Media Log

Splinter

Sneaker Pimps

July 2025

A broody trip-hop album with lush sampling and crooning vocals.

For fans of Radiohead

Going through an awful Sneaker Pimps phase -- my friend messaged me saying they were glad I put them on though, so that made me happy. Anyways, this is the first album I ever was exposed to of theirs, with my favorite track of theirs on it. This one is much darker than Becoming X -- less rock inspired and more Radiohead-esque (probably because the lead vocalists of both sound similar... or all depressed British male vocalists sound the same...). I really, really enjoy both albums; I'm not sure if I have a favorite between the two. They're just so different! But still have a definitive melancholy in them. Splinter is a little more mature, I guess, in the sense that they're more subtle and build up tension throughout the entire song, if that makes sense? Just doing some quick browsing online, I'm shocked but not surprised that many people saw this as a flop; it is a rejection of many of the themes in Becoming X, but I don't mind that. It's admirable to see a band experiment with all sorts of different things and hone their craft, especially in an era of algorithm friendly music. If you are disillusioned, this album will lighten your hatred a little (while also allowing you to wallow in it). No need to make more of the same thing and risk it becoming dull. I still think ditching Kelli Ali as the frontwoman was a tasteless move, but Chris Connor's voice is also fantastically sultry, and fits the aesthetic of this album well. Would have been lovely to live in a world with both. Cannot stop listening to this and Becoming X on REPEAT! Like Sheena Ringo and Massive Attack, this band's sound is total perfection for me. I'm always suprised by how little people remember them; I honestly think I prefer them to Radiohead (no shade, just my personal preference). Very elegant addition to the trip-hop lineup; a refined gem which builds off of some of the ideas from their previous album while

Favorite Tracks: Half Life, Low Five



Small Boat

Vincent Delacroix

July 2025

I'm accused of lacking a soul, but my soul is precisely what I leave in the cloakroom when I get to work, it simply can't fit in my uniform. I pick it up again intact from my locker when I leave.

A book, inspired by real events, about a woman who is interrogated for refusing to comfort a dinghy of drowning migrants over the phone, as her job is recieving calls from sinking vessels and letting rescue services know their location.

For fans of Albert Camus' L'Etranger

Another Booker prize shortlist. Fantastic little book which plays with morality and interrogates how meaningful the theatre of morals actually is. Frankly, a much better (and modern) version of Camus' L'Etranger. A quite short, but very dense read -- you'll have to re-read many lines since they seem so deviant from the moral norm that you aren't sure if you read them correctly, and each paragraph is weighted with geopolitics on the personal, night-shift worker scale. In every sentence, a rabbithole of questions unfold. Though uncomfortable, A Small Boat is not edgy or uncouth; both the disillusioned, night shift worker and the drowned migrant workers are treated with humanity , even love, written with the world-weariness and fear appropriate for each situation. Both L'Etranger and A Small Boat are absurdist works; but Delacroix's novel questions if this aburdity comes from global systems of exploitation. I find this inquery much more fruitful for thought. Delacroix does a fantastic job at approaching the subject as neutrally as possible -- there are no answers or great truths readily available, but the unravelling of white-collar morality and the questions which surface from it are much more satisfying to chew on than any definitive statement. Personally, I feel like I'm still gathering my thoughts on this one -- I'll probably have to read it again, with more attention, to really formulate an opinion. But, at least, I know the book has made me more curious.



The Wall

Marlen Haushofer

July 2025

I often look forward to a time when there won't be anything left to grow attatched to. I'm tried of everything being taken away from me. Yet there's no escape, for as long as there is something for me to love in this forest, I shall love it; and if some day there is nothing, I shall stop living.

A cold-war era book about a woman cut off from the world by an invisible wall.

For fans of Jacqueline Harpman's I Who Have Never Known Men

Don't let the summary fool you -- this is one of the best books I have ever read. Initially, the cover caught my eye; I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but when you read for long enough, you get a sixth sense for good books. Subtle but cutting commentary on feminism; finally cut off from the societal pressures of womanhood and being a mother, the narrator finds herself transformed into an entirely new person. Unlike many survival dystopias, Haushofer's book is tender, not particularly gritty -- the tension comes from the woman's deep love for her animal companions. Astonishingly radical in how Haushofer adresses the non-human as well; she has no urge to dominate the nature around her, and it is clear she pays deep attention to animals as individuals. Not in a kitschy way, but as someone who respects them and is genuinely interested in listening to the more-than-human. Shaun Whiteside's work as a translator is also brilliant; the language is lucid but not simple. Written as a personal log, there is a great deal of introspection, jumping between pre-wall past, deep into the future, and present. Though the appearance of the wall is a tragedy, there is also a sense that the narrator is finally freed from a world which supresses her needs and distracts her from an intimate connection with nature. Repressed women will find her painfully relatable; I too have fantasized about being the last person on planet Earth so that I could finally live authentically, without the need for a gendered performance. A refreshing read I cannot reccomend enough; Haushofer's ideas remain fresh and radical 50 years later due to her relentless need to love, paired with her keen observation skills. I'm shocked this book isn't more celebrated.



Under the Eye of the Big Bird

Hirmoi Kawakami

July 2025

A sci-fi set in the far future when humans are slowly going extinct despite AI's best efforts to manage and preserve them.

For fans of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, Tsukumizu's Girl's Last Tour and Shimeji Simulation, and Hiroko Oyamada's The Factory

I went in fully expecting to dislike this book; I often find Hiromi Kawakami's use of language a bit too plain, and I hate, hate this wave of speculative AI fiction (at best, it feels like a grift to make a little money off of AI's popularity. At worst, it feels fearmonger-y and poorly thought out. But I feel this way about most science fiction). However, my goal this summer is to read all the books shortlisted for the Booker prize (I'll try to keep my log updated as I make my way through these) since every book on it had a fascinating synopsis, so I decided to start here. I was pleasantly surprised, and it's one of my favorite sci-fi books I've read. The biook takes place over vast amounts of time -- the span of millenia over multiple narrators -- making it a light exercise of thinking in terms of deep time. Kawakami's simple language works in her favor here; instead of being full of sci-fi jargon, there is an innocent directness in Kawakami's voice, allowing her to approach difficult subjects with empathy for the reader, victims, and perpetrators. The narrators' all have a similar neutral and pure tone, talking frankly about their lives. Again, this actually works in the book's favor; Kawakami treats humanity as a collective mind on the generational time scale. This helps us better empathize with the AI mothers, who have a very alien conciousness compared to humans, but ultimately (and radically) come from a place of love for humanity. Unlike many people's concept of AI as all knowing and brilliant, the Mothers are surprisingly humble; though they are far more intelligent than humanity, they admit to their faults and are aware of their powerlessness against the onward march of time. I read the entire book in under 24 hours; it is a light yet satisfying read with yet another fresh, oddly whimsical, loving perspective. Really enjoying these empathetic female authors! Let me know if y'all have any more like this and The Wall.



Zipless (Songs from the Works of Erica Jong)

Vanessa Daou

July 2025

A sensual jazz-inspired album interpreting Erica Jong's poetry as music.

For fans of Massive Attack's Mezzanine and Madonna's Erotica

I was put on this album by a close friend when she added "Sunday Afternoons" to a group playlist. This was one of my favorite songs for a long time, and I finally got around to listening to the album. What a treat! Erica Jong's poetry is erotic yet meditative. Vanessa and Peter Daou have set these tracks to brooding, sultry beats. Vanessa's voice is perfectly suited to the poetry. A sensual, highbrow art experience you rarely see in music. Give this a listen.

Favorite Tracks: Alcestis On the Poetry Circuit, Sunday Afternoons, Near the Black Forest, Autumn Perspective, My Love is Too Much



Welcome to Elk!

Akupara Games

July 2025

Short adventure game based off a real island in Greenland with real stories. You play as a young woman visiting the island for a carpentry apprentinceship!

Really enjoy the concept of passing down local lore/stories throgh a video game, especially for small towns which may otherwise be overlooked! Many of the stories are changed slightly ingame to fit a larger narrative, but you can read the actual stories later on. I also really enjoyed the video segments with actual people telling stories themselves. The stories are often on the darker side, but they are told with empathy and a little humor. You can tell this was made with a lot of love. Also lots of fun little minigames... I love minigames...



Becoming X

Sneaker Pimps

July 2025

Standard british 90s era trip-hop fare.

For fans of Massive Attack, Sheena Ringo's Shoso Strip and Radiohead

Half Life has been one of my favorite songs since, like, middle school. Shockingly, I've never sat down and actually listened to thier albums. After seeing someone talk about 6 underground under the MV for Black Forest, and considering that I'm on a dark 90s trip hop bent right now, I decided to give Becoming X a listen while doing some work.
Overall, really solid album! I don't know what the hell they were putting in the water in the UK back then but it was doing wonders for their music. Dark, danceable, and a bit brash -- I can totally see myself singing to this while doing chores. Kelli Ali's voice is stunning, and I'm obsessed with her pronounciation and shrill voice; not unlike Sheena Ringo's. She is also incredibly charming. They shouldn't have ditched her as the frontwoman

Favorite Tracks: Low Place Like Home, 6 Underground



Morning Light

Locust

July 2025

IDM artist produces a unique, ambient lyrical album with sounds both from and imitating nature.

For fans of Bjork, Fox + Sui's Summer Storm, rainforest background noise and Ichiko Aoba

An album I find myself becoming obsessed with every few months or so. Lush, outdoorsy soundscapes and poetic lyrics. Every song works together to build a complete work; heavily lyrical, melody driven tracks are spaced out by ambient tracks of running water, flutes, chimes, and other found noises. In fact, the album's overarching aesthetic has the impression of being a natural sound caught on the wind by the ears; voices are rendered like echoes from the bottom of a well, and the percussion/bass often resembles ripples or rainstorms. A fresh, sensual experience; treat yourself and listen to it right now!

Favorite Tracks: Folie, Just Like You, Clouds at My Feet



SCNAILSHOCK: Grand Supreme Tournament.

Oroshibu

July 2025



Crazy Pool with Snails.

A game dripping with style and a killer soundtrack. Normally memes in games pmo, but the rest of the game is so good that I don't even care, and the creator's own humor still shines through.. The addition of dice adds a fanatstic gambling element, and each level's mechanics add to the chaos. Some of the most fun I've had on my computer in a while! This feels like a really cool fake game you see in a movie that you wish was real... but it is real. It's FREE so go play it!! I would absolutely pay for an even longer version.



The Book of Goose

Yiyun Li

July 2025

Perhaps I was born a hard person, harder than most people in my life, so I have only myself to blame when I cannot feel the love of others, my parents among them. Love from those who cannot damage us irreperably often feels insufficient; we may think, rightly or wrongly, that their love doesn't matter at all.

A young french peasant girl is suddenly thrust into fame and a chance to escape her meager peasant life due to a game she and her best friend are playing involving writing a book and befriending a postman.

Picked this up because I was looking for something to read an I enjoyed Li's Wednesday's Child. It was good! Not at all a difficult read and engaging enough -- I could have sailed through it in a day if I had nothing else to do. Li has a keen eye for the dynamics in relationships between women. I often find myself reevaluating my own relationships after reading her work. However, I often feel like her writing is missing a certain kind of perfection; almist there but not quite. Maybe her prose could be a little more poetic; I find her metaphors often feel a bit offhandly thrown in and take me out of the novel. But I think her books are still worth reading and have interesting observations to make. I will keep my eye on this author.



In Rainbows

Radiohead

July 2025

It's Radiohead.

I'm not an imbecile; of course I've listened to In Rainbows before. But I never got the chance to really sit with it. Put this on while I was having a melancholic day and doodling in my sketchbook. Another solid album from Mr. Yorke. His angst, though very relevant to the time of writing, is always timeless. The instrumentals are always gorgeous, and put them a cut above every other broody band. Each song feels like a lush little world, looking down on an entire life lived (especially Weird Fishes and All I Need), but also echoes larger themes from the entire album. A well loved album and deservedly so. Great for listening to while moping and staring out the car/train window.



Favorite Tracks: Weird Fishes / Arpeggi, All I Need