Music
Essays, blog posts, playlists, and more focused broadly on music. For more playlists visit my Spotify profile.
- 2024 Photo Dump ()
Photos shot March 9, 2024 at the Des Moines Art Center. Photos of In Loving Memory shot Friday, February 2 at Gabe’s in Iowa City.
- The Politics of Playlists ()
On the first day of June in 2022 I loaded up the last of my belongings into my car, signed papers closing on the sale of my house, and made my way to Highway 24, heading north out of Nashville. When considering whatever a “hometown” might be, Nashville was as much a hometown for me […]
- 2023 Photo Dump ()
Photos from the 319 Hip-Hop Showcase, shot Saturday, December 30 at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids. Photos of Sam and Grace Locke Ward & Instant DeTh shot Friday, December 22 at Gabe’s in Iowa City. Photos of Haploid, Tires, and Zap Tura shot Saturday, December 9 at xBk Live in Des Moines, with a stray […]
- 10 Songs From 2023 That Helped (Re)Shape My View of Iowa ()
A few weeks back I was asked if I could share some sort of year-end best-of list for Little Village Magazine. I thought about it for a little and decided to take things in a slightly different direction, offering up a selection of songs that have helped re-shape my view of the state’s music scene […]
- villin on The Nasty Collective Podcast ()
March 2023 interview with Miguel of The Nasty Collective, discussing Iowa music and the value of celebrating local talent.
- Iowa Record Stores ()
For the music industry, 2021 was definitely a memorable year. With concerts and live entertainment essentially on ice for much of the year, consumers pivoted, directing their expendable income to physical products instead, resulting in a landmark year for record stores. Variety reported in March that 2021 marked the first year since 1996 that both […]
- 2022 Photo Dump ()
Photos shot October 30, 2022 at the Olympic South Side Theater in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the Iowa Music Awards. Photos shot October 22, 2022 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri. Photos shot October 8, 2022 at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa (for the Iowa State Cyclones vs. Kansas State […]
- 20 Years Awesome ()
“Music was everything,” said Rick Noggle from behind the counter of his vintage store, 20 Years Awesome, located in downtown Cedar Rapids. “Work was not relevant. Money was not relevant.” Writing, recording and performing under the name imperfekt for roughly two decades, music was Noggle’s main focus—his baby, even—until he had an actual child. Then his world […]
- Iowa Rap & Hip-Hop Fall Music Preview ()
This fall will see a wide range of releases from Iowan artists spanning the diverse rap and hip-hop spectrum. While this is far from a comprehensive list of what’s on tap for the next several months, here’s a cross-section looking at five releases from young, up-and-coming artists who have new projects on the way. [Continue […]
- Big Grove Vinyl Market ()
“It’s a fun atmosphere to sell records in,” Brian Brandsgard told Little Village of the aesthetics and energy Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City. “It’s just a perfect place to have it.” Brandsgard is the organizer of the Big Grove Vinyl Market, which he has held periodically at the brewery since it opened five years ago. Now, […]
- Teller Bank$ “The I & I” Review and Interview ()
The album opener to The I & I by Teller Bank$ finds the Des Moines-based rapper reflecting on the practical value of processing his trauma through his art. In “Friends,” he comments on the market forces which encourage work that perpetuates negative stereotypes: “I had to swing my sword before I use my pen / I had […]
- Nashville Rap & Hip-Hop Library ()
In January 2022 I began using villin as a vehicle to release playlists featuring music from Nashville artists. I did this through a pair of playlists, featuring Nashville Rap & Hip-Hop and Nashville Electronic & Dance Music. Additionally, I created similar music video playlists on YouTube, again featuring Nashville Rap & Hip-Hop and Nashville Electronic […]
- Nashville Electronic & Dance Music Library ()
In January 2022 I began using villin as a vehicle to release playlists featuring music from Nashville artists. I did this through a pair of playlists, featuring Nashville Rap & Hip-Hop and Nashville Electronic & Dance Music. Additionally, I created similar music video playlists on YouTube, again featuring Nashville Rap & Hip-Hop and Nashville Electronic […]
- FlyLife “A Different View” Review ()
“Cause who the fuck gon’ save your family if it isn’t you?” raps FlyLife on the title track from his recently released album. “I know it’s usually guns and drugs but this a different view.” The song serves as the culmination of a broader idea, each prior track helping to redefine a concept of what […]
- villin: “yezzir” ()
The “yezzir” beat was made using GarageBand, Audacity and an Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII. The video was made using Premiere Pro with audio and video samples including Pharrell Williams from Snoop Dogg’s “Let’s Get Blown” music video, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Kevin Durant’s interview on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David […]
- villin on the Fringe Radio Show, Round 2 ()
On Monday, June 20 host AL-D invited me to select another hour of music for his radio show, which hit the radio airwaves on Radio Free Nashville, featuring 20 tracks from Nashville artists: 1) Kaby & Brian Brown “Showstopper” (produced by Ohdee)2) 2’Live Bre feat. Kyle Jefferson “Put The Work In”3) Jody Joe “Nonchalant” (produced […]
- villin: “v-sides” ()
<a href=”https://villin.bandcamp.com/album/v-sides”>v-sides by villin</a> The v-sides EP includes three tracks I made in January of 2022 using the BeatMaker 3 iPad app, released as a collection on May 1. “styles” samples the “Which Cup” loop from thricedotted’s 2021 Music Loop Variety Pack!, while “ching ching” samples the #11 loop from Hip Hop Makers‘ “Free Synth Sample Pack.” Listen on Bandcamp […]
- villin on the We Own This Town Podcast ()
For well over a decade, We Own This Town has been a staple in Nashville, putting local music in the spotlight via their blog and podcast. I was asked to take part in WOTT’s 300th podcast episode, selecting a track for the milestone mix, which went live April 19, 2022. To celebrate, I went with […]
- villin on the Fringe Radio Show ()
On March 7, 2022 host AL-D invited me to select an hour of music for his radio show, which hit the radio airwaves on Radio Free Nashville, featuring 19 tracks from Nashville artists: 1) B. Cooper “The Introduction” (produced by Dirty Rice)2) Negro Justice “G.T.S.H. (Got That Shit Honest)” (produced by JustVIBEZ)3) Mike Floss “Never […]
- villin: Nashville Lunch Counter Sit-Ins ()
This past month I’ve dedicated myself to learning more about the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins, which began in February of 1960. Moved by the process, I’ve made a two-part audio/video collage in tribute to the heroes who so greatly impacted our city (and nation). Part one (released February 2, 2022) is titled “peace, quiet and […]
- villin: “king’s breath” ()
The “king’s breath” beat was made with a sample from YAVANE‘s “Vocal Chords,” using the Beatmaker 3 iPad app. The video uses excerpts from “The Flow of Zen” with Alan Watts, retrieved from the Internet Archive. The track also features a brief audio clip from a separate Alan Watts recording, in which he says, “And […]
- Jimi Hendrix Memorial & Park (Seattle, WA) ()
Photos taken Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at the Jimi Hendrix Memorial in Renton, Washington and Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle, Washington.
- The Orb & Orbital ()
The Orb and Orbital have been vaguely conflated in my mind for as long as I’ve been aware of the two groups. Thinking back, I’ve owned Orbital’s 1996 In Sides and the Orb’s 1997 release Orblivion, but can’t seem to mentally reference much beyond a few tracks from either. All the same, the Orb’s 1990 […]
- Moonshake, Rebecca Moore, Sebadoh, Spin Doctors & the Spinanes ()
I don’t know where I came up with the idea that The Trouser Press or Noise from the Underground were to be important in my life, but they’ve certainly proven as much in terms of influence over a lifetime. As best I can remember I came across both books in the late-’90s, but I don’t […]
- William Tyler ()
As William Tyler wrote me for an interview in 2011, “I think anytime I find myself settling into a pattern of consistency I start panicking. So while, yes, there is a certain framework of tools and methods that you need in order to be able to do linear things like touring or even recording an album, […]
- Nick Cave ()
Several weeks ago a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds concert played on my TV while I went about my chores around the house. Even at his most vulgar, there’s something comforting about Cave’s voice. For every “Stagger Lee” there’s a “God is in the House,” tugging at heartstrings and easing the mind back to […]
- Beastie Boys ()
Who knows where some seeds get planted, but in the past six months or so I attended a Buddhist temple for the first time in my life. A friend invited me to an open house at his Tibetan temple, and in trying to learn more about Buddhism I took him up on the offer. I […]
- The Chemical Brothers ()
It looks like one of my favorite stores growing up in Calgary, Soundsaround, shut down in 2012. I have some good memories from that place, specifically the Southwest location where I remember picking up a lot of electronica albums that weren’t available elsewhere in town. In the mid-to-late ’90s this meant acts like Fatboy Slim, […]
- Jack White & Henry Rollins ()
I don’t remember the age, but my hunch is I was somewhere in the junior high years, though it might have been late-stage elementary school. Whenever it was, I would ditch hanging with family and congregation members after church to go listen to music in the car. I don’t know why I didn’t listen to […]
- Def Jux, El-P & Aesop Rock ()
The other day I revisited some memories of a 2007 trip I made to New York, which brought to mind a stop I made on that same visit to the office of the now-defunct Definitive Jux record label. For the life of me I can’t remember his name, but a connection I had at the […]