Hi Friends!

After probably like 13 years, I’ve decided to change my dentist. Starting in 2026, I’m going to be a patient at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry Clinic.

When I was a kid in Waterloo, we went to the Waterloo Eye Institute, which is the eye clinic run by the optometry school at the university. Very similar to the dentistry clinic (but for eye instead of mouth), students come in and do the tests, the doctor verifies, etc., etc., and everyone leaves having done more because learning happened.

Obviously I’m psychotic, because immediately I was excited to be useful at my dentist appointment because I’ll be helping someone become a dentist. I also think I’m a very good patient — I know I won’t freak out if someone makes a mistake or if my appointment takes a long time. Lastly, and this surprised me the most, I was thinking to myself, “And why shouldn’t I be chill about it? I don’t care what happens to my teeth. They’re not even mine!”

Now, legally, this is an interesting question. I know that in Canada, we have specific laws and definitions about “property” and how those can or cannot get applied to our bodies. For example, I can’t sell my blood, and I also can’t donate blood but then ask for it back because it’s “mine”. It’s a different thing.

“Are they not mine?,“ I was wondering, “No. I guess not. These are just the teeth God gave me.”

Whoa! What is happening? Very surprising to hear what shakes out of my brain sometimes.

To be clear, I do not think that GOD gave me these teeth, or that they are his teeth that I am borrowing. But I do think that these are just teeth. And they are just the teeth that are in my mouth (“my” mouth). And they probably won't even be in there forever! Even though I brush 2x a day, floss every night, and use a waterpik, they will still decay and fall out. My teeth are the same as your teeth are the same as my dog’s teeth, and on and on. And they aren’t even fully teeth anymore! With fillings and a permanent retainer, my teeth are getting closer to Lis’ milk glass mugs every day.

These teeth are of the universe, and I feel clearly that I should be sharing them with the dentistry school for the good of human society. My only regret is that I didn’t do this sooner (because of complacency).

(As an aside, when I was like 16 or 17 I went to the Waterloo Eye Institute and got seen by a student named Darryl Burger who told me about how cool SXSW was. Strange to still remember that 20 years later, and yet I am forgetting so much else.)

Anyways, here’s the link to the latest mix:

ANNOTATIONS

Puppets - Puppets Shared on Automaticamore’s YouTube channel.

The Joubert Sisters - Stand on the Word I don’t know where I heard this one. Sorry.

The Cure - Jumping Someone Else’s Train Close personal friends, but this track was also on a recent episode of CBB FM.

Constantines - Why I Didn’t Like August ’93 Close personal friends.

Majestic Arrows - If I Had a Little Love (Rehearsal) This is on a recent Numero reissue.

The Sweet Inspirations - Why Marry? Someone shared this on IG.

Cate Le Bon - Are You With Me Now? I guess Close personal friend?

John Cale & Bob Neuwirth- Angel of Death This was on a YouTube playlist someone shared.

Cocteau Twins - Oil of Angels This is from the same playlist. I stole them both!

Strawberry Switchblade - Trees and Flowers I don’t know. It feels like an NTS song, but I have no proof of this.

Astrid Sonne - Say You Love Me This was on a bunch of last year’s Best Of lists.

Washer - Your Guess is as Bad As Mine Hey, like the title of the song implies, I have no idea. But that’s gotta be a Coldplay riff, right?

Skúli Sverrisson & Óskar Guojónsson - For Seconds at a Time Jesus christ, I really wasn’t keeping track of where these were coming from. Sorry.

Amps for Christ - Edward Honestly, I feel like I wasn’t even trying to save the info.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra - Goodbye Desolate Railyard Close personal friends.

While space allows, I’m stashing my recent mixes and annotations in a Google Drive folder, which you can visit here: The Archive

DRAISER 2025

As always, here's the link to this year's fundraiser. The goal is a modest $2025, but I will increase it if we go over. It would mean a lot to me if you considered donating: tinyurl.com/Draiser2025.

Even if you’ve already donated, please consider sharing it with your friends and family.