10milestereo

I'm a little late, but I just wanted to say that I totally agree with what you're saying. In that verse, I think she's writing from the perspective of putting all of her friends and their issues under the microscope. Assuming everyone she knew at that school (and I don't know much about the school) was, like her, sent there for substance abuse, eating disorders, etc., the verse makes perfect sense in that context. On the other hand, I think it could easily be misconstrued.

It's not my favorite, but I do think it's a pretty good song. The demo is amazing.

A friend of mine sent me a link to the video for You Can Be the Boss in July 2011, right around when Video Games was noticed and I fell in love instantly. Then, I realized a man who tastes like the fourth of July and would give me a cigarette with his number on it is my ideal man, really.

^My pleasure! I was literally on edge for months waiting for this song to leak and I was so happy it finally did. I think it's a really good indicator of where she was in 2007/2008. I can picture her walking around the neighborhood coming up with the lyrics.

^I think next time she releases an album (and I don't count Stage Whisper), she will definitely tour North America and Europe again.

I'm so sorry she canceled your show! Will she reschedule? I was gutted she didn't come to the US again on this tour. Maybe next time. She and her band were absolutely amazing on the IRM tour! She's also so gracious and down to earth in person.

^She's lovely! I've been following her since her first album and Blonde is definitely the best. I also love this. SO 80s!

^I love all of those songs you posted! Aznavour kills me every time too. His lyrics are so incredible. <3 I haven't listened to Dalida in ages, but I used to be obsessed with that song. The Mireille Matthieu song was new for me and I love her singing style. As for the contemporary stuff, there are some great ones happening right now, but you really have to dig to find them. Arthur H is by far my favorite of them all because I feel like he continues the Aznavour and Gainsbourg legacy with his own spin. I was lucky enough to see him live in NYC this year and he is just a master of a performer. I also love Florent Marchet, but he is not at all well-known. Another of my favorites: Of course, we can't forget Brel and Brassens: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nflF1G2XFpk

Kill Kill is my song. Second one, I became obsessed with after You Can Be The Boss. :love:

Cola. DAT FALSETTO.

I really adore the whole thing, but if I HAD to choose one, I guess it would be Blue Velvet, since it's not her song.

I love the classics, but I also love a lot of contemporary stuff. My favorite thing about being fluent in French is being able to understand Gainsbourg's lyrics and puns. And I got to meet Charlotte!

So, I can't be the only French music/culture aficionado here. Share some of your favorites! It's only right to post this first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANJjxQaIcoo Some more recent favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ6tqtiXFEw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5z3PIwkoNM

I agree! I see a lot of Siouxsie, Wendy O, etc. in Alice. Siouxsie was one of my teen idols. I was goth to the max back then. hahaha. That's so cool that you DJ! I love doing it, but I'm very much an amateur.

Absolutely. I think the 90s was really the peak of that sensibility in music. A lot of singer-songwriters in the alternative scene (and I'm a huge fan of all of them) were tackling the oppression and abuse of women. They also addressed repression of female sexuality. Now, in the mainstream, at least, those issues are back to not being discussed. The main characteristics of trip-hop are samples of old film soundtracks, strings, hip-hop influenced beats, and usually female vocals. The apex of its popularity was between 1994 and 2000. The most well-known trip-hop artists are Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba, Lamb, and Massive Attack. Björk also dabbled in it in the mid 90s.

I feel like Alice is an anachronism from the punk era because those sensibilities are so strong in her! She's a really important figure in the business because, whereas passionate women who are angry and not afraid to talk about it were common in the 80s-90s, there's not much of that happening now. I listen to a lot of electronica too, but I'm quite picky about it. Most of the electronica I love is trip-hop/downtempo. Trip-hop is, without a doubt, my favorite genre.

B-sides (NOT REMIXES), plz. I know we won't get them, but one can hope.

And that's exactly what I love about it! Amazing to dance/rave to, yet there's so much substance and passion to it. Plus, Alice Glass is a character. She's on her way to becoming iconic.

Trance is one of her best songs and the only time the brass really works for me. It wouldn't have been able to save the album, but at least we'd have HQ audio of it, if nothing else.

I love, love, love this song so much because I feel really personally connected to it. I grew up near Fordham Road, so I can offer my take on the geography, at least. I'm almost certain the "bad neighborhood" she's talking about is on one side of Fordham, which you would have to pass through if you were walking up to Fordham Road from downtown (Harlem/South Bronx). The other side, going uptown, is a decent neighborhood. In the vicinity is a Catholic girls' high school, which has a stone statue of the Virgin Mary on a rocky hill in their garden, which is in clear view as you walk past. Valentine refers to Valentine Avenue, which is a cross street in the neighborhood. Depending on which route you took, you'd have to pass the statue in order to walk up to Valentine Av. I hope all that made sense!

This is my favorite Volta song and it wasn't even officially released. She picked Pneumonia over this. I will never understand why.

No, I hate Volta, which is why I said everything up to and including Medulla.

Azealia Banks - Pussy

I really liked what she said about "purity" and its place thematically in the album. I found it incredibly striking when she said that "purity" is the motivation for culturally sanctioned, brutal acts of violence against women around the world. Unfortunately, I think a lot of listeners will glaze over the lyrical content and themes.