If you’re new here after any of our January guests…welcome! Perfectly Imperfect is a twice-weekly newsletter offering a taste of someone’s taste, and once a month Alex and I like to talk about what we’ve been into.

Oh by the way, we have merch on our website that I need to sell so I don’t lose money lol

Without further ado

Tyler Bainbridge (instagram, newsletter, website)

Some of my recommendations this month are repurposed from

🎵 The Knife's Silent Shout

​One of those incredible albums that avoided my ears for far too long. Silent Shout is dark, cold, spooky, but most of all, its bangin’. Kind of like you married Ladytron with Burial or something. It’s got long relatively quiet & sparse tracks like “The Captain”, lush & haunting cuts like “Marble House”, and bonafide bangers such as “Like A Pen” that’ve become staples in my DJ set.

👖 Levi Baggy Silvertabs in BLUE

These are new to me so sorry if you are a Gen-Z depopper rolling your eyes right now. I like the fit of these jeans quite a bit, they’re baggy but not in JNCO way. The tag on them is also sick. Mad underrated and not insanely overpriced like most vintage Levi denim. I’m big on blue jeans right now. Very American and very cool.

📄

​One of my best buds, Will Stallmeyer, was inspired by

T-Recs

and adapted the daily format to be only song recs. That’s right, one track every single day. Don’t get it twisted though, this isn’t some Pitchfork writer waxing poetic about tracks sent in by publicists to hit a word count, this is a dude talking about his love for obscure Alex Chilton cuts and reflecting on lovely mornings soundtracked by Mulatu Astatke. I’ve really enjoyed learning a bit about a new track and a bit about my friend.

🎵 MGNA Crrrta

MGNA Crrrta is part of the same exciting, but unnamed, genre that I’ve talked about before. So far I’ve been referring to this music scene simply as “the new sound” and I believe it’ll be the next big thing, mark my words. I’m addicted to “Girl Party” and “$ome Drugzzz” off their new ish record and they’ve become staples of my DJ set. I love this group so so much.

🥛 Kinto CAST Glasses

​​If ain’t broke, don’t fix it….right? Someone said that long ago and now so do we. The door creaks but still lets you in. I’m stuck yearning for more. Anyways, I bought some nice cups recently. The old ones still transferred liquids, but I found these ones at Salter House in Brooklyn and bought four. They check a few important boxes for me; they’re simple, they stack, and the cup's lip fits snuggly on my own.

📽 Welcome to the Dollhouse dir. Todd Solondz

​This is basically what you'd get if you Gummo-ified B* B*rnham’s Eighth Grade, but I imagine it’d be too difficult to make a hard hitting indie like this nowadays. The language is too harsh for A24 Twitter stans despite still being the ugly reality for many kids in Junior High, I’m sure. Todd is a lil weirdo that understands Americana more than most. Excited to check out Happiness and Storytelling next.

📆 Editorial Mag’s Yearly Wall Calendar

Editorial Magazine rules. However, I’m not here to talk about the eclectic people they feature or the lovely words inside. Instead, I’m going to recommend that you purchase their calendar. It’s like a having a lovely contemporary piece of artwork on your wall that changes every month. Proceeds go towards printing their next issue.

🥟 Deluxe Green Bo

The morning after the Forever Imperfect party Blake, Delaney, Jennie, and I hit this cash-only Shanghainese spot for a victory lap lunch. Everything was delicious but the Hot & Spicy Wontons stole the show. They’re served in a pool of chili oil and covered in a sesame peanut sauce that takes the edge off the heat. Insanely good and I’m craving them again just typing this.

🎵 Juiceboxxx

Please just read my T-Rec “The Story of Juiceboxxx”. I can’t fit all my thoughts here as a PI recommendation. He’s got an interesting story and the music rips. John (aka Juiceboxxx) also has a great music blog and a new music project called Rustbelt that you should check out.

Alex Cushing (instagram, twitter, goodreads, moodboard)

🛻  The search for something

I’ve been looking for a truck for a while now. It started as the search for something that I could drive around town, a beater, and it turned into a search for a truck that I can drive my family in, go on adventures in, and of course do regular everyday commute stuff, my coffee and daycare truck. After a long search filled with near-purchases and multiple trucks getting sold out from under me, I’ve landed on an 09 Tacoma and love driving it around these rural roads. What I learned in this process was to enjoy the search — from the late nights researching problems of certain models to the many many conversations with sellers clogging the messages app, to the endless niche forum threads.

🧥 My Acne Wool Coat

I got an Acne wool coat (pictured) for the cold winter months and it really struck a chord for me. The construction seems almost like a tweed, though it’s labeled as wool so what do I know, and it’s been a full go-to for weeks now.

🤠 Yellowstone

Sometimes when a parent (or in-law) recs you something, you need to listen. Tyler accurately described his impression of Yellowstone, without having seen it, as “red-pilled succession”. There’s the aging patriarch, the children with differing views on the family business, and the dirty behind-the-curtains politicing. However, unlike succession where this takes place in big cities with “PJ”s and private drivers - Yellowstone unfolds in beautiful Montana, with giant mountains, horses, and ram 1500s. I started Yellowstone for the western vibes, but I’m good and hooked 2 seasons in.

🕶️ John Prine - Sweet Revenge

To go along with the theme here - trucks, Yellowstone, etc., John Prine’s Sweet Revenge is one of my favorite albums. It has it all - songs for cruising like the title track Sweet Revenge & Onomatapeia, a perfect “holiday” song in Christmas in Prison, top tier storytelling like Dear Abby and Grandpa Was a Carpenter, and everything else you’d probably expect. 

♟️ Chess

I’m no good, and probably not patient enough, but I’ve been playing chess for the last couple of weeks on chess.com and it’s been a nice way to “take a breather” — letting my thoughts focus solely on executing some master plan to take down my opponent. It’s fun to strategize and see it follow through, or learn from my mistakes when I’m inevitably outsmarted. Shorter time-based matches get super hectic towards the end which is a whole other dynamic.

🎧 Max Stand

If you have a the apple over ear headphones, you need a stand that does them justice. This one charges them in a color matched little stand, both functional and pretty good looking.

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