Listen, Watch, Read: March 19th, 2017

LISTENING

Oldy but a goody, I re-listened to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell while driving through rural Illinois. The NYT BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2003, how can you not love this album? I had a radio show in college and definitely tried to play at least one Yeah Yeah Yeahs track every week, preferably something off of Fever To Tell or their other earlier releases (like the Machine or Yeah Yeah Yeahs EPs). Some tracks (“Tick”, “Man”) are so rock and so punk I can’t sit still listening to them. “Maps” is a modern classic and also has a beautiful music video. I really don’t know what else to say about this album, other than it’s amazing. Fave track is definitely “Y Control.”

Listen, Watch, Read: March 5th, 2017

LISTENING

ars Paradoxica is an autofiction podcast that’s pretty fun. It’s about an American quantum physicist in the 21st century who builds a device that accidentally transports her back in time to WWII. She’s taken by the American government and sent to work on her time device as part of the war effort. At times it’s kind of hokey and feels more like an old-timey radio drama than some of the other audiofiction podcasts I listen to, but the writing invested me early on in the journey of the main character (Dr. Sally Grissolm), so I’m in!

Listen, Watch, Read: February 26th, 2017

LISTENING

Vivian Girls. I’d heard of them before but never really listened to their stuff. Their name comes from a novel written reclusive custodian/artist Henry Darger. Their sound makes me think of: if three Salem witches had been given a guitar, bass, and drums, some effects pedals, and huge amps and told to thrash and then they escaped burning at the stake because their music time traveled them to the 2000s. Maybe that’s because of songs like “Sixteen Ways.” (Other creepy-tinged songs include “I Heard You Say” and “My Baby Wants Me Dead”).

Sex & Death & Water & Food & Sleep

It’s weird that we only talk about the last three (water & food & sleep) when all five are intrinsic to the human machine. Why is that?

Listen, Watch, Read: February 19th, 2017

LISTENING

I listened to nothing new, I’m afraid. Mostly just basking in bands I’ve already mentioned like La Luz, Angel Olsen, and Chastity Belt.

WATCHING

Open TV is a web series platform empowering queer, trans*and cis-women artists of color to produce and distribute indie series. I had heard about the show Brown Girls from some online blog and went to a screening of the pilot along with two other Open TV productions (Afternoon Snatch and Brujos). So last week I binged a bunch of their shows. Well really only three, but that feels like a bunch. But since they’re web series (not more than 8 five to ten minute episodes in a season) you don’t feel that guilty for steamrolling through them all. Except for the fact that now you’ve got to wait at least a year for another ~30 minutes of content. DAMN MAINSTREAM MEDIA WHY CAN’T YOU GIVE THESE MARGINALIZED CREATORS MONEY TO PRODUCE THEIR CONTENT!