Today is one of my favorite days of the week! 
Last week I had the pleasure of running into a post by 
This week I will pose a few questions in my post, if one inspires you, comment your thoughts on it! A week from now, I will award 1 HBI to three commenters based on the quality of their answers.
I'm a huge fan of the band IDLES! A handful of weeks back, I shared my experience at a concert of theirs. I've been climbing out of a funk, and the interactions I had there, along with the beautiful spirit of the fans, was one of the first steppingstones to better days for me.
Like a good show will do to you, I could NOT stop listening to them for WEEKS... well, I shouldn't even define the period of time, because their beautiful sound still echoes in my home on a daily basis.
The first song I'm sharing is not by IDLES, it is by Sleaford Mods, which is relevant for a few reasons. The first of which is that
turned me on to them, in the comment section of my above post 😁 I absolutely love their funky punk vibe!Speaking of
, he's helping make a hive documentary- how flipping cool is that?! He also works on the lore for the psyberX project, writes wicked cool sci-fi stories, and talks about some techy game stuff that I don't totally get... but it's interesting! He obvi has great music taste- oh, and he's gonna be a dad soon! You should check him out if you're not hip 😎Mork and Mindy- Sleaford Mods
It was hella difficult to select ONE tune from this band, but I kept leaning towards this banger. It happens to be the first song youtube landed me on. I was trying to wind down after a frustrating day with the littles- my youngest seems to be sprouting teeth like a shark... OK THAT'S DRAMATIC...
Daaaaaance it out. That's my answer. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. Movement and music is SOUL medicine 😍 Get up and stomp out some issues, wiggle away from what brings you down.
DO IT
Or not... I'm not the boss of you. I love this song because the moment I heard it, my body started to move itself! I had a blast shaking through my first listen, and that is SHARE WORTHY!
My next song will highlight why I made the statement about IDLES above- for real, I almost just did three tunes from them! I think for this week, just this one will do however. Cause it's a BIG ONE!
Samaritans
Man up, sit down
Chin up, pipe down
Socks up, don't cry
Drink up, just lie
"Grow some balls," he said
"Grow some balls"
I struggled R E A L L Y hard with the decision to post this song, because it addresses an issue that people tend to get super up in arms over. Toxic Masculinity. Does that phrase make you mad?
If so, there's a very good chance that it doesn't mean what you think it does. It CERTAINLY does NOT mean that masculinity itself is toxic. Nope. Not one bit. It is the idea that this expectation of ideal "masculinity" is toxic to men- really to everyone. Being a man isn't about suffering in silence, taking on more than you can... but society seems to tell men that it is. This is harmful.
I remember going to see a movie in theaters with my dad, I can no longer remember what the film was... I'll never forget the most important scene though, which unfolded right next to me.
My father sniffled, and I looked up at his face. My dad is 6'2, a fucking goliath. He used to run 5 miles a day just to stay sharp, he did it with me on his shoulders when I was tiny. My big strong dad had a few tears on his cheeks. CONCERN.
I didn't even know my dad COULD cry, in the way that kids just have no frame of reference but wonder. We spoke about it later and he told me, "Well, when a movie is really beautiful, then it's OKAY for men to cry a bit. It's human." I can hear him in my head now decades later, clear as day.
I want to go back and tell him, "It's always human dad, PEOPLE cry." so instead I'll tell you. If being "enough" of a man makes you think you can't express yourself THAT'S BULLSHIT!
"I'm a real boy, Boy, and I cry. I like myself, and I want to try."
Joe Talbot, the singer of IDLES, has repeatedly talked about how the expectations set on men have hurt him. At one point in the song he yells "I kissed a boy and I liked it!" an extremely bold statement in the punk community. This tune is a protest to sterotypes.
Joe cries, he embraces who he is even if it might lose him fans, he talks about his pain. Losing a child, the alcoholism of his mother, difficulties in connecting with the world because of personal damage. I deeply admire that bravery, that fight for the next generation of WHOLE people.
Let's wind down with some good ole silliness 😁 You may remember from my #ttt post where I shared "Impression that I get", I just ADORE talented nonsense! Here is another shining example of that, which brings me great joy:
Down at McDonaldz- Electric Six
NoweverybodydownatMcDonnellzzztheydownwithRonnellMcDonnellandnowtheyhittingthebottleandeverybody COOOOOL! Yep. That's what he said!
This song makes me think of teenage years, drinking vodka mixed into our soda cups, lurking in parking lots until our curfews called us home. Although, for my gang, it was BK all DAY.
For me personally, I was a naughty kid. I feel for my dad, I really do. I was always on the edge of expulsion or getting expelled. Constantly suspended, (Why would they suspend you for skipping school? Bad job being truant, now go do it with our blessing! huh?) the cops called my pops to come get me more than once... I just got in trouble man!
You know what made me wise up though? The shared experience, and good advice of awesome friends. So, I will end with one last question for you:
As always, it was fun to share some songs I love with the community! I am excited for my first ever giveaway, and hope that one or more of my questions encouraged you to participate! In total I asked five things, pick one, or all of them if you'd like! Next Tuesday, I will announce the winners in my post!
