Tales From The Drop Box Episode 190 (2021-02) / The Pandemic Episodes

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Sanity returns to government. Honestly, the bar is really low for competence in government and perhaps it is time for people to think about the creatures that they elect to make important decisions about the future. Just a thought that perhaps we need to think about how we educate our citizens moving forward. The issue is not the elected creature but rather that there are a significant number of these morally bankrupt and evil scum bags being elected and continuing to be the loudest voices in a democracy. It is truly shameful that we are at a point in our history where the symptoms of the disease afflicting our democracy throw up right wing racists and extremists supporting fanciful conspiracy theories all in the name of good government. We have time, as a nation, to alter our path forward, but if we do not take aggressive steps to root out and repel the corrupt and evil and reject ideologies of hate then we are going to be back to the last 4 years soon enough. So, with those positive thoughts, what about the music?

Tales From The Drop Box Episode 190 is still a transitional affair in terms of starting a new music year but still containing some awesome tracks from 2020 which turned out to be a very good year despite the real world issues. So, as we continue into 2020, I suspect that there is much good music to come but let’s not throw away 2020 because the music from last year I think will resonate for a while.

Here is what you’ll find in Episode 190 (2021-01)

  1. Alaska Reid – “Warm” (Big Bunny EP)
  2. Mary – “Growth” (Die Before Death)
  3. Red Zebra – “Innocent People” (Songs & Stripes)
  4. Miss Lava – “Red Atlantis” (Doom Machine)
  5. The OBGMs – “Triggered” (The Ends)
  6. Chubby And The Gang – “Blue Ain’t My Colour” (Speed Kills)
  7. Soviet Blackout Frequency – “Scenes From A Murder” (The Port Hope Incident)
  8. Oceanator – “A Crack In The World” (Things I Never Said)
  9. Mourn – “Men” (Self-Worth)
  10. Severin Bells – Boy Scout / Choirboy (A Brighter Side To The Unknown)
  11. Blue October – “Oh My My” (This Is What I Live For)
  12. Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – “Fangs” (Blossom)
  13. The Reds, Pinks & Purples – “Sex Lies & Therapy” (You Might Be Happy Someday)
  14. Gene – “Wasteland” (The Albums)
  15. SPC Echo – “Just Stop” (November EP)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 190 (2021-02)

There’s a crack in the world and we’re all hanging on trying not to fall through the void . . You wear black hair, I have blue you look sadder than most girls do the way you walk around always watching the ground…

KFR

Tales From The Drop Box Episode 189 (2021-01) / The Pandemic Episodes

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So, as a starter, happy New Year! I’m glad to be back after a short break. So where are we now a few weeks into a new year? Well, shit is still bad. As you might note by the title to these episodes – we are still in a deadly pandemic. In Los Angeles, where I am located, things are really bad. There are more people dying here every day than at anytime in the past 11 months. While there is hope on the horizon we are experiencing the surge caused by a catastrophic failure of people to listen to the advice and act. Here we are at a point where community spread is so high that we just passed 1 million (1,000,000!) COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and confirmed its first case of the new, more contagious coronavirus strain first reported in the United Kingdom. This week the county also reported 14,669 new cases of COVID-19 and 253 additional deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 1,003,923 cases and 13,741 fatalities. See it’s bad.

Then there is the insurrection in the nation’s capitol as the 4 years of chaos under the Trump regime well documented in these pages comes to an insane end. There is still a couple of days until Biden is sworn in but as we should all be aware – that is no guarantee that there will be a peaceful transition of power. Honestly, these past 4 years have been exhausting with this nut bag in control of the reins of democracy. I am hopeful that the tyranny of the minority will end and the rest of us can confront the real issues created and exposed during the past 4 years including the economic disaster caused by the failed response to COVID-19, the harsh reality that the U.S. has institutionalized racism and economic disparity, climate change, and the other social diseases that are symptoms of economic inequality in a very politically divided country. I fear that we are in store for a very rocky ride to get out of the place where we are trapped now. Well, there is always hope….

As you should know by now, the beginning of a new year is also a state of transition for Tales From The Drop Box. Episode 189 delicately balances the urge to present a flurry of new releases that always arrive at the beginning of a new year with those that were released at the end of the last one. Then, there is always the ones that I just didn’t get to play or missed along the way. So, this is really a long way of saying this is a mixed bag of tunes, but all in my mind really good. This I believe is the best way to start a new year – contemplating the last one but always moving forward. So, with that said have a happy and safe new year. We are still going to rock our asses off.

Here is what you’ll find in Episode 189 (2021-01):

  1. Shitkid – “Downtown Apartment” (Crotchrock EP)
  2. Ben Kweller – “Hold Me Down” (Circuit Boredom)
  3. Babe Corner – “Killer” (Killer EP)
  4. The Dirty Nil – “Ride Or Die” (Fuck Art)
  5. Viagra Boys – “Ain’t Nice” (Welfare Jazz)
  6. Some Stranger – “Meet In Secret” (Meet In Secret Speak In Code)
  7. lié – “Drowning In Piss” (You Want It Real)
  8. Osees – “Nervous Breakdown” (Live At Big Sur)
  9. The Avalanches – “Gold Sky (feat. Kurt Vile)” (We Will Always Love You)
  10. Slow Worries – “When We Go Out” (Careful Climb)
  11. Foxy Shazam – “Burn” (Burn)
  12. Descendents – “Hindsight 2020″ (Suffrage 7”)
  13. Happy. – “April Is For Fools” (Imposter Syndrome)
  14. The Stone Roses – “I Am The Resurrection” (The Stone Roses)
  15. Gotts Street Park – “Favorite Kind Of Girl” (Volume Two EP)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 189 (2021-01)

I’m about to have a nervous breakdown my head really hurts if I don’t find a way out of here …. Down, down, you bring me down I hear you knocking down my door and I can’t sleep at night …

KFR

Tales From The Drop Box Episode 188 (2020-36) / The Pandemic Episodes

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Positive news on the COVID-19 front lines with the emergency approval of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for distribution in the U.S. This is an important first step in ending the pandemic. Given the large number of people in the U.S., it is going to be quite some time before it gets to the average individual. A look at the CDC Advisory Committee’s plan for allocating initial supplies prioritizes 21 million health care workers and 3 million residents of long-term care facilities. After that it is likely to go to the 87 essential million workers not involved in front-line health care, then to the 100 million adults with certain high-risk medical conditions and the 50 million people who are 65 years old or older. I also anticipate that there will be line jumpers a plenty because nothing says American more than me first. After the shameful actions of the 106 republican members of Congress who signed off on frivolous Texas lawsuit challenging the actions of other states in conducting their elections because they did not like the outcome and after the lawsuit was rejected for lack of standing by the Supremes, it was not surprising that they subsequently tossed around the idea seceding from the U.S.. It’s not enough that these assholes are attacking the foundation of democracy i.e. the right to vote in free and fair elections but they are attacking the idea of a united states. So, in a country with a significant number of gutless and stupid leaders who are both morally and intellectually bankrupt, there are going to be continuing problems with vaccine distribution regardless of the good intentions of the person the large majority of the citizens elected to lead us out of the valley of death. At least this paragraph started positive. Here is hoping that sanity, cooperation, and science prevails over the cult of stupid.

I was missing live music this week and apparently a number of bands thought it was a good idea to release some pretty awesome live records this year, so I have cued up a number of tracks from those records. There are also some outstanding reissues from bands many of you who are under the age of 45 years old will have had little experience, so, they may sound like awesome new tracks, but trust me they are old, some real old. I have included tracks from The Gun Club, Gang of Four, Powderfinger and the House of Love, so how bad can that be? It’s not. It’s lovely really. So, like always, let’s enjoy the now and contemplate our navels for a few moments before rushing ahead into, what I hope is, a brighter, more positive new world. Oh, and this episode is a little bit longer. You are getting 25% more music for the regular price! Until next time, here is what you will find in Episode 188 (2020-36) of Tales From The Drop Box:

  1. Pale Honey – “Some Time, Alone” (Some Time, Alone)
  2. Powderfinger – “Daybreak” (Unreleased 1998-2010)
  3. Bearings – “Transient Colours” (Hello, It’s You)
  4. The Lathums – “I Know That Much” (Fight on EP)
  5. Heavy Lungs – “(A Bit Of A) Birthday” (Ultra Stereo)
  6. Frankie And The The Witch Fingers – “Where’s Your Reality? (Levitation Sessions)
  7. Arctic Monkeys – “Four Out Of Five” (Live At Royal Albert Hall)
  8. Kelly Jones – “Dakota” (Don’t Let The Devil Take Another Day)
  9. Cut Worms – “Castle In The Clouds” (Nobody Lives Here Anymore)
  10. Gerry Cinnamon – “Where We’re Going” (The Bonny)
  11. Fontaines D.C. – “A Lucid Dream” (A Night At Montrose Live)
  12. The Gun Club – “A Devil In The Woods” (Miami)
  13. Gang of Four – “Damaged Goods” (Gang Of Four 77-81)
  14. The House Of Love – “Marble” (A Spy In The House Of Love)
  15. Dream Wife – “Kids” (IRL Live In London)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 188 (2020-36)

I designed the line that keeps you way down here I destroyed the void that echoes in your ear In a flash you were ashes in a cosmic ray . . . just how dark can an animal be? How dark can an animal be? Dark like darkness dark like a devil out in the woods now . . .

KFR

Tales From The Drop Box Episode 187 (2020-35) / The Pandemic Episodes

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I hope you enjoyed your week after the thanksgiving holiday. I took the week off llast week and perhaps you noticed there was no new episode for you to listen to last week. Perhaps, not. If you did look for something, I hope you went back and gave a listen to something you might have missed. I truly believe this has been a terrific year for new music. In what could have been a truly horrible year (keep reading) the music that is coming out now is pretty freakin’ awesome. Although it would appear that we do not have much to be thankful for this year, your perspective on what has happened this past year as we approach the end of 2020 is truly important. I am truly blessed and thankful I am still here, my family is safe and we are still earning a living. These are simple graces for a difficult year. I am saddened by the horrific loss of life that truly was preventable. There is plenty of blame to go around but that is not the point of this missive.

During Thanksgiving and this Christmas season, I think it is important to reflect upon, and be thankful for, the bounty we still have, individually and as a nation. We are still moving forward making progress on both COVID and the economy will rebound once we have progress against COVID and for those of us who are still battling COVID-19 and a former President of the U.S. I truly am hopeful that we are shortly going to emerge from the tunnel of chaos and death. I am also tremendously thankful to those who fought and are continuing to fight the COVID battle on the front lines including those retail workers, nurses, doctors, scientists, and all those who must risk contracting the virus each day as they perform a variety of tasks necessary for all of us to directly and indirectly survive. My thanks giving this year is truly for them.

I’m not sure where to begin with this weeks episode of Tales From the Drop Box. I was feeling somewhat contemplative as I selected tracks this week, so there is a more mellow vibe even though several of the tracks I think are absolute bangers. A few old favorites pop up this week with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard making an appearance, along with Elvis Costello, Pale Honey, The Kooks and Seahaven.

Here is what you will find in Episode 187 (2020-35):

  1. Doghouse Rose – “Try x 3” (The Harder They Fall)
  2. Baio – “What Do You Say When I’m Not There? (Single – Digital)
  3. Pale Honey – “Bad Thing” (Some Time Alone)
  4. Bad Nerves – “Terminal Boy” (Bad Nerves)
  5. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “I’m In Your Mind Fuzz” (Live In San Francisco ’16)
  6. The Bats – “Field Of Vision” (Foothills)
  7. BRKN Love – “I Can’t Lie” (BRKN Love)
  8. The Brummies – “Automatic World” (Automatic World)
  9. Deeper – “This Heat” (Auto-Pain)
  10. The Flat Five – “Girl Of Virginia” (Another World)
  11. The Kooks – “In Love” (Too Much Is Not Enough)
  12. Seahaven – “Lose” (Halo Of Hurt)
  13. Jam City – “They Eat The Young” (Pillowland)
  14. Elvis Costello – “Secret Service” (The Complete Armed Forces (Super Deluxe Edition))
  15. Lydia – “Back Of Your Room” (I Was Someone Else)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 187 (2020-35)

You came in hot and I could not believe you know I’m super sensitive and eager to please it’s true I’m such a misty-eyed fool . . . black cards so cold, out of control you like it the truth, it hurts, your blood it burns you like it …

KFR

Tales From The Drop Box Episode 186 (2020-34) / The Pandemic Episodes

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As anticipated by last weeks Coronavirus explosion in the U.S. , we are going to be in a world of hurt in the U.S. over the next month. It should be not too surprising to anyone who has followed Tales From The Drop Box that not only was this rapid increase in infections anticipated, but sadly, even knowing what we know, the fact that we as a society could have prevented all of this tragedy and refused to do so was also predicable. That is, despite knowing what we actually truly do know about the spread of COVID-19, many millions of people still refuse to cooperate with the basics necessary to keep the virus spread in check. Thus, the predictable result is what we as a country are experiencing now – which is increased hospitalizations followed shortly thereafter by death. I am truly shocked by how numb we have become to the reports of COVID-19 deaths and our apparent acceptance of truly preventable tragedies. It is too sad and disappointing to actual reflect on this tragedy for too long. So…take action. Take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones by following the scientific guidance you know to be true – you are safer at home. Don’t gather in groups indoors. Create physical distance from each other. Wear a mask. Participate in the social contract we all make to live in a free society i.e. do no harm to each other.

Episode 186 of Tales From The Drop Box is a little bit more aggressive this week. Not sure why these tracks are a little louder, a little angrier perhaps, but they are. So sit back and turn the volume up. I’m going to do that as well. Then I’m going to think about the positives in my life so that I can go out and continue the fight to overcome ignorance by spreading the truth about things that matter to all of us, such as the importance of the rule of law, following the science, questioning authority and making decisions based upon empirical data. We can get to a better place in our world but it is going to take all of us.

Here is what you will find in Episode 186:

  1. War On Women – “White Lies” (Wonderful Hell)
  2. Tunng – “Death Is The New Sex” (Tunng Presents . . . Dead Club)
  3. CatEaters – “I Don’t Wanna Be like You” (Rare)
  4. Suburban Medicine – “American Nightmare” (Black Cats & Broken Glass)
  5. Sarah And The Safe Word – “You’re All Scotch, No Soda” (Good Gracious! Bad People)
  6. Shitbats – “Succubus” (Guano)
  7. The Spits – “Breakdown” (VI)
  8. Jeff Rosenstock – “NEVERGONNAGETITBACKAGAIN!!!” (Furlough Your Dreams)
  9. Vulvarine – “Dangerous” (Unleashed)
  10. Happy. – “June Gloom” (Imposter Syndrome)
  11. A Tale of Golden Keys – “All Banks Are Dry” (The Only Thing That’s Real)
  12. Milk Teeth – “Given Up” (Milk Teeth)
  13. Lime Cordiale – “Robbery” (14 Steps To A Better You)
  14. The Misfits – “Where Eagles Dare” (
  15. Attic Salt – “Truck Stop” (Get Wise)
Tales From The Drop Box Episode 186 (202-34)

We walk the streets at night we go where eagles dare they pick up every movement they pick up every loser…I’m only thinking about the times you tried you tried to blame me
kept saying that you were right, you can not look me in the eye . . .

KFR