Kill.dawn and Ayoolii “Just Bands”
This Gaga-jacking Milwaukee thumper has been rattling around my singed domepiece for the past few weeks. As an aging millennial hipster, I believe in the power of the mash-up. I’m not saying this is a mash-up, but I am saying… Put the “Just Dance” synth over some 8th-note handclaps and I might like it. I’ve been blogging twice a week for damn near 10 months.
Electronica fans, take notice. “En X Solve” is a full night of rave music in under five minutes. There is a freaked-out Amen break; a twisted, almost devious acid line; some jacking 909 tom work; an ethereal vocal flip; hell, there is even a donk. There is even a donk!
Sonic Youth “Kotton Krown (Live In Brooklyn 8/1/11)”
During the deep pandemic, Sonic Youth’s Bandcamp was a flurry of live archival action. It’s not an original insight, but Sonic Youth were to punk and noise what the Grateful Dead were to an older musical tradition. For decades, both went in and out and then all the way back in again. Here we have something taken from their final New York gig, which saw the band dipping into the well—the four-song opener of “Brave Men Run” > “Death Valley ‘69” > “Kotten Krown” > “Kill Yr. Idols” is stirring—and playing a catalog set that pointed towards an unfulfilled next chapter.
Reese Youngn “Time After Time”
Reese Youngn’s rasp is a few clicks more captivating than most in the melodic pain rap space. He sounds like he is right around the corner from the breaking point. Until then, though, he is going to push the auto-tune until it gurgles a bit. John’s Music Blog: attempting to figure out which melodic pain rapper is more exciting than the other melodic pain rappers. Key word here is “attempting.”
Quality basement show rock and roll from a Cream City Crew. Flashes me back to standing in the kitchen of a punk house, drinking warm Natural Light, and talking to a middle-aged man wearing a jean jacket. There are two types of people in the world: those who have heard the first Donnas record, and those who have not.
MIX OF THE WEEK: Shleppy Charliestory “Songs Of Interest #2”
This inspired mix starts out with a sample from the TikTok user @brainiacsosmart, also known as Buds&Smokes, a singular American voice whose beer-and-cigs-and-screen-strewn interior landscapes are both disturbing and comforting. The rest is true chaos, moving between too many styles to name, all with charm and dirtstyle elegance.