Complete Nonsense

Nigh upon a midnight hour (actually it was a July afternoon in 2014) I came across a Peabody award-winning mini-series called The Story of Film: An Odyssey  and it elevated my love of the cinema to heights I never before knew existed. The series is narrated by film historian Mark Cousins - he has an addicting Irish accent and a very distinct cadence to his speech, and now when I hear certain director's names I only hear them in Cousins's pronunciation - and he takes the viewer on a complete trip through the history of cinema on a global scale. It's 15 one-hour episodes that explore everything from the birth of film as an art form to the Golden Age of Hollywood to the New Wave movements to today. The series, along with my discovery of the Criterion Collection, inspired me to focus on cinema's bigger picture and to take an interest in and view the works of all the filmmakers that came before the modern era, especially those outside of the United States. It's driven me...

give me The groud - Mura Masa [Mura Masa:] Don't try and fuck with my head A very short track from the rising 21-year-old electronic producer , and songwriter, Mura Masa , who sings over his own beat on this one. Alex Crossman (Mura Masa) exploded into the mainstream this year with his self-produced and  self-titled debut album , which featured the hit single " Love$ick " with A$AP Rocky , as well as " 1 Night ," with Charli XCX , and " All Around the World ," with Desiigner , both of which saw their fair share of attention too. Mura Masa  is one of the few electronic albums that I enjoy the entire way through because of its sonic variety , and the fact that Crossman seems to collaborate very smoothly with other artists. He's aware of the cultural zeitgeist, so his Caribbean and Afrocentric beats come off less as appropriation and more as important global influences: "The truth is, at the end of the day, popular culture is Black cu...

Grown Up - Danny Brown [Danny Brown:] Whoever thought I'd be the greatest growing up Detroit rapper Danny Brown bops along over this carefree track - from 2012 - about his childhood experiences and how his life is so different now. Party Supplies production has a bit of a classic vibe to it that we don't hear Brown over often, and his delivery is much more chilled out and accessible compared to his typically more animated , aggressive style of rapping. This is a good morning track to put on as you're getting ready for the day. Music video below, but the fucking lyrics are fucking goddamn fucking censored fuck. Take that you censors . Video directed by: Greg Brunkalla

Joan of Arc - Ricky Reed [Ricky Reed:] I dip the shank and I carve your name in ink If the roof is up in flames, I will hold the beams This electro pop groove from Grammy-nominated producer Ricky Reed is one of my favorite songs from this summer. The one-man machine has produced some big hits in the past few years: Jason Derulo's " Wiggle " and " Talk Dirty ," in 2013; Pitbull's " Fireball " in 2014; Twenty One Pilots's " Ride " in 2015; Phantogram's " You Don't Get Me High Anymore " in 2016; and this year he produced Derulo's " Swalla ," and his name was all over the production credits on Kesha's Rainbow  album, and The Aviary  by the Swedish EDM group Galantis . However, this funky, self-produced track tops them all, and I'm pretty sure the synth melody could possibly bring about world peace. It'll put some rhythm in your damn bones. I really enjoy Reed's singing ...

So whenever I'm trying to write and I'm not really feeling it or I don't know how to start I'll use a technique - favored by a lot of surrealists in the 20th century - called "automatic writing." It's where you start writing literally whatever comes into your head and don't think about what's coming out in an effort to pull something from your subconscious. It's a process that involves uninterrupted stream-of-consciousness and free association. I believe a few hip hop artists use the technique for their lyrics; the two I'm most aware of though are Heems and Kool A.D. of the former Brooklyn duo Das Racist . The things you write aren't entirely unplanned, there may be a word you'll latch onto that you throw in, but you're also not really pausing to think about what you're writing or what you're going to write next. It's the same thing Nathan, Oscar Isaac's character in Ex Machina  (2015), talks about in his desc...

Pull Up - Swift [Swift:] I'mma pull up just to hop out and stunt This is a jam to vibe to if I've ever heard one. Atlanta hip hop artist Swift rides over the starry production by Dreek Beatz with chill assurance. This is the type of song that you can smoke to, drink to, ride to, study to, hook up to, etc. The versatility is unarguable. While Swift's bars aren't anything to write home about (cookie-cutter lyrics and an uninspired rhyme scheme), he does sound damn fucking good over the beat, and the hook catches your every limb, injecting itself into your bloodstream, and enabling you to get on that same level as Swift. The confident aura he exudes will have you wanting to hop out and stunt right there with him . Video directed by: Gerard Victor