2023

My Top 50 Songs of 2023

January 5, 2024 — Leave a comment

I tried to trim my list down to 30, the way I did last year, but it was impossible. For one thing, I started compiling singles for 2023 in January – last year, I got a late start. And for another thing, there have been way too many good songs released over the past twelve months!

So here are my top 50 songs of 2023 (in no particular order). And here is a link to the full playlist!

2023 Albums/EPs You May Have Missed

December 30, 2023 — Leave a comment

Here’s a list of albums/EPs released by indie artists in 2023 that may have flown under your radar! It’s far from comprehensive, but this is a good start for anyone seeking new underground music.

Back to Reality

November 10, 2023 — 2 Comments

I just spent six wonderful days with my brother and his wife in Colorado, and I am devastated to be back home. Well, actually, home isn’t the problem; work is. My job sucks, but I won’t whine here. I’m sure everyone has complaints about their places of employment. Lol.

Anyway, I flew to Colorado Springs last Monday. My brother (Rick) and his wife (Jayne) picked me up from the airport. We had lunch and drove to their house, where we watched “The Osbournes Want to Believe” and ate dinner. We crashed pretty early, and once I’d caught up on sleep, my vacation could fully begin.

Tuesday was relaxing. We got coffee and did a little sightseeing, including the Catholic cemetery in town, then binged “Outer Banks” and made these really delicious grilled cheese sandwiches with blueberry jalapeño jam, smoked cheddar, horseradish mustard, and caramelized strips of bacon. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. Then, we hauled ass down to this really small haunted house, because it was Halloween and we wanted to do something in honor of my favorite holiday.

Wednesday was exciting, as it was the day we traveled down to Albuquerque for the Wednesday 13 Performs Murderdolls concert. This was the main reason for my trip, though I extended it into a nice family visit instead of a two-day run for nothing but the show. I’m going to write a review of the concert, so I won’t go into details in this post. Let me just say it was worth the 4 hour flight and 3.5 hour drive. Meeting Wednesday 13 (and guitarist Roman Surman) was everything. I’ve been a fan of Murderdolls for 20 years, and I thought I might die. Haha! Wednesday could not have been nicer. I told him that he’d always been my favorite Murderdoll and he said “So give me a hug since I’m yours.” I melted. Oh, and he said it was obvious I wasn’t from New Mexico because of my accent.

Ok. I’ll stop. You can read the rest when I share my review.

Thursday was another lazy day. Rick smoked burgers for dinner and we watched TV. He and Jayne had to work on Friday, and I used that time to do an interview with Adam of EverFelt and bond with their cats.

Rick and I stayed up late, finishing season 3 of “Outer Banks.” When I got up Saturday morning, Jayne was at work and Rick had already found our first college football game of the day. Now, this may seem strange to y’all, but this was the thing I was most excited about, besides the concert. My brother and I haven’t been able to watch football together since he moved to Colorado. Our whole family are huge Alabama Crimson Tide fans, and this past weekend was a big game: Alabama played LSU. Jayne was bored, but Rick and I were happy, especially given that Alabama won.

And then it was Sunday and time for me to get on a plane and return to Alabama. I had two more days off work, which was lucky because I came home with the flu. Now I’m back in the swing of real life and I kind of hate it. Just counting the days until my next trip…

Mostly Music Halloween 2023 Playlist

October 29, 2023 — Leave a comment

I think I actually created this playlist last year, but it has undergone some changes since then! So click the link to visit the actual list on Spotify (this is NSFW), or simply read what made the cut below! Happy Halloween, y’all!

  • Type O Negative: “Love You to Death”
  • Type O Negative: “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)”
  • Small Town Titans: “Monster Mash”
  • Marilyn Manson: “This is Halloween”
  • Ed Ivory, Ken Page: “Oogie Boogie’s Song”
  • Danny Elfman: “Remains of the Day”
  • Bruno Coulais, The Children’s Choir of Nice: “Coraline End Credits”
  • London After Midnight: “The Black Cat”
  • Avenged Sevenfold: “A Little Piece of Heaven”
  • Alice Cooper: “Feed My Frankenstein”
  • Depeche Mode: “Enjoy the Silence – 2006 Remaster”
  • Marilyn Manson, Sneaker Pimps: “Long Hard Road Out of Hell”
  • Sneaker Pimps: “6 Underground”
  • Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien: “Time Warp”
  • Lana Del Rey: “Season of the Witch”
  • Eagles: “Witchy Woman – 2013 Remaster”
  • Collide: “White Rabbit”
  • Rob Zombie: “Dragula”
  • Crosses: “Bitches Brew”
  • White Zombie: “Thunder Kiss ’65”
  • Fall Out Boy: “Uma Thurman”
  • Backstreet Boys: “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
  • The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights”
  • The 69 Eyes: “Lost Boys”
  • Ghost: “Dance Macabre”
  • Keith David: “Friends on the Other Side” (from The Princess and the Frog)
  • The Alan Parsons Project: “The Raven”
  • The Alan Parsons Project: “(The System Of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather”
  • Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: “Red Right Hand”
  • Front Line Assembly: “Ghosts”
  • Creature Feature: “The Greatest Show Unearthed”
  • Jyrki 69, Steve Stevens: “White Rabbit”
  • Die Krupps: “The Vampire Strikes Back”
  • Panzer AG: “Monster”
  • Rob Zombie: “House of 1000 Corpses”
  • Rob Zombie: “Pussy Liquor”
  • John 5: “Beat It”
  • Anarchy Club: “Behind the Mask”
  • Graveyard BBQ: “Cheat on the Church”
  • Bobaflex: “I’m Glad You’re Dead”
  • Rammstein: “Mein Teil”
  • Ghost: “Call Me Little Sunshine”
  • Ghost: “Hunter’s Moon”
  • Atlanta Rhythm Section: “Spooky”
  • Alice Cooper: “Welcome To My Nightmare”
  • Tom Petty: “Zombie Zoo”
  • Wednesday 13: “I Walked With a Zombie”
  • Murderdolls: “Love at First Fright”
  • Escape the Fate: “Zombie Dance”
  • Escape the Fate: “Gorgeous Nightmare”
  • Escape the Fate: “Lost in Darkness”
  • Powerman 5000: “Black Lipstick”
  • Deftones: “Change (In the House of Flies)”
  • Muse: “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween”
  • Strvngers: “Crucifixxx”
  • Strvngers: “Necromancer”
  • Crywolf: “Halloween, 1987”
  • Andrew Gold: “Spooky, Scary Skeletons (Undead Tombstone Remix)”
  • People in Planes: “Vampire”
  • Roxy Lane: “Graveyard”
  • Vampires Everywhere!: “Cry Little Sister”
  • Rob Zombie: “Living Dead Girl”
  • No Resolve, From Ashes To New: “Thriller”
  • The 69 Eyes: “We Own The Night”
  • Powerman 5000: “Horror Show”
  • London After Midnight: “Spider and the Fly”

Vacation Mode Activated

October 19, 2023 — Leave a comment

I still have 11 days before I fly to Colorado to visit my brother, but my mind has already abandoned the real world. I am so ready to escape my job for a week. Plus, while I’m out there, I get my birthday gift: we’re going to Albuquerque for the Wednesday 13 Performs Murderdolls tour – and my brother bought me the VIP experience, so I’m meeting Wednesday 13!!!!!! I’ve been a fan since I was 15, and I just know I’m going to make a fool of myself.

In other news, I had an appointment with a gastroenterologist last week. I had been having some abdominal discomfort, up to and including mild pain just below my breastbone and slightly to the right. The doctor said it was most likely a pre-ulcer or an ulcer. I was given a medicine to coat my stomach when I eat and another that is supposed to help control my stomach acid. I also had an ultrasound done. Well, the office has not called with the ultrasound results, but the medicines seem to be helping. The only pain I’ve had in the past few days has been at work. One of my coworkers said that suggests an ulcer, because I’m hurting only when I’m stressed. I guess we’ll see. If I don’t hurt at all in Colorado, then the problem is my place of work. Haha!

Just wanted to share another personal post, give y’all an update on things. In regard to the music side of the blog, I have two interviews coming up: hard rockers Sever Red and the industrial metal band Corvin’s Breed (who is opening for Psyclon Nine on their upcoming Infection Divinum Tour). These will both be written, as I don’t yet have the option to do video or phone interviews. I’m also continuing my weekly Bands You Should Know, so if there’s anyone I need to do a brief blurb about, tell me in the comments!

I hope this post finds all of you well! Oh, and if y’all wanted to see a half-assed shot of what was visible in Alabama during the annular eclipse…

I was in the parking lot at work with three other employees trying to catch that. The picture might not be great, but we were having a lot of fun! Lol.

A/S/L?

October 11, 2023 — Leave a comment

Remember the days of AIM and chat rooms and people asking “a/s/l”? Haha! Today’s kids will never know…

Anyway, I don’t actually want to know your age, sex, and location, but if you’re seeing this, it would be cool for you to tell me something good about your day! I feel like I don’t do nearly enough personal posts. I keep intending to change that and I always fail miserably – then I do a post like this, explaining how I’m trying to do more personal posts and that I always fall short. Lol. In my defense, the focus here is music, movies, and books.

For those interested, I’ve been working a lot. I had a doctor’s appointment Monday, but there’s no diagnosis yet: I have to have an ultrasound to check my gallbladder, and I’m on meds to help alleviate the acid in my system, in case I have an ulcer. I’m not super worried; I simply hope I feel better by the end of the month, when I’m going to Colorado to visit my brother again. We plan to celebrate Halloween in Albuquerque, New Mexico, then we’re going to see Wednesday 13 performing Murderdolls. And my brother bought me the VIP meet-and-greet experience for my birthday. Eeeeek!

Hope y’all are having a fabulous October so far! I started Frankenstein, by the way. I don’t know if I like it or not. Victor annoyed me, the way he avoided a situation he created. But we’ll see. I’m about halfway through.

If you’ve made it this far, please leave me a comment, as I mentioned earlier, about your day. Or something you like. Or…whatever. I just want to connect with my followers a bit.

It’s Spooktober!

October 1, 2023 — 3 Comments

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It actually gets below 90° in Alabama, and the leaves are beautiful for, like, three days. Lol. And, of course, there’s Halloween. Given my love of all things spooky, y’all have probably guessed that Halloween is my favorite holiday.

This year, I have issued a personal challenge to myself, kind of an extension of the Goodreads Reading Challenge. See, I have never read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I’m sure you’re thinking “what have you been doing with your life?” Well…I don’t know. Haha! I missed out on those classics, despite my parents having copies of both.

Anyway, sorry for my rambling. My point is, my goal for October is to read Frankenstein and Dracula. What better way to celebrate the season?

Happy October, y’all! If you have any other reading recommendations, I’d be glad to hear them. Drop a comment!

Posing as a Travel Blog, a.k.a. My Colorado Vacation

May 25, 2023 — Leave a comment

I spent last week in Colorado. Trinidad, to be exact. I flew out to visit my brother and sister-in-law, and to enjoy five days far away from my job.

We didn’t plan things to do, we just did them. My brother smoked burgers and ribs because I love his cooking. We traveled highway 12 and ventured up to Simpson’s Rest, neither of which we’d managed during my previous trips due to the weather. He took me down to New Mexico, over the Raton Pass, through Carson National Forest, and into Eagle Nest. On my last full day, we drove to Rye and checked out Bishop Castle. I climbed to the second highest level there, but was too chicken to go to the top (especially since it was raining and the stairs and rails were wet).

Other than that, I had downtime with family. We ate good food and watched a lot of Netflix and Hulu. I convinced my brother to sit through the Fear Street films (he actually didn’t mind them), and I think I got him hooked on “Outer Banks.” Oh, and I was introduced to my newest furry nephew, Lucifer.

I could go on and on. However, I’ll just tell my story in pictures. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, after all.

(The cats get uploaded as individual images. I’ll group each day trip into a gallery.)

Lucifer
Lucifer again ❤️
Hanzo
Fishers Peak, taken from Simpson’s Rest
The sis-in-law
My brother
Simpson’s Rest
North Lake
Cuchara
Cuchara
Cuchara
Cruising Highway 12
New Mexico
Bishop Castle
Double rainbow coming down out of San Isabel National Forest
Lake Isabel
Random things

A Whole Lotta Good, But Also Some Bad

January 31, 2023 — Leave a comment

Hello, all! I hope this post finds you well. I just wanted to jump on here and give y’all an update on things.

I have four interviews in progress, though one seems to have stalled out because of circumstances beyond his control. I’m really looking forward to sharing them, Carbonstone’s in particular. I have also been receiving emails from various promoters requesting that I share singles and tour dates for bands they represent. I was followed on Facebook by Paul Crosby Management, which is cool (and if you’d like to follow too, here’s the link 😉).

I have almost finished yet another book for my Goodreads reading challenge, so keep an eye out for my next update post about that.

As for the bad news, I had to miss the Alter Bridge show in Nashville because I was too sick to go. I went to my doctor yesterday and he put me on an antibiotic and a medicine meant to break up congestion and help keep my lungs clear. I was gutted to skip the concert, but there is a bright side. I should be well in time to enjoy my brother’s visit this weekend! And we may have missed Alter Bridge, but I’m taking Mom to her first Shinedown show in April so… I guess we’ll recover. Haha.

Thank you to everyone who even acknowledges this blog. Drop a comment if you’d like, telling me something good – or bad – that has happened lately, or just how you’re doing today!

Cheers!

A Few Things…

January 4, 2023 — Leave a comment

The majority of my posts over the last week have been previously scheduled posts, so I figured I’d give y’all a real time update on my life in general.

We lost my uncle (my dad’s youngest brother) last week. His funeral was Sunday, the 1st, which I hope is not a sign of how our 2023 is going to go. The aftermath has been rough: I won’t pretend I was super close to my uncle, but I wasn’t prepared for that generation of family members to start dying. I mean, my grandmother is still trekking along! And yes, I know that’s not the way the world works; people don’t always pass from oldest to youngest. However, I can tell you that I’ve made my peace with my grandmother’s inevitable death, as she has had health issues for a while now and I have thus had time to accept what’s coming. But my uncle? That one blindsided all of us.

On a positive note: it is now 19 days until my date with Alter Bridge! I have three interviews I’m in the process of wrapping up (and one I just started), so get ready for those. And last, but certainly not least, I have been putting a lot of time and energy into the Facebook page for this blog and it seems to be paying off. I’m gaining followers and my blog views have increased and I’ve been interacting with some really cool bands/artists. If you’re interested, the link to that page is below.

I hope all of you had a Happy New Year, and the first four days of 2023 have treated you well! Be ready for my first Goodreads Reading Challenge update soon!!!

Visit my Facebook page! 🤘😘