RPS

Mileage may vary based upon your love of past Vampire Weekend. It definitely feels like they deliberately revisit past ideas, sounds, vibes to remix and shuffle them around. But it's loose in a way that is very un-VW. I'll check out Bob Vylan and Landry. It definitely did give me that 90s vibe where you'd listen to some English music as a Canadian and realize a whole lot of context is missing. But with Yard Act, I don't think your enjoyment of the music is dependant on context, but probably makes it a lot better. The music is also great - British post-punk but make it poppier.

Also seeing the Beths in August.

Okay huge dump alert The Julia Holter album is A+. Album of the year for me so far. Endlessly curious, surprisingly and arresting. To categorize the album would be difficult - it falls somewhere between pop, jazz, and electronic music, but the best parts of each. It commands the body to move like a great electronic music, it is free flowing and unexpected like jazz, and it is pleasing on the years. But it experiments and iterates. It feels purposefully constructed to sound familiar but in a way that takes that familiarity and pushes it. The Yard Act album was entertaining. It feels like the type of album Damon Albarn could record in 2024 if he wanted to sound fresh. Beyonce was okay. Too long. I imagine if I had the time I could shed it down to a tight 7-8 stellar tracks. Instead it's lost in the shuffle. Kacey Musgraves Deeper Well is really extraordinary. I think most people want Kacey Musgraves to go full velvet Elvis again. I understand why. But I love Kacey in her singer song writer phase. I think the entire theme of the album is normal. How do you feel normal in the wake of a destructive force like divorce? I find it interesting. The best track on the album is Anime Eyes. The moment the tracks breaks into pure euphoria takes you back to Golden Hour. Vampire Weekends Only God Was Above Us has been living in my head ever since I heard Capricorn. To be reductive, it is simultaneously the most Vampire Weekend sounding album, but it feels so anti Vampire Weekend. They take the familiar sounds of a Vampire Weekend album but subvert your expectations. What if everything was free flowing, slightly odd, not pop. In many ways I think Vampire Weekend has borrowed the idea of a drop from electronic music - giving you this big rush to an explosive moment. Only God Was Above Us has no explosive moments. At times it feels like a jam session between the band. Ariana's album was a good solid album. Better than her last album, which was bad. Four Tets album Three was a great chill out album. Kim Gordon's album The Collective is extremely my shit but lord knows my family won't let me play this one in the car.

Snagged tickets to Sum 41 and PUP next January.

My son is into pop punk music. I find his tastes very interesting. He liked some of Dookie but I think the themes went over his head. He said Blink 182 was funny but he didn't really like it. The second I turned on the Black Parade by MCR he was hooked. I think he likes the theatrics and intensity. His three favorite bands are PUP, Jeff Rosenstock and MCR. I think this is a win.

What a great show. My son has been to large concerts and festivals but never a smaller venue. He lost his mind at how close he was. We found a place near the back and he sat on a ledge. Jeff Rosenstock is a beast. My husband came with us and he has only seen a handful of concerts. He loved it. I decided at the start of the year I would go to more shows. So far I've got Vampire Weekend and Kacey Musgraves lined up. Sum 41 and PUP (my son's favorite band) are coming around next January so another ticket there.

I'm taking my son to see Jeff Rosenstock next Friday. Fingers crossed it's a great show.

One more hand.....

You are right. It doesn't feel like going through the motions. It feels like all of the side projects they did when they were on hiatus. Acceptable, but nothing special. I always enjoy a handful of albums, but it feels less and less like core Sleater Kinney. I know St. Vincent produced The Center Won't Hold, but I have felt that since they've been far more interested in the art pop direction of St. Vincent versus the rock of Sleater Kinney past. I'm a huge St. Vincent fan, but that was by far the worst Sleater Kinney album. It was also the first without Janet, so maybe that was it. But it's felt ever since that album the production, lyrics and melodies have been incredibly weak.

I'm so behind on giving my thoughts on the new music I liked the new Sleater Kinney but I didn't have on my bingo card that they would become kind of boring post reunion. There is always salvageable stuff on their albums but after Janet left it feels like it is not special. Definitely feels like a band going through the motions to just get stuff out to schedule the next tour. The MGMT album was pleasant. Felt like there most interesting since Congratulations. Probably will revisit. The Brittany Howard album is A+. Its hard to describe. She's completely deviated away from the Alabama Shakes rock sound, but there are still traces. It's this blissful soup of rock, pop, r&b and jazz. The new IDLES album sucked. Just an uninteresting slog. The Friko album Where We've Been, where we go from here is really interesting. It feels like a grab bag of rock genres from over the last few decades. It feels like an album recorded by a different band each track. The Hurray for the Riff Raff album was fine. I enjoyed it. Phasor by Helado Negro was a wonderful affair. Electronic music that feels like rock music. It's a great Sunday morning album. Those Vampire Weekend songs are incredibly promising. I need it now. They'll sound lovely live. Ducks Ltd was a nice jangle pop rock moment. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Felt like REM from the 80s with modern production.

I was coming to talk about Balatro too. This is the Balatro thread now. It's a genius concept for a game. I have been hooked on Slay the Spire recently (trying to get A20 on the Defect) but I needed a break. This definitely broke my addiction for Slay. Just I am addicted to Balatro now. It's great but I feel like all card deck rogue likes, the mechanics are not well explained.

The kids were gone this weekend and I threw on the Watchmen on a whim. We binged the whole series. Holy shit is it good.

I'm thinking of getting a new game from my Steam Deck. I enjoyed Halls of Torment and Roboquest a lot. Not only playing rogue likes but typically they itch that place in my head.

The Smiles new album is fantastic. Whereas I found their first album still grounded in rock music, Wall of Eyes straight up feels like a jazz album. It has this playful, nebulous, free forming nature to it. It's very unexpected and arresting at times.

DM me the store name. We were gifted the Battle Deck in the summer and started playing in the fall and the kids got into it. My daughter and I split on the Melmetal and Mewtwo decks and my kids have been playing 2-3 nights a week with me. My oldest has her Psychic deck (Mewtwo) and a Steel deck (Melmetal). My son has the aforementioned Water deck (Calyrex) and a fire deck (the Cinderace deck). My youngest has an electric deck (Pikachu deck) and Water deck (she bought the Quaquaval deck). I have fighting (Lucario deck) and dark (Eevee deck). But now they want to start building their own decks. It is a great hobby, but can definitely be a money sink.

I am hoping someone can answer my dumb Pokemon TCG questions. 1. If my kids Pokemon are paralyzed, he cannot retreat the Pokemon. Presumably he can use a card to swap him off the bench. Can he actually use the card to swap him off the bench? Does that Pokemon become unparalyzed? 2. Related to question above, lets say my kids Pokemon is poisoned, paralyzed and burnt. Presumably if my son can use the card to swap his active Pokemon, does swapping a Pokemon with multiple status issues resolve all status conditions? Additionally, what is the best bang for my buck in buying Pokemon cards for my kids? I bought them some individual cards from a store online, which they enjoy, but they want a few different decks. My son bought the Calyrex battle deck and is kicking my other kids asses, but my kids have an insatiable need for Pokemon cards.

Scavengers Reign is an amazing show, definitely the best science fiction show I have ever watched. Not for those bothered by body horror. It is also incredibly bleak. It has unexpected twists on tropes and the less I say about the show is for the best.

The amount of feeling my kids put into singing this song (and her whole album tbh) is so cute. Olivia Rodrigo made pop punk cool for the youngs and for her we stan.

Here is my list wherein I provide honorific to the top 5 albums of the year. Top album for anxious dudes in the 21st century - Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE: Jeff Rosenstock always is trying to explore how to silence the voices of self doubt in your head. How much money is enough to be comfortable? What if I can't change and people think I'm a shitty person? How do you deal with depressive feelings that don't allow you to be productive. HELLMODE takes the anxieties of mid 30s dudes who grapple with balance responsibility with freedom. Sometimes it's great to just scream about stuff. The album that makes you ponder what if - Jaimie Branch - fly or die fly or die fly or die ((world war)): What would the next album from Jaimie Branch. I truthfully had never heard of her until this album, but what an introduction. Every song is like a little adventure through different genres and styles. The story is told through different instruments, but most importantly the trumpet, which Jaimie played. It's an album that you put on and it draws your attention. Each time you can listen to a different element of the songs and be caught off guard. Album most deserving to be in the Louvre - 100 Gecs - 10,000 Gecs: writing about the music in this album diminishes it. All you need to know is this. 100 Gecs first EP was called 100 Gecs. In following it up with their first album, they asked - how can we top 100 Gecs? They named their debut album 1000 Gecs. It's objectively better - there are more Gecs. Their second album us 10,000 gecs. Again - objectively better. More Gecs. 100 Gecs forces you to ask many questions- am I old? Am I the butt of the joke? Why is the frog on the floor? Why is there so much autotune? Will 100 Gecs kill my dad and take his money? Can I ever truly love anything as much as a rotten tooth? Can I have a million dollars? The greatest album about desire ever - Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You: this album has really sat in my brain. Desire is a universal concept - babies, kids, adults all chase desire. As a 30 something with three kids, desire is something we often turn away. Time, responsibilities, expectations make us decline desire and instead sacrifice. For 45 minutes, Caroline asks you to embrace desire. Embrace standing on the edge of oblivion to feel the ecstasy. To transport yourself to an island to feel the ocean run over you. To feel the desire and sexual tension of heat. This album at times feels like young love. You have known someone for two months. Love still obscures your vision and view and you say yes to everything. Yes to dancing on the beach at midnight; to partying until 2am and making poor decisions; to giving into your desires. It's wonderful stuff. So devastating it's great - Sufjan Stevens - Javelin: my husband passively enjoys music. But this year, he became obsessed with Sufjan Stevens. We would stay up after the kids were in bed, chatting about the music. My husband would ask profound questions about the nature of Sufjan Stevens grief. This is an album about trauma and all the parameters of it. Sadness, regret, anger, happiness.

OK, I have a question. I'm watching reviews of the game. It seems interesting, but in reviews of the game, it seems to have performance issues (stuttering, bugs). Has some of these been addressed? Are there performance issues on PS5/Series X? Second question- there is a lot of praise for the game and its depth in story. But when I watch clips from the game, the mo cap / voice recordings / cut scenes seems off at points. Like the sound for dialogue some portion of dialogue seems to vary in quality greatly. It feels like a game that is ambitious in scope, but some portions of it may be a little less polished. Is that accurate? Also is that equal amongst side quests versus main quest? (Ie, there is a lot more polish on the main quest) I want to play this game, but I have found Divinity Original Sin games to have varying quality in portions of the game which took me out of the games.

2023:

Sofia Kourtesis new album Madres is an incredibly invigorating album. Pastiche is a word often associated with dance music. The point of dance music is first and foremost to get your audience to move. So imitation or reliance upon pre existing work and beats is not a faux pas. Duck Sauce repurposing Boney M isn't egregious; just dance stupid and have fun. Dance music can have layers, but our focus is on getting the crowd moving and the feeling that the music evokes can be nostalgia. Great dance music thinks about textures and sounds and asks "how can I make you move AND it feel novel and new". Madres feels like the freshest house album I have heard all year. Just listen to the absolute banger (and best song released in 2023). It starts with a dub like plodding and ominous feeling. It's the hook of the track. But Sofia takes it to such unexpected places. Mixing techno, glitch and EDM, it becomes a canvas to dance but to feel. The lyrics are innocuous and at times unknowable, but the whole package makes you feel a rush of emotions. Roses from a lover. The sensation of buying yourself that new phone you wanted. The release of sexual tension. Without words or narrative, Sofia makes the audience move and feel these emotions. Incredible stuff.

There is a new Matmos album and it is fantastic. Everytime they release a new album, my heart warms up. Matmos are experimental/glitchy music that is about concept albums. Every album isn't base around a narrative theme, but a sonic idea - what if we released an album only using sounds found in a hospital? What if we limited ourselves only to the sounds a washing machine makes? What I find so interesting is that they understand melody and what could be considered conventional music. They have moments of making a catchy melody or a hook. But they seem completely disinterested in that. There new album uses sounds archived in 1948 trying to catalogue the sounds of the world. It is interesting seeing disparate sounds and ideas clash. Unlike other artists, they never try to obscure their samples. You have an idea what each blip, voice or sound may be. It's ambient music, but the interest is how did this all come together. Matmos are routine listening for me because they don't feel compelled to clarify. It is silly to make an album using the sound of someone having an orgasm as a vocal hook, but they never take anything seriously. It's art, but they never take the themes, themselves or the industry all that seriously. They are fine releasing a pulsating club jam using animal/insect sounds and not expecting you to take it seriously. They seem content saying "here is an album we made of plastic sounds, make of it what you want". There is something so pretentious and genuine at the same time.

The DS and 3DS are great systems, so grabbing them is ap great idea. I think lower budget, 2D, original titles have been lost in the Switch franchise and the modern budget of games. Pokemon Black, A Link Between Worlds and Mario 3D Land are great examples. A new original game like either would never show up on new hardware. Smart, fun, designed for the platforms, but not so ambitious in terms of fidelity and scope.

They don't list the games in the description but typically the listed games are a picture. This is likely to avoid getting in trouble for selling them. I bought one for my daughter. They work and you can save the games. I'd get him a 3DS. The DS cartridge would be compatible plus you'd get access to more Mario Games. There is Super Mario 64, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros for the DS. I didn't include Mario sports games, Mario Party or the Mario and Luigi games as I never played. Those games would all be on most of those 500 in 1 carts. For the 3DS he'd have access to Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, New Super Mario Bros 2, Luigi Mansion Dark Moon, Ultimate NES Remix, Super Mario Maker 3DS. Mario Maker servers will be shut off in March of 2024, so don't buy before. Again - didn't include the Mario sports, party or RPG games. Again - the DS games are easy. There will be a cart to buy. The 3DS games are expensive and hard to get through legal means. The 3D Land game is A+ though.