Notes
I listened to over 300 songs for the first time from April 1 to June 30. These are my favorites.
Cover image: "Shark, Florida" - Spencer Murphy
I listened to over 300 songs for the first time from April 1 to June 30. These are my favorites.
Cover image: "Shark, Florida" - Spencer Murphy
1 comment on You Know That Ghost is Me
cyrusdespres July 27, 2015
Let's start with UMO since they are the most direct common thread between our Q2 quarterlies. You characterized the album as a hit or miss, but go on to count four or five memorable melodies and espouse the ear candy-making aesthetic? What gives? This album is definitely at the top of the pack to be amongst my favorites of the year. As far as favorites on your Q2 mix, I'll put "Window Pane" at the top, no problem. Due to both their play-on-words names and their senses of yesteryear, Mild High Club and Surface to Air Missive share a common spot in my memory. Where Mild High Club leans into '60s psychedelia, Surface to Air Missive samples a variety of '70s touchstones. What next...I'll take this opportunity to mention that I can't stop thinking about that Open Mike Eagle/Thundercat performance on Hannibal Buress's show. I went online to look for a studio version and was let down to hear the original was recorded without Thundercat. Though, "Qualifiers" stands out on its own merits. I don't know why it didn't stick with me when I gave Dark Comedy a spin earlier this year. To round out my mix comments, I'll simply list more favorites: "Garden of Secrecy," "Oscura Primavera," "Monster Movie," and "Dandelion."
⃠danedespres July 29, 2015
@cyrusdespres Shots fired! I hear you about how Thundercat flipped the "Ziggy Starfish" track; wholeheartedly agree that the riff he adds brings it all together like magic. What I meant by the "memorable melody" note is that I can recall what the song's melody sounds like when I see, hear, or think about the title. That's my current litmus test for "good song" vs. "sounds good". Something's missing for me in much of the album. Maybe I ruined the mystique by reading more about the band, which resulted in me losing the sense that the UMO project had a healthy arch streak. Now I hear unabashed expression where I used to hear a wink and that is less appealing to me, which makes me some kind of repressed jerk. Last thought: I'm a little surprised by your "Garden of Secrecy" pick. I swear that I had to think twice about including it because I thought you'd slam it!
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