So, that's another November billed and submitted for review. It's early 12/1 and I'm an hour into the workday, taking healthy swigs from a lukewarm large cup of 7-11's finest blend and struggling to stay focused on any task that needs to be handled and completed today. Focus has been a problem, something I mean to fix this coming year. Due to the frequent interruptions and fire drills I'll experience over the course of a day, the need for me to pivot at a moment's notice often leaves me unable to keep track of my prior tasks. I'll repeat steps and miss others. It's yet another boundary that I need to be able to set and communicate to workplace peers: "Yes, I'll take care of that in a minute, but please let me finish what I'm working on."  I'm turning 46 in 20 days. You'd think I'd have my shit together at this point. In line with getting ones shit together, "Best Of"s and "Favorites Of"s lists are being c...

I had a good time today. It's not often that over the course of a workday I'm able to direct some attention to my periphery, just enough that I keep to the necessary tasks while engaging with something more worthwhile. In this case, I spent some time today checking out some long overdue songs and artists that I'd meaning to investigate for the past few weeks. It's been a bit since I sorted through browser tabs.  That said, there's a lot to review. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment.  ____________________________ Deniz Cuylan: "Hidden Language Of Four" (from Rings Of Juniper releasing 10/14/22 by Hush Hush Records ) Deniz Cuylan · Hidden Language Of Four Courtesy of C L A N D E S T I N E  L A B E L  S E R V I C E S. Deru : "The Dirt" (from  We Will Live On  releasing 10/28/22 by Friends Of Friends ) Courtesy of Terrorbird Media.  Bill Nace : "E:E" (from  Through A Room  releasing 11/11/22 by  Drag City )   Courtesy of Drag Ci...

It's a Wednesday evening of sorting through browser tabs. Some tracks for your perusal:  Russian Circles: "Gnosis" (from Gnosis  releasing 8/19/22 by Sargent House ) Courtesy of Rarely Unable.  Buñuel : "It's All Mine" (from Killers Like Us released by Profound Lore ) Courtesy of Rarely Unable.  Child Bite : "Erect for Dystopia" (from Multicult / Child Bite split 12" by Hex Records ) MULTICULT/ CHILD BITE split 12" by Multicult/ Child Bite Kali Malone : "Living Torch II" (from Living Torch by  GRM Portraits ) Living Torch by Kali Malone Die Welttraumforscher:  "Glücklich. Traurig. Seltsam" (from Liederbuch releasing 8/19/22 by Bureau B ) Liederbuch by Die Welttraumforscher Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Side A — Assembled 3/24-4/5 This may as well be titled March Sucked (Here's Some Music).  The saying may state "silence is golden", but I can confirm that that's never the case when it comes to my silence. It's normally work-related. Still trying to fix that. For music, I have a million tabs open on now multiple browser windows that I keep because "I may get back to it". These wind up being selections for these comp posts. Do these comp posts gain any views or pique enough interest to incentivize interaction (Holy alliteration, Batman!), or is this a waste of time? Not sure. Either way, these entries do provide somewhat of a handy-dandy checklist at the end of the year for me to reference when I'm selecting my favorite singles or albums of the year.  I know blogs are dead, but I still enjoy writing when I'm able. Don't laugh, but I've begun building an audience on TikTok and I'm trying to figure out how to engage this new audience wit...

Pelagic Records will be releasing a suitably expansive box set in tribute to dark electronics maestro, Lustmord (a.k.a. Brian Williams). The set is called The Other , an encompassing title that includes Lustmord's 2008 LP [O T H E R] , two remix albums, and  The Others [Lustmord Deconstructed] , which is a 3-LP set of Lustmord covers carried out by an impressive roster of artists: Ulver, Enslaved, Godflesh, Zola Jesus, Steve Von Till, Ihsahn, Jaye Jayle, Jo Quail, Spotlights, and Mono to name a few. For the past day or so, I've wallowed in the darkness of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore's rendition of "Plateau", originally featured on Lustmord's 2009 LP, Beyond .  Not the most uplifting thing to be sonically enveloped by on a winter's day morning, but the chill is appropriate. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore essentially convert Lustmord's dense and Vantablack -level aural cavern into an uncomfortably dark and ominous lounge, incorporating their signature m...

Side B — Assembled 1/10-1/14 Still working through the month's offerings.  Enjoy…  ______________________________________________________________________ Allegra Krieger : "Taking It In" (via Clandestine PR) Official Website —  https://www.allegrakrieger.com Bandcamp —  https://allegrakrieger.bandcamp.com/album/precious-thing Northern Spy — (Pre-order)  https://northernspyrecs.com/product/precious-thing/ Precious Thing  releases 3/4/22 ______________________________________________________________________ Die! Die! Die! : "Losing Sight, Keep On Kicking" (via Us-Them Group) Bandcamp —  https://diediedie.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-not-an-island-anymore This Is Not An Island Anymore  releases 2/18/22 This Is Not An Island Anymore by Die! Die! Die! ______________________________________________________________________ God Is God : "The Song Part II" (via mutante-inc.) Bandcamp —  https://godisgod.bandcamp.com/album/metamorphoses ...

Side A — Assembled 1/3-1/7 Following the turbulence of the Holidays and the excessive work schedules leading up to them, music continues to be my long sought-after balm for stress and the monotony of corporate drone'dom. Side A for the first week of January is light and loud, meditative or necessarily aggro. I'm happily excited about some of the records and singles I've had the opportunity to sample so far. Is it naive to assume this trend will continue well into 2023? Probably, but I'm content for now.  Enjoy…  ______________________________________________________________________ Tomato Flower : "Red Machine" (via Ramp Local) Bandcamp — https://tomatoflower.bandcamp.com/album/gold-arc Ramp Local — https://ramplocal.com Gold Arc releases 2/11/22 ______________________________________________________________________ Sea Change : "Is There Anybody There" (via Stereo Sanctity) Twitter — https://twitter.com/SeaChangeartist Shapes Recordings — https...

Good afternoon, Looking ahead at 2022. Here's some music I enjoyed this week.  ______________________________________________________________________ Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Kaiser, Alex Varty:  "Pacifica Koral Reef (preview)" (via 577 Records) Bandcamp — https://577records.bandcamp.com/album/pacifica-koral-reef 577 Records —  https://www.577records.com Via 577 Records: "I’m supposed to be writing about Pacifica Koral Reef , this record that I’ve made with my friend Henry Kaiser and his friend Wadada Leo Smith. And while the music it contains is, for me, a miraculous late-career achievement after 50 years of mostly playing in alternative rock bands, writing about it is a downright odd thing to have to do. In my parallel life as an arts journalist, I’ve interviewed everyone from Ornette Coleman to John Cage to Robert Plant but I’ve rarely had to write about myself, and I much prefer it that way. Fighting against my natural tendency towards self-effacement is the fact ...