At what point in its history did music cease to be a meritocracy in favor of a hype-incepted, corporate-propagated popularity contest? The beginning of time? The Internet? Kings of Leon? Apologies for seeming like a downer; I find myself in the throes of an existential crisis about life patterns, and as of late, my listening habits. Yesterday I freaked out about whether or not I give adequate consideration to technical aptitude and musicianship when I enjoy and digest music.
But then I thought, “who gives a shit?†If I enjoy music, then it must be good for at least one person. Sometimes I enjoy virtuosity and sometimes I don’t, and this week I definitely do. So I am happy to share with you Stephen Bruner’s cover of George Duke’s “For Love I Come.†Bruner, aka Thundercat, has heretofore been a ancillary member of several artists’ touring ensembles, including Erykah Badu and Snoop Dogg. But he has finally stepped into the limelight with his Flying Lotus co-produced debut, The Golden Age of Apocalypse.
And it’s about time, because this dude can manhandle the bass; I’m talking like Victor Wooten status. Once when Bruner was touring with Snoop Dogg, Snoop gave him a solo during one show and subsequently called him out on stage for playing too many notes. But how many notes is too many, really? You be the judge, and enjoy this week’s space-fuzzed funk track.
Ya’ll nerds need to follow me @MattGrosinger
Cory, “Sgt. Pepper” didn’t have any singles on it and is widely considered the greatest album of the rock ‘n roll era.
cory^ just won the internet.
#1. iTunes is no different than walking into a store that sells physical copies of music. If you want ” saccharin-sweet, substance-less, cotton candy, junk food, pop music” that is what you will buy.
#2. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE SINGLE! (at least in popular music.) Why where the Beatles so famous? The singles, listen to Revolution 9 and imagine that is the only song of theirs that you have ever heard. Still one of the greatest bands ever?
#3. Blaming anything “bad” on one specific item is just weak.
#4. I used to work in a record store. Most of the customers wanted the latest hit on the radio, not the Sun Ra I had playing in my car. Please note the “used to” as the store is now closed.
#5. Nice track, I can’t wait to buy it… on iTunes.
Too many notes? That reminds me of Amadeus. WTF does that even mean?
Blame it on the iTunes. All the saccharin-sweet, substance-less, cotton candy, junk food, pop music you could ever want, all at your fingertips and readily plugged directly into the popularity contest vote machine. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great tool but, IMO it’s directly responsible for moving the music industry further away from catalog/album artists and toward whomever can synthesize the next #1, a la carte, hit single.
I’ve been waiting for Thundercat’s new album since I first heard “For Love I Come” I immediately rushed over to my local record store to pick up “The Golden Age of the Apocalypse” upon it’s release. Flying Lotus is wonderful. Thundercat is amazing. Together they’ve made a fantastic album.