Well, I think the last time I spoke to you here something was going on in your life, or someone close to you, that was a problem. I hope that turned out well. Good to see you here, in paragraph form anyway, seemingly alright. 

I'll be honest with you, since I stop by here with regularity, I do think of you when I stop in here and mainly about what you might think of the current state of the Republican party, Right Wing media, and the places these groups have been driving the country towards. 

As the Republican party has gone to war with itself, people like Trump and DeSantis, the current leaders in presidential polling for the party (although Ron is a very distant second with his numbers in the teens and dropping), shown to both be, basically, corrupt loons, I wonder what guys like you and Pat are thinking about all this. 

I mean, I don't really feel I have much to wonder about with David, or Dan, or Peter, or Mick, or EEE, or Dslacker, we're basically all on the same page. You and Pat, however, are the two guys left here I can ask "What do you think about this?" and I don't really know what I will get for an answer or where you stand.

So, forgive me, but the thing I am most curious about is what you think of the state of the Republican party, and how you feel about their presidential candidates. Plus I mean things like FOX news having to admit they intentionally lied to their voters about stolen elections and paying dearly for it. I am sorry, but this is what piques my curiosity when we chat. I did try to get us to have a chat last time you were around but it did not happen. 

In terms of music, since you brought that up, I basically run through a bunch of phases with it. Probably the vast majority of what I listen to now is older stuff. I tend to obsess for a bit over certain music for a time and then move on and obsess over something else. 

Right now, I am in a Steely Dan and Donald Fagen phase, listening to their records, plus some other related things. Growing up in the 1970s my dad loved Steely Dan. I recall him saying to me "Reg, you have to listen to this record!" when he would bring home one of their records. By the time we got to 1977 and the Aja album came out he was obsessed with the band. He played the hell out of that record and it still reminds me of being a boy in the 1970s and running around the house while that music was playing. It brings back memories of how my parents decorated the house, which in retrospect was pretty eccentric. 

Anyway, now in my mid 50s I feel like listening to these records again I will hear them in different ways...and I do. As a boy the music made me feel pure joy but now I kind of feel awe when I listen to them. They are amazing records just packed with great songs and musicianship. Because I listened to them so much as a boy, and they always made me think of my dad, I have not listened to them much as an adult, until now. I should say, I have not listened to them closely until now. Right now I am up to their Royal Scam album as I was trying to go through them as they were released. Damn, they are so good. Also, I never saw them in a live setting, Becker is gone now, but Fagen appears to be going to tour soon as Steely Dan and I have decided I will not miss that. 

Not sure if you are a Dan fan or it is not a band you are into. In terms of newer bands or records, well, I'm not really into country music. Some of the old stuff, sure, I listen to that, but no offense to you or your friend, that's not really my thing. I've always come from a place where blues, jazz, and R&B are my foundation and rock was a natural extension of those. I think this is why Steely Dan clicks so well for me. 

I think I am a bit boring when it comes to new music, I like The Black Keys, but they are a blues rock group that plays exactly what you would expect I like. I like Greta Van Fleet, but they are a group of young guys playing arena rock that reminds me of the arena rock of my youth. I don't find them as interesting as Led Zeppelin or Rush or whomever else they may sound a bit like, but it is fun to hear young guys attempting that kind of music. Funny too that they seem very influenced by their dad. 

I've also listened to the more recent releases from The Mother Hips, a California band, they are sort of hit or miss with songwriting but they play guitar rock, which seems to have fallen out of favor with younger generations. I like Radiohead, but I read they may be done as a band. I've been hanging out with some old high school friends the last couple years and they seem to have pulled me back into the past musically speaking as well. Lots of music from the 1980s get played when I am with them, U2, the Smithereens, Bryan Adams (I was never a fan), that kind of thing. Plus a variety of 70s rock is mixed in. Mostly, I have enjoyed this but I do feel like I am not around a lot of new music. 

I like Mike Campbell's group The Dirty Knobs, but not sure if you would call that new. They write new songs but it is pretty much right about where you would expect to find Mike Campbell. 

So, there's a little of where I am musically right now. I listen to a lot of music, because it calms my mind and gets me out of whatever I might be thinking of. I have two cats that live with me, Mingus and Bootsy, and if you put those names together, you will know they came from a musical place. 

Here's a sampling of music playing around my house...

Maybe something in that bunch does something for you...