Mixing the groove, Radio Free California Episode 2633, notes about this week's selections

New music this week from Asia, my neighbor The Reds, Pinks and Purples, Echo & The Bunnymen, Jon Batiste, Pete Yorn, The Retrograde, Mastadon, The Womack Sisters, Hovvdy and much more. Enjoy!

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Let me start off this week by simply saying that Jon Batiste is a national treasure. He dropped three albums this past week; one a re-interpretation of classical standards as seen through the eyes of New Orleans, and two separate albums in the stylings of Thelonius Monk. I close out this playlist with one of those tracks, and I recommend picking up all three.

Can I mention what a revelation the new Pete Yorn album, "All The Beauty", is? I've never really been all that big a fan, but this new album is one of those that you listen and think, "that was pretty good" but you listen again and each song gets better and better. I had a lot of new music this week and decided that no artist would get more than 2 songs and I had a hard time picking only two. Highly recommended.

Why oh why didn't I discover The Retrograde sooner? Another artist with 2 selections this week from their EP "Live Forever". Classic rock and roll riffs, great playing, fun lyrics. You really can't miss.

And now for a mea culpa. My third artist with 2 songs selected is not a new release. I rarely ever do this because I want these playlists to focus on new music, but Tate McRae's EP "The One Day LP" came out in 2021. In fact, I had never heard of her before this past week. How the hell does someone who does what I do miss an artist with 43 MILLION listeners every month? Pretty easily it would appear. I find most of her work to be fairly ordinary but this EP, which was my introduction to her work, I thought was special and I had picked out material to add before I realized that this album is 5 years old. So I'm pulling out the rare "my station my rules" card here. The radio station has over 2,100 songs in rotation right now, I can be allowed a couple like this. Oh, and before I forget, here is the link to the radio station:

Radio Free California

The "Dark Side" mix of the latest by Peter Gabriel is now out and as per usual it's the version I like better. Sometimes it seems unfair that so much talent can belong to one man.

I did not have a new release by Echo & The Bunnymen on my expectations and am glad to see they still sound like themselves after all these years. If the rest of the album is like the first single, we're in for a good time. Similarly, I did not have an appearance from New Radicals on my bingo card either. 

And finally, I must give a shout out to The Womack Sisters and their self-titled debut album. Being the nieces of Bobby Womack brings a certain expectation and not only do they deliver, they exceed in a form of soul music you don't hear very much these days. If you want a trip down memory lane that's also completely new this is where you want to go.

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I have a LOT of musical coals on the fire these days. I've spent a lot of the past year working on instrumental music, and I've been itching to get back to vocal work and rock and roll, which I plan to have as my focus for 2027. For music I've already released this year I have music from three separate releases up for awards and am being inducted into the Indie Music Hall of Fame. 

But right now?

A remake of an old English smash hit that I really hope the original writer of (who is still working) won't get too mad at me for taking a small liberty with his lyrics.

An honest to dog mid-80's style funk tune. Seriously, sometimes I think I'm ripping off Prince, while sometimes I feel like I'm parodying him. And there's a spot in the song where it takes great restraint to not add the synth line from Neneh Cherry's "Buffalo Stance".

Remastering and enhancing music I haven't listened to since the record label I was signed to decided to shelve my major label release. Some of it really out there and some of it incredibly saccharine.

As part of that I've been slowly getting the old tapes that are finally back in my possession converted to digital. And I've discovered that the studio I used back in the day would screw around with tape speeds. Not during a song, but between songs. Not hard to fix, but I was initially shocked at how much higher my voice was 40 years ago.

And Kevin and Ed, if you're reading this, one of those tapes has 3 songs by a band called ASK. Original Demos, fully realized. I think we're going to need to talk.

As a musician, I have always been a creature of the studio. This puts me in the minority, believe it or don't. Most musicians thrive in a live setting. Getting the audience feedback. It can be like a feedback loop on a good night, and I admit the thrill of it is hard to match. I have been that musician, but never fully committed to it.

It's the studio where my real creativity comes out. I'm not afraid to edit performances together, play with parameters, try new ideas, mix and edit and mix and edit again and again until I get what I am looking for.

For example, 4 years ago I was invited to an event for a friend and found myself sitting alone at a piano for over an hour. I just improvised. No audience for almost the whole time. Just me and my phone, which I used to record what I was playing. The original thought was that I'd use what I recorded to refine into full songs later, but it turned out that the recording was a fantastic quality, which I didn't anticipate. Thank you Dolby Labs for the app.

So instead I spent a month refining the recordings and turning the improvisations into songs. One of those songs, a track called "Jack" wound up winning a couple of awards. The performance was important, of course, and I'm pretty good at improvising at a piano, but it's the hours spent at an audio console in my home that turned it into what it is. Here is one of the two videos for that track, which is culled together from 3 separate moments of improvisation:

In some spots you can hear me breathe, hear me manipulating the pedals. At one point you can hear workmen trying to set up for an event.

Another example: until 2025 all 5 members of Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders had never been in the same room at the same time. We shoot ideas off of each other all the time but at the end of the day it's me who puts all of our performances together. Our album "Frankfurt am Main" is many many hours of recording, much of it improvised or with the most bare of charts, distilled down into only a few songs. That was my work, refining, organizing, editing down to the picosecond, adding ideas with new tracks recorded in my home studio and so on.

All of those tracks at the top of this post are at points where I need to hunker down and work. For example, that remake has everything save the vocals recorded, and I really need to edit the bass parts to deal with that section where wrong notes were played and fix the timing of one of the keyboard parts before I put down vocals. The funk tune only needs vocals but I need to figure out how to make the top of my singing register work with that style of music. My old tunes are desperately screaming out for guitar parts (vocals on those are done).

So that's just me at my desk, bouncing tracks between two screens, listening and relistening and trying different effects and ideas, over and over and over with a roll of Sweet-Tarts at my beck and call. The Sweet-Tarts are key. There has been many a time where I start working on something and suddenly hours have passed. If you've ever been "in the zone" for anything at all in your life you'll know exactly what I mean. I've had moments since relocating to San Francisco where I will look up to take a break and realize that the reason my hands are shaking is because it's cold in here and I never turned on the heater.

Working as I do has allowed me to discover things like substituting a shaker for the hi hat. The sound of backing vocals singing the same line as the lead but so buried in the mix it only sounds like an enhancement of the main vocal line. The power of also whispering the lyrics keep in the mix. How to space out guitars in the mix. When to compress and when not to. When to throw away something you can't get to work and try something else. Creating a "room" that your mix exists in. Finding the beauty in imperfection.

This is my sweet spot. The part of the music business I call home. I love it. I probably should have become a producer. In all fairness, I have produced a few artists over the years.

And this is where I'm going to be for the next two months or so. It probably won't look any different to all of you who only know me on the Internet but to my friends and family I will be more absent than usual. They know what it means when I stock up on Sweet-Tarts. I'm hoping to get that remake out by early October.

Watch this space.

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If you were expecting swearing and political discourse, remember this simple rule: If they work for this administration, they are fucking criminals and belong in prison. This is the single most corrupt administration in the history of our nation.

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And because I love you, Van Halen, circa 1981, like you've never seen them:

Well, I guess I'm going then.

 I was going to pass on going to the Indie Music Awards this year, even though I'm up for a couple. I've won before and while that's fantastic making the trip to Los Angeles to attend in person can be a chore.

And then....

I guess I'm going. As I said to my wife, "Holy Shit, one of those is me!"

They did a decent write-up on me too on the website:

Radio Free California Episode 2632, some notes about the music selected, and random thoughts and swears over the news stories of the day

 

New music this week from Twin Atlantic, Meshell Ndegeocello, Girl Scout, Dea Matrona, Advent Horizon, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Anthrax,  The Sherlocks, The Linda Lindas, Brenda Mtambo and much more. Enjoy!

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Man/Woman/Chainsaw's album "Cannonball" finally dropped and it's as great as I had hoped. The side effect of releasing so many singles before the album came out though is there is very little on the album that I haven't already added to the radio station and playlists. Still found something to add though, something a bit atypical, and I recommend checking out the whole album.

Prog Rockers Advent Horizon almost have a new album out. Their latest single, "Patience", includes almost every song on the album that is scheduled to be released next week. I did not know that until this morning, and I had picked two songs from "Patience" to add to the playlist this week. It's nice to see that Prog is still alive and well, and this is one of the rare bands in the genre with a female vocalist.

If you're a fan of straight-ahead pop music, you should check out Dea Matrona. Their new album "Hate that I care" contributes two songs this week, and it's a refreshing breath of new life into a genre that doesn't get as much love as it once did.

But on the alternative side there's Girl Scout, with their latest, "Brink". There are some real ear worms on this album, including the tracks "Uh-huh" and "Crumbs", both of which I've added to the list this week.

I was about finished with putting this week's list together and it was going to be my first this year with less than 40 songs, until I discovered a new single from Meshell Ndegeocello. Only two songs and I added both to the playlist, including a great remake of The Human League's "Don't You Want Me".

The Linda Lindas remind us that they were born in Screaming protest punk with their latest single, "Blood on our Hands". The song is brutal and unrelenting, and in my opinion too damned short, but the passion is undeniable and a welcome reminder that these young women are the real deal.

And the old guard isn't letting go either. Anthrax's latest "Everybody's got a Plan" is as good as anything they've done, and if you understand where the quote that makes up the title of the song comes from you also already know what the next words are. If not, I leave it to you to discover.

The Simmons of the band Stanley Simmons finally gets his Art Garfunkel moment with their new single "Lilith", and holy cow doesn't he sound like Hozier. I have to admit that this band has been a welcome surprise. They could have easily just sounded like their very famous parents but have taken a very different path.

Finally I must give notice about Samantha Crain, self-described as a Choctaw songwriter who moves through many genres and I only discovered this year and has an impressive back catalog of diverse works. She has a new single called "Tvshki cha foha" that flows like the last track of a Peter Gabriel album and reminds us all that she's a one of a kind talent. Well worth your time.

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I know that AOC talking publicly about freezing her eggs makes her open for comment, but holy fuck some people are so goddamned weird about it. It's her life, your opinion is meaningless. So is mine.

Among the weirdest stories of the past week is two former NBA players, neither of them anything special, have declared themselves as trans and available for the WNBA Draft, which ended up directing a lot backlash towards cis men at the obvious political stunt. As a cis man myself may I point out that these are not cis men. They're dicks.

Most probably serial abuser Max Miller failed to resign before the deadline, so now the people of his district are stuck between choosing him or (gasp!) a Democrat.

What's going to be the next major outbreak? Mumps or Rubella? Measles has already gained a foothold in this country; if we separate the vaccines out for these diseases instead of having a combined MMR vaccine I'd wager money that we're going to see either one or both of the others do the same thing. My money is on Rubella - I've never seen a case in my life and couldn't tell the difference between it and any other disease.

Of course, given the order put out by the Crime Administration, any number of childhood diseases are going to be on the upswing, from COVID-19 to the Flu. Do we need to issue N-95 masks to every grandparent in the country?

If these fucking idiots decide to go ahead with illegal drilling in Greenland I want to see the Greenland forces come in and make arrests. I picture it being a cross between an episode of "Cops" and the ending of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Speaking of AOC, she said this weekend that a Generational Tsunami is coming. I hope she's right. These have been promised before.

By the way, is anyone watching the Hunger... I mean... Patriot Games?

To everyone in the Democratic Party clutching pearls over the nomination of Abdul El-Sayed for the U.S. Sente in Michigan I repeat something I've said a lot lately, Moderates don't change the world and the world needs changing.

If our missile stockpiles are in such great condition why is Secretary Meadsbreath asking for $1.5T?

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And because I love you, here is a live performance of The Linda Lindas from this week's list:

Radio Free California Episode 2631, plus a few thoughts

 

New music this week from Internet Sensation and Behs player Danny Sapko, Peter Gabriel, Dinosaur Jr., Desmond Child with Alice Cooper, Glom, Go Public, Greta van Fleet, Lake Street Drive, Cory Wong with Joshua Redman and so much more. Enjoy!

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I have left Facebook.

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There are a few covers on this week's playlist, starting with Go Public's cover of the great Split Enz song "Don't Dream It's Over" (shortened here to "Don't Dream) that is so wildly different from the original that I didn't notice that it's a cover at first. Kingfishr adds to the growing list of artists giving tribute to the late Shane McGowan with a cover of "The Sunnyside of the Street" which might just be better than the original - I cannot wait for the full tribute album to finally hit because it's obvious that McGowan was a great songwriter. Desmond Child steps into the foreground for a live show of songs he either wrote or co-wrote, but he invites out original artist Alice Cooper to do a great reinterpretation of "Poison". And there is also Glom's remake of the great Stone Roses track "I Wanna Be Adored", which is fairly faithful to the original and worth your time.

OK Go's new single "Down for the Count" is a previously unreleased track from their 2005 album "Oh No". The Cleaners from Venus have a new album that doesn't sound like it's a new release but it actually is, and it's worth checking out if you're into Jangly pop. 

If you didn't know, there is a whole sub-genre on YouTube of artists who are bass players. There's Davie504 - the resident expert on slap bass, Charles Berthoud who is more classically trained, Paul Thompson's "pdbass" channel where he gets into grove and jazz, Scott's Bass Lessons that gives lessons and interviews with bassists as well as creating challenges for other bassists....

...and then there is Danny Sapko, a punk firebrand and comedian who is also a pretty solid bassist and commentator, taking the piss out of just about everyone including himself. He is the man who named "The Dipstick Lick" that seems to be the most used flashy sounding lick that bassists play in solos, and he's the one who exposed the fraud that is Giacomo Turra (look it up). On YouTube he's tons of fun but he's also a serious musician and the opening track this week is actually a lovely bit of songwriting and his vocals are much smoother than you'd expect from his content. I've put up the video of the story behind the song below.

As an FYI, he is also the guitarist for Mellon-Collies, a punk band fronted by his girlfriend that has been played on these playlists, and they do all their own merch. I know this because I bought a T-shirt from them and they snuck in a second shirt, a pin, and a thank you note. They're good people.

I've been known to sneak in an instrumental track or two on these playlists but this week includes four, which may be a first. Huntertones (which features John Lampley from The Late Show band) new track "Messenger", Cory Wong's 4-piece band with sax player Joshua Redman towards the end of the playlist, and of course national treasure Jon Batiste and his continued reimagining of classical piano works. Add in the blues band GA-20, who have recorded a new album with harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite and the one instrumental on their new album "Blues Now" called "Cristo Redentor" that is easily the standout track on the record. Just too much good stuff without words this week.

There is a new movie coming along soon called "Nimrods", featuring a flurry of songs by Green Day and about a fictional band who finds themselves opening for Green Day. That is why the fictional band Anal OG Dogs is featured this week with the new song "Bored" which is basically a new Green Day song.

Two bands from the early 1990's who are still around (and technically never went away) have new albums out, Collective Soul and the Trashcan Sinatras. In both cases this is some of the best work they've done in a while, and the albums are worth checking out.

Finally, I have to talk about the new Peter Gabriel song, "One By One", which closes out this week's playlist. Pater's been doing some amazing work over the past few years but this might be my single favorite track so far and I hope it's the closing track of his upcoming release "o/i". It doesn't feel like a 9 1/2 minute song and it's some of the best played and arranged music he's ever done. It's up there with "In Your Eyes" in my opinion. See if you agree.

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This past weekend I saw in a movie theater the stage production of "Hadestown". This is really the only way I get to see Broadway productions, living on the other side of the country as I do. I gotta tell you, see this if you get the chance. You know the stories, but they're told in a new way and at the end you even learn why they're being told again - which gets worked into the plot.

I found Orpheus a bit bland, but that might just be part of his charm. Persephone and Eurydice were both knock out performances, and Hermes - our narrator - is played to near perfection.

But I have to give special attention to actor Patrick Page, who plays Hades. Before this performance he ruptured his Achillies Tendon, which requires you to have a cast and if you need to be mobile, a boot over that. I've had to do it myself and it's limiting. It changes your walk. Rather than replace Page the production literally leans into it, giving him a special boot to wear and a cane, and changing some of the choreography to fit. The results add to the performance. His entire gait, manner of movement, and even dancing is changed into something inhuman, and Mr. Page pulls it off. Very few actors... hell anyone... could have pulled it off.

5 Stars. Recommended.

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So some sport podcaster I've never heard of says he'll pay the WNBA Champions Las Vegas Aces $10 Million dollars (insert Doctor Evil gif here) if they can beat a high school men's team. Put the money in an escrow account you coward. I will not take you seriously until then.

There is an initiative on the Washington State ballot that would basically approve of state-sponsored pedophilia. Vote against it, please.

The head of the Crime Administration is so lost over what has happened in Iran that he's now basically asking, "You guys have any ideas?" Such is leadership as defined by these people.

In the current digital age, Water is the new Oil. 

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And because I love you (and as promised) here is the tale behind Danny Sapko's "Some Kind of Magic".

I am leaving Facebook and all associated platforms

I just left the following post on all of my Facebook pages. I'm posting now instead of my usual Monday post because I want this to be seperate from my usual playlist posts.

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Friends, it is with a less-than-heavy heart that I inform everyone that I am leaving Facebook. Myself, my band, my radio station. All are leaving. Just as when the world’s most stoned multi-billionaire decided to lead what was once twitter into Nazi territory, I have decided my time here is done, for the same reason. I know I walked away once before and eventually came back and I’ll admit it’s possible that will happen again, but not while it is under its current management. Blending AI and Newsmax to create the newsfeeds you will see on your page is the final straw for me. I suppose you can’t expect better from a site originally started up by a guy who wanted to stalk his ex.

If I come back without Meta making some changes feel free to make fun of me. I will deserve it.

I’m not overreacting, although some will certainly think I am. You are of course welcome to your thoughts. I’d bet however that your kids don’t get death threats for simply existing. Or that the news feeds that come to you is written by people diametrically opposed to everything you stand for and believe.

This will be my final post on the site. It takes 30 days for Facebook to take someone’s page down, because they want you coming back. Welp, I know a trick around that and am going to use it. You will still be able to see my past posts until August 31, 2026 but there will be nothing after today. I will pin this post so that you see it first, but some of you will never see it.

That’s Facebook for you. Algorithms can be programmed with bias. It's not even all that hard.

Those of you who know me in real life already know how to find me. And if you don’t remember the e-mail address I’ve had for over 3 decades, contact one of my high-school friends I’m still in touch with. It won’t be that hard, there are only two.

Family knows how to reach me as well, even though so few of us are left on the West Coast or even the continent.

Facebook’s one saving grace for me has always been that this is where most of my college friends talk to one another. I imagine that will decrease going forward for me and I’m saddened by that. I won’t sugarcoat it – I will miss that. I wish nothing but love and happiness for all of you.

I am not done with social media, not by a long shot. I’m on Bluesky, tumblr, and counter social (which is where I spend most of my private social media time). I love counter social because there are no ads, no spurious notifications, and people genuinely talk to one another. I have worries about Bluesky, but I did about twitter pre-Musk as well and it’s where most of my twitter and musician friends wound up. Tumblr isn’t much for interacting but I’ve found great artists there. I have the same handle at all three sites: Animeraider.

I’m on LinkedIn under my real name, but doing social media there just feels weird.

I’m not hiding. If you want to find me, I’ve told you how.

I have really big news I’ll be posting in September, after I’m gone from Facebook, so if you want to know what’s going on in my life I do recommend my various social media spots.

I also have my blog: https://whatthefrackiswrongwithyou.blogspot.com/

I will of course still be making music – a lot of it – and it can all be found at most of the usual places for streaming, as well as my Bandcamp page: https://animeraider.bandcamp.com/ Feel free to follow any of them. I have a Soundcloud page but it needs an overhaul that I will get to in short order. I'll post about it on my blog when the time is right.

I will still be posting about my work and giving advance notices of releases in the places where I do social media and my blog, all noted above. I expect that not having Facebook in my arsenal of advertising will have the exact same effect that it has now. Not a damned thing.

I may even revive my long-dead Patreon page. Their leader is a fellow musician and lives in the same city I do.

I create Spotify Playlists every week of only new music. I’ve made a lot of them, and no one has ever paid for a spot. I discover them and not the other way around. I comingle artists with 5 followers with those who have 5,000,000. They’re all here: https://open.spotify.com/user/6tn61v5rzwq9nq9r0sj6yqcrt?si=2d34bcd3c29141f3

I have an internet radio station called Radio Free California, which plays music from the past year found on these playlists. I play the most recent playlist in order on Wednesdays but otherwise it’s all random EXCEPT for 10pm PST, when I play 10 at 10 – I pick a year at random and play 10 songs from that year. There is an app for it available at the google play store (sorry, no apple) or you can just go here: https://global.citrus3.com:2020/public/radiofreecalifornia

No DJ’s, no Commercials. Just music I like, in many genres.

I have this blog. I mention it again because I embed the playlists for the week there, talk about some of the music I’ve selected, give opinions about the news of the day, unload a number of swear words, and sometimes give you something extra too. https://whatthefrackiswrongwithyou.blogspot.com/. You’re more than welcome to yell at me over there.

That’s about it really. I have now lived in San Francisco for longer than I have all other places in my life combined. I enjoy connecting with people who have been important in my life – my two remaining high school friends, my college friends, my musician friends, and everyone else spread out from here to Europe to Asia and Australia. Even if we’re not hanging out in the same places anymore all of you are important to me. Never forget that. I won’t.

For now though, I think I’d like to interact with people the old-fashioned way; in person.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

-Chris

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And because I love you, here is the video I had commissioned after my fruitful trip to Frankfurt am Main last year.

Radio Free California Episode 2530, and some notes

 

New music this week from Atarashii Gakkou Leaders, Bryan Adams, atmos bloom, Waterparks, Jesus Jones, Johnny Marr, James McCartney, Bob Seger, The Strokes, Go Public, MUTT (Oakland), Sparks and much more. Enjoy!

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Okay my friends, be honest. Did you have on your bingo card that Bryan Adams would release his best album in over 4 decades this year? In all seriousness, I think his new one ("Tough Town") ranks up there with "Cuts Like a Kinfe". Even the B-Side singles (Like "51st Street", which I added a couple of weeks back and isn't even on the album) are among his best work.

Atarashii Gakkou is one of those act you either like or hate. I'm on the "like" side of the equation. They started off as a dance troupe with idol singer ambitions, but it turned out that one of them, Suzuka, could really sing and she quickly became the front-woman of the group. Then it turned out another one could really rap. Over time they've all built up specialties, but they're still a dance group, with a knack for hiring solid songwriters and producers. Their new album "From Tokyo With Love" sees them taking up a rock and roll posture and it suits them.

Waterparks is a pretty good if fairly standard post-punk band, with just a touch of metal. But they're remarkably self-aware and had the good sense to get legends like Danny Elfman to guest on the opening track and I must admit it made me give them a second listen. Their new album "JINX" can be a bit obnoxious at times, but there's good stuff there too.

Both The Strokes and Charlie XCX dropped new albums this past week and I'll be honest, I think they're both something of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, they both have good material and I've added tracks from both of their new albums, but I don't think much of the tracks I didn't add - which is most of them. I gave you what I feel are the best tracks on both in the playlist above. You can skip the rest.

After a long time away, Bob Seger dropped a 3 song "Single" of new material which will be on the expanded edition of the release of his new album, "Face the Promise" and I have to say, no one Bob Seger's like Bob Seger does. He has an unmistakable voice and style and it's nice to know that in his 6th decade as a pop/rock star he can still bring it just like he did in the old days. I picked "Wait For Me", the second track from "Little Jane", but in all seriousness I could have picked any of these songs.

atmos bloom is about the most accurately named band out there. Go on, think what you think they sound like based upon the name. There you go. Their new album is called "Everythingness" and is exactly what you'd hope for.

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I may leave Facebook. Now that Newsmax and Meta have entered an agreement to use each other's resources in their AI development, you can expect disinformation to increase thousand-fold. Newsmax lies in just about every story they tell, and Meta/Facebook has the scruples of Jeffrey Epstein. If I could have a page for my band without having a personal page I would do just that. 

I fucking despise Facebook, and I use it as little as possible. I'm going to need to consider that that should be reduced even further, to zero.

But because I love you, please have an early listen to a track I'm likely to feature next week:

Radio Free California Episode 2629, some notes about the music, and a few thoughts

 

New music this week from Johnny Marr, Howard Jones, Nia Archives, Peter Gabriel, Selve, Local Nomad, At the Starlight, Scary Pockets, Deep Sea Diver, Fantastic Negrito, my friends Fear 2 Stop, Lenny Kaye and much more. Enjoy!

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It's kind of amazing to me that several artists featured this week were having hits 40 years ago. Peter Gabriel, Howard Jones, Johnny Marr (with The Smiths), Semisonic, Paul Weller (who does guest vocals on a new release from Aziz Ibraham) and Lenny Kaye (who has been Patty Smith's guitarist forever). They're all up there so let's talk about some other artists this week.

Nia Archives tends to get classified as an Electronic artist and I don't think that's fair. Yes, there are electric elements to her work, but you can say the same about lots of people. You can really notice it on her new album "Emotional Junglist" in the drums, which tends to have a frenetic pace to them, but I find her music to be pretty straight ahead pop and rock and well worth the effort to give a listen. I've added 3 tracks from the new album this week, so please check them out.

Local Nomad's latest, "Local Nomad & The Soft Rock Orchestra", is a pretty laid back affair overall with lyrics that are at times clever and interesting. I especially like the song "Tinderella" and if you're into this sort of music you might find a kindred spirit here.

Selves' "Breaking Outta Heaven" is a follow-up of sorts to last year's "Breaking Into Heaven". They tend to hop all over the place stylistically and I've always had a soft spot for artists like this. The fact that they are pretty successful at it puts them a good measure against other artists who do the same thing.

At long last Fantastic Negrito's live album "Alive" is finally out and it's a good representation of his live sound. I've added several songs as they've come out as singles over the past few months and have added the opening track this week.

I feel a bit bad about not adding anything from Aaron Lee Tasjan's new album "Get Over It, Underdog" because it's a solid album, but I've added every single from this album as they've come out prior to this week, and I don’t' feel that the rest of the album quite comes to that same standard. That's still 6 songs from the album added over time though, so if you want everything all in one place then the album's for you.

I have to give a shoutout to my friends in Fear 2 Stop, who have released a quirky EP called "8 bits are plenty". A lot of their music is definitely outside the mainstream, but sometime it's not and this week is a good example, with their take on some music from Super Mario Bros.

Finally, I want to introduce you to the band Banda AL9, who have released a new album with updated mixes of prior releases called "Hey! Hey! We're Banda AL9!" The reason for the update is to give proper mixes to English language versions of songs - they are from Brazil and the original releases are in Portuguese. That said, they're among the best jangle-pop bands out there and you should check them out.

And as a p.s., did you know that Daryl Hall and Brian Eno made an album together? It's called Sacred Songs and was eventually released by Hall's label as a solo album with Eno's name practically erased, after having been shelved for quite a while. It's worth checking out - it sounds like pop music from the mid-1980's, which is saying something as it was recorded in the 1970's and released in 1980. An album ahead of its time.

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Congratulations to Spain for winning the World Cup. First country ever to hold both the men's and women's titles at the same time.

Have we (the U.S.) sent anyone to help the Canadians with their fires? They sent help to us last year, and the year before, and more. You know, a good neighbor would help. Of course, the crime administration aren't really interested in being good neighbors.

The crime administration's pick for Governor of Minnesota, who was already a long shot, can't vote for himself. The Pillow Guy is a registered Republican in Texas. I should point out that he doesn't live there either.

Until today I was unaware of the hate leveled at the new movie of "The Odyssey" and director Christopher Nolan by the world's richest pot smoker. Apparently you're not supposed to hire Elliot Page or any non-white women who won't give poor little rich fuck the time of day, or some shit. While I will not ever take advice from a drug addict who can't see past his own dick I wasn't really planning to see the movie anyway. I'm sorry, but I can't see Matt Damon as the lead.

But I could be wrong. I just don't want to sink theater-going money into it.

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And because I love you, I ask the burning question: how many movies do you need to see before you see this one? (I think it's five for me):

Radio Fee California Episode 2628, notes about the music, and he would have liked to have seen Montana

 

New music this week from The Rolling Stones, Fionn, Will Sheff with Okkervil River, U2, Asia, Soul Rash, The Linda Lindas with Hayley Williams, The Temper Trap, Suki Waterhouse, Coach Party and so much more. Enjoy!

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I could not have started this week's playlist in a more contrasting way than having new music from a barely recognizable Asia (only Goeff Downes from the original lineup remains) and new music by U2 (and with Larry Mullins having never left the group after all sill in their original lineup). Asia is still the bombastic band they've always been (and I don't give a damn about your "40-year old Virgin" joke) while U2 sounds as fresh as they have in years. It's quite a contrast between two bands who had their first US successes in the same years.

So this week obviously belongs to The Rolling Stones. Their new album, while not their best by a long shot, certainly isn't bad. It ranks around the "Tattoo You" level of albums, not brilliant but not bad either. Given that the average remaining living members of the band are over 80 years old it's actually pretty impressive that they still sound this good. Unlike bands like The Beatles, the Stones started out as a blues band and there's plenty of evidence on this record that they still remember that, and those are the best moments. As for me, I've always been drawn to the tracks where Keith Richards sings lead, but also to their ballads, including the one that closes out this playlist.

Another album worth your time is the new release from Fionn, called "scum!". If you look at their bio you'll see they call themselves "Replacement Olsen Twins" but that barely scratches the surface of their alt-rocking sound. 

For those of you who love old-fashioned and soulful R&B, I have to recommend The War and Treaty and their new album "The Story of Michael and Tanya", Led by the Husband and Wife team of Michael and Tanya Trotter they have occupied various styles but they're really gone for it here, walking you through their relationship and their ups and downs. Some really great stuff.

I give a couple of local bands (well, local to their scene) some love. MUTT (Oakland) is a great 3 piece that give solid punk/pop music, while Roverto Quiroga mc is Mexico's equivalent of the typical alt-rocker. I've been following both bands for a while and if either of them gets picked up by a good producer they're going to go far.

Finally, Suki Waterhouse's new album "Loveland" has a few good tracks on it. You should give the album a listen and decide for yourself.

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The world has lost a giant with the passing of Sam Niel. The New Zealand actor best known for his role in the Jurassic Park movies as well as a stellar supporting role in Hunt for Red October, and probably the only heavyweight New Zealander to NOT appear in any Lod of the Rings movies.

He was my wife's favorite actor. Whenever he showed up in something she'd say "Vassili", after his character in Hunt for Red October. You might have a favorite movie of his and I will recommend two, "The Piano" and "Until the End of the World".

He wasn't the star of either movie, but neither movie works without him. In "The Piano" he plays the husband of Holly Hunter's mute pianist and the range he possesses in this movie is jaw-dropping. He has turns as both gentle and maniacal, and commits the worst violence and the kindest acts in the film. He was very good at complicated people.

In "Until the End of the World" (which was an early date movie for me and my wife) he is the narrator, slightly unreliable because he has a crush on the lead female character, played in multiple languages by Solveig Dommartin. Other than as a narrator he doesn't even show up in the first act of the film. William Hurt is the male lead, but his motives are difficult to understand for much of the movie. Without Niell holding the movie together many of the scenes don't seem to fit together, but you realize not only that they are all tied together, but his character's perspective matters, even though he's not the male lead.

This movie was my gateway into movies from Wim Wenders.

He lived in San Francisco for a year, filming The Bicentennial Man and the TV series Alcatraz. I first saw him without even knowing who he was in the 3rd Omen movie, where he plays the young antichrist Damien of the previous movies now grown up and in politics. He was Komarovsky in the remake of Dr. Zhivago. More recently he did 12 episodes of Peaky Blinders and a marvelous turn in "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". 

He played the actor who played Odin in "Thor: Ragnarok". 

Yeah, I suppose I was supposed to blog about political shit and the death of a Senator who I particularly disliked, but Sam Niell was someone I cared about, and I will miss that mischievous smile of his. See any of his movies. You will know what I mean.

 And because I love you, here is the video for the new U2 single, which is actually pretty good.

Radio Free California Episode 2627

 

New music this week from Rosa Walton, Low Cut Connie, Baby Richman, Shed Seven, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Adams, Library Card, The Afghan Whigs, David Duchovny (!), Snow Patrol with Kylie Minogue and much more. Enjoy!

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I get asked fairly often where do I find some of these new artists? Sometimes it's just dumb luck, like running across a social media post for Milagro Guerra and her new song "Dopamine". Sometimes its recommendations, sometimes they show up on Discover Weekly on Spotify. Sometimes, the artists find me, like the band Baby Richmond and their debut single "Lights Down", who followed me on Bluesky.

But no one has ever paid me a single penny for placement. I don't accept suggestions. I have to find them myself.

The new album from Low Cut Connie is possibly the best protest album so far this year. There have been a lot of good songs by great artists that we can all roll off but here is a full album of what it's like to be an American right now. "Livin' In The USA" is exactly what it says it is, reminiscent of the rock and roll of Springsteen and others. Well worth your time.

I had never heard of Rosa Walton before this past week and apparently I'm well in the minority given the number of followers she has. Her new album "Tell Me It's A Dream" is a solid effort in a style of alt-pop we haven't heard much of lately.

On Canada Day (July 1 if you didn't know) that stellar Canadian Bryan Adams dropped a protest song called "51st State", which rather nicely tells the Crime Administration to fuck off. I honestly didn't know he had it in him. Bravo.

"Don't Leave Me Here Like That" is now the 4th (5th?) single to drop from Stanley Simmons, the band made up of the sons of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss. Unlike their parents they do psychedelic harmonic power pop and we still have another two months to wait before their debut album finally comes out. Each song they release is something new and proof that their vocal harmonies are sharper than you might guess at first listen.

Deep Purple's "Splat!" is finally out, and it's quite frankly a lot more prog rock than I would have suspected. If you go it looking for Richie Blackmore's Deep Purple you won't get it, but their rock and roll hall of fame worthy credentials are on full display here, and it's hard to argue with the results.

Finally, because I love you I am giving you a video that I normally wouldn't because of the religious overtones, but even an old atheistic cynic like myself has to admit that this is pretty damned moving.

Radio Free California Episode 2626, notes on music, and notes on democratic socialism

New music this week from Exploring Birdsong, Muse, Swim Deep, Beth Orton, Telescreens, The Rolling Stones, sleepazoid, Linda Perry, Jon Lampley, Jesus Jones, Sugar, Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders,  Inspiral Carpets, MUTT and much more. Enjoy!

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I knew Linda Perry was working on a new solo album, and now that it's out I find myself needing to reset my expectations. "Let It Die Here" is a good album, but it's much more straight-ahead pop than I was expecting from the founder of 4 Non-Blondes. That shouldn't be a surprise though, given all of the pop artists she's written for and produced over the years. Like I said, it's a good album. Just don't expect 4 non-Blondes.

If you like Muse you're going to like the new album. "The Wow! Signal" is most definitely a Muse album, but some of it sounds like a retread of things they've done before. You really can't knock someone sticking with the same formula that's been winning for them. Just ask AC/DC. Maybe I was just expecting more.

A couple of bands from my mid-20's dancing days dropped new singles this week. The new track by Jesus Jones, "Shot in the Chevy", is unmistakenly them, but the track is a bit more laid-back than I had expected. On the other hand, Inspiral Carpets dropped a new track called "Drag the Bag" and it's the same stuff they were doing in the 1990's.

Of the newer bands sleepazoid impressed me a lot with their latest, "New Age". The Australian group have dropped a solid alt-rock album that's hooky and just a bit heavy on the reverb. They're worth checking out.

Finally, the latest from The Rolling Stones would fit right in with what they were doing in the 1980's. Everyone focuses on their blues driven rock and roll but this is a band with some pretty solid ballads and "Jealous Lover" ranks right up there. 

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With a number of Progressive Democrats, dare I say Democratic Socialists, winning primaries in the past week in seats that are safely Democratic - they're going to go to congress - it has got me thinking about something said by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) a few weeks back that really hasn't got a lot of traction in the press. The basic gist was asking if she had her sights on running the Democratic Party or perhaps running for President, and her reply was that she wasn't thinking that small.

And I'm starting to believe she has a point. Believe me, I'd like to feel hopeful again.

Let's face it, the current administration has pretty much destroyed the American experiment in democratic governance. Our "Republic, if we can keep it" is pretty easy to bungle as it turns out. All it needed was a narcissist who ignored every norm we had celebrated for 250 years and for no one to call his ass out on it. He tried to take over a party and then a nation and the people best set to prevent it rolled over and gave him the keys.

The Democratic Party has been putting out a message of taking the fight to him if given the chance, and attempting to reset everything to where it used to be. Remember we were once civil with one another? Remember debating? Remember checks and balances? That's the big one - checks and balances. Give them a shot and they will restore checks and balances. Hit the reset button on American Democracy.

That's just not good enough.

Don't get me wrong, I'm going to vote for the people who don't actively support fascists. Generally speaking that has been the Democratic Party for a while now. That said, I don't want just a reset (or even a just reset) of American Democracy. I want to do better.

We need to swallow the fact that other nations in the world are now doing things better than we are. Yes, taxes are higher in The Netherlands. You know what they don't have? Medical bills. People in Europe don't live longer because they drink wine, they live longer because they have free healthcare.

Why the hell can't we have free healthcare? In case you haven't noticed we're about to become the only country on this continent that doesn't have free healthcare.

The Japanese have higher taxes than we do. You know what they also have? Working public transit. You can get anywhere in the country in a few hours without driving and unless you're going to Okinawa or Hokkaido you probably don't need to fly either. You can travel hundreds of miles in only a couple of hours. Most people in Japan don't own cars.

Why the hell don't we have bullet trains?

Last summer a sinkhole opened up in a suburb of Tokyo. It swallowed up a number of cars, infrastructure, and caused significant damage. You know how long it took to repair? 24 hours. It happened that fast because they have a responsive government and infrastructure to handle emergencies like this.

Why the hell can't we have functioning infrastructure support?

A lot of newsworthy names, stalwarts of the Democratic Party, have been moaning about this supposed uprising from the left, asking for moderation and trying to calm "fears" and talk about a united party led by the old guard, who have a plan - we are told. I haven't heard said plan, but they keep saying as long as they get back in power we should expect rapid change!

To the center again.

Fuck that.

Moderates don't change the world and the world needs changing. We need this coming from the left, and hard. Positive change doesn't come any other way. It never has. We've already seen what change from the right looks like and we as a people and a country are paying the price.

It's time for change from the left. I'm not talking Obama, who as a Senator and later President was mostly moderate and I'll be honest I don't blame him for that. I'm talking Biden, who was the most progressive President in a century. I'm talking even further left.

How else do we get a national healthcare system? Infrastructure support? Transportation? I higher standard of education as the expectation and not the exception? We can do this. We can do better. But it's only the left that is trying to lead us there.

It's not Progressive. It's not Democratic Socialism. It's HUMANITY.

It's where I choose to live.

We might be able to compromise with the Democratic Party, but we cannot compromise with the right-wing. We need to move the whole concept of "moderate" back to where it once was, which is pretty far to the left of where it is now. Every Democrat from McGovern on has been called a Socialist or worse, or did you not remember that. I am waaaaaay the hell to the left of those people. You know, I don't actually give a damn whether a government is big or small. I want it to fucking work. If that takes more people working then so be it.

But I need to emphasize something important - it's not that the left needs to work with the moderates; it's that the moderates need to compromise with us.

Because in case you haven't noticed it, the message of the progressive left is winning.

And because I love you, more proof that Anna Taylor-Joy can act in just about anything:

Radio Free California Episode 2625, plus some commentary about a few of the artists.

 

New music this week from Quiet Houses, Haircut 100, Brockhoff, A, Eels, Peter Gabriel, Sparks, The Klittens, Dust Bowl Revival, Mike Nova, Roger Waters with Mona Miari, Nanook, Hana Hope, Kat Robichaud and much more. Enjoy!

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My vote for Best New Artist for 2026 may go to Brockhoff, whose first full-length album "Easy Peeler" is so good that I seriously debated including all 14 tracks in this week's list. This is a solid, consistent and fun album full of hooks, pop and rock and roll. She has released EPs before now so that might disqualify her from the category (the rules about that sort of this are designed to confuse people) but I've owned the album for 24 hours and have listened to it three times now. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

And after months of waiting, the long long awaited album from Haircut 100 has just dropped, entitled "Boxing the Compass". It's like they never left. The album is a worthy successor of all the promise the band showed in their heyday and reminds you just how much fund something like this can be.

You're not going to find many albums that are as full and well-rounded as the latest from Quiet Houses called "We're All In Love". It's not a concept album, but the stories told in each song cover common themes of life and getting on with life, and the flow of the album from song to song is superb. Well worth your time.

What can you say about a band with the audacity to just call itself A? Especially a band that has taken 20 years between albums? Their comeback is called "Prang" and it's a wallop to the face of riffs and hard rock. 

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I had a long weekend and I'm really not up for digging into the political stories, other than to make this comment about The head of the Crime Administration who said, “We’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool.”

Actually true. Some dumb motherfucker painted the bottom of the whole thing blue.

And #RIP Clive Davis - one of the most influential people in music and a proud Bisexual.

And because I love you, watch Metallica have some fun from a couple of weeks ago.