the relationship is not one of face value. there are sad songs that make you happy. they sound like the window open on a cool rainy day with nothing to do. and the party bangers, they’re implicitly foreshadowing a hangover, an arduous clean up, regret of poor impulse control. melancholy is not one singular thing. it is not mere sadness, it is a little longing, it is a touch of caution, an ounce of experience, a twinge of memory.
it has been hard lately to celebrate — generally, but also more painfully, oneself — with so many reminders of the world’s complicated cruelty. hard to do simple everyday things that make life worth continuing without feeling a little guilty that you can and others can’t. but this is the only antidote to the deeper malaise: it becomes so imperative to be Out There, peel apart the sads with the glitziest holographic nail polish and aromatic herbs. to do otherwise would be to sink deep and deeper, in danger of being well and truly dead before your heart halts.
if you’re looking for thematic consistency in genre or arrangement, you likely won’t find it here. all the continuity is emotional: there’s something tender, but not so brittle it breaks. this is a dimension where vulnerability and truth are power: Ronald Langestraat implores you to cry because that release is an asset; Tunng croons honestly about mortality because turning toward that fear is a strength; Anjimile declares themselves king of the in-between state because that acceptance is what is real; Laura Veirs looks towards her cherished amidst thoughts of ultimate finality. under it all, though: rhythm, groove, that unifying vital thump.
and maybe a Bad Bunny banger because it’s impossible to resist sometimes.
I generally try to keep these short: a couple hours feels right. maybe it gets a little longer as the year goes on, and then i mentally reset in January. this one clocks in just under 3 and a half hours. usually i’ll draw a line and start making edits, but i like everything here just a little too much.
so in that long span, you get all of the above earnest ambiguity, but also:
Big Data’s prescient tongue-in-cheek treatise on being gaslighted by the promise of AI
one of my favorite Giant Sand tunes
an unreal, ethereal TraceLoops soundtrack
a Don Letts depth charge
alternative universe quiet storm from Genesis Owusu
Aesop Rock at his most sentimental
an enchanting meander through a dream city with Carla del Forno
several trips around the world
heaps of irresistible grooves
and a kimchi taco
it’s all here for you to enjoy!
thanks for listening and mind the fnords.