Welcome to Noisey’s Staff Picks column, where every week, the editors of this fine blogsite talk about music they liked this week. Lately, we have been ENRAPT by two things: 1. Derek Jeter. The Captain. Number 2. There he is above, sleeping like a lil’ angel. RE2PECT for 2LEEP. And 2. The story of this poor man who apparently suffers from 100 orgasms a day. Can this possibly be real? It sounds like a Tim & Eric sketch. If it is, our hearts go out to this guy. While being a non-stop jizz factory sounds like any man’s virile dream, it’s gotta be a hard life. Anyway, what were we talking about? Derek Jeter? No, wait, music. Music. Here’s what we’ve been listening to this week…
D’Angelo – “Brown Sugar”
You know this song’s about weed, right?
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Drew Millard, Features Editor
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Daniel Caesar feat. Sean Leon – We’ll Always Have Paris
This is one of the most beautiful R&B songs I’ve heard in 2014, which isn’t supremely impressive since it’s been such a terrible year for R&B—a genre whose artists continue to slide into the “alternative” realm, while at the same time bemoaning the fact that they’re being dubbed “alternative”. Anyway, this song is beautiful because it does a great job of blending the classically-trained church vocals of Daniel with the sort of cinematic production that makes you feel like you’re on that tarmac for the last scene of Casablanca. There’s also a very impressive guest verse from Sean Leon, who continues to fight for the spot of “best Toronto rapper not named Drake” in my mental bracket.
Slava Pastuk, Noisey Canada Editor
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L.O.T.I.O.N. – “Computers Don’t Have A Heartbeat”
Anything featuring Emil from Dawn of Humans is incredible, but L.O.T.I.O.N. may be one of the best, if not the best punk band in NYC right now. Don’t sleep… Nitzer Ebb or Skinny Puppy meets raw punk. Sick shit.
Fred Pessaro, Noisey, Editor-in-Chief
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DeJ Loaf – “Try Me / We Good”
On Wednesday, Detroit rapper DeJ Loaf released the video for pretty much the only song I’ve listened to over the last couple weeks, “Try Me.” It’s basically an extension of the genre that Chief Keef pioneered on “Citgo” of talking hard as shit over beats that sound like someone made out of clouds playing synthesizers in a room full of pillows while on Ambien, and it is mesmerizing. As much as DJ Mustard has ushered in a wave of imitators by taking over radio this year, it’s cool to see producers, like DDS on this song, taking Mike WiLL Made It’s slow, dreamy sound and pushing it to even gentler extremes. The video also comes with “We Good,” which isn’t quite as unforgettably smooth but does have the advantage of sounding somewhere between the source material for the genre of “Drake” (which, the way DeJ’s career has gone in the last couple months, is probably about to literally be the case) and E-40 rapping over a trance song (who, according to DeJ’s interview with us, is not as unlikely as it sounds). When the beat drops and DeJ heads in on her “I be spitting crack/make a rap bitch snort a line” verse, it’s fucking dope. As is her style waving the black bandana in the video. I’m looking forward to seeing more from DeJ.
Kyle Kramer, Editor
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Aphex Twin – “aisatsana [102]”
I have never loved a track whose name I can’t pronounce as much as Aphex Twin’s “aisatsana [102].” It’s crushingly gorgeous. It’s springtime in a song. It’s basically the “Girl/Boy Song” of Syro. And it sounds as good in daylight as it does late at night. But my favorite thing about it might be how human it sounds in contrast to its title and the deep-web way in which Aphex Twin’s first album in 13 years (!) was promoted. In some ways, AT is most celebrated for how he’s played around with technology and pushed the boundaries of electronic music, but I’ve always thought he sounds best when making wholly organic compositions.
Marissa G. Muller, Guest Editor
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Sicko Mobb – “Trophies”
It’s pretty dope that it’s now September and there’s another song called “Trophies” that I can’t stop listening to. I guess this is the year of winning at life. This version “Trophies” comes from Sicko Mobb, a bop group out of Chicago signed to Polo Grounds / RCA, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Drake track—but it still makes me feel like I live in a house so big that I need a walkie talkie just to get a beverage.
Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor
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Lizzo and Caroline Smith – “Let ‘Em Say”
We premiered this video—by Minneapolis scene-stealers Lizzo and Caroline—late yesterday afternoon and I’ve played it 64 times since then because it has the ability to make you feel that good.
Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
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Against Me! – “I Was A Teenage Anarchist”
Same.
