Spotify Wrapped in a Biscuit of Lies

I want to be clear on something that I posted on Instagram a few weeks ago because it strangely rubbed some people the wrong way, and rightfully so. For those not in the loop, every year Spotify releases their Spotify Wrapped feature and it allows the listener to share the stats of their most listened to songs, artists, albums, etc.. Spotify also has a feature that allows artists on the platform to share the stats of their released music. Inherently, this is pretty cool concept for the average listener as it provides deep detail on preferred genres, newly discovered bands, listening times, and so on. The artist feature is equally interesting as it lets you drill down and see how people are listening to your music on the platform, for how long, and shows what playlists your songs have been added to, and so much more. There's nothing wrong with sharing either, and as an independent artist, it could be pretty rewarding to your fans to see that you're out there grinding, getting listens, and making your mark on the digital music scene. As long as you keep it humble, it's acceptable to brag a bit about your accomplishments.

The problem occurs when musicians that you personally know have these outrageous stats and hundred-thousands, nearly millions of listens when their level of talent is questionable at best. Just to be sure, you go and listen to the last few tracks they released and sure enough; it sounds like dog shit. Lyrics are off-beat, the production sucks, and the mix is absolutely horrendous. You confusedly ask yourself how in the hell did this get so many listens? You begin to replay everything that you know about this person in your head, everything from live performances, things they've posted on social media, along with strange inconsistencies you recall from conversations that you've had with them over the years. You want to be happy for them, but something seems really off about the stats they're posting.

Over the years, technology has provided many amazing tools for creators, but simultaneously it's also provided copious tools for complete fakery. One of the worst offenders in my opinion are the companies (aka phone farms) that you can pay to inflate your streaming count, followers, listens, views, likes, and anything else that you could possibly imagine. I guess my beef isn't with these companies, but rather the cats that use them to construct a false narrative of their abilities for clout, especially musical clout. Maybe it's different when you don't know these people on a personal level, but you do, and that's what makes this more bothersome, especially when they walk around with their nose in the air and act like their shit doesn't stink. Again, it's okay to be boastful of your legitimate accomplishments, but to brag and boast about complete and utter bullshit to make yourself sound more accomplished is embarrassing as fuck.

SIDEBAR: I've always loathed when I meet people and part of the introduction includes them telling me how many followers they have on social media.

With it so easy to create music without having any formal training and the simplicity to have said music released to streaming platforms, is there any point to putting genuine passion into what you create? Obviously the answer is yes, but then how to you differentiate yourself from a poser that uses purchased sample and stem packs and then pays for inflate their stream count? The unfortunate truth is that you can't. 

 

The music scene is dying and this is it's death dirge. 

 

Audio Document 001: Lost Hours

 

Back in November of 2012, I had this absolutely surreal acid trip in New York City and it was unlike anything that I had ever experienced before. A year later, I ended up writing about the adventure and published it under the not-so-creative name of Fear and Loathing in NYC. It was decent piece, but it hardly immersed the reader into the absolute madness that was happening. In 2023, I changed the name to Lost Hours and turned the writing into a professionally read audiobook, complete with foley and background ambience. Lost Hours puts the listener on the cold and rainy streets, making it a completely immersive experience. Although not required, headphones are strongly suggested. 

 

Finally, a Good Reboot

 
In 2005, I started the original Miscreant Productions blog and it was a portal to talk shit, share pirated music, review albums, trade vinyl rips, etc. I kept the blog active until around 2015 and updates beyond that were few and far between. Over the next few years, I converted the blog into a simple landing page with links for my music and whatnot and that's how it's been until a few weeks ago.
 
For full clarity, the only social media that I use these days is Instagram, and it's mainly for posting and watching stories, which I'm finding I'm doing less and less. I am NOT on Facebook, however there is an Aloha Miscreant page, but that just mirrors whatever promotion shit that I'm doing on Instagram. I do have a Twitter/X account, but I can't remember the last time that I used it for anything meaningful. I guess what I'm trying to say is that is that I really try to avoid social media at all costs.
 
With that said, I've spent the past few weeks giving the joint a major overhaul and reverting back to a semi-traditional blog format. I'm older, wiser, and I've got a lot of good shit to talk this time around. Also, to scratch your nostalgic itch, I plan on unarchiving some of the old blog posts. If you are reading this, thank you. I will do my best to provide mediocre content on an infrequent basis, so stay tuned!!

The Casiohardcore Tapes (2002 - 2015)

Casiohardcore was an music project that I was involved with between 2002 and 2015. It's hard to pigeonhole the style as the sound was constantly changing and evolving from track to track. Over the span of thirteen years, I released several projects as Casiohardcore, some on physical CD and flash drive, and others on MP3 via primitive web services. In 2022, I compiled the illest joints from that era and released The Casiohardcore Tapes across all streaming platforms. All of the tracks have been meticulously remastered and the difference is tremendous when compared to the original releases.  

Of course you can stream the 35 track version on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc., but only Bandcamp has the expanded collection that features good shit that you won't find anywhere else. It's available for purchase/download in the format of your choice! With that said, strap on your ear-goggles, get nice, and immerse yourself into The Casiohardcore Tapes:


Tripnophonic - Planet X (1998)



Under the Tripnophonic alias, I released this project back in 1998 and if you've got an itch for grimy tech, jungle, and/or digital hardcore, go give this shit a listen! I don't remember recording any of this so I really can't provide any anecdotal info aside from the gear list which consisted of a Yamaha 4-track cassette recorder, an Alesis SR-16, a Roland MS-1, a Korg Polysix, a Yamaha TG-33, a Gemini DS-1224, and various effect pedals.

Def Star
No Escape
My Sanity
Stuck in Vector
Teenage Call Girls on Acid
White Trash
Ground Zero
Violent Protest
Rupture the Mind
Def Star (Harry Z Remix)
A Place Between Beats

Casiohardcore - Pugs on Drugs (2005)

 
If you have a pug, you should never let them do drugs. Recorded and released in 2005, Pugs on Drugs was one of those projects that started off as one thing and ended up as something entirely different. Originally, this was going to be a collaboration, but the project ended up stalling out after a several weeks due to creative differences. I had already designed the cover art and I really liked the name, so rather than let it go to waste, I decided to release it as-is. Listening to it nearly twenty years later, it sounds incomplete. The production aspect is great, but I recorded vocals and scratches for most of the tracks, but left them out at the last minute. There were also a bunch of samples that I removed as well, but cannot remember exactly why. On a more memorable note, I believe that this was the first project that I recorded entirely in Ableton Live using Drum Rack and my Trigger Finger controller.
 
 
Shank Tool
Monkey Bay Blues
Eye of the Hurricane
Out-Call Only
Morally Bankrupt


The TR-606 Expansion for the Roland TR-8 Has Arrived!


I'm not sure how I didn't see this sooner, but Roland has just released a firmware update for the 7X7 expansion which now incorporates the amazing sounds of the TR-606 drum machine into the TR-8. At your fingertips, you now have the following classic beatboxes:

Roland TR-808

Roland TR-909

Roland TR-727

Roland TR-707

Roland TR-606

As to be expected, you can mix & match your sounds so that you can run with the kick from a 606, the snare from an 808, toms from the 727, and hats from the 909. For a drum machine nerd, such as myself, this is fucking fantastic!


Get all the info here!