The buckets on my floor filling up with water drip by drip. I’ve already been in one ceiling collapse so if it happens again, it’s a little embarrassing.
Cameron Winter’s “Vines” – particularly struck by the line “Didn’t I say, didn’t I tell you / So long and so often / This house is falling apart / And you don’t give a damn.” The water on my floor, the windows that won’t shut all the way, the burst pipe in the kitchen. I wonder if he wrote this from the perspective of a crumbling building. Or maybe my apartment sent him the lyrics.
Howard Hanson’s Elegy – You’re on a rock by the ocean, watching a storm roll through, and when that one special theme hits (you’ll know which one) the fury clears and leaves you with a glistening peace over the glittering orange and blue water.
Spotify is OUT, analogue is IN. This year, the full-length album has returned to my interests. I used to listen to albums straight through, but ever since around 2015 dropped the practice entirely. Singles and playlists became my norm, and I hadn’t really cared to sit with anyone’s full album since probably Tyler, The Creator’s IGOR. Stale behavior, I know.
Inspired by former Geese member Foster Hudson, I returned to my senses and made an effort to listen to more albums in their entirety and was handsomely rewarded. This year, the one that means the most is of course Cameron Winter’s Heavy Metal. If you’ve read any of my “What I’m Listening To Lately” posts since the spring, you’d already know!
This summer I gathered a decent vinyl set-up (baby’s first turntable) and began the expensive hobby of collecting albums. There are only so many paychecks in a year, but here are the albums that meant the most to me in 2025.
7. Gustav Holst – The Planets [CD not pictured, it was in my car and I didn’t want to go get it. Cold AF out there] (1918) The first performance of this was in 1918. Since then, countless orchestras across time and space have performed this absolute banger orchestral suite. If you’re a fan of King Crimson’s “The Devil’s Triangle,” you’ve already heard some Holst. Listen to Mars before a battle. Listen to Jupiter after you’ve won.
6. Hayden Pedigo – Letting Go (2021) Favorite track: Carthage. My dad used to play a classical guitar when I was a kid, and I’d sit nearby and listen, daydreaming about train travel. His arthritis is too bad to play these days, but hearing Hayden brings me back to that time of peace. I was fortunate enough to see him perform last month, and it’s every bit as restful and restorative as I hoped for. Listen on a nature walk.
5. Nina Simone – I Put a Spell on You (1965) Favorite track: “Tomorrow Is My Turn.” The way she sings reminds me of the Dr. Maya Angelou quote, “One of the things I do when I step up on a stage…I bring everyone who has ever been kind to me with me.” Nina Simone sings with aura. Like anyone who’s ever loved her is in the room. Listen when you know who you want to be.
4. Nick Drake – Bryter Layter (1971) Favorite track: “One of These Things First.” Reminds me of a Kazuo Ishiguro quote, “There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.” Listen when you don’t know who you want to be.
3. Geese – 3D Country (2023) Some of these songs you can sing your lil heart out to, and then sometimes you just have to stare into the distance as you hear “Some people are alone forever.” The whole album feels the way playing pretend did when you were a kid. “St. Elmo” sounds like cowboys in a bar fight, and Domoto sounds like the shift between the fun of daydreams and harsh reality. Listen when you need fresh air, or to feel like a kid again.
2. Geese – Getting Killed (2025) Without explaining myself in any way, this album showed me the effectiveness of a well-written email, and for that I am eternally grateful. As it’s the only album in my list released in 2025, it’s the closest I’ve been able to get to entering modern culture. Listen when you’re lost.
1. Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal (2024) Listen when you’re tired in a way that sleep can’t fix. I’ve scattered praise of this album across the internet and tugged anyone’s sleeves who would let me. Eva you are being insufferable about this damn album. Yes but this time it’s okay. You’d think the 2 essays I wrote about Getting Killed were inspired by Getting Killed. No. I’m only an essayist because of Heavy Metal.
First Listen: May 18, 2025. I stopped playing Spider Solitaire & found my friend in the other room. I knew what to do. I’m an essayist now, too & the drummer & frontman of 2 bands. I take voice lessons & buy myself flowers. A record player’s in the corner – no dust. Yes! I know what to do & have the will to do it. Thank you! – Eva
Lately I’ve been listening to Sarah Chang again. She’s got a special place in my heart, because when I first started playing the violin at 8, my grandma gave me her 1992 Debut. It was a little girl (Chang) on the front cover not much older than me, and she was playing violin with such ease and mastery. That album had Sarasate’s Carmen on it, which I recognized from an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog. I thought this was scary as hell so naturally I kept listening to it.
Here’s what’s been going on in my ears this week:
Sarah Chang – Pablo de Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy . The story of the opera (Bizet) is wild. It’s an opera, though. Someone’s gotta die.
Sarah Chang – Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. It goes hard when you hear it in its own context, rather than whatever dumbass commercial it’s slapped across.
Sarah Chang – The Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor. Had me crying tears of awe in my apartment at midnight after 4th of July. You can’t keep me away from Sarah Chang’s music! You cannot!
Scott Walker – his album Scott 4. My first foray into his music. I liked The Seventh Seal (based on Ingmar Bergman’s movie of the same name) for both the wrong reason and the right one. Right reason: I like chess and songs that have stories in them. Wrong reason: I thought this was named after Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. Which is a movie I have seen recently. Which has a different name than the song. Which has nothing to do with chess.
Cameron Winter’s Heavy Metal. Same as last week and the month before. Bought the vinyl this week, don’t have a record player.
Idk if this is more or less depressing than the last time I did this. Either way, new Geese music drops tomorrow. Hell yeah.
I started a YouTube channel for my own music! Well, I linked the account I’ve had for ages to my DistroKid. If you can see all my goofy comments since 2013 I’m begging you to inform me.
There’s only one video up right now but there are some tracks to listen to! Video: Basho (ukulele)
The song was inspired by the stone turtles that act as a bridge in the Kamo River. Also inspired by Basho’s haiku, “Even in Kyoto / Hearing the cuckoo’s cry / I long for Kyoto”
Lyrics: Hop across Nothing lost Shimmer light Golden gloss
In the summer by the riverside In the picture you’re the only eye
I’m home, I want to go home I’m home, I want to go home
Hey everyone!
My sister went on a trip to Pittsburgh, leaving the house void of people when I returned from work yesterday. It gave me some much needed time to work on this song and I had the final kinks worked out after about 20 minutes! (Then it took probably an hour to get a recording I could deem “good enough”. The damn song is under 2 minutes.) Sometimes, all I need is to be alone so I can say or sing whatever I want. That’s the easiest way to complete solo work, I’ve found.
My new lo-fi track is called “Envelopes” and you can listen to it here. This one’s on Soundcloud.com, like all the others, because it’s free and easy to use. Plus, SoundCloud is like my music version of Blank First Page. Anyway, “Envelopes” is much less depressing than my other recent songs. Finally, right?
Check it out if you have 1 minute 41 seconds!
Thanks!
-Eva
Hello everyone,
I recently recorded this song: Hip Violence. I started writing it about 4 years ago under the working title “Monster Monster”. I finally finished the lyrics, which changed the meaning of the song a bit. Thus, new title.
In this recording, I experiment with violin and melodica overlays. Because I recorded it with garageband and a simple microphone, it’s not top notch studio quality. There are times when you can hear me press the melodica keys, which drives me nuts. When I finally record this for my album, I will amend that. I’m thinking about adding bass and drums, like in my more popular song, Magic Trick, but I’m not hung up on the idea.
You can find my other demos on www.soundcloud.com/eva-moe.
