#also nerve (2016) purely for the aesthetic!!

[lovelyandproblematic]

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase crossover fusion edit for Klaroline AU Season, 2021 Week Seven: Fusions @klaroline-event​

👾🕹📟🕳 Klaroline in CYBER CHASE: THE FINAL LEVEL ➖ extended summary

It's been just over eight months since Klaus got trapped in the video game. For Caroline, he'd wager a lot less.

In the beginning, his reserves of grit and determination were plenty stocked and put him on his feet after every near-death battle. Kol at his side only fueled his resolve to get them out of there, beat the game, and go home.

It all changed around the sixth month.

Kol steadily grew impatient beyond measure, tearing holes in the rugs with his pacing, picking fights with low-level bosses just to feel something other than desperation and frustration. It was hard to keep him in good spirits, his brother.

The crushing weight of a broken promise hit Klaus full-force when Kol disappeared.

Naturally, he searched for Kol high and low and had a lot of luck finding nothing. It was as if Kol up and left, or never existed at all. His iron resolve quaked at the realization, and he's never quite recovered.

Time passes differently here at Level Thirteen as they were told by the former final girl, Anna Zhu—not directly, of course. 

The girl kept detailed accounts of everything she'd seen. When they found the diaries that she kept when she played this level, it was illuminating, to say the least, but did nothing to quell their worst fears.

Her last entry was, in a word, haunting.

It was dated October 13, 2009, and for all they knew, she up and disappeared without a trace afterward. Kol had hopes she somehow made it out and beat the game; Klaus wasn't so optimistic.

That was two months ago, just before Kol jokingly promised that he'd be back before dawn with a ghost of a smile on his face, walked out, and never returned.

At least Klaus thought it was two months... It was hard to tell for sure in a level where the sun never rose.

Mind you, the game’s better played in pairs, and Klaus gradually lost the spark that drove him to war against the odds, the tethers to his humanity stripped away day after day.

So he quit playing— and if you think that's pathetic, he invites you to get sucked into a cursed video game for all time unless you can fend off virtual hordes of monsters with nothing but your false bravado and TV remote.

Klaus got complacent treading water instead of trying (and potentially failing) to beat this level by engaging in the final boss battle because if he lost, he would have to play the previous, brutal twelve levels all over again. Alone. 

Besides, Level Thirteen is where it’s at.

The abandoned metropolis has all of the comforts of home, minus a real-life touch. The sun never rises here, so everything is steeped in eternal night, but Klaus quickly found he was more than apt to be king of the dark city. He went where he wanted, did what he wanted.

He stole cars, parachuted off of skyscrapers, gorged on fried nosh from the fair, fished on the miles-long boardwalk's piers. He knew where each of the Big Bosses are located, having scouted them previously with Kol, so his domain was outlined very clearly, and he hardly encountered trouble. 

He always avoided the glittering arcade, where a bored Kol had once been entranced by the assortment of free games.

The only others roaming this plane are the NPCs, non-player characters, programmed with limited responses and actions, but they made suitable stand-ins for social interactions for a short while.

After all... Anything was better than the deafening silence that came with true isolation.

The all-encompassing and abnormally large moon with its three rings was towering high in the sky on the night it happened.

He remembers it so clearly. He was sitting at the top of the neon-lit Ferris wheel, watching the black waves roll in under the blanket of a star-freckled sky, when he saw a blue-white light beam come down.

It struck the ground in the heart of the city with the velocity of a meteorite, and Klaus jolted so hard he almost tumbled backward off the rocking bench suspended by steel.

A part of him didn't even dare to hope that it was another player joining.

Hallucinations weren't exactly new to him, but in the end, curiosity in a level where nothing ever changed won him over.

He set out to find this person, strapped with his best weapons and a new stride, reminiscent of his victory-sponsored swagger from Level Two. Unfortunately, they had landed in a neighborhood frequented by what he and Kol had dubbed "Unfriendlies," so it was the least he could do to help them out if they wanted a shot at survival.

Or he could just sit back, analyze their fighting techniques, and then decide whether to play or pass... whichever whim took hold of him at the moment.

Klaus didn't expect to be tackled into the pavement, the barrel of a light-blaster shoved under his chin as he stared up into steel blue eyes awash with a fire that stole his breath.

...In short, Klaus didn't expect Caroline Forbes.

All of her quips, jibes, and painstakingly laid plans were admittedly refreshing, but it was her, purely the caliber of her person, that captivated him so thoroughly, the pair of them being the last two standing or not. He was so robbed of energy that standing in the rays of her light nearly burned him at the touch.

She, too, had lost her game partner, Enzo, and had been searching for him ever since, not interested in moving on or beating the game without him. It seemed natural to work together, which was a lot to say in a game that routinely pushed you to the brink.

Their new mission centered on finding and rescuing Kol, Enzo, and even Anna and her old partner Jeremy if they were still trapped here. Then they would fight for a way out. 

Together.

Waiting for them at the end of the line was the Big Boss of Level Thirteen: the Phantom Virus, ominously referred to as "Malachai" by the NPCs.

So with an appropriate amount of banter, innuendos, and meaningful conversation, they strategized, plotted, and role-played every possible scenario before charging in light-blasters akimbo.

No matter what the outcome, win or lose, triumph or perish, he knew she had changed everything for him.

Until her, he had forgotten what it was like to want to try. And oh, how she made him want to try.

To win.

And to live. 

__________

[ !! G A M E  O V E R !! ]

       [ Play again ? ]

            [ Y  /  N  ]

[priyacmi]

PLASMA THERAPY MARKET ANALYSIS

Plasma therapy is used for treatment of many disorders such as hair loss, tendon injuries, acute injuries, post-surgical repair, and osteoarthritis and currently for treatment of COVID–19. Several manufacturers are initiating plasma processing in order to tackle the spread of the coronavirus across the world. Therefore, the global plasma therapy market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period.

Global Plasma Therapy Market - Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) Pandemic

On 24th August 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) approved the Convalescent plasma therapy for treatment of Covid – 19 patients in the U.S., without completing the clinical trial due to the exponential increase in the coronavirus infected patients. Convalescent plasma therapy uses blood from people who've recovered from the coronavirus infection to help others recover. On 3rd June 2020, researchers from the Houston Methodist Hospital in the U.S. initiated clinical trials for recording efficacy of the plasma therapy when plasma is transfused from recovered Covid-19 patients into critically ill patients. According to the researchers, 19 out of 25 patients were showing signs of recovery post plasma therapy and 11 patients were later discharged from the hospital following recovery.

Furthermore, many organizations are involved in increasing awareness about donation of plasma. Therefore, the global plasma therapy market is expected to witness growth due to the lack of an appropriate proper vaccine or drug for the treatment of Covid – 19 patients.

The global plasma therapy market is estimated to be valued at US$ 226.13 million in 2020 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 14.1% during the forecast period (2020-2027).

Figure 1: Global Plasma Therapy Market Share (%) Analysis, By Type 2020

Companies are engaged in inorganic activities such as collaborations to develop new treatment plans for patients suffering from the coronavirus.

For instance, on 7th April 2020, Takeda and CSL Behring collaboratively developed a new treatment for patients suffering from the coronavirus infection. The treatment plan involves using blood plasma of patients who have recovered from the infection by further isolating the antibodies from the plasma and injecting it in patients. This therapy triggers an immune response in the body of the patients which can help them survive the infection. Such collaborations are expected to increase the global plasma therapy market growth during the forecast period.

Product launches are expected to drive growth of the global plasma therapy market during the forecast period.

For instance, in 2019, Adimarket, LLC, a subsidiary of the Global Stem Cells Group, launched platelet rich plasma (PRP). PRP is a new treatment option in regenerative medicine. Adimarket, LLC, will provide the PRP kit to physicians along with the treatment protocol, so that patients requiring critical aesthetic, wound and orthopedic care can receive affordable and easy treatment.

Global Plasma Therapy Market – Restraints

The absence of compensation policies as well as high cost of the plasma therapy treatment are expected to restrain the global plasma therapy market growth during the forecast period.

Plasma Therapy Market Report Coverage

Report Coverage

Details

Base Year:

2019

Market Size in 2019:

US$ 226.13 Mn

Historical Data for:

2016 to 2019

Forecast Period:

2020 to 2027

Forecast Period 2020 to 2027 CAGR:

14.1 %

2027 Value Projection:

US$ 573.04 Mn

Geographies covered:

§  North America: U.S. and  Canada

§  Latin America: Brazil,  Argentina, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America

§  Europe: Germany,  U.K., Spain, France, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe

§  Asia Pacific: China,  India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, ASEAN, and Rest of Asia Pacific

§  Middle East: GCC, Israel  and Rest of Middle East

§  Africa: South  Africa, North Africa, and Central Africa

Segments covered:

§  By Type: Pure PRP,  Leucocyte-rich PRP, Pure Platelet-rich Fibrin (PRF), Leukocyte-rich Fibrin  (L-PRF).

§  By Application: Infectious  Diseases, Dental, Nerve Injury, Cardiac Muscle Injury, Other Applications.

§  By End-User: Hospitals  & Clinics, Research Institutes, Others.

Companies covered:

Octapharma AG,  China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. Bio Products Laboratory Ltd., Kedrion  S.p.A , Grifols, S.A., CSL, Biotest AG., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company  Limited., DePuy Synthes, Regen Lab SA and LFB SA

Growth Drivers:

§  An increasing  number of product launches

§  The increasing  number of collaborations, partnerships and acquisitions

Restraints & Challenges:

§  High cost of  treatment

§  Lack of  reimbursement

Global Plasma Therapy Market – Regional Analysis

Companies in North America are focused on inorganic strategies such as collaborations and partnerships to increase the supply of plasma to processing centers and ensuring that a treatment option is available for rare and serious disorders. For instance, in 2017, KEDPLASMA LLC, a subsidiary of Kedrion Biopharma Inc. entered a plasma supply agreement with ImmunoTek Bio Centers, LLC, in which, the ImmunoTek Bio Centers, LLC, developed a total of 28 plasma collection centers for Kedplasma LLC in the U.S. Kedplasma will use the plasma to manufacture different plasma therapies for rare and chronic disorders. Such factors are expected to drive the plasma therapy market growth in North America.

Figure 2: Global Plasma Therapy Market Value (US$ Mn) & Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2017-2027

Governments in Asia–Pacific are involved in research and development of new treatments for COVID-19. For instance, on 30th June 2020, the government of Maharashtra, a state in India, launched Platina, one of the largest trials across the globe for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The project aims to provide free plasma therapy at 21 government centers in Maharashtra to increase the chances of survival of the infected patients. The government is also spreading awareness among recovered patients regarding plasma donation so that the plasma can be processed and utilized for therapy. Such projects are expected to boost the global plasma therapy market growth during the forecast period.

Request freeSample: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/4155

DownloadPDFBrochure:https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/4155

Global Plasma Therapy Market – Competitive Landscape

Some of the key players involved in the global plasma therapy market are Octapharma AG, China Biologic Products Holdings, Inc. Bio Products Laboratory Ltd, Kedrion S.p.A , Grifols, S.A., CSL, Biotest AG., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited., DePuy Synthes, Regen Lab SA, LFB SA., and Immunotek Bio Centers.

 About Us:

Coherent Market Insights is a global market intelligence and consulting organization focused on assisting our plethora of clients achieve transformational growth by helping them make critical business decisions.

What we provide:

•      Customized Market Research Services

•      Industry Analysis Services

•      Business Consulting Services

•      Market Intelligence Services

•      Long term Engagement Model

•      Country Specific Analysis

Contact Us:

Mr. Shah

Coherent Market Insights Pvt. Ltd.

Address: 1001 4th ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154, U.S.

Phone: +1-206-701-6702

Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com

Source: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/plasma-therapy-market-4155

[breeblack6]

Conceptual Response I

1.)  The biological parts of the human anatomy that are most intriguing for me are the neurological system (i.e. the brain) and the reproductive organs and system (i.e. the penis, vagina & breasts). The brain and nervous system are the most vital parts that make up the human anatomical structure. For example, the neurological system is responsible for all of our information, sensory processing and consciousness. The reproductive system is another vital system of the human “machine”. This system is responsible for the creation of life. The reasons why I am interested in these particular systems of the human anatomy are how vital they play in the role of our human experience and how these systems interact with one another is astonishing to me. The other reason why I am fascinated by these systems is that I am a Transgender female and I am constantly intrigued by how the amazing these organs can interact with one another. My main goal in this upcoming project will be a deep introspective and philosophical intellectualization of sex, gender, spirituality and biological function and how all of these concepts may be interrelated or distant from one another. This project will be deconstructed in a very meticulous, scientific and esoteric way. I will try my best to layout the “ground work” or blueprint for everything that I will try to investigate. Other Artists who have merged these ideas and concepts into their work include Amy Karle and her 2016 work “Regenerative Reliquary” which raises the questions of new human life forms and future technologies. Another artist who transcends boundaries in the realm of gender, expression and societal norms is Heather Cassils whose ongoing performance piece “Becoming an Image” fuses LGBT issues into a centerpiece of discussion and social awareness.

2.)  Instant and painless plastic surgery and Gender transition with soul transfer. The reason why I would want to undergo full plastic surgery would to be for purely aesthetic reasons only. I like to play with fashion, clothing and my looks. If in the future, Scientists invent a way to transfer people’s souls into on body or another, I would enjoy undergoing this experimental treatment for obvious reasons stated earlier; I would personally enjoy being able to fully embody the entire human form of the opposite Gender which I was assigned to at birth. Plastic surgery on my face would be for a more customized or exaggerated look to achieve a fully feminized facial bone structure. Even though I am aware that there does exist FFS or (Facial Feminization Surgery) which is available for Trans feminine people, I would gladly have this done even though I don’t really need to have it done out of purely creative enterprises. Speaking of Trans related issues, I find that the metaphysical question pops up immediately, for me, as Transgender individual myself; I have always wanted to understand or know why since I was young, I felt like I didn’t inhabit the body that which I was supposed to. So, I am very interested with examining the interaction between mind, body and spirit, on both, a Scientific and Esoteric or spiritual level.

3.)  The aesthetics which I am partial to, include, overtly feminine or female type of dress which include, faux furs, feminine coats, heels and all manners and styles of amplified femininity. I find fashion to be also of interest to me and I will imply my own designs for feminine dress to this project as much as I am allowed. Harkening back to the Transgender related premise of my project, Gender expression, or how one presents oneself to society and the outside world, by way of fashion, dress, hair, makeup and so forth, is another essential component to my project which examines the Trans issue itself with self authentication and expression of one’s true Gender. It is often said that Sex is the biological or anatomical structure which we are born into, but that Gender is the social, psychological, spiritual or mental aspects about who we are as individuals and how we display that to the world, either deliberately or subconsciously without being aware that we are (i.e. cisgender people or people whose Gender identity is in alignment with their Birth Gender).

4.)  The LED Litex battery case is very appealing for me for a number of reasons. I could theoretically make a body suit, which incorporates, lightened pinpoints using small tubes to form human-like nerves and then attach them from the for head (i.e. the brain) to the points of primary and secondary sexual characteristics (i.e. breasts and pelvic region) to highlight these areas as they are the main points of interest to my project. The main apparatus of my project could be constructed like an entire exoskeleton which many marine invertebrates have. My overall piece will most likely be a suit inspired by biomimicry technology or the design and production of structures which are based on biological processes found in nature (i.e. plants, animals, ecosystems). I could also incorporate a pressure sensitive conductive sheet to implement some sort of motion activated trigger that unleashes a pulse or strobe-like effect or even maybe a fading effect on the highlighted areas.

[blackcirclefilm-blog]

Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett: Through The Looking Glass

As we entered a new decade in cinema in 2010, the landscape of horror films began to evolve. We saw films totally embracing and interacting with the world around them – usually in the form of advancements in technology and also cultural paradigm shifts. Films like Unfriended or Nerve pushed forward these concepts, and it seems to be encouraged in order to keep the genre from collapsing in on itself. Some filmmakers, however, seem to be quietly pushing forward some of these concepts while straddling the line between classic horror stylistics and ones of the future.  Two of the great talents managing this tricky balancing act are director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett, creators of You’re Next, The Guest, and Blair Witch. With these three films, Wingard and Barrett have managed to put on display not only their love of classic genre aesthetics but also present ideologies in sync with this new wave of modernique horror. This has allowed for a great influx of fans perhaps still not fully ready to let go of the horrors of years past, but willing to peer into what might be in store for the future.

In You’re Next, we are presented from the beginning with a ton of classic horror staples dating back decades. There are a man and a young college girl he left his wife for that get killed in the opening segment, akin to tons of slashers that follow these formulae. The establishing sequences are decidedly old wave, and may even lend to a perception of blandness. A wealthy family has a get together in an old house, up in the country and far from just about anyone else. Pleasantries are quickly dispensed, and at the dinner table judgments, harsh criticisms and condescension run rampant. Frequent mumblecore collaborators and friends populate the cast – Ti West, Joe Swanberg, Amy Seimetz and others are among the indie stars present. After being scoffed at for not making commercials for money with his filmmaking talents, Ti West’s character Tariq is Wingard and Barret’s first victim –  a killer with an animal mask appears and launches a crossbow bolt right through his head. It’s obvious that an audience with knowledge of West’s filmography might find this telling. Arguably his most popular directorial feature to date is The House of the Devil  - a pure late 70s to early 80s satanic panic film drenched in nostalgia via its tone, form, and content. Wingard is going to continue to get a kick out of slashing down styles and aesthetics throughout the film.

A major form of solidarity with this new wave is also present through the portrayal of You’re Next’s protagonist, Sharni Vinson’s character Erin. Presented as merely a girlfriend to one of the family members, Erin is an inverse to the “final girl” trope present in countless horror films. From the very first killing, Erin is shown to be a leader and a fighter, not just a hapless victim who happens to manage to quell off an attacker. Instead, she is shown devising escape plans, orchestrating defensive traps and when need be improvising with whatever is around to kill the mysterious masked murderers. By the midpoint to last third of the film, the masked hunters are directly shown to be fearful of Erin, in a way completely flipping the concept of the horror on its head. Not just a simple attempt at empowerment, Erin achieves equality with most male hero archetypes.   In many ways, You’re Next is as rewarding of a takedown of generic tropes for the modernique era as Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s Scream franchise was for the jaded, cool detachment of the 1990s.

In their next film, The Guest, Wingard and Barrett come up with an even more interesting hybrid of action, horror and family drama that culminates in a peak of retromania. Military grade weapons, technological hacking, female gaze and queer subtext are all game. Similar to You’re Next, The Guest’s premise is rooted in stories as old as Tartuffe, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 arthouse classic Teorema. Barret’s scripts take these old ideas and use them to peer forward, adding in the tech and modernique values and ideas of his contemporaries. The titular guest is David Collins, played by the uber attractive Dan Stevens. He arrives at the family home of the Petersons and tells Mrs. Peterson (played by Sheila Kelley with beautiful naiveté) that he was a friend of their son Caleb, who was killed overseas in Afghanistan. Once the preliminary introductions are established, David begins to unravel every member of the family in one way or another, as well as their relation to the militarization and violence that comes along with the post-9/11 US war machine. Just as many great genre films from the 1970s tackled the Vietnam war in ways mainstream productions could not, The Guest approaches PTSD and other, more civilian issues concerned with the “war on terror” in an interesting and different light than films like The Hurt Locker.

Caleb’s little brother Luke (Brendan Meyer) has lost in his sibling someone to look up to. David becomes like a surrogate brother to him, helping him to shake off incessant bullying and violence in school. After David tells him to fight back and never back down from these situations, Luke beats down a fellow classmate who is taunting him and calling him a “faggot”. While the school wants to expel Luke, David intervenes, telling the principal it’s a hate crime to say these kinds of things to a gay student, and that the family will sue the school unless they reach a far less severe punishment. The sequence might be simple, and the film never actually tells you if David is completely inventing Luke’s gayness or genuinely using it against the school, but it is powerful. Barrett adding this level of queer subtext to The Guest is sincere and respectable – a far cry from 80s films like Sleepaway Camp, Dressed to Kill or A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge which all encompass various levels of queer identity in a much crasser and demeaning way.

Similarly, Wingard frames David in a very sexual and appealing manner, frankly reaching levels of female or queer gaze, similar to Pasolini’s framing of Terence Stamp in Teorema. Even naming him David recalls Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of a biblical icon, nude and in pure reverence. Caleb’s sister Anna (the ever-impressive Maika Monroe) has reservations about David at first, but increasingly grows attracted to him, which is hardly something you can blame her for. After running into him stepping out of the shower, she practically passes out up against the wall. Her friend Kristen (Tabatha Shaun) is instantly into him when he arrives at her Halloween party as Anna’s accompaniment. David ends up smashing her ex-boyfriend into a wall, scaring him off, and ends up having sex with Kristen upstairs at the party afterward. Again, like You’re Next, Wingard and Barrett subvert certain tropes and ideas. In most movies, David would be the hero, but here his demeanor, appeal and tendency towards violence are in a way a warning about the dangers of masculinity at face value.

Anna is always on her phone, wearing giant headphones, playing around with CDs and laptops – certainly a modernique heroine. Her gesture of attraction towards David is burning him a CD of the dreamy, gothic 80s music she favors, but ends up being a reminder of his sinister nature by the time she gives it to him. It is Anna who begins to call up people for information on David’s actual identity and asks her brother to find a way to trace the numbers he has been calling on his phone. The film ends up revealing that he was a test subject to become a sort of super soldier similar to the ones present in the Universal Soldier franchise (brilliantly used for their own commentaries on modern warfare in Scott Adkins’ entries in the series). Militarized police units show up at the Peterson’s household and end up annihilating the place, riddling it with bullets and explosives in an attempt to kill David. He escapes and ends up at Luke’s school, where the Halloween dance is being prepared for, replete with a maze and halls of mirrors, allowing Wingard to enjoy some Wellesian Lady from Shanghai fun with the reflections. These mirrors ostensibly function to show, in an 80s-esque Halloween dance the modern reality of this failed super soldier attempting to cope with his survival and existence. A government sponsored Frankenstein monster, mirrored back at us in the annals of a school gym with props from Halloween III: Season of the Witch on the walls. Truly no other filmmakers are riding this thin of a line between the past and the present through the looking glass.

Wingard and Barrett’s newest feature, Blair Witch is perhaps the most bluntly modernique of their film collaborations. Taking place in 2014, 20 years after the events of the original 1999 film, The Blair Witch Project, we have a new group of kids curious about the supernatural mythos and horror surrounding the woods where Heather Donahue and her group from the original film vanished without a trace in 1994, including Heather’s brother James (James Allen McCune). Considering the original film is widely seen as one of the first films in history to be primarily marketed via the internet, Wingard and Barrett are seen here stepping into a franchise already reaching peak levels of 1999 modernique, in a completely different way than the technological advancements of Lilly and Lana Wachowski’s film The Matrix, released to raving fanfare the same year.

In 2016, to continue this trend of looking back to look forward, Blair Witch equips our characters with loads of tech far more advanced than that of the original crew, but back into that same locale, of centuries-old lore and horrific mythos. All of the characters have tiny earpiece cameras; there are walkie-talkies and even a drone (which is taken up for some ill-fated flights above the woods canopy, in search of a way out). Wingard uses this tech as a way to transform the ordeal into a spooky multi-stream – oftentimes flicking from participants in the way Major League Gaming live streams switch from player to player based on the action. There are still numerous handheld cameras used – some by the team’s local “guides” who take them into the woods on arrival and another by Lisa (Callie Hernandez) as an essential part of a penultimate scene. One of the best scenes, in fact, involves Ashley (Corbin Reid) climbing high up into the trees to attempt to unhinge the drone trapped in the foliage. This futile attempt is of course quashed by the mysterious forces running amok when she is stunningly blown out of the tree, crashing down to the forest floor.

Earning a D+ Cinemascore and critical disdain across the board, Blair Witch is seen as a failure to live up to the monumental expectations set upon it. Barrett knew the inevitability of this from the beginning of the project, opting to get the studios to promote the film as The Woods, not as Blair Witch.  When it finally was revealed, there were equal amounts of positive anticipation, and mocking scorn as yet another shameless reboot or addition to an older film. This jaded view of Blair Witch serves no purpose; it only obfuscates the lineage of modernique techniques Wingard and Barrett have successfully integrated into their films up to this point. In fact, Blair Witch is certainly the greatest “horror” film they have collaborated on. Mostly short on subtext, the film takes advantage of the tech present to figure out the best way to incorporate scares with it. Wingard’s next project is purported to be a live-action adaptation of the popular anime Death Note. Given the character L’s propensity to monitor everyone on cameras, it seems like a logical continuation of his set of films with Barrett. Hopefully, they will collaborate again soon and give us more subversive works refracted through the looking glass of our modern times.

Dave Hefner is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

[cosmeticsurgeryclinicindelhi]

Best Botox Treatment in Delhi

Botox, Dysport, and Xiamen are all used to prevent scabies. They are a pure form of botulinum toxin A. Means, there is no risk of botulism if it is used properly. And, they work by blocking the nerves that contract the muscles, softening the appearance of the skin. Also, you can find Botox Treatment Cost in Delhi. Botox treatment cost in Delhi is low enough. Botulinum toxin is for reducing fine lines and scales by paralyzing the underlying muscles. Also, people use Botox on excessive sweating, migraine, muscle disorders, and some bladder and intestinal disorders.

Botulinum poisoning can cause illness, shortness of breath and can be fatal. However, small doses - such as those used in the use of Botox - are safe.

Acne Scar Treatment in Delhi As per the American Institute of Plastic Surgeons, the average cost for laser skin resurfacing in 2016 was approximately $3,330. But costs vary greatly depending on where the process performs. Also, laser skin restoration is a cosmetic procedure; most medical insurance companies will not cover it.

There are many Acne Scar Treatment in Delhi.

Laser resurfacing takes place on face to create new skin surfaces and reduce acne scars, but complete remodeling takes 18 months. This process is effective up to 80% for shallow marks. But dermatologists should treat deep scars before or during laser resurfacing. Acne scar treatment in Delhi is quite good.

Filler Treatment in Delhi

So, scientists have discovered a way to use it for human benefit. Small, diluted amounts can be injected directly into specific muscles, causing muscle weakness. You can find Filler Treatment in Delhi.

What are Facial Dermal Fillers?

In this, the skin vaccinates through the pores to fill the lines, wrinkles, and scars just below the surface of the skin. But unlike a face-lift facelift, fillers add volume to more youthful youth. Filler treatment in Delhi is good enough. Best Hair Transplant in Delhi Most people are surprised that there is virtually no pain during the FEU hair transplant procedure performed under a local aesthetic. So, once the skin is properly treated, there is no pain.

Generally, patients experience slight discomfort after FAU surgery. So, the best option for you will depend on your individual needs and your doctor's recommendations. Also, there is scope for you to get a Best Hair Transplant in Delhi.

So, the FUT method of hair transplantation requires the skin strip with hair follicles from the site of the tooth. Generally, it is on the back of your head where the hair is naturally inflamed and prone to collapse. So, to prevent swelling, the patient should sleep 45 degrees upward for three nights after the hair transplant procedure. And, avoid any ice cream or spirit. Means, stay away from alcohol for 3 to 5 days after the procedure.

Source:   https://cosmeticsurgeryclinicindelhi-57.webself.net/blog/2020/01/05/best-botox-treatment-in-delhi

[theseventhhex]

Operators Interview

Operators

Photo by Brit Kubat

Operators is a Montreal based project created by Daniel Boeckner, (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits), Devojka, and Sam Brown (Divine Fits, New Bomb Turks) in 2014. The band released an EP in 2014, and released their first LP in 2016. Operators supported these releases with a series of international tours across North America, and Europe. Their latest release, ‘Radiant Dawn’ consists of nine tracks that meld raw analog hardware with Boeckner's distinct voice to create an immersive cinematic sound. Interspersed between the tracks are instrumental intertitles that amplify the album’s 1970s sci-fi dystopian feel. ‘Radiant Dawn’ maintains a completely fresh energy for a band very much in top form… We talk to Dan Boeckner about working in an isolated setting, the VHS era and HBO’s Chernobyl …

TSH: How would you sum up your creative partnership with Devojka in the lead-up to ‘Radiant Dawn’?

Dan: Once the ‘Blue Wave’ touring cycle ended and I had time off from Wolf Parade, I started putting together some basic ideas for what I thought would turn into ‘Radiant Dawn’ tracks. We had this sort of unspoken understanding that we weren’t going to limit ourselves to the same gear that we used to write ‘Blue Wave’, so I’d set up a few limited combinations of synths and drum machines and just started carving out patterns and chord progressions I liked. I had a lot of false starts. It wasn’t really until Dev and I began working on things together in our studio that the aesthetic of ‘Radiant Dawn’ revealed itself. We did a few days of free form jamming direct to 2 track cassette with Andrew Woods (who ended up mixing the album) processing the entire mix through a table of guitar pedals. When we were listening to the playback, it pretty much set the tone for the sonic aesthetic of the album. Dev and I got to work on building a kind of psycho-geography for the songs to live in. I got obsessed with the idea of a kind of Irradiated Pastoralism. These banal landscapes made completely unrecognisable by an “event”. Maybe a visitation, nuclear fallout, the effects of extreme climate change. Not post-apocalyptic but post-post-apocalyptic. Everything has grown back, the sun is shining, but the landscape and objects have been changed. The foliage has changed. Everything is unrecognisable. Dev and I worked really quickly after that. I felt like once we built the world, it was easy to fit the songs into it.

TSH: As you guys fleshed out new material, what was the level of focus in the studio like?

Dan: We’re pretty intensely focussed when we’re writing. One of the great things about having Dev as a writing partner is that we’re both completely comfortable and happy to play 4 bar bass sequence for hours and just reach a kind of trance state, adding and subtracting melodies and trying out different vocal lines. It’s really my favourite part of the process because it feels pure and totally removed from the world of the “intellectual”. Usually we’d record voice memos and then go over them, pick out the exciting moments and work those moments into a structure.

TSH: You’ve touched on this album pushing you forward into a new chapter of writing. Can you tell us more about auditioning your lyrics…

Dan: I’ve never really done it before, so it was a bit nerve wracking. I wanted the lyrics on this album to function like a bridge between the different narrators and protagonists in the different songs. To reinforce the narrative and show that they all lived in the same world that we’d built. Once I got over my initial uncomfortableness about sitting in a room and reading/singing lyrics to Dev, it was a blast. We got to dig into the songs and try a bunch of different things out. I filled an entire notebook with lyrics for this album and used probably 10% of them.

TSH: Also, what were the benefits in working in a really isolated setting?

Dan: Our studio is down the street from our house, on a semi bustling street…but the studio itself feels like a space station. Walking in the door for me is like walking through an airlock. There’s the outside world where linear time exists, people are getting drunk at the bar below, cars driving by, occasionally I look out the window and see someone I know…inside the studio, time stops, everything is calm, it’s a blank space where you just work and build something. I like being able to access both of those things. To spend a whole day isolated and working and then shut the door and go back to normal city life.

TSH: Was ‘Days’ identified early on as the album opener?

Dan: When I finished the first, extremely rough pass of ‘Days’ and played it for Dev, we both knew that it should be the first song on the album. The protagonist wakes up in the woods mumbling the lines of the chorus and the whole song rushes forward to a collapse where the drum machine and pads just start falling apart. The album ends in the woods with the protagonist of ‘Low Life’ watching his small town become unstuck in space/time and there’s a similar disintegration of the track. There’s a kind of loop there. I also really liked the idea of the first melodic thing you hear on the album being just Buchla bass and smeared out vocals.

TSH: Moreover, what sort of motivations do you draw on to pen a track like ‘Faithless’?

Dan: ‘Faithless’ is about the hallucinatory nature of reality (online and offline) under late period capitalism. The same grotesquely funny reality bending force field that happened in the USSR during the last years of its existence. When I wrote it, I was thinking about the absurd effects of 80s GOSPLAN (a factory that makes 10s of thousands of platform shoes that no one wants, based on calculations made by state bureaucrats) and the existential horror of watching verified fast food chain twitter accounts “interact” with each other about depression and how they’re pretty much the same thing. The failure of an ideology, political system and ecumenic ideal creating this gradual psychedelic effect on our daily lives. Accepting that. Not really knowing or caring if anything is true because…our last individual agency in this collapsing system is being able to believe something ridiculous like the earth is flat or that vaccines are a government conspiracy. Losing faith in pretty much everything. I wanted to write a song about that ending up being a liberating force for change.

TSH: How key is it for Operators to continuously have a strong visual element?

Dan: It’s become really important to the way we want to present the band. When we started, it was more of a stark, Fugazi style minimalism where we wouldn’t think about lighting onstage or a constant aesthetic, but with this record Dev and I are so invested in the world we built for ‘Radiant Dawn’, we felt like it was important to invite people into it with short films, projections onstage… to give people an immersive experience.

TSH: Speaking of visual elements, when you think of the VHS era, what sort of nostalgia and memories come to mind for you?

Dan: When I think of the VHS era I think of one thing: McQuinns Video. I grew up in a very remote rural community in Canada. We had one video rental store and it was in the basement of this guy Dick McQuinns house. You’d go in his front door, walk down a hallway and open another door. You’d walk down a flight of stairs and be greeted by a massive poster for the movie Maniac, which is an oil painting of the titular Maniac holding the severed head of a woman and a giant bowie knife. His stock was probably 50% “regular” films and 50% insane horror movies. I loved going there and wandering through the stacks of VHS tapes, looking at the covers. My brother and I would rent a bunch of horror movies and spend summer afternoons with the blinds closed mainlining Lucio Fulci and John Carpenter. I think it broke my brain in the best possible way.

TSH: Is the notion of being adaptable one that you’ve had to master being an artist over the years?

Dan: I’m not sure if I’ve mastered it, but it’s a really important skill to cultivate. One thing I do know is that in 2019, no one who works on the business side of music has any fucking idea what’s happening. All the models that “worked” 5-10 years ago are obsolete and irrelevant. That coupled with the fact there seems to be this weird, Lovecraftian shadow of the “good old days” still guiding a lot of the decisions that get made about how to direct an artist’s career means that WE as artists need to trust our instincts and experiences on the road/in the business more and more. If you’re a working musician and you’re paying attention, you’re going to know what works and what doesn’t more than any of the management class people around you. Being fluid and adaptable to this new paradigm is the way to stay happy and working.

TSH: You’ve touched on how ‘shooting stuff around on the internet can be really damaging’. Do you feel that today’s technology is information overload and that real communication is crumbling?

Dan: I don’t feel like communication and engagements are suffering but I do feel like the networked nature of these systems and the way they’re a perfect vector for political brain poisoning has been incredibly damaging to social and political life, even here in Canada.

TSH: Having some German in you, do you have any strong attachments to German ways of life?

Dan: Haha! Not at all. I do love krautrock though! And, now that I think about it… currywurst.

TSH: What do you and Devojka bond and laugh over most whilst on tour?

Dan: Late night forced karaoke in the van, whatever weird regional American gas station items we come across, terrible hours long comedy riffs (usually based on a single word) that are just the product of the collective insanity of being in a van for 6-10 hours day.

TSH: Does your dog Archie still sleep on your suitcase when you need to access it?

Dan: Yes. Every single time we leave on tour. Always my suitcase. Probably because it’s bigger and more comfortable than Devs. We used to bring him out on the road with us and it was great… he’s an incredible equaliser. Say you’ve got a surly promoter or stage tech…it’s incredibly hard to be a complete asshole when there’s a little, friendly dog wandering around and charming everyone.

TSH: What impressed you most about HBO’s Chernobyl? And what else have you been watching lately?

Dan: I loved Chernobyl. I’m a huge fan of Jarred Harris. It’s jarring to watch something produced in the West in 2019 that’s not just ultra-reactionary and critical of Russia in general, even though the story itself is an indictment of late period Soviet bureaucracy. I liked how the director acknowledged how much of the series was lifted from Svetlana Alexeivichs incredible book, as well. I’d recommend that anyone who enjoyed Chernobyl go out and buy her latest work Secondhand Time - one of the best things I’ve ever read. Some other things I’ve watched lately: Neon Genesis Evangelion (still great), The Wailing (amazing Korean horror film), The Dark (the German Lost but good), Stranger in a Strange Land (1987 Nick Cave in Berlin doc), Marketa Lazarova (Czech new wave and the most black metal film ever made) and Ian Nairn - Nairn Across Britain. The whole series is up on YouTube and I think I learned more about UK social geography from it than anything I’ve ever read. A lot of the locations seem bleak (it’s always raining and grey) or run down (it was filmed between 71-78) but the way he imbues these places with magic and history makes you feel like you’re listening to Alan Moore talk about sacred geometry. It’s a deeply odd and very British documentary series. There’s an entire episode about Wolverhampton that’s completely gripping, if that’s any indication of how charming this guy is.

TSH: Devojka has previously made drinks for her neighbourhood – do you get treated to some cocktail specials on tour?

Dan: Without a mobile full bar, it’s hard to get the same quality of drinks out BUT, we did a pretty big booze buy on the last tour and had a box full of some top shelf liquor that just came with us into every backstage.

TSH: Finally, what’s pleased you most about the band’s progression to date?

Dan: The fact that we got to the point where we could make a record like ‘Radiant Dawn’. I’m not discounting our other stuff but to me ‘Radiant Dawn’ was one of those “signpost albums” you get to make once every 5 years or so. A record where you push through into another phase of your creative life and discover some new tools, new approaches, new language for making music and everything becomes challenging and exciting. For me, that’s really only happened twice before in the last 15 years and I’m glad we kept pushing at our song writing process. Evolving as a live band has been really rewarding too. To be so linked and tuned into each other on stage you can be in the middle of a set and just throwing new things, flourishes, new parts back and forth at each other and playing off them. Those moments are the closest I get to pure, mindless joy.

Operators - “I Feel Emotion”

Radiant Dawn

[renoxa]

THE 10 MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2018

It’s that time of year again. While Christmas preparations are in full swing for most, there’s still time to reflect on the year that’s almost coming to a close. I’m doing it early this year. Maybe because my festive period will be a bit less fraught than some (Christmas day with my sister and her family, and a pledge to not go mad with presents!), and a slowing down of the online audience for obvious reasons. So, here are the most popular posts of 2018. It’s worth saying though, that these are the posts that I published in 2018, and not the most popular posts overall. Some of the most popular overall were published before 2018 and some many years before. Which just goes to show that interiors don’t move as fast as some think. What was being researched and searched for in 2016 and even prior to that, is still as relevant today.

1.Kitchen Trends That Will Never Go Out of Style

When I first started to research this topic I was going to write about ‘new’ kitchen trends for 2018. An up-to-date account of what products and finishes are going to take the interiors market by storm this year purely from a decorative point of view. But the more I looked, the more apparent it became that when it comes to kitchens, style is much more important than keeping up with current trends. A complete kitchen refurb is costly, so taking risks with colours and finishes that you may tire of in a few years is not advisable. And if you plan on selling at some point it’s important that you have a kitchen that is not going to put off the potential buyers. Having said that, there is still a lot of scope for creating an on-trend kitchen with bags of style and personality that you will continue to love for years to come….read more.

2.Green is the Colour for Autumn and Winter at M&S

As if we need more proof that green is the colour for the coming seasons, Marks and Spencer have used the most sumptuous shade as a backdrop to some of their Autumn/Winter homewares. If you’re wondering what shade of green it is exactly, it looks very much like Three Farm Green as featured in my recent post on green paint shades. But let’s not get distracted, because there’s much more to love here. That duvet set definitely has my name on it. Wouldn’t it look good in my bedroom? And the real stars of the show?! All those lovely faux plants. Oversized (so much more impactful in a room), and in their own belly baskets too…read more.

3.Fifty (Well Almost) Shades of Green Paint

In fact there are 31 beautiful green paint shades in the Little Greene recent collaboration with the National Trust. A collaboration that is a result of an extensive paint research project that has been undertaken in National Trust houses and gardens throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In fact a quest to find original colours, and to tell the stories of the people who first enjoyed them. Wouldn’t I have liked to have been involved in that! Next time guys!! Inspiration was drawn from sources as diverse as Beatrix Potter’s Cumbrian farmhouse, George Bernard Shaw’s revolving writing hut and even mythical birds featured on the wallpaper hung by Chippendale at Nostell Priory. And the result is a new colourcard featuring some intriguing stories, and a gamut of glorious greens in a comprehensive array of hues…read more.

4.New in Store – Tropical Brights from H&M Home

Continuing my obsessional pursuit of checking out what’s ‘new in’ on my favourite homewares websites. H & M Home. This is one store that I can’t pass by on the high street either. They are always spot-on with the latest trends and their prices are always so reasonable I can’t help filling the basket (virtual or all too real) every time I visit. And this Spring is no exception. They have added a few new colours to their ranges that almost make up for the lack of Spring weather. Pink and yellow. Together! How can you not feel happy when you see them. There’s still that ever-popular tropical vibe going on, but in hot new colours. Leave the green to the house plants and indulge in some hot-house hues on the soft furnishings instead…read more.

5.The Latest Stunner in a Regency London Townhouse from DeVOL Kitchens

Just when you think deVOL cannot possibly top their last kitchen design revealed to the world, they just go right ahead and do it again. I’m not going to apologise for sharing yet another example of their exquisite workmanship. This kitchen just has to be seen if only for its stunning colour combination. In fact the designers at first wondered how the Sebastian Cox range would fit into a Regency London townhouse with such an abundance of period details. This historic showroom needed to be decorated with style and care as befitting its original features. And the Sebastian Fox range after all is, shall we say, more artisan and rustic, and a tad minimalist in style…read more.

6.Introducing Muurmeesters – Dutch Masterpieces for Your Walls

Muurmeesters is a Dutch company that prints (old) masterpieces, particularly in over-sized formats, on high quality fabric. And I think they are stunning. Great for creating impact in any room in the house, and I’m thinking one (or two, or three) would look stunning in my newly painted stairway. I do love a feature wall of different art in different frames, but I’d much prefer to have one big stand-out piece myself. I’ll have to start saving the pennies. I just can’t decide between a portrait, a still life or a landscape…read more.

7.10 of the Best Hanging Garden Swing Seats

Well, the sun truly had his hat on at the weekend. And now that summer is finally here and there is another Bank Holiday weekend looming, don’t you think it’s time you sorted out the garden seating? Not just any old seating. But the decadent ‘I’m all right jack’ sort of seating. There’s something truly indulgent about investing in a garden seat that SWINGS! Pure bohemian chic. Kinda ‘lets pretend we have a party pad in Ibiza’ sort of thing. Because is there anything nicer than cocooning in a comfortable, slightly swaying armchair in the garden? One that is so deeply padded that it will be impossible to stay awake. A gentle breeze, the rustling of leaves in the tree above, and the sweet scent of newly cut grass…read more.

8.New Wall Tile Trends That Are Anything But Utilitarian

Much as I still love the plain white metro (underground, subway, whatever you like to call it) tile, it has become a bit too commonplace. Still popular with clients, but if you’re looking for something a bit more decorative and non-utilitarian you’ve come to the right place. While I was researching new wall tile trends recently, I started to notice that finishes are starting to become a whole lot more glamorous. Deeper colours are creeping in, tile shapes are more striking, and there’s a definite luxurious aesthetic for those who are confident and bold enough to use them. In fact, many of the tiles I’ve been looking at could be used in any room in the house, not just the kitchen and bathroom…read more.

9.Bed and Breakfast in a Converted Belgium Bunker Anyone?

This impressive building was originally a fort for Belgian soldiers in the late 1700’s, but has been completely transformed by a Belgian family into a beautiful B & B. ’The Bunkers’ as the property is aptly named, was then rebuilt in concrete on the brink of 1st world war and during the 2nd world war, bricks were added to the concrete construction. Today, the brickwork appears in an eye-catching pattern of red and yellow colours…read more.

10.The Growing Popularity of the Half Painted Wall

Have you noticed the trend? Two-tone walls with a crisp dividing line. Not to be mistaken for the two-tone walls divided by a dado rail. Nothing wrong with those of course, (in a period home) but not the same thing at all. The two-tone walls I’m referring to are much, much sharper. Much more contemporary, and much more popular than you might imagine. Having tackled this effect myself in the bedroom at home, I can honestly say it’s easier to achieve than you might think. You need frog tape of course and nerves of steel when the time comes to peel it off. But the finished effect is more than worth the effort of measuring, taping, and breath-holding…read more.

  You Might Also Like

THE 10 MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2017

THE 10 MOST POPULAR BLOG POSTS OF 2016

6 BATHROOM TRENDS THAT WILL BE HOT IN 2018

The post THE 10 MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2018 appeared first on Dear Designer.

THE 10 MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2018 published first on https://medium.com/@ConklinBros

[njawaidofficial]

The Sexy Sadness Of Sufjan Stevens

https://styleveryday.com/2018/03/05/the-sexy-sadness-of-sufjan-stevens/

The Sexy Sadness Of Sufjan Stevens

Between the ages of 14 to 17 (and, if I’m being honest, even now) I spent most days looking out the window and crying while listening to a Sufjan Stevens song. “Casimir Pulaski Day” — a song about cancer, God, queerness, and Michigan — rattled my emotional cage so much that even hearing him count at the beginning of the song makes me well up. (That I had never had cancer, knew anyone with cancer, didn’t believe in a Christian God, was not queer, and have never lived in Michigan didn’t matter.)

Sufjan’s music was the soundtrack to all my heartbreaks and all my sadness. I listened to him when I was dumped (often!), when my parents dropped me off for university for the first time (I feel weirdly blessed that Sufjan’s didn’t release his latest mom-themed album, Carrie & Lowell, in 2015), and whenever I wanted to languish in the comfort of feeling sad (often!). At Christmas, a holiday I have no attachment to and no real interest in, I’d listen to “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” and feel as if I, too, had a terrible Christmas. Listening to his music was a frequent routine; my gentle bedroom sobbing would only be interrupted when my mother would knock on my door and say, “Well, now what?” and I’d lift my head off my pillow and eke out nothing more than, “It’s Sufjan, mother.”

I don’t admit to crying this much freely, but when it comes to listening to Sufjan, I figure it comes with the territory. It’s hard to escape the experience emotionally unscathed.

Sufjan Stevens performs onstage during the 90th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in on March 4, 2018.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

At 42 years old, Sufjan has been a quietly successful staple of the indie/alternative music scene for the past 18 years, even if his mainstream success is only relatively recent. He’s released seven studio albums since his first in 2000 and embarked on a number of tours (including the 24-stop “Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long: Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant on Ice” in 2012). His songs are recognizable staples across different mediums, from hip-hop (Kendrick Lamar sampled him in “Hood Politics,” and Sufjan’s song “Michigan” inspired the Roots’ 2011 album Undun) to film and TV (his songs have been featured in Little Miss Sunshine, Veronica Mars, The O.C., Weeds, and Friday Night Lights). And then of course, his most recent claim to fame are his two original songs for Call Me by Your Name, “Visions of Gideon” and “Mystery of Love” (there’s also a remix of his 2010 song “Futile Devices” featured in the movie). All three songs became integral parts of the film, perfectly encapsulating the rush of new love and the heartbreak that occurs when you lose it.

On Sunday, Sufjan performed at the Oscars in light of his nomination for “Mystery of Love,” his first nomination of this scale — he’s never even received a Grammy nod before. The comparison between Sufjan’s performance — twee and beautiful, in the way things not already industrialized by Hollywood can be — is easily compared to Elliott Smith’s in 1998, when he was nominated for “Miss Misery” from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack. Smith performed in a white suit, alone with a guitar and his spidery voice. It was a stark comparison to the otherwise gluttonous event, and the eventual winner of the category, “My Heart Will Go On.” Somewhat similarly, Sufjan performed by popping out from the stage with a live band while wearing a pink and navy striped suit jacket with teal dragons running across it. It was simple, unfettered but eccentric, all-too-short, and wildly cute — an easy introduction to Sufjan if you’ve never heard him before. Both Sufjan and Elliott Smith are (or were) on the outside looking in, briefly invited to participate, quiet geniuses with cult followings and bodies of work that hit a depressing nerve.

Sufjan Stevens performs at Le Grand Rex on Sept. 8, 2015, in Paris.

Patrick / Redferns / Getty Images

His songs feel cathartic in a way, like a validation of your own feelings rather than a condemnation of them.

Ideally, a good time to find Sufjan is in your mid-teens, when everything hurts all of the time and you don’t yet have the language to articulate why. Sufjan’s music, often morose and beautiful, combined with his face — gap-toothed and boyish, make him the perfect, sexy, sad boy. His music expresses a unique vulnerability, like listening to someone recite a particularly absorbing and relatable diary entry. His songs are all about storytelling, remarkably unreliant on choruses, breathy and delicate, and even when he sings alone, he sounds choral. Though they traffic in unbelievable sorrow, his songs feel cathartic in a way, like a validation of your own feelings rather than a condemnation of them. And unlike someone like Elliott Smith, whose (tragic) image is all about whether you could save him from himself, Sufjan needs no rescuing. There’s a security in his sadness, because it also comes with wearable butterfly wings and impressive but approachable muscles. You can spend time with him in your depression without feeling like it’s impossible to climb out of it later. He has no idea how to wear a hat.

Sufjan is like the last pure response to toxic masculinity: While other men are trying to out-macho each other, (like Justin Timberlake taking to the woods and fucking robots or whatever) Sufjan is sitting in a meadow and strumming a banjo while offering up his feelings in clear, defined lyrics: “Did you get enough love, my little dove?” (Oh god, who put all these onions on my desk??) Listening to Sufjan is like getting a brief reminder that some men, somewhere, are willing to be sad with you, instead of being the reason you’re upset in the first place.

Sufjan Stevens performs during the 2016 Panorama Music Festival in New York City.

Kris Connor / FilmMagic / Getty Images

That Sufjan is an enigma, especially in an industry that demands access to our preferred musicians, makes him even more appealing. He has no social media, gives few intimate interviews, and rarely makes music videos. (There’s one for a remix of “Life With Dignity” for the Cancer Support Community, an animated tiger cartoon for his 2014 song “Year of the Tiger,” and a stop-motion video for 2017’s “The Greatest Gift.” Predictably, he doesn’t appear in any of them.) Even Bon Iver, Patron Saint Of Reclusive Sad White Men Everywhere, made a few videos for his breakout album, For Emma, Forever Ago. Sufjan doesn’t even give that much. You’re often left to figure out the meanings of the songs yourself, which is maybe why people like him. You can attach yourself or your experiences to one of his songs without having to consider too much of the song’s original purpose.

Sufjan’s music was the soundtrack to all my heartbreaks and all my sadness.

Because he’s so unrevealing about his personal life, beyond what he sings in his music, his music sparks a lot of conjecture. Wide swaths of Sufjan’s songs have to do with Christianity, or also, maybe being in love with a man, which has sparked a cottage industry of thinkpieces (“We Can’t Stop Wondering if Sufjan Stevens Sings About God or Being Gay”) and playlists (“Is This Sufjan Stevens Song Gay or Just About God”). I spent half my teens pining for him, while also thinking that if he were gay, we could just be best friends, the kind who sometimes share a bed.

But Sufjan’s music is impossibly rife with meaning, however you want to look at it. “Casimir Pulaski Day,” off Illinois, is one of his most layered. The title is a specific nod to Chicago, while the song is at once about forbidden love, his maybe-lover getting bone cancer, and the ensuing crisis of faith that happens after they die. It also features references to a father’s possible suicide, the Illinois state bird (a cardinal, also a harbinger of death), and, possibly, Dante’s Purgatorio. Breaking down a Sufjan song is a near-impossible task, since most of his songs are rich with detail — from the personal to the literary to the geographical. Even his Christmas music (there is, truly, an ungodly amount of it) swings dramatically from fun, frolicsome joy (“Mr. Frosty Man”) to a much more morose tune (“Justice Delivers Its Death”). And I guess, if you’re going to be the most depressing artist in the world, you might as well carry some whimsy along with it.

Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan’s most recent full-length album, is the closest Sufjan has gotten to writing an autobiographical album. It’s a lot more dour overall than his previous work, but because it’s so intimate, it’s also full of affection and warmth. The record is about Sufjan’s mother, Carrie, who abandoned Sufjan as an infant and was in and out of his life before she died of stomach cancer. “She was evidently a great mother, according to Lowell and my father,” Sufjan told Pitchfork in 2015. “But she suffered from schizophrenia and depression. She had bipolar disorder and she was an alcoholic. … But when we were with her and when she was most stable, she was really loving and caring, and very creative and funny. This description of her reminds me of what some people have observed about my work and my manic contradiction of aesthetics: deep sorrow mixed with something provocative, playful, frantic.”

Sufjan Stevens performs during the 2016 Panorama Music Festival in New York City.

Kris Connor / FilmMagic / Getty Image

Which is exactly what makes Sufjan so lovable. When Sufjan isn’t coming off as the most depressing man in the world, he’s the human equivalent of a tiny bird landing on the tip of your finger and singing a sweet little song. Everything is twee, homemade, pure, innocent. At his live shows, he’s often in neon stripes, angel wings, sporting a sideways visor while playing in front of two horns, two drums, and countless guitars. It’s DIY-cute overload, but entirely self-aware. Take this song title from Illinois, for example: “The Black Hawk War, Or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, Or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You’re Going to Have to Leave Now, or, ‘I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!’”

Ideally, a good time to find Sufjan is in your mid-teens, when everything hurts all of the time and you don’t yet have the language to articulate why.

It’s this duality that keeps Sufjan from sounding myopic or navel-gazing in his sadness. Because he has moments of real humor (“Super Sexy Woman” from his 2004 album A Sun Came, is about an attractive, farting superhero), you don’t feel like Sufjan is in need of fixing. He’s secure in his complex, contradictory feelings. Which is why he was perfectly suited to write a few songs for Call Me by Your Name, a movie entirely about men coming to terms with their feelings. (But even having him involved in a movie soundtrack was a hard sell; Sufjan is generally picky about which projects he gets involved with, and largely played hard to get with director Luca Guadagnino. Initially, Guadagnino wanted Sufjan to appear onscreen, and read voiceover passages from the teenage protagonist Elio, but from his perspective as an adult. Sufjan convinced him otherwise.)

In the last scene of Call Me by Your Name, Elio sits in front of a fireplace and cries contemplatively after finding out that his lover Oliver has gotten married to a woman. The scene shows, maybe, a young person accepting the terms of this sadness, making peace with the inevitable ache of lost love. Sufjan’s “Visions of Gideon” swells alongside the sound of a table being set behind Elio. He cries for nearly three minutes until his mother calls him, pulling him out of his trance, and the song ends.

Even if Elio isn’t exactly listening to a Sufjan song, watching a young person cry silently, resigned, while a Sufjan song plays is such a teenage moment, one that a lot of (sensitive) teenagers have likely had in their own lives, while actually listening to a Sufjan song. Even in adulthood, Sufjan manages to connect with those most basic feelings that we (especially men) tend to lose touch with as we age: Feeling love deeply, mourning loss, and wallowing in those feelings because they’re worth experiencing and talking about. Sufjan validates having feelings, any feelings, even when they’re ugly or traumatic or painful. Isn’t it a relief, for once, to feel our feelings and have a precious, twee baby hold our hand through it all? ●

[tinymixtapes]

Feature: 2017: Second Quarter Favorites

Half of the year is over, and we have done absolutely nothing with our lives. Very pathetic. The good news is that we use our ears to listen to music, so to celebrate, the TMT staff has once again come together to share our favorite releases of the last three months (give or take), compiled in the best format known to humankind. This time around, we were outside the club (Jlin), in the Devil’s book (Sarah Shook & The Disarmers), and on Google Hangouts (Kendrick Lamar), broadcasting live using algorithm-free YouTube (Future City Love Stories). There was glittery slime (cupcakKe), naturalistic abstractions (Lieven Martens), and condensed chunks of cut-open human organs (Pharmakon), with a range that went from pop (Lorde), narkpop (GAS), and contorted pop (Laurel Halo) to rock-star rappers (Playboi Carti), airbrushed nightcrawlers (99jakes), and mutilated tunes on the DAW floor (Khaki Blazer). Check the full list below, and as always, please take note of the shortlist, as these particular releases either weren’t heard enough yet to make the list or just fell short for various reasons. All worth a listen. Shortlist: The Caretaker’s Everywhere at the end of time: Stage 2, Upgrayedd Smurphy’s HYPNOSYS, Actress’s AZD, Slowdive’s Slowdive, $3.33’s DRAFT, Perfume Genius’s No Shape, Peace Forever Eternal’s Nextcentury, Cloud Rat & Moloch’s split, Babyfather’s Cypher, Russian Tsarlag’s Gel Stations Past, Ducktails’s Daffy Duck In Hollywood, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s On The Echoing Green, Elysia Crampton’s Spots y Escupitajo, RITCHRD’s GREATEST HITS, and Tara Jane O’Neil’s self-titled album. --- Laurel Halo Dust [Hyperdub] Dust’s single “Jelly” was a surprising teaser for fans of Laurel Halo, soberly announcing her return to vocal music with a big result. As the song resembles and contorts pop product, it’s vocoder — emblematic of 2012’s viscous and spacey Quarantine — serves the punctuated delivery of a funky Parliament-esque hook (“You don’t meet my standards for a friend…”), while collaborators Klein and Lafawndah deliver the remainder. The far-reaching influences found on “Jelly” came to be representative of Dust at large, an album that moves through its vibrant landscape of sounds and grooves in a way new to the artist behind it. “Moontalk” delivers a second blast of lopsided feel-good pop, Sam Hilmer’s saxophone rips on “Arschkriecher,” Michael Salu takes the stage on “Who Won?,” and the album ultimately subsides, taking space to explore old territory with the help of composer Eli Keszler. Dust is an exciting and adventurous release that couldn’t be more matter-of-fact. –Ben Levinson --- Playboi Carti Playboi Carti [Interscope] “I’m a rockstar” asserts Lil Uzi Vert in the intro to “wokeuplikethis,” the collaborative lead single off of Playboi Carti’s self-titled debut. Given the Atlanta native’s penchant for distorted, guitar-like synths and driving rhythms that often exceed 160 BPM, it wouldn’t be a stretch for us to extend the title to Carti, too. While “wokeuplikethis” is undeniably a track indebted to early rock & roll’s chugging groove — although one could even deem it pop-punk, taking its sparkly lead melodies and raspy, slacker vocals into consideration — Playboi Carti is evidence that its creator is something even greater. He’s sedimentary rock, a walking pastiche, the zeitgeist. He culls the best of 2016’s SoundCloud wave — its gravelly basslines, its chiming riffs — and blends it with well-curated bits of other subcultural ephemera. The transcendent beatswitch midway through “Location” integrates Macintosh Plus’s sloppily chopped aesthetic. “New Choppa,” featuring A$AP Rocky, delves into its own dark interpretation of chiptune. “Lame Niggaz” feels like a barebones deconstruction of PC Music’s unbridled optimism. Cash Carti’s everything that’s cool. He’s everything that’s ever been cool. –Jude Noel --- GAS Narkopop [Kompakt] Whatever happened to program music? We tend to think of the entire instrumental-pop umbrella, typically cast over both ambient and techno, as purely abstract. Wolfgang Voigt’s marriage of the two styles as GAS has especially been painted as a project concerning itself with the musical absolute. And yet, when you put your ear to the impenetrably thick walls built around Narkopop’s heartbeat-like low-end and contemplate the album’s wandering melodies and swift, unpredictably-resolving chord progressions, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s a story there. Not just the depiction of emotions or a mood, not just the aural rendering of “a nightclub in a forest,” but a plot, a character, and a conversation (or their multitude). Is it the movement of people through the European continent in its war-ridden past (or equally foreboding present)? Or is it more of a personal strife, the tale of a human struggling and succeeding, to various degrees, at finding solace? He would likely respond that there is none, but my question stands: What’s the story, Wolfgang? –Patryk Mrozek Narkopop by GASNarkopop by GAS --- Khaki Blazer Didn’t Have to Cut [Hausu Mountain] Pat Modugno when donning his Khaki Blazer is most known for his juddering, hypercaffeinated cut-ups and off-the-grid percussive discursions (scope the contemporaneous Speed Rack Willy), but on Didn’t Have to Cut, he seems to be taking our boy Gotye’s words to heart. Not only do we choose when and where to cut, but we could also decide not to do it at all. Modugno, thinking of all those tunes left mutilated on the DAW floor, must’ve had a change of heart, a turn away from the neo-dadaist massacres he seemed to so gleefully perpetuate. He still collages with the best of ‘em, but Didn’t Have to Cut gives each sound a little more room, a little more time to express itself. From the complete wheezer of “Comfortably Grey” to the slow-tone torture of “Saturn Rings” to the sheer psychic insinuation of “Hold Your Breath and Count,” everyone swarms and squiggles and sighs and squawks a little more thoughtfully. Still, the crowning achievement is the strung-out electric allolalia of “Death Bedhead,” featuring some famous singer I used to know. Didn’t Have to Cut is perhaps the most truly strange thing of 2017 so far, a melted, lopsided chimera roaring, bleating, and hissing its way into our hearts. –Cynocephalus Didn't Have To Cut by Khaki BlazerDidn't Have To Cut by Khaki Blazer --- Félicia Atkinson Hand In Hand [Shelter Press] Hand in hand, I’m watching the places where fingers tip into edges where I end. The fingernail barriers blood vessel and lymph and nerve from the wilderness. The fingernail keeps the self-stuff safe. Keratogenous upkeep is self-atomizing with clipper and file, a breaking for building to remind us that split bone is trauma but broken nail is health. All sounds are found in the breaking. All found breaks are Hand in Hand, the discarded sounds we shed to be. Voice is a buzz a bass a kiss a house a dance a poem. It sounds in slivers, these uncovered discards, this mode of droned bone jutting into distal digits. Dis-uncovery is wiping it away while rubbing it in. It’s in us. Félicia splints (our) nervous material like steel kissing keratin. Slip pinches hangnails. Bones break flesh, in-grown you. Infections are plausible. Fungi whine in crevices. In clips. Is imperfect. She skitters. We whisper. Listen. I’m following you. Take care. –Frank Falisi Hand In Hand by Félicia AtkinsonHand In Hand by Félicia Atkinson [pagebreak] Ryuichi Sakamoto async [Milan] When Ryuichi Sakamoto was diagnosed with throat cancer, no one knew how long he had to live. After around 40 years with Yellow Magic Orchestra — as well as many years as a solo composer — Sakamoto didn’t know if it’d be possible to ever make music again. “My faith in ‘health’ was crushed… I could have lost my voice, so I feel very lucky that I didn’t,” he shared with The New York Times. But with time, the 65-year-old composer slowly returned to the piano to give us async, 14 tracks of sobering reflection that meditate on the underlying grief at the heart of his health. Pooling influence from Andrei Tarkovsky and the piano meditations of Claude Debussy, async is about as uncomfortably intimate as instrumental music can be. Tracks like “walker” and “disintegration” feel of a certain post-Cagean tradition yet bask in a crushing fragility that borrows more from the emotive terrain of film composition than it does from art world experimentalism. “Ff,” “stakra,” and “ZURE” offer warm synths with a harrowing sparseness, while “fullmoon” includes a quote from Paul Bowles, one that’s light, yet aching in their harrowing detail. For all of its baggage in personal narrative, async continues much of what makes Sakamoto’s film work breathtaking with a handful of rich pieces at the height of the emotional spectrum. –Rob Arcand --- Jlin Black Origami [Planet Mu] The outward expansion of footwork has yielded many meta-narratives, all inextricably bound by a sense of propulsive energy — be it a frantic release schedule, marked by a saturation of physical releases and SoundCloud drops, or the will to stretch and mutate the methodological lexicon for the circle beyond. Never created, never destroyed; Jlin taps into the latter impulse once again with Black Origami, a renegotiation of the truncated vision of footwork posited by Dark Energy. Between percussive modes via India and Africa, and the divergent compositional methods of Basinski, Herndon, and Fawkes, these dark energies are (as the title suggests) continuously folded and refolded, enveloped and developed, resulting in one of the densest and most challenging sets of footwork yet. Wordless coos (“Enigma,” “Calcination”) pierce the void; meanwhile, “1%” quite literally dials up the madness, interjecting samples amongst characteristically throttling drum hits and transmuting bass. Make no mistake, Jlin is operating way outside the club here. Questions of identity and psychogeography aside, the pull of Black Origami lies in the physicality of its Delphic complexity — a kind of corporeal braindance — so consider it a sizable gauntlet to body music hereafter. Oh, and good luck dancing to the next one. –Soe Jherwood Black Origami by JlinBlack Origami by Jlin --- Future City Love Stories Future City Love Stories [BLCR Laboratories] The BLCR Laboratories debut of Future City Love Stories (a.k.a. Dream Catalogue CEO, a.k.a. HKE, a.k.a. [every last a.k.a. imaginable]) finds spectacular foundations for the self-titled release’s existence on the audible milieu of atmosphere. There is no “real” rhythm or reason unfolding within the chapters of Future City Love Stories, just architectural patterns. Existence as lingering footsteps in the background. Haunting echoes vibrating throughout empty alleys and alcoves. The sound of rain down the road turns out to be televisions left on static in a storefront window. Explanations withdrawn with, “Neverminds.” A voice intentionally lost in translation. Blurring lights that even up close hum a glow of aura. Dumpster fires. Pockets of wafting smells entangle the senses. Enough narrative imagination in ethereal splendor for listeners to create their very own Future City Love Stories. Come out and play forever. –C Monster Future City Love Stories by Future City Love StoriesFuture City Love Stories by Future City Love Stories --- Sarah Shook & The Disarmers Sidelong [Bloodshot] “What kind of music do you usually have here?” Country AND western, honky AND tonk, punk AND queer… wait, what? Sarah Shook plays smoky raw alt-country that contrasts a subtle defiance of gender stereotypes with a proud and triumphant embodiment of another trope, the country legend on a path to hell paved with bad intentions and slippery with moonshine. Country may be the music of pain, but if you need something to rile you up, the driving outlaw rhythms here’ll get the job done too. Shook’s voice is an extraordinary instrument — rough-edged and velvety by turn, with a rattling quiver and a broken lilt that’ll break your heart right along with it. Sidelong inscribes her name, alongside Lydia Loveless and Hank Williams III, in the Devil’s book. –Rowan Savage Sidelong by Sarah Shook & the DisarmersSidelong by Sarah Shook & the Disarmers --- Arca Arca [XL] Electronic music has an odd relationship with vocals. They’re polarized along the spectrum of directness, either fully obscured or so loaded with emotional cues as to seem heavy-handed. The notion of the electronic singer-songwriter is nearly extinct, word to James Blake. Arca found a way to bridge that gap, speaking both through his production and his own voice, and transmitting gripping affect on two levels: the pure sound of his voice, a universal language, and the massive (but nuanced) emotional conveyance of the lyrics themselves, sung in his native Spanish. Whether you speak the language or not, Arca seizes control, making himself clearer to the listener than ever before. –Corrigan B --- Lieven Martens Gardens, Fire and Wine (A Compilation) [Edições CN] Quietly, he picks out postcards under a bright moon. The street murmurs, the water laps. Slowly, softly, a certain psychedelia seeps in, of the visitor, in transit, appearing, displacement. And the words come, briefly. In summary. To try to speak to transitory and totalizing experiences. Swaths of moments, and to honor them, particularly. Moods, tones, warped glimpses. A gesture. Plus all that’s ungraspable, well-traveled. I picked this one out just for you. Wish you were here. Signed Lieven Martens, who equates the seven soundscapes on Gardens, Fire and Wine (A Compilation) with a set of seven postcards. They go around the world; it’s a miracle. Delivery, like a whisper. Words laid bare for you, again, actually, as many of these tracks were previously released on 7-inches and cassettes between 2012-15. Compiled, they span from documents of live performances to naturalistic abstractions. But, again, in the wonderful words of Martens, they’re not quite that. More, “a series of images, not reissues yet self-captured.” Words touched heart. Simply. What did he write? He wrote of all sorts of good soil. Thank the glaciers, the volcanoes. –Cookcook Gardens, Fire and Wine (A Compilation) by Lieven MartensGardens, Fire and Wine (A Compilation) by Lieven Martens [pagebreak] cupcakKe Queen Elizabitch [Self-Released] Saying that this [title with a strong female lead] is anything like MC Lyte or Lil Kim would be as lazy and as sexist as it is glaringly false. Elizabeth Harris (nope, not this one) is a motherfucking kraken on Queen Elizabitch, spitting glittery slime from her furry pink tentacles until you submit. Straight up, Queen Elizabitch is filthy as fuck, hilarious as Hell, and hard as a dick while she’s rapping. Put squarely, this shit is BOLD, and it’s not lost on us that being a female MC in this context requires an impossible balance between class and crass. I can’t deny that cupcakKe’s notorious guttermouth is what pulled me in, but in all honesty, what has kept me coming back is her unmatched consistency in a game dominated by warbling cocks. This shit slays on a Blueprint level. That it would probably still slay on a Kingdom Come level is a reflection of her unsolicited ferocity. However we heard it, I’m glad we listened. –Jackson Scott --- Chino Amobi PARADISO [UNO NYC/NON] Tiny Mix Tapes has been covering Chino Amobi since at least 2012, when he was known as Diamond Black Hearted Boy. As it turns out, 2012 also was the year yours truly started writing for TMT — and my last name really is Diamond, by the way; it’s not a moniker like C Monster. Fun fact: C got me this gig. He was listening to Chino back when Chino was Diamond Black Hearted Boy. I faintly remember him telling me about Diamond Black Hearted Boy, and my reply being something like,”’Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon?’ Dope song, bro.” He definitely told me about Chino Amobi later too, but I just thought he was talking about the guy from The Deftones. The point is, not all of us TMTers are in-the-know experimental music scholars with master’s degrees, and some of us who are are secretly borderline illiterate, but most all of us thoroughly enjoy Chino Amobi’s PARADISO and its arcane references, sudden outbursts, and the way those elements play off of one another, like close friends with similar interests and backgrounds but little else in common. Cages this weekend? –Samuel Diamond PARADISO by Chino AmobiPARADISO by Chino Amobi --- Richard Dawson Peasant [Weird World] The curtain rises; before us, a paddock of aged grass, overcast with swelling clouds, while somewhere nearby, there lays a whimpering collie “under a whining bush… seized by a fit.” A house sits in the corner of the enclosure, steam escaping through the windows — inside, there keeps “a cauldron of pummeled gall-nuts afloat in urine/ add river-water thrice-boiled with a bloodstone.” On the wall, a painting has begun to drip from the humidity, its seaside pastoral molting into something almost unrecognizable, as if suddenly one can see “in the face of the cliff/ a ghastly doorway.” Beyond the doorway lies a kingdom of gold, a place where “a child can be bought for a year’s worth of grain,” and “fortune wags its tongue along the walkways of the bathhouse.” Innocents lay lifeless on the street corner, and as the music of war begins to stir once again, somewhere far away, “the rolling fields grow dark as the grave/ and I am fleeing for my life.” –SZG --- Pharmakon Contact [Sacred Bones] Shortly before the release of Contact, Pharmakon played a memorial show for those who lost their lives in the Oakland Ghost Ship fire. The show was also a fundraiser for the Trans Assistance Project in honor of Feral Pines, a transwoman who was among those who died. I didn’t know Feral personally, but many of the people I went to the show with did. Pharmakon played a short set, a single song off Contact. A great chunk of the audience cried. Contact is an industrial-noise record, a condensed chunk of materialized, cut-open human organs, a manifestation of pain and fury and sadness. Terribly abrasive, yes, but it reminds us that such horror-totems are also a locus for contact. There’s a great deal of space in this record, gaps between aural saturation, pockets to curl up and gather and weep in between sheets of oblivion. We can gather around a shared wound. We can hold hands. Contact is an assault and an opening-up. –Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli Contact by PharmakonContact by Pharmakon --- 99jakes Birthday Party (Not Our Birthday) [Self-Released] “You would cry too if it happened to you.” INT. MOTEL ROOM — NIGHT. SALEM and GFOTY moved into a vacancy together at the edge of town, a few miles past the last gas station but before you get to the cornfields. It always looks red in their room, because they keep a neon sign glowing all through the clear-blue night. We’re throwing a birthday party for their overdue baby, and we just had to book 99jakes, the holy sacrilegious DJ broadcasting live from the forest using algorithm-free YouTube. The party is for jakes only, sorry, but you’re a jake. You might’ve RSVPd “Going” on Facebook high as fuck at 2:35 AM, but you were not ready for this party. Airbrushed nightcrawlers are scurrying on the walls, moms and ravers are talking Yu-Gi-Oh!, and one of the jakes keeps trying to start a food fight with this cardboard cutout of Magneto. Another jake is genuinely sobbing about their weekly horoscope. It’s a new moon and the party is over, but after the afterparty, we’re playing 7th Guest. For keeps. Watch it, dude. –Pat Beane --- Aaron Dilloway The Gag File [Dais] Cigarette butts litter the floor. Empty beer bottles are strewn across the room. The walls in the house are that dark-brown, stained-wood paneling of which the 70s were so fond. The carpet might as well be orange if it actually isn’t. Remnants of paraphernalia are on a glass-top table in front of a couch. There’s a stale smell in the air. A low thud lopes along in the background. You can vaguely make out that music is playing, but you don’t know what it is… there’s mostly muddy bass frequencies. Random conversations are taking place in this room, but you’re not really a part of any of them. You’re just observing. Down a hallway and through a bedroom door is a familiar smile. A kind of vaguely eerie, expressionless smile that you pull a string to animate. While pulling the string, a busted speaker inside of it creaks to life, announcing “kill away” with a cackle. You ghost this scene immediately. –Joe Davenport The Gag File by Aaron DillowayThe Gag File by Aaron Dilloway [pagebreak] Chief Keef Thot Breaker [Glo Gang] When I reviewed Two Zero One Seven in January, I felt obligated to excavate a rough sketch of Chief Keef’s disperse, ephemeral, and notoriously leaky catalogue, ending with the question of whether Thot Breaker (which had already been suspended in the limbo of hypothetical Keef releases since 2015) would ever come out. So in a surprise befitting Sosa’s winking demeanor, it makes a kind of cosmic sense that Thot Breaker would not only be released, but also that it would be an actual album, delicately mastered and thoughtfully sequenced, showcasing the evolution of Keith Cozart’s blossoming vision as a full-throated producer of singular and ambitious pop music. And the music is what shines: falsetto, autotune harmonies hang in the nausea of drum-barren and baroque lean-scapes, where the absurd poignancy of Keef’s lyricism glimmers, finally equilibrated to the left-field intuitions of his own production style (aided here by resident team Young Chop and CBMix, as well as a lone Mike WiLL Made-It spot). Standouts like “Alone (Intro),” the drumless ballad “Slow Dance,” stadium-dubstep barnstormer “Whoa,” and the inevitable lean-sipping ode “Drank Head” are legitimate ruptures in the Keef canon and, if we are to take the artist at face value (which we should), aesthetics more generally — they only require the audience to unsee a false history, and to accept the psychedelic, finessed vulnerability being offered on Thot Breaker. –Nick Henderson --- Nkisi Kill [MW] The only voice you hear on Kill bellows at the beginning of “Can You See Me,” asking with force, “Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Can you see me? I live in the dark.” Brief and deliberate, the first official record by Nkisi, a co-founder of the explosively influential NON collective, somehow gets right up in its listener’s face while retaining its basic anonymity. The title track opens the record in a rolling, percussive euphoria, giving way to a kind of double-bridge in which manic beeping morphs into a dramatic trance arp. There are more shades of trance in the emotional denouement of “Parched Lips,” while both “Can You See Me” and “MWANA” rely on their nervous, nonlinear ascent toward climax. These are unique, collage-like tracks that still fit well within the massive, oddly shaped space Nkisi and associates have carved for themselves, blending a familiarly frenetic swing of snares into conversation with some evocative and incidental techniques of composition. Living in the dark, Kill offers a few scattered rays of light. –Will Neibergall --- Lorde Melodrama [Republic] Lorde is one of those ultimate artists who has achieved both top-level mainstream cred and top-level indie cred. You really can’t dislike her from any angle or you risk being seen as uncool, a fate truly worse than death. This is because, in contrast to most other pop today (most of which is pure garbage), her music is emotionally intuitive and refreshingly honest, with interesting insights into her social life and her love life. The production is airy, crisp, and occasionally sparse, giving the feeling that each sound and gesture was thoroughly considered and chosen for good reasons. These are true reflections of a partier, singing about the feelings that drive her to party and the feelings she’s left with when the party ends. That’s where Lorde transcends most pop music today: where most music regresses into trite politics or benign observations about life, her music is fairly particular and contains powerful ruminations that all people can relate to, because partying rules. Life is about the balance of partying and being sad. --- Ace Mo Black Populous [Bootleg Tapes] In any true Catholic family, there are over four aunts or uncles and subsequently dozens of first and second cousins who get placed in three categories: often, sometimes, and who? The “oftens” are there every holiday whose birthdays you’re dragged to; the “sometimes” are out-of-state cousins who you see enough to consistently dislike and/or smoke weed with in the alleyway; and the “whos?” are the reason why you address everyone as “bud” or “friend.” Ace Mo and the entirety of Bootleg Tapes have quickly risen from a “who?” to the highest ground of “often”: the sitcom best-friend cousin, transcending the ranks into a must-see, need-to-chill-with cousin. Can there be a brightest-star, favorite cousin within Bootleg Tapes? We refuse to answer that. But damn: as of this writing, he is the face off/banner kid of their Bandcamp, and Black Populous is bringing in a whole new appreciation for the label. So, what we’re saying is, Ace Mo, I have the dro, and we’re eating heavy always; see you at the next major holiday, and an AFX-style-remix-fanboy thanks to you. –Monet Maker Black Populous by AceMoBlack Populous by AceMo --- Medslaus Poorboy Self-Released If the most boring drums a rap producer can program go boom boom bap boom boom boom bap, then the second most boring drums a rap producer can program go ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka and the third most boring go ticka ticka boom bap ticka ticka ticka ticka bap, and so on. If I’m oversimplifying, I apologize — the point is: Slauson Malone doesn’t make beats you’ve heard before, and on the occasion that he employs a familiar sample, like on “Follies (P.M.W.),” the sumbitch gets turned out. Melodics become riddims and vice versa such that no two tracks ever sound the same. As for Slauson’s vocal counterpart, the first time I heard Medhane, I thought he was alright but steadily overshadowed by his producer. Post-Poorboy, I’m starting to think that’d be like saying Guru was overshadowed by Premier. And this is after just their second project together!? If these kids get any better, you’re all going to be out of a job. Chief Keef’s going to need to take a civil service exam or some shit. Rappaz rn dainja and beats are obsolete. Go ahead with that. –Samuel Diamond --- Kendrick Lamar DAMN. [Top Dawg] Okay, so you’re not AIM buddies with Kendrick Lamar, but… doesn’t it feel like you kinda could be? The most over-the-top thing about DAMN. wasn’t that it sounded like the work of some untouchable megastar off on his own trip; it was the feeling that an easygoing, all-around “nice dude” who lives down the hall from you cobbled this shit together on his PC in the lonely-but-spacious hours between night shifts and day jobs. The shots fired on DAMN. didn’t feel so much “shockingly revolutionary” as they did “shockingly relatable.” It pretty much felt like Lamar was sending you a MediaFire link containing the mundane, silly, scared, honest fruits of a secret-hobby on Google Hangouts and then insecurely asking you what you thought of it right on the spot. Then, he anxiously watched the screen as you typed back your near-speechless, one-word response: “DAMN.” –Dan Smart http://j.mp/2tn2dfT