Quick Hits, Vol. 314 (Charley Crockett, Mars Volta, AG Club, Beyonce)

I think I'm going to drop Pandora.  I'm not sure why this has taken me so long, but it seems weird to pay $5.99 for Pandora while I am paying $14.99 for Spotify.  Like, Spotify does a pretty sweet radio/algorithm thing too, right?  When we were on the beach at Spring Break, I played one De La Soul song, and Spotify turned that in to a super dope compilation of Black Sheep and Beastie Boys and Madlib and all sorts of other laid back rap.  It was rad.  I have loved my Pandora stations, at one time I worked really hard to get them just right.  But as the price has crept up I'm not so sure it makes sense anymore.

Charley Crockett - The Man From Waco.  My Man Charley is having a moment.  I love it.  This is some serious throwback tune stuff - full of classic country flourish and songwriting chops that don't sound at home at all in 2023.  And yet it sounds awesome to me and is getting him some festival poster spots and concert tours.  Even just the cover of the album is a throwback that looks awesome.  Dig it.  I was hoping that "Time of the Cottonwood Tree" was going to be the hit, as I think it sounds really cool.  But instead, it is "I'm Just a Clown," with just over 3 million streams.

I wish I had the panache to wear a cowboy hat all curled up and perched on his head like that.  Boss.  But yeah, nothing particularly groundbreaking in any of these tunes, just really pleasant-sounding country tunes with good vocals and great accompaniment.

Mars Volta - The Mars Volta.  Please make it stop.  I really can't do this anymore.  I remember seeing them live one time, and feeling like they were an amazing future Zeppelin monster in the making that I should remember.  And every album since then is another disappointing pile of half-baked guitar-centered crap.  Some of it is now soft-rock.  What am I doing here?  The album opener is the top track before people head for the exits.  "Blacklight Shine."  3.1 million.  Even that song title sounds like a high school kid's failed band named it.

I mean, it is not the worst song ever or anything, but nothing on this album caught my interest.  No thanks.

AG Club - Imposter Syndrome.  These guys came to ACL a few years back and I was pretty hyped to see them after a few listens to what was available.  They reminded me of Brockhampton and I was excited to see the new version of that type of rap collective.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show during weekend one - very hype and entertaining stuff.  But the second weekend, I had to laugh when I saw my teenage son with his friends over there watching the show - as much as I love loud music, my boy just sprints the other way.  To him, an ACL Fest is just too much noise and too many people, and he can't comprehend why I'd want to voluntarily get in the middle of the crowd for a show.  Made me laugh.  So, this album is not as good as their best, earlier tunes, but a few things on here have promise.  "Bodega Bandit" and its ominous, threatening beat is fun.  "Kevin" is okay.  "Tattoo" has a great beat and some noodling vocals that draw me in.  "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has that posse cut vibe that can be fun sometimes.  But the top track is "Mr. Put It On," the only track with more than a million streams at just over 3 million.

That video made me laugh.  "We're youth pastors!"  Song is fine - feels like they are trying hard to have something for the kids to chant at the shows with the "punk rock" thing.  I still love "Memphis," but nothing on this disc rises to that level.

Beyonce - Renaissance.  The first time I ever heard a portion of this album was immediately upon its release, in the summer of 2022.  We were staying at an AirBnb with two other couples, preparing to all pick up our kids from summer camp in a few days.  One of the other ladies with us is a massive Beyonce fan, and so right at midnight we fired this album up (on the TV somehow, I don't really recall how that happened).  I don't recall falling immediately in love either.  The thing with this disc, after full listens and a deeper dive in to it, is that I find it to be too long.  Her voice is still freaking amazing. The groove in some of the tunes is undeniable.  But it's still just R&B dance that is definitely aimed at a different crowd than me.  "Cuff It" is pretty damn explicit, over a funky ass Chic bassline.  Surprisingly, that is the top track.  I thought for sure that "Break My Soul" would be the hit, but it hits second place with 288 million streams.  Here is "Cuff It," with 395 million.

"We gone fuck up the night," over that funky disco groove, is some good flavor.  Kind of a disappointing video though, I figured there would be a real vibe in there, and not just models taking off hoods over and over.  But the album is over an hour long, which just seems like too much.  I dig the groove for a while, and then I look up from my work and am like "damn, still this album?  Really?"  So, while I want to join the Beyhive and fall deeply in love with every dance-party-jam on here, if I am being true to myself (and to you!) then the answer is that I really just don't care.