Radio Free California Episode 2526 and some thoughts about how much worse it really is

 

Crazy week! New music from Peter Gabriel, Fishbone, Bruce Springsteen, HAIM, Lorde, Wet Leg, From Indian Lakes, The Besnard Lakes, Infinity Song, Love is Noise, more of John Fogerty's "John's Version" release of old CCR material and much more. Even I'm in there! Enjoy!

Where do I even begin this week? Bruce Springsteen releases SEVEN full albums of previously unreleased material. There's some experimentation in the "new" material. There's a full country album. There are songs obviously meant for his "I'm a vocalist" album, There's a lot of solo acoustic work. There are forays into pop and indie. It's really quite a haul and if you're a fan you should pick it up. It was hard to select only 2 songs from the whole set.

There's Fishbone, who have put out their best album in a couple of decades. With this playlist added to the rotation there are now 6 new Fishbone tracks in the radio station rotation.

All of a sudden there's a new Peter Gabriel album? It's a live album and most of it is things you have heard before, but the album opens with a new track and it's a good one.

The Lorde album finally dropped and it's a reminder of why we all fell in love with her music in the first place. She's an adult now and has obviously experienced a couple of things that no 17-year old would have, and it only fills out her character and her song topics. It's great work.

My favorite discovery from the week is the band From Indian Lakes. I took a deep dive upon hearing their new material and I now have their entire discography. I don't know if you'll like them, but I sure as hell do.

The week's playlist closes out with a song from Will Liverman, who is an Opera Singer. I've been a fan for some time, but his new album branches into pop domains from time to time and this ballad that I close the playlist with is strikingly beautiful.

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Have you noticed that not only are Republicans putting together a database of every American, something they continually claim is bad and only the Democrats would do, but that it's being done by a company that named itself after a tool of the enemy in Lord of the Rings?

I have mentioned before that most of the "ICE" agents you see out there grabbing people aren't actually trained agents; it takes 14 months to fully complete training. These are contractors and as I learned over the weekend Bounty Hunters. That's a big fucking problem. Bounty Hunters are scarecly regulated and the bounty they get for each "arrest" is as much as $1,500.00. You should really check out John Oliver's piece on Bounty Hunters to see how big a problem this is.

In a piece of rare good news it turns out that off-shore wind turbines are better for the environment than anyone ever suspected.

Lots of people have been making waves and click-bait about how the new/old guy is going senile after he called the Prime Minister of Japan "Mr. Japan". I looked at the footage (so that you don't have to) and while I agree that it's a demonstrating of his mental faculties in decline I don't think it's because he forgot the Prime Minister's name or anything. I think it's because his deteriorating brain is letting more and more racism through.

I've been reading a history of how Mount Rushmore got built, and quite frankly I'm not sure there is enough carve-able rock left in The Black Hills to add the new/old guy's face. Maybe just his hair - he has a lot less of it than he used to.

"Alligator Alcatraz" is a Concentration Camp. So are all of the new places the Big Barfable Bill funds. So are all the ones that already exist. By the way, I've seen photos of the "nearly-completed" site and it's all trailers. One big hurricane and/or tornado and it will be a pile of rubble and bodies.

It's been quite amusing to watch Elon Musk rapidly turn into Rand Paul. Seriously, the man has no moral center; just marshmallow fluff.

I worry about John Fetterman. maybe he should find a new line of work, before he tarnishes the reputation he wants had for good.

As Robert Randolph so eloquently states in one of the songs on the list this week, "Call me a sinner, ain't nobody sinning alone."

And because I love you, here is From Indian Lakes with "The Flow"

Radio Free California Episode 2525, Life during Wartime Again and Always

 

New music this week from Hotline TNT, Leisure, Memi, Yungbld, Daily Toll, Hembree,  Easy Easy, Muse, Enuff Z'nuff(!),  Motley Crue with Dolly Parton, sombr, Lorde, Colin Hay and much more. Enjoy!

An undeniable pleasure for me this past weekend was the discovery of Hotline TNT. Not only is their new album a banger but their entire catalog is one great song after another. I cannot recommend their new album highly enough - it was hard to limit just adding a few songs on this playlist.

You might also note a number of songs by Yungblud on this list too. What can I say? I like pop music done right, and respect for opening his album with a 9 minute track. And yes, I do think he looks like a young Dave Navarro.

At first I had thought my surprise track of the week was going to be the re-working of Motley Crue's ballad (and frankly not a great song) "Home Sweet Home" with Dolly Parton. I'm not really a fan of the song but Ms. Parton adds some depth. And then out of nowhere Enuff Z'nuff drops a new single? It's been 35 years since I gave that band any thought at all and apparently I've missed a run of albums and band lineups.

I also have to give a shout out to MEMI, a South Korean hard rocker that I blasted over and over this past week while the news got weirder and weirder.

Finally, there is the new GoGoPenguin album, which is well worth your time when you're looking for instrumental music and adult-oriented jazz that doesn't put you to sleep.

New music this week from Lorde and Lola Young tells me that the next generation is going to be all right.

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I have to ask, did the new/old guy bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran* because he wanted to be seen as something other than "TACO Two Weeks"? Gotta admit, it took less than 2 weeks for Netanyahoo to finally find a patsy as cover for his atrocities. In the time since I wrote those two sentences and now the White House is claiming that this was always the plan, to trick the media and Iran. Nope, not buying it.

Also, if anyone out there starts calling this a war to protect the rights of women they are lying. Ask the women of Afghanistan.

I've been alive over 6 decades and during that time Congress has not even once exercised its power to stop a President from conducting war. Might as well admit it doesn't exist, no matter what the law says.

Although... one republican did say that this attack was illegal and of course the new/old guy unloaded on him over social media. Senator Massie shot back: "...declared so much War on me today it should require an Act of Congress." #sassywithmassy. 

The VP is on Bluesky. I am too, although I'm not very active there beyond the occasional swear-word-filled post about various idiots. I'm trying to get him to block me. I posted on his timeline: "I'm sorry, but your administration requires me to call you James Donald Bowman. I suppose JD Bowman would work."

Time to bring back Neil Young's "Life During Wartime" website. I will admit to being biased about it - I was on that site.

It's worth noting that the guy who is "offering" to head a "transition government" in Iran is the son of the Shah of Iran and hasn't set foot in the country since he was 18 years old. He's 65 now and looks just like his dad. Had his father not been forced out of the country he'd have started leading it when he was in his 20's. Beware of people who refer to him as "His Royal Highness". No Kings.

We cannot emphasize enough that Measles is back, as bad as ever, and everyone who is insisting on not vaccinating is too young to remember just how unbelievably bad it was.

Despite everything, as of this writing Kilmar Abrego Garcia is still in prison.

Am I the asshole for not even knowing who the fuck Karen Read was until a few days ago? Am I still the asshole because I don't care?

For those paying attention, the Bell Riots didn't quite happen as planned.

I just realized that all of the women who have undergone procedures so that they have "Mar-a-Lago Face" all resemble Melisandre from "Game of Thrones". Honestly, only actress Carice van Houten can really pull off the look. I had to look all that up as I never really got into GoT on HBO.

Hey fuckfaces! I don't give a fuck if he's "illegal" or not. He has three... THREE sons in the Marines. He's earned a pass. Fuck you racist fucks.

Veep Bowman says he trust his instincts over actual gathered intelligence. What instincts?

No matter what Florida Rep Kat Cammack (R) thinks or says, she had an abortion.

I would think a first step in trying to prove that racism isn't a factor in the ICE raids and kidnappings would be to stop harassing Native Americans and First Peoples. That fact that they're not shows that they are primarily interested in the color of one's skin.

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And because I love you, there is my own new single, which will be on next week's playlist. Play it on YouTube to get the whole story about the new track:

*Brian Wilson I am so so sorry.

Radio Free California Episode 2524, plus some thoughts

 

An odd week for new music but with some interesting surprises including new music from David Byrne, Neil Young, Cloud Nothings, Slow Coast, The Blindfold Experience, Huntertones, Annahstasia, Japanese Breakfast, New Candies and much more. Enjoy!

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Did it rain on his parade? I'm sure 10's of people enjoyed it. I notice that at all of the "No Kings" events nationwide that the only arrests made for anything violent were 100% Republican. We gotta find a way to keep these violent people away from public events.

So how did the shooter in Minnesota get access so easily to politicians homes? He was dressed like a cop. More than anything else, it seems to me that this says as much about how we expect cops to act as it does about the shooter himself.

The new/old guy's kids announced a new phone service, and while you can use your current phone if you switch over, they will also give you the option to get a new phone. Someone I know looked into it and the phone in question is the same device as the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, with custom (gold) body. That means it's made in China.

I notice that military personnel are starting to refer to Secretary Hogsbreath as "Secretary Jägermeister". I'm happy to use that one. And by the way, it's sad that a single tank can squeak louder than the "crowd" watching it go by.

Check your flags, gentlemen.

Why is Alex Jones still on the air? HOW is that asswipe still on the air?

I was this many days old when I learned that there is an official, government-approved Spanish Language version of The Star Spangled Banner.

So far the new/old guy isn't representing us very well at the G7. Maybe it's the BOLO issued tongue-in-cheek looking for a man with 34 criminal convictions.

My beach, yesterday:

And by the way, kudos to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney for having a way to make the new/old guy shut the hell up, and using it.

I doubt this means that the deportations will stop, but ICE has used up all of it's annual budget already, and is overbudget by nearly $1 Billion.

In ruling against the new/old guy, Massachusetts District Judge William Young asks, "Have we suck so low? Have we no shame?" Yes, then no.

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And because I love you, we celebrate one of the greatest pop songs ever written.

Radio Free California Episode 2523, and what we know now (Los Angeles edition)

 

Great new music this week from Vistas, Monkey House, Sweet Emergarde, Turnstile, Prince, Cypress Hill, beaux, Comet Gain, Moptop and much more. Enjoy!

I only discovered Vistas this past week, and what a discovery this has turned out to be. Really, you should check them out.

Monkey House looks to be attempting to wrest the "Next Steely Dan" title away from everyone else, and it's a pretty good effort.

The Cypress Hill album is the long-teased concert with the London Philharmonic. I've played previously released tracks from this before but now the whole album/concert is available and it's every bit as awesome as you'd think.

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Things I've learned over the weekend:

Waymo driverless cabs are actually surveillance vehicles.

Apparently 6 blocks of Los Angeles on the news is the same as 467 square miles. And dear god Los Angeles is on fire!

Governor Gavin Newsome remembered where he had packed away his spine.

Doctor Phil participated in the ICE raids in Los Angeles. This means that there is more film footage out there than we have seen.

That the new/old guy might have called up and Federalized the National Guard because everyone else is converging on Washington D.C. for a parade. You know, in addition to the whole fascism thing.

I did a lot of posting this past week on various social media sites and only once was I called out on my stance that ICE should be abolished. On tumblr.

To become an ICE field agent requires 14 months of training, including 3-4 months at FLETSI. We are all of 5 1/2 months into this administration, so that means all of those masked fascist thugs are contractors.

You know, whatever the Blackwater Motherfuckers are calling themselves these days.

I've watched the footage of the Australian reporter getting shot with a rubber bullet to the leg and I can say with certainty that not only was the person who shot her not in any danger that he deliberately targeted her. You can see him do it in the footage. I wish I were confident that he will be brought up on charges.

Multiple accounts on Xitter owned by ICE/Homeland Security etc. showed pallets of bricks, calling them proof that either George Soros was behind the protests in L.A. or that violence was at hand. Given that all the raids took place at Home Depot stores I am personally under the opinion that these people have no fucking what Home Depot sells.

Apparently protesting and flying a Mexican flag is bad optics, per a couple of posts I've seen. Dudes, this is Los Angeles. Might as well ask the people not to fly pride flags in San Francisco or Brazilian flags during the World Cup.

Or as Cheryl Ann Lee called it on Bluesky, "This is very much like telling Black Americans that we should protest in suits and ties instead of jeans and hoodies so that racists will respect us. It does not work. We wore our Sunday best and they turned firehoses on us and still called us beasts and savages. Call us savages to this day."

You know, don't give them the pretext to do what they're already doing.

The new/old guy apparently thinks it costs $2.00 to fly to California from Washington D.C. and that's why we can't have high-speed rail.

And his social media posts apparently time-travel? At least the one he posted about the success of the Marines sent into Los Angeles the day before they were sent?

ICE was deployed to the library in Whitter, CA today (where Richard Nixon went to college) which by some strange coincidence was the start of the summer reading program for children.

That the current Secretary of Defense thinks you can deploy the National Guard without also deploying logistics teams so that they have bedding, shelter, and food.

That every crisis that the current administration is reacting to is imagined. None of it was/is real. There is no immigrant invasion. No trade crisis. No scientific or governance crisis. Just people completely high off their own supply trying to fundamentally reorder society.

I lived in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots. What we've been seeing are nowhere close to that. Tom Homan said yesterday that someone is going to get killed. I think that's what they want.

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And because I love you and because music can be joyous, I give you one of my favorite songs from childhood by the great Sly Stone:

Radio Free California Episode 2522, some new (kinda) music, and thoughts about the day.

 

New music this week from Peach Fuzz, Ben Caplan, John Fogerty (sort of), Ministry (also sort of), Wet Leg,  Lorde, Sunsick Daisy,  Ty Segall, Garbage, Moptop, KennyHoopla, Beth Sarah and much more. Enjoy!

A couple of notes about this week's music starting with John Fogerty. Earlier this year he finally, finally, was able to get the rights to all of the music he wrote during the Credence days back. What happened to him is a cautionary tale to any songwriter - but for 50 years people made money off his work and he didn't get a dime. That has finally been fixed.

Fogerty has been re-recording his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalogue with his sons as the backing band, and he's going to start releasing them as "John's Version" - the first of which came out this week. This includes my favorite CCR song, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" but also included a song I didn't even know, which I've added to the playlist this week. More to come. I hear through the grapevine (I see what you did there) that he actually lobbied his record label to call these re-recording "Taylor's Version" but the idea was shot down.

That would have been hilarious.

You will also see the same sort of thing happening with Ministry. When they evolved into an Industrial/Noise Metal band I really didn't follow along - I much preferred their synth-pop work from their early days. Well they too have re-recorded some of their old catalog (including "Every Day is Halloween") and are calling it "The Squirrely Years". This gives me the excuse to add a couple of my favorite Ministry songs to the playlist and call it new music.

My playlists, my rules.

Finally, it's worth your time to check out the back catalog of the band Moptop. The new album they have coming soon will be in English, but this is their 5th album - they're from Brazil and their previous albums are of course in Portuguese. Get past the language barrier - they're a good alt-pop band, and like I said, their new material is in English and if I hadn't told you that they're from South America you'd have never noticed.

As I always say, there is great music out there, but you need to search for it. That's what I do.

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Dan Bongobongo (or whatever the fuck his name is) was hired as Deputy Director of the FBI, and now he's been bitching to his TV and Radio/Podcast friends that it's a difficult job. No shit, Sherlock.

We've put a bunch of Monday Morning Quarterbacks in charge of real work, and all of a sudden they're discovering that they're not qualified (or worse think that they are) and that the job of being an actual quarterback is fucking hard. Hey, if they could actually do the hard work they wouldn't have been on Television in the first place.

Does anyone out there know what trauma Governor Gavin Newsom has experienced that has made him swing so far right these past few months? If it turns out that he's only doing it as an opportunistic grab towards a Presidential bid I will be greatly disappointed. Although I don't wish him harm and prior to now he's been a good Governor, it's the only explanation I would find acceptable. 

Therapy Gavin. Seek therapy, please.

Because if it's the other thing I will point out that the Left doesn't win by heading towards the center. It's the Center that wins when they swing Left. It's not the Clinton years anymore.

Look, it's never been a secret that Elon Musk is a stoner. Why does everyone get all up in arms about it? He smokes pot all the time - it is well documented - and his use of Special K is pretty well established as well. 

I love it when Republicans get pissed off about Democrats using the same tactics that they've been using for years. "It’s got to be hard to keep track of your political positions when you have no moral center and just attach yourself to the most powerful person in the room."

I will also add that it must be tough to get into the Heaven you keep raving about when you bear false witness so very goddamned much.

ICE has quotas to fill, so the stories are only going to get worse.

As frustrating as it is that the media isn't doing a damned thing to point out that the new/old guy is clearly in mental decline, it's even more frustrating to admit that they reason they're doing it is that they are far more scared of the idea of a President Vance.

I don't eat popcorn, but I do admit that the sudden civil war between the new/old guy and Leonard Leo is pretty entertaining.

What happened in Colorado last week is terrible, and yes it is a hate crime and even possibly terrorism. So what are you calling what's happening in Gaza right now?

Bravo to Ukraine for pulling off the attack of the decade (so far) with the demolition of so much of Russia's Air Force, so far away from the border the two countries share. Whatever your position on the war is, you must admit that this was pulled off with Jack Ryan precision and accuracy.

You know, for a political party that made its bones on the idea that government should have no say in how we raise our children the Republican Party sure seems to want to have a fuckton of control over how we raise our children.

I'm sure that Elon's satellites dropping out of the sky is a feature, not a bug.

I leave you now to go feed the Rainbow Beast. Happy Pride!

And because I love you, there is a real video now for Ministry's biggest early hit: