Get the point? Good. Let’s dance.

Good morning/afternoon/evening to everyone. This is the sixth issue of my newsletter. Blah, blah, preamble.

This week’s issue is dedicated to Janet Jackson who celebrated her 53rd birthday a few weeks ago. A true music icon.

I’m going to try and keep things short this time with some different features. If you have any suggestions of what you’d like to see more or less of, let me know!

Okay, enough guff. Let’s begin.

For The Mind

Japan is running out of phone numbers - Like the UK, Japan use 11-digit phone numbers which will give a few billion different combinations but apparently they’re running out. So they’re going to be using 14-digit numbers from 2021 as they expect to run out of the 11-digit ones by 2022.

The most obscure Nintendo character - This is weird, to me at least. Pappy van Poodle is a character from Nintendo's Rusty's Real Deal Baseball but until recently, he didn’t have a single Google search result. Now, this could be one of Google’s infamous glitches where certain search terms don’t have any results but the ones that are there now are just about the fact it didn’t have any results. He very much exists though. Super odd.

Before Jack Johnson or Jackie Robinson, there was Major Taylor - A new biography examines the accomplishment and struggle of America’s first black sports star, Major Taylor. This quote from the article speaks volumes:

His opponents’ tactics were “nothing less than an attempt to kill,” and he felt he had to respond.

For The Ears

Megan Thee Stallion - Fever

Sexual as fuck. If you don’t like explicit lyrics, this won’t be for you but you can’t deny this bounces hard as hell. Great debut.

Tyler, The Creator - IGOR

This came out on the same day and it’s brilliant. It’s like a hip hop love album but the antithesis of it at the same time. Great project, sonically.

Emily King - Scenery

One of my favourite vocalists is Seal for the way he can mix a raspy almost husky voice with such power and a comfortable higher register. Emily King has shades of that, being able to power through and retain the vocal haze. Lovely vibrato too (I have a music tech degree so I like talking about music theory). Scenery is a lovely blend of electronica, soul, and funk and showcases King’s versatile voice.

For The Eyes

Gonna start with three images this time. Some great art I’ve seen over the last week or so. Click on them to go to the artist’s website.

Well I’m gonna make like a drum and beat it. Thanks for reading and join me next time for more of the same. Any comments or suggestions, get in touch!