Good morning good morning. What it is. It is cold. Oh god I can’t concentrate this music is too wordy. Hold please.

Okay that is better.

Righty-o. Yes. Hello. I hope you are doing okay. President Donald Trump’s batshit, evil comments about Rob Reiner make you especially sad yesterday, even in this era where cruelty is en vogue and they revel in it? They made me especially sad. Not surprised, really, just. Sad. That guy. Really seems like he’s given up. Given up even trying to be human.

Jane and I listened to some Japan on the way to school this morning. “Ghosts.” She was unimpressed. Then we listened to “Man-Sized Sextet” by PJ Harvey — the string version of “Man-Sized.” I realized that when To Bring you My Love came out, I was disappointed, because I wanted it to be harder, I wanted Polly to go even harder than the incredibly raw Rid of Me. I wanted holy terror and anger from her forever. And I realized, this morning, that that was very different from most bands, which, back then, I generally wanted bands to chill out, play slower, more quietly.

But not Polly. I wanted her angry forever because it was so righteous and terrifying.

But Polly is so much more than that.

Speaking of bands playing slower, more quietly, Alan Sparhawk of Low played a set last weekend where his daughter Hollis sang Mimi’s parts on “Just Like Christmas.” There is video of it out there on the web. She sounds so much like Mimi, just like she did on “Not Broken,” from the Alan Sparhawk/Trampled By Turtles album. I suppose this means that conceivably, in the future, a version of Low could tour that is Alan with his kids and, umm… yeah shit I would watch the hell out of that. Low is in my blood. I don’t want them to be gone forever. I for one endorse a Hollis/Alan version of low, mayhaps even with Cyrus on bass. I do not think this is too cheesy nope no siree.

Join the GMHHAY slack! Reply to this email and ask for an invite if you’re a human who likes chatting with other humans about topics such as these within!

We are listening right now to the recent Jiulianna Barwick/Mary Lattimore single, “Melted Moon,” but only because it is sitting at the top of my “To Investigate” playlist. We have sixteen hours left in this playlist we are gonna clear it out this week.

Anyway, I was working through the playlist, and I was on a pretty fascinating album. It’s a ambient, symphonic rumination on the Great Lakes by a group called The Rehostatics, about whom I know nothing. I think the Algorithm served it up to me because it has Laurie Anderson on one track. And well done, because I really like the album. Except it was a spoken-word song about a kid almost drowning after going past the drop-off on Lake Michigan, and even though I’ve heard it a bunch now I was getting too wrapped up in it to write.

Huh I have just Googled Kagi’d them and apparently they are a legendary Canadian band formed in the late 70’s. Wikipedia says they were “simultaneously one of Canada's most influential and unconventional rock bands, a band whose eclectic take on pop and rock music has been described both as iconic and iconoclastic.”

Learn something new every day.

Finished Tron: Ares last night (took my like four evenings across a month to get through it) and my god it was so bad. Worldwide $150million gross so, like, not a flop but probably didn’t make its money back. Looked pretty good, though not as good as the last Tron film. Nine Inch Nails’ soundtrack was better than Daft Punk’s, if you ask me, but, then, some people find their soundtrack “derivative,” but, then, they are making music to fit into a pre-existing universe? It’s a tough one. Is Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack for Rogue One “derivative” of John Williams? I mean, yes? That’s the point.

But all this is kinda moot cuz the film sucked. I have written here previously my proposed story for a Tron: Legacy sequel, so, you know, biased. Biased in, like, wanting a story to continue and not completely reset. But honestly. Riddle me this: are kids into Tron? No, right? The only people into Tron are people in their 50’s who saw the first film at the exact right moment.

So why the hell are they making Tron movies for kids? Just fucking a make film for the only people who ever actually cared about Tron?

Also maybe have Tron in it.

Also! I am sorry to spoil this part for you but there is one of those tedious Disney stings at the end where they tease yet another film where they will maybe pick up with the characters from Tron: Legacy. Like… hello! This is a sequel maybe make this movie the movie that is about the characters from the last chapter? What the heck is this Game of Thrones or something? Just tell a story about some people!

Very sad.

Yesterday evening Emma, Jane and I drove down to the weird road where the county keeps all their offices. I am kinda into it in theory. The county bought a bunch of land halfway between the two main towns in the county — Pittsboro and Siler City, about sixteen miles apart. They didn’t want to play favorites, I guess. Also the land was probably cheap. And on that land they have put the prison, the dump, and most of their county services buildings. Including, most relevant for our purposes here, the School District’s administrative offices.

We went to see Jane commended by the Chatham County School Board for her placement in the state art competition. And it was all so cute oh my god. There were about seven kids honored, and of course Jane was the one to ham it up and talk while she was up there. She got to shake all the school board members hands, got a photo with the superintendent. One of the school board members’ name is Jane, so Jane was very excited about that.

There was a step and repeat and photos of all the kids and photos of Jane and the other winner from her school. They made a special plaque (sort of, on stiff poster board, not, like, wood or anything) with a picture of her art, the award, and a giant gold star. My god, Jane loved that gold star.

Two of the other kids had furry animalistic headwear. One other kid, in addition to Jane, wore a Hello Kitty shirt. Most of the kids looked sullen. It was very multicultural and there were only two (I think) white students out of ten or so. Mostly girls, maybe 60-40.

The IT infrastructure of the school board meeting room was old but expensive. Large, limited range access points, comically huge PTZ cameras. Nice place but definitely not new.

A representative from Jane’s school came by as well and took pictures for the school, sent ‘em to us this morning. This is very convenient because this woman is the first in line of the people helping the kids out of their cars in the morning and every morning I drive by her and awkwardly wave because I feel like I should, but of course she has no idea who I am and probably doesn’t feel like waving to, like, 200 cars all day.

But now she knows who I am so she will have to wave mwahahaha.

Justa mix today. Mostly new but some older gems on here. Plushgun’s been on the mind lately. They are working on new music, Dan’s been sending me some Demos it is all very exciting. And I threw on the Japan and PJ Harvey tracks from today’s missive because that is nice when we have that sort of continuity here it doesn’t always happen you know. New Wedding Present, that guy is still at it, he really is a machine I don’t think he’s taken much of a break in 40+ years. There’s new Church, it is more psych and I like it. They’re upcoming tour is the singles, which will be great, but honestly I wouldn’t say no to tacking on a short psych set.

Have a lovely Tuesday don’t forget to eat some tacos today that is pretty much the closest thing to a religion this household has.