Summer Favorites 2k23
the boys are back in town (and the boys in question are my blog posts)
I’m baaaack! Another friend-filled Fringe show under my belt, I’m ready to reclaim some free time — and also fill some of that free time with writing. And other projects! I’m adopting cats! I’m writing riffs that I can’t actually play! I’m trying to get a normal human amount of sleep! Here’s what else I’ve been listening to, doing, and loving over the past few months.
the new horrendous album
I caught Horrendous live this past winter, at Subterranean Dissonance Fest in Philly. I loved the entire festival — it was experimental, queer, and rich with DIY spirit, with artists mingling through sweat-drenched crowds between sets, and local food and beer fueling each moment of the madness. The lineup was insanely stacked; Horrendous had not been my most anticipated act, but they ended up being my favorite. Their brand of death metal is as vicious as it is joyful — they’ve got the kind of spite that earns victories and that rebounds, instantly, from moments of defeat.
I have a lot of trouble quieting my thoughts. I’ve always been this way, scribbling madly at church pews trying - hard as hell - to still my worries long enough to hear God. I don’t have to try at metal shows. I don’t have to worry. God is right there, doing the work for me, rattling my ribs and sending righteous rockets from my toes to the roots of my self-cut hair. I stand still. I listen. I feel like myself and like nothing at all.
During Horrendous’s set, I felt like I was watching death metal be born. And really, there’s some truth to this; Their sound is heavily rooted in the thrashy roots of the genre, with playful, Death-worship prog keeping their sinister ship aloft. But I also got to hear them play cuts from their (then) upcoming album for the first time. They made a quip (that I can’t for the life of me find recorded online) about shifting from the darkness to the light on this new record. I can’t tell whether it was earnest or a jab at all the darkness that remained… but the new stuff sure does feel like a celebration to me!
As a newly official Philadelphian, I’m proud to call the band locals now. They’re the best death metal outfit at it today, and exploring their new record in the earliest weeks of my move to the city felt practically cinematic. Re-learning to parallel park as a 25-year-old. Deftly evading stand-still Phillies traffic. Summoning up the energy for rehearsals and workouts after work days from hell. These and other little victories that felt enormous.
TWICE [and then k-pop in general]
I went to see TWICE with my little sibling this summer — I hadn’t known their music before being invited, but I’m always eager to try something new. Especially when it comes to music. I asked for a playlist, and told them that if I liked it, we’d go to the concert in East Rutherford. And I did, of course, so we went.
Falling in love with K-Pop has taught me a lot about what makes pop music work, as well as what often makes western pop music ring hollow. For example: I don’t need to immediately understand the lyrics for a hook to be addictive as hell! Pop music is about world-building, at the end of the day — Taylor Swift be damned, I don’t need to hear your life story to want a VIP invite to your utopic party. And TWICE’s party is full of stellar production, endless, interlocking grooves, and just the right amount of singalong (and dancealong) charm.
Moreover, my TWICE deep dive helped me realize how delightful unabashed, unironic, joyful femininity can be! There’s no dark Lana Del Rey undertone to their more flirtatious numbers. There’s no legacy of harm woven into their songs about sex. And frankly, there’s a refreshing lack of hyperpop irony baked into the batter — Though this deep dive did help me understand how cutting edge and influential K-Pop producers have been on the last decade of “cool” American pop music.
Is this a true or realistic take on female interiority? Maybe not always. But is it celebratory, liberating, and resonant as hell? Fuck yeah!
I don’t listen to pop music because I want to think about my life. I listen to pop music because I want to escape. I want to imagine a world where desire is playful and being femme is a well of never-ending, empowering magic. Where crushes in adulthood are as full of fresh excitement as they are in the pre-teen years, wellsprings of neverending possibility. Where sisterhood is steadfast and questions of desire have easy answers. You’ve got two choices…Yes or yes?
alice in chains [but especially “dirt”]
I couldn’t be later to this party. It’s embarrassing. I grew up in a super overprotective religious household, guys. I didn’t get to discover this shit as a teen! But holy Good God in Heaven is “Dirt” a perfect album. Not only for its grimy tone and citrus-sour hooks, but for the weird amount of fun it packs into its odes to death and self-loathing. The history of the band in mind, this record has all the makings of a difficult and devastating listen. But instead, it feels victorious — There’s a sense of defiance to each dire account of self-destruction, a bold toast to life in each allusion to death. It’s hard to avoid falling in love with Layne Staley’s spirit, here, to celebrate his heart despite the direly prescient content of the songs.
Oh yeah: And the harmonies here are straight out of sixties sunshine pop. Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me earlier? The union of delicious vocal harmonies with rich, metallic soundscapes is a match made in heaven. This scratches the itches of nearly all my musical genre cravings at once. It’s beyond infectious.
People shit on anything “alt metal” or “nu metal” adjacent, for the same reasons I love a lot of the work that’s come out of that scene. There’s a level of total, unpretentious authenticity that flows like blood through the veins of these records. Some of it’s good. Some of it’s bad. Pick your poison and chart a map yourself. And if you’re turned off by un-self-conscious fun, take another road.
lars gotrich’s “roséwave” playlists
I’m usually an album fiend. I leave books unfinished, or read 10 at once. I start and stop TV show binges the second I get bored. I leave half-done meals for leftovers and snack myself into oblivion later…But I always try to finish an album once I start. It builds character. (Or maybe I need to see a psychiatrist. It’s all about perspective.)
But this summer, I’ve been loving a good playlist. I’ve done tons of driving, between travel and moving and my newfound commute, and have also spent hours putting together IKEA furniture and prepping my new space. I reached a point where queuing up albums becomes a source of stress, or a waste of valuable time. And it’s at that point I learned: A good playlist can be life-changing.
Lars Gotrich, an NPR staff writer whose Twitter presence I’ve enjoyed for years, released his annual “Roséwave” playlist this past July. It’s a self-described ode to the “infinite feels and fizz” of summer, spanning genres and countries for a total experience that feels almost too good to be true. Are there drugs in here? Actual rosé perhaps? Jury’s still out.
This year was the first time this series of playlists was on my radar, and I’ve since gone back to explore the installments of the past. They’re all great. Try one out at your next event.
Weddings. Funerals. Bar mitzvahs. No notes.
chappell roan
In the video for “Pink Pony Club”, a young Chappell Roan stands, quietly apprehensive, on the stage of a dive bar full of bikers. The crowd talks over her as she timidly takes the stand, decked out in a sparkly mini dress and cowboy boots. It’s Tennessee cosplay but it’s also got the trappings of drag. And when her voice first emerges, it’s musical theater. Extended vowels and perfect pitch and fantastical “I want” balladry. Gawwwwwddddd what have you done?
The male gaze that falls on her feels painfully present — As Chappell sings about dancing at a strip club, the leers of her audience feel loaded and restrictive. What do they expect to happen? What do we? But at the song’s end, the scene transforms into a riotous leather bar, with Roan stepping into a bold, empowered role.
Before, the eyes on her seemed to objectify her, her image reflected in the eyes of those passive, awkward spectators. But now, she’s in the driver’s seat and she’s emcee-ing a jubilant party. It’s Chappell Roan’s world, and the bar patrons are just living in it. And honestly? I am too — I can’t remember the last time a new pop star made me so desperately want to join in and sing.
I’ll probably have a longer piece on Chappell out in the coming weeks, as her debut record The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is due on shelves a week from today. Until then: Stream her singles! Watch her videos! She’s the next big thing. You heard it here first.
Thank you, as always, for tuning in — Learning to take breaks and let my focus shift from project to project has been crucial to my well-being this year. I can’t do everything all at once. I wish I could! I’ve really tried to.
I’m wrapping this post over coffee by an open window. It feels like fall today, and it’s got me inspired to churn out new work and revisit old favs. September will never not be a giant nest for nostalgia in my life. School’s back! Never mind that I’m not a student anymore. I work at a school! I’m supposed to be doing something new now, right? I’m supposed to be learning something?
Next week, maybe I’ll start sharing some topical autumn stories. Or maybe I’ll review the concert I’m going to on Thursday night…Who’s to say?
I hope your summers were spectacular. I hope your falls are even better. I hope you get to take a break next time you need one.
Clare