The Music Never Stops

Here's a little overview of my musical ecosystem, as it currently stands.

Music is as important to me as anything else in this big, blue world.

Unlike sports (my other obsessive passion in life), music is something that affects everyone in wildly unique ways. When it comes to developing a sonic palette, there aren’t any rules—anyone can listen to anything, and the way you receive it is entirely unique to your tastes, preferences, and moods.

One great thing about the streaming era of music is that pretty much everyone has an eclectic music catalogue now.

I don’t know anyone who has pigeon-holed themselves into listening to just one band, one genre, or one song. Variety is the spice of life, and our Spotify accounts are like a Carolina reaper hot sauce. (I’m rusty with my analogies—please forgive that one.)

Today, I want to share some tidbits about my world of music. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, thank you so much for being here. Let’s go!

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An Ex-Spherience Unlike Any Other

Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity of a lifetime—a trip to the Las Vegas Sphere, to see the remaining members of my favorite band of all time.

Of course, I’m talking about the Grateful Dead. The current iteration of the group is called Dead & Company, and while they aren’t the same young hippies that revolutionized rock music in the late 1960’s, they’re still one of the best live acts in the world, more than half a century since their inception.

I was lucky enough to see the very first two shows of Dead & Company’s Sphere residency on May 16 and 17.

I’ve seen Dead & Co about 7 or 8 times since 2015, but only ever in the confines of my hometown. It doesn’t take much of a reason at all to sell me an impromptu Vegas trip, so when I got this invite, it was the quickest “Yes” I’ve ever blurted out.

The show was, without question, the most impressive entertainment spectacle I have ever seen. The Sphere is something you’d expect to see 40 years from now. Technologically speaking, this place is more advanced than you could ever possibly fathom.

The venue boasts a 360-degree interior screen that spans a whopping 160,000 square feet. It’s really difficult to describe, simply because it is the first of its kind. There just isn’t anything else in the world to compare it with.

The screen is just one aspect of this all-encompassing world wonder—the “haptic seats” literally vibrate along with the drum beats. The massive escalators and 180-degree concession stands make it so that lines are always moving quickly and efficiently. Hell, even the exterior of the place is straight out of a sci-fi movie.

If you can make it out to Vegas to see the Sphere for yourself, I cannot recommend it enough. It’s a special place—one that makes you feel so lucky to be alive during this time in human history.

Maybe the future isn’t so daunting after all.

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And We Back: Chance’s Redemption

I am 24 years old. If you’re within a few years of me, then you probably also had your musical coming-of-age sometime around 2013. And, as a result, you probably have a special connection to Chance the Rapper.

Chance’s two debut mixtapes—10 Day and Acid Rap—were an absolute revelation for me and my friends in our freshman year of high school. His sound fused nostalgia, psychedelia, and contemporary hip-hop, creating two of the most iconic projects of the Soundcloud era.

In 2016, he followed the mixtapes up with his debut studio album, Coloring Book. It was a huge commercial success. Around that time, Chance seemed destined for the absolute highest level of stardom a young artist could achieve.

In the context of Chance’s career, it’s painful to even explain what happened next in 2019. The only term that can describe it is “career suicide”.

Of course, I am alluding to his sophomore album, The Big Day. (I refuse to include a hyperlink to it, out of respect for your ears.)

In my lifetime, I cannot recall a musical release that was more universally loathed than ‘The Big Day’. Music is a completely subjective art form, but just about everyone agreed that this album was objectively awful. Just straight-up unlistenable.

After that abomination of a release, it seemed like we had lost one of the great potential icons of our era. Very few artists have ever been able to bounce back from such a severe public embarrassment as this one.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Amazingly, Chance the Rapper is making great music again. For the past few months, his Instagram account has been riddled with snippets from his new project, titled Star Line.

Confirmation bias can be deceiving, but I am almost certain that this new album is a return to the beautifully unique sound that Chance introduced in 2012. He has already released two singles from the project, and they are exactly what we’ve been hoping to hear for the past decade.

The singles are embedded above this text block. If you find a minute today, give them a listen. I think we got our boy back—and I couldn’t be happier to say it.

In this unforgiving world, everyone deserves a second Chance.

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Global Invasion: Tems and Royel Otis

As always, I have made this blog a little too long for the casual reader. Sorry about that. Instead of droning on-and-on for another 300 words, I’ll just leave these two albums here.

If you know me well, you know that one of my greatest pleasures in life is finding new artists to share with my fellow music-lovers.

International music is taking over from the long-since-dominated American culture machine, and these two artists are a perfect example of that trend.

Please enjoy the debut albums of Tems, a Nigerian r&b artist, and Royel Otis, a British indy-rock band. These projects have provided some of my favorite music released in the past calendar year, and I’m so excited to see where their respective careers are headed.

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*A special thank you to this blog’s resident gambling guru, Mick, for telling me to get off my ass and put some pen to paper this week. Writing is a funny hobby for a naturally lazy guy… Sometimes, I just need a reminder that life is short, and it’s my responsibility to make the most of it. Thank you, Mick. I feel lucky to have a lifelong friend who helps me become my best self.*