Month: October 2024

Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 21: What A Week…

…And I mean that in the best way. Not only did we finally get back to writing about music here now that the Hooptober Horror Marathon is over, it was a fantastic week both for new releases and for – of course – a massive glut of incoming vinyl and CDs that I want to cover over the next few weeks…at least until the next batch comes in and dries me further and further down the spiral of being behind. A great problem to have, if you ask me.

So the focus this week is going to be on the music that excited me on Friday. Genre-wise it’s a mixed bag, so prepare for some head swivels (I put the real heavy stuff at the end) and let’s get back into it, proper style this time.

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mitski - the land is inhospitable
Vinyl

Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We (2023)

Carrying the trend of softer, comfort music with Mitski, a singer/songwriter I had no previous knowledge of but my wife loved listening to on our local radio station. She got me last year’s The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We, and over the last few days I’ve been returning to it, finding comfort in its hushed whispers and delicate melodies. I won’t heap the accolades others have; I have minor quibbles here and there, particularly with the monotony of some tracks, but I was never looking for grandiose ambitions and reinventing the wheel here. I want music that wraps me in a cozy blanket and keeps me feeling okay with myself when I need it, and there are times when that can only happen with an album like this.

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chelsea wolfe - she reaches out to...
Vinyl

Chelsea Wolfe: She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She (2024)

I feel like too often “darkness” in music is more affectation than anything else. To be clear, it’s an affectation I’m not immune to – when the weather starts to cool and the air begins to chill I tend to reach for more somber, forlorn music. But there’s this rising cadre of music acts that – for better or worse – are framed in my mind as being cultivated and groomed for a very niche audience. One that’s young and entirely too emo-driven for my tastes. It’s a rare artist that can break out of that mold and straddle a more mature perceptive (I’m really showing my “old man yells at cloud” side here, sorry), and with She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She I think I’m coming around to the wavelengths Chelsea Wolfe is putting out. The “why?” and “why now?” of it all are still confusing in my mind, so accept this as a meandering trip to understand better.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 20: A Hodge Podge

This is it. Next week we’re back to regular programming! The Hooptober Horror marathon was a joyous slog, and I’m exhausted having just returned from seeing Opeth live at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn, NY and man…I forget just how great a band they are, and the new tracks sounds phenomenal live: “§1” is going to be a staple on their setlist going forward, let me tell you.

More music just keeps coming in the door – at this rate my wife’s going to divorce me either from the sheer real estate my new vinyl and CDs are taking up or because I’ve been on a massive Les Rallizes Dénudés kick, having grabbed three of their archive live sets from Temporary Drift Records in the last few weeks. So this week is a hodge hodge of what I’ve been putting in my ears lately. Next week the plan is to get at least 1-2 reviews in and back to the liner note style of these playlists. So thanks for bearing with me during the dry month and it’s great to have you with me on the other side. Music rocks, and I can’t wait to dive back in again.

Off to the playlist.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 19: Corpsepaint (Black Metal)

We’re almost done, folks.

I have four films left in the Hooptober Horror marathon so the plan (well, hope really) is that next week is it, and after that we’re back to music reviews here on the site. I reviewed the new Oranssi Pazuzu over at Nine Circles and man, it was a refreshing change of pace (oh, the album kicks ass, too). That got me in the frame of mind to do a black metal playlist. I have one set up on my Apple Music account called, ahem…Corpsepaint. Obvious, I know, but it gets the point across. You’d be surprised at how good something supposedly shitty sounding on purpose can sound on vinyl, so this playlist is going to focus on those albums I have in my physical collection that are blackened to their very core.

Off to the playlist.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 18: Music in the Interim, An Interlude

I miss writing about music.

I don’t even think I’m that good at it; I’m much more at home writing about film. But 20 film reviews in 20 days has me aching for the deliciousness of an album review. The good news is at this rate I’ll be finished with the Hooptober Horror marathon well in advance of the Halloween deadline so I should be able to get back to normal reviews here sooner rather than later. In the meantime music hasn’t left me; indeed the amount of new stuff coming in continues to be a real problem. So for this interlude we’re back to the standard hour of new music that’s recently crossed the threshold of our domicile.

On to the playlist.

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