Well, hello there. How are you?
After the happy chaos of the past few months, this week I found some consistency. I got back into waking up early every morning to follow my long-time routine, which … I don’t think I’ve shared in this newsletter before? Here’s what it looks like now:
Coffee.
Write 1,000 words. I stole this from Roger Ebert. These 1K words can go towards any long or short fiction I’m working on, any current writing assignments, or this newsletter. I try not to spread these words among different projects; I just pick one thing and stick with it for the morning.
Reward myself with a small breakfast. Toast with Irish butter and cinnamon powder, and more coffee.
Sneak in some quick yoga. Usually, this means following along with Yoga With Adriene videos on YouTube. All these years of writing and bad posture have not been kind to my back and shoulders, so I try to counteract my stress sitting while also taking a deep breath and saying, “OK, you wrote, yes, congratulations, now you can think about other things without feeling guilty for not writing for the day.”
Do all the other important work I need to do. I do other freelance work, conduct artist interviews, research or edit current assignments, pitch new stories, respond to emails, reach out to new contacts for networking or job-related opportunities, and so on. When I have a 9-5, I try to do as much as I can after my 1K words and before I have to get ready and leave for work. In my current freelance schedule, I just jump right in and build in some breaks for meals, walks, and a 20-min nap.
Once 5 pm hits, pending anything timely, I try to shut off my laptop and get out of the apartment to meet with friends, work out, explore, etc.
And then rinse and repeat the next day! Though I take it easy on Fridays by ending the day early.
I’ve kept to different versions of this routine ever since I graduated college. It continues to play to my strengths: I’m a morning person who likes to do all my “fun” work (writing) first thing in the morning so that I feel OK doing all the other things that aren’t “fun” but allow me to have the space and means to continue writing. We’re all wired differently, so this is just what works for me. Consistency is what helps, as well as having a clear writing goal each morning. This is similar to the “100 Rejections a Year” philosophy that I still subscribe to—the idea that success and progress come from showing up every day and expanding our definitions of “success” and “progress” to include how much we work and how much we put ourselves out into the world, which, really, are the only things you and I have any meaningful control over. For example, if your goal is “To be a famous writer,” then good luck! Meanwhile, a goal like “Get nine writing pitch rejections every month” indirectly forces you to put yourself out in the world … ironically, making you more well-known aka “famous” among your peers.
Also, big-ish news: I’m back on Instagram. I’m cheating a little because I’m running this new account as an extension of OPE! and not as “me.” I still need to get used to Instagram’s new layout (I deleted my Facebook and original Instagram just before TikTok blew up here in America; social media has changed a lot) but I know that I want to at least post some cool music every day, and then save these newsletters for going really in-depth on those songs I share and more. We’ll see. I’d appreciate the follow if you want to watch me figure this all out in real-time.
I also tried starting a TikTok this week but my account quickly got banned after I posted a few recommendations … I created a support ticket, but I have a feeling that TikTok thought I was a robot. Oh well. If I end up getting a working TikTok, I’ll share it in the newsletter.
But enough about all that. Let’s get on with the music. Here are some links and tunes for the week.
LINKS
If we want a shift to walking, we need to prioritize dignity
19 anonymous Hollywood writers, actors, and crewmembers talking about the current strikes
Michael Che and Howard Stern on how context can make or break art
An excellent deep-dive into Dead and Co.’s final tour and the (never-ending) history and reframing of history with the Grateful Dead
Apple’s new app focusing on streaming classical music is … not doing so great
Three guesses at how AI will change the News business
THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE
Listen to this week’s mix on Spotify.
Mitski - “Bug Like an Angel”
I like Mitski less with each new album. I think this has more to do with me than the quality of Mitski’s songwriting. I first got into her in college, when it felt like no one was writing songs quite like her. Listening to “Townie” for the first time felt like unlocking a part of my brain. That blend of overwhelming distortion with a melody cutting right through all the noise, sung by someone who knew exactly what she wanted and made sure you heard her—it still sounds great.
With each new album, I felt like her songwriting and arrangements skills were getting better, and I found each new album more boring than the last. Maybe boring is the wrong word. Maybe “familiar” is a better word, as if Mitski was only willing to write one kind of song with the same sense of sudden dynamics and dramatics, which, to be fair, only she seems to write so well. It’s like how I feel about someone like Father John Misty: pretty interesting songwriting and excellent performances and production going hand-in-hand with press cycles and fanbases that tend to bring out the worst in people, especially online. Both artists have released at least one classic album and many singles that properly sum up their eras of indie rock. Both their most recent albums were interesting stinkers. Both have intense theater-kid energy. Both seem numb to their fame. Both now have enough goodwill within the music industry to get away with playing to just their fanbases, something Wilco has been doing since The Whole Love. Wilco is a top-five band for me, and the same feeling applies: I still admire them and am thankful for all the memories, and their new music makes me feel nothing.
“Bug Like an Angel” also makes me thankful for all the memories and appreciate how much Mitski means to her ever-growing fan base. This song also makes me feel nothing. At least I’m curious how this song will sound within the context of the new album.
Anna Shoemaker - “Holly”
I’m currently making a “Driving Around LA” playlist of all the songs that feel especially great while driving around LA (aren’t my playlist titles so creative). “Holly” is the song I’ve listened to the most while driving around LA at night. It feels like my current pick for “Sum up the sound of LA in 2023 in one song,” and I mean that as a compliment.
MJ Lenderman - “Rudolph”
Y’all, I can’t get into Wednesday or MJ Lenderman. On paper, them and a song like “Rudolph” should be a slam dunk. In reality, they remind me too much of someone like Jason Isbell: a moderate talent who pulls off bland Americana by seeming like a nice guy while also being very online. Lenderman does seem like a chill dude. That’s nice. I’m also ready for this era of indie rock to be over, in which we still can’t move past all the Alex G wannabes. I’ll immediately eat my words if Lendreman ever writes a song as good as “Powerful Man.” (I also took a shot at Isbell, but I am aware that the few times he hits, he destroys.)
And yet. Many of my writing peers whom I trust, along with many of my IRL friends, love Lenderman. Maybe you’ll love “Rudolph” too. I feel like I’m the problem here. I can’t wait to figure out what’s wrong with me. I’ll be figuring out what’s wrong while listening to better music.
Holly Humberstone - “Antichrist”
If we really are committing to this whole vibe of “gen z pop singers are just whispering to wobbling beats directed by Sam Levinson,” at least “Antichrist” reminds me of Lorde.
Pip Blom - “Is This Love? (with Alex Kapranos)
We found love in a car-ni-val / We found love with the Franz Fer-di-nand guy.”
Postcard Boy - “Polka-dot” (ft. carwash)
I caught Postcard Boy debuting his new album live this past week. It’s quite good. I especially like the Japanese House and overall Dirty Hit vibes on “Polka-dot.” It feels like non-rap gen z artists are much more comfortable with autotune than most millennial artists. I’m sure there’s something in this distinction; millennials (i.e. me) were caught up in a time before and after what the Internet has become today; in a sense, we grew up and went through our awkward phases together, and the current state of the Internet definitely gives off strong vibes of “I’m now in my 30s and don’t know what to do with my life because now I also need to make more money, screw it, AI.” Maybe we’re still too self-conscious of the artifice of auto-tune and still feel the need to project “real” in our art. Younger artists, coming of age fully in the Internet age, don’t see all the fuss in using auto-tune as simply another tool.
Teethe - “Punch”
This past week, I saw a bunch of new-to-me bands with my buddy Jared, who runs the excellent Winspear label. (Check it out if you haven’t already.) The lineup was heavy on distorted shoegaze-like guitars and young kids dressed like stock photos of emo fans. Jared joked that it was a night of emogaze—a word I had never heard before and which immediately made me jealous. I wish I came up with it. It so perfectly described these bands, and a lot of music I already enjoy. Teethe were especially fun to watch with their near-country take on emogaze, which felt like a cousin to cosmic country.
They Are Gutting a Body of Water - “texas instruments”
TAGABOW also was on this emogaze bill. They also were glorious with their Loveless-like guitars that sound like jackhammers tearing down a mountain made of sugar.
waveform* - “Firework”
Another of the emogaze bands on this lineup, but this group felt more in line with the Pinegrove-flavor of upstate emo.
Hotline TNT - “Protocol”
Not a part of the shows I saw last week, but close enough to emogaze.
Tanukichan - “Nothing to Lose”
This song came up on my Spotify randomly and I thought … well, sure, why not, emogaze! (I won’t reduce all future off-kilter distorted guitars with hushed singing as emogaze, I swear.)
Fred again.. - “Billie (Loving Arms)”
I forgot if I talked about Fred again.. in a previous newsletter. Last year, I was lucky to catch him live (s/o to my buddy Wood for the hookup) and we saw him at an indoor venue way too small for him; apparently, he booked his tour before his Boiler Room set went viral.
I think his whole “I’m Gen Z And I’m Always Upbeat And Smiling And Wow Isn’t Life Always Amazing And Authentic And Aren’t We All Just Like Real And Every Single Person Is Equally Beautiful In Every Single Way And Aw Shucks I Guess That It’s Kinda Cool That Brian Eno Is My Mentor But Wow Life Is Life Is Life! !! !” bit is annoying. I can’t deny his way with melody. “Billie (Loving Arms)” feels like an amazing demonstration of how to build up a song. The crowd during our show absolutely lost it when “Billie (Loving Arms)“ came on. If you can ever catch him live, try to go. If you can’t, check out his now-classic Boiler Room set, because yeah, it is that good.
(gen z readers: I feel like I’m being especially harsh on y’all this week, I’m sorry! Emotionally, I feel like I’m 90 years old, so any music made by someone under the age of 50 is going to feel questionable to me.)
Johannes Brahms - “16 Waltzes, Op. 39: No. 15 in A Flat Major”
Speaking of feeling 90 years old, I’ve been on a Brahms kick lately. That’s not a sentence I ever expected to write. I’ve been doing some classical-related research lately for something, and Brahms is always someone I come back to even when I’m done writing for the day. I think it’s this sense of melody from the piano that feels so delicate—like the keys are spinning on some golden French plate and could fall off at any second, creating a beautiful and expensive mess that would make the Phantom Thread dude blush. Idil Biret’s performance is the one you want if you wish to check out more Brahms on Spotify.
Sinéad O'Connor - “Mandinka”
Rest in peace, Sinéad. I’ve always admired O’Connor’s music and life more than I actually liked her music. It might feel out of place to say this now, but I still cannot get over how her famous cover of Prince’s "Nothing Compares 2 U” is the most ‘90s-sounding song ever; those artificial strings and vocal and drum echoes still sound awful to me in a song 100% carried by O’Connor’s performance, especially in a music video that’s better than the actual song. But her catalog had depth. And her voice. Many of my colleagues on social media shared “Troy,” another amazing showcase for why O’Connor was an amazing singer. I appreciated that she wasn’t afraid to speak out and stand by her beliefs. A lot of pop artists these days give the impression of making stands that still feel safe enough for their Instagrams, yet I have a hunch that none of them would ever stand by their principles and take the hit to their careers like O’Connor did. I also have a soft spot for “Mandinka,” the first O’Connor song I heard and one of the most bizarre (in a good way) pop songs I’ve ever loved. I could dream in these guitars.
And that’s it! Until next Wednesday.
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-b
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OPE! logo by Claire Kuang. words and cartoons by yours truly. stock photos by Substack unless credited. all typos are intentional.