| '24 apr 28: | Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher an incredibly salient series of hyper-compressed quips, at once—if not circling exactly the faults inherent to late capitalism and its cohorts—wiring together tangents, pointed at the change(s) needed |
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| '24 apr 27: | CRASH – Charli XCX while her shift away from hyperpop & towards 80's dance hits high enough peaks, particularly its first handful and scattered tracks after, it's just less memorably intriguing than her other post-sucker music |
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| '24 apr 27: | House, season 1 i'm unsure how it'll continue to be appealing, with its ego-centric jargon and conflict, but the felt stakes at times, & the humor in personal angles makes this first dose, somehow, really entertainingly appealing |
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| '24 apr 26: | Amnesiac – Radiohead truly a grab bag of kid a's fruitful recording sessions; scurrying, disjointed, and begging to be given a proper timeline; it fits with the lp's themes, but it just isn't as captivating consistently or monumental |
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| '24 apr 26: | Kid A – Radiohead likely more consistently interesting, swarming with anxious, completely consuming depression compared to okc; another essential lp, constructively imperfect & disjointedly muddy, exactly as it should be |
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| '24 apr 24: | OK Computer – Radiohead its ideas and palette became such a standard that, as i am now, out of context, it's almost plain in its ubiquity—and yet, it's so well performed & so transient that it is just a naturally apparent classic |
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| '24 apr 24: | Have One on Me – Joanna Newsom completely fascinating and dauntingly enormous; its constantly varied melodies are gorgeous—despite how long it wears on—knitting together a triple lp of complex, non-linear, abundantly cryptic hymns |
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| '24 apr 20: | music for bugs – camiidae serene, abundantly whimsical, naturally simplistic arrangements; it's very well sequenced, and (while i personally have minimal attachment to its atmosphere), its joy is seriously infectious while present |
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| '24 apr 20: | Anti – Autechre very facetiously made protest music, and as a sub-30min ep, the scurrying, synthetic rhythms (even if not particularly dramatic) pack just enough ideas in; its start & end are where most of its value lies |
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| '24 apr 18: | nichijou 1 by Keiichi Arawi effervescent & silly, with childlike whimsy in its over-stylized reactions; there's enough dumb gags to turn an otherwise average slice-of-life into something truly absurd & otherworldly in its cheekiness |
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| '24 apr 15: | Double Cup – DJ Rashad its opening set displays an immediate capacity to thrill with breakbeat rhythms, and last winter is a great closer, but its meaty duration makes it feel slightly strained; monumental, but not perfect |
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| '24 apr 14: | Gmail and the Restraining Orders – Death Grips a pure exercise in parsing harsh improvisation and shrouded shouts; it never catches a particular high, except for the initial shock of its utter ability to overwhelm, but it's still a fun half an hour |
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| '24 apr 14: | Nice White Parents it leaves a bit to the imagination as far as concrete steps, but how it navigates the huge influence of white money in the most nondescript places (and its narrative progression) are engaging & apt |
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| '24 apr 14: | Heaven knows – PinkPantheress the best moments are at least on par with to hell with it, and its construction and murkier song topics keep it dynamic & interesting; her vocals are fantastic, & capable of love is likely her best yet |
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| '24 apr 14: | Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü filled with deeply affecting, sporadic quips, pointed at mental health, growing up around istanbul, and cultural lamentations; she jabs around endearingly, leaving behind a story both breezy and heavy |
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| '24 apr 10: | LP1 – FKA twigs not so in your face throughout, leaving it gently growing more tepid as it goes—but twigs's soft inflection mixed atop clicking, drenched instrumentals from arca and others is a wonderful, lovestruck pairing |
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| '24 apr 10: | Year of the Snitch – Death Grips disorderly & disconcertingly weird, so much so that its production—for as many creative twists that it has—shrouds the weight of the rest; there's great cuts, but most are good solely by their context |
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| '24 apr 10: | 4:44 – Jay-Z its goal of black excellence post- ego death is tantalizingly self-effacing, while still a bit askew preaching as someone so powerful—but its best distillations on smile & the title track are worthy of praise |
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| '24 apr 8: | NO NOW – Clarence Clarity as much as its challenging nature might be a slight turn-off on subsequent listens, the sheer amount of textures & instrumental freedom on display is amazingly apparent; a great, amalgamated mess |
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| '24 apr 7: | Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill – Grouper fetching & abundantly pleasant, dainty to the point it feels like it weeps a warm glow of comfort; it is more tranquilizing than simply sedative, harris's voice ensnared alongside pretty, lo-fi strumming |
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| '24 apr 6: | 7G – A.G. Cook just immense tracklist, but it starts really strong & its last two discs have a lot of energetic progressions; almost a playlist that can be freely picked apart, filled to the brim with creative, uniquely a.g. synths |
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| '24 apr 3: | 発見集 – Okina blurry, eclectically performed, and just really fun; it's nothing incredibly groundbreaking or jaw-dropping (bar maybe tracks around the very middle), but the instrumentation is potent under vocaloid warbles |
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| '24 apr 1: | Intro Bonito – Kero Kero Bonito certainly less polished, outwardly leaning on its mixing of jovial angst on less layered instrumentals, but it comes together as a nice prelude to their later work; its start and end are both cutely relatable |
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| '24 mar 31: | The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels classic, vastly influential welding of sociological analyses in a largely post-feudal world and the scrambles thereby; i hesitate on its value over later, expansive works of marx, but it is curt, potent, and immediate |
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| '24 mar 30: | Counter-Strike 2 even if its fate will only be set after years of incremental formula adjustments, the abrupt switch to the new engine still went well; i'm not yet convinced of its stature in the series, but i'm rooting for it |
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| '24 mar 30: | Dirt Rally 2.0 in spite of rampant microtransactions & its parent's acquisition, it is still the best applied sim racing game i've yet played; & even without a dedicated wheel, it's immaculately designed and lively |
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| '24 mar 30: | Rocket League as much as i still cannot wrap my head around how to be competently good at it, the concept alone and how it's executed is worth heaps of praise; immediately recognizable, intriguing, and electric |
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| '24 mar 30: | Team Fortress 2 iconic, timeless, and one of the most inventive team shooters ever made; as much as i haven't returned to it for a while, its creative art style & immediately recognizable cast are still spectacular |
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| '24 mar 30: | Counter-Strike: Source incredibly underrated and under-appreciated, in part due to the series rift it created; though despite my personal connection to it, it's likely the least significant in a vacuum, bar the engine upgrade |
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| '24 mar 29: | Minecraft self-explanatory; infinitely rewarding, indelible personal impact, and a time machine of past versions to relive; on top of everything, it's just fun, merging survival repetition with sublime sandbox creation |
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| '24 mar 28: | Pang – Caroline Polachek catches more of an atmospheric energy with occasional slow burns, rather than the world-building she cultivated on desire, but the highs here are just as memorable; beautifully arranged and performed |
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| '24 mar 28: | Bonito Generation – Kero Kero Bonito sugary but not annoyingly so, & playful but with enough still under the hood to be upliftingly interesting and completely appealing; there's more it could've been, but while it's on, it's everything it needs to be |
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| '24 mar 26: | So It Goes – Ratking as much as i expected its at-first tepid and grimy atmosphere to grow tired, the ante kept increasing; wiki & hak provide really cogent bars across a wide breadth of shrill production shifts; genuinely raw |
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| '24 mar 26: | This Is Why – Paramore controlled seething at sociopolitical topics atop an even more bold genre shift for them, resulting in really fun anthems; there's certain repetition and less meaningful points, but it succeeds really well overall |
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| '24 mar 24: | TA13OO – Denzel Curry the cohesion is loose, & the lulls between lush or hard-hitting tracks weigh the album down—but its two tone-setters are beautiful, most of act II walks that tightrope well, and its final three are outstanding |
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| '24 mar 24: | H.A.Q.Q. – Liturgy as an outsider to black metal, my thoughts are tacit, but the voice & vision of ravenna & co. is show-stopping & brilliant; the vocal style still isn't my favorite, but its tension & release is brutally magnificent |
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| '24 mar 23: | The Hunger Games (2012) as much as i have nostalgia for seeing this when i was nine, the awkward pacing, empty ending, and base material being so haphazardly arranged as a dystopia just results in a camera-shaky, boring heap |
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| '24 mar 20: | XXX – Danny Brown explosive, volatile personality, and proto-deconstructed production in spots; bookends with poetic contemplations, mixed in with slowly-fading tales of drug-fueled survival; indelible & timeless |
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| '24 mar 20: | How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022) it recontextualizes its base material's narrative well enough, with diverse split stories and non-linearity, but i just wish it pushed it further, and dealt more obtusely with its interpersonal issues |
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| '24 mar 20: | SATURATION – BROCKHAMPTON they'd reach higher peaks later, and some instrumentals are slightly plain, but their debut album has a lot of heart; the peaks are certainly bookends though, as a lot of hard-hitting, boy-band fun |
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| '24 mar 20: | III – BADBADNOTGOOD the melding of live nu jazz and instrumental hip-hop leaves behind something only slightly memorable—though during its runtime, it's on the nose with its intent and technically interesting |
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| '24 mar 19: | Die Lit – Playboi Carti might come off as less boundary-pushing now after its style's been repeated ad nauseam since, but pi'erre's 'outsider trap' instrumental palettes push carti's high-pitched ramblings to something near-elysian |
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| '24 mar 18: | SINNER GET READY – Lingua Ignota an exercise, reminder of smallness, and lonely acceptance after horrifying trauma; droning poetry as vicious hymns; hayter's voice magnificently swells between transfixed fury and faded affirmations by close |
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| '24 mar 17: | Wide Awake! – Parquet Courts its slightly subdued sound palette for what was expected threw me off, but the decisive, exacting political nods and poetic commentary in near-spoken word at times makes its art punk satisfying and immediate |
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| '24 mar 17: | The Nest (2020) the framing is passive & nothing revolutionary, but the actors' interplay as disjointed, suffering family under traditional expectations, and the final reunion scene make it really compelling, if not just once |
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| '24 mar 16: | Loading... Fun! – babyMINT its production might wear some of its influences on its sleeves, but the group performances and sheer joy of how extra everything feels, and how consistently it remains high, is super appealing |
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| '24 mar 16: | Hereditary (2018) its first 90 min feels disconnected, not setting up its characters meaningfully; so the family tragedy and hellish imagery comes across lackluster, despite its great camerawork, sound design, and ending |
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| '24 mar 16: | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) one of the most compelling animated sequels ever, expanding on the original with a truly absurd attention to detail and craftwork—and its sentimentality and tension in a coming-of-age story is great |
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| '24 mar 15: | Cheat Codes – Danger Mouse & Black Thought i may have missed the boat on this; the mouse's production is captivating and an immediate hook, and tariq's flow is smooth and biting, but somehow it amalgams to less than its parts, at least in pockets |
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| '24 mar 15: | Run the Jewels 2 – Run the Jewels frighteningly powerful and politically charged, they team up again for even more fireworks; its first half up to early is near-perfect, its electro-industrial production working in stride, and it ends on a great note |
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| '24 mar 13: | Se Bueno – TURQUOISEDEATH the last two tracks meander just a bit, but the atmospherically pretty opening and breakbeat jungle that skips and shifts around all throughout the middle is endearing, both energizing and hypnotically lovely |
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| '24 mar 12: | minecraft vol. 1 – crafter2011 without a doubt derivative of leroy in dariacore being such a small microgenre, with little space to move through; its obtuse, pointedly silly mashups are still fun though, in a pretty small package |
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| '24 mar 7: | Celeste maybe the best 2d-platformer i've ever played, taking an incredibly versatile, minimal concept—and near-perfect storyline—to a brilliantly choreographed conclusion; remarkably potent, despite difficulty hikes |
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| '24 mar 7: | Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: Everasking Edition – Caroline Polachek wonderful expansion of the universe created originally, even if the bookends aren't anything particularly special—but the two covers are stunningly gorgeous, and it's aesthetically pristine through the middle |
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| '24 mar 6: | Shameless, season 6 its worst so far; plotlines like the college breakdown and sean's addiction are good, and the final episode is cathartic, but most of it is a husk, framed as meaningful but too poorly articulated to feel like anything |
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| '24 mar 2: | Mezzanine – Massive Attack after its first six, it trails slightly, but the title track and group four are still great—and the first four are one of the best album starts ever; dark and deeply nocturnal, and just grimy enough to be thrilling |
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| '24 mar 2: | Freeways similar to rymdkapsel in its simple execution, done singularly but in an immediately appealing way for its first playthrough; the few hours of back-and-forth building is worth it, if you're anything like me |
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| '24 mar 2: | Meddle – Pink Floyd the second-start that confirmed the band's myth; echoes is their most maximal and psychedelically bold experience, especially for its time, and all but san tropez on the a-side are great tone-setters |
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| '24 feb 28: | Diaspora Problems – Soul Glo it's a soft spot for me in my early hardcore punk dive, but it's just a bit weaker now; the first six have an unmatched, seething energy, but it slowly trails, up until the wonderful theatrics of the final cut |
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| '24 feb 28: | Shameless, season 5 it is a comfort show at this point, with borderline absurd plot lines in its bore at the early outset and its skipping exploration of mental health—but there's still emotion in choice experiences |
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| '24 feb 27: | Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels unapologetic, seriously adventurous in its main two voices, and a bombshell start to a legendary duo; it's not nearly consistent enough to warrant no-skip future listens, but its peaks are jaw-dropping |
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| '24 feb 27: | Black Metal – Dean Blunt it starts wonderfully strong, seamlessly fusing dean's somber and willful voice with gorgeous, layered instrumentals—up until the fittingly-titled 'forever', thereafter the quality only blips up occasionally |
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| '24 feb 21: | Slide – George Clanton a wonderfully hypnotic and nostalgic fusion of vaporwave aesthetics and oddball pop fun, even if its middle jolts back and forth a bit in an off-kilter way—but its majority is atmospherically lush |
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| '24 feb 15: | Crest – Bladee & Ecco2k somehow uplifting in plucky imagery of arrowheads, death, and discarding the self; it's no masterpiece, but how they mesh together on something so soothingly pastoral in its high-pitched ether is lovely |
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| '24 feb 15: | G.A.S. Get a Star – Undo K From Hot cool sounds in a directionless heap; tracks like the opener, 750 dispel, and moments across the final leg have enough dense complexities to stay heavy, but it never excels too much at its freneticism |
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| '24 feb 13: | songs – Adrianne Lenker simplistic and ephemerally pretty, its poetry apparent but ageless; it is a soothing listen that nudges towards repetition well in the finger-picked harmony and lenker's perfectly matching vocals |
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| '24 feb 12: | going...going...GONE! – hemlocke springs a wonderfully upbeat and personable synth spree, indebted but never derivative of 80's and 90's synth-and new wave; her vocal style adds a lot of unique flair, and even with tepid blemishes it shines well |
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| '24 feb 8: | Chernobyl, mini-series super effective in humanizing amid catastrophe, and the political behind-the-scenes is endlessly intriguing, especially in how the cinematography frames it; just overall impressive, and emotionally dense |
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| '24 feb 7: | /\/\ /\ Y /\ – M.I.A. intensely creative and cutting-edge even now, with or without bonus tracks; in a fitting and at times sporadic way, it fuses pop-adjacent thrills and industrial, factory-floor hits so compressed that it hurts just right |
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| '24 feb 7: | Veteran – JPEGMAFIA despite containing some of his best breakout tracks, its highs certainly admirable, it is simple in its approach; the production is amazingly claustrophobic, but it just feels off overall, not uniquely 'him' quite yet |
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| '24 feb 7: | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) possibly the best singular superhero film of the 2010's, its animation style now ubiquitous and critically lauded for great reason; its emotion is amazingly realized, and it meshes new and old very creatively |
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| '24 feb 7: | American Truck Simulator therapeutically monotonous, like most simulation games, but the pure amount of dedication to making a well-balanced upgrade tree and a vast amount of expansion sets is admirable, if a bit much in a fun way |
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| '24 feb 6: | Audio Diary – Casper McFadden certainly creative in some of its oddball approaches to jungle and breakcore, and the interjections of close friends around it all is endearing—it simply drags its feet at times, and stretches its runtime a bit more |
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| '24 feb 6: | Poor Things (2023) bizarre and eccentric, fitting for its stellar actors' roles and creative direction; it fits in far too much explicit nudity, seemingly in a purposeful way if still off-putting, but the rest present is magnificent |
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| '24 feb 5: | No Love Deep Web – Death Grips turning away from layered internet-based industrial hits to self-referential terrors, their breakaway lp is twitchy and intense, poetically and instrumentally; as a cohesive listen it is gratifyingly frightening |
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| '24 feb 4: | The Last of Us, season 1 i question knowing the game's lore without ever playing it, but regardless, the way this first season's adaptation and acting captures themes of love & violence feels really touching and bittersweet, especially in its lane |
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| '24 feb 3: | Grave Robbing – leroy likely the greatest collection this side project has produced; it's so incessant and hard-hitting, feeling even more creatively varied despite reaching into the same grab-bag of hard dance standards and grooves |
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| '24 jan 31: | DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar likely his weakest, but not at all unimportant; it seethes with self-hatred and dread, and the tracklist's build is a welcome invention, it just falls a bit short of its lofty heights, despite the unique change of sound |
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| '24 jan 31: | untitled unmastered. – Kendrick Lamar a set of leftovers and expansions on to pimp a butterfly's ethos, an abstract treat to follow up with; it doesn't feel as heavy or present or essential, but it is an undeniably unique and intriguing piece of his |
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| '24 jan 31: | To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar an even more ambitious undertaking, and without a shadow of a doubt perfect; it's a tough pill taken all at once, a politically cogent and progressively poetic outcry on america's bloody history and present |
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| '24 jan 31: | good kid, m.A.A.d city – Kendrick Lamar easily one of the best concept albums of all time; kendrick's introspectively muddy storytelling and sentiments laid over west coast production come off near-perfectly on every cut and switch-up |
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| '24 jan 31: | Get Out (2017) its plot can be tepid or anticipated sometimes, but how it recontextualizes and begins peele's specific mix of body horror with the stellar, unsettling acting from those involved made it an instant classic |
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| '24 jan 31: | What If? 2 by Randall Munroe nothing too interesting changes with the sequel, and it may solely be entertaining for it being the same package with new material—but the charm of the first is present here in the same quantity & quality |
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| '24 jan 31: | What If? by Randall Munroe a really good printed adaptation of randall's humor and knowledge—and even if it's nothing all that revolutionary, any talk about it is does a mild disservice to actually reading it; it's a joy to experience |
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| '24 jan 30: | Census Designated – Jane Remover devastating; an ambitious undertaking as another noisy genre leap, and even if its balance is off-kilter at times, it sticks the landing in spades, jane's identity so present and intractable throughout |
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| '24 jan 30: | Superliminal immediately engaging concept, and one of the only truly good spiritual expansions on a portal-like formula; it can be a bit curt, and its puzzles aren't always rewarding, but it's an overall wonderful time |
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| '24 jan 30: | Fashion Week – Death Grips has some great instrumentals peppered throughout, but its length and spacing keeps it from being much more than a momentarily interesting blip in their canon; ride's absence certainly doesn't help |
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| '24 jan 29: | Shameless, season 4 its primary storylines and themes are a bit heavy-handed, and the stuttering midpoint isn't stellar—but its best moments are the greatest the show has offered, nicely framing a good deal of spite and growth |
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| '24 jan 29: | To Be Kind – Swans one of the most repetitively suffocating and existential (both positive and negative) lp's i've yet heard; the 1st disc trudges along a bit, but its 34-minute opus & the whole 2nd disc are near-completely perfect |
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| '24 jan 26: | Saltburn (2023) despite the at times beautiful cinematography and compelling performances, the actual plot development and its hand-holding unraveling at the end leaves it feeling empty; it's engaging, but only once |
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| '24 jan 26: | Bottomless Pit – Death Grips easily their most confounding; it recontextualizes their industrial hip-hop sound with rock-ish spite, but often without their it-factor, and its midsection is surprisingly tepid despite the bookending thrills |
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| '24 jan 24: | Jenny Death – Death Grips most likely the best, noisiest, and most abrasive rap/rock hybrid of all time; it is their best and most artistically potent record, a seething, nihilistic ten tracks, all culminating towards symbolic suicide |
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| '24 jan 24: | N——s on the Moon – Death Grips one of the most avant-garde hip-hop records i've ever heard, even for one of the genre's most consistent innovators; half an hour of hauntingly cryptic samples and spattered poetry, both manic and cold |
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| '24 jan 24: | Frailty – Jane Remover reinvents everything that made her first album intriguing, and crafts out of her environment a noisy, eclectic melancholy all her own; it is without a lacking moment in an artfully complex adventure |
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| '24 jan 24: | SCARING THE HOES – JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown addictive, indulgent, and chaotic in just the right ways; both artists bring some of their best energy and performances with tons of earworms—even if the substance is singular and aggressively satirical |
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| '24 jan 22: | My Agenda – Dorian Electra genuinely baffling; there's a lot here that even to me is too much instrumentally during their satirizing, but the concept is as interesting as flamboyant's, with choice highlights just as uniquely special |
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| '24 jan 22: | Strange Cacti – Angel Olsen it is lo-fi to the point of a cave-like atmosphere, echoing bittersweet lyrics of loneliness—and even if it's short and doesn't unfold much, all six tracks have something great to offer; poetic and touching |
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| '24 jan 22: | I'll Try Living Like This – death's dynamic shroud despite concerns about how little i've returned since first listen, not being as receptive to its off-kilter mess as i have before, its highlights are still some of the most interesting vaporwave i've listened to so far |
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| '24 jan 17: | rymdkapsel it's overly simplistic, and it doesn't last long as an interesting engagement of space survivalism—yet without a doubt it's one of the more effectual versions of its kind, especially in such a small box |
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| '24 jan 17: | Minecraft Volume Alpha – C418 an hour of nostalgia, while still simultaneously an isolated, beautifully arranged set of ambient, synthetic impressionism; there isn't a single downturn, only greater euphoria in its ethos |
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| '24 jan 17: | Smiling Friends, season 1 a lightning-in-a-bottle, off-putting blend of animated canon, perhaps the best gen z interpretation of millennial and gen x irreverent shows; it is a rollercoaster in every possible way |
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| '24 jan 17: | Adventure Time, season 1 it has plenty of highs as a respectful kids show at its outset, and it may have some of its more classic asides—but its breadth is small, and the characters aren't yet fleshed out interestingly |
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| '24 jan 17: | Barbie (2023) despite the uncomfortable closeness of business interests in what should be this standalone, intriguing story of existential femininity, it still overall succeeds at it, as do its primary arcs |
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| '24 jan 17: | All My Heroes Are Cornballs – JPEGMAFIA under his contemporary pseudonym, his first truly-himself, cutting-edge success; refining the points of gold he hit on veteran into this more alt-r&b, psychedelic journey works beautifully well |
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| '24 jan 17: | Guero – Beck maybe the most overlooked, truly good beck album; its style as a grab bag of odelay-esque sounds pushed in eclectic ways is appealing the whole way through, even if it's nothing boundary-pushing |
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| '24 jan 16: | ...And Justice for All – Metallica politically biting; a bleached, amalgamated monstrosity, its low-end erased after cliff's death... yet it contains more effectual, harrowing songwriting & construction than nearly any lp i've ever heard |
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| '24 jan 16: | Ride the Lightning – Metallica likely their first truly fantastic record, and one that has reached an untouchable status in the metal canon; the second side may start less sure of itself than the spotless first half, yet it ends as well as it starts |
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| '24 jan 16: | to hell with it – PinkPantheress both incredibly surprising and wonderfully, playfully smooth in its style; it may stay stagnant in keeping devoted to its fuzzy d&b roots, but it being as short as it is lets her voice, ethos, and energy shine well |
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| '24 jan 16: | Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers – Kendrick Lamar perhaps a bit long-winded for the topics it brings up, but its breadth is still vital to how introspective and emotionally potent much of the record is; it rarely falters, both discs spotted with therapeutic gold |
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| '24 jan 12: | Bullet Train (2022) in its place, a star-studded and self-referential bottled up cliché, constantly subverting itself just for the fun of it, it's a great time; there's nothing that reaches too high, but that's all the better |
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| '24 jan 10: | Discovery – Daft Punk essential house and dance music as high-concept spatial bliss; its entire tracklist is near-perfect, and a spotless sequencing with some of the most creative, cutting-edge sounds to this day |
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| '24 jan 10: | Flamboyant – Dorian Electra a somewhat loose but captivating concept album, the overall lp being wonderful despite choice tracks; dorian has a perfect voice for their playful analyses of masculinity & corporate life |
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| '24 jan 10: | Teen Week – Jane Remover regardless of the tracks removed for personal reasons, both the original and true abridged versions have their bit-crushed eccentricity; a well-encapsulated frenzy of late-teen trans life |
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| '24 jan 9: | Lethal Company its story of how it ended up such a phenomenon is enough to warrant its flowers—and even if the repetition of its core play ends up a bit played out, its initial shock and quality is amazing |
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| '24 jan 9: | Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams even if its purpose is minimal, and the impact of its writing against invasive habits upon endangered species is small, it still offers a well-meaning journey of challenges and humor in that space |
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| '24 jan 9: | Homework – Daft Punk repetitive beyond belief and rarely anthemic, yet it's hypnotic in its appeal; a simple, acidic 74 minutes where, even if its longest tracks are incessant to a fault, its bulk is almost playfully free and transgressive |
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| '24 jan 8: | 100 gecs – 100 gecs it contains much of what would make gecs the pioneers they are now (see bloodstains), but it simply has a denser, less polished personality compared to what makes their subsequent releases so immediate |
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| '24 jan 8: | Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix) – Death Grips a near-complete, singular reinvention with such abstract and opaque lyrics and electro-industrial messes of noise; it is surreal and essentially an ep as manic episode, and it does exactly as needed in its time |
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| '24 jan 3: | Shameless, season 3 parts of its core storylines in its third season are compelling and offer potent moments of emotion stunted by the family's condition, but its breadth is a bit tiring; the rest is overdoing it more |
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| '24 jan 3: | Donuts – J Dilla to myself now, this record is both imperfect and scattershot, a collage of messy ideas—yet its execution is as potent as its backstory, 'don't cry' being the triumph of it all; masterful, and an icon |
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| '24 jan 3: | Top Gear – Barry Leitch & Hiroyuki Masuno an iconic part of my early life; the synths on this relatively obscure snes game are mesmerizing at its best, working well with so little even if it tires at times; las vegas and frankfurt are near-perfect |
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| '23 dec 30: | The Lighthouse (2019) absolutely deranged, pretentious in just the right way, with two ecstatic leads; it's slow to start, but its end ties it up well, with mangled, heavenly shrieks of success right before it's taken away |
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| '23 dec 30: | Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) purely commercial, and all of it keeps a flat idea singular; the simple matter of the plot and how little it is expanded upon corners itself firmly as a non-starter, confining it instead of branching out |
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| '23 dec 29: | Black Swan (2010) it is completely unnerving and incalculable at times, an unreliable account of a descent into artistic perfection while losing yourself completely; it is not perfect, but its final performance is |
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| '23 dec 27: | Fanfare – Dorian Electra it's overtly theatrical, and the post-ironic flair of individuality is both a great and middling part of it all—yet the overall narrative is inexplicably well-formed, its highs completely out-there and still pointed |
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| '23 dec 27: | Richard D. James Album – Aphex Twin even if it doesn't reach transcendent highs, and his catalogue is one i've yet to fully explore, the oddly playful and (in the case of the opener) seriously layered and fuzzy quirks still hit nicely |
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| '23 dec 22: | Itekoma Hits – Otoboke Beaver despite my lack of hardcore punk knowledge, the incredible tones, vocal frills, and raw energy of this debut are clear from the get-go; its goal is singular, and often too are its sound palettes, but its brevity keeps it agile |
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| '23 dec 22: | Shameless, season 2 even if there's still personally skeptical moments about the show's construction and direction, the insane clashes of interest, desire, and humanity in the show shine much better in the more personable second go |
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| '23 dec 19: | in the eleventh hour – amaii almost a complete switch-up from her first mixtape, this 14 minute excursion is dark and beautifully arranged; it swaps the former's split hyperpop drills with a patchwork, even more avant-garde melancholia |
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| '23 dec 19: | I've Seen Better Days – amaii completely off-the-wall, and at times both better and worse for it, being so chaotic, noisy, and impenetrable—but its manic, genuinely progressive atmosphere, and its energetic arrangements are both wonderfully done |
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| '23 dec 19: | Weatherglow – Asian Glow & Weatherday even if it's short and doesn't particularly gravitate towards one succinct mode in that runtime, the overall delivery of each part of its noisy, lo-fi packaging—with its vocals pushed so far back—is all put together very well |
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| '23 dec 19: | Some Rap Songs – Earl Sweatshirt some of the most affectual and deeply meaningful abstract work in hip-hop of the past few years; the sparse yet detailed haze of the instrumentals tie in near perfectly to earl's despondent, personally moving poetics |
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| '23 dec 17: | Shameless, season 1 in an odd way this debut is absolutely captivating in the show's chaotic atmosphere, seeping with irreverent disbelief—but it goes so far by its end that it feels like it's made purely for fantastical, disgusting drama |
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| '23 dec 15: | The Boy and the Heron (2023) if truly his last, miyazaki's semi-autobiographical journey of life, death, time, and the powers that be within his earliest memories is fantastical with as pretty a painting as his best; it isn't perfect, but its depth is undeniable |
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| '23 dec 15: | How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm it is curt in its sentiments towards the climate crisis, and thorough in its philosophical reasonings where—as ineffective civil disobedience increases—so too does the sake of property violence as necessary action |
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| '23 dec 15: | Lonerism – Tame Impala despite the praise this normally receives, the real great tracks fall sporadically throughout the LP; there's not a lot of immediate appeal to me, it leaning more on its summery washes than hypnotic swells |
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| '23 dec 15: | Innerspeaker – Tame Impala without a doubt his most rock- and psychedelia-centric record, that accurately pins down the expertise he has in those lanes; even if the second half is more tacit in its energy, it works well altogether |
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| '23 dec 13: | Apple – A.G. Cook while it's disjointed and on first listen not particularly focused on one particular emotion other than his unique brand of futurist playfulness, it still has real likeable moments that intersperse the record with good cuts |
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| '23 dec 12: | Kiss the Ring – Rome Streetz it may not be the most far-reaching or outwardly creative of an east coast hip-hop blockbuster, but the dusty production, mixing closely with rome and the guest list in its space, is impressive throughout |
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| '23 dec 11: | Isn't Anything – my bloody valentine it waxes and wanes, and has a lot of genuinely affecting guitar tones, vocal harmonies, and the like—but it often scatters around, and was both curt and didn't seem to expand or stretch out interestingly on initial listening |
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| '23 dec 9: | 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues – 100 gecs despite some remixes reaching greater highs than their originals—the first three, dorian electra's remix, the brutal fishcenter closer—its intense disjointedness and (for gecs) enormous length weighs the rest down |
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| '23 dec 7: | OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES NON-STOP REMIX ALBUM – SOPHIE bar it's okay to cry & immaterial, the way the tracks are contorted, stretched far enough to backdrop an eternal party, is both easily and uniquely intriguing—despite it not hitting upon the same focus of its origin |
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| '23 dec 6: | Atrocity Exhibition – Danny Brown it's not always perfect, but the overwhelming honesty, truly one-of-a-kind sampling and instrumental work, and danny's incessant, supremely versatile voice all shine in a simultaneously harrowing and beautiful record |
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| '23 dec 6: | Old – Danny Brown despite it faltering slightly twofold—its first half not always consistently revealing, its other half so out-there with its detroit techno thrills—old is another integral work to danny's canon, and its ethos is fascinating |
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| '23 dec 6: | Back From the Dead – Chief Keef an absolutely erratic and raw chicago drill triumph, with two of the greatest songs in its lane, one transcending to one of the best hip-hop tracks ever; the rest of its material is at least good, but its highlights are what sells it |
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| '23 dec 6: | Dummy – Portishead even if it's verging on thirty years since its release, portishead's debut is still effortlessly enthralling through a current lens, a dark melancholy seeping through all of the nearly perfect trip hop instrumentals |
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| '23 dec 5: | PRODUCT – SOPHIE it's simply a wonky and playful (if not left field) bubblegum and futuristic bass record that's less than a half hour; it certainly works as a collection of singles, but its textures aren't always helped by its loose structure |
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| '23 dec 4: | Ys – Joanna Newsom an empyrean, far-reaching exploration that confirms all of the possibility shown on her debut; the five tracks totaling just under an hour are arresting, poetically diverse, and a constantly shifting, wintery bliss |
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| '23 dec 4: | Vroom Vroom – Charli XCX certainly a curt listen, leading to a wish there was more here to digest; the absurdity of it throwing all of its elements into a patchwork, assorted mess, and it coming out as an enthralling, cluttered rave is amazing |
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| '23 dec 2: | Melophobia – Cage the Elephant while its majority is a garage rock revival masterclass, its midsection is split from its starting and ending bliss by a few key lower moments; it still reaches considerable depth though, its charm undeniable |
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| '23 dec 2: | Moanin' – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers its presence is irrevocable and evident by the outset, but its improvisations, while warm, still fall within a style that feels slightly foreign; its bookend peaks are interrupted rather than helped by the less eventful |
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| '23 dec 2: | Polo Sporting Goods – RetcH an overlooked gem; its highs are impressively produced in a fuzzy space, paired with cutting lyrics—and they're split by cuts in the same consistent style that rework and rehash in an intriguing way |
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| '23 nov 30: | Ways of Seeing by John Berger a biting, artistic criticism of publicity marketing, male & internal perceptions of women, and art as an owner-commodity in a hegemonic western world; it may misstep a tad for its time, but its ideas are still cogent |
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| '23 nov 28: | The Milk-Eyed Mender – Joanna Newsom though it may be recency bias in my discovering of her music, the whimsical, beautifully poetic and odd atmosphere that newsom provides on her debut is absurdly captivating and colorful; it is uniquely refreshing |
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| '23 nov 28: | Jubilee – Japanese Breakfast it is simultaneously a bit safe and still evocative in its arrangements and atmosphere; its starting and ending two tracks are its best peaks, but there's plenty of personality from michelle to carry it all through the midsection |
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| '23 nov 28: | Atlanta, season 3 certainly the most freewheeling and off-the-wall season of the show so far; it certainly falters a tad in its strive to have more anthological stories, but its blend is still intriguing, and its main leads are still stunning |
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| '23 nov 27: | shut the fuck up talking to me – Zack Fox in no way does it take itself seriously, but that might be its greatest strength; it is absolutely absurd, both lyrically and in how catchy it matches with the instrumental work, and it's captivating in that wild appeal |
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| '23 nov 24: | Pop 2 – Charli XCX even if it tires in spots with its commitment to its bubblegum bass ethos, its highs are still absolutely thrilling, a step in a new direction for what would become of hyperpop; a classic, even if its bearings aren't set in stone |
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| '23 nov 24: | OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES – SOPHIE the sole, non-compilation or remix record from one of the most inventive figures in music of the past decade; a very human record with fine-tuned but shockingly synthetic energy, its noise both ethereal and commanding |
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| '23 nov 24: | The Money Store – Death Grips their commercial, incessantly internet-based and catchy debut; it may not be the be-all-end-all of the band, or their absolute best, but it is undeniably iconic, absolutely seething with energy, and a classic |
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| '23 nov 22: | Quaranta – Danny Brown it repeats its themes at times in between some of his most scarce, touching work; it is undoubtedly an important character portrait of a healing but still eccentric iconoclast, and a fitting update to his breakout 'xxx' |
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| '23 nov 20: | The (Uncensored) Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde despite the long interjections and uncomfortable historical beliefs present in certain parts, the interactions between its three leads and the descent that dorian makes, despite being foreign, is still an intriguing journey |
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| '23 nov 20: | The Queen's Gambit, mini-series the miniseries' acute interweaving of chess, substance abuse and this drive to be the best or nothing is something that, while the plot subtlety scatters or disjoints itself at times, comes together very well overall |
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| '23 nov 20: | Treasure – Cocteau Twins like a wintertime trance through a broken but healing fantastical empire; its very synthetic drum machines can be insistent, but its shape, alongside elizabeth fraser's undeniable vocal charm in this space, is utterly enthralling |
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| '23 nov 15: | Exmilitary – Death Grips an iconic blend of electro-industrial and abstract hip-hop, with ride's now-signature lyrical prowess; even if certain tracks stretch their theme a bit too far, some of their best material ever is here, in spades |
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| '23 nov 15: | The Menu (2022) it gives curve balls in an intriguing way, allowing for an enthralling first watch—and the leads' acting is effectual in what it's trying to do—but it simply stands as a one off, a film for that initial, wild thrill |
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| '23 nov 10: | Ants From Up There – Black Country, New Road completely ornate and bittersweet, a poetic stride of dense but beautifully constructed art rock; isaac's poetry, matched with the swirling and at times massive arrangements, reach soaring emotive highs |
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| '23 nov 10: | Crack Cloud$ Over Arts Kitchen – Black Kray a swirling, psychedelic, and completely off the rails cloud rap and witch house epic that sounds like nothing else to this day; houses some of the genres' best works, showing in a single tape kray's intense creativity |
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| '23 nov 9: | Princess Mononoke (1997) the beautiful animation, the extremely solid storyline couched in fantastical wonder and early history war, and nearly all of the dynamic characters combine altogether into a one of a kind movie |
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| '23 nov 2: | 4NEM – Chief Keef after one of the most explosive starts of a hip-hop career in recent memory, chief keef continues a streak of mid-career highlights of experimental, idiosyncratic ragers that never tires too often for its style |
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| '23 oct 27: | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive despite the fact it just fizzled out of existence to make way for counter-strike 2, it was a formative, extremely influential game that i think will forever have a serious impact on esports and myself |
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| '23 oct 23: | uknowhatimsayin¿ – Danny Brown even if there's less trailblazing thrill compared to other works of his, the q-tip-lead venture into wild and journeymen shifts of hardcore hip-hop is a vital piece in his discography |
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| '23 oct 23: | Atlanta, season 2 the first season of atlanta that has enough depth to necessitate reexaminations; contains the most effectually moving and consciously subversive moments that work great as a set |
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| '23 oct 23: | Atlanta, season 1 the first season i think takes a minute in the midsection to keep its footing in a good way, but its opening pair and the idle, uncertain ending to it starts the show off very well |
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