Monday, October 14, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2442, radio station notes, and more!

 


New music this week from The Linda Lindas, Pale Waves, Dea Matrona, The Cure, Desperate Jouirnalist, Office Dog, Francis of Delirium, The Criticals, Maaya Sakamoto, A Short Walk to Pluto, Tank and the Bangas and much more. Enjoy!


ALBUM SHOW NOTES

There are a lot of good new albums out this week, and that's actually kind of a shame, because I made a promise that I would play the full album by The Linda Lindas once it came out. Guess what? The full album, called "No Obligation" is now out. Let's face it, the rise of The Linda Lindas is kind of incredible: they went viral for playing their punk anthem "Racist, Sexist Boy" at a Los Angeles Public Library during the worst days of the Pandemic and before all of them had finished JUNIOR HIGH they had a record deal. The new album is their second full-length album and the songcraft has just improved at a near-geometric rate, and their live shows are all showstoppers. There are a LOT of potential hits on this album, and I'm going to play all 12 songs from it for you this week on the album show.

But as I said, there are a lot of other good albums out this week, and any of them could have made the cut if The Linda Lindas weren't already occupying the top spot. This includes Smitten by Pale Wolves, The EP Sadolescence by Indoor Foxes, No Hero from Desperate Journalist, Lighthouse from Francis of Delirium, For Your Sins by Dea Matrona, No Small Parts by Sweet Loretta, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul from Tank and the Bangas, and if you're really adventurous you should try out Goat, by Goat. I've linked to Spotify but all of these albums including the Linda Lindas one are available at all the usual places.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2442

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 51 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1976, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet - a year just a bit more recent.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


No cheap shots this week. You have no idea how busy I've been with secret project I will talk about much later.

But becaue I love you, here's the video for "Glasgow" by Pale Waves.



Monday, October 7, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2441, radio station notes, cheap shots and The Linda Lindas!

 


Welcome to the fall season of new releases! New music this week from The Iddy-Biddies, Melt, Dawes, Jake Bugg, Billie Eilish, Joan Armatrading, Lake Street Drive, Tears For Fears, Dirty Loops, tricot,  Gary Marx with Miles Hunt and so much more. Enjoy!


ALBUM SHOW NOTES

For the uniniated Jake Bugg might have seemed to come from nowhere with his sixth album, "A Modern Day Distraction", but in fact he has been on w whirlwind rise going back over a decade. He leaped on the UK stage by sending a song called "Lightning Bolt" to the BBC as part of an unsigned bands and soon found himslef playing Glastonbury - even before he was signed. He is actually a well-know star in his native England and has toured with the likes of Lana Del Rey and many others. This is his second album for RCA, and it's a solid rock/pop album that I think you'll like as much as I do. We will be playing "A Modern Day Distraction" as this week's selection on The Album Show.

Other new albums this week well worth your time include Do You Know from The Iddie-Biddies, If There's A Heaven from Melt, and No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire from Dora Jar. I also have to recommend the soundtrack to the Apple TV+ show Bad Monkey, which is made up of nothing but Tom Petty covers and includes efforts from 28 different artists. Also I hear Coldplay has a new album out, but I found it kind of dull. What's not dull is the new album from Nice Biscuit called "SOS". Finally, if you weren't already aware, Billie Eilish's new one, Hit Me Hard and Soft is really quite good. All of these albums are available wherever you get your music.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2441

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 58 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1986, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet - more towards the end of the last century.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


Cheap Shots:

"It's not the 1950's anymore."

It hasn't hit yet and DeSantia is already looking for ways to blame FEMA for "Flying Missiles".

Lockjaw's coming Lockjaw's coming...

Woah. Seriously, Woah. The entire British Pathe archive. Online.

This is quite literally what racism is. He is a fucking racist. Full stop.

The Supremes say (without saying) that's it's okay to be a He Man Woman Hater.

Oh noes! She might brainwash the womens!

Don't worry, it's the fucking New York Times. I'm sure they'll be back on your side shortly.

Somebody just might be a Masochist.

Oh yeah, we should shove something down your throat you racist fuck.

It would seem that Billy Graham's kid is a dick.

I've read Project 2025 and men, this is true: They're coming for the porn.



Interesting that solving non-existant problems could end democracy.

And because I love you here's a previw of a song I'll be adding next week:



Monday, September 30, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2440, radio station notes, cheap shots and more!

 

New music this week from Pearl Jam, The Cure, Dubinski, BAND-MAID, Stevie Nicks, Serj Tankian, Sunday (1984), Alisa Xayalith, Terrorvision, Sunflower Bean, Of All Things and much more. Enjoy!


ALBUM SHOW NOTES

Of All Things is a band from Norway that formed in 2020, just as everything went to hell. As a result this, their first album called "Falling In Line With The Person In Front Of You" is only out now and it's a solid alt-rock album. If you want to read a review of the album that's in English you can click here, but for my money this is a great band and I hope they go far. We will play the entire 11-track album on this week's Album Show.

Other solid releases this week include Mediocre's "Growth Eater" (a short but very solid album), "Playlist of Doom" by Robert DeLong, The self-titles debut album by Sunday (1994), "We Are Not Robots" from Terrorvision, and of course "Epic Narratives", the 8th full-length studio album from BAND-MAID.All albums are available wherever you get your music, including the one from Of All Things.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2440

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 53 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1999, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet - more towards the end of the last century.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


Cheap shots:

Terrorists are gonna terror. What, you thought I was going to link to something about Israel/Hamas?

Perhaps the real issue here is that you're a fucking idiot?

"Barnstorming" doesn't mean that you destroy the barn.

I don't think this is how you court the Union vote.

You know, I think the title of "Most Republican Kennedy" doesn't belong to Schwarzenegger anymore.

For the record, no Republican has ever been good for the Economy.

How about "Lock HIM up!" instead? I mean, he's the convicted felon.

Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene. Please, don't flood my town away (with apologies to Dolly Parton).


I for one am glad that the most consequential former President of this country will vote this election.

I was never a fan of his music, but I am a fan of the man. Oh, and don't miss the comments by the Man in Black at the end.

Have I ever told you how much I've come to like my Governor?

Someone stage an intervention for this sick fuck.

And this sick fuck to a nursing home.

Someone did the required reading.

And becuase I love you, New Randy "Elizabeth" Rainbow:


Monday, September 23, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2439, radio station notes, and proof the universe has a sense of humor

 


New music this week from Haircut 100! Sub-Radio! Suzanne Vega! Plus worlds greatest dad, Kate Pierson, Dive Time, Body Count, Dropkick Murphys, Ist Ist, Jules Ahoi, Torus, Jaz Karis, Honeyglaze, Tetrarch (my favorite Drop D band), Dive Time and much more. Enjoy!


ALBUM SHOW NOTES

The sophomore album by worlds greatest dad is 13 tracks of alt-rock That they just describe as "we play what we like and hope you like it to". The album is called Better Luck Next Time and it shows growth and playfulness and this might be the album that helps them break big. I've added several songs from this album to the rotation and I'm also going to feature the album as my selection for The Album Show. It's out now and available at all the usual places.

Also out this week is the self-titles album by Drive Time, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers' new album called "I Love You Too", Charlotte Wessels' new release "The Obsession", and of course the new solo album from Kate Pierson of the B-52's called "Radios & Rainbows". which is not to be consufes with the new album by Katy J Pearson called "Someday, Now".

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2439

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 58 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1972, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet - more towards the end of the last century.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.



Cheap shots:

Nope. No cheap shots this week. for one thing, the mainstream media is finally starting to notice just how insane things have become, and also I have proof the Univers has a sense of humor. I've just turned 60 years old.

Coming from the very end of the generation that coined the phrase "Don't trust anyone over 30", starting my 7th decade on this strange blue marble is the ultimate jest.

Next goal, live to be the oldest person in my family ever. I've got 45 years to get there.

And because I love you, here is Jordan Ruduss taking one of the world's easiest piano pieces and giving it a serious makeover:



Monday, September 16, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2438, radio station notes, cheap shots and more!

 


New music this week from Porches, The Linda Lindas, chokecherry, Thirteen Stones, Same Side, BBBL, Future Islands, Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders,  Binoy, Coast Arcade, The Jesus Lizard, LL Cool J with Eminem and much more. Enjoy!

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

Thirteen Senses is a band from Cornwall, England, that had a minor hit in the mid 2000's with a song called "Into the Fire", which got featured on a number of TV shows in the US back in the day. They're a pretty straight-ahead alt-pop band but they're swinging for the fences with their first album in 10 years, "The Bound and the Infinite". The first track on the album is 11 1/2 minutes long but is still an al-pop song, while the rest of the album features songs of more traditional lengths and sgtructures. I was sorely tempted to add that long song to the radio station rotation. Instead, I'm going to feature the album as my selection for The Album Show.

Also out this week are new albums from Porches ("Shirt"), Starflyer59, ("Lust for Gold"), Binoy ("The Great Alone", which nearly became my pick for the show, BBBL's new album "first contact" which already has multiple singles playing at Radio California, Same Side's "Oh No" is also worth your time, as it the new live album from Theo Katzman called "Live From the Other Side".

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2438

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 55 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1978, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet - even further in the past.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


Cheap shots:

Maybe it was the concept of a shooting.


Speaking of melted Bratz dolls, who's cock is she sucking these days? Just askin'.

"That Krakatau of volcanic, incoherent, fact-free bombast."

Moderate my ass.

Maybe you're just a lyin' sunbitch that got caught, and it's freaking you out.

Can we at least agree that some people just shouldn't own a gun?

Love the enthusiasm, but please don't count chickens before they hatch.

Someone's not taking their ass-kicking very well.

Proof that the half-melted Bratz doll at his side is only the latest in the wierd here.

Or, and hear me out here, you can try to pass laws that help you win after you've already lost.

And because I love you, LL Cool J (with Eminem) reminds us all just how good he is:



Monday, September 9, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2437, radio station notes, cheap shots and my new video

 


New music this week from David Gilmour, Ok Cowgirl, Linkin Park, The The, Catbear, The Heavy Heavy, Pixies, The Dream Machine, Hinds, Tears Run Rings and much more. Enjoy!

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

Ok Cowgirl is a Brooklyn NY-based band that has finally released a full album after a few years of singles and EPs. Their album, "Couldn't Save Us From My Gut" is a solid alt-rock album that is well worth your time. I've been following them on bandcamp for a bit now, and I think they should be heard. You can go to their website to see the whole 6-year process that led an Asian American pianist to found an indie rock band and It's worth your time. I've added three songs from the album to the rotation and will be playing the full album on this week's album show.

Also out this week is David Gilmour's long awaited "Luck and Strange", the new solo album from Jordan Rudess called "Permission to Fly", and "Belaya Polosa" by the Belarus-based band Molchat Doma - just in case you wanted to hear Depeche Mode-style songs but in Russian. Also of note is "Viva Hinds" from Hinds (who have whittled themselves down to a two-piece), and "Everything In The End" from Tears Run Rings. All albums are good, but we're going to feature Ok Cowgirl this week.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2437

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 47 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1988, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.



Cheap shots:

Hmmm..... could it be... racism?

You wanted policies? How about this then?

I point out that 20% of zero is still zero.


An icon. A legend. I do not now and will never have anything bad to say about this man. He was amazing.

Last time he said he could kill people.Now he is actively saying he will kill people. Isn 't that a crime?

This horseshit again. You do realize that it's never worked right? Right?

Face it, there are monsters in the world.

Please, let's not waste our time on this. He's as white as white gets. He can wear a shirt. There's plenty other examples of weird out there.

I'm just thinking he doesn't like cats. Weirdo.


And because I love you, here is the video for the single I'm releasing Tomorrow.




Monday, September 2, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2436 with radio station notes.

 


New music this week from Stevie Wonder, Theo Katzman, The Fray, Indoor Foxes, Primal Scream, Oceanator, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ist Ist,  Japandroids, Steve Kropper, Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders and much more. Enjoy!

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

Tuk Smith and the Restless Hearts' new album is called "Rogue to Redemption" and it's a solid sophomore album full of power pop-rock and swagger. I'm not going to rehash the Spotify biography as it looks like it was written by a Business School graduate, but it does bring out the finer point that they sound like a cross between AC/DC and Cheap Trick, which ain't a bad thing. I should point out that there are other great new albums out this week including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Wild God", Shemekia Copland's "Blame it on Eve", Wundrhorse's "Midas", and of course Oceanator's "Everything is Love and Death". And on a personal note, I honestly hope that Stevie Wonder is working on a full album to follow the single we added this week, because it's the best stuff he's done in a very long time. If it's this good, I'll paly it when it comes out. But for this week, enoy Tuk Smith and his band.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.


RFC 2436

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 51 songs (including one from me) which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1998, and this week we're going to pick another year we haven't gone to yet.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.



No cheap shots today. I'm a Union member.

And because I love you, here is Cody Fry's Orchestral take on "The Sound of Silence":


Monday, August 26, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2335, radio station notes, cheap shots and more!

 


New music this week from Smack Champion, lovelytheband, Closebye, Amythyst Kiah with Billy Strings, Fontaines D.C., Kate Pierson, Kolbak, GIFT, Asha Jeffries, Stand Atlantic, Joan as Police Woman, Jon Anderson with The Band Geeks, Von Hertzen Brothers (worth following), Sabrina Carpenter and much more! Enjoy!

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

GIFT is a Brooklyn, NY based 5-piece band that is a solid mix of pop, rock and psychedeic and they've taken a big swing for the fences on their 2nd album, Illuminator. This is a solid album and should garner them the next step up in the pantheon of modern artists that they well deserve. They spent some time putting it together and self-produced the album, and the hard work shows. I've played this album in my home a lot this past week, and I'm really liking it. I had already added 4 songs from this album to the station rotation as they came out as singles, and I added "It's All Too Fast" this week as well.

There are also new albums from Fontaines D.C. (Romance), Lo Moon (I Wish You Way More Than Luck), lovelytheband (lovelytheband), Jon Anderson with The Band Geeks (True), illuminati hotties (Power), and Magdalena Bay (Imaginal Disk) that are worth your attention, but GIFT's album stood out for me, so that's what I'm playing.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.

Due to technical issues, last week's album by Louis Cole wasn't played on the Album Show. So we're going play it in the hour following the usual Album Show, at 10am and 10pm Pacific Standard Time. Here is last week's blub about the album:

Louis Cole is one of those guys in the music business that shows up just about everywhere as a guest or a producer. He has often showed up at concerts by Vulfpeck, Snarky Puppy, Cory Wong, and Jacob Collier just to sit in for a song as a vocalist, a drummer, a guitarist - just about anything.While he has a few of his own albums under his belt he's just as well know for his work with others. But he's now just released a new album called "nothing" in collaboration with Metropole Orkest, the Orchestra in The Netherlands that has guested with a wide variety of Jazz and Pop artists, including an album with Cory Wong just last month. This album is a potential modern day "Days of Future Past".

I am loving this new album and much of it defies description. I don't think it will have any huge hits, but it's the kind of thing you just put on the stereo in a recliner with the lights out and a glass of wine. So we're going to feature it this week on the album show.



RFC 2435

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 54 songs which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. 

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 2008, and this week we're going to back another decade.

As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


I have already scheduled what will be my 7th microchip implant disguised as a COVID-19 Vaccine.  It's almost as if I don't need to carry a cell phone anymore. Beep boop beep boop.

Cheap shots:

I've never been a fan of the New York Times because of their EAst Coast bias in their reporting, but holy shit what the fuck has happened to these guys?



How is it that Kim Dotcom has access to the internet, and is taken seriously by a U.S. Senator?

This is appalling, because Arlington has rules against partisanship on the grounds, but you have to consider that the family of at least one of these dead soldiers wanted this to happen.

Motherfucking Birthers are back, and weaker than ever.

And of course, the racists too.

Ooh, Randy Rainbow goes after the "Catless Child-Lady".


This is going to be a staple of trivia games in the near future.

He's going to miss the premiere of Season 2 of Rings of Power! This is an outrage! Fucking snowflakes.

Although the consequences were dire, it was a good joke.

After reading this my question is, can someone file a new FEC complaint? I should point out that of the 6 currently serving commissioners, 4 have terms that have expired - one of which was SEVENTEEN motherfucking years ago!

And because I love you, have my new single!



Monday, August 19, 2024

Radio Free California Episodes 2433 & 2434, Radio Station notes and stuff!

Yeah, I took a week off.  Even I take vacation. But of course that leads to a HUGE new playlist with artists ranging from Smashing Pumpkins to Nitefire to my friends Fear 2 Stop to Ms. Kash to Gaffa Tape Sandy to Wishy to Cody Fry to Louis Cole to Dinosur Jr to David Gilmour and so much more. Enjoy!

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

Lious Cole is one of those guys in the music business that shows up just about everywhere as a guest or a producer. He has often showed up at concerts by Vulfpeck, Snarky Puppy, Cory Wong, and Jacob Collier just to sit in for a song as a vocalist, a drummer, a guitarist - just about anything.While he has a few of his own albums under his belt he's just as well know for his work with others. But he's now just released a new album called "nothing" in collaboration with Metropole Orkest, the Orchestra in The Netherlands that has guested with a wide variety of Jazz and Pop artists, including an album with Cory Wong just last month. This album is a potential modern day "Days of Future Past".

I am loving this new album and much of it defies description. I don't think it will have any huge hits, but it's the kind of thing you just put on the stereo in a recliner with the lights out and a glass of wine. So we're going to feature it this week on the album show.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.

RFC 2433 & 2434

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 58 songs (a new record for one week!) which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist. This is ONE playlist with two weeks worth of music. 84 songs!

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 1967, and this week we're looking into the more recent past, and I'll tell you now that we're going overboard because we missed a week.


As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


No cheap shots this week. I was on vacation and not thinking about this stuff. But because I love you, here's Toad the Wet Sprocket playing an acoustic version of one of their biggest hits:





Monday, August 5, 2024

Radio Free California Episode 2432, Radio Station Notes (I'm taking a vacation), cheap shots and TTWS and friends do an REM cover.

 

This week includes the triumphant bowing out of X, Mishell Ndegeocello musing on the works of James Baldwin, plus new music from Illuminati hotties, The Cure, Swami John Reis, Oso Oso, Kississippi, Bleachers, The Ceys and much much more. Enjoy!

Please note that there will be no update next week as I'll be on a beach earning 20 percent. The week following will likely be jam-packed as a result. There will be no Album Show or 10 at 10 next week, but for this week...

ALBUM SHOW NOTES

I said several weeks ago that I would feature the new album by Footballhead ("Before I Die") when it dropped but I'm not certain that this is it, and I've already added all the good stuff from this album to the station. I also said that when the new album from Black Smoke Trigger ("Horizons") I would play it and it's a good rock and roll album. From bands new to the station also comes Bridget Calls Me Baby and their new album "The Future is Our Way Out", but there is also the new Mishell Ndegeocello album ("No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin") which is a damned fine album and from which I've added 2 songs to the rotation of the radio station, but there can be only one group at the top and it shouldn't surprise you that this group would be X. X dropped their final album "Smoke & Fiction" this week and it's a barn burner.

Do I really need to tell you who X is? They are the original Los Angeles punk band. The first and the greatest. Exene Czervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake. I moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and they were already the top of the crop, along with The Motels, The Blasters and Oingo Boingo. They were the first unsigned band to sell out the Greek Theater - a 3,600 seat outdoor ampatheater in Los Angeles. Their biggest world-wide hit, a remake of "Wild Thing" is quite possibly the worst thing they ever did, which they admit to readily. Such rock and roll staples as "Los Angeles", "Burning House of Love", The Hungry Wolf", "Your Phone's Off the Hook but You're Not", "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline", and of course "The World's a Mess, It's In My Kiss" - all originals. Their first few albums were produced by Ray Manzerek of The Doors. I've seen them live multiple times, and they are breathtaking live.

Of course we're going to play "Smoke & Fiction" on the Album Show. Nothing wrong with what everyone else has put out. There's good stuff there, but there can be only one.

The Album Show plays on Thursdays at 9am and 9pm Pacific Standard Time.

RFC 2432

For those of you who stay away from Spotify the current week's additions will be played on Wednesdays. This is a change from prior programming: what we're going to do going forward is just play the music added this week only. Every other day will be the usual rotation, but we set aside Wednesdays for just the new additions for the week. This week that's 58 songs (a new record for one week!) which we will play in the same order that they're in on the Spotify playlist of the same name up at the top of this post. So if you tune in at just about any time on Wednesday you will hear the whole playlist.

10 at 10

One last programming note: Every Saturday at 10pm and again on Sunday at 10am and 10pm we will feature our show "10 at 10", where we play 10 (and sometimes 11 or even 12!) songs from a year we pick at random. Again, all times are PST. Last week I played a group of songs from 2003, and this week we're going back 5 1/2 decades (plus) from the present to bring you a few classics.


As always, you can go to https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia to listen to the station, and there is an imbed below. And did you know the station is available as an app? It's only for Google Play (sorry iphone users - Apples terms and conditions were too restrictive for me) but you can listen on your phone at your convenience too.


Cheap Shots:

About goddamned time. Thanks Bernie.

Flip sliding away... And Jenna Ellis takes the prize!

How many votes do you need again? We only need 12.

Dear Stephen Miller: Get Fucked.

Doesn't seem so veiled to me.

What do I think? I think Fat Elvis.

Now we know what the teddy bears he sells on his website are made from. (Seriously, WFT Dude?!)


Something about Reaping and Sewing.

Because of course.




And because I love you, Here's Toad the Wet Sprocket and friends covering REM.


Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Project 2025 will kill you. Yes, you. Sections 11-15 (of 30)

So I've been reading Project 2025 so you don't have to, and I'm going to report on everything I find that is alarming, which is a lot. Part One can be found here. Part Two can be found here.



Section 11 - Department of Education

"Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated."

That's the first sentence in this whole section. I think that pretty much says it all.

All student loans and grants are to be moved to the private sector. Move education for military families to the Defense Department and for Washington D.C. to Congress. I imagine that also applies to protectorates like Guam and Puerto Rico but the document actually doesn't say.

Put all education funding under State Control. You should really ask a child living in Florida how that's working out. Reject Gender Identity and Racial studies. Eliminate executive orders in education. I remind you that integration was done by executive order.

Transfer all Native American education to the Bureau for Indian Affairs. Transfer all adult education programs to the Department of Labor. Privatize Student Aid.

Move all civil rights enforcement to the Department of Justice. Transfer all civil service employees to other agencies. Eliminate the understanding that Trans people even exist.

Eliminate any privacy regulations used to protect students from any form of abuse. Rescind all regulations in Equity in IDEA.

Eliminate all food programs for students. All of them.

Phase out income-based student loan repayment programs. Rescind all funding for the National Education Association. Consider "Critical Race Theory" to be racism. 

Here's a crazy one that takes paragraphs to unravel: Allow parents of children over the age of 18 to sue to recover any monies spent on their education. Also, allow families to "opt out" of the education system entirely and for those that do give as a tax break the funding that would have been used to educate that child directly to the parents.

Allow states to opt out of any and all federal education programs. Eliminate Parent PLUS loans. 

There is page after page of basically "end anything Obama or Biden did", but eventually it all boils down to that first sentence. Eliminate the Department of Education.

Section 12 - Department of Energy (and related commissions)

You would expect this whole document to be drill baby drill but in fact it starts with the repeal and elimination of the Biden Administration's Infrastructure Act - the single largest jobs creation bill in the last 75 years. That's followed with not only a dependence upon oil and natural gas but a declaration that the U.S. needs to be the best in the world in Science. Great for a country trying to eliminate the Department of Education.

Eliminate the office of Clean Energy, and the office of Grid Deployment. Yep, they don't want the government looking at the power grid. 

Not only increase a reliance ("dominance") in oil and gas but nuclear power as well. 

Lots of paragraphs on focusing on science, which again - see the section on the Department of Education. Lots of contradictions here. Increase the level of private sector disposal of nuclear waste. What could possibly go wrong?

Fund a rebuilding of the country's nuclear arsenal. New warheads and testing. Eliminate Carbon Capture programs and Carbon offsets. Pursue much more coal, including coal waste as fuel. Increase fossil fuels. 

End the government's focus on green energy and renewables. Eliminate efficiency standards for appliances. In fact, they put this paragraph in the document twice on consecutive pages. 

"End Grid planning and focus instead on reliability." I shit you not, that's a whole topic in here. Say goodbye to grid upgrades and hello to more Texas-style outages. They then spend several pages repeating everything I've already told you about. 

Eliminate the Department of Energy's ability to make loans. Eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Looks like that better battery for your Tesla is going to have to wait.

Eliminate the Clean Energy Corps. Privatize the Energy Information Administration. Stop all funding for "climate reparations" - i.e. paying for the damage caused by oil production in underdeveloped nations.

Drill in Alaska (of course). Claim the Arctic Circle for the same purpose. Take an "America First" approach at the Office of Technology. 

Accelerate cleanup of all "Superfund" sites (except for Hanford in Washington State - which is where the U.S. government has stored Plutonium Waste for many years) with a goal of completing all work by 2035. That sounds good on the surface but in most of these sites there is a reason that it needs to go slow: fast work actually makes the contamination WORSE and spreads it further. Eliminate some regulations specific to the Hanford site.

Get all active Nuclear Waste stored at Yucca Mountain already.

As long as we're talking about nuclear stuff again, let's make more nukes. Abandon the Test Ban Treaty. Divest certain programs at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore to refocus on nuclear energy and weaponry. Several pages are spent rehashing the need to get rid of renewables

Refocus transmission of electrical to the state level. I mean, why can't we all be Texas? Eliminate all questions about oil and gas pipelines to only consider the need for the fuels, not environmental or any other concerns. 

Eliminate the guidance of "as low as reasonably possible" for nuclear exposure when considering renewing the licensing for existing nuclear power plants or building new ones. 

Fuck, this was a nightmare to get through. but guess what's next?

Section 13 - Environmental Protection Agency

This whole section was written by Mandy M. Gunasekara, a former Chief of Staff at the EPA under the Trump Administration who in 2023 was kicked off the ballot in Mississippi when she ran for Public Service Commissioner - because she didn't live there.

Let's start that in the mission statement that it blames the lead poisoning crisis in Flint Michigan on The Obama Administration, which is so obviously incorrect that it boggle belief. It also states that every expansion of the EPA since 1972 is unnecessary.

Eliminate the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Eliminate the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance. Eliminate the Office of Public Engagement and Environmental Education. "Relocate" the Office of Children’s Health Protection and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization - although the document does say where to relocate these agencies to.

Review the grants program to ensure that taxpayer funds go to organizations focused on tangible environmental improvements free from political affiliation (there are no such groups). 

This document goes on for more than 30 pages and makes the same faulty assumptions and rewrites historical data so often that it should be considered a work of fiction. But the key thing is unchanged: That everything that the EPA has done in terms of rulings and regulations since 1972 should be repealed.

Where I grew up you could see the air in 1972. It was grey. That's what they want to go back to.

Section 14 - Department of Heath and Human Services

This whole section was written by The Heritage Foundation. In the first two sentences it proclaims the COVID-19 Pandemic as over (which it isn't) and that life expectancy has decreased since the end of the Pandemic - which we do not yet know as the timing is too recent for statistical analysis. It's a lie.

No more abortions. Ever.

Prioritize families over everyone else. By the way, that's "traditional" families. Mother, father, children, church.

Remove the ability to declare emergencies and provide guidelines for outbreaks of diseases that contradict the political agenda of the administration. Move the recommendations of the CDC on how to treat anything into a separate political agency.  The entire document assumes that the CDC is faulty and corrupt, and not that the people using the CDC to make policy are. This is also a lie.

Remove Generic drugs from Medicaid. Make Abortion pills a controlled substance, with the ultimate goal of making them illegal at the same degree as Meth and Cocaine.

Eliminate chickenpox, Hepatitis, and MMR vaccines that originate from studies and science from fetal tissue. That's all of them, by the way. Also, eliminate vaccine mandates of any kind - you know, the type that for a while eliminated chicken pox, small pox, the mumps, measles and so on and could have been used to eliminate COVID. I notice that all of these are on the rise in the US. Even motherfucking POLIO is back.

Eliminate all research that uses science from Fetal Tissue. Eliminate all science funding and research that involves the fluidity of human sexuality. There are men and there are women and they are born that way. Period.

Several paragraphs are about "Woke" policies, and they encourage an end to diversity in conferences and studies.

When it gets to the Medicare section there is paragraph after paragraph about the bureaucracy of Medicare and how much time doctors have to spend on paperwork. This is a common fallacy that has been around for decades - yes, there is paperwork and there is a lot of it, but it's still LESS PAPERWORK THAN REQUIRED BY PRIVATE INSURERS. 

The truth is that bureaucratic waste in Medicaid is about 2%, where in the private industry it varies from 5% to 10%.

Eliminate the ability to negotiate drug prices under Medicare. 

As for Medicaid, paragraph after paragraph is dedicated to the elimination of problems that don't actually exist, plus adding work requirements to eligibility and actually taking away from states the ability to make programs flexible - which seems like an oxymoron until you realize that most waivers for various programs under Medicaid are for Democratic Party controlled states that are allowed to use these funds to treat the LGBTAI+ community and allow for abortion access.

Under the Affordable Care Act there is an awful lot of focus on redesigning medical care into a Concierge Medicine approach, which most people would not be able to afford. The document calls this stronger health care (true) and more affordable (patently false). It would also eliminate all of the cost controls in the system. There is no language saying that they want to eliminate the ACA, but they certainly would render it useless.

Prohibit travel for Abortion care.

Defund Planned Parenthood, which as I like to tell people is NOT a chain of abortion clinics but is a chain of Doctor's Offices with an emphasis on women's care. Withdraw Medicaid funds from any state where abortion is legal.

Deny gender affirming care for anyone with Medicaid or Medicare. Again, men and women are the only two genders and they are determined at birth.

Rescind all COVID-19 Mask and Vaccination guidelines, and pay damages to anyone displaced (i.e. fired) for not following those guidelines.

Institute work requirements for all recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Most of the verbiage about the prevention of teenage pregnancies is to deter things that aren't happening. Adoptions should be funneled through religious organizations. Crazily enough, the document in the same paragraph also acknowledges that there are 4 times more children awaiting adoption than people who want them, although I believe the actual ratio is closer to 7 to 1.

Move the office of Refugee Settlement to the Department of Homeland Security. Looking back at that document, there is no indication that DHS actually wants this.

Allows for parents who do not have custody of their children to receive a child-tax credit anyway. It actually specifically calls out that it wants the ability to allow deadbeat dads to take the tax credit.

Encourage bad marriages to stay together as a requirement of government assistance. Allow faith-based organizations who distribute this aid to discriminate as they see fit. Implement a national campaign that is pro-father propaganda. You know, to keep marriages together. Think of the poor men.

Eliminate Head Start.

Criminalized Physician assisted suicide, which is legal in 10 states according to this document. Remove requirements that telemedicine be local to the patient. I should point out that this would eliminate the ability to recommend hospitalizations, as these doctors wouldn't have admitting privileges where the patients actually are.

Allow hospitals, doctors and physicians to not provide abortion related care of any kind because of religious beliefs, even in states where it is legal and protected.

No more funding for condoms. No more funding for "Morning-after" pills (which they call "the week after pills" in this section). Withdraw all support for gender affirming/transitioning guidance. 

Stop teaching the medical procedures used in abortion care. I repeat, hinder the educational skills of every doctor in America.

The entire section on Indian Health Care (and why can't they ever use the phrase "Native Americans"?) is full of lies and I won't dignify them. 

Sunset all HHS regulations, which Trump tried last time around.

More bullshit about violations of human rights that never happened (mostly involving twitter and Facebook). They don't want the department to push back against lies on social media.

More verbiage that the administration needs to be Pro-Life and anti-Trans care. This is like the fifth or sixth time in this document so far, making it one of the longer ones I've gone through. This is followed by a series of paragraphs that are mostly lies about the COVID Pandemic, complaining about things that never happened.

It's full of lies.

Restrict and/or rescind funding to any country that supports abortion care. Prohibit overseas personnel from providing care that is in contradiction with administration policy. That's right, overseas care is now a political decision.

The entire rest of the document - several pages - is about how the only civil rights violation in health care is that providers of care of certain religions are not allowed to discriminate in their health care decisions, and that such discrimination should be allowed.

To summarize: No abortions, no gender affirming care, no contraceptives, stay in abusive marriages, no good health care for poor people, let churches discriminate, and lie every third sentence (or more often).

Section 15 - Department Housing and Urban Development

Woohoo! This section was written by Dr. Ben Carson! This of course means it's the shortest section in the whole damn thing, clocking in at all of 14 pages, 4 of which are footnotes.

Also, unlike previous chapters, the first 4 pages are only about what the department does who what the department posts and responsibilities are, and has no policy directives save for the basic concept that the department needs an overhaul.

Replace all career officers with political appointees. Issue an executive order making the HUD Secretary a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S, to counter the Chinese threat that they are buying to much real estate in the U.S. Seems highly reminiscent of the same language used against Japan in the 1980's.

Reverse all protections for LGBTQIA+ persons implemented under the Biden Administration. Reverse all property appraisals done under the Biden Administration, because you know they did them all wrong. Eliminate any programs that have any mention of Climate Change. Eliminate the use of special-purpose credit authorities. Eliminate the new Housing Supply Fund.

Non-citizens, even those households who are comprised of both citizens and non-citizens, are to be denied housing assistance. Anyone with mental issues or drug assistance issues need to be treated before considered for housing. 

"Statutorily restricting eligibility for first-time homebuyers." That's the EXACT wording.

Finally, create an office of CFO for the department, who will do most of the work. Not bad for the laziest cabinet secretary in all history.

14 pages, only 6 of which are policy, all of which is designed to not actually do anything.


Next posting will cover the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, and the  Department of Veteran Affairs.