It is a good discography.

These rip, @tedleo.bsky.social! Simply the best to do it. tedleo.bandcamp.com/album/februa...

What a stunning piece of music. johnmcguire.bandcamp.com/track/jump-c...

The first True Widow album is still, to me, the perfect winter album. Listless, moody, romantic, heavy — crunched snow underfoot music. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk9J...

"It tells viewers that secular culture is dangerous until it votes the right way. It tells young Christians that standards are flexible when power is involved. It tells the watching world that the Gospel is negotiable when politics are at stake." relevantmagazine.com/current/oped...

The Washington Post embarked on severe cuts despite appeals by the newsroom to owner Jeff Bezos. The paper is to narrow its focus largely to politics and national security. n.pr/4qAlWBj

"I want country music to stop being a punchline, to be better understood and to be worth understanding — that's a big reason why we have this newsletter." @natalieweiner.bsky.social killed it this week on, yes, Jelly Roll www.dontrocktheinbox.com/im-a-dumb-re...

A dream told in video. Plus a new mixtape featuring Power Snatch, @jcc-pf.bsky.social, Sibyl, Delphine Dora, Adiós Cometa, Cult Objects. newsletter.vikingschoice.org/archive/hayl...

Ah, dang, I did really like Furnace Fest... like, I don't think I've flown or driven out to ANY festival 3x. A sale always spells the end. metalinjection.net/news/furnace...

A dream told in video. Plus a new mixtape featuring Power Snatch, @jcc-pf.bsky.social, Sibyl, Delphine Dora, Adiós Cometa, Cult Objects. newsletter.vikingschoice.org/archive/hayl...

Come for my Grammy snark, stay for the love I bestow upon the Valencia-via-Montreal bedroom pop artist Rat Penat, sister folk duo Sibyl and Polish composer Szymon Wójcik. I'm on All Songs Considered today with my pal @robinpr.bsky.social @npr.org www.npr.org/2026/02/03/n...

Dug into Dropbox to find a thing and didn't, but found this instead. I have no idea what this is; I only hope that I tweeted it for real. (Once upon a time, I ran NPR Music's socials.)

People making jokes, but Trump closing the Kennedy Center for 2 years (doing who knows what but nothing good) is just another spit in the face of D.C. residents.

I found out recently this is my friend’s uncle and honestly I’ve never been more starstruck to know that I’m 1 degree of separation away from this poet.

Happy worst month of the year to all those who observe

Charli xcx or some celebrity: And the album of the year is… ‘At the Heart of Winter’ by Immortal! Announcer: This is the 27th nomination and win for Immortal’s ‘At the Heart of Winter’ every year since the album was released in 1999.

Joyce manor singing the phrase “cannabis shop” is a great example of what happens when you drop a 2015 band into 2026.

Sigh.

The sloppier the bacon egg and cheese, the more capacity for healing.

Last night I had a dream about Rudeboy Jason Bourne, a rogue agent skankin' and kickin' ass, listening to The Specials and Madness in his Oldsmobile.

Parents rejoice.

I recently said to someone, "I think the world's forgotten Marian McPartland, and that's a damn shame." Really, really lovely post from Michelle Mercer on the Grande Dame of Piano Jazz, and why we sometimes take jazz legends for granted. michellemercer.substack.com/p/on-what-we...

Can't wait for the new Discordance Axis album, 'The Inalienable Dreamless of Hustle Culture'

Really had such an illuminating experience last year. Happy to see this fest come back!

Spent many autumn walks on campus with this CD on my discman.

Richmond pals, how’s the highway out your way? My partner is determined to drive there tomorrow (for a good reason), but I’m 😬

This is my face while shoveling snow, talking about the Noise Rock Crash Course right now on vikingschoice.org youtube.com/shorts/nFWta...

A Nurse Who Served Veterans Was Killed. Where You At, Country Music???

Gonna fill the gaps in my noise rock education today.

Noise rock can ruin your life; this list will absolutely destroy it. newsletter.vikingschoice.org/archive/nois...

Repeating: NOW is a good time to shovel if you've switched from snow to sleet. 1-3" of sleet (which is many times heavier than snow) on top of this snow will make it MUCH harder to clear later.

The people at @mprnews.org are doing such great work. Really proud of them.

lmao

NEW: I was one of 3 reporters granted access to the convening of 600+ clergy in Minneapolis this week. It was a striking show of solidarity with MN clergy resisting ICE, but heralded something else: the emergence of a vast, faith-based network trained to resist ICE. religionnews.com/2026/01/23/i...

Made the Grit’s Golden Bowl, listened to U2’s The Joshua Tree and cried thinking about my friends and how much I love them. Friday night stuff.

At this point, Harvey Milk would've mostly been a 7" singles band, but 'My Love Is Higher' was starting to kick up dirt. This actually ain't a bad place to start. Raw, ragged, howlin rock and roll.

I know the Christian Nationalists take up a lot of oxygen in the religion/politics sphere but I've never seen anything like the faith group mobilization going on in Minneapolis. Houses of worship have decades of infrastructure and they're organizing to protect immigrants in the Twin Cities.

Young Marble Giants

New-ish year, new thing: Tea time with Viking’s Choice. I’ll highlight a song featured on the mixtape. This week: the bummer noise-rock chamber music of “it’s only begun” by Szymon Wójcikm. vikingschoice.org www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZabD...

I know I will probably get flamed for what is an incredibly cringe and definitely borderline, at minimum, histrionic statement but what the fascist Republican Party is doing with acts like these are the preceding steps to culturicide.

Forever grateful for your music and mind: open to the world, but still close to your own heart. Happy birthday, Dave!

I think I'm gonna start a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed slam metal band and call it Michaelslamgelo.

I COMPLETELY missed that there was a new Tiny Vipers record near the end of last year. Just acoustic guitar, that voice and so, so much reverb. Gonna be devastated all day. tinyvipers.bandcamp.com/album/tormen...

Parenthood has generally meant I haven't seen any of the Oscar noms. In this case, I have seen KPop Demon Hunters because, well, see previous sentence.

The ‘90s. What a time.

Last night I had a dream that Jessica Simpson was cast in a new Mad Max movie as a big boobed, leather-clad BDSM-type heroine and I thought, in the dream, “Well, that seems impractical and a step backwards for the series, doesn’t it?”

Love seeing Natalie Jane Hill's "Never Left Me" on this awesome playlist from @totalvibration.bsky.social // @dearliferecs.bsky.social

Thanks to @totalvibration.bsky.social for having Szymon Wójcik's "it's only begun" on this list with some bangers! www.buymusic.club/list/vikings...

minimalist design is my passion

I can only describe Szymon Wójcik's "it's only begun" as "the noise-rock bummer of Harvey Milk (for chamber ensemble)." It's set the tone for my 2026. That, plus a new mixtape featuring Sunn O))), Winged Wheel, Souled American, Katie Alice Greer. newsletter.vikingschoice.org/archive/i-fi...