Misc thoughts

2/23/2025 — This is a reminder to myself to check out Maalem Houssam Guinia's Dead of Night when I get a craving for more Gnawa music. He is the son of Maalem Mahmoud Guinia who I am a pretty big fan of, so I'd love to hear what his performances sound like. I also need to do more research on Gnawa music for my own personal enjoyment, but also for a video essay I wanna make one of these days. I know I sent a few links to my buddy and have a few more in my Obsidian notes. Much to think about.

2/10/2025 — Professor Skye made a pretty good point that I always noticed unconsciously, so I never put it into words. For such an eccentric artist, JPEGMAFIA really should have more to say than how much sex he's having. He said it was part of what disappointed him about the Director's Cut of I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, and I definitely share the same perspactive. It's incredibly uninteresting stuff when we know he's clearly capable of impactful bars like "So fuck a black fan, crackers make figures 'cuz God don't like ugly and no one likes niggas". It's a big reason why I tend to sorta tune out his lyrics and focus heavy on the aural quality of his music instead. Not being a prude about it or anything, because he is maybe the one artist I've heard who I think has lame sex bars. It's especially unimpressive when coupled with how he talks about his general love life and self-esteem, like with "Everyone I've ever dated deserves better" or "Look, my bitch never got taken from me, I lost her myself" on i recovered from this.

10/13/2024 — Ohhhh how I mourn the loss of 8tracks (it's still around, just barely functional). Now that right there was an amazing way to share playlists with other people, FOR FREE, in a way that respected the curator's song order. I also loved the whole mystery aspect of what was even on the playlist; y'know, how songs would get revealed as they played. I wish my only options for sharing playlists now didn't require platform integration (like having to keep them updated on Youtube and Spotify at the same time). Obviously in the modern internet hellscape you can't just dump the individual mp3s on your site, but I'm close to tempting fate and just putting some low-bitrade mixes out there for people. Down with music streaming services!!

10/4/24 — Have all the middle aged rock fans left the room? Then it's safe for me to say that T-Pain's cover of War Pigs is better than the original by Black Sabbath. I say that as someone who loooves Black Sabbath! The song gets more upbeat as the song goes on, which I think suits the themes of the song much more. Don't get me wrong, I love the menacing vibe of the original song, but ending with "no more war pigs have the power" and keeping that tone doesn't feel right to me. The tonal difference of both songs reminds me of how black people tend to look toward the future with hope instead of the typical apathetic pessimism you see from white people. T-Pain's version goes from doom and destruction to a celebration of the end of a great evil, which makes the song feel so much more poignant.

9/30/24 — Recently copped a record/cassette/CD/SD/USB/AUX/radio player with built-in speakers and it's kinda changing the game for me. Finally got the chance to listen to Mongkok Duel as a result and I feel so fulfilled. Now I'm trying to find a better way to organize my CD collection... may need to invest in those special CD sleeves that let you include jewel case inserts. I don't got any space for them otherwise!!