Author: Shelby Joy Leone
Tag, I’m it. It is time for you all to discover how much media I consume on a daily basis to soothe my fidgety brain. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot.
(Don’t judge me.)
MONDAY
9:00 AM — “Hey Qween” With Jonny McGovern
This morning I watched the latest episode of “Hey Qween” with Jonny McGovern, a queer talk show hosted by a gay comedian and co-hosted by a drag queen. In a world where late night TV/interview talk shows is the worst it has ever been (thanks, Jimmy Fallon), “Hey Qween” gives me the kind of gay nonsense I need to start my week. Comedian Jonny McGovern and drag queen Lady Red Couture are an unstoppable duo of hilarity and queer culture. The show celebrates LGBTQ+ history and hosts almost exclusively queer guests, mostly drag queens, who talk about their life as queer performers and sound off on current gay issues.
Watch the episode here:
10:00 AM — Howl Album
Yes, sometimes I listen to recorded poetry instead of music, and you can fight me about it. I am not the first to say that Allen Ginsberg is my favorite poet, or that everyone should listen to the man read Howl, but I am gonna say it anyways. I also love the album’s live recording of his poem “America”, which is sometimes read as a hilarious critique of American ideals and sometimes read as the chronicling of the heartbreaking reality of the world at the time of its writing. We love duality in this house.
11:55 AM — “Not that embarrassed TBH”, playlist.
Since I am too cheap to pay for Spotify premium and thus don’t have the luxury of choosing what songs I want to listen to, I have an absurdly large collection of Spotify playlists for every single mood possible so as to ensure shuffle-friendly tunes all day long. Today’s pick isNot That Embrassed TBH, which is my playlist of songs from childhood movies like Alice In Wonderland, Mary Poppins, andSingin’ In the Rain.If you haven’t walked around your city listening to the sweet sounds of an entire orchestra paired with the voice of Julie Andrews, you are missing out. This playlist to me is like the smell of freshly baked cookies and my grandma’s perfume; instantly comforting and gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. All around, a great way to start my daily activities. I mean, who doesn’t want to get ready in the morning to songs like this?
https://youtu.be/sCOmMyA9rAM
Full playlist:
1:00 PM — “The Philip Defranco Show”
I try to keep up with news and one of my sources is a YouTube news show called “The Phillip DeFranco Show”, where the host, Phillip Defranco, reports on news in an *usually*unbiased way. He gives the news, his opinion, and then starts a conversation with his audience. While I disagree with him on some topics, I think his show gets news out in an accessible and entertaining way.
6:00 PM — “LIVE FAST NOW: AFTER HOURS” (a playlist by me)
After a rare afternoon away from media, I went right back to my B.S. self and cranked out homework to my playlist “LIVE FAST NOW: AFTER HOURS”, which consists of loud and fast punk music (after hours was to indicate that this playlist was not KXSU radio friendly, as opposed to my “PLAYLIST KXSU LOUD FAST NOW”).
Highlights include “Sailin’ On by Bad Brains” and the Dead Kennedys cover of “Back in The USSR” by The Beatles.
Full playlist:
TUESDAY
8:00 AM — Howl movie
Every once in a while, I get the urge to watch movies that aren’t good about people who are. So, I woke up today and watched a bit of Howl, the 2010 film chronicles the obscenity trial of the famed book of the same name by poet Allen Ginsberg. James Franco depicts a young Ginsberg telling the story of his writing career up to and including the trial. Franco plays an overly dramatized and romanticized Ginsberg in his interview scenes, but I enjoy the bits of the movie that are dedicated to animating the poem itself with Franco as Ginsberg reading from the text.
Highlights include the fact that you get to see Jon Hamm in a suit as well as an animated sea of penises. One day there will be a truly amazing and non-romanticized biopic of the Beat Generation that don’t include queerbaiting straight actors… but I am still waiting on that one. I complain, but I would recommend watching it for a good time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytEORri27xE
9:30 AM — “Songs to be Thankful For” Playlist
It was sunny outside!!! When the sun shines, all I want is Woody Guthrie or The Beach Boys, so that is what I got. My Californian heart SWOONED. STBTF basically encompasses the songs that make me smile. Other artists featured include the Mountain Goats (if you know me, this is the least shocking thing that has ever been written), Belle and Sebastian, Neil Young, Kimya Dawson, and more.
Take a listen if you’d like, I’d like to think it would make other people smile too. Who knows.
1:00 PM — “The Phillip DeFranco Show”
WEDNESDAY
8:00 AM — Loud Fast Now…. Again
Listen, I like showering to punk music. Sue me.
10:00 AM — Trolling my coworker
On Wednesdays from 10—11am, I host a radio show right here on 102.1 FM KXSU (click above to listen live to whoever is on air right now!). I began the morning continuing my streak of listening to loud whiny white men with Black Flag, AC/DC, The Ramones, and The Stooges and then began to pick random songs I felt like hearing. And then… my coworker informed me that my show was playing outside of the student bookstore on 12th as part of their open house event, so you know I had to start having fun with it. I began the second half of the show with “Twist and Shout”, because our radio manager informed me he hates The Beatles, so of course I play them all the time now. Then we had a streak of Lady Gaga, followed by “Holiday” by Green Day (an emo banger for the bookstore to enjoy), “500 Miles” (the ultimate meme tune), some more punk, some Dolly Parton, and I finished my set with a pop punk song I hadn’t heard in years, “Swing, Swing” by The All American Rejects.
Needless to say, I was laughing so hard at my own ridiculousness that my stomach hurt.
12:30 PM — Pop Punk Foolishness and Musicals
On my way to class I switched between the All American Rejects and We the Kings (after my show I was inspired to go back to my cringey pop punk past) and then began listening to movie classics like “Over The Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland and The Singin’ in The Rain soundtrack. This dichotomy of classic croons and punk is not an everyday thing, but more of a cyclical occurrence that repeats every once in a while. Punk is the constant, but it is paired with folk, jazz, swing, Broadway, French music, or bad pop punk depending on the cycle.
3:30 PM — Dog Park Jams
I spent my afternoon listening to early Green Day and Bob Dylan hits at the dog park, where my friends and I had a great discussion about lyrics, genre labels, and childhood favorites. I enjoyed indulging in my embarrassing love of green day that began when I was a young emo kid and nowadays only rears its head once in awhile. I make fun of myself a lot for my fandom I mean, I used to live and breathe Green Day… and part of me misses that. So when we spent our time finding the harmonies to Green Day songs… it was actually kinda nice.
Highlights include:
- Green Day — “One For The Razorbacks”, “Ordinary World”, “Stay The Night” (acoustic), “Jesus of Suburbia”, and “2000 Light Years Away”.
- Bob Dylan– “Oh, Sister”, “Hurricane”, and “I Shall Be Released”.
7:00 PM — The Philip Defranco Show
9:00 PM — Poetry
I spent this evening at a coffee shop working on a poem I desperately wanted to finish. The poem revolves around the voice of Ginsberg, whom you may have noticed I have been a bit obsessed with lately. It all began when I picked up a book of his journals at a used book store and I’ve since felt as if I was getting into his head and him in mine. In order to continue the poem where I left off, I had to get back into his dope smoking, LSD-doing, head so I watched an episode of Firing Line that he was on and listened to him read poems.
THURSDAY
8:00 AM — The Valley Folk Podcast
I began my Thursday with one of my favorite podcasts, The Valley Folk, which is the official podcast of the comedy group of the same name. Every episode, the four comedian hosts literally just hang out and chat for an hour about whatever they want with a few bits here and there. Honestly, I love watching the video version of the show because you can really tell how much the hosts enjoy being there. It’s hilarious, endearing, and off the rails.
10:00 AM — “Daily Mix”
Sometimes I look at the mixes Spotify makes for me, and sometimes I actually enjoy them. The latter was the case this morning when Spotify was delivering Eels’ “Novocain For The Soul” and Abner Jay One Man Band’s “I’m So Depressed”. I like how even Spotify can track my ups and downs… or maybe I should be freaked out????
7:00 PM — “Now THAT’S What I Call the Mountain Goats” Playlist
Writing this article, I listened to my playlist called “Now THAT’S What I Call The Mountain Goats” , made up of—you guessed it—all songs by the Mountain Goats, because duh. Not to rhapsodize, but they are so good you guys. Like, I need all ten of the people who read this article to listen to the Mountain Goats at least once and I will have died knowing I did gxd’s work.
Tell John Darnielle to interview with KXSU: https://twitter.com/mountain_goats?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
FRIDAY
Friday night was the first night of Susquatch, the more affordable and less sweaty Sasquatch!. So, I waltzed on down to Kame House and listened to the music. The lineup included: MONSTERWATCH, Happy Times Sad Times, Velvet Q, Strawberry Mountain, Beverly Crusher, The Carols, and Paisley Devil.
SATURDAY
I don’t remember what I watched and listened to on Saturday, so here are some fun people you should listen to:
- New Fossils — My friend Shane’s project, which used to be a pop punk band is now his emo-pop project. Shane is probably the best writer I know and if you don’t listen you should at least read his lyrics and then you’ll need to listen. Shane is hand’s down genius.
- Devon McCauley — My friend Dev’s bedroom pop! So sweet! So pure! I listen to it more than I admit to them!
- Mary Claire — MARY CLAIRE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND I USED TO HEAR THIS SONG FROM MY ROOM BECAUSE WE WERE NEIGHBORS AND I AM STILL NOT SICK OF IT.
- PAINBOYS — If you like punk music and supporting the local scene, Painboys are the band for you. I mean, you can listen, but you gotta see these goons live for a good, high-energy time.
SUNDAY
Sunday’s are for sleeping, studying, and watching childhood favorites.
Studying playlist: “Songs to enter to in a high school movie about a cool girl who smokes under the bleachers”
Childhood:
SHELBY JOY LEONE | KXSU Music Reporter