JESSICA PRATT

Jessica Pratt shares her love for Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy

Jessica Pratt is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, whom I was lucky enough to discover a few months back through a Perfectly Imperfect recommendation. Since her self-titled debut in 2012, she’s toured with artists like Beach House and Panda Bear, released three more stellar records, and dropped a track with A$AP Rocky. Her latest album, Here in the Pitch, marks her first release in five years– and it was well worth the wait (check it out). She’s also heading back on the road with a string of tour and festival dates, so be sure to grab your tickets here. Lucky for us, Jessica’s here to tell us what she’s been into.

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ASMR Environment Videos
It seems to me that when people hear “ASMR” they picture someone pouring sand into a bucket or chewing mashed potatoes or something. Those have their place but the real shit for me are these fantasy-leaning, themed environment ASMR vids with titles like “Victorian Era Ambience - Soft Rain Sounds, Horses, Crows, Bell Sounds” or “Old Library Sounds”. They’re accompanied by slightly animated CGI images kinda like a video game menu screen. I think I first developed a taste for this kinda stuff watching my older brother play Resident Evil 2 as a kid. The sound design and visuals were so transportative. I was thrilled. A lot of my pastimes, in one way or another, are about transporting myself mentally to another time and place. These are a great assist. 
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@jessica-pratt
Apr 25, 2025
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Crude Drawings by People Who Are Not Visual Artists
When a friend is trying to describe something and has to resort to drawing it, with limited skill, the results are always wonderful. Amateurish doodling in general is a good thing. 
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@jessica-pratt
Apr 25, 2025
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Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy
Everyone should get a chance to listen to this record in their lifetime. Zappa’s body of work sometimes gets overshadowed by raunchier, wackier material like “Titties & Beer”, but within his massive discography lie works of true genius and beauty. In the mid 1960’s Zappa was signed to MGM records, but a Capitol Records producer who’d learned Zappa could write orchestral music approached him with the suggestion he do an orchestral album for Capitol, since Zappa’s MGM contract didn’t bar him from conducting. Released in 1968 after being tied up in label litigation for 13 months, the result is a staggering blend of orchestral music, experimental sound collage, music concrete and avant-garde rock. Artfully interspersed among the music are pieces of bizarre dialogue. Zappa noticed that if you spoke near the strings of a grand piano they’d resonate in a pleasing way, so he recorded hours of “piano people” dialogue and made careful selections. A perfect work of art, in my opinion. 
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@jessica-pratt
Apr 25, 2025
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Plant and Bug Identification Apps
These aren’t always the most accurate, but it’ll usually get you within spitting distance of the correct info. It’s a great way to learn about the flora, fauna, insects and spiders in your area. Taxonomy is really interesting and the names are half the fun.
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@jessica-pratt
Apr 25, 2025
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Photo Prints
Collections of digital photos are more ephemeral than we think. I make it a point to periodically order prints of my favorite photos from each year. The material stuff doesn’t last forever either, but unless you’re a fastidious digital archivist, the physical may stick around longer. As someone who’s witnessed the slow death of a couple of social media websites and personal computers, those photos of friends, family or a building you liked the look of in 2015 often land in the internet graveyard. There’s an inherent value to the tangible and the touchable. The fact that I still have photos of my mom as a teenager astounds me.
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@jessica-pratt
Apr 25, 2025
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