Stuck On Repeat / #72
01 20 2012
Below is the latest edition of our weekly feature, Stuck On Repeat. The premise is simple, we’ve asked all our contributors to submit one track and a brief write-up. The track can be new or it can be old, just whatever we could not stop listening to this week. These are the songs we’ve had Stuck On Repeat.
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SELECTED BY: V–MATTHEW DEAR – AROUND A FOUNTAIN
My obsession with Matthew Dear annoys even me. My love of his music (and ok, his looks) has reached a point where I’m an admitted sappy fangirl wearing blinders who’s long lost the ability to critique his output. All I’ve got left is an endless stream of synonyms for love, and a variety of high-pitched squeals. Those that weren’t happy to hear Dear embrace pop with Black City will let out screams of frustration over his newest EP, Headcage. Not only is Dear sticking with pop, but he’s defrosting the longtime icy sheen that’s characterized his music, revealing a garden of vibrant, psychedelic blooms bursting with life and emotion. The closing track off Headcage “Around A Fountain” showcases this new side of Matthew Dear. The melody and the production are treated with equal importance, and in the company of warmer, more organic sounds, the vague language of his lyrics become poetry. It feels big, significant, the kind of track you imagine as the soundtrack to one of your life’s defining moments. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get this drool puddle wiped up.
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SELECTED BY: MONEYWORTH–SIBIAN & FAUN – I’M SORRY
I’m kind of bummed because it seems like the whole fucked-up-R&B-samples thing that dominated 2011 is now wearing rather thin. One of my favorite 2011 Best Of lists, FACT’s 50 Best Albums, put it best in their write-up of Damu’s “Unity”: “White boys sampling Aaliyah records they never liked the first time around in a sea of beige.” Ouch, but not off the mark. If you’ve followed my Stuck On Repeat selections this past year you know I pretty much rode or died for the R&B-sampling bass music trend, but far too many people jumped on the bandwagon in a year dominated by alternative R&B (I can list off the top of my head at least six flips of Brandy’s “I Wanna Be Down” from last year alone), and unfortunately it’s to the point that it now sounds a bit trite if not done to perfection. Thank god for Montreal duo Sibian & Faun and their debut single, “I’m Sorry”, on Numbers. They cut up and re-pitch Ashanti’s “Hey Baby” and it by all means shouldn’t sound as fresh, well-crafted, and necessary as it does. It gives me chills.
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SELECTED BY: JAMS DEAN–SUPERTOY – THE LOBSTER JAM
Coming up next in the never-ending line of new Chicago rap releases is the homie Supertoy. According to the rapper/producer himself, Supertoy is “trying to be the middle ground between Steely Dan and UGK if that makes sense, but really inspired by kid’s television and the science behind the sounds they use, and how engaging they can be”. That description sounds fun enough for me, and anyone who is inspired by kid’s television shows gets a free pass in my book. Supertoy’s new album Lobster is the second in a trilogy of solo projects (Panther, Lobster, Giraffe) and will be released January 25th, with a release party at Cole’s on the 28th. Check out Toyfactory for a slew of fun music videos, audio and things to look at.
