Joseph

Three months into the pandemic lockdown, I launched Soundwave, a show featuring ambient, classical, experimental, and instrumental mixes from notable guest deejays. It was my way of coping with the stress and isolation of the pandemic.

Originally, the guest deejays were people I knew from my previous electronic music show, solipsistic NATION. The show soon grew to include musicians I admire and musicians I discovered on Spotify, Bandcamp, Twitter, or through the various music blogs I read. Today’s show is special because it features a mix from Michael Donaldson, who I met through Micro.blog.

Why is this special?

When I joined Twitter way back in 2006, the network was not too big and small, making it a vibrant community. You could have conversations with people that sometimes lead to friendships. Not that that’s impossible on Twitter today, it just makes it more unlikely. It also meant connecting with musicians and label owners and bypassing the usual intermediaries, which was great for my electronic music show. That aspect of Twitter is virtually missing today.

Micro.blog’s network is growing, but it’s still pretty small compared to Twitter’s early days. However, the smaller size allows for more inclusivity. The likelihood of thoughtful and genuine conversation increases. Another factor in the civility and congeniality of Micro.blog is that it’s a subscription service. It’s very affordable, $5 a month, but that immediately eliminates your bots, trolls, and shitposters. That alone is worth the price of admission.

Michael had shared an interview he did with musician Daniel Fuzztone on Micro.blog. I liked the interview, I liked Fuzztone’s music, and I liked Michael’s other posts and articles. He was a perfect fit for Soundwave, so I invited him to guest deejay on the show. I also invited Fuzztone, and his mix will go live in December.

Michael’s mix is dreamlike. It also has a very 80s/90s electronic music feel to it, which I appreciate. I think you’ll enjoy the experience.

I’m pleased with how everything all turned out. I’m grateful that a platform like Micro.blog exists to allow collaborative efforts like today’s show to come about.

The climate is wrecked. The environment is crashing. We’re in an extinction level event. We’re still – still in a pandemic. We can discuss these horrors of the 21st century. Or we can talk about playlists for role-playing games.

Playlists for role playing games? Yes. Because of course we live in a world where there’s a playlist for everything. Going for a spin on your Peloton? Got a playlist for that. Trouble sleeping? Got a playlist for that. Need to make thing sexy? Definitely got a playlist for that.

It makes total sense that there are playlists for everything. And isn’t that kind of amazing? A playlist? Dedicated to something I like? I’m all ears. Sorry. I know that was a groaner. But why am I talking about playlists for role playing games in the first place?

Because yours truly received a copy of Ultra Violet Grasslands & the Black City I ordered last week. What is UVG? It’s a game inspired by psychedelic heavy metal, the Dying Earth genre & classic Oregon Trail games. Did that conjure fantastic imagery? The whole book is like that.

I’ve known about UVG the last couple of years and I’ve always wanted to have a copy. All the reviews raved about the game. I’ve watched people play UVG on YouTube and everyone is having a great time. But it didn’t seem practical, and I didn’t want to be one of those guys.

Impractical, because as an adult it’s difficult to carve out leisure time, let alone for a role playing game. And I didn’t want to be that guy who has a bookshelf of unplayed games. I don’t have the room and I don’t want to waste money. But I couldn’t get UVG out of my head.

Last week I broke down and ordered UVG. Today it was delivered to my hot little hands. I’m only 6 pages in and the book is sparking story ideas. Even the table of contents has my synapses firing. Lime nomads? Grass Colossus? The Forest of Meat? I want need to know more!

Luka Rejec is UVG’s creator. He also illustrated the book and the artwork is equally delightful and evocative. I especially appreciate Luka’s appreciation for Jean Giraud, AKA Moebius. And, I’m guessing, anything that came out of Heavy Metal magazine during the 80s.

So I was walking my dog earlier this evening and UVG was on my mind, I pulled up some UVG inspired playlists on Spotify. It was a mix of Blue Öyster Cult, Ennio Morricone, Kyuss, Hawkwind, Killing Joke, Yes, King Crimson, Danzig, Wolfmother, Ben Frost, Sleep, Metallica, etc

I love all that stuff and it made tonight’s walk with Blossom very metal indeed. Another game I want to play is Mörk Borg. I decided to switch gears and listen to playlists dedicated to this doom metal inspired book. You’re gonna love the names of the bands in the playlists.

<guitar feedback>Bongripper! Dopelord! Weedeater! Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard! Purple Hill Witch! Lo! Thou! Paradise Lost! Crypt Sermon! With The Dead! Black Tremor! Beaten To Death! Shape Of Despair!</guitar feedback>

The playlists for the Mothership survival horror RPG are super dark. Lots of ambient and instrumental stuff that’s my cup of tea. The Call of Cthulhu RPG has equally delightfully dreadful music. I’m disappointed no one has made a playlist for Xas Irkalla. Maybe I’ll make one.

Oh, yeah, I’m in on the racket. I’ve built a playlist for Würm, a role playing game set in the Ice Age, featuring tracks from Paleowolf.

Until a few years ago I didn’t know these kinds of playlists existed. My wife and I joined a Vampire: The Masquerade RPG. One evening the Storyteller (the person who runs the game) streamed a playlist dedicated to VTM from YouTube. The playlist lasted our entire 6 hour session.

If you’re looking for something new to listen to, just do a reach on RPG and reams of playlists will come up. There are playlists for combat, taverns, cyberpunk, boss fights, and dungeons, of course. Like I said, it’s amazing this stuff exists. What a world.

If you’re new to Soundwave and are looking for something to listen to, below are the top 10 most played episodes.

1. Mike Cadoo
2. DJ Food
3. Jonathan Ammons
4. Hannah Peel
5. Sean Horton
6. Axel Arturo Barceló
7. Joseph Aleo
8. protoU
9. Joseph Aleo
10. Frank Riggio

I’m noticing a trend in my fascination with economic.

• Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek by Manu Saadia
• The Economics of Star Trek: The Proto-Post-Scarcity Economy by Rick Webb
• The People’s Republic of Walmart: How the World’s Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism by Leigh Phillips
• Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani
• Soft Currency Economics II (MMT - Modern Monetary Theory Book 1) by Warren Mosler