Insult to Injury: Week Ending 2/7 with Metronomy

Welcome to Insult to Injury, the place where the Noisey editors come to gather their thoughts and really find themselves every week. It’s kind of like our summer abroad where we say we’re working but really just kind of slacking off. This week we nabbed England-born, Paris-based Joseph Mount, the man behind Metronomy. He’s a massive in Europe but weirdly under the radar in America. If you’re unfamiliar we suggest you watch him hanging out with giant hairless cats in space right now.

The Hissing of the Summer Lawns – Joni Mitchell
For every band you can imagine there’s a record where for the first time someone says: “You know what we should try, we should try a synthesizer on this.” It happened with The Beatles and on later Beach Boys records there some crazy synths and The Hissing of the Summer Lawns have some tracks with some nice little synthesizer bits on it. Like every girl my sister was a massive Joni Mitchell fan and I’m really enjoying this record right now.

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“Travel By Telephone”
Every time I’ve taken my headphones off in the past six weeks Fred and Dan have been creaming their panties about snagging The Marked Men for three Noisey shows (taking place tonight, and twice tomorrow). Eric and I have no idea who they are and we laugh about it on a daily basis because apparently The Marked Men are a REALLY BIG DEAL. To be honest I thought they were saying Mark Men until last week. What do we know? Eric likes Kacey Musgraves and I still wish Jared Leto really was in a band called Frozen Embryos. But earlier this week I was professing my love of Rival Schools to Team Noisey and Dan was like, “Who even are you?” I guess he thinks I only like bands with pretty hair or something, but I really fucking love Rival Schools. I spent about 40 minutes last night discussing the end-to-end heart-tugging brilliance of United By Fate with a man I just met (he was in full agreement). And when I got home at 3AM I danced around my room and played the whole record as loud as my speakers would allow. My neighbors were STOKED. Then, to get my ass up this morning, I did the same thing all over again. Love you Rival Schools. Love you forever.

Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
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Naturally Born Strangers – “Jameson Ave”
Naturally Born Strangers are a rappity-rap trio made up of Rich Kidd, Tona and Adam Bomb. Recently, they achieved something incredible by selling out their Toronto concert, a rarity in the screwface capital. The lyrically dexterous group of rappers normally make music as individuals that is best enjoyed underneath multiple layers of clothing as you shove pedestrians out of your way in order to reach the subway car. But when they come together as a group, each member lets their sense of humour replace a bit of their typical mean-mugging demeanor. They closed the show by playing Jameson Ave, a standout from the album that deals with the memories of debauchery and regret that accompany the morning after a long night of drinking. The instrumental itself would be beautiful with its escalating horns, subtle piano and slowed down Kanye sample. Having three verbose Toronto rappers of this caliber rhyming over it only makes it all the sweeter – even if they describe the leftover vomit so vividly that you can smell it.

Slava Pastuk, Noisey Canada Editor
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The Menzingers – “Good Things”
So as you assuredly know, we music bloggers are better than you in every possible way. Except for our bank accounts and personal hygiene and being loved by others and living fulfilling lives. In those ways, we are behind even your most simple of kindergarteners. But one leg up we have on those stupid pants-pissers (we hardly ever fill our pants with urine unintentionally anymore) is that we get albums before they come out. This is our very sad point of pride, do not take this away from us. But one album I was super amped about hearing before you folks who live normal rewarding lives is the new Menzingers record. Contractually, I am forbidden from telling you how it is so just imagine me winking and giving a little thumbs up. And you gotta give it to the Zingers. A lot of people said On the Impossible Past (and this STELLAR A+++ opener, “Good Things”) was the best thing they’ll ever write. How do you get back into the studio to outdo your own achievement? I guess you’ll have to wait and find out. Not me though. I’m special. (Please mail me ten dollars.)

Dan Ozzi, Contributing Editor
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Note: Fred is out of the office today, galavanting around with The Marked Men who are in town for our show tonight. So, we’ve picked a song for him. This seems like something he’d like. Here’s what he’d proooobably say: Rebecca Black – “Saturday”

Fred Pessaro, Editor-in-Chief
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Jadakiss f/ Lil Wayne “Death Wish”
A very big part of my very adult relationship is fantasizing about couples that kill together. You know, Bonnie and Clyde shit; that couple that killed that dude “just for fun” shit (no disrespect). A few weeks ago, my dude and I watched “True Romance” together, and as the credits started rolling, we simultaneously said, “Down.” Just like we did watching the 30 for 30 doc on Tonya Harding and her husband orchestrating an attack on Nancy Kerrigan, and after two seasons of “Behind Mansion Walls,” and any other partner in crime show.

This week has been really annoying; publicists have been on one, writers have been on one, my neighbors have been on one (we got new ones) and the entire line at WiP on Sunday was on one. [Ed. Note: Everyone is waiting for their friend at the front of the line to get them in—please move and shut the absolute hell up.] So, with that said, here’s one of my favorite Wayne verses that will comfort you—and automatically put you at ease and let you fantasize about killing people—when you want to kill people. What are we having for breakfast?

Lauren Nostro, Guest editor
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The Hold Steady
Hey what’s up?! I’m definitely Drew Millard and not Eric Sundermann, and I don’t know if you guys know this, but I really, really like rap music. Like, rap music is LITERALLY INCREDIBLE. But guess what I did last night? Hint: I didn’t listen to rap music. Instead, me and my bruhs put on our cardigans, drank 72 Budweisers, and went to see the fucking HOLD STEADY BABY. That’s right. The Hold Steady. It probably surprises you because Craig Finn is not a sad rapper, but they’ve been my favorite band for all of eternity. I can’t pick a song to listen to so here’s a playlist of 37 Hold Steady music videos I found on the YouTube.

Drew Millard, Features Editor
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“909 Day” John Frusciante
Shouts to my friend Curtis, who put me on to this unbelievable track from an artist you thought you knew, but actually don’t have the first clue about—Frusciante. Sure, we all know about his guitar work with the Chilis and Mars Volta. But do you know about his trip-hop/ambient solo career? Trust me, you’re not ready for the transcendent experience of 909 Day. It starts off with a relaxed groove, basically exactly what you or I might make on Ableton after a blunt or three, until around a minute in—chaos. Frusciante comes in hard withM83 stadium drums and loses his mind, crooning an incredible melody with incomprehensible lyrics over triumphant synths and angel choirs. It’s one of the most beautiful minutes of music I know, an unfathomable combination of experience and childlike glee. Ladies and gentlemen: Frusciante.

Ezra Marcus, Guest Editor
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Future featuring Pharrell, Pusha T, and Casino “Move That Dope”
Because I’m not a psychopath, I’m not going to write a blurb about wanting to kill people. That said, this song makes me want to run through a wall. It’s kind of like “Clique,” but only if you took that Hit-Boy beat and tossed it into a blender. Honestly, I don’t really know what else to say about this song other than the fact that I will listen to it upwards of 34 times this weekend.

Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor
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