OPE! Mixtape #69: This week's newsletter is free
Trying some new things out
Welcome to OPE!, the newsletter by writer and music journalist Brady Gerber (me). I talk about whatever “thing” I want and curate my favorite links and songs of the week. OPE! is a podcast, too. All typos are intentional.
Well, hello there. How are you?
I missed last week’s newsletter. Apologies. Life got in the way. That also explains why there’s no podcast this week. Hoping to set the next one up soon.
Also, yes, today is Friday, not Wednesday. That’s because …
This Week’s Thing: Newsletters
Very meta, I know, but stay with me.
I hit a few speed bumps this week in how I managed my time. New work came up. Friends came in and out of town. I’ve been spending more of my evenings and weekends out of the house. Which is great. Yet within the past few months, this newsletter began to crystallize into something that imposed a certain expectation on my life. That I had to be free for a certain number of hours and days per week to devote to this newsletter. A newsletter I still love, by the way. It’s great when I have these hours and days in the week. It’s great until that time is gone. Then it’s bad. But I don’t regret this time spent.
So something, eventually, has got to give.
Or does it?
Can it also adapt … and, like, relax a litte?
Did I learn about the concept of “taking yourself less seriously?”
Maybe.
Why are you looking at me like that.
Stop it.
See, I’m trying something new this week.
Another reason why this newsletter is free this week: As I spend more time on post-COVID Internet, I now have no idea how newsletters work, or frankly, how anything on the Internet works anymore.
Have I ever known? Maybe not. But at least I could understand the shapes and outlines of discussions held by my friends and colleagues. I knew who I was speaking to.
Now it’s just a blur of … I don’t even know? Calling it brainrot makes it sound funnier and more useful than it actually is. Outside of Instagram, where most of my actually enjoyable brainrotlives, most of this stuff is just …. stuff? And we’re still so serious about it. Stuff like viral newsletter posts titled “This is how this ends.” and it’s 30,000 words long and it’s about something vaguely interesting but not useful like an analysis on the reclaiming of The King of the Hill by The Left (or The Right or The Center or Whatever Keeps You Up At Night) and it has a dramatic lede and the rest is poorly written and it has 561 likes and it ranked No. 1 on Hacker News and it turns out that the post only cited two or three people who have actually watched King of the Hill.
No disrespect to King of the Hill, of course.
Can we bring “dislike” buttons to Substack?
Can we bring public “dislike” buttons back to YouTube?
Can we add a “This caught my attention but I found your point uninteresting or bland so I’d like my time back please” button to everything?
So, I felt confused this week, more so than usual.
I think about this newsletter’s paywall, too.
I think about the “value” of what I do as a writer, and more specifically, the value of this newsletter, with my links and mixtapes.
I think I’ve been approaching it wrong.
Not totally wrong.
But for a while, I was curious to learn and understand if the most valuable thing about what I offer as a writer, thinker, builder, and professional music listener and seeker—the “thing” you’d pay me for—was my curation. Or at least, you’d pay for my taste.
I think it’s still true.
In fact, I know it’s still true.
So many of you send very nice emails (and even tell me in person if you’re also in LA) about all the great music you discover through this newsletter.
These emails always make me smile. I always appreciate them.
And believe me: I stand by my taste.
“You have really good taste,” my mom said, in a conversation I just made up to prove my point. (Hi, Mom.)
I stand by what I offer.
But I think I’m going to rethink what “value” means, especially when it comes to the literal money spent in exchange for the content on this newsletter, or some kind of access.
More to come, of course.
And yes, for everyone this week: Please enjoy the free newsletter.
I put a lot of work into these links and tunes.
There’s a lot of bad stuff out there. I’m protecting you from all those imaginary King of the Hill thinkpieces you were never going to read anyway. I do it out of love, of course.
Happy Friday.
But enough about all that. Here are this week’s best links and songs …
MY FAVORITE LINKS OF THE WEEK / WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION
We’re secretly winning the war on cancer
Not so much of a secret now, I guess.Harvard Business Review takes a shot at guessing which kinds of work will (and won’t) be 100% handed off to AI
If you can measure it, you can automate it.What Google Translate can tell us about Vibecoding
Ironically, this is also one of the better defenses of AI I’ve read yet. (You’re still allowed to make fun of ChatGPT Bros, don’t worry.)Bay Area friends: You’re getting a cool new local publication
Hello, COYOTE.The best Final Fantasy game is getting a remaster
There’s an argument that this is the best RPG ever, or at least the most fun to literally play. If only its story and voice acting weren’t so “Remember 2002?”-tier bad.The hidden time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs
I’ve seen a few publications this summer report on this 2017 tax law change that’s suddenly become very trendy to talk about.Apple’s “Liquid Glass” is prepping us for a post-touch future
Makes sense when you think about it.The Switch 2 is boring, and that’s the point
A convincing defense of Nintendo doing a lot of little things right instead of one big new thing.Selfish reasons for accessibility
If you won’t listen to the disabled community, then listen to people who will save you money (how timeless).Streetlights are now turning purple.
????????????????????????????????Al Pacino was the first movie star to have an audience with the new Pope
Obviously.
THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE / WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
McKinley Dixon - “Magic, Alive!”
LOVE these drums and bass. Cool flutes too.
Billianne - “Baby Blue”
Remember when Lucy Dacus still had a decent drummer?
Keo - “I Lied, Amber”
Decent Kurt Cobain cosplay.
Been Stellar - “Breakaway”
This band keeps growing on me!
Cory Hanson - “Lou Reed”
Wasn’t expecting to love a Cory Hanson song but here we are.
Sophia Stel - “Everyone Falls Asleep In Their Own Time”
Glitch pretty.
Pickle Darling - “Massive Everything”
Glitch pretty, part two.
Marux, Riki - “Ebene Fume”
Glitch pretty, part three.
Four Tet - “Into Dust (Still Falling)”
Glitch pretty, part four.
L’Eclair - “REPLICA M001 (feat. Silfu)”
It’s like I’m in a French Costco and I’m running for my life.
Rentral Drugs - “manny”
Welp, the French Costco guy caught me.
Balu Brigada - “Backseat”
Fontaines D.C. really is the most influential rock band in this decade, huh.
Big Thief - “Incomprehensible”
When did Big Thief turn into Pearl Jam (derogatory).
And that’s it. See you next week.
With love and all the other good things,
-b
Original OPE! logo by Claire Kuang. Words and cartoons by yours truly. My views don’t reflect my clients or the publications and brands I work with. Want to yell at me or tell me I’m great? Here’s my website.
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