an extremely long take on the foibles of Tumblr and what might be next. I would contend that if you're in need of inspiration; there's still no better destination than Tumblr.
Been enjoying a browse through the works of Lauren Gregory; a nice blend of paintings, animations, mixed media and some fascinating hybrids of all of the above. You may have encountered her work via the Toro y Moi video for "Rose Quartz" but there's plenty more to see.
Nashville's Red Arrow Gallery is showing an exhibit of her work during March of 2022, so if you get the opportunity to swing by... you should.
I commented on this ever so briefly on Twitter but Bandcamp recently announced that they are being acquired by Epic Games. In the words of Andy Baio, I didn't see this one coming.
I've been championing the Bandcamp since 2008 and they've pretty much never disappointed with the services they offer and their "artist first" mentality. In a world of streaming services that treat music as a meaningless commodity, it always seemed like Bandcamp did the opposite and managed to be socially active with Bandcamp Fridays, Juneteenth fundraising, Transgender Law Center fundraising, and more. To be perfectly succinct about it, they've always acted like they kind of company you want companies to act like.
The Epic Games acquisition doesn't necessarily signal the death knell for the service. It's entirely possible that they will be infused with a lot of capital which will allow them to grow into more artist-first services and expand upon what they already have. Historically that's not really how it goes but it is possible.
As I've been a fan of the service for over a decade, I am cautiously optimistic that this decision was not made lightly and that they have a sensible plan for how to proceed. I'm mostly just baffled because everything I've read about Bandcamp is that they are a profitable company. Isn't that the end goal of any business? Be profitable and continue to be profitable. The idea that growth is the primary goal for all things just feels overly capitalistic; a mindset that I never saw exhibited by the service previously.
Here's to cautious optimism and hoping that history does not repeat itself. All we can do now is wait and see. :fingerscrossed:
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the Everything is Terrible Kidz Klub Tour and want to recommend that if you have the opportunity to do so, please partake. It's part stage show, part supercut and all perfectly absurd.
If you are not familiar with Everything is Terrible, well, you're in for a treat. Lots and lots of found footage, rare clips and hysterical editing. Take the deep dive.
The Green Ray is a new bookstore / record shop in Nashville that carries a phenomenal stock of art & photo books, as well as a good amount of vinyl. It's been open less than 6 months and I've been there a number of times.
They asked me to make a playlist of yk Records music to play in the shop and I was honored to contribute! The resulting mix is not exhaustive (I made sure it would fit on a CD) but it's a great introduction to the roster of yk artists and, even better, a great reminder to visit The Green Ray whenever you can.