Radio Free California Episode 2525, Life during Wartime Again and Always

 

New music this week from Hotline TNT, Leisure, Memi, Yungbld, Daily Toll, Hembree,  Easy Easy, Muse, Enuff Z'nuff(!),  Motley Crue with Dolly Parton, sombr, Lorde, Colin Hay and much more. Enjoy!

An undeniable pleasure for me this past weekend was the discovery of Hotline TNT. Not only is their new album a banger but their entire catalog is one great song after another. I cannot recommend their new album highly enough - it was hard to limit just adding a few songs on this playlist.

You might also note a number of songs by Yungblud on this list too. What can I say? I like pop music done right, and respect for opening his album with a 9 minute track. And yes, I do think he looks like a young Dave Navarro.

At first I had thought my surprise track of the week was going to be the re-working of Motley Crue's ballad (and frankly not a great song) "Home Sweet Home" with Dolly Parton. I'm not really a fan of the song but Ms. Parton adds some depth. And then out of nowhere Enuff Z'nuff drops a new single? It's been 35 years since I gave that band any thought at all and apparently I've missed a run of albums and band lineups.

I also have to give a shout out to MEMI, a South Korean hard rocker that I blasted over and over this past week while the news got weirder and weirder.

Finally, there is the new GoGoPenguin album, which is well worth your time when you're looking for instrumental music and adult-oriented jazz that doesn't put you to sleep.

New music this week from Lorde and Lola Young tells me that the next generation is going to be all right.

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I have to ask, did the new/old guy bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran* because he wanted to be seen as something other than "TACO Two Weeks"? Gotta admit, it took less than 2 weeks for Netanyahoo to finally find a patsy as cover for his atrocities. In the time since I wrote those two sentences and now the White House is claiming that this was always the plan, to trick the media and Iran. Nope, not buying it.

Also, if anyone out there starts calling this a war to protect the rights of women they are lying. Ask the women of Afghanistan.

I've been alive over 6 decades and during that time Congress has not even once exercised its power to stop a President from conducting war. Might as well admit it doesn't exist, no matter what the law says.

Although... one republican did say that this attack was illegal and of course the new/old guy unloaded on him over social media. Senator Massie shot back: "...declared so much War on me today it should require an Act of Congress." #sassywithmassy. 

The VP is on Bluesky. I am too, although I'm not very active there beyond the occasional swear-word-filled post about various idiots. I'm trying to get him to block me. I posted on his timeline: "I'm sorry, but your administration requires me to call you James Donald Bowman. I suppose JD Bowman would work."

Time to bring back Neil Young's "Life During Wartime" website. I will admit to being biased about it - I was on that site.

It's worth noting that the guy who is "offering" to head a "transition government" in Iran is the son of the Shah of Iran and hasn't set foot in the country since he was 18 years old. He's 65 now and looks just like his dad. Had his father not been forced out of the country he'd have started leading it when he was in his 20's. Beware of people who refer to him as "His Royal Highness". No Kings.

We cannot emphasize enough that Measles is back, as bad as ever, and everyone who is insisting on not vaccinating is too young to remember just how unbelievably bad it was.

Despite everything, as of this writing Kilmar Abrego Garcia is still in prison.

Am I the asshole for not even knowing who the fuck Karen Read was until a few days ago? Am I still the asshole because I don't care?

For those paying attention, the Bell Riots didn't quite happen as planned.

I just realized that all of the women who have undergone procedures so that they have "Mar-a-Lago Face" all resemble Melisandre from "Game of Thrones". Honestly, only actress Carice van Houten can really pull off the look. I had to look all that up as I never really got into GoT on HBO.

Hey fuckfaces! I don't give a fuck if he's "illegal" or not. He has three... THREE sons in the Marines. He's earned a pass. Fuck you racist fucks.

Veep Bowman says he trust his instincts over actual gathered intelligence. What instincts?

No matter what Florida Rep Kat Cammack (R) thinks or says, she had an abortion.

I would think a first step in trying to prove that racism isn't a factor in the ICE raids and kidnappings would be to stop harassing Native Americans and First Peoples. That fact that they're not shows that they are primarily interested in the color of one's skin.

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And because I love you, there is my own new single, which will be on next week's playlist. Play it on YouTube to get the whole story about the new track:

*Brian Wilson I am so so sorry.

Radio Free California Episode 2524, plus some thoughts

 

An odd week for new music but with some interesting surprises including new music from David Byrne, Neil Young, Cloud Nothings, Slow Coast, The Blindfold Experience, Huntertones, Annahstasia, Japanese Breakfast, New Candies and much more. Enjoy!

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Did it rain on his parade? I'm sure 10's of people enjoyed it. I notice that at all of the "No Kings" events nationwide that the only arrests made for anything violent were 100% Republican. We gotta find a way to keep these violent people away from public events.

So how did the shooter in Minnesota get access so easily to politicians homes? He was dressed like a cop. More than anything else, it seems to me that this says as much about how we expect cops to act as it does about the shooter himself.

The new/old guy's kids announced a new phone service, and while you can use your current phone if you switch over, they will also give you the option to get a new phone. Someone I know looked into it and the phone in question is the same device as the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, with custom (gold) body. That means it's made in China.

I notice that military personnel are starting to refer to Secretary Hogsbreath as "Secretary Jägermeister". I'm happy to use that one. And by the way, it's sad that a single tank can squeak louder than the "crowd" watching it go by.

Check your flags, gentlemen.

Why is Alex Jones still on the air? HOW is that asswipe still on the air?

I was this many days old when I learned that there is an official, government-approved Spanish Language version of The Star Spangled Banner.

So far the new/old guy isn't representing us very well at the G7. Maybe it's the BOLO issued tongue-in-cheek looking for a man with 34 criminal convictions.

My beach, yesterday:

And by the way, kudos to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for having a way to make the new/old guy shut the hell up, and using it.

I doubt this means that the deportations will stop, but ICE has used up all of it's annual budget already, and is overbudget by nearly $1 Billion.

In ruling against the new/old guy, Massachusetts District Judge William Young asks, "Have we suck so low? Have we no shame?" Yes, then no.

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And because I love you, we celebrate one of the greatest pop songs ever written.

Radio Free California Episode 2523, and what we know now (Los Angeles edition)

 

Great new music this week from Vistas, Monkey House, Sweet Emergarde, Turnstile, Prince, Cypress Hill, beaux, Comet Gain, Moptop and much more. Enjoy!

I only discovered Vistas this past week, and what a discovery this has turned out to be. Really, you should check them out.

Monkey House looks to be attempting to wrest the "Next Steely Dan" title away from everyone else, and it's a pretty good effort.

The Cypress Hill album is the long-teased concert with the London Philharmonic. I've played previously released tracks from this before but now the whole album/concert is available and it's every bit as awesome as you'd think.

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Things I've learned over the weekend:

Waymo driverless cabs are actually surveillance vehicles.

Apparently 6 blocks of Los Angeles on the news is the same as 467 square miles. And dear god Los Angeles is on fire!

Governor Gavin Newsome remembered where he had packed away his spine.

Doctor Phil participated in the ICE raids in Los Angeles. This means that there is more film footage out there than we have seen.

That the new/old guy might have called up and Federalized the National Guard because everyone else is converging on Washington D.C. for a parade. You know, in addition to the whole fascism thing.

I did a lot of posting this past week on various social media sites and only once was I called out on my stance that ICE should be abolished. On tumblr.

To become an ICE field agent requires 14 months of training, including 3-4 months at FLETSI. We are all of 5 1/2 months into this administration, so that means all of those masked fascist thugs are contractors.

You know, whatever the Blackwater Motherfuckers are calling themselves these days.

I've watched the footage of the Australian reporter getting shot with a rubber bullet to the leg and I can say with certainty that not only was the person who shot her not in any danger that he deliberately targeted her. You can see him do it in the footage. I wish I were confident that he will be brought up on charges.

Multiple accounts on Xitter owned by ICE/Homeland Security etc. showed pallets of bricks, calling them proof that either George Soros was behind the protests in L.A. or that violence was at hand. Given that all the raids took place at Home Depot stores I am personally under the opinion that these people have no fucking what Home Depot sells.

Apparently protesting and flying a Mexican flag is bad optics, per a couple of posts I've seen. Dudes, this is Los Angeles. Might as well ask the people not to fly pride flags in San Francisco or Brazilian flags during the World Cup.

Or as Cheryl Ann Lee called it on Bluesky, "This is very much like telling Black Americans that we should protest in suits and ties instead of jeans and hoodies so that racists will respect us. It does not work. We wore our Sunday best and they turned firehoses on us and still called us beasts and savages. Call us savages to this day."

You know, don't give them the pretext to do what they're already doing.

The new/old guy apparently thinks it costs $2.00 to fly to California from Washington D.C. and that's why we can't have high-speed rail.

And his social media posts apparently time-travel? At least the one he posted about the success of the Marines sent into Los Angeles the day before they were sent?

ICE was deployed to the library in Whitter, CA today (where Richard Nixon went to college) which by some strange coincidence was the start of the summer reading program for children.

That the current Secretary of Defense thinks you can deploy the National Guard without also deploying logistics teams so that they have bedding, shelter, and food.

That every crisis that the current administration is reacting to is imagined. None of it was/is real. There is no immigrant invasion. No trade crisis. No scientific or governance crisis. Just people completely high off their own supply trying to fundamentally reorder society.

I lived in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots. What we've been seeing are nowhere close to that. Tom Homan said yesterday that someone is going to get killed. I think that's what they want.

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And because I love you and because music can be joyous, I give you one of my favorite songs from childhood by the great Sly Stone:

Radio Free California Episode 2522, some new (kinda) music, and thoughts about the day.

 

New music this week from Peach Fuzz, Ben Caplan, John Fogerty (sort of), Ministry (also sort of), Wet Leg,  Lorde, Sunsick Daisy,  Ty Segall, Garbage, Moptop, KennyHoopla, Beth Sarah and much more. Enjoy!

A couple of notes about this week's music starting with John Fogerty. Earlier this year he finally, finally, was able to get the rights to all of the music he wrote during the Credence days back. What happened to him is a cautionary tale to any songwriter - but for 50 years people made money off his work and he didn't get a dime. That has finally been fixed.

Fogerty has been re-recording his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue with his sons as the backing band, and he's going to start releasing them as "John's Version" - the first of which came out this week. This includes my favorite CCR song, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" but also included a song I didn't even know, which I've added to the playlist this week. More to come. I hear through the grapevine (I see what you did there) that he actually lobbied his record label to call these re-recording "Taylor's Version" but the idea was shot down.

That would have been hilarious.

You will also see the same sort of thing happening with Ministry. When they evolved into an Industrial/Noise Metal band I really didn't follow along - I much preferred their synth-pop work from their early days. Well they too have re-recorded some of their old catalog (including "Every Day is Halloween") and are calling it "The Squirrely Years". This gives me the excuse to add a couple of my favorite Ministry songs to the playlist and call it new music.

My playlists, my rules.

Finally, it's worth your time to check out the back catalog of the band Moptop. The new album they have coming soon will be in English, but this is their 5th album - they're from Brazil and their previous albums are of course in Portuguese. Get past the language barrier - they're a good alt-pop band, and like I said, their new material is in English and if I hadn't told you that they're from South America you'd have never noticed.

As I always say, there is great music out there, but you need to search for it. That's what I do.

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Dan Bongobongo (or whatever the fuck his name is) was hired as Deputy Director of the FBI, and now he's been bitching to his TV and Radio/Podcast friends that it's a difficult job. No shit, Sherlock.

We've put a bunch of Monday Morning Quarterbacks in charge of real work, and all of a sudden they're discovering that they're not qualified (or worse think that they are) and that the job of being an actual quarterback is fucking hard. Hey, if they could actually do the hard work they wouldn't have been on Television in the first place.

Does anyone out there know what trauma Governor Gavin Newsom has experienced that has made him swing so far right these past few months? If it turns out that he's only doing it as an opportunistic grab towards a Presidential bid I will be greatly disappointed. Although I don't wish him harm and prior to now he's been a good Governor, it's the only explanation I would find acceptable. 

Therapy Gavin. Seek therapy, please.

Because if it's the other thing I will point out that the Left doesn't win by heading towards the center. It's the Center that wins when they swing Left. It's not the Clinton years anymore.

Look, it's never been a secret that Elon Musk is a stoner. Why does everyone get all up in arms about it? He smokes pot all the time - it is well documented - and his use of Special K is pretty well established as well. 

I love it when Republicans get pissed off about Democrats using the same tactics that they've been using for years. "It’s got to be hard to keep track of your political positions when you have no moral center and just attach yourself to the most powerful person in the room."

I will also add that it must be tough to get into the Heaven you keep raving about when you bear false witness so very goddamned much.

ICE has quotas to fill, so the stories are only going to get worse.

As frustrating as it is that the media isn't doing a damned thing to point out that the new/old guy is clearly in mental decline, it's even more frustrating to admit that they reason they're doing it is that they are far more scared of the idea of a President Vance.

I don't eat popcorn, but I do admit that the sudden civil war between the new/old guy and Leonard Leo is pretty entertaining.

What happened in Colorado last week is terrible, and yes it is a hate crime and even possibly terrorism. So what are you calling what's happening in Gaza right now?

Bravo to Ukraine for pulling off the attack of the decade (so far) with the demolition of so much of Russia's Air Force, so far away from the border the two countries share. Whatever your position on the war is, you must admit that this was pulled off with Jack Ryan precision and accuracy.

You know, for a political party that made its bones on the idea that government should have no say in how we raise our children the Republican Party sure seems to want to have a fuckton of control over how we raise our children.

I'm sure that Elon's satellites dropping out of the sky is a feature, not a bug.

I leave you now to go feed the Rainbow Beast. Happy Pride!

And because I love you, there is a real video now for Ministry's biggest early hit:

Radio Free California Episode 2521, and happy Memorial Day.

 

New music this week from Glass Caves, Shed Seven, Footballhead, Sparks, The Antinomy Insurgency, Elbow, Slow Mass, Blurry, The final release from Cola Boyy, Another Sky, Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo', Will Liverman and much more. Enjoy!

There is also new music from Bruce Springsteen, although not from the sudden EP he dropped from the opening night of his tour in Manchester. I've also included "new" music by Don Felder. It's a decent song, but I have to admit it sounds like a poor copy of a better song he's part of from the end of the 1970's. You will probably be able to tell.

The new album from Glass Caves surprised me. This could very well be a breakthrough album for them, and it would be well deserved.

I have to also note that this week a lot of music from last year (2024) and even earlier came across my radar, much of it quite good. I am a bit sad to say that these are songs I missed, and aren't on my playlist now. The lesson to be learned here is that there is LOTS and LOTS of good music out there you may never hear. Go looking for it.

And by the way, having Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo' team up for an album is every bit as awesome as you'd think it is.

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Now normally I'd take today off in honor of family who served, but I do have a couple of things to say and they wouldn't mind...

Rudy the Leaky wants to be appointed Special Prosecutor looking into the "Biden Crime Family" and their "coverup" of his health. He's broke, needs a job and is going to line his pocket with everything he can get his hands on, spend 4 years and produce nothing that means anything. I'd bet a paycheck on it.

The new/old guy gave the commencement speech at West Point, a tradition for Presidents. Biden gave a rousing speech just last year. But the new/old guy talked about the merits of trophy wives, wore a cap to cover a bald spot, and told a group of soldiers - all of whom enlisted while Biden was President - the people didn't join the military while Biden was President.

He also didn't shake the hand of a single graduate. Biden stuck around and shook every hand offered, and did it with a smile.

By the way, for a guy who has spent a lot of time on TV Pete Hegseth really doesn't spend a lot of time with real reporters, does he.

Dear Laura Loomer, hold your breath for 10 minutes, please.

Speaker Johnson, you need to stop bearing false witness. It's going to get you in trouble.

Senator Fetterman, perhaps you should consider a break from public life. You too, Governor Newsom.

There is a new social media site (I'm not linking to it - save yourselves) that allows you to be the hero in your group of friends. That's because all of your "friends" are AI generated. An Unsocial Network, if you will. Nothing good can come from this.

We have a new Yokozuna. He broke a few records to get there.

And because I love you I'm going to give you the video to this... song. I wrote it, but I never wanted to record it. Instead a band I produce took the song and recorded a demo and brought it back to me, which I agreed to produce. It's out there now.

I don't think it's one of my better songs. It's kinda terrible. But I did write it and I'll own that. This is The Antinomy Insurgency, with the lyric video for "Thank You Jesus". It was supposed to be pronounced in Spanish. It's not and they think the statement rings truer that way. 

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Contemptable

So with all of the distractions and directions everything is going all at once a little nugget got slipped into the "Big Beautiful Bill" that the Republicans are trying to get through congress. It would prohibit courts from using any funding whatsoever to enforce Contempt of Court citations against Federal Officials.

While news organizations left and right are "scaling back the rhetoric" or self-censuring their words and deeds, the single greatest threat to our system of checks and balances the country has ever seen is attempting to become law.

We need better swear words, because the current set we're using just aren't cutting it.

I know of no mainstream media outlets that are covering this, but it's real. Even the motherfucking CATO Institute noticed it.

Oh, and the bill is retroactive too. This means that they can leave that poor man stranded in Venezuela because the court won't have a mechanism to enforce the order.

Let me make it simpler for you - this is setting up the Executive branch to have the ability to ignore the Judicial branch. If they don't do what the court says, the courts can still hold them in Contempt, but they can't enforce it.

The tripod that is our form of government, with three equal branches of government making up the legs that support the whole institution, will have one of the legs shortened. The stool will fall.

I'm going to say it right fucking now: If this becomes law, and if this stays on the books, this country will fall. The grand experiment will be a failure. all because this country couldn't coalesce behind a woman of color. Or maybe even just a woman at all.

Can you even picture anymore how ordinary our lives would be if Kamala Harris had become President? How much less stressful this would all be? Yeah, sure, make a big fucking deal out of Biden's supposed health issues of the time. You fucking idiots swung for the center when you should have swung LEFT.

You keep saying that you can't elect someone President without the support of the center, but I'm saying you can't elect the center without the support of the left. The right stopped moving back towards the center over 4 decades ago and it's time you fucking recognized that.

They don't want to live in the same country as the left. They want us gone, one way or another, and until you recognize that there is no peace to be made here you just can't win.

You don't make peace with Hitler. You kick his ass. I know there are only a few veterans left from World War II to give you firsthand accounts but look at all the fucking movies we made! You've watched some of them, haven't you?

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I don't know about you, but I need a break after that. I'll give you a few minutes here, with my latest video and song. Once you have the visual in your head, go ahead and close your eyes and just listen and relax, if you can.

Radio Free California Episode 2520, plus a few thoughts

 

New music this week from Pearl Jam, Lola Young, sombr, Billy Nomates, Sunken, Rain Parade, Chuck D, Sunflower Bean, Ben Lee, Tune-Yards, Janita and much more! Enjoy!

Until 4 days ago, I had never heard of the artist who calls himself sombr. Apparently I'm the 30,225,156th person to get into his music. Okay, I'm late to the party, but I like what I'm hearing. I know, I know, I'm no longer one of the cool kids. He just never turned up in the places I go hunting for music.

Now I've never been a fan of Ye (Kanye West). Supposedly he was a genius arranger and rapper but for my tastes I'd rather have Dre, Chuck D or Ice-T. But holy fucking shit I'm not going to play his new single. I mean holy fucking shit (again) what the hell happened to this guy? Can someone please suggest a brain scan for the guy? He might be seriously ill.

Okay, "might" is pretty weak under the circumstances. The man might need a Sybil level psychiatrist at this point.

I talked a bit last week about what it takes to get on one of my playlists, there are also things that will make me drop your music into the trash imeediately and praising Hitler is one of them. I mean I feel filthy giving it a few seconds of listening.

And dude, overmodulated synths are not back. They're just not.

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Your lottery numbers for this week are 86 47.

By the way, if you call them "The Democrat Party" I already know that you're an enemy. It's a pretty obvious tell.

I don't know enough about what's going on with Biden's health to really comment. I do wish, however, this I haven't seen a pattern for decades of "the announcement" followed by "the death" when it comes to Prostate Cancer. Best of luck to you Sparky. you were perhaps the greatest President of my lifetime.

I swear that the new/old guy is turning this country into his own warped version of the "He-Man Woman Haters" club. And I'm not talking about the song by Extreme either. Little Rascals - the originals from (gasp) almost 100 years ago. It's terrible to use them as a blueprint for a country - their schemes always failed.

Always.

Can anyone tell me why our Secretary of Defense is styling his hair to look more and more like the character Willem Dafoe plays in "Streets of Fire"?

I really can't get myself worked up about Scott Adams in the same way as I am about Joe Biden. Best of luck though, and a speedy recovery.

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And because I love you, have the video for a song I didn't include on this week's list featuring two of the world's great guitarists and one of the best bassist I've ever seen.

Radio Free California Episode 2519, Jill Sobule's final song, RFK Jr is a fucking idiot and more

New music from Sub-Radio (whose album finally dropped!), Tetrarch, Sam Roberts Band, I'm With Her, Cypress Hill, Unwed Sailor, kid moon, Liam Finn, Little Feat, Molly Miller Trio, Elbow, The Amazons, Ainsley Costello and much more. Enjoy!

Sometimes I get queries from artists about how I decide what's going on my playlists and how do they get on them. The simple answer is that I have to find you. You can't buy your way on, and I have no idea why you'd want to. While I do heavily focus on brand new stuff there are other criteria as well. But sometimes, every once and a while, a slight bit of nepotism can creep in. Track 47 on this list is by Cameron Esther and it's her debut single. She's the daughter of a guy I knew in college and have seen a few times since.

But it wouldn't end up on the playlist if I didn't like it. 

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So in an interview yesterday RFK Jr. said during an interview that "Only very sick kids should die of measles." That's the exact quote.

No, you elitist fuck monkey.

No one should die from measles. No one. Ever. We cured the fucking thing. We created a situation where no one caught the disease anymore. No one died, and no one got sick.

Not until people stopped vaccinating their kids.

You didn't get measles. I didn't get measles. Although we grew up on opposite sides of the country, although you grew up wealthy and I did not, I know for certain that the reason for this is that you, me and everyone we both knew got vaccinated. Every state in the nation made vaccinations mandatory to attend school - both public and private.

And measles was gone. GONE. Motherfucking gone.

How about we don't let kids, or anyone else for that matter, get sick in the first place? It's easy, proven to work not just in the US but all around the world, and until you fucking idiots came along it was paid for by the government, as part of the common good.

People don't get religious exemptions from laws and lawsuits because giving anyone such a thing not only creates separate classes in this country, but is against the common good for everyone - that we all can pursue happiness. People shouldn’t' get a religious exemption for vaccines either.

And for the record, it has been proven over and over again that vaccines have NOTHING to do with autism. People who say that are LYING. They have been told a lie, and are spreading it around. 

Kinda like measles.

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I think it's worth pointing out that American Nazi Stephen Miller is counting on you not knowing that the Executive Branch doesn't have the authority to suspend habeas corpus. I don't think that gets taught universally anymore.

If Obama, Biden, or Clinton had accepted a gift as extravagant as an airplane there would be congressional hearing from here until doomsday, as there should be. This is a crime. a real, demonstratable crime. Who gave congress the hand job so that they'd shut up about it?

Also, if you don't think that airplane is full of listening devices then you're a fucking idiot.

By the way RFK Jr., why don't we start substituting the word "Kennedy" for the word "autism" every time you talk down to them? 

Can people stop going on any show hosted by Bill Maher? Please, it's embarrassing.

Remember when "Box Wine" Pirro conspired to place listening devices on her husband's yacht in an effort to catch him having an affair? Good times, good times.

Having an agreed framework for creating a trade deal and calling it a trade deal is the same as producing an empty sheet tray and saying you have cookies.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is sending signals that FDA will likely not authorize a COVID-19 booster vaccine this year for children, and perhaps not for the general population as a whole, saying he “cannot, in good faith” recommend booster vaccination for children. How about in bad faith? I'll take them in bad faith. I'll take a COVID booster regardless of your faith.

And I know people who have COVID NOW.

I've pretty much stayed out of the whole New Pope/American Pope/Leo XIV business because I'm not Catholic. He's not my spiritual leader, although even I cannot deny the papacy's influence. Setting aside jokes about the potential of deep dish Eucharist I will take note that taking the Leo name is a promising sign (you have access to wikipedia - look up the previous Leo) and I will also note that you can't bamboozle him with numbers. I'm pretty good with numbers but I don't have a degree in Mathematics from Villanova University. Second Pope in a row who came from academia.

People people people, stop looking so deep into the reasons why the new/old guy fired the Librarian of Congress. Dr. Hayden is a Black Woman. That's as deep as it goes.

And by the way, the Library of Congress oversees the Copyright Office, and the director of that office was fired as well. The DOGE fucks and the Capitol Police had a standoff there today. Just what is Musk trying to steal?

Notice that MTG dropped out of the Georgia Senate race louder than she entered it?

Even the Secretary of Transportation won't let family fly out of Newark. He blames Biden. He seems incapable of not gaslighting.

Hey! the new Pope has MAGA relatives too!

The new EPA chief says that he wants the agency scaled back to staffing levels it had under Reagan. A quick glance at the Google shows that the number of employees under Reagan was about the same is it was under Carter. And about the same as every administration since, including the current one. Once again trying to evoke St. Ronnie with nothing to back it up.

None of these assholes know what it was like under the Reagan Error, but they're willing to make it worse.

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And because I love you, here is the late Jill Sobule's final song:

Radio Free California Episode 2518, some thoughts on things

 

New music this week from Lights, Pink Skies, Mary and the Sharks, Suzanne Vega, Real Estate, Sparks, Say Sue Me, Mammoth, Home Free, Grouplove, Lucius, a new mix of an old REM song for a grand purpose, Hikaru Utada and much more. Enjoy!

A lot of music this week defies stereotypes of what you might expect from an artist. Suzanne Vega laying down a groove? Utada Hikaru returns to singing but in English and Japanese? New (sort of) music from R.E.M.? The Doobie Brothers heading towards Country? There's a lot of this going on.

It's also worth pointing out that the new album by Lights is bloody fantastic. I added 4 songs from that album to the rotation. Artist J Appiah really surprised me with his new single. I haven't thought much of him before but I need to seriously reassess that. The new album from Ben Williams is also a solid knockout even if much of it isn't the sort of thing you would catch on radio.

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I think it's about goddamned time to fully boycott Isreal. Especially if they do this.

The new/old guy keeps losing in court, but he hasn't complied with a single ruling regarding deportations yet. Please, start throwing these assholes in prison for Contempt. 

Oh, and happy Cinco de Mayo. If you support these deportations you aren't entitled to that beer in your hand. Put it away before I take it from you.

It looks like Government supported COVID shots are going bye-bye. I hope you still have a few masks left. I'm stocking up. I'd bet real money that Flu shots are next.

Followed by a huge spike in COVID cases in the fall, which they will call "seasonal".

Did you know that the new/old guy wanted to be a filmmaker when he was younger? I met him once, when I was in Television, and even I didn't know that.

As if $1,000 was a lot of money. Add 3 zeroes to it and I'd consider it.

In case you didn't notice it, the woman who won the Pulitzer for cartoon of the year was forced out of her newspaper job earlier this year because the newspaper she worked for wouldn't let her make fun of the head of Amazon. The Washington Post, her former employer, tried to take credit for her win. I also note that in giving her the award, the Pulitzer committee made sure to point out that she won in part because of her departure from the WaPo.

And because I love you, let's take a quick trip down memory lane with Level 42

Radio Free California Episode 2517, tariffs, and a couple of notes

 

New music this week from Fishbone, Ghost, Bells Larsen, Sunflower Bean, Billy Idol, KLER, Wishy, Luke Spiller, Uwade, bims, Deerhoof, Sammy Hagar, Suzanne Vega, The Fearless Flyers and much more. Enjoy!

Talking about music for a moment...

The new Billy Idol album is actually pretty good, but it's most certainly a toned-down version of the man. That's not a bad thing per se, but if he was trying to still how that he can rebel yell he doesn't quite pull it off.

New singles from Fishbone show that they're still as good as ever, from the sound to the dance-ability to the message.

Luke Speller's new album is a must have, called "Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine", which face it is a GREAT title.

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Bought anything from Temu today?

I really wish that reporters would call Tom Homan a liar to his face. He's a liar.

By the way, if you haven't seen this week's Last Week Tonight about the damage that RFK is doing to science in this country you really should.

I was unaware of this because I'm not on Tik Tok, but apparently "influencers" have embraced the idea that Americans should buy products direct from Chinese manufacturers instead of from import shops, claiming often (falsely) that these are the same goods as the brand-name designer goods. If there's a trade war going on with China, which it certainly appears there is, we're losing.

The new/old guy seems to believe that tariffs are high enough and strong enough to replace income tax as a method to fund the country. Uh, nope.

Signing off now. Gonna watch the Canadian Election results.

One more thing...

I have mentioned in previous posts that a friend of mine works for the CDC with only a few weeks left until she retires. Well, she somehow managed to make it to retirement without her job getting cut. She spent her last few days working in the office of another who was cut. I'm glad she made it out. I hope her retirement is still there and not blown at the track by these motherfuckers in charge. Congrats my friend for getting there.

And because I love you, I have to admit that the video for Sammy Hagar's new song really gets you in the feels. With Sammy are Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Kenny Aranoff.

Radio Free California 2516, and I'm not Catholic but I have a story

New music this week from Ghost, swim school, Bims, Follk Bitch Trio, Avi Kaplan, BBBL, I'm With Her, Aly & AJ, Melvins, Hawkwind, Beirut, World Order and much more. Enjoy!

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I really have no business commenting on the Life and Death of Pope Francis. He seemed a nice enough man and he tried to do good (he most certainly championed for the down-trodden), but he also did some bad (the church still has a huge child molestation problem).

I'm not Catholic. He wasn't my leader.

That said, I do have a story. 

A friend of mine (and even closer friend to my wife) was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2016. She was a decent if flawed person, just like anyone decent. She didn't deserve it and she went downhill quickly - certainly faster than any of us were ready for. She was in a wheelchair and frail when she was surprised with a trip to The Vatican to meet Pope Francis.

She was Catholic, and devout. As I understand it, to be granted an audience with the Pope, even in a group setting as she was to be, is considered one of the best things that can happen in a life. That she was ill and frail made no difference; she was going to get on that plane and she was going to go. Her audience was set for May 24, 2017.

Google the date, I'll be right here.

Yes, that's the same day Donald Trump pushed his way into the Vatican to meet Pope Francis, displacing a meeting with a small group of Americans - who never got to meet with Francis. Trump was an absolute pig of a man throughout the day - never once apologizing for his conduct or for displacing a group of Americans who had been planning this meeting for months. Francis chastised him to his face.

But he didn't meet with my friend. She and her group got bumped for Donald Motherfucking Trump.

She took it with grace, saying that the Vatican official apologized repeatedly about the circumstances, offering a tour and other amenities that I won't go into here. 

She would be dead a few short months later. She never saw the pandemic or just how ruinous everything would become.

I can forgive Pope Francis for the snub. The events of the day were obviously out of his control and the opportunity to lecture an American President to his face doesn't come often. I don't blame him for taking the meeting. I'm unhappy about the snub of the people who saved and paid to come see him directly, but they at least had the grace to apologize. My friend forgave them, so I will.

Which no one from the Trump administration ever did.

I notice that a lot about Catholicism (as it's practiced in most places - not the US) is about forgiveness. But I'm not Catholic.

I will NEVER forgive that fucker for bullying his way into destroying the dreams of a group of American Catholics, at least one of whom was dying.

But he's never going to ask either, so fuck him.

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Maybe y'all should have been more concerned about Pete Hesgeth's tattoos than about Kilmar Abrego Garcia's.

I will give Francis credit for smacking the current administration around as one of the last things he did before he died.

But I am getting a little sick of all the Photoshopped pictures of Francis and the (unsubstantiated) couch fucker together.

Look, I know that Ms. Noem has explained why she was carrying so much cash that it made her a mark for a thief, but why wouldn't she want a paper-trail to exist?

Why yes, I have noticed a serious decrease in the numbers of cargo ships making port in my area.

I have a friend who works at a government agency that has had to do the "e-mail us 5 things you accomplished this week" e-mails. I've seen a few examples of what she's done, and unless you have a PhD in her field you won't understand more than 4 words of it. So far, she hasn't been laid off.

We are at war with Oceana, not Eurasia. That has always been true. Tear down those lying posters now!

The Onion has been rerunning every article they ever did about Pope Francis. Some are quite funny.

I do believe that The White House did not take my bid for a sponsorship of yesterday's egg roll seriously. I offered $1.75

By the way, given the new/old guy's Easter address, does he suffer from Biden Derangement Syndrome?

So the guy who will run the Vatican until we have a new Pope is some dude named Kevin. Really.

I cannot understand why anyone would want to travel to this shithole country.

Speaking of which, can we send Stephen Miller back to whatever dystopian hellscape he comes from?

And because I love you, here is the video for the first song in this week's playlist: