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![[Watch] Prism Tats - "The Liar" (Official Video)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671498499212-ZDVRPW0IVTN09MCMBS79/image-asset.jpeg)
[Watch] Prism Tats - "The Liar" (Official Video)
Yoooo how in the world did I miss there was new Prism Tats songs on the world wide web?! I mean I know I am only a whopping 6 days off but I don't think y'all understand how much I enjoyed his self-titled debut album. It was by and large one of my favorite records of 2016. If you have not heard that shit you need to get on that!
ANYWAY
Almost exactly one week ago today Prism Tats dropped a double single, which also came with a music video for the A-side, "The Liar". I am a person who typically gets very distracted while trying to watch music videos but this for the first time in awhile this actually held my attention.
This video will probably make you wince a bit watching the rubber bands go across his eyes and stuff, but at the same time it's hard to take your eyes off of. I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone rubber band their face so I think part of what intrigued me was what on earth would compel someone to volunteer to do this. haha
I don't know much else around this release other than that he's got some shows in California coming up in August with Pickwick. I'd like to think this means he has plans to feed us music constantly, but that's just me being selfish.
For now, enjoy "The Liar" and "Apples":
Hello, World!
side note: ugh ugh life has been so busy that I have a lot to catch up on which I promise I will do this week but I was so excited to stumble across this that it couldn't wait.
![[Listen] Mason - "Toucan"](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671498504137-JH30ZPCNM15VBV9WQX6L/image-asset.jpeg)
[Listen] Mason - "Toucan"
I mean just from this press photo we can already tell that Mason is future #SKOAfam amirite?
yoooooo the sun is shining in NYC and I just found my new favorite track to strut my stuff to!
Enter: producer/DJ/label owner Mason hailing from Amsterdam! In a completely serendipitous moment I happened to catch BBC R1 Dance's tweet about another song of his, "Rhino" (which I cannot find a full version of on BBC but there is this clip). Being the curious person I am when the BBC claims something is the "Hottest Record In The World " I decided to look into this gentleman myself and WOW WOW WOW WOW there is so much goodness going on that I can't wait to spend some quality time this evening going through all of it.
In addition to what has me dancing in my chair to presently, "Toucan", Mason also has a label called Animal Language, which appears will be chocked full of artists I will soon be gushing about based on the few clips I checked out on Soundcloud.
I will report back with more findings once I dig into this but MY EARS ARE JUST SO HAPPY I HAD TO SHARE AS SOON AS I COULD!
Listen to "Toucan" below!
SO!? Do we love or do we L 😍 V E!?!?!?!
![[Recap] Um, A Lot Of Music Just Dropped Out Nowhere Today](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671498506209-ETAO6RH28LCWJYSP7ASI/image-asset.gif)
[Recap] Um, A Lot Of Music Just Dropped Out Nowhere Today
me trying to keep up with how many songs just keep falling out of the sky today
lol remember when the RIAA was so proud of themselves 2 years ago because we all agreed on a global release day and we went from #NewMusicTuesday to #NewMusicFriday worldwide?
lol lol lol #tbt to that cute idea according to Foster The People, Phoenix, HAIM, and Fall Out Boy.
In an attempt to make your life easier so you don't feel as frantic as I do right now, here is a recap of what just the fuck dropped:
Foster The People - III
Well this was a nice surprise! Earlier today Foster the People released 3 new tracks globally before bundling them as a cutie lil EP called III. Apparently these are off an upcoming 3rd album that's going to be dropped this summer. No other info there, but they did unveil some tour dates which you can check over on their website because I'm tryna make this update quick and dirty and don't feel like copying and pasting.
Phoenix - "J-Boy"
Another album announcement! Another solid jam! Phoenix just unveiled their lead single, "J-Boy" off their forthcoming album, Ti Amo, which will drop on June 9th. This is glittery and summery af, but not quite punchy enough for the coveted title of Song Of The Summer. I will still be drinking in the sunshine to this regardless.
HAIM - "Right Now"
If you have been waiting 4 long years for new HAIM music then you best stop everything and peep this video RIGHT NOW. This comes from their just announce upcoming album, Something To Tell You, which drops on July 7th.
Fall Out Boy - "Young And Menace"
So here is a Fall Out Boy song that I believe would be better suited as a Patrick Stump song than a Fall Out Boy song but it is still pretty dang good. The track follows yet ANOTHER album announcement. You ready for this name, y'all??
It's called
M A N I A
Yes, spaces and all. I don't know either. Bless these dudes. But yeah the record drops on September 15th, so we have plenty of time to get this fucking spelling right. That all said, props to the guys for the video, which features a glimpse into a fictionalized characters somewhat-hard-to-watch home life that tries to escape a home riddled with domestic violence.
SZA - "Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott)"
LAST ONE (I think?)! SZA also after keeping her fans anxiously waiting for music from her upcoming album CTRL has finally dropped another morsel today for everyone to savor, "Love Galore" featuring Travis Scott. It's been said that CTRL will be the next project released on TDE but other than that there's not much else we know.
AM I MISSING ANYTHING ELSE FROM TODAY? Jfc.
![[Watch] HUMANS - "333AM"](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671498509556-QIBAPJ9O8VYRBJ68ESIY/image-asset.jpeg)
[Watch] HUMANS - "333AM"
Love love love that I was literally just thinking about HUMANS this morning and then here they are in my inbox with a brand spankin new track!
Rounding out their series of singles that came before this latest track, "Water Water" and "Bout Chu", "333AM" is yet another vibey jam that is begging to be played in the darkest and sweatiest underground nightclub one can find.
In anticipation of the official release of their new track, HUMANS put together another sexy video of people in their dope ass bomber jackets roaming around New York, which you can watch below.
Oh oh and speaking of the dope ass bomber jacket in the "333AM" video, apparently they sold out of the "Water Water" design so now you can buy a "333AM" one which is still as hella tight as it is expensive. Bummer that these are going on sale now that summer is fast approaching, but I guess sometimes we suffer for fashion anyway, right?
ugh I neeeeeeddd it. who wants to get me a belated bday present? ;)
I am also happy to relay that the duo have prepped a series of EPs that will be released this summer courtesy of their freshly inked deals with Haven Sounds and Mom + Pop Music. More on those EPs once I have more deets.
I am going to do my best to ignore that somehow I missed their North American tour and that they were in Brooklyn 2 weeks ago otherwise I am going to get very upset. Good news for you folks in Canada though as they have some dates coming up in late May/early June with , so make sure you're a better fan than I am and hit that shit up.
More HUMANS updates coming soon!
Upcoming HUMANS tour dates:
May 29 - Vancouver, BC - Malkin Bowl w/ RÜFÜS DU SOL and Fakear
June 7 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall w/ RÜFÜS DU SOL and Beach Season
June 8 - Calgary, AB - Palace Theatre w/ RÜFÜS DU SOL and Beach Season
June 24 - Toronto, ON - NXNE at the Portlands w/ Passion Pit, River Tiber, Yukon Blonde, etc.
[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
![[Watch] SIVIK - "High" (Official Video)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671499181854-KMHFBBRMBOLYASZ8X7SJ/image-asset.png)
[Watch] SIVIK - "High" (Official Video)
Here is another photograph of the side of SIVIK's face....
After over a year of playing this song in unhealthy amounts, Nashville/LA artist SIVIK has finally unveiled a video for his addictive (pun intended obviously) single, "High". The video is...fine. It's your standard "here is a pretty girl dancing in slow motion against a crisp background" for the majority of it. The only payoff for the video in my opinion is I KNOW WHAT MORE THAN PART OF THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD LOOKS LIKE NOW.
Hooded almost the entire time, SIVIK hints that he might actually be ready to step out into the spotlight and take what should rightfully be his if he were aggressive enough. I get that opting to go the mysterious route sounds nice, but if after a year of elusive press/EP photos you decide to appear in your own video and you're being spliced in hooded and poorly lit, it comes off less mysterious and more self conscious. This makes no sense to me because HE'S COMPLETELY ADORABLE.
You can't hide from me, SIVIK. I am an OG nerd so I ripped your video in order to get the best possible screenshot of your cute little face:
Poorly lit but THERE HE IS! Shy SIVIK??
I know this is a weird thing to be critical of, but folks who are committed to being mysterious wear masks, use animations as representations of themselves, etc. They really lean into it.
I think SIVIK wants to be seen.
I think SIVIK needs to be seen.
And heard.
...by lots and lots of people.
It has definitely been awhile since he released anything new so I'm excited that next month he's slated to release a new single, "All Day All Night".
Until then, please feel free to re-watch this video as many times as you need to so you can get the image of the side of his head replaced with his cute little face.
Why Does It Have To Be Either Spotify Or Taylor Swift? Why Are We Not Saying It's Her Label's Fault?
The internet has been up in arms all day. Why? Because Taylor Swift somewhat abruptly decided to pull her entire catalog from Suckify Spotify. It's a dramatic move considering streaming is supposed to save the music industry from piracy (and subsequent loss of album sales). It's an even bolder statement coming from the only person who has managed to scrape together a whopping 1.25 million album sales for 2014 so far, making her the only artist to do so for the year at this point.
Personally, I think it's a terrible move. I get it. We've heard time and time again that artists make little to no money from streaming. It's fractions of a penny per stream. When you actually look at the math, it's embarrassing that we have been praising streaming as our savior. You have to wonder though, who really is at fault here? Is it actually the streaming service, or is this another case of record labels being too greedy and them cutting artists out way too much? I get the feeling that we're all to quick to jump on the former and not the latter.
I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but maybe we all should spend a second being nice to Taylor Swift and Spotify. It's not their fault. Well, it might be Swift's to an extent, but I'll get to that. Either way, especially in this case we should be throwing mad shade in Big Machine Label Group's direction, not her or Spotify's. We should also probably be upset that not much has changed from an overall industry standpoint to benefit musicians since streaming sevices came to town.
It's no secret that Taylor Swift thinks that music shouldn't be free. Last year she wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal where she said, "It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is. I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art." This is all well and good, TayTay. You most certainly are not wrong here, but maybe instead of insisting that the technology trying to work with you is to blame, maybe it's the folks you got in bed with when you knew full well that they are notorious for trying to pay your kind (artists) as little as possible for their work.
There are plenty of artists who are well aware that Spotify isn't all to blame here. Last November, Billy Bragg wrote a lengthy Facebook post where he had this very thought regarding labels and royalty payouts. "The problem with the business model for streaming is that most artists still have contracts from the analog age, when record companies did all the heavy lifting of physical production and distribution, so only paid artists 8%-15% royalties on average," he wrote."Those rates, carried over to the digital age, explain why artists are getting such paltry sums from Spotify. If the rates were really so bad, the rights holders - the major record companies - would be complaining. The fact that they're continuing to sign up means they must be making good money." He then goes on to explain that in Sweden that artists have already identified that it's not the streaming service that's at fault and that it's actually the labels wrongdoing. These artists have begun to take action to get better royalty rates that actually reflect the costs in digital production in distribution.
So why isn't the same happening here? Why is it that instead the largest act of the year is instead doing the opposite and running into the arms of Big Machine Label Group, instead of taking a step back and trying to see what's actually happening here.
The fact of the matter is, streaming gives everyone access to ulimited possibilities of music to listen to. What Taylor Swift is doing is limiting how much of the world she can dominate, not to mention how much money she could be potentially be making. It has been said that whopping 25% of Spotify users have streamed Swift's songs and that her songs were on 20 million playlists. Call me crazy, but that's a pretty impressive amount of penetration within a userbase. It just doesn't make sense to run in the opposite direction of that.
Although I have many opinions about the way in which Spotify's offerings are available for the masses, I couldn't agree more with Billy Bragg in that same Facebook post when he wrote, "I've long felt that artists railing against Spotify is about as helpful to their cause as campaigning against the Sony Walkman would have been in the early 80s. Music fans are increasingly streaming their music and, as artists, we have to adapt ourselves to their behaviour, rather than try to hold the line on a particular mode of listening to music."
The internet has turned consumers into a la carte fans. Everyone chooses what level of fandom is. Some fans only buy CDs. Some only buy vinyl. Some stream exclusively but opt to see their favorite artists live instead of purchasing music. There are also some who avoid spending money on an artist as much as possible via pirating or only listening to music via YouTube. That's only a small handful of the use cases that are out there and believe me, as long as technology is going to keep changing as quickly as it has it's only going to get even more complicated.
Business Insider has reason to believe that because label owner Scott Borchetta is looking to sell the label that by pulling Swift's catalog that it will cause scarcity in the market and it will thus drive people to purchase 1989 instead of Googling it and almost immediately finding it floating somewhere online. Someone should really remind Ms. Swift and Big Machine Label Group that you can't force people who only kind of like you to buy your album. That's not how the world operates now. We do not live in a black and white world full of absolutes. You either adapt to how things are changing, or your kind dies.
It would be nice for once that instead of a huge artist running in the opposite direction of technology like streaming services that we witnessed an Arrested Development or House of Cards + Netflix scenario where an album is exclusively made available via streaming. Even if it was just for a limited time before some cool deluxe physical version was made available that fans could purchase. Futhermore, it would be an even bigger deal to see an artist do this after they completely shed themselves of their chains of a record deal so we could see them earn money directly from a streaming service on their own. Any tiny bit of the above would be amazing just so we could see how it works. Everyone is still so worried that the music business is dead and that artists will never may make money the same way again. While this is true, if artists who are able to potentially take the hit for the good of the community were less afraid to take more chances, there is potential for the industry to see a rebirth that the fans in the 21st century and beyond would happily pump their hard earned dollars into in the name of the art. I understand that everything is insanely complicated and it's more than just being like, "BYE FELICIA" to a major, but I really think that's the kind of direction we need to go into before significant change is made.
[Night Out] Wrabel @ Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 2) 9/10/2014
Personal update: I'm trying to get back into the groove of going to at least two shows a week. I'm also I really exhausted from all the emails we get about bands I've never heard of and will most likely will never hear of because they're just "okay". To combat this, I've mostly been ignoring the majority of the emails that I get and just digging around the internet to find things on my own. Back in the day, I used to wander around record stores looking at album artwork and taking chances on art that I felt the most connected to and either give them a listen if they were at the listening bar or just straight up buy the album and take a chance. I found a lot of great music this way (VHS or Beta, Josh Rouse, Junior Jack, etc.).
I started doing this again fairly recently on Rdio and Spotify for every New Music Tuesday. I just scroll around and look for things that are interesting and give them a try. It's less sexy than the thrill of buying an album and being like, "God I hope this is good," but whatever. This is how I stumbled across Wrabel (pronounnced RAY-bell, at first I thought it was rabble, lol) about a month ago. Purely judging a book by its cover, his EP, Sideways, felt familiar. I think it's because he looks like an American version of Mr. Hudson to me. Familiarity has continued to be an ongoing theme for me with Wrabel. His voice, subject matter, etc. all sounds and feels very familiar. Kind of like I've always known him. Obviously since you are reading this post he clearly was able to tick all the boxes I require to decide to keep tabs on him.
After adding him to my extensive Twitter list to keep an eye on him, I noticed he was playing a show at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2. We should get one thing clear: I love Bowery Ballroom more than anything in this world, but there's something about Rockwood Music Hall (both original and stage 2) that holds a special place in my heart. A chance to experience any artist at Rockwood is a thing you should always do, so I decided to venture solo to see how an intimate performance from this newcomer would pan out.
Personal update: I'm trying to get back into the groove of going to at least two shows a week. I'm also I really exhausted from all the emails we get about bands I've never heard of and will most likely will never hear of because they're just "okay". To combat this, I've mostly been ignoring the majority of the emails that I get and just digging around the internet to find things on my own. Back in the day, I used to wander around record stores looking at album artwork and taking chances on art that I felt the most connected to and either give them a listen if they were at the listening bar or just straight up buy the album and take a chance. I found a lot of great music this way (VHS or Beta, Josh Rouse, Junior Jack, etc.).
I started doing this again fairly recently on Rdio and Spotify for every New Music Tuesday. I just scroll around and look for things that are interesting and give them a try. It's less sexy than the thrill of buying an album and being like, "God I hope this is good," but whatever. This is how I stumbled across Wrabel (pronounnced RAY-bell, at first I thought it was rabble, lol) about a month ago. Purely judging a book by its cover, his EP, Sideways, felt familiar. I think it's because he looks like an American version of Mr. Hudson to me. Familiarity has continued to be an ongoing theme for me with Wrabel. His voice, subject matter, etc. all sounds and feels very familiar. Kind of like I've always known him. Obviously since you are reading this post he clearly was able to tick all the boxes I require to decide to keep tabs on him.
After adding him to my extensive Twitter list to keep an eye on him, I noticed he was playing a show at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2. We should get one thing clear: I love Bowery Ballroom more than anything in this world, but there's something about Rockwood Music Hall (both original and stage 2) that holds a special place in my heart. A chance to experience any artist at Rockwood is a thing you should always do, so I decided to venture solo to see how an intimate performance from this newcomer would pan out.
First things first, this guy's voice is nothing short of solid. Dude has a very strong set of pipes that probably need little to no pitch correction in the studio or anything like that, so much respect in that sense. I soaked in every last second of him pounding away on the piano and serenading a disappointly semi-empty room sipping some white wine, a true "This Is Why I Love Rockwood" kind of moment. It must have been a weird juxtaposition for him though considering he casually mentioned at one point between songs that the night prior he performed "10 Feet Tall" alongside Afrojack at Fashion Rocks over at the Barclays Center, but he never made it feel that way in terms of his performance. Between songs he was very friendly and laid back. At one point he even joked, "My mom keeps telling me to write happy songs and I was like, 'I wrote one!'" It's refreshing for me to know that although he was fairly recently signed to Island that it hasn't gone to his head. It's a shame that that's an exception and not the standard.
Wrabel performing at Fashion Rocks at Barclays Center, September 8, 2014. Source: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images North America
As I headed home last night, I put on Sideways to refresh myself on the recorded version of what I had just heard. I started feeling the parallel with him and Mr. Hudson again like the day that I first stumbled across him. Remember before his Kayne moment with Straight No Chaser when he was Mr. Hudson and The Library and had a sound of his own that he could really dig into (a la A Tale Of Two Cities)? I worry that the direction in terms of sound that they're nudging him into is going to get him lost into the Flavor of the Week pile. It's both a blessing and a curse that his voice has moments of Chris Martin, Sam Smith, and Landon Pigg, with hints of Mat Kearney peppered throughout. It's my hope for him that Island didn't just go, "Oh crap, we need a Sam Smith! Ooo! This guy seems nice. *SIGNS*" I don't mind the synthy bits in "Sideways". I get that bassy EDM + pretty vocals on top = Ca$h Money Hoe$ right now. I guess my hope is that as he assumingly starts working on his debut full length that he doesn't allow himself to get overwhelmed by people trying to tell him to be trendy for the sake of moving units this moment. Or that if he does that he knows exactly what he's doing and plans to be in the spotlight for 4 seconds and then when he has a pile of money he just runs off and does whatever the heck he wants.
Fact of the matter is, Wrabel is a voice your ears need to hear and I think if he plays his cards right that he will be staying around with us for awhile.
Wrabel is on the internet in various places like Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud. Follow/like/add as you will. His debut EPSideways is available for purchase on iTunes if you're into that as well.