Tag: Beautiful Vocals

“For the purposes of mystique (and, one assumes, legal reasons due to the various participants owning recording contracts), the experimental noise rock collective the Sound of Animals Fighting appear in public only in cheap creepy cute children’s Halloween masks with cartoon animals on them. Furthermore, the members of the band — really more of an always shifting musical collective in the manner of Broken Social Scene — are referred to only as the animals their masks represent. Therefore, their debut album, The Tiger and the Duke, lists the Walrus, the Lynx, the Bear, the Nightingale, the Ferret, the Armadillo, the Hyena, the Octopus, the Skunk, the Llama, the Swan, the Dog, the Raven, the Tortoise, and the Tiger as participants. As gimmicks go, it’s a good one….” [more on Spotify]

One of the best emo pop punk albums I’ve ever heard. This gives me a whole new level of respect for MGK, who was always a talented hardcore emcee but never somebody I was particularly impressed with in terms of substance. This album is interesting because it’s like the emo meme was barrowed from punk into Hip-Hop, & then back to punk again. This a wonderful cathartic synthesis of both aesthetic sensibilities. Listen close! Great driving music, too. ♥Neonn

“Swordplay: “Dear George, this is the first album I have made for you, written in your name. Initially, I planned to call it Mythology, after a comment Rick made just before your funeral. That is, these ceremonies we hold to celebrate the lives of those we’ve lost, they are the first opportunities we have at building the mythology of our loved ones. That idea resonated with me then, as it still does, because death is transformative in ways that are unknown and defy biographical story-telling. We know you will always be more than the awards on your resume, or a mere recitation of the facts. Perhaps you are the clouds passing over Moscow as France takes Croatia in the 2018 World Cup on the day you left us. Or maybe you are the entire sky now. Through music and prose, I believe, all is possible. Even resurrection.

2018 was a nasty year for many of us. When Ceschi asked me if I could do an album for Freecember, I thought of all the collective loss built up in our shared community, and how enmeshed we are in our grief. As I write this, with the end of the holiday season almost in sight, I imagine I am not alone in my loneliness. Although this is your album, I wanted to make it for all of us. All of us who, like Ram Dass said, are just walking each other home. I think you would want it that way.
For the King, the Wizard, and the G, George Griffin Ramsey, May 16, 1988 — July 15, 2018”

“RAMSHACKLE GLORY is a retired anarchist punk band that was based out of Tucson, AZ. This is our last release. Our band lasted from 2010-2016. We put out three full length albums, one split album with the folk punk band Ghost Mice, and toured every year. We donated money to a large number of anarchist and radical political projects, and distributed a lot of free political literature on a variety of topics. We stood up for our values as much as we knew how to. I’m proud of everyone in our band for doing what we did together. This project was hard on all of us in different ways, but in the end we took care of each other as much as we know how to. That isn’t something to take for granted. I actually think it’s all we have. Thanks to everyone who helped us, tolerated our mistakes and our crankiness, and listened to our music. You have funny taste. So do I.
Love, Patrick Schneeweis (June 1, 2016)”

“THIS PROJECT was a significant part of my life these past 6 years and I’m thankful for it. At times it was an inspiring and affirming reprieve from normal life. Having the platform to attempt centering both anarchism and queerness in punk spaces meant a ton to me, personally. These weren’t clear objectives, we didn’t have those, but such attempts would manifest and at times it felt important and useful. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, like most of the ludicrous things that anarchists do. Aside from the obvious thanks to my bandmates for being the brilliant collection of beautiful weirdos that they are, I want to thank all the rad folks who set up tables at our shows and all the kids who took that part of what we were doing seriously. Thanks to those who tried to practice some kinda consent on the dance floor. Thanks to all the hosts. (Sorry if you had to hear us yelling at each other about violence, insurrection, and techno-transhumanism or whatever at 3 in the morning on your porch.) Love your buds with all you got. Brush your teeth. Fuck authority.

For a world without borders, cops, or cages,
Luke (December 2, 2016)”

This might literally be my favorite album of all time. Greydon’s lyrics (with perfect vocal delivery & Dre-caliber beats) capture the expansiveness & majesty of science, and the epic imagination of science fiction. This is the true new mythology of the future, where we try to fathom the heights of evolution achievable by civilizations millions of years beyond ours. And gosh it’s just such great music! And thru 30 songs he covers sooo much material, with a felicitous integration of scientific & poetic philosophy. It’s such a well-executed futuristic portrait of civilization, I think this album deserves all the awards, from a Pulitzer to a Grammy.. ♥ Neonn