Hi everyone, it's Slava from Canada! All of the Editors in New York are super busy getting ready to celebrate their version of Victoria Day, Memorial Day (lol, what kind of name for a Queen is "Memorial"). As such, I have taken time out of my busy schedule, which currently consists of learning WAY TOO MUCH about Halifax's hip-hop history, to present to you this week's Insult to Injury. We know that Andy Samberg was probably listening to a lot of Food & Liquor, as evident by the photo above, but what kind of music were all of your favourite content creators listening to this week?
Swollen Members - "Fuel Injected"
Hahaha as if I'm actually gonna fill this out after already writing the intro. Swollen Members is awesome. Their name is awesome, the way they look in this video is awesome, and their name is awesome. Also, Drake tweeted about them a few days ago, so it's finally cool to admit that you like Swollen Members! DICK JOKE!Slava Pastuk, Canadian Editor
Slava on Noisey | Slava on Twitter
Sam Russo - "Crayfish Tales"
I have these two friends who make acoustic guy guitar music. One is named Brendan and one is named Sam and together, they just released a split seven-inch of acoustic guy guitar music. Brendan will be the first to admit that he half-assed his songs. Well, not half-assed, but basically someone was like, “Hey, do you wanna contribute two songs to this record?” And he was all, “Sure, when do you need ‘em by?” And they were like, “An hour!” So he literally made a song up and recorded it on the spot. One of the songs was recorded in the back of a bar. You can hear the sounds of glasses clinking and people talking in the background. So his songs are fun, but rushed. They are the party tattoos of songs, basically. But man, not Sam. Sam’s songs are, like everything else he’s released, calculated and beautiful. Probably the most underrated musician I know. Anyway, buy the damn record is the point of the story.Dan Ozzi, Editor
Dan on Noisey | Dan on Twitter
Vic Mensa - "Down On My Luck"
OK, nerds. I literally never put on my "Well, #ACTUALLY" fedora, but there is a point that needs to be clarified concerning Vic Mensa's "Down On My Luck." It is a great song, yes, and a song that I have listened to pretty much nonstop since it dropped. But why is everyone all like, "Oh shit, he must have made this because he opened for Disclosure."??? NAH, SON, THIS IS A MOTHERFUCKING HIP-HOUSE SONG!!! HIP-HOUSE!!! A THING FROM CHICAGO. WHICH IS ALSO WHERE VIC MENSA IS FROM. MAKES MORE SENSE THAT HE PROBABLY WENT ON TOUR WITH DISCLOSURE, LOOKED UPON THE VAST, RICH HISTORY THAT CHICAGO HAS WITH HOUSE MUSIC AND SAID, "OH, I COULD DO THAT." Also, this was produced by Vic and Stevan Ponce, a Chicago producer who's been quietly transforming tracks such as Kanye's "Bound 2" and Chance the Rapper's "Cocoa Butter Kisses" into hip-house bangers for a minute now. Also, this music video was shot at 285 Kent. OK, time to take my music nerd fedora off.Drew Millard, Features Editor
Drew on Noisey | Drew on Twitter
Body Count - "Talk Shit, Get Shot"
THIS IS THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN. The video, absolutely perfect. Dudes pulling drive-bys on shitty, entitled old farts. It gets no tougher, and it gets no more hilarious. Why do people have to get all artistic and shit when you can just keep it simple like this?Fred Pessaro, Noisey, Editor-in-Chief
Fred on Noisey | Fred on Twitter
This week I was out of the office and loitering around Denver. I was supposed to go bike riding with husband and wife duo Tennis, but the torrential rain scuppered that, so I went to their apartment. But then, midway through the interview there was a tornado warning—we were notified via text and via the screeching city sirens—so we had to decamp to an underground parking lot to finish our conversation. Someone up there did not want us to have a chill chat. That day Tennis got word from their label that their third album was officially finished—mixes, artwork and all. It's not out for a while, but in lieu of new material I spent a lot of this week listening to their Small Sounds EP (released last fall), and in particular, lead track "Mean Streets" which is the perfect collusion of sun-filtered 70s pep and 60s girl group melodies. Just lovely.Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
Kim on Noisey | Kim on Twitter
Sylvan Esso - "Coffee"
My girlfriend has been telling me to listen to this band for a while, but I didn't because it sounded like something I probably wouldn't be that into and also because I like giving my girlfriend the satisfaction of making her "I told you so" as emphatic as possible (I am a very gracious boyfriend). But then we ran an interview with them, and I found out they had all kinds of ties to the North Carolina scene where I grew up. Trekky Records, the label some of the kids at my high school founded while I was busy stressing out about my SAT scores, put out their singles, and the video for "Coffee," as it turns out, is filmed in downtown Carrboro, with the sign for the Wendy's where my high school friends and I used to hang out just visible in the background. All of this really hit (literal) home for me, especially since the song itself is this kind of perfectly graceful little document of nostalgia that pithily pulls up rich images like "blazing summer, cold coffee." I love how gently the synth line ambles along and transitions through several little movements, and I appreciate how dynamic singer Amelia Meath makes her voice. The hook of "get up, get down" has quietly lingered with me all week, but this song doesn't have to literally show you the place where you grew up to have the same effect.Kyle Kramer, Guest Editor
Kyle on Noisey | Kyle on Twitter
Ace Hood - Bugatti (feat. Future, Rick Ross)
It's true that this song has been out—in internet time—longer than most of Noisey readers have been alive. But IDGAF, because I saw Future earlier this week tear down the motherfucking roof in a bank in Williamsburg, Brooklyn by playing pretty much every single hit he's had—and this dude has had a lot of hits. Anyway, we helped throw the show, so there were a bunch of co-workers of mine there—some of whom who, believe it or not, weren't too familiar with Future. However, I'm pretty sure there isn't one person on earth who hasn't yelled the words "I WOKE UP IN A NEW BUGATTI" at the top of their lungs while hammered in a bar late at night so when the slow-burning intro of Ace Hood's anthem began, I turned to one kinda-halfway-Future-fan in particular who had been wildin' out with me in the front row and said, "Shit is about to go nuts." And then it did. And she actually knew the words to this song. And then we all woke up in new Bugattis.Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor
Eric on Noisey | Eric on Twitter
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Swollen Members - "Fuel Injected"
Hahaha as if I'm actually gonna fill this out after already writing the intro. Swollen Members is awesome. Their name is awesome, the way they look in this video is awesome, and their name is awesome. Also, Drake tweeted about them a few days ago, so it's finally cool to admit that you like Swollen Members! DICK JOKE!Slava Pastuk, Canadian Editor
Slava on Noisey | Slava on Twitter
Sam Russo - "Crayfish Tales"
I have these two friends who make acoustic guy guitar music. One is named Brendan and one is named Sam and together, they just released a split seven-inch of acoustic guy guitar music. Brendan will be the first to admit that he half-assed his songs. Well, not half-assed, but basically someone was like, “Hey, do you wanna contribute two songs to this record?” And he was all, “Sure, when do you need ‘em by?” And they were like, “An hour!” So he literally made a song up and recorded it on the spot. One of the songs was recorded in the back of a bar. You can hear the sounds of glasses clinking and people talking in the background. So his songs are fun, but rushed. They are the party tattoos of songs, basically. But man, not Sam. Sam’s songs are, like everything else he’s released, calculated and beautiful. Probably the most underrated musician I know. Anyway, buy the damn record is the point of the story.Dan Ozzi, Editor
Dan on Noisey | Dan on Twitter
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Vic Mensa - "Down On My Luck"
OK, nerds. I literally never put on my "Well, #ACTUALLY" fedora, but there is a point that needs to be clarified concerning Vic Mensa's "Down On My Luck." It is a great song, yes, and a song that I have listened to pretty much nonstop since it dropped. But why is everyone all like, "Oh shit, he must have made this because he opened for Disclosure."??? NAH, SON, THIS IS A MOTHERFUCKING HIP-HOUSE SONG!!! HIP-HOUSE!!! A THING FROM CHICAGO. WHICH IS ALSO WHERE VIC MENSA IS FROM. MAKES MORE SENSE THAT HE PROBABLY WENT ON TOUR WITH DISCLOSURE, LOOKED UPON THE VAST, RICH HISTORY THAT CHICAGO HAS WITH HOUSE MUSIC AND SAID, "OH, I COULD DO THAT." Also, this was produced by Vic and Stevan Ponce, a Chicago producer who's been quietly transforming tracks such as Kanye's "Bound 2" and Chance the Rapper's "Cocoa Butter Kisses" into hip-house bangers for a minute now. Also, this music video was shot at 285 Kent. OK, time to take my music nerd fedora off.Drew Millard, Features Editor
Drew on Noisey | Drew on Twitter
Body Count - "Talk Shit, Get Shot"
THIS IS THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN. The video, absolutely perfect. Dudes pulling drive-bys on shitty, entitled old farts. It gets no tougher, and it gets no more hilarious. Why do people have to get all artistic and shit when you can just keep it simple like this?Fred Pessaro, Noisey, Editor-in-Chief
Fred on Noisey | Fred on Twitter
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Tennis - "Mean Streets"
This week I was out of the office and loitering around Denver. I was supposed to go bike riding with husband and wife duo Tennis, but the torrential rain scuppered that, so I went to their apartment. But then, midway through the interview there was a tornado warning—we were notified via text and via the screeching city sirens—so we had to decamp to an underground parking lot to finish our conversation. Someone up there did not want us to have a chill chat. That day Tennis got word from their label that their third album was officially finished—mixes, artwork and all. It's not out for a while, but in lieu of new material I spent a lot of this week listening to their Small Sounds EP (released last fall), and in particular, lead track "Mean Streets" which is the perfect collusion of sun-filtered 70s pep and 60s girl group melodies. Just lovely.Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
Kim on Noisey | Kim on Twitter
Sylvan Esso - "Coffee"
My girlfriend has been telling me to listen to this band for a while, but I didn't because it sounded like something I probably wouldn't be that into and also because I like giving my girlfriend the satisfaction of making her "I told you so" as emphatic as possible (I am a very gracious boyfriend). But then we ran an interview with them, and I found out they had all kinds of ties to the North Carolina scene where I grew up. Trekky Records, the label some of the kids at my high school founded while I was busy stressing out about my SAT scores, put out their singles, and the video for "Coffee," as it turns out, is filmed in downtown Carrboro, with the sign for the Wendy's where my high school friends and I used to hang out just visible in the background. All of this really hit (literal) home for me, especially since the song itself is this kind of perfectly graceful little document of nostalgia that pithily pulls up rich images like "blazing summer, cold coffee." I love how gently the synth line ambles along and transitions through several little movements, and I appreciate how dynamic singer Amelia Meath makes her voice. The hook of "get up, get down" has quietly lingered with me all week, but this song doesn't have to literally show you the place where you grew up to have the same effect.
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Kyle on Noisey | Kyle on Twitter
Ace Hood - Bugatti (feat. Future, Rick Ross)
It's true that this song has been out—in internet time—longer than most of Noisey readers have been alive. But IDGAF, because I saw Future earlier this week tear down the motherfucking roof in a bank in Williamsburg, Brooklyn by playing pretty much every single hit he's had—and this dude has had a lot of hits. Anyway, we helped throw the show, so there were a bunch of co-workers of mine there—some of whom who, believe it or not, weren't too familiar with Future. However, I'm pretty sure there isn't one person on earth who hasn't yelled the words "I WOKE UP IN A NEW BUGATTI" at the top of their lungs while hammered in a bar late at night so when the slow-burning intro of Ace Hood's anthem began, I turned to one kinda-halfway-Future-fan in particular who had been wildin' out with me in the front row and said, "Shit is about to go nuts." And then it did. And she actually knew the words to this song. And then we all woke up in new Bugattis.Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor
Eric on Noisey | Eric on Twitter