#two of these popped up on my spotify discover weekly this week and i was like oh these are so kaorucore

[starswallowingsea]

made a kaoru playlist and made him latino. im not sorry

[hd-wireless]

📻🎶 H/D WIRELESS 2023 - WEEKLY WRAP-UP #3

The third week of posting has come to an end! Enjoy catching up with this week's selection of wonderful works. 

There's a work for everyone in this fest (and if you haven't found what you're looking for yet, we're far from done with posting).

As always you can listen to the prompted songs for the works we post on two playlists:  

Click here for Spotify (many thanks to @evaeleanor for helping us out there) ❤️

And here for the YouTube playlist.

Please enjoy this week’s entries below the cut:

🎶 H/D Wireless Art 🎶

📻 Your Heart's a Mess [G, Pencil & Copic markers]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Hearts A Mess' by 'Gotye' 🎵 Summary: Hogwarts eighth year. Malfoy, visibly scarred (from Sectumsempra? from the war? from his treatment by the Ministry?) and visibly heavy-hearted (from regret? from his father's imprisonment? from how the other students torment him?) has driven Harry to distraction. It's 6th year all over again: he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy. How he wishes the feeling was mutual.

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic and Art 🎶

📻 Waking Up Slow [E, 21,886, Digital Art]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'The Christmas Song' by 'The Raveonettes' 🎵 Summary: 'Twas the night before Christmas, although it’s July, Draco’s a shopkeeper, no-one knows why, There’s hiking and witch caves, freak snowfalls and more, Bad Christmas jumpers, nosy neighbours galore, Narcissa’s here too, but… something’s amiss, And what’s in those chocolates that’s making them kiss?

🎶 H/D Wireless Fic 🎶

📻 Burst of Love [E, 3,805]

🎵 Song Prompt: Jealous by Nick Jonas 🎵 Summary: The year after the War is both the worst and best one in Harry and Draco's lives. Draco somehow becomes one of the most requested influencer on Instagram, Harry is finally free and discovers he has quite...a passion inside himself. We all know how this is going to end.

📻 Rich Friend [E, 1,130]

🎵 Song Prompt: Rich Friends by Portugal. The Man 🎵 Summary: As far as Harry can tell, Draco Malfoy is still rich as hell. He’s just not a wizard anymore. Featuring: Draco Malfoy trying to make it as a Muggle pop star, Harry Potter as our confused and horny hero, bad driving, good music, and the mysterious magic of falling for someone.

📻 Seven Days, Seven Memories [E, 25,668]

🎵 Song Prompt: Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths 🎵 Summary: In a universe somewhere, deep down in the Department of Mysteries, behind Door 13, Unspeakable Draco Malfoy, can be usually found. Except Malfoy is nowhere to be found when Harry goes looking for him. What he finds instead is a Pensieve and a box full of memories

📻 so scarlet it was [E, 19,932]

🎵 Song Prompt: Maroon - Taylor Swift 🎵 Summary: Draco’s back for his Eighth Year as part of his parole. He’s doing his best not to annoy any war heroes and avoid Harry Potter as if his life depends on it. Too bad Harry has other ideas. 

📻 A Pureblood's Guide to Driving and Apostasy [E, 9,218]

🎵 Song Prompt: I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen 🎵 Summary: Draco Malfoy should be happy - he's engaged to a suitable young lady, chosen by his father, and on the way to restoring the family name. Except he isn't happy at all. That is, until Pansy (or is it fate?) brings him to a magical garage where his whole worldview is set on fire.

📻 Snitches & Sitches [T, 4,565]

🎵 Song Prompt: 'Once Upon a December' by 'Liz Callaway' 🎵 Summary: After a Quidditch accident, Harry's life turns upside down when he suffers a case of retrograde amnesia. Surrounded by people and places he should remember, Harry must cope with his slow recovery, all the while feeling like there's something very familiar about the blond with gray eyes who keeps wistfully staring at him.

📻 Can't Get You Out of My Head [E, 26,343]

🎵 Song Prompt: Can't Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue 🎵 Summary: Draco was quite fine with his own company, thank you very much. So, when a potions’ accident left him unable to rid his head of Harry Potter’s infernal internal monologue, Draco was less than thrilled. He was, however, an internationally educated Potioneer; he could find an antidote without having to admit to Potter the access he’d had to his thoughts…actions…personal life…personal time…right?

📻 Sod Off Potter [T, 1,787]

🎵 Song Prompt: Sod Off Potter by Rattlebones 🎵 Summary: So sod off Potter Will you say what you want? Sod off Potter Will you say what you want is me? Potter please ↳ Sod Off Potter - Rattlebones Draco regretted the decision to return to Hogwarts after the war. Why couldn't bloody Potter just leave him alone? It wouldn't be so bad if Draco hadn't been harboring a secret crush on Harry for years.

🎶 H/D Wireless Podfic 🎶

📻 [Podfic] You Are Not Alone [, 1:49:56]

🖋️ Original author: Juh_Nunes 🎵 Song Prompt: Sorry - Halsey 🎵 Summary: Orginal Summary: Draco dreaded going back to Hogwarts after the war. He was sure this would be his worst year yet: the school hated him, the Slytherins have abandoned him, and his dorm was overrun with Gyffindors. There was no way anything good could come out of this mess, right?

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 6/6/2023

two things to frontload:

if you have good vibes to send off in service of me getting a livable apartment in the greater houston tx area i would be most grateful, bc the hunt ain't fuckin goin too fuckin great

go play ABZÛ

listening

soul bossa nova by quincy jones bc it popped up on my discover weekly. i can only assume spotify recced this to me for bossa nova reasons bc i have been categorically ignoring austin powers my entire life and intend to continue on in this fashion.

it is a bop tho.

-

reading

when i wrote the pinned post for this blog i settled on "a common throughline in Shit What I Like is understanding how and why systems work" bc i hadn't yet listened to Well There's Your Problem, a podcast with slides about engineering disasters and systemic failures, and "OSHA aficionado" is shorter but less snappy than "WTYPP fan". anyway when i think "chemical spill" i do not generally think "hand sanitizer spill", and when i think "how do i get rid of all this unsellable poorly made hand sanitizer made in the early days of the pandemic" i do not immediately leap to "well i'll just dump pallets in this parking lot and warehouse and surely it won't spill and/or explode bc hand sanitizer is a product that makes you safer".

ArtNaturals was, at that point, not on the [FDA warning] list. Its sanitizer, labeled with a tasteful, millennial-friendly design that said it was vegan and infused with jojoba oil, was marketed as “safe for kids” and “a great bulk hand sanitizer pack for parents and teachers.” At least two school districts on the West Coast had purchased the sanitizer to distribute to students, in addition to two Ivy League universities. Then, in March 2021, a year into sales, an independent lab in Connecticut called Valisure announced that it had found benzene in the company’s sanitizer. Benzene, a widely used industrial chemical derived from petroleum, can be absorbed through the skin and is known to be a risk factor for leukemia.

came across it bc my rss feed really wanted me to subscribe to longreads (no), but this one did catch my eye as i was checking to make sure the site still wasn't for me

-

watching

watching this was a unexpectedly funny experience bc i recognized one of the backing instrumentals as a previous tuesdaypost song, which kind of felt like solving a mystery book on chapter three bc u knew an obscure fact about eels. this documentary came out in nov 22 and the song was one of this past feb's tuesdaysongs so i can only assume the spike in popularity from the documentary propelled it onto my discover weekly playlist??? the internet is a series of algorithmic tubes &tc

this is a tremendous work, as a documentary/history/archival effort/piece of art. it made me tear up. there's a very lovely sequence about memory and legacy that got me thinking a lot again about how i would like to be remembered. ive rewritten this section four times, when usually i don't redraft the tuesdaypost much at all. boils down to: complex and weird topic to talk about as an orphan, i am reluctant to be any more emotionally vulnerable than i absolutely have to during this time of great cross-country change and moving upheaval.

i appreciated how this was not tearjerker webby bait, which would have made it feel very hollow and embittered me even more during a week i am already predisposed to hate humanity. instead, mr perjurer is simply very good at his job (being an ethical documentarian)

-

playing

one game i really loved and one game i really hated, so it goes.

despite religiously downloading the epic store free game of the week bc i have a reminder written in my planner, i never fucking remember to actually look at what i have in that library.

ABZÛ genuinely healed my heart during a very unpleasant weekend.

i don't use this as a recs platform except for this one time when i am cashing in all my chips. go play ABZÛ, it takes like an hour and a half.

all you need to know about it you can get from the cover art. it is not a hard game and it is not a horror game. i went in totally blind and the less you know about this game the better. i was delighted nearly every minute. every time i saw an ammonite i felt like i was seeing an old friend. there are SO many clever game design choices i want to talk about. message me after you play this. i said "of COURSE IT WAS AUSTIN FUCKING WINTORY ON THE SCORE" during the credits. what an absolutely goddamn perfect little jewel of a game.

AGAIN: go play ABZÛ.

i also played Call of the Sea, bc it was in my epic library and i wanted something fast and oceanic to continue the high of ABZÛ.

Call of the Sea did not continue the high of ABZÛ. i think this team carefully and thoughtfully sidestepped several of the usual issues is making something Lovecraftian but fell into the rest of the pits. eg i liked that they had Polynesian culture consultants, but from an interview it seemed like it was limited to a one-day crash course? i am deeply grateful this isn't a dead-wife game and the female protagonist has a great deal of agency, but she's still a rich white lady from boston trekking about the Tahitian islands commenting on primitive structures, which made me suck air in through my teeth at many points. there is an "ancient slave culture" thread that never actually resolves. i really wish it resolved. the game overall is in a very weird place, trapped between the norms and mores of the early 40s and the 2020s. you have Got to commit to one or the other.

the overall vibe is very polished for a first game. general vibes are Firewatch but puzzle-adventure. the lighting is a little too dynamic and was very distracting throughout. due to this studio's age (new) and odd location (spain) and how their debut game came out (took a year and a half to make, debuted on gamepass) i understand why this game exists the way it does from a marketing and industry standpoint and why they favored visual polish and art style over everything else. it's still annoying bc it is so close to an interesting game.

the twist particularly infuriated me as a chronically ill person, spoilers for the twist behind rot13

gur gjvfg vf gung Abenu gur cebgnt vf frpergyl n "Qnhtugre bs Pguhyuh", naq ure puebavp cebterffvat gb grezvany vyyarff vf op fur'f ba Rnegu naq abg va gur Urnirayl Ernyzf jvgu Pguhyh jurer fur orybatf. guvf frg bss fbzr fvyrag nynez oryyf gb zr nf n puebavpnyyl vyy crefba, op vg vf Fb fvzvyne gb gur Arj Ntr "vaqvtb puvyqera" pbaprcg. n terng qrny bs zrqvpny nohfr naq abezny nohfr fheebhaqf guvf pbaprcg. guvf ernyyl fbherq gur raqvat sbe zr

-

making

fallow week. if it isn't moving-related it isn't happening, and even then a lot of moving-related things are grinding on painfully slowly

[benitez-film]

What will my artist be known for? (1)

//BUILDING YOUR BRANDING//

Obstacles to overcome

100,000 new songs are released on Spotify each day.

Today’s listeners also seem to orient their listening around songs more than artists — while listening to more of both than ever before. We listened to an average of 2,001 artists and 3,272 songs each. For reference, our top streamer listened to over 6,000 different artists in 2023, and over 11,000 songs.

This translates to an average of fewer than two songs per artist. While more artists are getting exposure to audiences, it is increasingly hard to find repeat listeners as users spread their listening across a wider range of both songs and artists than ever.

So how to stand out?

Story telling and visuals are key to branding

Branding provides contextual cues to hook new listeners, which builds your audience.

"when I scroll through my Discover Weekly Spotify playlist that’s updated each week with recommendations their algorithm believes I’d like, as a consumer, my prompt to encourage me to listen to a new song is my ability to recognize their name. The environment is devoid of hints that tell me what a song or an artist is about, why I should listen to them why I should care."

Visuals do the heavy lifting

"Our visual memory is more powerful than our audible memory. When people see a song, not just hear it, their ability to recall the song is stronger so promoting music with visuals will enhance the memorability of your project"

What do you need to create - Asset checklist for a new artist campaign

→ ESSENTIAL ASSETS

• Album artwork

• Single artwork

• Press photoshoot

• Music video treatment & music video

• Logo

• Typography

• Colour palette

→ NICE TO HAVES

• Remix artwork

• Styling moodboard

• Tour admat

• Social skins

• Merch design

• Visual guideline bible

• Vinyl/CD/cassette layout

• “Coming soon”, release date reveal and “out now” graphics for social media

• Stage or livestream concept

• Website design

• Mockups for merch and physical products. To be used on website and social media

• Visualizer for YouTube

Planning for your visuals

This is taken from the process outlined by Tom Bird - who is a Creative Director for many pop artists.

Tom Bird creates what he calls his Big Book

This becomes the visual map for the promotional package.

What goes in?

The initial references from the kick-off forms the basis of a “big book” that grows with new ideas. To ensure the ideas are fresh he looks outside of music for references, “opera and ballet are exceptional sources for set design, make-up and hair references”, “I read fiction and listen to audiobooks to make up images in my head”, “landscapes, cityscapes, fashion, classic art, and film/TV are incredible visual sources”

What comes out

1. A unique and ownable visual identity

The book needs to represent the artist in a way that is true to what people understand their brand to be, but also push it so it’s new and exciting for consumers.

2. Guiding document for all staff

It sets the box they need to operate and innovate in so when he says “we need something clean” that clean is understood in the context of the project.

An example of a page from his Big Book

Applying this to “The Martini Police”

What do they want to be known for?:

- pioneer in their genre

- be a leading band

- presenting strong visuals paired with their music videos

- not fitting a certain mould or shell - breaking into various influences and genres and not being ‘boxed in’

- consistently paying homage to the 60s/70s, with nostalgia playing a large part in their music, clothing and general behaviour and aura

- particularly in “MOONDUST”, they want to achieve this overtly confident and perhaps self righteous sound, commenting on the easily selfish and egotistic persona many bands grow to embody

TWEET FORMAT:

���We would like to be known for our consistent homage to the 70s era, through both costume and music. We want to be the pioneers of our generation, whilst keeping the “old sound” alive, because its from there that we all gain our inspiration. We mix nostalgia with a modern twist, and encapsulate the “absurdist suave” feel primarily through our style and how we present ourselves, on stage and off. Authenticity is primary for The Martini Police, without that we would be no different to everyone else. We are what you see, whether you like or not is your problem.”

[taste-in-music]

Music Monday (4-29-19)

There’s a surprising amount of stuff to get to, so let’s get to it, I guess!

New Releases

Cellophane by FKA Twigs: She’s back! It’s been so long, four years since M3LL155X and two since Good To Love! FKA Twigs brings it with her fragile vocal delivery, especially as she hits her upper register, and the instrumental evolves in a quite interesting way, going from simple pianos to rushing strings. So, this means a new album? Also, the music video is insanely gorgeous, give it a watch. 

Jupiter (Lunice Remix) by Donna Missal: Remixes don’t usually do it for me, and I often hesitate to call them “new releases,” but I decided to give this one a chance because a) it’s Donna Missal and b) it’s Donna Missal. And holy shit, I was so pleasantly surprised. One of the reasons why I’m not a big fan of remixes is that they don’t do anything to the song they’re reworking, and just seem like an arbitrary release. But Lunice really changed up Jupiter in a way that it keeps all the best parts of the original track while still spicing it up with new sounds. This version brings on even more funky alien vibes, and I was stunned after my first listen. 

Broken by Kim Petras: As always, Petras manages to delivery a fresh and sassy sound with classic pop sensibilities. This is a thank u, next for when you’re feeling bitter. 

the road by Leo Kalyan: What can I say? This song has all the qualities that make Leo Kalyan’s music so appealing to me. Dreamy atmosphere? Check. Wistful vocals? Vibrant instrumental? Check. 10/10 recommend, definitely give this a listen if you’ve been craving a little dream pop in your queue. 

If You’re Gonna Lie by FLETCHER: All I can say is FLETCHER’s vocals on this track! They’re just spectacular, her tone is just so rich as she easily navigates through the melodies. Also, the line “if you’re gonna lie, do it in my bed” is so wonderfully cheesy, I instantly loved it. I’m so hyped for the new EP, and am so glad that this amazing woman is getting the attention she deserves. (Random note, the opening instrumental gives me a throwback to God Knows I Tried by Lana Del Rey.)

Little Trouble by Better Oblivion Community Center: If you’re looking for a nice little indie rock tune to get you ready for carefree summer afternoons, this is the song for you. It instantly cheered me up upon hearing it for the first time. 

Maybe by SOAK: SOAK is an artist I’ve seen floating around the New Music Fridays and my Discover Weekly, but I’ve never actually took the plunge and checked out her music. This song, however, makes me really want to go and catch up her discography, because it’s quite nice. The guitars and gritty vocals come together to form a really likable, easygoing track. 

Boxes by Billie Marten: If you want a content little acoustic number with some groove to it, then this song is for you. While you’re on it, check out Feeding Seahorses by Hand, Billie Marten’s second album that just dropped. 

Other Favorites

I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie: Odds are you’ve heard this song before, but if you haven’t, do yourself a favor and listen to it. It’s so simple, but the lyrics are effortlessly effective and heartbreaking. I’ve had it on repeat recently after seeing the Halsey and YUNGLUD cover on Like A Version, which surprised me in just how good it was despite me being hot or cold on both the artists. 

Think About You by LÉON: After her debut album dropped, I’ve been wanting to go back into LÉON’s past discography and relisten to old favorites of mine from her. This song is such a gem, with a catchy chorus, glittery piano scales accenting the instrumental, and such a sense of warmth radiating from it. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this song, and LÉON is incredibly underrated, so be sure to give this song a listen. 

Check out last week’s Music Monday that features new releases from Cage The Elephant, Jade Bird, and more, as well as my ongoing Spotify playlist for 2019.

[kokkoro]

Tagged by @brokendevilwrites

Put your music player on shuffle and answer the questions about each artist. You can skip any repeats if you’d like, but you don’t have to, all the questions are original!

1.

What is this artist? Why Don’t We (song: why don’t we just)

What genre of music do they play? dance-pop

How old are they? i have no idea. they look young, 20s?

Have you ever heard them on the radio? i dont think so...

Have they released any new music within the last year or two? apparently they release an album in 2018

Do they have a male or female vocalist? male

2.

What is this artist? The Midnight (Song: Vampires)

Would you recommend them to someone else?  hell yes. for the saxophone solo alone

Do they write their own music/lyrics? i have no idea. I would assume so.

What are their album artworks like? very neon 80s vibe. (the cover to the album ‘vampires’ is featured on is basically a nude)

If they stopped making music, would you be sad? i only really have listened to this one song, but damn it is good so yes.

Do you know what they look like without searching? i would not

3.

What is this artist? MACK (Song: occasional smoker)

Are they popular and well-known? I would say not. she’s only got four songs.

Have you ever seen them perform live? Nope.

How did you find out about this artist? probably through spotify’s discover weekly playlist

What is their sexuality, if known? i don’t

Is their music easy to dance to? you can dance to any type of music, so hell ye

4.

What is this artist? Lily & Madeleine (Song: Self Care)

Do they play instruments? odds are i would say they do

Would your mother/father listen to them? i don’t think my parents would listen to them on their own time. i don’t think they’d hate them either

Are they still making music today? they’ve actually been consistently releasing a song a week for like a few weeks now

Would you want to meet this artist? They seem nice as heck so yeah

How many songs by this artist do you have? as in bought? none. saved in my playlists on spotify? quite a few.

5.

What is this artist? A R I Z O N A (Song: Electric Touch )

When did you discover this artist? 2016?? ish. 

How many albums do they have? i think just one so far? 

Do you think they are attractive? i actually dont know what they look like.

Have they gone through any line-up changes? not that i know of

Is their music more fun or serious? a nice mix of both. their lyrics to me are very bittersweet but the music itself is upbeat.

6.

What is this artist? Dido (Song: Give You Up.)

Do they play your favourite genre of music? i would say so. but i like everything

What gender are they?  female.

Are they someone you’d want to be friends with in real life? Sure!

Did somebody recommend this band to you? gosh no. she’s been around since i was young. i’ve heard her songs on the radio countless times

Would you play their music at a party? im not really one for parties, but if i did have one, sure, she’s got some jams.

7.

What is this artist? FRENSHIP (Song: Morrison)

How many people are in this band/group?Two!

When did they start making music? eeee, according to spotify 2013

Do they have any songs that are well-known? one of their songs has 400 million plays so i would say yes

Do you listen to this artist regularly? not really

How would you describe their music? popish

8.

What is this artist? I Am Karate. (Song: Bloom)

If they use a stage name, what is their real name(s)? first names are Erika and Marta. Had to look that up. 

Do they regularly make popular charts? i dont think so

Have you ever met this artist? Nada

If they toured in your city, would you go see them? probably not? this is the only song i know of theirs. its a+ tho.

9.

What is this artist? Apollo LTD (Song: man that i used to know)

Are they known for anything else? uhhhh, not that i know of.

What is their nationality? according to their bio, they’re from nashville, so american!

Would you be embarrassed to admit you like this artist? no

Are they older or younger than you? older i think

Has this artist ever toured in your country/state/city? most likely. 

10.

What is this artist? Denitia (Song: One Day)

Do you know much about their personal life? nope

Have they ever gone on hiatus and did they return? i have no idea

What instruments do they use? oh gosh, i would guess a whole bunch.

What city are they from? she’s from somewhere in NY

Do you think this artist has a lot of fans? no clue! her songs aren’t that popular, but she has this really nice voice so i hope she does.

tagging: @anyaandlexadeservedtolive @ur-the-puppy @hanasaku-shijin @entirelytookeen or who ever wants to 

[cenonyc-blog]

MATT TRAMMELL

This week we spoke to music writer and A&R, Matt Trammell. Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Matt has been covering music and culture in outlets like The New Yorker, The Fader, Rolling Stone and more, before transitioning to his career as A&R at XL Recordings. Matt spoke to us about the local culture, music and people that influenced him to start his career, and the type of visibility and access he hopes to provide for creative people, black people and young people around him, now and in the future.

Who are you, where you from?

My name is Matthew Trammell, I’m from Flatbush.

You started as a music journalist and now you’re an A&R at XL – can you talk about your career and that transition?

Yeah definitely, when I first started writing the only reason that I wanted to do it was because I used to watch a lot of Behind the Music and Driven on VH1 and those kind of documentaries. They would always have the people that were getting interviewed about the subject – so it would be someone from Rolling Stone talking about Ludacris, or whoever they were having the special on. That’s when I really realized it’s a job you could have. I was watching TV and then I saw them – some of them were black, different races, some of them were women; so it was like “oh, that’s so accessible.” It felt accessible to me.

The Fader was the first job that was my real job, where I wasn’t in school or anything. That was super dope because by that period I was reading The Fader and knew it was like – they cover the dopest artists, they have the best parties and all of that shit. I feel like I got very lucky to be at places where the magazines still did hold a lot of importance. And at The Fader the cover is still mad important. That’s still a check mark in an artists career, still the temperature of what’s going on right now, the photos are always so beautiful, and the people who are writing for the magazine still have their own taste and fandom so that identity comes through.

How did you end up writing for The New Yorker? As a New Yorker that was crazy right?

Somebody sent me the listing me for the job at The New Yorker and I was like “ok, that’s mad funny, like it’s no way I would be working there, so I’m not even gonna apply, but thank you, that’s mad funny.” Then someone else recommended me for it and the next day someone hit me up. I went in for the interview still kind of feeling like “it’s no way this is going down.” But I got it. And it was very difficult leaving The Fader. It feels like a family thing like “no, I can’t leave this, we gotta keep doing this together for this space,” but then it was fine. That transition was bugged out - but I feel like I couldn’t not do that.

And you held down the “Goings on About Town” column which is legendary in itself right?

Well, it’s not about whose album out, whose video is popping. It’s just who is playing in New York City that week. And I would honestly recommend that to anybody that’s trying to discover new music or a new way of thinking about the whole thing. Just looking at concerts and looking at people who are playing in venues and shit like that is a whole other thing than a “Spotify Discover” playlist weekly. There are artists that are touring all the time, or are playing in their city all the time, that don’t get shit on blogs, don’t have tracks on streaming services but just have fans in the real world. That was a big thing for me discovering that.

Right, so at this point you’re this young black man from Flatbush with mad visibility - telling people from all walks of life, what they should do that weekend.

I’m just trying to have a balanced perspective. I’m not the first black person to write for The New Yorker but at the same time our generation is different to previous ones. I was always just trying have our perspective represented. Like one time there was this meme of the challenges going on like “So Gone” challenge, and two other ones. It was based off of Monica, “Knuck If You Buck ,” and one other song. And I did a piece on it and I felt like ok, nobody else can do this. Besides people who actually know who Monica is.

There’s a lot of music critics that don’t really know about regular cultural touchstones for the hood as far as music. There’s a ton of music journalists that are well-studied English student type kids who know about “all the right music that’s cool,” but they don’t know about Monica. So I was like ok, if I just stay to what I know and what I fuck with then I can’t really go wrong. But if I try to reach, the way I see a lot of people try to reach…that’s when I’m gonna look dumb.

Plus you get to put your people on, who might not be seen by that audience, who you feel deserve it.

It was easy to me because it was like, on that level there’s no magazine more fitting to do this than The New Yorker. To be on the ground in New York City and doing this on a level that’s respected and dope. One of the craziest things was putting Palisades on the cover. Obviously putting Show Me The Body, putting Wiki, a bunch of people in there. Being able to cover smaller things, in a bigger thing. It’s not a music magazine, and that was the first time I worked somewhere that wasn’t music focused. So they’re talking about Trump and real shit and I’m like…also there’s this dude that raps. It wasn’t as if I had to share the platform as far as what I wanted to cover. It was a lot of opportunity to just throw some shit up that I fucked with, that I think is cool, and just give that person that boost.

What were some of your favorite interview experiences as a writer otherwise?

Snoop was fucking amazing. He was putting out an album “Bush,” his comeback album with Pharell. He was doing a lot of press of it, and it was a good album! He did a release, and I can’t remember where it was, but there was some balcony and Fader was there covering the listening party. He’s sitting there - he had a bucket on, blunt rolled, just chilling, really just Snoop. So I was interviewing him and he fucking got a call and he was like, “Guess who that was?” And I was like “who,” and he’s like “Tim McGraw, he was just talking some business. Just player to player. No manager, no middle man, he just hit my line direct. That’s what I’m talking about.” And then I was asking him anything about songs I had questions about. Nothing’s fake about him. Snoop is amazing.

YG was also super dope because he had just got shot and he was very paranoid, obviously. Niggas were really tryna kill him. So it was a crazy situation, it wasn’t even supposed to be the cover story but while we were in LA they were like “oh something happened so we’re bumping this to the cover.” So that changed it even more – that was my second cover (Tyler was the first one). So then YG was paranoid but we – I don’t know why – but we got cool enough and he fucked with me and really let me into the whole shit. Like all these dudes really just bloods, like people just shooting at them. He was just in the hospital, and he’s still in LA, at the same time, moving the same way he always does. Completely open and completely giving.

And now you’re in A&R at a major label, XL. What’s it like?

I definitely have that feeling of “all right, cool, one of us is in here now.” Not even on some black shit - there’s a lot of people of color that work in the music industry. One thing that was big for me now – we have a much easier window into who does what, because of social media. So everybody in the music industry, and in every industry, is more visible. Like when we were growing up you gotta be Diddy, you gotta be Suge Knight, to be visible. And all the other people, A&Rs, they were invisible - you didn’t know who they were. But there were people of all backgrounds in this shit the whole time, we just didn’t know. Now we know, so now it’s more accessible.  I think one thing that has held communities and groups back is not necessarily that there aren’t people like them in those positions, but that you can’t see them. And you can see more of it now. It’s a lot of different things you can do. You just need to be doing your homework to know what’s even possible.

How do you feel Matt?

I definitely feel good. I feel like the expectations I have are still like…I just wanna put down some shit that’s like undeniable. The people who you have in your brain, those people that you look up to - you just want to put some shit down like, this is gonna be here. So you try to put yourself more and more in a position to do that thing. So I feel in a position to do it, and that feels good. But now I actually want to do it.

[iloveschool234-blog]

"Not an unhealthy addiction, I just Luv apps - Sydney Essex’s Media diet”

Some background: In high school, I might’ve considered my relationship to my phone as unhealthy. The thought of my phone’s battery dropping below 80% would make me restless. When entering a room, I would scan the room for outlets, in case I needed to snag my phone some juice. 

Although I’ve grown beyond this obsessive behavior, my habit of sleeping with my phone beneath my pillow has remained. Each morning, if my alarm finally succeeds in waking me, I instantly grab my phone. My first instinct is to check the time. I can move from my bed to officially begin my day once I have opened Spotify and turned on my current favorite tune. Spotify is the application that I don’t even realize I am using - yet it constantly runs in the background as long as I am not directly interacting with another human. Whenever I settle to begin work, I seamlessly transition between Spotify on my phone to Spotify on my laptop.

Walking towards campus, I ease myself into the world by checking my favorite news sources and messaging apps. The newest addition to this routine is my subscription to theSkimm, which feeds a quick and easy-to-read newsletter to my email inbox. My not-so-reliable news source comes from the news stories on the Snapchat discover page. While others may find the articles here not worth their time, there is something about the whacky and so-obviously fake article titles - and my weekly Cosmopolitan horoscope - that I find extremely entertaining. It’s so bad that it’s good. 

I open up iMessage to check my family group chat, which usually contains a text along the lines of “Good morning family! 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽” or “You good, Syd?”. On days when I am too lazy for words, I click the camera icon in iMessage, open the front facing camera, and send a quick selfie of myself. I primarily use iMessage to communicate when directly messaging with another person. I use Facebook messenger, which is the main form of communication between members of my house. The house group message is filled with too many extraneous conversations. I simply check it to make sure it is not my week to take out the trash. And finally, for Slack… the messaging platform used by my dance group. I associate Slack with work and responsibility, since there is always a constant stream of delegating and coordinating tasks. Although it is necessary that I am up-to-date, there is an overwhelming sense of relief that comes when my Slack notifications are turned off. 

I am an app loving, social media addict. As an app lover, I find myself spending a ridiculous amount of time in the AppStore, downloading and testing new apps until I discover something that has a unique concept and has been implemented with an intuitive user interface. I’ve cycled through many photo or video editing and social media related apps. MVPs include Ense (it’s Twitter, but you record sounds), Triller (quick, easy music video making), R4VE (photo editor with stickers), and Glitché (another photo editor with crazy effects). Much of the mindless time I spend throughout the day involves making new content to share with my friends and my social media sphere.

I actively embrace social media. Often, it seems that social media posts are dictated by the events you have attended. You go to a concert and share that you were front row. You can create a social profile by broadcasting where you go and who you go with. My posting habits are not necessarily driven by this desire, but rather whenever “I’m in the mood to post”. There is a satisfaction I feel in the action of posting. For me, each platform (and on some sites where I run multiple accounts, each account) serves a different purpose and satisfies a different mood. Instagram feeds my fluctuating current obsessions via posts that have been curated by the Instagram algorithm on my explore page or sent to me in DMs from friends. This content ranges from dance videos, memes, and delicious food to ASMR videos, Dua Lipa pictures and creative coding graphics. I never hesitate to interact with other users, throwing a like, commenting, or replying to a story. My Instagram posts serve two purposes: (1) an outlet to share content I believe to be entertaining or created on the apps mentioned previously and (2) the desire to create a colorful and funky feed. Unlike Instagram, where I follow accounts of people I know, Twitter connects me to sphere of very funny strangers. My tweets act as a personal documentation of non-sensical phrases that I hear or pop into my head. I usually whip out my phone and before I even realize, I’ve typed and posted the tweet. In comparison, Facebook has faded into the background. I only use it to stay up to date on local events and Penn related content or share promo from the organizations I am part of.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by zach lieberman (@zach.lieberman) on Nov 23, 2018 at 12:33am PST

After reflecting on my media diet, I’ve observed an interesting dichotomy between the ability to control the information you receive and the desire to put information out into the digital sphere. I find myself falling on both sides. Sometimes hoping to cut off certain responsibilities associated with being plugged in and other times, hoping for my shared posts to go viral.

There’s a lot of discussion about our generation being consumed by technology. However, instead of suppressing my passion for social media and the digital landscape, I hope to use it to drive my computer science studies and ultimately, a career in technology. I love the circulation of shared data in every possible form - from Instagram DMs to tweets to friend listening activity on Spotify. I have no shame in being an active contributor to cyberspace. I still know how to disconnect and often, find relief when my phone dies - so I no longer receive Slack notifications. 

[chaos-and-recover]

TAG GAME

RULES: TAG 10 MUTUALS YOU WANT TO KNOW BETTER.

Tagged by @iwannabeapaperbackwriter

Name: Jenn

Star sign: Aries

Height: 5′11″

Put your iTunes (or Spotify) on shuffle. What are the first four songs that popped up?

My computer is being weird and won’t open iTunes right now, I rarely use Spotify so this is gonna be from the Discover Weekly, and therefore not super reflective of what I listen to lol.

Of Mice & Men - If We Were Ghosts

Atlas (Fin) - Birthright

Eve to Adam - The Price

A Sense of Purpose - Numb

I don’t know any of these lmao.

Ever had a song or poem written about you?

Not as such but there was a time I was on the subway with a friend and some random guy started improvising a song about my freckles, which was weird but harmless until it then because about blowjobs. I was sixteen. Men are trash.

When was the last time you played guitar?

I don’t play guitar so I don’t really remember the last time I would’ve messed around with one but you know what I do remember? The Green Day Incident of 2004. That was... a time.

Who is your celebrity crush?

I may or may not have referred to Tom Hardy in conversations with my mother as “your future son in law” more than once.

What’s a sound you hate + a sound you love?

People chewing, but a really particular wet chewing.

As for a sound I love, everyone else hates it but there’s a certain cadence to the noise the ticket printers at work when you’re printing out large orders of tickets that is just so soothing.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Not particularly, but I love me a good ghost walk.

How about aliens?

I mean I feel like realistically it’s unreasonable to assume there’s no life anywhere else in the universe.

Do you drive?

Nope. My licence actually just lapsed last week. My G1, ie the learners’ permit you qualify for at 16. You have five years to test through the graduated licence system to your full G. I have never done this. My G1 has lapsed on two separate occasions. Driving is not for me.

What was the last book you read?

Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff.

Do you like the smell of gasoline?

I do, and have very specific sense memories of it relating to the boat at my grandparents’ cottage as a kid. And the marina, which always smelled like that.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

Probably the skull fracture I sustained as a toddler, which I don’t remember at all, but like, that’s not good��right? Also I have a crushed vertebrae which is always gonna be a lil bitch so there’s that too.

Do you have any obsessions right now?

I mean I guess I’ve been consistently on my AFI bullshit for the last year and a half. I wanna say I’m in full Toronto FC obsession too because I love my boys but they’re pissing me the fuck off right now because they suck.

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Lmao DO I! And against people who haven’t but are just... the worst.

In a relationship?

Nah. Can’t be fucked.

I’m gonna tag @invincible-selfxmade-punk @viridiean @anchorarms @tumblepumpkins @ratcoven @dirt-goth and whoever else feels like doing this nonsense.

[revivalzine]

How Would You Like Your Music News Madam?

Happy Wednesday all. 

So with NME’s cutting its physical publication a few weeks back, it got me thinking about a chat I had with James Kendall founder of Brighton music publication Source Magazine. Back then The NME had just become free, now you will only find the publication online. When we spoke the fate of music journalism was quite similar to today but with the dwelling uncertainty of what would happen to physical publication. It’s fair to say as we put the NME magazine to rest, the direction is quite obvious. Oh well, save the trees n all. 

We spoke during the creation of Revival so, yes this conversation is about two years old. Never the less this chat is still very much relevant, I think we touch on some very interesting topics James really showered me with his music journalist knowledge. I thought I’d only be genuine of me to let you into the research process behind ma baby blog, give you an insight into my noggin. 

Basically, this interview is a lil gem and I want to share it with you lovely people. 

Just in case, you didn’t get my awful pun the overall contentious is a discussion as to what is the prevailing platform for music journalism: physical vs online publication.

 I had the idea that idea that the fanzine, the DIY publication was set to have a revival, in physical format but then I realised that maybe not, maybe it isn’t?

“People have started to appreciate objects again, people who grew up with the Internet are appreciating having something and that’s why vinyl records have had a revival.”

 Yes exactly, I compared vinyl to the possible physical publication revival.

“Yes you are bang on with the vinyl analogy, it’s the same as with the cold craft beer thing people like things that have had some effort put into them, and things that have got no physical being are difficult to prove that effort, things that are so throw away. But to have something that someone’s put enough love into it to bother to get it printed or made makes a huge, huge difference. Saying that it is much more expensive to print a magazine, or fanzine that it is to build a website, which costs you exactly no money. So yeah there are people that are doing magazines, but there is probably less printed material that there was 5-10 years ago, the things that are being made are the more sorta’ special things. There’s an element of ‘people wanna’ make something that isn’t being represented, there’s no point making a fanzine that is similar to Q magazine. If you’re interested in feminist punk or some obscure music, it seems like hip hop and dance music are more of an online thing, and guitar music is the thing that’s more likely to be featured in a fanzine.”

 I originally based my project on fanzines similar to ‘Sniffin’ Glue’ during the punk era but punk has derived and changed so much that it’s not what it used to be it’s not as DIY.

“I think there was a necessity for fanzines in that era to be physically printed, where are no if you’re really punk then you’re not making something that cost money you’re doing something in the cheapest way possible. Now a true punk aesthetic would now be online. There’s a sort of middle-classiness of fanzines now.”

Do you think if blogs where around then punks would use them?

“ When Sniffin’ Glue came out there was nowhere to read about punk, I’m not quite sure about the chronology of NME and The Melody Maker but there was nowhere. When The Sex Pistols where on The Paul Grundy Show it was a big sensation, it was shocking that they were on TV. There were no music programs apart from Top Of The Pops, there was nowhere to find out this stuff; so people had to make something - to talk about what they wanted to talk about. Now you could make a video, you could put something on YouTube, you could do a podcast, you could put something on a blog.”

I think the platforms changed the prevailing platform isn’t; really physical anymore like it was. Many people say they want physical nice things but at the end of the day, the internet has given everyone a platform to talk about things I guess...How do you think the internet has effected physical publications and music journalism?

“Massively, massively. In a way that I never expected when it came out, I thought it would be a threat to magazines cause of the speed of reviews coming out makes something like NME a week out of date as soon as it’s hit the newsstand. But that’s not how it’s affected, it is effected that if you wanna’ know what a song sounds like you go on the internet and find the song; and listen to it, and find out whether you like it or not.”

 I guess you can review if yourself in that sense.

“Yeah, when I was sorta’ eighteen/nineteen the only way you could hear music and find out whether something was good or not, was by reading reviews. You had to know which review was shaped to your taste, which publications, you had to read a lot to figure out whether it was worth spending a tenner on a record. Music was more expensive in those days as well. So yeah it would be a big risk buying a record, some shops would let you listen to it on headphones, but if it was a busy Saturday probably not. So you kind of had to hang out in the record shop a lot, or you had to read a lot of music reviews. Now you could just go online and listen to it, and if you like it you can save it to your Spotify, or you can download it for 79p off Apple, or just play it again on YouTube, so you don’t need people to tell you if something’s any good or not. What you do need, is something that is similar, that is kinda a filter as to what is good. There’s 15,000 songs that come out in the week, and you can’t listen to all of them, so you need someone to help you through that, and that might be through a weekly compiled Spotify playlist or through somebody’s opinion. But the whole, reviewing an album to tell somebody whether it’s any good is not necessary anymore. There’s still an argument to say that music journalism is important, cause what music journalists can do that lots of other people can’t do, is they can contextualise something in the history of music, they can say whether it’s interesting with what’s gone one now and the past joining these links.”

 Do you think in the way anyone can be a bedroom DJ, anyone can be a producer, anyone can make music.. so anyone can create a blog, do you think that has a negative effect on the industry because there’s an abundance of opinion?

“It would be a bit negative for me to say that other people can’t write about music, only the chosen few, of which, I’ve been one of those, that would be an awful attitude to have. The more people that write about music, the more good journalists discover that they can do this, and the better journalism should be overall. So yeah, it is the same as music... I mean dance music; it’s a prime example of this, when you had to get things pressed onto vinyl it has to be good enough for the label to spend £1000 to get it pressed. So there was a quality barrier there, and then as soon as Beat Port came around all of a sudden there's thousands and thousands of tracks every week, and loads of them haven’t got anything really important about them and will disappear. The fact that people are able to on a cheap computer - people were making records on PlayStations for a while. So the fact that there are kids on housing estates are able to make beats, and then their mates can rap over the top, then they get it out on beat port or iTunes, or, whatever is amazing. And the fact there is a kid on the same housing estate that can write about that on their phone, and update it to Tumblr, is an absolutely brilliant thing. Any old people that say it was better in my day are wrong. There are challenges is in every situation, but the fact that more people can access to their writing, and get their writing out there is the best thing that could possibly happen to journalism.”

Do you think there is a battle between physical and digital format, in terms of are people more inclined to read something online then buy something physical?

“People are definitely more included to read something online because of the speed of them. For example the NME might write a news story of Beyoncé falling of stage, and have a picture on physical format - if you read that online you probably will have a video of it, so that’s a better article not just cause it’s out there quicker, but because it’s a richer experience. Although it’s more difficult to read a long article online on your computer, there’s a reason why books are still around just as much. There are no distractions from other notifications, it’s easier on your eyes and it’s a nicer experience. There are different positives for physical and digital. I think what has happened, is people have decided that they’re either going to do physical publications or are going to focus on online, we’ll be known for one thing. Pitchfork is a great example. They’ve got enough readers to put out a magazine, and people would buy it but they’re concentrated on the online format. The NME is also interesting, they’ve been all about their website for quite a long while.”

 Now the magazines free right?

 Yes now the magazine is free, and that completely changes things. Now they’ve got a 1/3 of a million readers or print run that’s going out there, it seems to me that their website is doing a different thing to their magazine, and they don’t have a lot of cross over. You can’t look at the magazine online on issue, they do a preview but you can’t see the whole thing, which is really interesting. From an advertisers perspective, they want their adverts to be seen, so if they’re appearing on the digital version of issue that’s fine, but NME have decided they want people to pick up the physical magazine, that’s important to them. They’ve got both physical and digital but it’s not that same content.

 Do you think all digital publications are all transferring online? Or the magazine will become free a like NME as well an online platform?

“ I used to have my own magazine, so I know how much it costs to print a magazine, and it’s a lot of money. So my magazine we did like 10/12,000 copies, on the lowest quality paper, like 60-90 pages, and it would cost somewhere between 3,000- 6,000 on printing. So that’s 3-6,000 pounds of adverts you’ve go to sell before you even break even.”

That was my main problem I faced with my project, funding and with my own experience I felt a blog was an alternative that did the job just as good. I just have an inkling that all publications will be online.

 “Yeah. I find it interesting that the Independent has stopped printing, so it’s the first newspaper to shut down in thirty years or something so that’s really telling. But what happens to a shrunken advertising market for print publications is that when people split up their advertising budget they don’t put so much into print anymore. That print advert money is smaller, and as it filters through, the big print publications don’t suffer as much, but the smaller ones suffer massively. And that’s what happened to us, local adverts disappeared because of social media, a way of getting your message out there that’s free. So we replaced it with bigger brands and companies, but that sort of died out even though our print run was the same as ever, our readership was the same as ever, but we were getting less of that money as it wasn’t filtering through the magazine industry. And that’s why we went out of business, the magazine industry as a whole wasn’t big enough for us to take a share that was enough for us to do a good quality magazine. There are other local magazines, but I would argue that they are surviving, as they aren’t spending enough money making a decent project.”

Do you think major scale print publications are okay then?

“I think it’s become more and more difficult, even for major publications. Something like vogue, which is like 700 pages of advert - advertising is a sign of quality for them; they’re okay. If you look at something like Uncut Magazine it’s a lot thinner than it used to be, at one point it was so thin people stopped buying it. So it’s a spiral you get in, you haven’t got enough money to print such a good magazine, because you haven’t got many readers, then you haven’t got many readers cause your magazine isn’t as good, it’s a spiral and goes down and down until you go out of business. It is probably a good argument to say that paid for magazines will totally become free; I’m surprised by what the quality of the current NME, I’m surprised it’s doing so well. Shortlist and Stylist continue to do really well, and Time Out it struggled and firsts but it’s better than it’s been for years and years. So four of the most successful British magazines are all free. Everybody’s looking at that, everybody’s struggling. There will be some premium magazines that survive but everything else will be free. Lots of publications will try to go free, some people will make it some people won’t. To be a successful free magazine, you will probably have to be a big company, it will be big companies that provide successful free magazines - it won’t be the independent.”

I read ‘How To Write About Music” and it says that physical publications are just a regurgitation of PR

“ Nick Davies uncovered the phone-hacking scandal; he says that the problem with journalism (he’s talking about newspaper journalism) is the journalists don’t have enough time on a story to dig deep enough to find the truth they can only report what they are told. What is happening is that you are getting somebodies carefully PR’d opinion. That is definitely true about music journalism as well. If you don’t have enough time to devote to finding out what the truth is you are either rewriting a press release or you’re rewriting somebody else’s story.”

Do you think blogs are more passionate, more excited therefor it’s more of an honest raw opinion?

“ It is more honest but it has probably come from less knowledge. If I was writing about Slaves I probably no more about to roots of their music than the actual band themselves. But if you’re 15 and you’ve never heard punk before, and Slaves is the first band you’ve heard like that, it’s going to be very exciting prose and a very honest review, but it’s not going to have much depth. It was the same with me, I really loved Suede, and then I realised they were a rip off of David Bowie.”

 I’m kind of focusing on that for my blog, I’m looking at the nature of revival and how we are living in a culture obsesses with it’s own past.

“Looking at it through that lens, it’s a retro thing again, were as when Sniffin Glue came out that wasn’t a very retro thing, it was cutting edge and modern. So if you are a punk band or a punk journalist that’s putting out fanzines it’s really you’re like; if you were about in the punk era you’d be writing about Jazz basically, because you are looking back at something that’s nearly 30-40 years old. When I was young it was at the tail end of the acid house era, people were kinda into this punk idea, but at the time It was dance music which was very DIY, on the edges of legality and that was the punk thing of the time. Not a revival or something that happened ten years ago. I think you could make an interesting point of the revival of fanzines and what they mean.”

Interesting, any last words?

“ So I think that blogs are the new fanzines; in terms of people who are not getting info on the sort of music that they like, people are writing blogs about it. People who are making fanzines have lost the DIY origin, its more about crafting something and making an object, whereas making a blog is about getting a voice out there and information about a subject that isn’t being portrayed in mainstream media. That’s how I would sum it up.”

[mislttmg]

Introductions

Here’s a quick fact: I’m a creature of comfort. 

I’ve been known to eat the same lunch every day for months because it’s easy. I stick to the same workout cycles because I know them and know they work. Just about breaking out in hives because the MTA is once again forcing me to take a different subway route, thanks their ancient signal system needing repairs again, is a bi-monthly event. Change isn’t really my jam. 

So I wasn’t exactly shocked when a friend looked at my Spotify profile and pointed out that I put the same handful of bands in all of my playlists. How many times can you put “Saw You In A Dream” in your playlist collection, she asked? You know that The Antlers made more than one album, right?

(You’re gonna have to rip this song from my cold dead hands, Hannah.)

Now, I wouldn’t call my music taste boring, or old -- just stagnant. When I find something I like, I carefully tuck it away into a repeats playlist so I can listen to it over and over and over again for three weeks straight. (Kind of like a two year old stuck on “Baby Shark,” now that I think about it.) Sometimes the thing I like is brand new, straight from Spotify’s discovery algorithm itself... but most times it’s a song I’ve been listening to for years and have “rediscovered” in a “new light.” 

Spotify tries its best to give me new music, between its popular Discover Weekly playlist launched in 2015, and its more recent Daily Mixes feature that treats your various listening habits as radio stations, giving you a mix of the songs you know with songs that the algorithm figures you’ll enjoy. And while I enjoy both these features, I can’t help but skip past a lot of the songs that I don’t already know about. I just want something familiar, most of the time.  

(Spotify keeps trying to bring me back to my 2007 emo phase.)

But, I can always tell when I’m getting the itch to branch out. I skip past all the songs that I already know. I ignore music altogether for a week because nothing feels satisfying. As my days become quiet, I wonder, when oh when will I love music again? 

This is usually when I, at long last, give my Discover Weekly a chance. And what band comes up nearly every single week?

The Mountain Goats. Specifically their song “Rain in Soho,” appearing so often that my Discover Weekly feels somewhat empty without it.

And what do I do when I hear that powerful piano-drum opener, reminiscent of other songs that I love dearly -- so reminiscent that it’s probably why the song is in my weekly playlist in the first place?

I skip it. 

Now, obviously this isn't everyone's cup of tea. They're that brand of indie folk rock that your dad might be into, where all the members are geeky 50-somethings and have been in the music scene since the early 90′s. But that's the problem: considering all of the music I listen to (and, unbeknownst to Spotify’s algorithm, other interests and communities I’m involved in) I should be into this band. 

And thus, the conundrum that has haunted my music listening habits for years: I want something new, but I’m too stubborn to go through the motions of actually experiencing newness. Maybe it’s expectations that make me shy away, or just the simple act of rebelling -- no one likes being told they “should” like something, and Spotify’s consistent addition of The Mountain Goats to my personalized playlists has maybe, in my brain, come off as “we know you’ll like this, why in the world aren’t you listening to it?”

I could always shadow ban the band by telling Spotify that I don’t want their music recommended to me anymore, but the truth is I want to listen to them and give them a chance. Despite all the times I’ve skipped over their songs, I’ve had it in my mind that I’ll listen to one of their albums, someday, when the planets are aligned just so and the universe has created the perfect environment for me to listen to and fully appreciate their music.  

But, I think it’s high time for me to accept that the only way that I’m going to listen to their music is if I just sit down and do it. 

It’s not just The Mountain Goats that I'm dealing with here -- a number of other bands and songs have gone under my radar, only to pop up again and again through Spotify’s recommendations. Other bands that I should be into, but skip over when given the chance.

Each week, I’ll be sitting down and listening to one album from a band or artist that I’ve unfairly looked over, and I’ll give my thoughts on it -- the tracks, the overall composition, why in the world it was recommended more than once, and most importantly, if I think it has a spot in my library (or, highest of honors, a spot in my repeats playlist). One might call this a test of the Spotify algorithm, but really it’s just a test of my own will. 

Next week, I’ll tell you my thoughts on The Mountain Goats’ 2017 album Goths. See you then.

-Abby

[pretttydemonboy]

8 songs 8 tags

tagged by @wesawbears and I just happened to log on to tumblr to see it lmao

1. your favorite song at the moment

Ugh that’s so hard to pick. I’ve been really digging this cover of Cry Baby that’s by American Avenue & Kalie Wolfe? No idea who either of them are it just popped up on my discover weekly on spotify and it fucks

2. a song you associate with a favorite character or ship

I also hurt my own feelings while listening to the song Peace by Taylor Swift and thinking about two characters from a Monster of the Week game I’m in.

3. a song that could be about you

Brittle by Icon for Hire 

4. a song you think is overrated

Lana Del Ray’s entire discography

5. a good song that reminds you of a specific memory

Hahaha the only thing coming to mind is dancing to Shake It by Metro Station at prom. And before you say anything, yes that’s a good song.

6. the last song you listened to

Bloody Creature Poster Girl by In This Moment

7. a song that makes you laugh

Anything by Chris Fleming but espECIALLY “Sick Jan” I lose my mind every time I listen to it.

8. a song you want your mutuals to listen to

Devil by Tyler Glenn (from lead singer of Neon Trees’ solo project titled “Excommunication” for all you homos with complicated feelings about religion!)

I do not exist on here so like whomst the fuck am I gonna tag? @faintlyglow @fangirleaconmigo @bienmoreau

do it if you wanna but no pressure!!!

[boisentertainment]

Kevs Weekly Playlist 8/2-8/9

Welcome To My Ear Drums.

I’ve decided to curate a playlist of 10 songs each week. As of late I’ve been slacking I know… I’m sorry :(. This week I decided to just catch up and show ya’ll what I’ve been vibin’ too these past couple weeks.

The playlist features artists like Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Drake, Beyonce, Pop Smoke and more..

Make the playlist yourself on Spotify or follow me on Apple Music @KevClarkHD and take a listen that way! Hope You all enjoy!

DJ Khaled – I Wish You Would (Feat. Kanye West & Rick Ross)

Rob was asking about this song about a week ago and I completely forgot about it. It’s an absolute HEATER and Kanye just does his best Kanye on it. Don’t sleep on Ross verse either!

Listen here.

Fivio Foreign – Big Drip

I don’t remember if I used this in another playlist and I didn’t bother to look because I LOVE this song. Fivi goes crazy and I love the energy on it.

Listen here.

Lil Uzi Vert & Future – Over Your Head

This song just recently dropped and I’m in love with it already. Really makes me anticipate the collab album set to drop soon.

Listen here.

Dj Khaled – POPSTAR (Feat. Drake)

If you haven’t heard it yet, you must live under a rock. Khaled teams up with Drake again to create ANOTHER hit. Drake pops off in the best way and it knocks in the whip!

Listen here.

T.I. – Big Shit Poppin

I have no idea why I started listening to old T.I. but this came up and it brought me back. Just a gritty, shit talking, ego trip song thats also super lit. Brings me back to my Xbox 360 days when life was more simple.

Listen here.

Sheff G – No Suburban Pt. 2

Yes, I’m STILL bumpin’ this shit. Featured in another playlist but I don’t care because this record still SLAPS. If you’re late on it, I feel bad for you.

Listen here.

Pop Smoke – Mood Swings (Feat. Lil Tjay)

This song goes hard, probably in my Top 3 off the new Pop Smoke album. Starts to slow the vibe down but It’s only right introducing the next song.

Listen here.

Dj Khaled – GREECE (Feat. Drake)

Yup, not only did Khaled come with one banger from drizzy. HE GOT TWO! Drake literally floats on this record and I get caught between which record i like better. What ya’ll think?

Listen here.

Young Berg – Sexy Lady

HEY SEXY LADY…. IT WAS NICE TO KNOW YOU!!!!! Yo. This record really makes the Michael J. come out of me. Just a classic R&B song I throw on when I’m feeling it.

Listen here.

Beyonce, Jay Z, & Childish Gambino – MOOD 4 EVA

I discovered this song literally while I was creating this playlist. I heard it and knew it had to go on. Of course Jay has to be on the playlist but he MURDERS his verse on this one. Beyonce talks the most shit! Its a fun song, definitely what I’ll be listening to this week.

Listen here.

Let’s Chat.

Comment below and tell me what you guys think or any recommendations I should take a listen too! Feel free to make your own playlists and link them in the comments would love to check them out!

Check out more content from the Bois here!

Love,

Kev Clark HD

The post Kevs Weekly Playlist 8/2-8/9 appeared first on Bois & Bar Talk.

[quarantinecue]

DAY THIRTY FOUR.

It was honestly about time I included a Bay Faction song. This band was probably one of my dearest discoveries of 2018. I have such a distinct memory of listening to their song “Sasquatch .22” when it came up on my “Discover Weekly” playlist on Spotify. I was on a train from Chicago to South Bend for my brother’s college graduation. It was my birthday and the sky looked like it could unleash a downpour at any given moment. I was hungover as hell after spending a few days in Chicago with my two best friends, but watching the northern Indiana suburbs blur by was oddly soothing. I was imagining what my life would have been like growing up in those little towns. Living in the same colonial style house my whole life and attending the local public high school. It certainly would have been different.

When “Sasquatch .22″ started playing I was immediately intrigued. I loved the singers smooth, almost bored-sounding voice. Like he couldn’t hide his apathy if he tried. The lyrics were honest and straight-forward. And I was hooked. I listened to their EP on an endless loop for weeks. Until finally, at the end of 2018, they released their debut full-length album, Florida Guilt. Which is an absolute masterpiece and easily one of my favorite record of the year. They created a professional music video for the album’s namesake track, “Florida Guilt.” One of their only real music videos I have been able to find. Which is why it is the star of this post. It is a fantastic song, but my favorites off the record would have to be “Ur My Bug,” “One Thrill,” and “Sopping.” All so damn catchy and smooth. A perfect mix of emo, blues, and classic pop elements. 

I was able to catch Bay Faction on their Florida Guilt tour at The Roxy in Los Angeles. As I have mentioned before, The Roxy is one of my favorite venues in LA. It was such a fun, intimate show. I even had enough margaritas in my system for my friend to convince me to go up to the lead singer afterwards and ask for a picture. Something I haven’t done in years. Still got the same starstruck butterflies though...some things never change. I might figure out a way to include the picture in either this post or the next, because it is a beautifully blurry image of pure happiness. 

Speaking of pure happiness, word on the street (or on the virtual news platforms) is that California will begin to open up non-essential retail businesses as early as this Friday. We are officially entering Phase 2, baby! There is still a long way to go, and we will still have to be very careful. This is nowhere near over. But god damn, progress feels good. 

[taste-in-music]

Music Monday (2/11/19)

I’m introducing a new format to Music Monday. Now I’ll have two sections, one for new releases, and one for older/not as new songs that I’m currently loving. Okay, let’s get going, then!

New Releases

Handmade Heaven by MARINA: Unfollow me now, this is gonna be the only thing I post about for the next week. I’ve wanted this for years fuck. What the fuck. Marina Lambrini Diamandis is back to save the entire music industry. This song is lovely, and all about finding your people and making a better world for yourself. While it’s not a giant pop smash like Froot or Primadonna, it’s just downright majestic, with pretty pianos and a rushing chorus.What are you waiting for? Listen to it!

Leaning On Myself by Anna Of The North: So many returns from favorite artists happened this week! This includes, of course, Anna Of The North, who’s album Lovers is one of my go-tos for a chill night in. This song is low key and simple, good for unwinding after a long day. 

trevi fountain by Leo Kalyan: Vastly underrated and wildly talented, Leo Kalyan returns with this lush, majestic love song just in time for Valentine’s Day. I can’t recommend this man’s music enough, if you love dream/indie pop with melodic production, (think Troye Sivan, Conan Gray, or The Japanese House,) you’ll love this. And I certainly do. Just beautiful. 

1,2,3 days up by Kim Petras ft. SOPHIE: Now this is a dream team-up if I’ve ever seen one, with spunky, energetic pop starlet Kim Petras and hyper-creative electronica producer SOPHIE finally getting together to collaborate on a track. This song is more low key then I expected, (it never gets as weird as other SOPHIE tracks like PONYBOY or even Hot Pink, the song she produced for Let’s Eat Grandma,) but it’s chill, synth-dance-pop sound is still enjoyable as heck, and some of SOPHIE’s experimental production gets to shine. 

break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored by Ariana Grande: I found thank u, next to be a fairly disappointing album. While it was certainly a cohesive project, there weren’t that many standout tracks, and the production was underwhelming to me. The best songs off of it really were the first two singles, thank u, next, and imagine. This song, though, was a nice surprise. While it doesn’t have thank u, next’s energy or imagine’s bombast, it does have an interesting, tense atmosphere and a solid vocal performance. 

Other Favorites

I’m Looking Though You by The Beatles: An oldie we’ve got here, but a goodie. I’ve always found The Beatles kind of overrated, and I still think they are, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have good, hell, great songs. I really like this one, with it’s vocal harmonies, raspy vocals, and simplistic rock instrumental. 

Charmless Man by Blur: So I just started listening to Blur because a) Song 2 is a banger and b) I think Gorillaz is a pretty cool project and I wanted to hear Damon Albarn’s other music. So yeah, this song is a jam, if you’re into rock/Britpop check it out, (also Country House and The Universal, those songs are good too.)

Want You by Pink Paint: My Spotify Discover Weekly strikes back with this  synthy, dreamy song that’s apparently from a trailer, and is the only thing that the artist has ever put out. I hope they end up doing more in the future, because this is great, give it a try. 

Check out last week’s Music Monday.

Follow my personal playlist on Spotify.

[benthemusicalbeard]

19 Feb 2020

Wilkommen auf meinem blog! Trust this posting finds you well? I have shelved the thought of a soundtrack posting until next time, simply because I have found three songs I cannot wait to post and share with you all. Let’s crack on!

First up tonight and Parcels. Originally from Australia but now based in Berlin, Germany they are a five piece electropop group that I have enjoyed listening to very much this last week. I first heard their song ‘Anotherclock’ as part of my weekly Spotify dump of new songs I should listen to and I found it to be one of many singles the band released in 2016 before a Daft Punk collaboration in 2017 with a track entitled ‘Overnight’. This collab enabled their previous singles to attract a new attention and helped the group gather a fanbase and popularity ahead of their self titled debut album in 2018. The group describe themselves as “sort of a blend between electro-pop and disco-soul" and the sound on the album is as fun as it is timeless. They manage to make an album containing elements of soul, funk, pop and disco sound as though it is from another era when at the same time making it sound contemporary. For the music fan in me I particularly like the final song on the album ‘Credits’ which is exactly that, a song written to celebrate and thank all the people who helped with the making of the album. A nice touch to round off an already impressive debut album, I look forward to their next.

Parcels - Tieduprightnow - https://youtu.be/_2qsU8FGU_E

Second up we have the musical talents of Curtis Harding. Born in Saginaw, Michigan he was introduced to music at a very early age having toured around the country with his family as his Mother was a gospel singer. He has released two albums to date, his 2014 debut ‘Soul Power’ and a 2017 follow up ‘Face Your Fear’. The albums utilize his soulful vocal talent whilst also drawing upon gospel, R&B, rock and good old fashioned blues. Before his album releases he had worked as a backing singer to CeeLo Green and worked with him on his first two albums, leading onto him meeting Danger Mouse who subsequently produced Harding’s second album. Leaving Green to pursue a solo career turned out to be a smart move and in 2014 the debut album was released to favourable reviews. I have listened mainly to Harding’s second album, which contains the song I’m sharing, and there are also some really strong songs which should not be overlooked. Give ‘Till The End’ and ‘Need Your Love’ a good listen as well as what I’m sharing. If you like modern soul as I do then you cannot go wrong with listening to what Curtis Harding has to offer.

Curtis Harding - On & On - https://youtu.be/NzPW69YVz44

Third and final song to share today and it’s a welcome return Tom Misch. Since I first heard his 2018 debut album ‘Geography’ Misch has been a presence on just about every playlist I create. It’s nice to find one of those artists that you enjoy pretty much anything musical they create. Further to the album are a number of EP’s and mixtapes which he released, as well as some outstanding remixes of works by other artists such as Michael Kiwanuka and Jordan Rakei. Needless to say he’s a favourite of mine and now he is back with new music. On his Instagram profile he has been teasing us with some musical jam sessions with UK drummer and producer Yussef Dayes and a new single has been released. The song entitled ‘What Kinda Music’ combines the effortless flow of Misch’s harmonics and vocals with the tight, ‘hear every beat’ drumming style of Dayes to create a promising sign of what his new album has in store for us. If you are reading this and discovering Misch for the first time then Geography is a must listen album! 

Tom Misch feat. Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music - https://youtu.be/4az3mKDOrEo

Hey, what do you know.....another posting completed. Hope you enjoy the music and tolerate my utterings! Until next time music fans.