Amoeba Music

Somewhere between Death Metal, HC, and Powerviolence exists this gem!

Really gorgeous and intriguing textural ambient!

Super chill collab between two amazing artists! Fabiano do Nascimento's guitar is complimented beautifully by Sam Gendel's saxophone serenade.

Local soulful goodness :)

Anton Corbijn’s documentary, recommended by a co-worker, is a must-see for classic rock fans and anyone who is remotely connected to creating art/graphics. It really reminded me about the radical ways graphics have changed in the last 50 or so years. It tells a part of the story of the design collaboration behind some of the most iconic rock LP covers in the genre. The Hipgnosis Design Studio was helmed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell, who are responsible for creating the aesthetic of a generation. Starting their career with Pink Floyd, they went on to produce album covers for a who’s who of classic rock, such as Led Zeppelin and Wings, to name a few. You’ll be surprised. I found myself again and again recognizing an album cover and thinking, “shit-they did that too?”. Corbijn interviews the musicians that worked with Hipgnosis while using Po as the story’s anchor. Although it is focused on anecdotes about this or that cover that are wry and light hearted, the viewer is left sensing a melancholy under it all as Po’s regrets emerge. But the larger story is how these men created images that still signify the zeitgeist of an era. Today CGI and other technology allows the production of almost anything that can be imagined. That certainly was not the case in the 60’s and 70’s. The creative thinking and energy behind making imagination into a different type of reality was massive. There were no images to manipulate or cut and paste. Hipgnosis blazed a cultural trail whose impact is hard to overstate. The documentary does an amazing job of honoring that. Many viewers will remember the album art that Hipgnosis brought forth as the covers they looked at lying on their bed, listening to the album over and over again. The time when getting a new release from a band involved going to the record store, getting the album, and coming home or to a friend’s house and dropping the needle on it for the first time while staring at the sleeve and/or insert and reading the liner notes, lyrics, or just gazing at the cover while listening. Each image became the repository of literally millions of listening memories that are now inseparable from the music itself, giving those audible memories a visual place to live. Hipgnosis carved a new space into graphics whose work was seminal in conveying the ethos of the music and musicians of their time.

This book is a long conversation between the author and the musician that took place between 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. It is an intimate look into Cave’s personal beliefs and how they factor into the things he creates. About how those beliefs and practices have helped him to first survive, and then live with the loss of his son Arthur. Readers of Cave’s “The Red Hand Files” will already have a sense of what guides him, but this book is a deeper exploration that I found both moving and affirming. Cave is refreshingly unabashed and frank. In his unique authenticity, he speaks to the universal and articulates conundrums that many of us wonder about regarding what God is or signifies, the creative process, and most importantly how to keep existing when something that is unbearable happens. Those events that fracture us and mark transitions into “before” and “after.” Something that sears away your previous frames of reference and leave you staring into an abyss. That are so brutal that some people cannot survive them psychically and are dragged down. Mr. Cave talks about his journey through agony and points to the things that were illuminated as a result. This book is fascinating, heartbreaking, and unapologetically vulnerable and I respect it deeply and appreciate its existence. It speaks to the ways that the creative process demands humility and courage. We are all artists to the extent that we all create our lives. I believe that the more we can open ourselves up to ambiguity, become curious about our fears, and trust in synchronicity, the more we can connect to way of living that allows us to realize more of our whole self. As Cave points out, “[T]he creative process is not a part of one’s life but life itself and all that it throws at you”(p.109). Here it is words that flesh out one man’s music in the shape of an intimate dialogue that allows us to share and expand our experience of his art. And for me, it reaffirms the idea that the distinction between art and life is a false one and that any way that we can choose our actions “artistically” is a way that we can connect to ourselves in a more profound way. In “Having an Experience”, John Dewey writes the following about aesthetic expression: "As we manipulate, we touch and feel, as we look, we see; as we listen, we hear. The hand moves with etching needle or with brush. The eye attends and reports the consequence of what is done. Because of this intimate connection, subsequent doing is cumulative and not a matter of caprice nor yet of routine. In an emphatic artistic-aesthetic experience, the relation is so close that it controls simultaneously both the doing and the perception. Such vital intimacy of connection cannot be had if only hand and eye are engaged. When they do not, both of them, act as organs of the whole being, there is but a mechanical sequence of sense and movement, as in walking that is automatic. Hand and eye, when the experience is aesthetic, are but instruments through which the entire live creature, moved and active throughout, operates. Hence the expression is emotional and guided by purpose." I want to be an entire live creature in any way that I can. Reading and learning about how artists work reminds me to not let myself become invisible in the repetition of the familiar, to try my best to stay present and actively choose using my heart as my guide. I’m so lucky to be in a world where I come across all kinds of beauty that calls me to reach for that.

MARO is a Portuguese artist, whom recently had an amazing moment this year at the Eurovision contest, which this song won multiple accolades. After giving the entire eurovision compilation a listen through spotify, I become so stricken with this song. If you're not aware, Saudade in Portuguese roughly translates to nostalgia, or the feeling of missing something that is no longer there. The entire mix, lyrics, and entire essence of the song screams escapism, and it fits that so well. As someone who doesn't speak Portuguese, I allowed myself to be filled with the vibe of the song and when I finally translated the lyrics, the meaning of the song fit so perfectly in what I had felt listening to it. She is so talented and deserves all the recognition from her music moving forward.

This album spoke volumes to me. From beginning to end it is a timeless love story that has been a LONG time coming. Sufjan Stevens has recently given us yet another tear-filled album, except this time, with a story to back it up. He and his partner have been together for a very long time, and this last year, dealt with losing him. He had never let the world see the vulnerability of being so honest and open about that part of his personality, when he lost him, he felt like he deserved the world. Which is the exact message he gave through this album. The entire album kept me holding back tears, but some of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard were written for this album. I have streamed it and bought it both on vinyl and cd, and it has quickly become one of the most cherished albums that I have heard to date. Soul-crushing, with a twinge of beauty, and honesty.

If you are looking for an amazing pop album, look no further. As a avid fan of everything Troye puts out, this really took me back to his roots of his early days of creating on his own. His ideas, lyrics, and use of new-age themes has really transcended this album to be right at the top of the pop charts. I feel as though a lot of his music doesn't receive the acclaim it so deserves, but every single song you can dance to, or cry while you dance too. Twinges of escapism, along with your four on the floor dance beat from the early 2000s pop that we've been missing in our current pop climate. Just puts me in such a good mood.

Gustavo Dudamel led our hometown orchestra in a stirring performance of composer Thomas Ades' "Dante", a ballet in three movements. New listeners should not be put off by the labels that piece has put upon it, as this is a massive orchestral work full of color, surprise and is at times just as cinematic as anything being written for films. Enjoy this one with a good pair of headphones!

William Friedkin's pulverizing action classic has been somewhat lost to time due to not being available on streaming, amidst other reasons. But it's recent re-discovery on home video has proven that Friedkin made yet another action classic that stands up against his 70s output. Almost swapping the typical roles of protagonist & antagonist, William Petersen's Richard Chance straddles the law, not afraid to break it if it means taking down master counterfeiter Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe). With a pounding score by Wang Chung and a crazy car chase filmed through DTLA and the Harbor Freeway, you'll be kicking yourself for sleeping on this film for so long.

It’s hard to believe that you may have never even heard of Ellington if it weren’t for this album, but it's true! Exciting and satisfying - hear about some of the highlights of this legendary performance before giving it a listen so you know what to look out for because this album is about as close as you can get to being a part of jazz history without time travel.

This episode is a stark contrast to my other pick. The story surrounding Stained Class is a bleak one but it provokes a really interesting and necessary conversation. Follow along as we dissect the stigmas that come with Metal as a genre and the confusion that follows when you take music to court!

My favorite album of 2023! A lush mix of Electronic and Shoegaze/Dream Pop.

Another amazing record from the blossoming shoegae scene in Korea. This one's loud as hell!

Beautiful Latin Deep House record! Sofia's vocals are entrancing.

One of todays most important Electronic innovators returns with a new sound yet again. The incorporation of strings/chamber music sets this album apart in his already stacked discography

The debut solo album from the drumming half of Yussef Kamaalis just unbelievable. And of course the drums are out of this world

The follow up to their 2020 opus Ummon did NOT disappoint! this one's heavier, faster, and more progressive. If you like psychedelic rock at all you need to hear this

Because Kenny Barron has been around for so long (damn, he was on Bad Benson back in 1974!), I've taken him for granted. But this solo CD is a great reminder of why we shouldn't; it's a varied program of originals and standards that shows off many of his skills in different styles. Atonal one minute, lyrical and lush the next, the CD is a treat.