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we’re making things a bit more upbeat this week with a collection of songs that make you want to nod your head with vigor or get up and dance in your apartment and forget that our generation is too poor to buy a home! we start off with a new release from my favorite British rockers, Everything Everything, and then move swiftly through some ethereal funk, tech jazz, Spanish shoegaze, and a whole lot more. but first some headlines….

headliners

YOU’RE LOOKING AT TIKTOK ALL WRONG (The Atlantic)

how many times does the music industry have to make the same mistake. in the early 2010’s, when Spotify was rising in prominence, labels fought as hard as they could to resist. at the end of the day, the better user experience (music streaming) prevailed. big surprise. now the industry is once again biting the hand and 100% missing the point. TikTok has the upper hand, is fueled by independent creators, and they will continue to create regardless of access to T-Swift’s music. this article from the Atlantic details how TikTok has evolved beyond dependence on music and is stronger for it. i’m not thrilled about this situation, but it’s only a matter of time until UMG comes crawling back…

A BAND I DON’T LIKE RELEASED AN ALBUM

only one time in my life has seeing a band live completely shattered my glowing perception of them. sometimes you go into a show prepared, knowing that the person behind the mic is kind of a piece of shit, and you’re rolling with it. in this case, i didn’t know what to expect, and i hated it. i really did. Yard Act rolled through NY on their debut US tour over a year ago and i wanted to take their mics and flush em’ down the toilet. the band positions itself as punk, anti-establishment trailblazers, but their stage presence comes off as a heavily coordinated dance that was choreographed by industry money. the singer flaunted a shit-eating grin of entitlement for the entirety of the show, and kept saying “what’s up Bushwick!?” and eventually voiced dismay when no one at the show actually grew up Bushwick (shocker!!) He then went on a 5 minute diatribe about “loving thy neighbor” before leaving the stage and coming back for an encore that no one wanted or asked for.

rant over. i’m not listening to their new album. it probably isn’t bad. i’m just bitter.

best new albums

rated on a scale of “👍really good” to “👍👍👍 really really really good”

💿 Mountainhead by Everything Everything (clean, tight, concept rock)
👍👍 really really good - a return to form for a ideological, high concept British rock band that writes huge, soaring songs, and know how to have fun
⭐ Standout Tracks: “Buddy, Come Over” “The Mad Stone” “Dagger’s Edge”

💿 2 by Coco (textured chill rock)
👍👍 really really good - sophomore effort from a chill, highly textured rock outfit that knows when to hang back and when to drop a dope sax solo
⭐ Standout Tracks: “Moodrings” “Precious Things” “Wheel” “Cora Lu”

💿 All Life Long by Kali Malone (experimental, brass)
👍 really really good - this album is a journey that demands you close your eyes, crank the volume to 11, and get lost in a sea of melodramatic sound
⭐ Standout Tracks: “No Sun to Burn” “Prisoned on Watery Shore” “Moving Forward”

ten good songs

bonus tracks

• Dan Brown (author of the Da Vinci Code) started his career in music. One of his songs is called “Happy Frogs”

• Somebody remixed Blink-182’s new album so that it sounds good

• Danny Brown’s NPR interview on Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me was really funny (starts at 21:45)