Blueprint Playlist: Perpetual Stu

Trying something new on the blog today. Love to try new things...expand my horizons...expand the ol' content umbrella...

Three Music Thingz alum (haha I don't know why I'm writing this way but it's kind of funny....a graduate of I Enjoy Music University) Perpetual Stu last graced these blog's pages in the wake of the release of his jaunty indie pop single "Alone". He's got a project going where he's releasing a song a month, and his latest offering is "Worse," a punkish tune about the various ways one's nerves can start shredding like well-braised beef ("All around the world / It’s only getting worse / Everyone in the group chat / Seems like they’re gonna burst").

Roger Feeley-Lussier (for this is the true name of Perpetual Stu) suggested contributing a "blueprint playlist" of songs that inspired his music, and I thought this was a fantastic idea. So let's take a look at the songs that are getting the Perpetual Stu to its simmering point, in Roger's own words...

Petey - "Pitch A Fit!"
Petey popped up on a Spotify playlist some time mid last year and I was instantly obsessed. At first glance you'd think he's another sad boi Max Bemis wannabe but there's something else there. Petey's songs walk the line between LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse, and yes, even Say Anything. Beats and handclaps meet "midwest emo" (shudder) guitars and relatable lyrics about the things bands have been singing about since the dawn of time. Petey inspired me to strip my music down to its basics, and then layer over bits and bobs that flesh it out.

Bilmuri - "Better Hell"
I found Bilmuri a little after I found Petey and I'm glad I did. A (former?) member of crabcore stalwarts Attack! Attack!, Johnny Franck's Bilmuri project has been around for a bit now, and has already crossed a few genres. His 2022 release Goblin Hours is an incredible mix of pop, edm, and pop punk, and his new stuff is shaping up to be something special too. My daughter loves this song, and she's 2 and half, so she's probably right.

Samia - "Sea Lions"
This one is probably gonna set some strange vibes in the playlist but I think a lot about this song for a few reasons. 1) it is impeccably mixed. The way Samia's voice floats in the master is just stunning and although I know that's not the way I sing, I want to put as much care into mixing my vocals and 2) that electronic break at the end is goddamn legendary. Every time I hear it I just wish I'd thought of it first.

100 gecs - "hand crushed by a mallet" (Remix) [feat. Fall Out Boy, Craig Owens, Nicole Dollanganger]
I didn't "get" 100 gecs the first couple times I tried to listen to them. Then I heard the 1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues album and it made sense. 100 gecs are songwriters. They're Ed Sheeran. They're Charli XCX, they're Max Martin. That's not to take anything away from their own albums, which are transcendent blends of house, trance, noise, and power pop, but hearing another artist cover 100 gecs made me realize how revolutionary they are.

Explosions In The Sky - "Your Hand In Mine"
This song has simply been a part of my life, passively now, for over 20 years. I never watched Friday Night Lights and I've never been hugely, massively into EITS or post-rock in general, but I have listened to this track easily a thousand times. There's something really gorgeous about the simplicity of the arrangements once you settle in and pick apart what each member of the band is doing. I'd love to make music like this, even just once.

Thanks Perpetual Stu! Go listen to "Worse"! There's even a video! And thanks for reading I Enjoy Music. If ya like it, tell a friend.