Religions are belief systems that can bring an individual closer to the divine without any understanding of what the divine actually is. It necessarily operates on faith, and because of this, can lead to wildly inaccurate views of reality. In a proper religious journey though, the believer will come to better understand the divine by experiencing it. Overall, religion persists into the modern age because of its usefulness to mankind, the pleasure it brings, and its ease of adoption when compared to more complicated world-views. While I don’t actually belive in God, in comparing religions and finding consistent descriptions of the divine, I must conclude that all thriving religions have an element of truth to them. The most interesting question to ask about any religious belief is then: “How is this meaningfully true?”

Continue reading →

Best Tracks: Daydreaming, Identikit, True Love Waits
Genre: Ambient Rock
Year: 2016

I was just turning 13 when U2 forced Songs of Innocence into my iPod. It was one of the first records I was ever exposed to, along with a copy of Slippery When Wet I bought on iTunes. Even as a 13 year old kid, I exhausted this music pretty quickly. I started to associate the sound of alt rock with this kind of extravagant yet substanceless music. Music that would turn the volume up until you start headbanging to whatever crap lyrics and riffs they threw together. I sifted through all sorts of rock music until I found Pink Floyd. Soon after, I checked out Radiohead, hoping they would be similar. To my horror, I heard the same alt-rock textures I had grown to hate, and pretty quickly passed them off. If you asked me then, I would’ve told you Radiohead was the best alt rock band, but an alt rock band nonetheless. I know many alt rock fans will take issue with me clumping U2, Bon Jovi, and Radiohead together, but when all I knew was smooth jazz, Y2K pop, video game soundtracks, and Disco/R&B, these alt rock bands felt more similar than different.

Continue reading →

Best Tracks: Now (Forever Momentary Space)
Genre: Post Jazz, Sound Collage
Year: 2021

Much like Red Burns, NOW is a record I’ve had to sit with for years before I could even articulate what I loved about it. The first time I heard it, I felt it was a rather unassuming jazz/hip hop record. For some reason though, it wasn’t forgettable. I kept revisiting it to try and form an opinion, and each time, something new would jump out and make me rethink how I felt about it.

Continue reading →