NPR Music - The Contenders, Vol. 18: The songs we can't stop playing this week

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

Reflections on regret from beabadoobee and Bon Iver, deep sonic meditations from Nala Sinephro and Jill Fraser, and more updates to our running list of the year's best songs.Featured songs and artists:1. beabadoobee: "California," from This is How Tomorrow Moves2. Bon Iver: "S P E Y S I D E," from SABLE3. Mabe Fratti: "Kravitz," from Sentir que no sabe4. Jem: "Come On Closer," from Finally Woken (20th Anniversary Remastered Edition)5. Nala Sinephro: "Continuum 3," from Endlessness6. Jill Fraser: "Beautiful Summer," from Earthly PleasuresEnjoy the show? Tell a friend and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

I won't lie to you. I've been playing way too much of The Last of Us. Okay. The video game. Yes. I finished part one. Okay. Last of Us part one. And now I'm doing Last of Us part two. And it's pretty harrowing. Right. And gut-wrenching. I mean, it's deeply satisfying fighting with zombies. That's a very big part of it. But the story is such a huge, is really the main thing.

And world exploring. There's this point where one of the characters dies. and then you spend about half an hour just going through their house. That's the game. Going through their personal things, like looking at old photos and clothing and boxes of mementos. And there's, you know, it's not like, well, can I just skip this and go back to fighting zombies? It's gut-wrenching. It's really. Yeah, I'm not a gamer at all, but if I'm reaching for a video game, it's the complete opposite of what you're doing.

It's like Animal Crossing. It's like planting tulips in the yard. and going fishing and talking to my animal friends. And yeah. There's actually a game called unpacking that you might really like. Oh, I think I've seen, I think I have friends who play this game and I've seen them play it. All you do is put stuff away. That's the whole game.

See, that's, I think I would really like that. Opening boxes, oh, what's this? And then finding a place on a shelf for it. That's literally all you do. It's not like a zombie pops out of the box. It would be funny if they sold the game. that way and then like deep, deep, deep into the game. Right.

It does take a turn. Yeah. I guess if we're looking for a transition to actually talking about music on the show, we can talk about all the ways that I've disappointed everyone in my family since turning my wife into a video game widow because it's a recurring theme and then at least a couple of the cuts I know we want to play. Yeah, we have some like deep introspective soul-searching songs on this episode. And one of them is the song California by the artist Bidubi. And this song, it's from the last album that she put out called This Is How Tomorrow Moves.

It's like her third studio album. And it is for me like one of my favorite songs of the year by far. So the reason I bring up the whole idea of disappointing the people that she love, that kind of comes up in this song as she's reflecting on all the way she feels like she's let some of her closest friends down in recent years. Yeah, I mean, I hear that, but I also hear this kind of power to the song where it feels like there's this kind of like throwing your hands up, like, aspect to it where so much of this song is about her expressing that, listen, I tried the best that I could.

But then she has these moments, like, I love the bridge on this song so much. I was moving in my seat in the studio when that bridge happens where, you know, she's like, I'm keeping it quiet. And then they're not going to listen to me really until I crack. Right. And then I kind of have to pick up the pieces of what's happened. And yeah, I mean, there's just something about Bibadubi where she has two modes that she works in. She has this kind of like softer acoustic Tweed mode. And then I feel like every album that she puts out, she has a couple of.

of big blowout rock songs where I feel like she's taking a song that could be so much quieter and sensitive and really kind of giving it the musical intensity that I feel like the emotions call for. And so that's why this song really stands out to me. And even just like the beautiful simplicity of that outro, they'll never know. Yeah, we played one of those quieter songs from this record. It's called Coming Home. Back in June, I think it was when the album, when the album. was first announced. And it had a very similar theme. It seems like she's a lot less bite to it than this song, because it was a very sweet song. But she definitely seems to be at a point where I think she's at least reflecting kind of on how her life has changed since reaching a larger audience

with her music, particularly what I think it's done maybe to her sense of self and some of her closest relationships. The whole idea that I tried, I think in that that bridge you're talking about, One of the things that's really interesting about it is she says, keeping quiet until I hit back and I know they're not going to listen until I crack, meaning nobody else really cares how I feel or what's happening inside until I crack and fall apart because then now I'm jeopardizing what, the revenue stream or something. You know what I mean? Yeah.

And I mean, even like naming the song California, the song is not really about California, but it starts with that image of, I'm spending too much time out here. She's recorded in California. she made this album and this song, Rick Rubin produced it. This is kind of a leveling up for her on this album. And I feel like she came up as a bedroom artist. And you're really kind of alluding to the ways in which her career has expanded. And with that comes certain expectations and pressures and things like that.

And I think on a song like this, you can hear that growth. So that was California. This is how tomorrow moves from Biba Dube. So there's a new song from Bonavere that I think share. some of the same themes with the Bibadubi song, and that they both sort of have a sort of personal struggle at the center of them and reflecting on the ways they think that they may have hurt people around them

directly or indirectly. This is Justin Vernon Bonavere, his first new record in five years. It's an EP called Sable. And the first cut that we've heard from it, it's kind of a return to form for him, for people who really fell in love with his earliest stuff when he put out his debut album back in 2008. But we can talk more about it after we hear it.

The song is called Spacide. Oh, now that I can't make good, I wish I could. Nothing's really something now the whole thing should. It serves to suffer. Make a hole in my foot as I fill my book. Nothing's really happened like I thought it would. Really dampen on such a violent spree. You can still make a man from me here on Space Side Key.

With what's left of me As you live in I really know now What had hold on me You know honestly I wasn't really sure How Bonavere would sound after several years Of not putting out music You know you always wonder things like

Are they still relevant Will it still sound fresh or you know Or whatever but this one really moved me I think particularly because of just how personal And confessional he gets on it You know how much he lets us into Where he's been and what he's been going through. I mean, it's not entirely clear what he's been going through, but the nerves

are just pretty raw. So raw. And it's interesting because I think of Justin Vernon as this revered, storied artist. He's worked with Kanye West. He's worked with Taylor Swift. And, you know, he's obviously had his own career. To hear him go to the places that he goes on this song was very surprising to me. Like, you know, in that moment where, you know, he asks, what's wrong with me? It really kind of rings out in the middle of the song to me. But I did want to ask you about this idea of this being a return to form. Because I think for fans of Bonnie there, like Justin's been working with, you know, electronic music for his last few albums. I feel like an auto tune and has been really playing with his voice and sort of expanding the sound of the project.

And this did feel to me like a sort of... cleaning of the slate or like a return to form. But I'm curious what you think, why he's doing that. Yeah, I think that's an interesting question. I mean, yeah, it definitely feels like a reset for him, sort of back to the fundamental sound or foundational sounds that, you know, he began with, which I guess makes sense if you think about it, if he's trying to reset his entire life. I mean, again, we don't really know what he's been through, but you listen to the song, there are hints of maybe not addiction, but certainly pretty head. self-medication, the ways that, you know, he's thinking about the ways he's hurt people and

disappointed people. And maybe when you've been through something horrible, it's easy to romanticize the past and want to return to it, right? So maybe that's, maybe that's part of what he's doing with the sound, just going back to the past in some ways. But I mean, I'm totally for it. I mean, this would fit in right alongside anything on that debut album for Emma forever ago. Yeah, I mean, that also makes me think, you know, I mentioned him collaborating with big pop stars and rappers. He's been in the studio with other people. And maybe this is a way of him returning to the music that's like just for him. You know, just I just saw a lot of news item that he was in the studio with Daniel Heim and Charlie XX.

Like, people want to work with him. And so it's interesting to me that now that he's releasing more music as Bonnie. there. It's not just like a cleaning of the slate psychologically, but like a cleaning of the slate musically. Yeah. I like the idea that he's doing this for him. Yes. That clocks with everything else

going on in this cut. Yeah. So the full EP, again, is called Sable. Just four tracks, but it is out October 18th. Robin, do you see a lot of live music? You know, not as much as I used to. I was just talking with a friend about this. I used

to go to shows constantly, multiple times a week and I'm not sure why I don't much anymore. And then, you know, I'd go to Southby every year and see a year's worth of shows in a week, you know, but yeah, I just don't. I need to. I've been thinking lately that I need to. I know you get to a lot of shows. I get to a lot of, I get to too many shows. I'm booked and busy. I don't know, I don't know that you get to too many. But I went to an incredible show recently, the artist Mabe Frati, who is, who is, and an experimental cellist, originally from Guatemala, works in Mexico City. I know Anna Maria Sair of Alt Latino is a huge fan of her work. I actually went to the show with her.

And she is just an unbelievable live performer. The things that she does with her cello are just mind-blowing. And she put out an album this year called Sentekei Nisabes, and there's a track on it called Cravets, that is hands down one of my favorite songs of the year. It is all about that bass. Yeah. So good. It almost sounds like a synth, but I assume it's just your cello run through a bunch of distortion or something. Yes, and it's like throbbing.

Yeah. It's just like, this song just like hits me in the face like cold wind. Like it's so intense and it's so eerie. And if you translate the lyrics, it's a very paranoid song. She's singing about the possibility of presence living in her ceiling. Like there's ears behind the walls. People are instructing her to do things. And yeah, she's just so incredibly effective at taking her cello and only a few other elements.

You know, those horns and just making something totally. transfixing and and creepy. Yeah, I read that she said the song is about the origin of thought. Like, where do our thoughts come from? She said, I'm reading a quote here. It's a song about the sensation of not knowing where the opinions come from and the chicken or egg question, do they come from outside? Do they come from inside? Also, who wants to listen to these opinions? Girl. Who actually listens to them? But yeah, she has just honed such a a distinctive palliative sounds over the years that are just so uniquely hers. And in fact, you know, in addition to the albums that she's put out, she's released a playable sample-based

library of instruments that are inspired by all of her work. If you do a search for estatica, the instrument or the library of instruments is called estatica. You know, it's got everything cellos synths, voices, a percussion. It's so cool. I did. a little demo here just so you can hear a little bit of what it sounds like. It is so cool. You could do a whole album just with this little library of instruments that she'd. So this is, I'm playing these on a MIDI controller, you know, controlling these, but these are all her sounds. She's so cool. She's so cool. She's so cool. And so metal live. Like I, she was really hardcore live. I saw her at Public Records in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, and it was just her cello.

all of her effects that she puts on it, an incredible drummer and another guitarist. And I felt like I was watching like a 12-piece band in the room. It was crazy. Yeah, wow. She's incredible. I was so glad you picked this one. Yeah.

So that was Cravitz from the album Sinty Kno Saab that is out now. You know, it feels to me, at least it has lately, like this is the 20th or 30th or maybe even 40th anniversary of all the music that I love most in my life. I mean, I could do a whole show that's just nothing but stuff that came out 20 years ago. But I figure I'm going to just trickle some of these out and sharing these. You know, it's not just a nostalgia trip. I mean, it is for some people.

But I think it's also just a great excuse to get some of the stuff in front of people who've maybe never even heard of some of these artists as hard as that is for someone like me to imagine because, you know, I have in my head just how big some of these artists were, you know, all these years ago when they were putting out stuff. So I want to play a cut from the singer known as Gem, J-E-M. She put out an absolutely amazing album in 2004 called Finally Awoken. It was her debut album. And it has been remastered for this 20th anniversary edition.

I can tell you more about it and her after we hear one of my favorite cuts from it. This is a song called Come On Closer. You're in New York. get to be here to witness me dancing in the studio. I love to dance. I really love to dance, though, to be fair, it also involves a lot of air guitaring while dancing. This song gets me going. Yeah, I feel like when I listen to that song, I feel like I'm in like a haunted music box. Like, I'm trapped in that. Oh, wow. Really? Well, I was curious what you thought because Jim is new to you, right? You didn't listen to Jim. So, yeah, I remember you asked me, are you aware of this artist in this album? And I was like,

no. And then I listened. I feel like I have heard Gems music because it feels I can just hear the 2004ness and it's the sound. That kind of like Bollywood sample, that kind of like electronica meets aggressive guitar riffs and kind of like cinematic pop or dark baroque that I feel like

a lot of other artists were doing. at the time. Or there were a lot of other artists in the early 2000s who were using Bollywood samples or like instrumentals. And I was thinking of like Britney Spears is toxic, which I actually think came out around the same time. Or even something like Missy Elliott's Get Your Freak on, which I think Timbalin used like a tabla. I don't think he was using a Bollywood sample, but like, anyway, it's, it's of that time, this song. Well, I think she's an artist that a lot of people maybe also have heard and didn't realize they heard because I cannot tell you how much this music was just everywhere. When it came out, you know, like it was just dominating. It was in the O.C.

And six feet under and Grey's Anatomy. And there was this real star-packed movie called Closer that came out in 2004. And this song that we just heard Come On Closer was used to promote that film, a Mike Nichols movie. So this music was kind of. of everywhere, but we wouldn't have been able to say this at the time, but going back and revisiting this, I'm hearing sort of hints of what was to come in this music. We did talk on the Arcade Fire episode that we did a few weeks ago about how 2004 felt like a lot was about to change in indie rock and pop music. And this was one of the records, I think, that pointed into a new direction. But, you know, there's some genre blending going on here, those metal guitar

chugs against her very crystalling voice in those sweet little bells. Yeah, I mean, it's not trip hoppy, but it feels born. It feels like it has its tendrils in trip hop, the poppy, the sampling, the beats of the song. And I don't know, I feel like that's all coming back. So maybe Gem should come back. Yeah, I would love it if she came back. Not sure how essential, honestly, this remastering of the album is they've made it a bit punchier. it brings out maybe a little more heft in the record,

these remastered versions. But regardless, a great excuse to revisit her music and get it in front of everyone again. Again, the song we played was called Come On Closer from the album, finally awoken the 20th anniversary edition that just came out. So Robin, earlier this year, we did an episode of music to relax to, songs to relax to you. And in that episode, I talked about how I always had music playing in my home.

like I constantly. And oftentimes I find myself early in the morning when I'm just waking up, reaching for the most calming, meditative music that I can find. I just want to start my mornings with, you know, I want to wake up with the sun and listen to something that's going to like start me off on the right foot for the day. And lately, an album that I've been putting on on repeat, aggressive repeat, is the new album, from the experimental jazz artist Nala Sinephro. Were you familiar with her?

I have to admit, I was not until you turned me onto this, and I'm so glad you did. So I was not familiar with her. She put out an album this year, very recently, called Endlessness. It's her second album, but the minute I put this album on, I was just completely hooked. It's so gorgeous,

and it's a series of kind of continuous tracks. It creates this very meditative, cycle. There's like a looping kind of synth pattern that's a thread throughout each of the tracks in the album. But it very slowly builds and kind of takes different turns and twists. And so it's hard to pick out one song from this cycle, but there's a track on the album called Continuum 3. We should maybe do a whole episode on The Best Morning Music, because this would be perfect. Absolutely. Yeah. It's just, it's so. gorgeous and I just love the way the harp which Nala plays and she also plays synthesizer on this song. There's like a moment in the song where I feel like all the instruments are just kind of colliding and creating this beautiful collage of noise and yeah she I'm surprised that I didn't know about her until this album but it's it's just a beautiful beautiful piece of music.

I read this being pitched as a deep dive into the cycle of existence, which is, that's thematic catnip. I'm totally there. You're like, I'm all ears. Cycle of existence. Please. Continue, yes. But also sonic catnip for me. It is just the perfect mix of sounds to get taken away by, you know.

There is an interesting moment that comes about halfway through this cut when you mentioned that she plays keyboards and sense. and that synth solo comes in. You know the moment I'm talking about? Yes, yes. What do you think of that? So I really like that moment because, you know, you mentioned her describing it or it being pitched as like a cycle of existence. I know that Nalasinephro has also described this album as an audio diary of her 25th and 26th years of life.

And there's something about that synth solo, the way it rattles all. off, it feels chatty. Like, I don't, like, I don't know if this is going to make sense, but there's no voices in that song. There really aren't voices on this album. But that synthline sounds like a voice. It sounds like it's talking to me. Like, it's trying to communicate something messier or something off, like, it's trying to take the song off track in a weird way.

I don't know. There's just something about it that it reads as, voice to me. And I like when you're sort of being enveloped in the beauty of this song and then this jazzy little synth solo comes in and you're like, what's going on? Yeah. Yeah. I guess I ask because it takes me out of the moment in a way that I don't want to, it certainly doesn't ruin the song. I love this piece of music. It kind of harses my mellow a little bit, you know, because you're just drifting away. But the way you put it is so perfect and now it feels essential. Yeah, no? Well, because I'm like,

Because I can totally see that. Like I can totally see it. But I think, I don't know, just something about her being, oh, my 25th and 26th years of life. Those are chaotic years. I don't care who you are. And so, I don't know. There was just something about that synth line. The unexpectedness of it, like I can completely understand how it could take someone out of the moment of beauty.

And I guess in a sense it did take me out as well. But I found it charming. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, people should listen to the whole album. Yes. Honestly, make it the thing you do for a night or morning, I guess, in your case. I think people will be glad they did.

You know, I saw this great New Yorker cartoon recently where someone's camped out on their couch. You know, I think they've got a big drink propped up in their hand. And the caption says, why would I go out to a party to meet somebody when the love of my life would obviously be at home on a Friday night? So true. Yeah. And I thought, that's me. And I would be listening to this record. So good from Nalus and Ephro, the album Endlessness.

So I have a confession for you, Hazel. Yeah. For all of my planning and crate digging and voracious listening that I do, at the end of the day, I very often end up just going with something that you shared with me. And that I learned about from you. Oh, so I'm doing your job. Is that what you're saying? So you actually quite a lot of the music that ends up on this show is stuff that, oh, he's, oh, that's a good one.

And one of those is this new record from Jill Frazier. This album is called Earthly Pleasures. I had heard of Jill Frazier. I don't know much about her, but I had no idea that she had this new album out until you told me, honestly, you probably know more about her than I do. I feel like I should know more about her because if there's one thing about me, I'm a woman of modular synthesis. And I love artists like Lori Spiegel and Suzanne Chiani and Pauli Nana Strom and Jill Frazier is a pioneer in modular synth music and, you know, had done commercial work and scoring work. And yeah, I saw that she had this album out and I recognized her name, but I wasn't super familiar with her solo work.

I just sort of knew of her presence in the genre. And this album, Earthly Pleasures, is gorgeous. Yeah, maybe it's just a case of it's what I needed to hear when. I first found it. It just completely reconfigured my day. And I would be happy to play anything from this album, but let's go with the song I know you really love called Beautiful Summer. And I'm so glad that you said that it sounded like the sense and that Nalas and Ephraoka were talking to you because that's something I'll flag for people to listen for in this song. It sounds like there are these magical creatures talking to you in this song.

These, like, not of this earth magical creatures that are reaching out to you and talking to you and telling you that everything's going to be okay. Yeah, there's this very playful, bouncy quality to this song that I really love. Yeah, I love it. Jill Fraser, the album, Earthly Pleasures in the song again is Beautiful Summer. And Hazel, thanks for turning me on to this and for just hanging out and sharing all this other great music. Thank you for having me. And for NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's All Songs Considered.