New music from expected and unexpected places, like Europe (yes, that Europe), Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, MEMI, American Football, Maya Hawke, youbet, Puddles Pity Party, Death Cab for Cutie, Haircut 100, Violet Grohl, Vent 414, and much more. Enjoy!
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Let's of course start out talking about the music. For those of you who listen to the radio station I've added an extra song this week, a performance by Gino Vanelli and Leonid & Friends of the song "Santa Rosa", which they performed live on YouTube. It's an excellent piece of music and I hope they release it as a single, but for now only my radio station is playing it outside of YouTube. Whatever you were thinking the song would sound like, you're probably wrong - I was. We run through the whole playlist on Wednesdays in a loop at Radio Free California, so feel free to check it out.
The new Tori Amos album "In Times of Dragons" is now out and I've heavily sampled it this week. It's vintage Tori Amos and if you're a fan the new music won't disappoint. If you're not a fan then this isn't for you. I'm a fan and in my opinion this is the best work she's released in quite some time.
I have been a proponent of the band American Football from the very first time I ever heard them. There isn't anything that sounds like them, even after 4 albums, and their new (and once again) self-titled album "American Football (LP4)" is more of what we've come to expect, plus some growth.
There was a full moon last week, so of course this means we have a new Peter Gabriel song, and how is it that this man just keeps getting better? He said last month that last month's song was possibly the most commercial offering from the forthcoming album "O/I" but I'm going to disagree and say that the ten new song "Won't Stand Down" is a better song, a more commercial song, and a reflection of the mement. Although not written for the events in the world right now, it sure as hell fits.
I have to introduce you to personal favorites of mine. First of all, the band Vent 414 and their new single, "How Far We Fall" - their first release in 30 years. Vent 414 was meant to be the new band for Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff (one of my favorite all-time bands) after they went on hiatus for the first time. Loud, arrogant, noisy and so full of life and fire that you cannot ignore them that I have to include them here. And all the way on the other side of the spectrum is Galli J and his new single "Wish You Were the One", which is about is mainstream pop as it gets. His real name is Jules Galli, and he was part of a band called Levara that came and flamed out 5 years ago, featuring him on vocals, Josh Devine of One Direction on drums, and Trevor Lukather (yes, the son of monster guitarist Steve Lukather and The Runaway's Cherri Currie) playing everything else. I've been paying attention to Galli J ever since and I hope that you will too, especially given that it looks like Levara might be getting back together.
Puddles Pity Party has a new album out called "No One's Free" and if you're used to America's favorite 7 foot tall sad clown with the amazing voice and his reinterpretations of hit songs reimagined as slow ballads you are in for a surprise. This is a mostly straight-ahead indie rock and roll album. Yes, the ballads are there of course, but there are a couple of surprises and I picked a couple for the playlist this week. PPP seems to be headed into exploring new ideas, and I'm here for it.
I knew nothing about Maya Hawke prior to the release of her new album, "Maitreya Corso" because I'm one of maybe six people who has never watched "Stranger Things", but I have to admit that the cast of that show have generally been putting out good music. Her new album is sort of a journey through a fictional fantasy epic but like others from that show this is a solid stand-alone indie rock outing and is worth the time. Hell, I didn't even know she was in "Stranger Things" until I started writing this paragraph.
Finally, I included a song by SpaceAcre called "Why We Left", which while being a banging rock tune is also their declaration that you won't find them on Spotify any more. I fully agree with what they've done here. If you want to find out more about them, you should really check out their bandcamp page.
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It had actually been a few months that had passed before Rudy Guiliani's name showed up on my news feed. I have to tell you, that break from the every day nonsense was refreshing. I am so looking forward to the time when the current head of The Crime Administration (hashtag #EpsteinFiles) no longer shows up on my news feed on a daily basis.
I've never flown into Newark, so I had no idea that it was possible for an airplane to hit a truck on the New Jersey Turnpike. I mean, it doesn't show up in any Billy Joel lyric!
Apparently the new Attorney General Wanna-be can't tell you why the former director of the FBI should be prosecuted for a social media post that just showed in graphic form "86 47" but why the half-million shops on Amazon and Etsy should not be prosecuted for selling merch with the same logo.
Everyone, I don't know, but does Jennifer Rauchet have the security clearance to sit in on meetings held by her husband?
Despite the promises of the Crime Administration gas prices aren't coming down any time soon. The only way to do this while this "war that isn't a war but is a war that isn't a blockade that is a blockade" is still ongoing is to release fuel from the Strategic Reserve, which Presidents have done in the past and it works - even the current administration used it about a year ago. But last I checked, they never replenished the reserves, so is there anything even there there? For someone who plays multi-dimensional chess this administration really seems not to be able to think even 1 move ahead, let alone two.
Now that Spirit Airlines is gone, who will east coast late night comedians make fun of?
Do you watch the CBS Evening News? Whatever for? Certainly not for the news.
Quick message to The Crime Administration: Stop blaming Joe Biden for the state we're in. Just today I've seen you blame him for Oil Prices, Beef Prices, the collapse of Spirit Airlines, and even the war that isn't. Fuck you. You broke it, you own it.
May the 4th be with you. Sure. Right. Nobody was saying that back in the day. I know this because I'm the guy who saw the first movie (Not Episode IV or whatever, but just Star Wars) over 500 times in theaters during the original run (hey, I was only 13 at the time). To me this day is special because it's my younger daughter's birthday. Happy B'day kiddo!
And because I love you, here is that live performance I talked about at the beginning of this post:
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