Staff Picks and Good Shit for The Week of August 29

Welcome to our weekly staff picks column where, in a snap, the camera-shy-exhibitionist Noisey editors whip out everything we’ve been listening to this week and lay them out bare for the entire world to see. We consider this one of our tentpole franchises.

NICO & VINZ - "AM I WRONG"

For weeks, I (and probably a shit-ton of other people) have heard this song every single time I've taken a cab in New York, on Hot 97, and been like "What the fuck is a Sting song doing on Hot 97?" Well, turns out this isn't a Sting song at all, and it's actually by Nico & Vinz, two Norwegian dudes by way of Africa whose single "Am I Wrong" sounds exactly like a Sting song. Either way, I fucking love it, and that's just how I feel.

Drew Millard, Features Editor
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JAZZ CARTIER - "SET FIRE"

Every morning, after I snooze my alarm for a five minute interval or two, I'll slide out of bed and immediately drink a Red Bull. I even bought a mini fridge that I put in my closet to keep to Red Bull chilled so I can ensure that the liquid can be numbingly cold as it slides down my gullet. It helps me wake up alert and ready to create boatloads of content for the day, and I'm in the minority of people who genuinely enjoy the taste. But for the past few days, as my supply has run dry, I've had to find creative new ways to get my day started. So far, listening to Jazz Cartier's new song first thing in the morning has been the most effective way. The paranoid and spaced production of Lantz combined with the gnarled and threatening raps of Jazz dilate my pupils and get my heart racing in a way that only Taurine previously could. And for that, I am thankful.

Slava Pastuk, Canadian Editor

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MAGIC! - "RUDE" (ZEDD REMIX)

Honestly, I'm so fucking turned up right now.

Eric Sundermann, Managing Editor

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UNA BESTIA INCONTROLABLE - "OBSERVANT COM EL MON ES DESTRUEIX"

Instead of crying away the end of summer, I'm going to celebrate it real big, catching the great Una Bestia Incontrolable at two NYC shows. One of them reads like an all star team of NYC punk, including appearances from Hank Wood & the Hammerheads and Dawn of Humans. Fuck summer blues, lets party.

Fred Pessaro, Noisey, Editor-in-Chief

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ARIANA GRANDE - "BREAK FREE"

Like Dan, I'm just a dumb hipster who somehow despite being a hipster loves Justin Bieber and EDM. I am always trying way too hard to be edgy. Well, joke's on you guys because I'm literally never trying to be edgy and I love both Justin Bieber and EDM. But what I love even more is Ariana Grande and EDM, specifically Zedd, who, in my opinion, has quietly done the best job yet of any of the dreaded wave of crossover producers (i.e. David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Afrojack, Avicii) at actually making pop songs that are good and super fun. (He had a great "Magic" remix this week too). And I love Ariana Grande, even though she really does swallow all her words and this song's lyrics make absolutely no grammatical sense. Her album is a pretty obvious grab at the Tumblr rap and R&B demo, and, while it's far from perfect, it's definitely awesome and has monopolized my attention this week. Like Zedd, Ariana is quietly earning a spot in the race for biggest pop star in the country, and I am pretty on board with her being super famous, especially since it only seems to be making her weirder and more open. Anyway, this is my first time seeing this video, which is stupid and also awesome and a reminder of how much I love Star Wars. Side note, speaking of Ariana being weird or whatever,

here's a reminder of the time she sang "Baby I" a cappella with a Japanese beat boxer while wearing cat ears

. Music is dope. P.S. I love The Beatles.Kyle Kramer, Edgytor

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SUN CLUB - "CHEEBA SWIFTKICK"

I went to see Sub Pop-signed London band Thumpers play a couple times this week because they're brilliant and they make crazy uplifting indie-pop which makes you feel good when you're feeling shitty and you should definitely check them out and even Hunger Games actress Jena Malone is a fan and was dancing up front, but ANYWAY. They've been touring with Sun Club, who are from Baltimore, (alright Kim enough about Bmore, Jesus), but seriously this band are incredible. They're too young to drink, and one of them even expressed a certain terror while sitting in a NY taxi because he'd never been in a taxi before! Cute. But onstage. Holy fuck. They never stop moving. EVER. They toss their hair like muppets in an epic shampoo commercial and sometimes they get so overheated they have to tear off their shirts off. Also the singer humps his guitar in a way that's actually endearing. Skilled. Musically, and oddly enough given where they're from, they have a skittishly British sense of yelpy melody combined with hard hitting beats and feverish bleats. It's a schizoid take on indie-pop that's best observed live for maximum awesomeness. Kim Taylor Bennett, Style Editor
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NICKELBACK - "HOW YOU REMIND ME"

Much like everyone who does not like your favorite band, I love Nickelback because I am a dumb hipster moron and I live in my parents' basement and am not funny. I am often butthurt and I try too hard to be "edgy." I am a self-proclaimed "music expert." I am a pretentious contrarian and I wouldn't know real music if it bit me in the face, which is incidentally very ugly. It is hacks like me who are ruining journalism, if I can even call it that. I don't know anything about music and am just some wannabe "writer" who would fall to his knees if he ever met a real musician with talent (which I do not have). I am some intern and am also a 14-year-old with nothing better to do. I love One Direction and Justin Bieber. I am ignorant and know nothing. I am a joke and have never been good. I suck at life and I hope no one paid me to write this.

Dan Ozzi, Poser
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SUN KILL MOON - BENJI

This week I drove 811 miles up and down California's coast, which means I listened to a whole lot of music. Out of everything that soundtracked my trip—Fleet Foxes, Fleetwood Mac, Father John Misty, all the "F" bands basically, and Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weeekend—Sun Kil Moon's Benji sounded the best, if only because it's part album, part sung book on tape. Mark Kopzelek's lyrics are so good and interesting and detailed, they unfold like tragic novels. (Someone dies in almost every one of Benji's songs—though my favorite track on the LP is one of the exceptions to that, "Ben's My Friend.") It's as good as road trip music gets and I'll be listening to it again as I drive to Joshua Tree tomorrow.

Marissa G. Muller, Guest Editor
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