Radio Free California Episode 2108 - a milestone, saying goodbye to Daft Punk and cheap shots too.

 

A very solid week for new music, including The Black Crowes, Leslie Mendelson, Gojira, Crowded House, Heather Porcaro, Mogwai, Hearty Har, Tash Sultana, Katy Kirby and much much more. Enjoy!

I do new streams every week. Fell free to subscribe!

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As we pass the 500,000 dead mark from Covid-19 in the US I'd like to just point out a couple of things, even though the infection rate is declining (not well enough through). The death rate is still averagine about a 9/11 every day.

One out of every 12 Americans has caught Covid. One out of every 656 has died. By the time this is over more Americans will have been killed by this than in every war we've ever fought - including the Civil War.

This is #45's legacy. So may sick and/or dead. When the son of a bitch eventually dies, hopefully in a 6 by 10 cell,  the country will fly flags at half staff, as required by the U.S. Flag Code. I'm going to burn one.

Cheap Shots:

I have been saying since my TV days that this needs to happen. About goddamned mother-fucking time.

1 for you 19 for me.

A Parental warning on the Muppets. Not that surprising really, given this.

Cue up the video of Doctor Evil and Mimi Me.

Did we send Matt Damon?

For reasons that say a lot about my sense of humor, I now have a Joe Jackson song stuck in my head.

Raphael keeps finding new ways to be an asshole.

CONFIRM!

America Uncancelled just Cancelled somebody.

And because I love you, I must share some Daft Punk:

And of course this inspired medley by Pentatonix:

And finally, this lovely bit of fan art by Jeph Jacques, which can be purchased here.

Radio Free California Episode 2107, and the Loser wasn't Acquitted. Stop saying so.

New music! Featuring Tune-Yards, Danny Elfman, Pentatonix, Greta Van Fleet, Joseph Williams, Jon Batiste, Django Django, Claud, Rat Columns, The Moons, and even my own new song (3rd song on the list) and much more! Enjoy!

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I’m going to keep this short and sweet, because it’s making me crazy and I might just be crazy/wrong about this — it’s been known to happen.

I’d like us all to stop saying that the Loser in the last Presidential election was Acquitted by he Senate. He certainly wasn’t found guilty — the threshold is probably too high for a body that size but that’s an argument for another time. A majority, a solid majority, found him guilty. It just wasn’t enough.

But the real problem is this: the word “Acquittal” implies the concept that double-jeopardy is attached. That because of this he can’t be touched for it again, and quite frankly once he finds a halfway decent attorney for what’s coming next I expect it to be argued. The idea that he can’t be tried twice for what happened. It’s semantics but I think it matters.

Thing is, he most certainly can be tried for this again, in the more traditional courts. He most certainly should be. He got people killed on January 6th thanks to his rhetoric. He tried to kill his Vice President. He had encouraged violence before, and he’s going to do it again. Yes, he’s probably facing fraud and tax evasion in New York, Voter fraud in Georgia, but he should also be tried for instigating a deadly riot in Washington D.C.

Double-Jeopardy is NOT attached. because he wasn’t acquitted.

We had a hung jury. In any other trial a decision by the jury that doesn’t wind up unanimous one way or the other is a non-decision. That’s what we have. Neither team scored a victory, regardless of how much the fix was in. 

Can we please frame it that way? It’s not an acquittal. 

And because I love you, here's my own video for "That Man"

Radio Free California Episode 2106, and why not throw in some Cheap Shots while we're at it.

 

Three weeks in a row of a long list of new music, including several remakes from unexpected sources, Foo Fighters, Royal Blood, a reunited Transatlantic, Haley Williams, Peter Frampton, Tom Jones, Vampire Weekend and so much more! Enjoy!

Next week's RFC will feature yours truly!

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Cheap Shots (Monday is Rum day!):

No Pat, there are countries that have spent much more than this and are nowhere close to being Socialist. We'll be fine. Better even.

So can my kids opt out of White History?

I wouldn't ordinarily link to this piece of shit website but man, can you feel the burn?

So are we calling this a Snoozefest? Snoozegate? Pillowgate?

Say what you will about any of the Cheneys (that they're all horrible little bridge trolls is the one I usually lean on) but no one ever said they didn't have backbones.

I cannot think of any actual example, on a country level, where austerity has worked. Also, notice the tact from Bernie to use the word "Brilliant" instead of the word "Bullshit".

Psaki Psaki Psaki!

Better than "Trump Tok" at least.

Here's the reason we still have a fuckstain as Postmaster General.

And because I love you, there is a video of the Vampire Weekend Song. Enjoy:

And finally, here's how to make a Sailor Jerry & Hot Chocolate, to help you through the winter months:

Ingredients

1.5 oz Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
1.5 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
3 oz hot chocolate
Dash of orange bitters

Instructions

Add equal parts liquor to hot chocolate, top with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and garnish with a cinnamon stick or candy cane.

The COVID-19 Battle, The Super Bowl, Freedom of religion, and we just don't want you to die.

So far in February 2021 the reported infection rate in the US is down to less than half what it was the day Donald Trump tried to install a dictatorship in the US. That's good. However, the death rate has skyrocketed. In the first five days of February 2021 the US has lost at least 18,000 people to COVID-19.

That's an average of about 3,600 per day. SIX 9/11's in FIVE days.

Now most people in this country don't practice social distancing. Social distancing is hard - staying six feet away from everyone. There are simply going to be times when you're outside that you're going to be closer than 6 feet to someone, like at the Supermarket for example. I get it I do.

But then again, about 40% of the country isn't wearing masks.

Thing is, NONE of that matched the guidelines of the CDC. Those guidelines are, in full:

• Wear a Mask AND
• Stay at least 6 feet away from others.AND
• Do not spend more than 15 minutes with the same person in the same enclosed space for more than 15 minutes in a 24 hour period.

Funny how the news always doesn't ever mention that last one. Maybe because it's hard.

This is important, because we're having a Super Bowl tomorrow. Not because of your parties and gatherings and all that shit - but because the NFL made it possible for the game to happen at all.

You see, the NFL took a look at the guidelines at the beginning of the football season and after an outbreak in one of the teams discovered that the CDC guidelines aren't good enough. What the NFL put in place immediately, which allowed the season to continue, was restriction more intense, and stricter with harsher penalties, than the CDC has done.

In other words, the great game is happening tomorrow because the NFL is more of a hard ass than the CDC. Remember that as we (hopefully) finally see Tom Brady go down in flames.

Note: not a prediction. I just don't like Tom Brady.

Now yesterday the Supremes decided on a 6-3 vote that California can't stop people from going to church. You see, in California Governor Newsom gave the order to prevent super-spreader events. There are churches in California that can seat more people than a football stadium, and he recognized that this is a dangerous mix. Thing is, it's stone illegal to single out the mega-churches, so he hit them all with the order. 

Now please understand, we're fine with your religion. Believe what you believe to your heart's content. But stay alive to do so. That's what the Governor was doing - trying to keep us all alive. God isn't in a building, they're in your heart - if there is such a thing.

The people who run Megachurches aren't preachers. They're money-changers disguising themselves as preachers. The Governor's order cost them MONEY. You'll notice that small congregations didn't bring suit - only the huge ones did. The largest church in California can seat over 25,000. That's one hell of a lot of money coming in with those titheings.

Don't be surprised when the COVID-19 rate skyrockets in California in a couple of weeks. I won't. But I suspect that there will be a delay of a week. the NFL seems to have it's shit together better than God.

No cheap shorts today. Spare your livers for tomorrow. But because I love you, here's my friend the Glass Child:

That Man - Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders (Lyric Video)

The video debuts 15 minutes before February 12, 2021 (PST)

Radio Free California Episode 2105 and why I'm not on Facebook.

New Music! What an amazing week! That's Tammy Wynette on that first track from The KLF! Weezer! Levara! The Glass Child! Kirin J Callinan! Cody Fry! Arch Echo! Feral Ghost! William Parker! The Besnrd Lakes! Home Free featuring Don MacLean! And SO MUCH MORE! 3 HOURS PLUS OF NEW MUSIC. Enjoy!

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I learned some months back that the algorithms that Facebook uses to filter your content are also used by many other media sites, including news sites, who tracks through cookies your history on Facebook and uses that data as their own filtration sources. As a result, the things you see filtered down to you in Facebook advertising and how posts are filtered and suggested is ALSO what you see filtered down to you on most of the other websites you visit.

Facebook controls what you see on about 70% of the entire internet, in terms of how that data gets filtered. That's just unacceptable. I'm perfectly fine with Facebook controlling what you see on their platforms. It's their site, let them run it as they see fit. But a lot of Facebook's money comes from selling the same filtration data for focused advertising to other companies, and they've been soaking it up. And we've been letting it happen.

I don't want Facebook to decide what I can see. I want to determine this myself. It can't be done as long as you have an active Facebook account. I have learned in the months since I dropped Facebook that much of the news I received was being filtered, and that's not acceptable.

This was a difficult step for me to take. I had remained in contact with many of my friends through Facebook alone, and I've lost some of them. That isn't pleasant, especially as I've missed a couple of life-changing events in the lives of my friends as a result. I've been finding about such things second-hand and I can't deny it hurts, even if the responsibility is mine and that my own pain is nothing compared to what some of my friends have been through. I'm a cranky man and it's difficult to be my friend and as such those people who are my friends I place great value on. I have discovered wonderful things thanks to Facebook. And even though I find Facebook to be a creative black hole - in that it makes the creative process harder because of the sheer overflow of garbage - I never was able to fully leave the site.

But this restriction of information from other sites was a step too far for me. For all that I lost I honestly believe I have gained more. The ability to be better informed. That is my very lifeblood.

All that said, this is going to be an active year for me musically, with singles (one already out and others on the way) and a new album finally coming and I have to admit that Facebook is a powerful platform to get in touch with fans and potential fans. So I decided this past weekend that I would restart my Facebook profile, with a different e-mail address and a much lower profile. I would only friend people I know in real life. The rest would focus on a new page for my music and the band.

So I swallowed my pride and I created a new account with one of my G-mail accounts. I created a band page. I posted a couple of my Spotify Streams and the single I released two weeks ago. And within 1/2 an hour I was told that my account violated the Community Standards and was suspended.

Understand, I had posted nothing political. I had only cussed once. Every post I had done was about music - artists I like and Spotify streams I had created. Of course I appealed. 

It would appear that Facebook wants nothing to do with me either.

I am still here, still on twitter, still on tumblr, and will be reviving my Patreon page very soon. But I'm not on Facebook.

But because I love you, have some older The Besnard Lakes.