haonowshaokao

Understandably lots of people were distracted by the video for this. In order to avoid this, here’s the audio.

And, ok, here’s the video, if you want it. Do I need to say this is NSFW?

Lots of people on the internet are very angry about Nicki Minaj* – they think this is some sort of lowering of standards rather than a feast of creative energy. They are wrong.

*currently this is #6 most disliked video on Youtube, and it was only put up 4 months ago.

This song genuinely sounds like walking with elephants.

Awesome East-coast hip-hop, overshadowed as usual by the so-so collaboration they did with a big name singer.

This video / song is absolutely NSFW.

2014 saw an actual new Aphex Twin album. His last one came out while I was living in Southampton, so that’s quite a while ago. Syro is too good to be disappointing, but not special enough to be a highlight of the year. This opening track is the one everyone’s choosing, mainly because that idling machine sound goes so perfectly with the cowbell as far as I can tell.

Another case of a band suddenly becoming huge without doing anything particularly differently from the way they’ve been going for years. On one hand I’m happy to see them get some well-earned attention, on the other I wonder if this means there was a shortage of new ideas last year.

Seasons (Waiting On You) is great, though, of course, not the best they’ve done but deserving of the praise it’s got anyway. Here’s the now famous Letterman performance…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ee4bfu_t3c

…and here’s the music video.

Not sure if I love this or just love the idea of it. Only time will tell.

Seductive mid-tempo R&B that evokes early 80s funk and soul. There were more interesting tracks on the album, but this is easily my favourite.

Lots of people on music sites seem to be skeptical of Kate Tempest as an interloper from the arts. I spoke to a (published) poet I know today and he isn’t impressed with her work as it stands on the page. This wouldn’t look that good written down, but as a thing to listen to it’s a complete success, better than ‘Circles’ for sure, capturing something true that I haven’t heard captured before, and I’m glad that she’s getting all this attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaNh4J7qghI

Rough-trade feted pysch-rock band from Northamptonshire.

I swear that I chose this track before I saw this advert, which was filmed in the field behind my dad’s house while I was visiting in May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCBfEdMXK-g

Not a big fan of adverts, but good to see the old country on TV all the same, and with good music too (though they seem to have used the least interesting bits of the track.)

Not so much a bold new breakthrough as a minor evolution in the largely dormant world of acid techno, still very welcome for all that.