i've always been aware of ed, even if his music isn't my cup of tea. he hadn't performed live or released in a few years, because the internet and people were really cruel to him a few years ago.
i saw him yesterday. he talked about his new album in front of a small audience that i was a part of. he looked extremely nervous, but he was so real despite it. he talked about separating his artistic persona from his actual human self, and you could actually tell that he had been working on healing from his sudden fame.
his new album has such an interesting concept: it's an hour long "song". it's his way of making it clear that he's not in it for the money, and that his art always goes first. i love that concept, even if, again, his music isn't really for me.
this album sounds utterly exhausted. so many ugly, raw moments. haunting. beautiful. rips my soul open and shows it to the world βοΈ are you convinced to listen to it yet? anyways peace out
also would hate listening to this album if john never got clean. but hearing this and his 2004 release Shadows Collide With People back to back is an interesting experience. he has overcome so much personally/professionally. very cool to witness sonically
i didn't get this alex g album when it came out but now i do. i went to the beach yesterday to decompress and something made me think of the song cross the sea, which i remember as being most people's least favorite song on the album, or at least their least favorite single. i kinda liked it then and i love it now. i listened to the whole album after that and it's the only thing that's been able to cut thru the static recently.
alex g is just so singular. i listened to him a lot during a very bad summer in new york and then right after that he had his weird 15 minutes of tiktok fame and i felt far away from him. that's when this album came out. i think something in me knew i needed him back and i'm glad i can have this album. give it a listen with an open heart.
Blown away by his music. Got to see him live in LA a few weeks ago! The new album, Death Jokes, is great. It's like a fractured take on pop and electronic music. His voice is really unique and left of center. If you're looking for one of his more accessible records, start with Freedom, from 2018.