording sessions for September, Willis asked White what “ba-dee-ya” meant. According to her, “he essentially said, ‘Who the f— cares?’” Willis continued by saying “I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him, which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove.“
I think this is not only great songwriting advice, but great life advice as well. Don’t let the lyrics of meaning get in the way of the groove of life. Happy September 21st, everyone.
You wanna talk about ass beating music? Kublai Khan is THE band for me when I need a pick me up. This is what I call my “bad bitch” music. Any song by Kublai Khan will for sure make you bop your head and groove to the riffs. You would totally lose a try not to headbang, mosh, or dance, etc. if Kublai Khan is on there. Kublai Khan has the perfect blend of grooves and anger. You can hear the intensity and violence in Matt Honeycutt’s vocals. But mixed with a bouncy rhythm and chunky riffs, the overall essence of Kublai Khan is absolute (HA! See what I did there? Because of their new album? No? Okay). I just wanna dance when Kublai Khan comes on, it just makes me so happy!
I have seen Kublai Khan several times and seeing them live never gets old. Honeycutt is great with the crowd and that crowd… is something else. Everyone loses their minds when Kublai Khan hits the stage. It’s so hard not to! They make it so easy to jam. My first few times seeing Kublai Khan, they were touring with predominately metalcore bands, but later they started touring with more hardcore-esque and deathcore bands. I think this is because of their sound. At first, Kublai Khan had more of a metalcore feel, but soon transitioned to incorporating more hardcore and deathcore type riffs and vocals. I love their evolution because they have mastered their sound. Now, I know there is some debates about what qualifies as metalcore, hardcore, and deathcore, etc. but this is simply my opinion and how I hear the music. Music is subjective and can be interpreted differently by others. Even though some of the songs sound redundant because of the usual riffs and sound, they make their songs so groovy that I can’t help but play them all the time.
Discography:
Youth War (2010)
Balancing Survival & Happiness (2014)
New Strength (2015)
Nomad (2017)
Absolute (2019)
Favorite songs:
The Hammer, No Kin, High Hopes, Boomslang, Antpile, 8 Years, Beligerent, and Us & Them.
Oh do I have a special treat for you. As I rolled out of bed this morning, I could have expected nothing more than what has dropped into my Apple “New Music Mix” from the heavens above today. Yellow Days, the artist who released such songs as A Little While and Your Hand Holding Mine, has released a new album titled “A Day in a Yellow Beat.” First of all, let’s start out with the album art. It is incredible. Right in the middle is a classic style seen by this artist, in which he places a picture of him and a guitar with a blurred out face. But looking around you can see he has added an array of instruments situated in a field of hummingbirds and geese. Starting out with the intro, we have a cut from an interview between a talk show host and a musician discussing how young musicians struggle to enjoy successful longevity while blocked by the control of their producers. The whole conversation is underscored by a harmony of instruments which transitions perfectly into the second song, titled Be Free. Counting the intro and a few interludes, the whole album has a riveting 23 songs, but I’d say the best are Be Free, Getting Closer, Come Groove, ! (feat. Bishop Nehru), The Curse (feat. Mac Demarco), and Love is Everywhere. A Day in a Yellow Beat mixes Yellow Day’s unique style and voice with a newer fusion of upbeat, psychedelic funk. This album is meaningful and sounds pretty, but it’s also the kind of music that you could blast in the car with friends. A Day in a Yellow Beat marks a unleashed creative style for Yellow Days, and I am excited to see where it takes us next.
Hope you guys enjoy the album, see you next week. -Chippypants
With being a DJ, I get very excited when my friends hand me the aux chord. I love creating playlists and setting the vibe for a car ride. I usually let my friends have aux because I like listening to new music that I could find because of my friends. But when I get handed that aux… you know it’s on!
Below are the top 10 songs that I play depending on who I am with, the vibes I’m feeling, and something that will make my car ride not feel so long. When I am with my friends who listen to metal, I tend to play more metal songs. Majority of my friends do not listen to metal so it’s a good thing The Saw is diverse in all kinds of music!! I know when I have aux that I can play anything that I want, but I like for everyone in my car to enjoy what they are listening to. It’s the DJ in me!
“Pride and Prejudice” is perhaps my favorite novel ever written. It is the perfect mixture of humor and elegance, and it’s my go-to reread book. It would be embarrassing to say how many times I’ve read it, especially since I’ve lost track at this point. If you haven’t had the opportunity to pick it up, it’s a lovely, satirical story written by Jane Austen about the expectations and pitfalls of upper-class women when it came to marriage in the 18th century. The Bennet’s, a family on the fringes of the English gentry, have five young daughters who their mother is desperate to marry off before money runs out. Elizabeth Bennet, our main character, forms a spiteful (yet enticing) relationship with Mr. Darcy, a member of the most elite family in England. It is a delightfully witty and heartwarming novel and I 10/10 recommend.
Listening to this playlist makes me feel like I’m living a life of luxury on the English countryside in the late 1700s. Now I know this time is crazy romanticized, especially since the vast majority of people were not a part of this elite class, but a girl can dream. I’m normally not a big listener of classical music, but these tracks are just too beautiful.
1. Liz on Top of the World – Jean Yves Thibaudet (Pride and Prejudice 2005 Soundtrack)
Hailing from Akron, Ohio, The Black Keys have had a career that spans almost two decades. In that time they have explored blues rock, garage rock and psych rock, and though some of their efforts have featured more expansive instrumentation, simplicity is a cornerstone of their sound. Their focus has always been on the groove between Dan Auerbach’s guitar and Patrick Carney’s drums, as well as Dan’s strong songwriting skills. For this reason, few artists have been in my rotation longer than The Black Keys. With nine studio albums under their belt, however, it is safe to say that some are better than others. I’ve put together a tier list of their discography from worst to best – here are my thoughts:
F Tier: Car Commercial Music (Let’s Rock)
Let’s Rock, The Black Key’s latest release, is their worst album to date. Maybe it’s because they set the bar so high with some of their other work, but in my opinion this is the boys at their most uninspired. This album marks a return to their roots after the sonic departure known as Turn Blue (more on that in a second), but when compared to their previous albums, this one just sounds watered down. It’s inoffensive, focus-grouped rock music that belongs in a car commercial.
D Tier: Is This Even Canon (Turn Blue)
Released in 2014, Turn Blue is the Black Key’s most adventurous album. Produced by Danger Mouse, this album is much more psych/pop than their other work. While I admire the risks they took with this record, I don’t think they always played out well. Turn Blue never scratched that Black Keys itch for me, but there are a few tracks that I enjoy.
C Tier: It’s OK I Guess (The Big Come Up and Magic Potion)
2002’s The Big Come Up was the Black Key’s debut album, and definitely their roughest. While there is a certain charm about its uncompromising grittiness, I think this approach translated much better on Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory. Meanwhile, 2006’s Magic Potion is The Black Key’s most forgettable effort. None of the material on it is necessarily bad, but the boys had already set the bar very high with 2004’s Rubber Factory. These two are the last of what I consider to be non-essential Black Keys records.
B Tier: Slightly Spicy (Attack & Release and El Camino)
This tier marks the beginning of what I consider to be the essential Black Keys canon. 2008’s Attack and Release and 2011’s El Camino are both classics in their own right, but I have a slight preference for the former. Attack and Release represents a musical risk that paid off for The Black Keys: the instrumental flourishes of flutes, synths, and even banjos sound right at home on the boy’s first album recorded in a professional studio. By comparison, 2011’s El Camino is The Black Keys’ most commercial album. You can tell songs like “Lonely Boy” and “Gold on the Ceiling” were written with the Top 40 in mind. El Camino is everything that Let’s Rock should’ve been – radio friendly, but still retaining that roughness that put the Black Keys on the map in the first place.
A Tier: Hey That’s Pretty Good (Rubber Factory and Thickfreakness)
2003’s Thickfreakness and 2004’s Rubber Factory represent the first Golden Age of Black Keys music. These albums proved that two guys in an Akron basement (or abandoned tire factory) could make compelling rock music with little more than a guitar and a drum set. When making this tier list, I seriously considered putting Rubber Factory in the number 1 spot. These two albums are definitely the Black Key’s most visceral projects.
S Tier: Chef’s Kiss (Brothers)
2010’s Brothers was the The Black Key’s commercial breakthrough and what made them a household name. Perhaps I am biased because it was my first exposure to the band, but I doubt I’m the only one who would say Brothers is the greatest Black Keys record. With it, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney managed to craft an album that not only paid homage to their roots but also diversified their sound, making it appealing to people who aren’t even rock fans. Thanks to tracks like “Tighten Up”, “Ten Cent Pistol”, and “Sinister Kid”, Brothers could be mistaken for a greatest hits record. I am especially fond of Dan’s falsetto on “Everlasting Light” and “The Only One” because it beautifully contrasts his normally rough, bluesy voice. Simply put, there is not a bad song on the album, and that is why it stands as the pinnacle of The Black Key’s discography.
That’s the tier list! Are you a Black Keys fan? If so, how would you rank their albums?
These new releases are sure to have you grooving out until the next installment of my Friday Favorites series. Enjoy these tracks which range from rap to R&B with some genreless surprises added too. Be sure to check out all of my Friday Favorites on Spotify.
Can’t Decide – Amine
Catchy and smooth, this track from Amine’s new release Limbo is my top choice. It’s a great slow jam perfect for dancing or taking a drive through the night.
Afterlife – Flatbush Zombies
This single is captivating and esoteric, from the simple bass line to the haunting piano melody with some creepy, interesting album art to top it off.
Woman – Lianne La Haves and Nao
This track is the first project Nao has released this year, and it does not disappoint. She gives us vocals reminiscent of early Erykah Badu on this funky track that will captivate your full attention, and Lianne La Haves’ clear vocals pair perfectly.
Endorphins – tobi lou
Another new release from tobi lou, this one mirroring Frank Ocean’s style in Blonde but still bringing the classic and immaculate tobi lou energy.
Inhale – Bryston Tiller
Tiller is one of my favorite mainstream R&B rappers, known for his smooth vocals and “trap soul” beats. This track is short and sweet but I can’t get it off my mind; it’s also his first single release of 2020.
Without further ado, here is this week’s installment of my favorite album covers of all time:
1. Midnight Snack – HOMESHAKE
I think I’ve talked about this before in another blog post, but I love how this album art looks like the “Goodnight Moon” book cover, which was one of my favorite books growing up (fun fact: I would cry every time my mom read it to me because it made me so happy). It really fits in with the whole LP’s vibe, which feels very woozy and dreamy. The hand painted look in this piece feels delightfully playful and cozy.
2. Pregnant With Success – Junglepussy
Junglepussy is honestly such a goddess, and this cover really captures her power. This portrait of her is composed so nicely, and I love how she simultaneously blends in with the elevator yet contrasts it with her gorgeous hair. The way the florescent lighting makes her face glow is exquisite.
3. BUSH – Snoop Dogg
This is another mm *chef’s kiss* cover. Produced by Pharrell, “BUSH” has a retro funk feel to it that complements Snoop’s smoothness perfectly. The simple surrealist-like feel this album cover gives off with the perfectly shaped bushes and bright bluedog is so great.
4. Steve Lacy’s Demo – Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy consistently gives us amazing album covers, but this one is my personal favorite. The colors are fantastic and I love how the photo of him is juxtaposed on top of this bright pink mystery material. The way he stands between his bass and guitar is so casual yet speaks so powerfully to his talent on both.
5. blkswn – Smino
Wow! Smino really overdid himself on “blkswn.” Not only is the actual content exquisite, but the cover art is too. The colors are divine and so is the composition. I love the way the album title is written on his comb, and the hands doing his hair seem to have personality and an air of movement to them. Keep it comin’ Smino.
