On Playlists: Different ways to carve out a sound.

Posted on May 19, 2019November 8, 2019 Posted in MusicTagged Artists, Driving, Genres, Hiphop, Music, Playlist1 Comment

A playlist is a special thing. It is a type of thing that can change your mood. Something that when paired with the right setting just feels too right. Crafting a good playlist is like striking gold. The less skips you have while a playlist flows speaks to how good of a medley of songs it is.

On Genres.

One way to categorize the sound you are trying to capture is by genre. For a lot (including myself), a certain type of music can set you in trance depending on the situation. A relaxed reggae or rock playlist helps ease into mornings and nights when needed. Guaranteed my Hip-hop and EDM playlists gets the amp up. Playlist that live in genres can sometimes get stale, when you are looking for a certain mindset across multiple genres.

On Locations/Feelings.

In a similar sense to above, for example would be songs to get you excited, across all genres. Some R&B songs can give you the same sense of a classic rock song. There are all different ways to pair genres and artists, like fine wine and cheese. This playlist in contrast to the genre playlist requires more curating. If you have filer based on loosely the vibe of the playlist or just add too much of some artists, it too can start sounding like a broken record.

On Driving.

Some songs just sound different in the whip. Whether you got some knocking speakers or just having windows down blasting with the sun roof ajar, it’s just a whole different intake. This playlist typically needs to be a medley of genres, also with a good ratio of bangers and cruisers. This paragraph is super bro-ey, but for kind of for a reason. There’s really nothing more obnoxious than playing music really loud, but sometimes it is necessary.

On Concerts.

A playlist consisting of concerts upcoming and already over can really bring back the classic sounds of live music. Even when not literally the live rendition, hearing those songs after a festival or concert can jog the memory bank to replay in your head, but the live version. If prior to the concert, it just makes you imagine how songs will sounds live, either to be blown or away or disappointed. Some people say you should listen to these playlists the days of concerts. That’s a hot take.

On Memories.

One of the coolest things about being a Spotify user is your year in songs: the top 100 songs of your year. There’s a good chance the songs you played the most will reenact certain memories, since you always had those tracks banging. Almost promised to have zero skips, this is an incredibly consist playlist to put you in a good mood while reliving the old memories and creating new ones.

On Artists.

Everyone has that one artist that makes the hair on his or her skin stick up. The one who can’t put out any bad music, and is played daily. This playlist is the one that doesn’t get old, and really makes a statement about the music you love. Play it on repeat and enjoy the sounds.

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover: How the Dr. Can Help People

Posted on May 12, 2019November 8, 2019 Posted in Edu. Archive, ReadingTagged chapman, class, Dr Seuss, University, WritingLeave a comment

(This is an old piece from my minor in writing and rhetoric at Chapman University. Since most of my writing is pretty loose on here, I figured it would be cool to post something that had more structure. I wish I could find the prompt, alas I cannot. If you were wondering, I got a B on this guy.)

Horton Hears a Who. Fox in Socks. Hop on Pop. The Lorax. At least one of these books has to ring a bell. All of these books have a common author, and this man is one of the most well known authors for young readers. His name is Theodore Seuss Geisel, more commonly referred to as, Dr. Seuss. Ah, now you know who I am talking about. Arguably one of the most well- known authors overall and definitely in the category of young readers, Dr. Seuss burned a legacy into literature by writing some of the most quirky and colorful books at the time. With crazy creatures like the Sneetches and Yertle the turtle, all his books had uniqueness about them. They all were extremely different and contained different stories and lessons.

Dr. Seuss taught us a valuable lesson in his books (specifically Sneetches and Horton Hears a Who) we learn that being different is not a bad thing. The Sneetches all have different belly marks, and Horton, a giant elephant, befriends a little human to being a good friend. All his books make the most unlikely of people friends and makes sure difference is embraced. It is good to see this in a book designed for young readers, mainly because it teaches the lesson of never judging a book by its cover (pun intended).

Theodore Seuss Geisel was born on March 2nd, 1904 (today, he would be one hundred and thirteen years old). He grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, with his father’s occupation being a successful brewer. He would attend college at Dartmouth at age eighteen. He would pick up an editor position at the college for one of its magazines. Later in his college life he would violate the alcohol rules and be kicked off his position of editor. He decided to continue to contribute under the name Seuss. Upon his graduation from Dartmouth, he would move onto Oxford and meet his future wife. They would eventually marry in 1927.

As for the Doctor’s career as a writer, he would publish his first book in 1957. We all know this wonderful book as The Cat in the Hat. Inspired by Theodore’s response to an article about children’s reading levels, this would flourish into probably his most well known work. Today, it has sold more than 10.5 million copies. After this it was off to the races. Other notable books by Seuss include Green Eggs and Ham and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Dr. Seuss appeals to all audiences, not just young readers. Movies have been made about his books and in the audience you see all sorts of people. Young or old, male or female, everyone loves a good story from the doctor. Back to the idea of judgment told by Seuss, his books make everyone smile based on the relationships between characters and how kooky they tend to look. As a kid, someone who looks different can be a reason to be made fun of or judged. After reading some Seuss books, and seeing that the most strange- looking characters tend to be the heroes or the “cool guys,” I think America and most adults should sit back and read a book by Seuss and rethink some of the things they say or do. After all, it’s recommended by the doctor.

Curing a Hangover in Stages

Posted on May 7, 2019November 8, 2019 Posted in RecommendedTagged Beer, Drinking, Hangover, Headache1 Comment

There is certainly an agenda when thinking of how to cure a hangover. First and foremost, you need to do some damage control and assess the situation. Then, you can truly prescribe yourself the “cure” for your morning haze. I am about to give you an inside scoop on the hangover to cure ratio and give you a doctors notes for prescription. You are welcome in advance.

“I’ll just have one beer.”

I swear sometimes even a little bit of alcohol can deal you a hangover the next morning. While equally as shitty as a normal hangover, this one can get served the easiest of cures to be fixed. All it takes is some coffee. Obviously, hydrating the night before can prevent this one overall, so you’d best not get this one often.

Pre-gaming an event.

At any time you are “pregaming” an event, you are just throwing yourself into the ring. A hangover is on the horizon. While sometimes one that feels like the one above, it often is a little worse. Most of the time, a coffee and snack can turn this one upside-down. This is strictly in relation to a “casual” night out, and not to be confused with pre-gaming before a send to the bars (the cringe). This one relates more to events, rather than bars (some events definitely excluded). A good combo to work with the coffee is a surf. And this is where we kind of go on a tangent————-

Surf and coffee has eliminated some of the most lethal of hangovers, and is for sure the go to for me when needing a quick fix. There are some things to make note of, before heading into this sort of ritual post party. First, the actual surf is very important to factor in. While it can’t be too small to where there will be no fun had, if it’s really on the cook a lot of things can go wrong. The sweet spot is probably 2-3 occasionally 4 and occasionally 5. Enough for insiders to be mellow, but also enough size to get a cover up and also do some proper turns. While waves being on the cook can cure a hangover, often the floggings when blowing a wave tend to sting extra (and happen to occur often when hungover). Whether it getting vaporized by a set or just blowing a lot of good waves, know that the pumping surf hangover cure is a toss up. Stay in the “couple fun ones zone” and you’ll be in the clear.

—–This is where I had to retire writing for the day to engage in Cinco de Mayo—–

Ok, I am back. Let’s get back to this diagnosis. (I know I screwed up, this post coming in a day late.)

A Night Out on the Town.

This is when we are all linking up and hitting the bars. Often with some sort of debauchery in mind, this one can for sure get dangerous. If you have gone out on one of these missions the night before and had a coffee and a surf and still feel the haze around your head, the next logical step is to get some food. While lots of options are out there, there is an apex of the food pyramid. This would be the breakfast burrito. With some greasy meat, flour from the tortilla, and gooeyness from the cheese-potato combo, it is almost a foolproof way to fix you. The best part: they typically are cheap, so your wallet will say thanks after opening the bank safe last night at the bar.

Ouch. This isn’t fun.

This is pretty much the final stage of the hangover scale. From here nothing new really comes into the equation, everything just can get amplified. The times when you sleep in later than you wanted, probably didn’t drink any water before bed, and wake up to texts from other people who stayed out longer than you. These might cause a giggle, but you soon remember how hungover you are. This is when you make a break for the holy grail of hangover cures, pedialyte. Slug one of these on top of the coffee surf and breakfast burrito and you are ready to rock and roll. If a hangover still persists after this concoction of medicine, you are just going to have to tough it out. Feel free to bookmark this post and refer back when you wake up and ache a little.

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Random Thoughts Roundup: The Beginning of May Gray

Posted on April 28, 2019November 8, 2019 Posted in Life Happenings, Music, SurfingTagged Coachella, Music, Playlist, Surfing, WSL1 Comment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Gloom

California has an interesting take on the beginning of summer. Back east, May signifies lots of neoprene shed, the slowing down of surf, and the warming up of the land. This was one of my favorite times to be home, since it was beautiful and far less crowded than summer (I sound like a grumpy loc). While it isn’t on the cook like winter can be, we still get plenty of surf. In contrast to this, May and June in California signify May Gray and June Gloom. Weirdly cloudy and colorless days fill up more than half the seven days of the week. While we do get closer to my favorite surf season out here (south swell season = lined up barreling lefts), there is still even a funk in the ocean. Often there is morning sickness that takes forever to go away, and most of the first south swells tend to be more walled than lined up. May 1^st is this Wednesday, so it is right around the corner and we are slowly inching closer to summer. Closing out the month, I thought it appropriate to touch upon the last 2 weekends to regurgitate some random happenings and thoughts around my brain. I swear after this post, there will be more structure and thought put into them (still fuzzy from Coachella). Speaking of that lets enter rambling number 1:

Coachella reminds me how fun festivals are.

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My pal Noah feeding into the festival vibes.

Whether it is the actual festival itself or the company you surround yourself with during the weekend, it really is hard to match the kind of carefree attitude and sounds of a good festival. The sheer amount of good music and people all in one place makes it almost a dream. If my amount of Instagram posts doesn’t tell you enough, let me literally say it: I had a great time. With artists across all genres, awesome guest appearances, and the morning recaps (and rallies) before entering day 2 and 3, it truly is an experience I long to replicate literally one day after it is over. I sound pretty basic, but why isn’t there a weekend 3?

Bells ran in massive surf; goofy footers showed up.

I am really bad at fantasy surf. I currently am in 2 leagues, but refuse to pay for both purely because my passion picks always end up not working out. I had surfers I like on for Snapper, then took them off and put a more realistic bunch in for Snapper. All of my passion picks from snapper did well at Bells. After I took them off. While I ended up doing ok this contest, I was stoked with the sheer surfing done, specifically by my screw footed brethren. By the quarters, it was equally 4:4 regular to goofy foots. Ryan Callinan smashed lips smoothly while Medina and Italo surfed with speed and poise. I am going to save my finger dexterity by not going into detail on my opinion on the interference call. That rule needs to change. Anywho, the vertical angle Ryan was achieving and the backhand floaters that Medina was tagging sections with made me a proud goofy footer. While we didn’t see back-to-back goofy wins (Italo won last year), John and Filipe were looking in form the whole event. And plus, an all Hurley final should make the office on Monday buzzing with stoke.

Tons of new music.

Current lineup: I have already played through CrasH Talk a bunch, hence the song playing.

On top of gaining new music to listen to from visiting Coachella, there have been quite a few notable album drops in the past 2 weeks. One major one that might not be my cup of tea is the Beyoncé live album and Lemonade making Spotify one of its new homes. The beehive is definitely buzzing after this one, and you’d have to think there could potentially be a new album coming with this type of rollout. On my side of things, we have new projects from two vets in the game. ScHoolboy Q has returned from a 3 year hiatus with CrasH Talk, and it is sounding like a good rap album. Just lots of rapping. And I love that. Other notable favorites from me include a new Wiz Khalifa album and Blackbear album. The couple I have not got around to listening to yet are Pivot Gang’s You Can’t Sit With Us and Hit-Boy/SOBXRBE Family Not A Group.

Boardie season is upon us.

As the season begins to change, so does the water. The times of no wetsuit tans and nipple rash (sorry for that image) are upon us. This one I will keep short sweet and to the point: nothing feels better than scoring (or just surfing in general) in boardies.

That about wraps up all the ramblings I have in stored in the membrane. I noticed some people checking out the site today, in hopes of a new post, yet I am lagging on this one thanks to last night. In the future, let’s shoot for 1PM PST for a new post to be live. I know the anticipation just kills.

Random thoughts regarding desert da(y)ze.

Posted on April 15, 2019November 8, 2019 Posted in Life HappeningsTagged Coachella, Hiphop, Life, Music, RapLeave a comment

It is that time of year again. Thousands flock to the desert in search of good music and a weekend to let loose at. The outfits alone couldn’t even describe the hectic nature of it. Coachella 2019 is halfway over, and I am stepping up to the plate next weekend. The anticipation really didn’t start hitting me until early last week, when I was jamming out at work to potential acts I will see (if everything goes according to plan, which it never does). Oh, the stoke! It really is unlike anything else I have experienced, in so many different ways. That was super cliché. But I digress. What will follow this light introduction are some thoughts I have had stirring in anticipation to the desert days and wildness that will ensue.

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Sick Sets (Not waves, which look like they will be good when we are dancing in the desert. Sad face.)

The best part about Coachella is how much good music is surrounding you. Last year, some of my favorite band sets were from bands I didn’t know, and ranged along a large spectrum of genres. This year will be no different most likely, but there are definitely some acts I am stoked to cross off my concert bucket list. First and foremost, Kid Cudi, who I have been listening to since my brother was my age and living in Red Bank, NJ. (Shout Preston). Along with him, I will cross Diplo and DJ Sanke off the EDM side of things, along with a slew of other electronic artists I like. I will see my guy Wiz Khalifa for the third time, and am also jazzed about Anderson .Paak since it is following the release of his new Ventura album, which is quite good. Also, Pusha T will be performing, and most likely dishing out those classic Daytona verses.

A True Test In Opportunity Cost

Do I stick with the crew or drift off into the abyss of people to go see someone I like but others may not? This is also a question, since there are so many conflicts and often a lot of people I may like way more than others. Last year I only adventured once solo, for French Montana (while he is one of my favorite artists, the set was sub par). This year, I am going to just go with the flow, but definitely see a couple more sets solo. While it is definitely different being alone than with a mob of 30 people, it is really cool to think you have thousands of others around you all connected because of one person’s music. That was pretty deep. But it’s true!

Great Company

The sheer amount of people that go each year is pretty ridiculous, and it is a great place to reconnect with old friends and also new ones. In a way it is similar to a family reunion, with much of my alma mater (Chapman University) in attendance, it will be awesome to catch up over great tunes, even if it requires yelling the same thing 3 times. I am also staying in a house with some of my closest pals, and will be bringing disposable cameras in the festival and around the house to document all the great moments that will ensure. (Scope this IG post to see a recap of last years. The lesson learned, use the flash since half of my exposure did not turn out.)

Gues(t)sing Game

One of the marquee features of Coachella is the amount of surprise guests that come out during performances. This is often something I think about when weighing out options of who to see. Last year, pedaling back to French Montana, he brought out Ty Dolla, who I had seen before. Kind of a bummer. This year, I am keen to see who comes out with certain acts. I swear the best surprise guests come out when you aren’t at that set. Hopefully this year packs some heavy hitters for on stage guest appearances.