90s Hip-Hop & Indie Pop Galore | SHORT CUTS

SHORT CUTS 01: welcome!

Introducing Short Cuts, a new series here on GLASSES where periodically I’ll be sharing what I’ve been listening to lately along with some great cover art I’ve come across.

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Indie Pop

In this current climate of 35 track albums and 20 track albums with an entire new 20 track album tacked onto the backside in the guise of a “deluxe edition”, there are few things I love more than a nice and brisk EP. There’s this whole world of indie pop and rock where EPs run the world, and I’m stuck there right now.

These EPs and singles from Hannah Jadagu (album out May 19), spill tab, NewDad, and Wallice are all so sweet and easy to listen to, I can’t get enough. One of my favorite part about artists like this is that whatever auto plays afterwards is always lovely and add-to-library-able.

This is anytime music. Wake up, eat breakfast with it, do your work with it quiet or loud, walk to get a coffee with it, its always there and perfectly fitting for most times and moods.

The cover art for this kinda stuff is most times really pleasant too, which is of course a plus over here. More often than not, it’s just a photo of the artist or group, way less often it’ll be some experimental collage-like analog piece. I’ve come along on solely photography-based cover art. I used to be a typography stickler, but I’ve definitely eased up. Also—my god look at that Banshee artwork, I wish I did that so bad.

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90s Hip-Hop

Hip-hop was one of my first musical loves, as it can be for a lot of young people, and these golden age classics are what you tend to start out on.

In terms of the older guys, I was into Jay, Biggie, some Eminem, and some Tribe, but always had these big weird gaps. Recently I’ve got more into Nas’ discography, of course having loved Illmatic, but now hearing more It Was Written and God’s Son. Mobb Deep though is really where I’ve found some footing, and they’ve made me look more into this scene of more hardcore East Coast hip-hop like Redman and Wu-Tang.

Since this wave, I picked up It Was Written, Illmatic, all of Jay’ early work to The Black Album, all of Eminem’s early albums, Hell On Earth, The Infamous, and a few more all on CD. I always recommend buying old CDs, as they can be incredibly cheap if you get a lower quality version.

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Thanks for reading the first issue of Short Cuts, I’m really excited for this little series, and I hope you guys stick around for the ride!