Kamala fucking Harris has given me the first feelings of hope I’ve had since the pandemic started.

Brand new day, indeed.

I’m with her, y’all.

The only thing Joe Manchin should be running for is the hills. That guy’s the worst and it’s obvious he’d only run to serve as a detractor - a Jill Stein or Kennedy Jr. style vote stealer who causes so much more harm than good. And I’m entirely convinced he’s full aware. That guy is a pro-fossil fuel, paid off, rotten pot-stirrer who can go jump in a lake (if they don’t all dry up due to the anti-climate policies he’d put into place).

The only bad part about this is that Jill Stein is still gonna think she’s got a shot.

Welp. Who wants to run for president? Because every single person on this platform is exponentially more capable than the Republican nominee.

If you’re reading this, I say throw your hat in the ring.

I’M AFRAID OF AMERICANS E.P. (REMASTER) BY DAVID BOWIE

I’m Afraid Of Americans E.P. (Remaster)

David Bowie

Geez am I stuck in the 90s or what? Love this song, though. Not sorry. Still relevant.

Today would’ve been Bonsai’s birthday. Here’s one of my favorite pictures of her from a long time ago.

LAST SPLASH BY THE BREEDERS

Last Splash

The Breeders

Andy was right. This is an album that you have to listen to from start to finish whenever you play it. Andy is always right about music. He’s shaped my musical taste in a tremendous way. I’m pretty sure he knows that. I hope so, anyway. When I met him, I was very Lilith Fair good, rock music meh it’s too loud and also screaming. He opened my eyes and ears to hear what beauty there can be in dissonance, what meaning there can be in noise, and what messy brilliance can exist when the right chords and words and rhythm collide.

If you haven’t done it in a while, give this album a listen from start to finish, and pay close attention. I guarantee, especially in this 30th anniversary edition, you’ll hear nuance you’d never noticed before.

DUETS BY BARBRA STREISAND

Duets

Barbra Streisand

I don’t remember the first time I heard/watched the Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy duet that Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand did, but I know I felt like I was witnessing one of the best performances ever caught on film. I love the way their voices blend and sound like one at the end. And there was a sort of tragic optimism watching Judy Garland perform knowing some of the things she had been through and struggled with. Her voice would and could not be denied, struggles be damned. It’s an incredible performance by two insanely talented women that I wish more people knew about. Sometimes I wake up and that’s the song I want to hear. This morning was such a morning. And every time I listen to it, I marvel at it and feel grateful for its existence. It really is that good of a performance.

Haven’t really listened to the rest of this album, though. Besides No More Tears, of course. More people should know about that song, too.

🍵 I don’t need to point out the irony re: gun control and the party who prevents ANY form of it , do I?

💀 Violence begets violence but that man is no martyr and we don’t need anyone changing that. I mean, I still hope the SOB dies screaming, but not as a martyr.

Also, #Caturday! 🐱📸

THE ONE CONCERNING HEADLINE ABOUT JOE BIDEN THAT NOBODY TALKS ABOUT

Do I think Biden should’ve run again? Absolutely not.

Nothing to do with the headlines about his age.

Nothing to do with the headlines about the debate debacle.

Everything to do with the headline, “Biden Campaign Brushes Off Idea of Reforming the Supreme Court.”

Joe Biden has a record of historic accomplishments. Still, while he may not be forcing us backwards, he’s hardly propelling us forward.

He’s the embodiment of the conservative Democratic establishment’s bizarre fetish for mediocrity and preserving the status quo. Aim for the mediocre. Pander to the middle. Put up with the middle. Protect the status quo. Accept the middle. Compromise relentlessly and refuse to have the upper hand in any situation. Accept the lose-win compromises. Respect the other side while they crush you to death. Refuse to fight fire with fire. Refuse to fight fire at all. Do the things we should’ve been doing for 20-30 years and call it accomplishment.

Don’t get me wrong. Joe Biden has my vote. But I am not hopeful.

Joe Biden has my vote.

I’m not impressed with the distraction drama game the media is playing.

I will vote for Joe Biden the way I voted for Hillary Clinton.

If Joe Biden somehow wins on a platform of save-our-democracy (a benign concept lost on most American dipshits because gas prices are the president’s fault and crisis at the border and more immigration and critical race theory and poisoning our soil and jobs for only Black people but affirmative action bad and gold painted sneakers are shiny plus Bible, flag, troops, Afghanistan, and also Marjorie Taylor Greene), I’ll look forward to another four years of historic accomplishments that just barely move the needle to left (which has ultimately become the center-right since the far-right has pulled and slid the entire measuring scale along with them in their ascent to outright fascism).

But I am disappointed, once again, with the Democratic Party. Joe Biden’s not the sleepy one, the party is. It’s so sleepy it’s wearing a CPAP machine and a fuzzy pink sleep mask with opened eyes painted on, swallowing a steady dose of Ativan and having sweet dreams.

They have got to do better next time if, universe willing, we have a next time.

And this is quite likely the last time I’m going to write about a headline that mentions Joe Biden.

Ah so I see Jill Stein is running. Again. Y’know I love her politics but her sense of pragmatism 💩

HAT FULL OF STARS BY CYNDI LAUPER

Hat Full Of Stars

Cyndi Lauper

My uncle’s sister worked for Buena Vista when I was young. Sometimes she’d get pre-screen movie tickets and share them with me and my mom. “Life with Mikey” was one of the movies we got to see in this tiny little 1 screen theater. Cyndi Lauper’s song “Feels Like Christmas” was on the soundtrack, and she was in the movie. I think Michael J Fox was too, but I don’t much remember that part. Of course by the time this album came out I was a Cyndi Lauper connoisseur and had all her albums on cassette. I would tell people about how she “seems to be releasing an album about every three years based on the dates on my cassettes so I think she’ll be due for another one in about two years.” What a smart kid, I used to be!

Great playlist.

Also, is “Leader of the Pack” about involuntary vehicular manslaughter, or am I imaging things? Because it kinda just sounded like that girl caused a big ol’ car crash and then just kept on singin’….

Over the Rhine has been my favorite band for about 30 years now, give or take. This song, Given Road, from this gorgeous record, Love & Revelation, is one of the most haunting, stirring songs they’ve ever recorded.

I encourage you to listen.

Best savored at maximum volume.

BARGAINVILLE BY MOXY FRUVOUS

Bargainville

Moxy Fruvous

Some people listened to They Might Be Giants in high school. Those people were dorky. The rest of us listened to Moxy Früvous. We also were dorky. Like, rent a limo for prom but skip the dance and have the driver drive you and your friends around town while you and your friends sing Moxy Früvous songs (and many other kinds of songs except for They Might Be Giants songs) dorky. That much dorky. Yes.

👨‍🎨 “Someone said we need priests and preachers to remind us that one day we’re going to die. But we need poets, artists, and musicians to remind us we’re not dead yet.” -Over the Rhine

I’m not as vocal here about Project 2025; I presume most people on micro.blog don’t support a Christofascist nation. But we all must still familiarize ourselves with the plan and tell everyone we know about it.

Need a primer? Here’s my referral code to an excellent newsletter. Subscribe today.

WE THE PEOPLE

Response to some guy online.

Guy Online, You’re exactly spot on about “we the people”! We are not going to set by and do nothing. Who are “we the people”?

We the people are here and queer, get used to it. We the people are Black Lives Matter. We the people use the bathroom that matches our gender identity. We the people read banned books. We the people support the constitutional right to have an abortion. We the people think it’s time for the morbidly rich to pay their fair share of taxes. We the people want policies enacted now that will save our planet. We the people believe in science and technology and medicine. We the people see the value in public education. We the people see the value in solid infrastructure. We the people think mass incarceration of a particular race is a problem. We the people want healthcare access to be a right instead of a profit center. We the people consider it our societal obligation to care for the most vulnerable among us. We the people see the blatant hypocrisy and bribery and corruption coursing through the right wing right now for exactly what it is. We the people are sick of Republican lies and cheating. We the people are paying attention.

And most importantly, we the people vote.

BRIGADE BY HEART

Brigade

Heart

My cousin, Jessica, loaned me this album, another one by Heart (self-titled one with These Dreams), and a couple Cher CDs when I was a teenager. Doing so influenced me and my musical taste in a great way that I didn’t realize at the time. I’m not a Heart super fan - I only have a couple of their albums and am pretty much familiar with only their hits - but I feel like Ann Wilson’s voice doesn’t get enough recognition for being the best female voice in rock n roll, which it entirely is. I heard on the radio yesterday that she’s having surgery for cancer and, I think, going through chemotherapy. A shame. I hope she pills through. “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” is such great song that I still sing along with. My favorite song here, though, is “The Night.” I remember getting the cassette single for “Secret” with the b-side “I Love You” after borrowing Brigade from my cousin. Later, I got their live album on tape. Somewhere along the way a friend gave me a copy of Little Queen on cassette. I don’t remember if it was before or after Brigade. I think maybe before because I think I was pretty young.

🏥 Nothing says, “Welcome to mid-life!” like arriving to hospital for your first colonoscopy.

🎤 Ann Wilson has the best female voice in rock n roll.

Change my mind.

(Actually, don’t. Just let me have this one.)

EVERYTHING BY THE BANGLES

Everything

The Bangles

I wore out this cassette tape when I was a boy. Watching the Sky and Bell Jar are actually my favorite songs on here, followed very closely by In Your Room.