Fresh Goods #10: Nashville's Brian Brown, Cashcache, Red Dead 2, & More
Despite a few stale weeks in music, I’ve arrived with another batch of Fresh Goods. I’m glad we finally made it to number 10. Here’s to 10 more.
Brian Brown: One of Nashville’s own Brian Brown’s greatest strengths is packing a lifetime number of experiences into something digestible. On Journey, he fingers through his own story and Nashville’s as well. When I spoke to him, he recalls trying to place where things used to be in the city’s rapid gentrification. Condos reside where local businesses and lower-income homes once stood. Driving out the lower class was part of the plan in Cashville’s attempt at raking in more money from curious tourists. The home of Country music’s Hall of Fame blanks out a history underrepresented in music. Brian Brown tries his best to put together those pieces as he tells his story with the city’s setting progressively changing.
While an album like Journey plays as a record that has been marinating since childhood, Brian explained how the formal creation of the album finally grew its legs only a few years ago. “Journey initially started in the winter of 2018 up until the week before Journey came out. A lot of those songs I had to re-record on the fly because it wasn’t sounding right…. So, a lot of the stuff y’all heard was probably like 4-5 months prior.” You couldn’t really tell either. “The Release Pt. 2” is a southern kid’s coming of age story, relaying the varying joys and complications of life over a homely saxophone. “Runnin’” is the essential soundtrack to post-breakup frustration. “Flava” sounds like every walk home from school or every weary drive to work. There’s a strong sense of familiarity flowing through Journey and it’s this relatability that makes Brian Brown such a compelling artist. Whether talking about best Future deep cuts on Twitter, rummaging through his go-to NBA Street Vol. 2 lineup, or openly discussing life in the South on Journey, Brian Brown feels like a close friend, regardless if you know him or not.
Throughout my time speaking with Brian Brown, I could hear a playlist of Tiny Desk concerts in the background as his voice lit up when talking about new music. Every day he records new music, constantly absorbing inspiration when spending time at home. A few weeks before the interview, I asked him what the big musical inspirations were heading in the recording process. “I been listening to a lot of Marvin Gaye’s I Want You as of late.” When we spoke again, he listed out another set of artists that’s kept him inspired, this time drastically different from Marvin’s sensual masterpiece. “Future. Everything Future… Future and Knxwledge and a lot of 2000’s hip-hop and R&B. I’ve probably listened to ‘Promise’ by Ciara way too many times.” For Brian Brown, inspiration hardly comes from the same place. With how much he’s been working, it’s only a matter of time before we get a continuation of his journey.
Cashcache's long awaited second project is finally here! "I Love Cashcache 2" has been in the works for the better part of 6 months, and i am so thankful for those who have patiently waited! This is the best project i could have given you guys, after working hard for the entire year to curate something special. Without further ado, i present to you... I Love Cashcache 2!
Dream Cashcache Collabs: Since I Love CashCache 2! released towards the end of December 2020, I have played one of his beats in some capacity every day. The production is euphoric and heavenly, with rappers like Tony Shhnow, 10kdunkin, and Flee bouncing through a myriad of flows in a light, airy atmosphere. As I’ve grown more and more fascinated by Cashcache’s borderline ambient soundscapes, I came up with a list of dream collaborations that would be pair well with his style. Here’s just a few of them:
Young Nudy: Cashcache is probably the closest thing Pi’erre Bourne has to a kindred spirit. They both approach production with a heavy emphasis on hypnotizing atmosphere. Atlanta’s Young Nudy is arguably Pi’erre’s best collaborator, his nasal voice with a Gucci Mane-esque menace pairs well with his production. Nudy often sounds at his most comfortable cruising through the breeziest production, “Sunflower Seeds” and “Gas Station” being some of his best. Cashcache’s strengths lie in contrast between his dreamier beats and a rapper’s more alert presence. Nudy should consider dipping his toe in Cashcache’s calm world of production in the future.
Chief Keef: One of my mutuals on Twitter described Sosa’s perfect song “Citgo” as “dream pop drill.” It was an absolute eye-opener, that label. There was never the right descriptor for just how complex “Citgo” is as a song. ‘Cloudy’ never fully encapsulated the thick fog it resides in. ‘Dreamy’ never quite fit right with how the beat feels texturally. But putting “Citgo” in the same lane as Beach House made a ton of sense to me. Dream pop is obviously soothing and hazy, but the drill aspects add a bit more urgency. Cashcache often fits closer towards Beach House’s “Space Song” more than it does Citgo’s accented drill qualities. But if it’s one thing about Chief Keef at this point in his career, he’s willing to experiment. There’s nothing more I want than for a Tony Shhnow/Chief Keef record over Cashcache’s luscious musical dreamscape.
Charlie Wilson: Charlie Wilson has always made a song better. Even flat-out bad albums like Kanye West’s flaccid 2018 outing ye were propelled by Charlie Wilson’s angelic voice. As evidenced by his Kanye pairings and Gap Band classics like “Yearning For Your Love”, Uncle Charlie would sound right at home over a heavenly Cashcache beat. This one is a bit more farfetched, but I will do any and everything to get more Charlie Wilson records in this world.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Review: I can get pretty emotional when consuming art. It could be a set of chords in a classic R&B song. It could be me watching the melancholic masterpiece Inside Llewyn Davis. I’ve made a more attentive effort at being more vulnerable over the years. In the case of video games, though, I could never bring myself to have an emotional experience playing something. I’ve never had anything above mild frustration when playing a video game. The immersive experience makes my gaming experience pretty casual for the most part. In the case of Red Dead Redemption 2, I was sobbing during and after certain parts of the story. It is one of the most impactful experiences I’ve ever had with a piece of media in quite some time.
In terms of pure story, this is probably my favorite game I’ve ever played. Arthur Morgan is easily one of the best protagonists in video game history. While you have the choice of acting good or bad in the game, you’re not only incentivized by the game to be good, but it also reflects who Arthur aspires to be. The better you are, the better you feel about the good decisions he makes for others. At his core, he’s someone who cares and wants to change but is caught up in a life that doesn’t value what is typically viewed as “good work.” The game eventually demonstrates how crooked that “good work” is, but it pits the corruption against a futile chase away from reality. No matter how bad the system is, that system will lash out even more so to people trying to evade that system. To shake the hierarchy disrupts what society deems as progress. Arthur slowly realizes that throughout the game. How he views his outlaw nature vs his conflicted views on organized society slowly changes as he realizes what his environment is molding towards overtime. By then, he’s already in too deep. Now all he can do is help others to see his errors sooner than he did.
Arthur Morgan’s selflessness is deeply admirable, putting others over himself, for better or for worse. By the time Arthur’s arc ended, I was gutted. I was sobbing during cut scenes and wiping tears away as I engaged in horse riding and gunfights. It still shocks me how much of a bond I carried with Arthur, his horse, and the relatively good characters in the game.
In terms of gameplay itself, there were some minor issues I had with it but nothing worth getting mad at. For instance, I found the morality system to be a bit finicky sometimes. I could have someone shooting at me, I’ll naturally defend myself, and I’ll lose karma. There was a point where I killed a human trafficker at a store, and I lost karma for taking him out and looting his store. Thankfully, this wasn’t always the case; you can blow up the KKK with dynamite and receive no downside. Some of the maintenance in the game is a little bit overblown, not nearly as important as was advertised. Paying attention to the essentials is all you need to do. Lastly, shooting while on horseback may be a bit realistic but it is also quite the hassle. Despite all the minor issues, the once-in-a-lifetime story softens many of the nitpicks I had in terms of gameplay. Long live Arthur Morgan.
Thanks for tuning into another batch of Fresh Goods. This week’s Freshest of the Bunch is Tay Dizm, T-Pain, and Rick Ross’s underrated classic “Beam Me Up.” Give T-Pain his flowers as one of the greatest songwriters ever. Follow me on Twitter @caleb_catlin23 to keep updated on everything I’m working on.