True West just today came out with their summer schedule here in PDX and it's one of the best ones yet - Courtney Barnett, Sugar, The Beths, Ani Difranco (with Valerie June!), the Breeders, The Hold Steady, Melvins, Japanese Breakfast + more. A month long music fest - I'm going to spend a lot of time at Pioneer Courthouse Square in August https://pdx-live.com/?utm_source=hive

When I'm doing the show and I play some mellow or sad music, I often get people checking in if I'm okay. The irony is, that is not what I go to when I'm feeling down. I go to the classics, the anchors, the seminal records that have kept me afloat all these years like The Joshua Tree, Earth Sun Moon, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Let Me Come Over, Cooper Blue and many many more. I'm curious, when things feel heavy, what kind of music do you reach for? Quiet? Loud? Familiar? Something new?

Drop one song in the comments and don’t explain why. Go!

Let’s not overthink this… what’s on your turntable or streamer of choice or whatever today? I try to only spin black artists in Feb. in honour of Black History Month, so I’ve kicked things off with this incredible find from Vinyl Me, Please.

Even more local than usual this past week, with a lot of great new releases in the PNW (I'm counting Jo Passed out of Vancouver BC as local too). This reflects a lot of local music seen lately (Jo Passed, Rocky Votolato, Versing) and upcoming (Plash tonight for the record release show!), Dining Dead tomorrow, Sour Widows and Remember Sports on the spring show calendar for me. In the chaos of the world and the US in particular, music is a refuge, a balm, and support to fight for what's right.