LAST SPLASH BY THE BREEDERS
Last SplashThe BreedersAndy was right. This is an album that you have to listen to from start to finish whenever you play it. Andy is always right about music. He’s shaped my musical taste in a tremendous way. I’m pretty sure he knows that. I hope so, anyway. When I met him, I was very Lilith Fair good, rock music meh it’s too loud and also screaming. He opened my eyes and ears to hear what beauty there can be in dissonance, what meaning there can be in noise, and what messy brilliance can exist when the right chords and words and rhythm collide.
Read moreDUETS BY BARBRA STREISAND
DuetsBarbra StreisandI don’t remember the first time I heard/watched the Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy duet that Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand did, but I know I felt like I was witnessing one of the best performances ever caught on film. I love the way their voices blend and sound like one at the end. And there was a sort of tragic optimism watching Judy Garland perform knowing some of the things she had been through and struggled with.
Read more🍵 I don’t need to point out the irony re: gun control and the party who prevents ANY form of it , do I?
Read more💀 Violence begets violence but that man is no martyr and we don’t need anyone changing that. I mean, I still hope the SOB dies screaming, but not as a martyr.
Read moreAlso, #Caturday! 🐱📸
Read moreTHE ONE CONCERNING HEADLINE ABOUT JOE BIDEN THAT NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Do I think Biden should’ve run again? Absolutely not. Nothing to do with the headlines about his age. Nothing to do with the headlines about the debate debacle. Everything to do with the headline, “Biden Campaign Brushes Off Idea of Reforming the Supreme Court.” Joe Biden has a record of historic accomplishments. Still, while he may not be forcing us backwards, he’s hardly propelling us forward. He’s the embodiment of the conservative Democratic establishment’s bizarre fetish for mediocrity and preserving the status quo.
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Ah so I see Jill Stein is running. Again. Y’know I love her politics but her sense of pragmatism 💩
Read moreHAT FULL OF STARS BY CYNDI LAUPER
Hat Full Of StarsCyndi LauperMy uncle’s sister worked for Buena Vista when I was young. Sometimes she’d get pre-screen movie tickets and share them with me and my mom. “Life with Mikey” was one of the movies we got to see in this tiny little 1 screen theater. Cyndi Lauper’s song “Feels Like Christmas” was on the soundtrack, and she was in the movie. I think Michael J Fox was too, but I don’t much remember that part.
Read moreGreat playlist. Also, is “Leader of the Pack” about involuntary vehicular manslaughter, or am I imaging things? Because it kinda just sounded like that girl caused a big ol’ car crash and then just kept on singin’….
Read moreOver the Rhine has been my favorite band for about 30 years now, give or take. This song, Given Road, from this gorgeous record, Love & Revelation, is one of the most haunting, stirring songs they’ve ever recorded. I encourage you to listen. Best savored at maximum volume.
Read moreBARGAINVILLE BY MOXY FRUVOUS
BargainvilleMoxy FruvousSome people listened to They Might Be Giants in high school. Those people were dorky. The rest of us listened to Moxy Früvous. We also were dorky. Like, rent a limo for prom but skip the dance and have the driver drive you and your friends around town while you and your friends sing Moxy Früvous songs (and many other kinds of songs except for They Might Be Giants songs) dorky.
Read more👨🎨 “Someone said we need priests and preachers to remind us that one day we’re going to die. But we need poets, artists, and musicians to remind us we’re not dead yet.” -Over the Rhine
Read moreI’m not as vocal here about Project 2025; I presume most people on micro.blog don’t support a Christofascist nation. But we all must still familiarize ourselves with the plan and tell everyone we know about it. Need a primer? Here’s my referral code to an excellent newsletter. Subscribe today.
Read moreWE THE PEOPLE
Response to some guy online. Guy Online, You’re exactly spot on about “we the people”! We are not going to set by and do nothing. Who are “we the people”? We the people are here and queer, get used to it. We the people are Black Lives Matter. We the people use the bathroom that matches our gender identity. We the people read banned books. We the people support the constitutional right to have an abortion.
Read moreBRIGADE BY HEART
BrigadeHeartMy cousin, Jessica, loaned me this album, another one by Heart (self-titled one with These Dreams), and a couple Cher CDs when I was a teenager. Doing so influenced me and my musical taste in a great way that I didn’t realize at the time. I’m not a Heart super fan - I only have a couple of their albums and am pretty much familiar with only their hits - but I feel like Ann Wilson’s voice doesn’t get enough recognition for being the best female voice in rock n roll, which it entirely is.
Read more🏥 Nothing says, “Welcome to mid-life!” like arriving to hospital for your first colonoscopy.
Read more🎤 Ann Wilson has the best female voice in rock n roll. Change my mind. (Actually, don’t. Just let me have this one.)
Read moreEVERYTHING BY THE BANGLES
EverythingThe BanglesI wore out this cassette tape when I was a boy. Watching the Sky and Bell Jar are actually my favorite songs on here, followed very closely by In Your Room.
Read moreDIRECTOR'S CUT (2018 REMASTER) BY KATE BUSH
Director’s Cut (2018 Remaster)Kate BushNow playing. I really do love this album. It’s my favorite Kate Bush record. I love the mature richness of her voice. And I meant it when I said the version of Song of Solomon on here is the most punk rock piano ballad ever recorded. Everything about it is just perfect, but it’s her invocation of Little Richard, the king queen of rock n roll that pushes me over the top every time.
Read moreTHE RED SHOES (2018 REMASTER) BY KATE BUSH
The Red Shoes (2018 Remaster)Kate BushThe first, and for many years the only Kate Bush album I owned. My friend Neil shared a lot more of her catalog with me, usually on my car stereo as we sat and sobered up after a night of disco and drinks. I’ve come to appreciate more the reworked versions of these songs on Director’s Cut (especially Song of Solomon), but every now and then I revisit these originals.
Read moreREPUBLICANS HATE AMERICA
Just heard about today’s decision by six corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court to give Führer Spray Tan the absolute power he so desperately wants. Republicans hate America. They hate democracy. They hate diversity. They hate holding themselves accountable. They hate laws that inconvenience them. They hate that America does better under Democratic leadership than their own. They hate the rules and fight to change them. They hate fairness so they cheat.
Read more🎵 Mighty Joe Moon by Grant Lee Buffalo. I wish they’d remaster and re-release this magnificent album. “Drag” is my favorite song next to “Mockingbirds” (next to “Fuzzy” which is on another album entirely).
Read more🏆 I thought the Substack iOS app was the worst app ever, but it turns out the Amazon Music app and its weird echo device compatibility and weirder caching issues win that designation.
Read moreSo the lying liar used his equal airtime (and illusion of credibility) to call the other guy a liar, and half the country believes him because he said it like it was truth. Truth don’t matter when you’re a conman. Just slap the appearance of conviction onto hyperbole and they’ll believe it. That’s how conmen work. I’m pretty sure that’s also how they get elected. We are in for generations of tragedy, corruption, and regression.
Read more😐 Really guys? We’re debating golf handicaps? We’re really doing this? Ok. Stick a fork in me; I’m done. Goodnight, Gracie. And that’s the way it is. See you next time on the radio. I bid you goodnight. So long, and thanks for all the fish.
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