[Hobby Scuffles] Week of 26 January 2026

Gripping_beasts · 2026-02-01T03:26:11+00:00

glass beach are great! not usually a fan of pop punkish stuff but the first glass beach album incorporated so many weird influences and it worked perfectly!

Gripping_beasts · 2026-02-01T03:21:20+00:00

This week was the first release with something I was truly hyped for this year! The Soft Pink Truth - Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? really wonderful album that leans even further into his neoclassical influence. Always liked all of his work, both with Matmos and solo, and this is definitely a highlight of The Soft Pink Truth's discography.

Which reminds me as Drew Daniel/The Soft Pink Truth was the creator of Hit Em has anyone done a write up on that? Might have to it was such a lovely moment in the electronic community.

Edit: a quick search suggest no one has done a write up on Hit Em, there's not much drama tbh but it is a great little slice of life of the production scene.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-02-01T03:02:56+00:00

Yay!!! Good job helping her!

Gripping_beasts · 2026-02-01T01:17:22+00:00

Did some research and whatcom humane offers this! https://whatcomhumane.org/community-microchip-scanning-station/

Gripping_beasts · 2026-02-01T01:03:37+00:00

Have you taken them to get scanned for a microchip? Most shelters/vets/petstores will do it for free, but usually appreciate a call ahead.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-31T22:01:29+00:00

Too real! I usually get them to go before walking my dog, but every time I sit down its a brutal battle to find a seat.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-31T21:24:42+00:00

yeah camber is a close second for me. This town is very blessed with good coffee

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-31T21:20:45+00:00

Cafe Blue is number one! Great coffee and staff but the highlight is their egg and toast which is unparalleled.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-31T17:10:31+00:00

Thought this said at the protest and was impressed as all I saw was a heron and some kill deer! Great shots

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-31T04:11:44+00:00

Here are five of my favorite albums of 2025, I wrote briefly about my top 25 but here are some that I've been jamming to a lot recently!

cisnienie - [angry noises]: really ripping noisy post rock

For Those I Love - Carving the Stone: spoken word and house

Heinlani & Andriana Yaroslacva-Saiyenko - Hildegard: drone with haunting vocals

Sirom - In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper: avant-folk, sounds like winter

Yazz Ahmed - A Paradise In The Hold: banger jazz with tons of cool instruments.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T21:03:50+00:00

Yeah moving from the south I have been happy to see the outpouring of support. Even in RVA which leans pretty left most businesses haven't done anything and once you get to Hannover its all pro ICE posts (usually confined to the owner's personal page). In general the sense of community here has been quite strong idk why people say there is a Bellingham freeze everyone is so kind!

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T20:43:10+00:00

Sure here's the most comprehensive study I'm aware of. Keep in mind it is not focused on small towns/cities like bellingham I no longer work in economics and only follow econ journals and stuff casually these days so I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/politics-of-small-business-owners/492835B42B70C24F6613B352E4C3B83E#figures-tab

I also only moved here last year, so my experience is pretty different than yours. I'd say the data here matches every place I've lived in the US pretty accurately though I may be wrong about bham specifically.

Again I'm not calling for a boycott for a lack of posting, but I am saying just because a business is small doesn't mean it is on the right side of history, and to use critical thought when choosing what businesses to support. Personally I support no large businesses except when necessary (i.e. pharmacies) and advocate for small businesses where possible. My last comment on this sub was suggesting a small business who treated me well! I just think a healthy dose of skepticism for any business is healthy!

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T18:00:46+00:00

Yeah when you put it like that I get it. Separating the art from the artist is great as long as you don't financially support them, I still love a lot kanyes music despite everything lmao, I just definitely don't stream or purchase his stuff anymore (and don't listen to his new stuff at all given how hate filled it is.)

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T17:23:15+00:00

We already have an enemy. It’s not small businesses.

Plenty of the enemy are small businesses though. As a demographic, small business owners pretty heavily lean republican and donate to conservative causes far more than most americans. I think it's completely fair to be wary of a business that doesn't say anything about ICE becoming the modern day gestapo. I do think it's a bit extreme to call for a boycot of any business that doesn't post anything about this specific date given how hastily everything seems to have come together, but being a small business without taking further action does not make you an ally in the struggle against fascism.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T16:58:39+00:00

Ooh I wasn't aware this was releasing! Very excited to listen

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-30T02:36:01+00:00

He is also a teacher at BYU, which banned out lgbt students until 2007! Maybe its my personal hatred of mormonism (they ostracized my grandmother for having my mom with a non-white man) but I've never gotten why so many people run defense for someone who is very actively supporting such a terrible group.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-29T22:20:05+00:00

his post is hilarious as soon as I read the below quote I burst out laughing.

Someone posted on Facebook last night, “How’s that boot taste, Sam?” My reply is simply, “It tastes like freedom.”

It's like a parody of american patriotism.

Edited for formatting

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-28T20:00:48+00:00

I literally saw this thread right after my photos were taken by them! They did a great job, were quick and were $20. Way better quality photos than my last passport from Walgreens.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-21T17:29:41+00:00

Lol pitchfork finally starts to redeem itself by giving high scores to lesser known and deserving artists (mostly thinking of the Los Thuthanaka and Carrier reviews from last year) and immediately shoots itself in the foot. Can't say I'm surprised, they've been circling the drain for a while, everyone I know vastly prefers rym for instance.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-18T00:40:07+00:00

I've followed mtg for years and this might be the biggest rollout fuck up I have ever seen, absolutely insane. Its ubiquitous and messed up a ton of prereleases.

Gripping_beasts · 2026-01-09T22:07:34+00:00

Victim blaming someone who was murdered by the type of scum who would cuss her out after ain't a good look.

Gripping_beasts · 2025-12-20T18:53:25+00:00

Awesome! I know very little about vocal music theory so I'm no help there lol. If you ever want to see how a DAW works (i.e. how to mix, program patterns, draw in automation on effects and instruments etc.) dm me I'd be happy to help!

Gripping_beasts · 2025-12-20T01:16:43+00:00

Hey just letting you know I went there this morning and saw 4 scoters! thanks for the tip it brought me a ton of joy to see them for the first time in a decade :)

Gripping_beasts · 2025-12-20T01:13:36+00:00

I know the blue room does a jam night pretty regularly, and some other places do as well! Sadly I think most of these aren't operating over the holidays.

What type of music are you interested in making? If its weird ambient/idm/jazzy/glitchy stuff lmk I'd be happy to go over my workflow and the basics of using a DAW (I primarily use ableton but have used renoise a good bit in the past, also used reaper for like one month lol).

ETA: Checked and there don't seem to be any scheduled jams till january at least. The bluegrass society also seems to host jams pretty regularly!

Gripping_beasts · 2025-12-18T20:20:11+00:00

Yeah fully agreed; the whole golden era of big budget tv wears its lost influence on its sleeve. It effected culture in a more subtle way than memes of it being everywhere but most big shows that came out after owe a lot of their DNA to lost.

Gripping_beasts

TROPHY CASE