Yesterday I featured j57 as part of my occasional #MusicMonday column on KeepAlbanyBoring.com. This is a perfect example of my favorite type of writing to do. While it has some generalizations to it because it is discussing someone's work as a whole and not as an individual part, my main goal is to present a simple case - check this artist out. I really am proud of this one, please check it!
Mike Arson "Playing With Matches" Review
I must admit, the past month or so has been really blessing us hip hop-hungry nerds with some really great music, both on a local and widespread level. 2014 was a bit of a "good, not great" year for me personally in terms of new releases and it's awesome to see that the last two months of the year will bring some BANGERS.
Mike Arson, of Against The Grain, released his debut solo album this week and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to listen prior to yesterday's release date. LOVE and appreciate that so such. Having music in advance allows me to really spend time with it; something that I truly believe most bloggers don't give a shit about at all. I believe that if a musician spends 6-12 months working on a release, I can give it 2 weeks of ear time before I give it air time on a blog. The very least I can do is take my time in this fast-paced "new new" world of digital music in 2014, ya feel me?
Check my latest review now up at KeepAlbanyBoring.com and give a listen to "Playing With Matches"!
A Tuesday in NYC
Sometimes all it takes is a reminder that New York City is only a 2.5 hour bus ride away from where I live, (and a freed up Tuesday) to nicely break up my upstate routine and help me to get inspired. While there's always something productive I could be doing in Albany, I wanted to take some time to get out of town and pay a long overdue visit to everyone's favorite city. Whenever I come down now, it's a marathon of how many friends I can link with, and how much stuff I can do (usually in a 24hour period). It makes me wonder how much I'd get done if I actually moved to the city.
This trip involved checking out the Death Becomes Her exhibit at the Met, which featured the fashion of women in mourning in the late 1800/early 1900's, sandwiches in Bushwick, drinks with an old friend, stopping by my friends place before their weekly radio show on SUB.FM and a visit to Webster Hall to check out Jesse Boykins III play a live set with his funky hip hop fusion band. Not bad for a random, spontaneous Tuesday.
view from the 7:30am warrior bus from albany to nyc
so cool in person
later stages of mourning introduced colors such as grey and mauve
"one of these things is not like the other"
webster hall funky vibes
sketching our way through central park