Disptaches from Quarantine: Roll for Initiative

Long-time readers might recognize that I am, for better or worse, a social monkey. Something of an extrovert, you might say. Even when things have been their most dire, I’ve managed to find ways to go out and be around people. But with CORVID-19 lurking beneath the lilypads like an angry, territorial hippo, that’s not […]

Old Hipster Recommends: Chicano Soul

Hey, if you checked out Monday’s Timeline Cleanse, you might have seen this one coming. I blame YouTube. But I’d like to preface this meta-recommendation with the note of, “GodDAMN I’m happy that there are still bands out there making early vintage-sounding soul music.” I know y’all love it too. Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley, St. […]

Old Hipster Recommends: The Ratchets

This old hipster loves punk music, though saying so is almost as ambiguous a statement as “I love music.” As musical genres go, there is a pretty broad range of sound, from the sub-musical thrash of the first Replacements album “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash” (1981) to the almost folky alt-rock of […]

Old Hipster Recommends Vashti Bunyan

Have you ever had that experience where an old song suddenly floats to the top of the common consciousness and no one will shut up about it? For bonus points, it’s almost always from an artist who you’ve kind of heard of but never listened to, and suddenly you’re out there, playing catch-up. Whether it’s […]

Fringe Candy: In Defense of Salt Water Taffy

It’s been a long while since I’ve done a Fringe Candy post. What I can I say? Nothing like a diabetes diagnosis to make me scale back my enjoyment of sugary goodness. While I still enjoy a bit of the sweet shit from time to time, I won’t lie… some of the joy is gone. […]

Old Hipster Recommends: Fenomeno Fuzz

Listen. I don’t know much about surf rock. I grew up on the edge of the fucking desert, arguably a decade or so after the height of surf rock. I know some of the classics. The Ventures, Dick Dale, etc. But I don’t think of it very often. And typically when I do, it’s when […]

Old Hipster Recommends Kassi Valazza

Yeah, it’s one of your favorite old hipsters talking music again. Or “Spreading New Shit for Old Ears,” as I like to think of it. Maybe I’m missing some idealized version of the American West that I never really fully appreciated when I was growing up, but I’ve really taken a hankering to country music […]

Old Hipster Recommends: The Delines

I sometimes take it for granted that, when listening to music, not everyone is looking for something new. I’m almost constantly on the hunt for something unexpected. While I can often sink into the comfort of old favorite bands and albums (and you honestly could not comprehend just how many times I’ve listened to Diamond […]

Year of Creators Interview: Dawn Vogel

Welcome to the inaugural Year of Creators interview! We’re kicking things off with the multi-talented and multi-dimensional Dawn Vogel. It’s not enough that she’s one of the editorial geniuses behind Mad Scientist Journal as well as a frequent vocalist in pop-up cover bands around Seattle. She’s also a sought-after crochet crafter and author. Her most […]

Coming in 2018: A Bit of Joy & Hope

Earlier this week, I realized that I knew an inexcusable number of smart, weird, inventive, & creative people. People who create all kinds of art because they love creating art. Like me, most of them are grinding it out in the gaps between day jobbery. I felt with as much horror as is going on […]