Archives – 2023 – May – 25  

Modern Qualifier 46 – CURATED by Kat S!
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— 25 May 2023 Tom

Our headliner is also today’s only CURATED GROUP by FT’s own Kat Stevens! I don’t know if there’s a theme or simply a unity of vibe, great stuff nonetheless.

  1. Single from the dream-poppers’ 2009 debut Eyelid Movies.
  2. Single from the Norwegian songwriter’s 2015 breakthrough Ten Love Songs.
  3. From the San Francisco based songwriter’s 2010 debut LP Ring.
  4. From the art-pop composer’s 2013 LP Loud City Song.
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Qualifier M46: CURATED by Kat S!

PHANTOGRAM - "When I'm Small" (YouTube)

SUSANNE SUNDFOR - "Delirious" (YouTube)

GLASSER - "Mirrorage" (YouTube)

JULIA HOLTER - "Horns Surrounding Me" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 16)

thee temple ov platonick youth   13 months ago

what a fantastic group, i played the hell out of the Glasser album when it came out but have to admit i'd completely forgotten about them! a genuinely agonizing choice, but made slightly less so […]

Jeff Worrell   13 months ago

Good group. Already knew/own Susanne. Holter is reliably interesting but Glasser is the more immediate song so gave it my vote.

komodomymanor   13 months ago

Really like this group, thanks Kat S. Julia Holter gets the vote but it's tight.

ajjr82   13 months ago

That Glasser album was one of my favourites of 2010. "Mirrorage" isn't a particular favourite of mine from it (I like both "Apply" and "Home" more), but I'm happy to throw her my support.

Modern Qualifier 47 – Diddy Dirty Money, Katy B, Little Dragon, Kelis
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— 25 May 2023 Tom
  1. From the 2010 LP Last Train To Paris. A Bracket Balancer.
  2. Top 5 hit from the 2014 LP Little Red. Nominated by Arron W.
  3. Single from the Swedish band’s 2011 EP Ritual Union. Nominated by Julia H.
  4. Closing track from the 2010 LP Flesh Tone. Nominated by actualeesimpson.
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Qualifier M47: HOME CRYING LITTLE BABY

DIDDY - DIRTY MONEY - "Coming Home" (YouTube)

KATY B - "Crying For No Reason" (YouTube)

LITTLE DRAGON - "Little Man" (YouTube)

KELIS - "Song For The Baby" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 10)

Jeff Worrell   13 months ago

The only one of these I don’t have on CD is Little Dragon and I didn’t enjoy it that much. Not keen on supporting bracket balancers but DDM clearly best here.

wmterhaar   13 months ago

The Swedes once again coming to the rescue when the Anglo-Saxons come up with two awful (Diddy & Katy B) and a meh (Kelis) song. Little Dragon should burninate the competition here.

bartlebooth45   13 months ago

Four great pop tunes. Went for Crying For No Reason but Little Man could be a golden beat.

vinnycrackers   13 months ago

Song for the Baby is great and I feel like Kelis needs to get more of her due.

Modern Qualifier 48 – Chelsea Wolfe, Wu Lu, The Mars Volta, Mastodon
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— 25 May 2023 Tom
  1. From the California singer-songwriter’s 2015 LP Abyss. Nominated by stabilimentum.
  2. From the Brixton musician’s 2022 debut LP Loggerheads. Nominated by Matt L.
  3. Single from the band’s eponymous 2022 LP. Nominated by Bec.
  4. Single from the band’s 2006 LP Blood Mountain. Nominated by jacobkupp.
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Qualifier M48: CARRION SOUTH BLACKLIGHT BIRCHMEN

CHELSEA WOLFE - "Carrion Flowers" (YouTube)

WU LU - "South" (YouTube)

THE MARS VOLTA - "Blacklight Shine" (YouTube)

MASTODON - "Colony Of Birchmen" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 15)

stabilimentum   13 months ago

Fantastic!

Tom   13 months ago

Keep reading “Colony Of Birchmen” as “Colony Of Binmen”

Jeff Worrell   13 months ago

Another fine group. I suppose given Omargeddon it shouldn’t have been a surprise to discover TMV in pop mode, but it was. Nearly voted for them, however in the end “South” had an off-kilter feel […]

ajjr82   13 months ago

Loved both the Chelsea Wolfe and Wu Lu tracks, both potential GBs for me, but didn't hear anything in Mars Volta that changed my pretty unfavourable opinion of them.

Modern Qualifier 49 – Maximum Balloon, Doug Hream Blunt, Tyler Childers, Joshua Ray Walker
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— 25 May 2023 Tom
  1. From the 2010 Maximum Balloon solo project by TVOTR’s David Sitek. Nominated by garrymck.
  2. From the 2015 reissue (so yes, this is a stray from ANCIENT – sorry!) of the outsider funkster’s 80s work. Nominated by Bill A.
  3. From the Kentucky musician’s 2022 set Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven? Nominated by Jamie W.
  4. A 2022 single by the Dallas country singer. Also nominated by Jamie W. (Sorry!)
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Qualifier M49: GROOVE GENTLE ANGEL SEXY

MAXIMUM BALLOON ft THEOPHILUS LONDON - "Groove Me" (YouTube)

DOUG HREAM BLUNT - "Gentle Persuasion" (YouTube)

TYLER CHILDERS - "Angel Band (Jubilee Version)" (YouTube)

JOSHUA RAY WALKER - "Sexy After Dark" (YouTube)

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Latest comments (of 10)

stabilimentum   13 months ago

Ah! I was at first undecided, but I'm going with Maximum Balloon on the technicality that "Gentle Persuasion" is not Modern. But it is indeed a GB. Good times! Great group overall!

komodomymanor   13 months ago

Doug and Joshua are both terrific, glad one is going through. Love to hear a song like 'Sexy After Dark' that sounds classic and completely modern, and his singing is great. As is Doug's psychedelic […]

wmterhaar   13 months ago

30 seconds into 'Gentle Persuasion': "Ooh, nice groove." 2 minutes into 'Gentle Persuasion': "It goes on a bit long now." 4 minutes into 'Gentle Persuasion': "GIVE ME MORE FREAKY PROGSOLO, NOW!" […]

Tom   13 months ago

Ooooh a 4 way tie! Feels appropriate too, this was an even group and it took a while for me to land on "Sexy After Dark" as my vote. Because I am shallow I was put off Maximum Balloon a bit by the […]

Modern Qualifier 50 – Lady Aicha, Suntou Susso, Hesa, DJ Kleytinha & MC Pipokinho
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— 25 May 2023 Tom
  1. From the Ugandan collective’s (amazing) 2022 LP N’Djila Wa Mudujimu. Nominated by Arron W.
  2. From the Gambian kora player’s 2022 debut Kanefonyo. Nominated by Isabel E.
  3. This one is impressively Google-proof to the non-Arabic reader – it’s a 2023 single and I think it’s from Egypt! Nominated by Job De W.
  4. Also a 2023 single from the prolific brega funk MC. Nominated by Frank K.
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Qualifier M50: TIKANGA EKANASONG BITAEALUJ PIPOKA

LADY AICHA & PISKO CRANES ORIGINAL FULU MZIKI OF KINSHASA - "Tikanga" (YouTube)

SUNTOU SUSSO - "Ekanasong" (YouTube)

HESA ft FIGO, SADAT & MAHMOUD EL HUSSEINY - "بتعالج" (YouTube)

DJ KLEYTINHO & MC PIPOKINHA - "Bota Na Pipoka" (YouTube)

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The poll has expired!

Latest comments (of 14)

koganbot   13 months ago

Btw, I doubt that "Bota na Pipoka" would be considered brega funk, though I'm hardly knowledgeable enough to have a handle on what is or isn't what type of Brazilian funk. Maybe the track is "rave […]

thee temple ov platonick youth   13 months ago

i had never heard of a kora before, and honestly he's probably going to get my vote simply on the strength of introducing me to the instrument, because it's amazing. i usually don't actually watch […]

Jeff Worrell   13 months ago

My curated group in Ancient includes something from Egypt - that song is a lot older than this one though obv. Solidarity was the thing that broke the tie here; otherwise this would have been an […]

koganbot   13 months ago

"Pipoka" means "popcorn," according to Google Translate. "Pipokinha" is Little Popcorn, a comic character that (real name) Doroth Helena de Sousa Alves created for a YT channel specializing in […]

TODAY’S PLAYLISTS (Modern Day 10)
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— 25 May 2023 Tom

Into the final leg of Modern Qualifier polling with our only curated headline group and a very strong selection elsewhere.

If you haven’t already, you should probably have a look at this post and discussion where I’m talking about how well the move to a new site is or isn’t working and what might happen once the Modern Qualifiers finish. I’ve read everyone’s comments (here and on the Bird Site) and I’ll be doing a “what’s next” post after tomorrow’s remaining 4 groups! Now on with the PLAYLISTS…

Latest comments (of 4)

Tom   13 months ago

Haha I made a mental note to celebrate the 1000th comment on the new site - seems appropriate that it’s about a UX glitch…

Arron Wright   13 months ago

Also, have successfully attached images before, but just found out you can't attach a 'jfif' file.

Tom   13 months ago

Sorry got distracted mid post by texting a friend about terrible NYC indie rock!

Arron Wright   13 months ago

I can't find the headline group - is it just me?

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