New music this week from Glom, J.H.M., The Cords, Sydney Sprague, Bruno Mars, Vulfmon, Luis Cato, The Sherlocks, The Protomen, Bad//Dreams, Frute, Cameron Sonnier, Charli Lucas, Bottle Rockets and much more. Enjoy!
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I've been turning people on to the artist known as Glom for a while now. Glom is a Brooklyn based indie band that is part 90's alternative, part pop, part shoegaze, and very creative at melding all those sounds. They've been releasing singles for quite a while now but have finally released a full album called "Below". Over the course of time I have added 8 of the 10 tracks on my playlists. Highly recommended.
Sydney Sprague describes herself as moving "through life with guitar in one hand and an anxiety disorder in the other." What she has is great songs going in directions you might not expect. Her first album, "maybe i will see you at the end of the world" would get notice for the title alone, but she has earned respect from the critics and is putting in a pretty heavy touring schedule. Her new album "Peak Experience" is no sophomore slump, and it's very much worth your time.
The Protomen have at long last released "Act III" in the ongoing saga that makes up much of the band's material. Subtitled "The City Made Us" this is yet another unpredictable and captivating winding through the streets that only the Protomen could live in, an if you're a fan of their hijinks you should really check them out.
For those of you who listen to the Radio Station I will point out that there is a an extra track. My friend and British Synthwave artist Kiffie release as a single the song "Stand By", as a response to some of the horrific stuff happening in the US and elsewhere. It's available through his bandcamp page, https://kiffie.bandcamp.com/. You should also check out the collection of protest songs known as "The Weapon and the Shield" that he put together and that we're both on. https://theweaponandtheshield.bandcamp.com/
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It's really difficult to put into words just how incredibly crazy these past 12 days have been as an American. We've been watching the current administration go from "leaning Nazi" to "Full Nazi" and now that they're actually quoting Stasi propaganda as if those are American values we have to admit it, we live in the Nazi States of America.
And ICE agent murdered a woman just trying to drive. The video you see that actually shows the real intent and motive from the shooter that you may have seen on the news or on the internet came from his own phone. And it's not the first time an ICE agent has killed since this madness began.
Armed thugs are going door to door looking for illegals. We're at the "hide our neighbors in the attic" stage of the process now. Suddenly our neighbors are Anne Frank and her family.
We invaded another country, kidnapped their president, and our "leader" is now claiming we run the country - despite the fact that we have no people there to actually administrate anything.
And let's not forget that the current "Commander in Chief" is a raging pedophile. The evidence is right there people.
I have rarely been as conscious of the privilege that I hold in being a White Male in this country.
And I'm having a difficult time telling the difference between the government crackdown on the protesters in Iran and the government crackdown on the protesters in Minnesota.
I have many friends who live overseas. At the moment 3 of my bandmates live outside of the US. I have family overseas in Europe, Canada, New Zealand... and I find the attraction compelling. But my friends who live overseas don't understand why we don't just take to the streets and get the bums thrown out. You know, a general strike or tractors in the streets of Washington or millions upon millions marching.
The thing is, many governments overseas are designed to be forced to respond to such things. The American political system doesn't. It doesn't have to, because elections are on a fixed schedule, and the current checks and balances are so weak that they might as well not even exist. Until elections happen there isn't much that can be done.
So we have another year of this. We're not going to survive another year of this. Not without scars.
And because I love you, have something nice that from Minneapolis:
New music from Peter Gabriel, Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders, Silk Daisys, senses, Mini Trees, Rocket, Maya Sakamoto, Squeeze, Ryan Adams, Bluhm, GUV, Maggie Lindermann with The Warning, Ergo, Bria and much more. Welcome to 2026, and Enjoy!
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Well we didn't have to wait very long this time for new music from Peter Gabriel (it was 3 years instead of 16). Like with his last album "i/o" he will be releasing new tracks from "o/i" on every full moon, and I'm guessing every new moon as well given he's doing both "Darkside" and "Brightside" mixes again. Given his 50 year SOLO career it's great to hear he's still doing amazing things.
There are actually only a few releases in 2026 so far. There's the Peter Gabriel song of course my song and a couple more, but most of the music this week was released in 2025. This brief break before the dam bursts and we're flooded with new music (usually the third week of January) gave me a chance to dive into albums I've missed and overlooked. There is always great stuff that out there but these days you do have to go looking for it.
Silk Daisys, who were going to be the opener this week until Peter Gabrial dropped his surprise single, are a band out of Atlanta Georgia and their sound evokes what was coming out of Georgia back in the 1980's, and that's a good thing. Their debut album is out now, and they're encouraging folks to buy it from bandcamp, so I will encourage that as well.
senses is a duo from somewhere, who claim they met on Craigslist. I actually discovered them in YouTube, where I saw a live clip of them performing the song "tiptoeing", which is a pop-rock banger. So I dug into them a bit and while their output mostly consists of singles and EPs their stuff is high-quality, and worth your time if you like this type of music.
Mini Trees call themselves "Living Room Pop" and I suppose that's as good a label as any. They sound to me like a slightly more upbeat version of Billie Eilish, and it works. I didn't like every track on their new album "Slow It Down" but I liked enough tracks to include them in this week's playlist.
Rocket's new album "R is for Rocket" came as a surprise to me. I had heard them before but had never thought their work was all that special. That changes with their new release, from which I've added more than one song to the playlist. This is one of those bands that you need to go back to and give it another listen. You won't regret it.
GUV has been around a while, although under different names. He was Young GUV and before that Young Governor, but as he explains it, "first as Young Governor, then Young Guv, and now GUV (“I'm not so young anymore, three letter band names are cool, and I'm tired of being mistaken for a rapper.” He is also still a member of No Warning. His new single is so solid that I think of it as what we used to call "double-sided A" and I've added both songs to the playlist.
Some other releases worth noting is new music from Squeeze, who appear to be in the midst of releasing a concept album, YUNGBLUD apparently leaving Aerosmith behind to hook up with Smashing Pumpkins, and I must admit that I'm in there as well, as the closing track. I'll talk about that separately.
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Okay, there is so fucking much wrong and to unpack about the new/old guy's invasion of Venezuela that I may go on for a bit here.
First of all, it's illegal. Most White Houses run their operations by at least a few lawyers before they take action, but whomever they're getting advice from is criminally bad and should be disbarred. More likely it's just another toady who would rather give the man a blow job than admit they don't know what they're doing or go against the grain.
Second of all, this is the exact type of order that Senators such as Mark Kelly warned against. While the operation was carried out, it is worth noting that Admiral Alvin Holsey, the man in charge of Southern Command, did resign shortly before this plan was executed and that his replacement, Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan L. Pettus, is from a different branch of the Military.
Third, we've kidnapped a leader of a foreign nation. Despite everything the administration is saying, his Vice President and the same people are running the country and not us. Yes, the man was under indictment in the U.S. but this isn't the way you get people to come stand trial.
Fourth, we've apparently decided just how much oil is worth going to war over. While others in the administration keep saying different things the man at the top, who just can't keep a secret, said outright that we're going to confiscate all the oil.
Fifth, we may have just turned over the moral high ground to China, because all they have to do is NOT invade Taiwan while Russia and the U.S. invade other countries. That's going to play big on the international scene.
Sixth, this operation is all Putin need to justify invading Ukraine. This is something the new/old guy has wanted to do for a while anyway, but both us and them have seats on the Security Council.
Seventh, what's to stop ANYONE from trying to do this to us? This administration has been committing war crimes, and if indicted at The Hague this action has set the precedent of allowing anyone else to come and kidnap him to stand trial. The man spends half of his time living at a Golf Course. How hard could it be?
Eighth, this seems have given Ambassador Hucksterbee the impetus to say that Iran is also on the table. I should point out this this right-wing batshit-crazy "Christian" is the ambassador to a Jewish nation talking about the overthrow of a Muslim one. Remember, this fuckstain wants the Apocalypse to happen.
Ninth, they have named Cuba, Greenland, Mexico and sometimes even Canada as "Next". All of this is insane. We tried to invade Cuba once, and it went quite badly and came the closest to World War III as we've ever come. How are we supposed to hold Mexico if they keep claiming that we can't even secure the border between the two of us? Greenland? They're part of the Kingdom of Denmark, a part of NATO. And Canada I should remind you, is still technically owned by the British even though they operate in complete autonomy. It's like they're begging to be indicted at The Hague. Did Jack Smith return there?
Tenth, from the interviews given thus far by Cabinet level officials it is obvious that most of these people are unqualified for their jobs. None of them understand in any way that they have ALL committed crimes here. But special attention should be given to Whiskey Pete Hegsbreath. In his interview with the new CBS "Anchor" (it was clear that he wasn't interesting in anything other than giving a blowjob on air, and he started his job a day early to do it) it was quite clear that he has no idea what happens next.
Eleventh, we're not running Venezuela. Their government still stand, they have an interim President who was the Vice President, and their entire political structure is unchanged. They also haven't surrendered, and we didn't leave troops behind to enforce anything.
12th, the new/old guy keeps saying the oil countries are going to run things. How? They don't have any infrastructure for such a thing in the country, and the oil still belongs to Venezuela. They can stop it from being sold, but anything else means troops on the ground, and lots of them, to enforce this. It will only be American troops as well, because there is no way that any of this gets U.N. approved. OH, and has any of the Oil Companies in question said that they want to do this?
13th, among the crimes Venezuelan President Maduro has been charged with is "Ownership of a Machine Gun". If he bought it before 1986 it's legal, but this is a US Federal Crime. In order to get a conviction he will have needed to own it at some point while in the United States. As near as I can tell he has only been in the US once before, in 2006 to address the U.N. General Assembly. Did he have it then? Did they let him have a machine gun while in transit to New York?
14th, They abducted Maduro and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, but the indictment unsealed over the weekend also named their son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra. I notice he wasn't brought with them. He is a sitting member of Venezuela’s National Assembly. Also indicted is Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosado Cabello. They didn't abduct him either.
15th, You may not have been aware of this, but the people we kidnapped and brought to New York for trial weren't Mirandized. They were not read their rights. The judge may have to toss the case on a technicality. At the very least there is grounds for an appeal and at most there isn't even a pretense of a fair trial, which is about the most American thing ever.
More to follow, I'm sure.
#EpsteinFiles. I will be adding this hashtag to every political post I make for the time being. The White House says the Canada is difficult to work with. Canda responds with our President is a pedophile.
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I sincerely hope you're vaccinated against Measles. A super-spreader event has happened at that idiotic Creationist Noah's Ark exhibit in Kentucky. Even if immunized there is a phenomenon called "Immunization Amnesia" that you should be aware of.
Also, the new/old guy's multitasking is again involved in projects that have nothing to do with the country: the remodel of "The Presidential Golf Course", which is at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Remember when prior Presidents played golf? It was usually there. The new/old guy has never played there.
For those of you who pay any attention to the Daily Wire (I don't) it's worth pointing out that their host called International Law "fake and gay". Don't get your news from pre-teens.
Please stop giving praise to MTG while she's still in congress just because she's against the actions in Venezuela and she's had a very small awakening. She's still the same anti-trans pro-forced birth jackass she's always been. She's a monster. Insert parable about a broken clock here.
In a brilliant fake, Ukraine tricked Russia to giving them Half a Million Dollars, all of which went to the war effort.
I am noticing a rightward shift in how arguments are being framed at the former msnbc, now called ms now. Waiting to see how Rachel Maddow weighs in tonight.
By the way, have you seen the New Year's Eve data dump of the Jack Smith congressional testimony? The new/old guy should be in a prison sell. It's all there.
Did you also notice that the "secure room" where the operation was run from was in a curtained off space in the White House (I assume) and not the Situation Room? That ongoing operations are being run from a golf course in Florida?
By the way, as of 5:30PM Pacific Standard Time there isn't a single Epstein story on the front pages at ms.now or cnn.com. Think about where you get your news from. Even fucking CBS.com still had one story.
Sean Austin, Sam himself, is now the President of the Screen Actor's Guild.
Grok Can't Apologize. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did? Simplified version: Any post from Grok that isn't a response to a prompt from a Xitter user is being written and posted by a human being.
This administration is one of violence. The receipts:
Did anyone else see that Mexico ran a commercial during the Critic's Choice awards for their avocados?
By the way, the chief opposition leader of Venezuela is María Corina Machado, who the current administration has ruled out for running things for the US in Venezuela. The reason why is that she won the Nobel Peace Prize that the new/old guy so coveted. He's a jealous bitch.
Venezuelans deported from the US under this administration can now apply for refugee status and return. So, to quote a person I know, "all those people we were rounding up at the places of work and deporting last week can now apply for refugee status to the USA from USA since we're running Venezuela now? Something something frying pan, fire."
Did you know there was a futures market that wagered on the potential scenario that came to pass over the past few days? One single anonymous person invested $50K and made nearly half a million. Insider trading, anyone?
Why is the new/old guy getting IV drips every day?
So Tim Walz is dropping out of the race for a second term as Governor of Minnesota, and that's a shame. Run for President, Mr. Walz. I'd vote for you.
I spent some time in Europe this past fall and let me tell you, every time someone found out that I'm an American the look of sadness and pity that came over people faces...
Hilton Hotels have cancelled room reservations for ICE personnel, so... yay?!?
The new/old guy has said vile shit about people who have died in the past few days, including a legislator in Minnesota and a Kennedy. Fuck dat guy.
The Speaker of the House, Milquetoast Johnson, and his crew's days seem to be numbered. Don't hold your breath though.
It appears that instead of court-martialing Senator Mark Kelly Secretary of Booze Pete Hegsbreath will instead be reducing his rank. Keep in mind that Kelly retired from the military at the rank of Captain. I'm speaking out of turn here as I never served in the military, but shouldn't the rank you retire at be the rank you keep?
And because I love you, here is "Love Locks" from my new album Frankfurt am Main.
New music this week from the long-awaited live album from Umphrey's McGee, St. Lucia, Pool Kids, Boojums, Glom, Geowolf, Telenova, Death Bells and much more. Enjoy!
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While it's true that new albums are hard to find this time of year I do have a few recommendations for you, starting with Umphrey McGee's long-awaited live album, "Hall of Fame: Class of 2024". This album really catches the feel of their shows and runs quite long, just as their live shows do. Over 4 hours of music over 19 songs that includes jams of Grateful Dead length and quality. They're a great jam band and worth checking out.
Last we had heard of Pool Kids their label had dropped them. Instead of giving up they hired a producer and recorded their new album "Easier Said Than Done", which in turn got them signed to Epitaph records. It's a great album with solid songwriting and production, and you should give them a chance - just like Epitaph did. ^_^
I was surprised to see a new album from St. Lucia - it wasn't on my radar and I'm a fan, and after all they had dropped the great album "Fata Morgana: Dawn" earlier this year. I had suspected a companion album would be coming but not this quickly. "Fata Morgana: Dusk" is that album an it completes the story begun on the previous album, complete with a reprise of the opening track of the prior album. For fans of this type of pop/alt styling you should give both albums a listen.
A couple of notes about songs not on this playlist. Sparks quietly dropped an album they recorded in 2013 called "Annette (An Opera by Sparks)" and if that sounds familiar it should, the music that would eventually become the soundtrack for the movie "Annette" which came out a couple of years back. I decided not to add any of the tracks because it really is mostly the same songs, although without the cast of the movie. For the true Sparks fan it's a must have.
The a cappella group Home Free recorded a version of Auld Lange Syne in CHINESE. ""友谊地久天长" is worth checking out for simply how odd and wonderful it is, but it's not really a song for radio.
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One week until my new album comes out!
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The Federal Government manages to screw both nation-wide voting and on-time tax payments in a single rule making. You can no longer rely on the US Postal Service to postmark your mail when they receive it - instead it will be postmarked once at a receiving station, which can take days. Your taxes will be late, and your vote won't be counted. You can still ask to have your mail postmarked at the post office, but just dropping it off doesn't count anymore. Plan accordingly.
So apparently not satisfied by turning the White House into Saddam's palace number 7 the new/old guy is going to put in Marble... armrests?!!?!!? at The Kennedy Center. Wouldn't that be uncomfortable as all hell? Also, I'm never going to call it the name that's been slapped on it. It's the Gulf of Mexico you freaks.
Can you believe it's only been a year since President Jimmy Carter passed? It feels like 50. I know I look and feel a half century older.
Someone should tell Harmeet K. Dhillon that very few people can get away with Xweeting about "hoes" and she's not one of them. Your DOJ Head of the Civil Rights Division, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Anyone else notice that despite being 85 years old Nancy Pelosi is still the sharpest attack dog in Congress? I'm going to miss her when she goes.
The fucktard rumor mill claims that the new Commissioner of the New York Fire Department has never been a firefighter. Incorrect. She's a 31-year veteran and was a first responder on 9/11. You're just pissed because she's gay.
There was a lot of the new/old guy in the Epstein Files. He's all the fuck over them. The Republican't party still won't abandon him, for fear of losing the pedophile vote.
If you want or need a good laugh, pleas head over to https://www.trumpkennedycenter.org/, a website set up by one of the writers for South Park.
I have to wonder why Zelinsky keeps coming back to the U.S. when the deals we offer are the exact same bullshit every time. I'm starting to wonder if he's developed a taste for something like BBQ and has to come to the U.S. to get it.
I am certain though that the real reason the administration bombed targets in Nigeria is because they were led astray by an anonymous Nigerian Prince.
I would like the press to stop referring to every meeting between the current administration and Netanyahu as a "critical" or "vital" meeting. Not a single one of these meetings has changed a damned thing.
I have to wonder what the new/old guy didn't get for Christmas that inspired him posting over 150 times on social media.
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And because I love you, have a classic from Electric Six:
New music this week includes the most optomistic song in years (by KUN), Sonic Whip, ARXX, Fright Years, Crushed, Megadeth, Fishbone, Hana Hope, High Vis, The Spitfires, Keep Shelly in Athens and much more. Enjoy!
It gets harder to find new music this time of year, because of all the fucking Christmas music on your radio right now. Do you still listen to radio? So I go digging deep looking for stuff I might have missed from earlier in the year as well as my usual sources. This brought the band Sonic Whip to my attention, and although there isn't a new album in 2025 there are a bunch of singles and they're all top notch.
ARXX is another band worth checking out. Their own bio reads "Imagine Taylor Swift if she only listened to Nirvana". They do good work.
With the appearance of their cover of a great Alice in Chains song I am once again required to ask why aren't Fishbone in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I know the answer, sadly. So do you.
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A programming note: Over at the radio station on December 25th only, we will be playing Christmas Music from 12:00am until 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (PST). It's the only time I ever concede that the music is appropriate. Some of the tunes aren't, though. This is a pop/rock/alternative radio station after all.
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So there was a "drop" of Epstein files shit that was the usual comedy of errors from the leadership of the current Department of Justice. So much redaction that Pantone needs to rename their color of the year. If you search for the word "Trump" zero result will be returned. But if you search "Trump " (note the space at the end) you get over 600 results.
One truly nasty piece of work is a photo featuring Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Diana Ross, with the faces of 3 children blacked out, insinuating that the three were involved in the whole Epstein business and that the children are being protected. In reality the photo is from a Democratic fundraiser from 2003 with no connection to Epstein, and the blacked out children are Michael's two children and Diana's youngest son. It's such an egregious misdirect that Bill Clinton himself, who we already know palled around with Epstein, demanded release of all documents where he is mentioned.
Clinton is a master of message and even he gets that no matter how damaging this could be for him that the truth must will out, and that he knows how to ride the storm and perhaps even direct it. Look for the DoJ (Under New Management) to claim it's a trap and they won't be falling for it.
"Under New Management CBS" killed a story on 60 Minutes that would have been critical of the new/old guy's administration, with new chief Bari Weiss stating that because there had been no on camera response from the White House that the story wasn't there. Lady, the fact that they failed to respond to requests for an interview IS THE FUCKING STORY!!!! Your news reputation just took an huge hit, and you're too dumb to realize it yet Ms. Weiss.
Of course, you can actually see the story if you download it from here. It was on YouTube for a while but it doesn't appear to be anymore. Grab it while you can.
Ke$ha Patell is the first FBI director to not buy American for his cars.
The Governor of Louisiana has been named "Special Envoy" to Greenland, whatever the fuck that means. This is another one of these idiots who think the US is going to own Greenland someday. Greenland should refuse him entry into the country.
This past Saturday there was a fire at a power station in San Francisco. Almost a third of the city was without power, and now two days later some of the city is STILL without power (I'm fine - we never lost power). But there has been a funny side-effect. Waymo had to suspend service with their fleet of automatic cars because they couldn't figure out to do at intersections with non-functional streetlights. People were stranded int he cars, which isn't fun, but watching a bunch of empty cars honking at each other was pretty funny.
The Department of Defense (pardon me, "War - Under New Management") has decided that wind farms interferes with radar. Because I know how radar actually works I calling these people fucking liars.
Has Mitt Romney become a Democrat in retirement? The 2012 version of him should speak with the late 2025 version.
I was never a real fan of Niki Minaj prior to now either.
I have seen the artist's rendering of the new "battleship" design that the new/old guy supposedly invented and my only comment here is that someone has been spending too much time with Legos.
And because I love you, have the most upbeat song in pop music since "Walking on Sunshine".
New releases get a bit more scarce because who wants to compete against all the Xmas music on radio, but we still have a great week for new releases, including Pastel, Little Lilith, Tori Amos with one of her patented covers, Joe Jackson(!) who appears to have a concept album coming next yer, my Australian techno frield MOULE, Josh Rouse, Juliana Hatfield, CVC, Crimson Whisper and much more. Enjoy!
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Juliana Hatfield is one of those artists that is special to me, ever since she did one album with the Lemonheads in the early 90's. Her sound has never really changed and she ALWAYS doubles her vocals, and I've always enjoyed her little snips of levity and wisdom. She's also one of the rare artists to have a hit single in 5/4 time, which is really saying something. Her new album "Lightning Might Strike" is among her best work, and is worth your time.
Pastel calls themselves Shoegaze but I wouldn't. They open this week's playlist and if that's Shoegaze they should really hire a different drummer. This is hooky pop rock with a punch and their new album Souls In Motion" was a surprise for me, and a welcome one. Well worth the listen.
I'm pretty good at following news about the former members of XTC, but I completely missed that Andy Partridge, along with Chris Braide (best known for his collaborations with Sia) and Tim Weller released an EP called "Queen of Planet Wow!" You know what, it's new to me so I'm including in here. Call me a hypocrite for adding a song that's from last year if you want, but I'm complicated and I can live with that. Nyeah.
One more album you should give some love to is Brooke Combe's new release "Dancing at the Edge of the World". The album is both a throwback and steps forward in the world of old-fashioned R&B/pop. It's worth your time.
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One little note for the few of you who check out my radio station from time to time; I have updated my Christmas playlist, which will play on motherfucking Christmas Day only!!!! I really hate Christmas music - not because of the music which is fine - but because how much we all get hammered with it from about mid-November on. It squeezes the life out of radio and I can't stand that.
And then comes the "year in review" bullshit. It can turn the month of December into a new music boneyard and it makes me crazy, because no one wants to try and compete with all the specialty programming on radio this time of year. I will not be doing that this year. I'm not sure I could limit the list to fewer than a few hundred songs, let alone 100 or a Topo 40.
I will play Christmas Music on Christmas Day and that's fucking IT. 12am to 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time December 25th. Some of the songs are the Christmas classics, some are deep rock and roll cuts, and some are sure to offend someone. "A Christmas Duel" from The Hives and Cyndi Lauper makes me laugh, and I don't care if it upsets anyone.
So there was a mass shooting in Australia over the weekend at a Hannukah Celebration at Bondi Beach. Many dead, many more wounded and it could have been much worse if a fruit shop owner named Ahmed al Ahmed hadn't overpowered one of the gunmen. Elon Musk and his platforms tried to say that an IT professional named Edward Crabtree, a white guy, was the one who overpowered the gunman. Not only is this a motherfucking LIE it's a fabrication. Mr. Crabtree doesn't even exist. Muskrat's AI, Grok, is still pushing that narrative though.
Let's face it folks, Mr. Musk has read Heinlein, but he didn't really grok it.
I'm going to make a bold prediction here though and guess that the shooter is some right-wing lunatic with a gun fetish. You can attach this to just about any news story right now.
Apparently we can keep Dick Van Dyke, and I'm grateful for that, but not Rob Reiner and his wife. Fuck.
Please don't read the new/old guy's statement regarding the death of the Reiner's. He's such a cnut. The White House official account also re-posted it. Every single one of these people in this White House/Administration needs a swift and painful kick in the ass.
I'd say it's a coin toss which was worse but apparently the new/old guy can't flip a coin.
Instead, read the words of Wil Wheaton. Your heart will hurt more, but it's a shared hurt, which is better than being angry at an old coot who can't flip a coin.
You might not have noticed this given all the horrific death and murder over the weekend, but Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's son, born in Minnesota and therefore a US Citizen, was pulled over by ICE and told to produce his papers after leaving a Target store. I think they've been expecting this though, because he had his US Passport with him and he was released. But given the new/old guy's recent comments about Somalia (where Rep. Omar was born) it seems like some racial profiling bullshit going on. For the record, Ms. Omar became a US citizen in 2000, the first year she was eligible to do so - when she turned 18.
I swear to dog that the very first thing the next President must do is sign an executive order changing the names of everything they have changed back to their pre-2025 status.
The Director of the FBI doesn't know the difference between a suspect and a person of interest. Again.
Apparently the United States is one of only two countries against rebuilding the containment around Chernobyl. Don't get felled out a window trying to figure out what the other country is.
Has Tom Cotton ever been right about anything? I'm guessing no.
By the way, it's worth noting that we now have young people in this country who have survived multiple mass shootings at their schools. To all those people who say that Gun Control wouldn't work, what say we try it and see if you're right? It hasn't really been done before.
Except for all of the times that it has, and it's worked.
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And because I love you, here is Caitlin Cook in a live performance from her musical made up entirely from graffiti in bathrooms. It's really fucking funny. I think we need that today.
New music this week from Blues great Eric Bibb, Flea, Night Talks, AMH, The Ramona Flowers, GLAY, Juliana Hatfield, Hana Hill, live music from Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Goo Goo Dolls, Ronnie D'Addario, Thomas Raggi and much more. Enjoy!
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Eric Bibb and Flea have both release tracks in preview of albums they're putting out in 2026 and they're fantastic works. I can't wait for the full albums.
Night Talks' new album, "Running on a Cloud", took almost 6 years to make. It was started just as the Pandemic began, and they decided to slow down and give the album flow, tell a story, and make videos for each song. As a result this short 7-song album, is a breath of fresh air - they took the time to do it right. I added over half the album to this playlist.
The first thing I asked myself about the British band The Ramona Flowers is "how does a band with less than 8,000 follows on Spotify land Nile Rogers to play on the opening track of their new album, "Made By Humans"? However they did it that was certainly making a statement. The new album is good, and while there are touches of R&B throughout it's much more an indie album than that opener would lead you to believe.
You might not know the name Thomas Raggi, but the Italian musician is the lead guitarist for Måneskin, and he recruited legendary guitarist Tom Morello to produce his first solo album, and brings along a slew a guest artists into what is really a fun and rocking album. Not only Tom Morello, but Duff McKagan, Franz Ferdinand, Chad Smith and more appear on the album, called "Masquerade". On the track I've added here you can really feel Morello's touch.
If you want a blast of songwriting skill and excellence from over the decades you should check out "Written By" from Ronnie D'Addario. This is a collection of songs curated by D'Addario's sons, who are better known as The Lemon Twigs. Todd Rundgren, Matt Jardine, Sean Ono Lennon and more contribute tracks.
Erick Semmon has curated an album of songs by great parings in rap entitled "Dynamic Duos". Everyone from Snoop Dogg to Method Man to Cypress Hill to Public Enemy to Salt n' Pepa show up and contribute.
Those of you who know me know that I famously do not care for live albums. And yet, there are three solid ones out this week; "Live at Stagecoach" from The Goo Goo Dolls, "Live God" from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and "Memento Mori: Mexico City" from Depeche Mode and all of them are solid. Goo Goo Dolls' "Broadway is Dark Tonight" is one of my favorites from the band, and haw can you pass on any rendition of "O Children" from Nick Cave?. And do yourself a favor and hunt down on YouTube Depeche Mode's live performance of "Precious".
And speaking of YouTube, I have to finally give a note about the band AMH. They have been releasing YouTube shorts where they randomly pick an object from a modified spinner and decide to write a song about it. They show the whole process and while it's contrived and possibly staged the end result is actually some pretty good songs. There's no new album yet, but several singles and worth checking out.
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I've noticed a trend as of late to refer to the Supreme Court as "The Calvinball Six". I rather like that, and will use it myself.
To be honest I find it hilarious that the new/old guy pardoned an allegedly crooked Democratic Party congressman under the impression that he would switch parties out of loyalty, only to run as a Democrat again. So he's mad that a Democrat remained a Democrat. I find it funny/sad/etc. because the real story is the corruption, not the loyalty, and these people obviously don't get that.
So you're telling me that the guy who actually put Jim Kirk into space can't keep himself from polluting a protected Lagoon?
If anything that MTG said in her 60 minutes interview is actually true I would expect there to be a "Truth Social" explosion of paranoid rantings at a Napoleonic level in the next couple of days. Oops! It's already started.
Someone I know on Social Media who calls themselves "Bix" gave me this link to an article from the point of view of a Canadian State Department official. It's worth reading despite the click-bait (and completely accurate) headline of "We will never fucking trust you again".
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And becaue I love you, here is a quick reminder that the late David Crosby was one of the best.
New music not only from me, but also Pacifica, Juliana Hatfield, Japanese artists B'z, GLAY and Hikaru Utada, White Reaper, Mating Ritual, IST IST, GUNMOLL, Craig Finn, The Saints and much more. Enjoy!
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I've had a few busy days because of my music career and the not-too-subtle reminder that I'm not a young man anymore, so I haven't been paying all that much attention to the news. That said...
There are members of this administration who appear to have committed war crimes. We should give them the due process they denied to others. At The Hague.
I don't want to know about the RFK, Lizza (whatever) sex thing. Ew. Nothing personal, but I have never given a rat's ass about any personal escapades of people in the limelight. I don't know who is married to who, who dates who, who fucks who and so forth because I just don't care.
The new/old guy is clearly in failing health. Can we all start taking that seriously?
Oh by the way, I have reason to believe that the pardoning of that drug trafficker who used to be President of Honduras has something to do with Próspera. The new/old guy never does anything that doesn't lead to money in his pockets.
By the way, Broligarchs thinking that Ayn Rand's ideas can be put into practice as a private society better learn how to pave streets and dig trenches. Someone's got to do it and if you only bring in rich people, somebody rich is going to have to do it.
On another topic, I do notice now that much of the press that the current Pentagon is willing to talk to is made up of people who couldn't even get jobs in the current administration, but tried. Matt Gaetz, Laura Loomer, James O'Keefe, and Jack Posobiec are now in the Pentagon Press Pool.
I will leave this with some good news - if the Republican Party has to fight tooth and nail and spend all their money on a district their guy won by 22 points just last year, Democracy still has a chance.
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And because I love you, here is my love letter to Frankfurt am Main, called "Ausstellungshaus". Read the description for the video on YouTube for the full story.
New music this week from home town favorites Slow Coast, Cory Wong with Stephen Day, Lake Street Drive with Tiny Habits, LOREN, The Salt Collective, Spock's Beard, Aerosmith with YUNGBLUD, Manic Street Preachers and more. Enjoy!
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At last a band I've been championing for some time and not just because they are based a stone's throw from me is Slow Coast, whose new album "Home of the Restless" has finally dropped. This is an album that in the old days would make stars out of them. I've added 4 songs over the past year that appear on this album, and I'm adding another 4 this week. This is a great band and the album is well worth your time.
Lightning in a Twilight Hour is a mouthful of a name for a band but get past that. They have a new album called "Colours Yet to be Named" and it's full of melancholy exploration of sound and I've pulled a couple of songs from the narrative for this week.
In Virtue's new album "Age of Legends" might seem to be a fantasy tale only because it is. It's a hard rocking album with ideas drawn from ancient Italy and Greece, with a few nods to Tolkien and the link. Now lots of band have done this, but In Virtue's album is a Drop D hard rock standout and worth a listen.
Spock's Beard has dropped a new album called "The Archeoptimist" that is a serious reminder that they are the kings of Progressive Rock. The last two songs are a combined 30 minutes
Quite a few remakes out this week, from Aerosmith along with YUNGBLUD covering their own "Back in the Saddle Again", Lake Street Drive and Tiny Habits covering "Leaving on a Jet Plane", Austin Brown with Tumer Willis doing Christopher Cross' "Saling", and Courtney Hadwin's reimagining of Black Sabath's "Changes". Rob Zombie is dropping new music, and so are Manic Street Preachers. Prince's fantastic album "Around the World in a Day" has been given an update and a second disc filled with remixes and new mixes of songs you already know (I added the new mix of "Pop Life" last week).
And here I'm going to plug an album that's not coming out until January - a double disc set called "The Weapon And The Shield", a compilation with over 30 songs from artists big and small including me. If you want a sneak peek there will be online listening parties on December 1st (for the first disc) and December 5th (for the second disc):
Speaking of Listening Parties, there will be one for my own new album coming out in January. "Frankfurt am Main" is a rock/jazz album of instrumentals (mostly) inspired by our stay in the city the album is named after. Although my work is readily available at most of the usual places I also have a bandcamp page. You can bookmark the event now if you'd like by clicking here.
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The contents of this blog have not been translated from Russian.
As mentioned above, I'm not on Xitter so I never saw this, but this has to be one of the greatest self-owns of all time. Of all people, Elmo the Musk exposed that Overseas actors are propping up MAGA.
It should be noted that while the cases were dismissed against Comey and James, they were dismissed without prejuduce - which means they can be brought again if the administration can do it correctly. 50/50 odds for now.
You know, maybe the press should be talking to Senator Lindsey Graham to see what he thinks about Secretary of Whiskey Hegseth threat to court-martial Senator, Astronaut and War Hero Mark Kelly for simply reminding soldiers of their Constitutional Oath. Graham is a JAG Officer.
No offense to James Carville, because he was the right man at the right moment, but if the new/old guy is "collapsing" then I'm going to "sit back and watch". I want to give him a push.
Has "Big Balls" fled back to Canada yet?
And because I love you even I have to admit this is cute:
New music this week from Blondshell, chokecherry, Mourn, runo plum, Ed Harcourt, Red Lennon, Silversun Pickups, The Church, Prince, Noble Son and much more. Enjoy!
If there was ever a band that could help break the stranglehold that the English language has over alt/pop/rock it's Mourn, a band from Barcelona whose new album "Letra Ligada" (Linked Letter) is a certifiable banger. Every single track on the album is solid, full of hooks and worthy of you attention. At this moment in time they have very few followers outside of Spain, and we need to change that.
chokecherry is a band I've been following for a while as they've dropped single after single, and at long last they've dropped a full album called "Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls". Now that a full album is out there 5 songs from it are in the rotation at the radio station. I'm a fan and I think you will be too. To me they're like what Smashing Pumpkins could have evolved into if they hadn't gotten so obsessed with synthesizers.
Blondshell's new album "Another Picture" is well worth your time as well, a solid alt-rock effort that should in a just world translate to radio play on the Alternative radio stations. Save for all the words they'd have to edit out.
And I also want to highlight runo plum's new album "patching", which is a laid-back affair of melodies and some experimenting with chord changes that I found enjoyable.
Add to that new albums from Cheap Trick (who have never lost a beat in my mind), Monalisa Twins, Lyric Jones, The Korgies, Thee Headcoats and their sister band Thee Headcoatees, and a greatest hits album from Blackberry smoke with some previously unreleased music we wind up with a pretty good week. And I'll be honest, I didn't know I needed a 9 minute of Prince's "Pop Life" until I heard it.
Finally, I have to give a shoutout to an album that's not on the playlist - the soundtrack to the Broadway play "Waiting for Godot" with Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves by Ben and Max Ringham. There's nothing pop about it, but I found it fascinating to listen to.
Addendum: I'm on this playlist too! I am finally releasing a rock/jazz album - instrumental - which people who have known me in real life have been insisting I do for many years now. The first single, "Skyscrapers and Skateparks" is now available wherever you get your music. The album, "Frankfurt am Main", will be out in January.
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I usually write about whatever news is going on at the beginning of the week right about here, but there's really now only one story isn't there? Despite about 50 different attempts to Wag the Dog the whole sordid Epstein business just won't go away, and it shouldn't.
Do you even remember what the genesis of Q-Anon was all those years ago? It was that there is a political elite that traffics in children. One guy even invaded a pizza parlor convinced that there were children hidden in their basement - a basement they didn't even have. The Q-Anon movement pre-dates MAGA, and I think a lot of people have forgotten that because MAGA simply absorbed the Q-Anon movement, claiming it was their own. The Q-Anon people are easily swayed by conspiracy theories, and the MAGA movement capitalized on that.
Thing is, the original Q-Anon folks are starting to realize that the MAGA movement is led by members of the very child sex-trafficking ring they always suspected was there. They're not woke, but they're starting to wake up and they're pissed that they've been lied to. Q-Anon was there before MAGA, and they want their suspicions answered. Hell, just look at Margery Taylor-Greene. She was Q-Anon before she was MAGA.
I suspect that this scares the hell out of a whole lot of people - people currently in power - because they're all implicated. And I'm certain that there are a number of Democrats in these files too and they should be prosecuted and exposed the same as anyone else. It's just that I think that most people on the left side of the political spectrum have a sense of shame and I'd be surprised if any of them are still living public lives.
And that's the rub, isn't it? This scandal seems to be ensnaring mostly Republicans because they're still in the public eye, and they'll be the most publicly shamed.
Remember Dennis Hastert? He's not a cautionary tale - he's a trend. He went to prison, is on the register, and is still paying restitution to this day.
It should happen to them all.
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And because I love you, here is the video for my new single, "Skyscrapers and Skateparks". Watch it on YouTube to learn the full story behind it.
There is usually a small inhale of breath when the Grammy nominations are announced, so we have a smaller list of releases this week. Still a strong week though, with new music from Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, White Lies, Kanadia, The Mountain Goats, The The and much more. Enjoy!
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First of all, how am I so late to the party when it comes to the band Kanadia? "The Fire That's Tearing Through Our Home" is an excellent new record, and looking back at their previous releases they're all just as strong. I highly recommend checking out this band.
Singer Militia Fox has a new single and it's a banger (a remake of the Bryan Adams/Tina Turner hit "It's Only Love") featuring Corey Glover and Vernon Reid of Living Colour as well as Nuno Bettencourt. I've included the song on this week's playlist. But man oh man is the video fuckin' awful. These are people with real talent - TWO well-known shredders on the guitar and TWO great vocalists. The video is 100% AI generated, and even worse that that it's lazy. It doesn't even try to show what the performers are doing, but it does show their own version of the performers. Stay away from the video - it will sour you on the song, which is actually very very good.
Mavis Staples has a new album out and her voice is as strong as ever. I have to admit that only one song, the opening "Chicago", really grabbed me, but it's really nice to see her still going.
Finally I need to air a pet peeve. There is an artist named Pina Jones who has been releasing a lot of music lately to benefit Artists Against Injustice. Nothing wrong with that, even though I do not find her work enjoyable myself. But she's been using Julian Lennon's support of the organization to claim that he's also on her songs and as a result her songs show up as releases by Julian Lennon - which they are not. I have no idea if this is being addressed but I do notice that since this started a few of those tracks have vanished from his discography.
Careful what you lend your name to my friends - take it from someone whose work appears on 3 separate charity albums.
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I've been making a point of telling people this past week that it's time to turn the car keys over to the next generation. It's not just that the Democratic Party won so many elections, it's that most of the winners are YOUNG. At least younger than the average lawmaker. They have figured out how to win, and if winning is what we want, we should let them drive. Hell I'm in my sixties, younger than the average Washington D.C. Lawmaker, and I'm too old for this shit.
And then 8 "Moderates" went and threw the whole game away. Angus King of Maine actually said that "standing up to the new/old guy didn't work". Yes it did. It was working. It was.
Yes it was. Yes it was. To quote Doonesbury from the 1970's:
We were winning this. Hands down winning, and you fucked us. Are you so out of touch that you were believing the media? The media isn't "left wing" despite what so many people say.
This was all on the Republicans. On the new/old guy. It was their fault and they were bungling it with every statement, every stupid comment, every step they took. And you gave them a win without getting anything in return. Sure, you've forced the Senate to vote on the ACA Subsidies in a month or so, but quite frankly no one ever remembers the votes they didn't take. And the House sure as fuck won't take it up. Not while Pornhub Johnson is in charge. Even the MAGA diehards were starting to see that the people they've been worried about and complaining about the most were actually the people they voted for.
All that you've successfully done here is prove that you're out of touch, and it's because you're listening to people who have the ability to take time out of their days to reach out to you. The rest of us are working for a living and you aren't listening to us. To them.
The Clinton days are done. Over with. They're a quarter-century behind us. We don't need people of that era writing our laws and negotiating on our behalf. This is the Obama generation. This is the generation AFTER Obama. You should be listening to them, not to people whose main issues come from the previous century.
Because as they've shown us this past week, they know how to win.
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And because I love you, here is the video for the first Kanadia song on this week's playlist:
A smaller playlist this week but we're not skimping on quality. New music from IST IST, Mellon-Collie, Swim School, The Belair Lip Bombs, Guided By Voices, Indoor Foxes, Mercury Teardrop, The Charlatans and more. Enjoy!
I'm only going to recommend two albums this week, one of
which is the new one from The Belair Lip Bombs, called "Again". This
is their second album and in my eyes it beats the dreaded "Sophomore
Slump" with solid songwriting and performances. They're also now signed to
Jack White's label, so I would presume that will mean more exposure, which they
deserve.
There is also the new album from LØREN, "The
Waits". Nice pop/alt writing there that's worth the listen, but I'll admit
that the release format is confusing. It's a 3 disc set despite the fact that
it's only 8 songs and clocks in at under 23 minutes.
Most of what I've featured this week comes from singles, and
you're of course welcome to hunt them down - it is after all what I did.
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So this is being posted a day late. Election Day here in the
United States, but first...
Dick Cheney is dead. Until the current assholes came along,
he was easily the most evil person to hold nationwide elective office in this
country. I know this is hard to fathom for the youngsters, but this is the guy
who once shot a friend in the face and the guy he shot apologized. He is the
first (and so far perhaps only) congressman to tell a colleague to go fuck
himself on the record. He dressed as a Darth Vader like villain for Barack
Obama's swearing in ceremony. He orchestrated the Iraq War. Both of them. He's
the man who floated the idea of Presidential Immunity as a weapon (and not just
as a defense) which has put us into the mess we're in today.
He is also absolute proof that you can't trust The Lincoln
Project. The Lincoln Project likes this guy. They just don't like the new/old
guy.
Anyway, although I hated the man he had a family that was
close that included a gay daughter and a former congresswoman the new/old guy
would love to lock up in prison. The man was FIERCELY loyal to them both and
protective of them, and I give him credit for that. Condolences to the Cheney
family.
Believe it or don't there are thousands of elections today,
most of which you won't hear anything about. Resolutions, local mayors and
councilmen, judges. Democrats aren't going to win them all but it would be
splendid if they won at least a majority of them.
This of course includes proposition 50 in California
and Zohran Mamdani in New York City. We must win them BOTH, even if the
old guard frets about the consequences of both. Fuck all of them. The party
needs new blood and Mamdani represents that. It needs new thinking and like him
or not Newsom in California represents some of that. The old guard needs to
step aside already.
And it looks like one of the best of the old guard is
preparing to do just that. I think if Proposition 50 passes in California Nancy
Pelosi will retire. She has been one of the most effective people in Congress
ever, the best vote counter, and quite frankly compared to Hakim Jeffries is a
lion to his sheep. She's earned a nice retirement but we need someone of her
strength and fierceness in her place. I'm not certain San Francisco has anyone
like that right now. I'm not sure anywhere does.
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And because I love you, here are the basics of how to make cheese and onion pie. Personally I would cook the onions for longer and use a sharp cheddar, and add a bit of nutmeg. I had these at a stall in London and I'd go back there every day if I could.
