Fortunately, I never feel quite this rusty.
We offer 2025 our best wishes for the future and at the same time, it can just as well F*** off. A new year has dawned and we must make the — absolute! — most of it. Let’s get started, then, shall we?
writer with no backup plan
That is me. Who are you?
in the pines where the sun never shines
Citizen musicologist reporting for duty. I am officially 88,000 words into my new book about the folk song “In the Pines.” Ffs, I will be done in a few weeks. Above, I give you a little nugget. Yes, many will focus on Kurt Cobain, et cetera, but how about the Carter Sisters, Mother Maybelle, and Chester “Chet” Atkins? It is 1950, in Missouri. The five are making radio transcription discs. Here is one of them. A minute of very admirable rock ’n’ roll jamming — ft. Anita on double bass, Helen on squeezebox, June clapping, and Chet wailing on electric guitar — is followed by Mother Maybelle speaking to the masses in her country drawl. Followed by the group harmonizing on “In the Pines.” Which is how they ended every disc. Musicians with no backup plan. I would say that it worked out all right, yes? My new favorite word, btw, would have to be “Yins.”
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our green-lit Seed&Spark crowdfunding campaign. We spent five torrid days in New Orleans running amok but came out of it with a ton of amazing footage. So, in 2026, we sure hope to finish the film and premiere it. We still need to edit, and fundraise for that, thus, if you know any “Angels,” send them our way. (Photo by Emily Cohen.)
still swansea
We offer 2025 our best wishes for the future and at the same time, it can just as well F*** off. A new year has dawned and we must make the — absolute! — most of it. Let’s get started, then, shall we?
writer with no backup plan
That is me. Who are you?
in the pines where the sun never shines
Citizen musicologist reporting for duty. I am officially 88,000 words into my new book about the folk song “In the Pines.” Ffs, I will be done in a few weeks. Above, I give you a little nugget. Yes, many will focus on Kurt Cobain, et cetera, but how about the Carter Sisters, Mother Maybelle, and Chester “Chet” Atkins? It is 1950, in Missouri. The five are making radio transcription discs. Here is one of them. A minute of very admirable rock ’n’ roll jamming — ft. Anita on double bass, Helen on squeezebox, June clapping, and Chet wailing on electric guitar — is followed by Mother Maybelle speaking to the masses in her country drawl. Followed by the group harmonizing on “In the Pines.” Which is how they ended every disc. Musicians with no backup plan. I would say that it worked out all right, yes? My new favorite word, btw, would have to be “Yins.”
music for the
masses
Especially proud of this performance, this record, and my association with the improv band Fanoplane. If you have not done so already, check out Live At The Black Cat! at Bandcamp. If you want to play one song, then play “The Houses...” where “...” stands for, well, “dot dot dot.” It sounds like we might be back onstage sometime in February or March at Comet Ping Pong. Stay tuned.
o, eliza, lil liza
jane!
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our green-lit Seed&Spark crowdfunding campaign. We spent five torrid days in New Orleans running amok but came out of it with a ton of amazing footage. So, in 2026, we sure hope to finish the film and premiere it. We still need to edit, and fundraise for that, thus, if you know any “Angels,” send them our way. (Photo by Emily Cohen.)
still swansea
O, City said I. #YJB. #STID. Same as Snoop Dogg, hahaha.
conflict resolution: deer
Demonstrating my formidable peacemaking skills among these be-antlered ruminant hoofed critters.
conflict resolution: fox & geese
Demonstrating my formidable peacemaking skills in the face of sly fox aggression versus honking waterfowlz. (sic) Let 2026 be a year of peace. Amen.
and now, let’s dance.
Behold “Wild Weekend” by The Rebels from 1960. This is the perfect song to queue up on New Year’s Day — Jan. 1, 2026 — while you may need to shake off a biteen of a cobwebby hangover from the festivities of the night before. It gets you in the mood. The sax is not quite sleazy, but neither is it buttery. It gets us up, swaying around in amicable ways.
Behold “All Night Long” by Big Joe Houston from 1954. Well, now it is time to jump! This is the kind of song that charges uphill pretty much the entire 2:35 and it, like, does not really slow down. I mean, the song had to end, so that happens. But some part of me thinks that Big Joe Houston and the orchestra are still playing this piece because slowing down would just be too dangerous!
Behold “Gonna Be A Big Thing” by the Yum Yums from 1965. Well, if you have yet to offer your hand to your sweetie pie, now would be the time. Turn the lights down low. Face one another in an amorous pose. (You can take it from there.) Most of all, the Yum Yums promise us that 2026 is gonna be a big thing. You are You with no backup plan. Same as me. Let our hopes peak where the music stays.
discography
