It really doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Just DAMN. She is too righteous for her own good. & No, the booty don’t lie. That last rap is too fantastic:

My crown too heavy like the Queen Nefertiti
Gimme back my pyramid, I’m trying to free Kansas City
Mixing masterminds like your name Bernie Grundman
Well I’m gonna keep leading like a young Harriet Tubman
You can take my wings but I’m still goin’ fly
And even when you edit me the booty don’t lie
Yeah, keep singing and I’mma keep writing songs
I’m tired of Marvin asking me, “What’s Going On?
March to the streets ‘cuz I’m willing and I’m able
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you’re selling dope, we’re gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep?
Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?

So here’s the other thing I love about her: she’s wearing heels, which she never does, but somehow, she wears them like they’re combat boots.

A few weeks ago I was up at dawn up in northern Wisconsin and you know, if you know me at all, that if I am up at dawn it’s only because I haven’t slept. Right before I’d gone up there I’d loaded a bunch of new music onto my MP3 player and while I was standing there shivering, this song, which I had never heard before, came on.

I highly recommend listening to it when you’re on the edge of something – a lake, a cliff, a decision.

My heart is wild / my bones are steam / and I could kill you with my bare hands / if I was free

It was a very cold, very bright sunrise that morning, and all the gray of this long Wisconsin winter only turned to silver, not to color, as the sun came up, but it was still astonishing.

This is just because I woke today so full, so peaceful, so – resolved. I have been through a little too much these past few weeks and have been feeling exhausted, and winter seemed like it would never, ever end.

So take some of it, those of you who need it; and thank you to those who have given me some.

Such a great song of grrrl lust. I’d featured it – and the cover by Jack Off Jill – a while back. & So sad that she’s gone so young. She died of the double-barreled assault of MS & breast cancer.

Here she is with “Boys in Town” – a song that is so 1981 it almost hurts.

This musician, Ryan Lee, just sent me an email out of the blue: he’s a queer musician who’s doing some gigs in the area in the next week so I thought I’d give him a plug. I’m not so much of a singer/songwriter type, but I know a bunch of you out there are, so check him out. I found his story about upending and remaking his life pretty cool. He’s got upcoming gigs here in Appleton, in Green Bay, Madison, Waukesha, Minneapolis, and lots of spots in-between.

The Jam meets Mark Ronson meets Santigold. Cool. I heard this the other day in a bar and was fascinated: I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard a cover of “Pretty Green” before but I definitely had never heard one that reminded me of The Slits.

That’s Santigold on vocals.

Here’s a live version of the original Jam song, & here’s the original recording. If your life sucks, listen to more Jam. I swear it works.

Cool. More here, including photos of the signs. I think my favorite is the one outside Carnegie Hall.

I love this.

I saw these guys about a month ago here at Lawrence and they were amazing.

Only now did I discover this hour-long video of a performance of theirs from before 2004, and you can imagine – if they were this good then – how much better they’ve gotten in the nine years since.

(Props to my friend Veronica for making sure I knew about it and had tickets.)

it doesn’t matter if you want it back / you’ve given it away

he’s already on the outskirts
i’m still pulling at his sweatshirt
he is says ‘fate is not a factor’
i’m in love with a reactor

i just can’t get enough of her lately (which is probably a sign that this winter has been way too long already.)

I went to see some jazz the night of my mother’s birthday & realized I didn’t put up any music for her, so mom, this one’s for you.

This track’s pretty great, too, and was recorded the same year my mom was born.