Okay. Hi, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well. It's time for a weekly track roundup. My thoughts, my feelings, my opinions, all that stuff on a bunch of songs that have dropped over the last week or so.

Worst Tracks of the Week.

We have a couple of those. They are as follows. Bam.

New one over here from Saba, which comes off of a brand new record, which is out now. And I got to say, while I'm not usually a massive Saba fan, this "Looking for Parking" track, the awkward autotune flows and the short song length and everything. Am I being punked? Am I being played? Again, I'm not the biggest Saba guy on the planet, but I feel like his stuff usually feels maybe a bit more quality and substantive than this, even if it's not like my cup of tea. This just feels like he's really going out on a limb to do just whatever. I guess we'll see if he continues down this road, I suppose.

Also, Poppy, brand new track from Poppy, "Unravel". And I got to say, while I have enjoyed for the most part seeing Poppy continue to explore different shades of loud rock and metal music broadly, I feel like things have reached a point where she's just making overpropoppyduced pop metal for the most part, that just has very little in the way of any guts or any bite, which, again, I think is quite unfortunate because I think there's more potential there than this. We've heard it on past works. Again, I don't know how we've gotten to this point where things are getting so formulaic and bland, but I suppose it is what it is.

We've also got a new one over here from Ken Carson. Yes, totally mindless drivel per usual from Mr. Carson and the Opium label, but what else is new?

We've also got Foo Fighters, "Asking for a Friend". I'm asking for a friend: Why is this song so boring? That is what my friend wanted to know. That is truly what this track is. It is supremely underwhelming from the Foos.

And also we have one over here from The Chainsmokers, titled "The Cure". And yeah, it's just about every type of generic EDM cliché you could possibly imagine wrapped up into one song. They are somehow still doing that. And there we go.

The songs I was meh on.

Wanted to just shout these out. You might like them more than me, or it may just be worth drawing them to your attention. They are as follows.

We have Tyler, the Creator, who has essentially put out a deluxe edition of Chromakopia, but it's just one additional song, the track "Mother", which he's thrown in the midst of the tracklist. It's not even toward the end or anything, which you would think that a song dedicated to or in reference to his mom would be a pretty big deal for this album and its tracklist, given that you do have that really heavy "Daddy Issues" track. But the mom song isn't quite as straightforward and direct, and it's clear that the song wasn't really fueled by the same intense feelings that the dad song was. So I can see why this one got left on the cutting room floor, essentially, in the final, final version of the album. It has its moments and a very zany ending to boot. I will definitely give it that. And it's not like the song is completely lacking a message, but the progression and momentum of it really does leave a lot to be desired. It's not like Tyler's strongest track or anything like that, by far. I think it would have weighed down the tracklist a little bit if it did make the most final version of the album.

We have another one from JPEGMAFIA and Danny [Brown], because now we've got the fuller deluxe edition of Scaring the Hoes. Here's the thing. A while ago, Danny and Peggy, they already added a few extra tracks to the record. And now we have even more songs added to the record. And seemingly, a few of the mixes on the older tracks are changed. And JPEGMAFIA also put out this weirdly passive-aggressive tweet about how he's never going to mention, I'm adding some tracks here, and then after that, I'm never going to mention this project again. And it's like, were we expecting you to? I don't know what the hell he's on. It's a little concerning and weird, but I will say at least a few of the additional deluxe tracks. I know I did enjoy that solo Peggy one from not too long ago that got added to the deluxe and was teasing toward it. But this one over here, "Roaches", I feel like it's a bit of a mess. I think Danny's verses on it are super strong, and the instrumental transitions into his portions of the track are a little, I'll say, awkward. So it's not terrible by any means, but certainly not as mind-blowing or as strong as the cream of the crop of the Scaring the Hoes era. It truly does feel like an extra, and I'm glad that Danny and Peggy at this time saw a fit to edit themselves enough to have this not sitting shoulder to shoulder with the best of the best. But yeah, the way that these songs are landing on this project and the context it's coming up with and the new presentation of the project all of a sudden, it just feels weird to me. It just feels out of nowhere. It feels random, and I wonder what the heck is fueling it, I guess.

We've got, of course, the one, the only, Orville Peck over here, "Drift Away". New straightforward, soaring country ballad on this one. It's okay. It's a little stripped back and maybe not quite as grandiose or as exciting as anything from his last pure solo album of originals. In this forthcoming project that he has coming on the way, it seems like a little shortwinded. I'm wondering what exactly the intent behind this is going to be ultimately. But this ballad on its own is fine. It's cool. I mean, the vocals for the most part, especially on the choruses, sound pretty strong. But outside of that, I feel like he's put out stronger work for sure.

We have Megan Thee Stallion, who is dropping a brand new track, "Lover Girl", which is all right. I celebrate and I appreciate the personal angle and the broader optical narrative that Megan is doing with this track in terms of I'm in a loving relationship now and I'm happy. I really want to celebrate that with this song. It's a really salacious music video on top of it. But the track itself, I feel like, is just underwhelming and doesn't really hit hard. I feel like Megan trying to tone things down for a romantic cut is hitting a little weak, in my opinion. But it's a little surprising because she has done songs that take a softer approach in the past that I have liked more than this one. I don't know if it's the bed creaking samples or just the different changes or her flow being toned down a little bit on the track. Either way, it's just not really doing it too much for me. But still, Megan's last album, in my opinion, was easily her best. So I'm still seeing her at a high point in her career at this moment in time.

All right, we have Mac Miller, Good AM, 10-year anniversary, a few extra bonus tracks. This one with Vinny Radio, "Royal Flush", I think it's just okay, but Good AM, I do think, was one of the stronger projects he had put out back in the day when he was still with us. To get some extras on a deluxe anniversary edition is pretty cool either way.

We've also got Kelly Lee Owens, who is hitting us with "132 Techno", a brand new track from her forthcoming EP, and it's not bad, and it gives you exactly what it delivers or it promises, rather, in the title, you do get some "132 Techno". Maybe not the boldest and most inventive techno out there, but certainly listenable and enjoyable for sure.

We have HEALTH over here hitting us with the new "Thought Leader" single. Of course, it's heavy, it's industrial, it's eerie, it's creepy like most HEALTH songs are.

And here we have the best tracks of the week.

A bunch of those. So again, pay attention. Check them out for yourself. Boom.

Starting with this new one with Shad, who has a brand new album out. If you like your backpack rap, underground hip hop, conscious hip hop, with a lot of bars that to me read conversations that societally were just not ready to happen, sorry, ready to have yet. You're going to want to give this one a spin. Shad sounding still pretty great on this new track, in my opinion.

We also have none other than Rosalia teaming up with Yves Tumor and Björk as well on this new "Berghain" track. Track. And God, it's mind-blowing. Passages in German, orchestral strings. It is elegant, it is epic, it is over the top. It's got a weird experimental finish. Absolutely wild track. Björk's passage in the middle of the track is incredible, too. I mean, it's just nonstop fireworks on this track, and it's got me hype for whatever the hell Lux is going to be. I mean, if the rest of the album is going to be as ambitious as this, we are in for one of the best albums of the year. So, hell, yeah, let's go.

We've also got Noname over here, hitting us with "Hundred Acres". I really am surprised by her, I don't know, I'll say vibe shift on this track a little bit. Devin Morrison is featured on the song as well. But it's a bit of a witty, lively jazz rap song that isn't quite hitting as dour as some of Noname's recent stuff has. I'm liking it quite a bit. I like the energy on this track a lot. And again, the fact that she is taking more playful, cheekier approach with the lyrics, too.

We've also got one over here from none other than Navy Blue. "Orchards" is the name of the track. And if you're looking for some heady, cerebral, abstract hip hop with some really great production and great vocals, you are going to enjoy this, I promise you.

Also liking these two brand new singles from Magdalena Bay. They are just blessing us with all these brand new tracks. "Unoriginal" and "Black-Eyed Susan" are the two that they have given us over here. And they're really like, acoustic and rocky and a little proggy, too. Great layers on both cuts, production-wise. Really interesting to hear them tone down some of the electronics and synths, but still sound amazing in the process, that's for sure.

We've also got to Lankum over here. It's been a while since we've heard from them. They have a new eight-minute track, eight-minute single, and it's a very interesting one. I saw the title, but I did not think in a million years that we would be getting a droney, dreary, but still jaw-dropping cover of the Specials song "Ghost Town". This is nuts. This is crazy, actually, honestly. This is mind-blowing. And again, very dark. Shout out to Lankum, Ireland's Stand the hell up.

We have hemlocke springs, who's hitting us with a brand new one over here, "head, shoulders, knees, and ankles". It's a bit of a creepy synth-heavy Halloween-y little pop tune and loving the eccentric vocals quite a bit, loving the driving beats. It's exciting. It sounds like a Halloween special TV show from the '90s. It kicks ass. It's colorful, it's fun, it's eccentric.

A couple more. We have Genesis Owusu is killing it on this brand new track over here. Over here, "Death Cult Zombie". This one goes hard as hell. Vocals great. Very post-punky. A little Bloc Party influence as well. If you like, again, your post-punk, your indie rock, your 2000s indie rock, with maybe a slight hip hop flair, too, you're going to dig on this one.

Also liking Blue Bendy, hitting us with "Poke" over here. Band straight out of the Windmill scene. It is whimsical, it is layered, it is artsy indie rock. It's very ornate. It's very theatrical, digging it quite a bit.

Also, a shout out to Ana Frango Electrico, who apparently is one of many artists featured on this new Gilberto Gil, revamped version of a 1980s album he dropped back in the day where it's a scene-wide effort of everybody covering a different track from the album. Ana Frango Electrico, being one of the biggest acts who's out of Brazil currently in terms of international success on the indie scene and everything, is taking up the mantle on the first track on the record, and it's fantastic. It's groovy. It's almost got some disco vibes at points. I'm loving it quite a bit. Brazil stand up. I mean, what the hell?

And moving on from there, a shout out to the one, the only, Oneohtrix Point Never, who has a brand new record on the way. And Daniel has seen fit to basically give us four songs from the album, teasing toward it. And what I'm hearing so far is pretty cool, especially this song over here, "Lifeworld", which is bustling rhythmically and collage-y and is almost bringing us some old-school vaporwave aesthetics. It's very engaging, very interesting, very textured, and really prime stuff, in my opinion. I'm really looking forward to this new Oneohtrix Point Never album – Tranquilizer, I think it's titled. Hype. Hype as hell.

All right. Weekly track roundup in the can. Hopefully, you guys got some good recommendations out of this video. You're the best. Love you.

Anthony Fantano tracks forever.