Homelessness in Albuquerque is an unavoidable beast that, when last tallied in 2015, stood at 1,287 Albuquerque citizens — and that’s not the whole story. Sharpie scrawled across stained cardboard, shopping carts overflowing with people’s lives and humanity laid bare.
And on the last day of November, the 2018 rap scene was put to shame by Earl Sweatshirt. “Some Rap Songs” is a dangerously over simplified title for Earl’s latest album as it turns out be a carefully calculated album disguised in a mask to look like a loose, free flowing piece of work. Upon first listen, this might sound like a dismissible album that seems messy and jumbled but, this is the fundamental element that Earl uses to capture listeners and hold them down for the full ride and not just a single track. Each song serves as a puzzle piece to a larger image but, as the album continues it’s evident that the pieces to this circular narrative aren’t for the same puzzle. What you end up with is an abstract collage of tellings from Earl’s life.
There’s no other experience like waking up on Friday morning and seeing a new album from an artist that I like to listen to. Sometimes I know they’re coming, there’s been promotions, ads, and usually a single leading up to it, sometimes it’s a complete surprise and for the most part I’m dying to consume all the new music that has been released into the world. However, a disturbing trend amongst artists has begun. They have developed a habit of releasing an overflow of singles that spoils the first listen to their new albums. This sacred moment of experiencing a collection of new music for the first time is under fire as artists feel the need to release half of their new albums in the form of singles, thus robbing fans of the magical experience that is an album first listen.
It’s 2018 and only 14 out of the 50 U.S. states have laws against minors attending gay conversion therapy camps. This startling fact is what the film “Boy Erased,” starring Lucas Hedges as Garrard Conley, is attempting to change or at least bring awareness to. With Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe backing Hedges as his character’s parents, this heartbreaking story serves as coming of age tale that (as the film states) 700,000+ LGBTQ youth have had to endure. Playing the antagonist is Garrard’s father, a preacher of a local church, and Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton) who leads Love In Action (LIA), the gay therapy camp that Hedges’ character attends after being forcibly outed as gay to his parents.
Pulling from moments exposed in Nic Sheff’s memoir “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines” and carefully stitching them together with recollections from his father, David Sheff’s, own memoir “Beautiful Boy,” director Felix van Groeningen and lead actors Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet bring to life an all too familiar vignette of America’s crippling opioid addiction. Memories are rarely reflected in linear timelines and are seemingly provoked by sensory triggers unique to each person — these can come in the form of objects, smells and locations. This is the framework which “Beautiful Boy” is built on.
Taking the American Express Stage at Austin City Limits the morning after Paul McCartney headlined on the same stage, drawing thousands, would seem like a daunting task. But to the California indie rock band the Wallows, it was nothing but a punch line in a joke. On stage lead singer Dylan Minnette sent a friendly jab at Paul McCartney stating that because he was on stage before them, Paul McCartney was their opener. This was just the start to a performance that was in the simplest form just pure fun for the band and audience.
Editor’s Note: This article is the third in a series of coverage on the Austin City Limits Music Festival. To think that a few days ago I was just getting back to my Airbnb after day one of Austin City Limits (ACL) wondering how a flock of festival girls were surviving off of a shared basket of nuggets and little to no water. As day three came to a close I was looking back a thinking, “I can do this for another few days.” Distinct red patches of skin on the fairer members of ACL, and the countless bandage covered heels were evidence that the constant walking from stage to stage claimed many victims over the course of the last few days, but with the star-studded line-up of day three people were bound to tough it out to see their favorite artists.
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a series of coverage on the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Crisis averted. Day two of ACL had been plagued with worry and stress about what looked like an unavoidable storm, but as the day went on the clear sky was visible leaving many guests still sweating bullets. The morning started off with a young, charismatic band called the Wallows. Many people might not have heard of them but will surely recognize front man Dylan Minnette from his leading role as Clay Jensen in “13 Reasons Why.” Don’t let the fandom of that get in the way because the Wallows actually put on a great live performance.
Now I know Texas is hot, but Friday, Oct. 12, the first day of weekend two of Austin City Limits (ACL), was a particularly uncomfortable day to say the least. The entire day, Zilkner Park, where the festival is held, felt like drudging through a middle school locker room, in a climate so humid it should be criminal. Other than the weather causing my dry desert body to sweat like I’m one of the Bellagio Hotel fountains in Vegas, the whole experience of ACL day one was truly unforgettable. This being my first large music festival outside of Albuquerque’s music and arts festivals such as Fiestas and SOMOS, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I quickly learned that most festival goers treat music fests like television.
“Mona Lisa” by Lil Wayne Ft. Kendrick Lamar On Lil Wayne’s long awaited “Tha Carter V” he and Kendrick Lamar belligerently document the story of a woman who sets up her boyfriend for robbery. “Mona Lisa” is an exciting display of Wayne’s ability to weave a storyline together without compromising his goofy tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Wayne embodies the the man who is robbing while Kendrick takes on the roll of a man treating a woman to a life of luxury but has suspicion that she is seeing another man and isn’t loyal to Kendrick. “Mona Lisa” is one of the all star tracks that “Tha Carter V” has to offer — hopefully more Lil Wayne and Kendrick collabs are on their way.
Pictured are album covers of DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Grafts by Kara, Planetarium by Planetarium, Melodrama by Lorde, Cracked Up by Fleet Foxes and Pure Comedy by Father John Misty.
David Sugalski, a.k.a The Polish Ambassador, during a surprise performance on the last day of the Jumpsuit Family Gathering in Taos NM, Oct. 1, 2017
Lead singer Christo Bowman of the indie rock band Bad Suns performs for a sold out show at Meow Wolf on Friday June 2, 2017.
The band Balance and Composure perform Friday May 12 2017, at the Launchpad. Balance and Composure has released three studio albums and five EP's since their formation.
Solutions by The State News
