Listening Diary 4: Halloween Special
Free sample!
Happy Halloween everyone.
This week, in an effort to get into the holiday spirit, I’ve decided to bump this month’s Listening Diary up one day and make it available to the general public. Think of it as a bowl of candy for your ears, reach in and grab as much as you want.
A few reasons for this change in scheduling. Last week I lent my drums to Michael Cormier who had a short run of gigs with Tomberlin on their tour with Tegan & Sara. This meant no chance of recording another entry of Drumming Upstream, though I do have a song ready for filming. You’ll get that one next week.
I considered pulling up one of the drumless tracks to write about instead, but when I listened to the next one on the pile I drew an absolute blank. I think that’s partially the song’s fault, but I’m not blameless either. This project has shown me the limits of my ability to write about ambient music. Luckily with my drums back in the studio I have plenty of other songs to work through before getting back to the drone zone.
Finally, I figured I should let my non-paying readers get a taste of these Listening Diaries so they can make a more informed decision about whether the bonus is worth paying for. I know a lot of people out there aren’t sure where to find new music, especially if they’re trying to stay away from streaming services. If you can relate to that maybe these twice-a-month suggestions can help you out.
But before we get to those tunes (I know I just said “Finally” but hear me out), I have some news items to get out of the way:
This upcoming Friday is Bandcamp Friday. That means that if you buy any of my music or merch on my bandcamp page, all of the proceeds will go directly to me instead of being split with the website. Consider purchasing a nice Lamniformes T-Shirt for yourself or others. Contemplate procuring a Lamniformes cassette, beautifully designed and replete with a special surprise on top of the excellent tunes. Complete your collection with possession of a Lamniformes album in a digital format, personally I’d recommend You Can’t Do This Alone.
This upcoming Saturday I’m playing drums with Bellows at Berlin. We’ve got some new songs and some old favorites on the setlist. We share the bill with No One & The Sombodies, a band that I used to see all the time in high school. It kicks ass that they are still kicking. DIY will never die, etc.
Finally (for real this time), The Human Instrumentality Podcast had an absolute barn burner last week, featuring returning guest Eric Thurm and first time guest Chingy Nea from the fanbyte series “Behind Anime Lines”. Lots of laughs, fist pumps, and labor politics in this episode.
Ok, now onto the tunes.
“嘘みたいなI Love You” by Hikaru Utada (Deep River, 2002)
I still believe in the dream of 2002 - that chopped up distorted guitars belong in every pop song and that every chorus should be the chorus to “Simple And Clean”.
“Inquisition” by Skinny Puppy (Last Rights, 1992)
Revisited this one recently. An old high school favorite. Hellish sample based industrial. Met my first girlfriend at a Skinny Puppy concert. Make of that what you will.
“Apathy Took Helm!” by Vile Creature (Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!, 2020)
When the Canadians start throwing around exclamation points you know it’s about to pop off. Love the mix of the choral vocals and the riffs, especially because they don’t quite gel with each other harmonically. Gives the song an eerie otherworldliness.
“Pommelhorse” by Armand Hammer (Shrines, 2020)
Ming of Harlem is one of my all time favorite “only in New York” news stories. So it is a high compliment when I say that this album lives up to its incredible cover. You could pick any tune from the record for evidence, but this one goes the furthest toward explaining why the duo chose this image.
“Lose Your Love” by Dirty Projectors (Flight Tower, 2020)
Felicia Douglass best Dirty Projectors singer???
“Goodbye to the Factory” by Aloha (Here Comes Everyone, 2004)
Jazzed up indie rock from Ohio. I knew it was a Polyvinyl release within seconds of hitting play. The record gets bogged down in 6/8 ballads, but when it rocks it really rocks. Pitched percussion is a plus, like if Tortoise wrote pop songs.
“Live From The Plantation” by Mr. Lif (I Phantom, 2002)
Rap songs about shitty jobs are a gift. Squelchy Def Jux production, but Lif is a much clearer storyteller than most of the early 00s abstract rap scene. Legit funny stuff.
“Where I’m From” by Jay-Z (In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, 1997)
I’ve been going through the Jay-Z catalog for an upcoming Drumming Upstream entry. Interesting how Jay-Z names Nas as a peer here, in retrospect the beef between the two seems inevitable. Makes going back and tracing the allusions to Nas in Jay-Z’s early work feel like foreshadowing.
“Titanic” by Juice WRLD (Legends Never Die, 2020)
It’s a travesty that chucklefucks like Machinegun Kelly are going to dine out on the pop punk/hip-hop fusion that this guy so effortlessly mastered before passing away. I’m too old to see myself listening to Juice’s stuff that often but he was undeniably a talented melodicist and he would have been in writer’s rooms for as long as he wanted if he lived. A real shame.
“Michigan Hammers” by Protomartyr (Ultimate Success Today, 2020)
Forget emo, the true midwest punk genre is post-punk. The sound of being very angry and not telling anyone about it.
“Post Truth (Birth Of A Nation)” by Crack Cloud (Pain Olympics, 2020)
You can’t stop Canadian bands from having like, 17 members for no reason. Once they start forming a band they never stop. Huge orchestral take on post-punk. Reminded me of Kamasi Washington and Broken Social Scene. There are probably hipper, younger points of reference but I’m way behind on this current youthwave of post-punk.
“Experiment” by Imperial Triumphant (Alphaville, 2020)
Truly a wild move to put the best song on the record in the bonus tracks. I love all the weird gilded era/art deco/big band from hell jazz affectations that Imperial Triumphant add to their tunes, but I really appreciate a song like this where they focus on nailing their death metal fundamentals.
“Come & Get Me” by Jay-Z (Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, 1999)
Ok so I know this album has a reputation for being the most overtly commercial album of Jay’s early period but uh… what the hell is going on with this song?? Two completely distinct beats separated by a noise collage straight out of Sgt. Pepper’s. Has Jay ever talked about what he was going for with that transition? I’ve never heard anything like this on any other record of his. Really strange and a welcome surprise.