The Narcissist Cookbook
When I put out my first album, MOTH, in 2017, I handed out handmade booklets with it that were filled with abstractly-rendered QR codes, which flung anyone who scanned the codes towards a song/book/clip/film that related to each track. Wanky, but fun if you like that kind of thing. Thing is, when I say 'anyone who scanned the codes', what I really mean is 'anyone who scanned the codes within three days of release' because that - I found out way too late - is how long the free codes lasted for. The books are now pretty, meaningless art pieces. And maybe the QR codes take you somewhere else now. That's frightening, and fitting in a way I don't know if I have words for.
This playlist is a chance for me to do that again, focusing less on MOTH and more on the bits and pieces that inspired me to start making Cookbook stuff in general. You have some spoken-word/acoustic tracks I've all but entirely ripped off (Hamell On Trial, Todd Snider), fourth-wall breaking deconstructionism (Eric Idle/Dan Harmon), rich, otherwordly vocal arrangements (Roomful of Teeth), confrontational stand-up (Simon Amstell), deliberate mythology building (Trevor Morrison) the track that showed me that sometimes a song just doesn't work half as well without the story (the Mountain Goats), a 45 minute lecture from the developer of one of my favourite video games (Jonathan Blow), all mixed into a pot with a bunch of jaw-clenchingly beautiful, brilliant songs. And my most recent single. Hi, my name's Matt, this is the Narcissist Cookbook.
LINKS:
Facebook (say hi) - fb.com/thenarcissistcookbook
Bandcamp (stream / buy) - bandcamp.com/thenarcissistcookbook
1. The Narcissist Cookbook - Good Love
2. Punch Brothers - My Oh My (live)
3. Roomful of Teeth - Allemande (1st movement) (live)
4. Eamon McGrath - Big River (live)
5. Trevor Morrison - Hirta
6. Hamell on Trial - Not Aretha's Respect (live)
7. Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer - Willie's Lady
8. Simon Amstell - I Live Alone
9. Todd Snider - The Ballad of the Kingsmen (live)
10. Madeon - Icarus
11. The Mountain Goats - Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle (live)
12. Eric Idle, Dan Harmon, Jeff Davis - Mothers (live)
13. Jethro Tull - Ring Out These Bells (live instrumental arrangement)
14. Say Anything - Admit It
15. Amanda Palmer - Judy Blume (live)
16. Richard Thomson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (live)
17. Paul Simon - A Church Is Burning
18. Julia Michaels - Uh Huh
19. December '91 - Starin' At The Freaks
20. Jonathan Blow - Deep Work (live GDC lecture)