#loma stuff

[theflyingpimphat]

Dicking around with a custom brush in Krita. This one was the more complex one, simpler ones will be thrown out in one file.

[arisprite]

Happy Happy Yule to @deadboyslullaby!!

The full image can be found here on Ao3 as I got nervous about posting it here, but here is a teaser! I hope you like it dear friend!

[c-kiddo]

What do Ava and Úna sound like? What are their voices like ?

i'm not sure yet exactly, find it hard to think of voices i think. but, they're in a place adjacent to norway (but mixed around a bit with other places) so accents a bit like that. ùna is like, sort of a bit rough but so kind and can be so gentle but also loud and big laughs too. ava speaks in a funny way, quite quiet and jumbled, whispers sometimes and too herself. and makes noises (whistle, hum, bird sounds) or stims instead of saying big emotions

[deermouth]

probably no one else i know subs to jonathan meiburg on patreon buuuut. excellent birds laurie anderson cover. slaying me.

[ghelullu]

Went to one of the early release/ prelistening events and Loma Vista once again shining with its competence (didn't ship enough stuff for everyone and sent horrible ink for the stamp (it takes HOURS to dry lmao)) but shoutout to emp Leipzig for being fun and super cool, you guys(gn) rock

But the album slaps, it doesn't beat out prequelle for me at the moment, but it's very good, lots of variations, many cool ideas and that's all I'm gonna say about it until official release :)

[buttermilkbunny]

My current thoughts that have been rattling around in my noggin about Papá Perpetua are so incoherent and I’m posting them here because I think my dad’s tired of listening to me ramble while he plays guitar lol, and I like posting my random thoughts lol.

They are as follows (in no particular order and in no way super detailed or well thought out, very jumbled and stream of consciousness lol):

- Obviously 7 is part of the imagery in all the promo stuff we’ve seen and is significant in some way. We are also technically in era 7 (Nihil, Primo, Secondo, Terzo, Copia, Papa IV, Frater/papa V makes 7). The number 7 can mean sacrifice, purification, consecration, forgiveness, and reward; though I’ve also seen it mean completeness. (I saw a post about the whole 7 imagery a few months back and cannot for the life of me find it now lol.)

So I could definitely see Papa V sticking around for a while.

- I’ve seen an interview clip where Tobias Forge has said he’s developed slight claustrophobia from the mask, and I’ve read that that type of mask makes it harder to sing, but I’ve also seen interviews where it’s said he wouldn’t go completely without the mask. I like to envision a half mask of some sort like the phantom of the opera!

Though I also do believe in the theory that Papá V is Copia’s twin (cause of seestor’s memories in RHRN) (also because who has the most employee of the month awards of Copia has the second most), so maybe we’ll still get a full head mask because they would logically have to look similar enough.

Also also, I’m curious, if Perpetua is indeed Copia’s twin, how Tobias will go about Copia knowing about his twin. Like, will it be a long lost brother situation, surely not if Perpetua’s already within the ministry; but who’s to say. I want more family soap opera!

Phantom of the opera Papá would be fun tho because I LOVE phantom of the opera dearly, and I feel like Ghost would do wonders with the theatrics POTO theming allows for. (Papa of the opera, if you will lol)

- I love that Seestor named her boys ‘abundance/plenty’ and ‘eternal/everlasting’.

On that note, Papa V’s name def makes me think this will be the Papa we have for quite some time. I’ve seen people say that this will be the last Papá we get unless Tobias’s kids take over (I saw so many people adamant that his kids would take over) so who knows. Only time will tell. I’m just excited to see the new lore and also the COSTUMES!

The Papa’s have been getting progressing more sparkly in the costumes so I’m expecting Papa V to have maximum sparkles. Bedazzled to the fullest. (I saw one tweet that was like ‘Tobias Forge is taking so long because he has to bedazzle all of the costumes’ lol)

- My dream for the ghoul costumes for some reason (which I will implement into my own reimagining of the ministry I work on for funsies) is for the costumes to have little bat wings on the back. Idk why I’m so obsessed with the idea but yeah lol. I’m so excited to see the ghoul costumes if they change for Papa V. - I've seen people think it's Terzo, and I've seen some really good points made as to why. A few included the fact that the silhouette in the doorway is the same, that Terzo's foot twitched n the morgue and that there are scratch marks on his coffin, there was something to do with a certain song that maybe hinted at Papa Perpetua débuting when Terzo was Papa, as well as some other ones. While I do enjoy this theory, I'm more of a Copia's Twin theory believer. (Though I did see someone one time theorize that Terzo is Copia's twin lol).

I also saw a theory on tiktok that I cannot find again that talked about how Copia and Perpetua switched when Copia became Papa. I liked the idea though I kind of struggled to grasp it when first reading it lol. The idea is cool though! - I also saw someone on Tiktok point out that all of the songs on the V IS COMING Loma Vista playlist, the first letters spell out SATANIZED. I assume it's the name of a new song, maybe whatever was teased in the fiasco chapter, or maybe the album name.

[cultkinkcoven]

There’s no concrete proof of this, but I’ve heard this gnosis echoed by multiple Luciferians and Lucifer has more or less confirmed it with me, and it feels right.

Did you guys know that Lucifer is the Eye of Horus? The Eye of Horus was often and originally represented as the Morning Star itself, and seeing as to how Horus is the avenger, it makes so much sense to me that the God associated with liberation and revenge also encompasses the light bringer.

"...a passage from the Pyramid Texts shows that the new Horus was considered to be the morning star, when the new Osiris says: 'The reed-floats of the sky are set in place for me, that I may cross by means of them to Ra at the horizon. …I will stand among them, for the moon is my brother, the Morning Star is my offspring...'... the Egyptian hieroglyphic for the morning star has the literal meaning 'divine knowledge'." (The Hiram Key, Knight & Lomas)

This brings new meaning to highly honoured Freemason Albert Pike's often quoted verse:

"Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning!"

They’re both entities that represent healing, enlightenment and protection. Lucifer has a lot of symbolism having to do with eyes, the all seeing eye and the eye of providence associated with Lucifer very likely stem from Horus, and I’ve always felt a great connection between Horus and Lucifer that I couldn’t explain. The first time I ever invoked Horus it felt extremely familiar to Lucifer, and I immediately felt a connected to him as if we had met before.

I’ve seen so much stuff online about the eye of Horus being satanic or associated with Lucifer in some way, usually by paranoid Christians who think that all other religions are satanic. But it’s really cool to think there’s an actual basis for it.

[greenfiend]

The horrific true crime case that inspired Stranger Things...

CW: physical and sexual ab*se, and m*rder...

For real guys this is REALLY dark and disturbing...

The movie Changeling staring Angelina Jolie is based on the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop murders in Mira Loma, California.

A single mother named Christine Collins, manager at a telephone company, had to work and sent her nine-year-old son Walter to the movies. She never saw him again.

She searched endlessly for him, to no avail. The police were not helpful. Until one day, a boy in Illinois claimed to be her son Walter.

The thing is- that boy was not her son. She was told still to "try the boy out", despite her insistence that they had the wrong boy.

So she was forced to take in this random boy. She continued to tell them that he wasn't Walter and they had made a mistake but instead of admitting their mistake... they claimed she was crazy and forced her into a psychiatric ward.

Meanwhile, a man named Gordon Stewart Northcott was convicted of killing three boys on a chicken ranch. Apparently, he had murdered at least three possibly up to twenty young boys.

(CW here it's VERY dark) "A gas station attendant in Glendale, Richard Strothers, reported seeing a dead boy wrapped in newspaper in the back of a car."

"Other tips came in about a couple traveling across the state with a boy who was begging them to let him go."

"Sanford told investigators that his uncle kidnapped him and had physically and sexually abused him. He also said Northcott had forced him to watch the abuse and murders of Walter Collins, Nelson and Lewis Winslow, and other boys. Sometimes he even made him participate in these acts. Northcott abducted boys to rape them and when he got bored, he would lead them into the incubator room to see hatching chicks and kill them with an ax. To destroy the evidence, Northcott covered their bodies in quicklime."

Northcott was eventually sentenced to death.

The "fake" boy admitted that he was not Walter and Christine was finally released from the psychiatric ward.

Christine never found out the truth of what exactly happened to Walter. She never stopped looking for him.

Source (truth is stranger and darker than fiction... I left out some things here).

Some thoughts:

Byers means "someone who lived by a cattleshed"

Will vanishing in a shed...

The farm next season...

Hatching chicks, eggs...

Now, I do not think Stranger Things will be a 1:1 comparison with this case, BUT they obviously are heavily inspired by it. So, expect some very dark stuff next season... (and in that Lonnie post I'm working on...)

The name of the movie that was inspired by this true crime case is called "Changeling".

A changeling is a mythical creature found in European folklore and exists within DnD.

A changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. Sometimes the changeling was a 'stock' (a piece of wood made magically to resemble the kidnapped human), more often the changeling was a supernatural being made magically to look like the kidnapped human.

Basically, a changeling "swaps places" with a kidnapped human.

Thoughts?

[slitisland]

introduction!!! ( ´ཀ` )

i’m emil (real name) or slitisland/slit (artist name)

(dont ever ask me how i came up with it)

>>> i use he/him as pronouns and i’m a dude ♱

> wasian ; entp so7 vlef sloai mel-sang ; taken ; 16 y.o.

feel free to ask to be moots!!!!

( >ᵥ_ᵥ< ) important stuff to know:

☠︎︎ i’m neurodivergent (don’t think specifying is necessary) so tonetags from time to time would be great, since i don’t always understand the tone of some messages etc.︎

︎☠︎︎ i’m emo /SRS… and actually a vampire too…. seriously.. uh…

☠︎︎ i do art commissions but they’re closed atm. i will make a post here with all the prices and stuff.

☠︎︎ i’m totally normal about mcr (no i’m not) so my drawings will mostly be somethinf mcr related. i kiss gerard way too btw.

☠︎︎ my DNI-list consists of BIGOTS such as homophobes transphobes racists neo-nazis fatphobes and overall just problematic people etc. because i absolutely despise you guys. don’t interact. 🙏🏻

interests, what i like, dislike etc.

this is where i start yapping.

♡: MCR MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE MYCHEMMM; literally any mcr member but gerard especially; frerard; UNHOLYVERSE; leathermouth; guitars (i play one !!!); drawing; millipedes; ANYTHING religious/christian themed because it’s beautiful and brings me comfort idk why don’t ask

</3: anyone in my dni; talking; ARTBLOCK ugh.

fandoms i’m in and music i’m into:

fandoms: my chemical romance OBVIOUSLY, south park, 8:11, adventure time, metal family, steven universe. i’m not really active in any fandom except for mcr and south park.

music: MCR, leathermouth, mcr members solo projects…, fall out boy, the cure, pierce the veil, dadaroma, tangled nod, loma prieta, botdf, msi, kaneto juusei, malice mizer, dot dot curve and more but i don’t remember anymore.

important to mention no i don’t support the actions of some bands’ members.

[gabykatttt]

Velvet and Veneer in one day in Horrorland

Chapter 12

Good morning Vels Veneer said with a smile on his face.

Morning Veneer Velvet replied letting out a yawn and stretching her arms.

How did you sleep? Veneer asked.

Pretty well I guess Velvet said getting off the bed.

How about you? Velvet asked.

Pretty good Vels Veneer replied with a smile on his face.

That’s good let’s pack so we can go home Velvet said.

Okay sis Veneer said as the siblings started packing their things to leave Horrorland.

I’m so excited to be back home Veneer said.

Me too Velvet replied.

Few hours later

Alright we’re all set Veneer Velvet said.

Let’s go Veneer replied holding Slappy.

Time skip

The twins were at the front holding their stuff.

It’s been really fun Vels hopefully we can come back someday Veneer said.

Me too bro it’s nice to have some twin time together Velvet replied trying to open the gate.

What’s wrong Vels? Veneer asked.

The gate is not opening Velvet replied trying to open the gate but fails.

That’s wired we should be leaving now Veneer said.

Velvet kept trying and trying but no use.

What the hell is this some kind of a joke Velvet said.

Veneer started to be scared holding Slappy tightly.

We need to leave now Veneer said shaking in fear.

Slappy’s eyes started moving and spoke.

You’re trapped my little slaves Slappy said.

Velvet and Veneer looked at the moving dummy and screamed.

OMG THAT DOLL IS ALIVE Velvet yelled.

Oh my gosh Veneer said dropping the dummy and goes to Velvet.

What’s the matter Veneer I thought we were gonna be buddies Slappy said getting up from the ground.

H-how are you talking to us? Veneer asked.

Well my dear friend you spoke the words Slappy replied.

What words are you talking about? Velvet asked.

The words from the card Slappy said.

Flashbacks

What does it say Veneer? Velvet asked.

Veneer took a deep breath and spoke.

Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano Veneer.

End of flashback

Oh crap Veneer said.

What are the words mean? Velvet asked.

It means you and I are one now inseparable your brother is my slave Slappy said.

NO IM NOT GONNA BE YOUR SLAVE YOU CANT MAKE ME Veneer yelled.

But you did spoke the words Veneer now you’re mine Slappy said starting to laugh evilly.

Oh you little- Velvet was cut off by a horror holding on to her.

Hey let me go Velvet said trying to break free.

Veneer gasped as another horror grabs him by his arms.

No let me go Veneer said.

Slappy smirked giving the horrors the signal to take the twins hostage.

You’re never getting away with this Velvet said.

Aww I already have sweetheart Slappy replied laughing again.

The horrors took the twins in separate ways.

@simplydannie @skydiverdrawings @once-ler-ask-blog153 @juniper-666 @justnat3 @zephyrmars @horrorartist23

[blackbird5154]

TF about creating Ghost Chapters:

Forge credits the seed for these clips to Tom Whalley, the former Interscope Records executive who founded Ghost’s record label, Loma Vista. “Tom Whalley said very early on that there needs to be a story,” Forge recalls. “He wanted some sort of narrative. I had to think about that because I wasn’t keen on telling my own story. That’s how the episodes started.” At first, Forge was skeptical about the idea. “As someone who’s not even on social media, who’s very old-school, for me it was like, ‘Do we really need to tell people all the time that we exist? Is that not lame?’” After he realized the fun that could be had with these clips, he softened his stance. “I’ve come to like how we do things,” he concedes. “It’s this alternative universe where we paint a little picture and people get a little glimpse of this story slowly moving forward. And then we add a little commercial message at the end. In March 2018, a new series of Ghost webisode “Chapters” premiered in the run-up to Prequelle. The world-building narrative — which is ongoing, and up to Chapter 14 as of this writing — gives us humorous glimpses into the lives of Ghost’s frontmen. “At the end of the day, we are a rock band,” Forge observes. “We’re asking people to buy tickets and listen to our music and buy shirts and all the stuff. We’re not very different from others, but it’s done in a somewhat different way.”

"Lucifer Rising", Revolver, 2022

[beardedmrbean]

VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- Three Victorville, California family members have been charged with torture in connection with the alleged abuse of six children who were in their care, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Kenneth Michael Key, 60, Tina Marie Sheffield Key, 60, and their daughter Kaitlynn Marresa Key, 23, were arrested Monday and later charged with six felony counts of torture and one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, according to the San Bernardino County district attorney's office. Prosecutors also filed a special allegation of personal infliction of great bodily injury in the case.

"After an extensive investigation conducted by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Crimes Against Children Unit, and Loma Linda University Medical Center Children's Assessment Center, it is alleged that Kenneth and Tina Key, and their adult daughter subjected all six children (aged four - sixteen), to years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse," the D.A.'s office said in a statement.

The investigation that led to the arrests was launched after authorities received a tip from a caller to a child abuse hotline.

"The abuse included daily beatings, strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punishments of withholding food and water from the children for a period of days," the news release said.

The sheriff's department had previously said the youngest victim was 5 years old.

SEE ALSO: Teen escapes after allegedly being held captive for years and sexually abused in NJ home

Jose Martinez, a neighbor who lives next to the defendants, told ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC that he was was in stunned disbelief when he learned of the allegations and arrests.

"I never heard any bad noises," Martinez said. "I would take out their trash, and see the cans were full of snacks. So, I can't believe they didn't have any food or being denied clothing or stuff like that because they were pretty normal.

"Nothing was suspicious at all," he said. "The kids would come out. I would give them popsicles, and they would never mention anything to me."

According to Martinez, after authorities removed the children from the home in early February, Tina Key told him that she and the other two members of her family were being investigated for alleged child abuse.

"Tina was very in shock; she was emotional that they took the kids away," he said. "They denied everything. I mean, I never seen any problems. I've always seen the kids out here playing. It's a lonely neighborhood; so they kept to themselves, to be honest."

Asked about the children's appearance, Martinez said they looked "normal."

The defendants were each being held on $1,000,000 bail, authorities said. Their arraignment date is scheduled for Thursday via video.

[dustedmagazine]

Dusted Mid-Year 2024, Part I (Oren Ambarchi to Loma)

Oren Ambarchi and crew

Half the year is gone already, and how did that happen? At Dusted, we’ve spent six months listening to good records and bad.  We’ve picked our very favorites, the top two from this year’s pile.  And now, in an annual tradition, we turn them on our fellow writers.  Hah, take that!   

Some of our Mid-Year switcheroos have been highly contentious.  We may have lost a writer or two in the aftermath.  Others have been remarkably collegial and full of positive discovery.  This one falls more or less in the middle.  Only a couple of reviews are notably grumpy.  A slightly larger (but still not large) number show evidence of newly awakened fandom.  For the most part, we came out with the same favorites we brought with us, though perhaps a little wiser about the music that we’re missing. 

For this reason, it is harder than ever to identify winners.  There’s no universally admired album we can call “this year’s Heron Oblivion.”  Rosali and Winged Wheel each got four votes, as close to a sweep as this year brought.  Oren Ambarchi’s Ghosted II notched three.  There were lots of lone pics—which is fine.  More music to check out. 

As always, we’re breaking the mid-year into three parts.  This one covers the front of the alphabet, a second will deal with the back.  The third, as always, provides longer lists from participating writers.  We hope you enjoy it. 

Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin —Ghosted II (Drag City)

Who recommended it? Bryon Hayes

Did we review it? Yes, Tim Clarke said, “They cleave closer to the meditative, exploratory grooves of The Necks, laying down intricately detailed and gradually evolving parts… Sublime.” 

Bill Meyer’s take:

Count me among the Dusted writers who hold this trio in high esteem. Ghosted II strikes so precise a balance of texture, stillness and motion that it’s easy miss how fragile it is; one misplaced note or beat could bring it all down in a second, but the trio sustains each of the album’s four tracks for ten minutes or thereabouts. While it’s easy to appreciate the tidal flux of Oren Ambarchi’s guitar>>table of boxes>>Lesley speaker signal chain, and Johan Berthling’s immovable bass presence, if you are about to put this record on the hi-fi for the first time (PLEASE listen in stereo), consider focusing on the infinite mirror effect of Werliin’s percussion. Your third eye will thank you.

Olivia Block — The Mountains Pass (Black Truffle)

Who picked it? Bill Meyer

Did we review it? No

Ray Garraty’s take:

This has actually none of the pretentious stuff you expect to find in a work by somebody who has been dubbed a “media artist.” The second part of The Mountains Pass is especially stunning where ‘f2754’ has clearly a Giallo-esque feel to it, fast paced and a tad prog rock-ish. “Violet-Green,” perhaps the best composition on the album, brings in mind those creepy soundtracks, with synths and bells, which we usually hear on bad horror movies. And even when Olivia Block, on the same track, begins to sing, her voice is outlandish enough to think that she was abducted by the aliens. 

Camera Obscura — Look to the East, Look to the West (Merge)

Who Picked it? Andrew Forell

Did we review it? Yes, Andrew said, “Campbell writes movingly about memory and friendship. Looking at what was rather than regretting what might have been with an honesty that goes directly to the heart of things.” 

Bryon’s take:

This record makes me realize that I should listen to more Camera Obscura. The Glaswegian indie pop group is a delight to take in, especially Tracyanne Campbell’s lovely voice. Look to the East, Look to the West is a comeback album, the band’s first since they went on hiatus following the death of keyboardist Carey Lander in 2015. The most striking aspect here is the use of pedal steel and organ, which lend the album a country and western flair. This seems to be a new development for Campbell and company, but they pull it off well and the new sounds really suit the band. Similarly effective are the digital drums that the band employ on tracks like “Liberty Print.” Camera Obscura have altered course slightly but retain the loveliness that lies within their core.

Chief Keef — Almighty So 2 (RBC)

Who nominated it? Patrick Masterson

Did we review it? No.

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

Six years in the making and continually delayed—a fact the artist refers to several times during the run-time—Almighty So 2 is massive and ambitious, with operatic hooks and wall-shaking, body-pummeling beats. A mountainous swagger rocks, “Grape Trees,” the cut with Sexyy Red, a machine-gun ratatat thundering under brutal lyrics about gender relations. The politics are embedded in the subject matter, in the screaming sirens, the South Chicago gangland scenarios, the profanity, rage and cynicism. “Jesus Skit,” though, gets a little more explicit about it, positing a sliding reparations scheme that depends on skin color; light skinned rappers like Drake and Chance the Rapper lose out big time, while darker ones, like Sosa, get millions. The violence comes in the shattering beats, as in “1,2,3,” a slow-motion eruption. Here the artist sketches the bleak world that made (and continues to make) him, chanting, “I always believed I was gon' get paid/When I got to hustlin' up in sixth grade/You ain't givin' off that nigga, you won't get laid/Sleep for the weak, I been up for six days.” The track, like the rest of Almighty So 2, is gritty and nihilistic and undeniably powerful. So glad I got to hear this, non-expert though I am.

Cindy Lee — Diamond Jubilee (Realistik Studios)

Who nominated it? Patrick Masterson

Did we review it? Nope (and shame on us…)

Jonathan Shaw’s take:

Diamond Jubilee commences with three dazzling songs: the title track, “Glitz” and “Baby Blue.” Even if the rest of the record weren’t so excellent (it is, and at over two hours, there’s a lot of it), the strength of those three songs would propel it into frequent rotation, on my various devices and in my head, and likely onto the year-end list I will eventually compose. “Baby Blue” is the crucial track: it’s one of those songs (along with Warren Zevon’s “The French Inhaler,” Townes Van Zandt’s “For the Sake of the Song” and a few others) that is so ruthlessly fine in its execution and so suited to some of the least comfortable angles in the emotional furniture in my head that it requires a kind of commitment to listen to. Beyond that irretrievably subjective response, Diamond Jubilee commits, as well: to gorgeous melody, without entirely smoothing out the sharp edges that distinguished Lee’s What’s Tonight to Eternity (2020); to the reverb-saturated aesthetic of fading girl-group harmonies, clubland at 3 am, spangled cocktail dresses of motheaten satin and the pleasures of the last cigarette in the pack when there’s no money for another; and, it seems, to love, in social conditions that make love nearly as unthinkable as it is completely necessary. The surreal, in its modernist avant-garde iteration, emerged in similarly extreme social conditions, after the slaughter of the Great War and amid fascism’s rise. Those forces were enough to distort human relations into monstrous shapes nigh irrevocable. Lee’s music has strong relations to the dreamlike quality of the surreal, and we have our own terrors now: climate’s awful and furious change, social media’s psycho-social poisons and fascism, once again. Those terrors’ spectral presences are audible all over Diamond Jubilee, but they can’t blunt the sharpness of human longing in songs like “All I Want Is You” or “Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong” or “Government Cheque.” Love’s intensities may not be sustainable, or even particularly livable, but they won’t be denied. Cindy Lee captures that set of truths with that aforementioned dazzle, and with depth.

DIIV — Frog In Boiling Water (Fantasy)

Who picked it? Tim Clarke

Did we review it? Yes. Tim Clarke said: “Despite the music’s dense layering and the overall feeling of frustration and confusion, Frog In Boiling Water thankfully leaves the listener with a feeling of hope and eventual redemption.”

Ray Garraty’s take:

If I were given this with no title and artist’s name I’d say this was written by a no name indie band circa 2016. It’s the same shoegazy guitars and sweet and melancholy vocals we’ve been hearing since when, 1994? The songs like “Reflected” got things moving but it’s far from boiling temperatures, merely lukewarm. It’s been written somewhere that the DIIV’s album is about “coping with capitalism,” yet it’s evident that it’s feeding the same capitalism, giving the fans the same thing over and over. And that is how capitalism works. 

Nomi Epstein — shades (Another Timbre)

Who picked it? Christian Carey

Did we write about it? Yes, Christian said, "Epstein’s music is unfailingly attractive and elegantly paced. Shades is an excellent introduction to her work."

Bill Meyer’s take: 

Since Nomi Epstein leads the Chicago-based new music ensemble a.pe.ri.od.ic, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to hear her guide performances of other people’s music. But shades is only the second album devoted to hers. Its three long pieces are, like the Wandelweiser and minimalist composers that a.pe.ri.od.ic has often supported, sparely arranged and deliberately paced. She puts intriguing sounds — some prepared piano notes, or a barely-there vocal tone — just far enough inside the frameworks of the music to invite one to listen in. Once your consciousness is inside the music, the slow movement of what surrounds you mesmerizes. Music this reserved and respectful is a welcome respite in a world where reality smacks you upside the head every day and even that influencer babbling on the phone belong to the person sitting next to you on the train insists on staring you in the eye.

Fuera de Sektor — Juegos Prohibidos (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos)

Who nominated it? Jonathan Shaw

Did we review it? Yes, Jonathan wrote, “It’s a singular sound, by turns compelling and bewitching—like the beautiful face you can just about discern across a dim and crowded room, a set of lines and textures briefly lit up by occasional drags on a cigarette. Not quite (or not just) postpunk, pop or dance music, the songs on Juegos Prohibitos itch at your hips and scratch into your brain.”

Christian Carey’s take:

Barcelona band Fuera de Sektor released a demo in 2022, but Juegos Prohibidos is their first full length recording. No Wave is a significant influence, particularly in the fiercely intense sing-shout vocals from Andrea Jarale. If you visit the band’s Instagram, it includes an amateur video that is an homage to Richard Hell, replicating a 1970s comic from NY Punk Magazine in which he starred. But there are many more reference points. The guitars channel the chops and soloing of eighties New Wave, and the rhythm section provides relentless uptempo playing. The defiant demeanor of the songs themselves depicts an unstoppable wall of intensity.

Daryl Groetsch — Above the Shore (self-released)

Who picked it? Andrew Forell

Did we review it? Yes, Andrew called it “a 75-minute floating symphony that insinuates its way into your subconscious with almost imperceptible stealth.”

Ian Mathers’ take:

Whether approvingly or not, works like this 75-minute composition/album are often described as if they were very static in nature; as if even when there are changes they happen in rigid, predictable ways. It may be that if you poke around under the hood of Above the Clouds enough you might be able to diagram out the way elements meld, progress, and separate again, and possibly under that light the whole thing looks regular. But in terms of the way it feels when you listen to it, there’s something quite different going on with Groetsch’s work. The whole thing does feel quite immersive, almost environmental. But as opposed to any number of ground-level or even underwater vistas that come to mind with similar works, here I feel suspended in the air, very far above any shore indeed. The listening experience feels akin to endlessly falling, eventually not so much above as through softly glowing clouds. It’s somehow soothingly vertiginous, and more captivating (and attention-rewarding) than most of its peers.

Icewear Vezzo — Live From the 6 (Quality Control Music)

Who picked it? Ray Garraty

Did we review it? No.

Patrick Masterson’s take:

Chivez Smith has been a familiar name to anyone keeping an eye on Detroit rap for the last decade — longer than you might think and long enough, now, to make him an elder statesman among the city’s spitters. What better time, then, to take a step back and assess not just how far you’ve come, but what all that hustling has amounted to? So goes Live From the 6 (not a Drake reference, in case you were momentarily confused; Vezzo’s from 6 Mile on McNichols north of Hamtramck), which isn’t quite a career retrospective but carries the themes of one. Vezzo’s in a reflective mood over the course of these 13 songs, his slightly frayed vocals forever unhurried and his beat selection consistently nodding to the high West Coast era; you could put Ice Cube or Snoop (or, for that matter, YG or Nipsey) over most of these productions and it wouldn’t throw you off. It’s not totally insular bars-wise, either; a questionable DaBaby feature aside — his double-time admission that he sees a therapist is heartening given how deservedly he got shunned by the establishment just as he was fixing to peak — Memphis artist YTB Fatt also shows up. Fellow Motor City emcees Babyface Ray and Chuckie CEO provide the remaining color, but end to end, this is Vezzo’s show and he shows up. There’s no lack of entry points to Icewear Vezzo’s discography by now, but if you were hesitant before, Live From the 6 is merely the latest display of his acumen. Hear why he’s the one.

Loma — How Will I Live Without A Body? (Sub Pop)

Who picked it? Tim Clarke

Did we review it? Yes, Tim wrote, “Yes, this is a heavy album, but luxuriously so. It’s music that stares death in the face and instead of running, hunkers down and gets comfortable.”

Alex Johnson’s take:

Listening to How Will I Live Without a Body? is like eavesdropping on a collage of someone else’s thoughts. Contemplation or confusion or a eureka one moment to the next. It’s theatrical, passionate music that, to me, shares a heavy sensibility with the operatic post-rock on Portishead’s Third. Like an unsettling daydream, the lyrics blur the mundane and existential. In “Affinity,” the narrator stares “into the dark,” finding herself multiplied but disconnected – “my shadows move/with and without me.” In “I Swallowed a Stone,” a“kettle boil[s] forever” and she “can’t live this feeling anymore.” Given the song’s tense, foreboding percussion and muted guitar “can’t” sounds like “might have to.” 

Might, but not necessarily will. Despite the doses of dread, How Will I Live Without a Body? never feels resigned. You’re treated to interjections of sound, instrumental and otherwise —  flashes of illumination, portals to enter. “Unbraiding” fits sheets of strings, bird song, and burning punches of guitar fuzz around a simple, repeated piano, illustrating the line “bring somewhere out of nowhere.” Loma is working with a robust sonic palette here, but the album’s ethos seems grounded in a DIY curiosity. That “Broken Doorbell” features what sound like actual broken doorbells and then ends with waves hitting a shore is emblematic. It’s a lovely, if perhaps temporary, moment of arrival, having followed the shadows wherever they led.

[deermouth]

5 songs i've been listening to lately, tagged by @teethleave. also i think i've been tagged by like 3 or 4 other people in music stuff recently and then just Did Not, so, sorry, thank you for tagging me, anyways:

subject to the ladder by broadcast

joy by loma

screen shot by swans

laguna seca by shearwater

better in my day by gazelle twin

i think i'm probably supposed to tag 5 people? uhhhh @teratocrat @eistleisanngaoth @kittensablaze @angremlin @samwiselastname

[theanticool]

Ever since Loma accepted a fight with Kambosos next year a lot of people on Twitter have been debating his legacy. Some calling him an all-time great some calling him the most overrated boxer of all time. One person said he was one of the best talents he'd ever seen but his resume didn't reflect it. what do you think about Loma and how he should be remembered when he retires?

Sports fans on the whole are subject to hyperbole. And legacy is fickle. If we're being real accomplishments, while a prerequisite, they are not the end all be all.

I probably agree with the sentiment that Loma's resume does not reflect the level of talent he has but also that doesn't mean he didn't accomplish a lot.

Boxing has existed for over 100 years. Most of the best boxers of all time are long forgotten. Go through Ring Magazine's top 100 boxers of all time and then ask some random dude at a spots bar if they know who Emile Griffith, Tony Canzoneri, and Archie Moore are (all in the top ten btw). How about p4p talent like Junior Jones? or Frankie Randall, the first dude to beat Julio Cesar Chavez sr? Just being mentioned in the convo of like best 100-200 boxers of all time great is a testament to how good you are. Cause there have been a lot of fantastic fighters.

As for how he likely will be remembered, he's a 2x Olympic gold medalist and a 3 division world champion. He's got a unique style that is one of the most aesthetically pleasing styles of fighting in recent memory. I think that's good enough to be remembered fondly, especially as in the internet age where people are going to be clipping some of the visually stunning stuff he did and putting it on tiktok or whatever social media app comes next.

I also think it comes down to how your era is processed media-wise, if that makes sense. For example, the four kings era is remembered fondly in no small part because so many of the guys covering boxing today were kids then. So part of it is going to depend on who is covering the sport in 5, 10, 20, 30 years.

One of the big things being a basketball fan taught me is that part of being remembered when you're gone, is to never really leave. Podcasting, tv analyst, commentary, coaching, etc. You keep your name at the front of people's minds by just never leaving. And all four of those guys are still very much involved with boxing. They're at a lot of big fights, some are gym owners or promoters, or they're doing movies/tv appearances. And they talk to media. A lot. I know what Tommy Hearns thought about Spence-Crawford because he gave an interview about it. What Vasyl does when he stops boxing could have a big effect on his legacy too.

[aralintheobsessive]

Ok but there's actually a really great debunking of these debunkings - like most of this stuff does not actually contradict the data that is used specifically for the formation of Blue Zones. The faulty data was generally not used in the mapping of Blue Zones (Except Loma Linda, that was just a mess). Maintenance Phase just did an amazing episode on it and it is so full of delicious nuance. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VmuFmpfgy2coHewsixunR?si=d7a2c27e78894d65

i feel kinda silly for not guessing how much of this is just pension fraud lmao