Monthly Archives: June 2022
A Personal History of Music, Day 25: “Bachelorette,” by Bjork
Posted on June 25, 2022 1 Comment
One thing I have long admired about Bjork is how unapologetically weird she is, musically speaking (I don’t know how she is in her personal life, and it’s not my business anyway). The less ambitious version of her could have made a decent career out of being merely quirky, but nothing about Bjork could ever […]
Day 5 of Santa Monica
Posted on June 24, 2022 9 Comments
One of these days, I’ll finally go to the beach, but today was not that day. The UV index was at 10, and I didn’t feel like looking like a lobster, so I held off. I did, however, go to lunch at a Mexican restaurant called El Cholo with a different family friend from Hollywood. […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 24: “Calling All Angels,” by Jane Siberry
Posted on June 24, 2022 6 Comments
Sometimes you connect with a musician for only one song or one album, but that connection, when it’s made, is a strong one. I feel that way about Jane Siberry; most of her oeuvre is not for me for various reasons, but then there’s When I Was a Boy, an album-length mediation on life and […]
Today’s Court Case
Posted on June 24, 2022
I have COVID and my brain is not in a place to write anything substantive about it right now. So I will say what I already noted on Twitter: This court will continue to take rights from Americans as soon as it can. If you’re an American and you don’t think that this will affect […]
Status Update, 6/24/22
Posted on June 24, 2022 13 Comments
I feel… meh. Mostly fuzzy and distracted and a little ache-y. I have congestion and a runny nose. I don’t feel horrible, but I certainly don’t feel good. I do retain my sense of smell and taste so far, so that’s a good thing. I think it’s accurate to say the thing I feel most […]
Day 4 of Santa Monica
Posted on June 23, 2022 15 Comments
I had big plans for my fourth day in town, but upon waking up I decided I didn’t feel like leaving the bed. So I didn’t! And I went back to sleep. I ended up sleeping about thirteen hours. I had to keep convincing myself that I wasn’t wasting my day, because rest is important, […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 23: “On the Radio,” by Regina Spektor
Posted on June 23, 2022 7 Comments
For this series I’m picking one song per artist to represent them and why they’ve mattered to me. Usually, this isn’t too difficult — sometimes it’s that one particular song that’s resonated for me, and other times there’s usually one song above several other equally worthy songs that I thing be represents what I like […]
Well, Poo
Posted on June 23, 2022 43 Comments
To begin: I’m fine. I’m double-vaxxed and double-boosted, and my symptoms so far have been those of a mild flu; and in point of fact I felt worse yesterday than I do today. Yesterday I wanted to sleep all day, and mostly did; I was in bed at 6:30pm and didn’t get back out of […]
Day 3 of Santa Monica
Posted on June 22, 2022 29 Comments
I find it funny that my father and I are doing “Day X of ___” at the same time. At least his numbers match the actual day of the month. Anyways, Day 3 of lovely Santa Monica! I started this day out right by going to Huckleberry Cafe for breakfast. I’m one of those people […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 22: “Something That You Said,” by The Bangles
Posted on June 22, 2022 11 Comments
There’s a natural progression to the careers of most (successful) bands: The scrappy “new kid” phase, where the band is starting out and struggling, and maybe has a couple of songs passed around by their “first in,” fans; the “rising star” phase, where they get picked up by a major label, get their first Billboard […]
Day 2 of Santa Monica
Posted on June 21, 2022 17 Comments
The first thing I did for my second day in Santa Monica was get a pedicure. I figured if I was going to be wearing sandals everywhere, I should make my toenails purple! So I just popped by the closest nail salon I could find, and while the pedicure itself was totally fine and whatnot, […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 21: “Day After Day,” by The Pretenders
Posted on June 21, 2022 13 Comments
I suspect most people, if you asked them, could tell you who they thought was the coolest person in whatever genre of music they liked the most, or maybe who was the coolest person in all of music. “The Coolest Person” was not necessarily one’s favorite musician, although there was usually a high correlation between […]
Day 1 of Santa Monica
Posted on June 20, 2022 31 Comments
Last week, a family friend asked if I was busy at the end of the month. I said no and was then asked if I could possibly cat sit… 2,000 miles away. I quickly accepted the chance to hang out in LA for a week, and yesterday I boarded a 7am direct flight to LAX. […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 20: “Jennifer,” by Falling Joys
Posted on June 20, 2022 15 Comments
I think everyone has a favorite band that literally no one else they know has ever heard of. Not in the gatekeepery “I’m so unbearably hipster I only listen to bands that broke up even before they recorded their album” sort of way, but in the enthusiastic “I don’t understand why more people haven’t heard […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 19: “Beloved Wife,” by Natalie Merchant
Posted on June 19, 2022 6 Comments
I don’t think most people would make a connection between my military science fiction novel Old Man’s War and the works of the famously earthy-crunchy singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, but there is one, and it’s pretty significant: her song “Beloved Wife,” which was originally on her 1995 album Tigerlily, but which I first encountered on her […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 18: “Higher,” by The Naked and Famous
Posted on June 18, 2022 3 Comments
My inclusion of this song is pretty simple: Late 2016 was a pretty rough ride, emotionally, and I needed something anthemic to keep my spirits up. “Higher” fit that bill pretty well: Quiet(ish) verses raising up to big fist-pumping choruses, catchy, defiant lyrics, and a spirit of hopefulness that for me acted a bit to […]
New Books and ARCs, 6/17/22
Posted on June 17, 2022 16 Comments
This anniversary edition of new books and ARCs has some excellent limited editions from Subterranean Press along with new work from other publishers. What here is calling to you? Tell us in the comments! — JS
A Personal History of Music, Day 17: “Help Me,” by Concrete Blonde
Posted on June 17, 2022 4 Comments
I decided to highlight Concrete Blonde today because today is my and Krissy’s wedding anniversary, and when we met and for a long time afterward, Concrete Blonde was Krissy’s favorite, and still remains high up in her personal musical pantheon. When Krissy entered my life, the amount of Concrete Blonde I listened to went way, […]
27 Years
Posted on June 17, 2022 31 Comments
I was going to say “sometimes you get lucky,” but I don’t think you get to 27 years of marriage by luck. I got lucky when I met Krissy. We’ve both been working on it since then to stay lucky. It’s worthwhile work. I hope to keep doing that work for at least as long […]
A Personal History of Music, Day 16: “Tear In Your Hand,” by Tori Amos
Posted on June 16, 2022 10 Comments
There are any number of reasons why “Tear In Your Hand” has remained in my mix of Highly Significant Songs, but possibly the most important reason is that it’s rooted into a very specific place and time for me: Fresno, California in the early 90s. This is where I had gotten my first job out […]
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