See more year-end selections from Trial & Error Collective here. — Every year I use this space to talk about how there’s too much good music. It’s true. There is. Out of all the new music released in 2020, I listened to 10+ classical albums, 150+ electronic albums, 10+ folk albums, 15+ hip hop albums, 15+ jazz albums, 20+ pop albums…

This post first appeared on Trial & Error Collective in Sep 2016. — Standards, boundaries, and definitions are how we as humans mentally categorize different kinds of music (rock vs electronic, dance vs chill, etc). The most significant divider we use has to be that imaginary line separating the “good” music from the “bad” — but what happens when the line refuses to…

California was freezing. Or we were just shocked after a month in the desert. We had started the day in Minden, NV (elevation 4,724 feet, temperatures high as 81°F), crossed the border, and climbed 19 miles to the Kit Carson Campground at nearly 7,000 feet. Massive clouds drifted northeast at…

And then there were two. Man and woman. Bathed. Naked. Refreshed. Tits flopping, bellies full of elk and cow, brains TV-addled. Clothes laundered and half-folded, tent gear hung and drying. Nails clipped, route confirmed. A hundred miles to Grand Junction, a thousand miles from home. After saying goodbye to our…

A travel journal of our experience backpacking the Boston Mountains segment of the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) in Arkansas. — It was Christmas, but the airport was not holy. As midnight approached, crowds jostled through security only to discover every restaurant closed on the other side. …

See more year-end selections from the collective here. — Every day there’s something new to hear. The link from a friend. The streaming service playlist. The opening band. The coworker’s suggestion. The bandmate’s new favorite. The soundtrack to that film. And on and on. There simply isn’t enough time to listen to everything. Would it even be worth it…

The bed was soft. Soft yet firm, expansive, and white as snow. Decked with clean sheets and a fluffy comforter, the mattress stood four feet off the ground in the basement of the stranger’s house. A mirror hung directly above it. Whips hung from the walls. Chains. Leather. Hooks. Ball…

“Through gathering air God sent storm clouds and rain, Thunder that shakes the heart.” Book 1, Metamorphoses, Ovid, translated by Horace Gregory. Drip… Drip, drip… Drip, drip, drip, drop, dripdropdripordropdrodpdoidropdoroid… Thus began what was to shape up as a four-day thunderstorm across most of the middle U.S. — severest near…

See more year-end selections from the collective here. — Music today shines like the sun. There are days you’re walking to work when a friend texts you “look up,” and you do, and you reply back, “wow, I’ve never seen such a shade of blue.” Sometimes you’re with your coworkers or family, and you all happen to agree the…