When you tell someone your favorite band is a psychedelic rock/synth/metal band called “King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard,” you often get quite the raised eyebrow. Such a chaotic spilling of super-niche gibberish, they’ll say. The eyebrow raises even higher when I say “But, no, they really do have something for everyone!” But it’s true; any artist that’s been as prolific and wide-ranging in genre as King Gizzard has (26 albums at last count, soon to be 27 later today, August 9) can appeal to many a listener otherwise happy with their niche of audio genre. Allow me to take a break from my usual sci-fi musings and let me introduce you to just a smidgen of their discography, and see for yourself why King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard can be for everyone, even when it seems it’s all just custom-made for me. I’ll be rating them on my personal taste, their approachability by new listeners, and their overall “Gizzard”-ness (measured in lizards per wizard).
“12 Bar Bruise”
Personal Rating: 5/10
Approachability: 7/10
Gizzardness: 1 Lizard / 5 Wizards
Best Song: “Elbow” Continue reading “Open Your Eyes and See: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard”
Presenting two women after my own heart: Lindsey Jordan (of indie rock solo project Snail Mail) and Maggie Nelson (author of, among many other breathtaking works, the prose-poetry collection “Bluets”). These two artists write about devotion, longing and self-revelation in ways that cut to the core. So, I’ve done the logical thing: Listed all 10 tracks on Snail Mail’s sophomore album “Valentine,” along with lyric highlights and emotional descriptors, and assigned each song a related quote from “Bluets” to guide your reading and/or listening. Happy yearning!
Continue reading “A Book and an Album: Valentine and Bluets”
Here are the CDs that have been soundtracking my drives for the past couple of months — AKA the songs of my in-betweens. 
Troye Sivan “Something to Give Each Other”
When to Listen: When longing and love, curiosity and chemistry, seem like arbitrary distinctions — whatever it is, isn’t it enough just to know how it flutters through the stomach, how it blankets the mind? 
Feels Like: A release of tension, a softening of the gaze. A sudden bloom of new energy.
Favorite Lyrics: “I’m right on top of this groove / But, God, I wish it was you” (“What’s the Time Where You Are?”)
From the Artist: “You know, when you’re cuddled up to someone that you met a few hours prior and you’re really enjoying that moment, that’s not fake. It’s just different. And I got such joy and such a pleasure out of these quick encounters that can totally, totally fulfill you. So that’s ultimately where the album title came into it, was me realizing that everyone has something to offer each other, and something to give each other” (NPR). Continue reading “Songs for the In-Between III”
