The radio playing songs that I have never heard.
I don't know what to say, oh not another word.
Patricia and I are going to Portland in July. We’ve done outdoorsy stuff on trips before but this is our first trip where we’re primarily going to be outdoors — relatively speaking, at least. If any of y’all have recommendations, especially food and coffee in Portland or anywhere nearby, please send them my way.
Not a lot of new stuff this week. Mostly just some old(er) stuff that I’ve been playing in the car. We’ve been taking a lot of drives these past few weeks, trying to catch the sun as June gloom is starting to fade. Also trying to hit the trails more in anticipation for our trip. Touching grass is good, I fear.
Peggy Gou, I Hear You
I thought Sexxy Red wouldn’t be as hot as she was after “Pound Town” because I figured her music — which was always good, to be clear, would wear off with the viral/meme crowd and stick with the more committed rap listeners. Obviously, Hood Hottest Princess proved that wrong. Similarly, I assumed Sabrina Carpenter’s 15 minutes after “Feather” would fade but she’s somehow blown up even more off the singles for her upcoming album.
Peggy Gou is way different from the other two. There’s way less novelty to her music and her ascendency, though I think that’s just a result of how dance music is perceived in 2024. EDM still reigns over dance music that leans more into Euro, garage, house, techno, etc. but it feels like the tides are changing, however slowly. Off the back of “(It Goes Like) Nanana,” Gou is bringing the vibes back.
This album is sexy. The type of music that blares in the background as Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx walk through the club in the opening of Miami Vice. “Back to One” and “Lobster Telephone” should be filling club speakers, big and small, all summer. They need to let Peggy soundtrack John Wick 5. Patricia and I listened to this one as we took a drive down PCH and it was awesome. Listen to this one loud, listen to it with lovers and friends.
More dance music!
BRAT and I Hear You have me on a dance music kick and I remembered this song. Growing up, I don’t think it ever hit me how “cool” dance music was but I think I’m at an age now where I understand. Maybe I didn’t do enough recreational drugs as a teenager or college student. All jokes aside, this song aged so well and I feel like it would smash if it came out today. Don’t teach me how to DJ because I’ll just fumble along for half an hour until I figure out a way to drop the song I want. (Is that just how it works?)
I also ran back what I think is the best dance album of the 2000s: Boys Noize’s Oi Oi Oi. I actually started running their music back some time around March when the Challengers soundtrack came out. They have their own version of the soundtrack that’s mixed with more reverb and like an actual set which I enjoy more than the OST. Oi Oi Oi on its own could soundtrack the best action movie you’ve imagined in your head. Listen to it ASAP.
It was also a hot minute since I’d listened to Cross so I had to check that off my list. Also one of the best dance albums of the 21st century. If I have to explain this to you, stop reading immediately, hug your loved ones, have a good meal, put this on.
Some rap music, no Earl
Patricia showed me this TikTok of a guy who put Carti’s vocals from “New Tank” over Faye Webster’s “Kingston” and it’s awesome. Is Whole Lotta Red the best Christmas album since Mariah Carey? I think so.
Sidebar: this Camila Cabello fluff campaign is so wack. I’ll never buy her as a popstar. It’s crazy that Playboi Carti is the cosign she got to try and certify her cool. (That single is ASS. I will NOT be linking it.) I frequently forget that he’s actually one of the biggest musicians in the country so it’s just crazy to me that he’s one of The Guys and not just a rapper I watched blow up before my very own eyes.
Can you believe “Broke Boi” came out in 2015? We’re getting old, man.
I talked up Microphone Fiend last year as potentially my favorite Zelooperz so I went back to pandemic standout Van Gogh’s Left Ear and now I feel like I slept on it. “Essential Worker” and “Paranomal Snaptivity” both go hard as fuck. Zelooperz is a handsome guy so it makes it extra funny to me that I think he’s becoming the king of scaring the hoes music that’s also kind of fly. What an oxymoron.
This song came on randomly during a radio and so I’ve been throwing random Curren$y tapes on. Right now, it’s Fetti, Stoned on Ocean, and The Stoned Immaculate. Underrated Big K.R.I.T. production.
Ondo Coffee — East Hollywood
I think this is one of the first, if not potentially the first, coffee shop recs I’m making on this blog, which is funny for a variety of reasons. Patricia and I stopped by here one day since it’s pretty close to us. Nice, cozy space with some outdoor tables and wooden benches and tables inside. Fairly typical of third wave but I like the blue tones and the dark wood.
I got an espresso tonic, though I can’t remember what espresso they used for this. Really nice, not too tart or punchy, great balance while still having strong flavor. A very sippable espresso tonic, if you will. Patricia opted for the butterscotch cream latte, which we both loved. I wanna say this is the only time I’ve personally tried a butterscotch coffee where a shop killed it. It’s a hard flavor to get right with coffee and without going over or under sweet; I think butterscotch is really unpleasant if it’s one or the other but they nailed this. (It’s not common, I think, because of this.)
I’ll definitely be coming back for their staple menu items but also because they employ a Decent Filter 3.0 for their pourovers. Decent is a newer company making customizable espresso extraction more accessible by allowing you to change variables via a tablet. Pretty neat! The Filter 3.0 is a project by coffee bro (complimentary) Scott Rao who created a basket that’ll make zero-bypass brews in the same machine. I think I finally have a shop nearby that’ll rival Document.