Music
Topic archive / 2,067 posts
See also my music library, listening diary, and concert diary
Five years later, another Shellac ticket and a complicated network of reminders spanning several weeks and devices. twitter.com/robweychert/st…
Also, new releases are by definition unfamiliar. The part most likely to be familiar is the artist name, yet it’s given the least emphasis.
Given how effective Discover Weekly is, why must @Spotify New Releases make me dig for music I might actually like?
An arresting cover of a Buzzcocks classic, subtracting the original’s raucous urgency and distilling the heartache. youtu.be/SquWe1xS5yY
I don’t know why I only just today learned that Hope Sandoval and Colm Ó Cíosóig formed a band together, but it’s just what my night needed.
Having been to a few karaoke events at tech conferences, I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed no one has sung “Jolene” as “Boolean.”
Links: July 2016
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There’s nothing wrong with walled gardens. They’re safe spaces. They take care of your enjoyment and entertainment, so you don’t have to.
But there also a bit boring. I certainly don’t relish the idea of spending my days within the boundaries of someone else’s vision.
There’s a different kind of garden. It takes its name from another short story by Borges.
The Garden of Forking Paths. It is uncontrolled. It is full of possibilities. It’s… See more →
Entrepreneurs: looking for a problem to solve? Here you go: when I want to clap for the band but there’s nowhere to put down my beer.
Today’s soundtrack. youtu.be/yCF8JU30gXI
Of Ray Parker Jr’s suggested scenarios, an invisible man sleeping in your bed is really the only one that merits calling the Ghostbusters.
Heavy rotation all summer. …ivingoutsidesocietysshit.bandcamp.com/album/trans-da…
Most satisfying joke I finally got years later: “…and show me how to get down” in @alyankovic’s “I Want a New Duck.” youtu.be/cagunwJ6v6k
This song about one scene in Friday the 13th Part IV is a rare alchemy of obsessive, funny, and bittersweet. NSFW. avclub.com/article/jon-la…
Links: June 2016
A Gunfight in Guatemala
Crazy story: Sebastian Rotella. Art direction: David Sleight. Animation: Christopher Park.
Police Building Apartments
Lately my favorite part of my commute is passing this building.
Here’s The Powerful Letter The Stanford Victim Read To Her Attacker
Having too much to drink was an amateur mistake that I admit to, but it is not criminal. Everyone in this room has had a night where they have regretted drinking too much, or knows someone… See more →
An oddly recurring earworm made me listen to “Bad Medicine” for the first time in ages. I never noticed how shouty JBJ is. Settle down, JBJ.
“[A]rt just had more life in it than crime or politics or religion.” theatlantic.com/entertainment/…
“Liking Manila Road in 1985 isn’t the same as marching at Selma, so maybe take it down a notch.” decibelmagazine.com/blog/2016/6/24…
I wonder if @Ticketmaster hates itself as much as it hates all of humanity.
Due to the class action settlement, @Ticketmaster gave me $38.25 worth of free tickets… spread out over 17 discount codes for $2.25 each.
Burton’s Law: “As a discussion among Metallica fans grows longer, probability of entitled, sniveling expressions of betrayal approaches 1.”
Ex Eye
“Almost anything can be labeled ‘rock’: Metallica, ABBA, Mannheim Steamroller, a haircut, a muffler.” nytimes.com/2016/05/29/mag…
Many thanks to all for yesterday’s birthday wishes! I watched movies and sang songs, as I expect to do on each of the rest of my days.
Links: May 2016
A Final Visit With Prince: Rolling Stone’s Lost Cover Story
“All of us need to be able to reach out and just fix stuff. There's nothing that's unforgivable.”
The Contributions of Others: A Session with Jeremy Keith
“I’ve found that on the web, it’s best to assume nothing. That might sound like a scary prospect, but it’s actually quite liberating. Giving up on “pixel-perfect” control doesn’t mean giving up on quality. Quite the opposite: it… See more →
Today’s sad news is an opportunity to remember that expressing thanks for things that move us is never time wasted. twitter.com/robweychert/st…
And then there was the time dozens of @RockBand fanatics scoured my online existence to try to solve this mystery. twitter.com/robweychert/st…
To wit: youtu.be/ZcySh35ahsY
And now the great Nick Menza has left us. I never got anywhere with the drums, but he was the guy who made me want to. Another tearful RIP.
Tonight was the night @tangentialism changed my life with a Sisters of Mercy karaoke performance.
One of many magic moments in chronological Prince listening: Dirty Mind coda “Partyup” dovetailing perfectly with Controversy’s title track.
♩ I verified the math
♩ and double-checked the syntax
@lowtheband always gets stuck in my head when I’m coding. youtu.be/C5r1E4YBeZA
1985, home of the American Music Award for “Favorite Black Single,” announced by the whitest folks they could find. grantland.com/hollywood-pros…
Starting to think @whitelungband’s @kennethwilliamm is his generation’s Johnny Marr. Such an inventive guitarist. whitelung.bandcamp.com/track/i-beg-you
I’ve often wondered if I’d bite if this ever happened. Now I have my answer. See you soon, Chicago. twitter.com/pitchfork/stat…
“Remember when everybody used to have those arguments about who’s better, Michael Jackson or Prince? Prince won.” slate.com/blogs/browbeat…
In my dream, I was concerned about @essl and @VictoriaMia’s plan to combine our neighboring suburban land for the Gathering of the Juggalos.
That little dissonant detour in the chorus of “Sometimes It Snows in April.”
Beiber show in my hood tonight. Easily accessible via Long Island Railroad and 11 subway lines. The night air is a cacophony of car horns.
“All of us need to be able to reach out and just fix stuff. There’s nothing that’s unforgivable.” rollingstone.com/music/features…
I think one of the things I love about music is that it seems like both a miracle and an inevitability.
Links: April 2016
Police Body Cameras: What Do You See?
“People are expecting more of body cameras than the technology will deliver,” Professor Stoughton said. “They expect it to be a broad solution for the problem of police-community relations, when in fact it’s just a tool, and like any tool, there’s a limited value to what it can do.”
Inside Operation Trump, the Most Unorthodox Campaign in Political History
Politics require some amount of cynicism and hubris. Trump… See more →
“1984 was the greatest pop radio summer ever [because] everybody was trying to make their own Prince record.” rollingstone.com/music/news/pri…
“He is feeling it because everyone is feeling it and he is everyone.” medium.com/@danielralston…
No more skipping live shows of artists that are important to me. No more opportunity for that regret. See everyone at least once, ASAP.
Even if it had ever occurred to me that Prince was mortal, I couldn’t have anticipated the magnitude of the loss. I’m still so sad.
“I remember a little scuffle broke out… one night and Prince said, ‘Stop fighting, you’ll mess up your clothes.’” rollingstone.com/music/news/pau…