Radio Free California Episode 2619, some thoughts from a "former television executive", and a smattering of cheap shots

New music this week from The Rolling Stones, Frute, The Lemon Twigs, pinkpool, The Loft, Jon Lampley, Neil Diamond, The Waterboys, Paul McCartney (with Ringo), Fantastic Negrito, kiffie and much more. Enjoy!

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Given that the average age of the members of The Rolling Stones is over 80 they still sound pretty damned good. The double-sided single they released this week is one of those songs where you hear a couple of bars and say, "Yes, that's The Rolling Stones all right". Fairly reminiscent of the "Tattoo You" days, in my opinion. That's not a bad thing.

I've added several songs by the band Frute over the past few months and finally they've dropped a full album called "Lot of Letters". It's a solid alt-pop album and given that I've added over half of the songs from it over time should tell you what I think of their work. It's worth your time.

The Lemon Twigs also have a new album, called "Look For Your Mind!" and if you're into jangle-pop then this album is a perfect distillation of it. They would be right at home with the jangle-pop movement of the late 1980's, which itself was reminiscent of the original jangle-pop era of the late 1960's. 

Someone I only discovered this past week is pinkpool, a "post punk" band formed in Berlin and starting to rock the English-speaking world. They're release all of 3 songs so far, and I've added all three to the playlist this week.

The last of the three albums Rick Rubin produced for Neil Diamond dropped this week, called "Wild at Heart". As with other artists late in their careers, Rubin has stripped Diamond's songs down to their basic essence, and it's a reminder of just how great a songwriter Neil Daimond still is.

Unwed Sailor is a band I'm really fond of and they don't even have a vocalist. They are a band that does rock instrumentals and their new album "High Remembrance" is full of solid rock tunes. It's not that they replace the vocalist with melodies on other instruments - instead they use the music to set a mood and create a feel, and it's actually refreshing to listen to.

I of course have to call out the fourth collection of covers by "The Professor" Nick Harrison, where he takes alt-rock and alternative songs and tansforms them into R&B/Soul classics. He's astonishingly good at it, transforming songs by Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins and more into straight-ahead old-fashioned soul music.

How does one explain The Loft? They looked like they were going to be one of the biggest bands on the 1980's, were an indie hit and playing venues that only signed artists got to play in those days when they broke up, in the middle of a live performance in front of 3,000 people. It was ugly. But the band has reformed and last year they finally got around to releasing their debut album. They have now dropped their second called "Badges" and you can hear for yourself why they were going to be the next big thing. Well worth your time. 

Finally, I'm going to give a shoutout to The Waterboys and their new single "Don't Even Have to Say His Name", which appears on this list. Bet you can already tell who the song is about, can't you.

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With the passing of Ted Turner I have come to the sudden and stunning realization that my television days are now more than half my life ago. It just might be time to hang up the "Former Television Executive" moniker.

My television days were a whirlwind, which was both very rewarding and the reason I stopped. I got to do some amazing things and meet amazing people, but as I settled down and started a family I realized quickly that I would become the kind of dad that never saw his kids because he was working all the time. That's when I decided to walk away from it all. I was 29 years of age.

I helped start two cable television networks. I was on the cover of a magazine. I met celebrities. I actually got invited to the Playboy Channel's opening party. Yes, I met Hugh Hefner and even gave him a copy of my first album. I spent a sizeable chunk of the night chatting up his oldest daughter Christine, without the slightest clue who she was (I was still single at that point). 

I exchanged stories with Michael Palin (his were better). I got invited to conventions. I helped produce a movie that ran on HBO (I'm not in the credits, so I'm not going to name-drop them either). I had a lot of fun, but I worked from 7am to 11pm most days.

Oh, and I met both Donald Trump and Ted Turner during those days. Both times looking for investors for specific projects and failing both times. One of which I was glad for.

I met Trump over a lunch meeting in 1991 in Los Angeles. I was the 5th man at a 4 person meeting, brought along for my technical expertise and possibly for my youth. Also to be an impartial observer. The other three men were all from Chicago and had their own reasons for a built-in mistrust for the man known then only for real estate. But we had been getting backers from New York and we got the introduction so we took the meeting.

I will tell you right now that he wouldn't remember me. He said almost nothing to me. I was part of the furniture as far as he was concerned, at least after him asking me if I golfed and me truthfully replying that I didn't (and still don't). He talked about golf for 15 minutes after that and never looked at me again. The team at the table were trying to get him interested in investing in our little cable television venture, but he mostly talked about himself. After it was over I didn't even get the "handshake". My co-workers all looked at me when it was over and I couldn't help myself. "That man has an answer for everything," I said. "I don't trust people who have answers for everything. Nobody has an answer for everything, so I suspect at least 75% of everything he said were lies."

He didn't invest, and in all fairness to the others at the table I don't think they ever even asked.

I met Ted Turner earlier than that, at a cable television convention in 1990. It was just after the First Gulf War had broken out and he was riding high. He had proved the thirst for a 24-hour news cycle by having people in Iraq just as the war started. He went from industry odd-ball to being the smartest person in the room, and he relished it.

Thing is, he often was the smartest person in the room. He came across to me like Jonah J Jamison of the Spiderman comics - talking faster than his thoughts could form and people were just lapping it up; making certain that this would be what people were talking about the next day. He talked about bringing environmentalism to kids, which he had already started with Captain Planet being in maybe it's third or fourth week on the air. He talked baseball, my knowledge of which was severely lacking at that point. He talked Cigars, of which I know nothing other than that his smelled better than my father's did.

He talked about the future of television, and I (among others) pitched him the ideas of The Sci-Fi Channel and Court TV. Sci-Fi was a hard sell (It worked in movies but so far it really hadn't translated to TV beyond Star Trek at that point), but I was able to throw his own words back at him for Court TV. All I said was, "All it will take is one juicy celebrity trial and everyone will want to watch." Little did any of us know that within 5 years there would be two.

He did invest in Court TV although I'm pretty sure I wasn't the convincing argument. Hell, I wasn't even working for them; I just believed in the cause. I was trying to get Sci-Fi going, and he didn't bite. Other people got the USA network to bite though, and that's how it eventually wound up on the air in its original form.

I am aware of the irony in the fact that Court TV isn't around anymore, while the Sci-Fi channel, somewhat altered, is still here.

I can't tell you how good a man ted Turner was; I don't know. But I feel confident in my assessment that of the two men, he was the better one by a large margin.

Just something on my mind this past week.

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Senator Mark Kelly must have said something over the weekend, because Pete Hogsbreath is insinuating that he'll brim the Senator up on charges today. That's the pattern, isn't it?

I want to point out to the people proclaiming that the golden statue of the Criminal in Chief isn't a "Golden Calf" that the "Calf" part of the problem is tied to a mis-translation over 1,000 years ago, back when the Church was trying to stamp out animal worship. It was originally "Golden Caliph". It was just shorted and dumbed down for the majority of the world that had never been under the jurisdiction of a Caliphate.

And any form of idolatry is praying to the Golden Calf, you fucking idiots.

There are 61 people on the ballot officially for Governor of California. Including Barack D. Obama Shaw (no relation), Eric Swalwell (if elected I will not serve), Chad (Proudboy) Bianco and obviously a slew of others. It's not as crazy as when we set in motion the wheels that gave us The Governator, but it's still a whole lot of crazy, none of which changes my vote. I am a bit sad though that the woman currently serving as Lt. Governor isn't running for the job. She is running for Treasurer though.

Did you know that the leader of the Crime Administration, while on the one hand complaining that pregnancy isn't named after him, is apparently raising zombies?

Not much else today - it's all ridiculous.

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And because I love you, have a new version (from a soundcheck) of Cory Wong and his band performing "Lisa Never Wanted to be Famous" (originally by Theo Katzman with Cory).

Radio Free California Episode 2618, Gino Vanelli, names to lose to the ravages of time and a few random thoughts.

 

New music from expected and unexpected places, like Europe (yes, that Europe), Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, MEMI, American Football, Maya Hawke, youbet, Puddles Pity Party, Death Cab for Cutie, Haircut 100, Violet Grohl, Vent 414, and much more. Enjoy!

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Let's of course start out talking about the music. For those of you who listen to the radio station I've added an extra song this week, a performance by Gino Vanelli and Leonid & Friends of the song "Santa Rosa", which they performed live on YouTube. It's an excellent piece of music and I hope they release it as a single, but for now only my radio station is playing it outside of YouTube. Whatever you were thinking the song would sound like, you're probably wrong - I was. We run through the whole playlist on Wednesdays in a loop at Radio Free California, so feel free to check it out.

The new Tori Amos album "In Times of Dragons" is now out and I've heavily sampled it this week. It's vintage Tori Amos and if you're a fan the new music won't disappoint. If you're not a fan then this isn't for you. I'm a fan and in my opinion this is the best work she's released in quite some time.

I have been a proponent of the band American Football from the very first time I ever heard them. There isn't anything that sounds like them, even after 4 albums, and their new (and once again) self-titled album "American Football (LP4)" is more of what we've come to expect, plus some growth. 

There was a full moon last week, so of course this means we have a new Peter Gabriel song, and how is it that this man just keeps getting better? He said last month that last month's song was possibly the most commercial offering from the forthcoming album "O/I" but I'm going to disagree and say that the ten new song "Won't Stand Down" is a better song, a more commercial song, and a reflection of the mement. Although not written for the events in the world right now, it sure as hell fits.

I have to introduce you to personal favorites of mine. First of all, the band Vent 414 and their new single, "How Far We Fall" - their first release in 30 years. Vent 414 was meant to be the new band for Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff (one of my favorite all-time bands) after they went on hiatus for the first time. Loud, arrogant, noisy and so full of life and fire that you cannot ignore them that I have to include them here. And all the way on the other side of the spectrum is Galli J and his new single "Wish You Were the One", which is about is mainstream pop as it gets. His real name is Jules Galli, and he was part of a band called Levara that came and flamed out 5 years ago, featuring him on vocals, Josh Devine of One Direction on drums, and Trevor Lukather (yes, the son of monster guitarist Steve Lukather and The Runaway's Cherri Currie) playing everything else. I've been paying attention to Galli J ever since and I hope that you will too, especially given that it looks like Levara might be getting back together.

Puddles Pity Party has a new album out called "No One's Free" and if you're used to America's favorite 7 foot tall sad clown with the amazing voice and his reinterpretations of hit songs reimagined as slow ballads you are in for a surprise. This is a mostly straight-ahead indie rock and roll album. Yes, the ballads are there of course, but there are a couple of surprises and I picked a couple for the playlist this week. PPP seems to be headed into exploring new ideas, and I'm here for it.

I knew nothing about Maya Hawke prior to the release of her new album, "Maitreya Corso" because I'm one of maybe six people who has never watched "Stranger Things", but I have to admit that the cast of that show have generally been putting out good music. Her new album is sort of a journey through a fictional fantasy epic but like others from that show this is a solid stand-alone indie rock outing and is worth the time. Hell, I didn't even know she was in "Stranger Things" until I started writing this paragraph.

Finally, I included a song by SpaceAcre called "Why We Left", which while being a banging rock tune is also their declaration that you won't find them on Spotify any more. I fully agree with what they've done here. If you want to find out more about them, you should really check out their bandcamp page.

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It had actually been a few months that had passed before Rudy Guiliani's name showed up on my news feed. I have to tell you, that break from the every day nonsense was refreshing. I am so looking forward to the time when the current head of The Crime Administration (hashtag #EpsteinFiles) no longer shows up on my news feed on a daily basis.

I've never flown into Newark, so I had no idea that it was possible for an airplane to hit a truck on the New Jersey Turnpike. I mean, it doesn't show up in any Billy Joel lyric!

Apparently the new Attorney General Wanna-be can't tell you why the former director of the FBI should be prosecuted for a social media post that just showed in graphic form "86 47" but why the half-million shops on Amazon and Etsy should not be prosecuted for selling merch with the same logo.

Everyone, I don't know, but does Jennifer Rauchet have the security clearance to sit in on meetings held by her husband?

Despite the promises of the Crime Administration gas prices aren't coming down any time soon. The only way to do this while this "war that isn't a war but is a war that isn't a blockade that is a blockade" is still ongoing is to release fuel from the Strategic Reserve, which Presidents have done in the past and it works - even the current administration used it about a year ago. But last I checked, they never replenished the reserves, so is there anything even there there? For someone who plays multi-dimensional chess this administration really seems not to be able to think even 1 move ahead, let alone two.

Now that Spirit Airlines is gone, who will east coast late night comedians make fun of?

Do you watch the CBS Evening News? Whatever for? Certainly not for the news.

Quick message to The Crime Administration: Stop blaming Joe Biden for the state we're in. Just today I've seen you blame him for Oil Prices, Beef Prices, the collapse of Spirit Airlines, and even the war that isn't. Fuck you. You broke it, you own it.

May the 4th be with you. Sure. Right. Nobody was saying that back in the day. I know this because I'm the guy who saw the first movie (Not Episode IV or whatever, but just Star Wars) over 500 times in theaters during the original run (hey, I was only 13 at the time). To me this day is special because it's my younger daughter's birthday. Happy B'day kiddo!

And because I love you, here is that live performance I talked about at the beginning of this post:

Radio Free California Episode 2617, a few words about the music, and only one comment about the WHCD kerfuffle

 

New music this week from Muse, Sarah McLachlan, Pouty, Beck, a beautiful ballad from the late Prince, Foo Fighters, Yes, Infinity Song, Sofia Gobbi, Julia Cumming, Metric, Las Cruxes, HotWax, Miss Grit, Nanook and much more. Enjoy!

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I hope by now that all of you who read this blog know that these songs all wind up on my radio station, which is called interestingly enough, Radio Free California. You can click the link at the end of that last sentence or you can grab the app from the app store. Google only I'm afraid. I didn't like the terms and conditions for Apple. 

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that while I add these songs I also every Wednesday from 12am to 12am the following morning I play the list of songs above in order, with a break at 10pm Pacific Standard Time for special programming called 10 at 10. This is especially important this week because I've thrown in a couple of extras.

The first is a performance by The Warning, a band I've featured plenty on the station before now, doing a live version of "You Oughta Know" at SiriusXM. They recorded it over a year ago, but it was released as a single only last week.. and then the single was pulled from public availability. This means that I can't add it to the playlist, because Spotify doesn't have it. But I can add it to the radio station because I have a copy of it. I've added mp3 tags so the royalties will still get paid. That matters to me.

The second was the surprise performance by Michael Stipe with The Great Big Joy Machine on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week. The song is called "The Rest of Ever" and has never been released. I imagine it will be someday, but so far it's not. But I have it. So while this probably isn't an exclusive, it's here. Again, royalties will be paid.

If you listen to the radio station on Wednesday of this week, you will be able to hear both songs, right after Metric performs "Leave You on a High". And of course randomly for the next 12 months.

Speaking of Metric, their new album "Romanticize The Dive" is a wonder. A Toronto band transplanted to New York City, the new album is full of songs of a timeless nature (don't you just hate it when songs are called that?) I've listened to it three times since I got it and by the time you reach the last track, the previously mentioned "Leave You on a High" you feel satisfied that you've listened to something special.

I have never been afraid to play music by artists who don't sing in English. This week alone we have Ukrainian (OTOY and alyona alyona), Icelandic (Nanook) and Spanish, the latter of which is provided by the band Las Cruxes. Their new self-titled album is as solid as any indie rock band, just in Spanish. No reason not to play them - and I've added two of their songs to the playlist this week.

Can I point out the amazing songwriting skills of two artist this week, one of whom is sadly no longer with us? First is Beck's "Ride Lonesome". I usually don't get into this type of song, but the lyrics are really good and Beck has shown over the years that he can write a hook - even in a country song. The second is the amazing ballad "With This Tear" from Prince. Given what happened to him this song is truly heartbreaking, and the lyrics about losing a dying lover are like an extra twist of the knife. Prince was a one-of-a-kind talent, and this is a reminder of what we've lost.

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You know what? I'm not going to comment on the whole White House Correspondents Dinner business other than to say the one and only thing no one else has said. THE SECURITY THEY HAD IN PLACE WORKED YOU STUPID FUCKS!!!!!

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And you probably know that Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix, their beatboxer, is also an accomplished cellist. But I was only today many years old when I discovered that Matt Sallee, Pentatonix's current bass singer, is an accomplished drummer. Because I love you here they are together:

Radio Free California Episode 2616, and some note about the selections

 

New music this week from They Might Be Giants, Snarls, Eaves Wilder, Foo Fighters,  Hana Lili, Mary and the Sharks, Snocap, Yaya Bey, Pond, The Itch and much more. Enjoy!

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Let's talk about the music, starting with the new album from Yaya Bey, "Fidelity". I've only added one song from the album to the playlist, but I think the album is going to be important in the long run. I'm really not qualified to explain it all but the whole album reads to me as an explanation/history lesson about the black experience in the United States. Tracks like "The Great Migration" and "Forty Days" are both great but as a white male I just don't have the background to fully appreciate it, no matter how empathetic I can be. I highly recommend listening to the album as a whole. To me it's reminiscent of some of the work Stevie Wonder did in the 1970's.

They Might Be Giants new album might be their best in over a decade, and I've added previous singles to the playlist before now, but my favorite song on the album is easily "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)". It has a great video too. 

Snocaps' self-titled debut album could very well be a one-off but I hope not. Sisters Allison (Swearin') and Katie (Waxahatchee) Crutchfield have recorded a new album together, working in the same band for the first time since their teens. They haven't abandoned either of their current bands, but they wanted to do an album together. It's a fun indie jangle-pop album and worth the listen.

The new Foo Fighters album will drop later this week and I'm looking forward to it. Dave Grohl's songwriting just keeps getting better and the stuff I've heard is easily among their best work. This week's playlist closes out with "Asking For a Friend", which will also be the closing track of "Your Favorite Toy" as I understand it. It's a good closer.

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Robert De Niro is an anti-vaxxer. I has a sad.

The Onion now officially owns Infowars. Surrealism is now swallowing its own tail.

Kash Patel, a man who appears to be visibly drunk in public all the time, is suing The Atlantic to prove he's not a drunk. The Atlantic responded (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Bring it, drunky!!"

Tim Apple (er, I mean Tim Cook) is stepping down.

So is yet another woman from the Crime Administration for poor behavior. Patterns, anyone?

So are we at war with Iran again/still/blockade/war crime?

And because I love you, check out this live performance featuring Joey Dosik - vocals, Cory Wong - guitar, Ariel Posen - guitar, Kevin Gastonguay - keys, Yohannes Tona - bass, and the legendary Bernard Purdie - drums:

Radio Free California Episode 2615, tributes, remakes, and the Avignon Pope?

 

New music this week from The Sixters, Lala Lala, Peter Frampton, American Football, Unwed Sailor, Hannah Lew,  songs from two seperate compilations - one for Fishbone and one for Sixto Diaz Rodríguez, B'z, Momo Boyd, Dogstar and much more. Enjoy!

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Okay, let's talk music. The full album from The Sixsters finally dropped and it's even better than I had expected and I've been following them from day one. To remind you, the band is made up by 6 female refugees from Ukraine who met for the first time in France and formed their band. They are a force to be reckoned with and are more than worthy of conquering America and not just Europe. I've added 3 more tracks of theirs to the rotation.

I also added 3 tracks from the new album by Lala Lala, "Heaven 2". Lala Lala is a pop/rock powerhouse and a fantastic singer, and I'm truly impressed with the new album.

There are two compilation albums (aka "Various Artists") out this week with cover versions of songs by superstars. The first is called "Cover Your Face" and features 11 different artists covering Fishbone songs. There are some real underground/indie bands on the collection, which is led off by Silversun Pickups cover of "When Problems Arise". The other is a collection of 21 songs covering the great Rodriguez called "For Rodriguez". We're talking about Sixto Rodriguez, songwriter originally from Detroit who is believed to have sold more albums than Elvis in South America and the subject of the movie "Searching for Sugar Man". Look him up. You'll be glad you did.

We have a new single from Yes that's as good as anything they've ever done, but I feel obligated to point out that not a single original member is left in the band (Steve Howe joined for the 2nd album all those years ago). However, Jon Davison has been with the band for 14 years, Billy Sherwoon was Chris Squire's hand-picked replacement, Geoff Downes has been in the band off and on for a while now, and drummer Jay Schellen joined the band long before the death of Alan White.

Did you have on your bingo card that Seattle Grunge heavyweights The Melvins and scream rockers Napalm Death would do an album together? I didn't. The album sounds like both bands, which I suppose was the intent. It's worth a check out at the very least.

Check out Kurt Deimer's remake of "Silent Lucidity", a late entry to the list and featuring original vocalist Geoff Tate.

And finally I must give props to the debut album from Hannah Lew, who gives us a straight-ahead look back at the best of late 80's synth-pop. Seriously, there is some really catchy stuff here and you should check out the self-titled album. 

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First of all, congrats to Hungary for kicking Viktor Orban to the curb! Given how many obstacles were in the way this is pretty impressive. My only concern is that Péter Magyar was once one of Orban's cronies. Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. Still, very impressive.

Apparently the head of the Crime Administration wants to be the new Avignon Pope? Fuck man, the dude doesn't even go to church! I do find it hilarious that he rants about how the Pope is "Soft on Crime". He leads a religion - of course he's soft on crime. It's kind of in the whole job description to forgive the worst in people.

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but that AI slop picture out there of Mr. Damaged Hands laying hands on a bedridden man shows that the recipient of the "blessing" is Jeffrey Epstein? I'm told that this is a photoshop over the original AI slop and I'm just going to take people's word for it. I'm not getting on that motherfucking site.

And just like that, Eric Swalwell is Gary Hart.

"FC St. Pauli, a Hamburg-based soccer team with a long history of lefty politics, decided to create its own Peace Prize for people who have actually done something to promote peace, community, decency, etc. And the first recipient they chose is Wes Burdine, owner of The Black Hart of St. Paul. The Black Hart is a soccer bar but also a queer bar, where you can catch a game or a drag show or both. And play bocce when it’s not snowing. During ICE’s terror campaign in the Twin Cities, Wes was one of the people out there on patrol, and also raised funds for folks in the community." Full article here.

The fact that the Pride Flag is being restored at Stonewall is a good thing, but we still need to see restored the contributions of the Trans community to Stonewall. Without them it didn't happen and fuck your revisionism.

And because I love you, here is Kurt Deimer's version of "Silent Lucidity"

Radio Free California Episode 2614, and some straight talk about the strait, and how about some cheap shots...

 

Great week for new music, featuring Bruce Hornsby, Emma Harner, Balancing Act, The Sheepdogs, Station Model Violence, Spectre Tapes, Weird Nightmare, Mikaela Davis, Arlo Parks, The Antinomy Insurgency, Peter Gabriel and so much more. Enjoy!

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So let's talk music first. 

I want to highlight several artists, starting with Emma Harner. I have on occasion posted her music on my channel before, but her new album Evening Star to me evokes that magical time we all first heard Suzanne Vega's first album. It's a gentle-seeming album with barbs to cut to the quick and an overall feel that will leave you wanting more. It's impressive and I've included a few tracks this week.

Arlo Parks is another artist that's been at the corner of my eye for a while, and her new album Ambiguous Desire rewards that patience with a great sequence of tracks, especially in the second half of the album, where she flirts with near perfection over the course of 3 tracks close to the end. I've kept two of them together on this playlist so that you can hear what I mean. It's rare to hear a sequence of songs on an album these days that just flow that well. For example, I consider the last 3 tracks on The Police's album "Ghost in the Machine" to be about perfect, and I was reminded of that - even though the styles are completely different.

Vice put out an article this past week about 4 bands that their reviewer believe are criminally unheard and I had to admit that I hadn't heard of any of them. That's how 3 of the 4 wound up on this week's playlist: Declaw, Fencing, and Assisted Living. All three bands have recent albums that should be given a listen, and I've included tracks from those three bands this week. Declaw is the one that really speaks to me.

Okay, there is a Morrissey track in this list. I will say right up front that the man has said and done some pretty horrific shit in the past few years and I do not support them and in many cases condemn them. That said, there is no denying that his solo works hold a heavy influence on my life in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I'm not going to tell you what to think, but musically speaking his new album "Make-up is a Lie" is one of his better solo efforts, and I have included one song from it.

Did you know that there is a Disney+ series called "Dear Killer Nannies: Criado por sicarios" that is based upon the memoirs of Juan Pablo Escobar, son of notorious drug lord Pavlo Escobar? Did you know it has a killer soundtrack? I've included 3 songs from it, back to back to back starting with Female 3-Piece hard rock outfit The Warning singing in their native language for a change. Those of you who follow my playlists know that I think The Warning is the best hard rock outfit out there right now and that I've featured them a lot on my radio station. I've also included songs by TIMØ and Annasofia. It's a great soundtrack.

Do you miss the 1970's for some reason - the decade that didn't happen according to Zippy? I'm talking about the music and nothing else. Then maybe you should check out The Sheepdogs. They are a band from Saskatoon, Canada that has clearly immersed themselves in the Laurel Canyon sound of that era, and it shows in their music. Their new album "Keep out of the Storm" is a solid march through the 1970's and if you're into it, as I occasionally am, you should check them out.

Finally, I'm going to point out that Weezer and They Might Be Giants both have new albums coming out soon and they both appear to be great albums based upon the music I've heard so far. Stay tuned!

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Anyone else notice that Iran is now stronger on the world stage than they were when we started bombing them? They were a regime that was on the verge of collapse, being openly protested by its citizens, with an old man in charge who might have been one of the last of the original hard-liners. Now the leadership of Iran is younger, even more hardline, and after a chaotic start decided to take over the Strait of Hormuz.

This of course has the Crime Administration's panties in a bunch and they're threatening war crimes if the Strati isn't opened. But what I'm noticing is that the Straight is open, just not to us. Iran has set themselves up as toll-keeper for the Strait, with a specific route approved for ships belonging to non-U.S./Israeli companies. For a fee people are offered safe... well, safe from Iranian attack... passage. Most of the world has fallen in line here.

Iran has gone from a country on the verge of financial collapse to being on it's way to financial stability. The Crime Administration cam bomb as much as they want, but the revenue they're generating from the Strait will cover most if not all repairs and then some. Instead of bombing them into the stone age we so far have bombed them into becoming one of the stronger countries in the region. Don't even get me started on why the current administration allowed Russian Ships carrying Iranian oil through the embargoes. Or the fact that most sanctions imposed against Russia have been dropped. Or that Russia supplies intel to Iran.

It's really not much of a stretch to move from Crime Administration to Treason Administration.

And please, stop saying that "The Epstein Files must really be something". We already know that. We simply don't have the political will to do something about it. This needs to change.

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And has anyone else noticed that someone in Iran is one hell of a lot better at governing by Social Media than the Crime Administration is? I mean, just look at this:

If any other President this century had tweeted out "Praise be to Allah" on Easter Sunday they'd be dead by now.

What do you call a Catholic who uses a Methodist Church as the backdrop or his latest memoir? It isn't Catholic, that's for sure.

The Crime Administration has lost the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, held in the US for 35 years, to Switzerland.

So I looked it up, and the Courts of the UK cannot make the King of England testify - not even if he wants to. I honestly believe that's the reason why Charles III won't meet with Epstein's Victims. Anything that comes up in such a meeting might get excluded in court, because it comes from a source that can't be subpoenaed. Even in a civil case. Meeting with the King of England could potentially throw out the cases in England, and I think that's too big a risk.

UCLA won the Women's NCAA Basketball Championship yesterday. Go Bruins! (I'm Class of '87).

Speaking on behalf of all the sane cis men, Dale Partridge should have his testicles revoked.

Even on those rare occasions that I follow baseball I have never been an Angels fan. That said, what Jo Adell did is impressive.

I have to wonder if the head of the Crime Administration still thinks he's a TV star. I wonder this because it looks like he's trying to fire his way to success again.

Has the solution to Citizens United been found in.... Montana!?!!?!!?!!? Okay Yellowstone, show us how it's done!

I look at this and think that we need that one elderly General at the Pentagon briefing from "Hunt for Red October" to finally say "They have a madman on their hands."

Apparently the MAGA version of the song is "Fuck You to the Moon".

The thing about living in a timeline populated with people we've raised to be stupid is that they're easily fooled and vote Republican - which is of course what they wanted.

And because I love you, you should see and listen to this great excerpt from the upcoming They Might Be Giants album, which is confoundingly not a single as of yet. This is a great song.

Radio Free California Episode 2613, some notes about the music and how spies are born.

 

We have a really eclectic mix this week! New music this week from internet sensations Angine de Poitrine, Suzi Quatro, Ellur, Momo Boyd, Snail Mail, Flea with Nick Cave, Stanley Simmons, Trashcan Sinatras, Tailgunner, The Jaws of Brooklyn and much more. Enjoy!

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For those of you who don't know, this week's opener is the art-rock band Andine de Poitrine, a mostly instrument band that uses unusual time signatures and micro-tuning in their music. Micro-tuning is incredibly rare in any form of music but these guys might be the first to really try it in a pop music setting. If you look at their guitarist's guitar you will see rather a large number of additional frets in between the usual guitar frets, allowing him to move halfway from one chromatic note to the next. If you didn't understand any of what I just said that's okay - the musicians got it and you can tell people that's why it sounds so strange. Their new single has a good vibe to it and so I've included it here.

Welp, hell must have frozen over. Not only is there a Charlie Puth song on here, it's with Kenny G. I DESPIZE Kenny G. Kenny G and his out-of-tune motherfucking soprano sax. The man has very little tonal control over what is his primary claim to fame and it makes me crazy. Give the man a tenor sax and I have no complaints. So how the hell did this happen? I think Mr. Puth has taken a little time to understand songwriting, and on his new album it shows. It's mostly mid to late 80's stuff, but it's well done. But Kenny G? Well, he's kept surprisingly in tune here and it works. Maybe Mr. Puth, who has perfect pitch, did some work on this one.

Count me as shocked as anyone.

At last Flea's solo album Honora finally dropped and if you were looking for Red Hot Chilli Peppers cast-offs you're going to be disappointed. Flea has put out a beautiful, sublime album that owes more to jazz than anything else, taking advantage of his trumpet skills as well as his bass skills with a beautiful arrangement of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin' 'bout You" (which I've added previously) and a haunting rendition of "Wichita Lineman" that features Nick Cave on vocals.

If it weren't for some of the production tricks you'd think that the self-titled new album from Uni Boys came out in the 1960's. Pure jangle pop like you haven't heard in decades and it's pretty catchy too.

Zakk Wylde fronted Black Label Society has a new album out and in addition to some very obvious nods to Ozzy Osbourne is some pretty good riff-based rock and roll. I've given you a couple of songs here, but I have NOT included the final track, which is a direct tribute to the late singer that gave him his career. It's going to be a hit, but I found it so drenched in syrup that I couldn't bring myself to like it.

Suzi Quattro's new album has also dropped, and for the most part it's a straight-ahead rocker, which to be fair is what she does. The remake of "Kick Out The Jams" with Alice Cooper is pretty good, but I close out this list with the unlikely "Choose Yourself", which I think is the best song on the album.

Finally I have to point out King Tuff, this year's latest entrant in the "I want to be T-Rex" contest. It's one of the better efforts in this vein, and the song I've added "Stairway to Nowhere" has a truly inspired bass line.

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Imagine hearing the call to serve your country as a young man or woman. You're a badass so you join the Marines. You go through training, gain a specialty, get trained, and are now graduate from the academy as an officer ready to spend the next few years (and maybe 20 or more) in service to your country.

Now imagine your parents coming to see you graduate only to be arrested and deported after an undeterminate stay in a prison camp.

Still want to serve your country?

Want to punch Stephen Miller in his motherfucking face?

The level of cruelty here is just astonishing. These kids have been brought up to be proud of their country; in a nation without a draft there absolutely must be a calling to be willing to put your life on the line to defend your country. I never felt that call myself but I know many who have and I find zero fault in their actions. These are good Americans, and we're about to deport the very people who raised them to become this.

I worry about much more than that. Imagine being a graduate, a person on officer and/or career track who is rewarded for their hard work by having their parents and perhaps other family members deported. Aren't you worried that this will create a deep-seated resentment of the country they signed up to serve?

Aren't you worried that this resentment will lead some of these graduates to be easy targets for spies? Aren't you concerned that they will become spies for the very countries you've deported their families to in exchange for positive treatment for their families by those very governments?

Aren't you worried that we've created our own worst enemies?

I am. I want to punch Stephen Miller in his motherfucking face. I won't, but I want to.

I'm an American and I love what this country is supposed to be.

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So Dog Killer Noem's husband is a cross-dressing on-line person wearing fake lopsided breasts while conversing with fetish models and running up a tab of over $25K? All while claiming his "Christian" faith? All while saying he is keeping his marriage together despite the obvious cheating the former head of DHS has doing with one of her staffers? And Noem didn't put him down with the dog and the goat? As one of my on-line friends said, "Christian nationalist spokes-model in an all but public affair has gay husband seems pretty boilerplate at this point. I feel like we get one or two of these a week."

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day, and of course the leader of the Crime Administration wants to give a speech to the nation. Something about Iran, Ballroom, Ask me about sex, whatever. I'm sure it will be just as focused.

Tomorrow we're also supposed to see major attacks from Iran on the Tech Industry in that region. That sounds somewhat more focused. There are a LOT of Datacenters in the region, because power is cheap.

Every Western State votes by mail. Oregon, Washington, and California. Fuck that East Coast President.

The Trans Agenda: To die of old age. Same as the rest of us. I support this.

And because I love you, I was todayy years old when I learned that this didn't start out as a song by the clash, but as a song by Eddy "Electric Avenue" Grant and his band The Equals.

Radio Free California Episode 2612

 

New music this week from Footballhead, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Anjimine, Bluhm, Peter Gabriel, Dan Lucas, Crooked Fingers, Jon Lampley, Special Friend, Theo Katzman, Joe Jackson and much more. Enjoy!

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So let's talk about this week's selections, starting with the opening track and album from Tedeschi Trucks Band. After a few albums where they dipped into mysticism and deep thought inspired by Hindi writings they have returned with a genuine straight-ahead rock and roll album called "Future Soul". While I really enjoyed these past few albums this new album is their bread and butter and as good as anything they've ever done.

Footballhead is a band I've been following for a while now, and their new album "Weight of the Truth" might be their best one yet. I had a real time narrowing down which songs to add to the playlist and still wound up adding 4 songs. They sound like a band with a much bigger following than they have and you should check them out.

Crooked Fingers is the on-again off-again project run by Eric Bachmann, who was the leader of the 90's alt-rocking band Archers of Loaf. Archers broke up 28 years ago and they still have a larger following than this band and that's a shame, because this new album is good stuff. I enjoyed the album "Swet Deth" and will admit I have a soft spot in my heart for any musician who, like me, started out on the sax.

The Dandy Warhols are a fun if occasionally perplexing band that's been around for quite a while now, and their now album "Pin Ups" as an album of covers, some of which are decidedly orr-brand for them. They cover The Runaways "Cherry Bomb" and America's "Sister Golden Hair" for example. They also cover The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary". 

I've known about trumpeter Jon Lampley for a while now, mostly as a side man for Cory Wong and as a band member of the band on Late Night with Stephen Colbert, plus numerous guest spots on other albums. He's a funky, soulful player and will have a new album out in June, the first single from which is called "Greener". All that said, I had no idea he could sing, and sing he does on this track. I think he's got quite the career going forward when Colbert's show ends in May.

Wretched Pinhead Puppets is another one of those bands I like but don't expect anyone else to. They're quirkey, hop styles all the time, and some of their work can be a challenge. I still collect it all though, just for myself. Their new single "Boarding the Bus" is a seriously good song and much more in line with the sensibilities I built this radio station for. I think you'll enjoy it.

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I came back three days later and discovered that I never hit "publish". But because I love you dig the joy that is Jon Lampley's "Greener" (and yes, that is Stephen Colbert you hear before the second verse):

Radio Free California Episode 2611

 

New music from The Lemon Twigs, The Balck Crowes, The Outfit, The Sophs, Rosie Carney, Bruce Springsteen, Violet Grohl, Dead Air, Bellvie, Momo Boyd, Hannah Lew, Bridget Calls Me Baby and much more! Enjoy!

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The Black Crowes are a band that for me give one or two performances each album that is better than the individual parts and then the rest gets bogged down in lesser creativity. Their new album is no different but this time they've put both songs right up front, and I've added them both to the playlist.

If you haven't yet now would be a good time to get into the band Sub-Radio. I know I feature them all the time, but they've just re-released their first album "Same Train//Different Station" with additional tracks and it is well worth your time.

It's only her third single but Dave Grohl's daughter Violet has proven herself quite worthy to carry on the mantle of one of the most interesting acts in rock and roll. Her hew single "545" is loud, obnoxious, and even pretty. I think she's going a long long way in this business.

Would it shock you to learn that The Long Ryders still sound like The Long Ryders? I haven't always liked their work but I did find stuff to add to the radio station and if you were already a fan this album shows you why they're still one of the best at what they do.

Yes, this playlist starts with a Charlie Puth song. I've never really been all that impressed with him, but he has an additional singer on this one, Utada Hikaru - a Japanese singer I am fond of - and she sings not only in English but in her native Japanese. Not something you usually get from someone of Puth's set of skills. This once, I'll allow it.

Finally, the new Bruce Springsteen album is the first single from an album of music dedicated to the late leader of The Pogues, Shane MacGowan. I don't even know if they knew each other but Bruce's tribute is heartfelt, simple and wonderful.

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And because I love you, here's a song that I freely admit took me some time to warm up to. I now recognize it is in fact a work of genius and the video is pretty fun.

Radio Free California Episode 2610

 

New music this week from Exploring Birdsong, GUINEVERE, Peter Gabriel, Dogstar, Frute, English Teacher, Hater, Cypress Hill and much more. Enjoy!

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Don't really feel like blogging today. My local bookstore is closing and the draft appears to be coming back. Until the federal government started holding up my financial aid I didn't register for the draft. I used my draft card as a bookmark for the novel "1984". It's still there.

The only good news I can think of is that as long as Hogsbreath is still in charge at the Department of Short Term Experience they aren't going to draft girls, and both of my children are female.

Never mind that the most kick-ass people I've ever met in my life have all been women.

But I am going to leave you with a video, and because I love you and this is awesome, have some jazz harp:

Radio Free California Episode 2609, some notes about the music, and what do we call this - Epstein Fury? Masculine Insecurity? Eric is a Furry?

 

New music this week from Starbenders, Big Wreck, Social Distortion, The Intersphere, American Football, Nothing, Suzi Quatro, Sub-Radio, Bruno Mars, GoGo Penguin and so much more. Enjoy!

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The first band I want to bring to your attention is The Intersphere - a band I wish I had discovered three years ago when their album Wanderer came out. I caught on to their new single "Time to Deliver" and was impressed enough to check their back catalog and their album "Wanderer" is a bloody great album. I even added the title track to the playlist. Yes, I know it's not a new song but hey, its my radio station and I can break a rule now and again.

The new album from Starbenders, The Beast Goes On, is worth exploring if you are a classic rock type of listener. Over the course of the past few months almost every song from the album has been released as a single and I've been adding them bit by bit. Check them out.

Big Wreck's "The Rest of the Story" came out at the end on 2025 and is gaining some momentum. It's a hard rocking album with interesting ideas and unexpected grooves that are worth checking out.

Of course I added Social Distortion's new single, "Born to Kill". I'm a Social D fan from way back in the day, and it's looking like they haven't dropped a step in the years since I last saw them $@$#%# years ago.

I'll be honest, I've never really been a fan of Gorillaz. It always seemed to me to be an extreme overreaction by Damon Alburn (lead vocals and primary songwriter) to be different from his work in Blur. The concept of cartoon characters as the members of the band isn't novel - I've used it myself - but they at least do that part well. I have changed my mind about their new album, "The Mountain". It's not the most radio friendly material but it's honest and heartfelt and a great listen. They've also done their visuals proud, with a video that combines THREE of the songs from the album into a single narrative (which I think is a first); "The Mountain" "The Moon Cave" and "Sad God". I've posted the video at the and of this blog entry and it's well worth your time.

I still find the song "Clint Eastwood" boring as hell though.

Suzi Quatro's new single had to be added of course. It's not ground-breaking by any stretch but it's worth remembering that Ms. Quatro is the ORIGINAL heavy rocking front-woman.

The Legal Matters are a power-pop band from the mid-west of the United States and their new album "Lost at Sea" has some real gems. They remind me somewhat of Jellyfish and other bands of that era, but with a 1970's pop flair. They're worth your time.

Finally, I need to address an Elephant in the Room situation, the inclusion of the new song by Gnarls Barkley. CeeLo Green (the group's lead singer) got himself into trouble a few years back (2012) with a sexual assault charge that was eventually reduced and he pled no contest to. That's guilty. He's done his time and served his sentence and apologized, but does that excuse it all? I have no fucking clue and I suspect neither do you. We weren't there. By the same token, some of his public statements from the time are pretty fucking deplorable, and the fact that this is work with Danger Mouse instead of his solo career can be read in a million different ways.

I'm not qualified to judge. It's that simple. Listen to the song, skip it, do as you please. If I didn't know it was CeeLo singing I wouldn't even give adding the song a second thought. The song is pretty good. Is the singer a decent human being? Hell if I know. I'd love to know your thoughts - I could very well be in the wrong for including it and if so, you should call me out on it. 

Playlists can be changed.

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Just how much stuff can get thrown at the world in the effort to distract from the Epstein Files?

I mean, we're at war with Iran now, and the man who insisted on getting his own Peace Prize has now instigated more regime changes during his terms than any other President. There's talk of war crimes, running out of defensive missiles, and no real strategy involved here.

But I do notice it was started within hours of the Clintons giving their testimony regarding Epstein, and both of them walking away unscathed while opening up more questions about the old man who just put us on a war footing.

Of course, this has been brewing for a couple of weeks now, as anyone who paid any attention to recent troop movements should have noticed that we moved a fuckton of assets into the region. The fact that some people gambled and won fortunes on the bombings isn't as "insider trading" as you might think, although the fact that a forum to place the bet even exists is troublesome.

You know who is against war in Iran? An awful lot of MAGA. Hell, when he was still alive Charlie Kirk was against it. (Was he silenced? Come on you MAGAfucks, run with it baby!!!!!)

Did you know there was a mass shooting just yesterday, in Austin Texas?

But what I think I'm most disturbed by about these past few days is the normalization of all of this, bust because he managed to kill Supreme Leader Khameni, who had been running Iran for decades. Everybody wanted him gone and welp, he's gone. I'm not sure this changes anything but leadership in many countries have gone on record supporting his "removal".

Folks, the process matters.

Did you know that the State of Kansas, where some of my own family is from, just told all Trans people in the state to turn in their driver's licenses? Identification cards? Birth Certificates? They were never going to stop with the fucking bathrooms.

Oh and by the way, do you have all of your online storage backed up? Lots of the major players have servers in the Middle East. I know of at least one data center run by AWS (Amazon) that has been bombed. And did you know that AWS leases server space to the Israeli military? All I can tell you is that I'm really glad I moved my cloud storage away from AWS years ago.

I think it's also worth pointing out that a whole fuckton of AI computing power is in data centers in the Middle East. Why? Because they were first off the ground with what's called "Hyperscale" buildings that have enormous power usage (enough to power a small city - which is what AI takes) and they had the power available. I notice that several AI platforms have had issues today.

Kuwait shot down three F-15 airplanes belonging to the United States today. We have bases in Kuwait. The pilots all survived fortunately, but in all seriousness this is proof that there is no real plan here. Part of Logistics is coordinating between the various powers involved so that shit like this doesn't happen. Wasn't Hogsbreath a Logistics Officer? Oh yeah, he was just a Captain. And important job - and even vital - but it doesn't train you for stuff like this, and he fired the people who would know.

Just so you know how things can go sideways quickly in ways you can't predict, I have a friend whose father (who lives on the East Coast of the US) goes to Vietnam every few years. It's a long flight and he's getting up in years, but he always goes. And just this weekend he has had to scramble because his connecting flight was in Dubai. He's now flying the other direction. It's a longer flight, but he has no choice now. Thanks to the events of this weekend it's not safe to fly through the Middle East right now.

Didn't think of that, did they?

By the way, does the old man have Shingles? I'd bet a large sum of money that he never got vaxxed for it. Get vaxxed. I did and beyond a sore arm for a couple of days I was fine.

Speaking of unvaccinated people, we may have a real problem now that Measles and Polio are back: no one knows how to treat them. We had eradicated these diseases for long enough that no one gets trained on how to fight it, and Doctors have no experience with it. The ones who knew how are mostly gone, and today's Doctors have never seen it before. If you get Measles the odds are you're going to be mis-diagnosed, just because you'd be your Doctor's first patient with it.

Oh, and do you know who the Crime Administration sent to preside over the UN Security Council today, while everyone else is busy doing war stuff at Mar-A-Lago? Melania. Seriously, Melania. Looks like that "documentary" is gonna need a coda.

Jersey's gotta Jersey: The FUCK ICE Act.

And because I love you and as mentioned above, here is that AMAZING video from Gorillaz: