Radio Free California Episode 2543, and a few thoughts

 

There is usually a small inhale of breath when the Grammy nominations are announced, so we have a smaller list of releases this week. Still a strong week though, with new music from Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, White Lies,  Kanadia, The Mountain Goats, The The and much more. Enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++++++

First of all, how am I so late to the party when it comes to the band Kanadia? "The Fire That's Tearing Through Our Home" is an excellent new record, and looking back at their previous releases they're all just as strong. I highly recommend checking out this band.

Singer Militia Fox has a new single and it's a banger (a remake of the Bryan Adams/Tina Turner hit "It's Only Love") featuring Corey Glover and Vernon Reid of Living Colour as well as Nuno Bettencourt. I've included the song on this week's playlist. But man oh man is the video fuckin' awful. These are people with real talent - TWO well-known shredders on the guitar and TWO great vocalists. The video is 100% AI generated, and even worse that that it's lazy. It doesn't even try to show what the performers are doing, but it does show their own version of the performers. Stay away from the video - it will sour you on the song, which is actually very very good.

Mavis Staples has a new album out and her voice is as strong as ever. I have to admit that only one song, the opening "Chicago", really grabbed me, but it's really nice to see her still going.

Finally I need to air a pet peeve. There is an artist named Pina Jones who has been releasing a lot of music lately to benefit Artists Against Injustice. Nothing wrong with that, even though I do not find her work enjoyable myself. But she's been using Julian Lennon's support of the organization to claim that he's also on her songs and as a result her songs show up as releases by Julian Lennon - which they are not. I have no idea if this is being addressed but I do notice that since this started a few of those tracks have vanished from his discography.

Careful what you lend your name to my friends - take it from someone whose work appears on 3 separate charity albums.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I've been making a point of telling people this past week that it's time to turn the car keys over to the next generation. It's not just that the Democratic Party won so many elections, it's that most of the winners are YOUNG. At least younger than the average lawmaker. They have figured out how to win, and if winning is what we want, we should let them drive. Hell I'm in my sixties, younger than the average Washington D.C. Lawmaker, and I'm too old for this shit.

And then 8 "Moderates" went and threw the whole game away. Angus King of Maine actually said that "standing up to the new/old guy didn't work". Yes it did. It was working. It was.

Yes it was. Yes it was. To quote Doonesbury from the 1970's:

We were winning this. Hands down winning, and you fucked us. Are you so out of touch that you were believing the media? The media isn't "left wing" despite what so many people say.

This was all on the Republicans. On the new/old guy. It was their fault and they were bungling it with every statement, every stupid comment, every step they took. And you gave them a win without getting anything in return. Sure, you've forced the Senate to vote on the ACA Subsidies in a month or so, but quite frankly no one ever remembers the votes they didn't take. And the House sure as fuck won't take it up. Not while Pornhub Johnson is in charge. Even the MAGA diehards were starting to see that the people they've been worried about and complaining about the most were actually the people they voted for.

All that you've successfully done here is prove that you're out of touch, and it's because you're listening to people who have the ability to take time out of their days to reach out to you. The rest of us are working for a living and you aren't listening to us. To them.

The Clinton days are done. Over with. They're a quarter-century behind us. We don't need people of that era writing our laws and negotiating on our behalf. This is the Obama generation. This is the generation AFTER Obama. You should be listening to them, not to people whose main issues come from the previous century.

Because as they've shown us this past week, they know how to win.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And because I love you, here is the video for the first Kanadia song on this week's playlist: