#1. I’ve been immersing myself in the work of Martin Newell over the last month for a project. It’s hard to think of just one song to recommend to people who haven’t heard of his stuff, but “Only A Shadow” springs to mind. Mostly because the song embodies the effortless, he-makes-this-sound-so-easy tunefulness that Newell & The Cleaners could crank out in their sleep, but also because the song makes me think of people calling Art Bell with stories of shadow people (R.I.P Art: somewhere you and Charles Fort are drinking cold ones and trying to out-weird each other with the most bizarre esoterica imaginable).

#2. Just a quick reminder that The Mekons are glorious, criminally underrated, and that you should stock a copy of Fear and Whiskey in your bomb shelter so you can listen to this beaut in the aftermath of World War Piss Tape Distraction.

#3. I recently profiled local artist Jason Hugger in a piece for JAVA Magazine. Check it out (and if you’re in AZ, check out Jason’s art at Grinders Coffee Co.).

Jason Hugger’s Surreal Desert Dreams (JAVA Magazine)

Art by Jason Hugger

#4. Speaking of local artists: Space55 recently premiered an original musical called Country Blue Saloon that runs through the end of this month. Written by Duane Daniels & Margo Brookover with songs written by Randy Daniels, it’s an original country music musical about love, cold beer, and hard times at a watering hole that’s seen better days. It plays Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Space 55 until April 29 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 2).

Y’all can mosey on over to this link and get presale ticks at Space55.

File under “Shits & Giggles”:

Yet another “soundtrack of your life” tag game is working its way through my Facebook feed. Lately it’s been folks posting the ten albums that had the biggest impact on them when they were younger – which got me to thinking about what albums most warped my brain as an impressionable young Ash.

So, without further ado- here they are.

*Insert Tye Dillinger “10! 10! 10!” chant here*

Hello! *waves hand* I’m Ashley and this is my first blog. First blogs are always strange and awkward, much in the same way that IRL introductions can be strange and awkward. So let me break the ice by listing all the things I want to see Braun Strowman tip over in the near future.

• A magic school bus
• A San Francisco cable car
• A Gamelan orchestra
• A Calliope
• Corey Graves’ closet of screamo singer tailored suits
• The entire New York Philharmonic
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

I’d write more, but Monday Night Raw is on and I’ve also got 50 pages left to read of Claire Evans’ fantastic new book Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet (I’ll share my thoughts about it later).

Anywho- if you’d like to read some recent music and film pieces by yours truly, here’s a few links to work I’ve written over the last month.

Under The Radar:

-I started writing film reviews for the folks at Under The Radar. My first review was for Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis’s Shelter.

-I also reviewed the latest film by Resolution and Spring directors Justin Benson & Aaron Moorehead: the beguiling and deeply Lovecraftian film The Endless.

Phoenix New Times:

-An interview with Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles about his new record and how he deals with mental health issues as a working artist.

-Last month the inaugural Innings Festival went down in Tempe. I went there to cover the three-day fest and reviewed two of the headlining sets: Queens Of The Stone Age & Chris Stapleton.

-March also featured the debut of another AZ music festival: The Flying Burrito Festival. I reviewed the fest – highlights included stirring sets by La Luz, No Age, and U.S. Girls.

The Hard Times:

-No Oscars In Memoriam Reel is complete without paying tribute to the scene. Because the scene, like the queen and Zed, is dead.