TSS #041 - May 26th, 2024
music edition pt. 2 electric boogaloo
Good evening and happy Sunday folks,
I hope you all get to enjoy the long weekend. This past week was filled with recovery/catch-up and getting back into routines.
As you can see by all the yellow… I fell off track the past couple of weeks — so, I plan on taking the sum of all the “missed” days and tacking them on at the end of the 75-day challenge.
Once this challenge is complete, maybe we’ll even do something weird or fun to celebrate (maybe a group fast…?? 👀 iykyk)(but actually lmk if you are interested)
The only other thoughts that have been in my head this past week:
The time is moving so fast
There still feels like there is ‘too much’ to do and not enough time
But again, these seem to be consistent themes, as of recent, for the intros of these newsletters.
Anyway! I am very excited about today’s Study.
The past few weeks, my ears have been blessed with some sweet sweet tunes. Today I will be sharing some of my TOP jams of this month AND… an LFA EXCLUSIVE at the end of this post ;)
Let’s dive in!
NEW MUSIC I’M JAMMIN’ TO
Neon Pill || Cage The Elephant
Honestly, the first time through, I was kinda disappointed. I had high expectations (due to Social Cues immediately clicking…) However! A few listen-throughs later (including listening to Curt’s signed vinyl + a group listen-through), it has immensely grown on me — and I am very excited to hear these songs live in July.
Ant’s Recs:
Clancy || TØP
Since ~10:45pm last Thursday (h/t Mitchell M. for sharing the live-stream with me!) I have been jamming to this whole album. Overall, I am very pleased. To me, the album evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for both Vessel and Ohio/the midwest — but I believe there's ‘a bit of something’ for everyone.
(p.s. - every song has a music video!! This one is my fav)
Ant’s Recs:
Water’s Here In You || Babehoven
This album is so beautiful and so lovely. A sweet, soft longing for lightness and friendship. If you have some alone time, or just want chill vibes to work, walk, or do chores — give it a (dizzy) spin.
Ant’s Recs:
Model || Wallows
This album surprised me! Wallows have been doing the ‘drip-release a ton of singles before an album to maximize algorithm and streams’ tactic (which I’m not fond of) (a post for another time) … but despite my feelings, a few songs have been in my current rotation since it’s full release.
Ant’s Recs:
Idle Talk || Daybed
Daybed is a local band in Austin! My friend Hagy, who produced this record, shared demos of this album with me before it was released. Very cool and awesome to hear the final versions.
Ant’s Recs:
Honorable Mentions
This Live Clip || Her’s
h/t to Ev B. for sharing this with me. It hit me at the right time.
If you enjoy, I recommend this live clip in Austin and this article: “A band that could’ve been”
Highway Woman || John Vincent III
h/t Bren P. for sharing — I actually have not listened to this whole album yet, so I am only recommending this song…which I love.
Fruit Wine || Origami Angel
This is their most recent single, and has been in my daily rotation.
(Also sharing because I am super frikin’ stoked to see them live next week!!!)
Celestial Bodies || Cooper Wood
As y’all know, I have been off most social media. I hopped on Instagram recently to connect with someone I met at a writing meetup (who only used Instagram) and saw a bunch of old posts from my friend, and bandmate, Cooper. These were new posts he shared on his music page, which lead me down a rabbit hole to his website and YouTube channel, listening through a ton of pieces he had recently released. The above is wonderful and I am very impressed. (I also recommend headphones if you are able!)
If you are not yet convinced to check it out, I will leave you with his own beautiful, accurate description of the piece:
“Celestial Bodies (2024) is my poetic interpretation of what it is like to experience a total solar eclipse. The opening texture suggests images of stars and comets, twinkling carefree and with stunning vibrancy. As the moon passes between the earth and the sun, the music darkens and takes on a more sentimental character, reflecting the feeling of awe one feels when viewing this astronomical phenomenon. This total obscuration does not last long however, as beams of light puncture the uncanny calm and eventually overtake the music. The material from the beginning returns to create a sense of symmetry—just as the heavenly bodies revolve in cyclic fashion, so does the music, trailing off without any real closure into the unexplored infinity of the cosmos.”
If you enjoy that piece — this is the other piece I’ve had pulled up on my monitor, and have had on repeat.
a question and quote i am pondering
do we ever arrive? (like fully, completely?)
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
— Robert Brault
LFA EXCLUSIVE
Ask, and you shall receive.
A few friends and readers of this newsletter have let me know that they love the music recs I share… but find that clicking link after link is tedious and suggested a playlist.
After dragging my feet for a few months, it hath been created.
Please enjoy THE LFA OFFICIAL PLAYLIST.
This is where I will be housing all of “Ant’s Recs” from these NL’s. (Yes, I went back through all my NL’s to include previous recs)
Additionally, I have also created the official LFA “Sharing is Caring” playlist.
This is to more efficiently allow YOU, to share music with ME — AND to the rest of our lil NL community. (This is based on the OG Sharing is Caring playlist I created for Did I Hear Dare? fans, and was somewhat popular.)
Now you can directly add songs here. One rule:
Please only add a maximum of 2 songs per week.
The purpose of this rule to reduce spam, and enhance quality.
In future music-themed Study’s, I’ll feature a section of shared music from readers.
Enjoy :)
(h/t to Matiss for encouraging me to get this across the finish line!)
As always, if you’ve made it this far, thank you.
If you have any questions, comments, or ways I can improve this newsletter, please comment/reply!
Lastly, if you enjoyed or I made you think today — please consider letting me know by leaving a like. (This helps others find this newsletter…and it makes me smile :)
ML,
Swamp Tony
p.s. — Below da fold club !! Today you get… a bit more authentic dialogue from yours truly.
…
ok, so what I wrote became too long and I am going to turn it into its own post on my blog.
But you want a prelude via a caption and photos?! Fine:
Fiona shut down the mutha effin club and danced until sunrise
Only you would think of a celebratory fast to follow a 75 challenge... *face palm*
But also - love to see the LFA Playlist!
He’s back on the log