A FOCUS ON THE MUSIC: Pretty, Twee, and Hopeful

My online diary with all its pathos aside, the December playlist is probably my proudest. I know it's simply a task of collection and curation but there is something victorious about deftly capturing a mood, an hour of inspiration. Musicians are like wizards to me and I'm a willing recipient of all their white magic. As the kids say: I'm here for it. 

This year I vow to dip my own toes into music composition. For now, let me highlight the wunderkinds of December.

"Worthing Beach" by Will Cookson

                                      English folk singer-songwriter,  Will Cookson from Last.Fm

The most twee number in the family would have to be by English folk singer-songwriter, Will Cookson, whose ballad "Worthing Beach" is awash (pun very much intended) with childhood memories. Worthing is a geriatric town on the south coast, ten miles west of young, bustling Brighton. We actually traveled down there during the pandemic and toyed with the idea of a housing purchase, following a trend where Worthing became the hottest real estate market in 2021. Worthing, known as God's Waiting Room, is the home of the typical  "Nan" or English grandmother and this lovely ballad has Nan vibes where Cookson repaints his childhood memories.

It's the prettiest song I've ever heard. 

"Tennis" by CASTLEBEAT

This track is totally meta where the bouncy melody, restless drums and quick guitar-picking sounds like an active game at Wimbledon. This is a song that commands you to bust out the Charleston in your living room, preferably in your slippers and on a hardwood floor. CASTLEBEAT, aka Josh Hwang, a prolific artist and head of Spirit Goth Records has become a favorite of mine. He is a generous musician, often teaming up with fellow artists and taking them under his wing.

"Weekends Away" by Math and Physics Club

                                                    Matinee Recordings, February 2005

This folk, indie-pop number is brought to you by Math and Physics Club, a mid-aughts ensemble from Seattle, Washington. It's the perfect road trip tune and reminds me when I hosted my brother Sean-O and took him north up the California coast in Daedalus, my 2008 silver and blue Honda Element. Aside from the mandatory bickering at one of our campsites (everyone knows that Aries controls the campfire), we had a fantastic time. We got to bond that summer of 2015—a few months after our dad, Dennis, died.

                                   The Kilduff Boys, July 5, 2015, Alamo Square, San Francisco, CA

Math and Physics never went on to have the success they deserve but sometimes the secret bands are the best kinds, at least for fans.

Some tracks are better known than others. You've likely heard "Tenderness" by General Public—a peppy pop rock number by 80s English outfit, General Public. A more forceful, danceable number is "Did You See Me Coming?" by electropop extraordinaires, Pet Shop Boys; a track capturing the heady hours of a budding romance on a sweaty dancefloor. For a taste of truly underground independent artist, check our New Jersey outfit, Lunch Ladies, and their devastating "Love is Overrated" which has the aftershave of The Beach Boys. And for true wistful romance, give "Jump Rope Gazers" a listen by The Beths.

                                           Academic Indie Rockers from New Zealand, The Beths

I hope 2025 is full of lovely, pleasant things. Not just for me but for all of us.

Spotify Playlist Here

Apple Music Playlist Here

Pretty, Twee and Hopeful: Tommy's December 2024 Top Twenty-Five Tracks

 This was the hardest year of my life. At age forty-five, I spent the year 2024 suspended in a mid-life limbo hell where my appetites ran away from me. And the bill came due. Actually all the bills came due at the same time. I owe so much to my family and my husband and my close circle of friends who helped me when I was down. They all seem to be thriving. God bless.

                             Trafalgar Square, Early Morning, Winter

So I had two previous streams of thought for the direction of this year's December playlist. The first was to go full funereal and post my collection of tracks dealing with failure and regret. Entitled FML, this audio island of misfit toys sits (presently) at one-hundred-and-seventeen tracks but this would again break the mathematical promise right after November's emotional emergency dream pop playlist which runs two-hundred plus songs.

But then I thought: seeing the backside of 2024 is a celebration and a proper soundtrack is called for! FML may represent the authentic cry of anguish throughout the year but it's no slogan nor attitude for the utter relief at a chapter that needed to close. So instead I present: Pretty, Twee and Hopeful, a collection of jangle pop, dream pop, electro-pop and indie rock that celebrates the small moments of sweetness on this Earth.

                                              Outside Hayes Library

I'm a naturally positive person but this rosy tint blinds me to flaws that everyone else sees as articles of common knowledge. I hide from ugliness and dodge conflict. But I'll often sing walking the streets of London with my chunky earphones on. There goes that crazy American! It's hard for me to discern fury in the body politic and I wonder why I get so surprised by another reactionary election in which the results are less than savory. It's hard for me to discern fury in my personal relationships too.

But this horrid year is ending on many notes of sweetness. For the first time in my life, I am committed to seeing my therapist on a weekly basis. I've become one of those annoying stereotypes of someone who is fresh to therapy and is thus therapy's loudest promoter. I don't know if Rocky (my beloved therapist) knows what he is up against. Me: a book smart but stubborn Irish man who is a romantic and a dreamer AND a doer but also a guy who is terribly impractical and messy to live with. 

                                              Hayes Library Rose Garden
                                            

Still, other sweet notes ring. On the 20th, I received my first paycheck as a part-time librarian for my London 2.0 experience. 464 Great British Pounds and 23 pence. 583.33 in US dollars and cents. I nearly cried when I checked my account balance. To boot, everyone in my borough's library system is incredibly kind and welcoming and gay-friendly and educated and I could see myself growing within the network. The takeaway is that I've sort of fallen in love with the Brits. You may have to put in the effort but they'll make space to reach out at the appropriate time. And when they do, they revel in talk. Can't stop talking actually. Kind of like me. Actually the point of the British workplace is not success but chatting with your coworkers, those warm and stellar Britons.

I'm a worker, don't get me wrong. I love to dive in. But the British office vibe priority is all about having agreeable relations. Americans are more competitive somehow and can tolerate more friction in the workplace. Because they have a different target, different value in mind. And that's okay.

                                        Outside Petts Woods Library

I'm also writing a novel—actively—after years of fits, starts, and doubts.

And Mauricio and I have whisked ourselves away via EuroStar to a week split between Paris and Lyon. He's my sweetie and my rock and my hero.

So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Enjoy the music and please let's get together somehow for 2025.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0yGiWBcXXtu7YLpEgkFOXu?si=7a9861a770644733

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/pretty-twee-and-hopeful-tommys-top-twenty-five-tracks/pl.u-55D6ZNyS8px27Y

Tommy Kilduff

The British Superpower: Naming Things

Coziness comes in many forms and the naming of things in the cityscape is one way Brits make the large metropolis familiar terrain, helping to orient and comfort tourists and citizens alike. Thus, the British superpower can be summed up in their naming (and nicknaming) of things—train lines, buildings, nothing escapes the mission of familiarizing. London, in the early aughts, saw a skyscraper boon and each odd edifice received a moniker of derision or delight. Famous examples include the pregnant Mommy, the spiky Shard, the Walkie-Talkie and the Cheese Grater. 

Photo from The Independent Online News Source

Photo from The Independent Online News Source

Boston, too, has its monikers for our own two skyscrapers who I often liken to existing in a frosty marriage. Said arrangement includes the stern Prudential tower (the Pru) and the lean, blue John Hancock Tower (the magnanimous giant and the tallest building in all of New England). It's curious to note that the wretched new Sheraton tower just southwest of the The Pru does not yet have a nickname (I see it as an interloper and dark presence in said frosty marriage). So if a building does not have a nickname, does that indicate it has been rejected by the public at large? 

Why mess with a classic? From Boat International Online Magazine

Beware the dark interloper on the right. From Roth Galleries.

Another aspect of London's cozy approach to its cityscape is the naming of tube lines. The traditional eleven are listed here in alphabetical order:

-Bakerloo

-Central

-Circle

-District

-Hammersmith & City

-Jubilee

-Metropolitan

-Northern

-Piccadilly

-Victoria

-Waterloo & City

The first pocket edition of Harry Beck’s Underground map, released in January 1933. © TfL/London Transport Museum

Added to the mix is the DLR (Dockland Light Rail), the Croydon tram, and the new urban/suburban cross-rail line known as The Elizabeth Line (who some refer to affectionately as The Lizzie Line). This animating is unique to world capitals (although Tokyo and Vancouver have names for their lines also). New York and Paris rest on mundane numbers and letters while Boston has a color scheme. Charm demands familiarity and this is where London shines. There's even a comedic skit called "If Tube Lines Were People." There is even a recent attempt to name six new Overground lines, a pushy move that critics say is too on-the-nose or even "woke". These names include Liberty, Lionness, Midmay, Suffragette, Weaver,  and Windrush.

If Tube Lines Were People, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4e-Al90tSs&t=193s

One facet of cityscape naming and nicknaming where London falters is the naming of streets. How many avenues, ways and streets are named after Queen Victoria? Put another way: when will the insanity stop?

Sources

---

New York Magazine, 16 Mar, 2007, "London (The Other New York.)"
By Eugenia Bell and Matt Weiland, https://nymag.com/guides/london/29431/

Wikipedia, "The Tallest Buildings in New England", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Boston

https://www.boatinternational.com/destinations/americas-yacht-destinations/24-hours-in-boston-usa

https://www.rothgalleries.com/image/I000062pj0b_euEU

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/tube/

https://www.apollo-magazine.com/tube-map-harry-beck-london-transport-play-andy-burden/

If Tube Lines Were People, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4e-Al90tSs&t=193s

https://www.reddit.com/r/transit/comments/1f71nsw/what_other_cities_give_their_metro_lines_proper/?rdt=45197

BBC News, "London Overground: New names for its six lines revealed", 15 Feb 2024, by Tim Stokes & Tom Edwards

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68296483

Remembrance Day, Irish Relations, and The Sweetest of the Freedoms

 London grows on you and I felt it had a major growth spurt this past month following the election (I'm not trying to rub it in your face; I would have all my family and friends move here in a heartbeat). Opinion is split and the future is uncertain but I can't help but wonder: Is the UK the last vanguard of liberal democracy in the world, led by the nerdy by uncharismatic human right lawyer, Sir Keir Starmer?

A Front Garden Outside in Bromley

Let's back up. I write this from a nation in what is considered "the old world," cultures who have weathered a lot more history and types of government just due to geography and plain old age. The meaning of the two world wars is much more visceral and visible here than the USA. In Britain, poppymania reigns in November. You see men and women wear red silk and paper poppies afixed to their jackets. This is honor of Remembrance Day, November 11th (Veterans' Day in the USA) when the Armistice was signed at eleven in the morning on 1918. At that hour, the bells toll and a two-minute quiet contemplation ensues when pedestrians stop dead in their tracks. Poppies grew gangbusters in the fields of Flanders where rotting corpses provided ample fertilizer for the symbolic flower. It should be duly noted that the red poppy is treated with controversy if not contemplt in Ireland where British soldiers committed atrocities against Catholic families in the north. Regardless, the British self-view is that they "stood alone" against Nazi fascism, saving the continent in the process. Whereas  in America, we always remark on the halcyon days of the postwar period with its attendant new prosperity, new suburban homes, and new kids on the playground. In battle, America was able to swoop in muscularly at the last moment leading to the poignant (but unsubstantiated) observation by Winston Churchill that "Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else."

Fountains in Trafalgar Square

So what does it mean for me to be ensconced in the Old World? Well, London is a good place to adult. It is calm and genteel and fairly uniform. Like the rest of Europe, London looks towards tradition and history for guidance. People put in the effort to dress well and maintain decorum on the tube. Careerism and bluster are generally frowned upon while chatter and bonding at work is placed at a premium. Seeing oneself as the hero or major character in your own life is deemphasized. Brits don't even like sharing their first names; it's a curious cause for blushing. Like Boston in some sense, hushed voices are expected and loud volume in public is considered rude. 

One Christmas Tree outside Charing Cross

I read a figure that ten percent of Brits have an Irish grandparent. This lucky lineage caused a deluge in applications for Irish passports following the Brexit decision. There is considerable cultural crossover between Ireland and Britain. I intuit that my people back home view me as a traitor for living in enemy territory but this is a clumsy perception. In fact, having a dual Irish citizenship and an Irish passport is considered the golden ticket since the Irish have one foot in the EU while being a member of the Common Travel Area. The CTA, an administrative agreement signed in 1922, allow citizens of the UK and the ROI to travel, live, study, collect pension, etc., to live in one another's domicile without paperwork. It is an agreement that survived Brexit and it allowed me to attend my post-graduate course hassle-free (note my nana was from Sligo which made my own dual citizenship possible). Brexit was a reluctant decision for 48% of UK voters; the other twenty-seven members of the UK were sad to see Britain go.

With my Irish golden ticket, I was able to reunite with long-lost cousins. I have extended family in Lancashire and Scotland; we have yet to meet up but we have been corresponding regularly—straight out of a Henry James novel. My cousins, kin of my nana, Celia Mullarkey, emigrated to England in the 1950s to work on the railroads. This is why I am a big proponent of both legal and (look the other way) illegal immigration. A nation's general industry is a proper way to sweeten the hive and attract worker bees. For freedom of movement is the sweetest of all the freedoms. There's nothing wrong with people seeking a better lives for themselves and their families. Imagine if citizens and politicians alike saw their home countries as prime destinations. What a badge of honor! Today is the day to turn the argument on its head. 

A Rainbow Christmas Tree outside Charing Cross

Ireland, always worried that it will catch a cold if its largest trading partner sneezes, actually saw remarkable growth in shipping, banking, and trading following the Brexit decision. A few new passenger and cargo routes opened up between Ireland and France, bypassing the British ports of Holyhead and Liverpool, evading new onerous paperwork. Still, the Republic of Ireland, found itself disoriented immediately following the application of Brexit but was in the position of forging new alliances with the remaining twenty-seven EU members. Brother nations in the Baltics are seen as good partners. Ultimately, the Republic of Ireland is quite happy being in the EU (I liken it to the Irish being comfortable within large families!).

The Emotional Emergency Playlist, November 2024. Lucy with the Football: Dream Pop/Eclectic/Jangle Pop

 We all have our own process for digesting grief and despair. Mauricio, ever the stoic, urges resiliency but my counterpoint to him is that getting over a critical election is like the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva; this will take at least seven days and a lot of lit candles. We split the difference at three days (it's not my first rodeo of picking up and putting down cigarettes).

For this special emotional emergency edition of Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks, I've been digging through the archives for something lengthy and atmospheric. I now present to you "Lucy with the Football," a fifteen hour soundtrack containing sixty percent dream pop, thirty percent eclectic and ten percent jangle pop (listening on scramble mode is best). The titular metaphor is clear. Surprise, failure, and bitterness are what we are going for here. Also, lots of longing. Long on the longing.

Honestly, slipping on my headphones has been the healthiest of my coping mechanisms. In 2016, I was personally crushed and we were all shocked so maybe there's a built-in resignation this time around. Which doesn't make the dread any less bearable. That being said, I'm looking for different hobbies beyond consuming political podcasts and youtube videos.

To hear on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KLlvLzKlZrXbCHhSsPRRF?si=1d80ec9fb7dd4ffc

To hear on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/lucy-with-the-football-jangle-pop-dream-pop-eclectic/pl.u-4Joma4btaej1rM 

Making Friends with Democrats Abroad

The big night is upon us so I have decided to rent a hotel room and attend an election night viewing event with fellow Americans. It's strange; I feel I am on the precipice of making a lot of friends all at once and friend-making is something that I have sadly devalued at the moment. My friendliness has taken a hit since COVID. I feel older and more muted. These last ninety days have been spent with Mauricio looking at properties and applying for jobs and working on my novel. And while the Brits are fair-minded with a great sense of humor, the city of London is not a bubbly haven like New York, San Francisco, or even Boston. I'm still learning to pick up the signs of the natives and I'm still learning how to flow into their rhythm. And while hanging with other "ex-pats" seems like picking low-hanging fruit, I still want to surround myself with my fellow countrymen and countrywomen. 2008 vibes are in the air!

Can't wait!

As an absentee voter, I am allowed to vote from my last residence.

The zoning in London allows for some surprises.

The ex-president cannot win. I'm still nursing my wounds from Hillary's fall on that sad November evening in 2016. So imagine my exaltation at Iowa pollster wunderkind, Ann Selzer, who has Kamala Harris LEADING by three points in The Hawkeye State (!). Her findings: senior women are coming out of the woodwork in fury that Roe has been reversed. Here is a great interview of Ann with Tim Miller of The Bulwark. And if Iowa is a blue possibility, we shouldn't sleep on electoral rich Ohio. Can you imagine?! Women across this country will be the heroes of this election, ushering in the first female (of color!) into the White House. This has to be the story. As a feminist ally, it is infuriating that we have this stark double standard on display. Imagine if Harris had displayed the same antics of Don the Con, everything from not taking questions and swaying on stage for forty minutes to gay anthems like YMCA and holding hate-filled rallies insulting various groups of the body politic. Research has shown that democracies with more female representation lead to better outcomes across a range of policies. Specifically the more women in government, the lesser the legal and economic inequality. Countries with more women in power lead to a higher GDP. 

Famous Suffragist, Millicent Garrett Fawcett

Most statues in Parliament Square are of men.

A photo of artistic merit.

The themes over radio, television and podcastia over the next few months will be about the rise of women and the growing power of Gen Z. Specifically on the former, I foresee that Rebecca Traister will be a media guest with her 2016 book All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation. The book should have flown off the shelves with a Hillary win but sometimes these events don't align so perfectly.

Published March 1st, 2016

Tomorrow night I shall also attend a documentary of Kamala Harris with Democrats Abroad before we gather at Marylebone Sports Bar and Grill
Melcombe Place, London NW1 6JJ as the votes get counted. The viewing will be an all-night affair since we are five hours ahead of the east coast. This is gonna be history folks!

Taking place at The London School of Economics

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks for October 2024

London lends itself to the spooky season as much as it does to the festive one. The city has its neo-gothic architecture and its adopted sons and daughters of the macabre imagination. One such adopted son is Dubliner, Bram Stoker, who incidentally just had one of his long-lost horror stories unearthed by a superfan. Stoker was a famed member of a local membership library creatively known as The London Library and since I'm on the market of a new writer's space, I received the official tour. The tour guide, Glen, revealed that it was here in these halls where Stoker wrote his masterpiece, Dracula, as evidenced by found written notes of primary sources and dates that line up with Stoker's seven-year membership at the institution. Now that's a type of history you can really sink your teeth into. 👻

Gentle Reminder in The London Library

A Few Stacks in The London Library

Scary Puma Statue in Saint James's Square

Musician-wise, London has a handful of representatives on October's playlist: outfits like Fleetwood Mac, Florence and The Machine, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Rolling Stones. Song-wise I included obligatory hits like Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" and Nina Simone's "I Put a Spell on You". This month's playlist starts with a banger by comeback kid, Christopher Owens, of GIRLS fame, one of San Francisco's musical wunderkinds of the early 2010s. Owens had gone through hell and back so it's good to see him up on his feet.

Early Dusk in Westminster

Late Dusk in Westminster

As for other Shock-tober happenings in London, I may drag Mauricio to The Prince Charles Cinema tonight to see The Exorcist. May we have a side of holy water with our popcorn please? 🍿

Big Ben Noir

To listen to the October playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0enx13gdM5iiOuu6N21K6h?si=6b5fdfdaa5b54887

To listen to the October playlist on Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/something-wicked-this-way-comes-tommys-top-twenty-five/pl.u-qxylEeXI27lx4X