#soft science

[exitwound]

FLOWER MOON Spring is the season of crying and seeing nothing. Of choking up on someone else’s trash. Barbed tennis balls that lodge wherever air’s supposed to go, nasal cavity homewreckers. All spring my lenses wrenched themselves from my eyes, jumped ship, spore-lined and furious. Everything melted and ran down my face. All the trees wanted my number. Sent fuzzy messengers to murmur in my ears: I get so afraid sometimes all I want all I want is. All spring I brushed confessions out of my hair. Tore the little letters apart and locked myself in the refrigerator, until the world promised to stop birthing such soft things.

Franny Choi, from "PERIHELION: A HISTORY OF TOUCH" in Soft Science

[gennsoup]

There should be enough teeth to go around but I'm still smiling, smiling until my gums crack, until I'm a photograph.

Franny Choi, Acknowledgements

[rachelspoetrycorner]

Unrequited Love Song for the Panopticon (2020) by Franny Choi

In Episode 291, Rachel shares a panoptical poem!

Rachel: Anyway, she writes a lot about tech. Her first book of poetry was called Soft Science, it came out in 2019. She said the book came out of writing a series of poems that were inspired by and in the voice of a character from the film Ex Machina, Kyoko.

Griffin: Oh, cool!

Rachel: "When I watched that film, I had a particular combination of emotional responses that provoked a desire to write, a mix of love, confusion, and outrage. I started writing to try and understand what I was feeling about her and quickly realized that the poems are speaking to other poems about my own experience as an Asian-American woman, as a queer Asian-American woman, about moving through the world in a body that had been made an object of desire, fantasy, and power, living as a soft, fleshy, objectified human of the world."

This is one of the few poems that make me feel electrified after reading it -as if, when I touched the page, I got quickly shocked by the static it possesses. If you’d like to hear more about Choi's writing and work, you can do so here: Porous as a Spreadsheet, from 5:45 - 16:04

[romanticbroadcast]

A cyborg woman touches herself for three reasons:

1. to inspect the machinery for errors;

2. to convince herself she is a mammal;

3. to pull herself apart.

— Franny Choi, Soft Science

[bandcampsnoop]

Treasures of Mexico are a Medway, UK band made up of musicians who have played in numerous bands over the years.  The most notable former band - to me at least - is The Dentists (another Medway band).  

Treasures of Mexico rocks harder than many Dentists releases - there's less jangle and more distortion in the vein of The Wedding Present or Cinerama.  

UK label Spinout Nuggets is releasing this.  The label has also released music by Sacramento band Soft Science, Billy Childish, and Jetstream Pony.

[slowdripsunrise]

BOOK REVIEW AGAINNNNNNN yippee i have actually been reading... not a lot but well i am ! kinda forgot about this blog ok thats not true i was just lazy and didnt want to write a post. well anyways heres a big post for all the stories i read there are 4 - things have gotten worse since we last spoke by eric larocca, paradise rot by jenny hval, soft science by franny choi, and the country will bring us no peace by matthieu simard ! spoilers under the cut

ok first i read things have gotten worse since we last spoke because i wanted to go on a little kick of reading weird crazy people books at 3 am. and i did! chose this one because i saw it was very short so. anyways i thought this was.... okay. i think what made it a little worse off for me is that i already knew about the whole parasite thing from tiktok, so it wasnt that crazy to me when it actually happened. gonna be honest i do Not remember how the book ends at all so i dont even know if it was satisfying or not. was my experience worsened by it being 3am and me not having any thoughts at all? probably. would i do it again? yeah. i was a lil bit disappointed in the apple peeler part too... i thought it was going to be more relevant than it was unless there are some hidden symbolism meanings motifs going on that i didnt get... actually now that im thinking about it big long unbroken peels of apple + a big long probably worm-like parasite? next to each other thats kinda cool. other than that thought i literally just had now typing this out i didnt see anything else. omg speaking of seeing the tagline and also its mentioned in the book, "what did you do today to deserve your eyes?" crazy ass fuck sentence. i kinda love it actually and this is maybe where i would have like to see the apple peeler come in. she takes the apple peeler to her face and peels her eyes out of her head idk. also i feel like either on tiktok/goodreads they were supposed to be ballerinas? but that wasnt mentioned at ALL? i might be misremembering but that also could have been a cool little anecdote. anyways all this to say i thought the book was alright. i was entertained for like 2 hours. my favorite part of this experience was going on goodreads after and seeing a one star review of the book that just said "men stop writing trauma porn about lesbians." which is SO FUCKING FUNNY. because 1 im pretty sure the author is nonbinary, so hes not a man. 2. WHO IS GETTING OFF TO THIS. sorry i do absolutely not see any fetishization here, and also i think they write stories like this in like collections,, so there are probably people other than lesbians in them. idk i just thought that was funny. jesus christ this is getting long and i'm only 1/4 done. i pity anyone who opens this.

next i read paradise rot by jenny hval, which i had heard was dubbed the "bisexual piss book" intriguing and also a short little story i read at 3am. i did like this one, i thought it was fun and interesting and im a big fan of rot. just in general. vibes were on point. this book was moist. however, not as much piss as i expected. as in like quantities on page. they did talk about piss a lot and by they i mean the narrator. not as horror-esque as i thought it would be but i did like it! ohhh to simply rot away...... would not recommend this to normal people and i like that about it.

soft science by franny choi !!!! really liked this! im going to be honest i do not remember more than one poem from this collection. but i do remember liking them !!! sorry i think i need to train my brain to like and remember poetry more. and not just like the ones from tumblr webweaves even though all of them slay.

finally i read the country will bring us no peace by matthieu simard. i liked this, thought it was super interesting,,, ok i didnt think it was super interesting i thought it was good. god i am trying to program myself out of academic reviews of stupid dumbass books i was forced to read. this isn't like that at all. anyways i thought the whole grief aspect was done very well, the sadness at knowing literally nothing will work or come together to make your life go back to the way it was, go back to being whole again. and that deep deep sadness of not only losing their daughter but also the life they had before, the life they had with each other,,, losing all hope. it definitely got to me i did almost cry i think. i think i have more to say about this but i don't remember it. oh well. i thought the vibes of a hostile small mountain town were cool ! i think one of my favorite scenes was when the lavoie's kid falls from the antenna and they are just standing there doing nothing and simon has to go save him... idk the fact that they were shown as perfect parents for their perfect children and how not great they actually were <- this thought is dumb and obvious you get what im saying. one of my main issues is that the ending did feel rushed... and i was a bit confused,,,, the last line "a bird starts to sing" i couldn't tell if that was meant to be marie and simon hearing birds in the afterlife, in the woods by the bowling alley? or was that just the birds in the town finally starting to sing? because if its the latter i don't really get how simon and marie dying would bring the birds back.. the town is still dying and tragedies will still happen... idk its probably the birds in the afterlife but oh well. ok final thought i think but i think the title in french is interesting. it's called "ici, ailleurs" which means "here, elsewhere" or more like "here, something better. here, a new beginning." i like that, obviously it's what the book is about, and idk i think the translator did a good job at conveying the message. i think i would read this book again but in french, mostly to practice because my french is shit but i think since it only really stays in one setting, there's not a lot of characters, concepts are pretty easy to understand, i think it would be fun !!!! ok im done those are my reviews of all the books ive read in the past week or so thanks to anyone who reads this whole thing you are crazy. peace and love

[takemyrevolutions]

Soft Science, Franny Choi

[rainbowpopeworld]

Except economics- that’s not a science

Petition to stop using the phrases “hard sciences” and “soft sciences.” Different fields of science shouldn’t be pitted against each other. A hierarchy of importance shouldn’t exist among scientific fields.

Instead use phrases like “physical sciences,” “social sciences,” “life sciences,” “medical sciences,” etc. You better get across what field you’re actually talking about and don’t put down anyone’s work in the process! It’ll take time to make advances in interdisciplinary research, let’s start by leveling the field to make it possible

[worsip]

A Brief History of Cyborgs

by Franny Choi

Once, an animal with hands like mine learned to break a seed with two

stones—one hard and one soft.

Once, a scientist in Britain asked: Can machines think? He built a machine,

taught it to read ghosts, and a new kind of ghost was born.

At Disneyland, I watched a robot dance the Macarena. Everyone clapped, and

the clapping, too, was a technology.

I once made my mouth a technology of softness. I listened carefully as I drank.

I made the tools fuck in my mouth—okay, we can say pickle if it’s easier to

hear—until they birthed new ones. What I mean is: I learned.

There was an animal who learned to break things, and he grew and ate and

grew and ate and

A scientist made a machine girl and wedded her to the internet. He walked her

down the aisle and said, Teach her well. The trolls rubbed their soft hands on

their soft thighs.

The British scientist was discovered to be a soft man. He made a machine that

could break any code, as a means of hardening a little.

At Disneyland, I watched lights move across a screen and, for a moment, forgot

the names of my rotting parts. In this way I became somewhat more like a light,

or a screen for lights.

The scientist’s daughter married the internet, and the internet filled her until

she spoke swastika and garbage, and the scientist grew afraid and grew and

The animal rose and gave itself a new name. It pointed to its spine, its skilled

hands. It pointed to another animal and said animal / alien / bitch / stone

The scientist called me hard, and I softened my smile. The scientist called me

soft, and I broke sentences to prove him wrong and what and what did I prove

then did I

Even blood, when it comes down to it, is only a series of rules.

I made my mouth a jar until technology squirmed and bubbled. I scooped

up the foam and called it language. The audience applauded. To prove them

wrong, I became a screen of lights. I had no thighs at all.

The scientist grew afraid and took his daughter back. He broke her open like a

seed, but the seed was already dry.

The internet pointed to my mouth and said blood / blood in the stool. I said,

Come in. Make yourselves at home. I opened my glittering jaw. My hunger, too,

has both hard and soft parts.

Here, in a seed, is a cyborg: A bleeding girl, dragging a knife through the sand.

An imaginary girl who dreams of becoming trash.

Can machines think / come here let me show you / ask me again

[exitwound]

Franny Choi, "I Swiped Right on the Borg", from Soft Science

[gennsoup]

I guess it's an old question: is there anything that works that isn't a machine for killing, or doomed to collapse, or stolen from the sweat of the hungry?

Franny Choi, On the Night of the Election,

[mymelodic-chapel]

Boy Harsher- Lesser Man (EP) (Darkwave, Minimal Synth) Released: February 28, 2015 [Soft Science Records] Producer(s): Boy Harsher, Peter Mavrogeorgis

[romanticbroadcast]

sometimes / when the sidewalk / opens my knee / i think / please / please let me / remember this

— Franny Choi, Soft Science

[emptyhead00]

I had a ton of favorite albums/EPs and honorable mentions this year, more than I've ever had in a single year. I've just listed them alphabetically because I can't possibly put them in order of preference.

Attic Ocean - the heavy blue and then after [Les Yeux Fermés, Fall]

Bleach Lab - Lost in a Rush of Emptiness [Nothing Left to Lose, Everything at Once]

Esben and the Witch - Hold Sacred [The Well, Petals of Ash]

Ewiniar - Another World [Cyanide, Sister Moon]

Fragile Animals - Slow Motion Burial [December, Glass]

Frankie Rose - Love as Projection [Saltwater Girl, Come Back]

Glazyhaze - Just Fade Away [The Other Side, Saltless]

Maraschino - Hollywood Piano [Illusions, Venus' Kiss]

Paramore - This Is Why [Thick Skull, This Is Why]

Pia Fraus - Evening Colours [Cloud Winterland, Who's the Envelope-Man?]

Pony - Velveteen [Sick, French Class]

Sea Lemon - Stop at Nothing [Cellar, Breakdown]

seablite - Lemon Lights [Melancholy Molly, Monochrome Rainbow]

Soft Science - Lines [Sadness, Kerosene]

Softcult - See You in the Dark [Drain, Someone2Me]

Taleen Kali - Flower of Life [Tomorrow Girl, Only Lovers Left Alive]

Some comments:

Bleach Lab, Fragile Animals, Glazyhaze, Maraschino, and Taleen Kali are all debut albums, and Attic Ocean is a debut EP.

I listened to Esben and the Witch a lot while playing Tears of the Kingdom, especially while running around in the depths. Coincidentally, there's a song on the album called The Depths.

Ewiniar and Fragile Animals came out less than two weeks ago, so I haven't had as much time with them as a lot of the other releases on this list. They're why I didn't make this list sooner. I wasn't expecting either of them until early 2024.

The Other Side by Glazyhaze and Sick by Pony are two of my top favorite songs of the year. I've binged both of them a lot.

I didn't know Maraschino released a video for Illusions a few weeks ago until I went to grab a link for this list. It's my favorite song on the album.

Maraschino is the solo project of the vocalist of Puro Instinct. The album feels like a fairly natural progression from Puro Instinct's second album.

Evening Colours by Pia Fraus is such a solid album. I had trouble picking a couple favorite songs because all the songs are great. This album is definitely in the upper half of my favorites.

Velveteen by Pony is the other main album I was listening to a lot while playing Tears of the Kingdom. It was more my surface album while Hold Sacred was my depths album.

Velveteen is also in the upper half of my favorites. Seriously, this album is super catchy and addictive.

Melancholy Molly by seablite has an actual video, but it's very flashy, so I didn't link it as part of the main list. If you want to watch the video: Melancholy Molly. Beware of the strobing.

There's a lot of dreampop and shoegaze in my list because earlier in the year I started listening to a dreampop/shoegaze online radio station called DKFM. Before then, I struggled to find new(er) shoegaze and dreampop despite it being one of my favorite areas of music.

Now on to my honorable mentions:

Acid Wave - heart2heart

Atrium Carceri - Forgotten Gods

Bodywash - I Held the Shape While I Could

Dream Wife - Social Lubrication

Duga-1 - Abyss

Eloise Chamber - Departure

The First Eloi - Low Glow

GEL - Only Constant

Ghost and Tape - Freeform

Glixen - She Only Said

Gorillaz - Cracker Island

Hazel Mills - The Embrace

Helios - Espera

Isadora Eden - forget what makes it glow

Johnny the Boy - You

KEN mode - VOID

Sanguine Glacialis - Maladaptive Daydreaming

Screaming Females - Desire Pathway

She's Green - Wisteria

Skrika - Vyeltyra Vortex

Soulmass - Let Us Pray

Speedy Ortiz - Rabbit Rabbit

Tim Hecker - No Highs

Yaeji - With a Hammer

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Even though I keep a list throughout the year, while writing out this post, I noticed that Atrium Carceri was somehow completely missing from my list.

[rmhashauthor]

Anyone who is trying to tell you the arts and humanities don't matter is trying to profit off of stripping you of your humanity.

Those who say "humanities majors are wasting their time" is ACTUALLY saying "people who study philosophy, art and social science are threatening my ability to squeeze as much profit out of as many people as possible. They DARE to use their brain for something other than making me more money and that makes me angry." They don't want people, they want mindless drones with no capacity or concept for beauty because beauty distracts us from giving our labor to them so they can accumulate more wealth with less effort.

Humans are meant to create art. We are meant to try to understand each other. We are meant to ask questions about the world and imagine ways to explore it. We are meant to think, we are meant to love. Yes hard science is necessary to understand the what and how of the world, but if we stop asking why then I'm terrified that will be the end of us. That's why they're called "the humanities" - they keep us human.

[takemyrevolutions]

Soft Science, Franny Choi