#dilla made me do it

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the way house of leaves has been revived for a cult following is so funny. it's completely backwards! it was a music industry book. the singer poe, who made waves with her debut for having a few tracks produced by j dilla and then if i remember correctly doing a 500+ show tour, essentially tanked her career to promote the book (written by her brother)

not like on purpose but it was supposed to be a paired project and there was a remix with a book excerpt read by mark (the kyrie bmw sex scene) and like, i don't know, a tie-in website -- but then her label got sold or merged or acquired and the project was eventually cancelled after languishing in limbo for a few years. there's also an aspect of this where like, a texas oil executive posed as a friend of her late father (possibly true) in order to manipulate legal proceedings (?) to ultimately own her writing and recording copyrights post-acquisition (dubious allegation, which also relies on her having signed away both types of copyright to her label in the first place, arguably a larger problem spanning the whole industry, even today, still coming up in legal proceedings from kesha and taylor swift and so on)

anyway the album (haunted) and the book were both inspired by the same event (death of their father, tad danielewsky -- as an aside, a professor of theater at brigham young university). the album features samples from a box of cassette tape recordings of his voice. and also some fake samples from a couple of guys pretending to be tad danielewski with an obviously ridiculous accent and a couple of kids pretending to be her as a kid. and it takes place inside the house. the growl is there and everything i swear

it really was one of the top tier 90s concept albums (it was released in 2000 actually) but it is usually FAR too much to handle for casual listening and a lot of it comes across difficult for being so sincere and so unfocused (it is a love letter to her dead father where one of the songs is a list of places she's gotten fucked, because, uh, this is a conversation she wanted to have with him. shrug). and yet it's hard not to take it as it is because it's so consistently well produced

so i know nobody's computer comes with a cd player anymore but to read the book without listening to the paired album implicitly packed in the back of the book jacket is kind of like missing the whole point. there's a whole second act of rashomon you guys are missing. and a third act hello the etsy teleplays. ANYWAY the point i wanted to make is that there are a couple of things about the album sticking to the roof of my mouth as being somehow prescient. there's a distorted "why (are you) so serious" sample that would have come across VERY differently post-joker, but there's also "tell me something dangerous and true," a far more interesting variation on the theme currently circulating. and i'm speaking to an empty room here because it's only the celibate 60% of this website who is reading the book because it allows them a patina of literary validity and several nested unreliable narrators to distance themselves from the sex scenes, but haunted is very authentically, directly and exclusively written in first person and to be honest it fucks too hard for you guys. i'm sorry

[mariacallous]

When was the last time you made chicken soup without adding in a bunch of dill? If you are making an Eastern European version of it, don’t even think about it. Chicken soup without dill is like chopped liver without onions, tahini without lemon or marriage without love. It is an essential supporting ingredient, one that enriches all parts of the whole.

Dill never takes center stage; it is a modest herb, which is part of what I love about it. But only part. Would my mother be offended to know that it reminds me of her? There is that along with so many other reasons, which is why you can always find it in my fridge, at the ready, in a glass of water, waiting to be plucked.  

Here are the many reasons why I love dill, and why it deserves your love, too.

1. Dill is beautiful.

Not to be superficial, but let’s just get that out of the way. Dill is feathery; I love its muted green color and the languorous way it spills over the glass while it waits to be called into culinary duty. If you grow it in your garden, watch out for the yellow, lacy flowers that appear when the plant matures — they’re lovely enough to add to your flower arrangements and edible, too. 

2. Dill is Jewish.

According to Gil Marks, author of “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food,” dill was cultivated in Judea, a part of the land of Israel, more than 2,000 years ago. And in modern times, dill is an essential ingredient in many classic Eastern European Jewish and Persian Jewish dishes as well. Really, what is more Jewish than dill pickles? 

3. Dill reminds me of my mother (and maybe your mother, too?)  

Aside from the occasional bunch of parsley, dill was the only herb she ever bought in close to 70 years of cooking. No fresh mint, basil, rosemary, or tarragon. When dill was in the fridge, I knew it meant chicken or split pea soup was in my future. And like dill, my mother was beautiful, modest and Jewish.

4. Dill is old school.

Dill was one of the few herbs used in Eastern European Jewish cooking. In “The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook,” written in 1937 by Fania Lewando, dill’s the herb that shows up most frequently. Lewando used it on potatoes, in cauliflower soup and in cucumber salad. If I can sneak it into a dish — particularly traditional Jewish dishes like potato kugel — I do; it gives me Poland, my grandmother and my mom in one handful.

5. But dill can be new school, too.

You haven’t lived if you haven’t treated yourself to dill pickle popcorn. This low calorie snack combines the flavor of pickles with popcorn and the results are triumphant. Find it at Trader Joe’s during the summer or Amazon year round. (You can also find dill pickle potato chips and array of other pickle-flavored snacks on the shelves of supermarkets these days!)

6. Dill helps to settle your stomach.

The herb’s name comes from the Norse word, “dilla,” which means to soothe. Since ancient times, dill has been used to calm roiling stomachs and even to help nursing mothers with breastfeeding. There was even mention of its medicinal properties in an Egyptian papyrus from 3,000 years ago.

7. Dill stays fresh a very long time.

Fresh dill usually lasts about two weeks in my refrigerator. When I bring home basil, the pressure is on. Use it or lose it. But dill waits for me. I snip the bottom, remove the rubber band holding the bunch together and stand it up in a glass of water. Others swear by wrapping dill in wet paper towels, placing it in a bag and putting it in a vegetable bin. One summer, when my garden exploded with a forest of dill, I cut bunches and froze them in ziplock bags to be used in the heart of winter when my soups called out for the grassy, vegetal flavor. 

8. Dill will clarify your chicken soup.

According to food writer Adeena Sussman, when cooking chicken soup, adding a bunch of dill attracts small particles floating in the liquid. Gently remove the dill for a clear broth once it’s done cooking.

9. Dill is healthy.

Dill is more than a pretty face. It’s a good source of Vitamin C, manganese and Vitamin A, and is rich in antioxidants, too. Could dill be part of why chicken soup is considered to be good for you? I put nothing past it.

10. Dill is my very own sleeper hit.

For many years, dill was my secret. There was nothing trendy or cool about it. But something changed of late. Food writer Alison Roman wrote a recipe that featured dill in potato-leek soup. It went viral, so much so that when I tried to buy a bunch of dill the week the recipe came out, there was none in the stores. The word was out. Dill is GOOD, and  I will remain forever loyal to its charms

[zestysthoughts]

Tep Tons: Albums

10. The Break of Dawn (Blue In Green) Smooth all the way through, this is full of music to just kinda vibe to, similarly to what you'd find hosted by Lofi Girl. Along with much of Gramatik's early work, it's the album that helped fuel my initial interest in the hip-hop style, especially with jazz elements. Here's a taste!

9. This Time (Los Lobos) I don't often listen to rock, but it's actually what I grew up with. At the center was AC/DC, Smash Mouth, and Linkin Park. In the periphery and having at most a single album I'd listen to, were Crossfade, 3 Doors Down, Finger Eleven, and Los Lobos. This Time sticks out as being not emo edgy and full of cringe-worthy self-pity. It's got energy, variety, and good vibes all around. Here's a taste!

8. Small Plates (J3PO) Short and sweet, this is one of those sketch albums, filled with some of the many snippets thought up and created by the artist. I love the existence of albums like this, as some of the real banger ideas that never get a full produced song can see the light of day while the artist is still alive, Small Plates (and Sweet Treats) having some of my favorites by J3PO. Here's a taste!

7. Fantastic (Slum Village) I couldn't pick one of the volumes, so I'm going with all of them lol. I love the wonky Dilla-time, as anyone who's seen my music recommendations would know. I love the unfinished feel of Vol. 1 with a bunch of really bumpin' beats that unfortunately never made it past this point, and I love that they revisited and polished a bunch of them and for Vol. 2, then there's the further edited version of 2, complete with hilarious and heartfelt testimonials at the end of some of the tracks. Here's a Taste!

6. Funk Blaster EP (KOAN Sound) While there's no one album that incapsulates my dubstep phase, this one was definitely the most prominent. It's funky, wubby, and well-composed. I'll admit I am "that guy" when it comes to KOAN Sound, I liked them better during their early experimental days, until Polychrome when they made a habit of putting 2 different songs in 1 track. Honorable mention to Risky Endeavors Here's a taste!

6.5. Planet Neutral (Getter)

5. Things Fall Apart (The Roots) One of the newest additions, The Roots has become one of my favorite bands ever. Through and through, this is but one of the masterpieces created in the Soulquarians sessions at Electric Lady Studio, filled with banger after banger. Honorable mention to the Deluxe Edition, featuring some of my favorite Roots songs ever. Here's a taste!

4. Astro Lounge (Smash Mouth) Yes I know, it's the one with All Star. Like I said, Smash Mouth was one of my favorite bands growing up, and Astro Lounge just has a special place in my heart. The title I think sums it up best, feels like you're in a cozy futuristic lounge, or at least the idea of futuristic people had in the late 90's. Here's a taste!

3. Random Album Title (Deadmau5) Another one I'm nostalgic for, this is the ultimate vibe album for me. The somewhat droning and repetitive nature of it, plus the seamless mix between songs, gives it a video game soundtrack quality in that it's great for just putting on in the background while you're doing stuff. Unfortunately Spotify is being weird and there's like 3 slightly different versions of it with the same name. Here's a taste!

2. Plastic Beach (Gorillaz) Aright it's another nostalgic one, this I think is the first physical CD I ever bought. I love the metaphorically nautical/maritime theme, and as per usual with the Gorillaz, there's a great variety in musical styles. Plus there's a kickass music video for Stylo. Here's a taste!

1. Djesse (Jacob Collier) I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Jacob Collier is the greatest musical mind of our time. This album has such a profound effect on me I can't fully describe. Whenever I sit to listen to any part of it, it feels like a hug that gives you the warm shivers, it tickles my ears, and almost always I well up. Djesse is the work of a man who thoroughly explores the depths of music and sound, travels the world to learn, combines it all in unique ways, and all the while exuding this infectious energy and curiosity. Here's a taste!

[puckpocketed]

Hi! Sorry if this is weird but do you have song/video recs? I have enjoyed what you recommended in the past. Please ignore this if you want, I know this isn't really a hockey ask :')

so does everyone else have a playlist where they store all their favourite essays/documentaries miscellaneous vids. or is that just me?? anon i hope u like hearing from me, if u wanted short answers u came to the wrong person. here are various faves from over the years:

Dawn from Pride and Prejudice (2005). i think about it often. it's a beautiful piece. i listen to this song and experience the movie all over again. the mud on elizabeth's skirt. dancing at parties. lovely potatoes. darcy and his cleavage. the mist in the morning. "you have bewitched me, body and soul. and i love, i love, i love you." the sun rising as she kisses his hand. HELLO!!!!

minesweeper is literally causing me health issues by i am error. a harrowing look at addiction through the lens of a minesweeper fixation. very funny and warm video.

The Best Food Movie Scenes Supercut by William Adiguna. fascinated by this. also i have used it for painting study reference.

How J Dilla's Timefeel ACTUALLY Works by Digging The Greats. right so. i know everyone's been making posts about black artists in the wake of the Kendrick-Drake beef and white tumblr subsequently figuring out that rap exists outside of Hamilton and music as a whole exists outside of uhhhh taylor swift. I don't think I've seen anyone mention J Dilla in my circles yet so here's a small essay about how he changed music history forever and you should absolutely listen to him. we lost him too fucking early, but his legacy lives on in the beat!!

The Lincoln Highway: Across America on the First Transcontinental Motor Route by Noah Caldwell-Gervais. this is a 7 and 1/2 hour travelogue by one of my favourite writers of all time. he has shorter videos about games and travel, but this one is an all-timer for me. I admire him so much. His writing voice is so lush and intentional, he weaves narrative with every sentence, and yet nothing feels superfluous. i have listened to this video multiple times and always find something new to think about.

Savestate vs Armada - The Quest for the Frozen Turnip by Melee Stats. if you made it this far down the list we are either best friends or you are super bored and want something to watch. here's the sell: Armada is one of the 5 Gods of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Savestate is this weirdo who does speedruns and loves to break the game. they go head to head at a tournament, super smash con. the frozen turnip is a bug that sort of breaks the game. chaos ensues <3

Stylish Academic Writing a lecture by Helen Sword (Harvard University). I think about this video a lot. As someone who writes a lot of academic essays and For Fun essays, this lecture was formative.

Time and Again - How to Write and Understand Time Loops by Replay Value. dissecting and categorising time loops, and teaching you how to write them in the process. excellent video even if you aren't a writer or don't have an interest in writing sci-fi/time travel!

With Love by Harbour. this song makes me so happy. i will dance to it with my future wife in our kitchen. i will sing this to her under under our pink lights. that kinda vibe <3

thank you for dropping by!! <3 and giving me an excuse to inflict a bunch of recs onto my followers!! hit me up for more recs any time ig??

[sereniv]

SURPRISE HATE MAIL ALERT:

binch

Today, I thought was going to be a good day.

I awoke this morning feeling oddly well-rested and despite having stayed up all night, as I do every night, this didnt seem to affect my sleep. For that I was grateful and I can easily say I still am. Or so I thought.

I used that energy I then had, to continue my routine of walking the dog which is something I had stopped doing for the past 2 days due to my hypersomnia getting the best of me. I not only felt proud of myself upon returning home from the much needed exercise, but I also felt...happy. I felt refreshed, rejuvinated, though also a little worn out; the type of feeling that really helps create a positive attitude for the rest of the day.

I made myself breakfast which consisted of a very basic 'dilla' filled with seasoned rice and pinto beans, sour cream, and some blue corn chips. Though I could have turned this dilla into a quesadilla, I still was wary of this energy I had and thus didn't want to extend more effort than I needed to.

Which you might be thinking, "How much more energy does it take to add cheese to a meal?", and with that I say: Do not question me.

During my meal, my grandmother and I sat down and enjoyed the rest of Chicken Run. We had started it yesterday night, but seeing as I was too tired we had to stop half way through. This is a common occurance and one that saddens me deeply.

After the movie, it was time to take our dog to the groomers for a scheduled nail trim and bath. An expensive appointment, but a necessary one.

We were told it would be around 3 hours until it was time to pick her back up, so I thought this would be the perfect time to work on my commission. And that I did.

I put my wireless earbuds in, which luckily I had remembered to charge last night, and set my playlist on shuffle and got to work.

Now, to be honest, I didn't just work on my commission. To help myself avoid burnout, I cycle through my commissions and my self indulgent fanart and I am very grateful to have a fandom to provide me with that. And though I sometimes get well invested in drawing said fanart, i cant say im not making good progress with the drawing I was paid to do.

After some time, I began to get tired and with great self control decided to take a nap; and though protested by a friend, I knew that if I didn't lay down then, that I would not be able to hang out later- that which we had planned earlier that day.

So I took a 6 hour long nap, and yet again I felt well rested (to my understandable suprise). I was feeling good, energized, and as per my usual routine, decided to check tumblr.

I did not expect to see what I saw in my activity feed: This Very Anonymous Message.

"No..." I thought to myself, "No, this can't be...this shouldn't be...". I started to weep.

I am now too bored and tired to continue this dumb thing lol

I love this hate mail so much i will cherish it always ty "Anon" ( @tea-withnofixinsplease )

[ryansholin]

And in the closing weeks of my sabbatical project, when I should be focusing on finishing and mastering songs and idk like releasing an album in some manner, I bought a used Korg Volca FM to fiddle with, and it was good.

It’s making the twangy/clangy sound here. The drums are from the Volca Beats, and chaining them together made me instantly see the appeal of buying more little physical boxes to hook up and tweak knobs.

There’s a Prophet V-based Analog Lab preset doing a wah-wah thing with a longer attack, and a “Dilla Marimba” Ableton instrument from some free sound pack I downloaded a while back. (RIP JD.)

And now, back to mild stress about finishing the missing verses of things and shoring up the mixing, mastering, and sequencing of the “real” project.

[fineartsjournal]

213341 Art Studio IIIA ⋆ Week 5 - Dire, Dire, Dire...

We find ourselves in the present day. Not for long, I still haven't even covered J Dilla. I have, however, stumbled across these two albums, both from 2023, and both from Brazil, where half my family is.

These being: Mimosa by cabezadenego, Mbé & Leyblack, and Sexto Dos Crias by DJ Ramon Sucesso.

Both these were found browsing RateYourMusic for plunderphonic essentials, to which I was pleasantly surprised to find two Baile Funk albums in the ranks.

I wrote about this for Contextual Studies last semester, so I'll quote myself for the following:

[Baile Funk is] "...a music genre of hiphop and Miami Bass sensibilities that originated from the Rio de Janeiro slums - or favelas - in the early 1990s, with a jumpy, vulgar and generally fun attitude."

This was referring to the album Mimosa in particular, which-

"...uses energetic sampling of Afro-Brazilian music new and old, particular the genre Baile Funk..." "The sampling approach, as well as very straightforward lyricism about gay sex; entails an incredibly danceable musical experience of black queerness in Brazil..."

In an interview with Gabinete last December, group member Luiz Felipe (seen pictured on the album cover) outlined the motives behind Mimosa:

“For me the sample has the function of reframing (?), you recount the history via a new perspective […] I find that the sample has a profound connection with black culture through its principles […] it is based on our very own history. And the sample for me isn’t just in music, it is in the argument; you can sample video, you can sample ideas, you can sample words, the way in which we created this project was entirely sampled.”

Sexta Dos Crias is much the same, with DJ Ramon Sucesso using his DJ controller to zoom across fragments of funk at lightning pace. No sample sticks around for long, instead, you find yourself tumbling between- "...firework-like bursts of classic funk carioca samples, his own productions, mainstream tracks, nonsense TikTok sound bites, and tons of his trademark beat bolha. All contained within an unparalleled, mischievously non-linear rhythmic flow."

Now in working mode for the next presentation, I tinkered around with the Super Mario 64 soundtrack in Audacity until I came across a neat sound.

Sampling the first four notes in the track Dire Dire Docks, I slowed the speed by 95%, and again by another 95%. Doing this required me to segment the piece and individually slow each of the segments, as doing the whole thing at once would cause Audacity to crash.

I then divided the resulting track into a left-ear and light-ear channel, playing at a slight delay to each other, forming a 'panning' effect.

Over this year, I've learned some audible differences in 'slowing' techniques.

A regular 'record' slow lowers both the pitch and tempo at once, sounds clean, and takes very little processing power to perform.

Just shifting the tempo is a little trickier; a low-fidelity tempo slow repeats small sections of the audio every fraction of a second, creating this ssttaaggggeerreedd ssoouunndd.

The high-fidelity version of this sees Audacity artifically 'filling in' these staggered gaps. This results in a stretchy, metallic sound.

A "paulstretch" also doesn't affect the pitch, but drenches any slowing in cavernous reverb.

Here's a little comparison I made:

For this next one, I took the "yahoo!" sound that Mario makes when performing a 'long jump' action in-game, and slowed it using the lo-fi tempo slider, shaved off the latter 8 minutes, and slowed it again; until it was 3 minutes of repeated "ya-" noises; otherwise representing a fraction of a millisecond.

Experimenting further, I added a 'delay', pitch-shifted so that each 'echo' would play at a lower key. Reversing this sound created a turkey-like noise, which I then looped in turn.

I then took the theme from the game's "File Select" menu, again slowing it down to a 20th of its speed. From there, I took the opening fraction-of-a-note and looped it, lowering the key each time to create a jiltery progression.

Press play on both tracks and they... kind of work together!

Ruby, Ariel and I caught up with Mike for a brief talk on materials, which we mapped out to the following:

Then I remembered something cool. Being a fan of Aphex Twin would come in handy eventually - meet SampleBrain.

It was available as a free download on Github.

After loading it up (and convincing my PC that this was not malware), the program looked like this:

I followed the instructions and placed the shorter tracks from the SM64 soundtrack into the "brain contents", and loaded a loop taken from OPN's Zebra into the "target sound".

⚠️ PLEASE LOWER YOUR VOLUME! ⚠️

Will this be my go-to sample-processing unit? Time will tell.

Being the algorithmic hymns of a straightforward piece of software, it gets loud. REALLY quick. Using this software more in my work will require a lot more effort in the mixing department.

𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕒 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕗 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕖𝕞𝕞𝕒!

I showcased my current project, sketches, different audio methods I'm using (SampleBrain included), as well as playing what I've made so far. This was mainly a catch-up for prodding into my own motives, rather than critiques.

The qualities of Super Mario 64 (SM64) are a hallmark of internet-era nostalgia; and for me, a nostalgia not just from the unreal, but the unlived; to be nostalgic for I game I haven't played, from a time before I was born.

The development of the presentation side of my work following the Week 3 critique came with a need to tear down barriers in audience interaction, remove that digital suspicion that we hold onto through the introduction of the familiar to the modern.

This will be a very 'modern' piece, but I still will be using MP3 players; like a letter symbol on your Gmail app, or a rotary speaker on your Phone icon.

I was listening to the Runescape soundtrack the other day.

It's this fantasy game from the early 2000s that I know jack-shite about, but the music is nice.

Nevertheless, it's clearly evoked a longing for those that grew up playing it, as every comment is reminiscing on lost times.

So I thought - what if I took one of these comments and just... removed any and all reference to Runescape, video games and even music - from it? What is left?

Runescape was, and is not a real place, but these are very real feelings.

[kickmag]

The Detroit Pistons Collaborate With J.Dilla's Estate & Royce Da 5' 9" On New Merchandise

Rapper Royce Da 5' 9" has collaborated with the Detroit Pistons on a retail capsule collection inspired by the life of J.Dilla.  The announcement was made on Wednesday (February 7th) on what would have been Dilla's 50th birthday. In the 18 years since his passing, from lupus and a blood disorder, his legend has grown as his genius has become more recognized. The Pistons' decision to honor him on his 50th birthday coincides with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Bilal Saeed, VP of Brand & Marketing Strategy for The Pistons explained the motivation behind the capsule, 

“Those familiar with Dilla’s musical genius understand his impact on hip-hop but there are still so many who aren’t familiar with his legacy. The Pistons wanted to tell his story in a creative way while also continuing to shed light on the city’s impact on music around the world.”

The team connected with Dilla's friend Frank Nitt, who also recorded with Dilla as one half of Frank N Dank, and he introduced to Dilla's mother Maureen "Ma Dukes" Yancey, his brother John "Illa J" Yancey,  and his daughters, Ja’Mya Yancey and Ty’Monae Whitlow. 

"It has honestly been a long time coming,” Ja’Mya Yancey said. “I am just so glad that we were finally able to do something so major through the appropriate channels and highlight my dad in a way that was fun and exciting while respecting his estate at the same time.” 

“It means a lot to see the estate and the Pistons collaboration in celebrating and continuing my father’s legacy,” Ty’Monae Whitlow said. “Seeing the love Detroit has for him and for us as a family is heartwarming.  I can’t wait to be a part of and to see what the collaboration entails.”  Royce, who also worked with Dilla, served as the art director on the project. "Dilla's enduring legacy is a treasure that must be safeguarded at any expense,” said Royce. “It is a great honor to be responsible for curating his likeness in this exclusive merchandise drop entrusted to me by his estate and the Pistons. This campaign holds major significance not just for myself but also for the city of Detroit and the hip-hop community as a whole." 

The capsule will be available March 13th at the Pistons's online shop. 

[thekitchenywitch]

Package delivered: Secret Santa!

Deuce Spade Edition

i. Invitation

You couldn’t deny that you were excited. After one insane year of dealing with overblots, you could finally rest, and if that wasn’t relaxing enough, you were personally invited by none other than Dilla Spade to spend the winter holidays with her and Deuce. “C’mon, (name)! It’ll be fun with you! Plus it’ll beat spending the break at Ramshackle!” It didn’t take you long to agree. So, you and Grim packed up your things. One step through the Mirror later, you were enveloped in Dilla’s arms in welcome. “I’m so glad you came dear!” Over your shoulder, she smiled at her son, who looked at you softly. “We’re both glad you’re here.”

ii. Decorating

The next few days were sheer bliss.

The day after you arrived, Dilla drove you all to a local tree farm in Clock Town. It was easy to say, between the scent of pine and greenery, you could’ve gotten lost in the farm easily. Luckily, Deuce took it upon himself to escort you, looping his arm through yours and taking his job of ‘finding the holiday tree’ very seriously. When you both found one, he insisted on hitching the tree to the car roof himself. Dilla chuckled to herself at her son being ‘a true gentleman’ but when the tree almost fell on top of Deuce, you decided to intervene.

After wrestling the tree inside the house, you, Deuce, and Grim pulled out every single box containing decorations that Dilla had. You looked inside, suddenly smirking. “Aww, is this you?” You asked, taking out a small frame ornament that had a younger Deuce (missing teeth and the spade over his eye) and his mother, grinning at the camera. Deuce turned pink, grabbing it from you. “N-no…” A small crash interrupted you both, and you looked over at Grim, looking sheepish with a broke glass ball ornament on the ground. “Nya, it was shiny, s’not my fault…”

iii. Gingerbread

By now, the entire house was decorated. You and Deuce lounged on the couch, while Grim snored softly on an armchair. Dilla had went out to do a few last-minute deliveries for work, so the two of you decided to make some hot chocolate while you waited (not forgetting to make her a cup, too). “Y’know, it’s against the rules to not have cookies with these,” you say distractedly, stirring the marshmallows. Deuce’s eyes widened, “w-what? I don’t remember that in the rule book!” He muttered to himself, “I should’ve memorized them better-“ you laughed, cutting him off. “No, no, not literally,” Deuce visibly relaxed. “I just think it’d be nice to have some,” you gazed fondly into your mug. Deuce thought for a bit, then said “who says we can’t?”

So now, your hands were covered with spices and flour, and the entire house smelled like gingerbread. You and Deuce were no Trey Clovers, but you both did a good job following a recipe, at least. While you removed the tray to let the cookies cool, you smiled at Deuce. “Y’know, I wanted to thank you.” Deuce’s eyes widened, “why? If anything I should thank you, I almost put salt instead of sugar. I just did what you told me to, you understood the recipe.” You giggled, “no, not about the cookies, but I couldn’t have lifted that bag of flour without you,” you gazed at him softly, when the front door opened. “I’m back!” Dilla walked in, shaking off her coat while Grim stirred awake. “Nya, is that…!” Eyes sparkling, he bounded to the kitchen. Dilla walked behind him, taking a cookie, “you made gingerbread! It tastes wonderful!” You nodded, “I couldn’t do it without Deuce. He learned a lot under Trey at school.” You didn’t miss Deuce’s proud glow at impressing his mother. Deuce picked up a cookie in both hands, offering one to you with a grin, “Eat up, (name)! We’ve earned this!”

iv. First snow

The morning after, you woke to a strange crunching sound. You rubbed your eyes, looking out the window, and your jaw dropped. “How did it snow so much outside?” You mumbled to yourself, shocked. It had to be about a foot high - and to your surprise, you saw a bundled-up Deuce shoveling it out of the driveway. You threw on your warmest clothes quickly. You opened the door, calling out “Deuce! What’re you doing up so early?! The sun’s not even up!” He huffed, breath clouding, “my mom wants to go into town today, n’ the driveway’s blocked. I thought I’d start early.” You sighed, but felt touched at Deuce’s thoughtfulness. “I’ll help you, then.”

You scraped the ice and snow off of the car while Deuce shoveled the rest of the snow away. Finally, you both rested on the porch, shoulders pressed together, watching the sun slowly rise. Some time later, you pulled him up and were well into making a snowman when Dilla finally woke up, opening the front door. “What are you-“ Dilla stopped, watching the two of you continue without noticing her. Deuce was carrying a large ball of snow while you were poking rocks and sticks into the snowman. Dilla leaned on the doorframe, and couldn’t help but smile as the two of you laughed, now running around and throwing snow at each other.

v. Mistletoe

“Deuce, you should take (name) out to the town square,” Dilla smiled at Deuce. An hour later, the two of you were out on Deuce’s blastcycle, while Grim and Dilla stayed back. The wind ruffled Deuce’s hair, and you nuzzled him softly from behind. Soon enough, you two reached a clock tower with a large arch, and Deuce parked, helping you off. “Such a gentleman,” you teased, and he flushed. You could see the glow of lights up ahead, probably the small holiday town gathering Dilla mentioned to Deuce.

As the two of you walked, Deuce grabbed your arm, looking straight up with a blooming blush. “What?” You asked, slowly looking up until you saw some berries and green leaves hanging from the arch. “I- um…” Deuce gulped, “W-we don’t have to, um-“ you grabbed his hands. “Well, it wouldn’t be good to break the rules, right?” Deuce’s eyes widened, but a small dorkish grin spread on his face. “…guess not, huh?” You responded by pressing your lips again this.

Xoxo, ~your Secret Santa!

Jzhzbshsbdjdbfbxbdbdjjfdjdbdjjddb THANK YOU!!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS SECRET SANTA

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

Good being rhythmic and bad art being obsessively anti rhythm is so interesting to me because it weirdly has me thinking of J Dilla and how he popularized mixing up straight and swung beats. Nowadays you will see his fingerprints on pretty much all lofi beats to relax to/succumb to the void to type of mixes on YouTube. And that’s just off the top of my head. But there were definitely people going “le gasp!” at him initially. Because yeah they thought it was “obsessively anti rhythm” for the sake of it.

But it also just wasn’t true lol. Having made lofi beats of my own and looking up drum patterns for common lofi beats in order to do that…. There’s totally a repetition of rhythm there. Dilla type beats are like a classic example of someone who clearly knew the common rules for their art like the back of their hand and then used them to innovate. Video below that shows how straight/swing mixing rhythms ARE a rhythm lol

[dreams-in-blk]

“He used his MPC like Jimi Hendrix played guitar or John Coltrane played the saxophone. It was an extension of himself. That’s probably why out of all the MPCs used by countless hip hop producers and beat makers over the years, J Dilla’s is in a museum.” - Brian “Radar” Ellis

This is J Dilla

Video: How J Dilla Humanized His MPC 3000

Playlist: Dilla Made Me Do It

[askbohemiancompany]

Quill @ Gwen: "Oh, dear, oh dear." the taller Gothitelle cocked his head and looked at Gwen with an expression consisting of concern, pity, and a hint of contempt. "Buckethead? That is concerning. But you must not worry, I can help you here. Let me think ... surely you've thought about giving Sister Sledge a try? Or perhaps Parliament? Moroder? I think those are much more stylish choices." he nodded, clearly very confident about this. "Say the word, and I will show you the light."

Oh it was that gothitelle. The one that looked like some actual spaceman. He actually looked presentable for a ball. Good on him.

Unfortunately for Gwen, the same could not be said of his music taste. Nothing from the last 5 years. Not that she disrespected the classics, but she had some choice words for people like this.

"You only listen to that grandpa shit? Did your mommy and daddy control the music on the ride home, and you never tried anything made in the last, I'll be generous, 5 years. Moroder is like the prototype to a lot of electronic acts that actually made his style better, like J. Dilla or Aphex Twin. His best work was being sampled in a Daft Punk album. Sister Sledge is just soft grandma music, still listened by people who can let the 70's go. Like nothing good happened after 1984. That shit puts me to sleep."

The tare was about to begin. For whatever inaccuracies she was about to say, they would be hard to pick through due to the sheer volume of what she had to say.

"Honestly, metal is the most significant gritty impactful changes until hiphop came and ushered in a new era as well. I admit, I am not as knowledgeable on rap, but there are some impactful acts like Kendrick Lamar, Injury Reserve, Clipping, Tech9 or Doomtree."

Though there was one thing, Gwen had to concede from this dork's recommendations. "...I will concede though that Parliament has some bangers though."

(The views of both gothitelles in this post do not reflect the views of the author, as he has better taste than both combined.)

@psychicduo

[imnothinginparticular]

#finishedbooks Dilla Time by Dan Charnals. With no space left in my suitcase...I just had to get this. You figure with books on musical artists you got three angles: musicological, cultural, or biographical to approach the artist...and what immediately hits you is how complete this is in doing all three...and more from the introduction of syncopation by enslaved peoples, the history of electronic music, the abandoned triangular urban planning of Detroit, to Dilla's family's migration north, Detroit's musical history, and finally Dilla himself this is just the first fifth of the book. Going back to "Playing Changes" a book I reviewed on contemporary jazz, I mentioned in the review I was suprised to see a whole section on the Soulaquarians who I love I just never listened to them like I would a Thelonious Monk...and this book now has me listening to Dilla like a Monk and hearing music since him differently. That's a bold claim, and going into this book I was seeing the music notion of "Dilla time" in relation to standard and swing time and initially to an extent I just thought they were going to highlight what jazz musicians have long done in "back phrasing." I talked about this in my review of the "Black Music" book when comparing Hawkins, Young, and Parker mentioning Young's innovation was playing behind the beat...I always joked calling it playing in black time because it is like I am going to get there, it is just not on YOUR time (standard western musical time) but on mine time and it is still on time haha. You can always hear this in Dilla's music his snares are always rushed while at times his kick's are jumping around everywhere yet always sounded perfect. I had just attributed it to RZA who also never quantized beats but I realized for RZA it was genuinely random, for Dilla it was cultivated. And the thing with back phrasing, it was always a solo instrument or vocals like Billie Holiday to some extent...Dilla back phrased the WHOLE rhythm section and THAT changed music. I mean you can hear it of course in any underground hip hop music since but also Neptunes in the stuff they were doing for N' Sync and David Bowie's Black Star album, but jazz really embraced it and it was all over that Norah Jones break out album, but from there Roy Hargrve, Glasper, and McCraven to Kamasai, Jason Moran, Christian Mcbride, and even the current ECM golden child Vijay Iyer wrote his doctoral thesis on it, instead coining it micro time but is Dilla Time, so in effect he defined the pulse of jazz this side of the millennium. So going back to my inital statement in my review, about listening to Dilla like Monk...Monk's music is exciting because he never lands where you would expect from his percussive spliced finger way of playing the piano that creates this beautiful conflict due to his underlying logic...Dilla is the same. But straight and swing time came from Dilla juxtaposing the two feels even and uneven simultaneously creating a new disorienting rhythmic friction. From my autodidact music education when I made beats 20 years ago (with no public school music programs) I worked expecting to hear a beat counted in fours, I'd quantize the hi-hat that really acts as a metronome because it hits two times for every four beats setting the rhythmic current at eight...and I'd play out the kick and snare over 8 bars and loop...Dilla cuz his snare is rushed it messes up the whole structure so instead of 8 slices per a measure in something like "Go Ladies" you got 192 and he shifted that snare by five of those slices or precisely 128th note triplets...and all our ear hears is oddness because it is ahead. What Questlove had to learn playing on D'Angelo's "Voodoo" (which really is what everyone references as the start of Dilla Time on an instrumentized stage) was that to mimic it, he had to do something crazy like naturally saying to yourself, "ok im finna keep my right leg in straight time, swing my right arm at 66 percent, and with my left rush the snare by 1/7 of a quarter note."

[yr-bed]

MF DOOM, one of my favourite rappers, died in October of 2020; it was only made public on New Year's Eve. I've had this article of reminisces from fans, friends and collaborators sat waiting to be read on my Kindle since not longer after, but never got round to reading it for whatever reason. On that aforementioned sleepless night I finally made time for it and was glad I did. This anecdote from Questlove is undoubtedly the highlight of the piece for me, for all kinds of reasons:

"It was the Voodoo record-release party for D’Angelo [in 2000], and Mos Def showed up in his kitted-up, chauffeur-driven van with music blasting. He rolled down the window and said to me, 'Yo, you gotta get in here.' I tried to convey to him that Mark Ronson and I were DJ-ing the party, but he was like, 'No, man. We gotta have a discussion.' I was preparing myself for some kind of deep talk, but he just started preaching the gospel of DOOM. I’m talking a 40-minute monologue, almost something like a Jehovah’s Witness would preach, trying to convert me to a new religion. He was like, 'Do you understand the majestic gift that is Operation: Doomsday?' At the time, I had been listening to it with a different set of ears. [I said] “Oh, is that Zev Love X’s project?'

"Before Mos turned me around, my early thoughts of Operation: Doomsday, and skimming through it, were, It’s post Wu-Tang; the loops are sloppy. Anita Baker and J.J. Fad? C’mon now … I can’t spin this in the club. My initial response was more scoff than whoa. Mos was not going to give up. He memorized that whole album like his life depended on it. He memorized it like my life depended on it. He made me listen to 'Rhymes like Dimes' three times over. He was determined to convince me that it was the dopest shit out. He kept breaking it down to me until he finally planted the seed in me."

That whole scene is just highly entertaining. Mos Def with his kitted-out car, preaching the gospel of DOOM, the phrase "we gotta have a discussion." Later in the article Questlove does a successful job of conveying one of the lesser-explored appeals of DOOM, a rapper whose apparent qualities are abundant (the Dr Doom mask, the completely unique flow and war chest of references/rhyme schemes unlike anyone else before or since, his equally idiosyncratic samples and producing style, the innumerable pseudonyms and side-projects):

“I did my homework during the next six months and realized that the new persona was DOOM’s way of coping with Subroc’s death. I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of history, and [the late producer J] Dilla had already done this with me on Madlib. When I realized that what DOOM was doing was therapy for tragedy — it had been so long since I had seen somebody in hip-hop not using it as a means of escape, or survival, or monetary means to get to the next level.”

What he's referencing there is DOOM's previous life, as a sidekick to eighties hip-hop trio 3rd Base and then as a member of KMD, which ended when his cousin and KMD co-conspirator was hit by a car and killed. There was a period where he disappeared from view and, when he returned, he'd abandoned his Zev Love X persona and was hiding behind a mask. In the years following, he'd try on any number of other aliases, including an album as King Ghidorah (the three-headed enemy of Godzilla) and Viktor Vaughan, a riff on the alter-ego of Doctor Doom, each with distinct personalities, back stories, and rap styles. DOOM's music is rarely, if ever, maudlin, but the angle of retreat and reinvention after tragedy is not one I'd factored into his work before. RIP to the Villain. I loaded Operation: Doomsday, Born Like This and Take Me to Your Leader onto my phone for a walk to Highgate cemetery and had a bloody good time.

[intoxicatedcomputer]

I'm thinking about God Is it a he or a she or a feeling or love? Does she personally ordain every occurrence and every moment or did she set the universe in motion and then move on? To try to top her achievement? Maybe this universe wasn't an achievement at all Maybe our lives, our wars, our fuckups, our diseases Our love, our humanity, our passion, our pennies, our Holocaust are all just a rehearsal before the show A sketch before the mural, a stretch before the jump Does she love me? Does God know I'm here? I'm thinking about God, I'm thinking about sex I've been holy all day and acted in ways that deserve adjectives like "honorable," "good," and "straight" But it's after 10 pm now and I'm bored I watched a movie on the internet alone and now it's over I pick up my phone and text every female I know within a 15 mile radius It's a terrible thing that deserves adjectives like "chauvinistic," "objectifying," and "asshole-ish" I made that up just for myself "Hey, Nicole" "Oh, hey, what's up Mike?" "I'm about to get in bed, you?" "Well, I'm chilling, I've just been thinking about you ;) Haha, really random, I haven't seen you in so long. What made you think about me?" "Well, to be honest, I'm bored, and I'm thinking about sex" I'm thinking about horses, they're so goddamn regal Their muscles ripple through their skin like waves in a little ocean Magnificent beasts But why the fuck do they listen to us? They're so much stronger than they know But they trade their freedom for a dependable meal They let people get on top of them and tell them where to go But how can I judge? Is that not exactly what I do? Is that not exactly what we all do? I'm thinking about horses I'm thinking about dad He's 70 and he's just starting to get old Things are gonna change soon I don't feel ready for the change that's coming soon I'm standing on the beach watching the tsunami grow from a minuscule rise in the horizon to a monstrous tidal wave I am not moving, I am not scared I am not scared, I am not wearing swimwear I am standing on the beach waiting for the tsunami And Dad taught me about love and sacrifice But that's sort of like a book that you read and forgot about 'Cause I don't love and I don't sacrifice And youth was my excuse for that, but that excuse is getting old Maybe I'm gay, I'm thinking about that I'm thinking about death What if this plane goes down? That would be okay, you know, I had a good run I wonder if a lot of people would come to my funeral Maybe my fans would do something special Maybe they'd cry and maybe it'd be in the newspaper Yeah, I think I'd get in the Detroit news Probably not the New York Times People'll probably like my music more when I die 'Cause they'll know no more is coming You see, people love stories with endings Right now, I'm just sort of a story that's dragging on slowly Page by page, year by year But people want an ending, they want a crash They want a ear in the fucking mail I don't have one All I have is another lousy poem And the knowledge that I'll probably die somewhere confused and decrepit in a nursing home I don't think this plane's gonna crash I'm thinking about Otis, I'm thinking about Curtis I'm thinking about Dilla, I'm thinking about

I'm thinking about horses - Mike Posner