albums i listened to all the way through

posted this week and every week (19)

Jun 15, 2025

My father was a staunch Democrat with a capital D.

My first true political memory was when Bush won in 2004. My dad looked completely crushed at the breakfast table over our regular routine of Cheerios and MSNBC. I went to school that day mirroring his dread, trying very hard to be a big girl who knew the right thing to say to the adults. Later, my 1st grade teacher proudly announced to all of us that Bush won a second term as POTUS. All the kids in my class cheered.

I fell silent, forcing down the massive anxiety pocket in my esophagus.

My father has now been dead for some fifteen years. Part of me is glad for that so he never had to see the shit-storm that erupted over the last decade. He was also a Civics and Economics teacher. He taught 7th graders about all age-appropriate things US government and economic theory. He took me with him to vote in every primary and general election up until he passed, presumably to instill in me the value of democracy and civic engagement from an early age. (I’ve canvassed and voted in every election since, so that must have worked.)

I sit here now on this gloomy Father’s Day (a day I don’t particularly enjoy for obvious reasons) and stare blankly at the screens. What would he say about all the goings-on?

I have a pretty good idea.

When the world is constantly on fire, you learn very quickly when it’s appropriate to reference said fire. As a student of history, byproduct of the Internet, and lifelong victim of the 24 hour news cycle, I find it difficult to make sense of any of it except to say the following—we are in the midst of the perfect storm of crap.

That’s such a misnomer for what’s actually happening, but it seems to play well at the office and amongst friends too cynical or disconnected from reality to really discuss anything without devolving into rabid madness.

The Sabrina Carpenter album cover conversation reminds me of the moral panics surrounding Britney Spears and Madonna for their “overt shows of female sexuality.” How ridiculous. Meanwhile, the AIDS Epidemic and War on Drugs wore on and on. Abroad, genocides were waged against various ethnic minorities in Africa and Eastern Europe. In the early ‘aughts, our government was like “Let’s make millions off the Iraq War and torture people, all while we pretend we’re for human rights in the Middle East.”

All of this was happening and all we could talk about was another pop star “showing too much skin” and singing openly about her sexual desires.

Now? Democracy is literally hanging in the balance and all anyone seems to want to write about is whether another 26-year-old blonde woman with incredible stage presence is supposedly setting feminism back 50 years.

It all seems to be about as American as apple pie.

This past week was a whirlwind of news. The loss of music legends Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. Trump sending Marines and the National Guard into LA because of “riots.” An assassin with a presumed political agenda in Minnesota. Worldwide “No Kings” protests alongside an actual military parade/birthday party put on by the current administration. (I only watched a few minutes of it before I went to a show last night but holy hell. They somehow made military history even more boring than it already was. At best, it was like a bad History Channel special. At worst—well, a precursor of not-so-great, unconstitutional things to come.)

I’m not remotely qualified, informed, or attention-seeking enough to say much more on this topic. All I’ll say is I’m hyperaware of my own cognitive dissonance in the face of seriously disturbing, world-altering events and the overwhelmingly positive developments in my personal and professional life.

Speaking of, I’d like to end this bummer of a newsletter on a hopeful note.

I saw two shows this past week and felt remarkably comfortable at both of them for once in my anxious, introverted excuse for a life.

On Friday night, I saw Turnover play one of my favorite albums of all time, Peripheral Vision, for its 10th Year Anniversary release. I’m originally from Virginia and have known about them since 2016, at least, so this was very much a full circle moment. It was fantastic! I loved screaming the lyrics to every song alongside every late millennial/early Gen Z’er that side of the East River. It was a truly welcome sight to see a frontman say “Y’all” to a crowd of New Yorkers :)

Last night, I met up with Thomas Morra again to see Sister. play Union Pool. It was another one of those perfect shows where everything seemed to go right, thanks in part to the welcoming atmosphere of that beloved venue and all the incredible musicians and show-goers I met. It was an incredible performance by Sister, along with a serendipitous meet-up with the cool cats from Hiding Places, a great band you should check out if you haven’t already.

I love live shows because the second the music starts, I feel at ease. I feel connected to some thread of humanity that was formed thousands of year ago. In the midst of all the world’s chaos, I spend a few hours in the company of a community of artists and listeners—a symbiotic relationship for the ages.

I watched the SNL musical guest documentary and felt the same dedicated gasp of breath, particularly during the Rage Against the Machine and Sinéad O’Connor “controversy” segments. (Of course, both of them were right.) There is not a day that goes by that I don’t thank whoever or whatever is out there for the music.

Thank the stars and the Moon and the Sun and the universe and the morning dew for the music.

Thanks to ryan, Thomas Morra, and almost every other music Substacker for the album recommendations this week.

Here are the albums I listened to all the way through this past week: