Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1489
Walmart run, butter drama, gripes about reporting on trade deals, a lot of Annes and Annies. Peter Murphy's new album and a weird temptation to buy the Garth Brooks box set.
Good morning hello hi how are you? I am okay. It is friday. Actually I was in a really good mood until I just read one of my daily email newsletters I receive. It was about the “trade deal” with England. Just so fucking bad. Like… first off… Trump can’t make trade deals? The constitution literally gives that power to congress, and none of the BS “emergencies” he’s using to put tariffs on the world talk about trade deals. But the news just reports it like he did a trade deal. And talks about how the market loves a trade deal. And, like, yeah, okay, look. We’re in a world where no one seems to be challenging him on using a BS emergency powers law to enact tariff, and this “deal” with England seems to only really address those BS emergency tariffs? So maybe he can undo his own BS tariffs using the same law? But a) explain that to your fucking readers! And b) you say in this article that “trade deals usually take years.” That’s because they’re fucking trade deals and this is not! I don’t understand why you don’t report or explain this shit. It is maddening. And, like, look. I don’t want to be one of those “the media sucks” people. The media is a spectrum, a giant mosaic, etc. etc. Most of what I just told you I learned from the media. But Jesus H, man. Stop complying in advance. If all of the finance world is content to ignore the legality of all this shit, then maybe say that.
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Yesterday my edition did not send, I don’t know what’s up with that. Sort of thing you can expect when you go with the indie newsletter emailer, I guess. BUT, were you in the GMHHAY slack, you woulda gotten a link for it anyway. I paste the link into the Slack every morning, along with the playlist link, right as I send this. You, two, could be amongst the first to read the day’s edition. Sign up now, operators are standing by.
We are listening to the new Peter Murphy this morning. I am not overly enamored so far, three songs in. I was actually really excited about it for the last couple days. Peter seems to be going through a lot of personal problems these last few years, but you know what? The last few albums have been pretty good! But this one. ALso, I don’t know, man. You are sixty-seven years old. Which is fine! I am in full support of 67-year-olds rocking out. But, you know, maybe not an AI/Airbrused image of you on the cover that makes you look 20. Own it. Pull a Cash or a Prine, man. Own your authority.
Okay actually this track three isn’t too bad.
Just back from Walmart this damn, dismal, rainy-ish morning (oh, wait okay I see what’s happening here to my mood). No smokehouse almonds that’s okay they have too much sodium anyway just eat the reduced slat like a grown-up. Still no Chomps. What else is there to say about that. I am having an organic butter drama, spanning months, maybe years. Walmart carries organic butter, but historically it has been a dollar a pound more expensive than the generic Harris Teeter organic butter. I was kinda willing to overlook it, but I tried to get the HT brand whenever I could.
But then a few weeks ago, Walmart’s organic butter brand went for it and a) reduced their one-pound butter into half-pound, two-stick boxes, and b) increased the price by effectively $2/pound.
So I was fucking over this, man, I don’t need to pay ten dollars a pound for butter. At Walmart. Fuckin fuck fuck.
So this week I go to Harris Teeter, which I gotta go to anyway, and they don’t sell an unsalted version anymore of their organic butter. Just salted. WTF man who wants salted butter add your own salt like a man.
I know, I know, you buy salted butter. It is fine. I still love you.
So now I am fucked.
I mean, I could give up on organic, sure, and yes, organic has problems, but whatever it is still better and the only way it expands is if we support it, etc. etc. oh god I sound so hopelessly naive and idealistic sticking up for “organic” in 2025.
Walmart radio was rockin this morning. They played that “Is it any wonder” song by Keane and I remembered that I briefly liked Keane for a few weeks in, like, 2007 or so. I even purchased that Under the Iron Sea album on Compact Disc.
To be clear I do not hate Keane now I just stopped thinking about them at all.
They also played that Black Eyed Peas I gotta feelin’ song and I hate to admit it but that thing is a hot jam.
Unfortunately it was cut off by reduced stimulus hour, right in the middle. But maybe that is okay cuz the beginning is the best part.
Oh and they played that new cover of “Fast Car” and you know, when that is playing on Muzak it kinda just feels like “Fast Car” and it took me right back to high school and how much my girlfriend Anne and I loved that song (Hi Anne do you still read this miss you maybe I’ll see you this summer) and also I had this epiphany that when I was a kid and would hear that whole verse about my dad having a problem living with the bottle and all that none of that seemed tragic or wrong or sad it just seemed like every day life because that’s how Alaska was. Never thought about that before, even though I listen to that song all the time. That is kinda sad.
There is a new Garth Brooks box set and Walmart has four copies of it on vinyl which tells you what Walmart thinks about our North Chatham Walmart, literally inches away from Carrboro, the most liberal town in North Carolina, voting 83% for Hillary Clinton. They need to stop thinking of our Walmart as a rural one. Grr.
That being said even though I do not know a single Garth Brooks song I was oddly tempted to buy the box set. It looked really nice. I am a sucker for box sets. I buy them, listen to all the albums once and then never touch them again. It is a serious problem.
I was thinking about the birthday playlist I made for you on my birthday and thought it would be fun and go back and look at the different playlists I have posted to GMHHAY each birthday and lo and behold: seems like I have not actually posted a GMHHAY on my birthday in four years. I guess usually I take my birthday off. It is weird I did not this year. I wanted to ignore my birthday and by and large I did a great job but… now I am kinda sad about that. I shoulda listened to Dale Cooper and given myself a little present once a day. I mean, I did. I went to Cookout it was great. But something else. It is hard, man, giving yourself little presents once a day. Unless you like Cherry Pie as much as agent cooper does.
Anyway, the last birthday playlist was four years ago, and it was an oldies playlist. Here it is for your enjoyment, let’s all go back to when Rick was a baby at forty-nine years old my god I have been writing these things for so long.
Oh the Lowe’s driver is on his way. Exciting. I have a whole mystery going as to whether or not they will be including m6 six panels of ¼” pink rigid foam in this order or if I gotta go buy it on my own. Studio work this weekend. I am excited to work on the floor.
Guess I better head over there don’t want this stuff to get rained on. My god I hate 12-hour delivery windows.
You know what? I’m not even gonna bold things for you skimmers today. Take that.
Post-Rock playlist today. TBH I don’t even remember most of these bands, didn’t know the before last month. Except Kinsky, Grails and Caustic Resin. But they are all pretty good. Cagefly, especially. Don’t know anything about them, but a solid self-titled (I assume) debut album. I wonder if my post-rock expert ex-bandmade Annie knows of them. I miss Annie.
Wow, two Anne’s called out today. A pattern. Shout out to Annie Duffy, too, then, RIP. You were an amazing one. Miss you always.
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Thanks for reading.
And hey! Maybe buy one of my books!
Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.