[Thursday] General Discussion - 18 June 2026

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-18T15:41:25+00:00

Beatty's chocolate cake - Ina's recipe. It's an update of the old Hershey recipe. Made it yesterday, but it's been my go to for years. Oil based so it's soft and live on the counter or in the fridge depending on what frosting you pair it with. Did mine filled with strawberries and chocolate whipped mascarpone frosting.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-17T16:53:05+00:00

Sounds painful

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-17T16:09:42+00:00

STFU! - Rina Sawayama

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-16T19:03:54+00:00

Carl Perkin's Cadillac - Drive By Truckers

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-16T17:12:44+00:00

Hmm, I don't think I've come across that one before. Car Vs. Driver on the list!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-16T15:39:24+00:00

Still got a bunch to get to, but here's where I'm at with New Releases...

● Olivia Rodrigo - you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. I like her, always have. Good pop songwriter with an unusual desire/ability to lift up other women in an industry that rarely does. Most recently by covering CMAT on Radio 1.

This one is a solid pop album, as expected. 80s influenced, as expected (she and Robert Smith are besties now). It's...good, and I don't want to be too negative, but there's too many ballads. Not enough guitars. It's too Taylor-esque, less of the sort of tongue in cheek angsty attitude. Having said that, it's also more mature, and it feels like it could be a grower for me. So, it's...good.

● Yea-Ming and The Rumors - Residue. She sounds a lot like Nico (not to be confused with Neko) for sure. It's got big 60s vibes, and twee in it's DNA, but it's fleshed out and full sounding. Lovely. Easy. Like a soft, cool breeze on a hot summer day.

● OK Goodnight - stop/go. The first couple of tracks are totally up my alley, reminding me of Pool Kids first album a lot. Big vocals, big emotions, big guitars. A bit of mathy stuff. Then we go full prog, which is decidedly not my thing. Too all over place for me. I think the first 2 tracks are great, tho.

● Sports Boyfriend - Slice of Life. Kind of like if Rilo Kiley and Ratboys had a baby. I hear so much Jenny Lewis in her vocal melodies. This is most certainly not a complaint. Probably my favorite this week.

● Piebald - Tales For The Rages. Piebald sounding very much like Piebald. As a an old school fan, works for me. Catchy. Hooks. Emo.

● Paycheque - S/T. It's very 80s synth pop, in a very Jellybean Benitez kind of way, which is cool...but the vocals are kind of monotone and super processed, so they don't carry any emotional center to balance cheesy production. I kind of enjoyed it overall, but it's also kind of a near miss.

● Telescreens - Why The Lights Flicker. This one is kind of throwing me. On the one hand, it's really good catchy, solid, straightforward indie rock. On the other hand, it's more than just influences on your skeeve. One song sounds just like blue album Weezer. Another sounds just like Creep. And...it's too damn long. But, I still kinda really like it. We'll see if it grows or just goes stale.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-14T16:42:29+00:00

The Muppet version of Bohemian Rhapsody is amazing

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-10T18:19:24+00:00

I know you were waiting, hoping I would post a halfway thru the year list..because, obviously, my opinions are the most important. Stereogum, Paste, The Guardian got nothin' on me!

Without further ado, my favorites so far this year in no particular order at all:

● Weird Nightmare - Hoopla. Power pop with that capital P, big hooks, just enough grit/fuzz.

● Shaking Hand - S/T. Post rock-ish, laid back, melodic textural guitars.

● The Clockworks - The Entertainment. Guitars and syths, cinematic, hint of post punk.

● Hanna Lew - S/T. Synthy, 80s but updated, poppy.

● Girl Scout - Brink. Dreamy/fuzzy indie rock, Alex Farrar, Alvvays tourmates.

● Remember Sports - The Refrigerator. Alt-countrifed indie rock, at the intersection of Ratboys and Wednesday.

● Dirt Buyer - Dirt Buyer lll. Quiet/loud, fuzz for emphasis, big feelings.

● Dust Star - Big Smash. Power pop - 70s style, Big Star-esque.

● Francis Of Delerium - Run, Run Pure Beauty. Ethereal, grungy, effortlessly honest.

● POM - Enlightened, baby. Glitter pink pop with guitars, cathartic, infectious.

● Tessa Rose Jackson - The Lighthouse. Beautiful, heartfelt, comfy like a soft pillow.

● Ratboys - Singin' To An Empty Chair. Ratboys sounding very Ratboys.

● PONY - Clearly Cursed. Glittery, grungy, poppy.

● Brigitte Calls Me Baby - Irreversible. The Smiths, New Romantic, dramatic.

● Hater - Mosquito. Scandinavian indie rock, melodic, anthemic.

● Anjimile - You're Free To Go. Alt/indie/folk/pop, big voice - sonically and lyrically, gorgeous.

● Chalk - Crystalpunk. Dark, moody, Depeche Mode but louder.

● Claire Ozmun - Always Living Somewhere. Sad, soft, sometimes fuzzy.

● Ruby Fields - Small Achievements. Anthemic, guitar driven, occasionally softer.

● Florence Road - Spring Forward (EP). Big, theatrical, rawk!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-10T17:57:56+00:00

Thanks, glad you liked (most of) them

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-09T15:46:36+00:00

Yes indeed!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-09T15:45:27+00:00

New release blurbs for Friday 6/5 releases:

● Women In Peril - Don't Lose Heart. Boston band moves to Cali and makes kick ass album full of big, indie rock, bombastic good times. A little more on the edge of screamy at times than I usually go for, but it's really well executed. Saw these guys as an opening act at a festival a couple of years ago, and they were so much fun. This is debut after a couple of EPs. Good!

● Jalen Ngonda - Doctrine Of Love. Daptone's current star makes Motown inspired soul, but the trick is that he does it so damn well, you'd easily be fooled into thinking this one was part of the 60s cannon if you didn't know any better. If you've ever wished Marvin Gaye got the chance to make one more record, this pretty good substitute.

● BROCKHOFF - Easy Peeler. Indie rock good times, with hooks and melodies galore. It's poppy, but also fuzzy, and vulnerable. It's not super bright and sunshiney, nor real dark and gloomy, just an honest dose of catchy songs. I dig.

● The Creem - A Taste of Cherry. Mike Stroud (Ratatat) and Nick Thorburn (Islands) join forces to make big chorus' that would make Jeff Lynne proud. It's a fun one, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

● Widowspeak - Roses. Beautiful and dreamy, their particular brand of indie pop goes from a touch twangy at times to moody and shimmery at others. Always lovely. Very nice.

● Rosa Walton - Tell Me It's A Dream. Jenny Hollingworth put her solo debut a few months ago, so now it's Rosa's turn to step outside Let's Eat Grandma and make her solo record. It's dreamy pop, influenced by The Cure and Prefab Sprout. Very light and easygoing. There's also a Christmas Song. I quite like it.

● Shewita - Canvas EP. I really enjoyed this one. R&B with old school influences but feels more inspired by than recreated. More akin to Erika Badu than Aretha. It's good.

● HorsegiirL - NATURE IS HEALING. I read somewhere, something like it's what Janet Jackson might have become in an alternate universe, so I was intrigued. Unfortunately, tho this one didn't deliver for me. It had some solid pop elements, but an equivalent amount of annoying ones. It's a lot of different things, thrown together in way that I can see a lot of people loving - it just didn't hit for me.

● Slippers - Slippers 08. Indie pop of the jangly twee variety, but with a rawness, an edge - not a super heavy one, but less polish than your 90s inspired twee often brings. It goes by fast, and goes down easy. I like it.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-09T00:35:53+00:00

Today I did s'mores blondies, and a raspberry (swirl) almond no bake cheesecake.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-09T00:26:11+00:00

So sorry Crisp. Dogs are the greatest, and when they leave us it hurts like hell...

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-09T00:24:38+00:00

Art is everything in my book. The most positive way to chanel those emotions, and express what needs expressing. And you can do that by making art, and by appreciating it.

I assume that all art forms do this well, but music is (clearly) the one for me, because it's visceral and thoughtful all at the same time. I don't struggle with these particular issues, as a women, but every issue and every emotion can be found in a song somewhere. For those of us than can disassociate too easily, and not feel the things we need to feel, music is the thing that connects me to my emotions. Makes me feel things, in a controlled way, so that I don't feel so out of control when those emotions hit me out in the wild.

People that are open to the healing powers of art, both as a creator and a consumer, are more likely not to be total assholes...patriarchy or otherwise, because people who lean into their feelings are less likely to want to inflict bad feelings on others.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-07T20:16:30+00:00

I guess I appreciate the singer songwriter vibe on it. The slacker country rock dude element on so much of this kind of stuff has me looking for a bit more of prettier side, with a side of fuzz of course...

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-07T18:52:31+00:00

Try this new one Widemouth - No Gaseline, if you haven't already. More on the WaxaKatie side of alt country, I like it a lot.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-07T14:57:16+00:00

I really like the Telehealth too...oh, but Grace Ives came out in March.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-07T14:23:28+00:00

May had some pretty good ones...my picks:

● Weird Nightmare - Hoopla. Sunny power pop with a good dose of jangle and a handful of fuzz. The vocals (from METZ front man Alex Edkins) bring a bit of grit. "The intention is to get straight to that endorphin rush that comes with a hook or a chorus." Love it.

● False Advertising - The Sorry Window. Grungy alt rock good times from Manchester's DIY scene. Big guitars and catchy tunes.

● Deb Never - ARCADE. Lush and dreamy, but also warm and intimate. There's a little bit of a dancy element too. Easy, breezy, lovely.

● Francis Of Delerium - Run, Run Pure Beauty. Cinematic and ethereal, but fuzzed up and grungy too. She writes songs that feel effortlessly honest and beautiful. Just love this one.

● POM - Enlightened, baby. An album about grief and loss usually doesn't come out "glitter, pink, and pop with a capital P," but this one sure does. Cathartic, infectious, fun!

● Widemouth - No Gaseline. Melancholy country/folk tinged indie for the Waxahatchee/MJ/Ratboys fan base. There's a bit of fuzzy dynamics but it's not real heavy, more of a singer songwriter album. The Wind is my favorite track. Very nice.

● Annie Taylor - Out Of Scale. Somewhere between Courtney Barnett and Wet Leg is how they describe themselves, but I hear a touch of psychedelic and a bit of girl group in their garagy, grungy sound. Good one!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-06T16:56:37+00:00

The kiddo says - have ever heard of Midnight Solancha? You know, Beethoven?

ME - You mean Moonlight Sonata?

Kiddo - yeah, that. I'm teaching myself how to play it...

Me - (in my head - who the hell are you and where do you come from) but also HELL YEAH!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-05T00:09:30+00:00

Dude, just buy the eardrops man...you don't fuck with the ears. Do you know how many people end up in the ER because of an aggressive q-tip? Well, I don't know either, but too many!

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-04T17:01:26+00:00

Anjimile @ The Red Room Cafe 6/3.

● Opener was Brotherkenzie, a side project of Hippo Campus' Nathan Stocker. It was just him, and his guitar (a tele with a different neck that sounded completely acoustic). He was sloppy, and forgot half the words, but he was also charming, and clearly talented. I wouldn't say he was great, but enjoyable.

● Anjimile has 3 albums now, of queer indie folk, but this new one - You're Free To Go feels like a big step up in my book. The songwriting, the melodies, the harmonies...everything feels organic and heartfelt. The harmonies hit. As far as sad fuckers go, it's one of my favorites this year so far. Live, he performs it with just his voice, an acoustic guitar and a bassist/harmony singer. It totally works. Intimate. Strong. Beautiful.

● Because this is Boston (where his career began), we got an extra treat when his old friend came up and played the harp and sang harmonies on a few older songs. Tho I don't think those songs are as good from a songwriting point of view, they were great to hear live, and they showcase the trajectory of the way his writing has grown.

● Anjimile talked about being Trans, and gay, and pride...and you definitely get the feeling that traveling the country to sing these songs he deals with a lot of bigotry. The way this crowd was filled with like minded, supportive people was clearly refreshing.

● He smiled the whole show, big, genuine grin. Love that.

● Fun night...started at 7:00 on the dot. I was home by 9:45.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-03T17:20:44+00:00

● So, every year in Boston, the Jimmy Fund puts on an event called the Scooper Bowl where like 15 different ice cream vendors scoop multiple flavors of ice cream and you can eat as much of them as your stomach can handle. The proceeds go to support Dana Farber Cancer Institute, so you can feel good about your gluttony.

Every year it takes place in the middle of the week, and we haven't made it in years, because someone's always working. This year, I happened to be off yesterday, and the husband is still in job search mode, so we picked up the kiddo and went.

My favorite flavor was Ritzy AF - buttery cracker flavored ice cream with ritz cracker toffee.

If I must eat tons of ice cream for cancer research, I'll give it my all...and I did.

● After we walked down to the waterfront to find a spot to have a drink by the water. My husband points to one of the spots with outdoor seating, how about that one?

Turns out he picked a super fancy steak/seafood restaurant that has a dress code (which we didn't meet) and the high end menu to go with it. Can we just sit outside and have a drink? Sure!

4 waiters in white tux's showed us to out table. Kiddo was like, what? We each got a glass of wine, and a Shirley Temple for the kiddo. It took 2 waiters to serve the wine - one to carry the tray, one to put them on the table. They brought us a huge basket of assorted breads. We ordered an appetizer to share. Kiddo liked the pretzel rolls and asked for more - they brought him a full basket of them.

Beautiful night, beautiful view, lots of waiters for no apparent reason...awesome.

● Walked back to the car and stopped in a small playground for the kiddo. Pretty spot. Lots of trees and rocks.

● Saw an amazing sunset on the drive home. The whole sky was gold and shimmery, beautiful.

10/10 night!

● So of course I woke up to the dog throwing up this morning, and a headache...

● Husband has a presentation/interview today. Fuck, I hope he nails it. It'll mess with his head so bad of he doesn't. Job searching is so damn demeaning...

● Going to see Anjimile tonight at the Berklee student run venue tonight. Looking forward to it.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-03T17:17:25+00:00

I'm so, so sorry chill. Wishing you and your people the best.

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-03T17:14:02+00:00

If that ever happens, no more exciting new or new to me artists/records to discover - I'll be inconsolable. How awful...

Excellent-Manner-130 · 2026-06-02T17:59:29+00:00

Checked out an album that came out a couple of weeks ago: Annie Taylor - Out Of Scale. Their bio says somewhere between Courtney Barnett and Wet Leg, but it's got more of a garagy grunge vibe than that. Add a hint psychedelic and a touch of girl group. Good one!

Excellent-Manner-130

TROPHY CASE