“Wow, you can really press play”
Here, have an honest trailer for “We Are Your Friends”, a movie about “inherently wealthy 20-somethings” pressing play for a living. It’s hilarious and pretty accurate. Welcome to the world of Boet Step.
Monthly Archives: May 2015
The musician you can trust is one who tracks it all live.
No one likes that girl who you cant give a solid pat on the back without a cloud of makeup consuming the whole room…. Okay maybe some do, but those people probably know that girl for the intelligence and personality buried under inches of base and racism. Can you feel the dislike welling up for this fictional character welling up inside you? Do you feel sorry for base face? Think of that girl as a song or a band you have found online. They have the marketing, the top class recording and the radio play but when you finally see them live it’s as disappointing as coming home to find your housemate has eaten your leftover pizza. It’s a common error in our age of post production genius and technology: Raising expectations that tower over reality. This brings me to our throwback of the week by Buddy Miles.
I lost myself to the funky blues of this track more than 6 times today. It’s just so groovy. There’s so much skill in the playing of every single instrument you hear. My favourite part about this track is that it’s clearly been played live, as in all the musicians played at the same time. If one musician made a big mistake they’d have had to start the song all over again from the beginning. There weren’t computer programs to fix things after recording. What you hear is what you get. All that skill and groove came out in one beautiful take.
The Gardener – The Tallest Man On Earth
Todays SOTD is a beautiful tale of love and murder. I never thought a tale about such things could sound so happily nostalgic.
Kristian released a new album in May this year and it’s subtle and powerful as ever. Have a listen here.
How to politely tell someone you don’t like their music.
*disclaimer* If someone plays you music by Pitbull you are allowed to tell them to fuck off. Okay? Sweet, here we go…
Resist the urge to fully explain why your soul shrivels every time to hear said song/artist/’unfinished production’.
Even if it’s a lie/half-truth; tell the person what you like about it. Avoid making the half-ass compliment into a disguised insult.
Wrong: “I like how you made that guitar sound so dissonant, dude…. OH that’s just your playing style… right.”
Right: “I like that one sound that happened just there” (when in doubt use ambiguity)
Then drop the hint that you’re not into it. Be gentle.
Wrong: “Dude this song makes me feel like Mugabe is taking a dump in my ear.”
Right: “This isn’t really my style hey.”
If they try and show you another song in the same style to try and convert you, humour them. A quality of one who has taste in music is one who listens objectively. If someone tries to get you into Beck and you hate him because they showed you a song from ‘Stereopathic Soulmanure’ you missed out, man.
After you have been shown the music you now want to avoid forever, you can stop the aural torture by requesting to show your weird/commercially brainwashed friend some music that you like. It’s only fair.
Breakup music – Happy or Sad?
All clichés, things, relationships, holidays, tours and lives come to an end. Even your favourite song has to end. The beauty of music is that it can be played again… and again… and again… and again… until you realise you’ve been listening to the same soppy, nostalgic refrain for a day/week/month. I’ve noticed how utterly different it is listening to music in a new state of mind. Your favourite happy song can become annoying, Eagles Of Death Metal turns innocent (sexual frustration ain’t nothin’ but a thang), your Like Clockwork album doesn’t seem as dark as it was initially and it starts describing your entire being. At least that’s how I think of it.
I feel like it’s important to embrace the emotion that amplifies your musical experience. If your favourite song starts speaking loudly to your heart/mindset it means you’re getting clues about where your head is at. Sometimes it’s the only way I know there is something truly wrong or right going on in my mind. More importantly, it makes me feel alive and coherent. The music that hits home hardest is like an emotional intelligence boost. If I feel sad or angry I would much rather have a clear understanding of where those emotions come from. Instead of stumbling around blind and alone in the emotionally dark places that we all inevitably find ourselves in, we can find a friend and a guide in the music that feeds off our emotion. It shines a harsh light on the problems you’re avoiding and forces you to start accepting reality and deal with the problem. The best part about accepting reality is moving forward to the place where happier music starts driving you and inspiring you again.
So what music should you listen to when you’re newly single? It depends on how you feel about it. Just don’t be scared of the music that shows you where you went wrong. Embrace the catharsis, identify with your favourite artist and let the music flow even when it harmonises with your adversity.
With that said, here’s some blues for your Monday. Enjoy your week, lovers.
/V\odesto – I know it’s gonna happen
Call it friendship bias but I think this song is the shit. It sounds a little like Beck except Evert isn’t a Scientologist (sorry for reminding you, Beck fans). I only put it in ‘Weird Wednesdays’ because yall’ mahfuckers need culture. Don’t get it? Oh well.
Radio Moscow – Broke Down
Your monday blues will be vanquished by the trippy sounds of Radio Moscow today. This Psych Rock outfit really has their sound going for them 100%. You can really hear the performance elements of the music in their recordings. It’s like listening to them live in your living room. It’s probably because they’re an artist coming from Alive Naturalsound, a group that has recorded the raw sounds of early Black Keys songs. Enjoy, day trippers.