Digging pretty deep into the indie scene this week with Darkcave, Erica Nickalls, Steve Gunn, Cicada Theory, Mack-L and much more, plus stalwarts like Deerhoof, Cory Wong with Dirty Loops, CHVRCHES and much more. Enjoy!
Here is this week's list, by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:
@scarypockets with Corey Frye Darkcave @tmorello with @Phantogram @corywong with @DirtyLoops @Erica_Nockalls @KMerrillMusic @deerhoof @mildorangemusic @BandofNOTHING Goat (who have no socials I could find but that might be a language barrier thing. Their new album is a great pun and they are on the roster of @RocketRecording) richard.charles.edwards (Instagram) @halsey @BRMadjv with @ilsey @CHVRCHES @SteveGunnMusic @SoAveMusic @madidiaz @IndigoDeSouza @breeze_bpm with @cadenceweapon _mack_l (Instagram) with @wardom14 @CLosArmy2 @Marisamusic with @williamtylertn @cicadatheory @XJ0VANNAMUSICX alonso2082 (Instagram) @UlkarAhmadNasir @spellsandcurses (although this isn't new music you may not know of them - and you should)
And because I love you, here is the video that made me discover Spells and Curses, which sounds nothing like the song included above and is why I love them:
Welcome to another stream of brand new music, including new music from Kool & the Gang (?!!?!!), Mae Powell, Kasim Sulton, Devo's Garald V. Casale, Dirty Loops, Deafheaven, Herb Alpert, Wolves in the Throne Room and much more! Enjoy!
Here are this week's artists, twitter handles unless otherwise marked:
@iamhillhunter @minaokabesings @KoolntheGngLIVE (why don't they have a blue checkmark?) @PTXofficial with @ATEEZofficial taurus.woman (Instagram) @hellothesuperm1 (these guys are mates and friends of indie music) @KSulton @Gvc3Casale @DirtyLoops with @corywong justusproffit (Instagram) Darkcave (no socials) Talizman (check them out on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5q6Xms5Hfletevi6Kugr3a) trukay360 with Wonndonn (both Instagram) @HerbAlpert @BRMadjv with @taylorswift13 @_GuidedByVoices @melvinsdotcom @futureislands @deafheavenband @JakeBugg @shanandtheclams @joyformidable @WainBright @JamesMcMurtry @WITTR_official
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I have been watching the developments of the spread of COVID-19 in the south with alarm and disgust. It was all so damned easy to prevent and the leadership of those states just ignored it, or purposely went the other way. The governments of these states have gotten people sick and killed. It's revolting and these people should be put on trial for it.
But I don't live there. I live in California, which has done pretty well overall given the circumstances. We've had mask mandates and vaccination mandates and while they haven't been popular with everyone they have kept infection rates down. We have high counts of people getting sick but that's because despite everything you've heard there is no exodus from the state. We are the state with the highest population and have been for decades. Just in sheer numbers the count looks high.
But in terms of a percentage of the population, California has had a much easier time than the states of the South. Our beds aren't overrun, and the Delta variant hasn't grabbed a foothold here as it has in other places. Hell, our infection rate is going down as of this writing.
That could all change, and in the stupidest way imaginable.
As many of you are aware, it is strangely easy to get an initiative on the ballot in California, and it is easy to get a public official recalled. As a result our governor Gavin Newsom, is facing a recall early next month. This is mostly being pushed by Republican forces - people who don't like mask mandates, vaccine mandates, or anything good for that matter. The leading Republican candidate to replace the governor has said repeatedly that he'd abolish all mandates, like Texas and Florida have done.
I don't live in Texas of Florida on purpose you jackass. I live here.
Texas and Florida have had horrific increases to their infection and death rates. They're out of ER beds. There is a hospital in Florida with an ICU waiting list of over 100 people - that's for everything, not just COVID. Another town is Florida has started water rationing, because they need the supply for liquid O2 creation. You know, for ventilators.
There is a hospital in Houston that now has TWO triage ICUs in their parking lot; one that they're running and another run by the US Military. They're begging medical professionals to come to their state because they just don't have the people to handle everything. The town of Iraan (pronounced Ira Ann) had a positive rate for COVID of 40%. The entire town has been shut down as a result.
And there are people who want to do this to California.
FUCK NO.
The state of California has most of it's Republican base in Central California. That's where Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy are from, just as examples. Thing is, the infrastructure for healthcare is not as great there as it is in Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area. Central California is still mostly rural. There are people who live 100s of miles from hospitals, and in some more metropolitan areas there simply isn't the hospital capacity to handle a large influx of patients.
This is all important because Gavin Newsom could get the most votes and still lose the election. Due to the rules in California we are actually voting on TWO items; 1) do we keep him or throw him out effective immediately and 2) if we throw him out who replaces him? Gavin Newsom has to get 50% +1 vote to keep his job but there are 46 candidates on the ballot to replace him and he's not on it. It's theoretically possible to become Governor with less than 3% of the vote.
There isn't a single candidate on that slate that should be trusted with a houseplant, but the man in front is a Radio Talk-show Host and frequent Fox contributor named Larry Elder, who is about as insane as they come. He wants to get rid of the mandates and do a number of other things that would set the state back decades. He's a fucking moron and has about 26% of the full share of the candidates who could replace Gavin Newsom.
So Gavin could get 49.9% of the vote and LOSE to a man who will get 26% of the vote. It's fucked up but that's the system as it presently exists. It needs fixing but that isn't going to happen in time for this election.
Every living past Republican Governor of California is in favor of masks and mandates. They've ALL gone on record saying so. But none of them are running. The Republican party isn't as sane as it once was.
So there's only one thing to do - and that's to make sure that Gavin Newsom isn't recalled. He needs more than 50% of all voters to vote NO on the recall. This is an off-period election and generally that favors Republicans. But due to the pandemic and the fact that we haven't been trying to hinder the votes of everyone who isn't white, rich and male this is primarily going to be a mail-in ballot election - which favors the Democratic Party.
In other words, who the fuck knows how this is going to go?
Unlike those other states, I live here. I have most of my life. I've lived in the Big Valley, in Los Angeles, in San Francisco. I know the state quite well. this is my home, and no malfunctioning motherfucker of a human being is going to put the lives of my family, friends, neighbors, or anyone else for that matter at risk just because they have an agenda. Not in my state.
I Gavin loses and this man does what he does what he says he will, I'm taking his ass to court.
You want to live like that, there are places you can go. This is MY turf. you anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers can go fuck off.
And because I love you, have another track from Devo's Gerald V. Casale:
A solid week for new music including new releases from The Killers, Darkcave, a reissue/remix from Canadian Benjamin Russel, Dream Theater, Jennifer Hudson channeling Aretha, Joan Armatrading as relevant as ever, and so much more. Enjoy!
Here is this week's artists, twitter handles unless otherwise marked. A few of these artists have no social media presence at all. You should find a way to follow them anyway:
@thekillers @mtl_bar @dreamtheaternet @animeraider (hey, that's me covering in the most garage way possible my favorite @theposies song) @BonnieLegion with @wav_Dr and Al Black Darkcave (https://open.spotify.com/artist/0iefjja3WZkaWgPKxczG65) wanderingwithmusic (Instagram) with @musicbyscarIett @alyandaj with @stlucia @vdra.music (facebook) @p_menis with ramonsanzgarcia (Instagram) and Jack Bucarey (no socials I could find) @TriviumOfficial @eltonofficial with @DUALIPA and mixed by @pnau (who has been doing some amazing remixes of John's music) @FarCaspian with @hello_BOYO_ @IAMJHUD @ArmatradingJoan (of whom I have always been a fan) @JadeBirdMusic @samiatheband with @jelaniaryeh baiije (Instagram) @firehillmusic The 260 (who are so new they don't have a socials presence yet except at Slaps.com, which is really an inside the industry place. Here they are on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wW2XYeV65DHBqlfFaiV56?si=5qdrJ4kEQJ25kOXmwhes4g&dl_branch=1) Dan Siegel (who appears to be too busy putting out jazz albums to have a socials presence)
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While you all have been distracted by Saigon 2.0 I hope that you're also aware that the COVID-19 Pandemic is at the worst level it's ever been at in the United States. I think we're now required to stop using the phrase "avoid it like the plague" because obviously we won't.
There were more than a quarter million cases yesterday and over a thousand dead. Children are catching it now and there are states in the South that have made it illegal to even tell you if an outbreak has happened at your child's school.
By the way, children are catching it at a rate that is so much larger than the rate children caught Polio that it boggles the mind. For those of you who don't remember, we mobilized the entire nation to fight Polio. Every single person got vaccinated when it was their turn, and Polio got wiped out.
The fact that we can't even seem to want to make the effort to do the same thing again is just fucking criminal.
The state of Texas has put into play a traveling morgue to handle all the dead.
South Dakota cases have increased 185% since the start of Sturgis.
Over 4,000 children have caught COVID in Georgia since school started.
Meanwhile, here in California the COVID surge, including the Delta Variant, is slowing down because we have a higher rate of vaccination and we wear masks and many places are requiring proof of vaccination to enter their businesses.
And yet we're the only one of the states listed above whose governor is in danger of losing his job from a recall.
Freedom isn't something you deserve. Freedom doesn't mean you get to do what you want. Freedom is fucking hard work.
Freedom doesn't mean you get to be a whiny-ass bitch because you aren't getting your way. Freedom doesn't mean you get to give advice that is going to lead to getting other people sick and/or killed. That makes you a dick. Freedom doesn't mean you get to infringe upon the freedom of others, and that's what the unmasked and unvaccinated are doing.
It's not freedom you're celebrating. It's being a selfish piece of shit. Fuck you.
It's amazing to me the sheer volume of people who equate selfishness with freedom. Perpetual toddlers.
Grow the fuck up - because if you won't, your kids don't.
And because I love you, here's some new Pentatonix to try and cheer you up:
Tracks 2-7 are all of the nominees for various alternative music categories for the Independent Music Awards. Yes, I'm one of them. Also new this week is some amazing funk from The Steoples, Remakes by Tom Morello with Bruce, a Paul McCartney remix featuring Idris Elba and so much more. Enjoy!
Here is the full roster, with twitter handles unless otherwise marked:
@thesteoples Big Mess (find them on Spotify) @seanwaterman @Rickypersaudjr @Saahas16 Songwriting Shane (Again, check Spotify) @animeraider (hey, that's me! I got 4 nominations for this song) @tmorello with @springsteen and this dude named Eddie Vedder @scarypockets with @drh3 @brycevine with @lovelytheband praxoficial (Instagram) @Khruangbin with Mang Dynasty @PaulMcCartney and @idriselba @_GuidedByVoices Sunset Lights (check the out on Spotify) @LiarsOfficial @creepercultuk (positioning themselves as the spiritual successor to Meatloaf) theumbrellassf (Instagram) @GeoffreyOConnor with Sienna Thornton (couldn't figure out her socials) Boyracer (No socials to speak of but follow them on your favorite streaming service - they've been around a while) @laurastevenson @liamkazar @aportableradio @cutsnheals with @SparklySpookay
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Cheap shots (remember, Monday is Rum day):
The desire to punch Rand Paul in his motherfucking face is a natural one. It's okay. You just can't give in to it.
New music from Ergo, Bria, Flood, Hala, Prince, Bonnie Legion, Los Lobos, Son Volt, a lovely older track from Dionne Faris and even I show up! Enjoy!
Here is the complete list of this week's artists, twitter handles unless otherwise marked:
@arielposen with @corywong @scarypockets with @Judith_Hill (and one of the most unique Beatle's covers I've ever heard) @ergobria @alyandaj @animeraider (hey, that's me - also doing a cover) @Crimsonicband floodmusic2112 (Instagram) with KJ Cunningham (no socials) @KMerrillMusic @theknocks with @Weezer and @royalandtheserp @thebandhala @KidSimius with @hindsband Prince ('nuff said) @BonnieLegion avlis_satori (Instagram) @bleachersmusic @torreslovesyou @LosLobosBand (one of my favorite all-time bands) @sonvoltmusic @DotAllisonmusic with Sarah Campbell and Amy Bowen @totallyDusted Guardian Singles (no real socials, but they're signed to @trouble_in_mind) @blues_traveler with Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, who appears to have deleted his socials @kolezzzanka @DionneFarris (I was reminded in the past week how much I love her work, and so I'm sharing this track from her first solo album)
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So I'm going to rant about about the unvaccinated, after having spent a day in their midst (not by choice, but it had to be done).
You want to freedom to be unmasked. You want the freedom to not get the shot. You do it in the name of Freedom. FREEDOM!
News for you asshole, that's not freedom. That's selfishness. But you only recognize it as freedom because you're only thinking about yourself. Consider this: I'm vaccinated. If they offer a booster shot I'll fucking get it as soon as I humanly can. But here's the thing, I can still catch COVID-19. So why should you care?
The vaccine does a great but incomplete job of preventing the virus, but the great success with the shots is in the fact that you don't get seriously sick if you've been vaccinated. I might catch it, but I'll be okay. The vaccinated aren't dying from this anymore.
But you're fucked.
If I go out unmasked you could DIE. If I go out masked, you could DIE. You all get the guidelines wrong.
The social distancing guidelines apply if BOTH PARTIES ARE MASKED. 6 FEET IF YOU'RE BOTH MASKED. It's 25 feet if only one of you is masked. It's even further if neither of you is masked. No one reports that part and it makes me fucking furious.
And it's for no more than 20 minutes indoors EVER.
Look it up if you don't believe me. Use the CDC's site.
If I have COVID and am masked and you're unvaccinated and unmasked, you have a 25% chance of catching it under the 6 foot social distance guideline. 1 in 4. Do you feel that lucky, every time I take a breath?
Because you're rolling the dice with every breath you take, or I take. It resets with each breath. Statistically speaking, you're going to get sick.
More than 1 out of every 10 Americans has gotten this fucking thing.1 out of every 535 has died per the official count, and some states aren't reporting all cases anymore. You KNOW someone who has gotten sick. You KNOW someone who has died, even if you live in one of the smallest towns in the country.
I had to be hospitalized for a non-covid infection July of last year, which I've talked about in other posts. When I told the nurse that I never went out unmasked she replied, "It's airborne". When I said I didn't go out she replied, "It's airborne". When I said I social distanced she replied, "It's airborne".
The disease doesn't fucking care about your misinterpreted "Freedom". It's going to try to kill you anyway. You know what else is airborne?
AIR. Air gets through masks perfectly. It's filtered, but it isn't 100% effective - just mostly effective.
Freedom isn't freedom unless it applies equally to EVERYONE. Ask any person of color. If it doesn't apply to everyone then it's just selfishness and segregation. If you can't see that then what the hell did you study in grade school when they talked about... well... anything?
I'm calling you a moron, you fucking idiots.
I want the freedom to not worry if I'm going to kill you because I simply exist. Get that through your thick motherfucking skulls.
And here's one more thing to consider - Children are catching COVID. But they can't be vaccinated yet, so you're getting them sick. Getting them killed.
More children have caught COVID than caught Polio in it's WORST YEAR, and we vaccinated everyone. EVERYONE. EVERYONE.
EVERYONE.
Get your fucking shot. Because thisisn't freedom.
But because I love you anyway, have some World Order:
