Music

Spotify playlist for this quarter is here. Playlists for past quarters and years here.

Okay, music I most enjoyed discovering this quarter:

• Christopher Rouse: Rapture (2000)
• The Comet is Coming: Afterlife (2019)
• David Garland: Verdancy (2018)
• Cleric: Regressions (2010), Retrocausal (2018), The Book Beri’ah Vol. 2: Chokhma (2019)
• Persona: Uptight (2000)
• Trioscapes: Separate Realities (2012)
• Yazz Ahmed: Polyhmnia (2019)
• Rudiger Oppermann: “Teil 1-7” (1986)
• Linus Pauling Quartet: Killing You with Rock (1998)
• Miranda Sex Garden: Carnival of Souls (2000)
• Sin Ropes: Three Cherries (2000)
• Orso: My Dreams Are Back and They Are Better Than Ever (2004)
• Floating Points: Crush (2019)
• Tiere der Nacht: Kräuter & Weltmeister (2005)
• Jacob Collier: Djesse Vol. 2 (2019)
• Trentemoller: The Last Resort (2006)
• New Wet Kojack: New Wet Kojack (1995), Nasty International (1997)
• Milk Cult: Project M-13 (2000)
• FKA Twigs: Magdalene (2019)
• President’s Breakfast: Doo Process (1995), III C (2002), Formidable Foe (2006)
• Eat Static: Crash & Burn! (2000)
• Wagon Christ: Musipal (2001)
• Luke Vibert: Big Soup (1997)
• Robert Stillman: Rainbow (2016)
• Kurushimi: Kurushimi (2016)
• Lower Dens: Nootropics (2012)
• Laurel Halo: Dust (2017)
• Jeffrey Brooks: The Passion (2019)
• Patrick Zimmerli: Sun on Sand (2019)
• Grimes: Geidi Primes (2010), Darkbloom (2011)
• Junius Paul: Ism (2019)
• Fishmans: Long Season (1996)
• Superconductor: Heavy with Puppy (1994), Bastardsong (1996)

Rediscovered or revisited (i.e. I’m no longer excluding great albums I revisited but hadn’t forgotten about), and really liked:

• God: Possession (1992), The Anatomy of Addiction (1994)
• Marc Ribot: Requiem for What’s-His-Name (1992)
• Nicky Skopelitis: Ekstasis (1993)
• Steve Gorn, Tony Levin, & Jerry Marotta: From The Caves Of The Iron Mountain (1997)
• Terry Bozzio: Chamber Works (2005)
• Primus: Suck on This (1989), Frizzle Fry (1990), Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), Pork Soda (1993), Tales from the Punchbowl (1995)
• Tone Dogs: Ankety Low Day (1991)
• Thessalonians: Soulcraft (1993)
• The Danubians: The Danubians (2000)
• The Flying Luttenbachers: “De Futura” (1999)
• DAAU: Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung! (1995)
• Motorpsycho: Demon Box (1993), Mountain (1993), Little Lucid Moments (2008)
• Happy Family: Toscco (1997)
• Mercury Rev: Yerself is Steam (1991), Boces (1993), Deserter’s Songs (1998)
• Medicine: Shot Forth Self Living (1992)
• Sky Cries Mary: Exit at the Axis (1992), A Return to the Inner Experience (1993), This Timeless Turning (1994)
• Slow Loris: The Ten Commandments and Two Territories According to… (1996)
• Mr. Bungle: California (1999)
• Secret Chiefs 3: Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya (1998)
• Porcupine Tree: On the Sunday of Life (1991)
• Curve: Doppelganger (1992)
• Ride: Nowhere (1990)
• Skullflower: IIIrd Gatekeeper (1992)
• Spiritualized: Lazer Guided Melodies (1992), Pure Phase (1995), Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997)
• Miranda Sex Garden: Suspiria (1994)
• Slowdive: Just for a Day (1991)
• Bark Psychosis: Hex (1994)
• The Terminals: Touch (1992)
• Red Red Meat: “Just Like an Egg on Stilts” (1997)
• Califone: Califone [1998] (1998), Califone [2000] (2000), Heron King Blues (2004)
• Man or Astro-Man?: Experiment Zero (1996)
• The Mermen: Food for Other Fish (1994), A Glorious Lethal Euphoria (1995), The Amazing California Health and Happiness Road Show (2000)
• The Cakekitchen: “Overexcited” (1993)
• Elliot Smith: XO (1998)
• Jeff Buckley: Grace (1994)
• The Magnetic Fields: Holiday (1994), The Charm of the Highway Strip (1996), Get Lost (1995), 69 Love Songs (1999)
• David Gray: A Century Ends (1993)
• The Divine Comedy: Casanova (1996)
• Beck: Odelay (1996)
• Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine (1989), The Downward Spiral (1994)
• Phylr: Contra la Puerta (1997)
• Snarky Puppy: Sylva (2015)
• ¡TchKunG!: Dogs & Gears (1994), Post World Handbook (1996)
• Towering Inferno: Kaddish (1993)
• Space Streakings: Hatsu-Koi (1993), 7-Toku (1994)
• Low: “Words” (1994), Trust (2002), “Monkey” (2005), Drums and Guns (2007)
• Mazzy Star: “She Hangs Brightly” (1990), “Fade Into You” (1993)
• His Name Is Alive: Livonia (1990)
• Built to Spill: Ultimate Alternative Wavers (1993), Perfect From Now On (1997), Keep It Like a Secret (1999)
• Ultramarine: United Kingdoms (1993)
• Scanner: “Lithia Water” (1999)
• Orbital: Orbital [Brown Album] (1993), Snivilization (1994)
• Plastikman: Musik (1994)
• Moby: Moby (1992), Move (1993), Play (1999)
• Transglobal Underground: Dream of 100 Nations (1993)
• Loop Guru: Duniya (1994), Amrita (1996)
• Paul Haslinger: Future Primitive (1994), World Without Rules (1996)
• µ-Ziq: In Pine Effect (1995), Lunatic Harness (1997)
• Daft Punk: Discovery (2001)
• Massive Attack: “Safe from Harm” and “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991), “Teardrop” (1998)
• Portishead: Dummy (1994)
• Tricky: Nearly God (1996), Pre Millennium Tension (1996)
• Autechre: Tri Repetae (1995), Anvil Vapre (1995), Chiastic Slide (1997), Exai (2013)
• Babes in Toyland: Fontanelle (1992)
• The High Llamas: Hawaii (1996)
• Stereolab: Switched On (1992), The Groop Played Space Age Batchelor Pad Music (1993), Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (1993), Mars Audiac Quintet (1994), Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
• Pizzicato Five: This Year’s Girl (1991)
• Radiohead: OK Computer (1997), Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), Hail to the Thief (2003), A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
• Morphine: Good (1992), Cure for Pain (1993), Yes (1995), The Night (2000)
• Twinemen: Twinemen (2002)
• Barry Black: Barry Black (1995), Tragic Animal Stories (1997)
• Combustible Edison: I, Swinger (1994)

Movies/TV

Ones I “really liked” (no star), or “loved” (star):

• Audiard, The Sisters Brothers (2018)
• Goddard, Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
• Riley, Sorry to Bother You (2018)
• Runge, The Wife (2017)
• Wilde, Booksmart (2019) ★
• Gilligan, El Camino (2019)
• Dano, Wildlife (2018)
• Various, On Becoming a God in Central Florida: Season 1 (2019) ★
• Brewer, Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
• Scorcese, The Irishman (2019) ★
• Betts, Novitiate (2017)
• Burns, The Report (2019)
• Leitch, Deadpool 2 (2018)
• Corbet, Vox Lux (2018)
• Baumbach, Marriage Story (2019) ★
• Möller, The Guilty (2018)
• Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) ★
• Various, Unbelievable (2019) ★
• Various, Watchmen: Season 1 (2019)
• Hulsing, Undone (2019) ★
• Johnson, Knives Out (2019) ★
• Safdie & Safdie, Uncut Gems (2019) ★
• Nyoni, I Am Not a Witch (2017)
• Fox, The Tale (2018)
• Akhavan, The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
• Chaganty, Searching (2018)
• Abrantes & Schmidt, Diamantino (2018)

Games

Ones I “really liked” (no star), or “loved” (star):

• Witcher 3 
  • Fun, gorgeous, huge. Less free than BotW of course, but more polished and detailed than either BotW or Skyrim. Way too much dialogue for me, but it’s skippable. I wish it had meaningful ranged combat, and more variety in its environments (outside special quests like “Through Time and Space” and “Beyond Hill and Dale”). For some reason I liked the core game loops of Skyrim and BotW better but I’m not sure why. Very nearly gave this a star.
• Ori and the Blind Forest
  • Pretty solid Metroidvania. Beautiful 2d worlds akin to recent Rayman games. My complaints are that combat is just button-spamming, it’s a bit short, and it can be unclear which elements are interactive vs. background. Hollow Knight is solidly better.

Books

• Herken, The Winning Weapon
• Sherwin, A World Destroyed
• Russell, Human Compatible
• Mueller, Atomic Obsession [notes]
• Greenberg, Sandworm