While I Was Out

I am back! And I have returned with yet another pebble of personal truth. (In addition to a metric ton of sand in my ass crack.)

The nature of this revelation? I am not particularly good at vacationing.

You see, my regular day-to-day life is pretty chill. I have a great wife, two wonderful kids, a job that's annoying far less than half the time and a pair of blogs/podcasts that are more enjoyable to me than they have any right to be. In short, things are typically kinda low key. Stuff is fairly relaxed. Shit is pretty sweet.

Now contrast this with vacation, an unsavory event during which I am beholden to attempt packing an entire year's worth of relaxation – relaxation in this case meaning non-stop movement from dusk to dawn – into a scant week.

Surely you see my point.

The strange thing is that while I was away "relaxing," the nerdy world went right along spinning. Indeed, no sooner had I set out than things commenced a-poppin'. Particularly on the new release front, there have been a number of interesting developments.

The rock opera rebellion that is The Protomen's Act II is so close that you can almost taste it. But should you prefer to experience music via a more traditional sense, perhaps you should turn your attention to the recent leak of "Light up the Night." The commander himself describes it as "the first glimpse of the second half of Act II," but I'd simply say it's another exemplary effort from our heroes.

Meanwhile, from the soggy streets of Seattle comes word of the long-awaited debut album by People Within. Fronted by Optimus Rhyme alumnus Broken English, People Within meld hip-hop, jazz-funk and punk into an unbelievable musical menagerie. Though the official release date is set for September 12th, I was lucky enough to score a preview copy. I'll be sure to toss some tracks into forthcoming podcasts so as to acclimate the uninitiated to the new sound of the Pacific Northwest.

But certainly the timeliest of news concerns today's release of the 7-song MC Lars and K.Flay EP Single and Famous. Due to my out-of-townedness I only downloaded my review copy last night, but it's already managed to insinuate itself into a perpetually packed song rotation. It's very much the spiritual successor to the Lars and YTCracker collab The Digital Gangster LP as it's another musical expression of friendship and fun, but don't feel like you have to take my word for it. The EP is available at a sliding price point – another similarity to the DGLP – so go ahead and pick it up in any of its varied forms.

Savvy fans will also notice talk of a Lars/K.Flay/YT tour, information regarding which I will try to secure before my review of Single and Famous hits the interwebz.