Dino Club: Growing Up with My Favorite Artist

I, like most people, have pretty strong emotional ties to the music I listened to during my formative years. In music, I found a way to navigate the new, complex emotions I was experiencing as I transitioned from adolescence into young adulthood. At the time, those artists provided me with a creative outlet that I desperately needed. But when I revisit those songs now, I find many of them to be immature and disconnected from my current experience. Every once in a while, I’ll try listening to new music from the musicians I loved back then, and it just isn’t the same. And so most of those artists have faded into the background and fallen off of my musical radar.

But then there’s Secret Secret Dino Club.

I’m not sure if it was serendipitous timing, the fact that I really connect with the personality and outlook of Jayce (the musician behind the project), or if the songs were just that catchy, but for whatever reason, I have been a relentlessly loyal fan of Secret Secret Dino Club since the second I first heard his music. And my love has only grown stronger over the years as I’ve followed Jayce throughout his various endeavors and even had the opportunity to interact with him a few times online. To call myself a Dino Club super-fan would be an understatement. That’s why I was so excited to listen to his new five-track EP “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous” when it came out last week, and I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint in the least.

The new EP comes after a lengthy hiatus for Secret Secret Dino Club. The project’s last studio album (“Look Cat Meow,” recently re-released as “Songs from My Myspace”) came out in 2011. Since then, Jayce has mostly focused on other projects, especially the rap/pop band Astro Safari USA that he started with his best friend JP. Though he did release an EP entitled “Like Lebron Has His Ball” under the Dino Club name last year on SoundCloud, this album serves as Jayce’s mainstream return to the project and to the musical style that defines Secret Secret Dino Club.

If I had to sum up the new album in a word, it would be “growth.” Although the style of the songs will certainly sound familiar to anyone who’s listened to Dino Club before, the lyrics most likely won’t be. They’re as fun, catchy, and witty as ever, but there’s a maturity to the content that’s new to Jayce’s work. And I find that maturity refreshing.

It’s clear from the first few moments of the album that something is different. The title track (“Famous”) begins with the lines, “I don’t want to be famous. // Famous people break up // and get hooked on drugs.” My immediate reaction to these lyrics was, “Why would Jayce care about breaking up with someone?” Dino Club doesn’t sing about maintaining romantic relationships. Dino Club sings about taking girlfriend applications and telling overbearing women to stop calling. And yet the entire song is about Jayce’s desire to avoid pursuing fame and focus instead on being real and finding love. The result is a critique of fame culture that is both entertaining and convicting at the same time. The song ends with a staple of Dino Club music: The instruments cut out just before Jayce delivers the final note, leaving only his voice. It makes for an effective conclusion to the album’s opening track.

“The Best Song I Ever Heard in My Entire Life” follows “Famous” with even more explicit references to Dino Club’s newfound focus on his relationship. The song is self-aware, critiquing itself as it progresses and recognizing itself as the best song the singer has ever heard, not necessarily because of its quality, but because of its subject. My favorite thing about this song is the layering of voices on the chorus. Jayce has a voice that is perfectly fit to be harmonize with itself, and when he uses this technique, it creates a very unique and appealing effect that I’ve always enjoyed.

The EP continues with “Art” set at the center of the track list. As a long-time follower of Secret Secret Dino Club, I am acutely aware of Jayce’s complicated relationship with the concept of art. The term is difficult to define, and it’s often used to communicate either sophistication or exemption from critique, but neither of these is satisfying. In this song, the singer finally offers his conclusive definition of art, and it’s simply the person he loves. The chorus goes so far as to say, “You’re a piece of art.” I have shared in Jayce’s frustration over the use of the term “art” over the years, and it is so cathartic to see that, at least for him, there is a meaningful answer to question of what art is.

“Easy” is by far my favorite song on the EP. This song is Dino Club at his most vulnerable. Each verse reveals the artist’s insecurities in the context of romantic relationships, and the chorus serves as both a confession that the singer is responsible for making it “not easy” to love him and an appreciation for his partner’s patience in doing so anyway. In this track, Jayce is recognizing his own shortcomings and the fact that he is loved despite them. That is a level of depth never before seen in a Dino Club song, and it really connected with me.

The album ends with “Trumpets Sing.” This is a fun little song that seems to be about Jayce’s experience meeting his girlfriend and trying to woo her. The alternative title is “Intro,” which is ironic since it is the final track on the EP and probably refers to the fact that the song deals with the beginning of a relationship that clearly means a great deal to the singer.

This new album from Secret Secret Dino Club offers the catchy, upbeat melodies and the witty lyrics that have always defined the project and drawn in fans, but it also offers something more. It incorporates a more mature, fulfilled approach to the world that reflects a significant shift in the artist’s outlook. Jayce has fallen in love, come to terms with his own imperfections, and experienced the growth that inevitably comes from truly loving someone and being loved by them, and he’s shared that growth with his listeners through this EP.

The result is an incredibly satisfying and relatable release from a musician I’ve had the honor of following as I’ve undergone my own process of developing and maturing. It feels like I got to grow up with an artist I truly admire, and I can’t think of anything better Jayce could have offered his fans with his latest release.

Is the Apple Watch Too Complicated?

A friend and I are discussing his recent purchase of a new workout machine and the fact that he’s using his Apple Watch to track his fitness. He complains that the Watch doesn’t count calories the same way his workout machine does, telling him he burns significantly less calories each time he works out. I ask if he’s using the Watch’s Workouts app each time because it ensures that the heart rate sensor is constantly monitoring activity during exercise. He responds, “The Watch has a Workouts app? I didn’t even know that.”

---

My classmate comes to school one day showing off her brand new rose gold Apple Watch, and I can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy at how pretty it is. She gushes about its features and how much she enjoys using it. The class is enamored with her new accessory. However, the appreciation for the Apple Watch quickly wears off as it continually dings throughout class, interrupting discussion and breaking students’ concentration. After class, I approach the new Apple Watch owner and say, “I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but do you know how to silence your Watch?” In near desperation, she says, “No, I have no idea. Can you show me?”

---

I publish a blog post about a sort of hack I’ve discovered where I arrange all of my Apple Watch apps in reverse order on the dock to make the ones I use most often more easily accessible. This comes after months of fumbling through my app list each morning while trying to pay for coffee. I share the post on Facebook hoping that it will be helpful to other Watch users facing similar issues. One comment I receive says, “Thank you for sharing this! I didn’t even know my Watch had an app dock.”

---

A friend is having trouble waking up on time because his phone alarm isn’t going off, and he asks if I can help. Following my suggestions, he has checked the ringer volume, made sure the alarm is set to the correct time, and confirmed that his software is up-to-date. Once I run out of potential fixes for his phone alarm, I tell him about my personal solution: I use my Apple Watch as an alarm instead of my phone and have found it to be more reliable. Maybe my approach will work for him as well. His response: “The Watch can do that?”

---

I’m complaining to my brother about how hard it is to take a picture using the iPhone camera’s timer. I don’t like having to start the timer, race in front of the camera, and then wait for it to finish counting down. Plus I can never get the framing quite right. He points to my wrist and says, “Yeah, but you could just use your Watch to look through the camera.” I tell him I can’t. He insists that I can and then tells me to open the app on my Watch. I’m immediately proven wrong. I can actually see a live feed of my camera’s viewfinder right on my wrist. I’m blown away not only by the Watch’s capability but by the fact that I’ve been missing out on this feature for over a year.

---

Stories like this are far too common. Ask an Apple Watch owner, “What do you use your Watch for?” and they’ll probably list off two or three main uses. (Notifications, fitness, and payments are the most common.) But these represent only a fraction of what the Watch can actually do. It’s a really powerful device that is being underutilized by the majority of people who own it, including techies like myself.

The thing about smartwatches is that they aren’t as intuitive as smartphones and tablets. Because of their size, you can’t just pick them up and start tapping around to use them. Developers have had to come up with multiple ways to interact with the watches (including digital crowns, buttons, and force-sensitive screens) that aren’t as straightforward as simply tapping the screen. This poses a problem for the Apple Watch because it dissuades users from exploring the device and learning about all of the helpful things that it can do.

Since debuting the Watch, Apple has progressively improved upon its software in order to make it more capable and more straightforward to use, and they’ve come a long way. However, there is still more work to be done. Apple has to come up with a solution that empowers it users to take advantage of all of the features of the Watch if they want the product to gain a broader appeal.

I’m not sure what form this solution should take, whether it be a more robust Starter Guide in the box itself, an interactive tutorial during Watch setup, or a series of videos that are easily accessible to new Watch owners. Maybe it should be some combination of these, or a completely new approach. But it seems to clear to me that Apple has to do something. Otherwise, the Apple Watch will remain a niche product instead of becoming the hit that the company clearly wants it to be.

God, Country, and Hegemony

I’m going to be honest: I used to hate my country. Maybe I was just angsty, or maybe I was just frustrated with the many flaws I saw in the system, or maybe I was just exhausted by all the people around me who seemed to be so in love with a place that I didn’t feel the same way about. But regardless, I honestly despised the United States, and I was quite vocal about it. I dreamed of one day moving to Europe (or Canada) and living among much more decent people in a much more decent place. I didn’t think there was any country on earth worse than the U.S.

But then I started to learn more about the world, and I realized a few things.

First of all, I am extremely privileged to be a U.S. citizen, and I benefit greatly from having been born here. Religious freedom, the right to vote, and the ability to become what I want to become are privileges I took for granted growing up, but they are not equally available to everyone. Many countries don’t offer their citizens the rights and freedom that I’m afforded, and I’ve learned to be thankful for that.

And while the U.S. does have its flaws, it’s also responsible for some pretty incredible things, and it deserves credit for them. The U.S. created democracy and proved to the world that it can be a viable—though certainly not perfect—way to govern a country. It is the birthplace of the separation between church and state, a concept that has made the world a much better place when put into practice. Its economy has created space for companies to form, grow, and create things that have revolutionized human life as we know it. When it is at its best, the United States can be a place of acceptance, innovation, and change that moves the world in the right direction.

I’ve also realized that my country needs people to love it well. It’s far too easy to criticize and cast hate the way I used to, but it’s just as easy to fall into the trap of uncritically believing that everything the U.S. does is great, even going so far as claiming that the country has some special relationship with God (which it doesn’t). But what the United States really needs is people who love it well, who recognize its shortcomings and care enough to work to change them instead of ignoring them or just simply pointing a finger. Without those kinds of people, the country is doomed to fall into division and decay. And if I won’t love my country the way it needs me to, who will?

The biggest thing I’ve realized is that the United States isn’t particularly special one way or another. Is it the democratic utopia that patriotic nationalism makes it out to be? No. But is the ultimate source of evil in the world, as I used to believe? Of course not. It’s a country, one among many, and it happens to be mine. Seeing the U.S. as just a country and nothing more has helped me put its history, its actions, and its current state into perspective, allowing me to let go of my feelings of hate towards it in the process.

---

I think Christians in the United States are in an especially difficult place when it comes to how we choose to relate to our country. On the one hand, we know that our loyalty does not ultimately lie with any earthly entity but with God alone. On the other hand, we are called to engage with the world and the culture around us as a part of living out the life of faith. And so we’re compelled to participate in the life and the processes of our nation. But there’s a balance to it that we miss out on far too often.

Because the institutions of this world exist for one reason: to perpetuate themselves. This is true for corporations, organizations, religions, colleges, and yes, even governments. Governmental institutions thrive when their citizens follow them blindly, so they use means like culture and education to create a hegemony of patriotism and nationalism that they then instill in every citizen that they possibly can.

And this hegemony is powerful. It tries to mix itself up with faith to the point that we followers of Christ can’t tell biblical principles from American cultural norms. It tries to convince us that patriotism is objectively good and that anything seemingly against the well-being of the country is morally evil. It tries to establish a relationship between God and country that is so close and so powerful that we end up worshipping the wrong one without even realizing it.

At least part of my former hatred towards my country was rooted in this hegemony and the utter control it had over the people around me growing up. I’m not trying to speak ill of them at all. They were well-meaning, Christ-loving people who had simply fallen into the trap of American hegemony. Once I recognized the system of lies that the people around me had bought into, I used hatred as a defense mechanism. It worked for a while, but I eventually realized that my approach had its own pitfalls.

Now that I don’t have hatred to hide behind, I sometimes feel myself being drawn into the trap of hegemony myself. I get a little too invested in my preferred political candidate, eventually granting them the position of savior, one that can only rightfully be held by Jesus. I condone acts of violence on the condition that they’re carried out for the security of my country, completely ignoring the fact that the people in other places are created in the image of God just as much as I am. I hear the phrase “America first” and think, “Why shouldn’t we put our own country first?” In the process, I lose sight of God’s concern for all people, not just those who share my citizenship.

There is a way to love one’s country without worshipping it. But it’s not easy, and I certainly haven’t mastered it. I think the only way to truly overcome the hegemony is to be completely devoted to Jesus Christ, resisting all temptations to put anything above him, even something as noble as one’s love of country.

Because the truth is that the United States isn’t our eternal destination; it’s heaven. And the American flag is not the symbol we pledge our allegiance to; it’s the cross. And The Star Spangled Banner isn’t the anthem of our souls; it’s Amazing Grace. The powers that be would convince us that we should love our country above all else, and our Christian response should be a resounding, “No.” We love our country, but we reject the hegemony. We love our country, but we love Jesus infinitely more.

Legion: Hope and a Challenge for the Superhero Genre

Note: This is the mandatory Christian “I really like this thing, but I don’t necessarily recommend it” warning. Legion is rated TV-MA. If that’s not your thing, I would recommend watching something else. Or waiting until VidAngel inevitably releases a censored version. Your call.

The entertainment industry is absolutely saturated with superhero content right now. Ever since the success of Iron Man, studios and networks have been desperately trying to get a piece of the valuable market that the genre has created. And while this trend has resulted in some serious commercial success, many critics and fans are starting to question whether or not the rush to put out so much content has resulted in a drop-off in the quality of films and TV shows based on superhero properties. Can the studios continue to put out adaptations that are creative and engaging? Has the entire genre stagnated, accepting its fate of simply telling the same story over and over with different masks (or capes or suits)?

If you’re looking for a source of hope in the superhero genre, you need look no further than Legion, a new show from FX based on the character of the same name from the X-Men comic book universe. The show debuted in January and finished its eight-episode arc a couple of weeks ago, garnering praise from critics and fans all along the way. It may not have had the widest audience, ending its first season run with under a million viewers, but those who watched Legion were absolutely enthralled, myself included.

Legion tells the story of David, a young man who is haunted by voices inside of his head that are interpreted by those around him as symptoms of schizophrenia. The season as a whole follows a chronological narrative arc, but nearly every episode includes jumps in time, exploring David’s childhood, his attempts at living a normal life, and his time in a mental hospital. When we first meet David, he is in the custody of D3, a government agency dedicated to protecting the nation against mutants, members of a new stage in human evolution who are born with superpowers. And this is our first indication that David’s struggle may stem from something other than mental illness. This is only confirmed when a team of rogue mutants emerges onto the scene showing a clear interest in him.

“There’s always a fight.”

What people seem to love about the show is just how different it is from any other superhero film or TV show that we’ve seen in the recent boom. It was developed and showrun by Noah Hawley, the creator of another beloved FX show Fargo. His approach to storytelling and character development carries over well from the small-town crime genre to the superhero genre and shows that not all superhero stories have to play out in the typical way.

A superhero story, especially an origin story like this one, usually follows a pretty straightforward script. The hero somehow attains superpowers, explores them for a bit, and then uses them to defeat a bad guy and save the world. That is not David’s story at all. In fact, most of Legion’s conflict is internal, not external.

Like the viewer, David does not understand his abilities or know their extent. Sure, he’s a telepath and can move objects with his mind, but how far can that go? Much of the season centers around David and those around him questioning his abilities, his history, and even his motivations. All of this is played out in his mind rather than the external world, and it makes for compelling TV.

That is not to say that the show is all dialogue. As Kerry, a brawl-loving mutant who comes to David’s aid, notes, “There’s always a fight.” Each episode features stunts and action scenes, and much of the choreography is quite innovative. Due to the nature of David’s powers and the fact that many of the fights take place inside his mind, the show’s creators are able to play with elements like physics and even silence as a part of creating tension within action scenes. The fights in Legion drew me in both narratively and emotionally in a way that I haven’t been by a fight sequence in a long time.

“This only works if it’s not about me.”

And even though David is the protagonist, he is supported by an incredible cast of characters and actors. In the season finale, David says, “This only works if it’s not about me.” Of course, he’s referring to his mission, but it also serves as self-referential commentary on the show itself. The fourth episode (aptly named “Chapter Four”) barely features David at all and instead focuses on the characters around him, including the ways that his presence has impacted their lives. Of particular note is Aubrey Plaza’s portrayal of Lenny, which starts off slowly but really begins to take center stage about halfway through.

Legion’s success ultimately stems from the bold choices it makes to break out of superhero mold. Yes, the writing, directing, and editing are each incredible in their own right. But when it comes down to it, Legion is still a superhero TV show, and what it does best is serve as an example to those creating superhero content that they can do better. Comic books have shown us that superhero stories can be as varied as the characters themselves, and Legion follows in that legacy. Here’s to hoping that other players in the genre follow suit.

---

The first season of Legion is available for streaming on the FX website or app and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD later this year. A ten-episode second season, which will focus less on David's internal struggle and more on the question of the coexistence between humans and mutants, is slated to be released in February 2018.

Apple and Professionals

Last week, Apple did something very out-of-character: They admitted that they had made a mistake. In an ultra-exclusive meeting between top Apple executives and a handful of top technology reporters, Apple discussed their relationship with professionals, their struggles with the design of the Mac Pro, and the future of their professional offerings. Though it was an intimate event, the coverage of this meeting exploded, and both fanboys and haters alike saw in the coverage what they wanted to see. But we’ll get to that.

First, it’s important to note what Apple actually said. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, spoke about why the Mac Pro, which was released with much fanfare and praise three years ago, hasn’t been updated since its launch. It’s a very technical issue, but in basic terms, Apple made some design choices based on the direction they believe the professional computing industry was going, and they were dead wrong. They created a beautiful, professional computer that simply did not fit with the form factor of graphic processing units that have been released in the past few years.

So now that we know the problem, the question becomes, “What next?” Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, voiced the best answer the company has to offer right now. They’ve decided to completely re-think the Mac Pro and create something new that meets the needs of their professional users. But there’s a catch: The redesigned Mac Pro will not see the light of day this year.

And of course, that is very disappointing news for the many professionals who want to use Apple products but have become impatient with the company’s delayed product update cycle. The current Mac Pro is simply unsuited for the most demanding computing tasks in cutting-edge fields such as virtual reality and software development, and this has led some to give up on Apple and switch to Windows or to create their own Mac computers (dubbed “Hackintoshes”). It looks like those who have stuck with Apple this long are simply going to have to wait a while longer.

In the meantime, Apple has decided to make some minor speed upgrades to the current Mac Pro lineup without increasing the price. And they claim that a large number of professional users are actually beginning to adopt high-end iMacs as their computing machines of choice. Created to be a consumer-friendly all-in-one, the iMac has grown to become a powerhouse and one of Apple’s most enticing Mac offerings. (I personally use a Retina 5K iMac for video and photo editing at my job in church media.) Time will tell if these temporary solutions will be enough to hold professional users over until the new Mac Pro is unveiled.

This is a surprising and unprecedented move for Apple. It shows a level of transparency and humility that we’ve never seen from the company before, and it can be interpreted many different ways. In response to the announcement, some praised Apple for their honesty and expressed excitement over the re-thought Mac Pro. Others criticized Apple for their blunder and for announcing a product so long before its release just to save face. Ultimately, how one understands this announcement depends on one’s feelings about Apple as a whole, but I’d like to offer a few of my thoughts on the matter.

I think that this was a good move on Apple’s part in the long run. Embarrassing? Yes. But ultimately in their best interest. The lack of updates to the Mac Pro and the company’s refusal to offer any explanation before this week have given professionals the idea that they are no longer a priority for Apple. Finally choosing to communicate with this group will hopefully reassure them.

Their fear is understandable. Once known as a line of computers for designers and editors, the Mac has really gone mainstream over recent years, growing in its market share and in its public presence. And with this growth came a shift in the Mac’s user base. According to Apple, only 30% of Mac users fall under the “professional” category, which means that 70% of their customers are simply who consumers who don’t need the latest processors and most powerful GPUs.

And yet, Apple is still producing and developing the Mac Pro. Last year, they released a new generation of the MacBook Pro overhauled with a Touch Bar. They’re putting out iMacs that are powerful enough to appeal to at least some professional users. They continue to develop professional software that is used to create beautiful things on Macs every single day. And now, they are reaching out their professional users with honesty, transparency, and humility.

Is Apple a perfect company? Not at all. They’ve made some serious mistakes over the years, the Mac Pro debacle included. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether they’re trying to appeal to consumers or professionals. And they haven’t always been the best at communicating with their customers. But the events of last week make one thing perfectly clear: Apple cares about its professional users. And I believe they have something big in store for us if we’re only willing to wait.

---

I was barely able to scratch the surface of this issue in this post. If you’d like to read full coverage of Apple’s meeting last week, John Gruber was one of the reporters in the room and did an excellent in-depth writeup. Walt Mossberg and Nilay Patel of The Verge offered their commentary on the matter in the most recent episode of Ctrl-Walt-Delete. And for the perspective of a professional who chose to give up on the Mac, check out Owen Williams’s Medium post about his reasons for switching to Windows.

I’d like to know what you think of all this Apple news. Do you think this was a good move for Apple? Are you hopeful for the company’s future, or do you think they’ve got it all wrong? Let me know in the comments or on social media.