17. The Return of Dark Country.

Dark Country has returned to Ain't Talking Bout Pop.  Justin and Noah enjoyed discovering music in this genre-blending topic, they decided to revisit Dark Country.  The music in this episode features rockabilly acoustic and electric guitar elements with songs rooted in folk, blues, and bluegrass which creates a unique sound.
     Justin has a new Hot Flash and Noah discusses the difficulty in to place an artist in a particular genre in a new edition of the Beard of Knowledge.   Also, check out the extended playlist for the songs that did not make the episode, including a fusion of hip-hop and bluegrass. 

16. Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day from Aint Talking Bout Pop. Justin and Noah created a special Valentine's Day playlist perfect for the candlelit dinners and romantic drives. There is music from the 90's and today and this episode Noah introduces his new segment the Beard of Knowledge. Check out the episode and click on the extended playlist below.

14. Expectations for 2018

Justin and Noah list what they are most looking forward to in the new year of music.
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Connected By Love/Respect Commander | Jack White | Single Review

  Today we are looking at new music that I have been waiting for somewhat impatiently for the last 6 months or so.
Ever since Third Man Records’ official Instagram posted a picture of Jack White and a group of studio musicians with
the tag saying that White was recording a new album, I’ve been hotly anticipating this one. I was halfway expecting the
single to release before the end of the year, but it took until three days ago for us to finally get the first true single,
Connected by Love.

    Now because this was released like a vinyl with the single and then the B side I will go ahead and look at both of
them in the same spot as a double track review. First off the single, Connected by Love. This song simultaneously
sounds very different and exactly the same as everything else by Jack White. The track is heavily driven by lo-fi

synthesizers that remind me of some the Dead Weather’s songs and a drum machine. The contrast between the
somewhat pristine electronic elements and Jack’s raw and unprocessed vocals is really interesting, especially
when coupled with the gospel background singers.

    Along with these elements there is also what sounds like acoustic drums (mainly cymbals) and organ that adds
to the mix of electronic music and gospel blues on this track. Overall I really enjoy this track as it sounds like the
same style I’ve come to expect from Jack White but with some new flavors that I wouldn’t. This is most evident on
the organ solo on the bridge that has very similar timing and phrasing to the Jack White would do a guitar solo;
similar ideas, different sounds.

    The B-Side Respect Commander is a bit different however, being extremely experimental with it’s incorporation
of various sound and samples, especially through the intro. While the sounds do feel a bit random and thrown together
they still feel like they are building up to something before dropping down a slow blues when the vocals come in.
This track also makes use of both drum machines and acoustic drums, but they are kept separate this time, with the
drum machine driving the opening part and acoustic drums sitting behind the blues guitar driven main section.

    I really enjoy the way that the synths are mixed into the main section behind the guitar and vocals, adding an
interesting new flavor to Jack’s arsenal. Overall the main section is vintage Jack White, with it’s build from a slow
blues to an insane guitar solo being something Jack has done going all the way back to the first White Stripes album
on something like I Fought Piranhas. The experimental bits on the intro are really interesting and cool to me, but
what I really like is that even though the sounds and ideas may be different, so far the core is still Jack White playing
the blues.

Trial By Fire- Yelawolf- Album Review

    Here is another artist who I didn’t realize how good they were until very recently. I

originally had written Yelawolf off as a hillbilly party rapper, but after hearing his verse on the

Shady records cypher a while back I began to appreciate his lyrical ability. Around this same

time I saw a YouTuber who I follow called the Rap Critic put the song Shadows on his best of

the year list for 2016, and it’s easy to see why. Shadows is a complete masterpiece, mixing dark

bluegrass and folk elements with vivid imagery and lyrics that remind me of a southern Kendrick

Lamar.

    Shadows was the first single released ahead of the full album Trial by Fire, along with

Row Your Boat and Punk. While I enjoyed both of the other singles, Shadows was far and away

the best single and ultimately the best song on the album proper. The full album starts with the

title track that serves as an introductory skit to the whole album, setting the scene of Yelawolf,

Bones Owens and DJ Klever performing in a blues bar. This opener has a distinct and powerful

southern rock sound with Yelawolf rapping the story of his birth that blends into Shadows.

    As I said I loved Shadows before the album came out, and hearing it in the context of the

album is even more awesome. The third track is a hyper aggressive Nu-Metal/Rap Rock

throwback with a bit of southern rock flavor thrown in for good measure. The thing that makes

this track a bit strange is the featured artist of Kid Rock. This certainly feels like something in

the style of late 90s early 2000s era Kid Rock and it’s a pretty solid track.

    After Get Mine we have one of the best tracks on the album that really lets Yelawolf dip

into his storyteller side with Son of A Gun. Similarly to the opening track, this is a

autobiographical track, this time detailing his destructive nature and the similarities to his father.

This really shows the perfect way that country and rap can blend together as the biggest element

of these two genres when done right is storytelling. The next track is a heartwarming one about a

friend of Yelawolf’s who despite taking a different path in life has always had his back.

    The album then has a spoken word interlude which perfectly sets up one of the best tracks

on the album, Daylight. Daylight is a good split between a drinking party song and a positive

turn on the album. Do For Love is a pretty average track on the album that has good lyrics but

kind of a mediocre sound. The next track Punk has a blistering tempo and powerful rhythm,

courtesy of Travis Barker, but Juicy J’s hook is kind of lacking in my opinion.

    Row Your Boat is proof that they knew what they were doing when they picked the

singles off of this album. Aside from Punk I would say that the singles off of this album were all

of the top songs here. Row Your Boat has a kind of laid back beat on it but features one of the

most interesting flows on the album with Yelawolf having a slippery flow that slides into each

line on the verses. He also does a good job performing his own hook in a way that suits the low

key vibe of the song.

    True to Yourself features guitarist Bones Owens actually singing the hook as well as

playing on it and has some sick trumpet playing. Sound wise this track is very similar to

Shadows and is pretty solid. The next track Sabrina is a bit of an odd track as Yelawolf raps

nearly acapella the story of his fictional daughter drowning in a lake near his house. On Violin

Yelawolf raps about various people who have been used or “played like a violin”, including a

soldier abandoned by his country and a woman in an abusive relationship. The song features

violins throughout it behind a military drum roll and a soulful hook by Lee Brice.

The final track is a huge standout, featuring Yelawolf at his best telling his life story in

vivid detail over a a mix hip hop synth bass, country lap steel and bluegrass mandolin. The

chorus features country star Wynonna Judd giving the perfect summation of the song, singing

“This is my story, This is my glory, This is what keeps me alive”. This track, and this album as a

whole is what happens when a storyteller with a gift for poetic writing takes full control over a

project.

          The self produced effort by Yelawolf feels not only like his strongest work, but also his
most complete and fleshed out work. It’s weird to say that a rap album only has touches of hip
hop production, but the majority of this album’s music is Bones Owens’ guitar and lap steel
playing with touches of 808 drums and hip hop bass accompanying acoustic snare rolls and
piano. While the elements used on this album might not sound like they would go together that
well, this album truly is more than the sum of its parts.

13. Best Songs of 2017

Full list

Noah
1. Ego-Rag n Bone Man
2. Hook, Line & Sinker- Royal Blood
3. Believer- Imagine Dragons
4. Walk On Water- 30 Seconds To Mars
5. The Man- The Killers
6. Died In My Sleep- Demon Hunter
7. Blame- Bastille
8. Feet Don't Fail Me- Queens of The Stone Age
9. Story of OJ- Jay-Z
10. Blood In The Cut- K.Flay

Justin
1. What Are We Fighting For- The Federal Empire
2. Come Together- Gary Clark Jr.
3. Legendary- Welshy Arms
4. Freak Like Me- NoMBe
5. High- Sir Sly
6. No Roots- Alice Merton
7. Feel It Still- Portugal. The Man
8. Fire Escape- Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness
9. River- Bishop Briggs
10. Love is Mystical- Cold War Kids
--honorable mention-- Champion- Barns Courtney

note-Jay- Z is not on Spotify so Story of OJ is replaced by Mask Off(remix) on the Spotify playlist.

 
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12. ATB Pop Christmas 2017

Justin and Noah bring you a blend of Christmas rock songs and some tracks with a distinct New Orleans flavor. Merry Christmas from ATB Pop!


*because of how hard it is to find a decent quality Beatles version of Christmas Time is Here Again, we went with Ringo's version instead.


**The First Noel by Bad Religion doesn't exist on Spotify for some reason.



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