#like SO much of the early sampling era was just tons of samples of old records - anything they didn't have to pay for

[xcziel]

feeling nostalgic and watching utube reactors discover classic songs and then feeling both old and incredulous

[nullset2]

Mother 3 - An In-depth Critique and Review

Ah, Mother 3, how I love you so!

The game which with which I forwent all possible aspirations to healthily integate into normal High School society: imagine walking into a party, people are drinking and being cool, and you ask them if they have ever played a very underground, very deep RPG only released in Japan called "Mother".

Yeah! I know! It's like you're asking to be bullied, and I realized it too late.

But anyway!

Mother 3 is one of the most important games you could ever play --alas, if only it wasn't near impossible to obtain it.

Yet, perhaps this adds to its allure and to the power of its narrative --a narrative which, by the way, I'm convinced is the very actual reason why it will never release formally in the United States.

As time has passed, I've actually become more and more impressed about how relevant the game is to the socioeconomic reality that we are in nowadays. I'm impressed that Shigesato Itoi had all of this in his mind's eye as early as 1996, and that the story was already written down in 1999!

Right now it's been 14 years since it's release on the GBA, but I think that the game is a timeless classic and warrants a playthrough now more than ever. Wanna know why?

Wanna find out?

Part 1. "A Japanese Copywriter's Americana"

The year is 1989 and a Japanese Copywriter --somebody who writes "Catch Copies", which are a sort of a long-form slogan that is very common in Japanese pop culture to advertise)-- by the name of Shigesato Itoi became a fan of the Dragon Quest series of RPGs, which are massively popular in Japan, even to this day. He also loved video games: he's asthmatic, so he recalls only being able to sleep sitting up as a child, and having to occupy his lonely time through asthma attacks playing video games, since he had to sit up and had nothing else to do at night.

His love of RPGs would linger in his mind until 1989 when he had an opportunity to meet with Hiroshi Yamauchi and Shigeru Miyamoto and was offered the opportunity to develop a video game with Nintendo. Harkening back to the endless hours he poured into Dragon Quest, his concept eventually took form by deriving from it. He called the story "MOTHER", as a reference to John Lennon's "Mother", since he is a very hardcore fan of The Beatles. The games have tons of obvious influence by old American films and comics, like ET and Peanuts, which he also loved very much.

For MOTHER, he wanted to explicitly go against the grain, by designing an RPG without "Swords and Magic", which stereotypically most RPGs follow, even from things as minor as to design a protagonist who was weak and vulnerable, asthmatic and without a Father Figure, yet, still heroic through much toil --which reflects Ninten from the original MOTHER for the famicom.

Miyamoto, in his usual taskmaster persona, arranged a team to work with Itoi for the creation of the RPG, by bringing in people from HAL laboratory and APE Inc, and thus MOTHER was born to great Japanese Acclaim. A game which took many risks in its genre, such as eschewing the idea of a separate overworld from navigation in the towns, the subject matter, the movement system and many other things which made it quite Unique. It was so popular that soon after the first project was released, MOTHER 2 started development, involving people from what's currently known as Game Freak and HAL Labs.

MOTHER 2 is a very unique game because it was the very first time that the series attempted to make an incursion in the Americas. Releasing in a big flamboyant flashy box, with a strategy guide and a bunch of goodies included, MOTHER 2 released as Earthbound in the states, a bigger and better version of the vision of the first game. Better graphics, Beatles references, sampled audio, pop culture cornucopia, it's all here and then some!

Famous for its role in technically driving the game, Satoru Iwata, ex-CEO and software developer for Nintendo,7 of Wii acclaim, helped the game meet its 1996 release date. It is known that the original version of the game ran into deep technical issues which the original dev team was not able to overcome. Once Satoru Iwata got involved, the game was reworked to a viable version and released to much critical acclaim. In his own words, he proposed to rewrite the tech that powered the main game. It was a matter of either continuing with the current code and be done in two years, or redoing everything and being done in six months under his vision, he said.

No matter its strong promotion from Nintendo, the marketing got botched, and the game paled compared to the flashy and bombastic magical RPGs of its era, like Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger of all things. So, Earthbound faced a very bad destiny in the states, by releasing to low acclaim, bad review scores and terrible sales numbers --even though it eventually reached Cult Classic status, due to its pure hearted nature, its hallucinogenic themes and characters, and its fantastic spirit over all.

And this game is worthy of discussion by itself a whole bunch because of the ripple effects it had in video game culture in the Western world. Enter starmen dot net. To this date, the epicenter of discussion for everything related to the MOTHER series. There you had me as early as 2002, browsing a half-rendered version of starmen dot net in a dingy computer in some dingy internet cafe in some shitty neighborhood in Mexico, trying to be a part of the discussion and the hype.

To this date, I consider starmen dot net as the non-plus-ultra case for how passionate Internet fan cultures can become.

Flat out, no other fandom has ever came close to the level of dedication, attention to detail and passion to tribute the original creation around which its fans congregate. A massive amount of fan paraphernalia has come out of starmen dot net --yes, even Undertale, 2015 indie darling RPG thing, originally got started on the Starmen dot net forums. People married and even started large, commercially viable enterprises, such as Fangamer.net, the firm which publishes Undertale, from starmen dot net.

...and then... silence...

After Earthbound's 1995 release, we enter a ten year hiatus for the series.

Even though both MOTHER games were incredibly popular in Japan, HAL Laboratory and APE Inc. weren't able to successfully make a jump onto the third dimension for the series come the Nintendo 64 era. They had a demo come the infamous Spaceworld 96, where a bunch of pre-release games for the then called "Ultra 64", which was the codename for the Nintendo 64, were showcased. And lo and behold, we have a sequel to Mother coming out, called Mother 3, the ROM for which has never been found by the way.

I'd love to get a look at the materials in that ROM.

The scarce footage we have available from it exhibits some of the elements we ended up seeing in the final released version of the game, like some of the original music like the Mozart ghost theme, and the DCMC section, albeit in a more primitive low poly way. It is known that both studios weren't very proficient at 3d Game development yet, which was still nascent. This together with other factors, such as the fact that at some point development was moved onto the unreleased-in-America, unpopular 64DD addon, undisclosed factors dropped the game into development hell, which ultimately led to its cancellation in the year 2000.

Plenty of mystery surrounded the now defunct project, to the dismay of a bunch of passionate fans in Starmen.net and elsewhere online. However, it turned out that the valiant effort of the fans, who made a huge amount of effort to campaign for the revival of the series, even mailing fanmail, fanart and other materials to the Itoi Shinbun offices in Japan (a titanical task in the world of the early 2000s).

Fast forward to 2003, and the Game Boy Advance, the little portable console that could, was in its Apex. Due to Satoru Iwata's campaining, it was announced that development on MOTHER 3 would be restarted, this time in 2D, for the gameboy advance. Much anticipation in Starmen.net followed this announcement, since it finally validated its efforts...

Come 2006, once the console was well into its end-of-life, with small nudges to play the game on a Gameboy player if possible, perhaps to try to follow suit with its predecessors, the sequel finally released to much acclaim. But what did Shigesato Itoi have in store for everyone all along? What kind of beast had just been unleashed onto the World?

Part 2. "Of Monkeys and Men"

Mother 3 follows the story of a young boy, Lucas, in a multi-chapter structure, which is novel for the series but not unheard of in the RPG genre. Besides this, the RPG plays very similar to your usual JRPG fare, and basically uses the Ultimately polished version of the MOTHER series' mechanics, groovy backgrounds and all.

The first three chapters of the game follow the perspective of different characters residing in Tazmilly Village as the plot of the game unfolds. The plot is centered around the residents of a peaceful town in an Island in an unspecified location, Nowhere Islands, which in my opinion is an allegory both of Japan and America, moreover with the fact that the game of the logo very clearly has a rising sun covered in metal, in a logo that's an amalgam of two different things which don't match, a subtle reference to the game's undertones to come.

From these residents we come to know the daily lives of a particular family: Flint, a farmer; Hinawa, his wife (a name in reference to Sunflowers, Himawari, her favorite flower), and their twin children, Lucas and Claus.

The game begins in the midst of their idyllic life in the mountains visiting Lucas' grandfather Alec, and playing around with meek dinosaurs which inhabit Nowhere Islands. See, in the world of Mother 3, no violence truly exists, and people have come to live peacefully with each other and nature. There's no such thing as the concept of money, Instead relying on an economy that's mostly based around bartering and hospitality.

However, everyone's lives veer into turmoil once strange alien beings invade, the Pigmask army, an army of big, fat and slovenly creatures dressed in pig-like attire, who seem to have a vast amount of technology and resources at their disposal yet aim for Nowhere Islands for colonization.

The Pigmasks have an as-of-yet unnamed leader, who is demanding them to make everything in the World "bigger, cooler, stronger and faster", and thus they seize Nowhere Islands by force of bombings and a forest fire to use its flora and fauna. And thus, while escaping from the forest fires returning from Alec's home, Hinawa tragically gets killed by a Drago which has been modified to be aggressive against its nature through robotics implanted in it by the Pigmask army.

There's an unused cutscene in the game's ROM data where Hinawa, instead, dies by bomb explosion...

...yeah, I'm just... gonna let you process that one by yourself ;)

The Drago left a fang in the middle of her heart, which is recovered by one of the Tazmillians and provided back to Flint along with a fragment of her crimson dress. Besmirched and angry, Claus, the festier one of the twin children, sets out to try to hunt the drago and achieve revenge, but he goes missing... Flint embarks in search of Claus and to kill the drago, and thus the first chapter of the game concludes, with the implication that Claus has gone missing...

With Lucas' family torn to shreds and The Pigmasks invading Tazmilly, it seems that we're in a situation ripe for disaster.

Chapter 2 follows Duster's adventure, which runs in parallel (as every other chapter will) to other chapters' stories. Duster is the last heir in a bloodline of Cat Burglars whose abilities are not in use anymore given that Tazmilly has no more commerce or crime. However it turns out that the Pigmask invasion puts his skills back in demand to infiltrate Oshoe Castle and retrieve an artifact which the Pigmasks are after and which Duster's family is the guardian of. The nature of the artifact in Oshoe Castle is as of yet unknown, however it is implied that it is important to the fabric of Tazmilly village.

At Castle Oshoe, Duster meets a mysterious princess, Kuma-tora (which translates literally to "beartiger", in allusion to the dichotomy of her existence, since she is very... masculine in attitude and refers to herself with, yes, male pronouns, perhaps anticipating identity politics by 14 years at least), who is also after the artifact in the Castle, the Hummingbird egg. The chapter ends with the Hummingbird Egg going missing, and a mysterious peddler of goods arriving into town, while Kumatora and Duster's father realize he has gone missing...

Chapter 3 follows the adventure of a little Monkey, Salsa, which gets flown into Nowhere Islands to perform a job. This is a novelty in a town where the concept of a job doesn't exist as of yet, however, the peddler of goods is going to need a lot of hands if he wants to fullfill his vision. The peddler, Fassad (which is a tongue in cheek way to say "facade", right?) promises to all residents in Nowhere Island eternal happiness if they buy his newest product, the "Happy Box", a television-like contraption which glows with a warm light and which people are attracted to and engrossed by. For this, he introduces the concept of money and swindles people his way, convincing them that this is the way to go and promising them excitement and benefit if they listen to him.

Salsa delivers Happy boxes throughout the whole chapter, and gets shocked, even in the middle of the night, if something goes wrong with his job or tries to escape due to a shock collar implanted by Fassad. However, he runs into Kumatora and Wess, Duster's father, and they ploy together to free up Salsa and mess up Fassad's forceful takeover of Oshoe Castle, when Lucas shows up with several dragos in tow and fights against the Tank invasion of Oshoe Castle.

(A foreign animal being introduced into a new society with the express intent of exploiting it to propel forward a commercial enterprise by toil... geez, I dunno, where have I heard that one?)

From Chapter 4 Onwards the game adopts a more conventional JRPG scheme, through a timeskip which happens literally two years in the future. In this future version of Tazmilly, money (Dragon Points) and ATMs are now existent, similar to other Mother games. The game follows Lucas' adventure through a now-modernized and industrialized technologically advanced Tazmilly, trying to retrieve the "seven needles" from the island, which are soon enough shown to be a source of great power that the pigmask army is also after and to which Lucas must try to get to first due to a calling by mysterious beings which inhabit Nowhere Islands, the Magypsies. With a lot of emotional moments, such as Lucas having visions of his Mother in the middle of a field of Sunflowers, we follow the adventures of the party as they infiltrate the pigmask ranks and gather information about its nature and intentions.

It is then discovered that the pigmasks are commanded by a Masked leader, who dominates the power of thunder through a tower which was built in the middle of the town and which strikes anybody down with thunder if they overstep the Law and Order that the pigmasks have implemented. The party fights this masked leader in bouts while exploring the world and reuniting with a now missing Kumatora and Duster, who are found to have settled as employees in a Nightclub called "Club Titiboo".

Eventually, through his travels, Lucas gains an artifact from Mr. Saturn, the inhabitants of a special region in Nowhere called Saturn Valley and which has been passed down through all three Mother games, called the "Franklin Badge". When equipped, this item allows the bearer to become immune to lighting attacks and reflecting them back.

The party soon discovers that the world is inhabited by an special elder race, existant from before the creation of Tazmilly village and who know more about everything going on with the invasion, called the "Magypsies", a race of transexual, magical creatures who help Lucas discover the fact that he has Psychic abilities, also known as "PSI" within the MOTHER canon. He uses these to proceed further in his adventure to pull the seven Golden Needles, the first of which Fassad was attempting to get to, in the Courtyard of Oshoe Castle.

Lucas moves into a city called "New Pork City" in the conclusion of the game, which is a town built by the pigmasks completely in the honor of Porky, full of all sorts of Pigmask paraphernalia and amusement. It is found that the seventh and final needle is inside humongous tower in the middle of the city, the Porky tower.

Moreover, it is also revealed that the Pigmask army is led by Porky, known as "Pokey" in the American localization of Mother 2, Earthbound. Pokey is shown to have developed into a tyrant as an adult, with unlimited lust for blood and power, who used Doctor Andonuts' Phase Distorter after the events of Earthbound to mess around with the unlimited realities and dimensions it gave him access too, as a petulant child does with a video game. Once he got kicked out of every other possible reality due to the chaos he created, he found the Nowhere islands and decided to mess with it.

The climax of the game comes around Chapter 7, when the now fully-developed party runs into Leder, one of the original Tazmillian villagers, a lanky and really tall person who never spoke, not a single word, in the game until now. Leder is revealed to be the only person who knows what is the true nature of it all: tazmilly village is the remanider of civilization once the world of Mother 2 collapsed by cataclysm. A flood wiped away everything and the very last remainder of people who survived fled to nowhere islands in a big white ship and settled there, willingly forfeiting all technological advances and knowledge of the world into the Hummingbird egg, the artifact that Duster's family protected in Oshoe, a device which wiped everyone's memories, with the intent of undoing civilization and living back in a peaceful village-like state again.

It is revealed that when all seven needles are pulled, a supernatural power on which the island is built will be awakened. This supernatural power is revealed to be a Dragon by Leder, who had to be subdued by the ancestors of the Magypsies so people could live in Nowhere islands as their last resort. Whoever pulls out the needles which keep it in slumber will pass the intentions and nature of their heart onto the dragon. Thus, Lucas must be the one who pulls out the last needle instead of Porky or the masked man, in hopes that a second cataclysm like the first doesn't happen again.

After making their way through all the pigmask defenses, Lucas and Co. face off with Porky, who is now a bedridden, pathetic man. Doctor Andonuts from Mother 2, appears here, and is revealed to have developed a solution to contain Porky, the Absolutely Safe Capsule, which is a capsule which once it's sealed, it can never be opened again, trapping whoever is inside forever in a parallel universe where only them exist. The party is successful in locking Porky in the absolutely safe capsule, so, porky is not hurt by the end of mother 3, instead, he just has been locked away forever in a place far away from everyone else --perhaps, providing the ultimate form of comfort that a personality like his would seek after.

At the end of the game, Lucas and Co. face against the masked man, who is revealed to have been Claus all along, who, brainwashed with Pigmask ideologies, is hellbent on drawing out the final needle to awaken the dragon. Lucas and Claus face off in an emotive fight, where they suddenly remember each other and how friendly they used to be with each other... and moreover, their Mother. Claus strikes Lucas with thunder in a final murderous attempt before snapping out of the Pigmask brainwashing. But since he had the Franklin badge on, the attack is reflected and mortally strikes Claus, who, in his final moments, finally remembers Lucas...

The ending of the game is open ended, without showing much of what happened once the seventh dragon needle was released, so the ending of the game is subject to interpretation. However, it is heavily implied that, since Lucas was the one who released the needle, the dragon, once awakened, did not destroy Nowhere islands and instead led to a regeneration of existence.

Part 3. "A Musical-Adventure"

One of the pre-release materials for the game called it a "Musical" adventure, and I think this is completely warranted: the musical beautifulness of Hip Tanaka, famed Nintendo composer and long-time MOTHER music autheur, is joined by the expertise of Shogo Sakai, who gave the soundtrack a more mature, sample-based vibe, compared to the early two more "chiptuney" soundtracks in the series. The songs are all-time favorites of mine, and I still the soundtrack every so often given all of its mystique, its eclectiness and curiosness.

But the musical aspect to the game doesn't stop here: as an addition to the mother series, the battle system has now been changed to become rhythm-game based instead of simply turn based. If the player attacks an enemy during a battle, it is possible to strike additional damage as long as the player continues to press the attack button in rhythm to the background music in upwards of 16 hits. A full combo is incredibly effective and plays a nice fanfare if executed correctly.

As an enthusiast of rhythm games, this premise captivated me from the get-go and it works wonders, functioning as a breath of fresh air to the way overplayed mechanic of turn-based combat, which has existed since the 80s. It also provides a certain nice feeling to combat, given how every character has their personal musical instrument, with lucas being a guitar, Kumatora being an electric guitar, Duster being a bass, and Boney, Lucas' pet, being... barks.

Besides this the mechanics from Mother 2 are translated almost completely: every character has a rolling HP and PP counter, which rolls down over time as an airport display instead of immediately as in other RPGs. This may seem minor, but it adds an amazing element of strategy to the game, since it is possible to recover an ally from mortal damage if a healing PSI is executed against the clock before the counter hits 0.

Besides this you got almost completely conventional standard JRPG fare, with the character being able to move in eight directions in the overworld, with the addition of a run button, preemptive attacks and overpowered kills. Once you start facing enemies in the overworld, the first one to attack can be decided depending on the angle that the enemy was approached with: sneak up on an enemy from behind and a green swirl will display, which means that you get to attack first; if an enemy sneaks behind you, you'll see a red swirl and they will attack first instead. Otherwise, a gray swirl will display, which follows conventional order according to your stats.

Part 4. "WE WANT MOTHER 3, REGGIE!"

...Mother 3 will never be released in America.

This may be too dramatic of an opinion to have but I see no other alternative. For the most of fourteen years, Nintendo of America's head honcho Reggie Fils-Aime was requested to release and distribute the game in the americas, and for twenty years the request fell on deaf ears, citing commercial inviability, potential copyright infringment and many other reasons.

But I think the main reason that the game will never be localized is because Mother 3 was a passion project, pushed for by people with personal involvement in the series and very special sensitivities about it. Shigesato Itoi and Iwata were personal friends. The game appeals to japanese tastes and touches on issues and subjects that the American population is very politically sensitive to.

For example, in chapter 6 Lucas and the party experience a bad trip because they eat hallucinogenic mushrooms in a swamp. This leads to Lucas having visions of his family in a very bad light, with implications of violence and abuse, to try to get at the players' deepest sensitivities. Even the name of the real player is used here.

I think that it's impossible that nintendo will release a game which openly involves Hallucinogenics no matter its innocent exterior. This is the kind of subject in media that Japanese audiences usually handle better than American audiences.

Besides this, the game has very clear allusions to accelerated capitalism, anti-capitalism, colonization, slavery, transexuality and the changes and chaos they have brought onto the world, which is a tough subject to tackle in the Americas, which is still part of an ongoing, vicious culture war.

Particularly, I adore how the game even tries to convey its points through the Sound Test, of all places. Mother 3 has a collection of music pieces, which are available on demand within the game itself. Of those, there's a music piece which is a remix of Pollyanna, the Mother 1 theme, which is present throughout the series, in an nod to the previous games in the series. The hallway where this plays is full with mother references and it expects the player to sit down and watch passively all the references in order.

But this is meta, amazingly enough. The hallway is located in the final section of the game, before facing Porky, who is presented as the effigy of vicious capitalism in the game. As if he left them in his palace just as collectibles, things to be purchased or acquired.

The name of the song which plays during this sequence? "His Majesty's Memories". Subtle.

Nintendo is a company which tries to keep its image clean and sterile, so it can be used broadly for a variety of projects, usually with family friendly intent behind --and even more so in the US.

However, Nintendo has a history of risky bets with Mature content, which has become even more glaring lately: you got Eternal Darkness, Astral Chain, Bayonetta, No More Heroes, the disappointing Metroid Other M... this together with the fact that most of their target audience is of age now, could, at least remotely, mean that, perhaps, Mother 3 releasing in some manner in the future, localized in English, could happen: however, this is not happening at least the way I see it.

Once the game was released, there were several different campaigns online to try to gather Nintendo's attention: a 10k signature strong petition was completed among several other things, and if this hasn't lead to results... I don't know what will.

Part 5. "No Crying Until the End"

Mother 3 is a beautiful, engrossing and captivating game which is hidden away under a cutesy exterior. Its complex themes and characters are evoking of deep human truths which call out to us and ask us to reflect on things and the way we're living. Of strong pedigree in its series and with a superb musical production behind it and a mastermind of writing, MOTHER 3 excels at what it sets out to do.

When the game released, the game had a "Catch Copy" written for it by itoi himself, which called the game "Strange, Funny and Heartrending", and I think this is a beautiful way to bring everything full circle. Itoi wrote on the Advertisement that if you wanted to cry because of Mother 3, you should save it until the end. And those three words are a fantastic way to close off this review: if you want a game that will provide you with bizarre and laugh out loud moments one second and tear-jerkers the next, Mother 3 is the game for you.

And the game is just so poignant... to this date not only do I think it's one of the most expressive and well done pixel-art based game, I still find myself impresse at how much I can connect with the characters through small, cutesy sprites and pastel color pallettes, lack of Unreal engine and RTX graphics card be damned. Themes of grief, missing a loved one who's gone, the feeling of loss of identity due to accelerating social and economical change, how tyrannical political figures establish themselves and change communities, sexual and identity politics and how the modern world was to have shaky and voraginous sexual identities become commonplace... it's all there, and masterfully, tastefully expressed, without that icky feeling of "agenda"ism that you can get sometimes from Hollywood productions when they try to hamfist tropes and "messages" down people's throats. You know that feeling? I hate it when it happens in movies or shows I'm watching just to have a good time, and then I get some succint propaganda.

But MOTHER 3 is a kind beast, trying to reach to your heart and directly speak to the mind of the player. It tries to show us what it thinks of modernity and to make us seriously ponder what the frick is up with all of this shit, and thinking it has kept me for the last 14 years, and I anticipate another 20 ahead of me. And you can join me in reflecting about this...

Or maybe you can just go back to your happy box. Whichever way you choose.

[honeyopinion]

20/20 Albums of the Year

Circles by Mac Miller  |  Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For... Pouring One Out for Mac

I wrote a few different drafts of this album summary, and none of them felt like they really fit the impossibly large bill of accurately describing the posthumous importance or brilliance of this album. If you are a fan of hip-hop or soul music of any kind, try to give this piece of work a chance. I for one, used to judge Mac based on his early frat rap days in the late 2000s. But a decade later he came to leave the world with one of the most surprising and frankly impressive artistic evolutions that I’ve been able to witness in real time. RIP Mac. 

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora 

Start With: “Circles” or “Everybody”

Marigold by Pinegrove  |  Alternative Country and Folk Rock Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For… Passing Through a Small Town on a Cloudy Winter Day 

Pinegrove was one of the last great concerts I got to experience before the pandemic. And it was my favorite performance of theirs from the last 6 years of seeing them play live. Is this my favorite album of theirs? Honestly, it’s not. But I still find it extremely enjoyable, and the memory of seeing these songs performed live, along with some of their classics, was enough for me to include it on this list. This is an album that marks Pinegrove’s exit from their pop punk roots. It’s still sentimental, but much more country and folk rock focused vs. anything trying to be associated with emo or punk. 

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora   Start With: “The Alarmist” or “No Drugs”

Watch This Liquid Pour Itself by Okay Kaya  |  Synth Pop, Art Rock, Folk Released: January 24, 2020

Best Album For… Crywanking at 3am, Bathed in The Dull Light of Your Overheating Laptop

What if Feist and Father John Misty had a secret love child? They might sound something like Okay Kaya. Self proclaimed “Singer ~ Crywanker,” Okay Kaya brings serious BDE to weirdo art pop that she seems like she could be a plant  from the mind of Nathan Fielder. Kaya delivers with such deadpan precision as she rolls out line after line of sarcastic joy, staring blankly at our dystopian reality. “Here I am, the whole world is my daddy,” “Netflix and yeast infection,” “Sex with me is mediocre,” “I just want us to do well like Jon Bon Jovi’s Rosê,” and, “My parasite and I are blushing / In the zero interaction ramen bar,” are just a few examples of some of her memorable and biting lyrics. The entire album is both a critique and nihilistic fondness for the absurdity of our lonely technological society, not quite sure how to deal with taboos like repressed female sexuality, depression, and codependency. 

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora  

Start With: “Baby Little Tween” or “Asexual Wellbeing”

UNLOCKED by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats  |  Hip-Hop Released: February 7, 2020

Best Album For... Nodding Your Damn Head To, Feeling Cooler Than You Actually Are

I had to double check that this was an album. Clocking in under 20 minutes, this collection of songs feels more like an EP, especially with the track titles that purposefully look like file names and placeholders. But for a short album, Denzel wastes no time, furiously zigging and zagging effortlessly over Kenny Beats’ 90s New York-indebted production (ad libs and all). Kenny pulls out samples of an array of pop culture references made by Denzel (like quotes from movies and weapon sound effects like a lightsaber) — as he rotates his flow between admirable impressions of DMX, Nas, and Joey Bada$$.

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora  

Start With: “So.Incredible.pkg” or “DIET_”

Cardboard City by Zack Villere  |  Pop, Electronic, R&B Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For… Pal-ing Around With Your Friends From High School, Maybe Quoting Superbad At The Same Time

The first time I watched a music video from Zack Villere, I noticed the top comment said: “how did frank ocean get trapped in mark zuckerberg.” And while that definitely gets at the heart of how Zack Villere presents himself, he is not a phenomenal singer like Frank Ocean is, nor does he come off as an asshole like Mark Zuckerberg does. I would say that he is just a slightly awkward nerdy white guy who loves hip-hop production and R&B melodies. So the better question is really, “how did drake get trapped in michael cera?” This premise should not work at all, but somehow it does. This is only Villere’s second album, but he shows some serious production and songwriting chops, plus a commitment to his delivery that comes across as genuine, charming, and unique. 

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora  

Start With: “Grateful” or “Superhero Strength”

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala  |  Psych Rock, Synth Pop, Disco Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For... Throwing a Silent Disco For One 

Tame Impala continues on their now 10 year streak of psych rock dominance. Along the way we’ve seen Kevin Parker master and stretch the boundaries of psychedelic production. This has resulted in his music coming as close to sounding like the best aspects of The Beatles, while also expanding into hip hop drums, R&B hooks, plus more and more electronic elements. This is an album that I was not super impressed with when it initially came out, but as we entered the pandemic and were tasked with finding small joys in staying at home all the time, I found myself going back to this album and appreciating the themes of solitude and self reflection that Parker has drawn from throughout his career.

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora  

Start With: “Posthumous Forgiveness” or “One More Hour”

1988 by Knxwledge  |  Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Pumping Your Brakes and Driving Slow, Uh *Homie* Although this album is named after a year in the 80s, the sound here is a perfect portal back to 90s golden era hip-hop, with all the gospel, soul samples, and the kind of deep bass you want to feel in your chest. This is the rare, largely instrumental hip-hop album that I find myself going back to, other than works from the legendary J Dilla and MF Doom. Knxwledge is good friends and a frequent collaborator with Anderson .Paak (in the form of NxWorries). Here we get Anderson to grace us with his presence on the track “itkanbe[sonice]”, and of course it sounds just like an authentic vintage soul sample. When I hear this collection of songs it makes me wish I still had a car, so I could inevitably damage my speakers listening to this.

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Start With: “dont be afraid” or “thats allwekando.”

Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa  |  Pop, R&B, Funk, Disco Released: March 27, 2020 Best Album For... Alarming Your Pet With Your Enthusiastic Lip Syncing

This album is a pure sugar rush. Like Bruno Mars with the help of Mark Ronson, or Calvin Harris a few years ago, Dua has harnessed a nostalgia (it’s even in the title, wink) for disco, funk and R&B, and is instantly a sexy, catchy, not-so-guilty pleasure. It’s sad that the majority of these songs are all bonafide club hits that didn’t have a proper home this year … except for my living room. And hopefully yours.

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Start With: “Pretty Please” or “Future Nostalgia”

Hold Space For Me by Orion Sun  |  Alternative R&B and Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Wishing Frank Ocean Was Your Dad

“Alternative R&B” is a contentious term, but what else would you call one of a few R&B singers cool enough to make it onto (NYC indie darlings) Mom+Pop Records?? On one hand, she brings the vulnerable and introverted lyrics of an indie singer songwriter like Tracey Chapman, crossed with the raw presence and sweet melodic delivery of a true R&B star like Aaliyah. I’d even go far enough to refer to her as the musical stepchild of Frank Ocean and SZA.

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Start With: “Ne Me Quitte Pass (Don’t Leave Me)” or “Lightning”

You and Your Friends by Peach Pit  |  Indie Rock and Dream Pop Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Going Back To Your College Town To Crash A Party

Peach Pit seem like they would be cool dudes to hang out with. You have no problem picturing them as the band playing a house show in an indie movie about college kids. And that’s because there’s a familiarity to the scenes that their songs portray, of stumbling through your 20s, either being too dumb or having too much fun to notice. It’s funny to refer to this as “Indie” rock since this is Peach Pit’s major label debut with Columbia Records. But It has all the trappings of Indie; sticky melodies, gentle reverb, an “I’m not trying that hard” vibe, and lyrics that are oddly specific enough to be interesting, but still vague enough to be relatable.

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Start With: “Feelin’ Low (Fuckboy Blues)” or “Shampoo Bottles”

Heaven To a Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor  |  Psych Rock, Indie Pop, Post-Punk, Alternative R&B, Experimental Electronic Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Tearing Up The Fucking Dance Floor With Your Hot Robot Girlfriend

If Tyler the Creator, Alex G, King Krule, and Blood Orange all got into the studio together and dropped a shit ton of acid on Halloween, their recording session might sound something like Heaven To a Tortured Mind… And even then, you still might have trouble putting your finger on exactly what you’re hearing. “Dream Palette” is a good reference track for Tumor’s most wild and mesmerizing qualities. The biggest styles of the past half century of music have been loaded into this gleefully effective genre blender, with blades of dissonance slicing everything up, creating a surrealist sonic smoothie.

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Start With: “Super Stars” or “Dream Palette”

The New Abnormal by The Strokes  |  Indie Rock, Dirtbag Disco, Synth Pop Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Mixing Yourself Another Drink This Saturday Night

Back from the dead, The Strokes return with their first album in 7 years to turn some heads and settle back into some old habits. The charming messy haired garage rock of the early 2000s still pops up here and there, but this is really a record where the group is mature enough to show you that they actually are trying, and are unafraid to take joyous swings for the fences. Julian Casablancas pushes his scratchy alley cat yelp of a voice into something more vulnerable, sunny, and sweet, like he asked for a piña colada (you know, with one of those little umbrellas) instead of a double shot of scotch before hopping up on stage… Or maybe he did both. But these days, everyone is looking for some sort of break from our groundhog day lives any way that we can. Sometimes that sounds like selling out, or depending on how you look at it, stepping up. This album is the result of a group of old friends who got together to make music they simply want to make for themselves. Now far removed from the 2000s New York scene where their younger selves were acting too cool and disaffected to care about having fun.

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Start With: “Eternal Summer” or “The Adults Are Talking”

The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser  |  Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Drinking Down At The Docks, Watching The Sun Set

While I am a fan of The Walkmen, I have no idea what their frontman Hamilton Leithauser looks like or how he dresses. But hearing these songs off of his latest solo, I imagine the following: a member of Mumford and Sons if they were edgy and cooler, giving off a “cowboy rocker meets depression-era dock worker” aesthetic. That’s exactly how his music comes off to me. It’s a convincing blend of blues rock, Americana, and old timey country music. All expertly narrated by dusty country guitars and standup bass, tarnished horns and flutes, and what I imagine to be a restored saloon piano. The Loves of Your Life originally started as a collection of short stories, each about characters based on both people he knew and strangers. Leithauser then wrote the music separately, and finally came to mix and match their parts together in a surprisingly convincing fashion to create the album.

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Start With: “Wack Jack” or “Cross-Sound Ferry (Walk-On Ticket)”

What Kinda Music by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes  |  Neo-Soul, Electronic, Hip-Hop

Released: April 24, 2020

Best Album For... Cooking For Someone You’re In Love With

Exactly what kind of music do Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes make? It’s orchestral, it’s jazz-infused, it’s hip-hop beats joined with gentle soul. It’s a little sexy, it’s a little mysterious, and you’re going to want to listen to it a whole lot. That’s it. That’s what kind of music it is! Send tweet. 

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Start With: “What Kinda Music” or “Storm Before The Calm”

Petals For Armor by Hayley Williams  |  Electronic Pop and Art Rock Released: May 8, 2020

Best Album For... Browsing Depop for Your Next 80s Normcore ‘Fit

Hayley, Hayley, Hayley. You are too good for this wretched world!! After exploring more adventurous sounds and genre hopping over the last few Paramore records, Hayley decided to go out on her own. This really frees herself from the expectations that come along with being the face and heart of a wildly popular band for the last 15+ years. Thom Yorke fans rejoice, because Hayley Williams has a clear admiration for Radiohead’s haunting indie electronic vibe, while emoting some pain and darkness atop her love for 80s pop and art rock (think Genesis, Devo, The Talking Heads). This is a promising new avenue for Hayley to explore herself and process her pain and desire completely on her own. I see this new project of hers only blooming further from here.

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Start With: “Simmer” or “Sudden Desire” 

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius  |  Indie Pop and Art Rock Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Daydreaming That You Were Somewhere Else

For his 5th studio album, Perfume Genius enlists production wizard and guitar god Blake Mills, along with Grammy Award-winning arranger and multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose to create a beautiful swirling mosaic of 80s pastel pop that also packs serious classic rock grandeur. Bass guitar dances between satin smooth lines on one song to churning distorted currents on the next. Sparkling string arrangements and organs bleed together to expose a fading sunset that you’ll want to try and hold in your hands to keep it in sight. Perfume Genius is unafraid to challenge traditional masculinity, packing a 21st century queer machismo into both the quiet moments and jubilant explosions.

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Start With: “Without You” or “Describe”

græ by Moses Sumney  |  Indie Pop, Art Rock, Neo-Soul, Psychic Folk Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Astral Projection 101 

I mean this in the best way possible, but I think that Moses Sumney is a witch. Or maybe a wizard? There’s no other reasonable explanation for the level of creativity and wonder that he summons. This album feels like a private concert by a waterfall (similar to one on the cover), with ethereal pleas, and heavy ideas—like meditating on what lies beyond the constraints of the physical self and reconsidering how well we can actually trust memory and the mind. Sumney layers his voice to create the effect of a ghostly choir, accented by a stark intimidating falsetto that reverberates through the ruins of an abandoned temple where Sumney is the only one in attendance.

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Start With: “Cut Me” or “Polly”

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD by Nick Hakim  |  Psychedelic Neo-Soul Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Playing Pool in a Hazy Dive Bar

Nick Hakim is a silky smooth smokey crooner who paints with warbly piano loops, dreamy reverb-heavy guitar, boom bap beats—not to mention a falsetto that would make Smokey Robinson jealous. Clearly a fan of Motown and 60s jazz, Hakim could be considered a peer of Thunder Cat and Anderson .Paak’s to a degree. I remember seeing him perform at Music Hall of Williamsburg a few years ago. The performance ended with him falling down on stage (presumably from being under the influence of multiple substances). But while the song continued he popped back up and belted an impressive high note like it was nothing, drink in hand. And it’s that kind of messy beauty that also makes this album so engrossing. Like watching the eye of the storm get closer and closer, but unable to look away from the sheer magnetism that nature can wield.

Spotify      Apple Music      YouTube      Pandora  Start With: “All THESE CHANGES” or “ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS”

RTJ4 by Run The Jewels  |  Hip-Hop Released: June 3, 2020

Best Album For... Making Your Next Protest Sign

Run The Jewels’ fourth outing might be the most unapologetically angry rap album in the “fuck this” year of 2020. And it reminded me that I should absolutely still be furious about everything that happened during this groundbreaking yet terrifyingly familiar year: country wide protests over the continued murder of innocent black people at the hands of the police, government drone strikes and detaining kids in cages, the state of our environment worsening—and that’s not even addressing the pandemic or election. Killer Mike and El-P are here to scream from the rooftops that our current system of cutthroat capitalism and white supremacy is killing the planet and its inhabitants, and I’m glad that they’re using their platform to continue to sound the alarm.

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Start With: “out of sight” or “ooh la la”

Your Hero Is Not Dead by Westerman  |  New Wave Revival and Indie Pop Released: June 5, 2020 Best Album For... Wanting Your Old School MTV

The cover of Westerman’s first proper album is mostly black and white, except for the title, which is scrawled out in lettering which spans the Crayola color spectrum. It’s an album that on the surface is cold and buttoned up, but when these choruses open up, the maximalist 80s power pop bursts like the bulbs of a neon sign. There’s a level of even-keeled cool and confidence in small moments on display here that makes this relatively new artist seem well beyond his years. Having seen him play at Rough Trade a few years ago (opening up for the stellar Puma Blue), the songwriting growth on display on this record is impressive. I’m only sad that there wasn’t an opportunity to have seen him play these new songs live.

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Start With: “Easy Money” or “Confirmation (SSBD)” 

Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers  |  Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: June 18, 2020

Best Album For... Burning Incense and Breaking Out a Ouija Board to Talk to The Ghost of Your Former Self

This is without a doubt, a career defining release for Phoebe. Taking everything she’s learned from writing, performing, and touring with the likes of Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker (in boygenius), and Conor Oberst (in Better Oblivion Community Center), Bridgers levels up to become the truly prolific singer-songwriter she’s been telling us she would always be. Bridgers has explained her personal definition of “a punisher” as a well meaning person who’s, “just talking to you and they don’t realize that your eyes are glazed over and you’re trying to escape.” Vital to understanding this album and its central message is that Phoebe finds herself caught between the contradiction of falling victim to this phenomenon while also doing it herself, especially if she ever met her musical idol, Elliott Smith. Punisher serves as a warning to her audience that if you focus too much on trying to find yourself through other people (via escaping through fandom, drugs, toxic relationships), you’ll always feel lost and dissatisfied, without the proper self awareness to ever quite know why. 

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Start With: “Garden Song” or “ICU”

Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM  |  Rock, Pop, Folk, R&B Released: June 26, 2020

Best Album For... Preparing For A Better 2021, lol 

With this album, HAIM skyrocketed to the #1 position of family bands that start with an “H.” Sorry, Hanson! But seriously, HAIM has outdone themselves on this one. If there was one album from this list that I would dub my personal AOTY, this would be it. You might wince at any tracklist longer than 10-12 songs these days (I know I usually do), but almost every song proves itself worthy, pulling at a different thread of my heart until there’s nothing left. Sunshine State Beach Pop? Check. Blues Tinged Dad Rock? Yup! Dive Bar Country? Mmhmm! No, wait, what’s that you say, Glitched-Out R&B? Yes, yes, and yes. You can have it all, sister! ‘Cause when you’re Haim, you’re family! ;) And these three “women in music” continue to prove that they are just about the best Assorted Pop Rocks(™) act in the world right now.

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Start With: “I’ve Been Down” or “Don’t Wanna”

Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas  |  Neo-Soul and Indie Pop Released: July 17, 2020

Best Album For... Sipping Coffee and Journaling on a Weekend Morning

This album exudes a warm vulnerability, like a comforting hug we all needed this year. On her third album, Lianne La Havas makes the risky decision to self title it, a move that artists make when they believe that it is the piece of work that they most want most directly associated with their name. It’s one thing to name your first album after yourself if you can’t think of anything else at the time, but to make a self titled album in the middle of your career, it means that you are sure about having captured who you really are and who you want people to remember you as. “If I love myself, I know I can't be no one else,” La Havas admits on the standout track, “Paper Thin.” She knows that she will meet her destiny and reach self actualization, but only through self love. And finally, I cannot overstate how breathtaking La Havas’s voice comes across on this album. The strength and control on display in her vocal tone and vibrato is quite a spectacle. 

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Start With: “Paper Thin” or “Sour Flower”

Limbo by Aminé  |  Hip-Hop and R&B Released: August 7, 2020

Best Album For... Trying and Get Over Kanye With

On Limbo, Aminé establishes himself as one of the torchbearers of soul-sampling, lyrics-driven hip-hop that still cares about storytelling, skits, and presenting vocals clearly. Kanye West, Drake, and J. Cole all paved the way for someone from the next generation like Aminé to keep the dream alive and avoid succumbing to the “feel good, don’t think” form of passive listening that mumble rap has made the standard for mainstream hip-hop.

Spotify      Apple Music     YouTube      Pandora  

Start With: “Pressure In My Palms” or “My Reality”

Shore by Fleet Foxes  |  Folk and Indie Rock Released: September 22, 2020

Best Album For... Running Along The Beach With Your Arms Stretched Out

It was really kind of Robin Pecknold and co. to have released an album this triumphant, calming, and awe-inspiring during the year of our Lorde 2020. On behalf of myself and anyone else who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, the SAD people of the world really needed this, man. And to anyone who is quick to judge these beard-o’s of being boring, you’re simply not using your ears properly. Yeah, you know those two things on either side of your head? Get the gunk out of them! That way you’ll hear the choir of angels with acoustic guitars who are here to guide us through quarantine and beyond. 

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Start With: “Can I Believe You” or “A Long Way Past The Past” 

Listen to all of these albums together in our playlist.

[iambountyfan]

iambountyfan; echoes - Ruzina Frankulin, Darko Škrobonja, Ane Paška our tribute project ECHOES FROM OUR PAST features a variety of musicians, artists and creatives from all over the world; today we proudly present one of the finest works within the tribute, and are joined by Croatian composer, musician and sound designer Ruzina Frankulin (Tonči Bakotin), filmmaker and DOP Darko Škrobonja and finally actress, singer and musician Ane Paška (Ana-Marija Fabijanić) ahead of the debut of their music video "Aroma Ecito", an original track created exclusively for iambountyfan. Q. hello everyone! please, feel free to introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about your work. Darko Škrobonja: 
I'm a multimedia artist and a filmmaker. I also work on various projects as a photographer, director, and DOP/cameraman. In my personal work, I mostly deal with subjects like the passing of time and the absurdity of human existence. Ruzina Frankulin: 
Just a boy who as a 4 yr. old started jumping around a portable radio cassettophone. Since then, nothing really changed regarding the sensation I feel when the right sounds and images hit me. One of the best things in my life was the privilege of being a part of the music collective Zidar Betonsky, with which I enjoyed some fantastic intimate success thanks to my partners, both as artists and as extraordinary mates.
Apart from music, I do bits of audio technology lecturing, sound design, postproduction and video filming. Ane Paška: I am somebody who likes to explore different ways how to translate ideas and inner space of imagination in the language of music, words, performance, video, film. I finished dramaturgy in the Academy of dramatic arts in Zagreb and Master Film and Video in Art Academy in Split. During these years I took part in many workshops of contemporary theatre, physical theatre, performance and many different vocal and voice education. I also play a few musical instruments, and since 2014 I've been performing exclusively author works composed of my texts, poems and music. I have created several short music films that have been screened at various festivals around the world. Q. you are all well versed in different art fields. could you tell us a bit about how the three of you met? is "Aroma Ecito" your first collaboration? D.Š.: In 2013 I was filming a short experimental film for a theatre company with whom Ruzina collaborated. Over the next few years, we got to know each other much better when he helped me with sound editing and sound design on 3 of the films I made at the Arts Academy University of Split. In 2019. he introduced me to Ane and our first collaboration "Aroma Ecito" began. R.F.: I met Darko through some short film projects and we continue to collaborate whenever there's an opportunity out of mutual interests. Darko was a logical choice for this project, because I knew we could fulfill each other in the most fruitful way; the same goes for Ane. I met her about two years ago when a friend suggested that I go see one of her live performances. I don’t go out often as I've lost interest in the local scene, but it turned out it was well worth leaving the studio. I consider her as probably the most exciting upcoming music artist in Croatia at the moment. We are preparing some things together, cooking well behind the scenes. A.P.: When I decided to record my music album, a friend of mine recommended Ruzina and his music studio. 
We met after one of my performances and both of us had a great wish to create something together. Right now, we are in the process of recording music and this collaboration is really fantastic to me. Ruzina also introduced me to Darko when we were planning to make “Aroma Ecito”.

Ane Paška, photo by Kaja Zulin Q. what are the biggest inspirations behind your creative drive? D.Š.:  The process of creating art is my only drive and inspiration to do more. Time stops, life has meaning. R.F.: There are likely tons of sound and visual imprints that I’ve absorbed during the years. It is important for me to try to keep them on an unconscious level, and use musical instruments and technology to sculpt something that has emotion. My destinations are always emotions. A.P.: Life itself! There are so many beauties in the world, evil, sorrow, happiness, misunderstandings, kindness, suffering, poetry, secrets, that art can help us embrace with all the nuances of such a complex and incredible world. Q. how long has it been since you first got in touch with the art of iamamiwhoami? which audiovisual era has been the most influential to you?  D.Š.: Ruzina introduced me to the project in 2018. and I've been a fan ever since. The present [era] is the most interesting. R.F.: I was an immediate fan since early December 2009. I do not remember how I encountered it, but I followed all first six uploads in real time and was amazed by that work. I still think that those first videos are absolutely Jonna and Claes' strongest work; I see it as reminiscent of all greatest pop electronica substruction, wicked and twisted with a fresh dose of originality. I was hoping to see a full length album released out of those. A.P.: Ruzina introduced me to the project as well and I also liked their first videos. Q. please tell us a bit about the creation of "Aroma Ecito" and the creative process behind the track. R.F.: When I was asked to create an original track for this release, I started to mess with some beats I had sitting on my hard drive for years. They didn't have a structure that could make the pop form I had in mind when thinking of a homage to iamamiwhoami, but it had a certain atmosphere that drove me to something. The rest was done by layering beat and synthesizers. And I have no idea how I am doing it. It is a child’s play where I try not to screw the purpose of the track. A.P.: Ruzina made the music and had a concrete idea of the way I should sing. On the other hand, I have seen great potential in the song for it to have lyrics that are sung in a fictional language. In such a way the song could get an even more mystical character. In the end, we made a compromise and only one verse remained fictional, but very well correlated with the rest of the song. Q. what about the video? I can tell that some of the scenes within it are reminiscent of the "bounty" series. D.Š.: Yes, at our meetings we talked a lot about the "bounty" series which became our initial inspiration for the visual style and the mood of the video. Later on, our artistic characters began to take over and we started to play. R.F.: Sure, it came from the influence of iamamiwhoami, but soon enough Ane took over with her performance and ideas which she developed with Darko, who was also responsible for completing the technical side of filming. All I remember is that somebody said the word “oranges” and there it was. Oranges hanging from strings - and we made it seem pretty effortless, although people who saw the video before release commented that it surely was very well planned. And it was indeed planned, but I wouldn't say “very well” because we worked by using instinct mostly. That’s I guess why we chose to work with each other. We just allowed dancing ideas to stick. A.P.: Two weeks before we started shooting the video, I was on a remote island with a beautiful sandy beach. I was playing with kids, and at some point, they buried me in the sand. Then I stayed lying buried in the sand for a few hours; by that moment some scenes for the video came to my head and I decided to share them with Darko and Ruzina, and suggest that this could be the material on which we could continue to build the video. The idea of oranges crooned within me for several years since pregnancy, when the oranges in my imagination grew to the proportions of an entire continent and an incredible landscape. I'm glad that Darko and Ruzina have accepted these ideas and that the filming of the video was conducted in a beautiful and relaxed atmosphere in which we gave ourselves a chance to improvise. Q. we really enjoyed Ane's performance in the music video. can you tell us a bit about the lyrics and the general meaning behind them?  R.F.: Lyrics are basically about the process of creating music or art in general. The ideas that jump and dance around you, completely free, like muses. It’s up to you to allow them to take you on- they are not always happy encounters, they can burn you as well. Important parts were added by Ane, like voice emotion and the line «smoo la te lo mande lai», which we still do not know how to explain to anyone, but we know the feeling behind it or how it looks on one's face. I think it fits perfectly for this. A.P.: Thank you very much! As I said, I had an idea to invent a language for this song, but finally we made a compromise and found a way to balance the English and fictional language into a meaningful whole that sounds good. Q. as you might know, To whom it may concern. is an independent reality that creates and releases film and music without creative boundaries. would you say that the Sensoria collective shares a similar premise?  R.F.: Well, Sensoria is basically an artistic association and as such it is a non-profit organization. We mostly deal with non-commercial content - be it sound or video. Some releases I am particularly proud of are an experimental documentary about the ocean surface (“m.ocean”) and audiovisual 7-channel installation called “Festival”, where we showed what is possible when you take seven so-called notable Croatian singers and take millisecond audio and video sample snippets to transform them to completely new electronic music with accompanying videos. These will both be released next year in physical form. This year, we are releasing music from five theatre plays for the Fractal Falus Theatre, for which Zidar Betonsky have been creating music since 1997. We recently released "Aroma Ecito" and are continuing to make music with Ane. Our website is a mess at the moment, but it will soon be renewed.

Ruzina Frankulin, press photo Q. what do you think about the current state of the music industry? do you think independent musicians carry an important role altogether and how can they work around it?  D.Š.:  Yes, their role is very important. But there's a big problem with music videos in general. They by themselves vary in quality, but the general trend is alarming. People are starting to watch music a lot more than listen to it. This is where filmmakers' responsibility toward the musicians and their work is crucial. A true collaboration between the mediums is rare. R.F.: It seems to me that the music industry is more or less on the same page all the time. The industry wants to be industry – so they see artists as its workers, to put it lightly. It is just that mediums are changing: nowadays we have web and mobile platforms, so music is much more accessible than ever before. And the industry wants to charge every click, every move of finger, be it yours as a consumer or the artists'. Schemes like “pay what you want” or nesting music as payable torrents that were introduced by Radiohead are refreshing ideas, but unfortunately they aren't working for unknown acts or bands without exposure. I am even not sure how iamamiwhoami managed to catch such big attention at first with unknown video uploads, but I am sure glad they did. Also, as I understand they had tours partially financed by their fans around the world, which is a great thing. I think we all need to adopt and try to use all we can while caring not to hurt anyone in one way or another. A.P.: I'm going to be honest, I don't think much about the music industry at all. I am committed to creating, and so far I have witnessed that creation always finds its way to people. There are things that money can never and will not be a threat to. Q. thank you for your hard work and for joining us today! we wish you the best of luck for your future endeavours. all: Thank you very much! follow Sensoria.hr and Ruzina Frankulin on YouTube | Vimeo or check out their official website: Sensoria.hr follow Darko Škrobonja on Vimeo and Ane Paška on YouTube interview by Marco Napolitano

[obtusemedia]

The best songs of the 2010s: #100-76

Happy 2020! Now that the previous decade has finally finished, it’s time to commemorate the 2010s. The decade in which I grew from an awkward teen to an awkward adult. And a decade with a ton of great music. Let’s dive right in: these are my 100 favorite songs of the 2010s.

#100: “Monopoly” by Danny Brown (2011)

Danny Brown is so delightfully grimy. He’s like a cartoon sewer rat come to life, rapping about pills and making hilariously crude jokes. In an anti-drug PSA, he’d be the sketchy weirdo trying to get a kid hooked on bath salts or whatever. And for a quick shot of his non-replicable style, it’s hard to do better than “Monopoly.”

Rapping over a glitchy, menacing beat with his trademark squawk, Brown lands oddball punchline after oddball punchline. In a span of less than 3 minutes, he threatens to defecate on your tape (and he has to clarify that too — “No, literally, shit all on your mixtape”), compares himself to Ferris Bueller sipping wine coolers and then closes his track by describing a woman’s vagina as “smellin’ like cool ranch Doritos.” And that last insult is the perfect distillation of Brown: the Adult Swim of rap. But much smarter than that would imply.

#99: “Shutdown” by Skepta (2015)

At the 2015 BRIT Awards, Kanye West performed “All Day” with a massive crowd of grime artists on stage, all in black, with flamethrowers shooting fire into the sky. 

Four days after the performance, Skepta — one of the artists on stage with Kanye — released “Shutdown.” It’s a much more fitting song for the intimidating, energized and proudly British crowd of MCs than a middling Kanye non-album cut.

“Shutdown” is the kind of song a rapper releases when they’re at the peak of their powers. Skepta was absolutely at that point in 2015, and so his finest single sounds like a coronation. His gruff delivery isn’t too loud, but it’s firm and confident. He knew he was the best MC in Britain, and “Shutdown” cemented that status.

#98: “Amor Fati” by Washed Out (2011)

Washed Out was one of the brightest voices in the turn-of-the-decade chillwave movement, and with cuts like “Amor Fati,” it’s not hard to see why. 

The big single off his debut, “Amor Fati” gives you a similar sensation as taking a shower: Pure bliss and warmth cascade around you. It’s a bit repetitive, but the song is clearly meant to set a mood more than anything else, so that’s excusable. If you need an entry point into chillwave, you can’t do much better than this.

#97: “Los Ageless” by St. Vincent (2017)

St. Vincent’s trajectory this decade took her from an art-pop weirdo who collaborates with David Byrne to a more mainstream art-pop weirdo who collaborates with Taylor Swift. But in that process, Annie Clark was able to pull her sharpest hooks out and put them in use in deceptively dark songs like “Los Ageless.”

With its sleek new wave production from Jack Antonoff, “Los Ageless” could’ve easily fit on most pop records. But Clark’s atonal, shrill guitar bursts and increasingly disturbing lyrics differentiate it. The song’s themes gradually shift from “lol Los Angeles is fake and plastic” to something more tragic. The desperate (in a good way) chorus says it all: “How could anybody have you and lose you/And not lose their minds too?”

#96: “I Like It” by Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull (2010)

I’m aware how ridiculous putting “I Like It” — a disposable, trashy club pop hit most people might not remember — on this list. Admitting I that I love this song probably guarantees that I’ll never get a job at Pitchfork.

But then those fuzzy, cheap synths come crashing in. And Enrique Iglesias sings his sleazy come-ons in an auto-tune slurry. And Pitbull delivers a gloriously ridiculous, very-2010 verse that references both the Tiger Woods cheating scandal AND the Obamas (along with gratuitous Spanish and a Miami shoutout). And then there’s the final touch: a prominent sample of Lionel Richie’s cheeseball classic “All Night Long.” It’s too much to resist.

What can I say? “I Like It” hits all the pleasure centers (including nostalgia, seeing as it came out in the middle of my high school tenure) in my brain. It’s a beautifully stupid, hedonistic highlight of the 2009-12 pop golden age.

#95: “The Wire” by HAIM (2013)

Retro-pop standard bearers HAIM had plenty of great singles this decade. But one of their first, the groovy breakup anthem “The Wire,” is still their best.

Unlike many most breakup anthems, which tend to be wildly emotional, “The Wire” is matter-of-fact. The relationship simply isn’t working, and it’s time to end it. That’s that. You’re going to be okay.

The verging-on-curt lyrics mixed with the Haim sisters’ groovy early ‘80s rhythm makes for a pop jam that’s perfect for any “It’s not you, it’s me” moment in your life.

#94: “Helena Beat” by Foster The People (2011)

I know they represent the mainstream selling-out moment of the magical late-’00s MGMT/Passion Pit/Phoenix moment, but I have a soft spot for Foster The People. Their debut album, Torches, might not have much indie cred, but it’s all-killer-no-filler and stuffed with monster hooks. And despite “Pumped Up Kicks” being the big hit, I’ve always preferred the album’s opening track, “Helena Beat.”

With its shuffling disco beat and Mark Foster’s piercing falsetto, “Helena Beat” is likely about as close as alt-rock ever got to the Bee Gees. The lyrics, which tackle addiction, are much darker than “Staying Alive,” but it’s got a similar sense of propulsion.

And let’s not forget — Foster wrote jingles before starting a band, so he can get melodies stuck in your head. And once you’ve heard “Helena Beat,” good luck getting it unstuck.

#93: “Redbone” by Childish Gambino (2016)

“Redbone” might be the smoothest R&B cut on this list. Which is why the song’s sense of dread and paranoia makes it stand out. 

Donald Glover’s scratchy, passionate falsetto isn’t conventionally pretty, but it works well while singing about some unknown boogieman who’s “creeping.” That’s why “Redbone” was a perfect fit for Get Out, because of its lurking dread underneath the comfortable exterior. This is the song that cemented Glover as being a true renaissance man, rather than an actor with a weird musical side project.

(of course, this still isn’t Glover’s greatest musical contribution — that would be the iconic “Troy and Abed in the Morning” jingle. Especially the night variant.)

#92: “Do You” by Spoon (2014)

Spoon has been America’s most consistently great rock band for the past two decade now. Even calling them “consistent” is practically a cliché.

So all you need to know about “Do You” is that it’s another solid Spoon song in a vast catalog of Spoon songs. Lead singer Britt Daniel is still effortlessly cool, the guitar-driven groove is simple and it all goes down easy. By 2014, Spoon had nothing left to prove, except how long they could keep up their streak.

#91: “I’m Not Part of Me” by Cloud Nothings (2014)

Cloud Nothings’ finest moment is four and a half minutes of pure angst and crunchy guitars. Squint hard enough, and “I’m Not Part of Me” is one of the closest approximations to ‘90s alt-rock. And while the Ohio band isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel here, refining what made past music so great can be just as effective.

#90: “Hello” by Adele (2015)

Despite only releasing two albums this decade, Adele casts a major shadow over the 2010s. Although I find both those records to be a little on the bland side, there’s a reason she was/is a juggernaut. And the example of her prowess is “Hello.”

“Hello” has everything you’d want in an Adele song: It’s about not getting over a breakup, a very relatable topic, and Adele gets to show off her cannon of a voice. But it also has a secret weapon compared to other Adele ballads: ‘80s power-ballad production! The bombastic chorus has more in common with Heart’s “Alone” than any of Adele’s previous hits, and it’s a perfect accompaniment to one of the decade’s most melodramatic singles.

#89: “Slumlord” by Neon Indian (2015)

Despite putting out two essentially perfect albums this decade, Neon Indian’s mastermind, Alan Palomo, doesn’t really have that one mind-melting single. Yes, “Polish Girl” was a decent-sized indie hit, but it’s nowhere near his best.

But “Slumlord” comes damn close to perfection. It’s not quite as heavy on the melted-VCR aesthetic of other songs on Palomo’s best album, Vega INTL. Night School, but it makes up for that with an irrepressible ‘80s techno groove. “Slumlord” is one of those songs that could ride its beat forever — and it kind of does, with the “Slumlord’s Re-lease” coda following it on the album. It’s a nocturnal synthpop jam that even those allergic to keyboards couldn’t resist.

#88: “The Bay” by Metronomy (2011)

While most synth-weilding indie acts were trying to ape MGMT’s high-pitched fever dreams in the early ‘10s, Metronomy decided on a different, sleeker path with their 2011 album The English Riviera. That album’s best single, “The Bay,” is an immaculate blend of silky smooth yacht rock and nervy, tense new wave. Those two opposite styles shouldn’t work together, but Metronomy managed to pull it off regardless, creating the perfect beach anthem for awkward hipster Brits.

#87: “bad guy” by Billie Eilish (2019)

I expect the 17-year-old Eilish will likely be remembered more as an icon of the 2020s than the 2010s, as she has a long and promising career ahead of her. It’s like how Lady Gaga is much more of a figure of this decade, despite her earliest hits arriving in 2009. But “bad guy” — the kind of left-field, innovative pop single that signals a new era — came out in 2019. And it’s too damn weird, catchy and just plain fun to leave off this list.

#86: “Latch” by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith (2012)

It’s a bummer that Sam Smith turned out to be such a bore, because “Latch” — his introduction to the world — is pure electricity. 

Smith and fellow Brits Disclosure, who provide the pulsating, sensual production, were a dream team on “Latch.” All Disclosure needed to do was give Smith plenty of room to unleash his golden pipes, complete with a few futuristic touches. Smith delivered on his end, proving his worth as one of the best vocalists for conveying drama on the dancefloor.

#85: “Need You Now” by Cut Copy (2011)

No, it’s not a cover of the Lady Antebellum hit of the same name. 

There were plenty of ‘80s-inspired epic synthpop bangers this decade; some groups made their entire careers off of them. But what sets Cut Copy’s “Need You Now” above the rest is its sense of patience. It’s an incredibly slow burner, building the tension with a thumping beat and calm vocals until it all explodes with a dazzling climax nearly 5 minutes in. Af that moment, the Aussies fulfill their promise with a euphoric release of synths and thundering drums. 

It’s not a complicated concept for a song, but Cut Copy executed it perfectly.

#84: “The Mother We Share” by CHVRCHES (2013)

Glasgow new wave trio CHVRCHES never really lived up to their promising 2013 debut album, which opened with the anthemic “The Mother We Share.” But man, what a way to start a career.

"The Mother We Share” is all icy synths and furious drum machines, the sounds bouncing off each other like a hall of mirrors. And lead singer Lauren Mayberry’s quiet but confident vocals add the necessary human touch, conveying a tragic feel to the song’s triumphant chorus.

#83: “Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus (2018)

One of the most ferocious, biting breakup songs of the decade, “Night Shift” is a showcase for Lucy Dacus’ vivid storytelling. The Virginia singer-songwriter spends the first half the song setting the scene of a crappy ex trying to halfway make amends, while Dacus’ character holds herself back from lashing out. She saves the visceral emotion for the second half, when the grungy guitars kick in and Dacus lets out a wounded howl, proudly stating that “I’ll never see you again/If I can help it.” “Night Shift” is a tour de force of indie rock songwriting that rewards patience.

#82: “Round and Round” by Ariel Pink (2010)

Much of indie-rock trickster Ariel Pink is a little too jokey and off-putting for my taste. But on his defining single “Round and Round,” he sprinkled in just the right touch of weirdness into a song that otherwise could’ve been a massive easy-listening hit in 1980.

The quirks throughout “Round and Round” — the woozy, off-kilter production, the lyrics that seemingly make no sense, Pink answering his phone in the middle of the song — are enjoyable. But the song’s true strength is in its chorus: a sudden punch of roller-disco AM-lite harmonies that cut through all the song’s oddities. It’s a double-shot of warmth and nostalgic beauty that feels comfortingly familiar, yet still thrilling.

Pink seemed to know the chorus was the key to “Round and Round,” as he makes the listener wait nearly two minutes for it. But its inevitable release is a truly magical moment.

#81: “4th of July, Philadelphia (SANDY)” by Cymbals Eat Guitars (2016)

Heavily referencing an early Bruce Springsteen classic in the title of a song that sounds nothing like Springsteen is quite the flex. But New Jersey indie-rockers Cymbals Eat Guitars pulled it off regardless.

“4th of July” is a clanging, anthemic scuzz-rock track about going through an existential crisis in the middle of Independence Day. While everyone else is making plans for the holiday, lead singer and guitarist Joseph D’Agostino is howling away, “HOW MANY UNIVERSES AM I ALIVE AND DEAD IN?!?” It’s one of the hardest-rocking mental breakdowns put on record this decade.

#80: “I Like It” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin (2018)

Rapping over extremely-obvious samples has been a time-honored tradition in hip-hop, from the Beastie Boys trading verses over The Beatles to Puff Daddy jacking the chorus from one ‘80s hit and the beat from another in the same song.

But Cardi B, and reggaeton superstars Bad Bunny and J Balvin sampling the boogaloo classic “I Like It Like That” was an inspired choice. The trio’s verses are all delicious fun, whether they’re bragging about eating halal in a Lamborghini or referencing a classic Lady Gaga hit.

But that sample, combined with a trap beat and Cardi’s swaggering charisma powering the chorus, is what makes “I Like It” a classic.

#79: “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles (2017)

Most former boy band members aim for a grown-and-sexy pop anthem once they go solo, whether its Jordan Knight, Justin Timberlake or Zayn Malik. But the standout member of the 2010s’ standout boy band, Harry Styles, chose took a sharp left turn into melodramatic classic rock instead. And it was a brilliant decision.

"Sign of the Times” is about as close to a classic Beatles or Queen power ballad we got this decade, with its clanging Western guitars, lush strings and thundering drum fills. Styles doesn’t have Freddie Mercury’s gravity-defying vocals, but his immense charisma powers the song anyways. It’s not 100% clear what “Sign of the Times” is about, but with its cinematic scope and cryptic lyrics, it’s likely about the apocalypse. And there’s not many superior songs to cry to while the bombs fall.

#78: “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn (2010)

The ultimate crying-on-the-dancefloor anthem, “Dancing On My Own” has already become a standard.

But Swedish alt-pop icon Robyn’s combination of icy synths and heartbroken, jealous lyrics can’t be replicated. Just ask Calum Scott, who slowed down the track into mushy, piano-ballad goop. Yikes.

What makes “Dancing On My Own” brilliant is its resiliency. It’s not a mopey song — Robyn is defiantly still grooving despite her crushed feelings. It’s a siren call for all those who have been hurt and know the only proper way to work out their emotions through cathartic dancing.

#77: “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap (2015)

“Trap Queen” is an incredibly fun hip-hop banger, but I don’t think I can extoll its virtues quite as well as Fetty Wap’s hype man at the end of the track. So I’ll let him speak:

“YOU HEAR MY BOY SOUNDIN’ LIKE A ZILLION BUCKS ON THE TRACK?! I GOT WHATEVER ON MY BOY!!”

Amen. It’s a real shame Fetty wasn’t able to keep his momentum rolling past a big 2015, but at least we’ll always have the magic dying-walrus energy of “Trap Queen.” HEY WHAT’S UP HELLOOOOO

#75: “R U Mine?” by Arctic Monkeys (2012)

"R U Mine?” offers Arctic Monkeys fans the best of both worlds. On one hand, you have their AM-era slinky swagger. But it also retains the furious rock-n-roll energy of their early days.

Alex Turner sounds like a smooth-talkin’ cowboy here, but the music is anything but smooth. It hits like a semi-truck, with a calvary-charge guitar riff and so many thunderous drum fills you’d think you were listening to the E Street Band.

[chelseawolfemusic]

Chelsea Wolfe Interview // MusicRadar.

Full article via MusicRadar

“I’ve been able to do some really cool stuff, despite being undefinable and an outcast,” Chelsea Wolfe tells us.

It’s a strange, especially cruel double-edged sword that the more different you are as a musician to anyone else around at the time, the harder you can become to ‘market’ and gain some reward for that talent. And as compelling as Chelsea Wolfe’s music is when you take the time to listen, and it really is incredible work, there’s no escaping that the Sacramento artist’s five albums to date explore wildly diverse ground that’s difficult to label in traditional terms.

Despite an undeniable but gradual rise that’s seen her solo band play on all manner of varied bills, she remains more a cult figure than we think she should be.

“I think it makes it more difficult for any artist to break through when you can’t be put into a simple box,” she tells us backstage in Bristol on a European tour supporting industrial behemoths Ministry.

“It’s easier to ‘sell’ someone if you can be like, ‘Oh she’s an acoustic singer-songwriter from California’ or whatever. But that’s not really all I am, I have all these different sides and influences, from doom-metal and old country, to trip-hop and I bring all those things together in my own way.

“I think it’s more difficult to get certain opportunities because some people just don’t know what to do with me, but at the same time it’s been really cool because since we can fit into a lot of different worlds we’ve got a lot of different opportunities to play at festivals we wouldn’t normally fit on, because someone saw something in us.”

Wolfe’s last two albums, 2015’s Abyss and 2017’s Kurt Ballou-produced Hiss Spun find her in an undeniably heavy era for an artist who also has a whole acoustic folk compilation under her belt (2012’s Unknown Rooms). They mix dark, dense and abrasive sounds with mesmerising tones and ethereal hooks to stunning effect on a journey into Wolfe’s world, with guest guitarists including Russian Circles’ Mike Sullivan and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen threading through the maelstrom.

There’s a lot to talk about and celebrate here, but the beginning feels the best place to start with Chelsea…

Going right back, were your musical tastes eclectic from a young age?

“Yes, definitely. Mainly because I grew up with a country musician as a father so there was old country and blues, from Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin - they were one of my early influences through my father. And then my mum had really good taste too; she’d listen to Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, so there’s a female folk and blues artist influence from her. I was lucky to have a lot of really cool influences.”

Vision quest

You’ve followed your instincts as a musician, but have there been times when that has been difficult?

“Not really because the label I’m on, Sargent House, are very supportive of what the artist wants to do and their vision. So there’s never been this push of, ‘You should try to do this’ or some radio-edit version. I’m not saying that’s out of the question because a lot of bands have done that and been successful doing that.

“I think I have such a lovely audience who are supportive of what I want to do, I don’t think they want me to become more commercial; they want me to just be me and that has become the biggest blessing as an artist because, as I’m writing, I feel the support coming at me from all sides and it makes me want to do my own thing and want to give the authentic version of myself as an artist.”

You were in a band before you went solo, did you have to strike out alone to find your identity?

“I think so. I started as a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar and my voice. Then I was putting together my first record that had folk songs and rock ’n’ roll songs and I met Jess Gowrie, who is my current drummer, and we formed the band called Red Host for a few years in Sacramento where we’re both from. And that was heavy rock, hard-hitting songs and it was a lot of fun, but I just knew I had so much more in me and I wanted to be able to do different genres and bring them into my own style. So I had to just fly free for a while to find my own voice and my own style.

“Jess and I unfortunately didn’t talk for a number of years but once we reunited a few years ago it was very clear our musical chemistry wasn’t finished and luckily we started writing songs together again and that became Hiss Spun.”

It seems like it’s been a more traditional, word-of-mouth thing with people discovering your music. Does it feel like it’s been quite a gradual build for you?

“Totally, yes. I mean we’re on year seven of pretty continual touring and that’s obviously a very old-school way to gather a following and we’ve seen the growth from small clubs to some cool theatres. So it’s definitely a gradual growth and a lot of people tell me, ‘Oh I heard about you from a friend or someone recommended it.’ I don’t get a lot of press that other musicians might get. I don’t really know why, maybe because I’m like this weirdo and they don’t really know what to do with me! But it’s been cool doing things in a more organic way.”

And those kinds of fans tend to stick with you, they’re often loyal…

“It seems like it. I see a lot of the same faces at shows and I recognize them from really early shows.”

Who have been influences on the heavier side of your music?

“Queens Of The Stone Age were a big influence for myself and my drummer, Jess. Bands that we’ve played with have ended up influencing us a lot; Swans, Sunn O))), Russian Circles even. I think playing with all these heavy bands is a reason I started going in a heavier direction for Abyss because after [third album] Pain Is Beauty I kind of imagined that I would go back to acoustic but then we were doing all these tours with heavier bands and I thought, ‘That looks like so much fun.’ I wanted to write some heavy songs that are fun to play and that I could really lose myself in.”

Is the acoustic guitar still part of your world?

“Oh yeah, I’ve actually written a ton of acoustic songs in the past year and I’ll probably focus on that next. I just follow my musical intuitions and instincts. For the last couple of records I’ve really wanted to make heavy music but now I think something in me is pulling me back to this more minimal acoustic folk, which are really kind of my origins as a musician.”

Abyss and Hiss Spun featured guest guitarists - with Russian Circles’ Mike Sullivan and then Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen. They obviously felt like the right players to contribute to those records, but how much direction did you give them or is there a trust there from the start?

“I think it’s a bit of both. Somehow it comes together in the right way where I know this is the person I want to play on the record with these songs, and then some of the songs I’ll be like, ‘Do your thing and let’s see what happens.’ But there will be a song like 16 Psyche where I really left space for Troy and I knew that I wanted him to write a big lead part over the breakdown/bridge, whatever you want to call it, towards the end of the song. It was kind of a back and forth situation where he would play something and I would say, ‘Focus on that part.’ It was really cool to have a great player put so much trust in me as I was putting so much trust in him.”

Flooring it

On Hiss Spun there’s also more of a band-in-a-room dynamic than ever before, is that reflective of the creative process?

“Yes, I wanted this one to be more collaborative and more as a band. So we did a lot of jamming together, Jess and Ben [Chisholm, bass player and guitar] and I. Also we’d bring in different lead guitar players to add some flourishes. But a lot of it was just the three of us jamming out. The traditional rock ’n’ roll process of songwriting, and also Ben wrote a lot of the guitar parts. There’s more of his vibe and his influence there, which is cool.”

Do you find in that context there are more happy accidents with things that happen in the moment?

“Yes, totally. I can completely understand why there are people who just jam in their garage with friends and don’t ever play shows or anything. That’s really the most fun part - having some drinks and jamming with your friends. Coming up with these cool ideas. That’s even more fun to me than playing live so, yes, I think a lot of happy accidents come out of that.”

Are some of what sound like electronics on Abyss and Hiss Spun actually guitar? Do things start to blur between those worlds?

“Probably yes, because Carrion Flowers, a song that I would consider to be an electronic song, is actually a bass part that’s run through some pedals into speakers, recorded from there and then run through even more pedals. So we kind of make our own electronic sounds and we like to sample things a lot.

“Even just upstairs there’s a crazy old fan that’s making some really cool patterns so I recorded that and I’m sure I’ll use that in a song later. Ben and I are always collecting weird sounds that we’ll put into MIDI or Ableton, twist it around or top little parts of it and make a totally new beat.”

What’s the strangest sample you’ve ever captured?

“I think the strangest one so far is probably the track Scrape, which is the final song on Hiss Spun and the final song in the set too. Our friend was working at a recycling centre and I think we asked him to take some samples of weird sounds. So he sent us the sound of the tractor scraping bottles up off the floor and it just had that natural rhythm and that ended up becoming the basis for Scrape. I know people might not imagine using the floor of the recycling centre but it really worked out well.”

There’s this relationship between beautiful and quite unsettling sounds in your music, is that difficult to balance, or is it just subconscious for you now?

“I think it’s become subconscious for me. It’s something I’ve always done, whether it’s putting a prettier melody like a softer vocal part over something super-heavy, I think it makes the front of house sound guys’ jobs intensely frustrating because you have this wall of sound with this whispery vocal over it but I don’t know, it’s just what I do.”

[earwaxinggibbous]

Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2018

As I geared up to make the list of hits for 2018, I was prepared for difficulty, and I wasn’t wrong. Hence why there are a few little cheats here and there. Really anything that even had the potential to be a hit got on this list because the Hot 100 was fucking barren and I figure I’d rather give some exposure to some good artists that didn’t get what they deserved.

I do discuss alcohol/drug use briefly in my number 9 + 6 and abuse in my number 4. Let’s get this shit on the road.

10. Mine - Bazzi

This song is dumb. And I love it.

Mine by Bazzi, who no doubt will not show up on the charts next year, is a song that all of you know even if you think you don’t, because it’s the one with the memes.

You so! Fuckin! Precious! When you! Smiiiiile!

Yeah, it’s that one.

There’s not much to say about this one. It’s a quick and easy listen at only a little over 2 minutes. Bazzi has a nice enough voice, and the production manages to stand on its own. Honestly the reason it’s here is because the lyrics are adorable.

It feels very teenage, but not in the obnoxious way that Lucid Dreams is. It’s just very innocent despite the second line being about hitting it from the back. It’s a kind of innocence I can enjoy mostly unironically.

Like, whatever man. Just enjoy life.

9. Betrayed - Lil Xan

So I wasn’t actually sure when this song charted. I believe it was either late 2017 or early 2018, possibly with some crossover, but I’m counting it because I love this song so much.

Betrayed actually shares a lot of similarities with Juice WRLD’s Lucid Dreams. They were both towards the bottom on each respective list, they both have videos made by Cole Bennet, and they both have a sneaky anti-drug message.

Ironic considering his name is Lil Xan. Also I lied it’s not very sneaky at all. Which is good, if you’re gonna be anti-drug then just fucking do it. The beat is chill, the bars are chill, it’s all super chill. That’s probably in part due to the fact that Lil Xan has a super calming voice. This is weed music. Like Car Seat Headrest. And good weed music can be enjoyed when you’re sober, which Betrayed can be because it just sounds nice.

A good chunk of Betrayed is about the pitfalls of the rap game, and how suddenly everyone turns on you and wants your money, which is kind of neurotic but not entirely inaccurate.

This was actually the plot of a Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake song called Holy Grail from a few years back. And I hate to say it but this song does it way better, because it’s not trying to make fame out to be some horrible demon priestess who’s sucking your soul out of your ass, but rather, more of a lifestyle with very different complications.

Which is what it is.

So Jay-Z got outdone by a 12-year-old with face tats named Lil Xan, and if I heard about that my ego would be deeply, deeply bruised.

The only reason it isn’t higher is because, uh.

Oof, Lil Xan. Come on now.

8. King’s Dead - Jay Rock ft. Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake

So a lot of people actually didn’t like this song. Which... I kind of get.

Also apparently this was on the Black Panther soundtrack. I never saw that movie, but a lot of the lyrics on this, at least according to lyric genius, relate to that movie. Which I guess is why I have no clue what it’s about other than the average rap music cliches. The only thing I knew about King’s Dead for god knows how long was this gif of Kendrick eating corn in a palm tree.

I feel like the best argument against this song (other than Future’s high-pitched sampling of Slob On My Knob that made me lose my shit) is that there’s nothing really special about it. I mean yeah, Kendrick has a voice that’s smooth like butter, but King’s Dead has a generic beat and bars that just don’t stand out.

But I don’t know. I just love it.

This is just a nice fun song to chill out to. I can put it on, throw myself into bed, and let the cares of the day shloff off of my body as Kendrick whispers to me in the language of the ancient ones. This is nowhere near his best work, not even remotely close to it. All it is is nice and small and easy to listen to without being completely boring.

Maybe I also just like it because it’s been forever since a rap song really sounded like one. This is partially the fault of Future, who is on this song, and doing the same shit he usually does, but at least the rest of the song sounds like words. It feels like it’s been a whole decade since rap music wasn’t just an autotuned jumble, and while I’m easier on mumble-rap than most, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss good old fashioned regular rap.

Regardless of whether it’s blind nostalgia or some level of actual quality, I enjoy King’s Dead for what it is. It may just be a rock and not a diamond, but it’s my rock and I love it.

7. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes

So like, what the fuck happened with Shawn Mendes? He just kind of got really good all of a sudden. Like when every genre, every artist, every newcomer and every single is shitting the bed, it’s Shawn Mendes of all people to bring it home. That’s like if Charlie Puth turned out to be the savior of music. It’s like if Chingy developed into a rap legend. And this song, In My Blood, is about something we all wanna do! Giving up.

Okay, so that’s not exactly what it’s about. It’s about the feeling of wanting to give up, but refusing to, in a very chronological way. With the verses representing the low points and the chorus representing the swell of energy that forces one to get back on their feet. It’s an incredibly well put-together song where Shawn’s voice is actually put to good use instead of him gargling pus like he did on Treat You Better. I’d be lying if I said he didn’t emote wonderfully on this.

I haven’t heard any of the other singles he’s released around this song, but I’m definitely interested in doing so because In My Blood is an experience, kind of in the same way that like, a really good Panic! at the Disco song is. It just punches you repeatedly. You ever been punched by a song? It feels great. I wish more songs would punch me.

In a lot of ways In My Blood is also nostalgic for me, since it brings me back to an era where I actually got excited about pop music because it was important to me some-fucking-how. And I don’t mean like, I was interested in pop like I am right now. When I was littler my parents basically raised me on old alternative music and jazz, and while I definitely enjoyed it I had literally no idea what other kids at school listened to. The first pop song I remember hearing was Pokerface by Lady GaGa, I was on the school bus, and it sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before. Over time my sister began playing the radio so that her friends at her new school would stop goofing on her for not knowing any pop artists, and hearing all this new music was kind of an experience. Of course after awhile we both moved into individualized tastes and neither of us really listen to the radio unless it’s during the holidays, but hearing In My Blood somehow reminds me of a time when being a hit actually meant something.

It’s a song where you put it on and it just owns the room despite its minimalism, and with tons of easy listening alt-crap hitting the stations nowadays, it’s nice, albeit surreal, to know that Shawn Mendes is the one who gives a shit.

6. Genius - LSD

In case you didn’t know, LSD is the combined efforts of rapper Labrinth, singer Sia and producer Diplo. I hadn’t actually heard of this group until pretty recently, and I wish I had because if you know me, you know about my wretched obsession with Sia. Maybe I’m too forgiving, but I can’t remember a single bad track she’s put out. And Genius is no exception.

Lyrically this song’s a bit lacking, despite the title. But soundwise it sticks like gum, with a layered production. I always say that they should have Sia work with one of these sing-rappers, so having it finally happen is proof that god might be listening to me.

It’s like bubblegum for your brain, it’s sweet, it tastes good, it’s fun and it sticks. Even after only one listen I couldn’t get the tune out of my head. And god knows I just want the charts to be fun for once. No, I don’t think this song charted, which is an absolute shame. LSD should absolutely have the star power to hit the top 100, but I guess this just wasn’t a good year for them.

Regardless, I have heard that LSD plans to do a full project, and after listening to the rest of their short album I am more than excited. The only reason this isn’t higher up is that, judging by the group name I was expecting it to be way more of an acid trip soundwise. It’s definitely hard to compare LSD’s Genius to any other type of pop in recent years, but I feel like that’s moreso because Diplo and company have taken all sorts of elements from all sorts of pop music and sneakily fused them together.

Regardless, Genius is a highly enjoyable listen. Sia’s at top performance as per usual, Labrinth sounds really nice beside her and Diplo’s production is solid. Also I seriously recommend the music video. It’s super weird. I wish animated music videos were more common with pop, to be honest.

5. Better Now - Post Malone

I almost feel like I’ve sinned putting a Post Malone song above a Kendrick Lamar song, but god do I love Better Now.

The Post Malone conversation is still very much underway, with a lot of people saying they hated Psycho because it was boring (which I can get even though I don’t agree) and that they hated Jackie Chan because it was just really really stupid. But, much like Candy Paint, I have yet to hear anyone say they dislike Better Now. And I do honestly believe that he hit it out of the park on this one.

This one’s sort of the reverse of Genius. It has pretty basic trap production, but really nice lyrics. Possibly building on the story from I Fall Apart, though with a slightly more mature outlook, Post talks about an ex-girlfriend who he misses, trying to drown his feelings in alcohol, drugs and expensive stuff in the wake of the relationship.

A total bummer, but Post sells it pretty well.

Like damn. That’s a detail right there.

I mean, I could argue that nobody has a specific drawer for socks they don’t like, but who cares really.

Anyway, unlike I Fall Apart, which was a turn-off for a lot of people because it felt spiteful and juvenile, Better Now doesn’t really place the blame on Post or his ex, which is a much more realistic scenario. Because really, his ex isn’t at fault for no longer being in love with him, but Post isn’t at fault for pining. He’s only human. Judging by the lyrics, the story is that Post was dumped for being a druggie in this song.

Though Lyric Genius also argues this is a reference to the death of Lil Peep, who was close personal friends with Post Malone in real life. If this song is somehow in a weird roundabout way an ode to Lil Peep, honestly it does feel like it’s a good send-up to him from another rapper. Like yeah, a love song might seem weird as a tribute to a dead friend, but it definitely does feel like a mournful, sad song about longing for a close person who’s gone for the long run.

Whether this is a tribute to Lil Peep or just a breakup song, it definitely carries the weight of the emotions, partly since Post just generally sounds sad all the time. And in a year full of pissy break-up songs, this is the one that hits home more than any other for me. If Post is going off of past experience, it shows, and if he isn’t he’s just a really good actor I guess.

4. Freaky Friday - Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown

This song is the bane of my fucking existence.

Why do I laugh at this? Why do I laugh at jokes about Lil Dicky having a small penis still? Why am I losing my shit at the idea that a white guy in a black guy’s body would immediately wonder if he can say the n-word? Why am I, a grown man with presumably mature tastes, going ‘hee hee hoo hoo’ over the phrase “I’m DJ Khaled! Why am I yelling?” And why the fuck, in the year 2018, am I actively enjoying a Chris Brown song?

Lil Dicky I have a soft spot for. We’re both Jews, we’re both stupid, we both look dead inside in every photograph taken of us. We’re basically like long lost twin brothers. Plus I do think he’s a skilled rapper, with his greatest track easily being Professional Rapper featuring Snoop Dogg, and if it had been my choice, that song would’ve been his first big hit. But no, it had to be Freaky Friday. A song that, for all accounts and purposes, is about as funny as an early Your Favorite Martian song, and yet still makes me roll into a screaming fit laughing my ass off.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m over the Chris Brown drama just because there’s plenty of worse artists charting right now. Forgetting it would be an offense to everyone involved. Do I think he’s probably matured since? Maybe. But that doesn’t excuse or explain away what he did. But for me to pretend I don’t enjoy this song would be disingenuous, and it breaks my heart to actually enjoy a Chris Brown song. In 20-fucking-18.

Everyone hates this song. And they’re valid, honestly. I just like the chorus, maybe? I don’t know. It’s hardly Lil Dicky’s best work, but fuck me. Of course I had to be the one suffering with the curse of enjoying Lil Dicky’s Freaky Friday to the point that I put it above a ton of songs that are probably objectively better, all because I laugh at dick jokes and love a catchy chorus.

But I will give it credit, this is the first popular comedy song in a long time I’ve been able to get down to. Selfie and What Does The Fox Say made me wanna scoop my eyes out with a melon baller, but of course the fucking Chris Brown comedy song makes me shriek in body-wracking laughter as if I’ve never heard a joke before.

It’s been at LEAST a year since I felt this shitty for enjoying a song, but that’s life I guess. Just enjoying bad music by bad people for bad reasons.

3. High Hopes - Panic! at the Disco

How is it that we’re having a Panic! at the Disco hit in 2018? Whatever, I’m not mad.

I mean, come on. A swelling Brendon Urie anthem about finally being able to achieve your dreams and shit? That’s really all I need on a bad day, isn’t it. Thanks 2018.

I don’t even remember if this song has good production or not. It’s really loud. Everything is loud. Do you think I care if it sounds good? I mean, Brendon sounds good, but like. Biz Markie’s Just A Friend fills me with emotion and it sounds like it’s being sung by a donkey. My standards are not high. Maybe I’d need higher standards to not like this song.

Frankly, I don’t care if the production is bad. Because this song is just good mood music, and I like that it’s loud. I want Brendon to scream in my ear about having high hopes. Do you think I care how it sounds?

No but really. It’s a perfectly well-built song, Brendon performs well on it. Bless this shit though. If there’s anything that represents hope in my mind, it’s Brendon Urie skittering up the side of a building while singing about having high hopes and his mama and whatever whatever. In a year full of dour break-up songs and people dying and abusers getting famous, all you can really have is high hopes. And that’s all there is to it.

2. Neva Lavd Yah! - Dusty Ray Bottoms

Can we all agree RuPaul’s Drag Race is kind of a hack show at this point? I mean, Season 10 was a disaster and so far AS4 has been a disaster too. I’m not even sure why I still watch it at this point.

Anyway, this is kind of a cheat. Neva Lavd Yah! charted on Billboard LGBT, and actually charted pretty high. Not the actual Hot 100, but do you think I care anymore?

So we’re all mad that rock music is dead, and that the only remnants we have of it is Imagine Dragons and other similar garbage. But don’t fret (unless it’s on a guitar) because Dusty Ray Bottoms, queen of my heart, is here to solve that problem. Full electric guitar and drums. No autotune. Just pure Dusty Ray on the track here to kick ass.

I guess Neva Lavd Yah! is a generic “fuck the haters” anthem, but for once I actually believe it. Maybe it’s because it’s being sung by a 50-foot-tall gay man with dots all over his face. Maybe it’s just because, with every drag queen doing techno music, Dusty Ray has done something completely different. God knows I was sick of every drag queen doing overproduced electronica about nothing at all.

Neva Lavd Yah! isn’t polished or clean. It’s screaming and loud and full of passion. Sometimes you’re just a 50-foot gay who wants to yell, sometimes you’re a 5-foot gay who wants to yell. Maybe you don’t feel like yelling right now, but you’ve probably been in that mood before. Neva Lavd Yah! is for when you wanna chill in a garage with an electric guitar and write songs and then scream with your shitty garage band and it’s the 90′s and you’re gay.

Damn right.

And before we move forward,

let’s hit those honorable mentions.

I Like It - Cardi B ft. Bad Bunny and J Balvin

This song really did almost get on the list, and I mean it was like a baby dick’s length away. I almost feel bad that I let Mine on instead. Cardi I am so sorry.

Nice For What - Drake

This was the only good song Drake released this year, and while Drake talking about “strong women” on the same album as I’m Upset seems like bullshit, I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t at least kind of a banger.

Now or Never - Blair St. Clair

This was the only other big drag queen hit I remember this year. It was released in the wake of Blair St. Clair coming out about a sexual assault, and while I do think it’s an empowering song, I don’t like the way it sounds that much.

Pray For Me - The Weeknd ft. Kendrick Lamar

How I liked King’s Dead more than this I can’t even explain to you. The beat on Pray For Me rocks my tight ass though. Plus let’s be honest, The Weeknd and Kendrick are a fucking dream team.

I Love It - Kanye West ft. Lil Pump

I can’t hate this. Fucking look at it. They’re in roblox costumes!

Famous Prophets (Stars) - Car Seat Headrest

Not a hit, which is the only thing that kept it off of here. Consider Song of the Summer by Remo Drive, Humanity by Gorillaz and When You Die by MGMT also in this spot.

On to number one, and if you know me you probably know it already.

1. Kamikaze - Eminem

Listen. I don’t care if this didn’t chart. I don’t care if it didn’t get close. I don’t give two fifths of a fuck if Eminem isn’t as good as he used to be. I don’t give a single rat’s ass.

Because I fucking love Kamikaze.

(The song.)

The album was fine, I wasn’t huge on the whole “call out everyone” angle it took. Sure sometimes it landed, but other times, like with the Tyler the Creator diss, it was completely pointless and kind of petty.

But the title song? It bangs.

The lyrics are good, obviously, it’s an Eminem song and he hasn’t been struggling with lyrics since... Revival I guess. The production on Kamikaze is interesting, the chorus is catchy. I just love it. It puts me in a good mood for reasons I cannot explain using words of the English language.

Maybe I just love Eminem too much. But in a year of stolid depression like 2018, all I wanted was for my favorite rapper Eminem to say “fuck” and yell a lot and just be kind of motivational in his weird way. And he did it. And I understand if people don’t enjoy Kamikaze (the song or the album) but I just can’t not love it, it makes me so excited every time I hear that intro. I feel like a child almost.

I saw Eminem live for the first time this year at Governor’s Ball. It was an experience. My feet were killing me because to get good spots, my sister and I had to sit through Chvrches. (Didn’t like them very much.) It was loud and crowded. It started raining, I was cold as shit and tired and this enormous drunk guy in a wifebeater nearly elbowed my head clean off of my shoulders just due to a lack of spacial awareness. And I didn’t even give a shit until it was over.

The music ended, and I realized I was freezing my ass off. And that’s what good music does to a guy I guess. And being able to download a new, really good Eminem song was like capturing that moment in a bottle. A bottle of white boy spite, but a good bottle nonetheless.

Of course I’m biased. God knows if this song is actually better than something like In My Blood or Genius, but I love this song too much to put it any lower than number one.

Whenever I need motivation or I’m just really pissed, this song is here for me to listen to, so I can lose my shit by the side of a man who I’ve literally begun referring to as my dad at this point. And that’s just what I want. A song that I can feel next to. A song that can feel with me. And as good as some of these other songs are, I don’t feel with them like I do with Kamikaze.

See you next year, I guess.

[streetdancerproject]

My Last DJ Set for The Jam Cellar Is a History of The Jam Cellar

Last Tuesday, I put together a playlist that told the Jam Cellar's story as I have experienced it over the past 15 years.

Chant of the Groove, Fats Waller: Typically after announcements, we open the second half of the night with a line dance or a jam. I had songs for the Shim Sham and the Big Apple at the ready, but I didn’t want to turn my set into a line dance-a-polooza. I opted for the Tranky Do with the song that Jam Cellar instructors have preferred as an alternative to the Dipsy Doodle by Ella Fitzgerald.

Also, The Tranky Do was always more of a Jam Cellar thing. Way back in the early 00’s when Mike Faltesek was living here, he decided to piece together the original choreography. Up until that point, people were doing a version taught by Frankie Manning. Falty had noticed that the version in the Spirit Moves documentary seemed a little different and went on a mission to find any and all evidence of it on film. Eventually he was able to piece it together from a variety of film sources mostly featuring Al Minns and Leon James. This is a video of him alongside Frida Segerdahl the weekend they taught it at a workshop he organized and called “The Toe Jam” at the old Jam Cellar location. (This demo was not at the Jam Cellar though)

Well, Git It!, Tommy Dorsey. As I said before, we usually do a jam or a line dance after announcement, but I did both because I had to play this song, and there was no way people would not jam to it. The much faster version of this song was the one used in the landmark Mad Dog routine, of which all the original JC founders were a part of. That's a pretty lengthy story by itself, but fortunately, I have written about it previously as part of my history of the modern Lindy Hop scene.

The Primordial Ooze

This section of songs served as a quick tour of the musical landscape leading up to the founding of The Jam Cellar.

C Jam Blues, Lincoln Center Orchestra. I’m so confident that this is probably the most played song ever in the modern Lindy Hop scene, that I’m not even going to bother researching it.

Swing Lover, Indigo Swing. Icons of the neo-swing era from the late 1990s. The irony is that this can be technically considered vintage music now. Also, yes, I did cut out that weird spoken word bit at the beginning.

Watch The Birdie, Gene Krupa. On the short list of iconic Hollywood style songs. Another version was featured in the much less famous Hellzapoppin clip.

Alright, O.K., You Win / Everyday (I Have the Blues), Barbara Morrison. Another overplayed classic representing the groove period, but still a great live album recorded at another legendary Lindy Hop venue in San Francisco: The 9:20 Special.

Inspiration

The next set paid homage to the modern musicians that have greatly influenced and supported The Jam Cellar.

Sweet Eileen, Blue Sky 5. Craig Gildner has been a long time stalwart of the DC scene and a friend to The Jam Cellar since before the beginning.

Massachusetts (Live), Gordon Webster. Before starting her own band, JC co-founder Naomi Uyama was featured on a number of live Gordon Webster recordings.

Black Coffee, The Careless Lovers. Friend of the Jam Cellar, Mike Faltesek, went on to play and lead several bands of his own.

Someone’s Rockin My Dreamboat, The Boilermaker Jazz Band. The Jam Cellar has benefited greatly from its relationship with The Boilermakers. They were the band that opened the first night at the new location in the Columbia Heights neighborhood from the actual cellar location in Vienna, Virginia. More importantly, there's no way to quantify how the collective knowledge and understanding of Rich Strong, Marc Kotishon, Ernest McCarty, Jennifer McNulty, and especially Paul Cosentino has filtered throughout the world by way of the international instructors of the Jam Cellar, but it is incredibly significant. In regards to this specific song, I remember The Boilermakers first trying to figure it out at one of their gigs in DC because they heard it from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns. This represents the contributions of the vibrant New Orleans music scene to the Lindy Hop community. JC co-founder Andy Reid currently resides and plays music there on the regular.

Storming the Air Waves

About 10 years ago, I was invited to guest DJ on the live streaming radio channel that Yehoodi.com sponsored. I turned around and asked if we could feature all the DJs of The Jam Cellar. A total of 10 DJs submitted their favorite songs which we turned into a 4 hour radio show.

Dinah, Cab Calloway  & His Orchestra. The file I got for this song got corrupted, so it cuts out the last few seconds, but I had to play it because Dinah is supposed to be The Jam Cellar’s theme song . . .  

Opening JC Theme, The Hot Club de Jam Cellar.  . . .which is why they re-worked it into this version. It has the distinction of actually being recorded live at The Jam Cellar in one of the spare rooms with a band completely made up of JC staff.

Spinnin’ The Webb Chick Webb & His Orchestra.

Yacht Club Swing, Fats Waller. The live version. Not to be confused with the not as good studio version.

Sister Kate, Muggsy Spanier.

Dark Eyes, Fats Waller. These last few songs are a sampling of what we submitted for the show. Dark Eyes for some reason was the most popular song amongst the DJs. It’s such a moody and unusual song for a swing dance, but that’s part of the reason why I think people love it.

Live! By The Jam Cellar

The next couple of songs were used in signature performances by Jam Cellar instructors.

Jump through the Window, Roy Eldridge. A lot of people like to hate on this song because it inspires everyone to do the claps. However, can you think of another performance that has introduced such an indelible mark on a song that it's hard to imagine the song without them almost a decade later?  Usually the music influences the dance, but this is a case where it goes the opposite way. People who have never seen this performance do the claps at the breaks to this day. Embrace the claps.

I Could Write A Book (Live(1963/Copenhagen)), Sarah Vaughan. Not as famous as the last one, but one of my favorites from Naomi and her soon to be (at the time) husband Peter. I'm also going to take partial credit for this because I gave Naomi this song (along with a ton of other music) when she moved away. (Although I'm actually not sure if she realizes that.) My favorite part is seeing Ernest from the Boilermakers just grooving up there on stage. I normally hate it when musicians camp out on stage during performances, but considering the history between Ernest, Naomi and the rest of The Jam Cellar, I'm a fan.

The Finale

I actually planned my whole set to lead up into this last stretch of songs.

Just Kiddin’ Around, Artie Shaw & His Orchestra. Except this one. Honestly, I just threw this one in at the last second to eat some time, but it is one of my own personal favorite dance songs.

On Revival Day, Laverne Baker. A local favorite. Generally I try to avoid drawing religious parallels to the dance scene because at the end of the day, they’re not really the same thing even if some people feel that way. In relation to this song at least, I like the themes it invokes about the hopefulness and joyfulness of being together. That's not very surprising since it invokes a lot of strong imagery of life in black churches and black culture in general from which Lindy Hop is very indebted to.

No Regrets, Billie Holiday. My favorite Billie Holiday song. Shout out to Mike Marcotte for introducing it to me too long ago. The lyrics are spot on for this occasion.

Shiny Stockings, Count Basie & His Orchestra. When I started putting this playlist together, this was the first song that I put on it, and I knew it also had to be the last one played. If Jumping at The Woodside is Lindy Hop’s national anthem, then Shiny Stockings is its national hymn.

The Encore

Just One Look, Doris Troy. I was totally unprepared for an encore, so I had to scramble. I probably should have seen this coming, but I overestimated lindy hoppers’ collective ability to figure out a social cue. I defaulted to one of my favorite “end of the night, everyone go home” songs.

Dinah, James P. Johnson. Of course someone said that we should swing the eff out to end this. I thought about Woodside or Lindy Hoppers Delight, but this song has a very specific story attached to it.

At the end of the night of one of the first times I DJ’d at The Jam Cellar, I was messing around, playing random songs as the JC crew cleaned up. I decided to play a really hot song that I had found recently, and what came next felt like a lost clip from Hellzapoppin.

Everyone dropped their brooms and trash bags and started a solo jam. This was 2003, solo jazz was not a thing in the Lindy Hop scene, but the Jam Cellar was at the bleeding edge of the community’s understanding of the dance. This was mostly due to the fact that several of the world’s best dancers were living in DC at the time.

I'm sure it is a gross exaggeration to say this was the greatest solo jam I have ever witnessed, especially after seeing some of the best since then. There is no video. Just my increasingly nostalgic memory. 

The song ended, people exchanged high 5’s and they finished closing up. Soon, some of them would be headlining workshops and winning major competitions all over the world. Some of them were already at that point. Others decided to follow different life paths that. But at that moment, it was just a Tuesday night.

This is actually not the song I played that night. It was a  version of Charleston by a band led by Sidney Bechet, but it is on the same James P. Johnson compilation CD as this version of Dinah. These two songs are closely associated to me by sheer organizational chance. Plus it seemed more appropriate with Dinah being the Jam Cellar's theme song, even if few people remember that.

Epilogue

I suppose at it’s worse, The Jam Cellar allowed people to be a little too self indulgent like I am being here. It’s one of the pitfalls of having a nearly unrestrained creative sandbox. However, at its best, it was a place where people could come together to inspire and be inspired; to challenge and be challenged. Sometimes it was through creative performances, other times it may have been with difficult conversations, but most of the time it was with 2-3 minute dances.

The future of The Jam Cellar is uncertain. On Tuesday, they announced a summer break. The website was recently updated with a banner calling it an "indefinite break." To be honest, even if it doesn't come back, I won't miss it. I don’t miss trekking out to Vienna, Virginia to a basement in a strip mall. And I don’t even think I’ll miss the mansion/sauna in the heart of a changing nation's capital. To me The Jam Cellar wasn’t just a location.  

I did the math, and I can confidently say that I’ve spent over 90% of my Tuesday nights at some form of The Jam Cellar over the past 15 years. I've seen people who were moving away break down into tears knowing that they may never return. We've celebrated engagements and consoled divorcees. The room was packed as people took turns telling their favorite Frankie Manning stories the Tuesday after he passed away.

What all these experiences have in common is that they are about people. Folks. Community. I will miss is having a place to go every Tuesday night, knowing that I’ll see people that I want to be with. People who understand some of the fundamental principles of the dance that have not changed since it was born on the dance floors in Harlem almost 100 years ago. While there is plenty of room for individual creativity, you should not lose sight of your partner or the people around you. That's the main thing of value that we should take away from The Jam Cellar that should be carried over into the next chapter of whatever happens next.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 8 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for “The Sanctuary.”

After the hugely nostalgic trip to Ni’Var in “Unification III,” you’d think that Discovery might be briefly done with a ton of callbacks to previous eras of Trek. With Episode 8, “Sanctuary,” that guess is partially correct. When Burnham and Book hit-up Book’s home planet of Kwejian, the vast majority of what happens on that planet doesn’t have roots in old Trek canon, because, Kwejian — at least for Burnham — is a strange new world. That said, the rest of the episode still has more than a handful of references to the Final Frontier that came before. Here’s every Easter egg and reference we caught in Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 8, “Sanctuary.”

Prime Directive Violations

Admiral Vance tells Burnham and Sura that “The Chain has turned Prime Directive violations into an art form.” What he means is that basically, the Emerald Chain is contacting pre-warp planets, and exploiting those inhabitants for whatever they can get. In some ways, this makes the Emerald Chain kind of like the Terran Empire of the Mirror Universe. It also echoes the fight between the Kelpiens and the Ba’ul in Discovery Season 2.

A Picard-era Starfleet Badge?

When Oysraa (Janet Kidder) is revealed at the top of the episode, we see her holding an old Starfleet badge on the planet Hunhau, last seen in the episode “Scavengers.” In that episode, we saw Michael sifting through other old badges. It’s unclear which era this Starfleet badge comes from but it seems to be a version of the styles worn in Star Trek: Picard.

Janet Kidder as Osyraa

Does Janet Kidder seem familiar to you? Well, it’s not an Easter egg to notice an actress that seems familiar, but for genre fans, Janet Kidder had recurring roles in both The Man in the High Castle and the time-travel series Continuum. She also bears a striking resemblance to Lois Lane actress Margot Kidder, and that’s because Janet Kidder is Margot’s niece.  

Jonathan Frakes is about to tie his TNG directorial record

This is the second episode this season to be directed by Jonathan Frakes, the previous one being “People of Earth.” Frakes is slated to direct one more episode this season, Episode 12, “The Good of the People.” That makes six episodes of Discovery directed by Frakes since 2017. If you count the two episodes he directed of Star Trek: Picard, this means Frakes has now directed the same number of episodes of “New Trek” as he directed episodes of The Next Generation. To be clear, he also directed two feature films (First Contact and Insurrection) and three episodes each of Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Still, assuming Frakes directs episodes of Discovery Season 4, Picard Season 2, and Strange New Worlds, we’re probably like a year away from him starting to overtake his ‘90s-era Trek directorial record!

Brandon Schultz and Kenneth Lin

The writers of this episode are Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz. This appears to be Kenneth Lin’s first Discovery episode. But, fans should already be aware of Brandom Schulz. Last year, he wrote the gorgeous Short Treks episode, “The Girl Who Made the Stars.” 

“Hit It”

Saru is working on his catchphrase to give orders in a cool way and having a rough time. Having Captain Pike say “Hit it” was first introduced in Discovery Season 2’s debut episode, “Brother.” But, it should be noted that Pike said “Engage!” in the TOS pilot  “The Cage.” Captain Freeman faced a similar debacle in Lower Decks earlier this year. 

Verubin Nebula 

Stamets and Adira have tracked the origin of the Burn to the “Verubin Nebula.” This appears to be a new Nebula in the Trek canon, but it sure sounds like an old one, doesn’t it?

Federation Distress Signal 

When Saru asks Adira to isolate aspects of the music in the nebula, they find a Federation distress signal. This sound-effect sounds a little bit like a computer alert from TNG-era. (You can listen to a sample here.) But, the way in which they decipher the sound information is a little bit like the way Uhura and Spock break-down the alien probe signal in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

What lost ship is in there? Who knows! 

Boatswain’s whistle

Speaking of audio Easter eggs, when Saru enters the bridge early in the episode we hear the three-note Boatswain’s whistle. This has origins in actual naval history, but for Trek fans, this sound effect is most famously associated with The Original Series. 

The Viridian/viridian

Osyraa’s warship is called “The Viridian” This could be a reference to the Star Trek Generation planet Veridian III, the place where Captain Kirk was eventually killed. That said the word “viridian” mostly refers to a certain shade of green, and the Orions are well, you know kind of…viridian in color.

Adira’s identity crisis echoes Ezri Dax

Adira tells Stamets they’re having a hard time figuring out which host’s personality is the most dominant. This echoes exactly what Ezri Dax went through in Deep Space Nine Season 7, when, like Adira, she was given a Trill symbiont on short notice. 

Georgiou’s “flashback” is back

Much like we saw in “Scavengers,” Georgiou experiences her Mirror Universe flashback again. However, it should be noted that it sounds like she’s not saying “son,” like we previously thought, but instead saying “San.” This references a character mentioned in passing in a Discovery tie-in novel called Die Standing. Relevantly, this book also has Georgiou crossing paths with a previous host of Dax; Emony.

Orion slavery

As Osyraa mocks Saru and the history of Kelpien enslavement, he counters by saying, “If memory serves, the Orions were once enslaved themselves.” Using the phrase “If memory serves,” is a sideways reference to Spock, but it also references the Discovery episode of the same name from Season 2. But, is Saru right? Well, yes, from a certain point of view. In the TOS-era, it was generally assumed that the Orions dealt in “animal women” as slaves. This is where we get the famous “green Orion” dancing woman, in “The Cage.” However, the Enterprise episode “Bound,” inverted this assumption, and revealed that Orion women were using an illusion of slavery to actually control the Orion Crime Syndicate. So, although Saru was right, he was also wrong. When Oysraa says: “My ancestors knew that power is virtue and that there is no nobility in suffering,” she’s likely referring to the faux-appearance that women were enslaved, when in fact, they were the ones running the entire Orion “government.” 

Photon torpedoes 

Book mentions that Oysraa is using “photon torpedoes” to bombard the surface of Kwejian. Does this seem to imply the Emerald Chain has old-school tech? Shouldn’t photon torpedoes be outdated? 

Read more

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Detmer manual control references…Riker?

When Detmer decides to go “full-manual control” of Book’s ship, she suddenly has a couple of nifty joysticks. This seems to be a reference to the “manual steering column” on the Enterprise from Star Trek: Insurrection. In that film, Riker flew the Enterprise much the same way Detmer flies Book’s ship here. Guess who directed both that movie and this episode? Yep, you already know; Jonathan Frakes!

“You both are empaths”

Turns out, Book and his species aren’t space wizards, but instead, as Burnham says, they are empaths. This is a wink to the TOS episode “The Empath” but also, to the most famous empath in Trek history, Deanna Troi. Burnham also mentions that the Discovery will “amplify” the empathic signals of Book and Kyheem, “just like we did on Kaminar.” This references the Discovery Season 2 episode “The Sound of Thunder.”

The Emerald Chain is running out of dilithium 

Thanks to Ryn (Noah Averbach-Katz), the big revelation at the end of the episode is a pretty big game-changer. The evil Emerald Chain is low on dilithium, which means it will be harder for them to move their ships around. Because Discovery isn’t really relying on dilithium anymore, this could change everything in the rest of the season. 

Ever since The Original Series, starships have needed dilithium to warp around the cosmos. If that changes by the end of Discovery Season 3, then the method for all this Star Trek-ing will be suddenly strange, new, and bold. Who knew Star Trek would end-up focused on the way we Trek?

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 is streaming on CBS All Access.

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 8 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[thepatriotsandwe]

Dream Draft: What’s Best for the Pats? (Round 1)

With a fair number of early round picks, the New England Patriots seem poised to make significant moves for the first time in years in the early stages of the NFL draft. It’s impossible to predict how the draft will shape up with the assured trades and off-the-wall picks that will occur on Thursday night, so this should be considered a fan’s wish list. Without factoring in New England trading their picks, these are the players that The Patriots And We would be most excited to see join the Foxborough team in round one.

Round 1 - Pick 23 (From the Los Angeles Rams)

Leighton Vander Esch - Inside Linebacker - Boise State 

Every year there seems to be a player that has shown the ability to be great but sample size or injuries prevent him from going as high as one would imagine. In a sense, this is what happened to Gronkowski who demonstrated huge upside in college, but injury concerns had him fall into the second round. Vander Esch is certainly no Rob Gronkowski in terms of raw impact, but his monster junior season has put him on the map. After an extremely quiet freshman and sophomore year campaign, Vander Esch exploded onto the scene and became one of the most dominant linebackers in the NCAA. Sample size, and lingering injury concerns, have dropped Leighton’s value compared to his productivity, but the Patriots need help at the linebacker position and he could be just the thing to get it going in the right direction.

In Vander Esch’s junior season he racked up 141 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 2 interceptions. A phrase used on the NFL.com draft profile is that Vander Esch has a “GPS for the football” which is exactly what Belichick looks for in his linebacking group. He’s a strong choice at 23, but even a trade up to select him would be welcomed as Vander Esch immediately brings productivity to a group of players which struggled mightily after the injury to Dont’a Hightower last season. A linebacker core including Hightower, Vander Esch, and Van Noy is quite the talented group and could elevate the Patriots defense to the next level.

Rashaan Evans - Outside Linebacker - Alabama

If the Patriots don’t manage to land Vander Esch, they should be thrilled with the prospect of getting Rashaan Evans. Belichick loves his linebackers, and Evans brings a lot of extraordinary things to the table. First off, he performed in the SEC which offers the highest level of competition in the NCAA (sorry, Big Tenners) and, with the relationship between Nick Saban and Bill, Evans appears to be a match made in heaven.

In terms of raw talent on the field, Evans can do absolutely anything you ask of him. He’s quick while maintaining the height and weight you look for from the position, is a physical player capable of quickly moving up and making a play, and can be played in many positions around the field including edge rusher. Durability has been a concern with a groin injury last season, but the sheer versatility and explosive playmaking aptitude that Evans displays is extremely tempting. The linebacking group is typically what New England likes to base their entire defense around and adding someone like Evans would only improve the unit’s ability to take over a game.

Mason Rudolph - Quarterback - Oklahoma State

Personally speaking, the prospect of the Patriots using their top pick on a quarterback isn’t a terribly thrilling proposition due to the lack of impact it will leave until Brady decides to call it quits. It’s very possible that any quarterback selected by the Pats this year will not get an opportunity to truly show what he’s capable of until three years down the road and on a possibly expiring rookie contract. That being said, if Mason Rudolph were to fall into the Pats’ laps at pick 23, it’s hard to deny the talent he could bring to the table.

Lamar Jackson is a quarterback that has been generating a lot of buzz, and his time in a New England style offense while in college could make him a good match for the Foxborough faithful, but he’d likely be in territory in which the Pats would have to trade up to make a play for him. Rudolph is a bit more realistic of a selection and has demonstrated some Brady-like traits during his time at Oklahoma State. Rudolph has shown great improvement over time and seems apt to be able to take it to the next level in an NFL environment. He’s a pure pocket passer with great pocket awareness and has tremendous success reading defenses. While the changing of the guard from Brady will be a transformative time in New England regardless of who the backup is, having someone with a skill set like that of Brady’s could ease the offense into the new era. 

According to NFL.com’s draft profile, the majority of Rudolph’s weaknesses come from when plays go “off-schedule” or it begins to break down. He’s not a good thrower on the run, and is far more comfortable when able to stand in the pocket and make decisions. More so, quarterbacks that can be found in the later rounds (such as Kyle Lauletta and Mike White) may be a bit more raw than Rudolph or have more glaring weaknesses, but seeing as how whomever is picked will be sitting behind the GOAT potentially for a few years, a project player may be a better value selection. Regardless, if the Pats have a shot at the 6′5 quarterback at pick number 23, it could be a good decision to help secure the future.

Round 1 - Pick 31 

Connor Williams - Left Tackle - Texas

It’s no secret that the left tackle position is a critical one, especially with a 41 year old pure pocket passing quarterback. The departure of Nate Solder leaves the position in a state of flux, and if the Pats select a left tackle in the first round it may be quite telling of Belichick’s confidence in 2017′s third round pick Antonio Garcia’s ability to reliably block some of the most talented edge rushers in the league.

Williams isn’t a flashy pick by any metric, but he offers a solid choice at the critical position. His 2016 season put him on the map at Texas as one of the best tackles in the NCAA, but a bit of a regression in 2017 has his draft stock dropping in a year without many great offensive tackles. Even with 2017 season being the way it is, Williams has a ton of upside and could easily develop into the next long-term Patriots left tackle. His height and size appear to be concerns as he can be overpowered with his sub-average frame, but he makes up for it with shows of athleticism and excellent technique. Solder had mass to make up for some sloppier play, and Williams isn’t afforded such a luxury, but as a pure technician there may not be a better choice outside the top picks of the first round. 

Sony Michel - Running Back - Georgia

With the departure of Dion Lewis, New England is likely in a running back by committee situation like they were early in 2017. It’s possible for someone like Jeremy Hill or Mike Gillislee to command the majority of the snaps and become a feature back, but the hole left by Dion is something the Patriots may be interested in addressing and Sony Michel is quite the player to do it. He’s not the open field juking back that Dion is by any stretch, but what Michel brings to the table is a reliable, north-south running back who can take and deliver punishing hits while churning forward. What sets him apart from the typical power backs of the world is a second gear that allows him to turn up into the secondary after getting passed the initial blockers.

Michel doesn’t tick every box that Belichick tends to go for, according to NFL.com he’s an average pass catcher and can struggle with making “clean catches.” That all being said, Michel could bring stability to a Pats running back group which feels like the wild west right now and could be the next feature back for years to come. Also, his nickname practically writes itself, he’s the PlayStation.

Josh Jackson - Cornerback - Iowa

Again, this selection comes as a reaction to a major playing leaving. Malcolm Butler offered a few great years at the starting corner position, but now it’s up to Belichick to find another option to put opposite of Stephon Gilmore for the foreseeable future. Jason McCourty will likely be the number two corner come September, but Josh Jackson offers a tantalizing option in the years following.

First off, Butler’s primary issue was dealing with taller receivers. Jackson is much larger at 6′1 and could make for a fairly large starting secondary with Gilmore on the other side. His ball skills are off the charts as he, similar to Vander Esch, seems to have a GPS to the football’s location at all times. Again, Jackson’s draft stock has taken a hit due to a small sample size in which his latest season was by far his most dominant. While this can be indicitive of an evolving player, it’s also a bit concerning with production shown on such a small scale.

Another aspect brought up by NFL.com that could have the Patriots hesitant is that Jackson’s tackling is questionable at times and does need work at the NFL level. With Jason McCourty on a one year deal, that gives Jackson the time he needs to work on the fundamentals at the position while bringing his explosive play (27 passes defended and eight interceptions last season) to the NFL. 

These six players could potentially have huge impacts on the teams in which they land, and a Patriots selection of any of these would be personally met with optimism and anticipation. The first round of the draft begins Thursday night, but until then,

Go Pats.

[placetobenation]

Back in June 2013 the Place to Be Nation invaded the information super-highway with the launch of the website you are visiting just now. Since then a back catalogue has grown to include thousands of podcasts and written pieces, some of which you might have missed and it is my arduous task pleasure to go through the archives and bring you some of the highlights of PTBN through the years.

This weeks podcast is an audio anniversary for Jennifer and Mirandia as Geek & Sassy #1 hit the PTBN POP feed in this week in 2016. In this episode our wonderful hosts give a brief introduction to their new audience and how they developed their geekiness, followed by about their favourite TV shows, and how they think some were cancelled far too early. To find out where they rank Doctor Who and Harry Potter in their Top 5 Fandom discussion, or to see who they picked as their Nerd Eye Candy of the Moment, click here to listen.

And while you’re listening to Geek & Sassy #1, take a trip down memory lane with JT Rozerro and Chris Jordan as they bring us Part 1 of their look at wrestling video games in We Miss The 90s. Together they discuss the good, the bad, and the King of the Ring of video games from both the WWF and WCW in the first part of the decade and give their rankings on their favourites.

JT: Hey Jen… I mean Andy… Or Cowboy? Wait who the hell are you? Regardless you look like someone that played a lot of wrestling video games in the early 90s, so you want to hang around and chat it up with me?

Chris: Who the hell am I? Let me introduce myself.

Chris.

Now that introductions are out of the way, I would be glad to hang out and talk about wrestling games. It’s probably the only genre of gaming that I’m familiar with. It wasn’t uncommon to find a young me, unshowered and surrounded by empty containers of Cup O’Noodles, trying to land a Macho Man elbow on an evil, beaten Hulk Hogan. I can’t recall how many games I played back in the day. It probably goes back to the Nintendo era.

JT: Hey Chris! Unshowered is the best way to game, I would assume. That’s what I am told anyway.

I certainly dove into wrestling video games through Nintendo first and foremost. I have one game we we will start with and then I am going to pull one out the NAHSTALGIA BIN in a moment.

First up… WrestleMania Challenge! I remember this game very vividly. I remember renting it and sitting in my basement and playing on a very old, barely working TV. But I remember loving it.

It had some great theme music, a solid roster and… Rick Rude with short hair! It also had my personal favorite of the day, Brutus Beefcake. The game was interesting because it was centered mainly around the Ultimate Warrior instead of Hulk Hogan (1990, natch).

You remember this gem? Was it a gem?

Chris: A gem?? WrestleMania Challenge? I don’t think so, dude. I will admit, though, that it was a step up from the previous WrestleMania game. The roster was pretty stacked with eight whole Superstars. Guys like Hogan, Warrior, Boss Man, Andre the Giant, Jim Duggan, Brutus Beefcake, Randy Savage and Rick Rude.

However, I remember being disappointed in some aspects of this game. The theme music was there, but it was more like 8-bit versions of elevator renditions of their theme music.

JT: Yes it was terrible. I lied.

But… I was a theme music junkie and it wasn’t as readily available then as it is now, so you took whatever you could get. I loved theme songs so much that I made my mother call WWF headquarters to see if they would sell a cassette of them for me. She did. They didn’t. I was crestfallen. Crest. Fallen.

However… Let us switch promotions briefly to discuss WORLD. CHAMPIONSHIP. WRESTLING.

My favorite game of the very early part of the decade. It was unique and had some different stuff from what the WWF games offered, mainly that you chose your moveset before every match. Plus the roster was loaded… Sting! Flair! Steamboat! Rick Steiner! Road Warriors! THE GAMESMASTER!

I rented this one over and over and over…

Ever have the experience here? If not what was next in your canon?

Chris: I remember the WCW game very well. I also rented the hell out of that one. Not only could you select the wrestlers’ moveset, but they also had finishers, which was the first time I played a game that grasped that concept. The WWF games at that point, from what I remember, didn’t really incorporate finishers and yes the roster was also pretty cool at the time. DR. DEATH(!!), Eddie Gilbert. It had Rick Steiner, but not Scott Steiner which I found disappointing at the time, because I was hoping to pull off a Frankensteiner, the coolest move in wrestling back then.

Interesting thing is that the Road Warriors were on the cover, but they were on the WWF roster by the time I got my hands on this one.

I used to bring this back to the video store where I rented it, and then re-rent it. It got me in trouble with this one older kid at the store one time because I re-rented it in front of him, and he threatened to roll me for it and not return it, jacking up my mom’s rental account with bogus late fees.

JT: Ha! That is an awesome story. And it is a legit threat! That would have sucked man. Did you back down? I hope not…

Yes that was a mindfuck for sure, especially since I didn’t really watch NWA/WCW until 1992, so I was playing with a roster I didn’t have great knowledge of at all. The theme music of the game itself was pretty pimp though.

So, Genesis comes out and with it we get Super WrestleMania. I stayed loyal to NES but my good buddy Jim had it so I got to sample this game but don’t remember much about it. Eventually it came out for SNES too, but I was behind the curve on that. Did you ever dabble into the land of Sega?

Chris: I actually invited the kid back to my place to give it a whirl, then we ducked into a Woolworths where I ditched him and ran home before he knew what was up. He didn’t know where I lived and I didn’t really want him over anyway.

Yeah, Sega Genesis was awesome. I tried Super WrestleMania for Genesis, and the first thing I noticed was that the wrestlers had finishers, whereas the SNES version did not. One of the reasons why I picked up a Genesis, really. My favorite Genesis wrestling game, however, was Royal Rumble. The theme music was all there, the roster was stacked with guys like Hogan, Savage, Undertaker, IRS, Rick Martel, Razor Ramon, Jim Duggan, Crush. By the time I acquired this game, I was of legal drinking age (19 in Canada). My friend, Craig, and I would get into some beers and play video games on the weekends.

One time we teamed up with myself as Savage and Craig as Hogan, and we would go into tag tournament mode. I found myself knocked out on the mat, with one of the opponents also knocked down next to me. Craig, as Hogan, went to hit a legdrop on the opponent, and he nailed ME with it instead! We have no idea how that happened. Needless to say, as marks, we turned it into an angle and would fight each other the next match. Good times!

JT: Woolworths! We need to do 90s malls and department stores in a future installment of this for sure. And good, screw him. It is your right to renew!

I did like Genesis but I was Nintendo through and through and couldn’t be swayed. Royal Rumble was really awesome and Josh Richer and I would have some real battles. Rumble matches felt like they could go on for hours in that game. It was also frustrating that Genesis and SNES had slightly different rosters:

Genesis had Martel, IRS, Duggan, Shango and Hogan!

SNES had Flair, Perfect, DiBiase, Yokozuna and Tatanka!

I liked having Flair and Perfect but I really wanted Hogan and Shango… Papa Fucking Shango in a video game! Baller. Plus the Model’s theme sounded great in that game.

Also frustrating was that on the box for SNES, Mr. Perfect had on his black tights from Survivor Series 1992 but I could never figure out how to get them to appear in the game. Drove me nuts.

I want to circle back to NES and Steel Cage Challenge. The graphics seemed to take a step back but the cage match gimmick was neat plus it featured The Mountie’s theme in MIDI form. I have a good story about renting this game, but first… Any memories of it?

Chris: About the different rosters for SNES/Genesis Royal Rumble: I was a little miffed that the Genesis version never had Mr. Perfect, as he was my #1 guy at the time. My friend, the aforementioned Craig, had both a SNES and a Sega Genesis because he let his pimp hand do the talking like that. I also enjoyed the Royal Rumble match feature that you, as a player, could come back as another guy if you were eliminated…except when you came back as Duggan.

Anyway, on to Steel Cage Challenge. Yes, I remember this game also. I rented this for the NES console many time in my quest to be champ. One note about my gaming skills: I’m not skilled. Where it would take someone a couple hours to beat a game, there were games that I could never beat. Choosing Bret Hart, I would struggle to barely beat guys after the third match in championship mode. One guy that always beat me was The Undertaker. This was the first WWF game to feature a cage match, so i was pretty stoked for it.

You’re right on The Mountie theme. Classic mark out music.

JT: Yes being able to re-enter the Rumble was pretty clutch. To me that was the first game with a ton of replayability (that a word?) and I squeezed every ounce out of it.

I was so psyched for Steel Cage Challenge when it came out. Having that generation of stars in a game was neat and the cage just added to it all.

The day it came out, as soon as I got to my grandparents’ house after school, I called The Movie Center to ask if it was in stock. When the girl answered she said “The Movie Center, Phoenix”. After she confirmed I asked my mother to stop at the Movie Center on the way home to pick it up. Well, we get there and they don’t have it. Apparently there were two Movie Centers and the one I had called was in the Phoenix section of town. I thought Phoenix was that girl’s name. Of course, being 12 and desperately wanting to play this game, I lost my shit and my poor mom drove back across town so I could get it. And I played the shit out of it and eventually bought it. It was a lot of fun, even if IRS’ theme music was just a typewriter clicking and clacking over and over during the match. Looking back, I know the game sucked hard but whatever it was great the time.

Before we go fully into the next generation games for SNES and Genesis, I wanted to toss two more rare ones out there to see if you ever experienced them:

King of the Ring for NES Rage in the Cage for Sega CD

CJ: Your mom was pretty cool to drag you to the other side of town for a wrestling game. I come from a small town and my mom would have made me walk or take my bike. She was NOT cool. And Phoenix is a good name for a girl. It limits her career choices down to stripper or porn star, so it should be easier to decide what to do with her life.

King of the Ring for NES is one that I can remember playing. Rage in the Cage for Sega CD however…I have to hearken back to my friend Craig again. This guy had all the cool stuff back then. He had Sega CD and Rage in the Cage was one I can remember playing at his house. I thought it was cool immediately with the Fink doing intros and short videos. Any game with Kamala in it was kick-ass. That loading time, though. I can remember the game freezing a few times. One time, Craig was one win away from the championship and it froze on him. He started going all Ric Flair on us, dropping elbows like a lunatic.

JT: King of the Ring came out very late in 1993 and got lost in the shuffle because most people had moved on to the next generation consoles. It had a cool roster though: Hogan, Savage, Bret Hart, Undertaker, Michaels, Ramon, Bigelow, Yokozuna, Perfect, Luger (as Narcissist!) and YOU! That is right, our first, albeit very rudimentary, CAW! Plus you could do a tournament, which was cool. My buddy Jim had it and I played it out of pity when I went over his house but eventually he stepped up to Genesis and that was that.

I can’t believe you played Rage in the Cage! We would stare at that magazine ad with jealous eyes, unable to process that such an awesome looking game was just impossible for us to ever play. Kamala! The Nasty Boys! CAGES! CDs? Mind blowing.

OK, we can now dive fully into SNES. We need to talk about Raw, which was a kick ass Christmas gift in 1994, but first… did you ever play WCW SuperBrawl? The KB Toys in the Warwick Mall had it in the discount bin for all eternity and I would always stare at it but never pulled the trigger on the $15 or so it would cost to bring it home. You ever get to play that one? And did you have Raw for SNES? Or were you solely Genesis?

Chris: You know something? I cannot recall the SuperBrawl game, which is weird because my friends and I were HUGE wrestling geeks and how this one got past us, I don’t know. I wasn’t too big on SNES, as I was Genesis-centric. You know another genre of game I was fond of was baseball, and I had the Genesis for another reason: World Series Baseball. But aside from the original NES, Genesis was the only other system I owned.

Now Raw was a game that I played. Again, Friday nights at Craig’s were filled with nothing but wrestling games, wrestling tapes, and backyard wrestling. Our mutual friend Leon tried to make me submit with his figure-four leglock, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Anyway, Raw was a kick-ass game, with my favorite character being Doink, because he had that top rope Whoopee Cushion. But this game also had The 1-2-3 Kid, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Diesel and the late, great Owen Hart! Again, Royal Rumble mode was the best for me, as I had no skill to beat anybody, but could also sneak someone over the top rope if I needed to. That was me: the cheap shot artist.

Did you have a favorite character?

JT: I bet SuperBrawl is still in that bin in front of KB in Heaven.

Yeah Raw had a loaded roster for sure and again the ability to park on the character pages and listen to the themes was big for me. I would dub the themes to cassette and use them for entrance music for my Hasbro figures or my wrestling buddy matches.

The game also had a nice array of finishing moves and stood out for including Luna Vachon, who I believe was the first female competitor involved in one of these games. Was it weird that they had male vs. female violence in a kids’ game in 1994? Doesn’t really fit the profile. Are they saying she isn’t a woman? Michaels and Diesel were my jam in 94, so I definitely favored using them.

Apparently there was a Genesis MegaDrive version that had Gorilla Monsoon (!) and Stephanie Wiand (!!) doing commentary instead of McMahon and Lawler. How bizarre.

A year later we radically take a left turn and are gifted WrestleMania: The Arcade Game. With games like NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat all the rage, WMTAG was much more in your face and…zany? I guess zany. There were exaggerated movements and crazy finishers (Doink’s hand buzzer says hi!) and Vince McMahon screaming (THAT’S GOTTA HURT!) and… it was surprisingly a ton of fun to play. The moves were crisp and the action was non stop. Plus the graphics were pretty great and the details were super sharp. Even though it had a limited roster and even less match options it had great playability and I wasted many hours on it. Did you enjoy this game as much as I did? Or am I in a silo here?

Chris: Recording the themes from the video game for your action figures just shows proof of your hardcore wrestling love. That sounds awesome **coughnerdcough** Oh, who am I kidding? I used to put on weekly shows and PPV cards with my younger brother’s action figures all he time.

Now that you mention it, I totally forgot about the inclusion of Luna in the Raw game. Of course, I would never pick her because I was sexist. I had no issue with hitting her over the head with a weapon, with equal rights and all that. That was definitely the first selectable female character, however. Also, this was the first game where some characters could win with a roll-up. No recollection of a rival’s theme music playing just before said roll-up, though. While we’re on it, I seem to remember that the Sega 32X version included Kwang. I only remember this because my hardcore console-collecting friend Craig informed me of this over the phone one day, which made me do a spit take, literally. YooHoo everywhere. Never got a visual confirmation of that Kwang, however (he really was).

Now Wrestlemanial The Arcade Game is legendary among me and my friends because I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT!! I refused to play it. It had taken my love of wrestling and turned it into an over-the-top, cartoonish display of comic proportions. It was still real to me, dammit, before that was even a phrase to coin! You had Doink pull out a HUGE mallet to hit over the opponent’s head, Bam Bam Bigelow’s fists actually WERE fists of fire! I couldn’t stand it because I wanted realism out of my fake sport. Was that too much to ask for?

JT: Kwang is such a random inclusion. There was nobody else left on the 1994 roster they could have swapped in? Jeff Jarrett even? Sparky Plugg? Bob Backlund! Weird.

It breaks my heart that you hate WMTAG so much! It was nutty but super fun and those graphics? Straight fire.

Ok, so I am thinking we can draw the line in the sand here and spin off a second part that covers the back end of the decade and the next gen consoles like PlayStation and Nintendo 64. Before we go, I have two asks:

�� Give me your closing thoughts on the first half of the decade in wrestling video games – Rank all the ones we discussed based on your love and memories, not based on their actual quality as a game

And… one more… who was your favorite character to be out of all these games?

Chris: So for me, looking back at the early part of the 90s, I can say that the games for the most part were not that great, but they were AT THE TIME! It was easy to get stoked for certain wrestlers appearing in the games, the gradual improvement of the theme music and the improvement of the graphics with each console. The downside early on basically came down to moveset and the lack of finishers. We tend to get nostalgic, but really, would any of us go back and play them now on any kind of serious gaming level?

Ranking the games, for me, begins with my #1: Royal Rumble for Sega Genesis.

2. WWF Raw for Sega Genesis 3. WCW Wrestling for NES 4. WWF Steel Cage Challenge for NES 5. WWF Rage in the Cage for Sega CD 6. WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game

This is just the games I played and my enjoyment level of them. My favorite character was Randy Savage all the way. I just wish that Mr. Perfect was in the Genesis version of Royal Rumble, or I would have gone in that direction.

JT: Agreed. Looking back, these games were sort of a hot mess, but at the time they were so cutting edge and amazing to play. The themes and variety of characters are what always sucked me in. They really did make the leap with those next gen games, especially Royal Rumble.

My list is as follows, and is pretty similar to yours:

1) WWF Royal Rumble for SNES 2) WWF Raw for SNES 3) WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game for SNES 4) WCW Wrestling for NES 5) WWF Super WrestleMania for SNES 6) WWF WrestleMania Challenge for NES 7) WWF Steel Cage Challenge for NES (TAKE THAT MOM!)

Looks like Royal Rumble reigns supreme!

OK, we shall part ways for now and soon return to look at the new wave of games for the next set of consoles. We will be back even sooner with a whole new topic. Until then…REJECTED! THAT’S GOTTA HURT! PIN HIM! PIN HIM! PIN HIM! YOU HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT TO… CHRIS JORDAN!

[daylightarchives]

GUIDE TO ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

As a fringe guy who’s always been more interested in experimentation and provocation than gratification of any sort, Oneohtrix Point Never (the alias of writer-producer-performer extraordinaire Daniel Lopatin) enjoys that intimidating “weirdo critical darling” status where the everyone from Pitchfork to Fantano to the pretentious bohemians of the wider blogosphere seem to love him, but the average listener (me, at one point, included) has no idea how he fits into the larger conversation surrounding electronic music or if he’d sound good tucked between other “ambient” and “vaporwave” artists on a playlist (hint: he wouldn’t). The point of this piece isn’t simply to ramble on about how profoundly difficult Oneohtrix Point Never is, though; I’m writing instead to make the argument that despite that aforementioned inaccessibility as an artist, the music of OPN is worth attempting to seriously listen to if you have even a passing interest in music as an art form, challenging art, or just plain interesting ideas. 

To sum it up, Oneohtrix Point Never began as an ambient act fascinated with ideas like nostalgia and cultural memory, especially with relation to idealistic visions of the future as computers became widely used in the ‘90s (think ‘90s educational videos, nature documentaries, commercials, etc). After some widely successful releases in that genre, Lopatin expanded the OPN aesthetic, inventing vaporwave and releasing album after dizzying album of plunderphonics, early computer nostalgia trips, and, most recently, a cinematic epic encompassing dance music, grunge, and apparently, a lot of philosophy. An album by album guide to the artistic output of Lopatin as OPN follows… feel free to skip around if one thing seems more interesting than another: the OPN discography is about as varied as they come, and even if one album sounds like the most boring thing you could possibly listen to, I guarantee the literal inverse exists somewhere else - Lopatin’s musical canon really is that diverse. In depth reviews in the full post!

RIFTS (2009)

For those of us who weren’t in Brooklyn while Lopatin established himself as a local legend in ambient and noise scenes through a prolific run of cassette only releases from 2007-09, Rifts serves as a convenient collection of OPN’s three breakout albums from that period: Betrayed in the Octagon (2007), Zones Without People (2009), and Russian Mind (2009). As 2+ hours of incredibly dense music, I’d call Rifts probably one of OPN’s most intimidating releases, unless you really dig ambient music. However, for all of its uninviting qualities, Rifts can be an incredibly impressive listen, full of synth lines that echo into oblivion, invocations of an imagined future, and huge soundscapes that evoke the majesty of early ambient classics like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume 2. That ambient-genre tag might seem to imply that Rifts’ 27 tracks are homogenous and basically formless, but it’s surprisingly easy to tell when one album ends and another begins: Betrayed in the Octagon is droning and melancholic, Zones Without People has a noticeable sci-fi bent with laser beam sound effects and serene field recordings, and Russian Mind sounds legitimately as though it was created by a computer (especially the icy and kind of funny title track). Rifts is admittedly not for the feint of heart, but can be great as a long and intense synth odyssey thats just as easy to actively engage with as it is to totally get lost in.

RETURNAL (2010)

As OPN’s major label debut and probably Lopatin’s first record with serious philosophical underpinnings, Returnal can be tough to talk about because for all of the conceptual heft behind the record, it can at times sound like it belongs somewhere in that Rifts comp. Returnal is the last Oneohtrix Point Never that I’d comfortably call ambient, and even then, Lopatin really pushes the limits of that signifier: opener Nil Admirari is a total industrial noise freakout and utterly horrifying. To hear Lopatin describe it, it’s a portrait of a distinctly modern kind of sensory overload: “the mom’s sucked into CNN, freaking out about Code Orange terrorist shit, while the kid is in the other room playing Halo 3, inside that weird Mars environment, killing some James Cameron–type predator;” strip away the 2010isms of that line and you’re left with a pretty poignant image that might hit close to home. From there, the album glides effortlessly into the ambient territory Lopatin has already pretty well mastered for seven serene drone tracks that, to quote Noel Gardner, don't invoke a vast space so much as the concept of vastness itself. Though I’m by no means an ambient expert, this record is pretty massive within that community, and, if anything I’ve described here interests you, you should definitely check Returnal out.

CHUCK PERSON’S ECCOJAMS VOL. 1 (2010)

A major stylistic break from OPN’s back catalog and something of a manifesto for the rest of his career, Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1 came into being innocuously enough as an anonymous youtube upload that Lopatin only retroactively took credit for (in the form of a remastered reissue) after it literally invented vaporwave. From this point forward in Lopatin’s career, the ambient soundscapes would be replaced by something distinctly more musical; namely, on this record and the next official Oneohtrix Point Never release, Replica, samples. The approach for Eccojams is deceptively simple: 15 tracks, and each one of them consists simply of one or sometimes two samples pulled from 80's easy listening hits or muzak slowed down to a narcotic tempo and pitch, then drenched in echo and effects. Per Loptain, the eccojam approach and idea was intended to be a way of reclaiming lost culture and bringing a DIY, memey edge to music long forgotten in the annals of commercial history. For all the heady philosophical stuff, the approach really took off, spawning a huge (now basically dead) movement of fellow artists making vaporwave, reinvigorating a probably ironic fascination for ‘90s culture online, and influencing artists like Clams Casino and Kanye West. To me, Eccojams really demonstrates just how thorough Lopatin’s understanding of internet culture and the philosophical underpinnings of nostalgia is - when was the last time you heard of someone intentionally and successfully inventing a meme, let alone someone this fringe? If you’ve ever used the word “aesthetic” ironically, you probably owe some of your sense of humor to this record and the space it’s carved out for itself at the strange intersection of music, philosophy, and internet culture.

REPLICA (2011)

Replica was also probably the closest thing to a mainstream moment Daniel Lopatin had ever had thus far in his career: coming off the heels of literally inventing a genre of music and touting yet another new musical approach, a much wider audience than before was now curious as to what Oneohtrix Point Never might come out with next. The album this newfound fanbase got was, characteristically, a crazy album even for OPN - even within its most accurate genre signifier, plunderphonics (sample based music that isn’t hip hop,) there really isn't anything even remotely similar. Built around a treasure trove of ‘80s commercials that Lopatin ordered by the boxful on VHS and dutifully sampled one-by-one, Replica is simultaneously really sprawling and kaleidoscopic but also very simple and minute. Songs like Andro and the title track are serene ambient pieces that are eventually swept up in these waves of massive synth lines and samples, and The Power of Persuasion and Sleep Dealer play almost like eccojams, endlessly looping, but with a renewed energy and intensity (Sleep Dealer, interestingly enough, is built entirely around a Wrigley’s gum commercial).  Elsewhere on the record, Lopatin triggers sample after manipulated sample in a dizzying way that eventually gives way to these blurred, beautiful pieces on tracks like Child Soldier (see if you can catch the M.I.A. sample,) the kinda hilarious grossout track Nassau, and Up. There really isn’t anything like this record in the OPN discography or anywhere else, and it also represents at least to me an interesting development on the idea of “vaporwave” as this act of cultural reappropration: if Eccojams saw Lopatin reimagining hits ingrained within the public memory, Replica sees him digging deeper into the American cultural psyche and attacking the history of our consumer culture even harder, playing mindless bits of sales-driven non entertainment on a loop and beckoning listeners to create their own meaning within that weird headspace. I think it’s a ton of fun.

R PLUS SEVEN (2013)

My personal favorite Oneohtrix Point Never record, R Plus Seven takes the idea of experimenting with culturally passé sounds a step further by occupying itself with some Rifts-era ideas - namely, early '90s tech fascination and the host of now considered “cheesy” sounds that came with it. Every single sound on R Plus Seven is totally clean, shiny, and metallic, seeming to exist in a totally sterile environment. Whereas the human voices found occasionally on past OPN records belonged to old samples and occasionally Lopatin himself, the voices here are all computer generated choir patches and individual voices. The songs of R Plus Seven seem almost engineered to sound of a piece with someone old cultural touchstone: Americans begins like a NatGeo nature doc before dissolving into a cacophony of wordless voices and bubbling synths, Problem Areas seems ready to soundtrack an educational video about math or computers, and every other track is peppered with pianos, horns, voices, and other instrumentation that sounds delightfully canned. The other major addition to the OPN sound on R Plus Seven is an increasing penchant for total stylistic left turns: motifs establish themselves and build only to be obliterated by an abrupt wall of noise followed by a totally new idea… Call it cheesy, but to me, the album almost evokes a computer recursively rewriting its own code, constantly stopping and starting and working in frenetic fits in between. Not once does any sort of human touch shine through on this album, but that doesn’t make the album dispassionate or desolate: it actually makes R Plus Seven easily the most fascinating OPN album to date, begging the listener to engage with it every time it evokes some cultural memory long delegated to being simply out of style. Lopatin is inviting is audience to engage with the basic building blocks of music and the culture that surrounds it on R Plus Seven, asking us why we value some sounds over others and displaying a total virtuosity in the realm of “computer music.” A must listen for anyone who wants to make music on a computer, or simply take a horrifying trip through a house of mirrors reflecting fascinating distortions of the culture they grew up in.

GARDEN OF DELETE (2015)

Easily the most visceral and rhythmic Oneohtrix Point Never record, and probably the closest Lopatin has ever come to a pure “pop” moment - take that as you will. Garden of Delete takes a total left turn away from cerebral, ambient experiments, and towards driving rhythms, extremely bright synths, heavy basslines, and vocals that seem simultaneously horrified and in awe of the state of the world as it exists; since it’s OPN, you can also expect a healthy dose of weird samples, extremely manipulated instrumental performances, and general fuckery with any of the cultural expectations a listener would bring to the table when approaching something resembling EDM. Songs like lead single Sticky Drama and closer No Good are the closest approximations of EDM that OPN has ever attempted, with throbbing, resonant bass hits and surprisingly melodic vocals giving away to total noise freakouts and, on Sticky Drama, samples from obscure vlogs on Youtube (yet another example of how OPN really effortlessly threads culture as everyone experiences it into something totally alien). Elsewhere, OPN brings a newfound intensity to tracks that, had they been wrote for earlier albums, would’ve simply been motifs: standout Freaky Eyes is a gothic epic that, after a few seconds of Kanye style chipmunk-soul, gives way to 8-bit video soundtrack bliss and horror movie soundtrack fodder, complete with digitized screaming. Elsewhere, Animals is an honest to god ballad with honest to god lyrics and a beautiful acoustic guitar part, and I Bite Through It is a fascinating exploration of syncopation and rhythm. With Garden of Delete, Oneohtrix Point Never shifted his conceptual focus onto the present and with that shift came a massive stylistic change towards frenetic, crazed intensity that I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted. Another interesting element of Garden of Delete is its sort of cinematic edge, evidence of Lopatin’s increasing prevalence as a film score composer and of his abilities to really build soundscapes around his music or tracks like Animals, SDFK, and Child of Rage. As a document of an omnivorous, Adderal-fueled flavor insanity that couldn't exist without the internet, Garden of Delete is further proof of Daniel Lopatin’s deep fascination and understanding of the world we live in, and of his unique ability to process it into music that’s equal parts unique, engaging, weird, and fun. Definitely not the best entry point to the OPN discography, but perhaps on of Lopatin’s best works.

If you like ambient music a lot, I’d probably recommend you start with Returnal. If you’re more interested in Lopatin’s late period craziness, I’d probably start with R Plus Seven or Replica and go from there. Hope this inspires anyone curious or intimidated by Oneohtrix Point Never’s huge discography to give his stuff a try - if you can’t already tell, I think it’s a worthwhile dive to take.

[linernotesandseasons]

My 16 Favorite Albums of 2016

2016 was an amazing year for music. As the world took darker turns, musicians spoke out; protest albums & songs were released, money was raised and given away, the power of music became important again. There were SO MANY incredible albums released! Underneath everything, it was mind blowing watching artists use music as their way of processing what they saw going on in the world. Never have I had more fun listening to music, going to shows, seeking out new artists, & spreading the love of wonderful songs. The following 16 albums were chosen for their importance in my life this year. Buy music, go to shows, support change, protect rights, celebrate lives, & recognize the magical human power of creativity. Without further romanticizing, in no particular order (unless you’re familiar with the English alphabet) here is my fifth annual list...my 16 favorite albums of 2016!

ADIA VICTORIA   /   Beyond The Bloodhounds

This year’s list of my 16 favorite records begins, appropriately & challengingly, with Adia Victoria. It’s hard to write about the songs that make up the fiercely defiant Beyond The Bloodhounds (Victoria’s Nashville produced debut album) but I believe it to be one of the most important collections of songs written and released since I started making these lists five years ago. For me to call these songs Southern Gothic Blues, to rave about the ferocious togetherness of Victoria & her band or her no-holds-barred, meticulously aggressive lyrical onslaught, would not do justice to the meaning behind this record. These are songs that only Adia can sing, and Bloodhounds sounds, start-to-finish, like her record. 

The album opens a cappella, with Victoria’s haunting croon and finger snaps softly wailing a few lines from a Doc Pomus song “Lonely Avenue” from the 50′s. After that it’s buckle up for the runaway train (complete with organ sirens blazing) rush of “Dead Eyes,” the fuzzed out crunch of “Body Rot,” and the vocal acrobatics & pulsing guitar that make personal favorite “Sea of Sand” boil with life and barely concealed rage. Adia writes lyrics with a devastating purpose and pulls absolutely no punches. Yes, there is anger in her writing. She writes of loneliness, isolation, & rage, but she also mixes in dry humor (”here’s a song for the landlord, I’m sorry for the holes in the wall / here’s a song for my friends, I hate every single one of yall”) and dark romance (”who says there ain’t room for two? You can join me in my tornado.”). When her words turn toward the topic of race she spits her brightest fire, and she saves her most cutting, insightful, incisive, and downright brutal truths for taking on the race politics that (let’s face it) are one of the most important thing musicians can be writing about right now. Bottom line, as Victoria herself puts it “There is still darkness left to mine here. We aren’t clear of our past, in fact our present political woes are patterned on it. It is here for us to reflect upon in our music.” Buckle up folks and LISTEN.   

       “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout Southern belles, but I can tell you ‘bout Southern hell / When your skin give ‘em cause to take & take...I’m stuck in the South...”

AMERICAN TRAPPIST   /  American Trappist

One of the best surprises of 2016 came in the form of three EPs released wonderfully in my favorite three months of Summer from ex River City Extension frontman Joe Michelini. Having LOVED River City’s first three albums (you can find their sophomore effort all the way up at #2 my 2012 Favorites list) I was super disappointed when they broke up after 2015′s divisive Man of Conviction. But as musical breakups so often do, they spawned new songs. 

The first EP In the trilogy (romantically titled In Satan’s Kingdom National Park) came blasting through in June and featured the charging, angsty-religious title track, the bass-led groovy build of “No Bibles” and the brooding electro-thump of “The Devil is Real.” As the Summer swelled I was reminded how great a writer Michelini is and how powerfully positive his writing can be. The second EP dips into almost humorous, romantic jazz with the title track and features the gorgeous acoustic ballad “Jackie” that laments “I will not likely see you in the morning, but I hope you’re not afraid to change your mind...” Finally EP#3 Hannah Future Tense swept in gloriously right before my sweltering Summer trips in my 30th birthday month of August. “Fireworks” was a song-of-the-summer contender with its killer acoustic drive and “All Night Diner” is a powerful, swelling song written to Michelini’s fiancee a few weeks before their wedding. The way he faces challenges and an uncertain future is emotional and super autobiographical. Upon releasing the three EP’s as a self titled full length, Michelini cemented himself as one of the most stellar songwriters doing it right now. Whatever name he chooses to release music under, his songs always seem to strike me at the right time and he has a positive lift to his writing that propels the songs forward with a heartfelt enthusiasm. 

       “I wanna taste blood, I wanna know what it is that I’m made of / No matter how it may have ever seemed in the fading light of my first love & every adolescent dream...”

ANTHONY D’AMATO  /  Cold Snap

The songs on Anthony D’Amato’s fourth studio album Cold Snap, are bright & crisp, with a cutting lyrical edge. Like Cassadaga-era Bright Eyes (gonna be hard not to mention Conor Oberst a few times here) he buries sharp little knives of political, personal, and religious fury in 3 minute bursts of power folk-pop. D’Amato has had the good fortune to work with a variety of talented (and some of my favorite) musicians. I first heard him through his New West Records Debut (2014′s The Shipwreck From The Shore) because he had recorded at The Great North Sound Society (where Josh Ritter recorded his 2007 masterpiece The Historical Conquests of...) with members of Ritter’s Royal City Band (Sam Kassirer!) and Bon Iver (don’t worry-you’ll hear tons more on Matt McCaughan and Brad Cook later). For Cold Snap D’Amato teams up with Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes again!) manages to get guest vocals from Oberst himself, and sounds like an artist comfortable in his own skin and really coming into his own.  

I fell for lead single “Rain On A Strange Roof” almost as hard as the protagonist in the song is falling for someone. With it’s “ain’t in love but I’ll be there soon” perfectly worded feeling-capture, and “Sisyphus with an iPhone” weirdly spot-on metaphors, the couplets in this speedy Springsteen-wannabe...just work. Much like the other standout tracks it is catchy and immediately singable. D’Amato also takes a swing at Dylan with a few darker protest numbers in “If You’re Gonna Build A Wall” & “Blue Blooded” The former is a softer, foreboding warning to Trump America (complete with a Trump University music video) and the latter is a knockout punch or rock & roll aimed at those who take what they want from the earth without considering the consequences. All told, Cold Snap is a true singer-songwriter’s album and I’ve been singing along to most of these songs since early Summer. 

       “I showered in the Cascades where I dammed the Willamette / I set fire to the forest just to light my cigarette / All I crave is all I want / Is all you have is all you got / & all I take is all I need / The ground you walk the air you breathe / & I won’t stop no I won’t wait / ‘Til I get rich ‘til I get paid / ‘Til I got roots that clutch your dirt / That fuck your fields & gut your worth / I’m so blue blooded I never bruise...”

BON IVER  /  22, A Million

Oh man, Justin Vernon...OH MAN. If you would have told me last year at this time that I would be listening to a BRAND NEW BON IVER album all of Fall 2016, I would’ve called you crazy; but Wisconsin’s elusive, reclusive sample-folk master has emerged from hiding and blown us away again with yet another weird & wonderful masterpiece. The best part about 22, A Million to me, is that I got to be a part of experiencing so much of it’s release. When Vernon announced that his 2016 Eaux Claires set would consist of all new music, it seemed a slightly odd choice. He had played two new songs at Eaux Claires 2015 but it had been five years since anyone had heard new music from Bon Iver. Hearing the songs that make up 22 for the first time live, by a river with thousands of second-annual-friends was something close to spiritual and to this day I still prefer the youtube rip of that live performance to the recorded album.

From the opening vocally, vibratto-y hums of “22, Over Soon” this album is a journey. The industrial machine that chugs “10 (Death Breast)”’ along and the Woods Pt. 2 that is Vernon acappella stunning for the duration of “715 (Creeks)” are like nothing he has done before, but feel 100% at home in the Bon Iver discography. Highlights for me are the smooth evening drive of the country-ish “#29 Strafford Apts” the epic synth burn of “8 (Circle)” and of course the piano led, vocal effect laden heart drop/soar closer “1000000 (Million)” When Vernon played “1000000 (Million)” live with Sam Amidon on that Friday night in August, I felt like I had heard the song before, like it had always been there. Some strange, heart tug sort of deja vu that brought tears to my eyes. As Trevor Hagen (I’m with Hagen!) wrote “The answer has been here the entire time: just music, always.”

The story of 22 is all of ours. When I visited Eaux Claires 2015 I wrote about a shared experience. When Trevor Hagen (Justin’s old friend) wrote the bio for 22 he wrote “How can this be relevant to someone else? But Justin has managed to connect the most intimate, banal, & forgotten moments to many people. These moments are now shared widely & no longer belong only to us. But who owns a memory?” What 22 has given me, is that same feeling all my favorite records of my youth gave me...the chance to own a memory. I was there by that river, I was a part of it; and every time I hear these songs, I’m there...owning that memory. 22 reminded me how sacred music can be and as Hagen concludes “Music is made sacred between people & in return makes those relationships sacred.” Justin Vernon has taken places, people, time, & space, and melded them together in such a way as to freeze them all in motion. The music of 22, A Million is a river. It is here, it is immediate, but it is also everywhere. It is made up of everywhere. Samples from moments in Vernon’s life. Snapshots stretched and distorted till nearly unrecognizable and then recreated into something beautiful. Vernon has again made me listen to music differently, to consider the parts of the whole; and thus, to consider the parts of my whole, and who I am. 

       “What a river don’t know is / To climb out & heed a line / To slow among roses, or stay behind / I’ve been to that grove where no matter the source is / & walked it off how long I’d last / Sore ring to cope, whole band on the canyon / When the days have no numbers / Well it harms it harms me it harms, I’ll let it in...”

COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS   /   Honest Life

Courtney Marie Andrews has the kind of voice you swear you’ve heard before. Even if you’re tuning in for the first time to this super-talented, 26 year-old singer songwriter from Arizona, you feel like her songs (and especially her worn, creaky, soft-but stronger than you’d think voice) have been with you for years. In fact, it’s hard for me to remember when or where I first heard Andrews. Was it through fellow Arizonians Jimmy Eat World (who she sang backup for on five songs on 2010′s critically underrated Invented)? Was it through the Gundersen family (Noah was on my 2014 Favorites list and siblings Abby & Jonny who sing with him also sing on Honest Life)? However I stumbled on the gem that is Andrew’s fifth studio album, I fell hard for her songs about love, heartbreak, & how to lead an honest life; and was blown away seeing her live at “the best funky dive in town” Denver’s iconic Lion’s Lair back in September. 

Courtney’s lonely road songs are mournful with a classic, country soul (nearly every review I’ve read has compared her to Joni Mitchell) but it is her rolling, melodic, upbeat numbers, played with a killer band that set her apart. She opens with her mission statement, the grand, melodic premise that this career she’s building “ain’t no rookie dreaming,” but it is the bouncy sway of “Irene” (a song that encourages its subject to let her heart love “man, or woman, or anyone it wants”) that kickstarts Honest Life into it’s organ & pedal steel, rollicking country sound. From there “How Quickly Your Heart Mends” is the centerpiece of heartbreak and power before ballads swell out the rest of side B. Penultimate track “15 Highway Lines” drifts over a gently picked acoustic guitar and weaves highway analogies over melodies lifted from The Avett Brothers “I & Love & You.” 

Andrews is a stellar songwriter and her road-worn lyrics conjure up someone twice her age. In the title track she wishes to learn “how to be honest, how to be wise, & how to be a good friend” but settles upon the conclusion that “I ain’t got nothing but time to WORK on living an honest life.” The word WORK has come up a lot in my conversations lately and it’s powerful to see people coming to the understanding (and encouraging others to do the same) that we have a lot of WORK left to do. That in order to change, in order to build ourselves into the people and lives we want, we are going to have to WORK at it. Andrews has been putting the work into music and her writing for the last eight years and Honest Life is an ethereally gorgeous, yet plainspoken & hard working album. 

       “I was a...you-will-never-see-me-again...too busy carrying the weight of everything / Young with nowhere to be, but you can’t get far for free / This ain’t no rookie dreaming / I was on the hunt for visions out of reach / All those daydreamin’ mornings...I am sitting all along on this train / I am a passenger to somewhere, I do not yet know the name / I am a 1960′s movie, I am an unwritten story / I am a...when-will-I-see-you-again?...”

FANTASTIC NEGRITO   /   The Last Days of Oakland

The narration that runs a thread through The Last Days of Oakland begins with “There’s good in the old Oakland. There’s good in the new Oakland...The seeds were planted long ago, let’s watch the tree grow...” From there Fantastic Negrito launches into a burning electric-organ-led, smooth slide of fury called “Working Poor” where he growls “I keep on knockin’ but I can’t get in.” It was the music of Oakland that first drew me in, these are songs that sound resurrected from long ago and the entire album absolutely burns with an old soul, blues, funk, punk fire. The guitar rages, the organ drives everything and turns these scary songs into danceable grooves. The drums & bass are menacing and Negrito cements everything with a voice that does it all. He growls, he yelps, he screams, he coos, he sings with the passion & youthful energy of someone half his age. With a life story as interesting as the songs, Fantastic Negrito is yet another reincarnation of the talent that is Xavier Dphrepaulezz. Raised Orthodox Muslim as the eighth of 14 kids in Massachusets with a Somali-Caribbean immigrant father who played traditional African music, Dphrepaulezz moved to Oakland at 12. He played in punk and funk bands through his twenties, and was involved in the Oakland and Los Angeles underground scene in the 90′s, until a nearly fatal car crash put him in a coma for three weeks and damaged his body beyond repair. Upon coming to, he started work on the songs that would become The Last Days of Oakland. Now when he’s not touring, he plays Beatles covers for his son on their farm in rural Oakland where he has chickens and grows vegetables. 

Seeing him live at Lost Lake here in Denver a few months back was powerful, and even though I know there are songs on Oakland that aren’t written for me (or meant for me to sing in any way) the music is electric and I always feel welcome in the space. Negrito writes from a wise perspective and his songs are incisive social commentaries that I feel to be absolutely essential in our current political state. One of the biggest stepping stones in my musical education this year has been the responsibility of the listener to seek out artists from different backgrounds & perspectives (race, gender, age, religion, political leanings, sexual orientation, etc...) and it has been overwhelmingly rewarding (also challenging & problematic) to witness all of these artists using their art to process what they see happening in the world. If you need a place to start, start with Fantastic Negrito, & start with The Last Days of Oakland...

       “I found me a woman, but she thinks too tall / I gave her every inch of my dream but she say it’s too small / She’s a really scary woman...”

HINDS   /   Leave Me Alone

Having seen nine of the 16 bands on this list live in 2016 (with two more to come in the next few months) it would be hard for me to say I had more fun at a show then I did at Hinds opening party at Lost Lake Lounge back in March. A fun filled sing/dance along with enough electric fuzz to turn heads, Hinds is one of those bands that seem to be having the time of their life every show. Having toured relentlessly all over the world before and after the release of their debut album Leave Me Alone, Hinds is simply a REALLY GOOD live band.

Formed in 2011 in Madrid, Spain, Hinds’ name is derived from the Spanish word for a female deer. Part garage rock, part surf rock, all around girl power rock & roll, Hinds write catchy lo-fi rock songs with empowering lyrics. Much the same as Kristian Mattson (Tallest Man on Earth) Hinds’ English-as-a-second-language lyric translations are endearing and often powerfully simple. They sing of “Fat Calmed Kiddos,” “Warts,” and “big cows.” and they don’t find it odd to sing “I will send your flowers back” or “I need you to be around my legs & stop complaining about the rain.” Having been five years in the making, Leave Me Alone feels almost like a greatest hits record and the twelve tracks are strong from start to finish. One of the moments I remember most from the night I saw Hinds at Lost Lake, was actually between sets, sitting on a doorstep in the snow on Monroe St. talking about women in music. I remember the excitement I felt as I realized how much incredible songwriting I may have been missing out on in my 20′s because I had too narrow a focus in pursuing/recognizing the importance of bands like Hinds. These four ladies have been outspoken about their roles as non-American feminist rock&rollers taking America by storm and trying to stir some things up in the process. They walk the line between having a good time and having something to say and they are definitely a band to watch out for in the next few years. Viva Hinds!

       “I am swimming in the dark / Cause all your friends are sharks / Keep fighting for your truth / Amazing feelings juice...”

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER  /  Heart Like A Levee

I first heard Hiss Golden Messenger through a work friend at my old job (Joe K. at Mile High Organics) and fell immediately for the songwriting and mysticism of Bad Debt. More on work friend Joe K. in a minute, but here it is six years later, and MC Taylor has a beast on his hands with what’s become of his Hiss Golden Messenger songwriting project. Mostly gone are the dark, little, guy-with-guitar folk songs; here they’ve been replaced by sprawling, country singalongs, bouncy horns, and some downright devilish electric blues numbers.

HGM is one of a spectacular trio of Durham bands on this years list (keep reading to get to Mount Moriah & Loamlands) and they swap and share players and intertwine into a gorgeous, guitar-y mish-mash. Taylor enlists the same Cook brothers (Loamlands, Megafaun, The Staves, Bon Iver, and solo stuff) the same Matt McCaughan on drums (Loamlands & Bon Iver) and the electric Josh Kaufman (from Josh Ritter’s Sermon On The Rocks, my #1 album last year). These guys sound tight, well rehearsed, and it is a small regret of mine that I left their killer show at the Bluebird here in Denver about six songs in to watch the Chicago Cubs win the world series back in October!

The songs on Heart Like A Levee are stories...quick snapshots, vignettes that feel like they needed to be told. Taylor is master writer, a wise wise lyricist, and he writes past, present, and future like an old soul. He tells stories about his children, traveling, home, and the passage of time. He captures little moments and stretches them out over years & years of feelings. This brings me back to my old work friend Joe K. Joe managed the refrigerated department at Mile High Organics and I was taking over for him in early Spring 2012. As he trained me, I took over his email. His email password, he explained, had been passed down to him from the previous refrigerated department manager (whose name I’ve long since forgotten) and he was passing it down to me. I’ve kept that password through the closing of one company, the start of another, and all the different positions I’ve held in between. I’ve told the story many times to many different people over the years but I’ve only ever told the password to a few. It’s a beautiful two word phrase (13 letters & damn hard to type) and I feel like it describes so much about the music I love, about art, about life. Anyway, the passage of time, the passing of secrets, the passing of...passwords, is what Heart Like A Levee is to me. There are lessons to be learned here, lessons Taylor has learned from his past and passes down to us, and there is a future written in these songs. A future where we all have lessons to learn and work to do. 

       “I’m watching your dark legs, flashing like some battlefield / Should I drown in that Atlanta rain? / Yes, babe-I can’t stand it...”

L.A. SALAMI   /   Dancing With Bad Grammar

The ease with which Lookman Adekuni Salami (stylized L.A. Salami) rolls through the 14 tracks on his electric debut album; hopping between ballads, rockers, blues, & soul, is polished & focused, and hints at both a musical backstory and a very promising future. The storytelling thread in Dancing With Bad Grammar is palpable & personal and allows Salami to expertly and openly explore poverty, religion, race, the working class, violence, mental health, and philosophy. He uses dictionary words, uncommon phrasing, and a wicked sense of humor to make these songs worth pulling out a lyric sheet (this blog isn’t titled linernotes... for nothing remember!) and diving in for multiple listens. 

Dancing opens innocently (and good-coffee-morning-ly) enough, with the finger plucked acoustic guitar of “Going Mad As The Street Bins” but as soon as Salami’s thick British accent kicks in, throwing words like “dustbins, placentas, miffty, possums, & J. Dilla” the track is immediately interesting. From there it explodes, all crashing electric guitars and cymbals. Vocally & musically Salami channels a few modern artists as well as countless greats. I hear Marcus Mumford on “No Hallelujahs Now,” Brett Dennen on “Day To Day,” and he does an awesome Courtney Barnett on the vicious bridge of the jammy, off-kilter, bluesy first single “The City Nowadays.” Throughout Dancing Salami showcases a mastery of words, a driving acoustic playing style, and enough blues & soul to make this a true singer-songwriter’s album. He masterfully weaves gorgeous ballads (”& Bird” & ”I Can’t Slow Her Down”) with fierce, fast paced social commentaries (”I Wear This Because Life is War!” & “Loosely On My Mind”) all the while making the songs feel decidedly his. It is in the plaintive, playful lilt of personal favorites “Day To Day (For 6 Days a Week)” and “Aristotle Ponders The Sound” where Lookman’s serious, sardonic, and silly songwriting style sounds like Dylan, Cohen, or Zevon filtered through the educated eyes of a black, British kid. Dancing With Bad Grammar is not to be missed. Equal parts fun, socially conscious, and fiercely frightening; it is an album that is important this year and Salami is a songwriter you will be hearing about for years to come. 

       “To trick-reap the lands for other’s gains / Now money maintains the way in which they suffered / Which once was clear a row of arms in chains, now appear as nothing changed / Restrained by wages the sovereign slaves wage war on each other / & as the suits & sullied saints taint the buck that Lady Luck struck with a hunter armed with hunger...”

LOAMLANDS  /  Sweet High Rise

Sweet High Rise is the rare debut album that stands as a mission statement, a time-capsule work, and a politically charged mega-important protest record. Kym Register has been a fixture in the Durham, NC fringe scene for years (fronting Midtown Dickens and running The Pin Hook bar/venue) and describes Loamlands as “a musical endeavor aimed at telling stories of being from the South through present day queer caucasian eyes.” Register’s singular voice runs like a ramrod through the entirety of High Rise. Deeply personal but built on centuries of history in Durham, NC, this record serves as a marker for where a person and city stand at a specific time. “Little River” tells the story of Ronald Antonevitch who was murdered in 1981 at a popular gay swimming hole on Little River. This event is credited with starting the first gay pride marches in North Carolina. “Get Ready” deals with the police brutality going on right now and the one minute thirty-two second title track talks about gentrification over one of the sweetest little guitar riffs you’ll hear all year. 

Musically, Register enlists the help of some of my favorite, uber talented crew from NC. With the Cook brothers and Matt McCaughan (if you’ve been paying attentiona you already know all about them) on rhythm and keys, High Rise is tight and roaring. Register’s guitar tones blaze with ferocity but just as quickly drop into steady, rolling marching rhythms, matched to the feet of ancient & current protestors. Call it alt-country, call it folk-punk, call it good old fashion rock&roll, Kym Register has made a statement with this one and everyone would do well to tune in and really listen. In a year where I personally have been challenged to use my privilege and to figure out how to use where I’m at to help...I absolutely love how many musicians are putting their hearts & souls into autobiographical masterpieces to use whatever privilege & stature they may have with their place in music to speak out and help. Sweet High Rise is an strong album that will be looked back at for years as a marker, a mission statement, and a snapshot of our times. 

       “Don’t you trust that story that you read on the news / It will take you miles & miles & miles away from the truth / But I hope you’re right now / I hope a change comes soon...”

LUCY DACUS   /   No Burden

When I saw Lucy Dacus on a whim at Denver’s Lost Lake Lounge last March I only knew a few of her songs. I had heard the awesomely titled “Troublemaker Doppelganger” on a mix from my music friend Adam of songsfortheday  (sandwiching that and Mount Moriah’s “Calvander” around Sturgill Simpson was perfect) and I went by myself on a freezing night. There were probably 20 people there and Dacus and her stellar band blew me away on her first ever tour stop in Colorado. Much of No Burden (her rereleased debut album on Matador Records) burns with a brooding intensity, fiery tongue-in-cheek wit, and electric strums low enough to match Dacus’ throbbing, meandering voice.

Dacus’ songs are personal and varied, written about friends & loved ones. She mixes romantic relationship songs with great platonic (gasp!) relationship songs and humorous (although she doesn’t wanna’ be funny anymore) songs. Having been adopted at a young age, Dacus somewhat dryly remarks that “From infancy I was taught that life was innately worthwhile because a bunch of people had worked together to give me one!” This idea informs all her songwriting and her debut is wonderful not just for the wisdom she imparts in only nine songs, but for the potential she has a lyricist & musician. Musically, Dacus’ band is precise and beefy, backing up her glinting songs with surprisingly heavy drums, jagged guitar, and in the few times they cut loose (and especially live) they really know how to rock out. It’s hard to believe that the entire album was recorded in one day, but knowing that gives the album a chronological, journal journey feel. The way Dacus bookends both sides of No Burden with the ellipsed “Dream State...” & “Familiar Place” and the line “Without you I’m surely the last of our kind...” is perfect, & this record is definitely one to listen to front to back in one sitting. I can’t wait to see where she goes with her next album and her already blossoming career. 

       “Send my regards to the North my friends / I am built for the heat I regret to admit / My fear of freezing keeps me on my feet & so far my whole life’s one long lucky streak...”

MARGARET GLASPY   /   Emotions & Math

If this were a “best of” 2016 list, Margaret Glaspy’s Emotions & Math would be #1. As far as favorites go, Bon Iver might have an unfair advantage/corner of my heart, but Glaspy’s debut full length is brilliant start to finish and definitely one of my most recommended listens. Seeing Glaspy open solo for Mount Moriah back in April, I was blown away by her guitar talent and the way her voice seemed to jump from effortlessly innocent to calculatedly cruel. The strength of E&M is that it highlights her myriad talents while still sounding cohesive and powerful. Glaspy is an incredible songwriter (most of these tracks could/should be singles), a better guitarist than most I’ve seen, and she weaponizes her voice with versatility & ease. 

Emotions & Math is the rare, perfectly named record. Most of these precisely written songs find Glaspy calculating equations of heartbreak, anger, freedom, bittersweet regret, understanding, and learning how to move on. She deals with all these emotions in interesting and focused ways, and her guitar and vocals echo her heart & brain with a thorny, fiery, fierce passion that is 100% palpable in all her songs. A true songwriter’s songwriter, Glaspy covers two songs live (Ms Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” & Lucinda Williams’ “Fruits of my Labor”) and wholeheartedly appreciates the intricate intertwinings of great songs. From the hesitant pride of the title track (”I’m a skinny mess that’s breathless from telling you all of the things that I’m gonna do”) to the defiant rage echoed by her guitar in “Situation” (”I’m not gonna sleep in anybody’s shade”) Glaspy lets each song be itself and they are all 100% her. She has fleshed out her sound with a full band but her guitar skill stands alone, front & center. When she slows down and gets moodier like in the challenge-yourself anthem “Black is Blue” & the brutal break up brood of “Memory Street” her writing is powerful & immediate. This is one of the most personal & important lyrical collections on this list and luckily...Glaspy backs it up with equally impressive electric guitar and truly breathtaking songwriting. 

       “I’m a little rock on a big mountain / Nobody’s calling my name, nobody’s paying me mind / I’m a little drop from a big fountain / Oh I blend in & that’s fine / & my sister, she is gonna die trying / With her heart ablaze & a fighting song / Not me, I’ll be a dandelion / Ooh give a gust of wind & I’m gone...”

MOUNT MORIAH   /   How To Dance

One of my most listened-to albums of the year, Mount Moriah have created a complete collection of songs that take the listener on a journey through North Carolina’s landmarks, highways, and counties. How To Dance will leave you feeling like you’ve just taken a road trip through their home state. While the other two spectacular musicians from Durham on this list (Loamlands & Hiss Golden Messenger) focus on looking at the people & history of their great city & state, How To Dance reads more like a topographical map. Listing specific places like Calvander (rural, unincorporated community along old NC HWY 86), Carteret County, Bogue Banks, Newport River, Fish Dam Road, HWY 15, 501, Oceanana Pier, I-95, and these are just the ones in North Carolina!

Musically, Heather McEntire has given in to her Southern roots (she spent years fronting the post-punk band Bellafea) and How To Dance burns with electric guitar and slowed down grooves. The speedier tracks like “Chiron” & “Cardinal Cross” have McIntire belting like a country-er Stevie Nicks, but when she slows it down and breaks hearts on “Davis Square” and the title track, she goes full-on Bonnie Raitt. The instrumental outro to closer “Little Bear” is reminiscent of Loamlands doing the same thing with “Get Ready” to close out their sister album Sweet High Rise. The guest list on Dance is impressive with McEntire singing with Angel Olsen on the pulsing “Precita,” Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls on personal favorite “Higher Mind,” and Mirah Zeitlan on the sticky sweet “Baby Blue.”

Songs about places have always had a special -ahem- place in my heart (Mat Kearney & Springsteen made me make a whole MIX about places) and McEntire’s songs burn with a desire to mark time & place. These are songs written by someone who is proud of where she came from and wants the listener to experience a small taste of it through her music. Songs like that only work with a capable hand and McEntire has a masterpiece on her hands with Mount Moriah’s third full-length album. 

       “You used to sing to me in sweet half tone, caramel eyes soft as honeycomb / Striking iron & turning coal, middle of summer in your overalls / Macon, Georgia, Roanoke, Crooked River 15-501 / We all got vices cuz the pain still flows / We all got things we’re afraid to show / I meet my maker in the yellow mounds & I listened for the astral sounds / I meet my maker in the desert & I begged for a heavy lesson...”

PINEGROVE   /   Cardinal

Pinegrove won me over (and won the hotly contested last band chosen for this list) not with their album but with their live show. A fan favorite (borderline cult band) this year, I caught Pinegrove at the tiny Marquis Theater opening for Kevin Devine (Kevin I love Instigator but this year is for the kids!) The election was 11 days old and the world was changing. Pinegrove made a point to take a minute in their set to talk about what we could do in these times and they spoke of choosing your friends wisely, challenging those around you with tough conversations, and using your privilege to talk to people about stuff that matters. In a way, all the words they said live echoed what their album says, but it was super meaningful to me at the time. They also have made a point to verbally acknowledge from the stage that “Black lives matter. Muslim lives matter. Queer lives matter.” 

Pinegrove is from New Jersey and Cardinal is their second full length album (along with numerous EPs) and their first major label release. Cardinal is interesting in that it combines the best elements of alt-country, late 90′s rock, emo revival, and indie hipster dad rock, to create something that sounds fresh, exciting, & immediate. The lyrics here are conversations; disjointed & disconnected, full of big words, awkward words, but consistently catchy as hell. These snapshots are moments (music marks time & place remember?) and they are handled simultaneously carefully & carelessly. In “Size of The Moon” they recount “Do you remember in your living room when we made some room & moved ourselves around in it?” and in “Old Friends” they remember “Walking out in the nighttime Springtime, needling my way home.” Backed by rhythmic, uplifting guitar, the songs sound bright and airy, even while tinged with tangible amounts of backyard regrets. Under it all, the eight tracks on Cardinal challenge and push themselves (and the listener) to listen...to be better. This is an album of hard work, but it’s not afraid to revel in its moments, because as we mark those times, we also mark growth. Pinegrove looks forward to a brighter future and their songs viscerally feel brighter and heavier every time the seasons turn. 

       “Would you like a drink while we wait for everything to get good again? / We’re good at things & so are a lot of our friends / We should forget these setbacks & get back moving again / ...I wanna visit the future & dance in a field of light...”

SERATONES   /   Get Gone

One of my favorite surprises of late 2016 came through my radio speakers as I was parking my car a couple blocks off Colfax on a frosty November night. My favorite Denver radio station OpenAir was blasting an in-studio session from Shreveport, Louisiana’s Seratones and the guitar grabbed my attention immediately. Crunchy & heavy, while still feeling light & bouncy, Seratones shred through upbeat soul and rock numbers like Alabama Shakes or Black Keys (who are signed to the same Fat Possum records), but have a decidedly Southern sound. I started my car back up, drove down to Twist & Shout Records and bought Seratones blistering debut Get Gone.

The first and second tracks are fiery barn burners that find lead singer AJ Haynes throwing her voice every which way and her yelps & howls are immediately electric and endearing. Haynes grew up singing at Brownsville Baptist Church since age 6 and her vocals jump easily between sweet falsettos and throaty yells. She croons all Amy Winehouse-y over minor chords in “Tied” and the title track, and gorgeous closer “Keep Me” sounds like Jefferson Airplane smoking weed with Florence Welch. Throughout their poised debut, Seratones (the name is derived from the Spanish word “cera” which refers to the term “put it on wax” or “record to vinyl” and they changed the c to an s to resemble Seratonin) sound confidant, focused, and downright jamming fun. Haynes drives the songs with her vocals and she drives the band as an outspoken leader; speaking up about safe spaces at shows and working with/setting examples for women young & old. She is a real star and I can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon for this new band.  

       “Sun’s going down like you know it would / I’m trouble-bound coming through the wood / Come hold me down it’ll do you good.”

YOU WON’T  /  Revolutionaries

You Won’t’s sophomore album is a frantic frolic through raw rollicking guitars, every weird rhythmic instrument you can think of, and head turning lyrics about doucheys, buttocks, Jesus & trampolines. Sounding decidedly Massachusets-y (is it the bagpipes and time-period costumes?) and with more than subtle hints of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst, and Warren Zevon, Revolutionaries is a tight-knit batch of songs that thrusts its arms wide and isn’t afraid to crack a smile or bust out a belly laugh. 

The fact that this duo of Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri met as fencing partners in a high school take on a Broadway play in itself sounds like lyrics from a You Won’t B-side. Revolutionaries sounds far grander and fuller than you would expect from a duo (and a self produced album!) and most of the power comes from Arnoudse’s driving acoustic playing. Similar to my #1 Favorite album from last year (Josh Ritter’s magical Sermon On The Rocks) it was the first few singles from Revolutionaries that hit me dead on. “Ya Ya Ya” came first with all its makeup, powdered wigs, rubber chickens, and warehouse ballet sequence?! (is that you kanye? Is this “Runaway”?) Next came the breakneck “No Divide” with its equally epic, glorious Elvis-with-horn-playing-monkeys good time of a video. These are dance numbers that will have you spinning round your kitchen belting out “you’re free to make your choices and free to question mine!” The rest of Revolutionaries holds up as consistent, cohesive, and weirdly wise. You Won’t is one of those fun bands who stay off social media, don’t tour a ton, only release music when they want, and seem to have a total blast doing what they do. Amid a lot of serious and important albums on this list, this one isn’t afraid to laugh at itself (”I broke a window with my buttocks but my buttocks were just fine!”) and it’s downright danceable fun from start to finish. 

       “She was a young girl in motion / Another ripple in the ocean / Gathering up all of her force into a wave / Another year or four / She was tearing up the floor & / Tearing down anyone that tore into her way...”

[junker-town]

Every NFL starting QB, ranked for the 2021 season

From Zach Wilson to the league’s big three passers, we’re here to rank every projected starting QB for the 2021 NFL season.

It may be a while before every team names their starting quarterback for Week 1 in the NFL for the 2021 season. There will be several open competitions in training camp for starting spots around the league, especially for teams that drafted rookie QBs. Even with the NFL season still months away, it’s never a bad time to evaluate each of the league’s projected starting quarterbacks heading into the new season.

In a lot of cases, these are rankings are not just a sign of individual talent, but also the supporting cast that will make a quarterback shine. We know just how important fit is in terms of scheme and weapons. Thankfully, a lot of this year’s signal callers are in the best place for their abilities to shine.

Here are all of the league’s projected started QBs, ranked.

No. 32: Zach Wilson — Jets

Wilson is a rookie landing on a team still lacking offensive talent. I’m not the biggest Wilson fan, but putting him last is more indicative of how difficult it is to adjust to the NFL, not his talent ceiling. Hope for flashes of brilliance and some baby steps, and little more.

No. 31: Sam Darnold — Panthers

The Panthers believe in the Sam Darnold reclamation project, but that doesn’t mean it’s enough to put him higher on this list. Darnold needs to prove A LOT this season, and there’s definitely potential for him to reach his ceiling away from Adam Gase. This is the best group of receivers Darnold has ever had, so the excuses are gone. He’s going to need to start performing from the jump.

No. 30: Andy Dalton — Bears

Nothing about Andy Dalton’s game should excite anyone. It’s going to be a boring wait for Bears fans until Justin Fields gets his call to start. This is a caretaker role, and Chicago’s defense is good enough that it might be enough. Still, nothing to really write home about.

No. 29: Jameis Winston — Saints

I know there’s a lot of hope that Jameis and his new-found vision (literally) will lead the Saints to sustained success, but I’m not sold. I think the whole “I needed contacts” thing is a nice story, but doesn’t explain away his poor decision making or inconsistency. There’s a small chance he can break out, but I’m not holding my breath.

No. 28: Daniel Jones — Giants

This is it for Daniel Jones. If he doesn’t excel this season it should be over for him. The amount of talent the Giants have added to their offense during free agency and the draft is astounding, and if he remains a dink-and-dunk passer with a worrying lack of touchdowns then there’s nothing that can save him in the NFL.

No. 27: Drew Lock — Broncos

I still have no idea who will start in Denver, and I’m not sure the Broncos do either. They’ve basically been linked to every free agent quarterback, are rumored to still be trying to get a package together for Aaron Rodgers, and signed Teddy Bridgewater. Still, Lock remains. He’s been pretty unremarkable so far.

No. 26: Tua Tagovailoa — Dolphins

I think Tua was unfairly criticized for much of his rookie season. At times he looked every bit of the quarterback once pegged to be the No. 1 overall pick, and other times he played too safely and didn’t take enough shots downfield. I want to see more, and think the potential is there — especially after adding Jaylen Waddle in the draft.

No. 25: Jalen Hurts — Eagles

We have an exceptionally small sample size to go off here, but I’m leaning towards this being a breakout year for Hurts. The Eagles got an incredible partner for him in DeVonta Smith in the draft, and that reliability will pay dividends. A lot of pressure is on Hurts’ shoulders this season to prove to an unforgiving Eagles fanbase that he can be “the guy,” but I think he has the tools to rise to the occasion.

No. 24: Carson Wentz — Colts

A fresh start is exactly what Carson Wentz needs, and I think Indianapolis is a great landing spot for him. That said, he really needs to regain his confidence early to prove he can go back to being a top tier quarterback. The player we’ve seen the last two years was a shadow of his former self. There’s potential here, but I’m still on the fence too much whether I can have faith in him.

No. 23: Jimmy Garopollo — 49ers

There are a lot of questions who ends up being the starter in San Francisco, but in the end I think the team opts for familiarity while Trey Lance learns the system. Jimmy G clearly isn’t the franchise quarterback the team hoped for when they traded for him, but he’s good enough in a pinch to bridge the gap.

No. 22: Trevor Lawrence — Jaguars

The No. 1 pick from the 2021 draft lands in the early 20s in the overall rankings, and has the top for the rookie class. I think Lawrence is going to be an incredible pro, but it’s too early to have much a ton of trust him in this season while he adjusts to the NFL. The Jaguars need to put more receiving talent around him.

No. 21: Cam Newton — Patriots

Newton needs to rebound in a major way this season if he hopes to continue his NFL career. It’ll be interesting to see if he can bounce back to his pre-Covid form, which was objectively excellent — or if the NFL has just taken too much of a toll on him at this point. It’s a damn shame, but regardless of what happens I think New England moves on next year and hand the keys over to Mac Jones.

No. 20: Ryan Fitzpatrick — Washington

I’m not a big Ryan Fitzpatrick fan, but I have to admit he’s adept at doing his job. The role of caretaker is a difficult one, often moving from team-to-team waiting to usher in a new era, and Fitzpatrick does it well. I know how this year plays out. He’ll do phenomenally well for 8 weeks, fans will say he’s the new franchise QB, then he’ll struggle down the stretch and be replaced in 2022.

No. 19: Jared Goff — Lions

I don’t really know what to expect from Jared Goff anymore. A few years ago he seemed to be a lock to become of the best quarterbacks in the league, but it’s been a fairly steady decline since then. Now he’s leaving Los Angeles, and landing on a team with even less offensive talent around him. I think there’s a glimmer of potential here, but I’m not holding my breath.

No. 18: Baker Mayfield — Browns

The fact Mayfield is this low, with 3,500 yards and such a positive TD/INT ratio is simply an acknowledgement of how ridiculous the passing talent in the NFL is right now. In order to lift himself in the rankings moving forward he’ll need to improve his completion percentage a little. It’s not like 63 percent is bad, it’s just that players are completing so many passes it feels like 65 percent is a benchmark now — with 23 starters completing above that mark.

No. 17: Kirk Cousins — Vikings

You know what you get with Kirk Cousins. He’s going to put up big numbers, he’s going to make the Pro Bowl, and nothing he does will be remarkable. Cousins has found a niche, but I’m not really sure it catapults the Vikings into the playoffs this year.

No. 16: Derek Carr — Raiders

The best quarterback perpetually on a “it’s time to replace him” list, I feel like Derek Carr has never gotten a fair shake from fans. That said, there’s something to be said about his consistency. Last season his best game came against the Chiefs, and his worst against the Jets. That doesn’t do much to settle arguments about whether he can lead Las Vegas to a Super Bowl.

No. 15: Ben Roethlisberger — Steelers

I know Steelers fans are going to be angry. I get it. However, I have a hard time putting Ben too much higher here. At 39-years-old I know the wheels will fall of at some point, and I’d hate ranking him super highly and then seeing it all go down the tube. Roethlisberger still has an incredible supporting cast, and his life will get easier with Najee Harris, but I think getting back a strong running back will take away some of his passing numbers.

No. 14: Matthew Stafford — Rams

It’s going to be really interesting to see Matthew Stafford integrate himself into a new offense with new personnel and see how it plays out. I still think he’s a good quarterback, albeit not what he was at his peak — but the Rams have a lot of faith in him turning the tide. That’s possible, but it’s a big question mark at the moment.

No. 13: Kyler Murray — Cardinals

Kyler Murray didn’t take the kind of mammoth leap forward in 2020 that many expected, and that’s why he falls out of the Top 10. The Cardinals “keep passing until the wheels fall off” offense definitely improved with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, but not by the magnitudes I expected. In the end Murray didn’t have a sophomore slump, which is a credit to his skill — but we need to see some more progression this season.

No. 12: Ryan Tannehill — Titans

The best reclamation story in the last 10 years of the NFL, Tannehill flies under the radar because Derrick Henry gets all the headlines. Tannehill has turned into the perfect quarterback for the Titans. He’s smart, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and allows the rest of the team to shine. I wanted to put him higher, but finding a slot was difficult.

No. 11: Justin Herbert — Chargers

I love, love, love Justin Herbert and his flowing locks. For the Chargers to move on from Philip Rivers and find an heir apparent this quickly is surely something very few people saw happening. I could easily see Herbert progressing further and cementing himself near the top of this list, but even if he stays put he’s one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, bar none.

No. 10: Joe Burrow — Bengals

I’m giving the slight nod to Burrow here over Justin Herbert because of just how good he was prior to injury. Yes, I’m putting some faith in him returning to form — but with Ja’Marr Chase as a new weapon, Burrow is poised to make an impact. I still wish the Bengals got him a little more protection, but this was a guy who was on pace for 4,300 passing yards prior to injury. That’s similar to Herbert, sure ... but he didn’t have the same support around him.

No. 9: Matt Ryan — Falcons

Often a scapegoat for frustrations, even the angriest of fans have to admit Ryan is a top 10 passer. Sure, he has a tremendous pool of talent around him made even better with the addition of Kyle Pitts, but this year could be really tough if Julio Jones leaves town. Expect another 4,000 yard year from Ryan, that still leaves nobody truly happy.

No. 8: Lamar Jackson — Ravens

Unquestionably one of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch, 2021 will really be a big year for Lamar Jackson. He’s getting a bolstered receiving corps with the likes of Sammy Watkins and rookie Rashod Bateman, which should allow him to show off his arm a little more than he has in the past. Jackson has shown he has all the skills, but to jump into the conversation with the top 5 he’ll need to show he can throw for more than 3,500 yards in a season.

No. 7: Russell Wilson — Seahawks

Russell Wilson belongs higher on this list, he really does — but until he shows more consistency, it’s tough. A midseason lock for MVP a year ago, Wilson struggled in the back stretch finishing with three games with a QB rating under 80, and looking nothing like the player who dominated to open the season. Some struggles with Seahawks management only exasperated the issue and this is really going to be a “prove it” year, not so much for Wilson himself, but for Seattle to keep him happy.

No. 6: Josh Allen — Bills

We’re past the point now of pretending Josh Allen didn’t make EVERY analyst look foolish by turning into a different player than the one we saw at Wyoming. Settling into his fourth season, Allen has now shown he made it past the three year evaluation hump, and is truly one of the top 10 passers in the NFL. His early tendencies to rely on his legs too much are gone, and with a good supporting cast of receivers he’s poised to become a major problem for defenses this season.

No. 5: Dak Prescott — Cowboys

It’s so weird to think of a Dallas Cowboys quarterback flying under the radar, but it feels like Prescott is the best quarterback people don’t really talk about when it comes to the NFL’s best passers. This is probably due (in part) to a year of Cowboys fans saying Dak wasn’t that good because he didn’t sign a low-ball offer, now needing to pivot into championing him again.

No. 4: Deshaun Watson — Texans

Honestly, I don’t know what Watson’s situation will be in 2021. There’s a pending league investigation into allegations of sexual assault, and that could mean he’s suspended for a significant amount of time. However, if we look purely at on-field play he remains one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, even on the league’s most dysfunctional roster.

No. 3: Tom Brady — Bucs

Brady is past the point where he’ll be a stat-stuffing God, but until someone else proves it he’s still the best pure winner at the position in football. With the support around him in Tampa Bay, there’s nothing preventing him from having another great season, perhaps even taking the Buccaneers back to the Super Bowl.

No. 2: Patrick Mahomes — Chiefs

It’s Pat Mahomes. Nuff said, really. Seriously though, crushing Super Bowl loss aside, the Chiefs have made moves to get Mahomes more protection, which feels like the only thing holding him back from throwing for 5,000 yards a season like it’s nothing.

No. 1: Aaron Rodgers — Packers

Rodgers is the reigning MVP, sure — but this is also a product of him doing so much with such little support. For Rodgers to actually be the top quarterback again in 2021 could depend on where he plays, but I have a feeling enough will be done to keep him in Green Bay and get him some help.

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Pulp on Pulp, Sabatini, Jirel, Weird Westerns

New Project (Misha Burnett): A reminder that the collection of essays that Cheah Kit Sun and I are putting together is open for submissions. I don’t know that Pulp On Pulp will be its title when it comes time to publish it–I just needed to call it something. I am looking for essays from writers, editors, reviewers, and readers of fiction on the subject of what makes fiction fun. The emphasis should be on practical considerations–do this, don’t do that.

Writing (Amatopia): I recently put up a huge blog roll of sites I read and authors I want to spread the word about. Problem is, lots of them didn’t have websites or blogs to link to! Sure, there are alternatives. For example, I linked to many Amazon pages, either for the author or a particular book. But an actual web presence can make an author seem more official, and in the indie world, this is very important.

Review (DVS Press): Brian Niemeier’s new book is out now, and it’s a number one best seller. Let’s address one 100 IQ level comeback I see frequently when talking about shutting your wallet to the mega-corporations who not only don’t give a shit about the franchises that you grew up with, but actively hate you and your culture and want it (and you) dead: bUt yOu Use AMaZon/yOuTUbE /fAcEbOok/PAtreON.

Popular Culture (Wasteland & Sky): As you can see from the photos in this post, normal people were all over the arcades at its peak in the late ’80s to early ’90s. I know, because I was there. When the most creative and successful games from Double Dragon and Final Fight, to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, to Time Crisis and Dance Dance Revolution, were around, arcades thrived. By the end of the ’90s, the crowds got smaller as the games were shifting to home consoles. Normal people left, and developers abandoned the subculture.

Fiction (DMR Books): When I wrote my first post about Rafael Sabatini and his swashbuckling fiction, the concept for a series about the “Forefathers of Sword and Sorcery” here on the DMR Blog was still merely a glimmer in my eye. As with Arthur Machen, it’s high time Sabatini received his own entry. In this post, I try not to retread too much ground. For a more complete picture of the man and his work, I recommend that you check out “Rafael Sabatini: King of the Swashbucklers”.

Westerns (Brain Leakage): it’s not hard to see the appeal of stories about rugged loners living by their own rules. Nor is it difficult to see the appeal of books and movies that dwell on the majestic beauty of wide open spaces. Above all, Westerns are stories about personal freedom. After so many weeks being told where we can and can’t go, how close we can and can’t get to people, and what businesses we are and aren’t allowed to patronize anymore, who can blame viewers for looking to John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Yul Brenner for a little cathartic release?

Weird Western (Marzaat): There are new additions to the Weird Western subgenre all the time in games, fiction, comics, and movies. I’ve been interested in it for decades, starting with old Twilight Zone comic books and the Clint Eastwood movies High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider. The trouble is that, while I haven’t looked at every single example of the subgenre, I have sampled quite a few and most have been disappointing. For me, that disappointment comes in three areas.

Art (Broadway World): The Frank Frazetta The Serpent (aka “Aros”) Paperback Novel Cover Painting Original Art (Paperback Library, 1967) and Bernie Wrightson Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein Front Endpapers Illustration Original Art (late 1970s) sparked furious bidding to lead Heritage Auctions’ Comics & Comics Art Auction to $9,099,710 in total sales April 30-May 3. So strong was the demand that the Dallas-based auction raced past its pre-auction estimate of just over $7.3 million and boasted sell-through rates of 100% by lots and value.

D&D (Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog): Magic is way more interesting. Tons of off the wall spells get used. Having to find magic the AD&D way creates one of the best incentives to adventure ever made. Success here– finding even two or three new first level spells– can fundamentally change the nature of the game and the balance of power between the first level classes. Exciting! With three big books of monsters instead of a “pure” edited down list of archetypes, the players run into something they’ve never seen before almost every session.

Art (Mens Pulp Mags): David is, among other things, an aficionado of men’s adventure magazines (MAMs). So, he knows that Eva is the most widely-recognized female artist’s model in the MAM genre, in addition to being a popular pinup photo model featured in various types of men’s magazines from the mid-1950s to the 1970s. He also knows that Steve Holland is the most famous male model in the realms of both MAMs and paperback covers. Holland is particularly well known for being the model artist James Bama used for Doc Savage, in the cover art Bama did for the Bantam paperback series.

Sword-and-Sorcery (Legends of Men): What makes this story bad is first and foremost the prose. Phrases are repeated in ways that only seem like that of an amateur author. In the opening scene, Jirel storms a castle and impatiently calls for Giraud’s head. Twice more we are told how impatient she is. This sort of repetition is rampant. More importantly, C.L. Moore does not follow the best practice of “show, don’t tell.” Rather than showing us that Jirel is brave Moore just writes “she was not afraid.” This frequent and another example of how the author comes off as an amateur.

Video Games (That Matt Kid): Conan has had quite the bumpy ride in his transition to the video game world. Let’s revisit some of the earliest titles in the barbarian’s gaming adventures.

Pulp Magazines (Don Herron): ere’s a shot of Kong emerging from an alley next to a news agent shop. More mags. The big model allowed panoramic shots and flyovers, but the level of detail extended to street scenes as well. Those shots are rich in every way. Relevant to our interests, there are numerous shots of newsstands, featuring a variety of magazines, including pulps.

Streaming T.V. (Running Iron Report): The world was living for real in the shadow of the fictional prophecy that forms the bedrock of Showtime’s new horror tale, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels: City of Angels is built around the seething racial tensions that simmered just below the golden surface of Los Angeles through most of its history. The planned Arroyo Seco Motorway (eventually the 110 Freeway running from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles) will displace a Mexican-American neighborhood, just as the construction of Dodger Stadium would clean out Chavez Ravine two decades later. Nazis are infiltrating the film studios and the aircraft manufacturing plants.

Review (Paperback Warrior): After the pulp magazines disappeared, they were largely replaced by a more gritty and realistic magazine genre collectively known as Men’s Adventure Magazines (MAMs). These glossy, color publications featured stories and artwork by the same people servicing the men’s paperback original market in the 1950s and 1960s. Magazines like Adventure and Real Men were filled with colorful illustrations and stories designed to appeal to working class men returning home from the wars of the Mid-20th Century.

Fiction (DMR Books): Gustave Flaubert died on this date in 1880. While most famous for his novel, Madame Bovary, and dubbed “The Father of French Literary Realism”, Gustave nonetheless had a strong influence on the early formation of sword-and-sorcery. Salammbo–published in 1862–is loosely based upon the events following the First Punic War. The Carthaginians had lost their war with Rome and then decided to stiff the mercenaries who had fought for them. Predictably, mayhem and atrocities ensued during what has been dubbed the “Mercenary War”.

Fiction (Dark Worlds Quarterly): Fire Hunter (1951) by Jim Kjelgaard follows Hawk, chief weapon-maker for his tribe, as he makes innovation after innovation and leads his tribe to survive sabertooth tigers, rival tribesmen and grass fires. It was illustrated by Ralph Ray. Kjelgaard, who is best known for his Big Red dog books, serves up a fascinating tale of cavemen and invention that is plausible for the time but filled with action and adventure too. He attempts Burroughsian fantasy but strives for plausibility in a way that Jean Auel will make best-sellers of in thirty years. The film 10,000 BC should have used this story.

Gaming (Pelgrane Press): There’s value in seeing how a hero you know translates into Swords of the Serpentine, especially when that hero changes over time. SotS lets you play fledgling (less experienced) and sovereign (exceptionally experienced) versions of the same character, jumping back and forth in time between adventures in the same way a collection of fantasy short stories might jump between different eras of the same hero’s life.

Sensor Sweep: Pulp on Pulp, Sabatini, Jirel, Weird Westerns published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[connorrenwick]

Where I Work: Sarah Yarborough of Raleigh Denim Workshop

When Raleigh Denim launched in 2007, their goal was simply to make a great pair of jeans. They made every pair by hand out of their apartment, initially selling to friends and family and then expanding out-of-town when they received an order for Barney’s. Over time the brand organically grew and with growth, their need for additional sewing machines sent them down the rabbit hole of North Carolina’s prominent textile industry. Today, each pair of jeans is made on their old textile machines they’ve restored by expertly trained jeansmiths, each of which are taught to make the jeans from raw fabric to finished pair. The brand hasn’t stopped at jeans though – they’ve been collaborating with Bernhardt Design for the last few years on textiles and a recently unveiled work table and seating collection. The co-founders behind the Raleigh Denim Workshop brand, Sarah Yarborough and Victor Lytvinenko, are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and today, Sarah is graciously giving us a look behind the scenes at their workshop, home studio, and her work style, in this month’s Where I Work.

What is your typical work style?

My work style is a mash-up of regimented and haphazard. I block time off on my calendar for different parts of the job – I schedule design time separate from time for more admin/operational work; paperwork and spreadsheets can put a real damper on my creativity. Within those blocks of time, especially the creative, I’m not very regimented. I do make tons of lists, though! They’re all over the place…on Post-its, notebooks, Google docs, and the back of my hand. I have trouble remembering everything I want to remember without some help.

I work both on-site and out of office, again, depending on the kind of work I need to do. I love when I can work from home in the mornings, knock out a bunch of emails and get my head right for the day. Then I head to the shop where my work is much more team, machine, and materials oriented. Our production team works on an earlier schedule. When the workshop is quiet, late-afternoon/evening is my most productive time. I’ve got a pretty sweet gig, having access to so many different ways of working.

A repurposed machine in the workshop

What’s your studio/work environment like?

Our workshop environment is pretty wild! It’s a good kind of chaos, I would say. When you walk into the workshop the first thing you’ll see is our retail store called The Curatory (Editor’s note: The Curatory is featured in our Raleigh/Durham travel guide!). We carry our collections there, as well as other lines we love. When you walk into the shop, the first thing you’ll hear is the sound of machines sewing and cutting fabric (if it’s during the week). We cut and sew most of our line on the other side of The Curatory wall. Our workshop is full of old, salvaged and restored sewing machines, most from the 1930’s-1960’s era. There are jeans being sewn at different stages, with parts and pieces everywhere. We also have two huge cutting tables on the workshop floor; that is where everything starts and ends when it comes to design. It is where we make our markers and lay materials for cutting. It’s where we pack massive orders. We basically do everything in this space – make patterns, store material, cut, sew, finish, inspect, pack and ship, etc. At first, it might look chaotic or messy, but there is a flow within the space and a method to the madness.

Sarah’s sewing corner in the workshop

I have a little corner on the main floor that we call the “sample corner.” This is where I stash all of the bits of materials I want to hang on to and the end of fabric roles that I love. I have two machines in there and a tiny table so I can prototype samples before they go to production floor for more development. Then in the very back of the workshop is a cozy open office where we have our pin-up boards and desks. That area is where planning, finance, logistics, production organization, etc., happens.

Studio at home

Sarah working at home

As for my personal studio space in our new home, we’ve designated one “studio” room in the back of the house. Our house is a very traditional house built in 1919. Victor and I have been busy remodeling it and we’re getting close to finishing; I can’t wait. I just finished painting it black and it feels really cozy. I have inspirational material, things I’ve collected, reference books (design, fashion, drawing, art), art supplies, and a clear space for sketching. In a perfect world, my personal space is a little more quiet and orderly than the workshop, basically the opposite environment.

Another repurposed machine in the workshop

How long have you been in this space? Where did you work before that?

Raleigh Denim is actually celebrating our ten-year anniversary this year, which we are incredibly excited about. Victor and I started in a tiny apartment in downtown Raleigh, where we made our first jeans on machines we set up in our living room, before moving into the back of a friend’s warehouse on the edge of town. We posted up in that old warehouse and built a tiny workshop there for about two years. Eventually, we outgrew it and moved into our current space, in the Warehouse District, seven or eight years ago.

When we moved in there wasn’t much going on in the neighborhood. There were a few great art galleries and a really good restaurant, but that was about it. The area has grown a ton over the years; it’s been awesome to be a part of that evolution. We’re neighbors with the CAM Raleigh (the Contemporary Art Museum, of which I’m proud to be a board member), Videri Chocolate, creative agencies, a flower shop, a brand new train station and (soon) a grocery store. It has been really interesting to see it all evolve.

If you could change something about your workspace, what would it be?

Haha, hands down it would be the need for more storage space. It is hard to keep things clean and neat with everything going on in the workshop. We are bursting at the seams. Storing raw materials for production is tricky; we work with everything from tiny needles and rivets to 400 lb rolls of fabric, and all sorts of things in-between. And things are always moving. All the physical parts move through a line to become a physical product, and that line ebbs and flows depending on how big a batch we’re making. I’m happiest when everything has a home and for space to be orderly, so that would definitely be my wish.

Is there an office pet?

No, sadly, we don’t. But we do have the best cat on the planet, Magneto, who enjoys being involved in whatever I’m working on at home.

Do you require music in the background? If so, who are some favorites?

Oh yes, music is a big source of inspiration and motivation for us. Early on, when we were bootstrapping the company, we listened to a lot of Outkast and Kanye (and still do today). Both artists are great to listen to when we want to crank work out. Our entire workshop loves listening to Sylvan Esso, especially if we stay late for a big order or a project. We’ll turn it way up and sing along.

I have really big JBL Everest headphones that I wear a lot, with or without music on. They say “don’t interrupt me; I’m in the zone.” When I am listening to music personally, it’s all over the place. Anything from ridiculous pop music to classical. My recently played list on Spotify reads: Daniel Caesar, Big Thief, Aldous Harding, Glasser, Solange, and Vince Staples.

How do you record ideas?

I have to write things down. That is how I learn best, so even if I never see the paper again, I have a better chance of remembering the idea if I actually wrote it. And I do a lot of really crappy sketching. I keep at least one notebook with me all the time, but I usually have two: one for productive/work lists and notes and one for personal/inspiration. Rollbahn makes the best notebook I’ve ever used, but I sometimes strike out and try a new one because I love good notebooks and smooth paper and sharp pencils and pretty pens.

Do you have an inspiration board? What’s on it right now?

Yes, I definitely have some inspiration boards. In the office I have two boards in the corner. One is straight inspiration that is always evolving and the collection growing. Photos, notes, old drawings, packaging inspirations, etc. that I pin to the wall. The other board is more organized with material and swatch inspirations that are lined in a row. I really like to touch fabrics as much as possible, so I have to feel the materials while developing the samples.

A “superstar” repurposed machine in the workshop

What is your creative process and/or creative workflow like? Does it change every project or do you keep it the same?

I think I keep the broad strokes of my creative process pretty much the same from project to project.

I begin by taking in as much as possible. I need to touch and see things, spread them out and soak them in. I’ll pull out stockpiled ideas and artifacts – things I found on a hike, materials I’ve collected, old garments with important details, photographs, clippings, and drawings. I’ll compile new material selections and recent inspiration, and see how all things get along. Initially, it helps me to talk things out a little. Brainstorming helps me get familiar with the parameters of a particular project. I (usually) think designing within limits and according to rules is much of the fun.

Once I have swatches and artifacts and drawings and stimulation and collaborative input and lots of information, I work solo, processing what I’ve absorbed. I’ll test and sample, compare iterations, respond to how things are working together (or not). Nothing beats actually working with the real materials, so I start making prototypes as soon as I can. At some point, a few things – either ideas or materials or silhouettes – start to stand out and a bigger picture takes shape. I love that moment when all the bits and pieces that used to be a jumble become clear.

After development, comes refining – lots of fittings, culling the line, dialing in the details and trims – and then we field test the final pieces and get feedback. This last step – feedback about how our pieces exist in the world – is one of the most important to us because we generally design things that get better over time.

What kind of art/design/objects might you have scattered about the space?

I think my favorite piece is one my grandmother had hanging in her office for as long as I can remember. It’s a series of butterfly wing photographs, taken at such close range that the pattern in each wing looks like a letter of the alphabet. The images spell the sentence “All finite things reveal infinitude.” There’s tenderness to having this message, from my grandmother, in my space now.

I’ve always collected things like feathers, wings, shells, etc. because they exemplify the relationship between two things that are seemingly at odds. In hanging the butterfly wing picture, I realized: it’s the finite and infinitude coexisting together in one object that I’m drawn to. I’m also fascinated by the relationship between the natural and industrial. I’m continually collecting examples of these things and keep some of them out around the room for inspiration.

In terms of proper art, Shaun Richard’s car crash painting is one of the first pieces we ever purchased and its as powerful now as they day we first hung it. And for Christmas, Victor gave me one of Bill Thelan’s illustrations (of a pickle) because I’ve got pretty serious love of pickles.

Sarah’s quilt

What tools do you most enjoy using in the design process?

My shears are beautiful, and perhaps the most important tool for a clothing maker. I rely heavily on my industrial single needle sewing machine; I’ve sewn almost every prototype and every special project we’ve made with it. And thread. I love picking the perfect color from a rainbow of spools of thread.

Tell us about a current project you’re working on. What was the inspiration behind it?

I’ve been working on this textile piece that has turned into a quilt. It started with two tiny scraps of fabric I loved, sewed together. I’ve been adding to those initial pieces, whenever I have time, using darker material as I go. It’s become a denim blanket with an almost white center, an almost black edge, and beautiful blue gradient in between. I’ve been working on it for about a year now. It almost has become a meditation.

Is there a favorite project/piece you’ve worked on?

Another piece that’s dear to me is my pair of broken-in denim jeans. I’ve been patching and patching, and I will keep patching for as long as humanly possible. Someone recently offered to buy them, but I’ve given them so much time and so many stitches, I don’t think I’ll ever part with them.

Do you feel like you’ve “made it”? What has made you feel like you’ve become successful? At what moment/circumstances? Or what will it take to get there?

I don’t think a whole lot about “making it.” I feel successful when I’m making progress, able to enjoy my work, and when the people I work with are proud of and enjoy their work. I think that’s the case most of the time, so I feel successful to some degree. But I feel success in moments; it isn’t something I dwell on or a mindset I stay in. Sometimes it’s gone almost as soon as I recognize it, and then I focus on what’s next, how to be better. I know I’m in a good spot when I look back and feel proud of what we do and am simultaneously excited about the future.

What’s on your desk right now?

I just cleaned it off, so probably some jeans, a stack of papers, Post-it notes, fabric headers, rulers, scissors, pens and pencils, and two or three tiny things that make me smile.

Do you have anything in your home that you’ve designed/created?

Other than clothing, we have an old school chair upholstered in the material we designed with Bernhardt Design. It’s a pattern that evolved from an old sketch I had from my days in Design School. We also have some pottery I made at Penland, a table Victor made, and so many other small things, it’s kind of hard to keep track.

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