Last 7 Days is a series here on The Metronome that uses last.fm to chronicle the artists and albums that have made up the last week’s worth of listening for one of our staff members. This week, Andrew Halverson — or halveraptor — shares the listening habits that made up his week.
Dr. John
(65 plays)
Listening to Dr. John was a lot of fun for me. Earlier this week I reviewed his latest album Locked Down and while that album doesn’t go leaps and bounds in terms of Dr. John’s history, it gave me an opportunity to explore his back catalogue, including the fantastic Gris-Gris, an album that truly explores the feeling of Night Tripper. Something that should be known is that I really, really like psychedelic subgenres. There is a certain twist to them that I think can play out extremely well when done right and Dr. John certainly knows how to do that right. I have a fever and my only prescription is more “Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya.”
Death Grips
(58 plays)
There’s not much else I can say about Death Grips that hasn’t already been said, except to elaborate on why The Money Store is such a big deal. I’m from Sacramento. I live here. I’ve always lived here. The notion of Death Grips becoming such a huge entity to the point they’re getting “Recommended” and “Best New Music” goes to show how much can crawl out of the frequently ignored capital of California. There is a lot for MC Ride and the rest of the group to be angry at. We have the fourth highest suicide rate in the country and we’re surrounded by this political body where we get nothing done. It’s just easy to understand where the anger is coming from to me. The Money Store also transcends any sort of inhibitions in music. Who cares they’re on a major label? This band kills it every time, spitting some of the heaviest material you will hear this entire year, and I can’t wait for more.
Smog
(28 plays)
Smog is arguably my favorite artist, mostly because his music hits straight to me more than any other man. He hasn’t made a sprawling masterpiece that everyone flocks to, but he’s human. Actually, I recently made my first real revelation with his highest regarded album Knock Knock which wasn’t ever my favorite Smog album, but things may have changed. I just can’t help but be enthralled by his voice and innovative lyrical presentation.
tUnE-yArDs
(20 plays)
I should probably mention that three of the artists I had seen live this week, and in preparation for the shows, I went back to some of their music. tUnE-yArDs was one of them. She created an album that wasn’t just pointlessly fun, she had something to say with w h o k i l l. While, it took me a while to enjoy her music last year, when it hit, it hit hard. It’s something I still listen to every once in a while.
Grimes
(15 plays)
It seems like people have already forgotten about Grimes. Fair, considering there was just a ton of hype all at once. I don’t necessarily think that hype was appropriate but it didn’t come without reason or explanation. Visions is an awesome album to sit back and enjoy on your way home from Oakland at one o’clock in the morning. Also, “Circumambient” is still a totally brilliant pop song.
The Shins
(15 plays)
I can’t say that any of what I listened to of The Shins this week to prepare for their UC Davis show came from Port of Morrow unless it was “Simple Song.” In fact, most of what I went back to, and the reason I went back to it was to become familiar with Chutes to Narrow once again, a great album musically, and an even better one lyrically. That’s what’s been missing with The Shins lately: too much focus on making huge music with an ever-changing band with less focus on musical poetry that’s heavier than the water that filled my white water raft a few years ago. And that shit was heavy.
St. Vincent
(14 plays)
Arguably, this is the most exciting thing on the board. Continuing on the whole “seeing tUnE-yArDs” thing, St. Vincent actually followed right after at that show. Which, hey, if that’s your lineup get ready for some fun. Anyway, I went mostly to Strange Mercy as well as the latest 7″ that dropped (not Last.fm related, since it’s an actual thing that actually exists in my actual hands) on Record Store Day. That was worth mentioning. Turns out that “Krokodil” was the centerpiece of the show I had experienced that night. Being in the front, everyone was freaking out trying to hold this woman up. But she knew what she was doing, and it comes off in her music in recording too. Boy, are “Krokodil” and “Grot” awesome.
Motörhead
(13 plays)
It’s fucking Overkill by Motörhead.
