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What have you been listening to this week?
What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)
Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.
You can make a chart if you use last.fm:
http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/
Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.
Haven't been listening to much recorded music this week but I saw three great shows. I did a double header on Monday, starting with the astounding jazz drummer Ari Hoenig at Smalls. I posted something he played on in ~music the other day but it only captures a small part of his artistry. Seriously, check this out. No, wait, that's not enough. Check THIS shit out too.
After Smalls I caught a friend of mine playing drums in a Pixies tribute show at Mercury Lounge, which was pretty good.
Then on Halloween I saw Sleater-Kinney for the first time. I had heard the name for years but knew nothing about them or their music, and they completely blew me away. Great songs, amazing singing and overwhelming stage presence. Really excellent.
I've been listening to muted acoustic & jazz tunes on my morning strolls into work. It pairs well with the fall weather and reminds me of movies that had a cozy-fall aesthetic scene or two in them like When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, or Away We Go.
So I should have posted this on last week's thread, but I have been listening to Kanye's new album Jesus is King a lot recently. A lot of my close friends have liked Kanye and his music for a long time, so I have been around his stuff for a while, but I have never really liked Kanye's music. My primary objection to him, though, is that I found him and his lyrics reprehensible. I listen to music to be uplifted and to enjoy the experiences, and Kanye's constant self-aggrandizement and degrading messages really turned me off from his music. As a Christian, I found that I really disliked being around his music and the messages his lyrics espoused.
Upon hearing that his next album was to be a gospel album, I was immediately doubtful. I knew that he had claimed to be a Christian before, and I doubted that he truly believed in what he said he did. But, as my friends counted down to the release of the album, I thought I would give it a shot. Upon hearing the actual album, my opinion on Kanye completely changed. He now seems to be truly changed by Christ, and is now living a lifestyle completely different than the one he used to. A few of the lyrics that I particularly loved:
Quoting verses from the Bible that I knew very well immediately attracted me to the album, as it was at least a small sign that Kanye was taking his faith more seriously. Musically, I love the escalation of these verses, and the thundering percussion in the background of this section gives me chills every time. And finally, Kanye describing himself as a "wretch" (a reference to the same line in the classic hymn Amazing Grace) really made me realize that Kanye now views himself as changed, with a disdain for how he has acted in the past.
The line Take the chlorine out our conversation is just such a good metaphor and a great way of the concept Kanye is trying to convey; I really like the use of it here. Additionally, the whole "water" metaphor is great in this song overall, imparting a purity and clarity to the song. Also the rhyme between "water" and "daughter" is just really satisfying.
These lines, and the entirety of Hands On is what really changed my mind on Kanye. I was really convicted by Kanye saying that Christians would be the first ones to judge, as I feel that I was one of those Christians. I expected him to simply be saying that he was a Christian without really believing it. I now see that I was wrong in prematurely judging him. I was judging him for his past mistakes, all the while not seeing that he has truly changed and now has a heart for the Lord. Additionally to all this, I love that Kanye emphasizes that Christianity shouldn't be about "the love of religion", but a relationship with Christ, which is a common theme in this song and in others in the album.
Overall, while I am not a hip-hop fan persay, I still enjoy many of the songs on the album, if for the positive message more than anything else. I found that I judged Kanye prematurely, and didn't really look at how he has changed. This interview is also something that I found to be really insightful into Kanye's changed perspective. It's a good watch, if you have the time.
Also the sax solo in Use This Gospel is really fun
60s music as always
Quelle Chris's "Guns," a concept album he did about guns and gun violence in America. I didn't listen to him until a couple of weird features on MC Frontalot's "Net Split" and haven't been able to put this album down.
I've been listening to them a little less lately, but I've been on a good Rainbow Kitten Surprise bender for the past month or so. Definitely reccomend "Holy War," "Wasted," or "Lady Lie."
I started learning Spanish last week and in order to increase my immersion I spent some time in the past few days setting up a Spotify playlist and a Pandora radio station with Spanish-speaking artists. So I've been listening to: