list #1: 7 (or so) songs/albums/artists

jon by andrea

first off this is tough—a whole year is a *long* time for me. its tough for me to look back more than half a year; just my personality—definitely into the now. but imma try. in no particular order:

black spade — peep “The Day We Landed” and “Build and Destroy Mixtape”. an unsung talent. i kind of want to keep it that way, but so many people are missing out on good music.

little brother — RIP. incredible group who became auditory family this year, from The Listening to Left Back, to all the seemingly dozens of mixtapes in between. sad to see yall couldn’t keep it together.

the foreign exchange authenticity — a late entry, but poignant beyond belief for the time. a few months later, not as striking but just as fantastic.

liquid spirits — stumbled upon this group through youtube. they’ve made a fan for life. :) two albums: “liquid spirits” and “music”. wow. If you don’t love me/Stepney — two of the most beautiful i’ve heard, and deeply ingrained in my psyche.

sufjan stevens — helped me sleep many nights. his entire catalogue is life, and half through the year, “All Delighted People” EP hit me where it was needed.

peace586 – after several years of listening; met him at the beginning of the year, and both life and his albums have been healing to me.

teebs– “teebs 4” + “ardour“. — pure beauty; it’s the sound of my favorite visuals.

busta rhymes: “decision” — this song…meant worlds to me by the time the year came up.

honorable mention, and i mean this in the greatest of ways, because they are forever–kev brownnnn, and dilla when in doubt, i can *always* put in kev brown. and dilla will be a constant, no matter what situation.

the photograph was taken by the fantastic andrea corona jenkins

the chasm…

it’s now time again for the chasm between when my loves are sleeping and when i’m awake, and vice versa. that’s gotta be the toughest time for those separated across the globe. it is at least for me. it’s worse for me when it’s my turn to sleep, but still sad i have to miss saying hi, even though my distractions are plenty. i’m loving it here. will be back soon!