Blog
Going After Spotify
Jess Weatherbed writes for The Verge about members of the European Parliament targeting Spotify with regulations to make sure European music is well represented and that artists are compensated more fairly. The proposition was made to ensure European musical works are accessible and avoid being overshadowed by the “overwhelming amount”
Sacred Time
As I headed to Divine Liturgy yesterday morning, I was glad to be able to participate in sacred time. The ability to set aside time for worship and repentant reflection has clear benefits for the soul. Elizabeth Oldfield writes about Keeping Sacred Time for Comment Magazine. Rowan Williams says that
Connection Vs. Isolation
I've been fascinated by the idea that the opposite of addiction is connection since I first heard about it. It seems to be a transformative paradigm shift in terms of how we think about addiction and treatment. This piece by Robert Weiss details some of the research that
Unconditional
It was getting dangerously close to the end of the year, and I still hadn't picked out a favorite track from 2023, if only for my own contemplation, even if not for publication. This week, though, I finally listened to Daydreamer by Molly Burch, which came out in
All Over By Xmas
The first band you think of when you think of Christmas music is probably not Ladytron. Then again, they have the icy synths, vocals that are enveloped by frosted echoes and wintertime themes. So maybe, while they are most definitely not Christmas music, their sound is appropriate this time of
Hotline TNT - Protocol
Cartwheel, the new album by Hotline TNT on Jack White's Third Man Records, has the distinction of being one of Pitchfork Media's picks for best new music. While I'm not always in sync with the writers of that particular publication on what's
What Would It Take?
How far would Elon Musk have to go before people of good conscience decide to exit his platform?
Nevermind The Mainstream
Ted Gioia writes about the battle between macroculture and microculture. ChatGPT makes the distinction between the two cultures: In essence, macroculture represents the dominant cultural framework of a society, while microcultures are the distinct subgroups with their own customs and values existing within that broader framework. Gioia believes microculture is
Surburban Solutions
At the beginning of this year, I went through a bit of a thought experiment. I imagined that I had the power to call forth a new album from any band of my choice. What band would I choose? The two names that came foremost to mind were Wild Nothing
The AI Poison Pill
I have benefitted from the use of AI recently. When I wanted to buy a complementary DAC and speaker combination, I consulted the "Schiit Talker," Schiit Audio's chatbot. It helpfully steered me away from some speakers that were less compatible with the DAC (but cheaper) I
