Movin’ OnIt is with the greatest reverence that with this issue, Long Distance Listening Party comes to an end, at least in its current form. I’ve begun another venture that deserves to be prioritized at this time but hope to continue here whenever I can, especially if that Ween interview ever materializes. So this isn’t necessarily a goodbye to me, just to Long Distance Listening Party.
LDLP has been a big part of my life over the last year. This newspaper has been a platform for me to interview some of my most highly respected artists and musicians and led me to finding therapeutic catharsis through sharing and joking about some of the more difficult times in my life. At its height, it led me to questioning the existence of extra terrestrial life. Also, there was a time when I think I accidentally uncovered a criminal conspiracy but we’ll let that one lie.
To put it more succinctly, this column has been a means for my own personal growth, both to document it and enable it.
Okay now, I’m going to turn off my “President resigning after a sex scandal” voice and talk with you all about some music one last time.
I’ll leave you all some advice: next time you see an article titled something like “Topanga Elementary to take Children on Thanksgiving Charitable Field Trip to Skid Row,” maybe check to see if the piece was written by me before writing your local councilman.
I love you all dearly. If you’d like to keep an eye on my next project, I invite you to follow me on Instagram @mygumsarebleeding.
Long Distance Listening Party, Vol.23
This playlist is available on Spotify, search my username, Mileserickson-354.
I Sat by the Ocean, Queens of the Stone Age
Here She Comes, Rosa Maria
Midnite Blues, The Detroit Cobras
The Start of Something, Voxtrot
Sing Sing, Ultra Orange, Emanuelle
Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio
This Magic Moment, Misfits, Ronnie Spector
Exactly Where I’m At, Ween |
I Sat by the Ocean, Queens of the Stone Age. “I Sat by the Ocean” and the album it belongs to are probably the best things Josh Homme has done outside of his desert sessions. It’s kind of a shame that, aside from maybe “No One Knows,” none of their other songs are quite catchy enough to be #1 hits, because most audiophiles will tell you that they’re kind of the last great rock band. Also, one time I was at a party and Josh Homme covered for me after I spilled some beer on someone’s equipment, so I kind of owe him a good review.
Sing Sing - Ultra Orange, Emanuelle. This is one of those lightning in a bottle collaborative albums. I’ve talked about it before when discussing “Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye,” but it’s the kind of greatness none of the members where able to replicate in their solo careers, sort of like Velvet Underground and Nico. Also, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this song is about being a prisoner in your own relationship and it’s named after one of the most infamous maximum security prisons in the US.
Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio. Great song, I don’t understand any of the lyrics, which is fine when the song is super catchy chorus earworms, but when it gets into the super long break and you realize there’s another three minutes to go, it becomes a problem.
This Magic Moment, Misfits, Ronnie Specto. Anyone who’s surprised that the Misfits did an entire album of ’50s Doo-Wop covers probably doesn’t know a lot about the Misfits. Their entire aesthetic is based off of the idea, “What if the Monster Mash was a person?” Like if a WWE wrestler had an entirely different family that his wife didn’t know about but that other family was the Munsters. This cover is basically noise rock with a really distinct melody; it would be really easy for this song to get lost in a muddy fog of rock noise but they don’t stray too far from the original composition, so I’d say it actually improves the song as opposed to hindering it.
Miles Erickson is a recent graduate of CalArts, published author, and currently enrolled in a prestigious, 4 year, student loan repayment program but just got a job to pay it off...someday.  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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