03 May 2011

Wicked Girls & Glass Table Games


There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about posting a couple of paragraphs up here about something that I read or a discussion that I had. However, that rarely happens, but I am not the only one to blame. That is neither here nor there, it's family business.

Evidently, today is special. Today, I wish to play a little game of show & tell. I shared a musical interest with someone special this morning and during the course of our conversation about it, I realized how selfish the two of us were being by keeping this our little secret. So, with no further ado I present to you the music on my mind: The Weekend's 'House of Balloons'.

This groups' 9 track mixtape just simply appeared on music blogs all over the place a little over a month ago. Much of their notoriety and legitimacy is due to their project being linked to a certain mainstream emo-rap hipster that shares a hometown and penchant for moody soundscapes with them. A quick listen to any track off of "House of Balloons" should quickly remind the listener of the tone to songs like "Bria's Interlude", "Cece's Interlude", and/or "Paris Morton Music". But that isn't to say that the HOB mixtape is overly emotional or sensitive about anything. It doesn't make a grown man want to go shave his legs and slip into a pair of skinny jeans. It also doesn't inspire whining about social privilege to some other overly sensitive bastard who is too afraid of hurting your feelings to tell you, "do yourself a favor, go kill yourself." No, this is Monster music.

That is the very reason that I am posting about this music here. We're quite the musical bunch, though you wouldn't know it by reading our past blog entries. The music offered here declares itself deviant and embraces alienation in a way that I found particularly refreshing. In a market-driven medium that leaves little choice for artists other than to pride themselves on being in the "in" crowd, this group walks a fine line without ever crossing over it. The main vocalist sounds at times like the Dream, or Trey Songs, or maybe Frank Ocean;but he doesn't talk or behave has they would. Over sparse, electro pop and r&b melodies, The Weekend's songs embrace scandalous sex acts, and drug culture. Their songs sound of the deliberate act of throwing caution to the wind, without rage, angst, or regret.

This is the soundtrack to my scotch-soaked Port Tuesday after party. When played continuously it creates a soundscape to lusting after someone you shouldn't, and yet you remain undeterred. This is Monster music to creep to (*do you see what I did right there? nice). So start with track #1 "High for this" and let it ride. I'm not going to post links or anything for it. Simply google "House of Ballons" + mediafire and a link will magically appear for you to download the album & enjoy just in time for the Monster's ball.

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