Steven Smith
@durianmilkshake.bsky.social
I write a weekly newsletter on the latest Japanese "City Music" with an accompanying playlist. It is free!
🚫No AI is used!🚫
Newsletter: https://neocitypop.substack.com/
Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ojdY5RKVdES4RcvGFB6fJ?si=f7cda9e7015b4c
🚫No AI is used!🚫
Newsletter: https://neocitypop.substack.com/
Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ojdY5RKVdES4RcvGFB6fJ?si=f7cda9e7015b4c
Pinned
Steven Smith
@durianmilkshake.bsky.social
· Dec 12
A Starter's Guide to Neo City Pop
The format of this graphic is inspired by (stolen from) @earfeeder.bsky.social. I posted this on Twitter a year ago, but it looked like they weren’t using Twitter by that point so there’s a good chance they didn’t see it.
The format of this graphic is inspired by (stolen from) @earfeeder.bsky.social. I posted this on Twitter a year ago, but it looked like they weren’t using Twitter by that point so there’s a good chance they didn’t see it.
A lot of the stuff I get on Instagram is accounts of record shops where they take pictures of people with stuff they bought. This was from the day Life of a Showgirl came out. One guy had to get his fix lol
February 18, 2026 at 3:16 AM
A lot of the stuff I get on Instagram is accounts of record shops where they take pictures of people with stuff they bought. This was from the day Life of a Showgirl came out. One guy had to get his fix lol
Reposted by Steven Smith
swear to god i had this shit in my pantry for 2 months. i open it now and its some socks
February 17, 2026 at 3:43 AM
swear to god i had this shit in my pantry for 2 months. i open it now and its some socks
Could just be me, but Spotify appears to have just gone through a gigantic quality upgrade. I was listening to a playlist of favorite songs and just noticed stuff I never had before. I actually thought that maybe something else was playing in the background, but it was actually random studio noises.
February 17, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Could just be me, but Spotify appears to have just gone through a gigantic quality upgrade. I was listening to a playlist of favorite songs and just noticed stuff I never had before. I actually thought that maybe something else was playing in the background, but it was actually random studio noises.
Foi - who I’m not really into - has AMAZING swag by comparison. Those keychains are amazing. Is that COFFEE?! A toy vendor where you can get stickers and photos?? (lots of indie acts doing this now)
February 16, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Foi - who I’m not really into - has AMAZING swag by comparison. Those keychains are amazing. Is that COFFEE?! A toy vendor where you can get stickers and photos?? (lots of indie acts doing this now)
Now that I know you all love music whose lyrics you can't understand, check out my list of brand new Japanese songs I dug this past week. I crammed Morning Musume and Kamasi Washington references into the same blurb.
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
NEO CITY POP CYCLE vol.3 iss.26
Just a bunch of good music
open.substack.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Now that I know you all love music whose lyrics you can't understand, check out my list of brand new Japanese songs I dug this past week. I crammed Morning Musume and Kamasi Washington references into the same blurb.
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
Made a quick chart showing streaming numbers for each track (MINUS the singles), in order on the new Jill Scott album. I'm still listening, but I'd wager the second half isn't bad, but that it simply didn't need to be.
It's easy to blame people's attention spans but Thriller was only 42 minutes...
It's easy to blame people's attention spans but Thriller was only 42 minutes...
February 15, 2026 at 6:32 AM
Made a quick chart showing streaming numbers for each track (MINUS the singles), in order on the new Jill Scott album. I'm still listening, but I'd wager the second half isn't bad, but that it simply didn't need to be.
It's easy to blame people's attention spans but Thriller was only 42 minutes...
It's easy to blame people's attention spans but Thriller was only 42 minutes...
🤔 I never really considered this... it's definitely solid end to end, but it's not all high points. Also I wasn't completely blown away the first time I heard it. I was like 'this is different, this is good', and my appreciation has grown over time, but not sure it's reached the top yet..
Is Anderson .Paak’s ‘Malibu’ (2016) one of the greatest albums of all time? Vote for it—and up to ten albums total—in our readers’ poll here: album.ink/GOATAlbumsPoll
February 15, 2026 at 3:26 AM
🤔 I never really considered this... it's definitely solid end to end, but it's not all high points. Also I wasn't completely blown away the first time I heard it. I was like 'this is different, this is good', and my appreciation has grown over time, but not sure it's reached the top yet..
Reposted by Steven Smith
Only two other people have bought this off Bandcamp. Not a good look for one of the few good sites for music lovers out there.
February 14, 2026 at 7:39 AM
Only two other people have bought this off Bandcamp. Not a good look for one of the few good sites for music lovers out there.
True
True or False? This album belongs in EVERYONE's record collection. | Rediscover the album here: album.ink/IsleyBrosTHIO
February 14, 2026 at 12:12 AM
True
Little known indie band just dropped on Spotify
February 13, 2026 at 7:12 AM
Little known indie band just dropped on Spotify
Yesssssssss
madenlane.bandcamp.com/album/maden-...
madenlane.bandcamp.com/album/maden-...
MADEN LANE, by MADEN LANE
9 track album
madenlane.bandcamp.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:01 AM
Yesssssssss
madenlane.bandcamp.com/album/maden-...
madenlane.bandcamp.com/album/maden-...
Reposted by Steven Smith
Never read Baldwin Before?
February 11, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Never read Baldwin Before?
Seeing “vinyl influencers” posting the album in insta and it seems the white press is a flex - means you bought from an independent record store and not Amazon 😜
February 11, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Seeing “vinyl influencers” posting the album in insta and it seems the white press is a flex - means you bought from an independent record store and not Amazon 😜
Reposted by Steven Smith
Mary J. Blige released 'Good Morning Gorgeous' 4 years ago on February 11, 2022 | Listen to the album + revisit our review here: album.ink/MaryJBligeGMG
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Mary J. Blige released 'Good Morning Gorgeous' 4 years ago on February 11, 2022 | Listen to the album + revisit our review here: album.ink/MaryJBligeGMG
Every week there is just all of this amazing new music... what did we do to deserve it all
February 11, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Every week there is just all of this amazing new music... what did we do to deserve it all
TRUE
True or False? This album belongs in EVERYONE's record collection. | Rediscover the album here: album.ink/LutherNTM
February 11, 2026 at 3:18 AM
TRUE
KID FRESINO - Cats & Dogs feat. カネコアヤノ (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by SPACE SHOWER
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Alright Bad Bunny has had his victory lap, mow explain to my why this US$32 vinyl record doesn’t have any liner notes, lyrics, or even the length of each track?? Not even a headshot insert??
February 10, 2026 at 1:32 AM
Alright Bad Bunny has had his victory lap, mow explain to my why this US$32 vinyl record doesn’t have any liner notes, lyrics, or even the length of each track?? Not even a headshot insert??
Alive
YouTube video by Osamu Fukuzawa - Topic
youtu.be
February 9, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Also for people that did not know, "Neo City Pop" is getting canonized later this week. The following albums have been confirmed canon. The exclusion of the maco marets album is not surprising considering it's technically rap, but the other exclusions feel egregious considering the loose definition
February 8, 2026 at 10:37 PM
Also for people that did not know, "Neo City Pop" is getting canonized later this week. The following albums have been confirmed canon. The exclusion of the maco marets album is not surprising considering it's technically rap, but the other exclusions feel egregious considering the loose definition
I had most of this finished and then suffered a horrible allergy attack (basically sneezing for 7 hours straight, unable to do anything because I was grabbing for tissues every 5 seconds). Posted it late last night...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
NEO CITY POP CYCLE vol.3 iss.25
Pass The Crown
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:14 PM
I had most of this finished and then suffered a horrible allergy attack (basically sneezing for 7 hours straight, unable to do anything because I was grabbing for tissues every 5 seconds). Posted it late last night...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...
open.substack.com/pub/neocityp...