today for the first time since december, beyonce’s ‘drunk in love’ came on a playlist and i skipped it.
to honor this completion of a small complicated era of obsessive listening, i thought it would be nice to share what else i have been tuning into. what you will see below is mostly pop, which is my favorite music for spring, and other seasons.
these are not critical reviews, it’s not even really a set of recommendations. it’s just what i like right now as i procrastinate on a piece of writing:
1. sam smith, nirvana – been listening to his EP and everything else i have been able to find on spotify and youtube. his voice is perfection, his live performances show it isn’t a fluke or a gimmick – it’s really that pretty. he reminds of my friend mike in the sense that they both evoke the cool of boy george with a bit more husk to their spirits. the songwriting is solid – just a pleasing experience. highlight: the dj premier remix of ‘latch’.
2. latasha lee & the black ties – found the lead singer a while back through an indie black women singers list posted on forharriet, but i’m really diving in now. she reminds me a lot of amy winehouse and a little bit of one of my favorite people, my friend janine. the group is giving us modern subject matter through a timeless sonic lens that both samples melodic lines from and gives funky reference to the temptations, the jets, mint condition, sam cooke – they’re just wonderful, her voice is time traveling. highlight: stuck in my mind.
3. feist, metals – somehow this album came out and i missed it, even though i wore “the reminder” out. but lynnee found it and it’s so magnificent. her songs are complex but sound simple and spare and emotive. so good. highlight: the circle married the line.
as a mood album, i’m enjoying beck, morning phase. this album picks up the journey he began with sea changes, which is just a soft transformative soundtrack.
i also want to mention these songs/folks who are good on a playlist, though not necessarily blowing me away: imagine dragon (though if you add kendrick lamar to ‘radioactive’, i’m blown away), lorde (excited to hear her when she’s 35), pharrell (the best song off g.i.r.l. imho is ‘brand new’ with justin timberlake), aloe blacc’s ‘the man’, jessie j’s ‘who you are’ (and nothing else so far except her cover of ‘we found love‘), mr v’s ‘go downtown’ when i need to blush, and the national’s ‘graceless’ when i need to feel human.
oh and guilty pleasure: shakirihanna’s ‘can’t remember to forget you’ (just ignore the silly video).
who y’all listening to and loving these days?