Now that I have lived for eleven years on the other side of the country from where I grew up, I have a more pronounced affection for what I call my hometown heroes, who are up-and-coming athletes or performers or persons of note. I relish in seeing success for other folks who are also where I’m from, even though I could never see myself returning … Continue reading Hometown Heroes for All
You don’t always need to understand art in order to appreciate it. I had the privilege to see Briana Marela live years ago at the Lodge Room, opening for Jenny Hval, and it was apparent that the audience did not quite understand or care about what she was laying down. It irked me since they could not be pardoned by the assumption that their allegiance … Continue reading Worthwhile Self-Actualization, Actual Self-Worth
If I didn’t know better I wouldn’t have noticed that the theater at 2220 Beverly in Westlake was under new management. Last I heard, the Bootleg had closed during the pandemic, and that area of Beverly Blvd is fairly quiet. Brooklyn Bagels faces the venue and defunct businesses dot around them in a largely residential area. There are just enough streetlights to cast disquieting shadows … Continue reading A Whirlwind with Photay and Maral
Sometimes I lose hope in the nostalgia I have for bands of my youth. I’ve left my 20s, and school feels so long ago—especially, somehow, college. Life is so different, in ways that I should have predicted but would never have been able to see at the time. Could I have known that this twee Norwegian band would still light up my soul eleven years … Continue reading Eleven Years Since Their Debut, Team Me is Still Something in the Making
Nature is a strong influence. All around us, regardless of the specific environment, we are experiencing our surroundings; life creates its own music in genres that the industry would call ambient, or naturalist. Field recordings, also occasionally affectionately called “found sounds,” offer a sense of hyper-reality that, paired with the music itself, paints a vivid story of the listener’s choosing. Motohiro Nakashima achieves all this … Continue reading Melodic and Ambient, Gathering the Light Reflects Life
Last year, Ngaiire returned with an astounding record, known simply as 3. The artist née Ngaiire (rhymes with diary) Joseph hails from Papua New Guinea and happened to create my favorite album of 2016, Blastoma; her 2021 record was no less impressive. She told NME that she was particularly focused on creating complex harmonies and backing vocals, and that’s only one detail (and fairly minor … Continue reading Ngaiire Sings from the Deepest Parts of Herself
Vulnerable, aspirational, and admirable. Words to describe Little Simz’s sort-of self-titled album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and the London artist herself, or at least the potentially exaggerated character she plays across its 19 tracks. The 2021 album, produced by Inflo, is a mirror, working through hard memories and harsh reality. It also sees beyond itself, acknowledging the community in which she is enmeshed and … Continue reading Little Simz is Redefining Simbi
I would like to use this space to rectify the blurb I wrote about Costa Rican musician and producer Jorge Elbrecht when I gushed over No Joy’s Motherhood last year. The passage where I intended to give him his due feels now like I was trying desperately to sound aloof, not wanting to admit that this person actually has a ton of clout beyond his … Continue reading The Cost of Our Future According to Absolutely Free
Whatever happened to Elizabeth Warren’s favorite HBO half-hour dramedy, Ballers? Just kidding, a quick Google reveals that it was canceled unceremoniously in 2020, leaving a respectable legacy of five seasons. The title of the show is a double-entendre, of course, literally referring to the fact that the characters are or interact with athletes, and in a more colloquial sense, that they are absolute fucking powerhouses. … Continue reading Mega Ran is Balling
Oh, the irony of my writing this on the first day of Daylight Saving Time. Back in November, to coincide with the autumn time change, The Antlers released Losing Light, a four-track sister EP to their 2021 full-length, Green to Gold. The LP came out nearly a year ago, but represented much more to the Brooklyn duo than simply a shift of the clocks. It … Continue reading Freezing Time on Losing Light
Sawdust & Gin 