listening to Your Favorite Songs 2024, part 11

Music. Have you heard of it? Pretty good stuff.

Part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten.

“Buen Fantasma” - Sanje
from JP Alva
"Look, my actual favorite song of 2024 is probably one from the MJ Lenderman album, but I’m betting every song on that album will get a mention. This song, on the other hand, probably won’t and it’s a shame! This comes from my favorite mexican album of the year, and it’s sunny (even if the lyrics are actually kind of bittersweet!) and expansive latin folk number that just makes you wanna dance. Listen to that trombone! Maybe not my favorite song of the year but very much my biggest 'I need more people to listen to this' of the year."

I do appreciate the effort to avoid too much MJ Lenderman repetition (there's at least one more pick from Manning Fireworks I'll eventually blog about after "Bark at the Moon"), because this is a song that would have probably never 'crossed my desk' and I'm glad it did! This arrangement is so abundant and sophisticated, with rich guitar and tidy drums creating a syncopated backdrop for the trombone and Santiago Mijares's lush vocal harmonies. That first moment after the intro when the full track slams in is breathtaking. Bonus points for the video, which shows Mijares creating kitchen chaos; he cooks various dishes, rips out his heart and putting it in a blender, Eve 6-style, then hosts a festive dinner party.

"BOM" - Hang Youth
from @this_otto
"It was hard to choose a specific song. I knew it had to be from this album. Because it makes me feel sorta good inside"

Wow, this is the most international rendition of Listening To Your Favorite Songs yet. Hang Youth are Dutch!! They come from Amsterdam and released their first album, Boel Aan De Hand ("A Lot Going On") in 2020, featuring songs with titles like "Waarom Is Alles Zo Kk Duur" ("Why Is Everything So F*cking Expensive") and "Joe Rogan Is Een Lul" ("Joe Rogan is a Dick"). I don't speak Dutch but I am sensing a general cheeky demeanor here, which is good.

My first impression of "BOM" was this either sounds like a solid contender for the Netherlands in the Eurovision contest, or a killer parody of one. It's a vigorous handshake between hardcore and glam rock, with a touch of possibly-ironic '80s flamboyance that belies its political intent. The lyrics include instructions for making a Molotov cocktail, then encouragement to "make a CEO cry"...I mean...'tis the season...

"Clova" - Baron
from @PITLORDMOSH (soundsystem enthusiast)
"Immaculate 140 dubstep that seamlessly reaches across decades, pulling back from rootsy dub, through UK club classics, all the way to modern underground 'bass music'. If you're in a mood to stumble rhythmically in a hazy room stacked with massive speaker boxes, nothing else tops this"

Okay are you ready for a seamless transition between songs? Great. Well speaking of Dutch music, a couple of years ago my husband and I visited Amsterdam on our honeymoon Eurotrip. Our arrival coincided with a music festival specifically dedicated to drum and bass music in nearby Oudkarspel. We only went for a day. It was a nonstop onslaught of drum and bass. They played drum and bass in the campgrounds, they played it at all three stages. I heard a drum and bass remix of Limp Bizkit "Rollin" and several versions of "Gold Dust" by DJ Fresh and a song that everyone knew where the chorus went Let me see you shaking your boots! Come back to the old school, back to your roots! Everyone there was seven feet tall and wearing fascinating outfits, like galaxy print leggings covered with clip art of cats and tacos, no shirt, and no shoes. I was in heaven.

After several hours of full D&B blitz, we were fully zonked, and we found a place to take a break: an enclosed area full of couches and armchairs, where a DJ was playing music with the exact vibe of "Clova" by Baron. Super deep, dubby shit. Maximum relaxation. The only chill place on the entire fest grounds. And we were alone! No one else was in there. Our only interruption was a guy who came in and rolled some weed cigarettes and then left. It was magical. I felt like I understood this music for the first time ever. So "Clova" takes me right back to mid-July, sun blazing at an uncanny time in the evening, surrounded by Dutch DnB freaks, but also totally alone, just vibing and deprogramming.

"Reservations" - May Rio feat. Elegant Ensemble
from Julian Fader
"Amazing re-imaginations of an increasingly fascinating catalog — this song gives Emily Haines and I love it"

Wait what a cool idea—May Rio, normally a solo artist, made an album this year called Elegant Ensemble. It reimagines old songs of hers with the help of some backing musicians playing piano, cello and saxophone (Patrick Latham, Daniel Haas, and Syl DuBenion, aka the titular Elegant Ensemble) rather than her usual setup of synth, guitar and drums. Truth be told, this type of self-remix is what I thought Taylor Swift was going to do when she first announced her "Taylor's Version" project—imagine my disappointment when the TVs were generally faithful recreations rather than fresh interpretations. So Elegant Ensemble is an exciting approach to me, a full send.

Original "Reservations" has an eerie electronic bedroom pop palette, like Mirah trapped in a Ms. Pac Man machine. New "Reservations" is...there's no other way to describe it...elegant! As advertised. The cello is gorgeous, a fabulous instrument. I see this song performed diegetically in a movie, perhaps at a fancy bar or lounge, playing in first the foreground and then the background as a main character simmers with romantic discontent.

Also May Rio seems cool, this is an excerpt of her interview with The Luna Collective:

"sauvie’s nude beach" - mildred
from Willie Caldwell
"It sounds like a modern day Crosby Stills & Nash and I just think that’s neat!"

Simple folk rock in a Southern-fried style. Well, Southern-poached at the very least, given mildred are from Oakland, CA. I enjoyed the song's narrative, which is cozy and rustic: the singer seemingly lives on a farm ("the cows were home, the clouds were in the air "), walks home from the grocery store, bikes to a pub, meets a special someone staying at a "poet's house" with "books and a cat inside," and has a short but sweet affair.

A wonderful part of this song: "The next day out for coffee, I saw our reflection in a windowpane / And we looked pretty good in frame." I don't think I've ever heard this particular moment in a new relationship—the first time you see both of you together and assess the view—described before, and it is lovely.

Thanks for reading I Enjoy Music! If you like it, tell a friend.

Thanks to all the song recommenders <3 See you...tomorrow...