Hey everybody. I’m back at work for the first time in a week and I need a break from thinking about our treasonous president, so come with me as I recap some non-political stuff.
I just returned from my first trip to the West Cost; 3-4 days near Seattle, with some near and dear ex-Brooklyn friends. Sincerest apologies for not telling everyone else that I know in the Seattle area that I was in town – this was a very quick visit (and also a birthday gift for my wife) and we just didn’t have the time to schedule anything beyond what we’d planned. (And judging from Facebook, I apparently know a lot more people out there than I thought!) All that being said, I adored Seattle, and I want to go there again. As soon as my body adjusts to the time change, that is.
I want to start a new mini-feature here. I’ve gone on and on before about how Spotify’s weekly Discovery playlist sometimes knows me a little bit too well, and so I’ve decided to catalog those specific songs that I immediately fall in love with and listen to a thousand times in a row. (I’ve also started compiling a separate playlist with those sorts of songs, but one thing at a time.) In this instance, the song in question is “Happy Unhappy” by The Beths. I am obsessed with this song and I need to break down why.
I’m not particularly fond of this lyric video, so I’d rather just have you close your eyes and put on some very good headphones and crank that shit up and then steer you to the following perfect moments:
1st: the guitar production is pristine. Also, the guitar arrangements are glorious.
2nd: in the chorus, the way the bass hangs on the 1 instead of the 4 at approximately 0:53 – it adds a wonderful propulsion and tension.
3rd: they’re from New Zealand, and so any word with a long “o” has a particularly wonderful shape to it – “own”, “stone”, “tone”, etc.
4th: I’m not necessarily one for lyrics, but I love these lyrics. Especially the ambiguity of the line “so I could forget you / like I really want to”. Her delivery of the entire song is excellent.
5th: Listen to the harmonies and the interlocking guitar lines after the solo (at approx 2:31). I LOVE THAT KIND OF SHIT.
Finally: There’s this little weird snare hit right at the end (2:58) – most likely a happy accident that they decided to keep – and I adore it.
I don’t know if I’m doing to do a Top 10 Games list this year, but if I were, I’d like to note that The Crew 2 is my current front-runner for 2018’s Most Pleasant Surprise; it’s essentially Forza Horizon with a lot of quintessential Ubisoft touches, but if you turn off the insipid dialogue and put on your own tunes, and just select events from the menu rather than driving over mostly barren landscape, it’s very nice. I’m playing it on the X, and two things are also immediately apparent: (1) this game is gorgeous, and (2) it has some of the most remarkably fast loading times I’ve ever seen, especially in an open-world game.
By the way, the addition of Groups on the X is WONDERFUL. It’s basically the same thing as the Folders option on the PS4, albeit slightly less elegant, but it makes sorting out my backlog a hell of a lot easier. (I should add that I have an 8TB external hard drive on my X, which is why being able to sort out 200+ games into custom groups is very, very necessary.)
Oh, and before I left for Seattle I started getting back into Ni No Kuni 2 on the PS4; I’m finally at the point where I’ve started doing some of the city-building stuff, and it’s quite pleasant. I think Henry is a little too young for it, but it’s also pretty accessible; I might try to get him involved as I continue along.
Also: I’ve been playing the shit out of Switch lately. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is super-fun, and that one has gotten Henry’s attention, especially as the controls are pretty simple. This actually is much better experienced in hand-held mode, as opposed to docked; some of the puzzles require touching objects, and using your finger is far more intuitive than the weird motion-control reticule thing on a TV.
And finally, I apparently beat my 2018 Goodreads challenge a short while ago. I did kinda purposefully set the number low (to keep myself from feeling unnecessary pressure), and the current number includes books that I haven’t yet finished. So I haven’t officially crossed the 35-book threshold, though I should be there shortly.
OK, that’s the news. Good morning! Good afternoon! Good night!
Shouts From The Couch 
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