Category: Blog

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Miscellaneous

This Charming CHASS

“How charming the man is. Ever since I have been in prison he has always been coming to see me, and at times he would talk to me, and was as good as could be to me, and now see how generously he sorrows for me.” from Socrates
Quote from Crito, the Death of Socrates

I googled something once

The value of the humanities can be described in a multitude of ways, one in which I’ve adopted is the notion that engaging with culture, communities and the arts, interrogating their forms, can help us better interrogate our own lives in this same manner as the classics and the acclaimed.

So I was crying over the death of Socrates studying for my ancient Mediterranean history class and something stood out to me.

excerpt from socrate's death about his charming guard

“this charming man”, this charming man you say…

Acclaimed artistry, The Smiths. As I grow up I move from listening to them in nostalgia for my mother’s taste and her adolescent soundscape and now nuzzle my way into the songs.

It’s quite odd to grow with a song, to fit yourself, your narrative and snapshots slot into anothers lyrics, someone else’s life.

Continue reading “This Charming CHASS”
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Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 11/4/25

Afterhours Charts

ArtistRecordLabel
1MACHINE GIRLPsychoWarrior: MG Ultra XFuture Classic
2INDIGO CYPRESSThe WitnessSelf-Released
3ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER“Lifeworld” [Single]Warp
4PICTUREPLANESex DistortionMusic.Website
5NIGHT TAPESportals//polaritiesNettwerk
6DESTRATACDMUSIC013 [EP]Club Designs
7SYLVAN ESSO“WDID” [Single]Psychic Hotline
8BIZSwimSelf-Released
9WEVALCHOROPHOBIATechnicolour
10LYNYNIxonaSooper

Afterhours Adds

ArtistRecordLabel
1MACHINE GIRLPsychoWarrior: MG Ultra XFuture Classic
2PICTUREPLANESex DistortionMusic.Website
Categories
Weekly Charts

Underground Charts 11/4/25

Underground Charts

ArtistRecordLabel
1TOKIMONSTAEternal ReverieYoung Art
2MANWOLVES, CRASHPREZ, CRASHWOLVESit all comes for me [EP]Manwolves
3DELIVERY BOYSMUDSelf-Released
4DEMAEDeep DiveFAMM
5EVIDENCEUnlearning Vol. 2Rhymesayers
67XVETHEGENIUSSelf 7xve 3Broadband Sound
7GOLDFORDSpace Of The Heart [EP]GoldFord
8HUMAN ERROR CLUB AND KENNY SEGALHuman Error Club At Kenny’s HouseBackwoods Studioz
9JAYWOODLeo NegroCaptured Tracks
10MURSLove & Rockets 3:16 (The Emancipation)Mello

Underground Adds

ArtistRecordLabel
1CAUTIOUS CLAYThe Hours: NightFantasy/Concord
2MID CENTURY MODERNBiorhythmsMADK
3BILLY DEAN THOMASMXSelf-Released
4LEX LEOSISi’m a little sensitive [EP]Distorted Muse
5ELIAS RONNENFELTSpeak DaggersEscho
6LORD JAH-MONTE OGBON“So You Really Don’t Miss Me?” [Single]Lex
7SHUNGU“Stay Alive” [Single]Lex
8TOBI AND REAL BAD MAN“When I’m Home” [Single]Real Bad Man
Categories
New Album Review

Album Review: Do You Feel This Way Sometimes?

A featureless white figure with a fuzzy outline is falling through a background of squigly lines and pastel rainbow colors.
Album cover for "Do You Feel This Way Sometimes" by LEEVAI

While I was walking around campus listening to this album, it began to color my perception. With all the impact of a soundtrack on a movie scene, “Do You Feel This Way Sometimes?” By LEEVAI made me feel like I was walking through a dream.

My favorite track off this album was “Professional Passenger”. This track begins with looping synths that immediately triggered nostalgia in me. The loops have a dimension to them that reminds me of the way speakers on a Nintendo DS. The slightest grain washed over the song. It made think of those tiny DS speakers trying to allow out a volume too big for them. The song made me feel like a little kid booting up a Legend of Zelda game. This nostalgia made for a great hook. It opened my attention and held me there with precision.

Continue reading “Album Review: Do You Feel This Way Sometimes?”
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Weekly Charts

Jazz Charts 11/4/25

ArtistRecordLabel
1DANA AND ALDENSpeedoConcord Jazz/Concord
2RIN SEO COLLECTIVECity SuiteCellar
3BRAD MEHLDAURide Into The SunNonesuch
4CHRIS ROTTMAYERPlaying FavoritesPilars
5RAFIQ BHATIAEnvironmentsAnti-
6VANISHA GOULDShe’s Not Shiny, She’s Not SmoothCellar Group
7DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER AND BILL CHARLAPElementalMack Avenue
8SHAREL CASSITYGratitudeSunnyside
9SHELLY YOELLIN – GABRIEL DATCU QUINTETRojoSelf-Released
10JAMES ZITOZito’s JumpSelf-Released

Categories
Weekly Charts

Top Charts 11/4/25

Top Charts

ArtistRecordLabel
1LIGHTHEADEDThinking, Dreaming, Scheming!Slumberland
2MAMALARKYHex KeyEpitaph
3DOUBLE WISHDouble WishHit The North
4HATCHIE“Lose It Again” [Single]Secretly Canadian
5NATIVE SUNConcrete LanguageTODO
6POT-POTWarsaw 480km felte
7SEA LEMONDiving For A PrizeLuminelle
8ABIGAIL DOWDSaints & WarriorsSelf-Released
9ANIMAL COLLECTIVE“Love On The Big Screen” [Single]Domino
10DISCUSTo Relate ToSun-Rom
11FEEBLE LITTLE HORSE“This Is Real” [Single]Saddle Creek
12FIND MY FRIENDSFind My Friends [EP]Bloody Knuckles
13FLORRYSounds LikeDear Life
14ONCE BELOW JOYRealm Beyond the SkylineSelf-Released
15PHOEBE RINGSAseuraiCarpark
16ACOPIABlush ResponseScenic Route
17CAMERON STENGERLighterHearing Aid
18CORNELIA MURRRun To The Center22Twenty
19FOXWARREN2 (Two)Anti-
20GOOD FLYING BIRDSTalulah’s TapeCarpark
21HANA VUMovies [EP]Ghostly International
22HOODED MENACE“Pale Masquerade” [Single]Season Of Mist
23KHRUANGBINThe Universe Smiles Upon YouSelf-Released
24LOTS OF HANDSinto a pretty roomFire Talk
25MAGDALENA BAY“Second Sleep” b/w “Star Eyes” [Single]Mom+Pop
26PAUL MATHER“FINK” [Single]Squinarp
27SUBSONIC EYESingapore DreamingTopshelf
28SUNBATHEMyself To YouTime Release
29THE CHURCHYARD GHOSTPeople for DinnerSelf-Released
30JULE ROSER“my love, anything” [Single]Self-Released

Top Adds

ArtistRecordLabel
1HALLOWEENShadow HouseFuneral Party
2DEAR BOYCelebratorLast Gang
3JOYEROn The Other End Of The Line…Julia’s War
4MEI SEMONESKurayami/Get Used To It + Itsumo [EP]Bayonet
5TV MOMSCelebrity DustSelf-Released
6ANNABELLE CHAIRLEGS“Ice Cream On The Beach” [Single]Self-Released
Categories
Miscellaneous

Surviving Midterm Season

Black and white image of a man asleep on a lawn chair on the sidewalk in a city
Exhaustion represented by Ng Wei Bunn, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Generic

** Image license **

We are officially in the middle of the fall semester. That can only mean one thing: midterms.  I can’t speak for everyone, but most everyone I know, present company included, have been drowning in exams, projects, presentations and extracurricular activities.  The most prevalent feelings I have observed in myself and others have been stress.  That being said, I think it’s high time I did another mental health check in.

With it feeling like everything is happening all at the same time, I want to provide a guide for how to deal with the stress and how to get through this dreaded period of the semester.  

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Categories
Movie Review

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – A Review

A man dressed in lingerie and heavy makeup lounging on a pair or red lips with the words "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" hovering above in red.
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) movie poster

CONTENT WARNING: This review, film and/or soundtrack contains themes of sexual expression, violence, assault and conspiracy.

Around this time of year, hundreds of movie theatres across the country host midnight screenings of cult classic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”  While I have yet to actually go to one of these events, I have seen the movie numerous times.  I love the film and feel like it is rightfully a cult classic.  

Continue reading ““The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – A Review”
Categories
Miscellaneous

SCarowinds 2025 – An Honest Review

Scare actor in a cloak and scary mask holding a staff with a skull in dim lighting
A scare actor, Halloween Horror Nights. Image by Inside the Magic, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Generic

** Image license **

Those who have lived in or near Charlotte, NC know that every fall, popular rollercoaster park Carowinds does their annual nighttime scare program.  There’s haunted houses, performances, decorations and monsters everywhere, at least normally. I have personally been going almost every year, if not every year, since I moved to North Carolina. This year, I have been severely disappointed.  

What Once Was

Let me explain.  In the past, the park would close around 5 p.m. and reopen around 6 p.m. with the scare actors out and ready to play.  The park wouldn’t close for the night until 1 a.m.  I could leave my house at 5, which was about 45 minutes away, and get there in time for opening, get through ticketing lines and be ready to have fun within an hour. There were three or so haunted houses and mazes along with different parts of the park acting almost like boroughs with different themes. There were very few “safe” places where you couldn’t be scared.  Additionally, there have been areas around the park with dancers and there was always a big performance in the front apex of the park where the Carolinas’ meet.  

Continue reading “SCarowinds 2025 – An Honest Review”
Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 10/28/25

Chainsaw Charts

ArtistRecordLabel
1DRAWN AND QUARTEREDLord Of Two HornsNuclear Winter
2GREYHAVENKeep It QuietSolid State
3STARFORCEBeyond the Eternal NightSelf-Released
4HOODED MENACELachrymose Monuments Of ObscurationSeason of Mist
5FLOATINGHesitating LightsTranscending Obscurity
6MITOCHONDRIONVitriseptomeProfound Lore
7CALLOUS DAOBOYS, THEI Don’t Want To See You In HeavenMNRK Heavy
8BAANNeumannSelf-Released
9HELMS DEEPChasing The Dragon Nameless Grave
10KILLING ME SOFTLYTo Forever Fall Through God’s Safety Net [EP]Northern Unrest

Chainsaw Adds

ArtistRecordLabel
1GREYHAVENKeep It QuietSolid State
2INTERCOURSEHow I Fell In Love With The Void Brutal Panda
3VILE APPARITIONMalignityMe Saco Un Ojo