For @racketmn.com, I wrote about The Gathering for Good, the huge fundraiser Mancini's Char House & Lounge--yes, that one--held two weeks ago for ICE victims in St. Paul's West 7th neighborhood. One of my best, huge thanks to everyone involved.
racketmn.com/yes-that-man...
Cool event alert 🚨 stories from our punk elders
Alex, Kip and Peggy from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, performing onstage at The Vera Project in Seattle, WA on February 16, 2026
Photo collage showing Christoph, Alex, Kip and Peggy from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, performing onstage at Neumos in Seattle, WA on September 15, 2009
Super-fun @thepainsofbeing.bsky.social show playing the first LP and more last night at Vera. Brings me back to the first time I saw 'em, in 2009, though my phone camera is a wee bit better now.
Oops! Thanks for catching that.
He really gets me ❤️🎶
Oh wait, I was thinking of some other Indonesian pop band, haha. But I still need to listen to more Texas Two.
Oh cool! That comp track is the first I’ve heard of them, will have to check that out.
Cover image for the February 4, 2026 edition of Cycles Per Second: pink-tinted illustration of a 1950s-styled woman tilting her head, hand held up to her ear as if listening, set against a bright green background with arcing green/pale green lines.
Playlist for the February 11, 2026 edition of Cycles Per Second: Cuticles - OGLED MOAT Horn - Clever Prism Shores - Kid Gloves En Kernaghan Band - Trouble Chiens de Faïence - À l'eau Lande Hekt - A Million Broken Hearts Institute - The Shooter Trash Panda Go Kart - Big Deal Crache - Mécanique Antipathique silk daisys - everybody wants to be my baby Suitor - Factory Dragon Assist - Southern Other Blue Communications - Australian Summer La Luz - Strange World (Extra! Extra! Version) David McClymont & Peter Loveday - Through fishes' eyes Railcard - Cherry Plum Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sunburned In London
I also put up last week's show, in case you wanna get all caught up. 😉 www.mixcloud.com/nstop/cycles...
Cover image for the February 11, 2026 edition of Cycles Per Second: photo illustration showing two blue-tinted stereo receivers that appear to be tumbling down behind a third, red-tinted one in the foreground, all set on a textured blue background.
Playlist for the February 11, 2026 edition of Cycles Per Second: Touch Girl Apple Blossom - The Springtime Reminds Me Of... Field Hospitals - Everyfire Coup Dur - Mon Amie Green Seagull - Lightning Girl Friends of Cesar Romero - Tassels TV Buddha - You've Been Changed Dorotea - I just don't know what to do Texas Two - Teenage Cruel Crush BELLUM - Gure Gerra Bikini Mutants - Prey Gull Boy - The Enchanter What Kind of Human Have I Become - Tundra Chris Brokaw Beth Kaplan - Loves a Little Bit Thin Plastic Candles - Dangerous Angel Giant Hammer - Heirloom MONT LOSER - Confessional Ayaka Nagahama Band - compass
This week's @khuh.bsky.social broadcast of Cycles Per Second is up, with new music from France, Australia, NZ, Indonesia, the UK and across the USA + more from Sweden, Japan. www.mixcloud.com/nstop/cycles... @krecs.bsky.social @precrecs.bsky.social @spinoutnuggets.bsky.social @softabuse.bsky.social
Thanks for the tip, will definitely be checking this out!
Red-haired woman smiling, scratching the head of a small, gray-and-white owl perched on a chair next to a larger brown owl
A brown owl staring head-on, next to a gray-and-white owl with its head turned to the side
A brown and gray-and-white owl nuzzling each other, faces touching and eyes closed
Some Superb Owls I met in Japan, 2017
WE all knew this, but it's good that The Guardian is reminding the normies.
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Collage of cover images from the January, 14th and 21st and 28th 2026 episodes of Cycles Per Second, featuring four square panels, from top-left to bottom-right: 1. a photo of red-and-orange tinted transistor radios set against a textured yellow background 2. a vintage, yellow-tinted photo of a turntable , against a green gradient background 3. a stylized image of a flame-orange tinted electric guitar in front of a blue-tinted guitar amp, all set against a dark orange textured background 4. an orange and red-orange turntable illustration, with the words "Cycles Per Second" above it and "nstop.com" below it
Collage of playlists from the September 10th, 17th and 24th episodes of Cycles Per Second, featuring four square panels, from top-left to bottom-right: 1. January 14, 2026: The Dare - Slanky Fools The Fabulous Friends - Friendly City Air Belgrade - From a Distant Plane ditch bunnies - Holes in the Water Salad Boys - Almost Always (Dogshith Session) Terse Affection - I Want To Be CEMENTO - Bad Dream Songs Fog Lamp - Uncomfortable Laughter Worker - Isn't That Strange Eddy Current Suppression Ring - On Islands The Reds, Pinks & Purples - New Leaf Soar - Flickering Wall Pullman - Weightless Valentine Allgood - Bite Back The Twinsets - Zippo 2. January 21, 2026: Dead Finks - Anodyne Station Model Violence - Heat (Single Version) Rocketship - I'm Lost Without You Here Special Friend - Breakfast Season 2 - Abundance of Power The Questions - I Want You Dirty Rogues - Great Deep Kiss Childish Tones - My Brain Is Happy Sad herpiano - VHS/TONIGHT Cycling In Marmalade - Torch Land Surveyor - Serious (Riley & Coe session) Knight's Ferry - The Autumn Leaves on 14th Street Winston Hightower - Lay Low lucky loose - Dopamin DBR - Routine Issues Doe St - Same Day Sternpost - Every Other Building 3. January 28, 2026: FORMA - aspettative The Mice - Rescue You Too Yuasa-Exide - Time Regained Again Pedriñanes 77 - Renault 5 Runner Ups - Always Sometimes Mod Lang - TV Star The Monochrome Set - Lotus Bridge the black watch - some people will believe Walking Lands - Wait Teenage Bed - Récifs Game Set Match - Mundane Straight Arrows - Middleman LOS INDIOS - RONCO SALVAJE Willie Gibson & Helen McCookerybook - Ailein Duinn Louisa Bénâtre & Barbara Bessac - Fine The Just Joans - Everybody's Moving To Australia
Catching up on the Cycles Per Second backlog.. just in time for Bandcamp Friday! 3 weeks/3 hours of @khuh.bsky.social radio shows added in the past 3 days, incl my post-trip special w/new Japanese punk & pop, fledgling Aussie bands, a new x-Josef K band+more recent new tunes. www.mixcloud.com/nstop/
Will be getting shows up more regularly moving forward, and I’m working to catch up—Jan 14 and 21 are up on Mixcloud now. Thanks for listening!
Whoa! Appreciate you doing your civic duty. Good reminder we all need to show up.
Inadvertent tab bankruptcy blues...
While they later relocated to SF, Ed’s were an early fave / staple of local Boston radio in the late 80s. The silliness/pathos of “Lawn Dart” really got me.
Exciting news in a world full of very not exciting news: The Vera Project is opening a new all-ages venue in Georgetown in early 2027! @davesegal.bsky.social has the story for @thestranger.com here:
I wrote this yesterday about the hero city of Minneapolis
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW...
Hand holding two 7” singles and one CD in front of a computer screen showing radio broadcasting software
New LIVE broadcast of Cycles Per Second happening rn on @khuh.bsky.social featuring finds from my trip to Japan the past week and a half, plus some sizzling Aussie debuts, the return of Scottish post-punk legends and so much more. hollowearthradio.org or 104.9 FM in Seattle
Drone-dream from Shoko Numao and Takako Minekawa (hidden behind music stand) last night at Bar Isshee, Tokyo.
Plate of french fries covered in Parmesan and two kinds of liquid cheese, topped with a tomato-onion-corn sauce
Later ordered something at an izakaya that translated as “three kinds potato cheese” and ended up with the Japanese version of chili cheese fries. 😂
Checked prices back home in Seattle, and the same order would be about $26 (incl tax + tip).
Four plates of conveyor belt sushi (two pieces of fish nigiri per plate) + green tea for less than $6 and I never wanna go out to eat in any city but Tokyo again.
* Disk Union Shinjuku
Thought I’d bought plenty of records already, then I walked into Disk Union. If anyone is looking for an original copy of Dolly Mixture - Demonstration Tapes, they’ve got it: for ¥38,850 ($244)
Photo of the band Usurabi, live at Namba Bears on January 10, 2026
Photo of the band herpiano, live at Namba Bears on January 10, 2026
Photo of the band 長濱礼香, live at Namba Bears on January 10, 2026
Photo of the bassist from herpiano, K Records badge on her bass strap visible
Went to a gig the other night at Namba Bears in Osaka. Saw Usurabi (discovered via French label An’archives), herpiano and 長濱礼香. Dig that K Records badge on the herpiano bassist’s strap. Cool sounds across the bill from indie pop to psych-folk to experimental soundscapes.
My phone translate app is failing with the text on picture background, so I think evidence of any editorially-imposed brevity will remain a mystery to us non-Japanese readers.
Heading up there tomorrow, in fact. Playing any gigs? ;-)
This one’s a solo trip, and yes, having a great time. Went to a gig on Saturday w/some excellent Japanese indie bands. To be featured on an upcoming radio show, of course. :-)
