If you love soup and masturbating this is your time to shine!

i'm starting to keep track of everything that is normally disallowed (paid sick leave, access to water, no arrests) but clearly feasible based on the coronavirus response, please add more here: https://t.co/7pTKBLITGO

currently working on a new site to accommodate livestream concert guides and info for how bands can livestream via twitch, youtube, etc. stand by!

1ST ANNUAL TALL BOY BRACKET: BIG BOY MELEE. They’re famous and over 6’3”? How good do they fight? https://t.co/RiBPBsthU7

Happy to announce the first new release of 2020 for yk Records; two brand new singles from The Medium! You can listen to "Fade Away" and "Sugar Shark" on your streaming platform of choice or snag a download over on their Bandcamp.

Here's a little insight from the band on the history of the songs:

Pls Enjoy the first two songs we wrote and played together as a band.

FADE AWAY has found its final form! This song has gone thru 2 bands and 4 different releases and we think we’ve recorded/birthed a version we finally enjoy listening too. Our studio skills have grown over 4 years and we wanted to make sure we got this song just right.

SUGAR SHARK was written in Sam’s basement with the cave crickets many years ago. This song marks the inception of our band and the beginning of us all writing together criss cross applesauce. Hopefully y’all will feel the excitement on this track as we felt playing it over and over when we first wrote it. Two different vibes but same era medium. They didn’t really fit on our last album, so We decided them befitting for each other as singles to be released later.

TWINS!

With tornados, coronavirus and a myriad of additional problems plaguing the world, let this be a small beacon of enjoyability to clear those dark clouds.

If you’re upset about regular folk hoarding toilet paper, wait till you hear about how a tiny percentage of rich people have hoarded most of the world’s wealth.

NOAA has made available aerial imagery from the Nashville area tornadoes. Some info on how to access the data for use with GIS, Python, etc at https://t.co/ERYDXdwMER https://t.co/qaVKf5pPrv

These Fleshy Suits from Daisy May Collingridge are absolutely delightful and this quote from the artist makes them enjoy more enjoyable:

"For me the suits are a joyful representation of the human form, but with fantasy elements. They are bodily, they celebrate flesh, form and movement."

They are, "a celebration of the human body, in all its forms."

Body positive and unbelievably captivating to stare at. More on the artists Instagram, @daisy_collingridge or over in this gallery.

Eleven years ago today, yk Records made its first release; Pancho Chumley by Uncle Skeleton. There's even a blog post - with comments! - about it. Since that time, the label has amassed some 70 releases and there's plenty more set for release in the near future.

To celebrate, here's a playlist of a lot of some highlights. Hopefully this can serve as a nice introduction to some of the artists. The label has always been a passion project for me and I'm still continuously flattered that these artists work with me on their creations.

There's generally a focus on monetary success with undertakings like this but I've really tried to consciously keep that on the backburner. I'm not interested in going broke putting out records that can't recoup their expenses but I'm happy to say that I legitimately like everything that has come out. Looking at the catalog as a whole is a bit of a chaotic smattering of styles. There's no distinctive aural identity for the label - for better or worse - but I think that's a good thing and I'm proud of it.

Thanks to everyone who has bought, streamed or seen any of these artists live over the last eleven years. It is much appreciated.

my affinity for Zelda is less than you'd think but I still loved this

Collecting #coronavirus stock art https://t.co/0401mfkSXe

is it just me or was that a particularly awful week

Tough week here in Nashville; hit by a tornado on Tuesday morning, coronavirus confirmed one county over and Trump is visiting the city to scope the damage. Oh, and Joe Biden won our Primary Election. If ever there was a time for the world's biggest Facepalm, this is it.

But we move ahead! Here's some fun distractions.

• Cut for Time: Love is Blind - if you haven't watched the last John Mulaney hosted SNL episode; treat yourself this weekend. Pretty much every sketch is enjoyable, even those cut for time.
• Hot Ones: Pete Davidson - if you've never seen someone massively suffer on Hot Ones, here ya go. If ya hate Pete Davidson, double bonus for you.
• R Stevie Moore with Dave Gregory - maybe not the most compelling video to watch but Dave Gregory was a primary member of XTC and this track even pays a little homage to that band with the same drum opening as "Making Plans for Nigel." It's a treat.
• Death Metal Rooster - Simple Internet Pleasures.
• Apollo 16: Upscaled and Resounded - this is a 4K, 60fps version of April 21, 1972 footage from the moon. I suggest you go fullscreen with this and let yourself be immersed in the whole thing.
• Won't You Take Me to the Krusty Krab - here's the thing. I've never seen an episode of Spongebob and, honestly, can not tell you if this clip is a funny Internet Edit or just a literal extract from the show.

In the latest episode of Thick as Thieves, host Sara Estes mentions the documentary Who Gets To Call It Art? and how she watched it obsessively when it was released. I'd never heard of it but it seems to be a rather intriguing look at the contemporary art scene in NY in the 1960s. Consider this a Note To Self, I need to watch this.

Mark over at YVYNYL recently posted a lengthy piece on his struggles maintaining the site. It's been about 3 months since his previous post and he laments that he just hasn't had the enthusiasm to keep posting. I can certainly understand his position.

Bits of his post, which I recommend reading in full, point to the somewhat passive nature of his platform of choice - Tumblr. He posits that the community isn't as engaging anymore as people just tend to scroll, like and repost. You could substitute just about any other social network there and have similar feelings. It's not a great motivator to think about your work just being part of an infinite scroll of something more interesting but there's also an argument to be made that it's better than not being on a network at all.

I don't know the answers to Mark's inquiries of how to find passionate music fans and blog readers. I think sites like Instagram and Twitter have their downsides but, by and large, they put your work in a place that it can actually be seen. I also think it's clear that the era of the Blog has well passed. Not that there aren't successful blogs, I just think they are supplemental now - not primary destinations.

I don't have a grandiose point here. Much like Mark, "I just need to write this" as a means of sorting through the thoughts. At the end of the day, I think there's a real struggle to find the balance between Doing The Work for the pure pleasure of doing it and allowing yourself to Let It Go, as you don't have to maintain every project forever.

Go give yvynyl a cruise through; maybe find some new music and give Mark a tip of the hat.

this is the best https://t.co/cCF6EbNmSe

You can still support a woman in this election. You can support a woman who is drowning in student loan debt. You can support a woman who can't afford childcare. You can support a woman whose life depends on access to insulin. You can't do any of this by voting for Joe Biden.

Everything 100% cool and normal here https://t.co/KBgGvvNxuc

I am releasing this episode because I know that in rougher times one thing I do need is entertainment and for some reason some of you find a history podcast entertaining. https://t.co/p1EGZdirYS

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that Nashville was hit by a pretty powerful tornado on Tues, March 2nd. My fiancee and I managed to avoid any damage and our home was unscathed from the experience. Some of my friends were not as lucky - one had a chunk of roof taken off by felled trees and one had their small business shutdown indefinitely from roof damage. Most importantly, everyone is safe and fine but it's always alarming when a natural disaster rolls through - the feeling of helplessness is strong.

I spent the majority of Tuesday at my friends house helping him clear his yard of the downed trees. Over the course of the day, many neighbors came by to help pick up debris and one even brought by a chainsaw and spent several hours chopping away; giving his time and effort at no request. Various strangers throughout the day drove by and gave us water and snacks; just to make sure we were hanging in there. These may be small offerings but they were certainly appreciated.

Having lived in Tennessee most of my life, I've experienced several events like this. We had a Christmas Tornado in 1988, a tornado that hit downtown in 1998, a massive flood in 2010 and plenty of other storms in between. For each one, the community managed to come together and help rebuild and restore. I'm sure that's not true for 100% of people - when your home is completely destroyed by a tornado, you never fully recover - but there's an underlying positivity to most of it.

If you feel compelled to contribute, there is a Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund and multiple fundraisers for those in need. These are just the tip of the iceberg and more resources can be sought out to find additional places to give.

For anyone reading this that had themselves, family or friends directly impacted by the tornado, my condolences to you and yours. If you need help, please reach out and I'll do what I can.