Day Drinking and the overturn of Roe v. Wade

 

So today has been a horrible day. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade the women of this country have taken a serious blow to their rights all in the name of a religion that I myself am not a member of. In fact, in favor of religious beliefs that the majority of the country doesn't hold. I have daughters, and this is disgusting to me.

My wife decided that she wanted to cancel her day's plans and go drinking. I don't blame her one damned bit. Unfortunately with the Pandemic and a number of changes to our local neighborhood in the aftermath (if you can call it that when it's still going so fucking strong) we've lost our local hangouts. The Cliff House is gone, The Beach Chalet has converted itself into a TGIFriday's without the name or soul. The Lincoln Bar is now a pick-up window and Hockey Haven no longer does food.

We spent 45 minutes just trying to find a place. After numerous stops we said FUCK IT and went to See's Candy on Clement Street to buy chocolate. It's not booze, but it's not bad. While my wife went in I found parking and dropped a letter into a mailbox when I spotted an open door. Inside this door is a HUGE fucking bar, a lunch menu and one customer. I met with my wife and said "I found something".

This place is called "Lost Marbles" and although I didn't recognize it at first, it's in the same location a former pretend Opium Den called Pizza Orgasmica used to be (pizza and drinks while lounging on cushions - it was marvelous). We went in, sat at the bar and started ordering drinks. Mostly gin for me because that's me, and various bartender recommendations for my wife. 

Like I said, the place is empty so we start talking with the bartenders. We order lunch (french dip for the missus, a burger for me) and proceed to just get hammered. Over the course of this we try a number of drinks, sample their home-brewed beers, and then suddenly discovered that my wife knows the mother of one of the bartenders. They wound up texting and swapping stories.

Before we left I stumbled to the bathroom (seriously, I stumbled) to just wash my hands and saw a sight so odd I thought I was hallucinating. I took a picture of it, and it's at the top of this post. It's in the sit down stall of the men's room.

It's been a terrible day, but for just a little bit my wife and I were able to get shit-faced drunk, meet people, and have what turned into a quite nice afternoon. I tipped very well and we intend to go back - this might be our new place for day drinking.

My wife and daughters have been re-tasked as walking/talking wombs with no control over their bodies - should we ever leave California. We're not fucking moving out of California if we're staying in the United States. This is presently up for debate in my household.

The country has lost it's fucking marbles. But for a brief little while, we found them.

Radio Free California Episode 2225, plus a couple days worth of cheap shots

 

Great week for new music, including Putuma Tiso, Scary Pockets, Particle Kid, Dawes, Yes the Raven, Cola, Drake, Alice Merton, Belle and Sebastion, Pixies and much more. Enjoy!

This week's artists by twitter handle, unless otherwise marked:

@scarypockets featuring Nataly Dawn of @pomplamoose
Fug, mixed by @4hero
@Fear2Stop
Paige Boyd (unsure about her socials)
@pomplamoose with @BennySingsmusic
@jacmnelson3 with @jmascis, Paul Bushnell and @SunnyWar
@dawestheband
Yes The Raven (aka Alan-Mearns-Classical-Guitar-100269509278868 on Meta)
@thirdmanrecords
@PIXIES
@bellesglasgow
@The_Gargantuas featuring April Murray
@Drake
@FashionClubBand
band_cola (Instagram)
@horsejol
@petfoxband
@AliceMerton
@therealgreydaze featuring Dave Navarro
@p_menis
@Ms_Tiso with @BrendaMtambo

Stuff 

Cheap Shots (Monday is Rum Day - even if I post this on a Tuesday):

As near as I can tell, no one on the progressive side has called in death threats for Baron. And while we're at it, how many felonies are committed in this ad? I got 7.

I'll be honest, this one hadn't occurred to me - mostly because I tend to believe that the man just isn't smart enough to have thought of this.

Pay the woman.

Rudy "motherfucking cocksucker" Guliani is so incredibly fucking racist that he accused Shaye Moss of doing "Heroin or Cocaine" (as opposed to eating a mint candy). Punch him in the fucking teeth.

Well, bye.

One person, one vote - unless you're a Republican.

Kill the Heritage Foundation.

Scandal!

Gavin Gavin drops the mic.

You got it on film (maybe)?

I hate agreeing with this motherfucker on anything, but he has a good point.

And because I love you, did you hear that Queen Bey dropped a single?

Radio Free California Episode 2224, plus a few cheap shots (didja watch the hearings?)

 

A spectacular week for new music, featuring Erin Annie, Yoo Doo Right, David Paich, Ainsley Costello, The Wild Things (with a special guest), The Mountain Goats, Tough on Fridays and much more! Enjoy!

Here are this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:

@earthtoerinanne
David Paich of @toto99com
@JourneyOfficial
@animeraider
Rijell with Alex Normand (no socials - look them up on Spotify)
@ainsleymusic07
@rummyhx

@AndrewOneAware
mikesanto.s (Instagram)
@martincourtney_
@TheWildThings featuring Pete Townsend of @TheWho
@ToughOnFridays
@mountain_goats
@TheSheepdogs
@YYYs featuring @perfumegenius
@ElvisCostello and Allan Mayes (a.k.a. "Rusty")
@_DreamSyndicate
@JoyceManor
@kelley_stoltz
@MichaelRault
theinflorescenceband (Instagram)
yoodoowrong (Instagram)

Yeah, this list is heavy on Erin Anne but so what. Make your own list if you don't like it. This is the best album I've heard in months. And why is a song of my own from 2008 on there? Because I just released a extended edition of the album it's from. There will be a video shortly, and I'm going to give the song a small push. That's why.

Cheap shots:

I have to admit that this is more polite than "that drunk motherfucker in the corner."

Alas, it's not perjury. Not yet.

But this is.

Oh come on people, be gracious and mention the fact that his wife went into labor in the fucking headline, not several paragraphs down.

Fascist.

Bilingue, por favor.

I am concerned that this man might need a cat scan.

A $95,000,000.00 fine? Just how much is this New Jersey motherfucker worth?

Please, let's not revise this man into a hero. Maybe he has a future in movie reviews.

And because I love you, let me introduce you to the mad genius of Leo Moracchioli, aka Frog Leap Studios:

Radio Free California Episode 2223, cheap shots and more.

 

Solid week for new music including Supercrush, Astronoid, Nataly Dawn, Beth Hart, Drive-By Truckers, Jasmyn, Vulfmon and so much more. Even I make an appearance! Enjoy!

Here are this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:

supercrushofficial (Instagram)
@astronoid
Uglysmileband (Facebook/Meta)
Vulfmon (aka Jack Stratton of @vulfpeck) featuring @JacobJeffries
@natalydawn
Rijell (find him on Spotify)
Wandering-With-102937471826783 (Facebook/Meta) featuring @musicbyscarIett
@thedolcediablo
@ChiliPeppers
@BethHart
@MusicNegrito
@andrewbird
The Frowning Clouds (no socials)
@kelley_stoltz
@themellonsmusic
@drivebytruckers
@musichorsegirl
@lukesteele
@JensLekman
@DerekAndSusan
@zelonerecords
@stellawthasigma featuring @redinhoOFFICIAL
@jasmynonline
@animeraider (hey, that's me!)

Cheap Shots (Monday is Rum day!)

One of our Supreme Court Justices is a brainwashed cultist.

I think it's worth point out that the moron who said this is worth over 25 times what Biden is worth. Biden is the least rich President since Eisenhower.

Fire these cowardly fuckers..

Well, bye.

Maybe, just maybe, we should stop endorsing candidates who have the support of a White South African Billionaire? They all seem to be racist fucks.

I've never fully understood why people lie about things that are so easy to prove wrong.

There is more active "grooming" taking place in the US Military than in any school.

Again with the lying.

Sociopaths can get a stamp.

By the way, the NRA spends less on school safety than it does on their CEO's wardrobe.

I sense an upcoming programming change.

You know, you really can't call it a "Sham Witch-Hunt" if they actually find witches.

Brace yourselves.

Worse than Theresa May, and she was out within months.

And because I love you, take a look at how the 4th track on this playlist is done:

Radio Free California Episode 2222, Cheap shots, and Fuck the NRA

 

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally strong for new music and this week is no exception, including Serge Tiagnyriadno, Ann Wilson, Built to Spill, Ryan Adams, They Ceys, Fear 2 Stop, Wilco, Built to Spill and much much more. Enjoy!

This week's artists by twitter handle, unless otherwise marked:

@jameslabrie
@serge_ti (SlavaUkraïni)
@AnnWilson
@PeachyDukes
@Fear2Stop
@scarypockets featuring @drh3
@ProAuricular
@Soumyajit42 featuring @mrhatestheworld
@ceys_music
@Book0fficial
坂本真綾 (lots of fake accounts, so I'm not listing one)
@engagementmusic
Stories featuring @thisisrozzi
@earlyjamesbham
@Built_2_Spill
@florencemachine
@sheandhim
@Wilco
@ezrafurman
@amythystkiah
@TheValerieJune
@TheRyanAdams
@NoelGallagher
@Brian__Jackson
dehdforever (Instagram)
@Harry_Styles
@youarestars
@michaelheadtreb
@alfietempleman
@FloorJansen_
@mikeyj_music
@SpinoLetta
@SilverNightmar5
@HazeAndrea2021
@PeterHollens and @TimFoustMusic

Fuck the NRA.

Cheap Shots (Usually Monday is Rum day, but it's a holiday. Drink what you want):

Thoughts and Prayers.

About having a day in court.

My term for it is "Cosplay Congressmen".

Cream spree.

In other words here's how nothing happens.

Screw bi-partisanship. It never was.

Boo, motherfucker. Boo.

Kick his ass, Shaft!

Get used to it fuckface. Or don't. I don't fucking care.

And now you've got the funniest sight gag in Simpson's history stuck in your head. You're welcome.

Sitcoms in Russia. I shit you not.

You have gone so far to the right that running to the left of you simply means I'm a Democrat.

And because I love you, Here is my new release, "Jack"/ I posted about it's creation in a previous post - you should read it.

Radio Free California Episode 2221, plus a few cheap shots.

 

Fun week for new music with tracks from The Lickerish Quartet, Avi Kaplan, Rodrigo Aguilera, Grant-Lee Phillips, Uffie, Metric and much much more. Enjoy!

Here is the list of this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:

@TheLickerish
@ericwalkeruk
@scarypockets featuring @drh3
@Avi_Kaplan
@rijellmusic
@Soumyajit42 featuring @NaraArnaux
@mtl_bar
@chuenque
@JourneyOfficial
@Liss_4life with @niluferyanya
@bretmckenzie3
@volkermilch featuring @SkullSmith1
@Fear2Stop
@porridgeradio
@GrantLeeTweets
@thelittleidiot
@train
@steadycraig
@UffieUfficial
@paulosborne74
@soaksoaksoak
Thomas Dollbaum (No socials I could find, but he's on bandcamp - check him out)
dewmah_fuzzwah (Instagram)
@jordananye
@tessnormaparks
@Metric

Cheap Shots (remember Monday is Rum day):

Traitor.

You haul 35 tons and what do you get?

The firs thought that entered my head was "where is he going to live now"?

Every 30 hours? Why couldn't one of them have been me?

I don't always agree with Ted Rall, but I absolutely believe his voice is vital to the discussion.

A lot of people are saying that 6 isn't enough, but personally I think that this is all that the American attention span can handle.It's either going to be enough or nothing ever will be.

You fuckstains are aware that monkeypox has been known to exist since 1958, right? Right?

Derecho.

If you actually read Thomas' writing in the ruling, it can be boiled down to "The conviction is right, even if it's wrong, and fuck your feelings." This decision is going to kill people.

Tax the fuck out of him.

And because I love you, have some They Might Be Giants:

A day in April 2022, or how I improvised and recorded a new album with no planning and loved it

Some many years ago, the fantastic band Rage Against the Machine broke onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the middle of a trading day, set up and just started playing. In fact, they recorded a music video before getting chased out by the police. 

It. Was. AWESOME!!!!!

I love that band. The message, the music, the sheer performance chops of everyone involved. The audacity of it. Just fucking brilliant.

I've done something similar, yet completely different, on a smaller scale and yet larger at the same time.

There is an organization that my wife belongs to that I do not that she's actually fairly high up the food chain in. She's been spending the past few months putting together a reception/party for one of the officers of the group - the first real one since the lock down/pandemic uprooted everything. I've stayed out of it - this is my wife's thing and she's good at it.

The day of the event was April 24th, 2022 in Berkeley, California. I was invited to the event and thought to myself, "at least that's a free lunch". I don't know many people in this organization, don't care for some of them, and don't much like the organization itself. In fact, I was opposed to my wife joining it until she gave me a reason that I simply couldn't counter - which I will not go into here. As long as I'm left out of it it's all good for me, and my wife gets a whole range of things she does without my influence. 

It works.

Anyway, this place in Berkeley had the reception in a downstairs room that came with a kitchen for the caterers, but upstairs was to be the ceremony itself in this HUGE hall with 40 foot ceilings and astonishing acoustics. Seriously, you can hear a person whisper from across the room. And in the center of this room was a baby grand piano. Okay, not right in the center but you get the idea.

Now you can ask anyone - just like a mama bear and a cub you do NOT get in between me and a piano. I have been sitting down and improvising at random pianos for decades now. In restaurants, hotels, airports, parks, zoos, people's homes, cruise ships, and once in a barn. Because my wife was in charge of the part on the floor below we had arrived 4 hours before the event in question. My wife had the key to the hall upstairs though, and I was sent to be out of the way and oh hey there's a piano in there.

I promise you, I was happy with this.

Over the course of a couple of hours I just let my fingers wander around the keys - sometimes playing coherently and sometimes not. I played in many styles and I let my imagination run. The room was open; people could come and go as they pleased and they did. At one point two men came in to set up a P.A. system.for the upcoming event. People wondered in and out of the room, wondering where the noise was coming from and I ignored them all.

This was a beautiful piano, and old Chickering that had been loved and looked after and recently tuned. This is my idea of a little slice of heaven and so after only a few minutes I pulled out my phone and decided to test out an app from Dolby Studios I have. I played for a few minutes and recorded what I played.

And then I did it again. And again. 

I improvised and recorded an entire album with no one else in the room even knowing I was doing it. The album is called "Thousand Year Event" and will be released June 7th, 2022. Just me and the piano and 100% improvised.

You can hear some background noise on the album. That would be the people coming and going. You can hear me breathe. You can hear the P.A. guys arguing at one point, although not the exact words.

This music is hard to categorize. I refer to it as classical with a jazz influence but the streaming services don't much care for that. Alternative New Age? Maybe. I'm not a virtuoso pianist so we won't be calling it that. I've always liked the "Alternative" label because to me that just means I'm not doing things the way you expect. I go off on tangents all the time - just doing the pop and rock stuff alone is kind of boring to me.

Alternative is recording an entire improvised album in a room you're not supposed to be in that belongs to a club you're not a member of with no one else even noticing that you're doing it while they're in the room with you.

There will even be a single, called "Jack", whose voice you can hear but not make out in the recording. There will even be a video. In fact, there will be two.

So that's the story of how I went out to lunch and recorded an album before coming home, without knowing until after I arrived at the venue that I would be doing so.

I'll let you know when the videos are out, or you can follow me on Youtube.

Radio Free California Episode 2220, plus a video from the Eurovision Winner

 

An eclectic mix of new music this week, from such stalwarts as Adrian Belew, The Fixx, Bruce Hornsby, Blondie (which is actually a re-release of something long out of print), Florence + the Machine, plus such indie artists as Jerry Gomes, Dawes and much more! Enjoy!

Here is this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:

@scarypockets featuring @realLouisCato
Darkcave (still no socials)

Jerry Gomes (I think I'm the only person following him on Spotify. No socials)

stories (aka Scary Pockets) featuring @indiacarney
@dawestheband
@PONDband with Cowboy John
@THEadrianbelew
@Fear2Stop
@theblackkeys with @BillyFGibbons
@Wilco
Folk IMplosion (aka @TheLouBarlow and John Davis)
@jdmcphersonjr
@FixxOnline
@BlondieOfficial
@joyydowner with @beck
@brucehornsby
@thesmiletheband
@florencemachine
@TheMandyMoore
@TankandDaBangas
@SaySueMe
@TheActualMuffs
@pineapplethief

And because I love you, here is this year's Eurovision winner:

Radio Free California Episode 2219, plus a quick thought or two about Fractal Stupidity.

 

Solid week for new music including releases from The LIckerish Quartet, Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders (me!), Avi Kaplan, Belle and Sebastian, Vero, Suggs with Paul Weller, Warpaint, and much more. Enjoy!

Here are this week's artists by twitter handle unless otherwise marked:

@TheLickerish with Shad
@alyandaj
@pomplamoose with @BennySingsmusic
@animeraider (hey, that's me!)
@scarypockets featuring @CaseyBassy and reesetea (Instagram)
wanderingwithmusic (Instagram) with @musicbyscarIett
@Avi_Kaplan
@Kiffie8
@joeyDosik
Dream Club (no active socials I could find) with @thepureca
@p_menis with frequent collaborator Ramon Sanz and Jack Bucarey
@_GuidedByVoices
thesuggsmcpherson (Facebook) and @paulwellerHQ (and yes, it does sound like Madness meets The Jam because IT IS!!!)
Mike Santos (socials unknown)
@MUNYA_MUNYAAA
@arcadefire featuring @itspetergabriel
@vero_band
@bellesglasgow
wearerivalsband (Facebook)
@DrBrianMay
@sharonvanetten
@_Warpaint
@rollingbcf
@thisissigrid
@haterrmusic
@IbeyiOfficial
@sukiwaterhouse
@emelisande
@Sunflower_Bean
@awolnation featuring @beck
@AndrewLeahey

I've had a week now (as have you) to absorb the impending doom of Roe v. Wade and have come to a singular conclusion that this country is now divided into two camps: Republicans and Americans.

Justice Alito's opinion ignores centuries of American precedence, including the fact that Benjamin Franklin included abortion instructions in his adaptation of "The Instructor" in 1748. Abortion is an American right - this opinion is catering to a religious SECT. To Cosplay Christians. 

W're already seeing women who have miscarriages charged with crimes. It's going to get much worse, I promise you, unless we somehow manage to take a step in the correct direction. I am not hopeful. This wasn't a surprise - it's been coming for almost 50 years.

Some months back I was offered the chance to move to Texas. It would be for good money and a solid living. I turned it down. When asked why I just said, "Because I have daughters." There are at least 22 other states that I would say the same thing about. I feel glad and occasionally lucky to live in Coastal California.

A woman I follow on twitter coined the phrase "Fractally Stupid" and I think it applies here. To quote: "Fractally Stupidity is when each bit of stupid, is made of more stupid. A veritable Mandelbrot set of stupid- supported on the backs of four giant stupids, and before you ask what's under them- it's stupid all the way down."

This decision opens the way to repealing marriage equality - not just for gays but for interracial couples. This decision could be used to criminalize gay sex. This decision could be used to desegregate schools.

Fractally Stupid.

Oh, and did you notice that the state of Wisconsin's Republican-led legislature just passed a bill that allows 14 year-olds to work as late as 11pm? You know, motherfucking child labor? It only takes a little digging to find weird shit like this happening in Republican legislatures all over the country.

The American Experiment appears to be over. It failed. It might be time to pack.

But because I love you, have some Lickerish Quartet:

Radio Free California Episode 2218

 

Wildly eclectic week for new music from classic artists like Journey and Rammstein to indie artists like Fear 2 Stop, Adam Bostock plus lots of other artists to give a listen to. Enjoy!

Here are this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise noted:

@JourneyOfficial
@Haken_Official
@corywong with @lindsayell
@pomplamoose
Rijell (no socials for now)
@Fear2Stop
@mtl_bar and Rob Stuart
@UlkarAhmadNasir
@dolcediablo6
@home_gala with Not Spazz and @potheadsavage
The Aluminum Group (No socials - it's their first album in many years)
@switchfoot with @lovelytheband
@cspaceduncan
@NekoCase
@Umoza_Music with @PaulMcCartney
@melodyprochet
@BlocParty
@ToroyMoi
@Tromboneshorty
@elipaperboyreed
@Seratones
@thelegofgrandma
@DianeCoffee1 with @deepseadiverbnd
@tomberlin
@RSprachrohr
Congotronics International (See last week's for more details)
@danagavanski
@sofitukker
@frontpersonband
@AdamBostockRock

Cheap shots (Monday is Rum day):

Aw, I got nothing. But why is it that New Kids on the Block are all of a sudden kinda good? I'm told this is an older song but I never heard it before today.

Radio Free California Episode 2217, and a few cheap shots

 

Quite the week for new music, including The Lickerish Quartet, Cory Wong and Chromeo, Dorothy, a great new album from Hatchie, Erica Nockalls, The Pineapple Thief and so much more from artists you know and should know. Enjoy!

Here is a listing of this week's artists, by twitter handle unless otherwise noted:

@DefLeppard
@itsdorothysucka
@corywong and @Chromeo
@TheLickerish
@Erica_Nockalls
@iamhillhunter
@pineapplethief
@steadycraig
3rd Secret - no socials I could find but made up of Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam/Soundgarden, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Bubba Dupree (Void), Jillian Raye (Giants in the Trees), and Jennifer Johnson. Just WOW.
@_billy_nomates
@Fakefruitband
sylvie_music_ (Instagram)
@timheidecker
Congotronics International, A supergroup comprising Deerhoof + Juana Molina + Kasai Allstars + Konono No.1 + Skeletons + Wildbirds & Peacedrums
@SGGoodmanKY
@kinggizzard
@officialSpzd
@hihatchie
@TheBonnieRaitt
@crowmedicine
@tessroby
@jeanines_nyc
@fontainesdublin
@katebsongs
@myideatheband
@jacmnelson3
@scareymusic
@beckman_jay featuring @Bipolar_Cowboy and @TheBipolarBros
@DrBrianMay
@FloodFloodmusic with Robbie Michaels (@RobbieM1966 I think)

Cheap Shots (It's Vodka Tuesday. UKRAINIAN Vodka Tuesday!):

“So I repeat again, the senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin.” Senator John McCain on Rand Paul, 2017.

Now this is what pardons are for.

It's hard to believe sometimes that this woman was once "The Virgin Kennedy". You have a Google - look it up.

The number of times he's been caught this way suggests to me that from time to time he's succeeded. The wheelchair doesn't give you free reign to be a fucking asshole you douchebag. And then his day got worse.

Using Rand's logic here I guess that means we have to give back Alaska.

As much as anyone might want to, you can't impeach anyone over a policy difference you stupid motherfuckers. Crimes is what it takes.

Yer a fuckin' liar.

Don't you just hate it when the brats squabble?

To which I say "На хуй ти" and not "пошел на хуй" (two drinks)

Moo.

"No punishment, but don't let it happen again." Yay America.

Is Texas capable of doing the right thing here? Evidence says no, but today, a glimmer of hope.

Sand Crisis.

And because I love you here is 3rd Street performing the same song I picked above - and I should not that I didn't know who they were when I picked it.