FOLIO
What our staff listened to and watched during our deadline week:
Exodus album by Bob Marley & The Wailers
February 6th was Bob Marley’s birthday so I shamelessly indulged in my favorite album of his, Exodus. When I say indulged I mean running a bath, sparking a joint, and hitting repeat on the intro track “Natural Mystic” and listening carefully. This particular song is heavy. Whether or not you believe in the trumpets of Judgment Day, the statements made in the track are true; “Many more will have to suffer / Many more will have to die”, “Things are not the way they used to be”. I side with the pessimistic view of the devastation of civilization as we know it but something about the way Marley tells me to face reality is heartbreaking. “Natural Mystic” is the only song that has ever made me wish I believed in God. I want to hear the natural mystic but instead I get out of the bath, sad, and turn on some crappy hulu show. -Rain
Freddie Gibbs NPR Tiny Desk
If Youtube had a “Your Year Wrapped” feature, mine would be filled with Freddie Gibbs, more specifically, his NPR Tiny Desk, and that music video where Rick Ross is smoking the smallest blunt I’ve ever seen in my life. Freddie Gibbs feels real. This Tiny Desk is a testament to why live band hip-hop is untouched by electric mixers. With his suave vocals and cheeky yet hard hitting lyrics, like “I can’t hold no grudges, my hands too busy catching blessings,” it’s easy to feel drawn to return to this video, and has become a standard in my lineup while I write. -Vincent
Haley Nahman’s first vlog
Haley Nahamn has been my instagram crush for as long as I can remember. She’s a freelance writer who escaped the claws of fashion writing early in the pandemic. Her personality is extremely relatable for an anxiety-driven human. Nahman has a substack where she releases a newsletter every month, rigorously dissecting whatever has caught her attention recently. Whether it’s pop-culture, relationship antics, or some new lingo like “cursed” she is insightful and funny, making you think hard without realizing it. This month she made her first vlog where she and a friend knitted a balaclava, it took them 14 hours with no breaks. The two’s mental state deteriorates attempting to complete a very tedious task they had obviously never done. The interaction is so endearing and immersive, after watching it I was wondering where my balaclava was! I continuously praise Nahman for sharing REAL things into the world. -Rain
Euphoria
Ya I know, i’m tired of hearing about it too, but this season of Euphoria is too good to go unmentioned. It’s not the fact its shot entirely 35mm Ektachrome film, looking better than ever, or Rue’s quickly spiraling addiction arc, but the ability of writers and producers to actively accost me week after week. “How you gonna hurt me this week,” I say as I sit on the couch. Despite the high school setting, we all feel personally addressed, don’t we? -Vincent
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