Some music I’ve been listening to recently: Breakwater, The Whispers, and Morella’s Forest

I discovered Breakwater on a whim. When I heard the first few seconds, I realized that Daft Punk sampled this song to make “Robot Rock”. This was a really fun song with the right mix of guitars, bass, and synths. How did I not know about this band even though they were before my time? This song really slaps and I want to check out their other songs and their albums.

Can’t you tell I’ve been on a bit of an old-school kick? I heard the song Rock Steady a few times a long time ago, but this song came to my attention after seeing it used while synching the Sami Zayn dancing meme. I was unaware that The Whispers have been around since the 60s and I have heard some of their other songs before. One such example is “And the Beat Goes On” which I also recently heard while I was shopping one day. Of course for my generation, we mainly know it because “Miami” by Will Smith used the beat for that one. “Rock Steady” is a really fun song that will certainly get one moving.

Technically, I’ve listened to this song before, but not this version. This is the lost band Morella’s Forest who were a gothic rock/new wave band from the 80s. Two of the members would be none other than Ronnie Martin and Jason Martin of Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 respectively as well as their one-time side project The Brothers Martin. Joy Electric would re-release this song in their typical experimental synth pop sound, but I wasn’t aware the song was older than that. It was surreal hearing that song with guitars, basses, and drums though. I also found out Ronnie and Jason were only 18 and 16 when they recorded this album that was lost until this year. It was very fascinating getting into the musical history of the Martins since I listened to both bands starting out in junior high and Joy Electric was certainly an influence on Ospreyshire as a recording project. No, this is unrelated to that Tooth & Nail band that was there in the 90s and early 00s.

Some music I’ve heard recently to have some positive vibes going on

Yes, I do listen to some classical and symphonic music while I don’t consider myself well-versed in that field. I recently discovered the Guadeloupean composer Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges after watching a documentary about him. He was a multi-disciplined man who was a virtuoso violinist, champion fencer, composer, and was even the a general, too. It was also surprising since I didn’t know many Black or biracial composers in the classical era and what made learning about him more interesting is that he actually inspired Mozart of all people when the much more famous musician was younger. I’m glad some people in the art music world have been doing their best to revive his works.

Okay, Driver Eight isn’t new to me and some of you know about me liking them in older posts. After watching No New Kinda Story which was a documentary about Tooth & Nail Records, I had a nostalgia trip. While I didn’t know or listen to this band until several years after they broke up, I really like their only album “Watermelon”. They have a good mix of indie rock with a hint of shoegaze. All the songs were good and “Getting This Thing to Go” has a place in my heart for me because that was the first song I learned how to play a guitar solo from. How many people can say that given how obscure Driver Eight are.

Before anyone else says anything, I’m aware they’re named after an REM song. Thank you. 🙂

Now here’s something completely different! I had never heard of Beverley Knight until recently. I heard this particular song while shopping and it was stuck in my head. Naturally, I typed in lyrics of the song to my phone and Googled it after the fact. I think she’s got a great voice and I liked the mix between R&B, soul, pop and some of those disco-esque strings in this song. While this is poppier than what I normally listen to, I actually enjoyed it. I even found out that this singer was from Wolverhampton, England of all places (that’s near Birmingham, by the way). Maybe that city has a good music scene there?

Here’s some music from different time periods, different genres, and from different countries as well. I just needed some positive jams (Hold Steady reference!) to listen to as well as share.

All videos are property of their respective owners.

LA County and Compton Police are infiltrated by gangs to terrorize Black People. A whistleblowing sheriff proved so many people right by exposing this.

I don’t want to downplay the seriousness of the situation, but how sad is it that after finding out about this expose, the thing I said next was “And next on the news…Water is wet.”

Chalk that up to something most of America thinks is just a conspiracy theory when Black people say it until they’re proven right just like the War on Drugs, The Southern Strategy, The Devil’s Punchbowl, or even outside of America such as medical experiments done to Africans against their will (See: Cold Case Hammerskjöld). Basically, an LA County sheriff exposed the infiltration of the Executioners gang inside police departments in that part of Southern California. They would celebrate with illegal arrest quotas and tattoo parties after shooting people. This consists of white and Latinx officers with the latter clearly being used as race buffers. What made me furious wasn’t just because of the rampant injustice including racially profiling Compton’s mayor, but that the local channel clips blurred out the Executioners while leaving the whistleblower’s face intact. That shows you EXACTLY which side their bread is buttered on. When was the last time you’ve seen Black gang members have all of their faces censored in the news? Double standards, much? It’s situations like these that only give more rhetorical strength to those protesting against police brutality and racism. It’s crazy how many innocent people have been wronged by these gangsters with badges. Phil made a great point about how this could be a field day for criminal defense lawyers regardless if their clients are innocent or not. These cops have NO RIGHT to talk or press charges if they’re arresting gang members when they have some on the police department (not that anyone should join a gang to begin with).

This is sick how they’ve been able to fly under the radar. This isn’t the first or only police department to have this issue, but it’s one that’s being exposed right now. These police departments should clean house of all these criminals who managed to not be in the jails for their actions. You can’t say one type of gang is bad when a different one with good only because they have badges. Unbelievable…

Observations, Questions, and Rants about How Messed Up Everything Is

I don’t feel like doing anything poetic. I need to let off some steam about the chaos going on. This climate has made me sad, furious, and nervous among other things. Some of the answers should be obvious to some of you when I ask these questions.

How insane is it that reporters are getting assaulted and arrested just for doing their jobs? People know it’s violating freedom and the press and the 1st Amendment, right?

How is it that the Third Amendment would actually come up in conversation outside of the confines of a US government or citizenship class? The fact that it was invoked to get National Guard troops out of DC hotels in my lifetime is mind blowing. It even trended on Twitter of all places, too!

What does this say about society when Sesame Street characters can show up at a CNN Town Hall and address the issues of racism, police brutality, white privilege, protesting, and reconciliation better than any politician of either major American political party during my lifetime?

How is it that plants and instigators of the peaceful protests get treated better than those who are legitimately protesting nonviolently? Also, why isn’t mainstream media going hard against the undercover agents looting and just blame every black person they see who happens to be nearby?

How is it that the Buffalo cops can still lie on an elderly white protestor, get caught lying when the video came out, or how 57 officers “resigned” in support of the police who pushed them? Once the video dropped, white America for one second got to see what it was like to be black when they saw someone who could be their grandfather, father, brother, or even them have his skull crack on the pavement and bleed while the authorities walked by like nothing happened.

How come “Reopen the State” Covidiots can threaten governors, policemen, and can show up willy-nilly with AK-47s and AR-15s on government property and no one does anything yet unarmed anti-racism protestors get met with batons, rubber bullets, flash grenades, or even military forces?

So teachers can be punished (suspended or fired) for yelling at children, yet a cop in Fontana, California can get paid leave for raping a minor 4 years ago, and just NOW get charged for it? I’m sorry, but if anyone doesn’t get fired and arrested for such a heinous act, then NOBODY should be fired!

Why aren’t Breonna Taylor’s killers even charged yet? She really needs justice and those murderers shouldn’t be able to get away scot-free for what they did.

How is it that whatever good cops are there get punished and/or bullied for calling out against police brutality or trying to stop abusive behavior, but the ones who do the abusing get protected?

A football player can conflate anti-racist causes with “disrespecting the flag” and one’s just right to have an opinion, but to call out against systemic racism and they should just “shut up and dribble”? Double standards much when it comes to athletes of certain complexions?

What does it say that people are more offended by people wanting equality than Mark Wahlberg actually committing hate crimes in the 80s against black and Vietnamese people? Boy, does this make Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch look like vile cultural appropriation in hindsight, don’t you think?

How is it that some Republicans can jump ship to support a Democrat? I’m an independent and even I was like “Wait? WHAAAAAT?! How is this possible?”. This makes no sense.

Why is it that the same people who try to stock up on arms in case there’s tyrannical activity in America are eerily silent about legit unconstitutional attacks on peaceful protestors and reporters?

How can so many countries actually protest against racial injustice at once regardless of their demographics?

Those are a few observations I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks. Hypocrisy, bigotry, and mass confusion has been rattling my brain.

Justin Yates’s new music and new music video!

It’s time!

My friend Justin Yates released his newest EP called “Friend”. He even released a new music video for his song “Burn”. Justin Yates is someone I’ve known for years when I got into the local music scene and he’s one of the few people from that area who I still talk to and never lost respect for. He works harder than so many other musicians I know. Feel free to check out the music video and to buy his EP.

Justin Yates: 8.13.2018

I’m super stoked that my friend Justin Yates is gearing up for some new tunes. Feel free to watch this teaser.

Check out his music on http://justinyates.bandcamp.com!

ZAP Records Spotlight: UntilWeDie!

This new album just dropped today according to UK time. It’s the newest band signed to ZAP Records: UntilWeDie!

They are a punk quartet based in California who play some thrashy tunes with urgent and loud vocals. UntilWeDie! is heavily influenced by old-school punk and 90s hardcore. If you’re into some traditional punk rock, then UntilWeDie! will be something you may like.

A ZAP Records Spotlight (Easter Teeth) and Being a Year Older

I thought I would try something new in Ospreyshire’s Realm. As you may know, I’m part of the ZAP Records family for the Ospreyshire project. They are a UK-based independent label that’s owned my my buddy Dave Emmerson from The Old-Timers, Their Throats Are Open Tombs, and Dystopian Futures. I thought I would do something where I can talk about my labelmates and expose you to some good music that you won’t find on a Top 40 station or Billboard’s Charts.

Here’s the newest album from the ZAP family: Truckstop Fear by Easter Teeth.

They are an experimental noise punk band from California and they make some really creative and angular tunes. They are duo consisting of two brothers making some inventive music. What makes them stand out is that they DON’T use guitars in their songs. Only drums, bass, keyboards, and other things besides a six-string.

Feel free to check them out!

Also, in other news…today’s actually my birthday. No, really. Hahaha! It’s probably going to be low-key though.

Have a great day.

-Curtis