Django Plasmax's profile picture

Published by

published

Category: Music

2024 Album-A-Day: Week 49


San Francisco work it out!

I don't know, man.

Playlist, AOTY, let's get to it.

December 2nd: FLYGOD by Westside Gunn

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM. AYO. I SOLD CRACK TO A PINE TREE. That Hivemind bit was, in fact, my first exposure to Westside Gunn. My second was listening to the song "Lunchin'" to see if that bit was accurate. Now, after listening to a full album of Westside Gunn, I can safely say: not entirely off. That bit apparently made Westside Gunn kind of angry, but I digress. The beats are the first thing to stick out to me on this record; they're jazzy and have a clear influence from New York's boom-bap scene, and I would happily listen to any rapper flow over these. Gunn himself is reasonably charismatic and has some pretty solid lyrics, but his squeaky voice and ad-libs can get a little bit annoying sometimes. Fortunately, the album is stacked with features from people like Conway the Machine and Danny Brown. I don't know how often I'll return to these songs, but I'm probably not going to turn them off when they come on when I put all my Tracks on shuffle. My favorite was "Omar's Coming," at least partially because I've been watching The Wire. All in the game, yo.

December 3rd: The Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow

This was my first time listening to Elbow, and previously my only knowledge of them was people comparing them to Radiohead, one of my favorite bands, even if Thom is being an ass right now on certain subjects (FREE PALESTINE). Anyway, this band does remind me of Radiohead sometimes ("The Bones of You," "Mirrorball."), but also of Nick Cave ("An Audience with the Pope," "The Fix"), Sea Power (Guy Garvey's voice on every single song) and Muse ("Grounds For Divorce"). It's so meticulously crafted, sonically diverse, and right up my alley that I'm sure to dive more into this band at a later date. "Mirrorball" was my favorite.

December 4th: A Sailor's Guide To Earth by Sturgill Simpson

I could see myself getting pretty into Sturgill Simpson. He kind of reminds me of the non-Jason Isbell members of Drive-By Truckers, but he also has a soul/gospel bent to him that makes him stand out. This is also a concept album about his son and wanting to teach him about the world and keep him safe, and that comes through in many forms, such as the gentle introduction on "Welcome to Earth (Pollywog)," the pragmatic life advice of "Keep It Between The Lines," and the classic dad-stories of "Sea Stories." In addition, Simpson, unlike much modern country, knows how to use a pedal-steel tastefully. This is an album I'm sure to return to. My favorite track was "Sea Stories," although it could easily have been "Breakers Roar."

December 5th: The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman

I once took a History of Jazz class, and my final project was to write about a documentary called "1959: The Year That Changed Jazz," and this album was the only album discussed in the doc that I had not heard (The other three were Kind of Blue, Mingus Ah Um, and Take Five). I went in expecting this album to be really avant-garde and confrontational, but it was a lot more accessible than I expected, but still experimental. For example, Coleman's quartet did not feature any polyphonic instruments, so the music is melody focused and features a lot of trading solos. It's engaging and heady, but not excessively dense. My favorite was "Peace," though it was a touch choice.

December 6th: The Inner Mounting Flame by Mahavishnu Orchestra

I don't remember when I put this one on the list, but I'm glad I did. This jazz-fusion-prog-rock band was completely unfamiliar to me, and for some reason I was expecting something a lot softer, but I ended up getting a lot of shredding and improvisation. One song you have this serene jazz fusion, the next you have John McLaughlin tearing up the fretboard. It's an album that keeps you on your toes, playing with your expectations. This seems to be what happens when you let a bunch of talented session guys loose after playing on pop records for too long without a chance to show off. "Vital Transformation" was my favorite track.

December 7th: The Fool in her Wedding Gown by the Crane Wives

Before you even hear the music, the moment you see this band's name, it's clear they're fans of the Decemberists, and the album reinforces that. It's driving folk-rock with plenty of banjo and mandolin, but it doesn't veer into Mumford and Sons territory, as is always a risk in post-2009 indie folk. There's songs about love and loss that make it clear that they know what they're talking about, and they have the vocal harmonies to back it up. These are songs that are sure to make my playlist of inspirations for the folk-rock concept album I plan on writing once I've made at least three establishing alternative rock albums with a group I plan on putting together. I chose "Tongues and Teeth" for the playlist.

December 8th: Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite by Maxwell

This is on a lot of "Best of the 90s" lists, and I can totally see why. The neo-soul scene that was big from the late 90s to the early 00s with Erykah Badu and D'Angelo and Lauryn Hill, all of those albums still hold up, and this album is no exception. This album mostly reminds me of D'Angelo, but with more of a polished production and tighter song structures. You still have those smooth guitar licks, slap basslines, and romantic lyrics, all centered around Maxwell's infectious presence. It feels like a sort of best-of-both-worlds of mainstream 90s R&B and the more experimental Neo-soul. My favorite track was "Dancewitme."

django-plasmax.tumblr.com



0 Kudos

Comments

Displaying 0 of 0 comments ( View all | Add Comment )