The Silence Between: Music Recommendations

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:27 am

Here is a fun song for you - I had never heard of this before and I love it:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sun Jul 31, 2022 10:26 pm

Hobi at Lollapalooza. I'm floating! Sign of being old: really grateful to watch from a good safe distance! He killed it. He destroyed and pulverized and disintegrated it and then sent it out into the world like a flock of a million doves.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:43 pm

I was looking for a good video of equal sign but I haven't seen it - this was a really good moment though, where he reworked two older songs:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Aug 02, 2022 9:28 am

Still no equal sign live video - I think there are bootleg versions of the whole show but I'll just wait till they put an official one up. One good thing about Bighit/HYBE is that they usually put up videos of stuff like this after the fact. It's crazy what an economic phenomenon this group is too - like the stock price tumbles when they suggest they're going on hiatus, and now will we see a rebound effect because three of them have had charting US pop songs since then?
Well, in the meantime I will console myself with Lizzo - there is a great clip where J hope sings a little snippet of her song and tells her he is in Chicago! The fact that they are friends is adorable.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Aug 02, 2022 11:14 am

Sunroof gains each week, is nearing the top 10. I warned you all!

Meanwhile this one jumped ahead of Sunroof and I like it well, it's good for sure, but just amazed that this sound a lot like the twee geeky indie rock that I loved in my teens and twenties. I'm very happy that this is now a sound that's not only multicultural but popular too. I'll take it!

Something in the Orange has left the top 40 but Provenza is back so I'm happy

Pete's Hot 100 Top 40 Top 5
1 Karol G Provenza
2 Beyonce Break My Soul
3 Harry Styles Late Night Talking
4 Steve Lacy Bad Habit
5 Drake Sticky

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Aug 02, 2022 8:11 pm

Today as I was driving my kid the DJ was having a moment about that sunroof song - she was so excited because it is her favorite song of summer and the reason is that it makes her happy and lighthearted after years of feeling like crap. So that seems nice!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Aug 02, 2022 8:43 pm

Great! It's so goofy, and I like how innocent it is even though no kid of mine is going to stick their head out of the sunroof of a moving automobile. But if it's the only dangerous thing they ever do, I might allow it.

poorpete wrote: ↑Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:15 pm SO there's a goofy little song called "Sunroof" that hit the top 40 last week and I've heard it on the radio too, I'm just warning you, it's fine as a song but as an earworm it's downright evil. Not going to share it hear because 1- I don't want to contribute to it, but 2 - you'll probably hear it 100 times this summer anyways. Could be wrong, maybe it'll fall to nothing and then I'll claim it's a hidden gem. Again, it's fine, it's good, it's twee, and a bit sweet -- and it might take over the world.

Calllllled it

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Aug 03, 2022 4:59 pm

I'm liking the Lizzo album better than the Beyoncé album, but there is a lot of middling "you go girl!" that doesn't excite me very much. On the other hand, it's nice, so... That's great! Besides the two singles I am liking that everybody's gay track just because it's so dancey! It's basically likeable.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Aug 04, 2022 10:08 am

This is an excuse to relisten to the album. Still my favorite tracks are the "2 Be Loved" one, the likely next big hit, and
as you shared "Everybody's Gay" which is just a monster. I read a critical review that took the album to task for being too focused on tailor-made songs. Like "Hey, we should write a song to be played at girl's birthdays" speaking of the one song I always skip. They also complained about how tailor-made "Everybody's Gay" is for gay clubs and sure but people built entire careers on making songs for gay men to dance to. This isn't crass opportunism, it's just pop songwriting. And unlike the birthday song, the song is great!

Rght now I like Beyonce's album more. I rarely skip a song, and the transitions between the songs are wonderful. And it's wild how far I've come enjoying explicit, sexy, profane, horny songs, including this soon-to-be gay club banger

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:50 pm

Hot take theory: people who rank Paul as a 10 rank John as an 8. People who rank John as a 10 rank Paul as a 6.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:44 am

My kid says she's team Ringo. What? She finds him "fun" and cuter than the others. Ok. I'm team George like my mom.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Fri Aug 05, 2022 3:19 pm

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:46 pm

Mwa hahaha this is GOOD

And YouTube auto played US Girls after it, near perfect transition, Ms. Algorithm!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sun Aug 07, 2022 6:41 am

Lol that's good, the ai improving!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 8:59 am

Started following chart-predictors on twitter. Dunno if this is a good thing or not. There's a lot of fighting and fan flame wars on those things. This week a lot of people both cheering and jeering Beyonce, and then responses to the responses telling each other to stfu and how stupid they are. So... maybe I'll step off this once Beyonce's up tonight. My main wonder: my favorite "Plastic Off the Sofa" is just on the edge of the top 40, aka on the edge of either being my #1 this week or ineligible. So I'm tuning in!

Speaking of "Sofa" gotta give it up for the song that immediately moves after it, Virgo's Groove, which just like the previous seems clearly a love song to Jay-Z -- dude is Jay-Z one of the most important muses in music history?

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 9:15 am

Lol yes, Jay-Z most important as a muse! Well, I like this... I am not sure how to feel about the whole astrology thing which seems big for her. I am shocked for real by the number of highly educated people I know who buy it and identify a lot with their astrological sign. A known person whose whole profile most closely matches mine is Ronald Reagan, lol. So obviously it's a science.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 9:27 am

Yeah, astrology is pretty insignificant. I've wanted to make a list of how much does certain things affect a person's life and character?

Astrology: 5% of what makes you you -- when your born can have an affect on you. From early childhood stuff like did was your mom maybe too damn hot in the summer to really give you the skin on skin cuddles you need, to later childhood stuff like Summer kids sometimes don't get school birthdays (then again some get huge fun outside vacation-like birthdays), kids born around Christmas though might feel their special day gets lost. It matters, but little. But alignment of stars and stuff, nah.

then like

Generation: 8%
Where you grew up: 15%
Class: 25%
Genes: 40%
etc.

Anyways, with Beyonce vs. Madonna's track out, it solidifies the sisterhood of "Renaissance" with "Confessions on a Dancefloor", the other 20-years-in one-continouous party dance epic -- it holds up!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 10:22 am

Continuous dance-party album day continue with

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:13 am

Donna Summer!!! Love it. I am surprised by how much I like Madonna's long series of dance music albums! She's a person I forget to listen to in favor of other more pressing things but she's had such a consistent output - you get the sense she makes music that she loves to dance to herself, so maybe that's why it comes out well?

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:31 am

Wooooo! And much like Beyonce, she's often credited or co-credited as producer. Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell are other notable artists who are producers of their own material. SHOULD HAPPEN MORE.

Continuous album dance party day continues with

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 2:20 pm

#1, Break My Soul
#13, Cuff It
#19, Alien Superstar
#22, Church Girl
#26, I'm That Girl
#27, Energy ft. Beam
#30, Cozy
#41, Plastic Off the Sofa
#43, Virgo's Groove
#47, Summer Renaissance
#51, Heated
#53, Thique
#55, Move ft. Grace Jones and Tems
#64, Pure/Honey
#69, America Has a Problem
#70, All Up in Your Mind

41?! YAY AND CURSES!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Mon Aug 08, 2022 2:41 pm

Meanwhile Sunroof hits the top 10 and this might hit the top 40

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:27 am

My current Top 10 tracks, and their ranking on Billboard

1. #41, Plastic Off the Sofa
2. #43, Virgo's Groove
3. #47, Summer Renaissance
4. #64, Pure/Honey
5. #13, Cuff It
6. #51, Heated
7. #19, Alien Superstar
8. #1, Break My Soul
9. #55, Move ft. Grace Jones and Tems
10. #22, Church Girl

So as of today, discounting the songs I love that are over 40, should probably pick this as my #1 this week

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Aug 10, 2022 2:40 pm

The day before Dozier passed, I was downloading songs for my upcoming road trip, and came across this 104-song Motown compilation, and it's seriously everything I ever wanted.

Not just to listen to all the way through, but to have these songs at the ready in a shuffle is a blessing. Time to belatedly get my kids into 60s pop and soul...

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Aug 11, 2022 12:26 am

Where is Bad Decisions on the chart? Coming soon I guess. It's okay but it's no Arson!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:04 am

Next week's charts. What drops on Friday shows up two Tuesdays later.

Only non-Beyonce addition to the Top 40 is a country list song called "5 foot 9"
I rolled my eyes maybe 17 times in the first 10 seconds
That said, it's okay

I think it has a mandolin solo so that's a plus.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:03 am

Seriously this Motown collection. My area lost its oldies station about a decade ago (still bums me out), now there's an oldies station on my phone now, I adore it.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Thu Aug 11, 2022 11:56 am

Usually they bury people six feet under, not five foot nine. I will have to investigate.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Fri Aug 12, 2022 9:22 am

Ha!

New Megan album out and new Nicki single. I get I'm not a key demo their songs are aiming at, and I respect their work and they are good at what they do, but often their stuff leaves me cold. I don't run back to relisten to it. I think the difference between them and Beyonce is that they tend to work with minimalist beats and melodies. At least with Bey if I'm not sold on the topic, the music is maximalist.

Then again, maybe I just need to listen to it enough. This is firmly in their genre, and left me cold at first, but can see why it's a bit of under-the-radar hit

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:33 pm

Apparently Dwayne The Rock Johnson was asked which celebrity he would like to have as his owner if he were to be a pet, and he said Megan the stallion and her boyfriend seems a little threatened and to be honest he should be. The Rock is definitely not my preferred physique type of dude but I would date him solely for his personality. So I'm just saying.

That doesn't have much to do with the music but it's important information that the AI living in my phone thinks I need to know so I'm going to spread it around. I don't understand Nicki Minaj - I don't get the appeal. I just don't think she's a very good rapper so I don't really know why we would be listening to sounds that are hurtful to the ear and heart. It turns out that I'm kind of a partisan and I have my teams, and I'm on team Cardi and team Kelis so I don't have much time for the others.

Now the next drama... it turns out that the reason I like that Beyonce, Break my Soul song so much is that it's basically "Show Me Love", to the point that they had to credit it. So now I'm like well, glad you wrote some nice lyrics for that which are probably an improvement. But... anything new there? Or next time work on that "if you could read my mind love" song, because I can't deal with that man's nasally singing voice and pathetic lyrics but it's a kick-ass song in terms of the structure and sound.

Anyway, Kelis here is making me feel better about a couple "irl" people with whom I am deeply disappointed right now, but have to keep being nice to nice to nice to anyway. People have no damn sense, loyalty, or discretion sometimes and should do better.

Mando · Post by **Mando** » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:55 pm

current vibe:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 15, 2022 10:57 pm

Still recruiting for my team lol:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:00 pm

Mando wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:55 pm current vibe:

Have you ever read that kids' book the Gruffalo? I didn't ever think of it as having a religious message but now I have reconsidered: the things that the mouse is afraid of are really, really afraid of the Gruffalo... which makes the Gruffalo... God? Okay, well, you get the analogy.

Mando · Post by **Mando** » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:02 am

Anyone else here feel like they are owners of a thing and mentally do some gatekeeping? I mean, I saw this video and was like, "Hey, I like medieval weapons and armor too" and a part of me was thinking "I think you are wearing the armor of a mounted knight, not one that goes on foot>" He then gets his horse and I went "Oh.....Hey, at least I was right and now you are not wrong."

In the end I would have ridden them all down, but it appears he was not mounted when he drew his weapon.

I missed the point of the song didn't I?.....

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:41 am

Dude your guess is as good as any! I watched this for the first time since you set it here and the very idea of this soft, fuzzy yodeler in metal armor is too funny to reach past into further meaning. All I can tell you is that BTS toured with this guy and sang this song on James Corden's Carpool Karaoke as if they really felt it, like, deeply! The song never had such a treatment! They seem to genuinely love this song:

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:55 am

poorpete wrote: ↑Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:35 am Newest Top 40 has two new additions, "Fall in Love" by Bailly Zimmerman which didn't hit me on first listen, and "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic which did because it heavily lifts (with credit) "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John

I guess I shared the whistling song almost a month ago, which is like 40 music videos ago

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:09 am

Aaaaagggh!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:29 am

22 hours driving to Minnesota, imagined this meme which maybe only I will find amusing

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:06 am

LOL this is good! What is happening in Minnesota? I love Minnesota. Two of my kids are contemplating living there in the few years nearish future and I want to spend some time there as well. I have a friend in Duluth who is a great salesperson for the whole surrounding area and I want to take a kind of pilgrimage to Thunder Bay for obscure reasons. I like cold. There are too many mosquitos but I really like the cold.

After having a period of fussiness about Beyonce "interpolating" (hate this word) Show Me Love, I have been listening to Break My Soul repeatedly on the radio and it really is so good - then I went back and re-listened to Lemonade, and now I'm going back through Renaissance to see what I missed or did not really get the first time around. At the moment the favorites are Cozy and Move - these continue to grow on me. For most of the other songs, I don't know if it's me and I'm not in a proper place to receive it, or whether some had to creep up and grow in appeal, or whether some are just not my cup of tea and never will be. But there's so much here, I have to keep going through it. Feels silly to keep going back to "the single" but this is the one I still enjoy the most:

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:50 am

OK, this morning I have been listening to Renaissance again and, in particular, this sequence going up from I'm That Girl through a variety of dance songs that culminate with Break My Soul. This has changed my feeling about it - another factor is that I've been concentrating hard on work for a while and just letting the music go in the background - that part of the brain REALLY likes all of this. The regulatory evaluator up there needed to be disconnected to appreciate this album properly, it seems. It was thinking about things, deciding it didn't like various lyrics, various samples, etc. and wasn't able to see the flow of the thing as a whole. I don't know, jury is still out and we will keep it sitting out there until I've been able to listen to the rest of it this way. Could be there is also an order and sequence that suits it best, and I should have started that way, straight through it.

New favorite emerging this morning, however, my goodness!

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Mon Aug 29, 2022 7:44 am

Still on that deeper dive into the Beyonce album - I started paying closer attention to the vocals and that helped me appreciate it much more. Still really liking the intro sequence up to Break My Soul the most - after that I kind of lose the thread. The lyrics start to feel tiresome. On the other hand, I feel like much of it wasn't really made for me as audience and it's still objectively high quality.

Anyway, what was made for me (lol, not even at all, but I wish) is this gem - as the title implies there is a "part I" which is equally good:

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Aug 31, 2022 12:50 pm

Britney's back

Third listen thoughts: this seems more a continuation of the current Elton John model -- neo-disco mashup/duets of his old hits. Since it's an important release for Brit, it may come off as a disappointment -- she gets lost in the mix and doesn't do anything particularly memorable. But just thinking of it as a song: it's good! It does what it set out, make you feel good and dance. It for sure doesn't suck. If we are expecting a Brit transition from imprisonment to freedom, I'm okay with a music transition that gives us something mild like this. A mild success!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Aug 31, 2022 2:34 pm

Now this isn't mild.

Love that 90s Hip Hop section!

Mike wrote: ↑Mon Aug 29, 2022 2:41 pm Mike's Top 100 Songs of 2021 According to Spotify, #27

Mike this reminds me of the KDA Beat Saber song that we both like, but looking it up most people say KDA cribs their sound from Blackpink. So, I'm late to the game, so what, enjoying this!

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Wed Aug 31, 2022 4:25 pm

poorpete wrote: ↑Tue Jul 05, 2022 4:15 pm SO there's a goofy little song called "Sunroof" that hit the top 40 last week and I've heard it on the radio too, I'm just warning you, it's fine as a song but as an earworm it's downright evil. Not going to share it hear because 1- I don't want to contribute to it, but 2 - you'll probably hear it 100 times this summer anyways. Could be wrong, maybe it'll fall to nothing and then I'll claim it's a hidden gem. Again, it's fine, it's good, it's twee, and a bit sweet -- and it might take over the world.

Here's how Sunroof charted on the Hot 100 since its debut:
87
72
52
33
24
20
17
16
12
9
8
7
6

I tolds ya, I tolds ya all!*

*couched in clauses in case I was wrong

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:56 pm

It's on heavy rotation here all the time. With a few flicks you have like 98% chance of this or Break My Soul appearing.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Fri Sep 02, 2022 8:18 am

Listening to a nytimes podcast on Renaissance, and they called the middle-bit the sorta rollerskating rink section of the album, from Break my Soul to Virgo's Groove, full of classic production that less interested in being played in the hottest modern clubs or pointing to the future. I think this explains why I've gravitated to it. Also, I mean Plastic Off the Sofa and Virgo's Groove are love songs to a decade+ relationship and that'll always grab me more than the other stuff.

They played a snippet of Plastic Off the Sofa and my goodness after listen 10+ it's still unbeatable, my favorite track.

Phoebe · Post by **Phoebe** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 10:12 am

I feel like my appreciation for this part of the album will grow - the first part was the one I came to enjoy first, and I haven't really made it to this point yet. The main thing that happened is I started to really appreciate the artistry of the singing... When I got past the initial reaction to whether I enjoyed the music and whether the lyrics interested or annoyed me, then I just started focusing on her voice and that's what really got me into those first few songs. It's undeniable this is a mastery of craft and it's enjoyable to listen to like that.
I haven't really reached that place with the rest of the album but eventually I expect it will happen.
It is okay that it's not really music for me - I mean, it's not music for me and was not intended to be. So maybe it makes sense that I just don't quite get it on some level. I am a simpler creature than this.

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:36 pm

Elton and Britney reach the top 10, meanwhile Sunroof further's it's slow takeover by stepping up to #5.

Meanwhile meanwhile, given how much I loved the last two Karol G singles, I should've clocked that she released a new song

Although the song is plenty uh titilating, it doesn't feel that memorable to me so far, but has a similar style to the big Bad Bunny hit Me Porto Bonito, so maybe it'll catch on anyway

Mando · Post by **Mando** » Tue Sep 06, 2022 5:44 pm

BTS,
Blanco,
and Snoop

poorpete · Post by **poorpete** » Fri Sep 09, 2022 12:27 pm

Honestly haven't listened to much DJ Khaled, though gotta say this is good. Jay-Z owns a good half of this epic posse track. Khaled is a bit pompous but aren't they all -- when it's not grating on me it's amusing me.

This week's Pete Hot 100 Top 40 Top 5

1 Steve Lacy - Bad Habit
2 DJ Khaled - God Did (feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fridayy)
3 Elton John, Britney Spears - Hold Me Closer
4 Karol G - Gatubela (feat. Maldy)
5 Nicky Youre & dazy - Sunroof

I tried to accurately list songs I listened to the most and of them the ones I've liked the most. Like I still like Harry Styles stuff probably better than these 5 songs, but honestly didn't listen to the songs at all this week, so not counting them.