Radio Free California Episode 2530, 47 is an admitted pedo, COVID is still here, and other rants

 

New music this week from Folk Bitch Trio, Cloud Nothings, Peach Fuzz, Lola Young, Ally Salort, High Fade, Sia, Paul Weller, Alice Cooper, Lari Basilio, Night Moves and much more. Enjoy!

Okay, a few notes:

Yes, that is all of the surviving members of the original Alice Cooper band on the new Alice Cooper album. It's not as good as they were in their heyday, but it isn't bad either. As for Paul Weller doing another album of covers... it isn't bad and he covers some pretty obscure stuff, but I think I am always going to miss The Jam.

The new Sia track was an unexpected treat. Now I've been a fan of hers for a long time now - long before she found herself backing rap records - but I have to admit this is a good one. Here's hoping there's an album coming behind it.

I never heard of High Fade before three days ago. Then I saw them featured on Danny Sapko's YouTube channel and decided to check them out. Pretty tight band, and worth checking out.

For those of you who like your guitar gods, you need to add a goddess. Lari Basilio is a Brazilian guitarist and a champion of melodic instrumental rock. I added two of her songs from her new album "Redemption" but I could have added a lot more.

There is a track from Tenor Will Liverman that I added this week called "Sonnet', and it's not the first time I've added one of his performances. He has an operatic voice so this might be a challenge for some listeners, but the song is just beautiful.

Finally, there's Cloud Nothings, releasing their 4th and 5th album so far this year. Just try to keep up. I'm guessing that they are re-releasing an older catalog, but the production is fresh and shop. They're worth checking out.

By the way, new live album from David Gilmour comes out October 17th.

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New headline: The new/old guy admits to being a pedophile on tape. Complains that Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre from him. The same Virginia Giuffre who would be abused by Epstein and others and was employed as a masseuse by the new/old guy at Mar-a-Lago at age 16.

This would be years before their friendship broke down. I swear to all that is holy that every single motherfucking accusation they make against others is a confession of their own crimes.

On a much lesser note I don't give a shit that he cheats at golf. I do care that it's a symptom of how much he lies though.

Someone needs to take RFK Jr.'s lamprey riddled butt to see a psychiatrist.

I've seen multiple articles about all of Joe Rogan's friends who followed him to Texas and now hate it. My first thought was "Joe Rogan has friends?"

So the new/old guy wants prosecutions of Beyonce, Oprah, Al Sharpton and others for something that didn't happen, and even if it did it isn't illegal? I know this is meant to make people look at the shiny new non-Epstein object, but if this happens we should rename ourselves as The Nazi States of America.

Oh, in case you missed it, the new/old guy wants to depose Rupert Murdoch immediately because he's going to die any minute now.

And also, in case you missed it (and you probably did) 68% of all COVID-19 deaths last week were in the United States.

And because I love you, here's a track I'll be adding to the station next week:

Radio Free California Episode 2529, only a couple of thoughts, and RIP Ozzy

 

New music this week from Liang Lawrence, Walter Trout, Vernon Reid, Lissie, Robert Plant, The Goo Goo Dolls, BBBL, Nine Inch Nails, Cory Wong, Forth Wanderers and much more. Enjoy!

Not a lot to talk about this week, save for a sparkling new single from Robert Plant, Nine Inch Nails appearing on a soundtrack, and The Goo Goo Dolls showing up on a different one. 

Cory Wong's latest live album is a lot of fun, and the track I feature this week has a sax solo by Kenni Holman, who is Cory Wong's secret weapon. He's one of the best sax players I've ever heard, and I know Dave Koz. (Sorry Dave).

I admit that I like Amy Macdonald's new album, even if most of it sounds like B-sides and album tracks to me. Ain't nothing wrong with that. The new album from Forth Wanderers is also good, but a bit strange in spots. I like it overall. And of course I have a soft spot for Colin Hay, having seen him live in his troubadour days.

And diving back into the whole AI debate again, is the band ever//never. I'd have never noticed them if they hadn't followed me on Bluesky. I honestly don't know if they're an AI band or not - they sure sound like one but someone is updating their Bluesky feed.

Finally, the Liang Lawrence track "A Day Off in Margaritaville" is a fun song and I'm looking forward to her next album.

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Just a gentle reminder everyone: as far as we know Ghislaine Maxwell didn't kill herself next week. But she may be looking at an early release or a pardon/commutation of her sentence to keep quiet.

Is disgraced former General Michael Flynn an extra from Stanley Kubriks' "Doctor Strangelove"?

If the Epstien dossier actually didn't have the new/old guy but did have the fingerprints of Obama/Biden/Clinton all over them don't you think that he would be hawking T-shirts, Hats and NFTs by now?

So Stephen Colbert's show awas cancelled over financial concerns? RRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT.......

Which presidential pedophile scandal would Jesus help cover up, Mr. Speaker?

RIP Ozzy. Well, fuck.

And because I love you, this may be my favorite of his works:

Radio Free California Episode 2528, and you're not spewing "fake news" Ms. Noem - you're LYING

New music this week from Hot Chip, Emma Harner, Caeseria, Jon Batiste, Lola Young, .38 Special, Wet Leg, Brenda Mtambo, Press Club, The Korgis (!!!), Mammoth, Coast Arcade and much more. Enjoy!

On the new music front, I cannot recommend highly enough the new album from Caeseria. I only added three songs from their new album to the station, but I could have added them all. This is a solid album and should push them forward in terms of their career.

The Wet Leg album is pretty good too, but I have to admit that their best stuff is in the first two singles, added previously to the station. I still found a couple more tracks to add though.

Another new discovery for me this week was Emma Harner. Her discography is still pretty small, but there isn't a bad song in the mix. I added a couple this week.

Yes, there is a song about a Basketball player for the Phoenix Suns in this week's list. I'm not a Suns fan but it's a damned catchy song.

Finally, who had new singles from 38 Special or The Korgis on their bingo card?!!??!!? 38 Special will have a new album coming out in the fall but I'll be honest I haven't given either of these bands much thought since the 1980's.

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If there was any one set of words I would like stricken from usage it's "fake news". I fucking hate those words. I have found that I take an immediate dislike to anyone who uses them.

They're called LIES. But they don't want to say lies so they've come up with a softer way to call their critics liars without actually saying so. Cowards.

Kristi Noem and FEMA's absolutely criminal response to the floods in Texas is one of those things that she is referring to as "fake news". Well FUCK YOU. 130 dead and 160 still missing? 70% of all calls into the emergency helplines that FEMA has went unanswered. Over 13,000 pleas for help ignored, and that's verifiable.

I have no real comment on the whole Epstein files, other than to point out that it seems impossible to so badly fuck up something that doesn't exist. And yet...

If the new/old guy and his minions can eliminate the Department of Education I see no reason why my kids should pay back their student loans. I mean, who is that money going to?

It's a shame that Obama isn't considered the party leader anymore but an "elder statesman", because he's saying the right things.

And because I love you, here are the Korgis today:

And here are the Korgis from back in the day:

Radio Free California Episode 2527, some thoughts, and Biden bares no blame for the Texas weather fuckup.

New music this week from a newly revived Kesha, NoSo, Ethan Tasch, The Vanns, The Lemonheads, Men Without Hats (in a glorious return to form), Blake Rave, Lucius, Remerge Band, Curtis Harding, Ida Marie and so much more. Enjoy!

Not a lot of people release music on the 4th of July weekend so I really had to go digging into new singles and indie bands. That said, the new Kesha album, the first on her own label, is really pretty good. It sounds to me like she had a "let's liberate Taylor Swift" moment of her own. A lot of it is a breakup album, but it's also about freedom and I for one have to applaud that spirit.

In the new singles department is the GLORIOUS new single from Men Without Hats, called "I Love the 80's". To be fair to them, they never actually went away, but I dare you to name a single song of theirs other than "Safety Dance". We just haven't been listening. We should - the new song is fantastic.

I think my favorite discovery this week is NoSo, who has only released a few singles so far. The songwriting and production is first rate, and I've been listening to their singles a lot the past few days.

It's also nice to see Evan Dando and his collection of misfits known as The Lemonheads still out there plugging away. 

I'm not a fan of auto-tune, but there are two songs this week by artists who use it. The first is 88rising and 8RO8's collaboration - which instead of the usual hip-hop cliches is a heart-felt tribute to 8RO8's home state of Hawaii. The other is 4stro with Kid Moon, because Kid Moon uses auto-tune on everything, which is kind of a shame as he has a good voice. But he's friggin' everywhere these days. Every week I discover a new artist because he has done a collaboration with them. 

I'm not really a fan of AI music either, but there is an AI artist on this playlist, who I have featured before, called BBBL. There is a lot of controversy around right now about fake vs. real bands and the conversation can get heated. That said, I can get behind BBBL because there's obviously a guiding hand behind their sound, with real production going on.

I have been accused of promoting AI because of Remrge Band as well. I hate to break it to you, but they're a real band; I've met them. I do think they're using AI to master their works, which a lot of digital distributors offer these days for a small fee. I've never done it myself because to my ears it all starts to sound the same, but that music does get noticed by the algorithms various streaming services use - they're AI too.

Sometimes I read the bio's of AI bands, because they're almost always so bad that they're funny.

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I keep seeing Texas officials saying that they "had no warning" and that "no system exists to give us a heads up" when flooding comes. They used to, as recently as last January. Incoming Presidents always like to lay blame on the previous administration until they get their first budget passed, and I think there's some validity to that - but not in this case. The weather service and early warning systems in Texas are understaffed at about 50%, and that's all on the new/old guy. They were fully staffed at the first of this year.

We have to stop saying "they're going to get people killed" in the present or future tense. It's past tense now.

I also want to point out that MEXICO responded to requests for aid in the Texas floods faster than the federal government..

Let's be clear, Elon. The richest man in the world can never be "the middle". Ask Grok about Ross Perot.

Oh Ms. Bondi... the list you said was on your desk and was earth-shattering in its revelations doesn't exist? Did you destroy it?

Oh Ms. Blackburn, it's never the day to talk about it, is it now. Why can't you say the words you really mean? Allow me: Shut the Fuck up.

What to Denmark, Vietnam, Ireland, Croatia, Canada and Malta all have in common? Better economies that the U.S. So do 18 other countries.

It should come as a shock to no one that golfing is the new fiddling.

Get ready for eggs to cost $12. Not per dozen, but each.

144 employees of the EPA signed a letter stating their disapproval of the direction the EPA is being led to. All 144 have been suspended without pay. So much for the Champions of the First Amendment.

They never learn.

Part of how a new ICE has a budget larger than the DEA, Marines, IRS and Dept of Education combined is not only the cuts to those agencies, but a 40% cut in research to all of the top 10 leading causes of death in the US. Is that really the intent?

Yes.

Doc Severinsen turned 98 years young today. Retired, but still with us.

And because I love you, Fight Like a Girl