Monday, June 1, 2026

Song Review - Futura Free

    I never read this anywhere, but for a long time I believed the first half of this was taken from an old Frank demo. This type of pitch-shifting appears all across Blonde (most notably in Nikes), but when matched with an off-the-cuff performance and drums that seem to only come through when the vocals are present, it has all the hallmarks of something that was vocally isolated after the fact and placed onto a different beat. This is not the case (that it was an old song at least), however it hits on a theme that's the very backbone of Blonde, this nostalgia. Frank loves looking back (see: his entire discography), and upon returning to his normal voice (like the switch made in the aforementioned Nikes) he begins to rap of his life, of jobs he used to work, of Tyler crashing at his place, and finally, of the present. Speaking directly to the listener, Frank channels Kanye's Last Call with the lines, "This the last song... you can change this track now", it's a nod to the audience, a self-aware rolling of the credits ("Clark know and Matt know").

    To cap off what'll certainly go down as his defining work, Frank lends the mic to others and lets them speak candid, unaware of their placement on such a record. The beauty of capturing people in their day to day, being interviewed by a kid who's about as old at the time of recording as Blonde is to us now. Running Around by Buddy Ross sets the scene wonderfully, we'll never be those kids again. The song collapses time to me...

Originally Published: Jan. 4, 2026

Song Review - Duk Koo Kim

    I don't watch many sports in my free time, but there's some part of me that always itches for one-on-one combat, specifically boxing and MMA. There's next to no barrier to entry for understanding rules and I find stories infinitely more compelling when they culminate in a battle between two individuals rather than teams with a rotating cast of players. Every slight prior to the bout, every misstep and subsequent capitalization on that blunder in the ring, all the pressure is placed squarely on the shoulders of two and we need only wait until one buckles under the weight of it all. In this loss however, there is a celebration, one is victorious where another fails... That is how it usually plays out at least, isn't it? 

    In the match between Ray Mancini and Duk Koo Kim there was no glory; all parties involved, from the men in question, their families, the referee even, every one of them had their lives upended. It was a tragedy, flat out. In recounting or rewatching the tape it feels inevitable, it's a part of history now, as certain as life, love, and death. This is the feeling Duk Koo Kim gives me, it's the insurmountable force of nature that claims us all in the end, the best you can do in this life is hold out until that day finally picks you.

Originally Published: Jan. 4, 2026

Monthly Check-In - May 2026

      Semester over!! I haven't looked into colleges to transfer but I'm thinking Chapel Hill could be good. Haven't read much this month but I've been making a lot of music, here's some of those songs (I'm still working on the two guitar ones at the start ☺). The next Entertainers is taking priority and we want to get a rough version completed this next week, then hammer out the last 2 or so songs and work on mixing/mastering. I've been learning Lua (Bright Eyes) and Zombie Girl (Adrianne Lenker) on guitar which are both just beautiful. I'm definitely going to be listening to some solo Adrianne, Big Thief never really grabbed me but that song man...


    Oh yeah, I almost forgot I also put out these two videos earlier this month. There's one longer one I gotta get to editing on DaVinci, but that's sorta on the backburner for now. On the more visual side I also did cover art for a dear friend's EP, check it out!! Up there w/ my favorite releases this year 😊


     With regards to music listening I've fallen back into my Charles Hamilton listening and am currently working on my write-up for And Then They Played Dilla. Also went through some Bright Eyes (got a newfound love for Wide Awake) and later Modest Mouse (in preparation for their new album which I'm quite hype for). Speaking of hype, that new Quadeca 👀.. I have this soft rule of not listening to advance singles, but the fanfare surrounding Dark Magic is making it difficult. I'm always gonna be there for new full length Quad though, love that dude.

    And so it winds down.. here's to June, Summer is in full swing, here's to hot weather and cold water, to Modest Mouse, to writing and recording, to my friends, to me, to The Entertainers!! Here's to creating, to putting yourself out there, to movement. 




Introduction / Purpose of Blog

    Now, I've never made a blog before, but seeing others I know online over the years run them it always seemed like a good time. If no...