Friday Music

Another week, and we’re back with another weekly internet mixtape, via Spotify.

The first track, “No Fools” is a nice bit of post-punk-sounding Indie from an artist who is apparently the partner of actress/producer Lena Dunham. He records under the name Attawalpa, and I really enjoyed this track when Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” playlist suggested it to me.

She Drew The Gun is a band from Wirral in the UK, and “Behave Myself” is the title track from their recent third album. A razor-sharp piece of very political, feminist rock.

I caught “Day Shift” on Netflix this week, and as I said on Twitter, it’s not a good movie, but it’s a fun one, and everybody obviously was having a blast making it. It also featured some great needle-drops, including this track from Ice-T’s 1992 hardcore band release, Body Count.

In a complete change of mood, this is one of my favorite tracks from TOTO’s 1984 soundtrack to David Lynch’s DUNE. I love the new Dune film and it’s Hans Zimmer soundtrack, but I maintain a nostalgic love for this as well.

Sweet is perhaps better known for “Ballroom Blitz”, but I prefer this track, “Fox on the Run,” which was used to great effect as trailer music for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.

Laura was way more a fan of Wynona Earp than I was, but I really liked the opening theme, Jill Andrews’ “Tell That Devil,” which I ended up putting on my FAR WEST playlist.

And lastly, yesterday was the 58th birthday of Tracy Tracy (AKA Tracy Catelli) of The Primitives, best known for their international hit single from 1988, “Crash.”

There ya go, kids. Hope you enjoy them. See you back here next week for more!

RPGaDay2022, Questions 10-15

It’s been a few days, so I’m back with the next batch of questions for RPGaDay2022.

10. When did you start Gamemastering? 1980. Right from the beginning, with the first edition of TOP SECRET.

11. If you could live in a game setting, where would it be? This is an easy one, as it’s also the answer to the oft-asked “what fictional setting would you like to live in?” The answer, hands down, is Star Trek. A post-scarcity socialist utopia, where humanity strives to increase the boundaries of knowledge and science and better themselves? Plus a career path dedicated to exploration? Sign me up!

12. Why did you start RPGing? Story creation, via a faster and more collaborative method than writing. That’s always been what has drawn me to gaming, and (on the down side) it pretty much replaced fiction writing for me for a long while.

13. How would you change the way you started RPGing? The only thing I’d change is understanding the format of game play a bit sooner. For the first six months, I didn’t understand the gamemaster-players dichotomy, and we played TOP SECRET as a PVP board game, using the map of Sprechenhaltestelle as the board. When I got Basic D&D, which featured better examples of play, everything finally clicked.

14. (Skipping — I’m not tagging people via my blog.)

15. Who would you like to Gamemaster for you? At this point? Anyone. I don’t currently have a regular game, and I miss it terribly.

That’s all for now, kids — check back later for more!

Friday Music!

The Friday Music playlist for August 12th, 2022

As part of my effort to return to using my own blog more than social media, I’m returning to one of my most popular features — Friday Music, a weekly internet mixtape which I ran nearly a decade ago. Now, with the ease of streaming, Friday Music will appear as a free Spotify playlist, which I’ll embed here on the blog.


This week, we kick off with “Anti-glory” by Horsegirl — an all-female band which sounds, to me, like 90s-alternative girl groups by way of The Pixies. The track is really catchy, too.

Next, a damn near perfect slice of Bond-movie John Barry-esque bombast, which was apparently used in the Melissa McCarthy spy spoof bomb, the unimaginatively named SPY. Never saw the movie, but the song is amazing. Sit back and imagine a Maurice Binder Bond title sequence.

I had no idea, but apparently actor Riz Ahmed (ROGUE ONE, etc.) has a music career as well. This track, “Deal With It”, is a pounding Desi-influenced club banger, which I found via a Spotify list inspired by Miss Marvel.

Up until his untimely death from cancer (Fuck cancer), Ranking Roger toured Europe with his own version of The Beat, while Dave Wakeling toured the US with his version, The English Beat. Right before his death, Roger’s version released an album, and this was the single. Great stuff from a great performer who will be missed.

“One Way Glass” is by Innerspace Orchestra, an indie three-piece with vocals by Rose Elinor Dougal of the Pipettes. Ethereal 80s-style post-punk, which, as most of you know, is right up my alley.

Next comes a solo track from the actual genius of The Smiths, guitarist Johnny Marr. “Spirit Power and Soul” is an excellent display of his talents, and that’s not even getting into the fact that he’s not a prat like Morrissey.

And lastly, I couldn’t let this week pass without paying tribute to the woman that my entire generation had a crush on in the late 70s: “A Little More Love” from the legendary Olivia Newton-John. R.I.P., dear muse.

Be sure to check back in next week for more music, and until then, have a wonderful week.