Yaeji and Soeul’s Oh Hyuk both say they’ve been in a creative rut, but this collaboration launched them right out. The result is two fresh tunes that feel like both of them and neither. You can hear each artist’s signature on “YEAR TO YEAR”: Yaeji’s delicately voiced Korean-English incantations kick it off only to be subsumed by a wash of Oh Hyuk’s warm, atmospheric instrumentals. Their other joint track, “29,” is full of rhythm play that feels like a new direction for both of them. Can’t wait to see how this fresh energy pushes their solo work. In the meantime? Hot. Get on in.
Now that Succession Sunday is well in the past, we’re on to the filler content, and can I just say, is anyone else utterly uninterested in whether a great baker can make their cake stand up on a pillar of rice krispie treats? Chris Murphy at Vanity Fair recently wrote what we’re all thinking, which is that the Great British Bakeoff has fallen into its own trap of Style Over Substance.
The real problem? It’s not a trap, actually; slapping bakers with architectural schemes only made possible through the magic of fondant is almost certainly an intentional choice based on viewing data. And assuming that data exists, I’m calling bullshit. If we learned anything from the OKCupid blog circa 2011, it’s that strong opinions skew outcomes, so the people out here cheering on feats of engineering register louder than the rest of us sipping our tea as the ganache sets. For most fans, the GBBO money shot is the full landscape: the perfect crumb on the sponge and the hint of elderflower gracing the citrus. It almost doesn’t matter who wins, as long as it’s not one of the annoying ones. But d4Ta leaves all that loveliness behind in favor of flying teacups. Nothing pure ever lasts.
If you’re as salty on these engineering challenges as I am, you might want to check out this tool that tracks precisely when your favorite TV shows started to suck. *Also* based on data, it basically just grids IMDB ratings, episode by episode, so you can visualize how quality tracks over time. Arthur, for instance, has a fairly damning trajectory. Jimmy Fallon, though? Consistently patchy!
And since we can’t let it go, the thing about the Bakeoff grid is that, while ratings have dipped in recent years, the early seasons’ final episodes — that is, where it gets really competitive — are ranked the highest. You could conclude from that information that we like the drama after all. You could just as easily take away that people want to see really strong baking. Numbers are only so good!
*Arthur: somehow in the air right now
Remember when you would watch the Bakeoff and then replicate the recipes because you had nothing else to do? Now that we’re back on the schedule of wedding-every-other-weekend, I have a little cheat code for you: Wildgrain. Their bake-from-frozen membership box sends a set of parbaked sourdoughs, fresh pastas, and cute little pastry treats that you can toss in the oven when the time is right. Every loaf comes with a sub-25-minute bake time, and based on the box I just received, the breads they source from small bakeries are (alas) better than the ones I make on my own. When you join the membership program, you get to choose your own delivery cadence — helpful, as my household of two will be working through the hefty shipment for a while — and if your plans change, you can reschedule, skip, or cancel your delivery any time. Sign up here to get $20 off your first delivery and a FREE extra Sourdough Loaf in every box (and to trigger a donation of 6 meals to The Greater Boston Food Bank).
