Music
Sunday Share: Jazz-inflected
I know some people tend to associate jazz with muzak / elevator music, but to me, jazz has always been the best example of music as communication.
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New songs, same loop
This series might be the longest-running commitment in my life right now. Ha. That’s probably because it doesn’t feel like a chore or an obligation, just something that comes into being over time. It’s funny: there are only three playlists so far, but they span three years, which is too Read more…
Music
Sunday Share: The Greeting Committee
My best Sundays so far have all featured good music. There’s nothing like a quiet afternoon in, hot tea in your hands and an album setting the vibe. Today, that album was This Is It by The Greeting Committee. I found this Kansas City-based band through Spotify: one of my Read more…
Books
Home and the city
I’ve been working my way through Reportage on Crime, an anthology of Nick Joaquin’s true crime stories. One such piece, “The Lodger,” deals with the demographic shift in Manila brought on by the influx of laborers (and their families) from the provinces. I don’t have the same intimate understanding of Read more…
Mental Health
Obligatory New Year Post
There’s this funny game I’ve been playing for the past few months. Imagine this: a supervillain wraps a hapless woman in chains, balances a set of spinning plates on a stick perched on the tip of her nose, sets her on a unicycle, and tells her to make her way Read more…
Music
Hugs From Your Grandma: Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts
I’ve been spending my after-work hours browsing NPR’s rich and varied library of Tiny Desk Concerts. There have been many gems, but even in such fantastic company, the winners of last year’s Tiny Desk Contest stand out: Tank and the Bangas hail from New Orleans, Louisiana, and they play a Read more…
Music
Ode to Joy: Natalie Prass’ “Short Court Style”
The world is on fire. Or so the relentless news cycle would have us believe. Every hour comes with a litany of scandals, disappointments, and threats to life as we know it. All of us, the headlines scream, are doomed to wail, gnash our teeth, and scrabble at the edge of Read more…
Music
The universe sings sometimes
A friend recently sent me a link to the 2014 Playfest performance of Jeremy Zuckerman’s Legend of Korra Suite. It’s a beautiful synthesis of the series’ music, but the Season 4 finale’s closing track remains my favorite: J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium begins with Ilúvatar and the Ainur weaving the universe from song. I Read more…
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The sounds of 2017
Last year, I set a little project for myself. I’d gotten back to listening to music in earnest, and since depression and lack of practice kept me from writing an adequate record of my year, I decided to remember in aural impressions instead. And so started my 2017 playlist. I Read more…