I just opened a fortune cookie that said āExcellence is the difference between what I do and what I am capable of.ā
I have no idea what that means, so I opened another, which I like much better: āDonāt let the past and useless details choke you existence.ā This might be because it is very similar to the Kylo Ren quote, āLet theĀ pastĀ die.Ā KillĀ it, if you have to,ā which without context is pretty badass.
Been really busy recently! If you read to the end youāll know why! Anyways, I heard the Grammyās happened recently? I didnāt watch, but having a Twitter is just as good if not better because in this case I donāt even have to actually watch the Grammys.
Anyways what I was most interested in what Tyler the Creator said after he won:
āIām half and half on it,ā he said. āOn the one side I am very grateful that what I made can be acknowledged in a world like thisā¦ but it sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything thatās genre-bending or anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category.ā
āAnd I donāt like that āurbanā word,ā he added. āItās just a politically correct way to say the n-word, to me. So when I hear that, Iām just like, why canāt we just be in pop? So I felt like ā half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment.ā - via Variety
Not for nothing, Tyler the Creator isnāt the first artist who has had their music categorized as āurbanā and ārapā when their sound fits more inside the pop/alternative camp than anything. Lizzo has also been categorized as r&b and hip hop when really sheās a pop star. Brooklyn White wrote a great article on this for Bitch Media.
upcoming shows šļø
2/13 | Max Pain and the Groovies w/ The Silk War and Cathedral Bells @ Babyās All Right ~ 21+
2/13 | Oedipus Race Book Launch Photo Show @ Black and White Bar ~ not a gig
2/14 | Nastie Band / Valentinus Ritual with Lilith / SƤhd Wyte Guyz @ The Broadway ~ 21+
2/15 | Deer Scout / Soft Idiot / Teenage Halloween / JW Francis @ Kirbyās Castle
2/16 | Pazzi Prom II: Secret Headliner w/ Yaasss, Kahiem Rivera, and GIFT @ Babyās All Right ~ 21+
3/2 | ShitKid @ Elsewhere Zone One ~ 16+
3/23 | Porridge Radio @ Elsewhere Zone One ~ 16+
4/4 | Balkans Reunion in NYC w/ Patio, Hypolyxo, Navy Gangs @ Market Hotel ~ all ages
5/8 | Peach Pit w/ Haley Blais @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ~ 16+
5/12 | Peach Pit w/ Haley Blais @ Bowery Ballroom ~ second show, 16+
5/30 | Show Me The Body @ Warsaw ~ all ages
in my queueš¶
Besides the actual instrumentation, the reason I really like these songs is because of the lyrics and just how catching they are to sing. I mean added bonus that they are interesting lyrically but honestly that wouldnāt really matter to me if it also didnāt sound like something I would catch myself mouthing the words to on the subway. Anyways, very catchy and I dare you not to play it on repeat just so you can shout these lyrics again:
All the blood goes to my stomach
I might stumble
I might vomit
Andā sometimes, I am just a child,ā writing letters to myself
Wishing out loud you were dead, and then taking it back
And!
And my mum gave me this pen, she said it lights up when you press it
And you are still so depressed, and I like that you need me
what iāve writtenš
Itās my first article of the new year and my first article for AdHoc! Itās about a report by The Creative Independent and RenĆ© Kladzyk (aka ZIEMBA) about the state of the music industry. They surveyed nearly 300 musicians and industry professionals and synthesized their results into ten key findings. I got to speak with RenĆ© about some of the statistics from the report and what the industry has to do to build a better future, for everyone. Read more about the report below!
Also! I wrote an article about Youbetās debut album āCompare & Despairā. Itās a little bittersweet, mostly because I think it grapples with the question of how you can look back on your childhood fondly knowing what you know now. A bit like thinking about how happy you used to get waiting for Santa Claus while knowing that eventually younger you is gonna find out the horrible truth.
That or, do you remember learning that the person who played Barney runs a tantric massage practice? Or that the song āI Love Youā was used to torture prisoners? Itās like seeing the hand behind a Muppet, once you catch a glimpse you can never look at these quaint, childhood memories the same again. Anyways, read the article below and please do check out Youbet! My favorite songs off of āCompare & Despairā right now are āNice Tryā and āAlligator Talkā.
questionsš¤
Whatās the most New York thing that has ever happened to you?
I havenāt been here that long so I donāt know if I can tell if my own wacky stories are New York enough to qualify, and Iām probably gonna spend a while thinking on my answer to this question. But if this has prompted something immediately from your brain, then send it my way!
field reportš
Doing something different this week! Remember how I told you that Iām taking an audio reporting and podcasting course? Well, every week we have to do an audio exercise and this week the theme was Environment. It was a broad mandate, so I interpreted it how I wanted to and came up with two different 1-minute long recordings. One was from a night out in Bushwick, and the other is from a night out in the Bronx. Enjoy!
If the other themes make sense to put here, I will! Also, bonus points to whoever can guess where I was both times.
concluding remarksā
I hope everyoneās first month of January went well! Personally, 50/50 on that front. But honestly, Iāve gotten to do a lot of cool work in the past few months. Looking forward to sharing it! Gonna disclaim though: all the views shared here are my own and my own only.
Iāve been trying to open myself up to other genres recently. I started listening to industrial techno, but Iām also interested in exploring other sounds! If you have any suggestions on things like jazz, electronic music, house music, etc send them my way!
Okay one last thing. Make sure that at least one time this week, do something that makes you happy! The wintertime can be such a hard time for everyone, and it doesnāt hurt to remember you arenāt alone. Also, unrelated! Read more, your eyes will thank you for the screen break.