Menu Four: June 2024
Running up the bill
June brought me continued opportunities to sit by myself for hours in need of sonic companionship. So when it came to placing my order, I said send it and didn’t even consider a budget.
My fourth round of this challenge had me taste-testing an abundance of flavor profiles with everything from thrash & speed metal, riot girrrl, garage punk, neo-psychedelia, post-punk, art rock, and power pop; to R&B, soul, jazz, and funk; to folk, bluegrass, jam band, and country, and a little son cubano to top it all off.
Per usual, I’ve been able to find at least a few things that hit the spot from every artist I’ve done a deep dive on, but overall my favorites were relatively unsurprising, at least tonally. From the jump, Elliot Smith’s early alternative rock project, Heatmiser, Japanese sludge-metal legends, Boris, and NorCal shoegazers, Whirr, all had me going back for more. But I was in great company with No Doubt’s nostalgic 90’s/Y2k, ska-influenced pop sound, and I curated a great vibe for a mellow afternoon with afrofuturist jazz, funk, and R&B by Thundercat.
It was also easy to like New Order-predecessors, Joy Division’s early-80’s, British post-punk, as well as a slightly softer 90’s post-punk from The Cry, who have sort of an Echo & the Bunnymen or The Smiths kind of feeling.
Most rounds have included at least one heavy hitter, but this month I decided to rip the bandaid off on a band with one of the most intimidatingly large libraries of recordings and a global cult following – Grateful Dead. I just barely scratched the surface of their archives, but with some personalized guidance from a couple serious deadhead friends, I felt like I got a pretty solid introduction, and I get why they’re still so well loved.
And though maybe not my absolute top picks, Venus In Cancer by Robbie Basho is truly a must-listen, and Fairport Convention’s 60’s British folk-rock is pretty perfect for a mellow afternoon.
Out of all of the extras I added on, DIIV’s perfect new record Frogs In Boiling Water was my clear winner and a top contender for my favorite release of the whole year. The tracks Raining On Your Pillow and Soul-net put me into the kind of musical trance I crave almost daily. I was also seriously impressed with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by the pop icon the 2020’s needed, Chappell Roan, and had to give BRAT by Charli xcx it’s due.
As for other forms of media, I kept it to a snack with a talk on Palestine and Israel between Dr. Gabor Maté and Ilan Pappé. And keeping to the theme, I made sure to watch the new documentary by the same production team on the history and current state of the occupation, Where Olive Trees Weep — which would be a great intro point for anyone still unfamiliar with the situation.
I continued reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which I’d decided from the jump I’d go through slowly and studiously. And as such, added in a second slow-read with a gnostic text called Mary Magdalene and the Divine Feminine by Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Annice Booth, which details what the gnostics believe were Jesus’ lost teachings on women and femininity. Having been raised with heavy Evangelical and Catholic influences for the first sixteen years of my existence, this alternative perspective on the biblical teachings I was conditioned with piqued my interest.
Totaling nearly 100 albums start to finish, it’s safe to say I really ran up the bill in June. Though I know my media habits will not always be so indulgent, and my appetite for creative consumption will continue to fluctuate as my life does. The key for me is that no matter how much I put on my plate, I just want to make sure it’s a choice I’m making consciously, and with clear intention.
Check out my June Menu Playlist, and follow along for next month’s menu and review!