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.
:: selected by: V :: Abe Vigoda – November
Abe Vigoda‘s new album, Crush, is a drastic deviation from the tropical DIY punk sounds of the band’s previous releases. Punk sensibilities remain, but find new influence in the glamor punk of the New Romantics, over guitar rock mingled with synthpop. I think a lot of longtime Abe Vigoda fans are really pissed at this album, but never having been a fan of their previous releases, it makes it easy to relish Crush in a singular context. “November” is a contender for my track of the year, more guitar-driven than many of Crush‘s selections, flooded with lyrical delivery of lovesick teenage heartache. Drag me across the sky.
:: selected by: BryanB :: Wise Blood – Here Comes The Sun
Sometimes the simplest of premises can produce the happiest noises. Repeat a slice of The Beatles‘ “Hello Goodbye” over and over again, throw in some oscillating effects and top it off with an inspirational sample of some girl telling you to hold on, everything will be ok. And just like that, it’s gone and you want to hear it again and again. Two more things of note: Wise Blood‘s EP is free at Bandcamp, and their accompanying video is pretty tripped-out as well.
:: selected by: Jams Dean :: Foals – Spanish Sahara (Deadboy Remix)
This Foals‘ remix hasn’t left my mind or my ears. Its a song that turns down the volume on everything else in life and forces you to reflect, or at least pay attention. Its that thin balance in music that so many fail at: the stillness that only comes in the aftermath of a tragedy. The revolving drums keep the pace moving without waiting for the rest of the band, and the icy vocals respond with distance. Its almost as if the singer is too self-indulged in his own pain to notice the quickly churning world that is happening around him. A perfect song to listen to in the middle of a busy street, especially when no one is stopping for anyone, especially you.
:: selected by: Moneyworth :: Gucci Mane – Haterade (ft. Nicki Minaj & Pharrell)
I don’t think I “get” Gucci Mane. His gravelly, somewhat… err, autistic-sounding drawl is definitely a fantastic template for remixes (by Diplo, Atrak, the like), I enjoy the hi-hat rolls that tend to ebb and flow in his beats, and I am a huge admirer of his chain collection (the Odie chain is on point ). However, the general inanity of his raps, while all in good fun, combined with his monotone snail-paced flow just doesn’t really do it for me. It just sounds dumb. Maybe I’m missing something. Anyway, I had to listen to “Haterade,” off his new album The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted because Nicki is in it, and to my pleasant surprise, when Gucci raps fast, he sounds great! Add in Pharrell, who can really do no wrong, a solid (not amazing, but solid) Nicki verse, and the fact that this is a song about Haterade. This song rules. S’GUCCI!
