Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1221
Rockets merch, friend updates, where is my covid booster, Great Scott take heed from Zebulon, Joe's court reforms, did Cerrone play the Opening Ceremonies or what
Good morning! Palindrominc edition! 1221! Coming at you live from the Somerville playground. 8:09 AM. Jane and I are the first ones out here. Gonna be a scorcher today, you can tell. She is excited to play alone for a bit, thank god.
So many topics to cover! The thing about being your GMHHAY correspondent in the city is it’s so much easier, because topics come to me much quicker what with all the additional external stimuli. But the thing about being your GMHHAY correspondent in the city is it’s so much harder because there is too much to do and see and less time to actually write things down. Was chatting with Sean on our walk to Porter yesterday and was talking about how everyone asks me how I get so much done. I will tell you the secret: live in the country where you have almost no social life.
I do. not know how to spell “correspondent.” I will never learn that one.
Okay, in the immortal words of every Youtuber, let’s jump right in.
First and foremost: people asked if there was an FB event to share for Real Wild Child. Why yes there is! It is right here! Share it far and wide! We also have a website! And an instagram!
Reminder that I am looking for an office liquidator in NYC if you happen to know anyone. And, I guess, if you are in the market for an office chair, or any other office furniture, let me know.
Friend updates: Yes, that was my friend involved in that incident with Kamala’s daughter’s Secret Service detail. No he is not a loony. It was a misunderstanding based on his political activism around the NYPD running rampant all over the law and parking everywhere and disguising their license plates not for investigatory purposes but to steal land from the citizens. There are streets where the NYPD has permanently stolen every parking space illegally. It’s a whole thing, and there is a robust school of activism in New York fighting this, god bless. Except this time it was the Secret Service. Very unfortunate. I wish him well and hope it gets sorted out quickly.
Another friend update: My friend Annie publicly announced her struggle with cervical cancer yesterday. I almost wanted to capitalize cervical cancer but fuck that don’t give it the dignity. Anyway, this is not especially for public consumption, I don’t usually go announcing friends’ health issues, except, well, there is a component related to me, and to you. You see, one of Annie’s primary income streams for the last several years has been estate sales and a robust eBay re-selling business, none of which she has the strength to do now. She can still do design work, and she still has her online art store in Salem, Keep Salem Odd, which has a ton of great witchy merch. So, yes, item #1 for you is if you are quirky or goth, check out her store: Might I point you to such gems as the ELDER GOTH T-shirt, which is handy in a pinch when you gotta go to the club and all the gothlings are so, so, wee cuz your favorite goth club is somehow inexplicably popular with the kids these days, or perhaps the BLIXA t-shirt, that just says Blixa! on it (IYKYK), or what about this Bauhaus/Cat mixup shirt Meowhaus.
None of this is really related to me but the part that IS is that after 20 years or so, mine and Annie’s (and Aug’s and Craig’s) old shoegaze/space rock band Rockets burst from the Streetlamps (n.b. that is the correct capitalization don’t ask us) now has some merch. You can buy a sweet Rockets burst from the Streetlamps t-shirt for you or your toddler, or a trucker hat, or tote bag or coffee mug.
And if you’ve never actually heard our old band, well, here is a Spotify link. We are on all the big streaming services, though I don’t think any of us have gotten around to a Bandcamp page yet, though we do need to do that.
So, yes. Did I spend a ton of money on merch for my own band? Yes. Worth it. Buy a Rockets tee. Help Annie out. Thank you.
I would like to go on record saying that I am still pissed about Zebulon in New York. Zebulon in LA seems so cool. And there is no Zebulon in New York anymore. Because some assholes moved into the apartments upstairs from the club, knowing they were moving into apartments upstairs from a night club, and then sued the night club out of existence.
This recently popped into my head for a few reasons:
First, I feel like every single awesome tour I am learning about recently (His Name is Alive, High Vis) is making a stop at Zebulon in LA.
Second, because hey, great news! Great Scott, the legendary live venue in Allston, MA, that lost its venue god, maybe five, ten years ago now what is time, has announced that it has found a new home: there is a deal that seems to have been struck wherein Great Scott, O’Briens — another storied Allston live venue where the aforementioned Rockets played many many many times and I just visited last month and I still knew the bartender even though I left Boston more than a decade ago whoops digression. Anyway, Great Scott, O’Brien’s, and some developer partners bought the building that currently houses O’Brien’s, and are going to redevelop it so that both venues live there. This is so exciting I cannot even tell you. After the Boston area recently being blessed witht he return of the legendary gay and goth club Man Ray (Real Wild Child coming at you August 10th), getting Great Scott back too is just amazing.
BUT, hey guys, warning; If you’re thinking of adding apartments to this redevelopment, two words:
Remember Zeubulon.
Hello my name is Rick and I would like a fucking Covid booster please jesus H how long has it been? Want to know why everyone’s getting Covid? Because they haven’t given us a fucking booster in what? A year? Year and a half? It is stupid, it is ridiculous. I remember at one point them saying something like “it’s likely that Covid will be like the flu and you will get a booster every year” and I thought “shit that is not very often I would like boosters with every variant” and now I think back to that and think “I FUCKIN WISH.” A booster every year would be a dream.
My Google Alert on the French disco artist Cerrone (what you don’t have one) has been off the hook this week because apparently Cerrone played the opening ceremonies? Like “played” “Supernature” “live?” At first the alerts lead me to believe that they just chose his music for the soundtrack but the last few days the alerts have become more clear that he did, in fact, play. Now, the opening ceremonies were rad and far be it from me to criticize my wife’s biggest client, but the commentary from Peacock left something to be desired, especially with the names of the French artists involved. So it’s not like the announcers were like “and now it’s legendary French disco artist Cerrone playing his number one hit ‘Supernature.’” So I missed it.
So, question for you: did you notice this? Did you see Cerrone? I would like to go back and find it and watch it but, you know, don’t want to go through the whole thing again. Even though it was AWESOME (PSA: Gojira is just before Eritrea) and I don’t care a single ounce about the Last Supper brouhahaha why on earth would I give these weirdo (ahem) sociopaths an ounce of oxygen by discussing — you know what never mind.
One year later Sinead’s cause of death has been announced and it was COPD exacerbated by, basically, a cold. Jesus. I mean, thank god she didn’t kill herself. And thank you press for not leaving this unreported because I do not want to spend my life thinking Sinead O’Connor killed herself and also I have gone on record about this before but I fucking hate it when you can’t learn how someone died, okay, mostly I hate that for friends and family but I don’t love it with celebrities I care about like friends and family. And so I am sure it hurt, John Reynolds, but thank you for releasing this information about Sinead.
Uncle Joe has announced his Supreme Court reforms and it is just great and also he backed a constitutional amendment that simply says that the president is not above the law, so I am looking forward to the contorted insane ways that the Republicans argue that this is not a good idea. And I am deeply curious about whether or not various state legislatures will back this amendment when and if Trump loses. It will be a good moment for them to commit confession, absolve their sins. Doubt they’ll take it. The court reforms, of course, make it all the more vital we take the house (doable, probable) and the Senate (doable, very hard) so I am now against any Senator being nominated for VP unless they are in a safe state. I am looking at you, Mark Kelly.
Last night was Daddy bedtime while Emma went out to the goth club with some ladies. We did not do Daddy School but we did do a game where we built something in Magnatiles, then when we were done, we tore it down and she asked questions about death. We covered alzheimer’s compared to dementia compared to amnesia, the grim reaper, and building codes and earthquakes (we had already covered building codes and earthquakes but not the relationship between the two).
Also she had been saying “yes boss” because of Bluey and “yes boss” is great and I love it but we decided to take it up a notch, and because she is going through a restaurant phase now I taught her about “heard chef” and she just loves it. And then I told her Auntie Abby manages a restaurant and she got so excited. Abby she might have questions for you.
We have come inside, because a kid on the playground was “being annoying” by screaming and crying. Upon getting inside, Jane remembered that she can’t use her iPad today because she did not give it to Mommy when she asked. So now she is… screaming and crying.
Awesome.
Industrial playlsit for you today. Is Nurse With Wound industrial? I am not sure, probably not, but Chance Meeting was recently re-issued on a very nice edition with a gloss and foil cover and it arrived just before I headed up to Boston and I hadn’t listened to that album in like 30 years and I found it very enjoyable and there is exactly one song on Spotify from it so here we are. And Spotify actually recommended Hilt to me and I had forgotten all about them and not thought about them in like 30 years. The rest is new. I do not love this Virgin Prunes remix but also we have a new Virgin Prunes remix in 2024 so I will not complain.
Okay! Talk soon!