Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
We go through some of our favorite funk & soul cuts of 2021 for the Sampled portion, then Dan Lloyd serves up part 2 of his own favorite rock singles to close things with our AMPED feature.
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
Dec 9, 2021
The Drop with Danno
The Steoples – The Good News
Cha Wa – My People
Varsovia feat Ghost Funk Orchestra – Zitronen
The Gripsweats – G’on Use It
Hiatus Kaiyote feat Arthur Verocai – Get Sun
Durand Jones & The Indications feat Y La Bamba – Cruisin’ to the Parque
Ghost Funk Orchestra – Asphalt Homeland
Bobby Oroza – I Got Love
Karate Boogaloo – Diamonds Are Forever
Flamingosis – Cosmic Feeling
Leon Bridges feat Keite Young – Like A Ship
I.
It is 20 hours past midnight on a downright dour cold one here in Gwangju, and tonight is Thursday so you know that we gotta set tasers to funk as it is the fourth day of the work week, clouded into the cosmos as December 16, 2021. This is Danno as always as ever from studio 2 GFN HQ located in downtown Gwangju, how do you do? Since the fact that it’s Thursday is duly noted, that means that our Sampled funk & soul Thursday is in full effect, and we’re starting our best of 2021 countdown tonight in the first hour, playing some of our favorite funk & soul singles from the past year that was, with tunes from Durand Jones, Hiatus Kaiyote, Bobby Oroza, and many others to let out into space. And it must be noted that none of these are tunes that appear on our favorite albums of the year, which we’ll go over on Monday & Tuesday after Christmas, and this is by no means comprehensive as far as the soul stuff we loved goes for 2021. Dan Lloyd is back once again tonight and our AMPED rock feature goes over our rock maestro’s favorite singles from this year in part 2 of our 2021 countdown, as Gwangju’s man on the drums covered his favorite albums last week, and we’ll be going over some critical darlings for the end of the year show on December 23. So, lots of exciting things to cover tonight, and we’ll start with a group out of LA called the Steoples to begin our funky faves for 2021, and we’ll talk about all there is to know about side opposite the sonics. THIS is The Drop.
The Steoples – The Good News
III & IV AMPED
Direct Hit! – Hollow Comfort
Foals – Wake Me Up
Royal Blood – Boilermaker
Sports Team – Happy (God’s Own Country)
Yard Act – the Overload
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Catching Smoke
Parquet Courts – Walking at a Downtown Pace
OFF! – Holier Than Thou
Mannequin Pussy – To Lose You
Wet Leg – Wet Dream
Big Red Machine – Phoenix ft Fleet Foxes and Anais Mitchell
The Killers – Runaway Horses ft Phoebe Bridgers
Direct Hit! – Hollow Comfort
Many bands tried, and Machine Gun Kelly claims he brought it back, but no pop-punk band in the world can hold a candle to Direct Hit! when their on form, and that’s what they are on this standalone single from March of this year.
Jesus, that’s a poorly constructed sentence.
Foals – Wake Me Up
Now down to just three members (but let’s be honest, it’s the three best members), Foals have promised a return to a more dance-oriented sound on their next album. They certainly delivered with their comeback single, which blows previous effort Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. 2 out of the water. Good things on the horizon.
Royal Blood – Boilermaker
Latest album Trouble’s Coming is not really my thing. Most of the songs revolve around a guitar riff set to a Daft Punk/Justice-style electronic disco beat which for me rids the band of one of its strengths, drummer Ben Thatcher, who is relegated to time keeper for much of the album. However, this track is an absolute rager. Produced by Josh Homme (and you can tell), it’s got style, swagger and attitude, and all the other buzzwords you can think of.
Sports Team – Happy (God’s Own Country)
One of my biggest disappointments of 2021 is how Sports Team released one of the year’s best singles back in April, and then followed it up with absolutely nothing. They have been touring in recent weeks and playing new material so I’m certain we’ll hear more from this band in 2022. If the new stuff is as good as Happy, we’re in for a treat.
Yard Act – the Overload
I was going to put the excellent Dark Days which came out back in January (and made the NME’s list of best songs of 2021), but my anticipation of Yard Act’s debut album (out first week of Jan. 2022) is such that I couldn’t not put the album’s title track on my list. From Sleaford Mods to Joy Division to the Fall to Gang of Four, Yard Act are a terrific amalgamation of basically every great band to come out of the north of England, and I can’t see them not being my favourite band of next year.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Catching Smoke
The undisputed highlight from the largely underwhelming 18th album Butterfly 3000. Both albums released this year kind of disappointed me to be honest, but when you release music at the rate KG does, they can’t all be winners. Odds on to make my list next year again, for the 4th year running, with most likely a completely different genre of music)
(2019 - thrash metal, 2020 – middle-eastern disco, 2021 – synth-prog))
Parquet Courts – Walking at a Downtown Pace
Might be my favourite tune of the year. It’s just so cool. It’s a shame the album (Sympathy For Life) didn’t come close to matching the energy and spirit of the opening track, and I have to admit I haven’t managed to make it through the whole thing without getting bored, or just going back to this song over and over again. One of the grooviest basslines I’ve heard in years.
OFF! – Holier Than Thou
Yes, it’s a cover, but what a cover it is. I wanted to mention the Metallica Blacklist on some round-up show because it’s been such a huge part of this show in the last few months, and was for the most part a really enjoyable listen. I have to highlight this track for several reasons; 1) Great to have a new release from OFF! 2) The drumming is absolutely mind blowing, and it’s so refreshing to hear great drumming on a Metallica song 3) it’s the best music video of the year.
Mannequin Pussy – To Lose You
One of the highlights of the aptly-titled Perfect EP, this band continues to grow and grow. A step up in sophistication from their last record Patience, which was one of my favourites from 2019.
Wet Leg – Wet Dream
Everyone’s raving about the debut single Chaise Longue, but this is the real stuff right here. Great chorus, funny lyrics and just a well put-together indie rock tune. I still maintain that Wet Leg are the new Electric Six in that they’ll be mostly forgotten a few years from now, save for a few novelty tracks that’ll be played at student discos. I hope they prove me wrong, but I’m not holding my breath.
Big Red Machine – Phoenix ft Fleet Foxes and Anais Mitchell
Not a huge fan of the album it came from (BRM’s 2nd LP How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?), but there were a few standout moments, none more so than this. I’ve been a fan of Justin Vernon and Robin Pecknold’s voices for years, so to hear them together on a track was a real thrill.
The Killers – Runaway Horses ft Phoebe Bridgers
I’m honestly surprised not to have seen Pressure Machine on any critics top 10 lists; it’s a great album and a really nice change of pace for the Killers. Phoebe Bridgers has guested on a number of terrific singles this year, but this is my favourite of those tracks. I’m sure the Killers will no doubt return to their brand of ear-splitting bombastic stadium rock anthems, but this was a most welcome departure and was a real highlight for me this year.