😎 📚 🚲 📹 ⛏️

PI SPOTLIGHT

PI.FYI SPOTLIGHT: @ROYALLMONARCH

😎 DUBSTEP, 📚BEATING THE BOOK STACK ALLEGATIONS, 🚲CYCLING, 📹TOR'S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, ⛏️COBALT.TOOLS

July 13, 2025

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Welcome to the PI.FYI Spotlight, a column where we interview some of our favorite users.

For those of you who don't already know, Perfectly Imperfect isn't just a newsletter. We also have a social network where you can tell the world what you're into, theme your profile, and meet cool people.

Want to be featured in the same newsletter as Charli XCX, Francis Ford Coppola and The Rizzler? Apply here.

For today's spotlight, we're featuring PI.FYI royalty, @ROYALLMONARCH. Nick has the official title of 'Most Recommended User' by other spotlight user's. So clearly, we had to listen. Nick's account is filled with fun recommendations that show his personality and epic sense of humor. He's got fantastic taste, and is also the founder of the official unofficial book club of PI.FYI (linked below in his rec). Check out more of Nick's taste, below.

I am a huge nerd, electronic musician, former radio DJ and podcast host, former meme page admin, lifelong forum lurker, online book club host, cat dad, and cycling enthusiast. I’m learning how to put down that dang phone and touch grass through community, club culture, and absconding to the woods. Hoping to spend my summer smooching and eating strawberry shortcake popsicles.

What does “taste” mean to you?

I think taste is less about what things you like and more about knowing why you like them. You can enjoy whatever media, fashion, food, art, etc. that you want, and so long as you can articulate which qualities about something speak to you and which qualities about another don’t, you have taste. Someone with taste likes what they like even if it's perceived as "cringe," "low brow," or just out of line with current trends. Taste is a reflection of the soul. Don’t anyone yuck your yum if you're being true to your own tastes.

How do you choose an experience that’s worthy of recommendation (in your eyes)? Is it a recurring moment of joy, or based on a gut feeling?

I kind of rec in the moment as I’m compelled to. Anything that I think deserves to be shared, or that made me laugh, or that made me appreciate the moment gets a rec. I love answering asks, too. It's very rewarding when someone says they enjoyed my response to their ask. I’ll occasionally go back to edit or remove recs that I've made since I try not to put negativity out there even if sometimes I am a bit critical. I’m a lover, not a fighter, though. I’m just very passionate about things and like sharing my interests.

Which PI.FYI user should we feature next?

@LUCIUS, @TIFF or @MARXINISTA. Gotta show some love to the old guard.

Rec

😎

DUBSTEP

Dubstep was the first genre that I really got nerdy about and made a part of my identity. My favorite era was what you might call “Second Wave Dubstep,” (the kind of stuff put out by OWSLA, Circus Records, Never Say Die, Inspected Records, UKF, MTA, etc.) which I will arbitrarily say lasted from 2009 to 2013. The UKF Dubstep 2011 and GetDarker Presents: This is Dubstep 2011 compilations are perfect representations of the Second Wave’s beginnings, as Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP influence was changing the genre forever. I stopped following the scene when Dubstep stagnated in its Riddim era (2015-ish) and stopped hitting the same for me. Right now I’d say we’re seeing a post-Dubstep wave where the kids who grew up idolizing Sonny Moore and learning Fruity Loops in their bedrooms are making music which draws influence from 2010s electronic music (underscores, 100 Gecs, Frost Children, Food House, etc.), and that’s made me nostalgic for the old days. I think my highest calling in life is to write Skrillex’s biography.

@royallmonarch

4d ago

Rec

📚

BEATING THE BOOK STACK ALLEGATIONS

This is more of an aspirational rec since I have made it my goal to finish my current stack before the end of summer (I have nine books to get through). Since I started PI.BKCLB (the official unofficial book club of PI.FYI, shameless plug) on Discord over a year ago, I’ve had a steady stream of new books, and It’s helped me back into reading and filled my shelves with colorful spines, but I’ve also been gifted so many books recently and chosen even more for myself. It’s becoming an issue. Reading at a marathon pace right now, lets hope I can go the distance. If you’re reading this, put down that phone and pick up a book!

@royallmonarch

4d ago

Rec

🚲

CYCLING

Some people might think that getting into cycling means buying a super sleek road bike and then going for 50 mile rides going 20 miles per hour on a 6 inch shoulder of a highway, which is like thinking that getting into driving means buying an F1 car. There are so many kinds of bikes out there and all you gotta do is get a one that speaks to you and lets you do the kind of riding you want! I have a Surly Crosscheck gravel bike for trail rides and bikepacking and a single-speed Bianchi Pista for casual cruising. Cycling has served me in so many ways; it connects me to my body, to community, to my city, and to nature. Go get you a used bike for cheap, learn how to take care of it, and ride until your legs get sore.

@royallmonarch

4d ago

Rec

📹

TOR'S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

I wasn’t allowed to watch Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Disney Channel as a kid, so I watched a lot of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and History Channel instead. YouTube video essays have filled that media niche for me in my adult life. I recently found Tor’s channel and he’s quickly become a favorite source of video essays. His content explores internet rabbit holes, historical curios, and his own special interests, and he provides excellent insight and analysis. He’s a self-proclaimed “slut for nuance” and I appreciate his perspectives a lot. His videos are very old-YouTube (think the early seasons of Good Mythical Morning) and are basically video podcasts. If you want some wholesome, clickbait-free, low production but well researched long form videos, go like and subscribe and hit the bell icon.

@royallmonarch

4d ago

Rec

⛏️

COBALT.TOOLS

There are two wolves inside of me. One believes that music should be de-commodified and that musicians’ labor and art should be paid for, the other believes that music should be freely accessible to all as a cultural commons. We all contain contradictions. I still use MP3s and a locally downloaded library to listen to music, and some music just isn’t available to purchase or stream. This site is my go-to for ripping audio right now. It's so much better than those sketchy sites with weird ads and fake download buttons, and it’s designed really well too! Go rip Shlohmo’s For Tha Summer mixtapes if you need a summer soundtrack.

@royallmonarch

4d ago

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PI.FYI SPOTLIGHT: @ROYALLMONARCH

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