Website Recommendation: This day in TRL
Music video director Issac Rentz provides a fascinating, and often humorous, critical examination of TRL’s top videos. For example:
Backstreet Boys opt for all white, which probably sounded slick in theory, but unfortunately looks a little cultish. Let’s just say that if they walked up to you in an actual airport, you’d pretend to be on the phone to avoid a conversation about their end times literature.
Those guys really didn’t hold a candle to N’Sync*.
* Brb lol’ing at Howie’s face in that picture.
Sony PS-F9
Known as the “Flamingo” in Japan, the Sony PS-F9 was a battery operated direct drive turntable that featured linear tracking. Including two headphone outlets, the PS-F9 went on sale in 1982 and was the closest Sony ever got to making a “Walkman” for records.
This toes the line between totally awesome and totally impractical that I often associate with vinyl collection. Aesthetically, the Flamingo is incredibly pleasing. The design is clean and compact, to the point that I think it would still look fine in a modern home. Better yet, as this video demonstrates, these exterior flourishes are achieved without compromising functionality. All you would need is speakers that connect via a 3.5mm jack.
So yeah, I want one pretty bad now.
Blue Light
The Inside Story of a Reputation-Ruining, Idol-Killing Internet Hoax
Caitlin Dewey for The Washington Post:
Unfortunately for Oberst, it’s infinitely easier to spread a story than to take it back. When you Google his name, stories about the alleged rape still dominate the first page. There’s nothing about his latest album, Upside Down Mountain, which came out in May to pretty rave reviews. Nothing about his current tour.
It’s my eternal hope that stories like this eventually become something we look back on with bemusement*. Like, in the future’s version of Mad Men people won’t be smoking on planes or drinking while they’re pregnant. They’ll be posting vicious rumours about each other on the internet, and instagramming pictures of their lunch. The viewers of the future will laugh and think “My, we used to be uncivilized!” and rape accusations will no longer happen because we as a global society found a way to deter people from raping each other. Blue Ivey Carter will be nominated for an unprecedented third term as President and you’ll be able to buy weed at the corner store.
I admit it’s a stretch, even for the future, but a guy can dream.
Chance the Rapper & the Social Experiment – “Wonderful Everyday”
Love this arrangement*. Chance’s season is quickly approaching. He just needs to decide if he wants to shoot for mainstream radio. I’d like to see him follow Frank Ocean’s example; forgo conventional approaches in order to maximize his creativity. There are definitely parallels between Acid Rap and Nostalgia Ultra in terms of critical acclaim, cultural impact, etc. By expanding upon elements of Acid Rap, this track shows Chance growing as an artist. From referencing Arthur to barely rapping at all, he’s taking creative risks and they’re paying off. Hopefully, he’s just getting started.
‘Hemingway Almost Killed Me’
Via LIFE:
The myth that has grown around Hemingway, and that Hemingway himself assiduously nurtured… endures because, deep down, that’s what so many of us want to believe the lives of our literary lions really looked like. Far fewer of us, meanwhile, recall that a life lived on that scale, and at that pace, often peters out into a series of small, sordid scenes.
Afterdark
The End of the Day Philosophy
Leo Babauta writing for his blog zenhabits:
I’ve been making my small decisions throughout the day, recently, with a simple question: How will I feel about this when today is over?
Leo’s perspective on life is tremendously calming. He has this incredible ability to decode (seemingly) complex issues and put them into basic terms.
Over the past few months I’ve learned to be more analytic when considering my life. I’ve realized that a lot of my problems are self-induced; objectively they are non-issues that escalate because of my own neuroticism/depression/anxiety/abandonment issues/etc. However by acknowledging these flaws I’ve actually been able to combat them. The monsters we keep in the dark will always be more frightening than the ones we hit with a spotlight*.
* This idea pervades my artistic taste. I like stuff that shines a light on our darkness.
Getting Over Procrastination
Maria Konnikova for the New Yorker:
When Steel completed his analysis, one finding in particular jumped out: excessive procrastinators were worse at self-regulating. In fact, self-regulation—the ability to exercise self-control and delay immediate rewards for future benefits—explained seventy per cent of the observed procrastination behaviors. From that connection came Steel’s main insight: What if procrastination was simply the flip side of impulsivity?
Twelve Dollar Beers 