MUSIC
The Best New Music This Week: Everything But Marilyn Manson Edition
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Manson's new album is good as hell, and if I could get away with it I would devote this whole column to the record. But, unfortunately, this round-up does not involve Manson in any way shape, or form.
Published on October 11, 2017

Not gonna lie, this week's column was pretty hard to put together, namely because I spent all weekend mainlining Marilyn Manson instead of listening to new music to tell you about it. Manson's new album Heaven Upside Down is good as hell, and if I could get away with it I would just devote this entire space to writing about it. But that would be unfair to you, because you might not like Marilyn Manson, and you will definitely like at least one of the songs I have included below, none of which involve Marilyn Manson in any way, shape, or form.

Prins Thomas - "Æ"

I hate the internet, but it's kinda cool how sometimes you can look at the little audio waves on a SoundCloud box and already tell what the vibe of the song is. Like, on this one, you've probably guessed that it's super twitchy and stop-starty and negative-space-y, and if so, you are correct.

The Transcendence Orchestra - "Upper Windrush"

Other times, you can pretty much immediately figure out a song's vibe simply from the artist's name and its title. Like, The Transcendence Orchetra's "Upper Windrush" is a lush-ass ambient piece that over the course of 12 minutes builds a sonic space so encompassing that it's genuinely exhilarating (providing you're either as down with ambient music as I am, or at least stoned enough to convince yourself that you're down with ambient music).

Ryuichi Sakamoto - "Solari (Fennesz Remix)"

My immediate thought upon seeing that Fennesz did a remix of Ryuichi Sakamoto was simply, "Oh fuck yeah, baby!!" That's a definitely an over-enthusiastic response to discovering that one ambient guy did an ambient remix to another ambient guy's already ambient song, but then again, when the Austrian composer Fennesz forms like Voltron with the legendary Japanese electronic musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, you get a true Monster of Chill.

Dmitry Evgrafov - "Tamas"

While the Russian pianist and composer Dmitry Evgrafov's new song is a rewarding experience on its own, its accompanying music video, a Brakhage-esque shot of bacteria doing bacteria stuff, makes the track feel imbued with cosmic significance.

Golden Teacher - "The Kazmier"

OK, enough of the dang ambient crap, let's move on to some shit to shake your butt to. Golden Teacher is a band from Glasgow, and here is a song they made about Kazmier, a dearly departed local club. It's a bubbly electro-soul jammer that's funkier than anything made by Scottish people should logically be.

JOULE$ - "SHORTY GO!"

Dallas consistently produces amazing, idiosyncratic rappers, and JOULE$ seems like he's going to be around for a while. In addition to spitting erudite and funny-as-shit verses, the beat on "SHORTY GO!" is an absolute stunner, inverting the pan-pipes and flutes that are all the rage in rap these days and taking them into uncharted territory.

B8gie Foo' and MightyLee - "Whole Damn Life"

The new video from Chicago's B8gie Foo' (pronounced "Boogie Fool") is a love letter to New Orleans hip-hop, showcasing notable Nola landmarks and featuring a guest verse from MightyLee, who just so happens to be the nephew of Cash Money's Birdman.

Tah-Hir - "Bank Roll$"

There are a few styles of rap that I'm a total sucker for, and "Rapping About Money Over Smooth Retro-Funk" is definitely one of them. Thank you, Tah-Hir, for making a rap song that I liked a lot.

J.F. Burma - "Sub Saharan Jitter"

And now, a weird electronic track that to my ears sounds like it's just begging to get sampled by somebody like B8gie Foo' or JOULE$ or Tah-Hir. If there are any dorm-room producers reading this, I guarantee you if you a loop from this bad boy, chop it up and add some syncopated rhythms, and then get somebody to rap over it, you will have a supreme banger on your hands.

Chippass, Slim 400, IZREALAZITGET, and Lil Soxx - "We Ain't Hurtin'"

And finally, an unrepentant slapper to give you the resolve to get through your week.

Follow Drew Millard on Twitter

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Drew Millard is a freelance writer and dog owner living in Durham, North Carolina. His writing has appeared in VICE, High Times, Hazlitt, SPIN, and many other publications. Follow him on Twitter at @drewmillard.
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