Splendor & Misery

[psocoptera]

So rap group Clipping. offered free downloads of their album Splendor & Misery for Hugo nominators, suggesting it was eligible for Best Dramatic Short. I know very little about rap, but not having much to nominate there, I figured there was no downside to listening, and OH MY GOD. I have this vague memory of the first time I was working my way through the early Rush discography, 2112 and the Cygnus X-1 songs, laying there completely caught up in it, and, like, narrative audio IS NOT MY THING 90% of the time, but, man, the other 10%. SPACE SCIENCE FICTION IN MY EARS, I don't know, this has gotten very capslocky, but the whole idea that you can couple pushing the boundaries of music with telling a spec-fic story, it's such a powerful synergy. There's pretty obviously a lot going on in Splendor & Misery that I don't understand - it's extremely reference-dense, the kind of literary poem puzzle someone who knows what the fuck they're talking about can dissect for pages - but even the bits I can get, slavery narratives/songs plus hip-hop as a specifically Black genre plus a delightful blender of science fiction references, it's clever and fascinating and *different* and, yes, absolutely nominating it.

ETA: let me know if you want the download link, I'll share it with anyone else who's nominating this year.

Comments

[jedusor.livejournal.com]

I AM SO PUMPED YOU'RE INTO IT. I've been saying this album needs a Hugo since literally before it was released (I pre-ordered the physical disk and it showed up two days early, so I listened to it like 6 times through before it hit the internet). I have a bunch of disjointed notes for a fic I want to write about the onboard computer figuring out the concept of identity, but idk when that will work its way to the top of my creative to-do list.

Also Daveed is AMAZING live and if you ever have a chance to see clipping. in concert, you should. The first time I saw them the crowd was all Hamilton fans who kept trying to get him to do Guns & Ships and were not really sure what to make of all the clangs and screeches, but they've been gaining some traction, and at the show I went to last week most of the people near me knew a substantial chunk of the lyrics.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Ha, they're apparently here *tonight* - not happening for various reasons, but I was amused to have to make a decision about this so immediately :)