I just opened a fortune cookie that said âExcellence is the difference between what I do and what I am capable of.â
I have no idea what that means, so I opened another, which I like much better: âDonât let the past and useless details choke you existence.â This might be because it is very similar to the Kylo Ren quote, âLet the past die. Kill it, if you have to,â which without context is pretty badass.
Been really busy recently! If you read to the end youâll know why! Anyways, I heard the Grammyâs happened recently? I didnât watch, but having a Twitter is just as good if not better because in this case I donât even have to actually watch the Grammys.
Anyways what I was most interested in what Tyler the Creator said after he won:
âIâm half and half on it,â he said. âOn the one side I am very grateful that what I made can be acknowledged in a world like this⊠but it sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything thatâs genre-bending or anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category.â
âAnd I donât like that âurbanâ word,â he added. âItâs just a politically correct way to say the n-word, to me. So when I hear that, Iâm just like, why canât we just be in pop? So I felt like â half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment.â - via Variety
Not for nothing, Tyler the Creator isnât the first artist who has had their music categorized as âurbanâ and ârapâ 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 sheâs a pop star. Brooklyn White wrote a great article on this for Bitch Media.
upcoming shows đïž
2/13 | Max Pain and the Groovies w/ The Silk War and Cathedral Bells @ Babyâs 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 / SĂ€hd Wyte Guyz @ The Broadway ~ 21+
2/15 | Deer Scout / Soft Idiot / Teenage Halloween / JW Francis @ Kirbyâs Castle
2/16 | Pazzi Prom II: Secret Headliner w/ Yaasss, Kahiem Rivera, and GIFT @ Babyâs 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 queueđ¶
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 wouldnât really matter to me if it also didnât 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
Andâ sometimes, I am just a child,â 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 iâve writtenđ
Itâs my first article of the new year and my first article for AdHoc! Itâs about a report by The Creative Independent and RenĂ© 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 RenĂ© 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 Youbetâs debut album âCompare & Despairâ. Itâs 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 âI Love Youâ was used to torture prisoners? Itâs 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 âCompare & Despairâ right now are âNice Tryâ and âAlligator Talkâ.
questionsđ€
Whatâs the most New York thing that has ever happened to you?
I havenât been here that long so I donât know if I can tell if my own wacky stories are New York enough to qualify, and Iâm 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 reportđ
Doing something different this week! Remember how I told you that Iâm 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 remarksâ
I hope everyoneâs first month of January went well! Personally, 50/50 on that front. But honestly, Iâve 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.
Iâve been trying to open myself up to other genres recently. I started listening to industrial techno, but Iâm 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 doesnât hurt to remember you arenât alone. Also, unrelated! Read more, your eyes will thank you for the screen break.