Todd Penland's Avatar

Todd Penland

@toddpenland

Air Force veteran. Software engineer. Musician. Civil rights activist. I build systems, write songs, and speak up when power goes unchecked.

1,573
Followers
166
Following
43
Posts
14.11.2024
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Todd Penland @toddpenland

Preview
Coming Into Focus - Todd Penland Coming Into Focus follows the course of a single long day that begins with exhaustion and ends with quiet resolve.

Are you an #activist?

Does it energize you, or wear you down?

One morning I woke up completely defeated, so I wrote my way through it. By the end of the day something had changed.

That writing became this album.

todd.penland.net/albums/comin...

#activism #burnout

04.03.2026 04:10 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Videos - Todd Penland Videos

The video for my newest song, "Again and Again". It's a little weird, but this is what you get for $40. ;-)

Again and Again by Todd Penland todd.penland.net/videos/?vide...

02.03.2026 23:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Light in the Middle - Todd Penland This album is not a set of answers. It is a record of practice.

My most reflective and gentle record to date. Step inside the thoughts that help me find joy in a world that doesn’t always offer much of it.
todd.penland.net/albums/light...

02.03.2026 18:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
War, Memory, and the Constitution - Todd Penland There is a timeline here that matters.

As usual, I have thoughts. ;-)

todd.penland.net/2026/03/01/w...

02.03.2026 00:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
No Kings - Todd Penland β€œNo Kings” is a defiant protest anthem about shared power and collective voice. With driving momentum and chant-ready hooks, it rejects the idea of rule by

#NoKings is a defiant protest anthem about shared power and collective voice. With driving momentum and chant-ready hooks, it rejects the idea of rule by personality, bloodline, or ego.

todd.penland.net/albums/unfin...

28.02.2026 16:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
You Keep Showing Up - Todd Penland β€œYou Keep Showing Up” is a warm tribute to the friends who refuse to let isolation win. It celebrates the texts, meals, laughter, and steady presence that

A little ditty just for my friends. If you think this might be about you, you're right. <3

todd.penland.net/albums/unfin...

26.02.2026 01:50 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Let Them Talk - Todd Penland Let Them Talk is a conversation that never happened.

This is a song for anyone who ever has been (or is being) bullied. I wish someone had talked to me like this when I was younger. It could have saved a lot of therapy bills. ;-)

todd.penland.net/albums/unfin...

#bullyingawareness #bullyingprevention

24.02.2026 01:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

I just released a new song called β€œRedundancy Notice.”
If you’ve ever stared at an HR email a little too long, this one’s for you.

Full song: todd.penland.net/layoff

21.02.2026 10:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Eighty One Candles - Todd Penland For Mom, with love.Time changes people. It shapes us, challenges us, stretches us in different directions. But it also reveals what lasts. Through every

For Mom, with love.
Time changes people. It shapes us, challenges us, stretches us in different directions. But it also reveals what lasts. Through every season of our lives, what’s lasted is love. This song is for you.

todd.penland.net/albums/eight...

20.02.2026 20:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Todd Penland β€” Original Music, Albums, Opinion & Streaming Todd Penland is a musician, composer, and writer. Explore original albums, stream tracks, and read opinion pieces on the issues that matter.

The fall of the Trump regime - reimagined as a courtroom musical.

Judgment Day: The Reckoning follows prosecutors, an unrepentant antagonist, and a divided public through an on-stage trial. No verdict given. The audience decides.

Listen:
todd.penland.net/song/judgmen...

19.02.2026 20:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Todd Penland

New on todd.penland.net: advanced search across songs, lyrics, albums & posts! Use multiple terms (AND logic), -word to exclude, or word* for wildcard matching. Try it out at todd.penland.net/search!

18.02.2026 02:51 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Real Danger of AI Isn’t the Machines TL;DR The real question about AI isn’t how intelligent it becomes. It’s whether we build institutions strong enough to protect people from the disruption it causes. If AI creates abundance but we a…

The real danger of #AI isn’t the machines.

It’s whether we build institutions to protect people from the disruption it causes.

If AI creates abundance but suffering persists, the failure won’t be technological β€” it will be moral.

#FutureOfWork #WealthInequality

todd.penland.net/2026/02/16/t...

17.02.2026 01:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Promise and Peril Promise and Peril is a concept album about artificial intelligence – not as abstraction, but as arc. The first half of the record explores the promise: augmentation, acceleration, collective …

My new concept album Promise and Peril explores #ArtificialIntelligence from cathedral-building optimism to #RedundancyNotice and the quiet loss of control. Human-conceived. #AI -collaborated. You decide whether that’s #Promise or #Peril.

todd.penland.net/albums/promi...

16.02.2026 21:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Eternal Vigilance Is Not Optional The removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument by the Trump administration is not an isolated act. This flag was not decoration. It was a symbol of our history and our struggle.…

The removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument by the Trump administration is not an isolated act. Read more...

todd.penland.net/2026/02/13/e...

13.02.2026 21:42 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
1787: An Imperfect Union 1787: An Imperfect Union is a 14-song concept album about how the United States Constitution was actually formed: through secrecy, bargaining, leverage, exclusion, and conditional consent. Rather t…

Just me geeking out over another chance to combine my love of history and musical theater. Have a listen. Learn something new maybe? And enjoy the music!

1787: An Imperfect Union todd.penland.net/albums/1787-...

11.02.2026 04:35 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
I'm Not Shy [Verse 1] I’m quiet in rooms that don’t go anywhere I listen longer than I speak I don’t jump in just to prove I’m here I wait until there’s something for me Some people think that means I’m hiding Or

This song has really taken off on SoundCloud. I wonder who it's about? ;-)

soundcloud.com/todd-penland...

09.02.2026 05:27 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image Post image Post image Post image

Graven Images is a five album series documenting #evangelical #Christianity choosing power over faith. Scripture was known. The contradiction was clear. The damage and aftermath are recorded.

on.soundcloud.com/kP94KlAuIRzX...

07.02.2026 22:40 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The #evangelical #Christian movement embraced the most vile leader in US history for one reason: #CultureWar wins. Winning mattered more than character, truth, or their claimed values.
They sold their souls for political power, choosing the illusion of control over persuasion.

07.02.2026 04:52 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Spotify – Web Player

Have you checked out my Uplifting Song of the Day?

open.spotify.com/track/49Mqzb...

07.02.2026 00:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Cost of Caring The Cost of Caring is an autobiographical album about a single day and the emotional terrain that comes with choosing to care in a world that never stops asking for more. It traces the quiet decisions

The Cost of Caring is a new autobiographical album about a day in the life of an animal #rescuer (in my case #parrots). It could easily apply to anyone in a caring profession. It documents the ups and downs, the happiness and the heartbreak of this type of work.

soundcloud.com/todd-penland...

05.02.2026 01:23 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Companies that run #ICE detention facilities:

CoreCivic, 5501 Virginia Way, Suite 110, Brentwood, TN 37027
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 720 South, Washington DC

GEO Group Inc., 4955 Technology Way, Boca Raton, FL 33431
One Park Place, Suite 700, 621 Northwest 53rd Street, Boca Raton, FL 33487

04.02.2026 03:43 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Medical Flight Services - Air Charter Services - CSI Aviation Medical Flight Services & Air Charter Services by CSI Aviation in Albuquerque New Mexico. Specialists in Charter Jet Rentals, Executive Jet Charters, Private Jet Charter, Corporate Jet Charter, Cargo ...

This is the company that contracts #ICE flights. Feel free to share

LOCATIONS

CSI Aviation, Inc.
3700 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107
2503 Clark Carr Loop SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106
6006 Reese Creek Rd, Killeen, TX 76549
9615 Wright Dr, Midland, TX 79706

www.csiaviation.com

04.02.2026 03:36 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Holding the Middle

By far the most "personal" album I've recorded so far. But I think there's something in here that will touch others who are also going through major, unexpected, untimely life transitions. I hope listening helps as much as making it did.

open.spotify.com/album/1MjpoM...

03.02.2026 01:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Intermission [Verse 1] He slapped his name in gold across the header of the door Then wondered why the silence came a-pacing 'round the floor The dressing rooms are haunted by the songs they won't be singing The

#Breaking news: the @kennedycenter.bsky.social is going dark for β€œrenovations.”

Naturally, I wrote a song about it.

Intermission 🎭
on.soundcloud.com/wpQdpVbX1Ul2...

02.02.2026 02:15 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Thank you to everyone who has been sharing my music online. I just topped 70,000 plays in less than 30 days! I'm pretty damned excited about that, and you helped me do it. Thank you again!

01.02.2026 03:00 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
We Lift Our Voices [Verse 1] We came in early, before the light, with words we couldn’t leave behind, no script to read, no easy way, just breath and names and borrowed time. The room was holding something back, the ai

Hope everyone is feeling powerful today and joining in the shutdown. I wrote this one specifically to honor the day.

on.soundcloud.com/YjQdHMjZWQDz...

31.01.2026 00:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Protest Music 2026 One of the ways I stay sane in these insane times is to write music about it.

#PROTEST MUSIC FOR 2026

I used to complain about the lack of new protest music for the insane times we're living in. Instead of complaining, I wrote some. I wrote a lot! Listening to this helps keep me in the fight. Maybe it will help someone else too.

soundcloud.com/todd-penland...

30.01.2026 04:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Minor Victories & Major Delusions A much-needed vacation from seriousness. Welcome to a world where everyday frustrations are treated like Greek tragedies, and minor domestic triumphs become high-stakes rock operas.

A vacation from seriousness. Minor Victories & Major Delusions treats domestic mishaps like Greek tragedies. From Industrial Metal bread rants to Bossa Nova nap crises, it’s 10 tracks of mundane mayhem.

on.soundcloud.com/EDXrk5gnNyq2...

Also on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Apple & more!

28.01.2026 21:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Out of My Mind Out of My Mind is an album about externalization. It starts from the premise that the most dangerous place for fear, anger, grief, responsibility, and moral conflict is inside our heads, where everyt

Out of My Mind is about taking what loops endlessly in our heads - fear, anger, doubt, responsibility- putting it outside ourselves, to look at it and decide what to do with it.

on.soundcloud.com/GO2LAbPkA3u2...

Also available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and many other platforms

28.01.2026 07:12 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image
26.01.2026 23:55 πŸ‘ 330 πŸ” 203 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 9