iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Albumism @albumism.com · 05/09/2026

Cameo released their twelfth studio album ‘Word Up!’ (1986) 40 years ago this week | Listen to the album + watch the official videos here: album.ink/CameoWordUp

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I'll just say again, this is the most talented duo in Japan, but nobody listens to them. The only explanation for them not being bigger is that they're independently wealthy and just doing it for the love of the game. youtu.be/95yluNL-a_4?...

youtu.be

あの日のメロディー

YouTube video by Fukumoto Nao - Topic

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WuTangIsForTheChildren @wutangforchildren.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Incredibly powerful woman….Dolly Parton telling the story of how Elvis and his sleazebag manager tried to rob her of 50% of publishing rights for "I Will Always Love You" if Elvis recorded it and she told them NO….she was just 28 years old at the time 💪🙏

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Dee Phunk @deephunk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

in 2005, Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the film Hustle and Flow ("Hard Out Here For A Pimp"). Dolly Parton was nominated in the same category. After celebrating heavily, they had a nice personal note awaiting them when they arrived back home.

An excerpt of the oral history of Three 6 Mafia winning an Oscar in 2005 as told to Variety.

DJ Paul: I woke up in my hotel room the next morning with my housecoat on and a bottle of champagne in my hand, and the phone ringing because the Hollywood Reporter or somebody was calling for an interview and taking pictures of us. Then we did some interviews and flew back home.

When we landed there was so many people in the airport waiting for us, there was applause, the minute we stepped off the airplane people started going crazy, it was almost like a little parade at the airport for us. It was crazy.

Juicy J: When we got back to Memphis, Dolly Parton actually sent us a letter congratulating us and signed it, saying she was just happy [the award] came back to Tennessee.

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Shaenon K. Garrity @shaenon.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Jonathan Glazer didn't make Jamiroquai dance with perfect timing in a room on little wheels being shoved around by grips to create the illusion of a moving floor so you could say "AI is inevitable"

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音楽ナタリー @music.natalie.mu · 18/08/2026

SIRUPがキュレーターカルチャーフェス「ROLL & BOUNCE FES」原宿で11月に開催📣 プロデューサー山崎菜美子とのPodcast始動 natalie.mu/music/news/685588?utm_so…

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Albumism @albumism.com · 13/08/2026

Luther Vandross released his debut solo album ‘Never Too Much’ 45 years ago on August 12, 1981 | Listen to the album + read our tribute here: album.ink/LVandrossNTM

album.ink

Luther Vandross’ Debut Solo Album ‘Never Too Much’ Turns 45 | Album Anniversary

The pure innocence dramatically embedded within the album’s seven compositions captures all of the serenity, exaltation, and drama of a love affair.

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Albumism @albumism.com · 12/08/2026

Happy 45th Anniversary to Luther Vandross’ debut solo album ‘Never Too Much’ originally released August 12, 1981 | Listen to the album + read our tribute here: album.ink/LVandrossNTM

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Yes. This was when the only thing I'd ever heard from Nas was the stupid Oochie Wally song (I don't care if it was big when you were 'outside') so I had always assumed Nas was overrated garbage. I listened to this and I was like 'oh no, this really is the best ever, what happened to him?' LOL

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Same but almost 75 years later (actually wish I’d saved the picture from further back - huge trees everywhere now!)

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Western Neighborhoods Project @wnpsf.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

A faded color view of crowds watching a performance at Stern Grove circa 1950. [Photo courtesy of a Private Collector & WNP / OpenSFHistory, wnp25.2226] #SFHistory #SanFrancisco #History #Photography #OpenSFHistory #ThrowbackThursday

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Bought a record with a blue crying face on the A side and a pink smiley with hearts on the B side, and the A side was kinda meh and the B side was heat

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

5 years ago I was listening every month, it is a great one

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I heard one of my favorite new singers perform a new song live about a month ago and I wasn’t super impressed lol. It’s getting an official release today.. not looking forward to it

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Lovely Summer Chan is a forever legend for 202 but no way I’m spending $50 on an album for one song

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Albumism @albumism.com · 04/07/2026

D'Angelo released his debut album ‘Brown Sugar’ 31 years ago on July 4, 1995 | Listen to the album + read our tribute here: album.ink/dangeloBS

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Albumism @albumism.com · 04/07/2026

Remembering Barry White today on the 23rd anniversary of his passing (July 4, 2003) | Explore his musical legacy (including audio & video highlights) here: album.ink/BarryWhiteRIP

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Albumism @albumism.com · 04/07/2026

Remembering Bill Withers today on what would have been his 88th birthday (born July 4, 1938) | Explore his musical legacy (including audio & video highlights) here: album.ink/BWithersRIP

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

"-also Toshiki Soejima's wife" is the most insulting thing I've seen on an artist profile EVER. Interesting trivia, but seriously lol

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Dee Phunk @deephunk.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Low key day at the crib and a day off from work so I finally decided to add some more joints to my Sea Soul playlist for the first time since 2024. A darker shade of blue. The yang to yacht rock's yin, if you catch my drift. Sounds best if you're near any sort of water. Enjoy.

open.spotify.com

Sea Soul 🛥️

Playlist · Dee Phunk · 95 items · 95 saves

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paisleysparks44.bsky.social @paisleysparks44.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I wrote this one too!

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Dee Phunk @deephunk.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

I'm officially sick of Travis and Taylor's sh*t.

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paisleysparks44.bsky.social @paisleysparks44.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

I wrote about Maxwell’s second album. And it’s a doozy.

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Reposted by Steven Smith

Albumism @albumism.com · 30/06/2026

Maxwell released ‘Embrya’ 28 years ago on June 30, 1998 | Listen to the album + revisit our tribute here: album.ink/MaxwellEmbrya

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Two of the greatest Japanese artists and nobody's listening youtu.be/_pX9h1so8R4?...

youtu.be

こだま

YouTube video by Fukumoto Nao - Topic

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I haven't posted my newsletter in a long time, but rest assured I'm still doing it (there's a link in my profile!). I thought it was important to share this week's though. It's a very special episode. open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...

open.substack.com

HYPER GROOVE PARTY

Re. 6/20/2026 @ Daikanyama ORD

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j a k e @jakeismaking.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

thinking about Kelly Clarkson on this day of Clive Davis' passing

Hey y’all,

So I just heard Clive Davis is releasing a memoir and spreading false information about me and my music. I refuse to be bullied and I just have to clear up his memory lapses and misinformation for myself and for my fans. It feels like a violation. Growing up is awesome because you learn you don’t have to cower to anyone – even Clive Davis.

First, he says I burst into “hysterical sobbing” in his office when he demanded Since You Been Gone be on my album. Not true at all. His stories and songs are mixed up. I did want more guitars added to the original demo and Clive did not. Max, Luke and I still fought for the bigger sound and we prevailed and I couldn’t be more proud of the life of that song. I resent him dampening that song in any way.

But, yes, I did cry in his office once. I cried after I played him a song I had written about my life called “Because Of You.” I cried because he hated it and told me verbatim that I was a “sh*tty writer who should be grateful for the gifts that he bestows upon me.” He continued on about how the song didn’t rhyme and how I should just shut up and sing. This was devastating coming from a man who I, as a young girl, considered a musical hero and was so honored to work with.

But I continued to fight for the song and the label relented. And it became a worldwide hit. He didn’t include that in the book.

He also goes on to say My December wasn’t successful because I co-penned the album and it didn’t have “pop hits”. Well, first let me say, I’ve co-penned many of my “pop hits.” Secondly, My December went platinum (It sold 20,000 less than All I Ever Wanted which followed My December.) Hardly a huge failure. Never Again, the ONLY single they released in the US from that record was a Top 10 hit. I am very proud of that and I have my fans to thank. But, again, what’s most interesting about his story is what he leaves out: He doesn’t mention how he stood up in front of his company at a convention and belittled me and my music a…

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

They're just giving out Budokan (Japanese MSG) concerts like candy now huh

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I know it's largely a matter of semantics, but Spotify turning "liked songs" into a playlist is one of their top 5 dumbest changes. The notion that every song you've ever liked should be one giant playlist is asinine, but then to make it impossible to distinguish liked songs from everything else...

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

This album I'm listening to went from terrible to incredible and I had to double check to see if it hadn't skipped to something else. Turns out it's a "mixtape"... (I appreciate when people recognize that they didn't make an album, but not everything is a mixtape....)

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I have always said I don’t know enough about Prince’s music to have an opinion on it— a nice way of saying I don’t like most of what I’ve heard, which includes a lot of the recommended albums and most of the hits - but every time I see a live clip it’s some song I’ve never heard of and it’s amazing?

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

A reminder that Shin Sakiura, one of Japan’s hottest rising music producers, was just an “Apex Bro” who got into music production to have a stable career (I am half joking, but this man used to post nothing but video game videos and now he’s a song of the year nom)

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Karim Zidan @karimzidan.com · 15/06/2026

I went on @npr.org Morning Edition to discuss the UFC White House event and how the grotesque propaganda spectacle set the stage for a new era in American politics www.npr.org/2026/06/15/n...

npr.org

The politics behind the White House's UFC event

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with investigative sports journalist Karim Zidan about the politics of the UFC fight night at the White House.

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Most people’s. I got my brother in New Zealand (who is staunchly anti-rap) into it recently and he played it for his high school students and they loved it lol

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Albumism @albumism.com · 14/06/2026

Guy released their eponymous debut album 'Guy' 38 years ago on June 13, 1988 | Discover why it's included among the 20 New Jack Swing Era Albums That Still Sound Great Today here: album.ink/NewJackSwing20

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Happy new iri song day for those who celebrate. In anticipation, here is the last time she collaborated with a famous beatmaker: youtu.be/brcjAjTr_fg

youtu.be

STUTS & ZOT on the WAVE - 雨 feat. iri, Benjazzy (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by STUTS

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paisleysparks44.bsky.social @paisleysparks44.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I wrote this about Raphael Saadiq’s wonderful album.

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Zo! @zo3hree5ive.com · 05/06/2026

Ok, wasn't prepared for this information.

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

In celebration of new iri song day, this is her deepest solo cut. I don’t even think her huge fans know this one open.spotify.com/track/0GweXt...

open.spotify.com

stroll

iri · Only One · Song · 2018

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Steven Smith @durianmilkshake.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I know a lot of people on here are “anti-AI” which is kind of nebulous to begin with, but I have to let people know that the AI-enhanced translation tools (specifically Google’s) that became available a few months ago are startlingly more accurate than everything that came before it.

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Kimimi🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com · 02/06/2026

Got a brand new article everyone can read! This one's on the original Mortal Kombat, and how a recent revisit made me realise there really is more to it than buckets of blood and simple shock value: kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com/2026/06/02/m...

kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com

Mortal Kombat: Excellent

Mortal Kombat—the very first one, because numerous reboots and unhelpful naming conventions force me to be clear—was famous for two things in my part of the world when I was growing up: The b…

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