How the West Was Won
I drove to New York
In the van, with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don’t mind, I don’t mind
An oddly upbeat number from Matthew Dear, whose last album swayed between dark love songs and brooding dance tracks. New album out August 27th.
Has more flow than Nicki Minaj and arguably more clout. Although the comparison is easy and clichéd, it’s hard not to hear a not-so-radio-friendly no-holds-barred female Weezy.
The new Azealia Banks EP 1991 was meant to come out on April 17th, but was delayed for reasons stated below:
“I just switched management.. Literally like three days ago, and have a whole new set of resources to take advantage of. We’re gonna vamp this up and make it official.. No more ghetto mixes and closet recording.. I have a budget now! #brokewithexpensivetaste”.
But I’m losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they’re actually really, really nice.
Losing My Edge, the song that propelled LCD Soundsystem into the public conscious. James Murphy name checks favourite bands of the past, but makes the point that you can move forward but at the same time keep the musical tricks that make these past musicians so timeless. A great example of how LCD Soundsystem mixed elements of other musical genres and got away with it so flawlessly.
Up and around we go
Round and around we go…
I can’t even begin to explain what Ariel Pink means and why he does what he does, because I don’t have a freaking clue. It doesn’t matter because his warped 80’s throw-back music speaks for itself. Round and Round from the album Before Today.
The first time you hear a distinctive female voice in the album The Understanding by Röyksopp you’re already half way through the album. What Else Is There? is an obvious stand-out, but the whole album flows so well you’d be doing it a disservice not to listen to it all the way through. Downtempo but with a slightly serious spin, perfect for a lazy afternoon. 
A criminally understated sector of the music industry, Video Game music has been an integral part of establishing the character that comes with such an immersive form of entertainment. Akira Yamaoka knows the importance of music that contributes to the atmosphere of a game, and Silent Hill 2 excels at this. Put bluntly, it’s horrifying. Highlights of the Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtracks include Theme of Laura, Alone in the Town, and True, although the track The Reverse Will is an obvious standout. Not featured on the game itself, it appears on the soundtrack and is refreshingly upbeat compared with the songs that surround it.
Philip Glass, one of the most revered classical composers of our time, has a mindbogglingly huge back-catalogue of compositions to his name. Responsible for operas, musical theatre works, ten symphonies, ten concertos, solo works, chamber music, and film scores, his musical reach knows no bounds, having collaborated with artists such as David Byrne, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Patti Smith, and Aphex Twin. The track above is suitably named Closing, bookending the other side of Opening, on the album Glassworks.
