10 Songs: Saturday, September 6th, 2014

Uptight

1. Never catch Me (featuring Kendrick Lamar) – Flying Lotus – Pitchfork review: “Somewhere beneath the spazzing cymbals, the maze of key changes, and the sphincter-tightening virtuosity of the synth lines, a quizzical piano motif repeats itself, softly—a grounding idea among the song’s avant-jazz madness.” Sphincter-tightening? – B+

2. I Was Only Joking – Rod Stewart – On the cusp of his thirties, Stewart doubts his own sincerity – A

3. Out On The Weekend – Neil Young – Is it country or is it folk, and how free does it make you? – A

4. Learned helplessness – Grey Gordon – Power pop with a nice fuzzy guitar and a hint of the garage – B+

5. Overjoyed And Thankful – Half Japanese – Less catchy and more twitchy – A-

6. Are You Ready For The Country – Neil Young – A really thrilling time for rock, just a year or so, but it was unbelievable – A

7. You’re still A Mystery – Bleachers – Nice hook – A-

8. Heart On My Sleeve – Mary Lambert – She is the woman who sang on Macklemore And Lewis’s “not that there’s anything wrong with it” gay anthem. This is quite good pop rock ballad – B

9. ¼ Block – Jeezy – A goodie on album without that many, this is all forward turning bark rap – B+

10. Video Girl – FKA twigs – The drums are so weird, they keep on dropping out when I expect them to drop in – A