I had all three of the July Top 3 on my list. None of the final Top 3. Clearly this is all my fault somehow.
Fan of music, cargo bikes, the #EastBay, and humor. Not a fan of the seemingly inexorable slide into fascism. #ShoupPilled. Follow me if you want to have far too many song-a-day #MusicChallenge posts sliding into your timeline.
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I had all three of the July Top 3 on my list. None of the final Top 3. Clearly this is all my fault somehow.
Fore? What the hell?! FOR. grrr
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 13. PUSSY WHIPPED, Bikini Kill That band thinks they're the essence of Riot Grrrl. I got news fore you: THEY ARE!!!! š¶ "Rebel Girl": youtu.be/8yhk7f0ydq4?... š¶ "Magnet": youtu.be/ucJ-HhS6CF8?...
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 11. āFinest Worksong (Mutual Drum Horn Mix)ā (1987) Most of my introduction to R.E.M. was via EPONYMOUS, and this was my favorite of their early-ish stuff for a long, long time. Gotta have the horn mix, imho. youtu.be/M48pQDUKYVE?...
Brazilian-American band Forro in the Dark is responsible for the relatively exotic (for an ostensibly country album) instrumentation including zabumba and timba (percussion), baritone guitar, and bamboo flute.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 20 - āCity of Immigrants,ā Steve Earle [feat. Forro in the Dark] (2007) Earle wrote this tribute to NYC, and how its strength lies in its diversity, shortly after relocating there from Nashville. And how refreshing the blatantly pro immigration message is.
Weāre so back.
Your groceries are 25% more expensive than they were in 2020, but cocaine costs half as much
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 19 - "Coal or Smoke," Joshua Marcus (2006) The album versionāwhich had some lovely harmony vocals and an upright bassādoesn't seem to be streaming anywhere, but here is Marcus & his banjo. Seems like he pretty much disappeared after self-releasing this one album.
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 12. āDriveā (1992) My friends & I in high school decided to name our band Bushwacked Shackalack. It was a terrible idea. Nobody could figure out how to pronounce it. Buckawucka Shoobaloo theyād call us. And nobody made the connection to AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE. Ah well.
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 14. THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK, music and lyrics by Danny Elfman OK, I might have listened to this more than JURASSIC PARK. š¶ "This is Halloween": youtu.be/OBeVDXx1bIQ?... š¶ "Making Christmas": youtu.be/J4OjAJ2JQAA?...
#readandplay (475) #MusicChallenge #MusicSky āNo rules. The only limit is our imagination.ā Read š & Playš¶
Couple days late with this, but I think it's important.
Nobody else has mentioned this one yet, huh? Y'all counting down and saving it for your Top 14?
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 15. TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE SATELLITE HEART, The Flaming Lips The midpoint in an album cycle representing a transition from barely competent noise-rock hoodlums to conceptual symphonic-pop visionaries, complete with a freak hit single. (Not this) š¶ "Turn it On"
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 13. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (1994) In a crowded field, this is one of Stipe's best melodies. And, once again, Buck's guitar tone throughout this era is just šØāš³š
Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy's voices never sounded better together than on the last thing they ever did together, backed by an arsenal of ringing mandolins and 12 strings.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 18 - "Steal the Crumbs," Uncle Tupelo (1993) This and a recently posted Billy Joel song and an upcoming R.E.M. song are making me want to host a challenge of the best "final songs," i.e. the final track on a band's final release. Maybe some upcoming month.
I *spent my hard-earned money* to purchase Kite after discovering it in the first round and have been listening to it ever since and by god not even Kate freakinā Bush can convince me to vote against it.
1. Just so weāre clear, this is the clip that got Jimmy Kimmelās show shelved by ABC. If Iām missing any other clips please let me know.
HELLO POP PICKERS! The GUIDELINES for this are now up, including a heartbreaking BANLIST Nominations day is SATURDAY 27th SEPTEMBER Any questions, let me know! And any shareable playlists you have, let me know those too... docs.google.com/document/d/1...
They're building concentration camps.
It's wild to me how ostensibly smart people cannot/could not/will not see what is so obvious. @mmasnick.bsky.social nails it. And my hunch is we'd be a better society if the Very Serious People with the Very Serious Ideas opened their fucking eyes. www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/t...
bsky.app/profile/atcl...
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 17 -"Aunt Peg's New Old Man," Robbie Fulks (2016) Hey, I was just posting about Fulks' latest release! His 2016 album, UPLAND STORIES, is almost entirely acoustic (save some pedal steel and organ) traditional folk and was nominated for a "Best Folk Album" Grammy.
And not talk like caveman.
18. āDonāt Go Back to Rockvilleā 17. āLiving Well is the Best Revengeā 16. āDriver 8ā 15. āDiscovererā 14. āFall on Meā One of these days I learn how to count backwards.
#REMtop30 Once again, I have managed to completely botch the numbering on a #MusicChallenge countdown. My last nine posts should have been numbered as: 22. āItās the End of the World as We Know Itā 21. āBittersweet Meā 20. āHow the West Was Won and Where It Got Usā 19. āOrange Crushā (cont.)
Anyway, I like to sing it, "Tell this guy, don't fall on me" ... just to add some more confusion.
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 15. "Fall on Me" (1986) I vaguely recall in the liner notes to EPONYMOUS Michael Stipe saying this was one of the band's most misunderstood songs. The Wikipedia entry mainly documents folks saying, "It's understood this is a song about X," and then Stipe contradicting it.
Prowling for skittles jfc
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 16. RIVER OF DREAMS, Billy Joel Middle School Me found a lot of refuge and comfort in Billy Joel, and there's still a lot I like about his final pop-rock album, especially the closing track which puts a neat little cap on a career. š¶ "Famous Last Words"
#readandplay (473) #MusicChallenge "Sing for the Song," Badfinger youtu.be/FJkugzpoMSE?...
My family escaped Ukraine from the pogroms and were lucky enough to escape to the US. They took my family in ā we had nothing and offered nothing, but a desire to get ahead and be free while being safe. This is a country of immigrants, and we should be honoring that history.
I remember going through my quarter-life crisis, lamenting the relationship that had just blown up, watching the snowfall, and my voice cracking as I tried to sing along to, "I miss you more than I knew." What an album. What an opening track.
In case you've forgotten (how dare you!), I featured Fulks for #ArtistFave15 a few months ago. bsky.app/profile/atcl...
Robbie Fulks has a new album out and, per usual, what lyrics he has conjured! On this track he spins a train trip through southern Texas into something that encompasses the hopes and dreams and fears and maladies that rule us in 2025. I'm in awe. youtu.be/6PqLh71rALY?...
One to get you started #readandplay (472) #MusicChallenge "I Don't Like My Mind," Mitski youtu.be/qU5D49kfNEM?...
Sorry for the late post, everybody!
#readandplay (472) #MusicChallenge #MusicSky āNo rules. The only limit is our imagination.ā Read š & Playš¶
Oh no! It's coming. Give me a couple minutes.
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 17. LIVE AT THE CACTUS CAFE, Christine Lavin Not gonna turn up on any other lists (it's not even on streaming services) but Lavin was one of, if not THE biggest name in folk music in the '90s. Hilarious songs improved by live performance. š¶ "What Was I Thinking?"
I know SB 79 has prohibitions against building in a very high fire hazard severity zone, but it doesn't have anything about 100-year flood zones, does it? Because, uh ...
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 16. "Discoverer" (2011) Truly, COLLAPSE INTO NOW sounds remarkably fresh for a band that had been at this for 30 years. It really does feel like they were trying to go out on a high note and, well, mission accomplished.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 16 - "Northern Lights," Bowerbird (2009) One of the best, unheralded examples of the "millennials sequester themselves in a remote cabin and record an album of beautiful, gentle, earnest folk" trend of the late '00s.
Me to Silicon Valley elites:
Well, grease IS the word.
Oops, looks like this is the correct hashtag: #5DebutAlbums0004
Checking in to see if anything matters yet and, nope, weāre still on nothing matters I see.
I thought for sure this said āSmart choices for your lousy lifeā for a good 10 seconds.
#5debutalbums00-04 recommendations (continued ...) ALMOST KILLED ME, The Hold Steady FAILER, Kathleen Edwards Definitely already mentioned but I'm seconding: SINCE I LEFT YOU, The Avalanches GORILLAZ, Gorillaz MASS ROMANTIC, The New Pornographers GIVE UP, The Postal Service 2/2
#5debutalbums00-04 recommendations Haven't seen mentioned yet: ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS, Ben Folds (solo debut) YOUāRE A WOMAN, IāM A MACHINE, Death from Above 1979 CASTAWAYS AND CUTOUTS, The Decemberists INTERVENTIONS + LULLABIES, The Format ECHOLOCATION, Fruit Bats 1/2
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 15 - "I Held Her in My Arms," Langhorne Slim & The Lumineers The critical re-evaluation of Stomp Clap starts here with this ebullient Violent Femmes cover, a live recording of (I assume) an after-show jam session at Brixton Academy in London.
As somebody who used to compile events calendars like this, having an events calendar like this is an important part of building support for a vibrant arts & culture scene, and I'm glad to see a new publication doing that service for Oakland and the East Bay. www.coyotemedia.org/introducing-...
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 17. "Driver 8" (1985) What can I say? I'm a sucker for train songs, gloomy americana, and arpeggiated guitar chords. youtu.be/wuFId1RYSZE?...
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 18. ALAPALOOZA, "Weird Al" Yankovic Speaking of JURASSIC PARK ... We've been listening to a LOT of Weird Al in our household ever since we saw him live a month ago. š¶ "Young Dumb & Ugly": youtu.be/kGkyaPZBlhc?... š¶ "Jurassic Park": youtu.be/gh4zvQfDhi0?...
"Fun" fact? The new Census estimate for the California population increased by half a million people in 2024, while HCD says that the state permitted just 115k new homes in 2024.
The button is impeachment and imprisonment.
various other āthingsā This means sex toys, right?
I am working on a list, but it ain't done yet!
korean reporting is nightmarish on the conditions Korean workers were contained in
When I brought this home and played it, My Mother the Music Major stated, matter-of-factly, "Oh, the raptor theme is a *dies irae*." And ... yeah. Four-note repeated motif in a non-standard mode meant to evoke terror and fear.
#1993AlbumsTop20 #MusicChallenge 19. JURASSIC PARK: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK, composed and conducted by John Williams If I'm being honest, in 1993 I almost certainly listened to this more than any other album released that year.
When I brought this home and played it, My Mother the Music Major stated, matter-of-factly, "Oh, the raptor theme is a *dies irae*." And ... yeah. Four-note repeated theme in a non-standard mode meant to evoke terror and fear.
Thanks so much to everyone who posted & shared in #5CoverSongsRoyalFlush, it was a real riverboat adventure! With props to @wecdsend.bsky.social, weāll be back the last 5 days of September with #5CoverSongsSwitch, details below! Hope to see you there #MusicChallenge #MusicSky #LaborDay2025
OK well now that Iām looking and paying attention Iām seeing a fair number of ACCELERATE picks, so what do I know?
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 18. "Living Well is the Best Revenge" (2008) Not seeing too much from the band's last two albums, but I am firmly in the "exciting return to form" camp, especially ACCELERATE. Just comes blasting out of the gate with some rock 'n' roll. Felt like a breath of fresh air.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 14 - "The Birds Would Understand," Putnam Smith (2011) Smith is a Maine singer-songwriter. This song is all banjo, fiddle and cello, but it's so rhythmic it feels like it resides at least as much in the alt-rock universe as it does folk.
@propublica.org ās reporting with experts confirms the cost savings are proportional to the reduced capacity. Smartest man on earth my ass.
āIf more flow is needed, additional tunnels can be builtā¦ā BUDDY THEN IT DOESNT COST LESS ARRRRGH THIS GUY AND HIS FUCKING TUNNELS
the only AI i need is an earpiece i can wear at my kid's birthday party that tells me the name of the parent i've met like four times before
Share a film or TV performance that was completely over the top š„ šŗ
I definitely played this a bit on the olā acoustic back in the day. I also have done a bluegrass version of āSelf Esteemā and *I* thought it worked beautifully even if no one else did.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 13 - "Hotel Yorba," The White Stripes (2001) Despite being widely understood as an 8-year experiment working within the limitations of electric guitar + drums, The White Stripes' albums have several acoustic tracks, none better than this folk-punk ditty.
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 19. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" (1984) The alt-country fan in me can't help but highlight this one. I also have fond memories of my mother using this song to teach me and a few friends the calypso-style strum on guitar and all singing the chorus together.
#1993AlbumsTop20 20. EXILE IN GUYVILLE, Liz Phair I understand its importanceāto the cultural landscape of the mid-'90s, to individual fansāmore than I fell in love with it myself. Maybe this #MusicChallenge will be what finally moves the needle for me. š¶ "Never Said": youtu.be/m1tMfKl5b8M?...
Make a band singular. Reel Big Fish
#readandplay (468) #MusicChallenge āOhio,ā Patty Griffin If no one comes by morning and the sun is rising red If no one comes by morning, please forgive me, my friend For I am dead youtu.be/uMswPuc2QyQ?...
1. ODESSEY AND ORACLE, The Zombies 2. THE KINKS ARE THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, The Kinks 3. PET SOUNDS, The Beach Boys 4. ABBEY ROAD, The Beatles 5. SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO, The Byrds (HMs to LIEGE & LIEF, LET IT BLEED, BOOKENDS, AT FOLSOM PRISON)
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 20. "Orange Crush" (1988) Another chorus of wordless vocal harmonies. This song was stuck in my head one day and I spent geometry class trying to notate those "ahhhhs" in my notebook rather than calculating the volume of a rhombus or whatever I was supposed to be doing.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 12 - "Too Much of a Good Thing," Jim Bizer (2004) The best folk song you're ever gonna hear about exploding ducks. Bizer has been a respected part of Michigan's folk scene for decades. I heard him perform this at a festival 20 years ago and had to buy the CD.
"Iām sorry! Iām just a man! You put on that Nebraska music and start talking about holes in floors and I get swept away. Is it silly? Of course? Is the silliness, perhaps, the point? Absolutely." I loved & related to this whole wonderfully wry listical, and it gave me things to add to my watchlist.
I forgot about the transporter accident episode.
#readandplay (468) #MusicChallenge #MusicSky āNo rules. The only limit is our imagination.ā Read š & Playš¶
Iāll see your āDareā and raise you āInstruments of Destruction.ā youtu.be/wTup5mT4O-Q?...
"Which beliefs, exactly?" "Oh, you know the ones."
The rest of the album is all over the map genre-wise, with some overt electronica elements, but this song is pure folk ballad with acoustic guitar, vocal harmonies, and string arrangements.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 11 - "Meet Me Where You're Going," Cloud Cult (2013) The centerpiece of a loose concept album, that concept being: "Every day when you wake up, you have a choice to make about whether or not to be an asshole." Applies to marriage as much as other relationships.
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 21. "How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us" (1996) It's pretty crazy that this and my previous entry are from the same album. This is as moody, atmospheric & experimental as the last one was loud, driving & straightforward. They're in the same emotional space, though.
Donāt print lies in the newspaper, and donāt fire commentators for telling the truth on your news program.
This is Trumpismās attitude toward most of government. They want to abolish FEMA and still have a robust response to disasters. They hollow out research funding and expect the U.S. to remain a leader in tech and medical advances. They fire the inspectors yet still want safe food.
I haven't seen anybody mention America's Top 10 with Casey Kasem, which was in the mix with Saturday morning cartoons in my media market growing up. We didn't have MTV in my house. I was in 5-6th grade in '89, by the fall I was hearing songs at school dances. And visits to the record store with mom.
First of my picks to make the Top 100. Never would have predicted it before picking season started, but I kept seeing it turn up.
#REMtop30 #MusicChallenge 22. "Bittersweet Me" (1996) The most MONSTER-esque song on THE NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI. It was actually recorded during the MONSTER tour, so that tracks. Fuzzy and crunchy and jangly, both melancholy and furious, all at once. It adds up to *checks notes* bittersweetness.
The different piano sounds were achieved by, I believe, placing Altoids tins on upper strings, something that Folds has been experimenting with ever since THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF REINHOLD MESSNER.
#GoodAcoustics #MusicChallenge Day 10 - "Such Great Heights," Ben Folds (2006) Try playing the audio for this Postal Service cover without watching the video, and I think it's hard to believe it's just Folds, a single grand piano, three dudes hitting various objects with sticks & some beatboxing.
"Members see themselves as modern Crusaders, using the Crusader cross as their symbol - a reference to the medieval Christians who fought Muslims for control of Jerusalem."
Northern Ireland man from Lisburn kidnapped by Trumpās Ice raids because he ālooked like a Mexicanā. He had the correct visa, all his documents. Heās never been in trouble with police. Held in terrible conditions. A fellow captive couldnāt get his medication and dropped dead of a heart attack