I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: ZAYTOVEN-Tiny Desk Concert #828 (February 28, 2019).

I saw Zaytoven on the Gucci Mane Tiny Desk Concert and thought he was a good performer.  I didn’t expect that he woul det his own show.  So I wasn’t expecting all that much, but man, this is awesome.  And then I read why this show is the way it is:

Last month, Zaytoven arrived at Bob Boilen’s desk with a full band in tow with the intent of backing up his Atlanta friend and collaborator Future, who had dropped his latest album, The Wzrd, earlier that day. The plan was to translate the bass-heavy trap sound Zaytoven helped originate to real instruments with Neil Garrard on guitar, Bernard “TreWay” Lambert on drums, DJ Spinz and Elena on flute (for what would’ve been a live version of “Mask Off”).

So instead, we get this beautiful instrumental collection.  There’s three tracks that are kind of jazzy, but not exactly.  They’re pretty melodies with some great solo work from the electric guitar and lots and lots of flute.   The drums from Bernard “TreWay” Lambert are a mix of traditional and electric (with great sounds) and some nifty scratching from DJ Spinz.

Track one “Lay Up” has a ripping distortion-filled guitar solo from Neil Garrard.  But man, the real killer is the flute work.  It’s so effortlessly beautiful the way it floats around the song.  Elena Pinderhughes is just dynamite on this song and every one.

Introducing “Peacoat,” he says it feels it like jazz.  He also says he still plays the organ in church on Sundays and that he wants all of his songs to have soul.

“I wasn’t even allowed to listen to this type of music, let alone to be producing it,” he told me a little over a year ago in the church outside Atlanta where he plays organ every Sunday morning. He was remembering how conflicted he’d once felt as a young producer who’d grown up in the church to be playing his trade for street artists like future trap god Gucci Mane (who Zaytoven would later back on keys during his first visit to the Tiny Desk). “To be the godfather of the sound, it was almost embarrassing for me, like, ‘Hold on, bruh. This ain’t really how I was brought up. This ain’t really what I do.’ I’m a guy that’s in the church and I try to lead people more so that way.”

There’s some pretty piano and keyboards form Zaytoven on this song, and I like the subtle scratching throughout.

The final song “Mo Reala” is also great.  He says it’s got a church vibe.  It was his first single from the album with Future saying real things.  He’d ben producing since 2004, but Future helped him refine his piano work and his beats.  In addition to the great song itself, the flute and guitar solos are fantastic.  And again, I love the drums and scratching too.

I listened to the track with Future’s vocals on it and I didn’t like it half as much.

Zaytoven, if you read this, you should absolutely get this band together and record these songs just like this as instrumentals.  They are dynamite!  And no one is releasing music like this right now.  Get on it, man!

[READ: February 26, 2019] Cucumber Quest 4

Reading book 4 means that I am now caught up with the books that are currently out.  And that is terrible, because the series suddenly got really intense and really emotional.  And who knows how long I’ll have to wait until the next book!

When I first started this series, which is kind of a spoof on hero quests, I enjoyed it.  It made me laugh and had lots of funny and absurd twists.  I never expected to get so invested in the story of the Nightmare Knight and his explanation for why he is such a bad guy.

But back to our heroes.

When they arrive in the Flower Kingdom, they are given the terrible news that the Kingdom does not have a Princess (our heroes need Princesses to sign a sword as art of their quest). What will they do?

Then we meet the fifth Disaster Master, minion of the Nightmare Knight.  Her name is Rosemaster and she is the most powerful (and creepiest/seductive) thus far.  I love that her words are in green speech bubbles with stems and leaves.  (I feel like Gigi D.C. really stepped up her game for this book).  Rosemaster has some devious plans and is actually questioning the Nightmare Knight as well.  What’s she up to?

We return to Botanica Springs.  The Flower Kingdom is the smallest and least inhabited kingdom, with most of the island being swampy and overgrown.  Except for Botanic Springs, where everyone lives.  And the star of the island is  Mr R, the fashionable figurehead of R magazine. (He has a big pompadour and a cool beard).

Someone comes to the idea that since R magazine is the most important thing in the Kingdom, it’s like Mr R is their King.  So whoever goes on the cover could be the Princess!  They decide to have a contest between the five contenders: Maple “sugar and spice”, Tulip “fab fangirl”, Marigold,  Dahlia “Spooky Cute” and uh, Almond “technically a flower.”  But before things can go to far, Cucumber recognizes that the host of this contest is actually his dad!  He had escaped prison because the door was unlocked.  Dad has a lot of explaining to do.  Except he doesn’t explain anything.

Then the contest commences, but before anything real can happen, Peridot comes and knocks out everyone but Almond so they can battle.  She looks at Almond and says “I’m here for you,” which after she says it, she realizes that it came out a little awkward.

Cucumber then runs into the Nightmare Knight and tries too…talk to him.  It seems to be going pretty well, actually until Almond yells at him for being nice to the bad guy.

We cut back to Rosemaster who is now speaking to Glitchmaster, presumably the next Disaster Master–and a mighty fierce one herself. Glitchmaster wonders if Rosemaster is aware that the Nightmare Knight seems to be sabotaging all of their plans.  This starts a sequence that is pretty awesome.

We also learn that the Nightmare Knight delivered Princess Parfait’s letter to Carrot–or at least to where Carrot would be.  Although first he is unable to get it because of the flower garden’s Guardener “no, it’s like the word ‘guard’ and … forget it.”  The revelation of what the hideous Guardener actually looks like is hilarious!  Carrot is beaten down and defeated by Almond (who is possessed by Rosemaster).  But when he sees the letter from Parfait, it changes everything (even his clothes) and he is a new man.

I’m a little unclear exactly what happens here (battle sequences are always tough to follow), but somehow Rosemaster is defeated (and it is Peridot’s doing?).  But Rosemaster turns into a different version of herself or maybe Glitchmaster?

When the Oracle shows up to reward the heroes, the Nightmare Knight shows up as well.  The Oracle flees and the Knight tries to get Peridot to return with him.  She resists, but he overpowers her easily.

Later we see Peridot fantasizing about marrying Almond.  There’s an awesome moment later on when Almond walks in the kitchen and the Nightmare Knight (scaled down) is baking (delicious) cookies.  He and Peridot bond and then watch her favorite show Punisher Pumice.  I love when he shows no interest in things, like this.  This leads him to talk to Princess Parfait, where he lays bare everything to her.  And it is a striking moment for this otherwise goofy, silly saga,

As the story comes to a conclusion, Cosmo returns once more, this time to talk to Glitchmaster….

We also learn a little backstory as to why Cucumber’s father was never taken on a quest–it’s mysterious and fascinating.  But just as everyone is settling in for their trip to the Crystal Kingdom, things start getting very dark and very cold,

I cannot wait for book 5 (I gather there will be 8 books in total).

The end pages ask more questions of Our Heroes:

Why does Carrot seem so dreamy all of a sudden?  Why doesn’t Cucumber’s hair look like a Cucumber.  Cucumber offers up his favorite Character on Punisher Pumice.  It’s Bort, the guy who helped her with her homework.  Almond mocks him, “They wrote him out of the show cause he was so boring…[Cucumber’s] actually sad about that!  ha ha.”

Then comes reader questions for Miscellaneous (“how rude” says one of the miscellaneous characters).

They ask Sunflower an Aster about their fashion statements, which Mr R waves away and says they have no fashion sense at all.

But the best are the questions for Nightmare Knight and Peridot.  The Knight doesn’t want to participate, but Peridot threatens to tear up Bake Life! magazine if he doesn’t.  To which the Knight replies, “How tragic.  So many cakes we could have enjoyed lost forever”  “Ok I’m not gonna rip it, BUT YOU HAVE TO ANSWER SOME OR YOU CANT HAVE IT BACK.”

They imagine what Splashmaster would be like if he leveled up (not that great).  The final question ends with the Knight asking “what is a ‘fanfiction’?'”

Then there’s an explanation of the Flower Kingdom and a question about just what the Guardener’s deal is anyway.

We may never know.