Editor’s note: I wrote this in either March or April of 2019, I reckon, and recently found it languishing in my drafts. Still liked it, so here you go. Jon and I did a new open mic on Friday. On the one hand, it was the most people we’ve ever played in front of. On … Read more
Here’s what I want to say: Good fucking riddance you shitty fucking year. And I did say it, I’ve thought it and written it. Fuck you you bullshit arbitrary unit of time! Like this: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tiina Menzel (@therese_nothing) Because it was bad, right? It seems like everyone’s … Read more
Sometimes when I share writing from old newsletters or other publications, I make the date in the WordPress CMS match the original publication date, so as to appropriately place it chronologically if someone goes on a deep-dive into my stuff. I could have done that for this…made the date January 1, 2021 or something. But … Read more
In 2018, I started collecting songs I heard out in the world to a playlist. Anything that resonated in the moment, new or nostalgic. Obviously, the world was quite different when I started this habit. Like most folks who weren’t essential workers or selfish assholes, I spent most of 2020 at home. No concerts, no … Read more
I started a thing last year where I add songs that are resonating for me — for whatever reason — to a playlist named for the year. Hence: My 2018 Playlist. I kept it up through 2019, with a bit more gusto, so I’ve got an even bigger list this year. With a bit of … Read more
You do you, I’ll do me. Here are seven things I can’t imagine ever doing in public (or perhaps anywhere).
“This is so cool, why isn’t there more stuff like this?” Great question. Here are seven ways to get more art that you like in the world.
Been writing songs with my buddy Jon for a few weeks now. Our songwriting sessions keep reminding me of the money laundering scene from Office Space: I can’t believe what a bunch of nerds we are. We’re looking up money laundering in a dictionary. As you can see in the above photo, I resorted to … Read more
Brian, one of the organizers of the open mic I attend now, issued a songwriting challenge last week. The input/theme was “stand up”. I started scratching out lyrics in Drafts on my iPad right away that same night, and finished them up on Saturday afternoon. Jon, my music partner, came over Sunday and we hashed … Read more
I’ve never really dug into the B-52s catalog, despite having done Love Shack at karaoke at least a dozen times now. I love how unapologetically weird they are. I’ve got Whammy! on vinyl, but this isn’t on it: The songs where only Cindy sings don’t seem to get as much airtime, which is too bad … Read more