#6. 1 October 2017

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i was talking to some dear friends the other night and they mentioned that they loved receiving these emails, which warmed my heart right up. if you don't love it, please let me know. i'll cease and desist of course.

we also talked about how much i enjoy writing these emails in large part because it encourages me to spend money on music that is new to me. i probably spend $50-100 a month on recordings by living artists. that might sound like a lot. or it might not. either way it's certainly less than i spend on booze. and probably less than you spend on booze, too (ASSUMPTION i'm an ass). also NO JUDGEMENT. i was just thinking about where my dollars are going. and i was thinking about how much joy it brings me to give some of my dollars to some of my favorite artists (many of whom happen to be pals) in exchange for something that i get to keep forever. or at least until the zombie apocalypse comes and my hard drive is rendered completely useless.

currently i'm scoping these crunchy crystals.
Andrew Smiley :: Dispersal      <------ click it
well damn, andrew. just. what the hell. i heard this piece many years ago in its infancy. it was a breathtaking experience then and it's only gotten better. there's something about the way that andrew pulls sounds out of his guitar... it almost feels like he's pulling those sounds out of my guts. and i like it. also, no effects pedals were harmed in the making of this recording. 


Vijay Iyer Sextet :: Far From Over
people love to hate on ... well ... other people. and i've heard dumpsters full of shade thrown at vijay. but you know what? i love his music. and i ain't scared to say it. his album Historicity is one of my all time faves. and this new jam is seriously nasty. the band is bonk bonk and they navigate a whole mess of territory with aplomb. i listen to this and i think, "yeah it makes sense that he's the director of the Banff jazz workshop and teaches at Harvard and won a MacArthur grant and and and and..."


Robinson and Rohe :: Hunger     <---- clicky clicky
uuuuuuuuughhhh whyyyyyy are you so good jean and liam? WHYYYYYYY? these two are a force for positive change. and their music makes me cry. and i love those things about them. sometimes the cry is a sad cry. sometimes it's an impossibly happy cry. either way i end up looking like this guy. give them all of yourself and you will be rewarded.


Kate Gentile :: Mannequins     <----- go on
damn kate (i know i started andrew's with "well damn" too. sue me). just. wow. my friends are making the best stuff. this album is crazy dense, features a TON of incredibly well thought out music that is really. REALLY. friggin hard. but if you listen to it without that in mind, it just sounds like a band of heady weirdos having THE MOST FUN. kate wrote the music, plays the shite out of the drums on the record, AND made the art (which i found out when i said "hey this art is great who made it?" duhhhh i should have known).