Greg's Newsletter Has Vibes [No. 051]

Hey. What's up.

So… it’s been a while! There’s been no shortage of news, technology, sports, and music development. Some of it good. Lots of it terrible. But hey! It might all be over soon, so I guess we might as well just sit back and wait for it to happen?

But a special shoutout to a couple people. First, to my friend Jill, who’s supremely smart and supremely funny. I’ve worked with her for… like… 5 years now, in both Detroit and Dallas, and she just started her own newsletter, Good Content (she does #brand #content for a #living because we’re #millenials and on #socialmedia). It’s great and you should read the latest edition and then sign up for it.

(And shoutout to D$ for the support, too. Sharebr0s for life.)

Cool bro, so tell me something good...

Instead of writing about the interesting/cool/fun stuff from across the internet over the past week or so, I’m using this occasion to take stock. I’m not trying to make a generalized, sweeping statement here, but it’s fact: we are all inundated with notifications, and popups, and alerts, and email, and messages, and bzzzzzzz, and a million different things vying for our attention, all day. I pride myself on having really efficient information and media flows so I can stay on top of what I want to consume, when I want to do it. But it gets overwhelming. I’m guessing this all can get overwhelming for you, too, no matter how plugged in or plugged out you are.

Originally, I was going to just list everything here, in one newsletter - all the music, apps, platforms, podcasts, books, whatever - that I use or consume regularly. But then that list got really long (it seems like the opposite of “take stock and find out what’s important” but this is a much culled down list). So I’m going to do a few of these in the coming weeks and months. I’ll sort of call it the “Good Content” series.

And it’ll begin with music and these essential things.

Music

Spotify
I know… “Cool, Greg. Spotify?”

Whatever. I’m a Spotify guy, through and through. Sure, the company incur massive debt every quarter, and can’t pay artists anything, but I’m hooked and fully in their ecosystem, for better or for worse. For new music diggers, their “Discover Weekly” and “Release Radar” playlists have been pretty great, if somewhat inconsistent (seriously… sometimes “Discovery Weekly” is a vibe session of greatness, other weeks, it’s trash. I’ll take it though).

I love that labels and artists have taken to Spotify to curate their own playlists. Ann Arbor/NYC-based Ghostly Records add their latest releases to a running playlist but they have a slew of others (for work, for relaxation, etc. - just click through to their profile). Numero Group is a record label that specializes in re-releasing lost tracks, albums, and artists from yesteryear - here’s their release playlist.

And, of course, my running 2017 playlist featuring my favorite music of the year - new releases, uncovered vibes from the past, and other jams that just make sense. Up to almost 300 songs and 23 straight hours of goodness.

Mixcloud
Soundcloud is great for individual tracks and emerging music, but frequently, I’m in the mood for a solid mix or radio show. I turn to Mixcloud for that. Login, start searching for artists you like, DJs you know, or radio show hosts you might dig, and then just explore.

For some immediate recommendations: if you're in a jazz mood, check Jazzcat’s posts/reposts. For bleeding edge, hip-hop/soul/etc., check Fresh Selects out of Portland.

Gilles Peterson
If there’s one DJ/record selector I couldn’t live without, it’s Gilles (shoutout to Goble). He’s a British radio DJ who has a phenomenal weekly show on BBC Radio, a few record labels/collectives, and now a sprawling online music culture under the “Worldwide Family” moniker. He gets the latest, newest heat from producers, artists, and everyone in between from around the globe and always, always unearths dusty gems when he spins.

Electronic, soul, hip-hop, jazz, African and Latin American - he does it all. Bonus: check out his Worldwide FM Mixcloud page for more music than you could ever listen to.

Sound Signature - WTED Radio
Theo Parrish is a Detroit house/techno legend, on the production and DJ front. He releases dope music on his record label, Sound Signature. But one of my go-to soundtracks (especially if I’m working/writing late at night) is the ‘radio station’ that broadcasts on his label’s website. I don’t think it’s available 24/7, but it has just the dopest selection of stuff that blends all together, chunks at a time: vibes fit for a Detroit rollerskate party, low-key house mixes, disco re-edits, and a phenomenal funk and soul selection. One of those that you just let play and go.