Ponytail Picks #9 - Electric

and

Jul 01, 2022

We turned ourselves on to all things electric this week. What did we discover under the spotlight? Scroll on to find out.

LISTEN

A plug for a friend’s prolific electronic music project, Teen Daze

Not that Jamison needs a plug from us—he’s already an accomplished professional musician—but I wanted to write about his music not only because his discography is so interesting in its expanse and diversity within the electronic music genre but because I think it was his debut album Four More Years that pretty much introduced me to the particular genre of “bedroom pop” electronic music that’s so widespread now in the first place. Being completely ignorant at the time to the keyboard wave of the 1980s, I think my idea of electronic music in 2010 when the album was released was limited to the one glitchy-futuristic song by underground Christian artist Joy Electric on a Cheapskates sampler CD I had and that one cover of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”.

Four More Years, though, busted through the aforementioned robot ballads and strobe-light-filled clubs and brought the groove, you know? Swirling synths, rolling basslines, head-bobbing beats, and the occasional dreamy vocal all perfectly molded into satisfying rise-and-fall rhythms.

Jamison’s first official follow-up album, 2012’s All of Us, Together, brought more of the same juicy, danceable tracks, if with a bit more refinement and production, but I would be remiss not to mention the eclectic couplet of EPs that came in between the two full lengths. First, Beach Dreams, a fuzzy beach-rock foursome of songs with jangly electric guitars for days; then, A Silent Planet, a meditative, reverb-y exploration of the themes from C.S. Lewis’ novel Out of the Silent Planet.

From there, the pulsing grooves of Teen Daze’s first two albums and the more experimental, ambient sounds of A Silent Planet were combined for 2012’s The Inner Mansions and 2013’s Glacier. “Alaska,” the opening track of the latter is a perfect example; it opens with Jamison’s silky tenor floating upon heavenly synths and delicate piano before a heartbeat bass drum kicks it into another gear, first every four counts, then every two.

After 2015’s Morning World takes another turn, this time completely away from the electronic music genre into some beautiful indie pop rock, Jamison returns to his keyboards for the stunning double album Themes for Dying Earth and Themes for a New Earth. There’s a new delicate air to these songs; not one additional note or instrument is put in without careful thought and reason, but at the same time it feels wonderfully full: guitars and acoustic drums are added to the soaring synths; even other vocalists join the choir this time around.

Jamison goes full earthy electronica on his next major release, Bioluminescence. It’s full of bubbly life:

Finally, after a few more low-key dance and dream EPs in 2020, Teen Daze comes back inside to the dance hall for 2021’s Interior, curating an awe-inspiring night life experience for the listener, from the sultry opening track “Last Time in this Place” to the simmering, sweaty build-up of “Translation”:

Can’t wait to see what Jamison does next in his electrifying career.

-JB

Feeling energized by this week’s picks? Why not share them with a friend?

A Collection of Andrew’s EV Reports

For my day job, I write automotive news for an insurance app called Jerry. Sometimes, Jerry’s editors assign stories for me to complete, but more often than not, I’m given free reign to write about whatever I want, as long as it’s relevant to the auto industry.

When that’s the case, I tend to lean toward the world of electric cars because it often ties into current global issues. The drama of VC investment, the effects of COVID, and the war in Ukraine, for example, all have a link or two to the rise of EVs.

I’ve learned about the nuts and bolts of a pretty wide array of topics over the year or so on this beat—from the global economy to the disfunction of startup culture to inner workings of battery chemistry. Here are a few highlights to give you an idea of what I mean.

EVs on a Global Scale

A closer look at the transition to electric cars gives a specific perspective on how government and business work together to shape our society and direct our future. There’s always a little back and forth, especially in nations that purport to value free enterprise, but the stories below reveal just a sliver of the change expected in the next decade or so, who will be responsible for it, and why it’s all happening so quickly. Hint: it’s not just about the environment.

The EV Leader—Tesla

If you know anything at all about electric vehicles, you know about Tesla. Elon Musk is currently the richest person on the planet thanks to the all-electric car company, but as the following stories show, money can’t solve every problem.

Startup Struggles

Like any success story, Tesla has its copycats. Many a hungry entrepreneur has watched Musk’s momentum and thought, why don’t I give that a try? But as you might’ve guessed from this segment’s title, things haven’t gone so well for EV startups as of late. Pickup producer Rivian has weathered the storm better than most. But even its earth-shattering IPO couldn’t fully shield it from the lost faith inflicted on this new industry in the first half of 2022. Read on for further context to what I’m talking about.

Old Players, New Game

Empires were built on the internal combustion engine. But for the auto titans of the past to survive the coming years, they’ll have to make some big changes. The following articles detail how a few of them plan to do that.

P.S.

All this research and writing has turned me into a sort of accidental expert on electric transportation. If you’re interested at all in EVs or in making the transition yourself, leave your questions in the comment section below, and I’ll answer them as best I can.

-AK

WATCH

Three movies where computers are saying some shit’s about to go down

Jurassic Park (1994)

Nedry’s got three of ‘em! Surely he’s gonna be safe from said shit.

Dante’s Peak (1997)

We got some blinking lights here—extra protection from impending disasters.

Don’t Look Up (2021)

A speck in space on a screen becomes our very real (well, arguably real—President says we’re fine) doom.

-JB

Thanks as always for reading! Two weeks from today, we’ll be bucklin’ up with our hands out the window as we talk about roads.

Ponytail Press

Discussion about this post