music of 2022

content/post/2022/12/2022-in-books.md

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ date: '2022-12-17T12:14:00+01:00'
 tags:
   - book
   - lists
+  - yearnote
 categories:
   - braindump
 ---
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ I reverted to manually downloading covers and gathering info this time, but real
 
 ![](../booksof2022.jpg "The Books of 2022.")
 
-Some useful (or was it -less?) statistics pared with the collage:
+Some useful (or was it useless?) statistics pared with the collage:
 
 - The whole thing is `7559` pages in total, or `378` on average. Which of course isn't true since some books I couldn't stand (like _Verdwaalde Stad_) I didn't finish and other books are more works of art that you flip through (like _The Game Console 2.0_), while others are employed to extract specifics (like _The Programmer's Brain_). Right, useless. 
 - A selection of the cateogires:
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ Some useful (or was it -less?) statistics pared with the collage:
   + Only 1 is focused on software.
 - The oldest book, _The Many-colored Land_, is from 1981. The youngest, _Ik = Cartograaf_, from this year.
 - The longest book, _Imajica_, is `1069` pages long (the Dutch translation, that is). The shortest, _Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding_ (it wasn't my thing), just `212`.
-- The most popular books, Tharp's _The Creative Habit_ and especially Dweck's _Mindset_, were ultimately a bit of a let-down with the core message spread out across too many pages. 
+- The most popular books, Tharp's _The Creative Habit_ and especially Dweck's _Mindset_, were ultimately a bit of a let-down with the core message spread out too thin across the pages. 
 
 As with the games list, I rate each book from 1 to 5, adhering more or less to the classic GoodReads labeling system---meaning a `2` is still considered an "okay" book, but nothing more. The following books were awarded a 4 (_I liked it a lot_) or 5 (_It was amazing!_):
 
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ As with the games list, I rate each book from 1 to 5, adhering more or less to t
 - 💖 The Crown Conspiracy (Michael J. Sullivan, 2008)
 - 💖 The Programmer's Brain (Felienne Hermans, 2021)
 
-Books that deserve a honorable mention are _Mindset_ (Carol Dweck), _Successful Aging_ (Daniel J. Levitin), _De moord op de kunst_ (Thomas Crombez). Books I intentionally left out in the above "best of" rating are the coffee table books you buy to flip through and marvel at but don't necessarily buy to read and have your cognitive abilities caressed. I love Bitmap Books, and the plump _Game Boy: The Box Art Collection_ is no exception, but it would be unfair to place next to _How To Live_, for example.
+Books that deserve a honorable mention are _Mindset_ (Carol Dweck), _Successful Aging_ (Daniel J. Levitin), _De moord op de kunst_ (Thomas Crombez). Books I intentionally left out in the above "best of" rating are the coffee table books you buy to flip through and marvel at but don't necessarily buy to read and have your cognitive abilities caressed. I love Bitmap Books, and the plump _[Game Boy: The Box Art Collection](https://www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/all-books/products/game-boy-the-box-art-collection)_ is no exception, but it would be unfair to place next to _How To Live_, for example.
 
 If I had to recommend just _one_ book, I'd go with **How to Live** in an heartbeat. Bakewell's excellent introduction into the writings and life of Montaigne is so very relevant these days and its attempt to draw you in and make you a better person leaves me wondering what path I should pursue in the future. To me, the best books are the books that make you think. Second place probably goes to Pfeijffer's **Grand Europa Hotel**, a critique on mass-tourism and nostalgia-obsessed Europe written in the form of a novel that's quite heavy---and hefty---to deal with but extremely rewarding (and sad).
 

content/post/2022/12/2022-in-music.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+title: "2022 In Music"
+date: '2022-12-19T11:05:00+01:00'
+tags:
+  - music
+  - lists
+  - yearnote
+categories:
+  - braindump
+---
+
+2022 was the year when... I turned my back on streaming services and got back into [digital music curation](/post/2022/03/how-to-stream-your-own-music-reprise/); Bandcamp was acquired by Epic Games; I discovered brick stores that still sell CDs---you know, those shiny round things you hang in your Christmas tree; bought as much soundtracks accompanying the games I liked during Bandcamp Fridays as I could; noticed other bloggers paying more attention to supporting musicians as well; and attended a classical music symphony event in London equipped with a choir that chanted Final Fantasy tunes and Skyrim's Dragonborn theme.
+
+Navidrome has a "hidden feature" where the `ListenBrainz.BaseURL` property can be set to a custom URL that's not ListenBrainz but compatible with their API---for instance, [Maloja](https://github.com/krateng/maloja). I haven't tested it yet---sorry, no cool useless stats this time---but for those eager to replicate the much discussed [Spotify Wrapped reports](https://www.spotify.com/us/wrapped/) while owning your data, it's there. 
+
+Here's a collage of albums bought and listened to in 2022:
+
+![](../musicof2022.jpg "2022 In Music.")
+
+This excludes a re-buying spree of [hip-hop albums](/post/2022/03/a-personal-intro-to-gentle-hip-hop/) (Deltron 3030, The Roots, Jurassic 5, ...) and other classics (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Alphaville, ...), eighties compilations and other stuff that I inherited from my parents.
+
+You could break down the image in a few different categories such as:
+
+- Flemish hip-hop (_[Bosbessen Marmelade](https://marmaladeproductions.bandcamp.com/)_, _[C Mij Da](https://donluca.bandcamp.com/album/c-mij-da)_, _Brutaal_)
+- International hip-hop, Wu spin-offs (_Czarface_, _Kendrick Lamar_, _Wu-Chronicles_, _Looptroop Rockers_, ...)
+- Groovy stuff (_[Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove!](https://funkotron.bandcamp.com/album/toejam-earl-back-in-the-groove-soundtrack)_, _[Cory & The Wongnotes](https://corywong.bandcamp.com/album/cory-and-the-wongnotes)_, _New Orleans Funk_, _[Shredder's Revenge](https://kidkatanarecords.bandcamp.com/album/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-shredders-revenge-original-game-soundtrack)_)
+- Classic game soundtracks (_[Apogee MIDI Soundtracks](https://mdvhimself.bandcamp.com/album/duke-nukem-ii)_)
+
+On second thought, that collage looks _weird_. Most albums I listened to aren't even on there since they're older and I tend to get in a flow-listen-state of repeat mode. These include: Quantic, The 5th Exotic; Castlevania, Portrait of Ruin Soundtrack; Diablo II, Soundtrack; GTA Vice City, All Radio Stations; Ancient Astronauts, Into Bass And Time; The Messenger, Soundtrack; Wu-Tang Clan, Enter The Wu-tang. 
+
+If there's work to do---real, dont-interrupt-me work---then a game soundtrack or funky album without much voices such as RJD2 or Cory & The Wongnotes will be put on. If there's more mundane cleanup-but-whatever kind of work to do, then a GTA Radio Station or one of the chattier hip-hop ones is put on. 
+
+I regret buying Zwangere Guy's CDs (I prefer the West Coast influence of deep basses like in [Into Bass And Time](https://switchstancerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/into-bass-and-time)) and Wu-Chronicles Chapter II (it turned out to be a very mediocre compilation). I still have to listen to Lamar's _To Pimp A Butterfly_ and Looptroop's _Professional Dreamers_ a couple of times to make up my mind on those. 
+
+As for the _best ofs_ of 2022, that's easy:
+
+- 💖 Cory & The Wongnotes (2021)---Simply a-ma-zing! [Thank you Ruben](https://rubenerd.com/tag/music-monday/). Watch the [full recording session](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvMUDLyMCf4) and tell me you've been able to sit still.
+- 💖 Czarface, Czarmageddon! (2022)---Inspectah Deck is one of the only Wu members still rocking it. Just [listen to Walk Thru Walls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfOPsty3jw4).
+- 💖 Bosbessen Marmelade (2015)---a supergroup of young rappers within Limburg including the more well-known Don Luca that contains many hidden gems. Don's [In De Cités](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTYcIQQIR0) of _C Mij Da_ is also great.
+- 💖 Shredder's Revenge (2022)---[I already talked about that one](/post/2022/06/shredders-revenges-soundtrack-is-amazing/).
+
+A honorable mention goes to RJD2's _The Colossus_ (2010) which isn't as good as 2002's _Deadringer_ or 2004's _Since We Last Spoke_, and to Greg Johnson's "refunkified" Toejam & Earl soundtrack. I didn't play the latest game but remember SEGA Mega Drive game well enough to get back into the groove with this album. 

content/post/2022/12/my-personal-game-of-the-year-awards.md

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ date: '2022-12-14T17:02:00+01:00'
 tags:
   - games
   - lists
+  - yearnote
 categories:
   - braindump
 ---