Quick Hits, Vol. 64 (Fetty Wap, Bjork, Mandolin Orange, Coldplay)

Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap.  I remember reading an article in the spring calling Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen" the future "song of the summer" for 2015.  Negatory, good buddy.  I know this track has been played all year and there are obviously people who enjoy it, but it is musical death to me.  RS just named it as their #2 single of the year.  

I'll take One-Eyed Auto-Tuner Drug-Kingpins for $400, Alex.  The rest of the album sticks right with this same deal, except the beats on those other songs aren't even as good as this basic stuff.  20 songs of musical death.  I never want to hear this song again.

Bjork - Vulnicura.  I fell in love with Bjork back in high school, when she put out Debut.  I have this great memory of listening to it at my sister's creekside hovel in Boulder one spring break, grooving to the funky bits and soaking up the ambient beauty of the chilled portions. I still love that album (and should write it up in total sometime soon).  Her next album, Post, was also my jam.  I remember seeing her posters all over London when I was there one January in college, I think I even took a picture of myself in front of one (before digital film or the term "selfie").  One summer, I bet two other counselors in my cabin at camp that I could make the kids love "Army of Me" more than any song they decided to choose.  I won.  Suck it, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

But the greatness of those two albums, to me, is the excellence in variance.  No two song is the same. You have the danceable crush of "Army of Me," and then you have the quiet and entrancing "Hyperballad" or "Headphones," and then you get one that bridges the gap with "It's Oh So Quiet." Same with Debut, with "Human Behavior" and "There's More to Life Than This" partying in one corner and "Venus as a Boy" or "Like Someone in Love" chilling in the other.  She doesn't just hit one note, she bounces all over the musical spectrum, and you get to have fun, wild songs as well as these beautiful hymns made of electronic waterfalls. They're all wonderful and well done and they make the albums a cool group of similar but different things.

Unfortunately for me, this album just slips right into the same path as her last few albums, wonderfully pretty orchestral tracks with her top notch voice weaving its way through them. "Stonemilker" is absolutely gorgeous.  I could sink myself into that song all day.  But then the rest of the album lines up that same pretty sound, with little to no variance into a dance groove or a spaz out into the fun zone.  Here is some trippy video action for "Lionsong"

I mean, that is different from "Stonemilker," but you still get another song, like the rest of this album, that is almost like poetry that happens to have some sounds playing along with it. Nothing that makes you want to bob your head or wiggle your tailfeather, but lyrically and sonically grand and complex nonetheless.  I'll probably let this album go without saving, but I'm glad I played with it for a few days anyway.

Mandolin Orange - Such Jubilee.  I caught a few songs from these guys at ACL this year, and liked what I heard a lot.  These songs hew to the tried and true formula of solid americana music that I would have listened to nonstop back in 1999 (who else out there loved 95.3 The Range in Dallas?).  These songs are beautiful, relaxing, well-played, and make me happy. "Rounder," and "Settled Down" are beauts.  The "hot" track on here, with over 700k listens, is called "Old Ties and Companions."

Good driving mandolin lick - exactly what it should be doing unless it is in Mandolin-God-Mode hands like Chris Thile.  Soft harmonies, gentle picking, give me "Of Which There Is No Like" for a requiem.  I could just keep this album playing all day in the background.

Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams.  I was interested in reading this New Yorker review, thinking that it was going to be in defense of Coldplay.  That was foolish and I should have known better.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the read - well done piece and funny - even if it just joined the chorus of the rest of the world who think that Coldplay and Chris Martin are an easy punchline.  Personally, I don't care about whether or not this album has "important" lyrics or a deep transcendence to help the world resolve its deepest woes.  This album is fun.  Yes, people can parse the lyrics and song titles and make fun of the banality of the writing and the mood, but if you just back off and play this album with a mind toward enjoying yourself, I think you'll come away happy.  Here is "Adventure of a Lifetime," with more than 16 million YouTube views and 34.6 spins on Spotify.

Those creepy-eyed monkeys are having a blast, man.  Music can be just fun.  It doesn't have to be serious literature or art house films.  It can also be Harry Potter or Die Hard.  I'll admit that I didn't think much of Ghost Stories or Mylo Xyloto, but Parachutes, Rush of Blood, and (to a lesser extent) X & Y are freaking great albums.  This one does not get up to those in my mind, but it is undeniably enjoyable to listen to and I'm going to keep doing it in spite of the rest of the world.
Also of interest, I think they use the sound of drumsticks on Coke bottles multiple times ("Hymn for the Weekend," "Adventure of a Lifetime") on this album, which is just kind of odd. Anyway, go give this one a listen.