Queue up the end of January with lots of new music! This weeks features Nickel Creek, Maaya Sakamoto, Kiffie, Ergo, Bria (the comma is part of the name), Kimbra, King Tuff, a wild remix of an old Yes song, and much more. Enjoy!
I used to link to the artists in my playlists' social media sites, with a preference towards twitter. Well, twitter is a hellscape (okay, more of one) and I don't really do Facebook, Instagram or TikTok so what I recommend you do if you find that there's an artist on my playlist you want to follow, click on their name and open their Spotify Page. If you look at their bio they usually post their preferred social media spots, with links.Some don't, but most do. Give that a shot.
In my opinion this is one of the better lists of new music I've put together.
And because I love you, here is the very striking video by Kimbra, featured in this week's episode.
Oh and finally - this is not an ad. This is a recommendation. I tried this stuff this past weekend and fell in love with it. You have to buy it online, or buy it at the distillery on Treasure Island like I did, but it's amazing.
Another busy week for new music, from long-standing artists like Metallica and Jethro Tull to indies like AmaltheuS, MOULE, Benjamin Russell with Rob Stuart, Softcult, The Nude Party and much more. Enjoy!
Most artists post links to their social media platforms in their biographies on Spotify. If you want to know more about an artist, I'd start there.
The logjam has broken and we have a TON of new music. New tracks from Everything but the Girl, PIL, Prophets of Rage, Fear 2 Stop, The Subways, Billy Nomates, Belle and Sebastian, Daughter, U.S. Girls, New Town, Babebee and much much more. 50 songs over nearly 3 hours. Enjoy!
It's MLK day today so I'm not going to do cheap shots. I will instead just point out my favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quote, which is about one of the many topic other than race relations that he was pretty liberal and radical about:
"We have guided Missiles and Misguided men"
And because I love you, Bill McClintock has given us another genius mashup of Wham! and Black Sabbath, with a touch of Van Halen thrown in.
Week 2 for 2023 and we have new music from Chris Reed and the Anime Raiders (aka me), Kiffie, Peter Gabriel, The Winery Dogs, Quiet Houses, Somebody's Child, lovelytheband, All Them Witches and much more. Enjoy!
+++++
The opening track is my latest, "Elusive Green". Much to my shock, it's the fastest out of the gate performing single of my career so far. Over 5,000 views of the video, and nearly 20,000 plays of the song in less than a week. Crazy thing is, I've been promoting the radio edit and it's the full-length version of the song - the "album version" in the old days - that's gotten more play.
You can never know which of your songs is going to grab the fancy of the listening public - if you try to engineer it you're almost always going to fail. Today's tendency is towards shorter tracks to fit into TikTok videos and I do not find that appealing. A song is as long as it needs to be. What a song needs to be is honest to itself, and that's what I've always gone for.
This is my first real intentional dance track, and people have been listening/watching. Who am I to argue? Given that I'm not really on any social media platform with a lot of followers this has been a welcome surprise.
Lots of indie music to start 2023, including Robot! Attack!, YI, Sirimiri, Kiffie, MOULE, houjean, Kink Artist Big Woman and much more, and oh yes, new albums from Vulfpeck and Weezer, yet another new mix of Tom's Diner, and a whole lot more. Enjoy!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So I may have mentioned that I have a new single out January 3rd. It's leaked in a few places, like Radio FM, YouTube, a number of radio stations in Europe and North Africa, Jango radio in the US but the actual official release date is tomorrow. Let me tell you a bit about it.
This is a dance track originally inspired by the videos of the Japanese dance troupe World Order, and my desire to write a song about environmentalism.
It was originally planned for summer of 2022, but then I caught COVID. Twice. Recovery took longer than I would have thought, but I finally got back on track just in time for every radio station to start playing Christmas Music and compiling end of year lists. So we pushed it back to January 2023.
Once everything was complete, we realized that we had enough material to make all kinds of different mixes, so we did.
Elusive Green - 1 song 4 mixes
The original mix of the track is nearly 7 minutes. The single mix, which is what's getting the radio airplay, is 2 minutes shorter. There is a 6 minute mix that I call the "Oontz Oontz" mix, which is meant for dance clubs, and the "No Oontz" version, which is just vocals and keyboards.
The video has one more mix, which is basically the single mix with the opening of the original mix added in. If you purchase the single from bandcamp you can get all five mixes but otherwise most outlets will only have the 4.
I thought about making a "best of" list, but I realized that I'd come up with something different every time I tried. So here is a highlight reel, cultivated from all of the 2022 RFC's. Feel free to put together your own list. I recommend putting this on random play for the best possible experience - I just went through all 51 episodes for 2022 and picked the ones that tickled my fancy at that moment. If I tried again tomorrow I would probably pick 246 different songs than are on this list.
So what was your 2022 like? I usually do a recap of the previous year as my last blog post but I'm really not feeling it this time around. Face it folks, 2022 SUCKED. I had a decent career year with a couple of hit singles and videos plus my improvised piano album, and I got to see both Roger Waters and Bjork live (not on the same night), but overall...?
I mean, social media imploded and fragmented, led by the Chief Twit. The Previous Motherfucker is STILL hanging on all our necks instead of in prison where he fucking belongs. Far too many Americans embrace Fascism, Racism, and a large portion of the country is now a Hee-Haw version of The Handmaid's Tale.
I can't even imagine how weird it must be to be young in this country. My children grew up in one country and as of this year it no longer exists. They're not like those of us who are old enough to remember how it used to be.
And just what the ever-lovin' FUCK is it with wanting to destroy power stations? This is supposed to start a race war? How fucking STUPID is that? It's like saying 1+2=Licorice. The sum is less than the parts.
Strangely enough, the Pandemic has put me in a position to leave, and I just might. I'm incredibly fortunate to live in one of the remaining pockets of sanity in this country and I don't want to leave, but I don't want to live in an isolated exception to the rule either. I'd rather the whole country be sane than just my little corner of it with with fascist fucks encroaching from all sides.
I have family in Canada, New Zealand and Spain - so I have options (although I don't speak Spanish). I also have possibly misplaced hope, so I have to admit that the decision isn't an easy one. I haven't made it yet, and there are other's I'd need to convince to come with.
The craziest part about all of this is that on a whole lot of specifics America had a great year. It's just that the terrible parts are so bad that they overwhelm the good parts.
I don't think there is a "best of" 2022 to be had. I think that this has been example after example of wasted talent, potential, and ability. I think of 2022 as a squandered year. There ain't no best to be had.
Now, there's two ways to look at that: To be depressed about it or to be determined to do better. I am choosing the second option.
Taking a step back from Social Media has given me something I hadn't even noticed I had lost: TIME. I reclaim my fucking time.
I have a new single coming out the first week of January and I'm going to focus on it for a bit, but then I'm going to hunker down and fucking FINISH this album that's been percolating for the past decade. Those of you who follow my music career have heard snippets of it, but only small snippets of it. I expect that promoting and performing that album is going to take up a lot of my time in 2023. I have tickets to see Arcade Fire on my birthday, so I'll take that day off.
And then I'm going to gear up for 2024, which I want to be my busiest and most productive year musically ever. There's a couple of reasons for that - a big birthday is coming up in 2024; one my own father didn't reach. Now I don't have his issues and expect to go on for decades yet, but I'm going to fucking CELEBRATE. I hope that the country will still be here for it. Another reason is that I have set a challenge for myself and it's a difficult one, but I damned well want to TRY.
I am absolutely awful at predicting the future, but I still want to try.
So let's shake off this past year, bury it, and roll up them sleeves and get to it. I fucking HATE Hee-Haw.
See you next year.
And because I love you, I leave you with my new single.
Roger Waters opened his shows with the opener for this week, so I'm doing the same. Not a ton of new music out this week, but here's a few you might want to hear, including Vulfpeck, Magaziine, The Ceys, Iggy Pop and more for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
This is likely to be the last RFC of 2022. My next one of these will be a "best of" for the year. Most people don't release new music this week because radio is mostly just playing "best of" lists, so they hold back. Hell, even I'm doing it - my next single comes out next week.
Anyhoo, enjoy this shorter list and I'll have more for you soon!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Why are American Terrorists so convinced that causing power outages will bring about a white uprising?
Mainstream artists tend to not release new music in the second half of December, so it's time for indie artists to shine! New music from The Winery Dogs, Dezit, For Tracy Hyde, Ainsley Costello, the moss, Barry Spring, Annahstasia and so much more. Enjoy!
I used to post all of the social media links for the artists, but after twitter's implosion I have decided to stop doing that. Follow them wherever you wish.
Pretty good week for new music, from the funk of Vulfpeck to the hard rock of The Winery Dogs to the sounds of Lana Del Rey to modern punk of Blondshell to one of the most unlikely remakes ever, plus so much more. Enjoy!
Those of you who have been following this for a while now know I used to list all of the artists by twitter handle. However, now that twitter is a mere hateful shadow of its former self I'm not going to do that anymore. Each of these artists deserve a follow on Spotify, or the listening platform of your choice.
I'm pretty much staying away from Social media these days, except for CounterSocial.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Cheap Shots:
If you had done this, you'd be dead you silly bitch. Shot by Capital Police and/or the National Guard.
Big week for new music (2 1/2 hours!) especially from indie artists! New music from Project Ember, half-alive, Julia Pratt, crepe girl, Cigarettes after Sex, B'z, Saturn 17, Stormzy and so much more. Enjoy!
I used to list all the artists by twitter handle, but I'm staying away from twitter for the time being, so if you want to know the artists just look at the list above. Lots of good artists!
+++++++++++++++++++++++
A couple of notes about why I'm not active on twitter for the foreseeable future. Here are 5 quotes for you, and I warn you, they're awful:
"Shut your pie hole you fucking cunt."
"It would have been better if your mother had slit her throat than give birth to you."
"When I come to burn your house down I hope you're inside."
"Someone should kill your children. I can be someone."
"I'm going to find your daughter and rape her until she bleeds. Then rape her until she's pregnant. Then sue for custody and win because she a pervert."
Believe it or not, all 5 of the above quotes are from people on twitter, directed to ME, a dude with less than 500 followers. All five people were blocked. All 5 people were reported. All 5 were suspended.
All 5 claimed to be Christians. Like hell.
All 5 were reactivated when Elon gave all the trolls amnesty. I have the receipts because I downloaded my twitter history.
So dear Elon Musk, go fuck yourself. I don't fucking need twitter.
So we're saying that we're going to allow discrimination over a pretend business?
Shorter Blackburn: Sign up to defend the nation, the constitution, and we'll supply your ventilator when you get sick. (Ventilator coverage may not be applicable if you're a veteran instead of active duty).
And there is a fairly active rumor that some people are going to offer this man as an alternative to be the new Speaker of the House. He wasn't very good at it last time, but he'd be better than McCarthy.
I don't think you can call a ratio of 44:1 "Both Sides".
I honestly don't think that Elon Musk has really thought all this through.
An awful lot of people at twitter have been let go. Programmers, Human Resources, Security, and especially content moderators. Advertisers have pulled back and he is currently feuding with Apple over the fact that Apple might remove twitter from their app store because it potentially exposes people who would use the app to harm.
It was discovered a few days ago that the Christchurch Massacre found it's way back into twitter in video form. This video was filmed by the killer himself, in the hopes of inspiring others to commit the same kind of violence. Twitter used to take this stuff down within seconds. This time the government of New Zealand had to contact twitter directly to alert them this had happened before the content was taken down.
And this is the part where Elon is in waaaaaaay over his tiny pointed head.
You see, the content moderators at twitter, while far from perfect, have been doing a ton of work. It's not just this massacre but other massacres. Hate Speech. Nazi propaganda. COVID and Election Disinformation. Stalking. Catfishing. Child Porn. All of this has to be searched out and removed. Some of it just in the name of decency, some of it to keep government regulators off their backs.
But that takes staff. Bots alone won't cut it, and that is already readily apparent.
While it isn't true, there is a perception in the Western World that child porn is worse in the Asian Nations than anywhere else. There is a child porn problem there and it's horrific, but the customers tend to be westerners. And as of the moment I'm writing this the staff for twitter that tries to keep this from reaching your feeds is down to one person. In a region of 4.5 Billion people.
What Elon Musk doesn't realize is that some of the countries where this is happening take this very seriously. I would not be surprised to find that he has been indicted on Child Porn charges before the end of the week, because the site he owns is hosting it. In some countries he could be beheaded for this.
I'm shocked that Germany isn't already blocking twitter. It's carrying Nazi propaganda fairly freely now and that's actually illegal in Germany. This is why Volkswagon has pulled their advertising. They could find themselves liable and they want no part of that.
Covid disinformation is now running rampant on twitter. This is something they actually chose to do. And the day they did so over 100,000 people in the US were infected with COVID-19. Nearly 1,000 died. That day.
And then there is the HR fiasco. Musk famously offered people a choice between 3 months severance and signing a contract to work harder. Most took the severance - but many haven't received it. That's because most of their HR department didn't take the deal and there's not enough people left to actually implement the severance. That's actually a violation of California law.
So to sum up only what I've noticed:
1 - Potentially thousands of HR violations 2 - Responsible for disinformation that will lead to people getting sick and dead 3 - Child porn charges 4 - Nazi speech/hate speech violations that are illegal in Germany 5 - Deplatforming by Apple (and I promise you that Google Play will follow if they do) 6 - Terrorism charges. That's what New Zealand has charged people with who have posted video of the Christchurch massacre.
I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that this is one whole lot of trouble to be in. I could be very wrong about all of this. It's also very very likely that this is only the tip of the iceberg. There's stuff out there that I never would have thought of - that seems evident.
And I can't deny that Elon's rich, and rich gets away with a LOT.
