At least the title of the post matches the month again. I'm another decade older but I still love music. Here are the highlights from my July listenings...
10 - "Only", RY X
The man responsible for my favourite song of 2014 is back in the rotation with the first cut from his new album, Dawn. Actually, "Berlin" and "Sweat" have been available for public consumption for a while - the LP rounds up some tracks from the Berlin EP and adds some new material link "Only". Click here for a review of the album from the NY Times (spoiler alert: it's positive).
9 - "Singularity", New Order
Almost a year now after I first heard Music Complete, I'm still finding gems on the album. I haven't pimped "Superheated" here yet so I'll slip that in here too without being too overt about it. I found it interesting to note that New Order has been recording (with three founding members along for the ride the whole time) longer than lead singer Bernard Sumner had been alive when Joy Division became New Order. It's actually not even close.
8 - "What Do You Want (feat. Josh Taylor & Benny Bridges)", Justin Jay
All of a sudden a couple of months ago, Justin Jay's work began flooding The Hype Machine's website. Everyone seemed to like this guy. He's 22, he's released five EPs of house music and he's starting to hit the electronic festival circuit this summer and HardSummer in California. Flash in the pan or FO REAL?
7 - "Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)", Death Cab for Cutie
Man this is a strange video. Like The Sneetches on crack. I'm still warming up to Kintsugi - the big alternative hit from last year, "Black Sun", completely didn't do it for me. But there are still some tracks I've found worth listening to. This one is pretty awesome. Now I'm off to punch a star-shaped hole in my head.
6 - "Lake Arrowhead", Nora en Pure
Oh man, does this ever bring back Tiesto-infused memories of summers past. I know nothing about Nora en Pure aside from the fact that she is a DJ (no, really), was born in South Africa and now resides in Switzerland. And she apparently spun at Coachella. But that's it.
5 - "Blue & the Green", Loyal
I saw a live version of this song on youTube and I was confused - who was this woman singing? Where's the male lead vocalist? It turns out that the vocals on "Blue & the Green" are a pitched-down version of the natural vocal track so that pretty much explained everything. I dug up a press release about the meaning of the song, so if you're interested: "Blue & The Green" questions whether it’s better to fight for something once cherished, or the decision to give up and leave this thing behind. Blue and the green represents land and sea (the earth) as well the emotions of sadness and jealousy. So there you have it.
4 - "This Girl", Kungs vs. Cookin' on 3 Burners
For the second year in a row, I had a song on my radar from following some European charts and then that song ends up playing on the radio in Montreal during a visit. Radio there is so avant-garde compared to the stations here:( The song in question last year was "Fade Out Lines" by The Avener and "This Girl" is this year's hit. This song has it all...Disco! Soul! French deep houseness! And a collabo with an artist called Cookin' With 3 Burners, the best artist moniker I've heard since The Kite String Tangle. If this song had touched down in Canada maybe a month earlier: summer megahit.
3 - "Hold Up", Beyonce
Looks like Beyonce went all KanyePrince with her latest album, Lemonade. Snippets of "Hold Up" exist online but you have to go to Tidal just to get unadulterated audio (hence that pitched-out junk video clip I attached). In any case, this is one of the few tracks from the album that I've been able to get into. As with Bey's last album, I'm finding this one to be a bit of a tough listen. And not because I'm Becky with the good hair. Styles are all over the place (a pro) as is accessibility (a con). Stay tuned to see if some other tracks limp onto my monthly suggest lists. One thing for sure: it's going to be hard to actually share the songs with you.
2 - "St. Ides", Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
In case you're not up on what St. Ides is, definitely check out this ad. This song is going toe-to-toe with "Bolo Tie" for my favourite from This Unruly Mess I've Made. The vibe is reminiscent of "Neon Cathedral" from The Heist, one of my favourites from the previous album. Good luck trying to see M&RL in concert over the next while: they're currently Down Under, followed by a victory lap through Washington State and then a leg over in Asia. Man seeing them in Washington would be great.
1 - "Tilted", Christine and the Queens
Doubling down on her first appearance on the list last month, Heloïse Letissier, a.k.a. Christine and the Queens, is back with a great pop track this month. I've seen this one mentioned a couple of times online and in print over the past few weeks, most notably lauded by Elton John in the pages of EW. I was due for a song with some French in it anyway - thanks for filling up the quota nicely!! Plus this has got to be the first song I've ever heard to name check Methuselah.
Hope everyone's summer is going swimmingly:)
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