Music
RSD Black Friday Disappointment
Yesterday, the Record Store Day Black Friday list for 2026 dropped. Imagine my excitement when I saw a listing for a 10,000 Maniacs’ Candy Everybody Wants (1982-1992) box set. It’s limited to 2600 units and includes the five albums 100,000 Maniacs released via Elektra Records (Hope Chest [The Fredonia Recordings 1982-1983], The Wishing Chair, In My Tribe, Blind Man’s Zoo, and Our Time in Eden), plus a sixth LP of rarities. Imagine my disappointment when I saw this box set will retail for $250. That’s almost $42 per album! Now, I have bought a few limited edition vinyl box sets with 6+ LPs in them over the years, and I have never paid that much. So I guess I will not be adding this to my already out-of-control record collection. The bright side is that I won’t be standing in some freezing cold line for hours, and I won’t be spending $250.
(Keep looking on the bright side. Keep looking on the bright side. Keep looking on the bright side. Keep looking on the bright side. Keep looking on the bright side.)
And … Weekend!
Sigh.
What a long fucking week it’s been.
The day job is still being a drag. And a freelance project hit a roadblock over things I said would cause a roadblock once a printing company was involved. Why does nobody ever listen to me about these things?! I guess 30+ years of doing this shit doesn’t mean much.
It’s gotten to where I am not a fan of going to sleep. The nights are restless, and my dreams are always weird to downright disturbing at times. In the early morning hours today, I dreamed about a surprise birthday party thrown for me. Two former friends were there. I have an intense hatred for these former friends because of how they have treated me. In the dream, I was upset that they were there and acting like nothing was wrong. I woke up as the people there were singing Happy Birthday. I don’t like dreams like this. I don’t want dreams like this anymore. But they happen every single night.
Ugh.
Meanwhile, Leenalchi came across my radar earlier in the week, and I am quite smitten with their sound.
SQUEE!!!
Yesterday, it was announced that Siouxsie and the Banshees’ B-side collection, Downside Up, will be reissued in November as a 5LP box set or a 3CD set. It was originally released back in 2004 as a 4CD set and has been out of print for ages. So, this is pretty exciting news! It’s also been teased that The Thorn EP (which made up the fourth disc of the original release) will also be getting a reissue at some point in the near furtue. I have had the 4CD set since it came out, but it will be great to have the vinyl box set since I have become an obsessive record collector. Take my money!
Makin’ with an Update
Well … life is life-ing along.
I have been sick for the past couple of days: a sore/gummy throat and a fever. Thankfully, the fever seems to be gone, but the throat still feels a little weird today. Why does getting sick always happen at the worst time? This has another 24 hours to clear up because I am supposed to be in Charlotte this coming weekend.
Meanwhile …
Thanks to the magic of digital projection and theaters trying to keep people coming in, I have gotten to see some classic horror films on the big screen this past week. The Descent (2005) screened as part of the Regal/Fangoria partnership. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) screened again this year through Fathom Events. It seems like this might now be an annual thing, as they showed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre last year on August 18th. I am not complaining. I will show up any time my favoritest horror film is being shown.
One of the things that I found out is that when you go to a Regal/Fangoria Staff Picks movie, you get a movie-specific patch with your ticket. How cool is that?! Apparently they have handed out patches since these screenings started in April. This totally messes with my completionist/collectory brain. Now I need to find the other patches that they have been handing out! Dammit. Ha ha. You can bet that I will be there for that free patch next month when they show The Faculty.
The annual record fair (sponsored by Asheville FM) was this past Sunday, and you know that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go buy more records. I took $200 cash and only ended up spending about $120. That’s a win in my head. I didn’t go in with any real specific titles that I was looking for, but I managed to find things I had been on the lookout for. In total, I got two albums, three 12″ singles, and nine 7″ singles. The big finds for me were The Sisters of Mercy’s The BBC Sessions 1982-1984 RSD release from a few years ago, Ides of March’s Vehicle single (in its original Warner 7 Arts sleeve!), The Bangles Hazy Shade of Winter single, and Joe Jackson’s You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) single. SCORE!
Oh Hey!
Yes, yes. I am still alive. I am not sure that my mood is REALLY any better than it was a few weeks ago (post-gay campground). Oh well.
In the meantime, work has been soul-crushing; there was company in town this past weekend, and the previous weekend, I was in Atlanta with Michelle (known in the archives as Tomjones) to see Tori Amos at Atlanta Symphony Hall.
Tori Amos has been on my live bucket list for a while, and it finally happened! It ended up being a pretty magical trip all the way around.
The concert was great … though Tori didn’t play my favoritest song of hers, “A Sorta Fairytale.” You can’t win them all. But we had great seats and the setlist was a real mix of songs from her 18 (!) albums.
The Setlist:
“Fire to Your Plain”
“Shush”
“Iieee”
“Ruby Through the Looking Glass”
“Mary”
“China” (with Improv Intro)
“Strange” (with Improv Intro)
“Witness”
“Precious Things”
“Little Amsterdam”
“Taxi Ride”
“Spring Haze”
“Big Wheel”
“Cornflake Girl”
Pre-concert, we stumbled into a bar attached to the hotel we were staying in. To say we were smitten with this place would be an understatement. What can I say about JoJo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge to fully describe how magical it is? Lush decor, banging disco/early ’80s dance tunes, and sweet cocktails. We got back to the hotel and decided to go back down for one more drink and to soak in the atmosphere. Needless to say, one drink led to five. All the while, the tunes were thumping with everyone being beautiful and feeling the groove. At one point, I told Michelle that I could get lost in a place like JoJo’s. I would just ride that wave of dance beats and cocktails until I disappeared. What a great time we had!
Here is our most excellent bartender, Cody, and the best DJ, Cozy Shawn.
Anyhoo. Here are some more snaps from the Atlanta roadtrip …
By the Way …
The hype is real! The new Madonna album (as the young ones would say) absolutely slaps.
Memorialed
What a busy holiday weekend. Four social events, record shopping, a movie, and crafting. Why can’t they all be holiday weekends?
I was spotted at the local gay social. I DO get out of the house!
On Sunday, I took Sherry and Tom to a record store they had never been to. I was pretty excited to find an original Sire pressing of the first album by The Smiths. It was pricey, but I wanted it. Well, I should have looked at it more closely. It’s pretty beat up, and the pre-cleaning playback was not great. Skips. Run-out groove issues on Side 1. Run-in groove issues on Side 2. Pretty bummed about the state of this record for the price that was charged. Gonna have to be more cautious and less excited next time!
At the Sunday afternoon social event, we got to see a rather large black snake climb a tree. It was pretty cool! Nature is awesome … and scary. Ha ha. Thankfully, the snake didn’t drop off a limb onto anyone.
Yesterday, I finished that Honcho cover cross-stitch I have been working on. I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Now I need to find a frame.
I made sure to find some time to laze around in the hammock yesterday. The Summer of the Hammock continues!
Anyhoo … It’s been a slog of a work day, and I want waffles! (Thanks, Michael.)
Birthday Shoutout
I don’t usually mark celebrity birthdays, but I just had to note that ICON and GODDESS, Grace Jones, is turning 78 today.
Dead in the Head
Sheesh. What a brain drain of a week!
Work has been MIND NUMBING! And, I have been dealing with a sinus infection. I finally got put on drugs midweek after blowing a bunch of blood out of my head on Wednesday morning. Yay.
Here’s some smooth music to listen to while I regroup …
A Good Laugh
Anyone who knows me knows that I can be a bit of a karaoke fiend when the mood strikes. About a month ago, Michelle and I went for her birthday and ate/drank/sang too much. It’s always an ’80s hits/new wave/alternative flashback when I am on the mic. Little did I know that she videoed a little bit of me in action. Press the play button if you want a good laugh or your ears to bleed.
Karaoke at our favorite spot runs from 9 pm to close on Wednesdays. I will say that I am a little too old for tons of mid-week drinking and late-night shenanigans. Lordy. They really need to institute “senior” karaoke for us old farts who are in bed by 9 pm.
Things & Stuff and Stuff & Things
– Guess who is sick with (what I am assuming is) a sinus infection! It started last Monday and made last week a bit pesky. The weekend wasn’t much more fun. If it were just the snot, I could deal with it better. It’s the sinus pressure/pain and headache that make things miserable.
– I finished my top-secret cross-stitch project last night. I will finally post some photos of the darn thing when I get it framed, and it’s been handed off to the lucky recipient. I am fairly certain this person doesn’t look at this blog anymore … but you never know!
– I talked the other day about the stages of grief I have been stuck in over Róisín Murphy’s heel turn from queer-friendly singer to evil TERF monster. Last week, I commented on a Facebook post of hers whining about being canceled. My comment was blunt and expressed hurt. It was not full of the insults I would like to hurl in her direction. Well … she blocked me. [Insert Eyeroll Emoji Here!]
– AND … If anyone has $1.3 million to give me so that I can purchase this brutalist beauty that is located in the California desert, please contact me. SWOON!
Stages 3-5
That saying about idolizing someone always proves to be true. It’s been nearly three years since the big red flag. And now it’s been eight months or so since she fully came out, and I am still struggling. Not so much with denial. It’s all in black and white on her Twitter (I refuse to call it X) feed. I can’t deny that my favorite singer and performer is a nasty, hateful, transphobic piece of trash. I have anger because she courted the queer community and used us for her art. I have anger because she is freely punching down on a vulnerable community. I have anger because she has said some really disgusting and hateful things to longtime fans who have expressed their hurt and confusion over her coming out as viciously transphobic. I have anger that she thinks she is some brave free speech “warrior” who has been cancelled by the “woke mob.” I have anger that she was probably always an awful person all along and duped us all into believing she was an ally. And, I have a lot of depression because I now can’t listen to the music that I loved and has been such a part of my life for the last 7+ years.
