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[2016 Recap] A Few Of My Favorite Things
bless Topsters for assembling this graphic infinitely easier than prior years
Surpriiiiseee!! I'm going to do my year end wrap up differently than most of the ones I've seen. Mostly because I have so many to share, but mostly because I like to let the music do the talking and help you get better connected to the artists themselves. Instead of recaps of each record, I'm going to point you to my favorite tracks so if any of these are new to your ears you'll have the best starting point I can give you.
Personal Observations for 2016
This was a weird year for me in terms of listening/discovery habits. Instead of fighting against music consumption trends, I decided to play along. I dove head first into my Discover Weekly playlist. I even followed some of my friends' in order to see what I would find and set up an IFTTT recipe to archive everything recommended to me so I could go back and reference it later if I wanted. I barely touched my SKOA inbox, which probably upset a lot of publicists. Anyway, according to Last.FM's data (since Spotify never ended up sending me mine), I listened to 1,919 new artists this year, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. But really when you think about how much music Discover Weekly puts in front of you, it's really less than what everyone had the potential to check out (which is 1,560 if you figure we get 30 new tracks a week for a year). I am in the 98th percentile in music listening per Last.FM (meaning I listen to more music than 98% of people who still scrobble to Last.FM) and I found myself panicky and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music that Spotify thinks I can get through on TOP of the music I already love and want to enjoy, or the random rabbit holes I end up falling into that typically bring me great new baby bands. I guess most people approach Discover Weekly differently than I do, letting artists come and go as they please, but knowing the transformative power that music possesses, I'm always wary of passing on an opportunity to be affected and share those experiences with others.
It's crazy to think that 20% of what stuck with me this year was randomly generated by The Algorithm and not delivered to me by humans. I almost said that the human delivery was through cosmic forces, but really, if music finds its way to your ears/hearts by friend or by Algorithm, both are cosmic in a way, no?
This is my struggle at present. I value the connection that happens when a humans experience music together, whether it be by recommendation or attending shows together. I worry this experience will continue to be diminished the more we silo ourselves into our algorithm-based echo chambers. I really hope I'm just out of touch and someone will point me to where this is the opposite, but I can't ignore how self-serving shows feel now every time I treat myself to a Night Out. This has been on my heart/mind too much lately to ignore it, so expect some changes to how things go down on the site (starting with making more time for this now that my new job isn't crazy busy for awhile).
What music moved you this year? Did you like some of these records but different tracks? I'd honestly love to know so please drop me a comment. Also if you want more than favorite tracks out of me for these records, feel free to bug me on Twitter I am happy to share!
My Favorite Things Of 2016
#NewMusicFriday Guide - 04/29/2016
You Wont - Revolutionaries
My two new favorite goofballs put out an album today! You Won't isn't officially #SKOAfam yet, but don't worry, it will happen soon enough. Maybe at one of their two shows in NYC next week? Talk about being #blessed! Anyway, this record could not have come out at a better time. The winter is finally leaving us, it's getting warm out, and you'll find yourself reaching for this record when the sun is sittin' pretty on your face. It's got the right amount of twang that will make you shake your groove thang just like this:
Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
I have been thoroughly looking forward to this album since the second I heard "Rings" a few months back. The payoff for patiently waiting was certainly worth it, especially with last week's album stream, which was the most excellent of previews/"spoilers". ICYMI, it's a shot by shot recreation of The Shining and you absolutely have to see it for yourself if you haven't already because it's amazing.
I will be counting down the minutes till I get to hear this live at Irving Plaza on June 13th, that's for sure. Nice work, Aesop!
Brian Eno - The Ship
Our electro-lord has released more music today. Do I really need to tell you about this? You should know about this already. I am just making sure because our, um, Views are a little obstructed right now on the internet...if you know what I mean.
I really liked Ghost Culture's self-titled album from last year so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he had a couple of new tracks out today. These just further confirm that I need to own the self-titled on vinyl. I thought micropennies were enough love for this record, but his craftsmanship on both releases shines through enough that this is worth the shelf space for me.
Calvin Harris - "This Is What You Came For"
The jury is still out for me as to whether or not this is going to be *The Song Of The Summer*. This is subtly very awesome. It's really quite lovely. Rihanna's vocal is great. There is a reason why Calvin has a messload of sales plaques on his walls and it shows in the production value for this track. People will certainly listen to this a lot this summer.
All that said, it just... ehhhhhhh. I don't think lightning is going to strike twice for him + Rihanna. I will probably listen to this to get ready to go out, but not trip over myself to make sure I dance to it.
Zedd (feat. Kesha) - "True Colors"
Okay we need to have a discussion about this. I have seen too many people say that they're disappointed by this track considering this is Kesha's big return post- Dr. Luke drama.
Seriously? Shame on you. That just further shows how real the struggle is going to continue to be for Kesha because she was launched into stardom courtesy of some party anthems. You really think she was going to step out with a banger the second she was able to legally open her mouth?
Sit. Down.
Please take a moment to reflect on what she is saying and be grateful that she was able to create her way through a lot of pain. Also, let us be thankful that Zedd knew better than to try to make this about him by going big on the production. Sure, her return is more understated than was anticipated, but she even says so herself: "I've escaped my captor and I have no master."
Kesha, I'm glad you're back, bb.
Man Power - Planet Cock EP
You should know by now that in addition to trying to not be completely crushed under the weight of what goes through my inbox that I also just like skimming AllMusic to see what might look interesting. The pairing of an artist called Man Power with an EP called Planet Cock... I am clearly a grown up who did not laugh to myself at all...heh. That's a lie, obviously.
Clearly I had to give this a spin just for the sake of my sanity and it's actually pretty great. I've since had a look around at his catalog and intend to check out more of it in the weeks to come. I will probably start with his 2014 EP, Flacid Trax....
Sorry, it's Friday. I can't be an adult today to save my life. lmao
Magic Sword - The Legend EP
Holy shit I forgot this was even happening and now it's happened and I'm just a wreck. Apparently there was a little bit of darkness in me because The Seeker and The Keeper aka Magic Sword just SLAYED ME with this EP. Wow. Wow. Wow. I really have zero chill about this right now, jfc. This is the first of a series of EPs that also will have a correlating comic to continue to tell the Magic Sword saga. You can find the first one for their debut album, Volume I over on their website.
Holy good #Sheezus in heaven the guitar solos on "The Curse" quite literally have me unable to do anything other than shout, "GOOD LORD!" at the moment. WOW.
These guys were still one of the most fun interviews I ever did for #SKOARadio (not to mention the most hysterical meetup arrangements for an interview). I should probably not leave that committed to audio indefinitely.
Matt Lange - Patchwork
#SKOAfam Matt Lange has followed up last year's Emphemera LP with another gorgeous heady string of dark dancey tunes. It would appear the mau5trap has continued to be good for Lange from the sounds of this EP. This is *ABSOLUTELY* a record you listen to first with your good headphones because the homey has very meticulously pieced this all together, so this is me looking out for your your first play through to be the best it can be.
(This is terribly awkward that I'm realizing that I just featured two artists back to back with interviews that I aired on #SKOARADIO but never transcribed and shared through. I guess I know what I'm doing over the weekend....)
Holy Ghost! - Crime Cuts
Holy! Ghost!! is! back! I almost forgot this EP was coming out today but Twitter fam is always lookin' out for my ears, which I guess means they're looking out for yours, too. Anyway, YAY Brooklyn bands! This EP is solid. I really wish that Panorama weren't their only upcoming show in NYC at present. That is kind of like saying you can only have hot dogs inside Yankees Stadium in the summer or something imo. I'm sure more dates will be announced soon. Fingers crossed anyway.
Panty Raid - After Glow
lol I know why this record is called After Glow. It's because the album is pure sex and by the end of it you will be feeling the afterglow of what it did to you. I guess you could say the overall theme that Panty Raid is going for is being executed well.
#skoaradio 10/24/2015 liner notes
artist rendition of my convo with Alex from Kingswood after I shut the mic off post-interview.lol
Hey fam!
Things refuse to slow down in SKOA HQ, but I'm not complaining! I wrapped up CMJ with a day in Aussie Heaven where we interviewed KINGSWOOD prior to watching them totally kill it. I can't believe how much fun I had. Kinda wish it had never ended tbh. Oh well. Time to prep for Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival, which is coming up super fast. I've got a couple of new tracks on this week's show. As always would love to hear your thoughts so @ me bb if you liked what you heard!
See you next week!
<3
- Battle Tapes - "Valkyrie"
- Debut album Polygon drops on November 20th!
- BOOTS - "Bombs Away"
- New track "C.U.R.E." out now
- Debut full length Aquaria drops November 23th!
- BOOTS is playing Rough Trade for his release show! You've officially missed your chance to get tix :(
- Good Morning - "You"
- Official writeup of my interview with them from last week's CMJ show coming soon!
- Car Seat Headrest - "Times To Die"
- New album Teens of Style drops October 30th!
- Shows coming up in the UK & US.
- Weaves - "Motorcycle"
- Did you know that THE NEW YORK TIMES reviewed one of their CMJ shows!?! AMAZING!!
- Monarchy - "Black Widow"
- Sam Sparro - "Hands Up"
- Sam's new EP Quantum Physical Vol 2 is out now! GO GET IT!
- Kenna - "Sleep When We Die"
- Dude just finished up 35 days of traveling to shoot his "Sleep When We Die" video. The NYC Core got some hugs with him while he was here.
- Go help fund Songs For Flight!
- JR JR - "Gone"
- JR JR available now.
- Slum Sociable - "All Night"
- Go grab TQ now
- You can also see pitchas of these guys from my CMJ coverage. I may or may not have seen them three times :)
- Little May - "Boardwalks"
- Caught these little darlings this week at Mercury Lounge. Show review coming soon!
- Go grab their album For The Company asap okay
- Don Diablo & Matt Nash - "Starlight (Could You Be Mine)"
- Don Diablo moved up like a gazillion slots to NUMBER 30 IN DJ MAG'S TOP 100 DJS LIST OMG YAYYYY!!
- Interpol - "All Fired Up"
- If you don't have their latest record, El Pintor well then shame on you (this track is from Our Love To Admire tho)
- The Dead Weather - "I Feel Love(Every Million Miles)"
- Dodge and Burn is good fam, you needs it.
- KINGSWOOD Interview!
- KINGSWOOD - "Ohio"
- Hope you enjoyed this interview. Don't worry, imma pull out the good bits to write up all official :)
- Mr. Hudson - "Dancing Thru It"
- I'M. SO. HAPPY. HE'S. BACK!!!!!!!!!
- Can't be too mad considering he was off working on the new Duran Duran album, which is great tbh.
- Also the Souncloud page for this says MORE MUSIC COMING. YES YES YES YES YES.
- Magic Sword - "Battlefield"
- Have you read the comic for this btw? Pretty cool stuff.
- Official write up for this interview is coming soon too. :)
- Sami Switch - "Self Destruct"
- This guy's story is so cool. You have to watch this mini docu about his trajectory in the past few years. He's gone from homeless to selling out shows in London. Good for him.
- Wrabel - "I Want You"
- Still tryna figure out why "bae-bel" still hasn't upped this to iTunes/Spotify/Whatever yet. It's on YouTube and Soundcloud at least? And you can haz for $FREE.99
- Anyway you can grab his first EP Sideways to show love. I think that's fair right?
THINGS I TALKED ABOUT ON THE SHOW THIS WEEK INCLUDE:
![[Night Out] OMG CMJ 2015 Day Two: Car Seat Headrest, Luna Aura, Pinact, BLXPTN, Weaves, Hooton Tennis Club, Magic Sword](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671499335870-VVA7X0BWUNVZO0R0IP17/image-asset.jpeg)
[Night Out] OMG CMJ 2015 Day Two: Car Seat Headrest, Luna Aura, Pinact, BLXPTN, Weaves, Hooton Tennis Club, Magic Sword
Car Seat Headrest @ Pianos
I thought Tuesday was supposed to be my craziest day of CMJ, but apparently it's just a slow build. I'm terrified but obviously still excited to see how Thursday goes. After trying to get photos edited in a timely manner for yesterday's post I had to haul ass to Pianos to make it in time for Car Seat Headrest. They played some cuts from their new record, Teens of Style, which I'm really excited for everyone else to hear once it drops on October 30.
Then came the comical portion of the day where I proceeded to run back and forth from Pianos to other venues in the area that the door guy at Pianos kept greeting me with, "welcome back!", "back so soon?", and " hello again". First I darted over to Rockwood stage 2 to catch the little fireball of energy that is Luna Aura. My first coffee hadn't quite kicked in yet so it took me a moment to be able to harness the explosion of energy that she exuded in photographs, but we got there. In addition to a solid cover of Destiny's Child - "Say My Name" which she got some extra special audience participation from, she gave the crowd a sampling of her latest EP Supernova.
Luna Aura getting a little help from a friend at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2
I shot back over to Pianos to catch Pinact. I can feel myself pulling back towards more rock/punk rock this fall after a long stint mostly focusing my attention on electronic-esque bands as of late. I can't put my finger on it, but I found their bassist to be the most amusing person on the planet. I think it's mostly because he looks like he will never give any fucks about what anyone thinks about him. I think I may secretly want to be him when I grow up? Jury is still out on that one.
Pinact @ Pianos
I ducked out from Pianos the second Pinact finished to go be blown away by Austin duo BLXPLTN. They were another one of those bands that I hadn't gotten to spend a ton of time listening to prior to catching their performance so I'll admit I sort of forgot what I was getting myself into. Their set was as powerful as much as it was inspiring. It's been awhile since I came across a band that had something to say and said it in an approachable enough way that once you're lured in by their badass genre-bending sound that they're doing what they can to inspire change. Once they finished their set I forced myself to not be intimidated by their badassery and beg them for an interview, which you'll be able to hear in full (albeit I need to air it in two parts because it's longer than the standard #skoaradio segments). I also apparently fulfilled a dream of Jonathan from BLXPLTN's by interviewing him while he ate cauliflower? I hope that's not the biggest dream he's ever dreamt, because I see much bigger things for them.
BLXPLTN slaying my face @ Arlene's Grocery
I was so overwhelmed by how awesome the interview with BLXPLTN was that I decided to sit out any other bands I had intended to see and wrap up my Day One recap and use Weaves' set as a reward for pushing out #content even though I wanted to keep running around. By the time I finally wrapped up and got to Pianos they were about halfway through their set. Thankfully, Jasymn is such an performer that I didn't have any trouble getting some fun shots of her. As she would later confirm after their set, they played a couple of new cuts from a record that is in the works in addition to selects from their debut self-titled EP. Jasymn also was kind enough to give me a button after their set, so I'm taking that as a cue that we're going to be best friends any day now. *FINGERS CROSSED*
Jasymn Burke, my future BFF of Weaves at their Pianos set
Upon fueling up on margaritas and a little food I scurried over to Santos Party Haus to see Hooton Tennis Club, who I missed at the Music Is Great Showcase the night prior.
Fun vibes + crap lighting + had to duck out early to make sure I got to Brooklyn in time to interview Magic Swords = not much visual proof of their awesomeness. Oh yeah, speaking of that interview with Magic Sword, that was a fun thing to arrange, especially when you exchange texts like these:
I booked it back to Cake Shop as fast as my taxi could get me there to make it in time for Slum Sociable, who I can say with confidence was my most anticipated show of the week. Two things: #1 - I think I'm going to buy Cake Shop more lights for Christmas so everyone isn't always doused in only red light #2 - if singer Miller Upchurch could bottle the energy he releases for every performance I would buy it immediately and not be complaining on Twitter about how tired I am this week.
Slum Sociable bathed in red at Cake Shop
After Slum I quickly realized that it would have made sense for me to just stay in Brooklyn but you know, the heart what the heart wants. Either way, I made it back to Cameo Gallery with more than enough time to catch Magic Sword. In fact, they were running fairly late so I had a chance to try to practice the ultra low lighting there on Street Fever. I came in on the tail end of his set so I'm not sure if this is a normal occurrence, but within minutes he picked up a synth, threw it on the ground, and proceeded to beat the shit out of it with a mic stand a la the Office Space printer scene....like a foot away from me. It all happened so fast that I only managed to get this one shot, but even sorta blurry it speaks for itself.
This was moments before he threw it on the ground in front of me and tore it apart.
At that point I was feeling the darkness creeping into Cameo in a big way, but it wasn't too long before The Keeper of the Sword and The Seeker aka Magic Sword took the stage and put darkness in its place. I loved that there were a few fans that had their own light up swords to cheer the band along.
When their set ended it was a little after 1:30am. I remember thinking to myself that Slum Sociable's publicist told me that they were playing another show at 2:15am at Baby's All Right. At that point I was sleep deprived enough that I managed to convince myself that if I walked slowly enough from Cameo Gallery that by the time I got to Baby's that I'd be right on time to see them and then I could go home to bed.
The Keeper of The Sword!!!!!!
Upon arrival I was a few minutes early,which gave me just enough time to somehow accidentally trick some Australians who were apparently friends of friends of Slum Sociable that I bought them the free Tiger Beer that was being given away that late. They thought I worked for CMJ? I don't even know. At any rate, as you could guess the turnout for a band that's organically growing into their own didn't pack out Baby's at almost 3am. My new Aussie friends took advantage of the minimal audience to capitalize on the number of selfies they could get while the band was playing. They even demanded a few times that I stop trying to enjoy the slightly better lighting vs Cake Shop to take photos of them.
Slum Sociable being lit the way they were meant to at Baby's All Right
Gotta point out though, even with the turnout being less than ideal those guys played they were headlining a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom. Much respect to bands who aren't easily affected by turnout (or in this case lack there of). I crawled into a cab as soon as I could get away from my new Aussie friends when Slum ended. That was about 3:30am. So much for sticking to my healthy schedule to keep me sane!!
You can listen to all the bands I talked about in this recap in the CMJ 2015 playlist below in addition to having a look at all the photos I painstakingly edited today. Be sure to check this week's #skoaradio for an extra special CMJ edition of the show!
![[NIGHT OUT] OMG CMJ 2015: Kibbe's Picks For This Week](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671499346324-YPD5LM57MH5WQBK4FP8W/image-asset.jpeg)
[NIGHT OUT] OMG CMJ 2015: Kibbe's Picks For This Week
It's that time of year again! You know, the one where I bounce back and forth between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn to see how many new bands I can fall in love with. I HAVE SO MANY NEW BAND CRUSHES YOU GUYS AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STEPPED FOOT INSIDE A VENUE YET!! *PRAISE HANDS EMOJI*
If you're out and about in NYC for CMJ, you can catch me attempting to attend all of the following events. If you can't be in NYC but want to follow along, you can add me over on Snapchat: heylookitskibbe (original amirite?).
If you see my smiling/exhausted face grab me and say hi!
TUESDAY OCTOBER 13TH
- Valise @ Rockwood Music Hall - 3pm
- Holiday Mountain @ Pianos - 5:10pm
- Good Morning @ Cake Shop - 7pm
- Garden of Elks @ The Living Room - 8:45pm
- Jake Sherman @ Pete's Candy Store - 9pm
- Jake Isaac @ The Living Room - 9:30pm
- WALTZ @ Cameo Gallery - 9:50pm
- SYKES @ The Living Room - 10:25
- Jesse Ruben @ Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 - 11pm
THURSDAY OCTOBER 14TH
- Car Seat Headrest @ Pianos - 2pm
- Luna Aura @ Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 - 2:15pm
- Pinact @ Pianos - 2:30pm
- BLXPLTN @ Arlene's Grocery - 2:45pm
- Expert Alterations @ Pianos - 4:30pm
- Weaves (!!!!!!!) @ Pianos - 5:15pm
- Beverly @ Pianos - 6pm
- Hooton Tennis Club @ Santos Party House - 8:15pm
- Slum Sociable @ Cake Shop - 10pm
- Pompeya @ Pianos (Upstairs) - 10:45pm
- Cardiknox @ The Studio At Webster Hall - 11:15pm
- Lara Snow @ Fat Baby - 11:45pm
- Magic Sword @ Cameo Gallery - 12am
THURSDAY OCTOBER 15TH
- Womps @ Cake Shop (NYC Taper Showcase) - 1:45pm
- Vomitface @ Cake Shop (NYC Taper Showcase) - 2:20pm
- Dirty Dishes @ Cake Shop (NYC Taper Showcase) - 2:55pm
- Walking Shapes @ Elvis Guesthouse - 4:15pm
- Dirty Ghosts @ Cake Shop (NYC Taper Showcase) - 5:30pm
- Cardiknox @ Ganesvoort Hotel (Meatpacking) - 6pm
- Soft Sirens @ The Flat - 7:15pm
- Kevin Garrett @ Rockwood Music Hall - 9pm
- Saint Pé @ Matchless - 10:45pm
- Skaters @ The Living Room - 12am
FRIDAY OCTOBER 16TH
**my brother is going to be in town Friday & Saturday so unless he wants to come out to stuff I'll only be out after dark :/ **
- Controller @ Pianos - 8pm
- Dirty Ghosts @ Baby's All Right - 9pm
- Lara Snow @ Leftfield - 11:30pm
- KINGSWOOD@ Fat Baby - 12:30am
SATURDAY OCTOBER 18TH
- Slum Sociable @ The Delancey - 5:30pm
- Frankmusik @ Rockwood Music Hall - 9pm
- KINGSWOOD @ The Delancey - 10pm
Please enjoy a sampling of the bands I'm going to go check out via the playlist below!