New site, same old blog
Things may look a little different, but sadly I will sound the same
Hopefully you're all receiving this in your inboxes like nothing has happened. Fingers crossed. If you're not deep in Internet business, you may have missed the business over at s*bstack wherein the leadership there responded to the community's letter regarding their platforming and promotion of Nazis with, at best, marked indifference. Not a great look, not a site I want to continue to associate myself with. So after poking around for alternatives that would suit my style, I opted for buttondown. The co-sign by Amanda was definitely a factor, as I trust her in such matters, but also it seemed in line with what I'm doing here: I'm not here to make money, or grow my brand, or anything like that. I just want a place to post stuff in my brain. And so here we are, newsletter, mark two.
Business as unusual
So what's good? I started my paternity this month, and with my wife now back at work in the office a couple of days a week, I'm in real dad mode now. Currently he mostly naps during this time, though we get a little play and such. It has afforded me the opportunity to finally watch Showtime's recent production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, directed by the late William Friedkin and starring the late Lance Reddick. Great work by both. But I digress.
Being on paternity is a strange experience. First, I realize I'm extremely fortunate to get paid paternity leave at all, let alone a very generous 3 months to use. That rules. Shoutout to my employer for that. That is unfortunately strange, but that's not what I mean. Like many, I have been employed almost constantly since I was of working age. Once I got my first post-college job, that was it: 40 or more hours a week.
Now I find myself not working, or at least, not working for someone else. And the idea of going back to gainful employment feels crazy. Sad. Frustrating. And I like my job and the people I work with! I tend to come back from any vacation or even long weekend with a feeling of "fuck a job/capitalism," and this has really ramped that up. So that's fun to look forward to!
What even is music?
Paternity leave has really impacted how much I stay up on the Culture and the Discourse. I can't scroll through Stereogum or BrooklynVegan between meetings! Babies don't schedule meetings! Rude! Anyway, there's still some things that have managed to reach me. Gouge Away and NØ MAN have announced new albums and released some new songs. Hell yeah.
I'm gonna focus on NØ MAN here, because they rule. Members of Richmond's Majority Rule, with Maha Shami bringing powerhouse vocals. I loved their 2020 LP Erase, and I can't wait for this full-length.
Hopefully this embed works. Still learning this site, but if not, check out the track here.
Thanks again for hanging in here with me! See you next time.