#road trip mix tape 2018

[patricksmusicblog]

2023 Album Ratings(So Far)

These are some thoughts on some of the albums I've listened to throughout the year. Some of them are just thoughts others are mini reviews.

Owl City- Coco Moon: Solid sound/production, okay vocals, mediocre lyrics, and overall songs. It may work with a more youthful audience. 6/10

Princess Nokia- I Love You But This is Goodbye: This is a good little EP about the ends and outs, ups and downs of heartbreak. As usual for Nokia, it's elastic and expansive. However, there are moments when I find Princess Nokia's vocals to be weak. There are moments when her passion and authenticity cut through. 7/10

Aly & AJ- With Love From: With Love From is a quality summery indie-pop/rock album. There are a lot of tracks to play loud on an open road with the top down in somewhat breezy, sunburned weather. Lovely harmonies and hooks abound. The slower hooks slow things down to an extent. With Love From is not an album I imagine I'll go back to much, but it accomplishes its goal. 7.0/10

Weezer-SZNZ: Winter: Solid effort from Weezer; some catchy alt-rock tunes, nerdy songwriting Coumo's nasally vocals all things Weezer is great at and known for here. Not essential, but good. 7/10 

Conway The Machine & Jae Skeese- Pain Provided Profit: A tight and concise project that's a commonly gritty Griselda affair, grimmy and yet soulful and contemplative beats matching Conway and Skeese's ability to be braggadocious and heartfelt at the same time. A solid EP 8.0/10

Logic- College Park: Maryland MC Logic's eighth studio LP is a quality follow-up to his album Vinyl Days, released last year. If last year was Boom Bap Logic, this year is Jazz Rap Logic. It's a good album; there's much soul-baring about substance abuse and avoiding those pitfalls and ideas of getting more true to who he is. There's an 8.5-9.0 album in here somewhere, but lesser tracks water it down. There are seventeen songs here, which is just too many, but ultimately, it's still a solid effort and something long-time Logic fans can get into. 7.5/10

Statik Slektah-Round Trip: The latest LP from Statik Slektah is a dope effort that has a piano-driven and somewhat jazz-rap-driven sound that features a mixture of 90's legends and younger artists, some of which are legends at this point now as well. It's a 20-track project, and the first half is where the most potent tracks lye. All are great, but the best include "Unpredictable" feat Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man, "Ain't Too Much Too it" ft Conway, Life & Times ft Joey Bada$$ and "Lion Heart" with Elzhi and Boldy James. Lesser guests and less entertaining beats slow the rest down. All in all, it is a solid effort, particulary for those who love the current crop of underground MCs that have been making noise from 2018 to the present day. 7.5/10

Paramore- This is Why: Paramore is ever-growing; their last LP was a foray into synth-pop, and this one is more of a post-punk album. This album is musically sharp; there are a lot of strong guitar riffs and layers of sounds underneath the mix. Hayley is vocally great at shifting velocities and tonalities during a given song. Lyrically, the album is as content-rich as any Paramore album. It's a tight album, ten great tracks 8.0/10

7XVETHEGENIUS-The Genius Tape: 7xvethegenius is a solid rapper; this project feels like a lyrical exercise for her coming from the drumwork camp. "Brainstorm" ft Conway the Machine is a highlight, as is the storytelling on "Lost on Mars," and then there's the Rome Streets and Che Noir-assisted "Neck Protected". 7.5/10

Conway The Machine-Won't He Do It: Conway follows up with 2022 essential God Doesn't Make Mistakes with Won't He Do It, an album that features more versatile production and different sounds from the lush "The Chosen" to the piano-laden "Monogram" or the R&B influenced Water to Wine" you don't know what to expect track to track on this Conway The Machine album and I enjoy that. This album, while not having quite the depth and soul searching of the previous album, is more celebratory and features an array of flows and skill sets. He sounds comfortable and effortless on this project. Great work 8.5/10 

Killer Mike-Michael: Michael is Killer Mike's sixth LP and his most personal and forthright album. The production features some gospel/soul influence that feels classically Atlanta. The album tackles issues he dealt with as a youth, from naively poising the community (Something for The Junikes) to adolescent love mishandled (Slummer) to the impact of losing his mother and grandma. This album gives you a sense of the good and bad that shaped Killer Mike. I also love the EL-P-assisted "Don't Let the Devil" for a more southern-fried RTJ feel. I appreciate what he's speaking to on "Two Days" regarding the prison industrial system and the politics that keep it going. At every turn, Mike is sharp, heartfelt, and thoughtful. The features on the album all come through with good performances from Atlanta pioneers like Ceelo and Andre 3000 to current-day essentials like Young Thug and Future. Michael's an excellent album and a refreshing solo effort, a nice change of pace from Mike's work with EL-P. 9/10

Nas & Hitboy- Magic 2: Nas and Hit-boy continue their run with their fifth album in 3 years and 2nd edition in the Magic series. While the 2021 Magic felt like an exercise in traditionalism, finding Nas rhyming over an updated 90s sound with rhyming up to par with his prime. On Magic 2 Nas finds himself more aligned with modern times; tracks like "Motion" and "Earvin Magic Johnson" sound more car and club-ready than anything on the original Magic. Songs like "Abracadabra" are more thematically aligned than most of what's on the original Magic. The more thoughtful and reflective tracks tucked in the back of the album are the strongest, "What it Really Means", "Slow it Down" and "Pistols on Your album Cover" are all great pieces of work. Par for the course at this point. 8.5/10 

Meet me @ the Alter- Past//Present//Future: Meet me @ the Alter is a pop-punk band that has been working toward this moment for a while through a series of EPs and singles that showed a band bustling with pop-punk energy and hooks that only come from a strong appreciation for the pop-punk we came up on in the 00s. Past//Present//Future is the baby of all that hard work. I love the catchy and snarky "Say it to My Face." I also enjoy the chunky, distorted guitars on "Try" a song that speaks to pushing through anxiety and going for things anyway. "T.M.I" is my absolute favorite on the project. It's the best vocal performance from Edith Victoria, the best chorus, and the most well-written tune here. The bass and big chorus on "King of Everything" make for a good close to the album. It's a fun project for the band that leaves plenty of room for improvement and expansion musically and lyrically. 7.5/10

Protomartyr-Formal Growth in the Desert: This is the sixth project from Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr. As customary for a Protomatyr album, you'll get sprawling guitars and walls of atmospheric sound. Also, you'll get lead vocalist and lyricist Joe Casey's passionate vocal performances and great lyrics. "Fun in Hi Skool" is a great song seemingly about the inability to let go of the past to the point where it ruins your present and future. "Let's Tip The Creator" is my favorite on the project; I think it has some of the best guitar playing and drumming. Protomartyr has always been adept at shifting tones and adding sonic layers as tracks progress. With Joe Casey's lyrics being thoughtful yet abstract at times, it invites more and more listens that'll be sure to reward with time. 8.0/10 

Dream Wife-Social Lubrication: Dream Wife's third full-length album is much like their previous efforts, a selection of songs where youthful exuberance meets thoughtful contemplations and some righteous rebellion. There's "Who do you want to be?" A call to mobilization instead of stagnation. The title track speaks to being buttered up and being made to get comfortable with getting screwed over. "Leech" is about men, companies, people, etc., who exploit and use women for what they provide—all great tracks. You still get simple punk tracks like "I Want You" or "Orbit," a song about an attraction that almost feels meant to be. Sonically, the band switches between straightforward punk and a post-punk sound, which is more beneficial when trying to get a message across. It's their 3rd straight great album, in my opinion. 8.0/10

Noname-Sundial: Sundail is the third full album by Chicago rapper Noname. Noname is a rapper who has always been adept at rhyming conscious, straightforward, but abstract at the same time. She's an artist who wears her culture on her sleeve and cares deeply about the state of it. She's also someone who has just gotten better and better at rapping over time. She's always had an agile and fluid flow, but this is her least quiet album yet; she's come through with a more substantial presence on the mic and more charisma. Topically, "Hold Me Down" speaks to black people only holding each other down when it's convenient, particularly monetarily. "Balloons" on why there was a musical hiatus for Noname in the first place, which is the exploitative nature of selling black trauma to voyeuristic white people entertained by black trauma. "Beauty Supply" tackles the self-loathing that inherently comes with adapting Eurocentric beauty standards. There's no turn on this album where Noname has nothing to say. There's very little wasted space on the album. Yet there are lighthearted and fun moments here like "Boomboom" or "Toxic." It's a great album that will reward with more listens. 8.5/10

Nas & Hitboy- Magic 3: Nas completes their fantastic run with their third installment in the Magic series Magic 3. To the surprise of no one, It's another high-level project that features excellent production and rhymes from Hitboy and Nas. From the production standpoint, Hit-Boy dives more into a soul sample style here, with many soulful beats and vocals floating in the background of these tracks. Meanwhile, Nas showcases his skillset; rapping well is a prerequisite for him at this point, so it's really about the direction and how the tracks meld together. "I Love This Feeling" track 4 on the project, is the first song that I think is steller on the project; it has a great soulful, almost jazzy sound, and Nas is just sharp and speaking to loving the place he's in. "Based on True Events pt1" and "pt 2" find Nas getting into his storytelling bag, both efforts are vivid. The first one is seemingly a little more personal, with him speaking about investigating a friend's supposed suicide and honoring Havoc of Mobb Deep's brother, who was murdered. Pt 2 echo's a song like "Nigga's Bleed' the late great Notorious B.I.G. "Blue Bently" and "Jodeci Member"are both bangers on the album tracks you could ride in the car too. The album tetters between celebratory and contemplative, and Nas is great at both. The lone feature on the project is Lil Wayne, who shows out his flow is fluid, and he rises to the occasion. It's another great effort from Nas & Hitboy, and in the end, this is an excellent send-off to their run. 8.5/10 

By: Patrick Griffin II

[alittledizzy]

we got the north lights rating: e word count: 1k summary: Sex by the pool in Australia.

[read on ao3]

There's warm sun on Phil's back, the smell of nature fresh with every breath he takes, the sound of the water in the pool rippling against the breeze and birds cawing in the trees, the pleasant texture of life all faded into the background as he fucks Dan on a poolside chair too small for two people.

"Yeah," Dan says, sighing out a breath. He's on his side, one arm stretched up and back to sink into Phil's hair while the other is pressed between his own body and the chair under them. He rocks back and forth with a lazy need.

Sometimes Phil just stops and stays there until Dan moves again. Phil's got patience where it counts, and Dan's desperation is a delicious motivator.

"Asshole," Dan says, leaning his head back against Phil's shoulder.

Phil reaches between them and drags two fingers up from the spot behind Dan's balls all the way to where Phil is buried inside. His finger catches and smears in the extra lube there, and he uses it to slick the way back down.

Dan lifts one leg to give him more room. The angle is awkward enough that Phil can't do too much for too long, but he cups his palm around Dan's balls and presses flat up until the length of his fingers pin Dan's dick to his stomach as he thrusts inside a little harder than before.

It jars a pleasant noise out of Dan. Phil moves his hand from between them back up to Dan's thigh, stroking down and around and taking Dan's cock in a loose grip for a few slow tugs. He likes the dry weight of it in his hand. Because it’s Dan, but also because - he just does. He squeezes and keeps his fingers tight until Dan moves into the touch, urging more.

"How long?" Phil asks.

There's a time limit on solitude and paradise; his brother and Cornelia will be back by five. They've got dinner plans.

"An hour," Dan says, picking up his phone. "Maybe less, if we need to shower."

They'll need to shower. There's sweat along the backs of Phil's knees and along his hairline, and the too-pricey lube that always gets everywhere.

And he wants to come inside Dan. He gets a little shivery at the thought of it, like he always does. He drops his head and rocks in and out.

Phil doesn't notice that Dan doesn't put the phone back down right away. He doesn't notice how Dan tilts his head and purses his lips and he doesn't hear the click of the side camera button being pressed. He's too busy with his eyes closed, sinking in the feeling of Dan's ass flush against his hips and his cock buried deep in Dan.

"How close are you?" Phil asks.

Dan covers Phil's hand with his own, urging Phil to wank a little faster. "I could get there."

Phil could, too. He's just not been in a hurry, but now it's building.

Dan leans over and puts his phone on the ground, then turns and braces himself against the chair with the arm that had been under him. Phil's fingers let go of Dan's cock, leaving Dan to do that work himself, and curl around his hip instead. Dan doesn't argue; Dan likes it harder when he comes. He grunts at Phil's first solid thrust in, and Phil knows he's more or less got the spot. There still aren't any acrobatics; the chair is sturdy but he doesn't want to test it until it breaks. But it builds fast, gets more intense quickly, both of them primed from almost an hour of lazy foreplay and lazier sex.

He hears the cap of the lube snap open. Phil would know that sound in his sleep. "Need me to use more?" He asks, kissing Dan's shoulder without stopping the rutting of his hips.

Dan shakes his head. "For me."

The sound of him wanking becomes a wetter slap of skin on skin. Dan flings his leg back further over Phil's thigh and whines and moves as much as he can with Phil's body half laying on him.

Dan comes first, a quiet stream of, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," and then a strangled sound of pleasure. Phil doesn't stop then either, just fucks in, in, in, solely focused on the orgasm he can feel building in his balls and the base of his spine and radiating out until it's punched out of him, pulsing pleasure spilling thick inside Dan's body. He pushes in and out slowly, come still pumping and mind a warm white noise blur until he starts to soften and pulls out.

He falls off Dan and back, one hand splayed across his own chest and the other on Dan's thigh just for a point of contact. His eyes are still shut but he listens to the sound of Dan moving around, probably grabbing for the towel they brought with them, maybe stretching or checking twitter or any of the things Dan likes to do immediately after sex while Phil just tries not to fall asleep immediately.

He's unsurprised when the warmth of Dan settles against his side. Reaching up is automatic; fingers in Dan's hair, pulling him closer.

"You can't sleep," Dan says, poking Phil in the side. "Your dick is out, and they'll be back soon."

"Fine," Phil says, and opens his eyes to the brilliant blue of the sky above him. The breeze feels even nicer now, cooling the sweat down. "Are you sure we can't just be nudists?"

"You live your truth, Phil," Dan says, kissing Phil's jaw and then sitting up. "But are you sure you want to start your nudist existence in a house you're sharing with your brother?"

"Fine," Phil says, sighing. He reaches for Dan and pulls him back down. "But five more minutes."

It's just so nice. It's nice and peaceful and Phil wants to enjoy this. He wants to have this moment to tuck away and remember the next time things feel busy. He wants to fall back on daydreams of him and Dan in the open air loving each other and making each other feel good. He wants... this. Forever. Or at least five more minutes.

Dan yawns and rests his head on Phil's shoulder. "Once your jizz starts leaking out of my ass, I'm done."

(Well, most of the moment, at least. Maybe that bit he can forget.)

[ffviirarepairweek]

FFVII Rare Pair Week 2022

(After a year break - sorry, it was a bad year - Rare Pair Week is back!)

Urban Dictionary defines rarepair as “A ship or pairing that not many people ship or is very rare to find fanfiction and fanart of. Typically happens within small fandoms or with minor characters.” So what’s your favourite Final Fantasy VII related rare pair? Do you have more than one? Here’s a chance to showcase them and help them move up from being rare! Not all parts of the pairing have to be from FFVII, and you don’t have to do the same pairing or group for the whole week! Below we have a list of prompts for this year. Feel free to be as creative with those as you want to, and take your time working on your entries, but please don’t forget to post them on the right date if you can. (But remember, no matter how late it’s better than never!)

For 2022 we are using a category approach. You can use the category as a theme for your prompt and the listed items suggested ideas. If none of the prompts give you any ideas, don’t worry! You can create anything you like for the week, provided it involves a rare pair! The goal of the week is to celebrate and share our rare pairs more than to just follow a list. Be it art, writing, mood boards, or even fic recs, just spread the love!

Feb. 16 | Day 1. Camping. Cabins, Tents, Campfires, Snowed in, Late Nights, Under the Stars.

Feb. 17 | Day 2. Recordings. Movie night, home movies, found footage, security tapes, voice memos, audio logs, mix tapes.

Feb. 18 | Day 3. Travel. Road trips, Sunday drives, shipping out, forced companionship, ambulance rides, cruise ships.

Feb. 19 | Day 4. Food. New tastes, cooking together or for someone, grocery shopping, take out.

Feb. 20 | Day 5. Traditions. Routines, celebrations, anniversaries, holidays, rituals, memories.

Feb. 21 | Day 6. Combo Day (mix and match, take any prompts and combine them!)

Feb. 22 | Day 7. Free Day

Need more inspiration? Our past prompt lists can be found below, and you’re welcome to use any of them!

https://ffviirarepairweek.tumblr.com/post/190847708068/ffvii-rare-pair-week-2020

https://ffviirarepairweek.tumblr.com/post/182502941118/ffvii-rare-pair-week-2019-feb-16-22-urban

https://ffviirarepairweek.tumblr.com/post/170885143143/ffvii-rare-pair-week-2018

Also new this year, mod @asylos is taking requests for things to write! That’s right, you can get something written for your rare pair, and not just do all the heavy lifting yourself. Send in your requests before the end of the event week.

Please remember to include the week’s tag (ffviirarepairweek) within the first 5 tags or else we might be unable to find your work! We will NOT accept/reblog anything containing Character/Ship Hate, so avoid including those in your entries. Also don’t repost anyone else’s work as your own! You are welcome to reblog other’s posts, but credit where credit is due.

You can submit your works on AO3 to the event collection at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FFVIIrarepairweek

And if you have any questions, don’t be afraid of sending an ask.

We hope it turns out to be a fun event for everyone!

[anarchist-caravan]

(My) TOP Discovered Albums of the year 2019 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Here again, for the fourth year in a row! Ready to go through the list of discovered music that I have found this year. It has been quite a long year. The thing that is different from the other years is that I have felt a little bit more stressed about the list. I don’ t know why. Just is. And that is a good judgement of what my year has been about. Stress. Angst. Hardships. Fatigue. And Surprises.

I always think I won’t be able to find any new music each year. But I am always mistaken. Thousands of albums down the road. And ain’t that the best thing. Amidst the times. 

And thus, a lot of the music I found this year, that has been put on this list is of the more chill side. Not anything too harsh. Just.... a stream of consciousness.

As Usual, Albums I have encountered throughout the year are listed below -with only the last five in a true top order:

40.

Mad Doctor X - Picnic with the Greys (1997)

A picnic we should all attend, -don’t forget the Oui’d!

39.

Tomb Mold ‎– Planetary Clairvoyance (2019)

Dang, that’s death metal done well.

38.

Moor Mother - Analog Fluids Of Sonic Black Holes (2019)

Self-explanatory. 

37.

Darzamat - In the Opium of Black Veil (1999)

Good AF black metal. 

36.

karl sanders - saurian meditation (2004)

Darker than you think. Hypnosis.

35.

The Dolphin Brothers - Catch the Fall (1987)

Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen plays wonderous synth-pop akin to something... I cannot remember right now. But they are good nonetheless. 

34.

Reiko Kudo - Rice Field Silently Riping In The Night (2019) 

(Dis)harmonious multi-instrumental live-recording’easque music with singing and (soft) noise. 

33.

Michael Stearns - M'Ocean

Michael Stearns makes the most chill music in the universe. Except for maybe that one U.F.O. trip album that can be chill in the scary cold sense. 

32.

Henryk Górecki - Kleines Requiem-Lerchenmusik

Classical album of the year. Górecki always delivers. 

31.

VOIGHT KAMPFF - MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN (2012)

Fast techno-trash metal band. 

30.

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows - Death And Flamingos (2019)

Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows is a band that will always have a special space in my heart. Their music got me through the most part of high school. The dark ambivalent songs. Yet, never forgetting the ironic twinkle in the eye. 

29.

Earl Slick - Zig Zag (2003)

That edge of the seat feel of rock; next stage to come, just: SLICK.

28.

Kooba Tercu - Kharrub (2019)

You will be grateful I rec’d this jammin’ piece of fast jumping action of absurdity and happiness. :)

27. 

Red Snapper - Making Bones (1998) 

Trip Hop Album of The year. Seeing to what trip-hop releases there were around the time of this album’s release, I am so fucking surprised I had never heard of these before. They are just as brilliant as the all too famous Portishead, if not with an upper edge in a lot of cases. 

26.

Supercar - Three Out Changes!! (1998)

Shoegaze of the year. Lovely. CHILL. Summer evening breathe’

25.

Anna Domino - East & West (1984)

Timeless synth-pop with rich textures of dreamy lyrics that ensnares you into a downtempo that.... goes up.

24.

Troy Gregory - XAVIERA (2018) 

Monumental Prog.

23.

shit & shine - bad vibes (2018)

It is What it Says. Yeah I am on Acid’

22.

Datarock ‎- Face The Brutality (2018) 

Norwegian indie masters. I love Datarock very, very much. I’ve listened to them since the 2007 release Red and I don’t know a band with as much coercive pop in each track. This album was a surprise find, since I was convinced they were out of the loop.

21.

HIZAKI grace project  - Curse Of Virgo (2008)   

Symphonic Metal. Hizaki is a master of the guitar. Such Riffs. If you need to drain your brain to metal and feel energized but still mesmerized, this is it. 

20.

Institut Für Feinmotorik ‎- Abgegriffen (2011)

Coolest Experimental Band of the year. Go check them out on youtube. The making of the music here is truly an Experience.

19.

Deafkids ‎- Metaprogramação (2019)

D-beat, Raw Punk, Downtempo ... band from Volta Redonda, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil. NOISE.

18.

 WipEout Omega Collection OST (2017)

The wipeout games are and will forever be my favorite way of anti-gravity racing. The music to Wipeout Omega Collection is as stellar as ever, a great list of electro and techno musicians. 

17.

Hammer Bros. - Police Story (1997) 

Imagine being at an underground hardcore noise rave party in 1997. Imagine the beat blasts. The speed. The energy. Just the grinding shouts, the beat, and you. Ready to dive. BURN. WATER. REPEAT.

16.

AFCGT ‎– Square Microphone Tapes 

Noise rock galore. Glory. Wonderful. Gnarly. Intelligent. Different. Moody.

15.

Future Of The Left ‎– Human Death (2013)

Great leftist lyrics. Another one of RIk’s rec’s. Just Awesome. Good Music. Hate on capitalism and its endless bringer of deaths. 

14.

Molchat Doma* ‎– Etazhi (2018)

Youtube rec of the year. Darkwave energies en masse!

13.

3.2 - The Rules Have Changed  (2018)

The follow up to the infamous To The Power Of Three album from 1986 by Emerson, Lake and Berry. The first record was hated on by many, but I love it. And this very late follow up is a huge accomplishment and honoring to the late people involved. A record my dad would have liked. I just love prog music. Sigh. 

12.

Saori Kobayashi - Terra Magica (2016)

Ethereal Game Music is not easy to make. Yet somehow, Saori manages it. No wonder really. She was behind Panzer Dragoon. Masterpiece album for what a tribute it is.

“Terra Magica is a love letter from Saori Kobayashi to her fans. Featuring the same rich, melodic tones that defined the iconic soundtracks of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Panzer Dragoon Orta, Kobayashi invites listeners to enter the world she has created, while encouraging them to create their very own story to match the progression of the music.“

11.

ENTROPY CREATED CONSCIOUSNESS - Impressions of the Morning Star (2018)

Symphonic Doom Metal of the year

10.

Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit (2014)

Rec of the year by @planetsedge​ - Rik has served several discs on this list this year.

9.

Mobile Suit Z Gundam BGM Collection (Vol.1 - Vol.3)  (1985)

The title track to this animé, sung by Mami Ayukawa, and its subsequent soundtrack is probably one of the best I have heard. 80′s animé has the best soundtracks, mostly. 

8.

K2 - Iron Kulture 7' (1996)

Noise artist of the year.

7.

Klaus Dinger + Japandorf (2013)

Surprise find of the year in the sense of knowing the artist in other bands (NEU! and Kraftwerk) but totally missing this somehow. Late late find. Total love. Electronic mists will seep into your ears listening to this. 

6.

Beak - >>>

Pop-like krautrock. Laid back, but with thought behind it. Allé Sauvage is my fave track. Just the perfect amount of mystery and rhythm and synths. First list find of the year. 

5.

The Muffs - Alert Today Alive Tomorrow

20 years ago The Muffs released this album, and I wish... the years had been kinder. This album helped me a lot though when I found it. A lot of nostalgia will arise listening to this. 

Damned if you feel alright ~

4.

BIG STICK - LP (2019)

EARWORM OF THE YEAR!!! Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co Butter Calamari Co Co ButterCalamari Co Co Butttttttttttttttteeeeerrrrr. 

In the bodega. 

3.

Jesca Hoop - Stonechild (2019)

Indie folk niceties. Chill, interesting blend of rock and singing elements. Not mystical, but still with mysteries. Got third place because I kept remembering it so much. It penetrated my skull. 

2. 

Doji Morita - A Boy (1977) 

This album was an early find and should be my album of the year. Morita’s voice is amongst the softest and kindest I have ever heard. And she has all the wonderful aesthetics to boot! Acoustics with accompanying strings and pianos in most of the tracks. It isn’t, because the N’1 is such an explosion of a surprise. 

The third track, ふるえているネ (One who is trembling) is my favorite. I do tremble at the very thoughts expressed in this track. The bird wings at the end... yeah. Every track on this album is a masterpiece. 

Music as pulling one’ s strings of the heart. That is what this album is about. 

I will keep it at that with the words. No more has to be said. Just listen, you will understand. 

1.

Kagami - Star Arts (2002)

Explosive, Happy, Creative, Constantly Changing Originality.

 Techno. Disco. TeSco.

Toshiyasu Kagami was a genius in his genre. I’ve heard a lot of techno mixes and textures in my life, but not anything like this before. 

Each track slaps you in the head and forces you to the rhythm, only for you to go.... HMMMMMMMMmmmMmmMmMMmmMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMM when the flow enters its synergies of musical delight. What else is there to say when your ears are filled with such pleasant sounds. Just when you think it won’t change up, it will change up. Impossible to predict. Dancefloor killer. Intelligent Mixes. 

No philosophical analysis, only my body moving to the most energetic beat EVER.

Concrete Masterpiece. My album of the year in 2019. 

[creativity-is-rebellion]

Top 10 Creepy/Scary Songs

I know it isn’t Halloween, but really, we can do this kind of thing any time of year, because I like discussing scary things. The following list is an eclectic mix of songs from varying genres that have creeped me out to varying degrees over the years. Enjoy!

'Acid Rain' Lorn (2015)

The the music video clip features zombie cheerleaders dancing their final dance for their onlooker (presumably Death himself) around an abandoned diner before they pass on into the afterlife. You-Tubers and Reddit users alike believe that the video depicts “Native American traditions that believe when Death comes you have the chance to dance your last dance, and Death has no choice but to watch. The wooden Native American looking into the distance in the diner for the video is a tell tale sign of this artistic vision.” Symbolism aside, it is hauntingly mesmerising.

In addition, and aside from the music video, the lyrics "daylight in bad dreams" makes me think that the subject of the song has bad dreams about living their everyday life, and that he doesn’t want to wake up, because his day-to-day drudgery is one long nightmare. This unsettles me, because it reminds me of the quote by Hannah Arendt, who discussed the banality of evil, within the context of Nazi Germany. Horror doesn’t have to be fantastical when reality is horrific enough. Which brings me to my second song....

'This is America' Childish Gambino (2018)

The music video for this song went viral at the beginning of 2018 for its shock value and controversial symbolic imagery. Several YouTube videos have been dedicated to deciphering the meaning behind both the video and the lyrics. The video and the lyrics are primarily dealing with the plights of African-Americans, and also seem to depict the careless handling of gun violence in America, in the wake of seemingly endless massacres and shootings. The laws don’t change, despite the damage that these events do. All of these issues create a horrific landscape for modern-day America, which can be far more terrifying than any supernatural phenomena.

'If I Had a Heart' Fever Ray (2009)

Also the theme song for the TV series 'Vikings,' the music video for this song by Swedish-Norwegian folk group Fever Ray depicts children fleeing with creepy-looking shamans from what appears to be a massacre in a palatial mansion, where bodies are strewn across the living room and even across the empty pool in the back garden, all while a demonic voice utters “more, give me more, give me more.” It appears that it may be Death itself panning his eyes across this visual landscape, watching it all unfold, and always wanting “more” death. It also fits the TV series it is a theme song for, as it could also be seen as an ode to human greed, as seen in the lyrics, “this will never end because I want more.” The whole song makes for eerie, ethereal listening.

'Theme Song' American Horror Story (2011)

Speaking of theme songs for TV series, the opening theme for this FX anthology series is one of the most disturbing I have witnessed, and of course, the one that had the most impact was the intro for the the first season, Murder House. Baby heads in jars, along with other body parts, a gruesome cellar, and a lot of creepy child pictures flash on the screen sporadically as the theme song plays at the beginning of each episode. The discordant, spooky sounds set up an uneasy vibe for each episode, making audiences constantly on edge 

'The Carnival' Amanda Jenssen (2012)

Also featured as a song in AHS Freak Show, this song has a foreboding, long intro before Ms. Jenssen’s moody voice kicks in, and, thanks to Freak Show, I will always associate this song with Twisty the Clown, and those scary teeth he has. The lyrics fit well with Jenssen’s album that they were featured on, entitled, “Hymns for the Haunted.” Give it a listen.

'Hurdy Gurdy Man' Donovan (1968)

If you've ever seen the 2007 movie 'Zodiac,' you'll know what I mean. But even before this movie came out, I remember travelling in the car with my parents and listening to this song playing on the radio, or on one of their cassette tapes on a long road trip, and even if it is not supposed to be a creepy song, it always sent shivers up my spine when Donovan sang the lyrics, “Down through all eternity, the crying of humanity.” It just felt so final and nihilistic, and that the Hurdy Gurdy Man was not the answer, but rather the cause, of all this endless sorrow. Call me weird, but this song definitely fits that shooting scene in Zodiac, if only because of how it mirrors the helplessness one would most definitely feel if being shot at unarmed, or if trying to calm the eternal cries of humanity.

'House of the Rising Sun' Lauren O'Connell (2012)

There are many versions of this song, the version by The Animals in being the most well-known and popular, but it’s Lauren O’Connell’s version (also featured in AHS Coven) that is the creepiest rendition of all. It’s slow, moody and builds tension in a way that makes you feel that the “House in New Orleans” is definitely a godforsaken place that no-one would want to end up in, and that all who go there face certain doom. Let’s just say the AHS franchise does creepy songs well.

'Turn Around, Look at Me' The Vogues (1966)

Made creepy by Final Destination 3, and probably one of the best things about this dismal instalment to the Final Destination series. Every time this song comes on the radio or over a loud-speaker, we know that the protagonist and her pals are in for a rough time, and the final time it plays on the train, when a guitarist disembarks, you feel as if Death itself is singing the song, and it is a memorable omen for the devastating events that follow. What can I say, I just really appreciate a well-placed song in a movie that creates the right atmosphere (or more appropriately, “atmosfear”). This song in this movie does exactly that.

'Missing' Everything But the Girl (1996)

Seriously, just listen to the lyrics behind this dance-y track. The singer asks pretty early on if the subject of her song “could be dead.” Other depressing lyrics are hidden in this seemingly upbeat Eurodance track. I like that lyrics such as this can exist in what appears to be a cheerful song. It gives it layers, and I appreciate layers as much as I appreciate symbolism.

'Every Breath You Take' The Police (1983)

The ultimate stalker song. I read that Sting was inspired by some sort of Cold War version of a Big Brother situation, and I never got why there were people that thought this was such a romantic song they played it at their wedding. It’s musically pleasing, but the lyrics give off a suffocating vibe, and I cannot help but think the stalker in the song got the upper hand in the end, probably in some sort of Nick Cave “Where the Wild Roses Grow” scenario. Brrrr.

And that concludes my list for now. There might be a part two somewhere down the track. Adios, and pleasant nightmares.

[linernotesandseasons]

My 19 Favorite Albums of 2019

       2019 is coming to a close. The entire decade is coming to a close. This list has been an increasingly comforting exercise the last few years. I guess this will be the eighth annual version of the linernotesandseasons favorite albums of the year list! Crazy how time passes. So here are the collections of songs that I used to mark my personal time & space this year. The lyrics that I learned by heart & sang out in dark & dirty rock clubs. I also made a spotify playlist with two songs from each album if you’re interested in listening along as you read. 

This year most of my writing focuses on when & why I fell in love with a specific album. Sometimes the history is important, building a base or connecting some threads, so when relevant, I have also included my history with when I fell in love with a specific artist. And finally, as has become more important to my music chasing brain in the last few years, why this artist or album is important to music right now. What they’re doing to leave a mark on the world, in whatever small space or way.

So without any further ado, here it is, in no particular order (unless you’re particularly knowledgable or fond of the english alphabet) my 19 (well actually 20 cuz freaking Big Thief put out two!) favorite albums of 2019. It’s been a pleasure.

BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER   /   Better Oblivion Community Center

    Spring 2019 in Denver was cold & breezy, sunny & exciting. I had spun the Phoebe Bridgers/Conor Oberst match-made-in-indie-emo-sad-folk-heaven record once through, but in late March I made a game time (like I bought a day-of ticket off stubhub at 6pm!) decision to drive down from work and see their show at the Gothic on South Broadway. I’d been up since 7am the night (morning?) before, watching opening day baseball live from Japan (on March 20th?!). Ichiro’s final game and I was feeling maybe a little emotionally fragile already. But anyway… Better Oblivion Community Center’s live show (they call them meetings) has all the potential to come off as cheesy or contrived. A recorded voice welcomes you, self-help-cult style, and invites you to “celebrate sound & light” & “travel the well worn pathways,” because “we are one.” A mystical backdrop gives a hint of what you’re in for (I didn’t know what I was in for...) with letters at the top reading “It will end in tears.” The band is brilliant, loose, & fun. They play all the songs. They play “Lua,” “Bad Blood,” & “Easy/Lucky/Free” from the endlessly varied Bright Eyes catalog. They turn Phoebe’s “Funeral” into a punk blast. They cover The Replacements! They wear shades and sing a song from lawn chairs! The show feels effortlessly cool and I feel like I’m part of something special again. Music has a way of doing that.

The record is perfectly equal parts Phoebe & Conor. From the opening lines, where Phoebe takes control with “my telephone it doesn’t have a camera” sounding for all the world like a gloriously mopey “Smoke Signals Vol. 2″ to the way Oberst sings the first lines of ethereal closer “Dominoes” sounding 100% like Cassadaga-era Bright Eyes. If you know & love either, you should know the other now. Phoebe carries a torch from early 2000′s emo with a sad-at-heart, genius songwriting style that emphasizes pinpoint autobiographical lyrics, a cutting, (even humorous at times) wit, and a teenage, feminist, internet, millennial heart. Oberst for his part has kept up a steady output since Bright Eyes, and (at least lyrically) doesn’t seemed to have cheered up much. Better Oblivion Community Center’s self titled debut feels fresh & catchy. While there is definitely an aching sadness in the duo’s songwriting, light hearted moments abound, and the writing often points to getting older, all hard work & growth. There is the bouncing outro to “Sleepwalkin’” where their voices rise in unison singing “Acting insane, playing it safe, I wasn’t sold on that plan anyways. Feeling afraid of making a change.” Or in the bright, rolling verses of “My City” where they go looking for “little moments of purpose.” But the one song I kept going back to; the one I recorded to cassette tape and played on almost every drive home from work at 4am through April & May, is the bittersweet closer “Dominoes.” Ironically, this one is a Taylor Hollingsworth cover (I think that’s him adding the random, spooky voice overs) but Conor takes the lead on vocals, singing a mostly lonely, hopeless tale, until the last verse when Phoebe cuts in. She’s “carpooling to kingdom come, into the wild purgatory.” Encouraging us to “Experience a magic rainbow, all you gotta’ do is follow. & if you’re not feeling ready… There’s always tomorrow.”

    “The world will not remember when we’re old & tired / We’ll be blowing on the embers of a little fire…”

BIG THIEF   /   U.F.O.F. & Two Hands

       2019 was the year that I finally finally got really really into Big Thief. A band’s band known for their live show (I still have yet to see them live) their following seems equal parts cult-y and universal. How a band that sounds the way they do, made it almost to the top of the indie-rock world is an exciting & inviting mystery.

This year, for me, the catalyst was “Cattails.” Released at the beginning of April, this song struck me and stuck with me, making its way onto almost every mix I made last Spring, Summer, & Fall (including this one for my Mom!) A real song of the year contender (& my #1 most listened to song of 2019 on spotify!), “Cattails” is a melodic, driving, beautiful tune, that finds singer & front person Adrienne Lenker marking Time (”riding that train in late June”) & Space (”going back home to the great lakes”) with grace & depth. There is a sacredness & mysticism tied up in a lot of Lenker’s writing and she refers to her writing experience with “Cattails” saying…

“It was one of those electric, multicolored waves of connectivity just sweeping through my body. I stayed up late finishing the song and the next morning was stomping around playing it over & over again. We thought why not just record it … & when James and I were playing it felt like a little portal in the fabric had opened and we were just flying. Listening back to it makes me cry sometimes.”

In truth, U.F.O.F. (the last f stands for “friend,” a way of humanizing the foreign) is a gorgeous record. Soft & gentle, full of songs about the constant tussle between things known & unknown. A real headphones-on-an-airplane record. And then, out of nowhere, Big Thief announced that they had a second (!) record on the way in the Fall. A dirt & earth twin for U.F.O.F., a special surprise gift for their burgeoning fan base. They announced Two Hands with the vicious single “Not,” a song very unlike “Cattails.” A brooding, ravenous rock song that made me remember why I love unhinged, well-written, unafraid rock & roll music. Another song of the year contender. If you’ve followed this blog the last few months, my well thought out comments to “Not” were “ohhhhhhhhhhhhh shit” & “oh my holy shit.” to the live version! But it was actually the second track on Two Hands that solidified Big Thief’s greatness for me. “Forgotten Eyes” is sonically similar to “Cattails” and rides the same effortless rhythm, driven by Lenker’s repeating guitar riff and James Krivchenia’s consistently impressive drumming. The riff seems to fall in & out magically, and the writing bookends “Cattails” with lyrics that speak to both a great pain & a great universal truth. While she wanders through homelessness & death, Lenker reflects beautifully on the life cycle we (& our planet, & maybe everything?) are all going through.

    “Forgotten dance is the one left at birth / Forgotten plants in the fossils of earth / & they’ve long passed but they are no less the dirt / Of the common soil keeping us dry & warm / The wound has no direction / Everybody needs a home & deserves protection…”

BLACK BELT EAGLE SCOUT   /   At the Party With My Brown Friends

    After finding Black Belt Eagle Scout’s debut album late last year, I soundtracked many a dusk, dawn, or midnight drive with her swirling vocals & entrancing guitar, usually in the cold & dark, through the early part of 2019. It made my 2018 favorites list, and her Larimer Lounge show in May was a highlight. I guess it makes sense then, that I didn’t truly fall for her sophomore album At the Party With My Brown Friends (released in August) until it got cold in November and I was able to take it out for some dark, snowy drives. Moody & serious at times, Black Belt Eagle Scout sounds every bit like the gray Pacific Northwest where front person Katherine Paul (KP) hails from. The lyrics are simple, repeating phrases, full of deep, important ideas. Family & friends. People & land. There are bursts of guitar coming out of rewarding slow builds, shredd-y, rhythmic, & melodic. Also, all the instruments on ATPWMBF are played by KP, and the drumming is fucking fantastic.

I have some sort of longer form writing building somewhere in the back of my mind about listening to music in cars, and both Black Belt Eagle Scout albums are perfect examples for that. I have always loved the feeling of having roads (highways or simply long straight dirt back roads) & music to listen to. In high school, we would sometimes get in the car simply to drive & listen to music (small town life ya know?) and I still relish any chance I get to take new (or old & long loved) songs & albums on road trips or just commutes around town. The time to sit with the songs, to focus on nothing but the words & melodies, instruments & voices, & the pull of the road, mystical & magical. Black Belt Eagle Scout’s songs have been a calming companion on a lot of drives over the last year, and I recommend you taking them out on a spin of your own. Drive to that coffee shop that’s 30 minutes away that you’ve been wanting to go to, drive out of town just to drive, alone with your thoughts & the road. You just might learn something about yourself.

    “& I wake up / I love you / Screaming loudly / Screaming softly too / Am I here? / My heart dreams…”

BON IVER   /   i,i

    Bon Iver is a long time favorite and if you’ve followed this blog at all, you know how much I love his albums and how much Justin Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival has helped shaped my musical timeline. Seeing 22, A Million (the record that precedes i,i) live in Wisconsin by the river for the first time, was something special. That record made my 2016 favorites list, but until this year, until i,i, my story of the music felt very insular. Special & secret for me, confined to very specific times & places. Only to make me feel certain things. It’s why I was hesitant to buy a ticket to see the Red Rocks show last September. Or why I questioned streaming the album early while I was on vacation in Holden Beach, North Carolina. I thought the songs were only meant to carry me back to the river, back to Wisconsin, back to the Summer. Back to a very specific, special place in my heart. But thanks to the wonders of spotify, and the Bon Iver crew just up and releasing the album a week early under the simple & generous guise of “wanting folks to have the album & learn the songs before the tour!!” I obliged and… YESSSS that’s how you do an album release in 2019! I had the album in my headphones as I ran and sweated on the beach in North Carolina, letting brand new songs transport me thousands of miles away.

i,i is a gloriously weird, perfected mess of a hit indie record. It’s everything I wanted the next chapter of the Bon Iver story to be. It feels personal & widescreen. Little moments stretched out and shared with family & friends. Lyrics about growth & hard work & life (& a few WTFs, it’s Bon Iver after all!) The gang’s all here again (the massive crew that worked on the album are all pictured on the record’s gloriously, weird inside gatefold!) recorded from Vernon’s home (April) base in Wisconsin, to Sonic Ranch in west Texas (also pictured in the liner notes) walking distance from our southern border. The sounds are all here again too. There are hints of For Emma’s Winter falsetto folk in the gorgeous acoustic guitar of “Marion.” There are the industrial swells & stomps, bleeps & bloops of bi, bi’s Spring in the warbling, green grass, warmth of “Holyfields.” Then there is the distortion, the choppy samples of 22, in the jigsaw glory of “iMi,” the way it starts & stops, all choruses & voices, real & programmed. Threads of new songs tied up with threads from long, long ago. There is a fullness to i,i, a generosity, a true front to back album, with hits & new favorites sprinkled everywhere. The second half blooms with the charging folk of “Salem” & “Faith” and the contentedness of closer “RABi.” These are songs that I will love for years to come. These songs make me happy. They make me think. They make me want to share them with friends. They make me want to work on relationships. Songs about life. Songs about true, unconditional friendship. As Justin said way back in 2015, when my journey with the Bon Iver story began “The story is history, nothing more. Only the music can rise anew. & it is gone as soon as it is sung. & so we sing again…” I am soo soo happy to sing again, with songs anew.

    “Living in a lonesome way / Had me looking other ways / Cuz I am lost here again / But on a bright Fall morning I’m with it / I stood a little within it…”

EARTHGANG   /   Mirrorland

      EARTHGANG’s major label debut Mirrorland comes in hot & dancing, a hip hop duo with a true tribute to Southern culture, and a whole world encapsulated in 14 tracks. My personal introduction to the EARTHGANG universe, came courtesy of a dusk till dark dance fest at Denver’s Underground Music Showcase on South Broadway back in sweaty July. Their energy was infectious, their stories hilarious, & their songs stuck in my head. Specifically the Young Thug featuring “Proud Of U,” a song that carries enthusiasm & positivity through to the end. Other standouts include colorful, bouncing opener “LaLa Challenge,” & the squealing horns of Atlanta hot spot, name dropping “Wings.” A concept album of sorts Mirrorland references “The Wiz” as a jumping off point saying,

“We thought about how, if we’re going to make a project sonically to rival The Wiz, we got to create another world for people to imagine & go to. You know when Dorothy got swept away and she met the Munchkins? That was such a beautiful thing. You could see Quincy Jones on the piano, just playing away. It’s really colorful. It’s really dangerous. It’s really trippy. It’s literally Freaknik Atlanta in the summertime—folks riding around in cars with big rims with paint on their faces.”

EARTHGANG was formed in 2008 by high school buddies Johnny Venus & Doctur Doc in Atlanta, GA.  It’s impossible to ignore Outkast comparisons and for their part, EARTHGANG does their best to keep up the Southern hip hop tradition. Mixing in bits of soul, blues, & jazz, Mirrorland plays like an homage, a soundtrack to the South. A real reminder that the album is not dead. These songs sound best played together. Also, that the hip hop group, or duo, is not dead. And finally, that touring and playing live shows is most definitely not dead. I probably still wouldn’t have heard about EARTHGANG if it wasn’t for their primo UMS slot (at the same Import Mechanics stage where Leikeli47 & Kiltro played!) and infectiously positive live show. Speaking of their live show, see y’all at Cervantes on February 3!

      “One time, one time for your baby moms / Two time for the hand in the candy jar / Holy Ghost showed up in my favorite thong / Three times in the car for the way we are / Another white man scared, another black man dead / Another rich man war, another red man bled / I been writing this album down way too long / When I drop my shit, pray it hit the toilet like lala, lalalalala...”

FRUIT BATS   /   Gold Past Life

    In the Autumn of 2013, my coworker Cassandra Disney at Mile High Organics played me “When You Love Somebody” by Fruit Bats (had that song already been out for 10 years in 2013?!) on one of her early morning work mixes, and I immediately put it on one of my favorite (if embarrassingly bro-folk heavy) mixes I have ever made myself. Discovering a weird/cool indie band in the vein of all my other loves (Band of Horses, The Shins, Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, etc…) but more underground (!) was hipster heaven. I subsequently forgot about Fruit Bats for awhile, but was reminded with their graceful “comeback” album Absolute Loser in 2016. Although that one missed my favorites list, it gradually became a constant road trip companion; from the mountains of Colorado, through the great American Southwest, and even on some epic Mexican back roads. All alt-country, lost 70′s AM radio classics, and wistful, witty, & wise writing about highways and scenery. A true classic.  

I was therefore super excited for Gold Past Life (Fruit Bats’s seventh album?!) to drop on Merge Records this Summer, and fell in love pretty quickly on a late afternoon drive across the high road between Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico back in late June. Swirling guitar, bouncy piano. and Eric D. Johnson’s piercing, clear, impassioned vocals. Fruit Bats sound timeless & effervescent. Upbeat guitar rock with some weird twists, and Johnson’s consistently bittersweet, humorous, & big hearted lyrics. Growing up, growing older, & grinning a wry smile at a golden world. After catching back to back beautiful Fruit Bats shows in Fort Collins & here in Denver at the Bluebird this September, these folks are the real deal. Long live touring bands, long live seventh albums, long live music marking time & space! Here’s to many more Fruit Bats albums, Gold Past Life will be car stereo classic for awhile.

    “Still waiting around for some mystical shift in the winds / So honey please, don’t go just yet / Cigarette fingers, a shake in the knees / A bit blue, kind of tired, but not broken… Anticipating a magical bend in the road / So hang on, take it slow / Your go bag is packed & your hangover gone / Another dawn at the edge of the known world…”

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER   /   Terms of Surrender

    Durham, North Carolina’s Hiss Golden Messenger (folklorist, family man, & singer-songwriter MC Taylor & revolving crew) have become something of a mainstay on this music blog & in my car’s cd player over the last five years. I picked up a used (!), advance (!) copy of Lateness of Dancers in the $1 bin at a record store in Seattle, Washington. after having been passed a burned copy of his 2010 solo album Bad Debt by an old coworker. Lateness ended up on my 2014 favorites list. Two years later, Heart Like A Levee made my 2016 list, and the next year, Hallelujah Anyhow was one of my favorites of 2017! I referred to the songs on Hallelujah as Hiss “building a repertoire, creating a legacy.” This may seem like quite a bit of superfluous backstory, but believe me, it is essential to the story, a journal of the journey. Geographic art for a topographic heart if you will. But anyway, Terms of Surrender…

The title is cryptic, referencing (as Taylor puts it “what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to live the lives that we think we want”) and the songs are deep (& growing deeper) & timeless. Not so much timeless in the way Yola’s songs sound timeless (skip down a few albums on this list to read about Yola!) but timeless in the way the songs seem to seep their way into my bones and stay for years. Terms burst on the scene with the release of the first single “I Need a Teacher” back in stormy June. With bright, rolling guitar stabs courtesy of The National’s Aaron Dessner (whose upstate New York recording studio was home for the Terms recording sessions), “Teacher” is about “the search for infallible guidance in an ever-changing universe.” but it is also about everyday work. Dedicated every night of the tour to all the teachers in the room, a political statement wrapped up in the seemingly obvious sentiment of “Defend Public Schools.” See what I mean? Timeless songs written for the here & now. “Bright Direction” & “My Wing” are reminiscent of Hallelujah’s “Jenny” & “Darkness.” a 1-2 punch of driving, drifting major key numbers, written from a hillside in Virginia, high on mushrooms. They contain multitudes. With a murky middle (Brad Cook gets funky on “Old Enough to Wonder Why” & “Cat’s Eye Blue”) & the already canonical Hiss’ live fav “Happy Birthday Baby,” the back half of Terms spreads out the Hiss’ sound in new ways. New live favorite, the nostalgic “Down at the Uptown,” had me googling maps of San Francisco to find the mythical Uptown bar where Taylor first heard Patti Smith’s Horses.

In late October, Hiss played an absolutely glorious three night run at little Globe Hall over in Globeville, just Southeast of where Interstate 70 meets Interstate 25. I went to all three shows. The shows were special & career spanning; from “Jesus Shot Me in the Head,” to Dead covers (& a Jesus & Mary Chain cover!) to all the Terms songs.  I spent the Saturday afternoon before show #2, walking around the disappearing & rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in & around Globeville (& drifting across the highway into Sunnyside) listening to Terms of Surrender on my headphones. Thinking about the things I’m willing to sacrifice, thinking about the life I want, what are my Terms? After all, “It’s a real live world & I wanna live in it.”

    “Something drove me crazy / Love had me lazy / Backwards won’t get me to my destination / Move me in some bright direction / Looking to be captured, looking for my freedom / Oh, dreams will come to get you / So careful what you’re wishing / Your family might correct you / Your heart might take a pounding / Make sure you take a picture…”

JUNE JONES   /   Diana

    I can’t remember where I first heard of June Jones, but I’d like to think it was from one of my many Australian music friends (thanks Camp Cope, Julia Jacklin, Middle Kids, Courtney Barnett, Gang of Youths etc…!) The music community is a wonderful thing. June’s songs can be hard to explain, but Diana is an epic album that burns with a steady, stately drama. Most of the songs ride swelling synths and measured, 80’s sounding drums and center around June’s unique, emotive voice and head turning lyrics. Jones had fronted the Australian rock band Two Steps on the Water and written songs on the guitar for many years, but it’s pretty clear from listening to the writing and sound on Diana that these songs were meant for piano, synth, and a solo album. Her own writing. Her own words.

The album begins with the brooding “Rome From Afar” and the opening line “I got drunk again last night & I fell down outside the bathroom at my little sister’s party.” It then follows a dancing bass line into an apocalyptic nightmare of a world ending. “Meryl” is a gorgeous, autobiographical (?) song, an ode to “complicated” hard working women everywhere. There are parts of Diana that nod to it being a break up album, like in the gorgeously melancholic “Boulder Falling Slow” (”I am a boulder falling slow / You’re a magnificent spiderweb”) but I have been viewing it as just a complex, everyday life album. Jones lets her magnificent voice trail slowly over seemingly uncomfortable or awkward topics that she strives to make… not so. Sorry Alex Cameron, your “eating your ass like an oyster” line in “Miami Memory” is only the second best “eating ass” line this year after Jones’ “Look at You Go!” Her voice often belies the emotion in her lyrics, she works it up & down, and lets it stretch out over words, like in lonely closer “Sixteen Horses,” but she also sounds almost matter of fact at times. There is a moment in the piano led “Thorn” where she glibly throws “Have you seen the moon tonight? No, me neither, who cares about the moon when everything is dying?” over an understated horn trill. Everything is dying after all, but I want June Jones to sing it to me like an Australian Lana Del Rey or Matt Berninger. Trust me, you’ll be hearing more about June Jones in the coming years. Watch out.

    “I haven’t thought too much about family / Ain’t got no husband or a couple of kids / I’ve spent 26 years in this office / I said goodbye to my relationships a long time ago / What does the mayor of a small town heart do after she retires?”

JUSTIN PETER KINKEL-SCHUSTER   /   Take Heart, Take Care

     My long time music friend Adam over at songsfortheday had been trying to tell me about Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster for quite a few mixes with songs I loved from his 2016 release Constant Stranger. But it somehow wasn’t until I needed Take Heart, Take Care, that Schuster’s work hit me right. It didn’t feel like a light at the end of the tunnel, but more like a light in the tunnel, something lasting, a collection of songs lifting up & out towards a light. As Schuster wrote upon it’s release…

     “Here, I’ve fumbled my way, as always, and of necessity, into a collection of songs that hold a light to the joys & comforts of life not given up on, those that appear over time as we are looking elsewhere, to surprise & delight us when we need them most. Sure, it’s me, so there are glimpses of and nods to the dark, but the dark is not winning anymore. I simply mean to acknowledge its presence. To me, that’s the most fundamental job of songs, of stories, of all art — to be allies, friends, companions, when we need them most and it’s my hope that these songs can do that work in a world that seems to need it. If you are lucky enough to have something good to say, say it. Please. We’ll thank each other, now & later.”

So i guess it’s that second part that I have found solace in through my 20′s and into my 30′s. That songs (and stories & all art, but songs & albums seem to be my thing) can be allies, friends, & companions, and that sometimes (like Hanif Abdurraqib wrote in his brilliant collection of essays “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us”)…

     “If you believe, as I do, that a blessing is a brief breath to take in that doesn’t taste of whatever is holding you under: say I Speak To God In Public and mean more than just in his house, or mean more than just next to people who might also speak to God in public, or say God and mean whatever has kept you alive when so many other things have failed to.“

Take Heart, Take Care is a straightforward, well written, indie rock album. The songs ring true with light & darkness, an uplifting take on growing older and finding “Plenty Wonder” still to be found in the world. Schuster played the Hi-Dive on South Broadway in November, the last show on the Take Heart tour. A show I had bought tickets for months in advance, and I found myself in a crowd of maybe 15 people, celebrating the songs of Take Heart, Take Care. Listening to a writer with something good to say. Trying all in our own way to hold our own. I have a feeling I’ll keep these songs with me for awhile.

     “Time is the mender / Whose strange mechanics yet untold / Bid us rise entwined together / So take heart, take care / Be true but beware / & honey we need not be scared…”

KARA JACKSON   /   A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart

      In only 10 minutes & 42 seconds, Kara Jackson creates an intimate, magical world with just her voice and a guitar on her debut EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart.  Four intricate & intentional songs, none longer than three minutes, finger picked slowly & methodically, Jackson balances a poetic, whimsical wandering with a steely focus on the craft of songwriting. These are the bones of songs, played honest & upfront, with no adornment. There is room for Jackson’s lyrics to really shine, all aching & wistful, yet practical. Like the way she balances “I have a crush, I have an ache” with “I know that love’s just a pain in the ass” in the bittersweet “Crush.” Her songs buzz with a youthful energy & teen angst. Wise beyond their years, finding their way in the world. As a songwriter and a poet, Jackson writes about race, activism, social justice, self, bodies, & humanity.

At 20 (!) years old, Chicago’s Jackson is... oh also a poet. The 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate (!) in fact, and it was her absolutely breathtaking writing about being a teenager that first caught my attention. She quotes Gwendolyn Brooks (pulitzer prize winning American poet) in her Ted Talk saying “write what’s under your nose.” She says that Brooks took the mundane and put it on a pedestal. That she understood there are “poems in train cars, poems on front lawns, & poems in microwaves & tea kettles.” An almost obligation to celebrate the ordinary. Ordinary folks celebrating similar ordinary folks. It’s the way that John Darnielle howls on The Mountain Goats song “Werewolf Gimmick” (track nine on 2015′s Beat the Champ) about “nameless bodies in unremembered rooms.” In his prerelease essay for Merge Records, music writer Joseph Fink wrote that the entire career of The Mountain Goats has been about “giving names to nameless bodies and remembering unremembered rooms.” and what a worthy cause that is. That thought has stuck with me for years and I have always loved the specificity of it. Whether it is Darnielle resurrecting historical characters real or fictional, or the way Lady Lamb (keep reading a few more albums down!) celebrates the specifics of her friends & family, in all the messy details. Written in song, remembered forever. It is also essential that all cultures have artists who look like them and think like them, as the ones doing the remembering.  It’s why it’s so important that Kara Jackson is the one doing the remembering for young black girls. The same way Eve Ewing did for her, and Gwendolyn Brooks did before that. I can appreciate the magic of the remembering, but I need to let them be the ones to tell the stories. Oh, speaking of appreciating, I bugged Jackson enough on social media and got a handmade PHYSICAL copy of the EP that I’m hanging onto forever cuz it’s probably gonna be like the next original pressing of Bon Iver’s For Emma! Thanks Kara!

      “Don’t take my pillowcase, that's my place to be alone / Don’t take my lamp from me, it helps me read about places I don’t know / Don’t take a lot for me to be on my own...”

KILTRO   /   Creatures of Habit

      My end of the year albums list usually has at least one local Denver band. The Lumineers way back in 2012, Gregory Alan Isakov & Covenhoven in 2013, Nathaniel Rateliff, Covenhoven (again!), & The Yawpers in 2015, Nina de Freitas in 2017 (hey Nina & the Hold Tight, new album in 2020 please?!), and Izcalli last year. Kiltro is a part Coloradan, part Chilean folk band that have been putting on one of my favorite live shows around town this year. The brainchild of Chris Bowers-Castillo, a native Coloradan who spent time growing up in Valparaiso, Chile, Kiltro is named after the Spanish word “Quiltro” meaning a mixed breed dog. A dog that Kiltro has taken for their logo. In their own way, Kiltro is a mix breed; both in the way they mix the sounds of South America with the folk music of North America, and also the way they mix organic, acoustic instrumentation, with electronic, looping sounds and effects pedals. Their live show is a masterclass in layers, with Bowers-Castillo adding loops of guitar rhythms (sometimes simply bare hands slapping beats on the top of the guitar) to steady bass & drums, until the songs swell & build into dramatic crescendos and almost EDM-influenced drops. The extended intros & outros are my favorite parts of their songs and the live versions (from their sweaty 2pm UMS dance party, to Lulu’s Downstairs in Manitou Springs) have stirred hearts & feet alike with dancing not usually found in the Colorado “indie-hipster” scene. Keep an eye on these guys and maybe come out to Larimer Lounge in January and witness the dance party for yourself!

      “Somewhere down the bank where the dogs go / Por la calle que te lleva a Curicó / & down the beach, where no others can find / Ni por agua, piso, coche, ni avión...”

LADY LAMB   /   Even in the Tremor

      As I have been writing this year’s favorites list, I’m realizing that so many of the albums I loved & learned, came hand in hand with experiencing the artist, and specifically that new album, live. Lady Lamb released Even in the Tremor, her masterful & moving third album, way back in April, and I had a Spring-y three weeks to learn all her intricate, visceral lyrics to sing back at her Larimer Lounge stop in Denver on the Deep Love tour. Maine by way of Brooklyn’s (by way of a bunch of other places) Aly Spaltro has always written songs for Lady Lamb like her hair’s on fire. Wailing & gasping about blood & guts & death over spiraling electric guitar, there is a realness to her writing that reminds me of the east coast emo I grew up on. But for all the blood red gore & messy heartbreak that colors much of the Lady Lamb discography, there is a light hearted tenderness as well. Tremor has songs written for & about friends, lovers, parents, & god. Quirky opener “Little Flaws” is a first-dance-worthy love song, while personal favorites “Strange Maneuvers” & “Emily” are odes to platonic friendships, mental health, & growing up. In the same way I wrote about Kara Jackson celebrating the ordinary, Lady Lamb has always celebrated specifics of people, time & space. Tremor’s characters are Spaltro’s real life people (Emily, Shervin, Kurt (Kurtie Bear), Isaac, & her Mom), and the places (the diner, the batting cage, Templehof Park, Midtown, Berlin, Montreal, Madrid, a fast food joint, the stage of a church, someplace upstate, Lavanderia & Graham Ave) are specific, varied, & globe spanning. Her stories are autobiographical and rewarding and the music is stirring, singer-songwriter rock & roll with some punch behind it. She is one of my favorite modern writers for her ability to not just tell a story, but to find wonder in the small things and to celebrate the ordinary. Like she tells Shervin, minutes before “Emily” closes the album on a gorgeous, uplifting high note, “No photographic artifact, but here is something better than that.”

      “There’s a picture that I found, my first car in the falling snow / Seems like yesterday I drove down into low tide / & Isaac snapped a polaroid of me pretending I was sinking, pressed against the glass pleading / I misplaced it but I’m looking... / When we are young, if only we could see beyond our fears where we are free / When we are lonely if only we could know that in our stillness we are growing... / All the portraits we collected, while we were running around in the desert / We were trying to seem fulfilled to rewrite our New York City narratives / But Emily we were utterly dejected / We took turns crying on the passenger side of America / Too clouded to be empowered by towering Redwoods... / When did we lose the ancient truths? / Is it what we’re born bending our bodies toward?...”

LIZZO   /   Cuz I Love You

      For much of 2019, Lizzo could be heard playing everywhere. The 31 year old Minnesotan’s third full length album Cuz I Love You, came out in April, after a busy three years of huge singles, consistent touring, & building a repertoire of songs capable of headlining arenas. When Lizzo finally exploded these last few years, it has been fun watching the whole world embrace her uptempo, bold, self-love anthems, and hearing them blaring from open Subaru windows in Cap HIll, from balconies & rooftops in uptown, and on the lips of countless joggers & bikers, loving themselves in the Denver Summer sun. I know for my part, I took Lizzo with me to the beaches of North Carolina & through the Southern mountains of Colorado, dancing, singing, & gleefully giggling along. Bottom line, the songs on Cuz I Love You are FUN! You try not to crack a smile as Lizzo romps through “Never been in love before, what the fuck are fucking feelings yo?” on the bouncing, brassy, vocal led, track one title track MOMENT. Or the way she makes up the word “accessorary” on the spot (“my ass is not an accessorary”) and then fires back with “Yeah, I said it, accessorary!” Lizzo has been an outspoken supporter of our generation’s version of the self-love, body positivity movement, and has put her money (and body) where her mouth is, inspiring legions of teens & twenty somethings to do the same. “Soulmate” is a loner anthem that finds Lizzo belting “True love ain’t something you can buy yourself / True love finally happens when you’re by yourself / So if you by yourself, then go and buy yourself another round from the bottle on the higher shelf.” The soulful slowdown “Jerome” is about being the bigger person and ending a relationship that isn’t working. Lizzo manages to actually address her own issues, focus on the work she needs to do (“I’m trying to be patient & patience takes practice.”) and still absolutely belt a singalong chorus that rhymes Jerome with “take your ass home.” Also, the deluxe version of Cuz I Love You tacks on three previous Lizzo singles that hadn’t found an album home. Those singles? “Boys,” “Truth Hurts,” & “Water Me.” Three songs totaling almost 555 MILLION plays on Spotify. With apologies to Ariana Grande & Billie Eilish (Billie see ya in a few months at the Pepsi Center!) Lizzo is the biggest superstar that I want on this list. And she 100% deserves every bit of it.

      “If I’m shinin’ everybody gonna’ shine...”

ORVILLE PECK   /   pony

      There is an appealing, theatrical quality to the dramatic country songs on Orville Peck’s debut record Pony. I spent my high school years growing up in small town Western Colorado so country music has been embedded in my brain since I was 11. I’ve gone through so many phases of loving it, hating it, loving it ironically, nostalgically, hating it for it’s sound, cheesiness, backwards politics, etc... But with Pony; these are true country songs written by a gay, masked cowboy anti-hero from.. Toronto? Maybe? Who is Orville Peck?!?! It’s like all the best parts of “country” music came together. And the mask? The fringe? All the packaging & theatrics? It makes it fun. Part Bowie, part Coheed & Cambria, part Grace Jones, part Ghost, part Brandon Flowers. Hollywood meets Vegas meets Carson City.

When I listen to Orville Peck’s songs it brings together so many feelings from my youth. From country radio & boxes of old country cds, to the dramatic side of theatre, play acting on a stage, dress-up, halloween, cowboys, loneliness, & the open road. From the tumbleweed roll & mournfully powerful coyote howl of opener “Dead of Night,” to the shoegaze rumble, autumn ride of “Winds Change.” Peck’s lyrics are honest & heartfelt, drawing on sweeping, western imagery, & idolizing the classic country ideal... the cowboy. Music marks time & place and Peck makes sure to reference the cities along his highway songs. Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Carson City, Kansas, a veritable Rand McNally road map of the American West. In the same manner as both Black Belt Eagle Scout albums, Fruit Bats, & Caroline Rose from last year, it wasn’t until a highway drive that I truly fell in love with Pony. It was a brilliant November sunset & still warm, but windy & changing, and we knew we had to hustle to beat the snow back to Denver. Highway 159 from the Southern Colorado border through Costilla County, on the way towards Fort Garland & then Walsenburg. Purple & Orange out the window to my left, Winter on it’s way. Peck’s songs sang with a heartache... a loss. a rhinestone loneliness that country finds a way to revel in. When “Kansas (Remembers Me Now)” statics out like a long lost FM radio. When “Hope to Die” fake ends at 3:30 and instead key change pivots like a washed-up Broadway starlet, shooting her shot on a dusty jukebox. When “Nothing Fades Like the Light” draws its last, peaceful breath, closing Pony like the last light of that November sunset. Thanks Orville, this one’s a classic.

      “Fell in love with a rider / Dirt king, black crown / Six months on a knucklehead hog / I like him best when he's not around / He gets me high, oh, big sky... Fell in love with a boxer / Stayed awake all year / Heartbreak is a warm sensation / When the only feeling that you know is fear / I don't know why, oh, big sky...”

RAPSODY   /   Eve

      Rapsody’s third album Eve is a masterclass on rap music, and the Snow Hill, North Carolina rapper sounds relaxed & loose, while still staying focused & on topic with an album that reads as, as Rapsody herself puts it “a love letter to all black women including myself.” She is at the top of her game right now, and these songs cement Rapsody as one of the premier rappers in an exciting field of rap talent both young & old.  

Each track on the album is dedicated to one of Rapsody’s personal heroes, and I am going to focus these words & my research for Eve (besides listening to it nonstop, which I’m currently doing now!) on those black women. Track one is for Nina Simone (”without Nina there’s no Lauryn Hill, & without Lauryn Hill there’s no Rapsody.”) and features critically important verses about black heritage & culture over Nina’s terrifying & sobering classic “Strange Fruit.” Rapsody is recognizing her legacy and the importance of heritage, but she is clearly claiming her spot in that bloodline. “Cleo” preaches standing up for yourself over a Phil Collins sample (between Cleo & Lucy Dacus, “In the Air Tonight” is getting some serious love this year!) and is named after Queen Latifah’s character in the 1996 movie “Set it Off.” From there Rapsody recognizes artists (Aaliyah), philanthropists (Oprah & Michelle Obama), actresses (Whoopi), athletes (Serena Williams & Ibtihaj Muhammed), writers (Maya Angelou & Reyna Biddy), models (Iman & Tyra Banks), and historical figures & activists (Hatshepsut, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Sojourner Truth, & Afeni Shakur). Bottom line, ALL of these women are essential google material (you’re reading this on your phone or laptop, google and give yourself a five minute refresher if there’s anyone you don’t already know!) While you’re at it, google the lyrics for Eve (and Jamila Woods’ equally incredible, equally name dropping LEGACY! LEGACY!) and listen along. This is an important time capsule document for Rapsody and it’s just a damn good rap album.

      “I am Nina & Roberta, the one you love but ain't heard of / Got my middle finger up like Pac after attempted murder / Failed to kill me, it's still me, woke up singing Shirley Murdock / As we lay these edges down, brown women, we so perfect...”      

SABA LOU   /   Novum Ovum

      When I listen to Saba Lou’s intoxicating sophomore album Novum Ovum, I am transported to somewhere magical & different. Maybe older, maybe out of place & time. Everything about Novum feels… classic. From the dusty, record-store-bin-find look of the out of focus cover photo, to the laidback natural way Saba Lou seems to dance along on top of a rollicking house band lifted from the 70’s. There are elements of surf rock, shoegaze, late night soul, and classic rock & roll on Ovum, but it is all driven by the singular writing & vocals of Saba Lou. In the liner notes of the record, a note can be found, claiming that this album is meant to be from the future. 2286 to be exact! Is a concept album?! Is it actually from the future & delivered to us by a time traveling band of Germans?!! Does it have songs about Star Trek??!! Maybe, mayyyybeee... & YES!

Yet to turn 20 (!), Saba Lou is a German born singer songwriter who has been making & releasing music since she was literally six years old! Novum Ovum is Latin for “the new egg” and features a hot four piece full band, and wonderfully fleshed out songs that bounce and swing with palpable energy. The lyrics span an awesomely wide spectrum from endometriosis pain (the title track obv) to a Star Trek mindmeld tune sung from the perspective of Gracie the pregnant whale (closer “Humpback in Time”)!! All in all, Saba Lou is an absolutely electric songwriter and her youthfulness & fervor are contagious. It’s the reason I love making this list every year, and what makes discovering new music so exciting. Can’t wait for the next one!

      “A brick wall around your placenta / Cut them all off from her mother blood / The hounds call for appassionata / A phoenetic paste for the fetal bud...”

SHARON VAN ETTEN   /   Remind Me Tomorrow

      Over the last few years I started the practice of making a draft favorite albums list in January and adding albums throughout the year, as I fall in love with them. This way I don’t forget the ones I loved in January & February, the ones that got me through the backend of the Winter. I’m able to track my year in music as it develops, a sort of captain’s log. A living, personal journal using music to mark time & space as I sprint my way through another increasingly faster, increasingly chaotic year. Sometimes, scrolling through the list acts as a comfort. “That album only came out this year?! OK, this year isn’t moving too fast, that feels like forevvverrrr ago!” Sometimes it helps to show me how much I’ve grown, how much an album has meant, or has helped with my mental & emotional growth. This year, the very first album I added to that list, the very first album that I fell hard & holy hell in love with... was Sharon Van Etten’s Remind Me Tomorrow.

A blast of energy. A weird synthy, pulsing red & blue darkness. Simultaneously club-y & indie rock vibey. Van Etten’s fifth album is supposedly written from a place of contentment. A marriage, a child, a life & happiness discovered. Less desperation, more introspection. I hear in her voice & words, how taking care of yourself, how striving to be your best self, can bring out the most powerful, most emotional art. She also isn’t afraid to let her voice go and I think her vocal performances are what truly take Tomorrow to another level. “Memorial Day” rides a haunting vocal loop & tumbles in nearly wordless, glimmering vowels, all ethereal magnificence. The chorus of the brooding “Jupiter 4″ spirals upwards & then rollercoasters, a late night drunken banger. But at the heart of Remind Me Tomorrow sits one of my songs of the year, one of my songs of the decade, “Seventeen.” I had heard it first live, way back in October 2018 in the rain in the mountains at Red Rocks. I got tipsy & wrote about it the day it came out, January 8, 2019, after a long, cold stretch working the night shift. This album & especially this song will stay with me for a long time. Sharon has taught me to keep working on myself. To look back in fondness. To think about how, with hard work, how much joy & peace & comfort await in my coming years. But she also taught me to lean into emotions. To embrace the ache of memories and the bittersweetness of growing up. Thanks for making this album Sharon.

      “Downtown hotspot, halfway up the street / I used to be free, I used to be 17 / Follow my shadow around your corner / I used to be 17, now you're just like me / Down beneath the ashes & stone / Sure of what I've lived and have known / I see you so uncomfortably alone / I wish I could show you how much you've grown...”

TIM BAKER   /   Forever Overhead

      I have a special feeling tied to the collection of intimate, swirling songs Tim Baker released this year from Canada. Forever Overhead carries a certain small town holiness, recognizable to those who grew up in small towns , but specific to his own personal, north-north-eastern-eastern “small” town, St Johns, in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. Growing up on the farthest coast of the Atlantic on the tippy, tippy point of Canada (seriously google it!), Baker fronted emo band Hey Rosetta! for four albums until striking out this Spring on his own with Arts & Crafts Records. There is a very Springsteen-esque bent to the way he writes about growing up somewhere (as someone) small & wanting to be somewhere very big and exciting. He captures the bittersweetness of growing up so perfectly. From the teenage romantic feelings in swaying opener “Dance” & the rousing “Mirrors,” to the friends & bars & singing found in the melancholic “Spirit” and the absolute hit “All Hands.” The latter is the core of the album, a bright, rhythmic guitar number that builds & swells with voices & instrumentation to a few huge, singalong choruses. A real song of the year contender. Baker isn’t afraid to let the songs go on journeys on Forever Overhead and they rarely finish where they begin. Horns & handclaps burst in at points, celebratory & fearless. The sexual tension of “Strange River” is lightened with a false start and a “sorry. In ‘D’” followed by a belly laugh, before restarting. The light & dark are present throughout Overhead and listening to these songs remind me of growing up. I feel like I’m being given a secret glance into Baker’s youth and the parts that mirror mine make me want to lift my voice in unison with those that understand. Sometimes small collections of well written & well played songs can do that, and to me... it’s sacred. Hopefully I get a chance to visit St Johns someday, and if I do, these songs will be playing as my soundtrack.

      “A boy in bed, all the windows wide / You can hear the hot rods running from the light / From the light, into the dark / That's all I wanted in my cousin's car / To listen to the wind & to the lead guitars / & feel the reckless running of your heart / Now is that gone or does that all remain? / Can I go back and have it all again? / Well now I know it, where I'm going / I'm going back behind the river / I'm going back behind the rain / Cuz no matter where you're heading / You end up where you’ve been...”

YOLA   /   Walk Through Fire

     It’s clear from the first minute & 30 seconds of Yola’s debut full-length Walk Through Fire, that this album is destined to be an all-time classic. She comes in slow & wistful with “wish I knew what you were wishing for...” over a soft wash of cymbals and mournful country-soul guitar. Then one minute in, her voice swells to gigantic proportions, seeming to lift the song right off the page, carried into another stratosphere, timeless & magnetic. That “Faraway Look” in your eyes.

From there, Yola (36 year old Yolanda Quartey from Bristol, England) takes her commanding voice through bluesy, fiddle-led country (”It Ain’t Easier” & the title track), and laid back soul (”Shady Grove” & “Deep Blue Dream”). Personal fav “Ride Out In The Country” became a backroads, summer anthem for me this year on multiple trips through Southern & Western Colorado. Through it all, her voice booms, whispers, & rocks gently, propelling the songs forward with warmth & light. Her lyrics are full of both dreamy memories & work-a-day stories about the challenges of life. It was fun this year to have different friends & family members get into Yola at different times, getting texts like “have you heard of YOLA??!!” Sharing songs, & collections of songs (like the ones on Walk Through Fire) is what makes making this list every year so fun, and I’m always excited to see what new, life-long favorites I will discover. See you in a couple months at the Bluebird Theater on Colfax here in Denver Yola!! Can’t wait!

      “A little shady grove / A memory long ago / A tale too old to know the ending / I gave it all away / It takes my breath away...”

[transgendermusic]

Sammy Heck: Egg Cracker

Sammy poses with an iridescent sword in front of a mossy concrete statue. 

Listen to Season 1, Episode 8 of the podcast below: 

iTunes - Spotify - Stitcher - Google Play Music - Bandcamp

This week's episode is an interview with Sammy Gagnon, an indie rocker from Baltimore. But first I want to talk about someone a little closer to home. About an hour’s drive south of where I live, in Lilington, North Carolina, there's a men's prison called Harnett Correctional. A trans woman named Kanautica Zayre-Brown is imprisoned there, and she wants to be transferred to a women's facility. Sharing a dorm with 38 cis men is really scary, but solitary confinement is worse, and there's no reason she should even have to be in the building. I thought that was pretty messed up, and if you do too, I need you to call the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Prisons Division at 919-838-4000.

Let them know that you demand that they transfer Kaunautica Zayre Brown to a women’s facility to ensure her rights and safety.

If you can, see if you can talk to or leave a message for Kenneth Lassiter, the director of prisons in North Carolina. If you’re not totally sure what to say, I put a script at the bottom of this article, along with more information about Kanautica’s situation, and three more numbers to call. 

Back in October, I went on a little road trip to Washington DC. Whenever I travel now, I reach out to local trans musicians and see if they want to be interviewed for the podcast. Sammy Gagnon, who plays under the band name Sammy Heck and runs the DIY label Deep Sea Records, drove all the way down from Baltimore to meet me for this interview. We met up in a dilapidated strip mall in Greenbelt, Maryland, outside  of a vegan café where someone was protesting by eating slabs of meat. We talked about how she got into the DIY scene, what Guitar Center is like as a trans woman, and cracking eggs.

Riley: Thanks for being here with me. Thanks for coming down.

Sammy: Yeah, thank you for having me.

So you just were telling me you just wrapped up a 17-day tour?

Well, it was a whole year of touring. I think I toured 41 or 42 days in total this year, which is more than I've ever done. Five tours this year, across January to August.

Where all have you gone?

I went as far north as Boston, as far south as Tallahassee, Florida and Austin, Texas, and then towards the Midwest I went as far as Chicago.

And have you been doing it yourself?

Yeah. The first tour I did, I toured with another band, White Petals. I played bass for them, and then I did solo Sammy Heck stuff. Then I did a five-day tour in July where I was tour managing for a band called Phase Arcade. For the rest of the time, I drove totally alone.

Sammy Heck/White Petals Split by sammy heck

Your first Sammy Heck music was a split with White Petals, right?

With White Petals, yeah. We have been friends for a long time. I also run this label called Deep Sea Records, and White Petals is one of the first bands that I put out on that.

How long have you been running the label?

It'll be four years in February.

Okay, so the label is older than the Sammy Heck project?

Yeah, absolutely. Sammy Heck I just started in August of last year, after my old band, Samurai Tiger, broke up. But I started Deep Sea Records in February of my senior year of high school.

So was it hard to get people to take you seriously 'cause you were a high school senior? Or did they not know?

I think that all the people I was working with at the time were about the same age. I honestly find that people took me more seriously when I was a 17-year-old "boy" (I'm doing air quotes there) than now, when I'm a 21-year-old girl who's been on a dozen tours and has put out almost 50 records.

Valentine's Charity Compilation 2018 by Deep Sea Records

So it's just a gender thing?

Yeah, I definitely think so.

That really sucks. But I know what you mean, though.

Yeah. I think that the place that people treat me the most differently at is Guitar Center. Before, I'd walk into Guitar Center and I was practically invisible, and now every time I walk into Guitar Center and pick up an instrument, everybody wants to talk to me and ask me how long I've been playing an instrument for.

Do you think they're hitting on you?

I don't know.

Mansplaining?

There's definitely that male arrogance of "Oh, girl that plays guitar? What's up with that?"

"Gross!" 

Sammy lost a heel a couple times during the photoshoot

How'd you learn about and get into the DIY music scene?

In high school I had a Tumblr, and I found out about bands like The World Is a Beautiful Place and Empire! Empire! Stuff like that. Like, "Oh, this is cool!" And then I joined some Facebook groups that were about twinkle emo, and stuff like that. And from there, I was like, "Oh, everybody wants to play in bands like this." So, yeah.

Can you explain what twinkle emo is?

So there are different waves of emo music, but twinkle would be, like, Algernon Cadwallader, to an extent The World Is a Beautiful Place...

Parrot Flies by Algernon Cadwallader

What's the vibe?

So it's got that emo punk vibe that bands like Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, stuff like that have. But they take it to an extra level of less punk, more indie rock. So there's more noodling and open tunings, and stuff like that.

What would be your genre classification for the Sammy Heck project?

Sammy Heck, I usually say it's, like, sparkly indie pop.

That's reasonable.

Yeah. Because I like a lot of the emo indie bands, like The World Is, or my friends in Commander Salamander coined the term "sparklepunk."

Sparklepunk?

Sparklepunk. So there was twinkle emo, but nobody likes to say the word "twinkle," so I guess they just pulled out a thesaurus and looked up synonyms for "twinkle," and were like, "Sparklepunk!" I was like, "Okay, that's cool. Well I'm gonna be sparklepop." So I feel like people compare me a lot to bands that are in that emo genre but on the more lighter, sensitive side, like Kississippi or Soccer Mommy, bands like that. But then I'm also really into late 2000s, early 10s indie pop, like MGMT, Foster the People, Matt and Kim, stuff like that.

Stop Wasting Time by sammy heck

I can definitely hear that. That makes sense to me.

Yeah? People say The Postal Service a lot.

Yeah. So on your recordings, you play most of the instruments except for bass, right?

Yeah. On the recordings that are out right now, it's me playing guitar and singing, and then my friend Josh, who recorded me, plays bass on it because he has a really nice bass rig. And then I programmed all the drums, and the synths, and the stuff like that, using... Logic? I think he had Logic on his computer, which is like GarageBand for big boys.

So you already knew how to do that?

Yeah, when I play live I use GarageBand for everything. So I have my phone mounted onto my guitar with one of those car mounts, and then I just run that through a mixing board on my pedalboard, and run both of those into my amp. So it plays the backing tracks, but since none of them are live instruments, it sounds more like kinda a chiptune, bedroom pop kinda thing, rather than like I'm playing along to a backing track of all live instruments.

Do people think it's weird that you have your phone taped to your guitar, and then are putting it all through one amp?

It depends. It really depends. Some people are like, "Whoa, that's the coolest thing ever!" And then other people are like, "So when are you getting a band?" Yeah.

All you need is one synth player, right?

I mean, I guess. I'm doing an upcoming tour in January where I'm having a band.

Oh, you're gonna have a full band?

Yeah, so that'll be interesting. And on the new record it's a whole band, so that's a whole thing.

A new record that you're planning to release soon?

Yeah. I'm finishing up the demos right now, and then we'll go ahead and record it.

That's awesome. So you've created a band in Baltimore? You've started practicing with people?

Yeah, I more of just stole another band. So it's this band Phase Arcade, except I'm putting their guitarist and singer on keyboards, and then their bassist and drummer are still their bassist and drummer, and then I'm just fronting it. So when I tour with them, it'll be with... There's a bee.

Was that a bee?

It's a wasp. Yeah, it's a wasp. Yeah, so when I tour with them, I'll play my set, and then I'll move all of my shit out of the way, and then - can I curse on here? Does it matter?

Yeah. It's going on SoundCloud.

Okay, I wasn't sure. Cool. I'm always paranoid that I'll do a radio session and I'll be like, "Oh, that's fucking stupid" or something like that. And then they'll get mad at me.

Gonna get some crazy fine?

And I'll be banned from the air, yeah. Do they fine you when you do that?

Oh yeah.

Really?

Yeah. Well the station does, not you. Yeah, the station gets a fine from the FCC, I think. Or FTC? No, that's the trade commission. I think it's the FCC.

That sucks. They get fined somewhere.

Yeah, they get fined. I think after 10:00 pm you can. There's like the watershed time... I don't really know what I'm talking about. But I do know that it costs money. That's why they care.

That's funny. Okay. But yeah, I'm basically borrowing their band.

That's cool. Are you also in that band?

No.

You just saw it, you liked it. It's your band now. So I wanna describe where we are right now, because I think it's really, really deeply funny. So in front of us is the Greenbelt Federal Credit Union. 

Next to us is a zombie-themed minimart. There are people here, but it's just got a very creepy vibe.

Yeah, this is kind of what every D.C. suburb I've ever been to has been like. Just really weird, kinda empty, but impeccably clean and put together.

Yeah, I'm used to one or the other. But this is creeping me out a lot.

It's a little weird.

Do you know what else it reminds me of? When I was in high school [Note: it was actually college]... We didn't break in. The door was unlocked. But we went to this megachurch apartment complex where these people in the late 90′s had built this giant mall-shaped place for all their followers to live, and it was so clean, but everyone had left the community by then. So the lights were on, and then there was a couple stores open. It was like a dead mall.

That's too cool.

There was, like, grand pianos everywhere, and there was an old abandoned play park, and half-finished construction.

Oh, that's my shit. And the power was still running?

The power was still on. There was people there. But I'm sure occupancy was like 2%.

Okay. 'Cause I was gonna say, if it's totally abandoned, you could have cool shows there, and stuff.

It wasn't abandoned. So I think it was still being administrated, but I think most people didn't wanna live in this weird megachurch commune.

Yeah, I can't imagine why.

Oh, the wasp is on you. There's a wasp just... It likes you, I think.

Yeah, there's cocoa powder in my contour, and bugs are really into it.

Uh-oh. Your makeup looks great!

Thank you!

I like the iridescent nails, lip, and sword that you brought. She brought a sword for our pictures that we wanted to take. 

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that contour? 

So what are your goals, musically and as an artist?

Whenever people ask me this question, I always think of that Vine of Riff Raff, and he was like, "The goal is to blow up, and then act like I don't know nobody." And then he has those really scary shark teeth grills, and he laughs, and it's really frightening. But that's not my goals, no. I feel like... This is gonna sound so cheesy. 

I wanna be the artist and the role model that me as a teen woulda needed. So I wanna write songs about being trans, and being sad, and dealing with that, and stuff. And I don't really want it to be a pity party thing, but it ends up being that a lot of the time. I definitely wanna be more like... Do you know what the term "cracking eggs" means, in terms of trans people? Yeah.

Yeah, you could explain it, though.

Okay. So an egg is a trans person who doesn't know that they're trans yet. I feel like I wanna inspire more trans people to be open about their transness, and be okay with being visibly trans, and stuff like that.

Yeah, we were talking earlier when we were taking pictures about how some people who I talk to for this website, sometimes there are trans people who don't wanna be on a trans website, or they don't want their trans identity to be part of their identity as musicians as artists. You don't choose that, right?

No, I don't. So, I understand that. I think that's super valid, because in a way, I feel like I have almost closed myself off, because now cis people are like, "Oh, her whole thing is that she's trans." Or even other trans people will be like, "Oh, your whole thing is that you're trans." But it's not. Not all my songs are about that. That doesn't consume every minute of my life. But I think that it's really valid to not wanna be open in today's climate, where you'll get harassed and murdered if you're trans.

Yeah. So you wanna be cracking eggs.

Cracking eggs, yes.

Have you ever had that experience? Has anyone ever said...

Yeah. That's definitely a weird thing, 'cause a friend of mine, actually, after seeing me play, a few months later texted me and was like, "Hey, because of seeing your performance, I decided to come out." I was like, "That's fucked." That's fucked up that that was something that I could do, if that makes sense. I'm trying not to sound really self-important. I don't wanna sound like that.

I don't think that you do. I think that we're raised in a culture where it's not seen as an option. Like, gender is seen as an immovable object, like you can't do anything about it. So any time you even see someone... There's that song based on the Alison Bechdel cartoon Ring of Keys, where she sees a butch and she's like, "Oh my god!" She's eight years old in a diner and she sees a butch, and she's just like, "Is that a thing that you can do?" 

The butch was not a messiah, the butch was just hanging out going to a diner, but you can do incredible things just by existing publicly. 

My only experience with trans people up until I was an upperclassman in high school was through porn. And that was the only way that I knew that trans people existed, which is really fucked up. 'Cause I never really knew that trans people existed outside of a fetish, if that makes sense.

Yeah. Is your friend doing okay?

Oh, yeah, she's doing great. She's awesome, yeah. I'll have to send her this interview. She'll geek out. I don't know if she wants me to name who she is, so I won't say anything. 

Probably not.

Yeah, I'm not gonna say anything. No, she's sweet.

Well, thanks for talking to me.

Yeah, thank you for having me. This is fun! 

Find Sammy online: Sammy Heck Bandcamp Deep Sea Records Sammy Heck on Facebook

Note: A little bit after our interview, Sammy moved to Philly, but while we’re talking about Baltimore, I actually travelled there a couple weeks ago and interviewed two awesome local musicians, so look forward to that in Season 2!

More information about Kanautica:

Kanautica Zayre Brown is a Black trans woman who has been denied transfer to a women’s facility. You can read more about her story on The Root. 

I know that most of the people reading this right now are trans, and trans people generally hate phone calls. It’s also scary if you don’t know who's going to be on the other end. But we’ve gotta stand up for each other y’all. If we don’t, who will? And if you want to send her some money, she and her husband Dionne’s cash app is $007db. 

Example script: 

"I'm calling to demand that you transfer Kanautica Zayre-Brown (inmate number 0618705) to a women's prison in accordance with her wishes, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons Transgender Offender Manual. Kanautica needs to be moved to a women's facility to affirm her identity and ensure her rights and safety" 

More numbers to call: 

Harnett County Sherriff’s Office: (910) 893 8111 

Harnett Correctional Institution: (910) 893 2751 

NC Department of Corrections: (919) 838 4000 

NC Department of Public Safety: (919) 733 2126

[nuefiction]

Reborn/A song I wish u heard

“Reborn” is the fifth track from “Kids See Ghost” self titled album. The hip hop duo is made up of Kid Cudi & Kanye West. Two long time collaborators with a tumultuous and successfully creative relationship. This relationship that also birthed many memorable songs and albums that would define a generation, also potentially revolutionizing the sound of modern hip hop music. The two giant artist reunite to make a project that buries the hatchet and their demons. Their relationship and their singular journeys that lead them here is something I feel very instrumental to the tone of the project and their song “Reborn” is a beacon of the album that represents it all.

The road begins with the start of Scott Mescudi’s music career. In 2007 Mescudi moved from his hometown Cleveland, OH to New York City. With nothing more than $500 in his pocket, Scott was determined to get his rap career started. He moved in with a long lost uncle and began working at a BAPE store in the city. Legend has it that Mescudi & West would meet at the store accidentally when West set off a security alarm. Mescudi would assist with removing one of the security tags that was left on clothes. This was post Graduation Kanye West where at the time his star was shining the brightest. Nothing came of this exchange but it wouldn’t be the last time their paths would cross.

Scott unleashed A Kid Named Cudi on the world on July of 2008. The tape was acclaimed by the hip hop community. Cudi was praised for his unique rhymes and smooth singing voice that provided a flavor to his music that would lay the blueprint for many sounds to come in the next generation of hip hop. West would soon recruit the young artist to assist with hooks on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 (2009) and later with the helm his upcoming album 808s & Heartbreak, one of West most polarizing and influential pieces of work to date. Cudi contributed to songwriting on many of the albums most memorable tracks such as “Welcome to Heartbreak”, “Heartless”, “RoboCop” & “Paranoid”. At the time 808s did not receive overwhelming acclaim as West past projects but the portrait West had painted was hard to break eye contact with. Kanye’s auto tuned, heartbroken lyrics colliding with 808 beats opened up another dimension of hip hop that would make genre more bulletproof and revolutionary than it was before. Ten years later it is looked at as a turning point in sound.

After a successful musical chemistry West signed Cudi to his label G.O.O.D. Music. After signing Kid Cudi started to create one of his debut if not his best album, Man on the Moon; The End of Day (2009) This album would also become a staple in the evolution of Hip Hop. MOTM came with an intergalactic, psychedelic- warped production that took you out of this world. Along with God like narration from at the time GOOD Music affiliate and Chicago rap legend, Common who guides Cudi and the listener through the album. The lyrical content covered included, depression, anxiety, loneliness and other introspective themes. Kanye would be there for production and writing further extending their creative relationship.

With the births of arguably two hip hop classics, the relationship changed as Cudi developed into his own artist and urban legend. Kanye became more of a musical icon that grew by the project. In the following year they continued to collaborate on hip hop staples such as Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010) & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). In these triumphs that started this successful relationship there would be growing pains to muddy the waters. In 2013 Kid Cudi request to depart from G.O.O.D. Music, he recalls it as nothing more than a business decision. At the time Kid Cudi was getting his own label off the ground ‘Wicked Awesome” and preferred to put his creative energy toward its inception. This was difficult for Cudi at first since Kanye has always been a big brother to him. He was afraid of damaging their relationship with his departure. Following him leaving Cudi stated has nothing but love for the label. That same year West’s mind bending album- Yeezus was unleashed that summer, on the track “Guilt Trip” there’s an un-credited vocals by Cudi, which gets praise from fans and critics alike. Unbeknownst to Cudi, he was unaware of this and had mixed feelings of the record. He felt good that he was thought of from his ex collaborator and friend but it disturbed him that Kanye did not reach out. Cudi soon felt the vocals were used to coaxed his fan base for the record instead of calling Cudi in to work on the record like how they used to. This wouldn't stunt their creative relationship entirely, Cudi would assist West in creating his Yeezus 2016 follow up- The Life of Pablo. Creating fan favorites such as “Father Stretch My Hands pt.1” and lending back vocals to the Chance the Rapper arranged track “Waves”. This reunion to the surface shows the two back at the creative relationship that we once knew them for, thus it would open up another rough road in their relationship.  

In late 2016 Cudi went on a Twitter rant seeming to aim at his competition in the hip hop landscape. Calling out self claimed “top five artist” who have writers crafting their hits. At this point in hip hop, Canadian rap superstar, Drake was faced with allegations of having a ghostwriter. This information was exposed by Philadelphia MC Meek Mill during a battle between the two, where a recording of rapper/writer Quentin Miller is referencing key tracks on Drake’s successful 2015 mix-tape If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late. Cudi went as detailed in his rant where he named Kanye and Drake together claiming he was aiming at them or anyone like them, while giving props to the younger acts he has inspired. West was on tour when these tweets surfaced and decided to respond in classic Ye fashion; ranting while performing on his “Saint Pablo Tour”. West feeling disrespected; claiming to have ‘birthed’ Kid Cudi’s career and sound and being responsible for his influence over today's hip hop.

Though the rift seemed to be a volatile one the collaborators reunite once again on the same stage they started on. In November of that same year Cudi came on stage during West’s Sacramento stop of his tour to perform “Father Stretch My Hands pt.1 and other classics between the two. Following their latest reunion Kanye West had to end his tour prematurely due to his wife Kim Kardashian being robbed in Paris and having nervous breakdown to due exhaustion. West remained out of the public close to a year until the spring of 2018, where he teased five new projects to be released from GOOD Music, one of them being Kids See Ghost which he would label he and Kid Cudi’s collaborative group. The album bloomed in what is being called “The Wyoming Sessions”. West rented out a private ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he would produce the five albums he teased in the spring. This was a similar tactic West used to make past classic albums such as 808s in Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Kids See Ghost was released on June 8th, 2018. The albums unleashed a sound of psychedelic-rock style rap music. The album is produced entirely by West with contributions from Kid Cudi, Mike Dean, Justin Vernon, Andre 3000, Plain Pat and others. The lyrical themes throughout the album dealt with depression, isolation, anxiety, redemption and freedom. This type of subject matter was common for Cudi but uncommon from West whom lyrics in the past mostly covered braggadocios claims of his status in hip hop, effects of stardom, also his past relationships and his childhood with his parents. The album’s creative direction positioned the artist in places where each of their strengths help the others weakness. Kanye with his production and vision help give Cudi the space to navigate and flourish as the artist he truly is. Cudi is lyrically creating a safe haven for Ye to express his trials and tribulations that all came in tow in the spring and summer of 2018. Cudi being a master of this realm musically emulates a creative embrace to help guide Kanye through the storm to come out the other side and alive along with cutting edge product for the fans consumption.

The song “Reborn” idealizes that the best. It’s produced by Kid Cudi, Plain Pat & Dot da Genius creating a warm and comforting production accompanied by Cudi’s distinctive and signature humming. If there was a song that felt like it was embracing you close this one would be a shoe in. Cudi opens the song “I’m so- I’m so reborn. I’m moving forward, keep moving forward, keep moving forward.” A mantra that is so simple but so compelling in the environment that ‘Kids See Ghost’ created. Between the two members both have gone through plenty since their last falling out to move forward from. In 2016 after the release of his sixth studio album “Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin” Cudi placed himself into rehab after dealing with severe depression and suicidal urges. In the same year West had to cut his Saint Pablo tour short due to exhaustion, extreme paranoia and depression still reeling from his mother's sudden death in 2007. Following those struggles in 2018 Kanye went on many manic rants that sprung some discouraging quotes such as “Slavery for 400 years?! That almost sounds like a choice!”  In addition showing his support of the controversial 45th president, and sporting a MAGA hat to ensure his support. And with that support came much backlash from the public and fans alike. ‘Reborn’ feels like an emotional baptism, where Cudi and West lay all the cards on the table and come head to head with every demon that haunts them. And by the end of the song they create a sensation of levitation and a relief of freedom from being stripped from what has held them back to feel free to move forward. “Ain’t no stress on me, lord. I’m moving forward, keep moving forward, keep moving forward.” In this song came the best verse Ye laid down on all five albums he released that summer. He exposes most of the elephants in the room and gives answers to most of the trending tribulations he went through.

“Very rarely do you catch me out

Y'all done especially invited guests, me out

Y'all been tellin' jokes that's gon' stress me out

Soon as I walk in, I'm like "Let's be out"

I was off the chain, I was often drained

I was off the meds, I was called insane

What a awesome thing, engulfed in shame

I want all the rain, I want all the pain

I want all the smoke, I want all the blame

Cardio audio, let me jog your brain

Caught in the Audy Home, we was all detained

All of you Mario, it's all a game”

This albums inspires nuances of healing and growth. Both of the members of “Kids See Ghost” have been through their share of trauma, heartache, loss and immense pressure in the respective careers and have made classic hip hop music as an escape. This album becomes the perfect path to redemption and peace for them and anyone experiencing anything similar. I believe art and creation from one's soul can be a remedy for another. Creations can be the cure to help one not feel alone and knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel of suffering. This song did that for me personally in one of the hardest times of my life.

The spring of 2018 was a very anxious time for me. Every other person I either knew of or loved closely, I lost due to acts of god and sadly by their own hand. One of those lost ones was my younger sister; Jasmine Alyssa. I remember I was waiting on for a connecting flight to Georgia for her funeral. If there was any trace of hope or innocents in my body before that spring it was all gone by then. “Kids See Ghost” dropped that morning and I gave the album a listen to numb all the sorrow i was drowning in. I managed to do so with the first four songs until “reborn” started to play in my headphones. As the song played through I started bawling uncontrollably. It forced me to come in touch with every emotion I pushed away since the lost of my sister. I was crying not only because I lost her but because she wasn’t alive to hear this message. I knew she was suffering with a lot, some very similar to the artist. Though I know that a simple song can’t solve everything that’s wrong but in my own personal experience I know how powerful music can be. Art can be the teacher we all didn’t have but the lesson are always available to us if we’re lucky enough to stumble upon them.

I won’t lie to you or whomever this concerns. Everything this song inspires takes time and a long look inward. As I write this i’m not completely put together, i’m still broken in my best areas. But whenever I am close to the edge and see nothing else in front of me, I take this song and many songs like this to push myself forward to the person I want to be. Take the first step to the where I want to be, shoot my first of many shots at the dream I want to realize. If i’m lucky to be talking to anyone like my sister or Kids See Ghost, find what sparks your soul and use that as your fuel to push you along the road of redemption. Use that shine to remedy your pain and be the conduit to others who are hurting.

Be reborn & keep moving forward because we can’t do this without you

Until nXt time

/n(y)o͞o🦇XXI

[the13thduke]

Best Rap 2018

This year has been probably the most packed year of all time in terms of the sheer volume of decent rap releases. Due to the huge quantity of releases it’s easy to miss out on a lot of great music and get lost in the mix. With that in mind, I wanted to create a long list that can be bookmarked and returned to for those who slept.

I could have easily created a top 300 and still felt bad about leaving a few good albums out. That said, I've managed to cut it down to a slightly more definitive (but hardly concise) top 150 so this doesn't read like too much of a phone book.

As in previous years, ‘Rap’ is on the banner, but the list is made up of hip-hop, UK road rap, grime, and anything that can adequately be categorised as a rap sub-genre in my mind.

Finally, as usual, don’t get too hung up on the order. The top albums are at the top and the still-quality-but-not-quite-elite albums are towards the lower end, but there’s no use getting too hung up about what appears as, say, my 57th and 61st favourite albums. This is designed and published primarily for myself to look back on in years to come and reflect on the year, but also for anyone who reads it to see it as recommended listening that should keep you very busy.

I would write a blurb for each and every album to explain why I love them, but no-one would pay me and my time is valuable, so instead I’ve linked each album to their Spotify stream…Enjoy, and feel free to let me know if I've missed anything!

Here’s my top 150 rap albums of 2018. Happy new year!

CHILDREN OF ZEUS — Travel Light

GHETTS — Ghetto Gospel: The New Testament

RAE SREMMURD — SR3MM

NOVELIST — Novelist Guy

BARNEY ARTIST — Home is Where The Art Is

EVIDENCE — Weather or Not

OCEAN WISDOM — Wizville

PHONTE — No News is Good News

ROC MARCIANO — RR2: The Bitter Dose / Behold A Dark Horse / KAOS (with DJ Muggs)

PUSHA T — DAYTONA

FREDDIE GIBBS — Freddie / Fetti (with Alchemist & Curren$y)

MAXSTA — Maxtape 2

BENNY — Tana Talk 3 / A Friend of Ours

ARMAND HAMMER — Paraffin

DJ MUGGS — Soul Asssassins: Dia del Asesinato

HERMIT & THE RECLUSE — Orpheus vs The Sirens

MANGA ST. HILAIRE — Outsiders Live Forever

MASTA ACE & MARCO POLO — A Breukelen Story

WESTSIDE GUNN — Supreme Blientele

SABA — Care For Me

DABRYE — Three/Three

D DOUBLE E — Jackuum

KOOL G RAP & 38 SPESH — Son of G Rap

LOJII — lofeye

SLOWTHAI — RUNT

TRAE THA TRUTH — Hometown Hero / 48 Hours Later

JPEGMAFIA — Veteran

JAM BAXTER — Touching Scenes

JERICHO JACKSON (KHRYSIS & ELZHI) — Jericho Jackson

ANKHLEJOHN — The Red Room / Van Ghost / The Yellow House / Ankh Nasty

OCTAVIAN — Spaceman

NONAME — Room 25

ELCAMINO — Elcamino / Walk on Water

JEAN GRAE & QUELLE CHRIS — Everything’s Fine

SHOWBIZ — A-Room Therapy

MILO — budding ornithologists are weary of tired analogies

KEY & KENNY BEATS — 777

SHIRT — Pure Beauty

PLAYBOI CARTI — Die Lit

THA GOD FAHIM — Dump Gawd: Dream Killer / Breaking Through The Van Allen Belts (with C-Lance) / Dump Truck: Think Again / Dumpacolypse Now (with Left Lane Didon) etc etc (stop dropping so much Fahim!)

2U4U — Butter

NIPSEY HUSSLE — Victory Lap

TROUBLE & MIKE-WILL-MADE-IT — Edgewood

21 SAVAGE — I am > I was

TRAVIS SCOTT — ASTROWORLD

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES — Vacation in Hell

MOZZY — Gangland Landlord / Spiritual Conversations

WORLD’S FAIR — New Low

FOREIGN BEGGARS — 2 2 Karma

KIDS SEE GHOSTS — KIDS SEE GHOSTS

ROYCE DA 5'9" — The Book of Ryan

JAY ROCK — Redemption

RAWKID — Grum, Vol. 1

FRISCO — Back 2 Da Lab Vol. 5

MEYHEM LAUREN — Glass

APATHY — Widow’s Son

SUSPECT — Still Loading

CHIP — Ten10

MAXO KREAM — Punkem

BEATKING & GANGSTA BOO — Underground Cassette Tape Music, Vol. 2

SWIZZ BEATZ — POISON

LANDO CHILL — Black Ego

BLACK MILK — FEVER

B-MOVIE MILLIONAIRES — Attack of the 50,000ft Sweg Lawds from Outer Space

808INK — When I’m About You’ll Know Vols 1–2

YOUNG THUG — On The Rvn / Slime Language compilation

SCALLOPS HOTEL — sovereign nose of (y)our arrogant face

TY — A Work of Heart

DENZEL CURRY — TA13OO

CONWAY & SONNYJIM — Death by Misadventure

PAYROLL GIOVANNI & CARDO — Big Bossin Vol. 2

CHUCK STRANGERS — Consumers Park

LIL WAYNE — Tha Carter V

HOMEBOY SANDMAN & EDAN — Humble Pi

VINCE STAPLES — FM!

WILLIE THE KID — Gold Rush (with Klever Skemes) / Things of that Nature / Midwest Willie 2 / Gold Rush 2

EARL SWEATSHIRT — Some Rap Songs

RICH HOMIE QUAN — Rich As In Spirit

ROME STREETZ — Streetz Keep Calling Me / Street Farmacy (with Farma Beats)

CRIMEAPPLE — Aguardiente

MICK JENKINS — Pieces of a Man

MICALL PARKNSUN & MR THING — Finish What We Started

DIRTY DIKE — Acrylic Snail

SMOOVTH & GIALLO POINT — Medellin II: Don Fabio

DJ JAZZY JEFF — M3

FLY ANAKIN & OHBLIV — Backyard Boogie

AWON & PHONIKS — The Actual Proof

J COLE — K.O.D

CARDI B — Invasion of Privacy

MIKE — Black Soap / Renaissance Man / War In My Pen

TRIPPIE REDD — Life’s A Trip / A Love Letter To You 3

BUSU — Deadbeat Boyfriend Diaries

COOPS — No Brainer / Life In The Flesh

CHESTER WATSON — Project 0

NOSTRUM GROCERS — Nostrum Grocers

SKYZOO — In Celebration of Us

PRHYME — PRhyme 2

MAC MILLER — Swimming

38 SPESH & BENNY — Stabbed & Shot

DA FLYYY HOOLIGAN — Roman Abramovich

WILEY — Godfather II

GUNNA & LIL BABY — Drip Harder

HENRY CANYONS — Cool Side of the Pillow

MARLOWE — Marlowe

OC — A New Dawn

CUT CHEMIST — Die Cut

V DON — This Thing of Ours (with Adonis) / Bone Collector

BISHOP NEHRU — Elevators: Act I & II

TY FARRIS — No Co-Sign, Just Cocaine Vols 1–2

JOSMAN — 000$

THERMAN MUNSIN — Sabbath (with Roc Marciano)

AWTHENTIK — Nothing More Nothing Less

FLEE LORD — I Want Out / Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk 2

DJ SKIZZ — High Powered

PAC DIV — 1st Baptist

JAMMER — Are You Dumb? Vol. 5

BLACK THOUGHT — Streams of Thought Vol. 1–2

BIG TWINS — Grimey Life

D-BLOCK EUROPE & YXNG BANE — Any Minute Now

ONE ACEN — SexyOddRose

SMOKE BOYS — Don’t Panic II

BUGZY MALONE — B.Inspired

BISK — Aural FM

FREDO — Tables Turn

NINES — Crop Circle

NOT3S — Take Not3s II

YXNG BANE — HBK

SKENGDO x AM — Greener on the Other Side

YFN LUCCI — Ray Ray from Summerhill

HUSALAH — H

BUDDY — Harlan & Alondra

SHECK WES — MUDBOY

STARLITO — At WAR With Myself Too

COZZ — Effected

JID — DiCaprio 2

RICH BRIAN — Amen

SNOOP DOGG — 220

MIGOS — Culture II

COOL OUT SUN — Cool Out Sun

ROBB BANK$ — Molly World

CYPRESS HILL — Elephants on Acid

VIC SPENCER & SONNYJIM— Spencer for Hire

KILLA KYLEON — Candy Paint N Texas Plates

REASON — There You Have It

APOLLO BROWN & LOCKSMITH — No Question / APOLLO BROWN & JOELL ORTIZ — Mona Lisa

ICYTWAT — Dream Bwoy

IVY SOLE — Overgrown

SMINO — NOIR

KIRK KNIGHT — IIWII

JAY PRINCE — Cherish

[phanfeed-ao3]

we got the north lights

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2wR5Ta8

by dizzy

Sex by the pool in Australia.

Words: 1078, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 9 of road trip mix tape 2018 (aka, the tour fics)

Fandoms: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2wR5Ta8

[patricksmusicblog]

2023 Album Reviews/Thoughts

Some summeries, reviews and thoughts I had about albums released last year.

Owl City- Coco Moon: The production is solid in sound/production. The vocal performances are okay. The lyrics are mediocre though as are the overall songs. May work with a more youthful audience though. 6/10

Princess Nokia- I Love You But This is Goodbye: This is a good little EP about the ends and outs, ups and downs of heartbreak. As per usual it's elastic and expansive. Though there are moments I find Princess Nokia's vocals to be weak. There are moments when her passion and authentication cut through. 7/10

Aly & AJ- With Love From: A nice summery indie-pop/rock album. A lot of tracks to play loud on an open road with top down in somewhat breezy sun burnt weather. Nice harmonies and hooks abound. The slower hooks drag things down to an extent. This is also not an album I imagine I'll go back to much but for what it's attempting to achieve I think it accomplishes that. 7.0/10

Weezer-SZNZ: Winter: Solid effort from Weezer some catchy alt-rock tunes, nerdy songwriting Coumo's nasaly vocals all things Weezer is great at and known for is here. Not essential but good. 7/10

Conway The Machine & Jae Skeese- Pain Provided Profit: A tight and concise project that's a commonly gritty Griselda affair, grimmy and yet soulful and contemplative beats matching Conway and Skeese's ability to be braggadocious and heartfelt at the same time. A solid EP 8.0/10

Logic- College Park: This is Maryland MC Logic's eighth studio LP and this is a quality follow-up to his album Vinyl Days released last year last year was Boom Bap Logic this year is Jazz rap Logic. It's a really really good album, there's a lot of soul-baring about substance abuse and avoiding those pitfalls and ideas of getting more true to who he really was. There's an 8.5-9.0 album in here somewhere but it's watered down by lesser tracks there are seventeen songs here which is just too many but ultimately it's still a solid effort and something long-time Logic fans can get into. 7.5/10

Statik Slektah-Round Trip: The latest LP from Statik Slektah is a dope effort, that has a piano-driven and somewhat jazz-rap sound that features a mixture of 90's legends and younger artists some of which are legends at this point now as well. It's a 20-track project and the first half is where the strongest tracks lie. All are great but the best include "Unpredictable" feat Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man, "Ain't Too Much Too It" ft Conway, Life & Times ft Joey Bada$$ and "Lion Heart" with Elzhi and Boldy James. The rest is slowed down by lesser guests and beats lacking quality. All in all a good effort particularly for those who love the current crop of underground MCs that have been making noise from 2018 to the present day. 7.5/10

Paramore- This is Why: Paramore is ever-growing, their last LP was a foray into synth-pop and this one is more of a post-punk album. This album is sharp musically a lot of catchy guitar riffs and layers of sounds underneath the mix. Hayley is vocally great she's shifting velocities and tonalities greatly. Lyrically the album is as content rich as any Paramore album. Trying to be considerate of others, and dealing with how sad the news is among other things. It's a tight album, 10 great tracks 8.0/10

7XVETHEGENIUS-The Genius Tape: 7xvethegenius is a solid rapper this project feels like a lyrical exercise for her coming from the Drumwork camp. "Brainstorm" ft Conway the Machine is a highlight, as is the storytelling on "Lost on Mars" and then there's the Rome Streets and Che Noir's "Neck Protected". 7.5/10

Conway The Machine-Won't He Do It: Conway follows up with 2022 essential God Doesn't Make Mistakes with Won't He Do It, an album that's much more versatile production-wise, and features different sounds from the lush "The Chosen" to the piano-laden "Monogram" or the R&B influenced Water to Wine" you actually know what to expect track to track than any Conway The Machine album to this point and I really enjoy that. This album while not having quite the depth and soul searching of the previous album, is more celebratory and features an array of flows and skill sets. He sounds comfortable and effortless on this project. Great work 8.5/10

Killer Mike-Michael: Michael is Killer Mike's sixth LP and really his most personal and forthright album to this point. Backed by a great production that features some gospel/soul influence that feels classically Atlanta. The album tackles issues he dealt with as a youth, from naively poising the community ("Something for The Junikes") to adolescent love mishandled ("Slummer") to the impact of losing his mother and grandma. This album gives you a sense of the good and bad that shaped Killer Mike. I also love the EL-P-assisted "Don't Let the Devil" for a more southern-fried RTJ feel. I appreciate "Two Days" where Mike touches on the prison industrial system and the politics that keep it going. At every turn, Mike is sharp, heartfelt, and thoughtful. The features on the album all come through with good performances from Atlanta pioneers like Ceelo and Andre 3000 to current-day essentials like Young Thug and Future. Michael's an excellent album and a refreshing solo effort aside from the work with EL-P. 9/10

Nas & Hitboy- Magic 2: Nas and Hit-boy continue their run with their fifth album in 3 years and 2nd edition in the Magic series. While the 2021 Magic felt like an exercise in traditionalism, finding Nas rhyming over an updated 90s sound with rhyming up to par with his prime. Magic 2 finds himself more aligned with modern times tracks like "Motion" and "Earvin Magic Johnson" sound more car and club-ready than anything on the original Magic and tracks like "Abracadabra" are more thematically aligned than most of what's on the original Magic. The more thoughtful and introspective tracks tucked in the back of the album are the strongest, "What it Really Means", "Slow it Down" and "Pistols on Your Album Cover" are all great pieces of work. Par for the course at this point. 8.5/10

Meet me @ the Alter- Past//Present//Future: Meet me @ the Alter is a pop-punk band that has been working toward this moment for a while through a series of EPs and singles that showed a band bustling with pop-punk energy and hooks that only come from a strong appreciation for the pop-punk we came upon. Past//Present//Future is the baby of all that hard work. I love the catchy and snarky "Say it to My Face" I also enjoy the chunky distorted guitars on "Try" a song that speaks to pushing through anxiety and going for things anyway. "T.M.I" is my absolute favorite on the project though, I think it's one of the best vocal performances from Edith Victoria, best chorus and overall well-written tunes here. The bass and big chorus on King of Everything make for a really good close to the album. It's a really good/fun project for the band that leaves plenty of room for improvement and expansion musically and lyrically. 7.5/10

Protomartyr-Formal Growth in the Desert: This is the sixth project from Detroit's post-punk band Protomartyr. As customary for a Protomatyr album, you'll get sprawling guitars as well as walls of atmospheric sound. You're gonna get lead vocalist and lyricist Joe Casey's impassioned vocal performances and his great lyrics. "Fun in Hi Skool" is a great song seemingly about the inability to let go of the past to the point where it ruins your present and future. "Let's Tip The Creator" is my favorite on the project, I think it has some of the best guitar playing and drumming. Protomartyr has always been adept at shifting tones and progressing as tracks progress and with Joe Casey's lyrics being thoughtful yet abstract it invites more and more listens. 8.0/10

Dream Wife-Social Lubrication: Dream Wife's third full-length album is much like their previous efforts a place where youthful exuberance meets thoughtful contemplations and some righteous rebellion. There's "Who do you want to be?" A call to mobilization instead of stagnation. The title track speaks to being buttered up and being made to get comfortable with getting screwed over. "Leech" speaks to men, companies people etc who exploit and use women for what they provide. All great tracks. You still get simple tracks punk tracks like "I Want You" or "Orbit" a song about an attraction that almost feels meant to be. Sonically the band switches between straightforward punk to more of a post-punk sound that definitely more beneficial when they're to get a message across. It's their 3rd straight great album in my opinion. 8.0/10

Noname-Sundial: Sundail is the third full album by Chicago rapper Noname. Noname is a rapper who has always been adept at rhyming conscious, poetic but abstract at the same time. She's an artist who wears her culture on her sleeve and cares deeply about the state of it. She's also someone who over time has just gotten better and better at rapping. She's always had a nimble and fluid flow, but this is her least quiet album yet, she's come through with more stronger presence on the mic and more charisma to it. Topically "Hold Me Down" speaks to black people only holding each other down when it's convenient particularly monetarily. "Balloons" on why there was a musical hiatus for Noname in the first place which is the exploitative nature of selling black trauma to voyeuristic white people who are entertained by black trauma. "Beauty Supply" tackles the self-loathing that inherently comes with adapting Eurocentric beauty standards. There's not a turn on this album where Noname has nothing to say. There's very little wasted space on the album. Yet there are lighthearted and fun moments here as well like "Boomboom" or "Toxic". It's a great album that seems sure to reward with more listens. 8.5/10

Nas & Hitboy- Magic 3: Nas completes their amazing run with their third installment in the Magic series Magic 3. To the surprise of no one, It's another great project that features great production and rhymes from Hitboy and Nas. From the production standpoint, Hit-Boy dives more into a soul sample style here a lot of soulful beats and vocals floating in the background of these tracks. Meanwhile, Nas just showcases his skillset, rapping well is a prerequisite for him at this point so it's really about the direction and how the tracks meld together at this point. "I Love This Feeling" track 4 on the project is the first song that I think is steller on the project it has a great soulful almost jazzy sound to it, and Nas is just sharp and speaking to loving the place he's in in life. "Based on True Events pt1" and "pt 2" find Nas getting into his storytelling bag both efforts are vivid. The first one is seemingly a little more personal speaking to doing some personal investigating on a friend's murder and honoring Havoc of Mobb Deep's brother who was murdered. "Pt 2" echo's a song like "Nigga's Bleed' from the late great Notorious B.I.G. "Blue Bently" and "Jodeci Member"are both bangers on the album tracks you could ride in the car too. The album tetters between celebratory and contemplative and Nas is great at both. The lone feature on the project is Lil Wayne who shows out on his verse his flow is fluid and he really rises to the occasion. It's another great effort from Nas & Hitboy and in the end, I think this is an excellent send-off to their run. 8.5/10

Drake- For All The Dogs: Another blockbuster Drake event and similar to the last 3 it's a bloated affair that attempts to please multiple audiences and run up the streaming numbers by any means necessary. The album is 23 tracks long with a runtime of over 84 minutes which from a modern perspective is a long project, one that Drake isn't capable of carrying to greatness. The album thematically leans more R&B and specifically speaks to Drake and his dealing with women. How they do him dirty and how he returns the favor. The best of the R&B include "Slime Me Out" ft SZA which features some of the best vocal work from Drake. "Virginia Beach" sets the tone well and with a nice Trap & B feel. However, most of my favorites on the album are the rap cuts. J.Cole has arguably the best verse on the project with "First Person Shooter". "8 Am in Charlette" finds Drake doing what he does best basically giving you an exact snapshot of where he is in his life, his mindset his mentality, and where he thinks he fits within the game. I enjoy the levity found on "Another Late Night" ft Lil Yachty. However the absolute best track on the album is "Away From Home" a track detailing everything went through to get to the point where he's at, all the rejections and no's he had to endure to get to where he's at in the game. All in all, I think For All The Dogs is a solid effort it's too long and a bit meandering at times. I think some of the R&B is a bit generic at times but I think the highlights make it worthwhile to listen through once to pick out the tracks you like and make a playlist out of those you enjoy. 7.0/10

Earl Sweatshirt & Alchemist-Voir: Earl's interesting because he's a really good/great rapper who's grown from more of a wordy abstract rapper who would impress with dense dexterous rhyme patterns. He's still that way but much more direct, maybe more monotone and monotonous than he ever used to be. You can't care about charisma, or wide-ranging vocal dynamics if you're going to be into Earl Sweatshirt. It can often feel as though Earls just rambling over these beats. However, he's still nice and stern on these soulful and beautiful beats from Alchemist. Earl has a way of still being heartfelt and vulnerable there's a weariness and soul-searching nature to him on these tracks. I love the bright synths on "Heat Check" and the soul samples that come in on that track. The guitar-laden "27 Braids" is a highlight of the project. "Mac Deuce" is my favorite on the project though Alchemist's fluttering swirling beat sounds great under Earl's vocal. There are two tracks with Vince Staples on the project but neither disappoints with "The Celiphant" being the best of the two. 7.5/10

Westside Gunn-And Then You Pray For Me: And Then You Pray For Me is essentially a sequel to Westside Gunn's most acclaimed effort and Pray for Paris a nearly perfect representation of East Coast underground hip-hop circa 2020. And Then You Pray For Me, finds Westside staying close to roots while also itching to expand his sound outward. Much like Westside's taste for traditional East Coast boom bap and blending that with elegance and opulence, he has a taste for classic trap music, done in the mid-00s by artists like Jeezy, T.I., and Ross. "Kostas' is Griselda trap featuring the big three in Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, and Westside Gunn himself and they sound right at home on the beat the track is meant to play in your ride at high volume. The album goes back right into some menacing hard East Coast sounds with "Suicide in Selfridges" the "Eurostep" of this project. "Kitchen Lights" ft Stove God is in my opinion probably the best track on the project it has the best production, love the lush strings on here as Westside paints the picture of his background as Stove romantizes cooking up the work under kitchen lights. There's something about Stove's serious yet somehow unhinged tone when singing that makes this track. "Disgusting" is dark and menacing and speaks to Westside's ethos "Yeah a ngga from the hood but a ngga bougie though". It's another banger on the album with trap percussion that sounds like it'll sound nice in your ride. Then he turns back to that standard gritty sound with "Babylon Bis" ft Stove God Cooks, They're both strong on here but Stove just shows why his album is so anticipated in the underground. On this album, I think Westside finds a way to bring a trap sound in and still blend it into Griselda's world. It's 21 tracks long though which means there more variance in quality here than your average Westside project. Still, I think it's a strong project. 8.0/10

City Girls-RAW: City Girls are back with their 4th project in RAW. This isn't as good as their 2020 album City on Lock. That album had more energy from track to track, still "No Bars" is among the best on the project which features some of the best of the project. I wish JT would just go solo, she can rap and I'm more curious and what she has to say lyrically. "Fancy Ass B*tch" is another highlight of the project it has some of the best production on here. "Flashy" is a solid pop-rap tune. Outside of that, almost everything is formulaic and a couple tracks are awful due to blatant sampling and straight-beat jacking. The City Girls have something but it just doesn't feel like they're progressing musically and it doesn't even feel like they're on the same page at times. 6.5/10

Reason- Porches: Reason is a good artist, I really enjoyed his 2018 album There You Have It, Then he dropped New Beginnings, and that one actually escaped me. Reason's new album speaks to coming from the ghetto and the good and bad that comes from that. It's a great album that finds Reason telling stories of homies that are good and have a lot to lose getting off track due to the street element on "A Broken Winter Break". He touches on generational curses as well as the same friend who was watching the older brother repeat some of his same actions later on on "Bussin". Love the flow pattern on "Too Much" as he gets introspective about how he came from the bottom but how still deals with issues even though he's seen "success". He's basically saying I'm not a superhero I go through issues too. On the fun side "At it Again' is my favorite song with some bounce on it, a great track to ride too. On "Gang sh*t" Reason touches on how people feel as though you switch up when you made it but when the really only thing that has changed is them. The album could've been a lot sharper at 12 or 13 songs but at 17 it feels like it drags a bit but that's how things go with hip-hop albums these days. Still, this was a great project from Reason. 8/10.

Lil Wayne & 2Chainz-Welcome 2 Collegrove: Lil Wayne & 2Chainz's first collaborative effort Collegrove while solid didn't really grab my attention when released, Wayne's career was somewhat in a lull and I wasn't the biggest 2Chainz fan. On Welcome 2 Collegrove things are much different Lil Wayne feels like he's getting into a 2nd prime and 2Chainz is a really quality MC at this point. This album also feels more highly produced and organized with varying sounds. "Big Diamonds ft 21 Savage has that classic cash money/New Orleans sound produced by none other than the great Mannie Fresh. It felt good to hear Wayne go back to his roots on that sound. There's the bounce and whistling sound of "Presha" on which Wayne showcases his great flow. "P.P.A" has a great jazzy sound, and has a lush sound as 2Chainz, Wayne, and, Fabulous wax poetic about women's genitalia. Wayne once again has the best verse on this one. "Oprah & Gayle" ft Benny The Butcher is sharp again the production is strong, everyone is great but Wayne dominates this one again. "Shame" is fun because they take on a Wu-Tang-influenced track produced by Havoc where they reference to being like Rae & Ghost. The Havoc-produced "Bars" is excellent as well. "Can't Believe You" has a beautiful opulent sound where Wayne is the MVP as well. Wayne is the MVP of the album. He's competitive, his flow is nimble, and his wit is on point. The sequencing is on point as well. Great album. 8/10

Kamaiyah- Another Good Night: A Good Night in the Ghetto(2016) is truly the principal project for Kamaiyah and one where she showcased her penchant for hooks, melody, and, an around-the-way arura on 90's flavored West Coast production(highly recommended). While this tape is similar in aesthetic. The quality of the tape is about 2 or 3 notches below what that project was. The best track was the first track "Raining Game in California" It has a catchy hook and Jay Worthy is strong. "Take a Sip" repurposes "Out The Bottle" and is a track worthy of being on the album. After that there are really a lot of middling Kamaiyah tracks with a lot of them being no longer than 2 minutes long barely long enough to establish a vibe and leave. It's a fun lil project still but I found her EP Still Lit released late last year to be better not to mention 2020's Got it Made. 6.5/10

[alittledizzy]

Title: lean with it Rating: PG Word Count: 1695 words Summary: Sometimes Dan has to say things, even if Phil doesn't really want to hear them. (An anti-jealousy fic.) Notes: Written for @europeansoul​ for my thirty minute fics for charity fundraiser to benefit PhandomGives.

[read on AO3]

Dan has the strong sense of deja vu as he stands in duty free and watches a man try far too enthusiastically to sell Phil a bottle of cologne.

The man has blonde hair and he's taller by a couple of inches. Not Dan's type. Not Phil's either, not really. He's slender and attractive, with the hint of a tattoo peeking out under a shirt sleeve and a silver hoop in one ear not unlike Dan's own.

He's fit. Dan's eyes wander down, lingering on his ass. Phil's got a better one, but Dan can still appreciate.

*

"He was trying to pick you up," Dan says as soon as Phil makes his way back to where Dan's at. Phil's got a bag that Dan is quite sure contains no cologne but probably far too many sweets.

"He was not," Phil scoffs.

"Okay," Dan says. He waits thirty seconds. "But he was."

Phil gives him that look that Dan has come to recognize over the past few months, that weirdly bashful but hesitantly proud expression. Dan has a fondness for that expression, almost a pride over it. "No," Phil says. "He wasn't."

"He was," Dan immediately says. There's less conviction in his voice now. "He wanted your sexy body."

Phil snorts indelicately. "No one wants my sexy body."

"Excuse," Dan says, offended.

Phil rolls his eyes. "You don't count."

Dan can't help himself. One firm poke with his pointer finger, right to Phil's side. No one notices the poke, but plenty of people turn to stare when Phil yelps out a wounded sound. "I count," Dan says.

"No, you're just like." Phil makes a face. "Obligated."

"Phil." Dan sighs. "I'm tired, you know. I'm a busy guy. We're busy guys. We're on a fucking world tour. Don't make me schedule in time for some intense body worship kink action. I'll do it, but, you know, I'd rather just nap."

Phil laughs. "See there, that's what I mean. You'd rather nap than have sex."

"Like you wouldn't sometimes," Dan says.

"Sometimes," Phil acknowledges.

"Bet Mr. Buy My Overpriced Smelly Waters would rather hit it than nap," Dan says. "I can run back and ask him-"

He acts like he's going to stop and double backwards, even taking a few steps until Phil grabs his arm. "Stop that. You know they're going to stop let us wandering off on our own if we can't behave."

"We're behaving," Dan says. "Not behaving would be me blowing you in a public toilet, but I'm not fucking doing that, am I. Even if I like your dick in my mouth. Because you've got like, the best dick."

"What-" Phil squints at him. "Are you complimenting my dick to make me feel better?"

"Is it working?"

Phil shrugs. "I mean, I already know you like my dick. But someone can have a nice dick without like - a body, you know."

"You have a body," Dan says.

Phil looks like he's physically struggling with the words that come out of his mouth. "I don't have the kind of body that fit Finnish airport workers want to - hit."

And, ah - there it is, that something there, that nerve Dan's been brushing up against. "Yeah, Phil, you do," Dan says, letting a bit of that something not quite suited for their current environment seep into his words. "Because it's not about having a six pack, you know? People look at you. They notice you. You've got some kind of like, I dunno, striking thing about you. Especially since the hair."

Phil visibly tenses when Dan mentions his hair. He's got some shit to unpack, some things left to let go of.

It's not that Phil doesn't like how he looks now. It's just, Dan thinks, neither of them realized what a source of insecurity it was for him before. Vulnerability doesn't sit well with Phil, even in front of Dan sometimes.

"I'll strike you," Phil says, and they both know he's just filling the space between them with words that hold no meaning.

"Strike me with that big ole' d," Dan says, because he figures he's pushed hard enough for one day.

"You're the worst," Phil says, a blatant smile on his face.

*

"Have you got your introduction prepared yet?" Marianne asks, picking over her breakfast scramble.

"Yeah," Dan says. "I'm going to talk about how Phil got chatted up by his future husband in the airport when we flew in."

Phil drops his fork. "You are not!"

Marianne looks between them, one eyebrow raised. "Did he now?"

"No," Phil says at the same time Dan says the opposite.

"Might even work it into the show regularly, you know? When Phil's talking about his hair. Add in something about how he's got his forehead out for the lads, and the lads are definitely noticing."

Phil is staring daggers at him. Dan's perceptive enough to know that Phil is genuinely a bit annoyed Dan's bringing it up, but it's a new day and he's ready to push a few more buttons in the name of forward progression. Sometimes Phil needs another person to pry his fingers off the walls of his comfort zone.

"That'd go over well with the audience," Marianne says, forever diplomatic.

"You are not," Phil says again. "You are not putting that in the show."

"But you admit now that he was flirting?" Dan asks.

"I don't-" Phil stabs his fork ineffectively into his sticky, sugar-laden pastry. "I don't know why you're making such a thing of this."

"Would you look at that," Marianne says, looking down at her still mostly full plate. "Think I'll go back for seconds. Don't kill each other, boys. I don't want to have to be the one to explain that."

"I just think," Dan says, picking up the conversation from before as though there was no pause of almost forty eight hours. "That you need to accept that your sexiness. I know your whole thing is just like, owning that you're a pasty tall nerd, but you're also... you know."

Dan makes a hand gesture.

“I’m what?” Phil asks.

“Hot.” Dan does a little dance with his eyebrows.

Phil is not as amused as Dan had hoped. "I don't want to do this."

“Fine,” Dan says.

“Fine,” Phil says, and there’s a moment of silence.

But only a moment. Dan’s never been good at shutting up.

"You weren't like that when we met, you know," Dan says, licking yoghurt off his spoon. "Your self-confidence was part of what made you so attractive."

"I was twenty-two," Phil says. "Everyone thinks that way when they’re youn and dumb."

"Why is owning your sexiness a young thing?" Dan asks. "Or a dumb thing? I know you don't lack self-confidence in other ways. You're a functional, successful adult. You do our fucking taxes. Which is also hot, by the way. You don't feel the need to downplay any of that off-camera."

"That is a kink I will never understand," Phil says.

"Don't judge me." Dan kicks a leg out under the table, knocking his calf against Phil's. "Just admit you know you look good. I've seen the selfies you post. Hell, I've taken most of them. I know you get it. You just don't want to say so. But I know it feels nice to have someone who doesn't even know you think you're fit enough to flirt with."

"I just..." Phil's pastry is in forked apart pieces now, having taken the brunt of his frustration. "It doesn't matter, I guess. I don't need other people to find me attractive, it's not like I'm available. So it's easier to not think about it."

"You don't have to be available to enjoy people hitting on you," Dan says. "Validation is still validation. I mean, just don't go home with anyone. "

"Do you like it?" Phil asks, suddenly curious.

Dan smirks. "Maybe."

"Why?" Phil sounds perplexed.

"Because..." Dan licks another spoonful off, perhaps a bit more luxuriously than he needs to. "Because I do still think that you're the fucking sexiest person alive. What you said about me feeling obligated - it's not actually true. I may not jump you every time we're in a room alone together anymore, but we're both too old for that. Doesn't mean I don't love your fucking face, though. And the whole rest of you. I mean, sure, you've got a beak nose and your head is weird shaped and-"

"Wow, thanks," Phil says dryly.

"Shut up, let me finish. You've got a bird nose and your head is weird shaped and sometimes your roots grow out and it looks funny but you put it all together and it's just, stupidly hot, you know. As a whole package. The parts of you that aren't like a magazine cover are what make it work. I loved the emo fringe, I fell in love with the emo fringe, but you got rid of it and suddenly the whole rest of the world noticed that you're a whole fucking meal, Phil. And I want you to own that. I want you to feel as good about it as I do. My kink isn't other guys hitting on you, my kink is you enjoying it."

Dan finishes his monologue and sits back, awaiting a response.

"You're so weird," Phil says, but he smiles down at his food and, out of sight of everyone else, presses his leg against Dan's.

*

They're bouncing around with backstage jitters, listening to the thunderous voice of the crowd singing along to the pre-show playlist, when Phil suddenly stops and turns to Dan with an alarmed expression. "You still can't tell that story in the show."

"Ugh," Dan says, though he'd never really intended on doing it at all. He just likes to keep Phil on his toes sometimes. "You ruin all of my fun."

“Dan!” Phil shoves him.

“Fine. But I get to mention your ass at least twice.”

“Once,” Phil says.

“You drive a hard bargain, Lester.” Dan turns and reaches up, brushing his fingers over Phil’s hair. It doesn’t really need adjusting, but he can get away with it. “Good thing you’re so damn pretty.”

[checkthefeed]

[ Throwback Mixtape #1 | Keystone / Colorado / Streets ]

This video includes some of our favorite hits from the past. Every Thursday we are going to throw it back and mix up some #Classics from @CHECKtheFeed 

Someone did a Future Remixed Videograss X Jed Anderson Part from  #Videogracias https://www.instagram.com/p/BEl1i0Hv37B/?taken-by=checkthefeed

Sam Stillman Transfer https://www.instagram.com/samstillman/

Jesse Denham Greer aka @jdenhamg4u Breaking His Board https://www.instagram.com/p/BNqCN4kj0QP/?taken-by=checkthefeed

@GNARCORE catching @fellymanelaflare flexing on the same drop! https://www.instagram.com/p/BNAx94Zjl5f/?taken-by=gnarcoresnow

Kyle Kelley Street 2016 http://checkthefeed.com/post/153410035893/kyle-kelley-goes-to-chuuch

Andy James Getting Lucky on The Closeout | Oil Country https://www.instagram.com/p/BP7oTSsF7j4/?taken-by=checkthefeed

Keystone Jerry of the DECADE

Ham City Slammers as seen in Long Lens Mixtape Featuring: Kyle Kelley, Zeach Ahrens, Brendan Sullivan and more. http://checkthefeed.com/post/142336470068/longlens-mixtape-b-ham-city-slammers http://checkthefeed.com/search/ham+city+slammers

Tristin Heiner & Zeke Greer at Keystone http://checkthefeed.com/post/139552977258/colorado-road-trip-2016

Max Eberhardt in Summit County Filmed by Seb Judge http://checkthefeed.com/post/138165146603/maxamilli-x-summit-county

Sam Klein in CHECK IN | Keystone 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et19b_ozp2Y

The Paper Tapes | Volume 3 “Hells Meat” Featuring: Nate Haust, Tony VeScusso, Andrew Baker and more. http://checkthefeed.com/tagged/the-paper-tapes

[irecommendphanfics]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester Series: Part 3 of alittlewavey, Part 3 of road trip mix tape 2018 (aka, the tour fics) Summary:

Phil's not feeling too great today.

[easythetape]

Journal Update #12 APR - TOAST OF PARIS

TOAST OF PARIS is a special track inspired by my love of films and specifically car chases. The track utilises samples from the 1998 John Frankenheimer film ‘Ronin’ (one of my all-time favourites).

A theme that puts fire in the belly of Ronin is the notion of how its mercenary characters are riding out what one of the Biblically refers to as their “seven fat years and seven lean years.” When war is your business, eventually you’ve got to find work during peacetime. And while these operators are all angling for a pretty nice payday, one can’t help but think—especially on repeated viewings—that this whole thing happens between the end of the Cold War and the start of the War on Terror, between the invention of the World Wide Web and the proliferation of the modern information technology age. In many ways, Ronin feels like the last hurrah of a bygone spy movie from a bygone spy era, using bygone cinematic discipline (no CGI, no 360 slo-mo, no splashy soundtrack). Like its characters, this movie teeters on the cusp of irrelevancy, but maintains its balance through a combination of still-sharp skills, ruthless efficiency, and an iron will to survive. That demands respect (Coffin, 2018).

The beat was also inspired by my love of France and my childhood trips to the south of that wonderful country.

I recorded some old french language tapes (pictured below) I found hidden away, tapes that I used to listen to when I was young and taking regular holidays in France to try and learn some basic phrases to try out on holiday... When I was younger one of the things I always looked forward to, in the summer was going on holiday to France, eating crepes, ice cream and drinking ice tea in the sun (this memory was the inspiration behind the title of another beat on the tape ICE TEA). I have since been on a road trip across half of France, visited, Paris, Normandy, the Centre Val de Loire, Auvergne and of course many south coast or Côte d'Azur cities, like (my favourite) Nice and Antibes, Saint Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Saint Laurent-du-Var, Juan-Les-Pins,  Cagnes-sur-Mer, Monaco, Cannes and I am still teaching myself French with the help of Duolingo (I hope to go out there again when is safe to do so). TOAST OF PARIS draws on this nostalgic inspiration, and that feeling of pure joy when you touch down on sunny foreign soil to enjoy a holiday, a feeling I’m sure many of all ages can relate to.

In the digital era, the sonic artefacts which analogue mediums emit, such as surface noise and hiss, create a sense of nostalgia and a disjunction of time (Fisher, 2013). This concept is accentuated in TOAST OF PARIS, with the use of noise, and tape hiss captured off the tapes above, I like to use the effect subtly though. You can actually hear this tape hiss on most beats from The Tape. 

I also created the artwork for the track (1st picture) and got feedback on the beat from peers in my class.

Feedback from peer-review session:

Nick (tutor): The track is great and makes creative use of samples that are reference points to your memories and cultural influences. It would be good to get a clearer idea of what your memories consist of and how they're leading your music aside from the use of samples

really nice sounds great, the mix is on point

synths don't quite sit in the mix add some tape saturation 

Add a de-esser or cut off EQ around 12khz to take out sharp peaks, sounds amazing though.

So phat, really colourful, possibly revisit the snares sidechaining influence on elements. 

Mind map for TOAST OF PARIS below:

The beat is inspired by one of my favourite films with the great Robert de Niro and possibly my favourite actor Jean Reno (Léon). I used samples from the film both in the composition and to construct the visual. The film is set in France and I have been to a number of the locations where it was filmed in both Nice and Paris (see the video below). I posted the video on my socials namely YouTube and IGTV.

References:

Fisher, M. (2013). The Metaphysics of Crackle: Afrofuturism and Hauntology. Dancecult, 5(2), 42–55. https://doi.org/10.12801/1947-5403.2013.05.02.03

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: Another guest contribution from R. Ann Parris to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

Get In Shape

No, really. With absolutely nothing to your name, you can be better off than a quarter if not half the preppers with gear, land, and partners. Want a little ‘for example’? How about the huffing and puffing we hear when folks run from the cold or rain? Or are forced to hustle to catch mass transit of some kind?

There’s the muscle injuries and heart attacks that get warned about ahead of winter storms. There’s a lesser publicized set of aches that even active homesteaders work through at the beginning of spring or late summer and autumn as we get back in to full swing – doing more than shoveling snow, poking in checking on things, hauling feed to the (usually) closer barn than to and around pastures. Every year, there are hikers who end up overextended and in distress.

We shake our heads at news stories when people put themselves in sucky situations. Let’s make sure we’re not one of them sometime in the future.

Get in Shape for WORKING

General physical ability can be helpful, and it’s a leg up, for sure. However, there’s gym fit and there’s street-woods fit. Gear your “workouts” to things you’ll be doing. You can also find exercises that directly relate to activities you expect.

Mix up your walking/packing/jogging/sprint surfaces. If you live rural and plan to cut cross-country if you’re away from home, sure, focus on the “natural” surfaces around you. Don’t ignore hardtops, but they’re less important for one-time, single-digit day-count packing. If you live or work in a lot of urban environments, though, make your training more fifty-fifty.

Walk on the sides of ditches and in loose leaves to build your ankles up. Sandy beaches offer a variety of challenging textures that can also help seriously strengthen legs and ankles depending on where in the tide line or above it you exercise and run. It’ll be helpful in snow and ice as well, and in tilled gardens or hand-harvesting hay and grains and big bean plots.

Those strong ankles will also be an aid in keeping your balance anytime you lose it – like if you anticipate ever getting shoved or tripped.

If you live somewhere floods are a risk or where you get a fair bit of snow, start plowing through some water if any’s available. You may be able to find times of day or parts of parks where you won’t attract attention slogging through a little stream or knee-deep in lake, bay, or marsh water. You may also be able to find an affordable YMCA or similar pool, although you’ll be “stuck” with waist-high instead of the more-unique pulls of calf- and knee-high slogging. (Please watch for snakes that will be annoyed with you and wear good sneakers.)

Go slow – this isn’t a sprint, it’s preparing you for winter work and bug-outs, not a footrace. Steady, certain steps are the biggie, and developing the muscles. Don’t be too ambitious at first. Rushing is a broken ankle or wrist and be careful waiting to happen. Be smart in cool weather – hypothermia doesn’t require freezes.

You can find gym equipment or band workouts that can help you build muscles for raking and shoveling, swinging an ax, or hauling and pushing carts and wagons. Bands require an investment, and there are contrasting opinions about them, but they’re affordable and compact – exercise anywhere.

Boxing and kick boxing exercises abound on the internet. Both build an enormous amount of core strength.

A gallon of water weighs about eight pounds. (Start with a half-gallon or liter, please.) If we get milk, we can get weights at home without spending an extra penny or having to build in time to go somewhere. When you’re ready for more, look around your environment for pipes, golf clubs, sturdy pruned limbs, etc., that can be used to create a bar. (Duct tape them – sliding weight, even “just” 8-16 pounds, is a recipe for an injury.)

Do Exercises Correctly

Do weight, stretching, and isometric exercises slowly. Use a mirror to check your form. When your form is muscle memory, close your eyes and concentrate on the feel.

Bucking, rocking, kipping or whatever you want to call them are not only cheating yourself. They’re also an injury waiting to happen. You also work more of your muscles, longer and harder, by working them slowly.

Build the Right Strengths

Start with low weights and high reps. Keep those high reps and slow motions even when you advance in weight. Practice holding at each point, and stopping midway for holds, too.

There are the instant-action parts of homesteading and camping/packing/paddling, absolutely: that moment when you heave the pressed hay up and over, to stack or to carry, or slinging a bag of feed up and over your shoulder, shoving off rocks or getting flipped backwards. There are “power pops” when you stress your tool maintenance guy and your body taking bypass pruners to tough wood and at funny angles.

However, many of our tasks are endless repetitions – raking, forking, shoveling, paddling, hauling a rope of a beaver slide or pulley lift to get hay or straw to a loft or hoist an animal for butchering.

In low-power or no-power situations, and low- or no-noise situations, there’s also hand sawing – which is a fast action, but a lot of it. There’s things like rocking a garden weasel back and forth, and push-pull lawn cutting with a rotary mower. There’s the bent or crouched schnick-schnick-schnick-turn-toss-schnick-schnick-schnick of harvesting grains or hay or straw, or gathering small branches or vines, or trimming down tree feeds for livestock.

Do, absolutely, work some of the hand-and-footwork speed drills, too. There are times when higher weights and quick motions do come into play.

I have to have the “snatch” strength to catch that ladder before it tips, or to snag a tree when rotting stuff gives way underfoot, to help somebody on steep trails or slipping on ice, or the harness line when my goofy dog accidentally bounces another dog over the edge of something (most recently it was her brother off a boat dock).

My medical supplies do me no good if I can’t heave my heavy dog over my shoulder and get it somewhere, or drag my family and partners out of something or into something. Maybe it’s a house fire, maybe they slipped off a bridge, maybe a bookshelf tilted. Maybe it’s a large animal, and being able to slam and brace and hold a gate to keep something out and away from them.

Even so, most of those have an endurance aspect. Catching for a moment is only half the battle.

I have to sustain that hold, and I have to be able to pull without losing my grip. I have to scramble with that hold sometimes, or not lose my footing.

Maybe today there’s an earthquake or tornado that starts a fire, some nut-job shooting, or a 500-year flood strikes. If I can’t carry or drag my loved ones all the way out of harm’s way, I lose them.

Maybe today’s task is sitting on the ground or edge of something, digging in heels, straining against a rope and “climbing” to haul something to a loft or my kid/partner/lover/parent out of a well or somebody’s deer pit. If I can’t hold onto that timber we’re hauling, if I slip as belay anchor or lose my grip on that rope, I hurt somebody.

Initial adrenaline will only take us so far. It’s worth getting in shape for.

Prepare Your Body, or Prepare to Fail

All the gear in the world isn’t going to help somebody who can’t get out of a building or down the road, who can’t escape a fire or flood, who can’t evade a mob and then put enough distance between them to beat the police barricade lines.

The best bug-out location on earth won’t help somebody who can’t get to it and keep it going – who can’t lift their kid and that fancy bag up over a fence, who can’t build a shelter against cold, wet weather to keep their family from hypothermia, who can’t lift enough water in big buckets to keep livestock and gardens watered, let alone bathe.

The expensive spotting scope and fancy rifle that found and took a deer doesn’t help the guy who then can’t get it up a hill or across the flats – at all, without injury or heart attack, or “fast enough” in some parts of the world where bears, hogs, and human scavengers like to check out gunshots.

Side Benefits to Exercise

Exercise is also incredibly good for the brain, both in combating stress and depression, and in sharpening our minds and senses. Tired bodies help us sleep better, with sleep hugely important to stress, recovery, mood, and decision making.

When you feel stronger and fitter, you’ll also find your confidence increasing, which in some cases actually decreases aggression and combative attitudes. (Lack of confidence tends to lead to those small-dog yappy-snappy, argumentative people who take everything as a personal insult and a direct challenge to authority.)

That’s going to make a disaster of any scale a whole lot easier to deal with, no matter how active or sedentary it is.

Prep for Retaining & Regaining Strength

If you’re lucky enough to have a bunker, a storm cellar, or a tight compound, don’t forget to stash ways to stay in shape while you’re locked down. You only need a little space and some things that – besides bands – are probably already there. Make sure you also have a variety of exercises, stretches, and drills printed out and stashed.

Not only is endurance and raw strength important, and something that can be easily handled at little to no cost, work on flexibility. Exercises for seniors can be an excellent source there.

Physical therapy exercises are beneficial as well. Don’t forget to print up what they apply to. It can range from post-stroke and nerve damage recovery, to knee replacements and torn ACLs, out to oddballs like whiplash and dislocated fingers and wrists. Not only are many actually pretty fantastic stretching, mobility, dexterity, and strength-building regimens, if there is an accident or injury, you’re prepared for full recovery.

The One Irreplaceable Prep

Every disaster and evacuation, we hear of refugees surviving incredible hardships and long journeys, and people managing incredible physical feats to save their loved ones. But for every feel-good victory, there are losses. Not everyone makes it fast enough, far enough.

Increasing physical ability can be done in two, three, or four 10-20 minute sessions a day, a few times a week. It can cost nothing.

Some of it can be done pumping our fuel or during regular shopping trips, adding less time than we’ll stand in a checkout line or lust over goodies behind glass. Some of it can be done one hand at a time, reading or scrolling the internet with the other. We can keep up with weekly shows/sports doing cals and Pilates and physical therapy on the carpet and kitchen chair, or using a bar hung from a sturdy doorway.

Your body is the one thing there is no backup for. There are no excuses. Not time, not money, not current physical limitations. We can get stronger, and by doing so, improve our chances of survival.

Follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post The Best Preps for ANY Budget appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag