Sonic Gardens: September '23

As I contemplate what I’d like this column to be I can’t help but laugh at the fact that I’m sitting at work listening to Gucci Mane & Waka Flocka’s 2011 project Ferrari Boyz. This is amusing to me because I do meditation work at a rehab facility. Alas my ears wander. I’m not listening to this out of an incessant love for the project, rather out of the self serving desire to clean up my Apple Music library. The limits placed on one’s personal streaming library are rather absurd to me and as someone who tends to add, add, add and listen later I regularly max it out. So at some point I have to listen, listen, listen to even out and delete, delete, delete to open new sonic doors. This one will be a strong delete.

Fall has come to the Pacific Northwest and as if on cue, the first day of fall was filled with gray, rain and chills. I’m not complaining, I’m one of those born and raised PNW natives who find enjoyment in our often criticized weather. I’m only talking about the weather to emphasize the wonder that can come with more time indoors. I played more records this weekend (Devo, The Guess Who, El Michels Affair, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Onra) than I have in the last few weeks of Summer. I’m thrilled by simple things like this.

 

The last time I attempted to run this column, almost 3 years ago (!), we were in the midst of the pandemic and I was still living in a communal home working in a restaurant. Life changes. This weekend I was reminded of the wonderful Cunninlynguists tune “Seasons.” Deep in my addiction seasons didn’t register. It’s interesting to live in a state of lucidity that doesn’t lend itself to being aware of simple changes that transpire as part of the flow of life. In “Seasons,” the Cunnin crew, along with Masta Ace, capture the growth and expansion of hiphop via analogies to the changing of, well, the seasons. If you have never sat with their music I highly recommend it.

I put it on for the drive to my radio show, I typically find that I want some classic rap music for the short drive across town. In some way it seems to clear my head and energize me, infuse me with some creative direction.

So I twist and bounce and move and groove. I put the needle on records selected by a three year old shaking my discogs collection. I extract zip files sent to me from artists, labels and radio promo companies. I utilize a random number generator to select albums deep off the hard drive. Music abounds. Sometimes I’m enthused by what I hear, sometimes I can’t stand what is in my ears. But I listen fully. I contemplate and consider.

Recently I came across a few metal albums I had in my Bandcamp wishlist. I suspect they got there via some email, and how easy it is to click the little heart and forget about it. Until it gets selected by some arbitrary method and taken inward to be considered. Do I enjoy this? Do I hear quality? I may not be the best of judges when it comes to “metal” - I removed that little heart and poof out of my wish list and mind they went.

 

Side note, back to that Gucci & Waka album: listen to “So Many Things.” I do this, I listen to these albums that at some point in my eight years of using Apple Music I thought it would be a good idea to have in the library and find one or two songs that are worthy and the rest I shrug my shoulders at. Thank god for playlists!

I suppose this is the whole flaw in this streaming music experiment. Sounds are disposable. Sure, we can listen to whatever we want whenever we want, which is great and all, but do we consume with any intention? I know for myself, even with a dedication to taking in albums and not just songs, I’m not present with so much of what crosses my path in the cloud. I suppose this is why I collect vinyl and have begun to get back into cataloging MP3s.

Or maybe I’m just tired of living in the future and dream of simpler times. Times when creatives weren’t threatened by Artificial Intelligence taking over their livelihood. Times when music was made for the sake of creating, not out of some broad master marketing plan that involved attempting to get clicks and touch as many people digitally as possible. 

Thankfully it’s not all lost. There are still plenty of amazing musicians out there vibing to their beat, creating from their heart and delivering quality sounds for us to sit with and enjoy. And that’s what I want to advocate for here with whatever missives I publish, with my radio show, with my artwork that is named after a song that lent inspiration to the stroke of my brushes. Take in the art you love, live with it, imbibe from the fount of creativity as much as you can.

With that in mind, here goes a quick guest mix I did this month on a friends show. It was a wonderful moment, evening and time. I cruised into the studio straight from work, with a bag full of records selected in the previous 24 hours. The selections were spontaneous and had little in common, same goes for the set. Inspired by an episode of Adventures in Stereo, I just pulled what spoke to me and let them play. Music is part of my soul, inspiring me to continue down this path I set aside for far too long. I suppose I’m one of the professional appreciators - never could make it but I love it and want to share it. So join me in a bygone blog act and download something, see what strikes you, pause, meditate, run, just enjoy.