Issue 006
Saturday, May 02, 2020
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It's Saturday, 5/02. This is the sixth issue of plus450, a personal motivator for me to stay creative and hungry during these trying times. Happy May!
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A few words.
This is the music issue.
Now, I don’t want to mislead you. I am no audiophile or 21st century music aficionado. This is not a pitchfork pitch, or a Rolling Stones aspiration.
I simply love music and I always have. I certainly don’t have a photographic ear (or eidetic memory), and paired with my trash-barge-on-fire memory, I might be the worst at remembering song lyrics or who released x song. But since I was very young, music has been a constant in my ears.
As you’ll soon see, the genres I frequent are far-ranging. I build playlists for almost every mood or activity. I send mixtapes to people as gifts and set up collaborative playlists that act as a sort of phonic connection. For some reason, I was many times the default or elected “DJ” among groups of friends. Maybe it’s because I portray that music is such an integral part of my life. Maybe they see me with headphones in all the time, unable to get my attention until something is thrown my direction, thinking, “huh he must know something about music…” (I don’t.) Believe me, my most dreaded ice-breaker is the “what’s your favorite song?” Even if I could remember the name, how am I possibly supposed to have just one?
I still remember hijacking the A/V equipment in classrooms and studios during my time at college. Any trepidation I may have had at this act was often overridden by my moral insistence that a studio cannot be silent. I'll never forget blasting one of my playlists during a late night studio session, alone until someone joined the room and sat down to work opposite me. I watched as they pulled out their headphones and I immediately started to second-guess my volume choice and even the choice to play music out-loud at all. But, after several moments among my own stalemate, I saw the headphones get put aside. They enjoyed what I was playing, and perhaps the comfort of surrendering to the journey of someone else's song queue. Little did I know, at the time, this person would later become a friend, almost a year later.
I'm going to share a number of my playlists in this email, as well as a few interesting links. I hope you enjoy this brief departure from our normally scheduled programming.
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D/S/L
This stands for Darkrooms/Studios/Labs. I've been building this mix since 2017, and it was often what was playing when I pulled my best screenprints or struck darkroom gold. Expect: The Weeknd, Two Feet, The Neighbourhood, ZHU. 9h27m
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Studio Four
A new one, and still being built. The fourth edition of my Studio playlists. A little less hard-hitting. Where D/S/L is for 9pm–4am, Studios are for 12–8pm. Expect: Post Animal, Peach Pit, Wrabel. 1h40m
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A.C.I.D
This stands for artists, coders, intellectuals, designers. Inspired by a single song, the first, "In Motion" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. This is a "locked-in" and not stopping 'till it's finished kind of vibe. It's fast, mostly instrumental, and driving. 2h19m
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DESIGN
A long running collection of EDM, house, and pop that's dramatic, ethereal, and high BPM. Expect: Tame Impala, ODESZA, Lost Kings, Zedd. Shuffle is definitely suggested. 14h2m
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Hipster BBQ
I always loved Pandora's station, entitled "Hipster BBQ", so... I copied it. Yes, this is SO 2015, but it's a great, long playlist for social gatherings, cook-outs, and beach road trips. (Hopefully we can have some of those this Summer.) 7h43m
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Fireside Summer
Gather around a campfire, the grill, or the campstove. This one's for Summering and simmering. Expect: John Denver, Fleetwood Mac, CCR, The Civil Wars. 3h50m
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Nights in Astoria
Inspired by my first home in New York. Expect: Pinegrove, Fiona Apple, LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, Spoon. 2h37m
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For when your parents visit.
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Family Weekend
It's a great mix of my parents' generational classics mixed with some of our more indie tones. Expect: The Beatles, Mumford & Sons, The Doobie Brothers, John Mayer. 2h59m
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Foggy Mornings
Not much beats this playlist at 20% volume with an espresso and the sound of raindrops on the window. 3h19m
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131 West Grace
I created this playlist back when I was supervising a student gallery on campus. The music was either nonexistent or up to whoever was invigilating, so during those many quiet hours at 131 West Grace St. I played this. Expect: HOMESHAKE, Frank Ocean, Shallou, ford. 5h40m
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Last Week's The New Norm.
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No updates this week, but here's the link in case you want to revisit it!
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A collection of short films about small business.
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Vimeo showcases original stories by staff-picked filmmakers of small business, "created remotely in just twelve days, these are eight original stories of real people making their businesses work right now."
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An album that my girlfriend did the art for.
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A few personal notes:
- I'm working on rebranding myself, because why not.
- I've been resisting temptation to splurge on something from Grovemade.
- I'm still running—the fad has turned into a phase—let's hope I can keep it up—it feels good.
- I really miss dollar pizza.
- Somewhere in the neighborhood I can hear happy birthday being sung as I type this.
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That's it! Thank you for scrolling and hopefully appreciating. This week was a little different, but we'll be back to normal normal in the next issue! Shoot me a line at 450@tannerleslie.com if you'd like to share your thoughts or feedback on this first issue. Cheers!
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