Tag: music chat

Posted in Album of the Month, Music chat, podcast, Tracks of the Month

Podcast Episode 24 – Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers

Posted on by misterstory

EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 72 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Guy has chosen an album that feels inevitable, Phoebe Bridgers much anticipated and long awaited 'Lost Weekend'In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, taking inspiration from Phoebe our theme is 'Miserable Music'. Tracks that make Phoebe Bridgers sound uplifting.Part 1 | Album of the Month | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend.Phoebe Bridgers is one of the biggest artists outside of mainstream pop but this is only her 3rd album in 8 years. She doesn't lack for creative output or activity but still, her albums are a rare, anticipated thing. The critical response has been mostly positive but there are some naysayers dispite its current 91 score on Metacritic. But what will we make of it? The four of us have varying degrees of fondness for her music but again mostly positive. Jump on the socials and tell us what you think?Listen to the ever brilliant Switched on Pop episode on this album.Have a look at the spread of critical response on Metacritic.Watch Rolling Stone break down the album here.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Miserable MusicThe theme this month, inspired by Phoebe's melancholic machinations is 'Miserable Music'. Feels like a slam dunk for Joey but what will the brothers bring?The task is pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more 'spins' than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey choseDavid choseGuy choseNolan choseWe've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend
  2. EP.71 | Steve Lacy | Oh Yeah?
  3. EP.70 | Olivia Rogrigo | You seem pretty sad …
  4. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  5. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential

Our last Album of the Month (AOTM) was the beautiful ‘Life on Earth’ by Hurray for the Riff Raff. This month the  This Is Not Happening crew tackle Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’  head on! We get stuck right into this challenging album in Part 1 of the pod. In Part 2, we play ‘Spin It or Bin It?’ where we judge the tracks that we’ve chosen for this month’s theme.

Part 1 – Album of the Month

This month it’s Nolan’s choice, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers’ . We discuss the album in length, favourite tracks and their impact on us and other music fans and if there is a missing track from this album. 

We want you to have access to great conversations about great music – here are some links to some of the best content on this album that we’ve consumed;

  • A great ‘explainer’ article from Ambrosia for Heads  – read here
  • NYT’s Popcast Podcast Episode (this one is great for a Kendrick Sceptic view) – listen here
  • Great Tempo Tribe Podcast conversation – listen here
  • A shorter listen at 22 mins – the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast – listen here

This was one of our toughest albums to think and to talk about … but we hope you enjoy it.

Part 2 – Spin it or Bin It

In the second part of this episode we get stuck into 4 tracks representing this months theme – ‘LA Tracks’ – or favourite tracks from LA based artists. We all pick a track,  introduce our track and ask the others the painfully binary critical question; ‘spin it’ or ‘bin it?’ 

We try not to go super-obvious on our track selections each month … this is what we chose to represent LA;

  1. Joey’s track selection is – ‘Chum’ by Earl Sweatshirt
  2. David’s track selection is – ‘Twelve Thirty’ by The Mamas and the Papas
  3. Nolan’s track selection is – ‘Runners’ by Evidence ft. Defari
  4. Guy’s track selection is – ’86’ by Truncate

Next Month

Episode #25 will be with you soon – Guy will be guiding us through ‘We’ by Arcade Fire one of is favourite artists ever … what could go wrong? Have a listen to the album and  share some thoughts with us on the blog or on our Insta.

Other episodes of the pod and 10 years of the blog;

If you enjoyed this episode, please check out the others. If that’s not enough for you then there’s 10 years worth of music discussion on the blog at www.thisisnothappening.net, which runs alongside the podcast choices and much, much more. So check them out so to see what we like and where we clash, and comment if something catches your eye. We’d love to see what you think. 

Posted in Album of the Month, podcast, Tracks of the Month

Podcast Episode 22 – Big Thief – Dragon New Mountain I Believe in You.

Posted on by misterstory

EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 72 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Guy has chosen an album that feels inevitable, Phoebe Bridgers much anticipated and long awaited 'Lost Weekend'In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, taking inspiration from Phoebe our theme is 'Miserable Music'. Tracks that make Phoebe Bridgers sound uplifting.Part 1 | Album of the Month | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend.Phoebe Bridgers is one of the biggest artists outside of mainstream pop but this is only her 3rd album in 8 years. She doesn't lack for creative output or activity but still, her albums are a rare, anticipated thing. The critical response has been mostly positive but there are some naysayers dispite its current 91 score on Metacritic. But what will we make of it? The four of us have varying degrees of fondness for her music but again mostly positive. Jump on the socials and tell us what you think?Listen to the ever brilliant Switched on Pop episode on this album.Have a look at the spread of critical response on Metacritic.Watch Rolling Stone break down the album here.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Miserable MusicThe theme this month, inspired by Phoebe's melancholic machinations is 'Miserable Music'. Feels like a slam dunk for Joey but what will the brothers bring?The task is pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more 'spins' than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey choseDavid choseGuy choseNolan choseWe've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend
  2. EP.71 | Steve Lacy | Oh Yeah?
  3. EP.70 | Olivia Rogrigo | You seem pretty sad …
  4. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  5. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential

Last month we shared our thoughts on Small World by Metronomy, all 9 tracks and 35 minutes worth. This month This Is Not Happening ups the ante with ‘Dragon, New Mountain …’, all 20 tracks and 80 minutes worth.  In part 1, we deep dive into the density of Big Thief and Part 2 we play ‘Spin It or Bin It?’ where we judge the tracks that we’ve chosen for this month’s theme.

Part 1 – Album of the Month

This month it’s David’s choice, ‘Dragon, New Mountain …’ by Big Thief. Three of us love Big Thief and have much more than a passing relationship with the band … whilst one of us is a Big Thief virgin. There was SO much written about this album as soon as it came out including a number of 100% reviews.  As always, we take a slower, more considered approach to criticism, living with this album for a couple of months and letting it really settle in before we reflect and share our views.

You don’t have to look to far to find interviews, reviews and videos on Big Thief and this album but some of the content that we consumed and discussed in part 1 can be found below;

  • The metacritic review page is always a goo start and can be found here
  • This is a great listen – ‘Out On The Line’ Podcast 
  • Really insightful take on the album – ‘Taking it Down’Podcast
  • If you love them … or not, this one’s got you covered -‘NY Times’ Podcast
  • A great article in Vulture – read it here

Part 2 – ‘Spin it’ or ‘Bin it?’

In the second part of this episode we get stuck into 4 tracks representing this months theme – ‘Not on Spotify’. We all pick a track,  introduce our track and ask the others the painfully binary critical question; ‘spin it’ or ‘bin it?’ 

This month was a little more ‘free form’ than usual … but an amusing listen none the less!

  1. Guy’s track selection is – Prassay – Krvsin
  2. David’s track selection is – Nick Drake – I Was Made to Love Magic
  3. Nolan’s track selection is – Pharoahe Monch – F You
  4. Joey’s track selection is – Joanna Newsome  – ‘81

Next Month

Episode #23 will be with you soon – Joey will be leading the discussion on ‘Life on Earth’ by Hurray for the Riff Raff. If you get the chance we’d love you to have a listen to the album before next month, perhaps share some thoughts with us on the blog or on our Insta. This albums getting a lot of positive attention and we think it’s going to be in a few year end lists.

Posted in podcast

Podcast Episode 20 – Album Club – Modern Classics

Posted on by misterstory

EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend – This Is Not Happening – An Album Of The Month Podcast

Welcome to Episode 72 of This Is Not Happening, an Album of the Month podcast. In Part 1, we do a deep drive review of our Album of the Month. This month Guy has chosen an album that feels inevitable, Phoebe Bridgers much anticipated and long awaited 'Lost Weekend'In Part 2, we play Spin It or Bin It, we pick a theme and all pick songs that represent that theme. This month, taking inspiration from Phoebe our theme is 'Miserable Music'. Tracks that make Phoebe Bridgers sound uplifting.Part 1 | Album of the Month | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend.Phoebe Bridgers is one of the biggest artists outside of mainstream pop but this is only her 3rd album in 8 years. She doesn't lack for creative output or activity but still, her albums are a rare, anticipated thing. The critical response has been mostly positive but there are some naysayers dispite its current 91 score on Metacritic. But what will we make of it? The four of us have varying degrees of fondness for her music but again mostly positive. Jump on the socials and tell us what you think?Listen to the ever brilliant Switched on Pop episode on this album.Have a look at the spread of critical response on Metacritic.Watch Rolling Stone break down the album here.Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | Miserable MusicThe theme this month, inspired by Phoebe's melancholic machinations is 'Miserable Music'. Feels like a slam dunk for Joey but what will the brothers bring?The task is pick a track that fits the theme, the objective, get more 'spins' than your friends. We each pick four tracks for a 16 track play list . We then each pick select 1 track and ask the simple question 'Spin It Or Bin It'?Joey choseDavid choseGuy choseNolan choseWe've been writing the blog for years come and have a look – https://thisisnothappening.net/
  1. EP.72 | Phoebe Bridgers | Lost Weekend
  2. EP.71 | Steve Lacy | Oh Yeah?
  3. EP.70 | Olivia Rogrigo | You seem pretty sad …
  4. EP. 69 | Lykke Li | The Afterparty
  5. EP.68 | Robyn | Sexistential

We usually pick a (relatively) new album release to focus on but this month we changed things up. The start of the year is a funny time for album releases and 2022 was no different. We decided that rather than spend a month and a podcast talking about something that we weren’t too passionate about, we’d take a different path.  This month is the first TINH ‘Album Club’.

The format for this podcast is simple. The four of us all (randomly) chose  someone from the Team-TINH to pick an album for. The album should be from the past 10 (ish) years and should represent something special that the recipient might have missed. A modern classic perhaps.

This episode was loads of fun to make. There’s loads of agreement, a little bit of niggle, a fair chunk of nerdery … something for everyone. The following are the albums that we discussed, who chose them, who they were chosen for and some links that take you to some of the things that popped up in the discussion.

First-up – Joey chose Deerhunter’s 2010 ‘Halcyon Digest’ for Guy;

You can listen to the album here on Spotify
… or catch it on YouTube here
The ethereal video for Helicopter can be watched here
… or watch them perform the poptastic ‘Memory Boy’ here

Next-up – Nolan chose Kanye West’s 2016 ‘Life of Pablo’ for David (what could go wrong?);

You can listen to the album here on Spotify
… or catch it on YouTube here
Nolan highly recommends NORE’s podcast interview with Kanye here…
… and if 2.5hrs of Kanye wasn’t enough here’s part 2

Next-up – David chose Wye Oak’s 2011 ‘Civilian’ for Joey;

You can listen to the album here on Spotify
… or catch it on YouTube here
Watch a live NPR Tiny Desk performance of ‘Civilian’ here

Finally – Guy chose Enny’s 2021’s ‘Under 25’ for Nolan;

You can listen to the album here on Spotify
… or catch it on YouTube here
Watch the video to ‘I want’here
… and the video for ‘Peng Black Girls’ here

We hope you enjoy this episode. Let us know if you know these albums. Do you love them? What are your thoughts?

This Is Not Happening:
Created by Joey, Nolan, Guy and David.
Produced and Edited by Guy and Nolan.
Twitter: @thisisnothapng
Instagram: @thisisnothappeningpod
Email: thisisnothappeningpodcast@gmail.com

Posted in Music chat, New Tunes

Denise Chaila – ANSEO

Posted on by David Allison

Irish rappers are still a pretty rare breed, though by all account it’s a fast growing scene. But even those that break out, like Rejjie Snow, end up relocating to the US, and let’s be honest, sounding 100% American.

I first heard Denise Chaila via the unbelievably charming and catchy Chaila tune last year, berating those who can’t be bothered to learn how to pronounce her surname.

I love that she’s got her own distinctive voice and flow, and she’s not just trying to sound like an identkit US rapper, and it’s just so enjoyable to listen to.

But this new track, ANSEO, feels like a step further forward. A proper intro track to her world view and her vibe over a fantastically beefy beat, mixed with the whole chainmail and swords video, it feels like she’s just waiting to blow up. Which is surely what’s going to happen to her….

Her debut mixtape is here: https://denisechaila.bandcamp.com/album/go-bravely and it’s full of bangers. Denise Chaila: say her name!

Posted in Music chat, New Tunes

Marchin’ – Theophilius London

Posted on by David Allison

Don’t know much about this dude, though he’s clearly been knocking around for a while, and his new album has everyone from Tame Impala to Raekwon to Arial Pink on it, so I guess he’s the man.

Anyway, this is just a lovely slice of summer.

SUGGESTION: Let’s see if we can find enough summer tunes to make a playlist, huh?

Posted in Music chat, New Tunes

Nao That’s What I Call Music

Posted on by David Allison

Little bonus album for the Brothers.

This has been bubbling under on my (metaphorical) turntable in the last couple of weeks, and it’s slowly dawning on me that’s it’s a work of complete genius. Nao’s one of the brighter lights of the British neo-soul/R&B scene, and she first came to my attention via the brilliant collaboration she did with Mura Masa a couple of years back:

I liked her debut, but I didn’t love it. This is her second album and it is a GIANT leap forward. It has such a beguiling mix of classic soul tropes, great 90s R&B arrangements (of the kind Brother Joey and I used to lap up back in the day), but it also strays deliciously into Frank Ocean territory, like this gem:

Best of all, it is just JAM PACKED full of great songs and top songwriting chops. It starts off pretty slowly, but really gets into its swing mid album, and the run of songs – Saturn, Gabriel, Orbit and Love Supreme – are as good as anything I’ve heard in a very long time.

What do you reckon, Brothers? Thought I’d throw a little extra listening into them mix.