Tony and the Jo-Jo's

I honestly believe "Do you remember Antony & The Johnsons?" is the least necessary question in the english language. Antony Hegarty's voice sticks in your memory like the smell of your grandparent's house. Except it is (most likely) much, much more pleasant.

Antony and The Johnsons' latest album, 'Swanlights,' is absolutely fantastic. I recall quite enjoying 'I am a Bird Now' back in the day, but I was only about 16 and probably didn't appreciate it to the fullest. I think I even laughed at songs like "For Today I am a Boy." I never got into the next release, 'The Crying Light,' as much, but some songs really stood out as important. The video for the song "Epilepsy is Dancing" is still one of the greatest around (if a little over-the-top):



So, the new album manages to achieve songs which are a lot more esoteric in sound. Antony's voice is still front and center as it should be (except for one song which feature Bjork in lead vocals- who's going to complain about that?), but the style of sounds and instrumentation is a lot more diverse. From the acoustic guitar balladry of 'The Great White Ocean' to the psychadelic shoegaze-esque title track, 'Swanlights' covers a lot more ground than his morose previous offerings. It's pretty refreshing to hear Antony sing an upbeat song that isn't about domestic violence a la "I feel your fist, and I know it's out of love!"

Overall, fans of Antony's previous work should like this, unless they really are the saddest sacks around. And if you're not a fan of Antony's previous work, fuck right off. You should be. My only inconsequential qualm is that the album cover doesn't follow the high contrast black and white photo aesthetic. As I said, inconsequential.


Antony & The Johnsons - Swanlights gets
9 LUKES OUT OF 10

IM FLYIN FLYIN FLYIN HIGHHH

CONTINUING WITH MY R & B INFATUATION;
Drink in my Cup by "Electrik Red"
Everything about this is so awful and so awesome. (Unfortunately their album doesn't seem to be as consistent..)

sufie

I kind of think this Sufjan Stevens guy might be some sort of crazy genius.

THAT COULD AT LEAST EXPLAIN WHY HE WEARS BIRDWINGS AND SHIT

Anyway,
So he has a new album, called The Age of Adz. As per the title track, this is pronounced more like "odds" than "ads." I have no idea what its meant to mean. Its probably a prophecy that The Sufjan has Seen and we will all find out in harrowing moments of terror.

The album kicks off on Chilligan's Island with a nice lil' not-atypical Sufjy Stevens piano thing called "Futile Devices" and then BAM second track is all "I'M EXPERIMENTAL," drum machines and synthaholler. Sufjan Stevens: electronic genius!? WHO KNEW (A: basically anyone who listened to and appreciated his Year of the Rabbit thing). The third song is the aforementioned title track and it kind of sounds like the Terminator films would sound if they were actually musicals. O shit, gang gang etc. Everything on this album sounds completely not-of-this-planet. It's hella bizzaro.

"I am The Sufjan. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm"

My personal favourite tracks from THE AAAGE OF AAAADZ are called: I Walked, The Age of Adz, I Want To Be Well (a.k.a. the song where Sufjan repeatedly yells in our faces a reassurance that he is "not fucking around") and Impossible Soul.

It is worth nothing that Impossible Soul, the closing "track" GOES FOR TWENTY-FIVE FUCKEN MINUTES. It is fantastic. In the future, this song will be compulsory listening in The Church of The Sufjan. Contained within the song's lengthy stream are: a terrifying moment where a horrorhouse auto-tuned version of The Sufjan bellows "STUPID MAN IN THE WINDOW", live drums(!), and a 3 minute burnout that is all the more smooth and tasty after 22 minutes of spastic experimental music.

Having said all this, it's pretty heavy listening and I kind of think that some of the tracks in the middle of the album get a bit lost in all the cacophony. But. I'm p sure that they'll reveal themselves with repeated listenings. So it's NBD.

SUFJAN STEVEN'S ALBUM
THE AGE OF ADZ
gets like 8 Lukes out of 10

hit it up

poor-etry

GOOD STUFF,
ABUNDANT
-A poem by Puke.

Check these out asap pls.
In the interest of furthering an illusion of literature, each album will be paired with an excellent poem by myself.

1. Alegranza by El Guincho.
"Raving tropical birds
Attacking my spirit in spanish
A retort, I know not, except:
DANCE, MOTHERFUCKERS"



















2. Outside the Box by Skream
"Bleep bleep,
A computer
And then, unexpectedly,
"My parents are deeeeeead-"














3. Crush by Abe Vigoda
"This glitter tastes like salt
Let's marry a bomb
-Entrails ensue-"














4. Crooks and Lovers by Mount Kimbie
"Gentle and meticulous
The web of the ocean
Bus to bus to boat
Seller"













5. Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter.
"Dear Bradford Cox,
Would I be happier without you
Singing sad songs?
Nay
I would not."

MY HOMETOWN SUMMED UP IN ONE PHOTOGRAPH

FUCK YEAH GO TOADS

O SHIT, GANG GANG

So Gang Gang Dance is potentially my new fave band. And by ‘fave’ I mean 2^nd fave ‘cause NO CUNT could ever topple AnCo.

Anyway they’ve got a bitchin lead singer even if she’s a bit uggo and they named their most recent album after some religious shit I don’t even know about but yeh

Lizzie from Gang Gang Dance: Bit Uggo, Misses Aaliyah :(




Hope 'Oh shit, Gang Gang!' becomes a meme.
Hope our thousands of readers 'appreciate' Gang Gang Dance.

I KNOW A PSYCHIC WHO READS HER OWN PALMS and her readings are personal

"OH I'VE STAYED SCARCE THIS LAST YEAR YES
BUT BE ASSURED IN UNREST"

...
I hope y'all like that Why? album called Alopecia. as seen here ---->
It's pretty damn good and don't fear, the rest of Yoni Wolf's lyrics are as good as that line up thurrr.
IF I REMAIN LOST AND DIE ON A CROSS AT LEAST I WASN'T BORN IN A MANGERRR

Lately I've been listening to a lot of the following

1. Aaliyah's album "One in a Million."
2. The-Dream's album "Love Hate."
3. Jimmy Eat World's "Stay on my Side Tonight" EP.
   
4. Sunset Rubdown and Grouper in general.

I don't know how to talk about the first two without somehow being racist or disrespectful of the dead/women.

Because I was once a teenage boy, I really like Jimmy Eat World. I think this particular EP I have listed is my favourite thing they have done. I'm not sure on the specifics of it, but I believe it came after the relatively bad "Futures" album but before the relatively OK "Chase This Light" album? I often wonder if the depresso songs that run the tracklist feature songtitles stolen from bands that are "totally goth." (Disintegration - The Cure, Over - Portishead, Closer - NIN???)
If you like generic American pop rock, YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS.

"we r totally ~maturing~ our sound. u can tell because we put a girl with a cigarette on the cover LOL and make sure yr parents kno u r getting this pls ~PARENTAL ADVISORY~" - Jimmy Eat World.

As for no. 4 on the list, I listen to Sunset Rubdown and Grouper alll the time anyway. Snoooooozer.
So, ummm. Here MASSIVE ATTACK by NICKI MINAJ which is one of the best things I've seen/heard since that Ciara video/song WORK.



Sometimes I really like pop music y'all!
p.s. lol at Nicki Minaj's face in the frame youtube decided to provide for the preview