David Woodcock "s/t"

 (Blow Up, 2014) Wit-ish British Ian-core (splitting that hunky dory Hunter/Dury gap).

Skullthuggerry "s/t"

(Rowdy Farrago, 2014) I have a lot of deeply ingrained, unmovable life philosophies, but I frequently forget them or don't know what they are until something comes up. But this is one that I will walk the plank forA: If you make legit PIRATE ROCK I am 100 percent with it and will declare you perfect and unbeatable and a The Best Band on the Seven Seas! This act actually sounds like pirates, never changes the subject, and has oranges o their rider to avoid scurvy, so I'm throwing all my doubloons their way. Also, this seems to be secretly the millionth Destructors album.

"Cornucopia"

 

(Greece, 1593) When it comes to words, this is a fucking vocabulary GOAT. And goats have horns. Though I would not describe a goat horn as a "horn of plenty," (ummm...ever hear of rams), Wikipedia claims the original H.O.P. was from a goat upon which baby Zeus suckled. It was magic. But back the 'mology (my street name for etymology), the Latin cornu copiae sounds a little like Corney Collins, the aswesome deejay in Hairspray. The phonics of this word are, obviously, badass, baller, and hypnotic. And it's one "e" away from running the table on vowels. And if you get into the actual thing, as opposed to just the word, it is a clip art Hall of Famer. And respect- if I were guessing how to spell this I would literally, truly, without any doubt,  never guess that "u" if you gave me 100,000 attempts. 

Roy Kinsey "Blackie"

(2018, http://www.roykinsey.com/) I don't listen to enough local hip hop to say what the best Chicago hip hop record from the last few years might be, but I also don't have enough sense to not say that which I have no business saying, so I boldly, unequivocally declare that this is legit the best Chicago rap album of the last few years. Just the actual production, the vocal quality, and the boldness makes it seem good even if you aren't paying close attention. But I'n awestruck by the ambition, intelligence, and odds-defying victorious longshot bets revealed by paying attention to the lyrics with their fascinating narrative and introspection and research and cornucopia of complex concepts relating his family history, the Great Migration, Chicago's racism, the challenges of growing up queer, and the liberating power of rap. Do not be a dummy who does not listen to this masterpiece

Face It by Debbie Harry

 (Dey St, 2019) This is fantastic, as the always cool, weird, and grounded Blondie-frontwoman compiles stories of her life, fantastic photos of her fantastic face, hot goss, and her philosophies about art and creativity into a beautiful brick of a book. One theme, starting from when a man compliments her "bedroom eyes" as an infant, is men acting terrible in response to her powerful beauty. As a 12 year old Buddy Rich covertly tails Harry all night, pursuing her for an after-hours date (ultimately meeting her parents while Debbie presumably is in footie pajamas in the next room). An ex REALLY stalks her in horrifying ways. And she even does time as a Playboy Bunny close enough to the Mad Men era to make you fear for her pinch bruises. But what makes her descriptions of the perils and horrors of dangerous sexism and misogyny, treacherous punk rock poverty, and life-defining drug addictions, so compelling is that either in retrospect, or, more likely, because the 60s and 70s and her own tough/adventurous/realist nature built her that way, Harry never frames her darkest experiences as trauma or victimhood or shame, (or even particularly dark to go by her writerly voice). Even her detailed description of a rape is presented very matter-of-fact, and does not inspire her towards lifestyle/neighborhood/career changes. But her voice is her voice, and you don't doubt her even if you know you would never be able to recount horrors in such  a calm deadpan. If you know Blondie's story you know that they made VERY bad business moves, early on making them broke as fuck during their height of fame, and you know that Harry's artistic, and often romantic, partner Chris Stein suffered from a lengthy debilitating illness (Harry was at his side, sneaking heroin into the hospital). But if you know their work you know that art came first. Harry and Stein believed in the music and videos and movies and weird side projects and fashion and ideas. Harry definitely devotes as much love and care and ink to the bizarre mess of a cable access show she did with Glenn  O'Brien, Fab Five Freddie, and Klaus Nomi as she does to "Heart of Glass." And that seems about right. Making the package even more amazing are huge sections reprinting fan art from the decades, many for kids. What a perfect cable access decision!

Hershey's Milk Chocolate & Reese's Pieces

 

(Hershey's, 2019) This is OK, but from the perspective of the Reese's side it's a little weird, for the pieces (as you know) are all peanut butter and candy coating, skipping the chocolate cup, thereby betraying the brand's "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter"-theme (blame E.T. for the success). But here the balance of chocolate to PB is so off that there is no Peanut Butter Cup vibe at all. There's also a weird mush to the peanut butter that takes a little away from the Hershey's experience. So unlike a Baskin Robbins/Dunkin' Donuts, where you could just order what you like separately, these candies make a beast with two backs that cannot be pried apart, and it's less than the sum of two parts. Still, how many candies have two possessive apostrophes in the name?

The Ar-Kaics "Always the Same" b'w "Let Me In"

 

(Market Square, 2015) Nasty Nuggetsy caveman-in-a-Beatles suit retro rock that is out of print, so to get a copy you'll have to become a raider of the lost Ark-aics.

Reagan's Polyp "facefuckingbatspermmantidotepudding," Deadanator," "America Needs More Ass," "Number Ones"

(Vetoxa, 1992-2001) If we hadn't seen so many of Bill Clinton's girlfriends I might be surprised that Arkansas could produce such weirdness, but knowing what the the dating pool was like (and the competition from Big Bill, if you knowhudimena), I might have made backwoods Residents/punk/noise/Dementoid music myself. With a career span that roughly corresponds to Clinton's reign (funny, you never see them in the same place), these miscreants were nutting up the nineties with abrasively good natured filthy righteous naughtiness. There's a little bit of politics, but these are 80% anus, semen and (for some reason) alien-themed.

 

Screening Race in American Nontheatrical Film, edited by Ally Field and Marsha Gordon

(Duke, 2019) This is surprisingly accessible and engrossing for an academic book. I got it because my favorite professor, the amazing Jacqueline Stewart, wrote the forward, but actually read it because each brisk essay (about the production and exhibition of educational, amateur, faith-based, industry, and government films that address race issues) tells me something new. I loved learning about lefty African American film editor Hortense Beveridge (with a cameo by Paul Robeson in a Santa suit at an American Labor Party holiday shindig), and the piece about America’s perception of Day of the Dead via film culture had me bugging every house-bound soul around me with my new nuggets of info. But the real star of the book is Ro-Revus, a puppet frog with a deep funky voice who, along with Nutty the Squirrel, teaches boys and girls in South Carolina how to avoid ringworm. The detailed history of the production, distribution, and reception of this mesmerizing educational film is covered thoroughly, and as you read on, keeps getting better. But best yet, you can see it (and all the films in the book) because the book's Webpage has everything available to stream.

Mecca Normal "Empathy for the Evil"

 

(M'Lady's, 2014) Minimelodica!