September 22 - We Do It Different on the West Coast

One of the most wonderful things about music is that it's universal and regional at the same time. This is a delight of a sing about the different ways that people are goths in different places, combining influences, cargo culting success, and how surroundings make the local version of the scene.

This is obviously true, and yet fascinating to see in real time. In the ever-present conversation about white rappers, for example, it's interesting to see what people say about Asian rappers, especially Asian rappers in Asian countries. Funny as it may sound, the sort of person who can't resist a chance to talk shit about Machine Gun Kelly won't take opportunities to say that Creepy Nuts shouldn't be doing what they do.

Fusion music is like fusion cooking. When it's just copying how people do it somewhere else, it's usually bad. When it's forced, it's usually bad. When it's people in a place taking what they have and trying to make something because of what they've heard or heard about, it fucking slaps.

And speaking of things that fucking slap, I invite everyone to be ground floor on Makara, a Thai band who are combining smoky early 70s groove rock with strong local influences. This song and this video are as good as it gets.