2019 Media Round-up: Music
Dec. 21st, 2019 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyI'm going to attempt to do a media round-up, despite:
1) Being under the kind of stress that makes memory a challenging thing right now
2) Having very little time before I leave the country to do a number of time-critical tasks
3) Not coping well with the whole concept of "this isn't just the end of the year, this is the end of the decade"
This said, I'm not going to attempt to pick a top anything; I'm just going to talk about stuff I liked this year that I'd recommend and focusing on newish (though not exclusively) 2019 releases. Starting with music!
Tanya Tagaq, Toothsayer
2019 has been so long that I forgot that one of my favourite living artists released a new album. Well, an EP, anyway. What can I say about Tanya Tagaq that I haven't said already? If you have ignored my two million posts about how she's one of the most brilliant musicians of our time, perhaps I can interest you in checking out her work now.
GLORYHAMMER, Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex
Now that we've all had a good cry, here is something to cheer you up: GLORYHAMMER released a new album. This time, it takes place in an alternate universe Fife ruled by the evil sorcerer Zargothrax, and legendary hero Angus McFife the 13th's hammer giggle no longer works giggle. There are a lot of songs about giant hammers. Here is one of them:
Nora Keyes, Songs To Cry By In the Golden Age Of Nothing
This is a new-to-me one rather than a new release. Brechtian cabaret sung by a swamp witch. You're welcome. Thanks to @lapinlunaire for introducing me to her.
Lil Nas X, 7
A phenomenal debut, Lil Nas X has done the unthinkable. No, not being the first queer, Black hip hop fusion artist to top the country charts, though that's impressive, don't get me wrong. But he also made Billy Ray Cyrus record a good song. Is there nothing he can't do?
I suspect this whole EP is a joke about people who say they like all music except country and rap. If you have a kid, they probably played "Old Town Road" on repeat. It's really catchy and also musically complex and layered and is one of those cases where I like something that is also deservedly popular.
Algiers, The Underside of Power
This is another new-to-me one; I didn't realize that the truly weird and inventive Algiers released a second album in 2017. It's much more in-your-face political than their debut, especially the title track. It doesn't really sound like anything else I've ever heard. I love it.
Leonard Cohen, Thanks For the Dance
Did you think death would stop Leonard Cohen from releasing a new album? Of course not; he's Leonard Fucking Cohen.
I feel very mixed about this one; on the one hand, it's a new Leonard Cohen album. It's like having a dead loved one visit you in a dream and tell you something that your unconscious mind couldn't have possibly have made up on its own. On the other hand, as an album of Leonard Cohen poetry, it works pretty well, but most of the tracks aren't songs per se. You Want It Darker was the perfect note to end his life and career on, and while I'm really happy to hear his voice and words again, it feels a bit unfinished. Other than this one:
Finally, I said I wouldn't pick a favourite, but there is one debut album that I've listened to on repeat since it came out, and one artist I've seen in concert three times this year.
Orville Peck, Pony
I have raved about Orville Peck in previous posts, but if I had to pick an album of the year, it would be this one. I think my description was something to the effect of "Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak trading handjobs in a truck stop bathroom."
Who is he? Did he have a career before this? Did he just decide to put on a lampshade and record weird country songs? Does it matter? Rumour has it that he's the drummer from a BC punk band, which wouldn't surprise me, as most artists don't just burst onto the scene with a flawless album and a weird-as-shit persona.
The most recent time I saw him was earlier this month, and I am pleased to report that 1) he had a new song and I love it, and 2) he finally played my favourite song off the album (posted below) live. Apparently he was in a bad place when he wrote it but the whole career-taking-off thing has put him in enough of a good mood that he can play it in public. A warning that while the video is not exactly NSFW, it's pretty much an extended visual pun about homoerotic subtext in Westerns so maybe don't watch it if your boss is going to walk by.
So that's the new and new-ish music I listened to in 2019. Got any recommendations for me?
1) Being under the kind of stress that makes memory a challenging thing right now
2) Having very little time before I leave the country to do a number of time-critical tasks
3) Not coping well with the whole concept of "this isn't just the end of the year, this is the end of the decade"
This said, I'm not going to attempt to pick a top anything; I'm just going to talk about stuff I liked this year that I'd recommend and focusing on newish (though not exclusively) 2019 releases. Starting with music!
Tanya Tagaq, Toothsayer
2019 has been so long that I forgot that one of my favourite living artists released a new album. Well, an EP, anyway. What can I say about Tanya Tagaq that I haven't said already? If you have ignored my two million posts about how she's one of the most brilliant musicians of our time, perhaps I can interest you in checking out her work now.
GLORYHAMMER, Legends From Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex
Now that we've all had a good cry, here is something to cheer you up: GLORYHAMMER released a new album. This time, it takes place in an alternate universe Fife ruled by the evil sorcerer Zargothrax, and legendary hero Angus McFife the 13th's hammer giggle no longer works giggle. There are a lot of songs about giant hammers. Here is one of them:
Nora Keyes, Songs To Cry By In the Golden Age Of Nothing
This is a new-to-me one rather than a new release. Brechtian cabaret sung by a swamp witch. You're welcome. Thanks to @lapinlunaire for introducing me to her.
Lil Nas X, 7
A phenomenal debut, Lil Nas X has done the unthinkable. No, not being the first queer, Black hip hop fusion artist to top the country charts, though that's impressive, don't get me wrong. But he also made Billy Ray Cyrus record a good song. Is there nothing he can't do?
I suspect this whole EP is a joke about people who say they like all music except country and rap. If you have a kid, they probably played "Old Town Road" on repeat. It's really catchy and also musically complex and layered and is one of those cases where I like something that is also deservedly popular.
Algiers, The Underside of Power
This is another new-to-me one; I didn't realize that the truly weird and inventive Algiers released a second album in 2017. It's much more in-your-face political than their debut, especially the title track. It doesn't really sound like anything else I've ever heard. I love it.
Leonard Cohen, Thanks For the Dance
Did you think death would stop Leonard Cohen from releasing a new album? Of course not; he's Leonard Fucking Cohen.
I feel very mixed about this one; on the one hand, it's a new Leonard Cohen album. It's like having a dead loved one visit you in a dream and tell you something that your unconscious mind couldn't have possibly have made up on its own. On the other hand, as an album of Leonard Cohen poetry, it works pretty well, but most of the tracks aren't songs per se. You Want It Darker was the perfect note to end his life and career on, and while I'm really happy to hear his voice and words again, it feels a bit unfinished. Other than this one:
Finally, I said I wouldn't pick a favourite, but there is one debut album that I've listened to on repeat since it came out, and one artist I've seen in concert three times this year.
Orville Peck, Pony
I have raved about Orville Peck in previous posts, but if I had to pick an album of the year, it would be this one. I think my description was something to the effect of "Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak trading handjobs in a truck stop bathroom."
Who is he? Did he have a career before this? Did he just decide to put on a lampshade and record weird country songs? Does it matter? Rumour has it that he's the drummer from a BC punk band, which wouldn't surprise me, as most artists don't just burst onto the scene with a flawless album and a weird-as-shit persona.
The most recent time I saw him was earlier this month, and I am pleased to report that 1) he had a new song and I love it, and 2) he finally played my favourite song off the album (posted below) live. Apparently he was in a bad place when he wrote it but the whole career-taking-off thing has put him in enough of a good mood that he can play it in public. A warning that while the video is not exactly NSFW, it's pretty much an extended visual pun about homoerotic subtext in Westerns so maybe don't watch it if your boss is going to walk by.
So that's the new and new-ish music I listened to in 2019. Got any recommendations for me?
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Date: 2019-12-21 03:53 pm (UTC)And old town road....my six year old might have played it for me approximately eleventy million times this year. :P
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Date: 2019-12-21 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-22 01:55 am (UTC)I love the parallels between hip hop and country. I made a playlist for
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Date: 2019-12-22 04:24 am (UTC)I don't tend to keep on top of what's happening with the country charts, except for when it's something like this that made regular headlines, but fortunately I have a friend who does and she keeps me informed of new good acts.
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Date: 2019-12-22 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-22 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-28 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-28 01:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-28 03:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-22 06:55 pm (UTC)https://theboot.com/orville-peck-nothing-fades-like-the-light-music-video/?fbclid=IwAR3PUDrg_XpnqjDTVXp_9ppXOGbbt9cisFu7NkOpcilFN5jn1vjitLJI0_I
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Date: 2019-12-22 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-28 01:35 am (UTC)https://www.stickinthewheel.com/videos
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Date: 2019-12-28 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-04 09:28 pm (UTC)