June music and media

Hi blog. Short time, no talk. I listened to a lot of music and did a lot of music related things this month, so I'll spare you a lengthy intro. Not just albums today! Concerts, books, and whatever other random crap I remember. 

Triple Digits [112] - RiTchie (2024)

favs- WYTD?!?!, The Thing

Vampire Weekend- s/t (2008)

Student teaching hype music

Lola- Goth Babe (2024)

Was there supposed to be something nature-themed about this? I can't remember. I guess I can't really remember anything else about the album either.

So Divine- Horse Jumper of Love (2019)

fav- Nature

Janky Star- Grace Ives (2022) 

I wouldn't be shocked if her opening slot on Olivia Rodrigo's upcoming tour shot her into stardom, Chappell-style. We probably don't need to be comparing Roan and Ives, but I think, in this current cultural moment, Ives' production style has more appeal. After I initially listened I wrote down, "half charli xcx, half Dirty Projectors". I don't know how accurate that really is.

favs- Isn't It Lovely, Lazy Day, Shelly

Slump- Improvement Movement (2024)

There's something very 'Lumon Industries' about this band's logo and album cover.

favs- Better, Bill, Eat Me Alive, L.O.S.

Goyard & The Kayfabe Reveal- Ghais Guevara (2026 release!)

Listening to this album and taking the time to understand it deserves grad school course credit.

Neon Summer Skin- Bedouine (2026 release!)

Ok so huge switchup here. 

favs- Long Way to Fall and Deghma Cheega

Hijos del Sol- Hermanos Gutierrez (2020)

Beadhead- bar italia (2021)

girl they dgaf. ts rocked.

favs- rage quit, Arena, Killer Instinct, dao jones

Sung Tongs- Animal Collective (2004)

This isn't my favorite AnCo album, but I do really really like Leaf House and Who Could Win A Rabbit.

Bitte Orca- Dirty Projectors (2009)

Did all that 'stomp clap hipster' discourse go down on Twitter this month? Not really sure where Dirty Projectors would fit in there. This is probably the best proper art rock album of the millennial-Obama-indie (or whatever you want to call it) era. 

favs- Cannibal Resource, Temecula Sunrise, Stillness Is The Move, Useful Chamber

Mount Wittenberg Orca- Dirty Projectors and Bjork (2010)

No like it's fine I just wasn't expecting two orca-titled albums in a row. 

¡Demolición!: The Complete Recordings- Los Saicos (all of these recordings are from 1964-66, but I think the compilation was released in 2013, or maybe 2019 idk you look it up)

Peruvian proto-punk! Listened as I was reading a book on punk around the world. Would highly reccommend. 

favs- Come On (Ven aqui), Demolición, Lonely Star (Estrella solitaria), Camisa de fuerza, Cementerio, Fugitivo de Alcatraz, El entierro de los gatos, Intensamente

Contra- VW

Student teaching commute music. Also thinking about that old tweet where Rostam said he wanted this album to sound like Kala by M.I.A. 

Primeras Canciones- Silvana Estrada

I legitimately could not tell you how I came across this ep.

Fav-Tenias Que Ser Tu

1999- Joey Bada$$ (2012)

favs- Survival Tactics, World Domination

Magazine- YHWH Nailgun (2026 release!)

Yeah this album felt like a magazine! Short, provocative songs that intrigue listeners and push their (or at least my) limits. 

Rocky Horror Picture Show Cast Soundtrack (1975)

I'm not sure what this album progression reveals about my music taste/consumption habits but it's probably something really concerning. 

I think I put this on after I watched some of this year's Tonys performances (don't get me started about Ragtime).

Masseduction- St. Vincent (2017)

Earlier in June I had a nice conversation with my cousin about music, and he asked, "Do you listen to the lady that screams?" It took us both a minute to get on the same page, but he was talking about her <3. 

favs- Pills, Masseduction, Los Ageless (yeah yeah Bojack Horseman crazy awesome needledrop I know)

You Seem Sad for a Girl So in Love- Olivia Rodrigo (2026 release!)

This was good! Olivia knows ball (for additional proof please check out her awesome t-shirt selection in a recent Pitchfork profile written by Instagram legend Shaad D'Souza)! Cannot wait to see clips and pics from Daisy Chain Festival! 

fav- expectations

BlackBolshevik- Ghais Guevara (2021)

I LOVE this album. Full of important historical allusions and killer samples. 

favs- Operation Cyclone, Kidnap Mark Cuban Then Hide Away in Cuba, Prison Riot

Bodyguard- The I.L.Y.'s (2017)

Listened to the whole thing two times over. 

una forma de hablar- Maria Rodes (2010)

Ok this is kind of a niche pull- I was reading "Reservoir Bitches" by Dahlia de la Cerda, and 'Desorden' was mentioned in the first chapter. Decided to listen to the whole thing from there. Upon further research, I also found that this album was reccommended by David Byrne- that tracks. This felt like a portal into Maria's mind. Avant chill folk. Would listen over and over again.

Sleep Cycle- Deakin (2016)

Went to his solo show on Fathers Day. Life changing. Also bought this cd directly from him. #indie This album makes me want to go play in a creek. Something very childlike and comforting about it (much like the rest of AnCo's discography).

favs- Just Am, Footy, Good House (this song is very very special to me <3)

super low- Warehouse (2016)

atl band reccommended by another atl band (Swords II)

Secrets of the Fifth Angel- Nina Garbus (2026 release!)

Opened for Deakin!

Kuchu Camp- Fishmans (1996)

Ok so I'm plenty familiar with Fishmans (they've got some killer merch, btw), but in a very strange inversion of the 'coworker music' trope, I ended up talking fish for a bit with my teacher friend. I've listened to Long Season, Uchu Nippon  Setagaya, and 98.12.28 Otokotachi no Wakare, but I hadn't listened to this before! Coworker quickly threw out a comparison between them and Radiohead. I don't think I completely agree with that. 

Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi- The Four Seasons (Max Richter) (2014)

If you liked the score in Arrival and are familiar enough with classical music you'll greatly appreciate this album. 

Where have all the merrymakers gone? - Harvey Danger (1997)

Ok so boom. This genre of 90s/00s alt rock/pop-punk type of stuff is a blind spot of mine. Usually the voices of this genre aren't my favorite and the lyrics aren't anything profound. I can find the same sound somewhere else, accompanied by a more palatable voice and more considerate lyrics. This album completely defied my stereotypes. It lowkey sounds like Ben Folds, but less piano stuff and more traditional alt rock arrangements. 

Death of a Ladies' Man- Leonard Cohen (1977)

London Calling- The Clash (1979)

The Only Band That Matters. More on them later. 

Set My Heart on Fire Immediately- Perfume Genius (2020)

favs- Describe, On the Floor

Il est cinq heures- Jacques Dutronc (1968)

French Baroque pop or whatever. 

favs- La metaphore, L'augmentation, Hippie Hippie Hourrah, Les metamorphoses

3D Country- Geese (2023)

I would LOVE a full live recording of this album. Anna has the Live at Third Man vinyl but I'm not sure what the tracklist on that is.

The Stooges- s/t (1969)

Lester Bangs made me listen to this with fresh ears. Still thinking about that tweet where the person didn't realize Iggy had scoliosis and just thought that was his 'swag lean'. 

favs- 1969, I Wanna Be Your Dog, No Fun, Ann

Fun House- The Stooges (1970)

Another Bangs reccommendation. 

favs- Down on the Street, Loose, T.V. Eye, Dirt, Fun House

SINGLES and other non-album things

• Your Lemon- Emile Mosseri, Hand Habits (2026 release!)
• New Muscles- mary in the junkyard (2026 release!)
• Eric Andre's 'Film Scores for Films That Don't Exist' 
• What a fun project ugh
• 'Freedom is the Mole who will turn the world upside down'- The Sprigs (2026 single, album forthcoming!)
• 'Lost Boys'- Phoebe Bridgers (2026 release, album forthcoming)
• Phoebe must have know I've been teaching Peter Pan to my 3rd graders this summer. Also this song/music video (a must watch!!) is very clearly about the manosphere. 
• soulless cycle- L'Rain (2026 release, album forthcoming!)

CONCERTS:

When in the burbs of Atlanta, as they say...

• Lowertown with Strumbrush and Truth Club at The Masquerade
• I cannot believe I went to a show this lit on a school night. So much attempted crowdsufing. 
• Also, this was my first time at The Masquerade. My 13 year old sister went a year or two ago to see an Australian indie band she really likes. Coolest girl ever.
• Deakin with Nina Garbus and PE Teacher at The Drunken Unicorn
• A mesmerizing show. I could have stood in that hot basement for another three hours in a trance-like state. 
• High Fidelity with John Cusack at The Fox (not a concert but close enough)
• This was my 'wow you finished a month of teaching elementary schoolers' present to myself. Prior to this, I had only been to The Fox once. It was Dirty Dancing the Musical in like 2014. I bought nosebleed tickets for the screening, and ended up getting upgraded twice. 

LITERARY THINGS:

• Got a used copy of 'Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung', a compiled collection of some of Lester Bangs' best stuff. Put a bunch of tabs in my favorite chapters. Very excited to reread over and over again. 
• This book made me think a lot about the current state of music journalism. Miss you Lester Bangs. Miss you Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
• Speaking of the current state of music journalism, one of the living greats, Amanda Petrusich, wrote a moving piece about EMDR therapy, embellished with plenty of music references for her traditional audience. 
• I already hold a deep reverence for Petrusich, but her graceful, inquisitive prose about one of the strangest therapeutic experiences of my life has made me all the more appreciative of her work.  #emdrwarriorsstandup

ONE MORE THING

I was listening to 13 by Blur and was in the mood to mess around on Canva so I made this "Bugman"/Battra/kaiju-inspired poster. I mean it's just a monster of a song, right?

That's it for now! cya later blog

'Going Shopping' with The Strokes: A Music Video for 'The Modern Age'

 My Sunday starts like any other. Wake up and check the time in my ridiculously dark bedchamber (there are no windows– yes, I’m in a basement), roll back to sleep for two hours, actually get up around 9:30, put on a generic enough outfit that will suit whatever activities I may choose to do, and head upstairs for breakfast. For the past month I’ve been dressing in proper work attire, which has been quite a shock to my system. My tshirts, once a staple of my college wardrobe, have grown comfortable in the humid darkness of my dresser, waiting for a moment to escape when I am no longer bound to a code of minimal professionality. 

Today's shirt is from Low Level, a non-digital designer out of Philly (I think). Besides a selection of musically-inspired insurgent shirts, Low Level also offers vintage pins, cassettes and other ephemera. 

My morning continued with a bit of cooking for the week, and after finishing up, I once again retreated downstairs to grab a book. As I was getting ready to read, and throw on a concert or something on Youtube, I noticed something exciting on my feed. A new music video for ‘Going Shopping’- the Strokes single I have greatly enjoyed, and have already written about. Unfortunately, I did not see the brief teaser for the video posted the day prior, so this release was very much a surprise. The universe seems to be sending me some kind of Strokes-related message. 

(Please pause and watch the music video at this time)

As usual, my judgements are not rooted in personal preference, but rather a critical analysis of what seems to be happening in the video.

The opening shot makes you feel small. The angle of the Auditorio de Tenerife, located in the Canary Islands, is imposing. Resembling a wave about to break, or a cobra ready to strike, the shots of the building, briefly illuminated, place you, the viewer, at a critical point. How will you prepare yourself for the coming wave?

Perhaps Walton Goggins can help us out. Dressed in a similar manner to frontman Julian Casablancas, he prepares to take the mic as the opening titles roll. Before we can hear from Goggins, however, the scene shifts, and we see him dressed in a suave white outfit, similar to something I might see in my former college town of West Palm Beach. He is juxtaposed by Casablancas, dressed in his traditional style of dark, 'alternative' clothing.

As our protagonists near each other, framed by a black steel grid that neatly separates the screen, Goggins thwarts Casablancas' attempt at an amicable handshake, and opts to selfishly smooth back his hair. Julian, not missing a beat, mirrors his action. The game is on.

After sitting in a pose that faintly reminds me of quixotic, impractical political debates hosted only to gain views and revenue, Goggins begins to deliver the song's opening lyrics, almost stealing the words out of Julian's mouth, as we see him get ready to speak. This brief act informs my interpretation moving forward- the message that Casablancas was getting ready to deliver has now been co-opted by Goggins.

Goggins seems to be delivering some uncomfortable truths: "Like a tiger they will chase you down with words instead of claws." To me, this reads as a political figure warning of the dangers of cancel culture. Proselytizing that "they will seduce you 'till the point to let yourself get mauled", an anxious viewer can only hope that Goggins will provide some solutions to the present age of cancel-culture politics.

Julian seems unbothered, and a bit stupefied by Goggins' message. In time, Goggins delivers what I consider to be a fundamental line of the song:

"The worse reality gets, the less you want to hear about it"

(reader, I'm kindly letting you know that this is where my initial interpretation of the song, before seeing the music video, diverges)

Goggins' character wants to keep it real with you. He's not going to act like things are great right now. Perhaps we, the viewers, faced with a coming wave of turmoil symbolized by the Auditorio de Tenerife, should heed what he has to say.

In a predictably ironic turn, Goggins delivers the second part of the line ("solidarity can be difficult when you've got cool stuff to lose") as a generic food delivery employee approaches him with his order.

Interestingly, some of the most natural and genuine shots of the video are sprinkled in as Goggins explains his personal political vision, and alludes to how he wishes to escape our current social climate (essentially by retreating from existing civic institutions and finding a new talking head to follow- him!). The delivery man is filmed with a shaky camera, embracing the naturally imposing architecture, almost surrendering to it rather than attempting to fight it.

With Goggins being too distracted by his own convictions, Julian takes his delivery and reveals it to the audience: a large container of vibrant blue liquid labelled "100% natural".

Nice. #makeamericahealthyagain

Before we make it to the chorus, I want to pause for a moment and point out some key elements of the video that are shaping my interpretation.

• Interaction with audience: Goggins and Casablancas are both aware of an audience, with Goggins speaking directly to us, and Casablancas providing some colorful facial expressions.
• Lighting: Immediate contrasts occur in the first few seconds of the video, between daytime and nighttime. Additionally, the synthetically warm palette of everything we've observed so far is stylistically different from most other Strokes music videos, which I tend to think of as having a cooler (like the colors, not vibes), more futuristic palette.
• Set/structures: Man is that just a killer piece of architecture. Building architect Santiago Calatrava loosely falls into a modernist school, and says of his own work, "My major interest is the introduction of a new formal vocabulary, composed of forms adapted to our time." That quote doesn't really do a lot for me, but looking at some of Calatrava's other work does. He actually designed Florida Polytechnic Uniceristy, located in Lakeland, which would always remind me of a dinosaur every time I passed it on the highway.

• The internet says that he is inspired by natural forms and the human body, and I am pleased to announce that I (not an architectural critic) agree with this statement. His bridges look like birds about to take flight, and his skyscrapers resemble someone slowly turning their body. So a comparison to a coming wave, or a snake about to bite are not unwarranted. The building must be providing meaning too.

(Alamillo Bridge in Seville)

(Turning Torso in Sweden)

• Another comparison of note is Jordan Peele's 'Jean Jacket' from Nope, and the heptapod ships from Arrival.
• Besides the auditorium, the neatly divided set where Casablancas and Goggins' interactions take place is also of note. At first, the bare scaffolding can almost go unnoticed. But as the video progresses, we come to understand that the bars represent an ideological divide between protagonists.
• Costumes: As previously stated, the costumes are working to characterize the differences between our protagonists. What I find interesting are the shots where Goggins is wearing a darker, Casablancas-style outfit while crooning in front of the auditorium. I'm not quite sure what that all means yet. There are also some pretty blatant references to Paul Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al', featuring Chevy Chase, but I'm not exactly sure how that factors in here either.

As we approach the chorus, I think it becomes clear that Goggins is acting as a symbol of post-MAGA conservatism, relying on a (co-opted) populist message that Casablancas was ready to deliver. If you're even a bit familiar with Julian's politics, this should track.

Let me get on a different soapbox for a moment, and provide some data to support my claim. This Brookings article, titled "MAGA Republicans Won the Party but May Lose the Future", states that, "Rank-and-file Republicans have made something clear to pollsters: The GOP is now also a MAGA party. It's a change that has occurred with remarkable speed. The Economist/YouGov poll, which has closely tracked this development, found that in September 2022, only 38% of Republicans identified as MAGA Republicans. By May 2026, that number had risen to 62%." These shifts aren't necessarily happening because more people are supporting Trump's policies, but rather, because non-MAGA Republicans are becoming increasingly alienated from Trump's GOP. As the article shares, Republican Kristin Soltis found that 62% of "Trump-first" Republicans described themselves as extremely motivated to vote, while only 49% of "party-first" Republicans said the same.

"The non-MAGA Republicans now look more like independents than party loyalists, a major problem for Trump and his party. Non-MAGA Republicans will thus be far more important in determining the political future, in 2026 and beyond-- in part because MAGA supporters, while now a majority within the GOP, remain a minority of the overall electorate." And issues like tariffs, the Iran War, and the non-release of the Epstein files have only exacerbated the growing divide between MAGA and non-MAGA coalitions. The report concludes, "Given the gaps in their attitudes, particularly where Trump is concerned, MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans seem almost to belong to different parties."

Once again, this music video paints a picture of what this growing, conservative, post-MAGA 'defectorate' may look like.

Here are some other articles that put forward a vision of what the post-MAGA Right may look like:

• The document that could define post-Trump conservatism (published June 11, 2026)
• Examines the viability of a new conservative populist document that seeks to yet again 'reclaim' American citizenship. Lowkey scary!
• What lies ahead for the Republican Party after Trump? (published May 29, 2026)
• Identifies three main factions: Trump loyalists, legacy Republicans, and Christian Nationalists, and suggests that the main conflict will be between MAGA and legacy Republicans. Gary Sasse writes, "Although Trump's administration stressed economic populism, cultural grievance and institutional distrust, it did not establish a governing philosophy. This enabled various MAGA supporters to focus on their priorities, and not necessarily the movement's."
• "According to More in Common's extensive research, less than 40 percent of Trump voters say being MAGA is important to their political identity. This suggests that the movement is centered around Trump's personality more than a comprehensive governing vision. Therefore, traditional conservative legacy Republicans have an opportunity to influence the direction of the post-Trump Republican Party. However, this will require that they are well-financed and organized to pursue their goals, and attract working-class Trump voters."
• MAGA's Dead. What's Next? (published April 20, 2026)
• This article is kinda tense and political theory heavy and also it greatly pissed me off. It is an incredibly articulate vision of post-MAGA conservatism though.

Armed with the knowledge of growing fractures in the current GOP, and competing visions for the future (Reality Awaits, remember?!), Jules seems to suggest his own vision- one where vaguely left-leaning points are co-opted by recent defectors in order to bolster their own ideologically empty platform. I think pundits like Tucker Carlson know exactly what they are doing when they finally, after 10+ years of spewing Trumpism, make their exit. It's not that the current GOP has radically shifted (it's just been riding on a wave of right-wing populism for a bit), but that figures like Carlson are simply hedging their bets, as any rational actor would. Although the GOP is now a majority MAGA party, as the Brookings data shows, there is still a large, growing, 'Independent' (or non-MAGA) coalition that lacks a unifying set of principles or values. This is where defectors like Carlson, and perhaps even Marjorie Taylor Greene, have the most opportunity. As I read in a TikTok comment section once, "Remember, they didn't change their minds, they're just agreeing with you."

Ok I'm off that soapbox now (mostly). Back to the video.

A little ways through the first chorus, a silent film-era title card graces our screen. "Let's take a look at the daily headlines!" it reads, as two new characters appear. I will name these guys Red Media Clown and Blue Media Clown. Real subtle, I guess.

What is real subtle though, is the delayed reaction that Goggins has to Julian after he stops dancing, showing confusion and disappointment in temporarily losing whatever kind of ideological game of 'Simon Says' he thinks he's playing. Brilliant acting choices here.

The chorus ends, and new character meanders in, seemingly representing "unchecked power" as the title cards imply. In an Instagram post I can no longer track down (#sad), I saw someone refer to Nikolai's character as the 'Union Buster'. These names seem interchangeable honestly, but I'll go ahead and refer to his character as Union Buster. 

As Goggins continues to deliver hollow messages, ("expanding on our greatness, building future ruins...") Albert appears dressed as an explorer. To me, this demonstrates that Goggins is attempting to leverage the powerful forces of exploration, discovery, and curiosity. Jury is still out on if he'll be successful though.

When Julian begins to open an Amazon package, Albert appears on screen, delivering Goggins the treasures of his conquest. Al appears to be perturbed with Julian's Amazon package. It makes sense of course- why would Goggins need the spoils of Al's colonial venture if he could have just gotten the same thing from Amazon? Is there more dignity in more traditional forms of accumulation, even if we are all getting the same thing? Probably not, the video suggests.

The next major plot point ushered in by title cards is the delivery worker's strike, and the subsequent attempts of RMC and BMC to divert attention away from it. As the second chorus wraps up, and the guitar solo begins, Casablancas seems to pass the torch, or the guitar?? to Goggins, letting him jam this one out. Goggins plays and dances through the solo, while Casablancas indulgently opens his Amazon package. Perhaps Casablancas has finally given in, letting Goggins co-opt his narrative, or maybe they're all just high on whatever 100% natural blue bathroom cleaner they drank earlier. Either way, attitudes seem to shift during the break, as Julian seems to capitulate to his surroundings while Goggins becomes increasingly concerned by the chaos. 

As the pre-chorus begins, Fab finally enters the frame, portraying a character (once again, I saw this in the Instagram post I can no longer find) called the 'Conductor'. I'm not totally sure how to apply that designation, but he brings Julian some shopping bags and a sense of joy, perhaps representing the mechanical upkeep of our current consumption and production habits.

The chaos continues, and once again, we get a shot of the serpent-like auditorium, but this time, with Nikolai the Union Buster lighting Al the Explorer's cig, and a title card saying, "Yes, Master." I think this might be one of the most important interactions in the whole video. All of these different forces, institutions, and ideologies interact with each other, but the quiet concession of unchecked power to forces of curiosity and exploration speaks volumes. 

If there's any hope for a true 'winner' in our cast of capitalist commedia dell'arte characters, it's certainly Al as the Explorer. He delivers the song's second solo in front of the daylit auditorium, dressed in white. Perhaps genuine curiosity is our best response to fracturing political landscapes. 

The next title card reads, "Oh glory! We've kicked them out!", and has a similar tone as the song's opening lyrics, which use vague descriptors to loosely designate enemies. The 'them' in question appears to be BMC, RMC, and Al the Explorer, who are tied up behind the rest of the dancing cast. But really, that title card could have been directed towards any of our characters. 

After about 30 seconds of kicklines and other hijinks, Goggins sternly delivers a message directly to the audience: "If you're better than me you don't have to judge me." This lyric is kind of vague (better off economically? morally better?), but Goggins' delivery is not. He has clearly shed all joyful pretenses as he explains that your criticisms are only valid if your status trumps his.

The ending is quite blunt. But what's notable is that they are being murdered as performers, not as their characters. No specific force or ideology is spared. 

My initial interpretation of this song had to do with disillusionment, and subsequent retreat. The video builds off of that interpretation, and illustrates how people (constituents and politicians alike) are "Going Shopping" for new viable ideologies in a soon to be post-MAGA era.

- - -

If you've read this far...

Here's a brief aside that didn't quite fit in. Consider it like an appendix or something idk this is a blog.

In a Guardian article attempting to explain the recent departure of Tucker Carlson from the GOP, author Geoffrey Kabaservice suggests that the ongoing Iran War and subsequent instability have exposed the inherent contradictions between the MAGA and 'America-first' coalitions that Trump initially campaigned to. He states, "Although Trump was long able to keep both factions in coalition, they represent different worldviews that correspond to different historical incarnations of American conservatism."

I think about these two groups -MAGA and America-first- as the two whole circles in a Venn diagram. Thanks to Trump's highly appealing messaging, they overlapped enough to get him in office. Fundamentally though, there are some ideological inconsistencies between these groups that are beginning to separate our Venn diagram, and therefore, Trump's electorate. The whole America-first thing began as a non-partisan movement against US entry into WWII that was explicitly isolationist (and also populist and nationalistic). Meanwhile, the 'A' in MAGA remained tactfully vague, unable to express what exactly we should be nostalgic for.

"But", Kabaservice explains, "when pushed [Trump] invokes, first, the period of American military and industrial expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and second, the decades after the end of the second world war when baby boomers like Trump himself were born.

Trump's Maga supporters have expressed nostalgia for America's Gilded Age, when the country's booming industrial base was largely protected from foreign competition and tariffs were the primary source of revenue for the federal government. But the late 19th century also marked the onset of American imperialism, with the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American war - an action applauded by Rudyard Kipling in his 1899 poem Take Up the White Man's Burden. Trump believes that a strong nation should dominate weaker ones and take whatever resources and territory it requires for its own greatness.

Trump's "Donroe Doctrine" echoes the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine's claim to US regional hegemony, and his siding with Russia against Ukraine harkens back to that era's belief that great powers could keep the peace by respecting each other's spheres of influence. Trump shares the America firsters' contempt for alliances and US global responsibilities. But Maga is not an isolationist creed, as Trump's actions in Venezuela and Iran have demonstrated.

"I never understood it," Carlson said of Maga in a recent podcast interview. "I think there was a strong latent desire in the hearts of a lot of Americans to improve the country... but it was imprecise by design." Trump's charismatic incoherence -and the restraining influence of his more traditionally Republican advisers during his first term- allowed him to paper over the contradictions between Maga and 'America first'."

Ok thats really it for now

close personal friends: Alicia on Art

Sup blog. I'm a bit drained from my first month of intense teacher trainings, so I figured I would do something else to acquiesce to my journalistic desires. I decided to interview one of my best friends Alicia, who is an incredibly talented artist, and all around genuinely interesting person, about art, education, and design. Here is our conversation:

LR: Hi Alicia, it’s me, Laney. Thanks so much for letting me pester you with a few questions about your latest art piece. I have been so privileged to watch your art grow through the years, and explore themes of childhood, home, and love. If someone is new to the whole Alicia thing you have going on, how would you describe your art, or your artistic approach?

AS: Hi Laney, thanks for asking. I love that you said ‘explore themes of childhood home and love’ because it's just absolutely true– home and love especially. But my art comes from my childhood, which was so beautiful. To always have crayons, or oil pastels, or acrylic paint or whatever I wanted within reach. I had amazing people, like two professional artist grandparents, and a professional graphic designer/MFA-trained painter aunt. My mom was a phenomenal sketcher, she used to cut silhouettes, and was brilliant with calligraphy. It was great that I had experts in every room I wanted, and materials anytime. So as a child, my artistic approach was ‘make anything, anytime that I feel like’, and [then] I grew into high school, and fell into traps of what I thought I wanted to post on social media, and what I saw on Pinterest. Social media was on the rise when I was 14 and 15 in 2016, and 2017, and so much of my energy was put into ‘Will this get likes? Will this make me money?’. And then I got to college, and you start shaking some of that off, but I didn't really understand art-making for a long time. I was still doing it for a grade, or for my friends to say ‘Wow that's really cute!’, and then I took a class with Adrian Gonzalez who's a printmaking professor –who's leaving UF now which is so sad for them– but he was brilliant, and he really pushed me to question ‘Why do I use collage in my work? Why is my work so imbued with narrative? What do I want to be doing and why am I using these materials and formatting it in this way, to say this thing?’ And it was amazing. 

Recent collage by Alicia, 2026

For our final assignment for that [printmaking] class, he said it could just be one percent printmaking and the rest could be anything else. I made this giant curtain, and it had some printmaking, and it had image transfers, embroidery, sewing, fabric work, braiding, and all kinds of really interesting stuff– and I had to think about, ‘Why does this color mean this? Why do I want to use it to mean this, and why does this shape mean this, and why do I want to use it to mean this, and why does it matter that I'm using ink— which is permanent.’ Everything had to be considered.

(Alicia's final project from afforementioned printmaking class)

So my artistic approach now is quite considerate, and I've now gone back and thought about the artists I enjoy. Instead of blindly clicking on Pinterest or buying [random] art books, I think much more intentionally. I am recently getting into buying books on the practice of art and the basics of painting and using ink and graphic design. I think those things matter so much, because even having gone through art school, a lot of what I want to do is just like ‘Well, I know enough and I can do it’, but I think there is really a lot to be said about learning the basics before you go out. It matters so much, and makes you better and better and better, and learning is fun and good! And throughout undergrad, I wanted to shake that off in exchange for getting coffee with my friends, I didn't learn as much as I should have.

And so now I think my art is quite jaunty. I think it is quite fun and often cartoonish. I think there's a sketchbook-y, lyrical quality to a lot of my work. There's a lot of movement and narrative in what I create—a lot of it isn't figurative or still life. I don't like to draw or paint people so often— I think I can sometimes, and if I want to make a work for a specific person, or if I want to just create a portrait of that person, especially when I do little cartoon work it's gonna be figurative. But I [find myself] veering away from it, I like to put other meanings into my work. But it's still very collage based, and it's still pointing towards a meaning that is specific to me. My approach has changed so much to being so much more informed and specific, rather than broad and jabbing at any meaning, and trying to convey that in whatever figures and icons I think will be most relatable to everybody. So it's become much more personal and about my thoughts and what matters to me.

(Alicia's sketchbook, 2024)

LR: You studied art in undergrad, and recently completed a masters degree in Student Personnel in Higher Education. How has your experience working on the other side of the student experience affected your views on art education?

AS: Gosh, it's influenced and affected everything about my views on art ed. My undergrad was a BA in art, just plain old art. And then I had a certificate in art education, and was one class away from a certificate in ceramics, and I also had an art history minor– so I did a lot in undergrad in all different spaces. I couldn’t possibly imagine I learned as much as I had the time and space for just art or art history or art education, which are all so vastly different. My masters is Student Personnel in Higher Education, but essentially is higher education administration. It's really interesting having done art ed, and has affected a lot of my views on art education because as a student, you go through it, and again, so much of what we do as students is for the grade and for the validation, and for impressing our friends. I think there's a lot of competition that people feel as students, and then you flip it, and suddenly you're learning how to administer it. Still, it informed so much of my art, because suddenly I had the adult perspective, and I thought ‘Oh my God we do a lot of it wrong.’ 

I think it's in a lot of professors and educators, who also just want their students to get the passing grade and move on, and there's not so much care or time put into getting students to buy into what they're doing. What I learned from teaching the First Year Seminar during my first year is that I didn't have as much background on it. I knew what I wanted our students to be able to teach, but I didn't really know why it mattered, or how to get them to care about why it mattered, which would improve their teaching. And between my first and second year I interned at the best university and program (University of South Carolina, University 101 Programs) in the country for the first year experience. They founded it, they created it, and I got to do all this research and learn about where it came from and why it mattered. The next year, when I taught FYF instructors how to actually teach First Year Florida, I got to do an entire lesson on the history of the first year seminar, and what it was and why it mattered and why students teaching it matters. I had so many of them say ‘Wow you know I was excited about this before but now I feel like I'm a part of this beautiful history’. And maybe they don't say it so eloquently, but they would express that they feel so much more excited to teach something that they care about. Just teaching about why you like the thing you like and how it matters is so important. 

LR: How should we arts-educate?

AS: I think people should practice art and craft in whatever way they see fit, but I do think there should be a broader acceptance that not everybody who makes art is an “artist”, and that a practice does have to be developed, and basics must be learned to be, in my eyes, a true professional artist. I think you can be a professional crafts person or a professional creator without claiming the title of being somebody with a legitimate artistic practice and background.

I think there are a lot of issues [brought on by] social media. There are a lot of issues with being able to ‘AI things’ now, but even prior to that, issues of stealing designs via Pinterest or via billboards and magazines, trends remain of not giving credit or acknowledging one’s influences, [there is] a lack of understanding of why you're making what you're making, and then the ease of creating design work [with] Canva or Photoshop. 

So I think people can practice art however they want to, but I think that a lot of people practice art for profit, or marketing, and I don't think that counts in the same way. I actually don't believe that graphic design is an artistic practice at all– it's a design practice, and I think that they're different. So in our arts-educating, I think that there can be more of an emphasis on art making and process, and what it means to understand oil paint vs. acrylic paint, pastels vs. crayons. I think that we should really nerd out more, and I don't think we see as much nerd-out as we could, because we want to be so inclusive. We want to imply that everybody who creates is an artist– and I don't personally think that's true. I'm realizing this probably sounds pretty crappy on paper, but it's what I think and feel.

[I believe] we should arts-educate people to tap into their own personal practice of being any kind of crafty, artsy, or creative person without needing to think of themselves as some legitimate full-fledged artist. I think it would take a lot of the pressure off that you can doodle and create art without having to be some kind of tortured artist, which is a myth anyway.  You can do whatever you want and feel great about it without having to publish, without having to label, without having to sell– you can be just as legitimately creative and artistic as another person who makes art without having to do any of that, and I think art education should talk about that!

LR: How do you differentiate between art and design?

AS: In my mind, the difference really lies in the function of design vs art. Art being a more internal, heady, and creative practice, and not always leading to concrete results. Whereas design is applied to marketing, architecture, and packaging the objects that you use day in and day out. Even the signs displaying different ways to walk around a building is technically design work. Design has a function and use, and art does not necessarily have a use beyond the aesthetic or decorative. Do you know what I mean? I think it's kind of like the difference between [the design of] a single-family home and that of a cathedral. One has a functional purpose and one is imbued with beauty specifically as decoration, not function, that's why it exists the way it does.

Mini Cycle, 2026

Mini lover, 2026

Mini neighborhood, 2026

Many designers are artists, but many designers are not artists. Their design involves [strictly] function. And that's not the same thing, but I think there's a lot of overlap [anyway]. I mean it's a big Venn diagram, and I don't wanna exclude every piece of design from the artistic conversation, and it takes a lot of design to fund [the] arts and get the word about art out there. Design is where so much marketing comes from today, we just wouldn't have [a] platform without design now. Everything needs the right font. Everything needs the right colors. Everything needs the right “look”. There are all these trends that we're gonna have in design right now– we have brands like Cou Cou Intimates, and Graza. These things are largely popular, not necessarily because of the quality, but because of the design. Many of these products aren't even “good” quality for what they are [i.e. a $70 t-shirt that is see through], whether food or clothing, etc., but the design of that product, which is really doing the work, is going to turn that functional object into a sellable object.

Rapid Fire Round!

Song that makes you think about art?

'Foxes in the Snow'- Jason Isbell

Song that makes you think about design as a practice?

'I Want Your Video'- Djo

“Commercial but not trying to be”

A perfume you DONT like?

Anything overly floral and grandma-like. And most Victoria's Secret.

In five words or less, describe your general feelings towards bowling alleys.

Fun and not so difficult

What’s your favorite form of severe/extreme weather?

Severe thunderstorm from inside the Fine Arts building at the University of Florida, or my parents dining room.

Something that inspires you?

Sunlight through the trees, North Florida.

That's all for today! Find more of Alicia's art on Instagram: @aw33ch