What I listened to in March
Hey y’all and welcome to a special shelter-in-place and Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) edition of “What I listened to in….”
There’s a good bit of exciting music for y’all! So if you’re starting to find yourself carving out a shelter-in-place musical rut like I am, maybe this can help you get out of that rut a little bit, at least for a little while!
Before we get started I would just like to shout out some of my favorite transgender activists for TDOV. Let’s start with Dean Spade, who is a lawyer, activist, and writer out of Seattle. Dean founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project in 2002. Dean’s book Normal Life is an important read for any activist who continues to interact and move through pre-existing socio-legal structures. Next I would like to mention Jennicet Gutierrez, who is a community organizer and advocate for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. Jennicet, along with Familia: TQLM, organizes toward ending deportation, incarceration, and the criminalization of both immigrants as well as all people of color. Next, I would like to shout out Elle Hearns, the Executive Director of the The Marsha P. Johnson Institute. The first part of the mission statement of The Marsha P. Johnson Institute reads: “The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. We do this by organizing, advocating, creating an intentional community to heal, developing transformative leadership, and promoting our collective power.”
Make sure to get at these folks and their orgs! Now, on to the music!
- “Gaslighter” — Dixie Chicks
We have to start where this month started (an eon ago) with “Gaslighter” by Dixie Chicks! This title track off the upcoming album (due out May 1!!), is a powerful opening salvo very much in line with the Dixie Chick’s brand of making kick-ass-tell-it-like-it-is music. The music video, which is a bit of an art school trip, premiered on March 4. Check it out below.
2. “Cornerstone” — Diamond Dance (Feat. Cam Smith of Hotel Books)
This is my introduction to Diamond Dance, but over the past year or two I’ve become a fan of Hotel Books spoken word style, which is featured here in a lyric. Check out the video for “Cornerstone” here.
3. “You Lost Me” — Tiny Moving Parts
Excitingly, there’s new Tiny Moving Parts to put on the list! I’m highlighting “You Lost Me” here, but folks interested in TMP and emo in general should check out their other new song “Guardians” as well. I saw Tiny Moving Parts for the first time in November and I can’t wait to see them again!!
4. “Take What You Give” — Silverstein (Feat. Pierre Bouvier)
My “Liked Songs” on Spotify would suggest I don’t have the deepest history with Silverstein. I only have “liked” “Smile in Your Sleep,” and “Still Dreaming.” I only like a couple more songs by Simple Plan, but this song stuck out to me when I first heard it, so I thought I’d pass it along.
5. “Dirty Office Bongos” — Hot Mulligan
Hot Mulligan continues to appear on these lists. you’ll be fine came out at the beginning of this month, so this may be their last time on the list for a while (no promises though!).
6. “Everything Sounds Like A Love Song” — X Ambassadors
My favorite X Ambassadors song is “Unsteady,” and “Everything Sounds Like A Love Song,” is sad in a different way. The piano drives the track in a way that is as encouraging as the lyrics might be heartbreaking. Not to mention the saxophone is just amazing!!
7. “Memento Mori” — Lamb of God
Lamb of God returns to the list with “Memento Mori.” This track starts slow and brooding, something that I’m not personally familiar with in Lamb of God’s music (which, I’m not an authoritative source on Lamb of God, I mostly just love the fuck out of Wrath). Around the 2 minute mark the mood shifts into a headbanging rager LoG fans may be more accustomed to! According to Wikipedia A memento mori is firstly Latin for “remember that you must die” and secondly, “an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death.” so that Randy Blythe is growling: “The hardest hour, the cruelest sign // I’m waking up from this wretched lie //I fight it the same, don’t waste this day // Wake up, wake up, wake up /// Memento mori!!” Pretty badass!!
8. “Solace and Serenity” — The Acacia Strain
The Acacia Strain are some heavy motherfuckers, and “Solace and Serenity” is no exception.
9. “One Good Day” — Control Top
Control Top are an amazing band that I was introduced to when they opened for Laura Jane Grace and The Devouring Mothers!! Now I’m happy for them to make an appearance on one of these lists with “One Good Day.”
10. “I’m Still Hangin’ On” — John Anderson
John Anderson is back again this month with “I’m Still Hangin’ On,” a track to match in mood “Years.”
At this point I’d like to move to two new… “columns” I guess, for lack of a better word!
I want to highlight some of the music I was listening to this time last year. It’s hard to single out one song, even from a playlist of six, but I’ll highlight “Roses Are Falling” by Orville Peck. And you can check out the full playlist here.
Before I move on to the last section, let me wrap up here. As always, let me know what I missed this month and what you’ve been listening to!! I hope y’all are staying healthy and staying safe out there! Until next month, keep rockin’!!
This last bit is an in memoriam of sorts for country singer Joe Diffie. Diffie was a country music star known for songs including “John Deere Green,” “Third Rock from the Sun,” “Pickup Man,” “Bigger Than the Beatles,” and my favorite, “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die).” Diffie died from complications of coronavirus on Sunday, he was 61. Diffie was a little older at the time of his death than he was when he first sang “Prop Me Up,” but I hope they did prop him up, and I hope when he’s finished partying, that he makes it to Heaven.
