Listening Diary 17

Brave Nü World

Hello! Here are ten tunes that I enjoyed listening to recently. Sometimes these collections feature songs from my research for Drumming Upstream. Not this time! Instead, all of these tunes come from my backlog. Enjoy some hot selections of the best music from, uh, 2022. This collection also features a disproportionate amount of nü-metal in it, so buckle up if that’s your speed. But none of these tunes beyond the first two will be your speed unless you’re a paying subscriber. Subscribe now to receive recommendations like these and other periodic bonuses, or continue your day tuneless. Choose wisely

“Wants & Needs” by THICK (Happy Now, 2022)

Nothing too complicated here, just a great chorus and a charmingly straightforward rock arrangement. I jammed with the singer and guitarist of THICK once. It was right before lockdown and I was playing in a Blink-182 cover band for a Bernie Sanders fundraiser. Nikki from THICK joined us for the lead guitar on ‘What’s My Age Again”. That whole night felt cosmically cursed like few other gigs in my lifetime, but I’ve enjoyed keeping up with what THICK have been up to since. Silver linings.

“Money” by JID (The Forever Story, 2022)

Ironic, edgy use of children singing + chopped up soul guitar stabs + twitchy, funny rapping = I’m in. JID sounds like he raps fast because he’s trying to fit in all of his best ideas and has the skills to fit the words in, rather than rapping quickly to prove that he can fit the words in. It might be a minor distinction if you find this kind of motor-mouth stuff annoying on the whole, but it makes a world of difference to me.