a bit of music musings

just a comprehensive blog post about recent music i'm listening to and goings-on. little paragraphs of things that aren't worth their own individual posts. we have standards around these parts.

contents:

• james ivy's The Seams
• catching up with los campesinos!
• iPod Touch - Madeon Remix
• the only music i can work to
• last.fm ?!
• future log ideas
• the porter robinson shaped elephant in the room

james ivy's The Seams

recently, james ivy's new album The Seams came out. i've been a fan of his EP's Good Grief! (2021) and Everything Perfect (2023) plus a lot of the singles in between. he was one of my most listened to artists for 2025 because i just loved his sound.

i'm still trying to let The Seams stew in my brain for a while. initial reaction is nothing like how i felt when i first listened to Snakes, for example, but i'm giving it a shot. however i'll say now that it's leaning towards not having its own blog post just because it doesn't really speak to me very much. so far i like the songs Lima and Morphine the most.

catching up with los campesinos!

i was big on los campesinos! around 2022-2024ish, and sadly fell off due to personal reasons. the last album i listened to from them was Whole Damn Body (2021) and, if remasters count, NO BLUES (2023 Remaster). recently, i put on my big brave pants and listened to their newer album All Hell (2024) just to see what they've been up to, as well as their live concert album So Close to Heaven (2025). a lot of their old music still hits so hard to this day, and i loved hearing them in the live recordings. i'm still giving All Hell time to settle into my brain as well, but my favorite so far has been A Psychic Wound and The Order of the Seasons.

i think it would be a little unreasonable to ask a band to sound the same as they did more than a decade ago, so i'm listening to it in that different light without comparison. despite that, i'm easing into really enjoying this album like i did their older ones, and i think listening to the live versions helped too. if someone can tell me how a live version is almost ALWAYS able to make me like a song i was mid on previously, i'd love to know.

i do kinda wanna sorta do a log on Romance is Boring (2010). still a banger album.

iPod Touch - Madeon Remix

oh my gosh this sounds so fun! i love that madeon added his own lyrics, even mixing this in a more nostalgic style reminiscent of his older work. the music video itself is ninajirachi on an e-bike riding through the countryside with the most beautiful sky i've ever seen. really nice.

the only music i can work to

you know how people have lofi beats to study to? my equivalent of that is my beloved bossa nova jpop jazz playlist. i was thinking of making a blog post about it, but it would mostly just consist of me listing albums without any substantial comments beyond "it's good and relaxing" simply because... well, they're mostly in japanese.

i can't listen to music with lyrics i can understand if i want to maintain focused, and i've grown to kinda loathe lofi beats these days. this was just something i happily stumbled upon that works, so i'm happy to share it.

to start off, i'd recommend anything ROUND TABLE feat. Nino, like APRIL (2002). a lot of their songs can lean into the jpop aspect, but they're perfectly light, fun, and sometimes kinda lowkey disco.

for something more bossa nova, i'd recommend anything Lisa Ono, particularly Bossa Carioca (1998). some of her songs feature portugese due to her being born in brazil, which i think is fun!

special mention to pomodorosa because i just can't help myself. their self titled album pomodorosa (2020) is perfectly soft and jazzy. i can imagine myself cozymaxxing the fuck out of a good smelling book with a cup of coffee in a cafe listening to them, and i don't even read books... yet, at least. regardless, i recommend exploring their discography, as pomodorosa is their first! album!

go forth from there. you'll find other related artists around those circles and curate your own perfect study playlist.

last.fm ?!

i've popped my head in and out of the last.fm room from time to time. i still didn't fully understand what on earth it was: is it a music streaming platform? is it a music sharing forum? the ideas didn't particularly interest me until recently. a friend actually explained what it was in words that made sense, and now it's actually interesting to me.

it's a few things, but basically what i'm now using last.fm for is like my own personal summary of data of the music i've listened to. sadly it doesn't go through my whole spotify listening history, but i guess that's why it's better to start early. i just like having charts of data, it's like a tangible visualization of my own personal tastes. additionally, it makes a mix of songs you've listened to PLUS some recommendations from last.fm! i love discoverability of music, so this was awesome to me.

in recent months, going through my discover weekly has been a bit daunting to me because i actually like to take the time to listen to new recommended things rather than just put them in the background. but having new music pop up through a mix like your spotify radio makes that stuff a bit less daunting. not everything is new, but if something is, it stands out to my ears a lot more.

a problem i see with having a last.fm constantly watching what i'm listening to is feeling hesitant to listen to anything "weird" in fear of "ruining" some statistic, but i think i'll just learn to get over it. music is an experience, and there's nothing wrong with being indulgent or broadening one's horizons. i'll definitely come back with a report on if i'm enjoying the scrobbling experience after a few months o7

future log ideas

i have this feeling in my gut that i kinda wanna do a log for jane remover, vylet pony, left at london, and a few more. i didn't even mean for that example list to be all transfems, that's just how good they are. i can't say for certain if i will write them, but there are definitely Thoughts to be had. maybe once the Thoughts accumulate into an elephant-shaped pile, i will make a log.

i'm interested in compiling a list of albums that i like all in one post, maybe *¹have it be a tab on this pub, just for people to get more of a feel of my kinda music. i also like having all my faves all in one place :]

another one i considered doing a log for was tiffany day's HALO (2026) since i was anticipating that album after hearing a teaser for it once on twitter (back when i still used it). unfortunately, while the song has a handful of catchy bangers, the subject matter of the songs aren't entirely something i feel like talking about. majority of the songs sing of wanting to be one of the cool kids, struggles with authenticity, and insecurities. it's not entirely subtle so i don't think that i have much to add onto it. regardless, it's incredibly heartfelt and the music itself is a delightful hyperpop album that can get stuck in your head for a week straight. i'd still recommend listening to it! (glances over to an impossibly long and dark hallway).

the porter robinson shaped elephant in the room

(looks away from the impossibly long and dark hallway). do i even need to make a log about porter robinson's Nurture (2021)? i feel like everything that needs to be said about Nurture has already been said. including this sentiment: i first listened to porter robinson as a teen when i heard sad machine and shelter, thinking nothing of the Worlds (2014) album because, well, it wasn't my kind of music yet. then when i was recommended Nurture in 2024 by a good friend of mine, i was taken out of a really dark time in my life. i love porter robinson's music, and so do a lot of other, more verbose people who are really good at describing music. my experience with Nurture was incredibly personal and i feel like i'll make a log about it when it's my turn to talk about about how much it "saved my life." for now, you'll find that in generous supply. go listen to porter robinson, man.

pretty sure that's all i wanted to say for now. if i forget anything they're going in the next music musings or whatever i'm deciding to call these compilation of mini logs. thanks for reading :]