I did not anticipate the appetite for a bike shanty, y'all.

I am obsessed with this new song "Sisters of Winter." www.instagram.com/reel/DHoumYg... 🌸🌲🎍 MILCK has generously given me permission to cover it live, so look for it in this Saturday's Patreon livestreams (plural!) & on tour in Europe next month 💜

It appears I am only writing sea shanties right now. And because I've never been on a sailing ship (or worked fields, or shelled beans for hours), it appears these shanties are going to be about biking. Maybe next I'll write a drinking song involving mocktails. The muse, she has questionable taste.

I have profound respect for @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, so I'm grappling with why this piece feels unhelpful to me. She's not wrong. Yet I think it encourages a "just keep going" mindset among progressives (like myself!) that flies in the face of electoral results.

Well, I'm flat on the couch with a fever & a nice wet cough. Gotta love winter bugs. At least I'm negative for Covid. (The 5yo's not even to blame this time, & I was masking for much of Folk Alliance!) Shifting Two Truths micro-workshops to same times next week. 🗓️

Meanwhile Folk Alliance was last week & I'm so grateful for the existence of @ginachavezmusic.bsky.social, @kcturnerpresents.bsky.social, @allisonrussell.bsky.social & many other heroes of indie music 💜 They distill the joy not in turning away from hard things, but linking arms to go through them.

I'm still on Twitter/X. It's nice here, but honestly it's a bit of an echo chamber, and my focus rn is on understanding folks who joined the MAGA team & are cautiously optimistic - but could swing back. We need them. They're not, for most part, on here. Some observations so far:

This whole thread is really helpful.

OK, gonna try something new this week: micro-workshops! A guided reflection on holding two truths in our heads at the same time, using the trilogy of music videos for "We've Got You" as a starting point. Thu 9pm ET on Instagram Fri 12pm ET on YouTube Sat 5pm ET on Zoom

Absolutely gorgeous work from @viennateng.bsky.social

From today's protest. I've come not only to accept, but to appreciate that I don't 100% agree w/all the signs or reasons other people are here. That's how democratic stuff works: people with different agendas & beliefs, coming together to act on what matters to us all. @50501movement.bsky.social

Yes yes yes yes all of this. My only quibble is that the *opposition* isn't the majority (yet), but opposition + persuadables absolutely is - a point that comes across clearly in the piece itself. This is a winnable game. Resigning to doom now is premature, to put it lightly. We've got work to do.

Speaking of subscriptions, I would happily tip Rhymezone. As an incessant near-rhymer, I've been leaning hard on this treasure trove. (I'm sure they're doing fine under Merriam-Webster & with all those ads, but still).

This is useful. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... (Behind a paywall - if you could really use a subscription, let me know.)

FYI. Integrity matters as much as intent, especially these days.

Near halfway through @fawmchallenge.bsky.social. I've got several exciting half-songs, but nothing's tipped into "It's all here, just have to write it." All boulders uphill. Also not sure if anyone wants a 100% thinly-veiled-political-metaphor record from me, but that's what's coming out right now.

There's an excellent and very bittersweet @viennateng.bsky.social song about this idea, btw youtu.be/0RCIdOp5GHg

2 things can be true: 1) Protest is necessary. 2) Protest is insufficient. We're a country of minority views. Whatever you care about, you're outnumbered (but so is everyone, including the current admin). Time to persuade & be persuaded to join forces. www.instagram.com/reel/DFx-dFM...

When 3.5% of the population shows up in the streets, autocracy can't hold. May @anatosaurus.bsky.social be right. Let's do this.

200 law professors from across the country have signed on to a Statement of Urgency about the peril of the constitutional crisis that is now upon us. Complete list of signers below. Please read and repost!! Thank you!

We in DC don't have reps with voting power to call...but some of us can show up to protests on short notice. Treasury Tues night, Capitol earlier today. Let me know if you want me to go to one on your behalf.

Scott shares great stories about car-lite life, living in a place where it doesn't occur to many that it's even possible. Well worth a follow 💜

Yes, this conveniently syncs with my personal instincts, but it's also a practical reality. We are outnumbered today. Think of all that you want to protect. The path to their safety runs through the people who change heart & join us.

"Trump is acting like a king because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality. He is hoping that perception then becomes reality. That can only happen if we believe him." 1/5

In light of . . . everything . . . @viennateng.bsky.social’s music continues to be a light in darkness, especially her latest trio. m.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Is there a solarpunk version of RenFaire yet? Every time I sit down to write songs lately, I end up daydreaming about a festival where you can wander around & immerse yourself in a non-dystopic future for a while. In costume, if you like.

I spent a few (weird, what-am-I-doing) years working on healthcare & health insurance, and this checks out. Medicare-for-all/single payer would be better because it'd have greater negotiating power with providers & drug makers. Not because we'd save a ton by getting rid of "greedy" private insurers.

If things are feeling too stressful or heavy this holiday season, may I recommend replacing "fa la la la la" in Deck The Halls with "whoopie-doopie-doo"

A variant of this has been my struggle since returning to music a few years ago. Definitionally, I'm a songwriter. Empirically, I write songs about 0.5% of the time. The rest is email, digital content, household maintenance, not being a bad friend/family member, vaguely justifiable distractions.

In a heavy mood today. Can't tell if it's family stuff, having read & gone to see Stoppard's Leopoldstadt this week, the general state of <gestures around>, or half a dozen other things. That, and releasing new music is always a vulnerable season, and sometimes it gets to me more than others.

I'll be playing this one in the Patreon livestream on Saturday (along with "The Last Snowfall," natch). Taking holiday-season requests too, for the next ~24 hrs. Then in the climate action hangout afterward we'll chat gifting ideas! Should be a lovely finale to a year of monthly online gatherings 💜

OK so far my Following feed is pretty great (I mean, I should hope so!), but the Discover feed is still kinda yikes sometimes. I'm all for drawing lines against trolls, but vitriol and talking-point sniping doesn't feel healthy to me, even when it's coming from people I (think I?) agree with.

This is always what we hope for when a couple of touring musicians join forces 💜 Overheard plenty of new excited Peter fans at the merch table. What a gift of a tour.

I'm now tempted to answer "musical teppanyaki" when people ask what my solo live show is like.

I just discovered the full triptych today and it’s well worth the listen! @viennateng.bsky.social has been a staple in my playlists since I was just out of my teens and her voice always reaches deep inside and shakes new feelings loose. ❤️‍🔥

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s OK not to know the answers. It’s OK not to have your perfect diagnosis of What Went Wrong in the election. It’s OK to consider possibilities that challenge all you believe in. It’s OK to be curious about what you can’t see. the.ink/p/get-back-up

Yes, stances are ethical. But if we want change, ethical stances must have power. That is political. One can be right and criticize others who aren’t, sure. And that is important. But then what? How do we flourish? We need to help the right thing win, and good people build. Electoral or not

Reminds me that I should read more about Nikhil Dandekar & the YouTube comments quality team. Tech that fosters good-faith engagement seems pretty important right about now.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, worried, crushed by the news and world rn, take 15 minutes to listen to singer-songwriter/activist Vienna Teng's new incredible musical triptych. Listen to each song one by one. You'll come away changed, I promise. We've Got You. open.spotify.com/album/3zhhAo...

Someone mentioned that the intergenerational dance party on stage made them choke up. As in, we need more spaces for this kind of thing. Wholeheartedly agree.

Always nice to get independent confirmation after walking off stage & thinking "well that felt pretty great"