Quick Hits, Vol. 60 (The Sword, Maddie & Tae, Gary Clark, Jr., Disclosure)

This is hilarious.  A Comprehensive History of Wu Tang Clan's Beefs.  The Internet is a godawful bowl of turd in so many instances, and then Joseph forwards you a link to the pure ridiculousness of someone writing a 3,200 word chronology of moronic infighting within a great rap group.  I feel like people before us spent their time discovering cures for polio or winning the right to vote for women, while we spend millions of hours writing, discussing, commenting, and belly-button-staring the most pointless garbage ever.  That being said, Ghostface 4EVA, y'all.


The Sword - High Country.  I bought (like, actually picked up the physical piece of plastic wrapped in plastic and purchased those pieces of plastic with the swipe of another piece of plastic.  Old school, right?) their last album, Apocryphon, and it is a jam.  This is that sludgy stoner rock grind that sings about dwarf axes and ice kings and the "velvet cloak of night" and probably something about Valhalla.  I know some of you are turned off by that description, but I'm a fan of this kind of hard music that never merges over into screaming or anything truly unpleasant.  It just pounds large riffs into each song, with driving guitars, a touch of psych, and a deep groove from the rhythm guys.  High points = "Dreamthieves," "Early Snow," and "Tears Like Diamonds."  Here is the title song, "High Country"

Oh, and these dudes are from Austin, which is pretty cool.  And when you see pictures of them, they don't exactly look like doom metal rockers or the guys who should be opening for Metallica (although they have).  I'll put them in the same bucket as Sabbath and Wolfmother.  I bet they'd be a blast to see play live.  I may have to make that happen.

Maddie & Tae - Start Here.  You probably don't remember the movie "Nell," or if you do, you don't remember this line, but my wife has cracked me up for decades, somehow, by quoting part of that movie about "tayin' in de winnn."

Weird stuff.  I have no recollection of that movie either.  I bet it was amazing.  Anyway, I can't hear this group's name without hearing "TAAAAYIN' IN DE WINNNNNN" in my head.

Anyway, the point is that this is some seriously popped up Nashville country action that, somehow, I don't detest. They break off some nice harmonies throughout, reminiscent of the Dixie Chicks, and they throw out some humor in between some of the more schmaltzy tunes.  For example, their hit is "Girl in a Country Song," which sends up the stereotypical hot chick who gets to ride down that old dirt road in her daisy dukes with the guys in every Nashville-ized bro country song.  Although the music is electronic crapola until the chorus, it is kind of funny.  And "Shut up and Fish" is similarly clever.  It would be easy to just dismiss these two as pretty, blue-eyed blondes with cutesy names and some Daughter-of-Shania lyrics up their sleeves, but then you get to songs like "Waitin' on a Plane" and "Fly," which are straight pretty songs that don't cheese out while sounding great.  I'm going to give you "Fly" instead of "Girl in a Country Song," because I think it is a better song even if not quite the hit.

Gary Clark Jr. - The Story of Sonny Boy Slim.  I've spoken before about my love for Clark, especially his electric live shows.  His live album is freaking sick.  I was bummed to miss out on his show this year at ACL, but at least got a little taste of him during the Foo Fighters set.  I hope to get to see him do his thing again sometime around Austin - maybe at the newly re-opened Antones.  Here is the album opener, "The Healing."

This album picks up where Black and Blu left off, but sounds like he wanted to flex his creative muscles a little more.  He still has the blues-guitar-God stuff on here ("Stay" or "Grinder"), classic crossroad blues ("Shake"), and acoustic hymns ("Church"),  but then he also goes further afield with dance-ish stuff ("Can't Sleep") or 80's falsetto-drenched rhythm and blues ("Down to Ride"). "Wings" sounds like John Legend.  This music is all over the place.  I know the normal touchstone for guitar heroes from Austin is Stevie Ray Vaughan, but for some reason this album makes me think more of the collaboration SRV did with his brother, Jimmie Vaughan.  Family Style.  I thought that album was the good stuff back in the day.  Like a combination of bombing guitar mastery, along with an Austin-ified lite blues swagger, and some left-field weirdness for good measure.  While I'd like to hear more molten guitar lick thunder on here, I like the album.

Disclosure - Caracal.  Now, I wouldn't give up the Foo Fighters show from the ACL Fest this year, because it was a blast.  But I wish I could have gone to see Disclosure.  If only they would have played the Saturday slots when I didn't really care about the headliners. But I couldn't diss the Foos in favor of anyone, much less an electronic act.

Fast forward to now, and this new album is excellent.  And that is coming from a guy who isn't all that in to the EDM/techno movement going on in the world. Instead of those dubstep, dizzying, bass-heavy, drop-fest groups like Skrillex or Bassnectar, this reminds me more of the old school house music that was big before people used the term EDM.  The first three songs are top notch fun - featuring The Weeknd, Sam Smith, and Gregory Porter (who is apparently not the actor who dances in ballet movies, but some guy in a crappy looking hat in his google search results.  If there was an internet thing treating hats the same way the internet thing about shoes says "WHATRRTHOOOOSE!?!" then his hat would be deserving of that treatment.)  But his voice is choice, so what are you going to do?
"Magnets," featuring Lorde, is the most popular track on Spotify right now, but I have to present you with the second tune, "Omen," featuring Sam Smith, because it is a deceptively sunny blast of good times with bummer lyrics that you should hear.

That jam makes me want to dance.  It should make you want to dance.  They do a ton of that sound, like a smearing of notes, which I can't identify by a particular name, but in combination with tightly wound beats, it makes this entire thing interesting, danceable, and fun after many listens.  Really good album.

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats - Moody Theatre - November 22, 2015

Hot damn, man, this was a fun ass show.  ACL taping for their 41st Season.  I had read a short blurb about this cat in Rolling Stone a few weeks ago, saying that his musical career fronting an alt rock band was cratering out and his solo work had been unsuccessful, to the point where he thought of hanging it up.  And then he formed this band with some friends from Denver, paying homage to Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and doo-wop, and they've gotten some attention.

It is a big band - two saxes, a trumpet, bass, two guitars, organ, and the sweaty, ebullient, strong-voiced front man blowing it out in front.  They stepped to the stage with "I Need Never Get Old," and it was amazing.  I got goosebumps and just had to laugh - felt like we were seeing something really special.  People physically needed to get up and dance.

Crazy high energy - just hammering the audience.  So great.  In fact, the first three tunes (I don't know his music well enough to know what the next two tunes were) kept that excitement high and didn't let up.  He slowed down a bit in the middle to play "Shake" and the song that, in my mind, I was calling the "doot-doot-doot-doooo-doooo" song until just hunting for it and finding it is called "Mellow Out."  He made the lady next to me cry when he brought up his mom (apparently in the audience) and then played "Thank You."  But then they capped off the show with a strong rendition of their current radio hit, "S.O.B.," that had the crowd on their feet and singing along.

I just got goosebumps again watching the video.  The whole crowd was clapping and singing the "wooahh-oo-woah!" part like we were at a soccer stadium, and even kept it going when they left the stage.  So awesome.

And it is hard to understate the awesomeness of the trumpet player, Wesley Watkins.  The guy was JAMMING up there, even when he wasn't playing, he was pulling some dance moves out or shaking a little shaker thing with all the gusto he could manage.  The rest of the band wasn't as over the top, but they all looked like they were truly having a great time, enjoying the music, loving the crowd, doing their thing.  Freaking great show.  Watch it whenever it airs on PBS and you'll be a believer.

Quick Hits, No. 59 (Foals, Ultimate Painting, Halsey, FIDLAR)

Foals - What Went Down.  This is some good British rock and roll.  Although, in yet another sign that I am aging out of being able to understand what the hell is going on in the world, here is the list of "genres" that Wikipedia gives for this band:

• Indie rock 
• alternative rock 
• math rock 
• art rock 
• dance-punk 
• post-rock 
• post-britpop

What in the everloving hell does any of that mean?  "Math Rock."  Someone just said "Math Rock."  Which makes me think of the end of Revenge of the Nerds when they are playing that sweet song complete with super racist gong strikes.  And guess what, Wikipedia has an entire article dedicated to that genre, which describes the sound as "characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, angular melodies, and extended, often dissonant, chords."  Riiiight.  Because math, a very structured system, usually means atypical and dissonant.   You just made that stuff up, man.  I'm going to write a Wiki post about the new genre of music called Fiction Rock, and claim that loads of bands are way into it.

Anyway, I digress.  "Mountain at my Gates" appears to be the top song, but "Birch Tree," a poppier, dance-happy tune, is the one I like the most.

Funky stuff, right there.  Sounds great.  The whole album keeps up a good sound too - its not one of these that gives you a few good ones at the start and then tapers off into garbage.  Check it out.

Ultimate Painting - Green Lanes.  This is enjoyable music.  Like a less pop version of that Real Estate album I loved so much last year.  This is two dudes from the U.K., playing laconic, relaxed indie pop that reflects a heavy influence from the Velvets and that style of low wattage, shaggy pop from 4 decades ago. This album has been in my New Stuff playlist for months, so I've heard it a bunch in between listening to all of the ACL bands, but it is really nice and simple.  Especially on a rainy day like today, this is just right for me to enjoy.

Here is the most listened-to track from this album, "(I've Got the) Sanctioned Blues," with about 186k spins.
I feel like some bands, regardless of their skill and sound, are just never going to break out because their band name is too weird or forgettable.  This is one of those.  This is the kind of music that is going to show up on a Wes Anderson soundtrack, people will be into it for a few months, and then later some nerd at a trivia game will be the only who recalls that Ultimate Painting sang "Kodiak."

Halsey - BADLANDS.  I checked this gal out for ACL this year, and wasn't terribly into it. Her cred with me was definitely not improved by reading the portion of the website saying: "I write songs about sex and being sad." Ugh, that is terrible.  But, if you put that behind you and listen to this album, I'm actually impressed.  This is enjoyable electronic pop with a few good hits like "New Americana," "Castle," and "Colors."  Here is "New Americana."

Her stage at ACL this year was packed - people are into it - and with that song as the lead-off single from the album, I can see why.  Solid hook, great sing-along-ability, strong voice. Even some homage to "Juicy" in there.  While this type of music isn't normally my thing, and I crapped on her for the ACL preview, I'm into this one.

FIDLAR - Too.  FIDLAR was a late addition to the ACL 2015 lineup, so I listened to their tunes that were available on Spotify before this full length album was released.  It is exciting, scrum-punk skate jams, and this album is even better than those early tracks.  "40oz. on Repeat" will get stuck in your head after one listen, but I've jammed this whole thing (mostly quick hit sub-3-minute tunes) about ten times by now, and I'm on board all the way.  "40oz." is their current most popular track on Spotify.

The lead singer apparently kicked a bad heroin/meth/alcohol addiction before they made this album, and you can hear it some in there tunes, like "Sober," where he sings about life sucking when you are sober.  Roger that, buddy.  But this is good stuff.

Quick Hits, Vol. 58 (Jesse Malin, The Game, Joanna Gruesome, D'Angelo, Ashley Monroe, Duran Duran)

Jesse Malin - New York Before the War.  Part Ryan Adams (who may be my most referenced artist of all), part 80's sound like Squeeze or TLC, part urgent Springsteen, try out "Oh Sheena."

Squeeze - that is my hard comparison there.  Or some other 80's band with an overly earnest singer.  I can't recall where I heard about this guy, for some reason I thought someone big (Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift or something) had pimped him and so he had blown up, but his Spotify count is very low.  No song on this album cracks six figures.  I like it well enough - nothing on here lights me up but after a handful of listens, I've restarted again.  Good enough to keep around for a bit.

The Game - The Documentary 2.  I've never been a big The Game guy.  I remember a couple of good songs on The Documentary ("How We Do," "Hate it or Love It"), and I remember liking a tune or two off of Jesus Piece a few years back (although they didn't affect me enough that I can remember them now), but then I haven't paid him any mind in years.  Now, looking at his Spotify page, he has a million albums.  I can't believe any of them are worth a crap, but who knows, there may be a gem in there among the 378 diss tracks aimed at 50 Cent.
But this one uses some classic samples and weaves a hell of a fun set of tracks.  The opening track, featuring Kendrick Lamar, has this Erykah Badu, soul sample feel that is tight, and then "Don't Trip" with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, alongside a killer funky beat, is solid as hell.  Man, I'm a sucker for Cube. "Circles" features Q-Tip and might as well be a Tribe Called Quest song about half way through to the end.  The most popular track on the album features (of course) Drake, and is called "100."

Not the best track on the album by any means.  But kids these days, with their overly excessive love of the Drake, probably just listen to this track all day while they practice rolling their eyes while typing 100!! emojis with their thumbs.  And I can't leave the album without noting the "Standing on Ferraris" beat, which cops one of my favorite Notorious BIG tracks of all time, the kick ass swagger and sinister vibe of the "I Put a Spell on You"-sampling "Kick in the Door."  Game's story-telling is a 2 compared to BIG's 10, but I still dig this track.  Inexplicably, I really like this album.  Maybe I don't hate all new rap?

Joanna Gruesome - Peanut Butter.  Somehow fitting 10 songs into just 21 minutes, this is a pretty fun blast of fuzzy 90's alt-rock and shoegaze time travel.  Like a lady singer version of Teenage Fanclub who had been listening to old Pixies demos.  The most listened-to track on Spotify is "Last Year," the opener of the album.

Punk start, shoegaze middle, all strangely enjoyable.  The album is seriously over before you even really get into it, but I like it well enough to keep around.

D'Angelo - Brown Sugar.  Now, I'm well aware that this album is 20 years old, but I never caught on to it (or D'Angelo) in the first place.  And after listening to the newest D'Angelo album, and thinking that I might get to go see him tape for ACL (before he cancelled that show along with his Fun Fun Fun appearance), I thought that I should go back in time and check this out.  I am no connoisseur of R&B music, I am well aware that it generally passes me by without much appeal, but this stuff right here is sweet hot magic.  The title track, which opens up the album, is like woah.

That smooth ass beat, the jingle bells, tight drums, and that voice.  Silky smooth and yet tough.  This is killer stuff. Apparently about smoking weed, although it sounds like it is about lady friends.  The rest of the album is no where near as great, although some ("Jonz in my Bonz") are significantly better than others (cheezy ass "When We Get By").  But "Brown Sugar" is just too much.  I won't keep this whole disc around, but that song must be retained.

I know I normally stop after four, but I've got two that are truly quick hits to just move on from and get out of my New Stuff list:

Ashley Monroe - The Blade.  I hear a less brassy Dolly Parton in this album, but it doesn't strike me as anything to hold on to.  I know people have been talking her up and are in love with the title track, but nothing special to me.

Duran Duran - Paper Gods.  I dig me some 80's Duran Duran, but this can be quickly forgotten as far as I'm concerned.  New-ish sounding beats and generic lyrics.

Disneyland 2015

I know you come here for my hot takes on music, but I figured I'd publish my thoughts on Disneyland out there (to join the eight million other people who have already done the same) so that you can benefit from my experience.

First things first, go download the app if you are going.  The ability to pull up that app, see a map, and track the line length for any ride from your phone is priceless.  Instead of walking all the way over to Splash Mountain to see what the line is like, you can just pull up the app and see that it is 60 minutes and therefore dumb.

Second, bring a ton of snacks.  While the official Disney website says that you can't bring in outside food or drink unless you have dietary restrictions, the people checking bags stared straight at our huge sack of pringles, beef jerky, and rice crispy treats without batting an eye. When you are waiting in line and the kids may be getting close to melting, it is amazing how far a snack will go towards quelling that insurrection.  And water, we brought in three nalgenes full of ice water, which also helps keep people happy (and saves you from spending $5 on a bottle of Dasani.

Final key tip is to use the FastPass system.  Loads of people online will give you all sorts of hints and tips on how to maximize that system, which stressed me out while I was planning for the trip. So much planning!  But the simple truth is that if you grab FastPass tickets for a ride, then you cut in front of the vast majority of people in line, and it feels amazing.  Some rides don't give you quite as big an advantage, but others felt like you got to just walk right on.  So, right when you get to the park, go straight to the most popular ride's fast pass kiosk and grab your passes, then go do some other popular rides while you wait for your time to come on the FP.

My Ranking of Disneyland Attractions (note, Space Mountain was closed, so I can't rank it):

1. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  A legit, if short, rollercoaster that even our five year old enjoyed.  Nothing too intense, but really fun.  We went back for more.
2. Matterhorn Bobsleds.  Same thing, this was a good but not too crazy thrill rollercoaster.
3. Splash Mountain.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long time - we got stuck in the front of the car, which is purportedly the spot where you get soaked, so I was dreading the final hill the entire time.  Everyone ended up liking this one, and only my right leg ended up with a soaking.
4. Star Tours.  Star Wars themed 3D flight simulator ride that was actually kind of awesome.  It really felt like we were hauling ass when the ship went into hyperspace, and I jumped when stuff "crashed" through the front windshield.
5. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.  An otherwise lame ride that is made fun because you get to shoot things as you ride along and amass points.  Like a video game as you ride.  Fun stuff.
6. Dumbo the Flying Elephant.  Pretty lame, but the kids thought this was the coolest thing they had ever done in their LIVES.  Being able to control the up and down on a super slow rotating flight ride is apparently a major rush when you are younger than 10.
7. Autopia.  Hilarious, in that the kids (especially my five year old) freaking LOVED this ride, while it is nothing more than a go cart on a rail.  You can "steer," but only a couple of inches to each side.  You aren't supposed to ram the guy in front of you, so you can only go so fast. Pretty brutal.
8. Indiana Jones Adventure.  Kind of enjoyable, but more of a random mishmash of Indy thoughts and getting your ribs and hips rammed into the pointed edges of the seats on a ridiculously rough ride in a fake jeep.  And the walk from the front door of the place back to the ride is like 48 miles.
9. Haunted Mansion.  Lame.  And made infinitely worse by the fact that we didn't use a Fast Pass, so we waited for almost an hour to see a super boring ride with some holograms.  Some guy at the front gate had told us how excited he was to go to this one because it was Jack Skellington themed, so we were excited, but from the first excruciatingly slow elevator ride down to the final weird reflection of a present in your car, this one was just weak.  AND you have to spend most of the time in line convincing your kids that it won't be that scary, kind of hoping that it will be ridiculously frightening, but then it ends up being boring as hell.  Death to Haunted Mansion.
10. Pirates of the Caribbean.  Just dumb.  I have no clue why people wait in line for this. My 7 year old kept asking if it was going to get entertaining.  You ride in a boat, and slowly go past 50 year old animatronic scenes of pirates singing or drinking or preparing to buy a hooker. They have added in a few Jack Sparrow and Black Pearl items, but it is dated and tired and really boring.
11. King Arthur Carousel.  It is bad enough that the kids wanted to do this - ride an old school carousel slowly around in a circle - but as soon as we waited through the 20 minute line and got on the horses, they closed it for technical difficulties.  Not cool.

I can't believe we missed It's a Small World, but when the kids are tired, you need to bail out.  Don't push it past the DEFCON 3 stage, man.  We also missed out on a bunch of the rides in Fantasyland, like Mr. Toad or Peter Pan, but I have been told we didn't miss much. Next time, I skip Indy, the Mansion, and Pirates and go hit up those other things.

My Ranking of California Adventure Attractions:

1. Radiator Springs Racers.  Awesome ride, really fun.  You get into a car, strap in, and then ride through a pretty excellent reproduction of Cars before having a fun race at the end.  The entire Cars Land/Radiator Springs area is amazingly detailed and cool. This ride was excellent - grab the FP early because by mid-morning the recall times were 9:30 to 10pm at night.
2. California Screamin'.  This one is a really close second to Radiator Springs.  An old-school classic rollercoaster with a great launch from zero to fast, a loop-the-loop, and enough drops to make you lose your stomach but not ever actually feel terrified.
3. Goofy's Sky School.  Tiny little rollercoaster, but terrifyingly fun.  You are in a miniature four person car, and take a million really tight ass turns that make it feel like you are about to break off of the ride and tumble to your death.  A few good drops to make you lose your stomach too. Surprisingly scary and fun.
4. Soarin' Over California.  A flight simulator kind of thing that was super.  You are strapped into a row of seats that raises up in the air and gets close to a big screen, then you fly over the sights of Cali, complete with wind in your face and smells (salty ocean air, orange groves, sweaty homeless people) as you cruise along.  It was realistic enough to make my feet bottoms tingle when we launched out off of a cliff. Pretty fun stuff.
5. Grizzly River Run.  One of those big round boats with rubber sides that turns and bounces around a rapid filled river.  Fun and always funny to laugh at whoever is getting wet.  (apparently, you don't want to sit by the entrance to the boat)
6. Silly Symphony Swings.  Old school, the one where you get strapped into a swing and then the ride slings you around in circles as it raises you up and then lowers you back down.  Pretty fun, especially doing it with a kid in one of the double swings.
7. Mickey's Fun Wheel.  This is a really tall ferris wheel, and some of the cars slide around on rails so that it is not just a static ride around the center.  It was actually a little bit terrifying.  But a 30 minute wait for a ferris wheel is questionable behavior.
8. Golden Zephyr.  Kind of like the Symphony Swings, except you are in a long car that swings around.  Fun enough.
9. Ariel's Undersea Adventure.  Another one where you just ride through an animatronic recitation of the movie.  Entertaining mainly for the fact that my daughters loved it. And as we entered the ride, there was a sign on one wall showing that you shouldn't stand up, with two human shapes in various stages of standing and the big red cross-out symbol over them.  My five year old told me it stood for NO DANCING and then proceeded to jam out and dance. Way more entertaining than the actual ride.
10. Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue.  I like Monsters and all, but this was kind of a boring ride through images and the story from the movie.  Slow with zero action.
11. Jumpin' Jellyfish.  Elevator ride kind of thing.  Entirely tame and safe for the little ones.
12. King Triton's Carousel.  At least we got to ride this one, but still pretty lame.  Even weirder, why are grown ass people getting on rides like this.  With no kids.  What makes an adult male with no children involved want to wait in a ten minute line to ride this?  Mysteries of life, man.
13. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.  Spinning vomit tow trucks.
14. Francis' Ladybug Boogie.  Spinning vomit ladybugs.  As you might surmise from the next few rankings, you can stay out of "a bug's land" and be pretty happy.
15. Tuck and Roll's Drive Em Buggies.  The slowest bumper cars you've ever seen in your life.  I mean, like an eighth of a mile an hour.  I get that they need to be safe and all, but dude.  You could have increased the speed by 2000% and it still would have been slow and kind of boring.
16. Heimlich's Chew Chew Train.  I didn't have to ride this one because I was off getting Fast Passes, but Holy Hannah this ride sucks.  It is a train that goes about 3 miles an hour around a tiny circle forest.  The entire ride takes maybe 30 seconds.  And, of course, my five year old ate it up.  Damn children.

I think that is all of the rides we made it through, but I may have missed one or two.  Bottom line, we had a great time at the parks.  The kids were generally well behaved, the lines weren't overly ridiculous, the tickets weren't insanely priced (2 adults, 3 kids, 2 days = $886), and hotels line the street just outside the park entrance.  Good fun.

Bruce Robison - Tom's Tabooley - November 1, 2015

We got to go see Bruce Robison play this really cool FREE show, at an odd, but also very cool venue, on a random Sunday night earlier this month.  I went to a Bruce and Kelly show for my birthday this year, so I have already generally discussed my love for the Bruce experience.  But this show was really something else.  Felt like I had stepped back in time or something.  Extremely stripped down, this was just Bruce and his bandmates, doing some originals, some covers, and generally enjoying themselves on stage.
The place (Tom's Tabooley) is a little restaurant that has apparently been on Guadalupe for 20 years, right in that little shopping center where El Patio and Antone's Record shop are.  I'd never noticed it in my life.  But the music venue side of the place is awesome and relaxed with a random assortment of tables, chairs, couches, and loungers.  Velvet (looking, I didn't go feel them) curtains up behind the band and a tiny stage up front.  Very intimate, very cool vibe.
There were maybe 30 people there for the show, and although we (of course) came to the first show that wasn't BYOB anymore, it was a really fun night of great and free music.  If he is still doing these Sunday night shows, you should go.

Quick Hits, Vol. 57 (Frazey Ford, Chvrches, Silversun Pickups, Wildlights)

Frazey Ford - Indian Ocean.  From the Talking Heads-esque start of "September Fields", this is a fine sound, steeped in old school Memphis soul.  And for good reason, as this was recorded with Al Green's old band, in Memphis.  A friend sent me this video months ago, before the ACL schedule came out, so I have been too long in getting back to this and checking it out.

Yeah, baby.  Those horns and that organ, right on.  Her voice reminds me of Rihannon Giddens, Norah Jones, that kind of light touch and soulful tone.  The whole album is this kind of folky soul, and it is really nice chill music.

Chvrches - Every Open Eye.  When these cats came to ACL last year in support of The Bones of What You Believe, I was all in.  That album is great, and "The Mother We Share" is still a top notch song.  A bunch of good music on that album, so I was pretty excited about this new one coming out. There is nothing quite so great on here as the highs of the last album, but I am still really enjoying the disc.  I think the obvious best track is "Clearest Blue," with its Depeche Mode homage synth line in the middle.

You have to imagine hearing that live would be a jumping, reeling party.  The most popular track on the album is "Leave a Trace," with about 12 million spins on Spotify, and it is pretty good too, but "Clearest Blue" sounds even better to me.  I just think I aim for the fun songs with this type of music - see also "Empty Threat."  Good album that I'll keep around to work with for a while longer.

Silversun Pickups - Better Nature.  I was a fan of Carnavas, their 2006 album.  Had enough Smashing Pumpkins feel without being a straight ripoff, as well as its own cool sound. I listened to that album a ton.  This one isn't doing it for me.  Kind of whiny, a little too electronic, and very long. I felt like the album just kept droning on for hours underneath my work for the past few days.  Not bad by any means, I'd much prefer this to other music I've heard recently, but with so much good music out there in the world, why waste more time on this?

Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down...  To the extent I didn't talk about this new album much in my review for ACL 2015, know that this album is excellent.  Shaggy and smart and fun.  I like it alot.

Wildlights - Wildlights.  I don't know if you listen to Band of Horses, but the lead singer of this band sounds just like the dude from Band of Horses.  But then the music is some kick ass riffage rock more in the Queens of the Stone Age/Fu Manchu class, and it is actually pretty sweet.  I have no recollection of how I came across this stuff, but I like the album quite a bit.  Amazingly, their most listened-to song on Spotify has only 4,746 streams, which seems wrong, but I am obviously on the BLEEDING EDGE of cool music, man.  Here is that track, "Anchors," which is in heavy rotation with the band's family and, apparently, just me.

Seriously, is that the guy from Band of Horses?  Even better example is "Lights Out," but nope!  He apparently sings for a band called ASG, which I will now be throwing into the queue as well.  But this band has a great heavy groove - they get locked into a repetitive groove and just jam it.  More poppy than something like Tool, not nearly as dark, but cool music.  I like this album.

Quick Hits, Vol. 56 (Travi$ Scott, Noah Gunderson, Kelsea Ballerini, Refused)

Travi$ Scott - Rodeo.  Dude.  "Antidote" is a jam.  I'd never heard of this cat until he tried to incite a riot at Lolla (or something, still not sure what he had going on there), but taste this and see what I'm talking about.

The intro to that video is not part of the original song, which, if that was the sound of the song, would not have received my stamp of approval.  But that beat - woozy, dark, ominous, snake-skin-smooth, sounds like you are trapped in a metal 50 gallon drum waiting for your final sentence from evil robots.  Hard not to enjoy.  And I get that the vast majority of the song is the Auto-Tuned hook - he only does a real verse after about 3 and a half minutes - but its a sweet hook anyway.  Sticks in my head, even though I've recently said tunes like this from Future or similar guys are weak.  Don't let the man's weed smoke out of the window, yo.  I won't say that anything else on the album approaches that level - too much Auto-Tune and basic lyrics for me.  He goes all Kanye-808's-and-Heartbreak on "90210," before hitting a solid verse on the second half of the song.  So, a half-good song.  Later, he actually shares a track with Kanye himself, where Scott mimics Kanye pretty well, on "Piss on Your Grave."  I'm just saving "Antidote" and letting the rest of this go.

Noah Gundersen - Carry the Ghost.  Never heard of this guy before, and his name sounds like a neighbor from Fargo.  But a friend asked me if I was excited about his new album and so I had to check it out.  Gorgeous stuff in the quiet vein of Ryan Adams - even has a song called "Heartbreaker," although that song gets loud when the emotions start running.  The prime track from the album is "Jealous Love," it just jumps out as the superior sound, tucked right in the middle of the rest of the songs.

Great, tender melodies, as well as solid lyrics.  "Empty from the Start" is another winner of a track.  I like this album a lot - quiet but solidly nice to listen to.

Kelsea Ballerini - The First Time.  There are other, even worse moments on this album (see "XO," which works SO HARD to turn those two letters into something about an ex), but here is a taste of what we are talking about.  "Yeah boy want to take a little ride with you, yeah boy want to spend a little time with you, yeah boy want to sip a little wine with you."  From the song with the cryptic title "Yeah Boy."  And the background music is banjo-fied pop basic blah.  This is terrible.  Like Jessica Simpson in Rocky Mountains and trying real hard.  I want to say Rolling Stone pimped her to me as a second coming of Taylor Swift, but this couldn't hold Taylor Swift's jock.

Refused - Freedom.  If you've never heard Swedish band Refused, then you likely would not want anything to do with this.  I am extremely certain that my wife would hate every single second of listening to this album.  However, I loved some of the tracks from their 1998 album, The Shape of Punk to Come. "New Noise" (crushing, swirling, angry thing that builds from quiet to eleven in a heartbeat) and "The Shape of Punk to Come" (which I irrationally love more than I should) are way more scream-y than I normally like, but they are fist-pumping jams of the first order that still have a tight sound that I don't usually hear in straight up screaming music.
Anyway, this album is kind of like that old album, in that some songs are just merciless screaming anger, while others have that driving, building tension that makes for a hell of an intensely fun song. Check out "Dawkins Christ"

If you don't want to ball your hands into fists and mash something, then you need to try again. "Francafrique" is also great, although a little more dance-y and playful, until the building tension breaks and the singer screams "KILL KILL KILL! Exterminate the brutes!  Exterminate all the brutes!"  Which is not entirely playful, I suppose, unless you are a Game of Thrones character or something.  "War on the Palaces" has some Stones horns, "Destroy the Man" has some Rush ("YYZ") and Rage Against the Machine sounds, and "366" goes back to the well that we drank from on "The Shape of Punk to Come" to good results.  This is hardcore stuff, not for the faint of heart, but I still like it.  I'm going to save a few songs to a playlist.

Quick Hits, Vol. 55, The Attack of the M's!! (Meek Mill, Method Man, Metz, Mac Miller)

Meek Mill - Dreams Worth Mote Than Money.  This guy first came onto my radar when Rick Ross signed him to his label (maybach music, maybach music, hahahahahaha, ruuuungh!) and put out the Dreams & Nightmares album.  I listened a few times, and thought it was terrible.  He keeps all of his raps at a measured shout, just in this highly annoying range where the tone is just a touch too high to be normal.  Sounds like the Swedish Chef if he made English raps instead of saying "fur-de-burrr" all the time.  It is still terrible on this album.  However, the saving grace of this album is great beats and solid guest spots.  Nicki Minaj, Drake, Rick Ross, hell, even the Weeknd, all have good turns on this album that are significantly better than Meek Mill's Swedish Chef flow.

R.I.C.O., featuring Drake.  And Drake is in rap-mode, which is his preferred configuration. After Drake's verse, you can hear the swede crank it up.  Just relax, man, you don't have to semi-yell so much.

If there was a good beat behind that cooking show, you wouldn't know the difference.

Method Man - The Meth Lab.  One of the lesser stars of the Wu Tang universe in my opinion, but Method has still put out some good tunes over the years.  Interesting thing on this one is that he has found a guest star (not sure if it is Hanz On or Streetlife, think its Hanz On) who sounds just like Ghostface, and he uses him liberally in these tracks.  Why not use the real thing?  Maybe they have some dumb beef going on right now or something. Anyway, this one is ah-ight.  Pretty forgettable, but not bad by any measure.  Meth is, without a doubt, the best of the rappers on here until Raekwon shows up for a verse, but unfortunately there are a ton of guests on here, and most of them are weak.

Metz - II.  I can't remember where I found this album, but it is hard rock action following right up in the footsteps left behind by Nirvana.  The vocal sound more Fugazi-esque to me, but the tunes are right up the alley of In Utero-phase Nirvana.  The most popular track on Spotify is called "Acetate," but I think I like "The Swimmer" better.

The only thing missing from a great "Very Ape" tribute is that they never break from the skuzz to sing in harmony for a chorus, it just stays hard throughout.  Pretty fun album.

I need to find one more "M" band to make this the greatest "M"-band post of my entire life! Come on!  LET'S DO THIS!

Mac Miller - GO:OD AM.  ANOTHER DOUBLE M!  I'M A GOLDEN GOD!!!
I remember trying out his last album - Watching Movies with the Sound Off - and being underwhelmed other than a track off the deluxe version called "Goosebumpz," which made me laugh.  This one is significantly better, with pretty solid beats and a generally slow, laid back flow of lyrics that bounce between good and boring.  "Two Matches," with Ab-Soul, "100 Grandkids," "In the Bag," and "Break the Law" are all pretty fun.  The most popular is one with Miguel singing along with him, but that one isn't my thing.  Here is "100 Grandkids"

Scary ass little kids.  Wish he hadn't lifted the "We ain't goin' no where" bit, but I like the track anyway.  I think I'm just going to save a handful of songs from this one.

Quick Hits, Vol. 54 (Migos, The Revivalists, Bully, Teenage Time Wasters, Four Tet)

I'm lucky I saved up a handful of these I did during the run up to ACL, as work is kicking my tail this week.  The other thing I want to make sure I mention right now - Adele's "Hello."  Damn great song. The wife noted how absolutely effortless her voice sounds - so true.  She kills it without breaking a sweat.  On to the other reviews of less amazing stuff.

Migos - Yung Rich Nation.  I've become a rap grampa, man.  This has the same kind of sound as the Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan and the other Atlanta guys, and I just can't get behind it. Skittering and disjointed, I feel like they're messing with me.  Just kind of randomly yelling things, every once in a while deigning to provide a cohesive flow, but generally sounding like they are just having fun bouncing off the walls with nothing to say. The "Migos Origin" is pretty cool, in that he actually tells a story and flows some lyrics, but then they go back to random "BLOUW! SKEEEEERT! WOAH! YAAAH!" hollers.  Like the next song, "Spray the Champagne," which is just truly idiotic.  The most popular track, per Spotify, is "One Time," which I present here for your knowledge and maybe enjoyment?

That video makes me want to vomit.  Too bad I didn't stop listening to this album after one time.  I think I'd live longer.

The Revivalists - Men Amongst Mountains.  So, I think I've already disclosed this fact, but my friend Jason is related to the pedal steel player of this band, and so I have a slanted view of their music.  They played an official aftershow of ACL two years ago (although they were not on the ACL bill, which should be remedied soon, right?) and played a really fun, high energy show of roots rock with a blast of horns and a really charismatic lead singer. Oh, and the pedal steel guy is pretty bad ass too.
Like prior albums, this is another disc of positive-sounding rock that borders on a jam session while staying solid rock.  I think the opening track, "Keep Going," is probably the hit from the album.

Live version but you get the fun and positive vibe.  Hit up "All in the Family" if you want another jam like that.  Good album, even better live band.  Check them out if you get the chance.

Bully - Fells Like.  This is the kind of music that is better in short bursts than over the course of an entire album.  Scream-y grunge with a lady singer that reminds me of Hole.  If these songs were on a mix tape, or played on the radio one-off, I think I'd dig it.  Here is the most popular, called "Trying," which deserves to be the most popular, as it is actually really good.

"I Remember" sounds more like a Sonic Youth tune.  But listening to this entire album a few times in a row makes my head melt.  I need to just save a few tracks to jam.

Teenage Time Killers - Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.  This is a "supergroup" made up of a bunch of people I've never heard of plus Dave Grohl.  It is metal, and I don't like it.  I've heard the first three songs many times while listening to other albums, before switching to something else I actually want to hear, but I just forced myself to do the whole thing, and no thanks.  20 songs of screaming, over OK jams behind them.

Four Tet - Morning / Evening.  People are weird.  This is a two song long album where each song is 20+ minutes long.  Atmospheric electronic music with lyrics in a foreign tongue.  I'm going with Indian music?  So that would be Hindi?  Criminy, just tried to confirm that and the Indian continent is chock full of about a billion languages.  We'll go with Hindi. This first song is kind of cool, super chill, I like it during this Hindi part of the first song, but then it turns into the Space Odyssey and is less cool.  I'll never listen to it again, but I like it. Second song is not nearly as good.