With ACL over, now it's back to our regularly scheduled programming of me writing about other music I've listened to or seen. I hope you stick around! And yes, I know that some of these albums below are very old, but my listening is directed exclusively at ACL bands for half the year. Love ya, mean it.
Cool sample loop to kick it off. The weird thing is to try to figure out the verses. That is Logic to start for sure, and then Redman second for sure. I'm guessing Seth MacFarlane is the Frank Sinatra ass singing? And then a too-long outro skit thing... And some of the voices on the skits suck - like some dude trying to do lady voices that are awful. I guess Statik is just there for the beat? Either way, it is a good track. Not sure it's the best thing on the whole album, but I think people are listening for the shock value of MacFarlane. In addition to the skits, "Highlife" is a terrible track, like a crap 808's & Heartbreak copycat. But if I could extract these tracks away from the skits, I'd keep bumping a lot of it.
boygenius - the record. Killer supergroup, I am really hoping that they'll show up in Austin in October. Phoebe Bridgers feels like the star of the three to me, but I feel like Lucy Dacus keeps providing the moments in this album that stick out and make me notice. Kind of a weird opener, with the folky "Without You Without Them" track of them harmonizing for a minute. And the strongest song is six tunes in, which also seems weird. I figured "Not Strong Enough" was definitely going to be the top single - every time I hear it on the radio I feel like it demands my close attention. It's a great song, achingly beautiful and also rockin'. But "Emily I'm Sorry" actually takes the stream-count crown for now with 17.1 million streams.
Feels less like a group track and more like a Phoebe track. "fuuuuck you Peobe Bridgers! [sounds of a bike accident and thudding of body on pavement]" Julian and Lucy just give background harmonies here. The ending of the video was badass with them helping her to light the fire. "Cool About It" really sounds like Paul Simon when it starts out. Up and down record for me - I want to love it because I think all three of them are genius in their own right, but a lot of the album is too low-key for what I want to hear. I want them to keep the rock cranked up.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Nadja. I think officially this is just an EP and not an LP, although I'm not sure that such distinctions really matter anymore in the streaming world. But, this disc picks up right where they last left off, songs made up of woozy guitar and laconic, shuffling drums underneath of the relaxed vocals. They can pump it up a little more at times, but I think they are at their best when going full woozy. I got to see them a few times over the years and I just really enjoy the vibe they put out. "That Life" is the top streamer with 20.1 million.
Creepy ass video right there! But I kinda want the outfit of the puppeteers. Going to wear that to ACL next year. Great groove in that one - gets me wiggling all over the place in my desk up in here. "Nadja" has the laid back vibe I want though. But, nice little disc.
Miley Cyrus - Endless Summer Vacation. A quick story that is still making me grin to this day. There is a strip-mall Italian restaurant on 183 in north Austin that is pretty solid. Reale's. Good food, good prices, good vibe. But sometimes, they have a musician playing tunes in this tiny gazebo thing on one wall of the main dining area, which can be great or it can be a little cringey. I took the boy up there one evening for a dinner with just the two of us, and a lady with a nice voice was playing some classics with her guitar and a laptop. You know, James Taylor, Dolly, Neil Diamond - unoffensive dinner tunes. Well, there was a massive table of ladies next to us - mostly over 50 but a few between 30-50 - pounding wine and getting progressively louder with their singing and laughing. Until the singer looked over at them and was like "okay ladies, here is your song!" And they roared and stood up and immediately started grooving before the first notes of this song had even played.
Which I thought was freaking hilarious. Relatively new song at the time, but these ladies were feeling 100% of the empowerment from Miley's "Flowers" and it's funky message of doing things for yourself. It was very funny to watch, and also a little disconcerting. Is it weird that I found the workout portion of that video sexier than the shower scene? If that is really her house, that is awesome. 600 million views for that video, 1.5 BILLION streams of the song. Feels like she nailed the mindset of a large swath of folks. She's got a tune on here with Brandi Carlile, and another with Sia, but that one above is for sure the hit. I honestly like the album - she does a good job of straddling pop and rock and fun and seriousness. I don't love it all - like "Handstand" is an annoying tune - but it has enough enjoyable tunes to stick around.
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