Okay I may have posted many tributes to Good Hating, as opposed to Weird Bad Hating which is the chief export of weirdo manosphere podcasters and Star Wars baby-man fans.
Lately whenever I hear something I dislike, I've defaulted to wondering if I'm the problem, not the track. Especially with so many weird and cool monoculture surprises hitting in 2024, I've been reticent to say "fuck that" and move on; I don't care about yucking anyone's yum – fuck your yum, pal – but I've been getting stuck on wondering what my block is when hearing a new song, especially anything with hype/energy around it.
Maybe it's a spring cleaning of my own taste – I'd love to hear if any of you have gone through the same reassessment with your own taste, and what surprising tracks you loved on the other side.
Either way, here are some links that are definitely good:
A Kanye & Real Estate collab, but not music – This story about Kanye’s work to strip down and ultimately fuck up a Tadao Ando house in Malibu is sort of a perfect microcosm of Kanye’s whole deal in 2024. There are quotable lines for days, too – (“How do you spell Mies van der Rohe?”)
Politico to Post-Punk – Eli Enis’ interview with Ekko Astral’s Jael Holzman is fascinating – Holzman was formerly a journalist at Axios and Politico, and hearing how that experience impacted and differs from their blistering post-punk in Ekko Astral is fascinating, as well as their criticism on how trans health coverage is sidelined as “culture war” content. The last question in the (lengthy) Q&A is a great exploration of how culture and politics intersect – “I've written news articles that have led to congressional investigations, Inspector General investigations. I have made people in the White House Press Office freak out. I have done all of that, and not any of it has had anywhere near the amount of impact on people that Pink Balloons has.”
Ok it’s not music but it IS a big wet pile of money – the homie Allie Conti talked to the magnet fishers who found $70,000 in a river in Queens, and what it’ll take to get the damaged dollars back in usable form from the government.
As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
Floating Points – Del Oro
Another Floating Points track in full 4/4 banger mode! It’s not quite as hedonistic as “Birth4000,” his Cerrone-via-Chicago track from last year that made my best of 2023, but “Del Oro” still sticks to the dumb-is-more lane, covered in swirls of chirping West Coast synthesis and a syrupy bass drop at 3:43.
slic – WEEEEU
No one is doing floating, gritty minimalism in NYC like Slic, who dropped a new single ahead of their debut LP Unbearable Heat out this September. I was fortunate enough to hear a rough mix of “WEEEEU” a few weeks ago, and even then, the song’s propulsive optimism and wonky tones made for a compelling combination, like a bright club banger torn up and reassembled with an unexpected center of gravity.
bar italia – drumstart
This is actually the first bar italia song that’s hit for me, partially due to my current heavy-on-the-noise indie rock diet (RIP Steve Albini, again). The track’s sing-song melody barely turns into a chorus, but the deadpan delivery planky chords and end “solo” that gives Young Marble Giants at early AM afters all add up to more than the sum of their parts.
Jamie XX – Treat Each Other Right
So happy to get the news of a new Jamie XX LP – it’s hard to believe In Colour is almost 10 years old at this point, especially since it still sounds so fresh in 2024. “Treat Each Other Right” starts where you’d expect a big UK jam to start, only to drop into a somehow bigger, more luscious chipmunk soul cut before the vocal is chopped into oblivion for the dancefloor. S/O to the Gordon Ramsay cameo in the video??
Charli XCX – Spring Breakers
What, like I wasn’t going to include something from this LP? I like BRAT fine, but I’m more thrilled for additional energy in the pop vibe shift alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. “Spring Breakers” is pure chaos in the vein of BRAT’s “Mean Girls” and “365,” closing out the bonus edition of the record, which also includes a primo greasy club track produced by friend of the newsletter the Dare. That said, I might like Meaghan Garvey’s BNM review of the record better than the LP itself for its vibrant, bright writing and fun take on the 2024 state of pop?
throwback
Luther Vandross – Gino’s Commercial
This gem of a local commercial sung by Luther Vandross was new to me thanks to Ross Scarano’s excellent article on the Luther reissue in the NYT last week. The piece has great quotes and anecdotes from Nile Rodgers, Carlos Alomar and many more in Vandross’ orbit – but Luther singing the shit out of this commercial is what stuck with me most, if only to hear how brilliant his touch was, even in a silly one-off gig. RIP.