Sean’s Top 10 Albums of 2018

As you get older, you fall into ruts of routine and time speeds up. I’ve been aware of this phenomenon for a long time: the way I understand it, your brain only really tries to remember novel experiences, so as you get older and are learning less, you stop storing as much. I’m someone who hates routine, preferring to falls my instincts and impulses about how to spend my time, when to eat, when to sleep. The thing is, I’ve been at my current job for more than four years now – longer than I’ve done anything – and I’ve found that dreaded rhythm. Wake up too early for my morning meeting, go to Starbucks, sit at my desk at the office, go to Taco Time, sit at my desk at home, stay up too late. I’m not miserable, I think there is actually a lot of joy in my life, but it doesn’t read that way on paper. Hopefully I’ll find a way to remix that in 2019, but before that, let me share with you the albums that helped make the those times in cars and at desks less boring than they sound.

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Colin’s Top Ten Albums of 2018

2018 felt like a very good year for music, but I’m not sure if that’s just because it felt like a very music-filled year for music. It’s hard to say if this is how things will continue to develop moving forward into our inevitable scorched Earth future. But the advent of streaming has continued to provide so many music-listening options that it feels both overwhelming and endlessly satisfying to be a music fan. That is, if you’re willing to remain open to the bevy of great new artists waiting to be discovered. This year I found a few of those, as well as some old favorites still able to rattle the cage of this ever-changing music landscape. Let’s dive in. Continue reading

The Seventh Annual Mildly Pleased Awards

How do you summarize a year like 2018? I think at this point, the whole “it’s depressing” angle is getting kind of tired. And yet, what other perspective is there on stories like children in cages, increasing production of greenhouse gasses, and a rapist being appointed to the supreme court – tipping the balance toward conservatism for a generation? I guess I just have to hope this is the desperate death throes of a despicable subset of the population that is holding onto power for the last time. An example: this year I was depressed with how much hate The Last Jedi got, but then that report came out that most people did like that movie and a lot of the discourse online was influenced by trolls. There isn’t as much evil as it seems sometimes, and, like Gritty says, we’ll outlive them. But we should eat them first.

Oh yeah, this is our mediocrity award show. Check out the winners after the jump. And before I forget, here are the nominees for best viral video:

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2018 Music Reloaded: Pasar de las Luces

Mint Field – Pasar de las Luces

Mint Field are a shoegaze/dream pop/not quite Sigur Ros-style band from Tiajuanna who put our the debut album in February of this year. And it’s a super February album, with lush, vast soundscapes apparently written to express the hopelessness that is such a part of the public consciousness today. At least, that’s how it makes me feel, which meant this album left my mind for a while and recently reappeared in my rotation as the skies got dark and cold again these last couple months.

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2018 Music Reloaded: Chime

Dessa – Chime

Before Robyn came back, I had Dessa. She’s a rapper, part of the collective Doomtree, who branched out a little bit with her latest solo album, Chime. It’s a cool record that blends fiery and wordplay-heavy hip hop with slower, poppier songs to build an overall narrative about a woman who is angry, conflicted, anxious, confused, and all the other emotions that capture our current climate.
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Rokk Talk Ep. 17: That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!

We’re smack dab in the middle of Christmas season again, and you know what that means. Lots and lots of Christmas songs. Some of these songs are great, and some of them are ho-ho-horrible. So on this episode, John and Colin pick out their least favorite Christmas songs ever, and even rank them in a top ten list of terribleness, T3-style.

Happy Holidays from us here at Mildly Pleased! And please, for the love of god, keep your grandparents away from reindeer.

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