But at least I would have existed
Mix 35: Existential French melodrama, wispy end-of-summer vibes, Egyptian pop, Brazilian prog, and some vintage drone from '94
An odds and sods week, both intro-wise and mix-wise. A few things on my mind that I’ve been writing about but not yet fully developing:
Thinking about the elements of fandom that have replaced the historical role of the paparazzi. I don’t think this is the main or even the most interesting thing happening with current fandom, but wonder if conversations about fan behavior underestimate the extent to which paparazzi deflected some social opprobrium from the fans themselves to the convenient (and deserving) target of tabloids?
Still grappling with my essay on Willow and lyrics. Have seen lot of various conversations about lyrics lately—I’ve moved away from close lyrical analysis as I’ve gotten older and as my tastes have tended toward music in languages I don’t speak. I started to sketch this part out, an idea that holds for my opening track this week:
I was totally enraptured by Brazilian chanteuse and Françoise Hardy collaborator Tuca’s 1974 album Dracula, I Love You, her final album (she died a few years after recording it). I knew that the words were moving me even though I couldn’t understand them. Eventually I did my best to translate as many songs as I could. I’m glad I did—they suggested some images and phrases that now have some literary import. But that literary import wasn’t so much an “unlocking” of the songs as an additive bonus; I could already hear what was going on. Though this is rare for music in a language I don’t speak, it’s not impossible.
From Bluesky: “The era of A24 pop stars, where everything is weirdly tasteful, even the crassness; things are grayer and shots held longer than they need to be, and I wouldn't say any of it is bad (is much better than average!) but is constantly kneecapping its potential.” Not ready to go into this particular can of worms yet, not least because it might mean listening to more Chappell Roan and watching more A24 movies. I just don’t have enough time for B+ — A- only!
Previous 2024 mixes
MIX 35: BUT AT LEAST I WOULD HAVE EXISTED
1. Barbara Pravi: Exister
The French 2021 Eurovision runner-up’s strident new single is melodramatic chanteuse electro existentialism with a nasty bite to it, like “Viva La Vida” told at the moment before the fall. Drums like an army approaching, the title chanted incessantly — feel something, damn it — and whattaya know, I did!
2. Nick León, Erika de Casier: Bikini
A summer-themed song that sounds more like the brief fade from summer to fall. Perfect for mid-September days requiring chaotic clothing layer game plans (too cold for a bikini, though).
3. Annie: The Sky Is Blue
Maybe the thinnest vocal performance to date from Annie, slicing the meat til you can see through it. I’m a sucker for songs about noticing that the sky is blue and having feelings about it. And if you let it all wash over you, the opaque vocal gives you the sense that it’s an idle thought in your own head.
4. Nourine: Paris
Artist who identifies herself in the song as half-Egyptian, half-Lebanese, a young and maybe rising Egyptian pop personality who studied at the Sorbonne. Activates my “Boss Baby tweet” brain for anything that even vaguely reminds me of Angelica Garcia. (Mostly the video, which provided the excuse I needed to go give “Karma the Knife” another watch.)
5. TIBA, ouella: Ma2lab 7arameyya
More Egyptian pop, this one riding Afrobeats rhythms to the sort of cosmopolitan pop compromise track that will usually get a charitable listen from me so long as the title’s not in English. I believe this is the first post-“Nasty” song I’ve featured on a mix that references matching one’s freak.
6. Thakzin, Hyenah, Simmy: Ithuba
Some replacement-level bliss from Thakzin, whose 2024 doesn’t seem as prolific or game-changing as his 2023. But the guy knows how to prepare a nice warm bath.
7. Caxtrinho: Branca de Trança
A highlight from a Brazilian prog album that showed up in my playlists after Joshua Minsoo Kim referenced it. Sounds fantastic coming off of my immersion in the global sounds of 1974, though this particular track also reminds me a bit of Deerhoof.
8. Reol: Dear (ディア)
Killer J-pop from an idol group singer gone solo whose further backstory I was not diligent enough to track this week.
9. MONO, 2pillz: Đi Tìm Tình Yêu
2pillz, a strong V-pop find last year, here working in a broader disco-pop style than the sleek post-NewJeans pop-house of “Hoàng hôn.” A producer to watch, lots of stylistic range.
10. 阿正: DiDiDiva
More disco-pop, a bit more affectedly retro, from Hong Kong.
11. LOMIIEL, Shadow Blow: Mala
LOMIIEL is probably the breakout dembow star of the year, or least he is for me (especially since he keeps his songs uniformly below the three-minute mark). But here I like Shadow Blow’s rapid sing-rap.
12. Riad: Rocinha
Czechoslovakian rap that goes all in on baile funk (Riad’s Instagram page shows him in Brazil, no idea what his relationship is to the funk scene, though) and, though it doesn’t come close to anything from Brazil, it also doesn’t fall flat on its face, which seems like its own achievement.
13. DJ Makoski, Mc Padawan: Ela Tem Tdah
14. Mc Gw, DJ YUZAK: Ritmista Universal
15. DJ DUARTE, MC Lipivox, DJ Kayo Original: Ritmada Interestelar
Funk block! Oppressive 8-bit power-up percussion from DJ Makoski; an appearance from the most-featured MC on my funk holdover playlist (Mc Gw, with 25 long-listed tracks compared to his three official appearances across 2024) over clatter that sounds like there’s a Chicago footwork influence in there somewhere; and one of the prettier funk tracks I’ve heard lately, pounding at a piano figure that feels like an extension of the recent vogue of funk DJs sampling Linkin Park’s “In the End.”
16. LUISA: Ani jeden z nás
A Polish dance-pop song with a surprisingly high BPM for a song that sounds so grim and deliberate, like a Europop song written for a Krzysztof Kieślowski film. Forget A24 pop stars, let’s move on to Dekalog pop.
17. Unwound: Negated [1994]
18. Don Martin Three: Katahdn [1994]
Two droners from ‘94, the first an Unwound single from a new compilation. I’ve heard about Unwound for a long time but never actually listened as far as I can remember; sounds like a band that never met a weird guitar tuning it didn’t like. The second is a post-rock band I’ve never heard of and, given how long Don Caballero fooled me into thinking there was a real Mr. Caballero in the band, I suspected Don (the other one) might be a fiction, too. He was.
19. Tess Parks: Crown Shy
Gauzy singer-songwriter stuff from a Canadian artist. Enjoying the gradual overlap between the post-Taylor-Swift singer-songwriter environment and shoegaze.
20. Thee Marloes: Mungkin Saja
Breezy retro soul from Indonesia, perhaps the country’s biggest export to my playlists.
21. Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad f. Ebo Taylor: Obi Do Woa (If Someone Loves You)
The new Jazz Is Dead installment, this time featuring Ghanaian legend Ebo Taylor.
22. Rosettes: Souvenir
Figured this was some recently unearthed Numero Group archival release, but it’s contemporary—the Rosettes are a Finnish soul group. Slight, pretty, good closer.
***
That’s it! Until next time, don’t forget to separate your odds from your sods.
—Dave Moore (the other one)
Title translated from Barbara Pravi’s “Exister” (“Mais au moins moi j’aurais existé”)