New Music, New Adventures 2025 #8

Oscars, Discovering Old Bands, & Loving America

Was there anything else worth talking about this week than the Oscars? Okay, that’s how my world rolls. I’m not thinking or writing about the tariff situation or Trump’s latest speech, which I didn’t watch. However, I have been watching the Oscars since the 1970s. I would never stop that! I’ve already written an assessment of the show and winners, so I won’t do it again. Suffice to say it’s a strange experience viewing the awards on a Sunday at 4 PM. That’s when it started at our winter residence in Palm Springs. I thought it started at 5 and hadn’t pulled out the bourbon when the red carpet was wrapping up just before 4.

This marks the first time we’ve ever had dinner after the awards! Back in the 90s we’d have Oscar parties in our home in the Chicago suburbs when the show was always on Monday night and started at 7 or 7:30 PM. By the time the last award was given out and all those who participated in our prediction contest (there were often around 25 people) had been given their own awards for their correct guesses, it would be close to midnight.

So, as my mom would routinely ask about whatever was going on in my life, “what else?” I did another hike up the local mountain behind Von’s one day. Thankfully there were no snakes to be found. I also did another spa day at Agua Caliente in Palm Springs. Most fun was a return to the Art District in Cathedral City for their fourth Friday of the month art walk. This one goes from 4 to 7 PM, so the wine was flowing! Our good friends Marco, Elise, Jim, and Loren joined us as we met several artists that we hadn’t previously crossed paths with and a few I’d met the week before. This district has my kind of art. Frank liked it too and splurged on a couple of pillows…

We’ve got less than ten days left here before we begin our journey back to the Midwest. Of course, we’ve loaded it with various gatherings with family and friends. More on that next week. I’m also only a few weeks away from my official retirement from DePaul University. My online course is wrapping up with some projects I spent a few hours this week grading but I’ve been pulling away from teaching since the pandemic, so it wasn’t too much of a hardship. More to come on that in the next few weeks in my Reflections on a Teaching Career series.

New Music from Contemporary Artists that Everyone Should Check Out:

All Roads Lead to You – Shed Seven

Apparently, these guys from York have been around since 1990. Why had I never heard of them? It seems their biggest hits were in the U.K. which means I need to go down a seriously long rabbit hole! Regardless, this is a very catchy new pop/rocker from the band that I heard two months ago for the first time. For some reason it didn’t take a big hold on me until this last week. Maybe I needed the song’s energy. Maybe I’m thinking about that long drive home coming up to the Midwest. Either way, great song, great vocals, and relatable lyrics.

No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive – Rialto

Here’s another band from overseas that released their first album in 1998. Again, they’ve never been on my radar! However, in all fairness to myself, the band essentially broke up in 2001 and only reformed in 2023. This song is from a new album to be released in April. It’s a pretty cool track with a great beat for the dancefloor.

I Love America and She Hates Me – The Wombats

This is the fourth track from the latest Wombats’ album Oh! The Ocean that I have highlighted, including its sole 2024 single release, Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want to Come, which just missed my Top Ten of the year. The lyrics on this track are provocative. What is it that America hates about songwriters Mike Malchicoff and Matthew Murphy? Sure, they’re from the U.K. but that’s not enough. I like to think that they are speaking generally about the way the country, today, is shattering the dreams of many people whether it be immigrants or transgender individuals. Yes, America is still a land of dreams but right now a lot of people feel disheartened by some of the hatred and bigotry that has pervaded certain segments of the country. Of course, what’s great about this song is that they still say they love America despite it all. Maybe that’s the way people are feeling in the current moment.

Link to my 2025 Playlist:

Spotify

National Association of Memoir Writers