Morning y’all! It’s Frogtober Fourteenth! Hope all my fans are doing swell! I love all my fans!!!!! Today we’ve got some amphibians, great music to check out, an interview with Lord, some zany, zany nightmares, and more! Extra big one today, hope you enjoy!

Happy Monkey Monday!

Summer Shenanigans: Frog

This past summer, one of my favorite things to do was mow the lawn. This wasn’t because I particularly enjoyed mowing the lawn (although I kind of do), but because whenever I mow the back yard, I’m bound to scare some frogs. WHICH MEANT, I could spot the scared, hopping frogs, turn off my mower, and CHASE THEM DOWN. While this was just one method, I would search for frogs almost every day.

Once they had been caught, I would take lots, and LOTS, of pictures with them. Here were some of the coolest ones I found!

Big fan of frogs! While not directly related, it would be a crime to post about frogs and fail to mention: I celebrate Frog Friday every Friday! In fact, Frog Friday came into existence a few months before Monkey Monday, all the way back in 2020. Yeah, I love frogs big time!

Pick of the Week

Aight let’s get into the nitty gritty. Last week I made the strategic decision to play it safe. I recommended Tapestry by Carole King. But THIS is why I have this column, this is why I recommend music. Not to shout out classics that everyone and their mom will enjoy (no disrespect to Carole, I love you), but to put y’all on some amazing bodies of art that you otherwise may never have given a chance.

Two Star & The Dream Police by Mk.gee. Wow this thing rocks. This album had me in a tight, crippling stranglehold that I could not escape for most of the summer. I can’t remember the last time I was so addicted to a particular sound. It was to the point that I was genuinely getting frustrated that this was the only thing I could listen to. I tried listening to other music that I loved, but nothing was scratching the itch that Mk.gee left behind.

Mk.gee manages to create a sound that feels so familiar, so intoxicating, so nostalgic, but yet entirely fresh and unique. It feels like something that came out 30 years ago, but in a parallel dimension where every school bus is orange.

The first track, New Low, caught me off guard on my first listen. It’s pretty weird, and when I first listened to it I wasn’t particularly hooked. Even on my first listen of the whole album, I thought it was pretty good, but nothing too crazy. But as I was drawn back, again and again, I realized I could no longer listen to anything else. Every detail was so meticulously handcrafted, you can feel the passion and care that was put into this album, there’s always a new sound, a new layer to find if you just look around, and as you listen more and more, it sinks it’s teeth into you deeper and deeper.

I don’t want to overhype this album, as honestly, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I do really think it’s something special, and worth giving a shot or two. It magically familiarizes itself to you, like you grew up listening to every song on the radio. The more you listen, the better, and more addicting it gets.

-Nate

Is it Ripe?

This week I finally caved in and listened to the new Magdelena Bay album I can’t stop hearing about titled Imaginal Disk.

This thing floats man. Every song sounds so weird but unique and awesome in the same vein. The vocals havn’t quite stuck with me yet, they’re very Grimes-esque (coming from a guy that has never finished a Grimes album, so take that with a grain of salt).

This album just TRANSPORTS you into another plane of existence, as you zip 200mph through an atmosphere of groove, of synthpop, of HUGE sounding climaxes, great googly moogly it’s hard to put into words. It’s like Daft Punk, Olivia Rodrigo, and TRON got fused together and launched into outer space. Just a really atmospheric, funky, mesmerizing, and fun 15 songs.

Favorite Song(s): Vampire in the Corner, Tunnel Vision, Cry for Me, The Ballad of Matt & Mica

-Nate

Ripeness: 8.5

Interview Time!

Nate’s Nightmares

I had a couple dreams/nightmares that I remember last night. The first one takes place inside some kind of prison hallway/cell thing. It’s all white, with just a couple rooms I can wander in. Me and my cellmate (I don’t remember who, I think it might have been my sister?) were doing everything we could to escape, before the bad guys came for us, because that would mean our death. So naturally, I had to go to the dark room in the right, which had a kind of vent looking thing, except it worked exactly like the parts of the espresso machine at stone creek, which of course meant I had to unscrew the center of the vent, so we could escape before the bad guys came. Unfortunately, I didn’t pull it off in time, and the bad guys came for us, and we had to start over.

I was locked in this cycle of no escape over and over, like a video game, until I woke up shivering. But then I went back to bed, scared (as one is when they wake up from an irrational nightmare at 3am), hoping to have a more pleasant dream.

Next, I was at a lakeside home, snuggling with my roommate Juan (which, if anyone knows my roommate, is very odd because he HATES any form of physical touch, or even affection, or even kindness. It’s also incredibly odd for other reasons, as snuggling with the homies is not normalized in our society), I got invited by my good pal Jordan to go to my local gym, where in the parking lot from 4-8 pm we would have a kickball/Bible study hybrid group hangout!

So I said goodbye to Juan (he ended up running off with a mob anyways, not sure what that was about, I’ll have to ask him later) and teleported to the gym parking lot. The first thing we had to do was set up the field. So of course, we were sent out in groups to place our marker to define the boundaries of the diamond. My group went to the mountains, where we trekked for a long time. If anyone has tried hiking mountains in a dream, it is incredibly time consuming and difficult.

After we got back to the gym, we were told by gym staff that we had been out there too long, and if all of us didn’t go to the other side of the lawn and place one shoe from each of us down, we would get the cops called on us. So of course we had to quickly take a shoe off and place it in the lawn, lest we get arrested. After we were in the clear, I helped gather my cousin and my aunts’ shoes, I got in my car in the Target parking lot and proceeded to go home.

The problem was, my lights weren’t shining all that bright, despite being on. It was near impossible to see, and the sidewalk I was driving on was quite steep, so I was going quite fast. Then I crossed the road in my bike, like frogger, stopping in the middle of the street to avoid traffic, and then I woke up.

-Nate

Ballboy Ben’s Ball Update

Ashley’s Amphibian Analysis

Quan….. Cuts?

Lately, I’ve been picking up a new skill/hobby, in cutting hair! At first, I was just learning how to scissor cut, but recently I purchased some clippers, and have been learning how to use those as well. I decided to learn not only to save money, but because it genuinely interests me!

My only clients so far have been my roommate Juan (who just needed a trim on the back and sides) and myself. But today, I finally got my first, full head of hair client, Quan.

Here are some before photos:

First, I took to the sides and back with my clippers, taking a number 5 along the back and sides of his head, just to clean up a bit and make the hair much more manageable.

Then I proceeded to set my guidelines, and spent a long time, going very slow to make sure I (somewhat) knew what I was doing. Slowly made my way up the head, blended to longer lengths, and when I was satisfied, I took to the top of the head!

I used my spray bottle to get his hair nice and damp, and proceeded to scissor-over-comb a good ½ inch off the top, starting at the back, and letting it get a little longer as I moved towards the bangs. Then I point cut a bit, to give some texture. After that, I took to the sides, to clean up the blending of the top and sides with my scissors. Then I took my thinning scissors, and thinned out some of the top, as with his thick hair, it was very heavy, so I wanted to lighten it a bit.

Dried his hair, cleaned up some stray long hairs, then we were done!

-Nate

Verse Of The Week