Hi, I'm Erin. Some of my musical interests include:
Trying to understand what can make a cover more appealing than the original
Genre mashups and oddities
Appreciating lyrics as poetry
Electronic music cribbing from and remixing older conventions
Poking fun at myself for the stuff that makes up the soundtracks to different stages of my life
Hope Sandoval's ethereal voice and that dreamy slide guitar make Quiet, The Winter Harbor both a song to feel wistful to, or to dance in the living room with the lights down low
I can't believe I missed Ibeyi's newest album when it was released last year. Their self-titled debut is really good but Ash is even better. It combines Afro Cuban, South American, and Nigerian music and instruments with synthy trip hop and spoken word in the same way Sudan Archives puts together traditional music with current day sounds and lyrics.
Damn, is Sink (Sudan Archives' new album) ever good. Lots of big blunt open sounds with airy pauses around them, and choppy almost improvisational beats. She's got a fabulous mellow voice, too. It's got the same sort of register and confident slow roll of Solange or India.Arie. Just fantastic.
#Weirdbrainradio started in on Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus just now, and I realized it’s one of those songs I think is way better gender swapped.
Of course Mary Lambert did a version which is beautifully slow and more soulful. I’d love to hear her or a similar voice with more up-tempo version. https://youtu.be/sZi69cid9ak
"The acoustic sand I’m interested in is rare sand that generates a deep hum when it is put in motion, whether by the wind or by your hand. This acoustic sand occurs only in a few remote locations around the world: a hill in the desert of Mongolia and an area in the middle of the Namib Desert, to name a few. Sliding these layers of sand over one other generates vibrations that emit a deep, low rumbling pitch. This principle can be compared to a bow striking a cello string. In volume, this concert of sand can be as loud as the sound of a helicopter flying over your head."
Dutch artist Lotte Geeven is collecting singing sand from deserts across the world. Interview with sound clips.
"Imagine that you and I were standing in the middle of the desert right now, and all of a sudden the wind rose, making the whole desertscape around us hum like a gigantic brass band. We would be in total awe. We would tell that story, and it would make its way into local culture because of its extraordinary nature."
https://www.guernicamag.com/lotte-geeven-crowdsourcing-the-songs-of-sand/
#art #soundart
"The Scientist" by Coldplay could be a good song. It's got an all right melody, and the lyrics are solid. But, Chris Martin's voice does not do it for me. However, there are a few covers that manage to pull together tempo and sadness and even though I can't call any of them great, one lyric stands out: "I was just guessing at numbers and figures/Pulling the puzzles apart/Questions of science, science and progress/Do not speak as loud as my heart." Who hasn't wanted something that can't be explained with a formula, and doesn't make sense?
If you were sentient in 1993, I will accept your thanks now for directing you to this episode of Song Exploder in which Liz Phair unpacks the creation of Divorce Song (and generally the album Exile in Guyville). And if you weren't yet sentient then, maybe give it a listen and imagine how badly we needed her voice.
https://www.wbez.org/shows/song-exploder/liz-phair-divorce-song/6e16ee78-87ff-4d6e-847b-b8ca268d1dd0
“Dirty Computers! Feel what it’s like to be cleaned, and update your playlists with me.”
Lana Del Rey is on the stereo tonight because I needed something baroque and dreamy, easy to listen to, and sultry and languid to go with ice cubes clinking against each other in a smokey glass tumbler.
An amazing collab: avant-garde Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq and Damien Abraham of hardcore band Fucked Up cover Iron Maiden's "Run for the Hills" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=610qI7EuJ9c (via @nataliezed@twitter.com)
Both artists are former Polaris Prize winners—Fucked Up in 2009, Tagaq in 2014. I've thought for a long time that they should do a thing together!
The Dirty Computer tracklist reveal, with the inspirations for each song- http://jmonae.com/iamadirtycomputer/
If Janelle Monáe doesn't get nominated for a Hugo, I'm going to flip all the tables.
dreamy super elevator music
Disclaimer: If a band stylizes their name with a V in place of a U, I'm drawn to it and get disappointed if their music is bad. It's probably good I have a fondness for pop, witch house, and weird metal.
Earlier this evening, I was in a shitty dark mood, and gave a half-hearted attempt at finding something new on Bandcamp to cheer myself up, and if I couldn't do that I was going to fully lean into being miserable. Unreqvited was featured on the front page, and atmospheric post-black metal sounded like I could at least be angry along with it. I was wrong. Stars Wept to The Sea has a lot of pieces that begin almost like a cinematic score or unexpectedly gentle ambient, then build a crushing crash of metal and sustained walls of sound.
https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/stars-wept-to-the-sea
After not thinking about this band in a long time, someone here posted a picture of a Now! album with Blessid Union of Souls listed on the cover. Then, Hey Leonardo! was playing at the grocery store, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Anyway, enjoy a list (from 2013) of all the out of date references in a song from 1999. https://sidespin.kinja.com/an-in-depth-analysis-of-the-out-of-date-cultural-refere-505577674
79 - Sam Roberts, "Brother Down" Show more
80 - Glass Tiger, "Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone" Show more
The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-30-best-dream-pop-albums/ via @pitchfork
