Big Thief – “Not”
Fiona Apple – “Shameika”

Wow, these are actually two real song of the year contenders. Hope each one can get a grammy.

Oh for fuck’s sake. Are we going to demand now that only people with bipolar disorder be allowed to play bipolar characters on screen now? Can only sufferers of inflammatory bowel diseases play characters with Crohn’s or colitis?

Representation matters on visible differences, but autistic people generally don’t go around with “I AM SO OBVIOUSLY AUTISTIC” written on their shirt or anything. (Having known dozens, I can attest to their neuroatypicality generally being obvious within 30 seconds of beginning any verbal interaction with them.)

And how am I supposed to remember all the articles I commented on to go check my likes?

and… everyone needs to leave twitter.

“Hungies for justice” made me giggle

Sometimes it feels like they’re just making these nominations by algorithm. When they were nominating past prime boomer music it at least made sense. It was dumb, but the logic was clear. How do these acts like Jacob Collier or Black Pumas or H.E.R. that aren’t all that popular but also aren’t that critically acclaimed and also don’t have any kind of legacy get all of these nominations? Are they throwing darts at festival posters? Who thinks Black Parade is one of Beyoncé’s better or more impactful songs? It may or may not be corrupt but it’s definitely confusing

I feel the opposite way – it didn’t resonate with me at first, but it’s gotten better and better over time and now it makes me mad how good it is. Sadly, maybe I feel this way because of Kanye’s downslide – the further he gets from this peak, the more amazing it was in retrospect that someone so unstable could make something that’s this simultaneously audacious and perfect. Everything aligned perfectly. Yeezus, meanwhile, is impressive in how he manages to keep the vehicle steered perfectly straight despite the wheels coming off. It made him seem invincible. On Pablo, the vehicle is swerving but manages not to hit anything, and it still seemed like he did it on purpose.

So, we buried my mom this morning. She passed away a few weeks ago, though she had, in many ways, effectively passed away years ago. I grieved for her then, when I accepted what was happening, and it seems like I got the bulk of my grieving out of my system in those days, and to an extent over the intervening years. Which I guess is a nice little grace to current me at least.
The music selection in my car today included some Beach House and Fleet Foxes (for the aural/emotional equivalent of a warm hug), and some George, in her honor. George Benson was her absolute favorite, so his hits in particular were a big part of the soundtrack growing up (along with today’s TNOC artist, Miss Whitney). I’m mostly sure he was one of the artists who played at this Jazz Festival thing in Clearwater, FL that she took us to, which I think was one of the first concerts I ever went to. Over the past few years I would play some of those songs for her when I was driving her to various places, usually bopping along, singing, and being silly in my eternal quest to get a laugh out of her (which I was usually really good at, though less so with the car singing antics. And not so much when I would sing along with those scat background runs in “Give Me the Night.” Which is a total jam btw.)
Anyways, my selection in this week’s Sgum Weekend Party place is a George song. I was tempted to go with “Give Me the Night,” but “Breezin’” is the one that’s been in my head more. I can still picture her bopping along to it in the car.
I love you Mom.

Yeah, I suppose it’s kinda indefensible that “Blinding Lights” got beat out by a song Justin Bieber had to literally beg people to listen to.

Semi-Open Letter to Starship in 1986

To: Starship in 1986
From: Ace of Moms Basement
Re: “Sara,” misc. items
BCC: TNOCS comments section

Dear Starship in 1986,

Congratulations on another No. 1 single! It has to be very exciting; you’ve certainly earned this honor. Say it loud and proud: America loves “Sara”!

With that said, what the hell happened? Jefferson Airplane of the ’60s, when I learned about you in the ’80s, were an elusive and terrifying force. “White Rabbit” was haunting and otherworldly—you were the scruffy and beautiful youth leading your followers to pleasure and doom. You were practically supernatural.

But time kept going. The riots fell quiet, political leaders on the Left stopped being assassinated and the government quit yanking poor and middle-class boys from their homes and sending them to the other side of the world to kill strangers. Everything was so worked up in ’67, with its blindingly angry momentum and planet-wide disruption in the order of things and psychedelic drugs to try to contextualize it all.

But 1986 is Reagan Country, resolute swagger, a full-court media push for optimism. What do you sing about that resonates with the youth when you’re no longer a youth? What adults can you reach, and how? Understand that to me, Jefferson Starship was a step up. “Oh, you like airplanes? Well prepare to get higher.” But then losing “Jefferson” is a big step back. “Jefferson” could be right up there with “Hamilton.” But I get it: legal considerations.

Mickey Thomas: Can we have a private sidebar for a moment? Look, I want to know what you’ve done with the rest of Starship. Are they locked in a warehouse somewhere? If this is a kidnapping scam where you need $10,000, we can work something out. Just give us “proof of life.” Sorry, “Sara” doesn’t count.

Let’s talk about Sara. She’s a little vixen-y in the home videos but often having a great time—have you thought about just leaving the video camera running constantly? There was that one time she fell back into the corner. I think she has a drinking problem. If you want to know who she’s cheating with, it’s that guy with the long hair toward the end of the video. Call it a hunch, but I feel pretty sure.

Sara was obviously dissatisfied. I’m assuming she was OK with the copious mullet, though there’s really no excuse for that—think of hours in a year spent on hair-care. No, one reason she might be dissatisfied is the fact that you LIVE IN THE SAME FREAKING HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. The one you grew up in, constantly in danger of windstorms? Aren’t you a musician? Why wouldn’t you want to live in some kind of metropolitan area with a music scene? You could play rock ’n roll classics and Memphis soul in one of the larger refurbished music venues pretty much anywhere in America! But I’m afraid you’re just too pensive.

Sorry if I’m being harsh; I did genuinely like this song in 1986. But now that I see things as part of a larger construct of time and consequence, I wonder if the fate of Starship illustrates a lesson for us all—along with the failure of contrived emotion from too much sentimental harmonica. Is it that there’s a danger we’ll turn into mannequins as we get older, just ones fewer people want to look at?

Again, great job on a No. 1 hit single! Now leverage this into something daring, Starship! Go back to your roots! Get some guitar distortion going! Change time signatures! Use only synthesizer settings that sound like theremins or bells! Dust off tragic, unresolved stories from a time of upheaval! You have what it takes to pivot to something new. To feed on, and yet step free from, the corporate machine. To avoid making songs about magic mannequins—please don’t do that.

“Keep rockin’!”
– Ace of Moms Basement

Getting all the indie musicians together to record a benefit album so I can continue to praise the shittiest music in the world.

she gets grammy noms no matter what the hell she does it’s ridic. i listened to almost every song on this record and was bored outta my mind

Wait, she got shot with a .22 rimfire?

Haha any Gun savvy parent can tell you stepping on a Lego or a Hot Wheels in the dark is more painful.

But sure let’s lap that thug life up like a lollipop, even if it’s more marketing than anything. A .22 is smaller than a pencil eraser. Come on…

Just don’t understand y someone would wanna listen to a whole album of someone just talking explicitly about their sex life. I don’t see where the enjoyment is in that but hey to each their own

Am I missing something? How does a live version of a “surprise quarantine” album exist at this point? I think you guys buried the lede that Taylor Swift is playing shows in the quarantine.

This is such a sweet story and a very cool collaboration!
It’s 2020, so I was expecting some awful twist where Fiona stole the song from Shameika in third grade and is now getting sued for copyright infringement. I think this year has broken my brain. Glad to be wrong on this one. Remains my album of the year, phew!!