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What Am I Doing Now? (April 2018 Recap)

05.01.2018 by M Donaldson // Leave a Comment

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  • The big (bad) news this month is an eye injury resulting from a combination of a scratched contact lens and my keratoconus. The gist of it is that I’ve been living in a world of fuzzy vision for almost three weeks. The first several days of the experience I could not spend time on screens as my healing cornea was extra-sensitive to light. My work pace was at a snail’s pace, but I somehow didn’t get too far behind. This became a learning experience, and I have a lot of thoughts. I also started listening to audiobooks (something I never warmed up to before), and it was easy to imagine that The Obstacle is the Way was written about my eye condition.
  • A big thanks to Craig at ReverbNation for turning me on to the Cocaine & Rhinestones podcast. This got me through the toughest days of wounded eyesight. Host Tyler Mahon Coe (son of David Allen Coe) is affable, coming off like an opinionated friend filling you in on his obsessions. There are times when Coe gets a little carried away with the nit-picky details (often relegated to the final ‘liner notes’ section of each episode), but it’s endearing and shows his investment in the subject. I highly recommend his history lessons about this important American music and culture. If you’re unsure, then I suggest trying out the fascinating Bobbie Gentry episode or the Rusty & Doug Kershaw episode. The latter inspired me to listen deeply to Neil Young’s On The Beach with headphones in darkness at the dead of night, one of my favorite music moments of the past few years.
  • I posted my recent article Why Streaming is the Future of DJ’ing on Medium, and it’s gotten a fantastic response. It was even reposted by the terrific newsletter Platform & Stream as the top story of the day.
  • Nirosta Steel’s The Dry Ice Remixes 12” is out. It features two hot shot remixes by my friend Sleazy McQueen in collaboration with Colombian DJ duo Vagabundo Club Social. Beautiful modern disco pressure that I can’t recommend highly enough.
  • What I Read This Month:

    The Obstacle is the Way
    Creativity, Inc.

  • What I Watched This Month:

    Stalker
    The Sacrifice
    Babylon Berlin
    Purple Noon
    Brian Eno: 1971-1977 – The Man Who Fell to Earth

  • What I Listened To This Month:

    Yung Wu – Shore Leave
    The Windows 95 start-up sound, time-stretched 4000%
    Laraaji’s stunning FACT mix 648
    Group Listening’s lovely cover of Arthur Russell’s “A Little Lost”
    Neil Young – On The Beach

  • A Few Other Things I Enjoyed This Month:

    But Does It Float (try the ‘Random’ tab)
    This interview with Steve Albini
    Great advice from Sloan on how to keep a band together
    How Miles Davis Changed Jazz
    The amazing + addictive Tones web app
    An Introduction to Conny Plank in 10 Records
    My friends David + Jennifer go to Düsseldorf and meet a Kraftwerk

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Related posts:

  1. What Am I Doing Now? (May 2018 Recap)
  2. What Am I Doing Now? (June 2018 Recap)
  3. What Am I Doing Now? (January 2018 Recap)

Categories // From The Notebook Tags // Buddhist Army, Keratoconus, now, Podcast

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8sided.blog is an online admiration of modernist sound and niche culture. We believe in the inherent optimism of creating art as a form of resistance and aim to broadcast those who experiment not just in name but also through action.

It's also the online home of Michael Donaldson, a curious fellow trying his best within the limits of his time. He once competed under the name Q-Burns Abstract Message and was the widely disputed king of sandcastles until his voluntary exile from the music industry.

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