1.
This week was weird.
Hurricane Sandy came through and left my apartment in the East Village without power. At first it was kind of fun. I played guitar, read a book by flashlight, then drew for a couple hours. I started to get a headache from using my eyes in the dark because my eyes are weak and they are constantly letting me down. Thanks a lot, eyes. I grab my iPod.
My iPod is empty. No music.
I have been using a computer to run Pigeons & Planes for the past few years, so you are probably like, “Oh, you are a huge computer nerd dork.” But this is false. I have a weird understanding of some aspects of computers, but I am oblivious to some of the most basic functions of these machines. The day before Hurricane Sandy hit, I plugged my iPod into my computer and started getting all these grey error boxes popping up. Frustrated, because I hate when grey things pop up on my screen, I rushed to dismiss them. “OK,” “OK,” “OK,” I kept clicking. I don’t know what I clicked, and I’m not sure what the issue was, but as soon as I saw my iPod was empty, I knew it was this moment of frustration that caused it.
So there I was, with an empty iPod. I spent over 24 hours in my apartment with no power and no music (I didn’t realize until later (now) that I could have listened to music for at least a couple hours while my computer had battery power.) By the 24th hour, I was insane, or at least definitely exhibiting behavior that most people would consider insane. In order to spare any trace of credibility as a human being that I have left, I will skip the details, but I will tell you that it involved push-ups, flashlight shadow photography, and balancing over a bathtub full of water while staring out a window.
Soon after the 24th hour, I fled to a friends apartment in Queens. Thank you, Lauren. The next few days were recovery and catch-up, and tonight I finally returned to an apartment with power. My lights turn on, my hot water is back, and my fish is—unfortunately, because I don’t like him—still alive.
I still feel a little off, like those 24 music-less hours of mental instability had stolen something from me, so I decided to stay up for the night and listen to as much music as I could. I hit Twitter, Facebook, and my inbox for submissions, and was introduced to a lot of terrible music and a little bit of great music.
After over four hours of listening (it’s approaching 5 a.m. now), here are the three best submissions.
Hit “next” or click the image for the three best submissions…
2.
Noah Caine – “The Genesis”
This Charli Brown-produced beat sets things off right from the start and Noah matches it with a confident, no-bullshit delivery. The easy comparison is Nas, but Noah’s flow has a captivating, urgent intensity of its own. This was one of the first submissions I got tonight, and I’m already digging around looking for a Noah Caine mixtape download.
3.
Owen Bones – “The Ache”
This instrumental’s use of samples is something excellent. Like a trap-influenced, more straightforward Animal Collective with a touch of Flying Lotus but a taste for more dominant, borderline abrasive drums and an organic bass thump, this bangs in the oddest kind of way. It’s a mindfuck and a headtrip, but it all comes together a quarter of the way in, and it’s a solid introduction to another artist I’ll be looking out for from now on. Give this one until at least the :49 mark before you make up your mind.
4.
Goat – “Golden Dawn”
On YouTube, Goat is described as “Swedish afro-psych-kraut-voodoo space heads.” Perfect, and this is a driving, chaotic, all-over-the-place exercise in making all-over-the-place sound good.
