this is not a competition but i am winning

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought" - Sir Thomas Beecham

Smoothest track I have heard in 28 months. I’ve circled the sun for 40 years, been digging deep into music for at least 27 years and this track never made it to my ear holes. On one hand, I wish I heard it sooner but on the other it gives me hope knowing that gems still remain un-dug.

Banger

I am iron man

Andrés - New For U

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BasedGod

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Plant Workshop

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Fix Up, Look Sharp

Blind Snooks Eaglin - That’s Alright

Blues is sounding perfect to these ears today. A brief reprieve from the Christmas music onslaught

Bootsy Collins - I’d Rather Be With You

“Don’t talk about my moms yo”

Man, this list is a walk through musical history. Fantastic work right here. Thankful that Pitchfork puts these types of articles as a record for future generations. I mean it has entries for PBR&B, Chillwave, Electroclash, lo-Fi House, and Witch House among others.

Just imagine someone finding this list in 2030 and first hearing some of these tracks. Minds will be blown. While I can’t say I followed all of these, I have watched quite a few of these grow up and burn out so I figured I would add a few additional tracks to the list:

Blog House - This almost seemed like a reinginition of the French Kiss sound from the late 90’s. So many great artists and great releases to choose from. Justice’s Cross LP has to be the flag bearer. Also dig into Digitalism and Boys Noize. I am a sucker for house music. The track that first comes to mind for me is Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix). Listen here. But while it might not technically be Blog House I have to add this track. Still so damn good. Also D V N O 4 capital letters.

Chillwave - The obvious jump off point here is Washed out Feel It All Around. Listen here. But the impact that Chillwave has had since its inception can not be understated. The closest thing I can compare it to is Fusion from the 70’s. It was the next logical step and created amazing music but also ruined a lot of shit since it was an easy template for artists to follow.

Electroclash - Man, remember Fischerspooner? Their debut self-titled LP was something else. I remember buying this CD with the companion disc of videos. That shit was awesome. The visuals were on another level compared to what was playing on MTV at the time. Also Megacolon? I mean what? Quite a release. Side note, Electroclash always seems connected with the Mashup scene at the time. That shit was also wild. Then Girl Talk took it to an new level. Fucking madness. Those were the days man, those were the days.

Freak Folk - I had a love hate relationship with Freak Folk. Shit was cool. Some tracks were amazing but for the most part listening to an entire album was maddening. Animal Collective is a perfect example.

Lo-Fi House - As mentioned before, I am a sucker for house music. In a good year there are maybe 3 great house LP released. In a bad year you might get one good release. When the Lo-Fi house movement hit the scene there were like 3 great LP’s and another 5 or 6 great EP’s. What’s interesting about this sound is that the tracks probably would have been better if they didn’t sound like shit. But the fact that they did sound like shit really allowed me to find other artists who were releasing similar music. I put together a playlist of Lo-Fi house which you can listen to here.

Night Bus - I think this one was a bit of a stretch to be honest. I listened to a TON of dub-step and everything that came after it and I had never heard someone call it Night Bus. I mean it is just the name of a Burial track. It’s more of a revisionist history sub-genre. That said, would be great if someone would go back and pull together all of the related tracks. Pitchfork linked to CFCF’s 2010 Fader mix Do U Like Night Bus? which is fantastic. Burial’s sound blew my mind at the time and still sounds futuristic today.

PBR&B - One of the best named micro-genres of all time. The first track that comes to mind when I hear it is Millionairess by Inc. The track is PBR&B adjacent but in my mind really shows what groups were doing to expand sounds at the time. Listen here.

Purple / Wonky - This shit was rad. It was so over the top. Purple burned bright for a short period of time while Wonky had a much longer run. The first iteration of Dub-Step was splintering into so many different sounds it was almost impossible to keep track of. Of all the genres in my lifetime it would be the one where I would want to read a definitive history of. Or even better if someone mapped out the spider web of artists and sub-genres through time would be something on the level of the Rosetta stone of electronic music in the early 2000’s.

Skweee - This one is easy. This is the smallest of all of the genres listed. Just go to Spotify and search Eero Johannes. That’s all you need to know.

Vaporwave - Another madding one. Vaporwave was a lot bigger than music. It contained all areas of art. But its main ascetic is almost anti art. More than anything Vaporwave was a catch all term for early internet nostalgia vibes. An easy entry point is Hit Vibes by Saint Pepsi. Listen to that full LP here. It’s more of a disco-house release but its firmly planted in the vibe.

Witch House - Another one that burned bright for a few short years. Easily the biggest artist to come out of Witch House was Clams Casino. Again, he wasn’t specifically a Witch House artists but did release his early work on Triangle Records which was the home of the early sound. Just listen to “Frost” by Salem or “See Birds” by Balam Acab. Then listen to “Motivation” by Clams. Then listen to Lil B’s version here. Then Lil B’s ’I’m God’ also produced by Clams. Then move to A$AP Rocky’s Bass. It is a direct path from Witch House to what was at the time the cutting edge of pop music. All started with Triangle Records. That was a tangent. Here is the definitive Witch House banger! White Ring - IxC999