Status Check: June
Recap of what I've been listening to/watching/reading
Welcome back folks, and thanks for reading. This week I will be recapping some of the more noteworthy media I consumed this past month.
As always, feel free to follow the running playlist I have below of all the songs I have mentioned on Memory Machine:
What I’ve been listening to:
One of the best hip-hop albums of the year with a guest feature from Danny Brown rapping about how the ice cream machine at McDonald’s is always broken? Sign me up.
New Aphex Twin, say less.
The epitome of a Michigan band, a new Protomartyr album can never be a bad thing. We’ve even got a lyric about Detroit Tigers legend Dmitri Young on this album.
There are always artists that you know you should be engaging with that you have overlooked, and Cat Power is one of those for me. This song and album have been a perfect entry point so far.
At least this musty, crusty, no-good holiday brought us this behemoth of a song.
What I’ve been watching:
Fueling my short-circuiting dopamine receptors with a nightly rewatch of I Love the 90s, who could have thought that most of the commentary is painfully unfunny? In terms of actual quality, I rewatched the first three Indiana Jones films (Last Crusade is just as good as Raiders and I’m taking that one to the grave). Also of note watched Drop Dead Gorgeous (jokes so profane it would make a Zoomer burst into flames) and Almost Famous (Troy, Michigan stand up!)
What I’ve been reading:
Cannot recommend enough to everyone reading this to run, not walk to the nearest library/bookstore and get a copy of The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. I saw someone on TikTok describe this as the newest coffee table book for our generation, a book that you can open up at any time to any page and find inspiration. Rubin’s creative process is rooted so firmly in the belief that what needs to be brought into this world differs from individual to individual, and that simply the act of keeping yourself open enough to receive inspiration and create is enough. The accolades, praise, the idea of notoriety is immaterial. Just open yourself up, create what comes, and move on. I’m doing the book injustice with that morsel of a description, so make sure to pick this one up.
Alrighty everyone, thanks for reading this week. July is tied for the worst month of the year with February, so be well and stay safe.