THE REPORT: 12/5/25
WARNING: MIDWEST MATH ROCK REFERENCE INSIDE
Quick Note: No Tuesday blog post next week. There will be one more Report next Friday. On 12/19, the blog will wrap up the year with the first and possibly last edition of The John’s Music Blog Power 100. As always, thank you for reading.
Myaap “Love Me Not”
It’s been a big year for Myaap. “Fairy” broke out of the Milwaukee rap silo and became a real hit. I’ve even heard it played by disc jockeys in The Big Apple, New York City. “Love Me Not” is a well-deserved victory lap. Unrelated: I’m glad I haven’t attended Art Basel in a decade, but I have to say, judging by the press blasts I have gotten this year, the week has had plenty of spectacular opportunities for Public Listening sessions. Something called SWAGGER Magazine threw an “exclusive Creators Gala,” hosted by Amanza Smith of Selling Sunset and sponsored by Milagro Tequila, Glenfiddich, Peroni, and Sommsation. And the DJ providing music for the night? All you have to know is that his tracks have made it into the Beatport tech house top ten.
ira glass “fritz all over you”
When I say I’m getting some Sweep The Leg Johnny vibes here, you better believe I’m not talking about The Karate Kid! That one is for all you Midwest math rock heads out there. Anyway, I keep going back and forth on this band’s name, but ultimately I think it’s pretty funny, considering the context. ira glass is from Chicago and plays angular rock with a saxophone. There is a diverse enough group of influences for the band to feel quite promising indeed.
Young Eman and Eline Vherodia “popstar in da bits”
Twitter is not a fun place, and I don’t feel so good when I use it. Occasionally, though, it will lead me to discover a piece of music that almost makes the whole ordeal worth it. Almost. I found “popstar in da bits” via @billdiffern, who was quote tweeting a post by the great British electronica artist Loraine James. Her original tweet, in regard to the tune: “This is hard.” I can’t argue with that! It’s a charming, provincial take on the new fried UK rap idiom that sounds like an instant hit to me; it makes sense that Young Eman is from Sheffield, because I sense a bit of that Gatecrasher-fried energy peeking through.
On a bass burner from earlier in the year, Chicago’s DJ Manny uses Sexyy Red vocal samples as the vehicle to take your lid on a wild ride through various frenetic styles of dance music. Does DJ Manny live in New York now? I’ve seen him DJ a few times in the past year.
Blaketheman1000 “The Scientist”
Blaketheman1000 is the rare artist who can conjure up feelings of SoundCloud in 2021, Bandcamp in 2015, and Frat Rap Tumblr in 2009. Many of his songs feature confusing structural choices that work in a way that I can only describe as “oddly satisfying.” Sometimes, he wears a fedora. Here, he covers a Coldplay song.
MIX OF THE WEEK: Chuquimamani-Condori “ILY Travis PT. 1 (Chuqi Chinchay Is God & God Bless America)”
It’s been nice watching the musical evolution of Elysia Crampton, from her experiments at the legendary Los Angeles DIY venue Pehrspace to her development of a singular musical language that has been wildly influential and rightly praised. Her new mix for NTS has it all: A barrage of radio-style drops that cohere into a new kind of musique concrète; pop country; Andean music; sheets of guitar noise; a Spanish language ballad mashed-up with “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground. I feel like I’m just scratching the surface.