Noots Letter: why is no one talking about this
July 2021
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If you’re a loyal fan (does anyone even read this), you’ll have noticed that this newsletter is late. Because this says July, and now it is, LOL, August! I have several excuses for this:
my earbuds broke
my audiobooks are due back to the library soon
turns out living in the real world is…busy?
So busy! Summer in the real world is FRANTIC. In the words of Jaboukie, it has big time awkward cast party energy. And the nonstop mention of Delta is only heightening urgency, like you have to Be! Here! Now! because you never know when this freedom will go away! Like we’re all seniors in college and we only have one more night to eat cheese fries and sing “Taking Chances (Glee Version)” at karaoke!!
Speaking of which, I visited a college friend recently who turned on “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer (here is the full 17-minute suite for the real fans). Suddenly, I had a full Joe Pera Discovers The Who moment. Had I ever heard this song? Why had I never heard this song?? Why is no one talking about this song???
Okay, obviously everyone knows this song, it has bajillions of streams, I have just been squatting beneath a rock my whole life perhaps. But when you open your earholes to disco for the first time in a while, you begin to realize just how much it has influenced the pop music of today. In this Atlantic article I read recently (this is my favorite phrase to drop on first dates), we see how mainstream musicians have seemingly also heard “MacArthur Park” for the first time recently and embraced disco on their latest albums. And its revival makes perfect sense right now. As Nylon notes, disco emerged in a time of national crisis, economic hardship, and the fight towards racial justice, all of which parallel our current national climate.
As with all glances back at history, it’s always a fun reminder to return to the (queer, Black) origins of this musical genre. For the viewers, here’s a brief but insightful documentary episode on Disco Demolition. For the listeners (give me your earbud recommendations thnx), try these You’re Wrong About or Switched on Pop episodes. Just as Thanksgiving wasn’t quite the chummy exchange your social studies class once detailed, Disco Demolition night had much graver undertones than Steve Dahl’s retelling of a playful baseball game party. Even the phrase “Disco Sucks” is so horrendously on-the-nose. It’s difficult to imagine anyone today starting a national movement because they simply claim to dislike a type of music. Sure, I wish I could say “Rascal Flatts-Style Country Sucks”, but that would be disparaging towards Pixar’s Cars! So thanks to Spotify’s invention of the “Don’t Play This Artist” button, I can express all of my arbitrary distaste in the comfort of my own home. :)
ABBA is one group that somehow avoided this fiery execution. They seem to never not be relevant, which I personally know to be fact because every regional theatre in the midwest is constantly casting Mamma Mia. They’re also experiencing a big internet resurgence—in particular, Sammy Rae dropped the “Dancing Queen” one-breath challenge, causing me to promptly extinguished my lungs. Swedish music groups were spotlighted in Netflix’s new docuseries ‘This Is Pop’. And everyone discovered that “Chiquitita” had an incredible piano solo at the end (why isn’t THIS part in every midwestern regional production of Mamma Mia??). When I was eleven, I listened to the Original London Cast Recording of Mamma Mia so religiously that whenever someone says the number “three” I only hear Lisa Stokke’s Norwegian/British accent saying “I’ve got THREE possible dads”. So I’m very pleased that something I once thought was weird about myself is becoming #normalized!! #itgetsbetter
In summary, disco is joyful and is the foundation of al dance music and it’s difficult to remember how to dance when you’ve been horizontal for 1.5 years but we’re doing our best. Thank you to the DJs for saving lives~
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why is no one talking about this, July ‘21 - Modern day disco-inspired bops.
just saving these for when I wanna ruin my day - Went to a Lucy Dacus concert and remembered how feelings felt (bad). These are Big Sads that I have yet to listen to but uh-oh seasonal clock is ticking!!!!
the millennium can have a beer now - My computer physically wretches whenever I open this playlist, that’s how big it is.
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Chiiild, Wasting Time: Cannot recommend enough listening to this debut studio album before they hit the road with Leon Bridges and just about every major music festival this fall. This electro-soul duo hails from Canada and has been working for years in production for artists like Chloe x Halle and Usher. In other words, they’re hotties and they know what they’re doing!
Yola, Stand For Myself: Yola’s 2019 hit “Faraway Look” was one of those tracks that I could absolutely not stop playing and belting aloud in the kitchen much to the enjoyment of my roommates, so I’m thrilled to have another album full of her glittery vocals. Against all odds, this British rockstar sounds like the lovechild of Dolly Parton’s folk stylings and Etta James’ range.
Billie Eilish, Happier Than Ever: Would love a noise scientist, a scientist of noise, etc to explain how something can be so minimalist and hit so hard? On this latest record, Billie seamlessly blends sonic experiments with an old-fashioned velvet sound. Also it’s upsetting on every level possible! A feat in itself.
ok BIG MONTH FOR NEWMUSIC so other honorable mentions:
Snoh Aalegra, Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies
Clairo, Sling
Laura Mvula, Pink Noise
Bleachers, Take the Sadness Out Of Saturday Night
Half Waif, Mythopoetics
Willow, lately I feel EVERYTHING
Molly Burch, Romantic Images
Leon Bridges, Gold Diggers Sound