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

Cool Britannia, Britpop Anthems: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks for September 2024

It's official! Not only is Labor back in power but Oasis is reuniting(!) and set to play their first concerts in July of 2025, starting in Cardiff and ending in Dublin. To dovetail with the news, I present you with the Britpop anthems that will transport you back to the halcyon days of the mid-1990s.

                    Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit on the 1997 Vanity Fair cover. Photograph by Lorenzo Agius.

You'll notice that there are two repeats here. The first is Keane's lush and gorgeous anthem that could be utilized by any nature non-profit: "Somewhere Only We Know." Then a redux of said song by fellow Brit, Lily Allen. I honestly don't know which is better so I included both. Also a song so nice I listed it twice is James's "Laid." For this I actually give the candle to New York Indie poppers, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, for their heavily electrified version.

Spice Girls (L-R) Victoria Beckham, Melanie Chisholm (Mel C), Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown (Mel B) pose for a photo at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, on June 28, 2007 in London, England. Getty Images

There are also quite a few ragers on here like Oasis's "Live Forever," Suede's "Beautiful Ones" and Republica's "Ready to Go." For our foreign language addition, I included "Dacw Hi" by Welsh outfit Super Furry Animals. The one sleeper that I seem not to remember is Travis's "Closer," just an absolute gem.

Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xdaHNjs9OWDGhD9TSgRKA?si=c86c60c7804d4e06

Also available on Apple Music. Type in the same name: Cool Britannia, Britpop Anthems: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks for September 2024

Better Living through Circuitry: Navigating London via Bus, Foot and Train

Parts of me wanted to stay in Boston forever. The Hub, afterall, is awash in charm and leisure: nearby beaches and mountains, a small but brave theatre scene, a tapestry of dessert establishments and independent film houses galore; enough diversion in which to spend your time. Notice, however, what I didn't include in Boston's advantages: the MBTA. With major lines shutting down for weeks at a time, the T's checkered performance pushes citizens off the tracks and onto 93 South and we all know how traffic does wonders for societal cohesion and individual blood pressure.

In London, there's more here here.

"The Old Smoke," with its two-thousand-year-old history, pioneered the modern railway. Boosterism by Prince Albert certainly helped move things along (as evidenced by this clip at timestamp 3:18 of Victoria on PBS), leaving London with a legacy of options in getting around. For the modern Transport for London (TFL) includes:

675 Bus Routes 🚍

  11 Tube Lines 🚆

9 Branches of the Urban-Suburban Rail Elizabeth Line

6 Newly-Named Overground Routes

5 Dockland Light Rail Routes 🚈

5 River Bus Routes 🌊

3 Branches of the Croydon Tram 🚋

and 

About two dozen national rail operators emanating out from one of London's rail terminals 🚃

    Anyone who knows me knows that I am anti-car and pro-train and thus London has proved an embarrassment of riches. As seen from ten thousand feet up, you can imagine every trek via bus, foot or train as a little circuit or nine million little circuits criss-crossing and intermingling. Whatever the image, moving around the city is a great way to get my bearings in this inaugural month. Tomorrow the first of September will mark thirty days. Call it the Thomas in London Chapter 2.0.

Bring on the Love and Happiness: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks of August 2024

I am making haste with the roll-out of August's playlist because the positive vibes command it and the positive vibes are many. Think about it: the world has come together in peace for the Paris Olympics ("Summer in Paris" by DJ Cam) and the games highlight a global desire to clean up city rivers. Politically, there is much excitement in the anglosphere at least. British voters kicked out the wretched, sleazy Tories, ushering in one of the largest Labour majorities in decades with homeboy prosecutor Keir Starmer at the helm. On the American front, X and Tik-Tok have reached maximum memification with Kamala Harris who brings a gust of fresh air to a nominating contest that looked like a sad replay of Grumpy Old Men.

I mean, c'mon, the Olympics are in Paris!

So things are looking up! And they better be. Too many wars and pandemics and inflation horror stories. Humanity needs positive storylines too. This August playlist gives a nod to California ("Coastal California, 1985" by Math and Physics Club, "California" by The Lagoons, and "Sunshine Type" by Turnover) which is fitting since the vice president had cut her political teeth in The Golden State. Our nation's most populous state is not ashamed of its hedonism so I've added "Feel It" by Viji, "Make You Mine" by Family of The Year, and "Good Time" by Brazilian Girls. And old-skool Dean Martin ballad "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" sounds like it was written in a Palm Springs bungalow.

Ok so the album came out in 2008 but Obama 2008 uplifting vibes are what we are looking for.

There are more than a few nostalgic tracks for different generations peppered onto the playlist here. Herman's Hermits "I'm into Something Good" is a shout-out to the Baby Boomers while late Gen Xers and Elder Millennials have "Steal My Sunshine" by Canadian outfit, Len as their 1999 keepsake. "Bruises" by Chairlift evokes The Moldy Peaches who helped frame the soundtrack to the 2007 film Juno.

And for the second time this year, "Martha My Dear" by The Beatles appears on one of Tommy's Top playlists because a.) it's simply the best Beatles track as well as the band's most baroque and b.) the fact that Paul McCartney wrote this masterpiece about his dog cements both his legacy as a brilliant songwriter and a decent-hearted man.

The lightly-political, feel-good anthem Ride with Me by wunderkind drummer, Aaron Frazer is befitting of the year 2024 when half of the world's people get to flex their democratic rights. Aaron Frazer, you heard it here first, is a rising light to look out for (he also has mad swag and the talent to back it up). 

                                                           This kid is going places

As for the foreign language selection, give Venasque by Ian Pooley a listen for the lush beats and the French lyricism. 

I'm not gonna lie; I had fun with this one. May the vibes continue to shift in the direction of good times for all!

Spotify Link to August Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3E8GuElMumfjmV9bvaLSam?si=8cd24d838d24486b

Angel Vibes and Mermaid Sightings: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks for July 2024

I think it's important to know a wide swath of people of different backgrounds, ages, and beliefs. From my circle of close friends, acquaintances, and family members, I have collected those who are hard-core aetheist to red-hot Pentecostal. But for anyone who knows me well knows I keep tripping and falling towards the celestial end of the spectrum, against my better judgment. We're talking dozens of mystical encounters that have no known human provenance nor explanation. And the more I age, the more I return to my Catholic roots, especially moved by The Marianist tradition. Another strain that had caught my fancy on our honeymoon in Paris was the Symbolism movement that I first encountered at the Musee D'Orsay. For Symbolism, I finally found an organizing language for all these encounters I have had throughout my life. Heady stuff! 

So for July's playlist, we will surround ourselves with angel vibes and mermaid sightings. 

July's playlist can be found here on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/31XEydKD0kLjV8lRsIgTvy?si=078e02e5dbbf41e9

The playlist can also be found on Apple Music under the same name.

African American Music Appreciation Month: Tommy's Top Twenty-Five Tracks of June 2024

Jimmy Carter, God bless him, created what was then called "National Black Music Month" in 1979, the year of my birth. This factoid along with my negligence of Black History Month (I just had to go with the 60th anniversary of the Feb Fab Four), has led me to the studio to shower praise where praise is due. For this year's "African American Music Appreciation Month," I struggled on limiting the number of artists to twenty-six. (I could have easily conjured one hundred musicians and we would still just be getting started!). In this slim selection, due to my self-imposed numbers game, I had to skip whole genres like jazz, funk, disco and electronic dance music. You will also notice missing name tags in the list like Wu-Tang Clan (too violent), Rhianna (too successful) and Biz Markiy (too goofy). I also switched out Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand" for John Legend's "All of Me." Legend's spare piano ballad still gives me goosebumps.

Illustration by Mark Harris from The Texas Monthly

What we do have here on Juneteenth is a wide assortment of artists and musicians that have been absolute stalwarts and innovators of American popular music. That is the one key with black music—just the breadth of talent on tap for this non-monolithic group. The one sad reality is that monetary awards were historically elusive for black artists.

                                                                                    

                                                                                   

For our foreign language contribution, we have MC Solaar, one of France's most popular hip-hop artist, who sings in both Spanish and French in track number three. Whitney Houston also represents with her moving ballad about practicing self-love. West coast hip-hop also represents here with fave artists Snoop and 2Pac. On the east coast, I seem to have developed an affinity for Philadelphia groups like the Roots and the Cross Movement, the latter a Christian hip hop outfit.

                                                                Trading card photo of The Del-Vikings. 

Going back to yesteryear, I give credit to The Del Vikings for being one of the earliest racially-integrated groups in 1950s doo-wop. Peppered throughout the playlist are examples of neo soul and contemporary R&B, twin genres that I fancy. On that tip, check out Durand Jones and the Indications along with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

Enjoy the music. And enjoy the Juneteenth holiday!