New Music, New Adventures 2025 #5
Movie Club, Anti-Super Bowl, & Following the Feeling
Frank and I continue to enjoy the sunny skies of Palm Springs.
This past week included at a good but somewhat tiring hike (I’m still not 100% over the cold I got a couple weeks ago), an enjoyable bike ride (although I skipped the Tour de Palm Springs this year), and some nice times with friends.
Not being football fans, Marco, Elise, Frank, and I brought back our old tradition of seeing a play during the Super Bowl. This one was an enjoyable 1950-set comedy/drama called Perfect Arrangement which featured two lesbian/gay couples dealing with the potential harmful effects of work-place politics.
We also had lunch with Frank’s college friends Dave and Bill.
Our Chicago-based movie club got together in Rancho Mirage for our annual discussion of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture. Our thoughts about the films varied widely but after individually ranking the films our collective averages showed that we seemed to like Anora and A Complete Unknown the most.
My always complicated inner life continues to struggle with the great fortune Frank and I have balancing all of the friends that have been descending upon Palm Springs in the two months we’ve been here. Sometimes it feels like we are in constant entertainment mode. It seems strange that with so much great weather (while Chicago is having a winter storm) there’s a part of me that longs for the quietness of being back home finding my written voice and tending to various projects I can only do there. This seems foolish on the outside but as a writer and creative person I often love my alone time.
I’ve also been reaching out, somewhat frustratingly, to colleagues at DePaul about my upcoming retirement. It’s only been within the last day or so that I’ve begun to feel some acknowledgement for the 18 years I’ve spent teaching there. (More on that in my upcoming weekly posts, Reflections on a Teaching Career.)
Here are the latest additions to my weekly Top Ten songs list:
New Music from Contemporary Artists that Everyone Should Check Out:
Tommy Newport – Following the Feeling
Newport made my Top Ten of 2024 with his cover of The Talking Heads’ Sugar on My Tongue. The eclectic album from which it originated, Mister Domino, was also one of my favorites of the year. He’s got a new single out that captures the hook-laden, catchy pop/rock sounds and production which were featured all over that album.
Ray Bull – Little Acts of Violence
Ray Bull is a Brooklyn-based band that has a new EP out called Little Acts of Violence. The title track has been floating around my playlists for the last few weeks. It’s one of those songs which reflects on a relationship with the same power pop build of something dark like The Boomtown Rats’ classic I Don’t Like Mondays. (At least, that’s what I heard when first encountering the track.) While I’m not sure I connect with the lyrics or the rest of the EP, the tune is pretty arresting.
Link to my 2025 Playlist:
What new music/adventures have you experienced this week?
It has been a bit crazy, albeit great fun as you point out. Looking out over our snow filled back yard, I miss the sun and the palm trees. But it’s only for a week. I’ll be back in the sunny madness soon. 😊
I don’t know Ray Bull. Will have to listen