New Bitter Branches coming out in March!

As usual, the lyrics are exquisite commentary on the current state of this country.

Is that my god or one of yours? I'm guilty before I've said a word. Maybe I'm saying nothing. Maybe I'm saying too much. A man born in a cave doesn't know he can't see.

Can you identify me?

Is that my flag? Or is it yours? I'd rather be dirty than pure. Bad thoughts just swim inside my head. Inside my head. They've sealed my fate. I'm trying hard not to turn love into hate.

Is this my country or is it yours? Are these my thoughts? Or just my failures? Am I a man? Or am I just another, an other?

Can you identify me?

Am I just poison? Am I just fodder? Can you leave me alone? Can you leave us alone?

I'm no better than you. But you're worse than most.

What song makes you want to write poetry?

This has to be Big Thief, right?

You have a mythological beauty You have the eye of someone I have seen Outside of ordinary situations Even outside of dreams You lie in bed at night and watch the lines Of headlights through your screen There is a child inside you Who's trying to raise a child in me

Been testing an "owned music" setup with Navidrome and Plex the last few weeks and it's been fun to focus on a smaller selection of music, including bands I don't necessarily listen to often, but really like... like CYHSY.

Juno was absolutely one of my favorite bands of the late 90s/early 2000s. I picked up their two-song 7 inch on Sub Pop in like 1997, mainly for "Magnified and Reduced by Inches" (listen to that one too!)... a couple years later I put on a show for them in my friends basement in Buffalo... and surprised them with a request for that song at the end of their set. They obliged because they are fucking awesome people.

The three guitar assault was INSANE in a small crowded basement. They blew us away. One of my favorite moments of college... that and putting on a show for The Dismemberment Plan in the same basement a few weeks later. THAT was absolutely insane too, as you'd expect.

My (future) wife and a few friends moved to Seattle probably 4 months after those shows... and I got to see Juno in their hometown a handful of times over the next couple years before they broke up... in fact one of my friends tried out on bass before they went with Death Cab's Nick Harmer, after their original bass player left the band.

Anyway, a seriously underrated band that isn't on streaming... so definitely check them out where you can!

you said everything like it was an afterthought. you should have used it more wisely, that soul you bought. and now your mouth's running on, telling us all the ways she went wrong. but nobody's listening and so soon we'll all be gone. wrong, so you didn't get it right. no one ever gets it right.

what's it like at AM 5 o'clock when all the love's asleep on your block. post memorial drive, you'll be the last to leave, to say your goodbyes to ghosts eternally lost inside. your son's hands stayed warm long after he died.

it's all a matter of reaching. it's all a matter of covering. believe me it's nothing. believe me it's everything you never wanted it to be. it's all a matter of reaching. it's all a matter of struggling. believe me it's nothing. believe me it's everything you ever needed it to be. this can't be an afterthought. this right here is all i want. you are the beautiful you are the beautiful you are the beautiful you.

Those last three lines are fucking devastating.

Back home from the hockey trip!

Love the drive to Pittsburgh when it's not snowy (was last year!)... but loving being back in Buffalo too.

Played DJ during the hockey parents get together after our game in Pittsburgh. Lots of hip hop.

This popped up in my shuffle. Such a good song and album.

We had a hilarious family game of No Mercy Uno yesterday which was so fun. I played songs from my Plex install during the game and Karate came up a few times. So good.

What song makes you feel connected to nature?

Tomorrow is our annual New Year's Day hike, so an appropriate prompt.

And this prompt is made for Adrianne Lenker in my opinion... particularly the Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You record. There are so many references to nature in the lyrics... I'll have to go with this song though.

I could never build a rainbow or any kind of flower I could never make a sparrow or a meteor shower I could never build an earthworm, never make the earth turn I've been listening to the laughing of the fox down the trail I've been clasping to the listening of the moss to the snail, ooh The shimmer of the beech leaves as the wind does a big sneeze

The lyrics are a perfect match for the wonder of a hike in the woods. Appreciating everything in front of you, totally in the moment.

More road trip fun, complete with driving through a veritable blizzard. Finally back home!