the fascination with analog decay that permeates the chillwave movement, that is so often a point of derision for critics of the style, has the tendency to come across as contrived, as an all-too-convenient way to mask the imperfections of the songwriting behind superficial technological imperfection. while bad vibes certainly shares a lo-fi aesthetic that [...]
i was reminded of one of the introductory scenes from breaking bad’s pilot, where walt is trying to explain to his students what chemistry – and essentially breaking bad itself – is all about: change. “growth, then decay, then transformation.” walt has gone through several phases which might be described as growth, decay, or transformation. [...]
ok i want to still write up 406-410 but i wanted to get caught up so i could watch the show live this sunday, so i’ll have to get back to those. this episode was just too overwhelming to not write something.
it’s incredible how this entire season walt has been this blustering, delusional figure, believing [...]
skyler white’s ambitions as a novelist – set up early in the series, then, for the most part, abandoned – finally pay off in this episode in which she constructs a thoroughly detailed apology/explanation scene, set to take place during a family dinner. she practically has to drag along an uncooperative, resentful walt, who perceives [...]
when huell and his “stomach thing” interrupt saul’s meeting with the whites, saul chastises him (“why didn’t you think of that before?”) like a frustrated parent to a child in the back seat of the car. the meeting continues as saul and skyler brainstorm ways to take over the carwash, and the scene [...]
jesse’s guilt for jane’s death had resulted in an earnest attempt to distance himself from the most damaging aspects of his life, particularly his drug use and his association with walter. it was a long time until he was finally able to forgive himself, to accept that it wasn’t his fault. gale’s death, however, is [...]
There’s a strain of hip-hop which, over the past few years, has shown a particular fondness for the sounds of vintage video game hardware. Video game and hip-hop music are, it turns out, highly compatible with one another: both are by necessity concise, catchy, and loopable. As widespread as this trend has become, Jonwayne’s Bowser [...]
the mixtape has been a fixture in hip-hop since the days of pioneering djs like kool herc and afrika bambaataa. unfortunately, in recent years the emphasis has shifted away from the dj and toward the emcee, for whom mixtapes are more or less a means of promoting an upcoming album. madlib [...]
up until the release of “ghosts n stuff” back in 2008, deadmau5 was often criticized for being able to come up with catchy chord progressions and not a whole lot else. although “ghosts” hinted at a change in direction for deadmau5, it never really worked on its own (even after the addition [...]
when discussing his debut album stephan moccio expressed a yearning for simplicity as the basis. a collection of 22 short pieces for solo piano, exposure was not only a showcase for moccio’s knack for melody, but a glimpse into the songwriter’s music in its original, ungarnished state. similarly, color consists of brief musical snapshots, each [...]
