diSKOAver weekly: week of February 8, 2023
Ayo bestie what’s good !?🥰👋🏻
To quote my absolute favorite vine of all time,
✨✨GUESS WHO’S BACK AND BETTER THAN EVAH!? ✨✨
omg the way that i have missed this space. 😮💨
Also, how do we like the new digs? 🥰
Isn't it fun here now!? I'm obsessed with this design! 🤩
There are still a lot of tweaks left to do. Porting over *CHecks Notes* about10k blog posts and shit to a new Squarespace account so I could have all of the latest features to play around with was a bit tedious, but if I’m being honest I don’t regret it. This shit is pretty cool! RIGHT? RIGHT?🥺 Anyway I’m working on it, so please excuse the stardust in the meantime. 💫
Bestie you would be so proud of me. I’ve been doing so much work on myself while I was away. I learned so much about how I came to be Some Kind of Awesome and the way that unbeknownst to me until literally this past weekend that this little web log of mine has been a little beautiful container for healing. It’s so funny, ever since this site transitioned back over to just being me contributing I’ve had such a hard time feeling comfortable with doing whatever the fuck I want to here. The long and the short of it is internalized sexism fucking sucks and I’ve learned that the only effective vaccine for protecting yourself from your insecurities is 💉radical self acceptance💉, bb.
Oh I forgot to send you this when I first saw it. 😑 My bad, I’ve been ruminating on this Instagram post that Questlove made as he was in the throes of processing and grieving the loss of renowned rapper Takeoff, who we lost to gun violence. Tell me this doesn’t just stop you dead in your fucking tracks:
No wonder the never ending quest of being cool is so fucking toxic. It’s literally a byproduct of white supremacy/systemic racism. 🙃
God I used to want to be seen as 🥶 cool🥶 so bad. I used to waste so much brain space worrying about how I was being perceived. I would literally exhaust myself overthinking every little last pixel of this place, trying to prove that I was like, worthy of an industry that has time and time again showcased that they intend to strip you of everything that makes you so perfectly and wonderfully you in order to essentially win a popularity contest. I can never decide if living with that as our reality is more embarrassing or infuriating, you know what I mean? Like we have lost (and continue to lose) so many people in this community to mental health related issues because we push artists to such unrealistic standards to try to keep up with capitalism’s insatiable desires. As a recovering perfectionist myself, I can share from firsthand account that just feeling the pressure to perform without a single mistake all day every day will take you to the darkest and twistiest of places inside one’s big beautiful brain. Musicians then have to factor in the grueling demands of touring until you drop dead while fanbases leave them feeling beholden instead of empowered because their art gets reduced to something that if it’s not solely consumed in excess it’s considered worthless. that’s so fucking gross. 🤢
IDK about you bestie, but everyone I know who makes music is trying to 🔌 connect 🔌. They wanna connect people to shared experiences. To parts of their firsthand lived experience that someone else may not have been exposed to so that the slight shift in perspective just for a handful of moments might click something into place in their spirit so they can know themselves better. You know, like all the things that art is about! 🤩 as someone who was briefly obsessed with trying to monetize people’s consumption of my self expression with the unrealistic expectation of somehow eliciting an insatiable demand for my ✨rock mom ramblings✨, I can tell you it makes you feel really fucking worthless that the thing that makes you happy will probably never fit unless you change every last thing that makes what you have to offer so special in this lifetime.
And bestie like, you’re so fucking special. Especially to me. 🥹 Has anyone told you that yet today? Because if not I can say it again and like 200 more times today and for the rest of our lives if you want. Cheering you on to greatness is my 2nd favorite thing in the world (after making playlists, obvi).
🪩 The world deserves to see you in your most authentic form of self expression that you feel safe enough to release out into the world. Whatever that is. Regardless if it’s on trend or not. Period. 🪩
As you can see, all this radical self acceptance I’ve been practicing’s got me riled up, bestie! So much so that I woke up this morning and decided that I had to make sure that in the time we’ve been apart that you haven’t forgotten that your creative expression is so precious to this world and you deserve to have people take the time to make you feel seen and that they deeply understand what you are conveying to them. AND! AND! You deserve to feel abundant as fuck as a result of your willingness to be that fucking vulnerable. Not everyone can do it like you do, yo. Your way is so magical! you’re really just out there drastically changing lives all effortlessly and shit by doing what comes naturally to you. And yeah, ofc there are gonna be some people out in the world that will forever be committed to misunderstanding you, but honestly that’s their fucking loss. Just look at you In all your splendor enduring all this hot pink to connect with me right now! Making me feel all seen and valued and shit. 🥰 anyone who wants to sleep on you is gonna be kicking themselves for the lapse in judgement eventually, so just try to focus on the people who try to give as many fucks as I do about what you do.
You know how I love to make you playlists, so I’ve decided that as a way to be a good friend to you that I’m going to commit myself to sharing all the songs that have been helping me get to the really beautiful place that my spirit has settled into lately. It’s been really wild to see how all these songs that have sought me out in the last few years were helping me retrain my brain so I could be the person who is blissfully babbling into a Squarespace to you right now. I’m so excited to see what resonates with you. That’s by far my favorite part of music: that moment when you can really see another person from a very specific perspective that could only have been facilitated by self expression. Makes my eyes water just typing that 🥹.
I hope these songs make you feel as safe and supported as I feel right now having you here reading this. I saw this sticker recently from this decolonial Native Xicana Feminist Fanzine that I stumbled into on Instagram awhile back that said, “We keep each other safe so we can be dangerous together.” Huh, I guess my brain needed to simmer with that for a minute so I could be inspired to drop you this playlist. Anyway I’m gonna wrap this up so I can get to work on your Valentine for next week💘. You know how much I love Valentine’s Day.
To recap: I think you’re the fucking best. I’m proud of you all day every day. please don’t overthink anything that makes you feel like the happiest and most authentic version of yourself. Keep doing what you’re doing. Stay true to yourself. Fuck the haters. And fuck worrying about being cool. You’re so much more than cool. You’re everything. Also, you don’t have to stress about where you’re tryna go, you’re already there. 🪩✨
That’s all for now.
Talk soon, you little sweet sweetie!
Love you!
p.s. I did that thing I always do where I put lil notes in the tracklist below so you’d feel extra special. Excited to hear your thoughts!
1. DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? - “Guess Who Just Rolled Back Into Town”
You’ll have to excuse me, I think I’m hilarious opening with this. Also lotta people missed this one when it dropped last year so had to make sure you saw it.
2. salome - “What’s Home”
I regret not venturing out in the rain last year when I was in Paris to see Salome. Woulda made catching covid while I was there worth it. 😮💨
3. Memphis LK - "Tricky”
It makes me so happy to see Memphis LK doing so well.🥰 Has it really been *checks notes* almost 3 full years since I first fell for her? Hell yeah. My love is steadfast when the vibe is right and she’s def ✨got it✨.
4. Son Little - “drummer”
I love Aaron so much. I am always so thrilled to see him doing well. This is such a fuckin jam. If it doesn’t make you do a cute lil shimmy then maybe you need a nap (or I need to remember that not everyone chair dances as often as I do).
5. Djo - “Change”
About to make you sound really cool at parties: did you know that Joe Keery of Stranger Things fame is in a band and it fuckin RULES!? I think I love the new record so much because I’m convinced that Joe is channeling Matt Mahaffey, which is weird because he’s very much alive and well. He’s even apparently working on another sElf record! But yeah, back to Joe. It's such a cool little record that could not be anymore well received by yours truly.
6. Telenova - “Haunted”
Bestie did I tell you that Slum Sociable broke up? 😭 As you can imagine, I was absolutely fucking beside myself. But! In true Aussie fashion as detailed to me by the homies in Kingswood, there was an amalgamation of talented Aussies that emerged from that chapter coming to a close. If you thought Slum Sociable was the shit Telenova will absolutely knock your fucking socks off. Singer Angeline Armstrong is such a powerhouse and cool as hell. If I have to swim to Australia, put the band on my back, and swim them to America myself I’ll fucking do it. That’s how badly I want to be her friend 🥺.
7. Casually Here - “Apex”
“Hey Kibbe what was your most played song of 2022?” This absolute fucking masterpiece. This whole record is good, but this is just such a stunning little meditative moment. If I’m freaking out about something this can normally calm me down pretty quickly. AND Nic was a real one dropping it on the first day of birthday month. What’s not to love?
8. Fyfe + Iskra Strings - “Egosystem”
Now this lil lovely, whewwww. Makes my heart soar. If you feel like swooning for about 45 minutes, this is your record.
9. Ab-Soul + Zacari - “Do Better”
This song is so well written and meticulously executed. I love how when I’m in a moment where I’m being really hard on myself that the hook feels perfectly reflective of the moment so I can help the feeling come and go with ease, but then once the feeling passes I find it motivating. Potent medicine here. Be careful tho! It’s addictive.
10. DanDlion - “I Can’t Go FOr That (No Can Do)”
Speaking of addictive, this is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard. I can’t get enough of it. I hope that Dandlion has his moment soon. It’s gotta be any second now at this rate. His vocal performance on this is just 🤌🏻.
11. Mason + The Melody Men - “Better On My Own”
Choosing to be more deliberate with my energy even if it means I’ve been mostly keeping to myself during this little emotional growth spurt has made me feel as good as this song does.
12. Étienne de Crécy - “Kepler 186f”
You deserve to strut around like the kooky little badass that you are and this is the song to ensure that.
13. HERO - “POWER”
FYI - If you play this one loudly enough when you’re having a moment of uncertainty in the power that you posess, the feeling typically subsides by the end of this song.
14. Kutay Soyocak - “Hiçbir Şey”
The darkling lead singer of Jakuzi released this little one off solo track last year and it makes me feel like a lil sexy ass glitch witch every time I put it on. 🔮 Oh speaking of that sweet boy. He’s been posting Mutual Aid resources related to the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria on his instagram stories but they’re all in Turkish. NPR shared this detailed resource of ways to lend your support from over here.
15. Yulia Niko + EREZ - “I’m Everything”
I have a goal to get this added to a playlist at the yoga studio I’ve been going to while I’m in Raleigh by the end of the week. This was cool to flow to the other day when I practiced at home, but I want this loud in the studio with my favorite yogis. This song is badass.
16. Myd - “We Found It (feat. Bakar)”
Speaking of yoga, I have the most beautiful memory associated with this song now. When I was in Paris in August 2021, I stayed in a studio on a houseboat on the Seine (yes, really). I had a little private terrace where I could do yoga outside. It was heaven. I added this song to a yoga playlist I made for my practice on the houseboat and this song always came on when I was in camel pose, which is a heart opener. Anyway, one afternoon around the full moon (which was also a Blue Moon) I was in camel pose listening this song. The sky was so blue. The clouds were puffy and white. THe moon was out and really feeling herself. My heart was so full. I hope you get the same feeling I did from this one. 💖
