For The Record- 02. December. 2023

I'm waiting for you to call me up and tell me I'm not alone

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Welcome to another edition of For The Record, a good old-fashioned link drop and benefit for paid supporters of On Repeat. If you’re ready to become one, we’d be thrilled to have you!

As a reminder, On Repeat is 100% reader-funded. And as always, there are 7-day trials for anyone looking to test the waters.

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This week, we’ve got news on the year’s best box sets, Bleachers, Ice Spice as a Chia Pet, and all the Sampha.

All that and a LOT more (including my thoughts on the passing of Shane MacGowan, new releases, and some of the wildest collabs of the year).

Let’s get to it!

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It’s December, and that means slowing down to the speed of life, spending time with friends and family, and making warm memories.

Just kidding; it doesn’t mean any of that. It means full schedules, chaotic travel arrangements, and a lot of agita. BUT: It’s also time for everyone’s end-of-the-year lists. ‘Tis the season for Best Ofs. 

Last week, I talked about how I’ve been working to revamp my content diet. It’s progress not perfection, but the gradual shift from centralized platforms to smaller, more independent ones. And I’m not alone. Slowly but surely, we’re collectively realizing that the structure of the internet means anyone can have a platform- we don’t all have to crowd into the same centralized places passing around the same 2-3 pieces of “content” someone else has decided we need to consume. 

Anyone else remember being excited about 2500 baud? Just me? Okay. Web 2.0 became too centralized for its—and our— own good. Web 3.0 was supposed to fix that, but all we got were crypto scams, too many rocket emojis, and people mortgaging their futures for pics of bored apes the rest of us just control C’ed. It all crashed out soon enough, but maybe the apes were on to something. I imagine them on their yachts having the last laugh.