september 2023 music chat

weird month for music! it’s the beginning of a new fiscal year where i work, so i spent a lot of time in the drudgery of excel. as a result, the music i did end up listening to was mostly ambient in an attempt to keep myself focused on the task at hand. it only kind of worked, but to be fair it was really boring stuff.

i was also listening to all 37 episodes of Homestuck Made This World, a podcast by the folks over at Ranged Touch. i don’t really listen to podcasts, and i had only attempted to read homestuck once when i was in high school but quit during act 1, so my overall investment in the project was low; still i devoured the show over the course of a month. it’s really good! being myself a product of early 2000s internet, i think its an important historical document (podcument?) that offers a look into the environment that helped raise me, for better or worse. i also highly recommend pledging to their patreon in order to pick up the bonus episodes, they’re worth it!!

one last bit: unfortunately i am deciding to learn html because i am sick of wordpress’ interface, and plan on revamping the site in its entirety over the course of the next few months. i know this brings no great pleasure to the web3 nerds who keep looking to buy this domain. ($1000, really?) i have no idea when i’ll be done, but eventually it’ll happen!

ok, on to music:

top 3

{as dictated by my last.fm stats}

i spent the whole summer playing video games – leon chang

first: go download this album! it’s pwyw on bandcamp and the link will take you directly to it.
leon is one of my fav electronic artists, i really enjoy his work! i think he displays a really good mastery over composing albums that fit a vibe, whether it be the soundtrack to the sequel of a video game that was never made, or for listening to while enjoying the fading light of summer.

⭐: heat wave, traffic jam, insomnia.jprg

rain over mountain – tanizaki

good album for a good cause! 100% of the proceeds go toward the motor neurone disease association. a blend of a couple different electronic styles, this album moves between mort garson-esque soundscapes, music to play minecraft to, and jrpg battle themes– all good music for sitting down at the computer and punching in lots of numbers on the num pad.

⭐: raingen, saturn box, sea glass

neavh – nook

described by the artist as ‘cosy hideout jazz’, this album conjures up a world like and unlike our own. certain tracks on here feel like they could be on the risk of rain 2 or hyper light drifter soundtracks. typing this out made me realize that hyper light breaker should be going into early access soon and now i’m rewatching the trailers for that instead of finishing this bit. i’m currently down w a cold and a bit zooted off the cough medicine so cut me some slack ok?

⭐: sundew, fawn, scones

fav 5

{5 songs i really liked this month}

qualm – ichika

as a Certified Ichika Enjoyer (check my scrobbles, there are …. a lot) the production on this song makes it unlike most of the other work in his catalog. i don’t play the guitar (unless you count an embarassing stint in high school) or know much about guitar playing techniques but when i say this dude can play guitar i mean it!

this is a twist on his usual fare, a lo-fi type track that’s perfect for staring out the bus window during the rainy morning commute. and buddy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i’m doing that.

lovemall – sister maple

i recently played through Pseudoregalia, a nonlinear modern psx metroidvania where you’re an anthro bunny girl with a cross-shaped sword who can do sick acrobatics. it might be my game of the year. anyways this song would fit really well in the overall soundtrack i think, especially for some of the more difficult traversal sections.

each day – jeanines

some good ol emotional indiepop, and thank god for it. this song is only 1:42, but it uses the space really well! starts strong and maintains the energy for the entire duration, while evoking melancholy in every line. the lyrics hit at a feeling i’ve personally been experiencing recently, “who said life was long? it’s the same old song.” maybe i’m just sick of work, feeling stuck in the day in day out nature of it all. that feeling is usually my sign that it’s time to schedule a week off so i can recalibrate my brain and catch up on all the sleep i’ve been missing out on over the last few months.

wash my sins away – berlioz

not being much on social media, i rarely get an idea of what other people think about the music i pick for my blog until i do these write ups, so it’s sometimes surprising to find out people have strong feelings based on external factors i was previously unaware of. berlioz is apparently annoying to lots of music people because of the branding for this album and the posting on instagram and tiktok they’ve done? i see on the bandcamp page that it says “if matisse made house music” im not really sure if i agree with that but also truly don’t care.

this album is not necessarily innovative in its execution BUT i think it does an amazing job of being background music when hanging out with friends at night (a specific song category i have and one that gets a lot of use by me when building playlists). this song is probably my favorite of the mix– it builds in a fun way that makes me think if you put it on repeat for a while people would not notice it’s the same song on a loop. is that a thing people normally think is fun? idk

sentry – earl sweatshirt

another album that i learned so much about after listening to it for a while. it was kind of an ARG, and they released NFTs of all the songs after it officially released or whatever. and i just have to say that sucks lol. in this era it’s just so banal, feels like needless profiteering and a thing that could only happen now in this moment, and will be remembered strangely in retrospect.

but the music is good, so i guess that’s fine? i don’t know, it’s not like it cost me any money. i enjoy all of it on a technical level: the beat, the flow, and the lyricism all work for me, and i feel like they contribute to the overall vibe that meshes with the sample of The Tempest at the end of this track. i like it! but the circumstances surrounding it are just kind of a bummer to me.