Soundsystem: Love What Happened Here / James Blake / The Superslice

The Superslice probably doesn’t adequately feature UK producer, dubstep elitist, singer/songwriter, James Blake. As long as he’s producing quality tunes, we vow to celebrate a healthier dollop of his catalog in the new year.

(note: By the way, I don’t think that Mr. James Blake is necessarily a snob or elitist. Everything he has opined about American dubstep is an honest assessment and nears the truth. What originally started out as a fresh, techy and experimental sound has quickly devolved into an indistinct form and refined in its crunchy, guttural, lamestream meathead-ness. It’s also played out and way “Madison Ave.” now. How smart, savvy and hipster are advertising agencies now? It’s impressive how they can sap the soul out of some of the best “indie” songs like a Walking Dead zombie sucking out your brains. “Try M83 for the Victoria’s Secret spot. Skrillex would be great for this GoPro campaign. How about we try Justice for that generic car commercial?” This is all wack. Not to mention, when a shit-turd washed-up “band” like Korn hitches its wagon to it (dubstep) and attempts to claim that it was the originator of dubstep, then it might be a glaring indicator of a genre that is dying and on its last lap. I’m not saying that dubstep is going anywhere soon, but it’s definitely watering down its cultural relevance. I mean, we can’t hate on the blistering success of Skrillex, the current prince of dubstep. We dig him and all, but does each and every artist have to offer a fashionable brostep/fratstep/dumbstep remix for each one of their tracks? Diminishing returns, Baby, diminishing returns. Maybe we should call Blake a dubstep purist, but that sounds pretentious and might possibly be even snootier. Softstep? Emostep, Anyone?)

Anyway, to keep with the promise of more James Blake, here’s the latest offering, titled, Love What Happened Here. A lovely ditty and slight deviation from his current stable of melancholy, introspective tracks. I love this one; simply, it puts me in a warm and fuzzy mood. Is there a Ministry of Holiday-Christmas Songs? Because I am willing to lobby to have this song included in the pantheon of musical holiday standards. I’d take Love What Happened Here over most of the collection of obvious, mawkish Christmas songs that exist to annoy us by force-feeding us saccharine holiday joy. Bah, humbug! This track is uplifting and romantic without being maudlin. Seasonally, its vibe and tonality strikes me as a song fit for winter, more than any other season. It’s tailor-made for this time of year. It’s cool, then warm, and highlighted with an R&B and gospel finish.

Put down that vanilla, indifferent indie folk and put that blasé bluegrass on hold; I’m talking to you Mumford & Sons fans. (How dare I? Who am I to argue with 29.5M clicks? Then again, derivative music is derivative.) So pour yourselves some Maker’s Mark into that Riedel bourbon glass. Stoke that fireplace. Put up the mistletoe and chill to some James Blake. Soak that shit in. Anyone who has pursued a music degree, through this company or other schools, knows how important it is to explore different kinds of music.

Anyone who has pursued a music degree, through this company or other schools, knows how important it is to explore different kinds of music

Pitchfork agrees with us. P4K dare not contradict us. Regardless, enjoy yourselves even if it includes sappy Bieber-fied Christmas-themed ballads, Korn, or Mumford & Sons. Happy Holidays, Kids. One Love.

–@teemunny

Purchase the vinyl @ R & S Records