Looking for something interesting to read/watch/play/listen to that isn't exclusively made by me? Luckily, there's a whole world of art things out there, and I tend to have a great deal of thoughts regarding them! Herein, I'll include my top tenish things in various mediums, in no particular order, if you're so inclined to try something new.
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The Mindthemoods Librabrary:
Politely Hollering Artistic Opinions into the void since 2020 ~
Music
Anagnorosis
Aaron Cherof
Just for the record, I was into Cherof's music before it was cool; he composes brilliant soundscapes both ambient and exhilarating. For want of a better description, I encourage you to check out this album, as well as Cherof's other fantastic work.
You can listen to Anagnorosis on Spotify, and support Aaron on Bandcamp.
A Thing with Feathers
El Huervo
El Huervo paints colorful and blazing soundscapes with a unique style both brooding, vibrant, and difficult to pin down. A brilliant artist in both visual and musical mediums, El Huervo invokes arid landscapes and blazing dreams- music for deserts, in the same sort of manner C418's music invokes mountains. (If that's too poetic, I highly recommend just checking out 'A Thing with Feathers' on Bandcamp.
Visiting Narcissa
Patricia Taxxon
The pure variety of Patricia's work is astonishing- I cannot help but appreciate such eclectic mastery- one never knows quite what to expect from one of her albums; in the best way possible. Weird, wonderous, divergent, and generally impressive.
...Anyways, this one is my favorite, and I highly recommend checking out its composer on Bandcamp.
Music for an Infinite Universe
65Daysofstatic
A fantastic band noted for experimental rock with just a hint of cosmic vibes; and a perfect fit for No Man's Sky; invoking visions of an endless world of uncaring powers beyond our control or comprehension.
Are You a Player
Blaz
Blaz is purportedly the biggest dealer of garden gnomes in Solvenia. If you listen to him 100,000 times, you might get a garden gnome for free. (Or so I've heard). Check im' out on Bandcamp.
Remain in Light
Talking Heads
Talking Heads exists in a unique and extremely groovy intersection of popular and underground music- incorporating the best of both worlds. Never coming off as too obscure or too stale. Each piece feels utterly unique, while also bearing the unmistakable sense of style that makes their music so distinct. Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, their music stands the test of time as a weird and wonderful venture into the unusual and off kilter. You can listen to Remain in Light here.
Zorya
Floex (Tomas Dvorak)
Building quirky, intricate landscapes through the medium of music, the fantastic composer behind the acclaimed soundtrack of Machinarium, and a welcome source of inspiration that feels at once of stunning cosmic proportions, and comfortably cozy and peaceable. You can check out (my personal favorite) album 'Zorya' here, and support the artist on Bandcamp.
Ion Series
Takashi Kokubo
Takashi Kokubo does not so much make music, as he builds lush, palpable ambient worlds from unique and soothing soundscapes. The Ion Series is a ten part journey through distinct musical domains, an ideal backdrop to all manner of endeavors. I have yet to find more spectacular ambiance.
You can check out the full Ion Series on the linked playlist, and delve into more of his work here.
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Hail to the Thief
Radiohead
Radiohead honestly just kind of goes without saying. In Rainbows is pretty good too, but Hail to the Thief is better, and I will die on that hill. Check 'em out on Spotify or something.
Structures Without Rooms
Adam Bosarge
Intricately crafted impossible musical architecture; a series of harmonic greenhouses, courtyards, and conservatories designed to capture the sublime. Check out Bosarge on bandcamp. I implore you.
Literature
The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin
It's difficult to express what a talented and heartfelt author Le Guin is without coming off as extremely emotional and/or nerdy, but I think such a reaction is warranted. The Author of the Earthsea series, as well the assortment of science fiction masterpieces that is the Ekumen series, Le Guin's work is consistently thought provoking, well written, and somewhere perfectly between the realms of soft and hard worldbuilding, symbolism and substance.
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While it's hard for me to pick a favorite; (and while this spot was until recently filled by 'The Telling,') I have to deem 'The Dispossessed' to be my all time favorite of Le Guin's many brilliant works. The premise, (A scientist from a colony of peaceful anarchists on a barren moon returning to his tumultuous, capitalist homeworld with a mission), is simple, but executed with such grace one can hardly believe it is fiction.
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It's hard to pin down just what it is that makes Le Guin such a fantastic writer; and as such, I highly recommend just reading one of her books for yourself. You can thank me later for the suggestion.
This is How You Lose the Time War
Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
You could, to some extent, sum up the 'Time War' as a unique correspondence between a pair of time travelers, fighting for control of the future across the eons... and it wouldn't be an inaccurate summary. But the astonishing quality, depth, and passion that the premise is carried out with lend this story the unique combination of thought provoking circumstance and heartfelt storytelling that any truely wonderful work of fiction ought to posess.
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'This is How You Lose the Time War' is a partnership between Canadian poet and speculative fiction writer Amal El-Mohtar, and American fantasy author Max Gladstone. It consists of a correspondence between two time travelers on opposite sides of an eternal battle for the future, and the unlikely friendship they discover.
The Escapment
Lavie Tidhar
A dreamlike journey through imaginary realities and substantial fantasies, complete with clowns, titans, conjuring, cards, potential ancient aliens, and quite a lot else besides. Tidhar's tale is a surreal and stunning journey into the depths of a mind, and an adventure not quite like anything I've ever experienced before.
The Broken Earth
N.K Jemisin
Set in the ruins of a once mighty civilization whose technology was intricately intertwined with the nature of their world, the Broken Earth is a brutal journey through a world of savage beauty and inescapable doom; in which the only people capable of saving things are the very same feared and outcast by others. It's a raw look at power dynamics, the struggle to survive, and retaining hope and humanity in spite of it all.
With a distinct aesthetic and driving tale not quite like anything I've read before, Jemisin combines technology, humanity, and the environment of the Broken Earth into a cohesive whole, and a savage and thoughtful journey well worth taking.
Discworld
Terry Pratchett
Image Credit ~ 'Discworld' by Deineris
Over the course of his life, Sir Terry Pratchett wrote some 42 books chronicling the bizarre tales of Discworld- a Universe much like our own, where thought and reality aren't so clearly defined, and fantastical beings interact with each other in amusing and unexpected ways. Looking at that enormity of work can be daunting, but each tale largely stands both on its own, and as part of a larger, (distinctly amusing) mythos.
Terry Pratchett's work is a unique combination of Fantasy and Comedy, which will likely never be rivaled. While endlessly witty and entertaining, this doesn't subtract- if anything, it adds- to the deeper profoundness of his novels. While Pratchett is often noted for his distinct sense of humor, people often forget his ability to use it to tell serious and thought-provoking tales, with an affinity for turning our expectations on their heads.
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In Discworld, the Grim Reaper isn't nearly as menacing as one would think, the police force of Ankh-Morpork is delightfully hopeless, witches fend off monsters (and familial strife), time traveling monks make a mess of things, and all other manner of absurdities make for a delightfully crazy and colorful Universe to explore... you can check out more of his books here, or delve into any one of his numerous works at your local library.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers
An author who sort of appeared out of nowhere and turned the genre on its head, Becky Chambers crafts science fiction with an astonishing knack for worldbuilding, cultures, and characters. 'The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet' is essentially a mismatched group of people traveling the long way to a small, angry planet... but it's the way in which the story is told, the believability of the colorful future that Chambers paints; that makes her prose so fantastic. Tackling everything from the rights of sentient AI to inter-species relationships with thoughtfulness and enthusiasm, these are stories that are at once amusing, thought provoking, and heartfelt tales of worlds very different, and rather similar to our own.
You can support Becky Chambers here, and check out 'The Long Way,' along with the other installments in the Wayfarer's series at your local library.
His Dark Materials
Phillip Pullman
'The Golden Compass' is the first installment in the strange trilogy of 'His Dark Materials.' It's a trilogy involving parallel worlds, arcane artifacts, sentient polar bears, experiments with souls, and divine warfare, which doesn't really do justice as a summary, but should give some indication of what you're getting into.
It's difficult to describe the strange and multifaceted depths of 'His Dark Materials,' and the books themselves are in no way obligated to explain every aspect of their secrets. If anything, in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I encourage you to take the journey yourself.
Dune
Frank Herbert
There's a reason Frank Herbert's 'Dune' has endured so long- it's a labyrinth of convoluted politics, squabbling factions, and environmental warfare spanned across millennia. Herbert's prose is dense, subtle, and in some sense reflective of the barren wastes it takes place in, and the endless struggle for control and survival therein. This is by no means an easy read, but I feel the difficulties pay off, in the form of an enormous cast of brilliant, morally dubious characters, intrigue, and plots bent on altering the course of Dune's feudal cosmos for eons to come.
Dark River
Louis Owens
A thrilling and wonderfully elusive story of intrigue, murder, trauma and identity, Owen's prose is cutting, comedic, and vivid, both paying homage to and subverting the expectations of Native authors before him, painting a memorable constellation of eccentric characters well worth experiencing. Highly recommended.
Exhalation
Ted Chiang
Each of Chiang's short stories is something of a self contained universe; a clever thought experiment in the style of Borges, with the and the storytelling flair of Le Guin; (No small compliments, in my book.) In 'Exhalation,' Chiang explores everything from alternate dimensions to alchemy, and everything in between. Where Borges imagines brilliant ideas, Chiang considers the ramifications of strange new discoveries in a distinctly human manner that lends each of these stories a sense of familiarity amidst the wild ideas they endeavor to explore.
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke
Piranesi is almost completely alone, seemingly doomed to live out the rest of his days exploring the endless, crumbling halls of The House- a structure so vast its countless rooms generate their own tides. The Labyrinth pays no heed to his questions; it merely exists, its infinite halls of statues seemingly devoid of all meaning.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ray Bradbury​
Ray Bradbury is a mad genius and you need to read his books immediately. Dandelion Wine is also quite good.
Film
Princess Mononoke
Studio Ghibli
Yep, I'm the first one to say this is a good movie, and may very well be the last. Of Miyazaki's illustrious career, 'Princess Mononoke' remains my favorite of his films... though it's certainly a close race.
In 'Princess Mononoke,' a boy is cursed to become a warrior, a girl fights for the forest, a man struggles for the greed of himself and the emperor, and a woman does whatever it takes to protect her people.
Interface
Umami
A fantastic film that is best experienced late at night with no context whatsoever: a surrealist masterpiece done in the style of an old VHS from an alternate world. Beautifully executed, strange, and all around a wild ride. It's free on YouTube, you might as well just watch it. Umami's work is something that must simply be experienced, rather than merely explained.
Cowboy Bebop
Sunrise
Fortunately enough, unlike the rest of my absolute favorite series; Bebop doesn't raise any serious moral quandaries, and is a straightforward experience that doesn't leave any loose ends or room for interpretation. However, it does have fantastic animation, an amazing Jazz soundtrack, Space Cowboys, and an indescribable sense of style. Highly recommended.
Gravity Falls
Alex Hirsche
Gravity Falls- all two glorious seasons of it- are a masterpiece of animation. It's a classic story of bildungsroman, government conspiracy, friendship, time travel, ego, triangle demons, and all other manner of weirdness. It's absurd, hilarious, sort of singlehandedly turned animation on its head, and once again surprisingly emotional and hard hitting for a show with a ridiculous premise. (Not necessarily in spite of it, but perhaps at least a little bit because of it.)
Gravity Falls features a colorful cast of characters, one of the best villains I've seen in awhile, and an inability to condescend to young people that repeatedly seems to make for the best children's television out there.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Cheinert
This one just goes without saying. Easily the most beautiful, most absurd work of cinematography I've had the pleasure to witness. A genuine masterpiece.
Pan's Labyrinth
Guillermo Del Toro
A dark, brooding, and riveting tale of magic and innocence in facist Spain, Del Toro's masterpiece is a haunting and violent journey to the depths of mystery and madness. I'm not sure what's more to be said.
Akira
Katsuhiro Otomo
It's Akira, for goodness sake. This needs no further explanation. (Though it's worth saying it's surprisingly difficult to find a place to watch this that isn't a badly dubbed Vietnamese DVD rip). Do so anyways.
Twin Peaks
David Lynch, Mark Frost
Oh boy, this thing. I put it on this list more out of respect for Lynch's mad genius than nessisarily an appreciation for the show. It's an aquirred taste I'm not sure I like, but an experience worth having.
Twin Peaks is a message, wrapped in a secret, wrapped in a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in what initially appears to be a buddy cop show before repeatedly subverting every expectation you've established for it. Verging from the comedic, to the depraved, to the utterly esoteric, it's quite the ride, and one that will almost certainly leave you with more questions than answers.
While I recommend going in blind, a fair warning: Twin Peaks does not provide closure. It delights in confusing you.
Games
Minecraft
Mojang
Can I really summarize this thing in a paragraph? It's worth a try, I suppose.
Minecraft is not so much a game as a block based Universe unto itself, limited only by the vast imagination of its passionate community and dedicated developers. It is among the first true sandbox games, and the epitome of the Open-World genre it largely created. Given I've spent almost three years now modding the thing, one can assume I think it's pretty neat.
You can check out Minecraft here- also look into the Semi-Offical Community Forum, and the extremely active modding community on Curseforge. I personally recommend playing Survival Minecraft with the 'Stay True' resource pack, and other Vanilla+ mods, depending on your tastes. Possibly some of my own, if you're willing to give 'em a try.
Spelunky 2
Derek Yu
What can be said about Spelunky 2...?
If you thought the original procedurally generated platforming nightmare that was the original Spelunky game was challenging, you are in for a rude awakening. Beneath the cartoony exterior of this colorful, adventurous title is a brutal, mercilessly challenging rougelike experience that will drive you to the brink of madness, as you are violently murdered run, after run, after run...
And yet, something keeps driving you to return to the caverns of the Moon for one more try... one more attempt to go deeper than you have ever gone before. While I'm half inclined to beg you not to dare purchase this title, for your own sanity... for all its ludicrious difficulty, on the rare chances you succeed, it will be purely out of skill, and you will feel all the more powerful for it. Until it kills you again.
Mother 3
Nintendo/Brownie Brown/ Hal Labs/Shigesato Itoi
There are some games that are far too strange, complex, and striking to adequately describe in a single paragraph. This 2004 Gameboy Title released exclusively in Japan, and later ported with a painstakingly crafted English fan translation; is one such game. I recommend going into it blind.
Chrono Trigger
Square Enix
There are a handful of truely masterful early roleplaying games out there... and seeing as I only just got around to finding an English translation of Mother 3, Chrono Trigger is more than qualified as a similarly notable mention that stands the test of time.
The influence this game had on the genre, and even just the game itself are the epitome of the golden age of roleplaying... and the number of times the depth and storytelling of Chrono Trigger surprised me was... significantly more than I expected. Should you have an emulator and some freetime, this is well worth a go.
Sky; Children of the Light
That Game Company
Sky would be a stunning game if it came with a pricetag; but instead, this unique, beautifully crafted social experiment is available for free on mobile devices, and is largely unburdened by the incessant micropurchases and time commitments that usually plague that variety of game.
Sky tasks players with exploring several intricate worlds, befriending and adventuring with other players, uncovering secrets, and unraveling the stories of its long lost inhabitants. There's so much to discover, and regular seasonal events add entire new areas and missions to discover, which is a weird appeal for an antisocial recluse such as myself, but I digress. Above all, Sky is a relaxing, almost spiritual experience of exploration, and flight, with the best finale I have seen in any game, period.
Monument Valley
Ustwo Game
Monument Valley, and its sequel, are both fantastic games, and quite frankly renew my faith in the world of Mobile gaming in general. The premise is admittedly quite simple- you guide a silent princess through the lost, minimalist monoliths of a long lost civilization, where perspective is reality, and sacred geometry waits to be restored.
Look for Monument Valley & Monument Valley II in the appstore- they're both a journey well worth taking, with cleverly built environments and wonderful ambiance. You can also check out more of Ustwo Games here.
Tunic
Team Finji
Easily the cleverest puzzle I've encountered in a game, with genius design, evocative art, surprisingly good combat, and a wonderful soundtrack to boot. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I strongly recommend this to anyone with a joy for puzzling and a certain sense of nostalgia.
Hyperlight Drifter
Heartpiece Studio
In Hyperlight Drifter, the titular main character explores a fallen world of ancient machines, crumbling ruins, and sinister overgrowth, bent on freeing this land from the cursed artifact that brought about its downfall. Once again, without so much as a word, Hyperlight drifter tells a menacing, powerful story of wisdom and mortality.
In terms of gameplay, the apocalyptic neon landscapes of Hyperlight Drifter are simultaneously quiet, contemplative vistas... while populated with a vast array of challenging foes. Hyperlight's combat is easily the best, (and possibly among the toughest) I've seen in any top down game, and Disasterpeace's score is once again sheer perfection.
The Stanley Parable
Crowscrowscrows
The Stanley Parable is a story game about making choices. Except the story is meaningless, it isn't really a game, and you won't be making any choices throughout the course of your time playing it. (And so help me, the day the Stanley parable Ultra Deluxe comes out, if ever, will be a joyful occasion indeed.)
Check out 'The Stanley Parable' on Steam, and head to the Crowscrowscrows website for infrequent and confusing newsletters regarding it.
Super Mario Galaxy
Nintendo
Playing the legendary platformer again in 2021, it obviously doesn't hold up to all my memories of it as a young person... games have changed a lot in almost fifteen years... but the things that made it great are still there; lovingly imagined levels amidst vast cosmic starscapes, an amazing orchestral soundtrack, and a strangely moving story for a series usually so light on storytelling, all lending this game a certain contemplative, even melancholy feel.
Galaxy was recently upgraded to be played on the Switch, and while it's not entirely clear if it will be available again anytime soon, it's worth a try if you get the chance.
Other
Not everything falls neatly into categories, which is why you deliberately make a category for things that don't fall into the other categories you made. (Ahem.) This section contains a variety of other cool stuff you should definitely check out.
Atlas Obscura
The Atlas Obscura is a sort of community built travel guide to all manner of weird, wonderful, and obscure destinations thoroughly off the beaten path. Frankly, it's just a joy to read about the multitude of strange places out there, the stories behind them... and even to just know such places exist. You can order a copy of the Atlas, or check out their website here.
XKCD
Randall Munroe
XKCD is a webcomic of romance, math, sarcasm, and language. You can check it out here.
Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone
It's all in the title, really. Each hour and a half episode of Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone consists of primarily of famous American comedian Paula Poundstone going on lengthy digressions for upwards of an hour, along with Adam Felber, who is also there. The show is basically car talk but without the cars, or an other meaningful source of direction, and it's wonderful. Look 'em up on Spotify.
Jacob Geller
Video Games and Philosophical Contemplation? Those are practically my two favorite things out there! I'm actually kind of shocked people use Youtube for anything other than video game news and philosophical video essays.
Kurzgesagt
Kurzgesagt is a channel about science, animation, and asking what happens if you drop an elephant out of an apartment building for no clearly explicable reason. Their artfully made videos explore all manner of topics in an amusing and informative manner. You can check out their channel, or look into the infinitude of cool Kurzgesagt merch here.
Welcome to Nightvale
There are many podcasts out there- and many of them are quite good. But to the best of my knowledge, none quite live up to one podcast in particular.
In the peaceful desert community of Nightvale, the Secret Police are watching your every move, strange lights appear over the Arby's in the dead of night, Ghosts manage the baseball team, Ancient Gods lurk beneath the ground, and menacing glowing clouds rain dead animals on the dunes.
Animation
Besides exclusively watching Hermitcraft and a wide range of Video Essays, there's quite a bit of spectacular Indie animation on Youtube. And by Spectacular, I mean Spectacularly weird, colorful, and deranged. (Which in my book, is just plain old spectacular.) Check out...
Any of the Adult Swim's Off the Air compilations.
Double King by Felix Colgrave,
Temptation Stairway by Joel G,
Charlie the Unicorn, by Filmcow (Shadowstone Park is also great)
Polyanna by Sagan Yee
Bus Stop, by Soddiken
Mr. Fear, by Siamese