posted December 9, 2019 #

Congratulations to the people who got that good-ass Microsoft money to make an ad and said, "I refuse to advertise this product." https://t.co/hktopnLBPm

Where The Santas Meet

posted December 9, 2019 #

At the tail end of 2018, a Christmas compilation was released called 2018 Holiday Mixtape, put out by the Yeah Empowerment through Arts and Humanity (YEAH) organization. Unfortunately, it was released so late into the year (Dec 21st), I don't think anyone heard it or wrote much about it.

It's unfortunate because there's a lot of good music on here! I highly suggest partaking in this ridiculous Bruce Ervin track and then sliding on over to this Fetching Pails holiday original, "Where the Santas Meet."

Fetching Pails, as you might remember, released her debut album on yk Records this year. It's just kismet that she also happens to have a holiday tune waiting in the wings! Enjoy!

Buy Music Club

posted December 9, 2019 #

The Buy Music Club concept is simple - dump a bunch of links from your favorite Bandcamp songs in and a playlist comes out the other side. The interface is clean and, honestly, a playlisting feature for Bandcamp is much needed; particularly given how it's such an easy way for artists to make money.

It's early days so there are some quirks. As far as I can tell, the playlists don't play automatically - so when your first track ends, you've got to go back and play the second track, etc. etc. Not great but I don't know that there is a public Bandcamp API to alleviate that. Sounds like a project worth digging into over the Christmas break.

I'm sure it'll improve over time, so keep an eye on it. via Steve.

You Must Remember This: Charles Manson's Hollywood

posted December 9, 2019 #

I've been spending a lot of time lately listening to the You Must Remember This mini-series, Charles Manson's Hollywood. On the surface, the twelve episode deep dive is about the Charles Manson murders of Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring and three other occupants of the Cielo Drive house in 1969. The murders are gruesome, brutal and stomach-turning - which is resoundingly not why I listen to the show. Of the dozen episodes, only a sparse few mention the murders themselves - most of the content is around the history of Manson, the celebrities he encountered along his way and pleasant historical looks at many of the tangentially involved.

I'm not a true crime fan - despite it being the genre for podcasts - just because I don't have the stomach for it. However, Karina Longworth does a wonderful job of crafting a show about an absolutely horrible thing and making it not so gruesome. There's plenty of corruption, exploitation and horrible treatment of everyone along the way - men and women, tho mostly women - so it's not for the faint of heart but it is an intriguing and worthwhile listen.

Note, the first episode is the most gruesome of the bunch, so if you're squeamish, skip that one. Otherwise, I do suggest subscribing.

posted December 8, 2019 #

Recorded a barnburner of a double @weownthistown episode with @yewknee this afternoon, running down 16(!) of our 2019 local music highlights. Keep an eye on the feed for hot jams.

posted December 6, 2019 #

Our oldest said her fave soup was chicken noodle soup. We thought it was only appropriate she learn about Chicken Noodle Soup - the song. And then her dad challenged her to a dance off. PROUD. https://t.co/Ecmqrx3rNF

Friday Videos - December 6th, 2019

posted December 6, 2019 #

I've had that GIF sitting on my desktop for weeks. It brings me joy every time I open it.

Can't believe 2019 is in the final stretch already. Ready to wrap up the year, do some reflections, break on work for a bit and then dive headlong into 2020.

But for now... some distractions.

crab crab food scared crab frightened crab crab crab scared crab food food crab crab hand crab - this is exactly what the Internet was designed for.
Bernie Sanders playing Uno with Bernie Sanders - or maybe this is why we made the Internet?
wii theme but you hate it - stick with it.
Sump'n Claus - five years old, still funny.
Beck "Uneventful Days" - Kimmel - really unique performance from Beck on the Kimmel show. Love it when they do special performances like this.
Corned Beef Hash Comparison - "Featureman" has a giant repository of videos featuring himself cooking and reviewing the meals he creates. There's something absolutely delightful about this older gentleman completely understanding the YouTube format. Love this guy.

Beautiful Darling

posted December 6, 2019 #

I recently watched Beautiful Darling, a documentary on Candy Darling - a star of many Warhol films that is considered a transsexual icon. The film contains a ton of footage from the Warhol Factory days, which is fascinating in and of itself but the story it documents is powerful. On the surface, Candy was obsessed with being a movie star and achieved a bit of her dream by working with both Warhol and Tennessee Williams but, ultimately, felt alone and isolated due to her gender identity.

As a society in 2019, we're still struggling with this so one can imagine the additional difficulty of traversing such a thing in the late 60's, early 70's. Excerpts from her diary are read along aloud during various transitions to give deeply personal insight on the juxtaposition of her success versus her inner conflict and it is just tragic.

That may not sound all too appealing of a review for an enticing viewing but I can't recommend it enough. There's a strength in Candy that is admirable and her insights can serve as a reminder of how difficult gender identity can be.

posted December 6, 2019 #

Cat-erpillar. https://t.co/9Zf8c2GsyN

posted December 6, 2019 #

In home alone, the same actor who plays one of the bad guys plays the cop at the beginning of the movie. https://t.co/IPaKOVctBU

posted December 6, 2019 #

Did you hear the last @bandsplainer on Patti Smith? Her discography of music is a deep well. Fortunately, @wokecountry and Elena from @realitysomethng are here to help sort through it with a Patti Smith Primer Playlist. Enjoy! https://t.co/eslKLpmOMm

Andrew Brassell - Izzy Gets The F*ck Across Town Original Score

posted December 6, 2019 #

Way back when I started yk Records, I released a few albums by the band Slowmotions. The songs were a bit quirky and fused together a lot of intriguing sounds but, at the heart, it was a collection of pop songs. This wasn't really a band tho, it was the pseudonym of Andrew Brassell. In 2016, we released another album entitled The Domes that was another wonderfully packed dose of off-kilter pop songs.

Now, today, in 2019 - yk records is releasing his original score to the 2018 film Izzy Gets The F*ck Across Town.

It's available on Bandcamp and all the streaming services.

Why release a movie score to an independent film that is two years old? Frankly, because I love the work of Andrew Brassell. Full stop. If you didn't know the album was connected to the movie, it would be just another interesting release from his full discography. It contains all of the same elements that I loved about his work in 2009; just matured and refined a bit.

Go listen to "Studying the Black Arts" or "Done Fake" or "Tell Me Your Name" for the most straightforward pop songs on the album but let it act as a gateway drug to hear the rest; it's a compelling listen of ambient compositions and crunchy rock numbers. Good from start to finish.

posted December 6, 2019 #

Stoked to dev out a refresh for Cascine https://t.co/cQRvVLVjJm

posted December 6, 2019 #

can we talk about actually why the peloton ad is so bad? the answer isn’t sexism, or that it’s hard to convey an inner journey in an ad the problem is copywriting THREAD https://t.co/4RvqVsElQf

posted December 5, 2019 #

I am a music historian, and with @AdrianRMG I have researched the best-selling single of every decade all the way back to 14,000BC. Here's a thread: 2010s - Ed Sheeran, The Shape of You https://t.co/Y4rrOdSGY2

How to Style Your Twitter Widget on Shadow DOM

posted December 4, 2019 #

niche content for those learning about the Shadow DOM (like me)

Topshelf Records 2019 Reflections

posted December 4, 2019 #

Top Shelf Records recently posted this Twitter thread that runs down their ten releases for 2019 - each with a writeup from the individual bands and a unique collage culled from the album art to represent the release.

Even if you know nothing about Top Shelf Records (I count myself among the ignorant), this is a really brilliant exercise. Reworking album art into some new form as a means of reflecting on it with the perspective of time is something I wish I'd thought of. Bonus, the collages are great! They span a great deal of styles and, ideally, open up a little pathway to hear some new music.

via Bryan.

posted December 4, 2019 #

I can’t believe this https://t.co/VTmOE1caN1

posted December 3, 2019 #

The fact that there is an emo resurgence in the works can only mean we've skipped our destined SKA comeback and I'm livid

2029 Indie Game Recommendation Thread

posted December 3, 2019 #

For Christmas break exploration