The Post Election Playlist

Or just a bunch of recommendations for days you feel powerless

So I deleted TikTok again.

And twitter.

And tumblr.

No more social media for me. I am through wasting hours and hours scrolling. That’s not me anymore. This is the new me!

Don’t worry guys this time it’s going to be different. 😊

And maybe it actually will be. If you are like me, the days that followed after November 5th were pretty bad. Or maybe they weren’t. Either way, your cookie crumbled; everyone is getting ready for January. Whether it is bracing themselves for the next four years or celebrating for it.

Ever the doom scroll-ist, my anxious brain has been hard at work conjuring up the most delicious ways everything could go wrong. Nothing like another chaotic Donald presidency to kick my imagination up to full gear. My brain’s goal for all this? Easy answer- constant heart palpitations and a 6:30 bedtime.

But even though I am still the same old me, I am different from who I was in 2016. I was a teenager back then and I couldn’t vote. And I’m different from who I was in 2020. This time four years ago I was having panic attacks almost daily.

Today I stretch. I take deep breaths. I know to delete the apps, even if I know they won’t stay deleted. I journal and know its best to get the feelings out there even if their small.

So here is a list of pieces of art that have helped me the past few weeks. Some of these things I sought out intentionally, but most of them just strayed my way. All of them matter though, and who knows, they might help you too.

So here’s too some better ways to coping then a clock app.

Listening-

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Chromakopia

Okay, so I am not very knowledgable about rap, and I am not afraid to admit it. I have only listened to a few Tyler songs before and only started this album after the teaser for St. Chroma ended up in my Youtube recommendations.

The album dropped exactly one week before the election and it doesn’t take much to see why I liked it. It’s hard not to get pumped up when hearing the marching beat and the chorus chanting-

Can you feel the light inside?/ Can you feel that fire? (Oh)/ Oh, fire (Oh), fire

And there is a fire alright. Even if it’s a match its’s still there.

And that’s just the opening number. The drum major and marching band backtrack of Sticky is horribly fun, and Balloon is joyful with its arcade sound. Like him is especially devastating for me, but in a good way. Whether I wanted a pick me up or something to scream out on the morning commute, this was the album that helped get my energy out.

Since this album, I have been slowly going through Tyler's back catalog and finding new things to listen too. I even watched his Camp Flog Gnaw set and his Tiny Desk Concert. I won’t claim to one of Tylers biggest fans but any guy who burns up the last ten minutes of his set to share fun facts is the type of artist I want to follow.

Fun facts about me Tyler- I have never broken a bone, I drive a Toyota hybrid, and my favorite color is macaroni yellow.

Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot

The day of the election I took a public arts tour of my city. I had actually never been on any sort of historic tour in Augusta even though I had lived there for almost all my life.

Everyone on the tour a little tense. We were sweating standing in the sun. It was 75 degrees outside in the middle of November. While waiting at the cross walk, one of the ladies on the tour spoke. She was a Girl Scout leader and was worried that there might be rioting again at the capital

This was probably why the tour guide brought up the Augusta riots.

Even though I grew up in that city, I never knew about any uprisings or how those uprisings still shaped the community. After mentioning it at work, my coworker pointed me towards this podcast.

Listening to this podcast is a strange experience. Many of the places, people, and organizations mentioned in this series are names I have known life. I never knew the streets I walked on were actually built around this tragedy. Quite literally the construction of downtown where I went to school was built around a young boys unfair death.

Even though I am still making my way through this podcast, its already a high recommend from me. Whether it's election season or not, getting active in the place you live in is something you have to do.

This podcast won’t hit for most people but that’s not the point. It’s the history of my town, not yours. So go find something about you.

Brat Jazz

Its brat and its completely different but also still brat and this time its also’s also jazz.

(Want more club classics? @JoshSantana-e8e also has Chapell Roan redone in upbeat swing and its just as fun.)

Watching-

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Lost in Austen

This was actually what I watched the night of election day, in an effort to keep my mind off what I could not control. It was something that had been on my watchlist for a long time. From the trailer, it came off as goofy, laughably bad, and just oh so 2013.

I mean just look at this fit.

Peep the unlached chunky belt and mystery shaped necklace. The shirt looks like the inside of deflated balloon and the smokey eye is actually one step away from a forest fire.

Its terrible.

And it’s exactly what I wanted.

However, I was surprised at what I found. I knew that this show had some high reviews but didn’t know much other than that. Much more than just a fish out of water story, this Elizabethian self-insert fanfiction likes to throw a bit of a punch.

Maybe it was just the heightened emotion of the day, but I found myself actually upset as the story went more and more wrong. I was actually worried that our heroes wouldn’t end up with their happy ending! That’s the hallmark of a good retelling. Taking a story 200 years old, and somehow making you wonder what will happen next.

Sure its not perfect. (That haircut really is kinda awful.) But if you are looking for a 2000 time capsule that will make you chuckle, this is the pick.

Don’t believe me, here is Mr. Darcy holding a Teletubby.

Lord of the Rings

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

I don’t think I need to say anymore. I just wish I was a hobbit right now. I wouldn’t even mind the hairy toes.

Bonus Content: Looking for a way to spice up the vegetable for thanksgiving this year? Try this recipe. I made it for a party this weekend and yes- the party was Lord of the Rings Themed.

Try Not To Win

Sorry that I don’t have a final an inspiring watch to recommend for you. Really. But sometimes I got the media taste of a twelve year Minecraft streamer.

Most content on Youtube is un-entertaining garbage, but sometimes the content farm produces some winners. The series is pretty formulaic, but its entertaining to watch a group of comedians competing to be first to the bottom. And even though its “let’s play content”, I am not to afraid to say the Smosh gang is funny. Sometimes you just gotta turn off your brain and I really needed that the past couple of weeks.

And most importantly of all, there is a lesson to be learned here.

Sometimes, Teaches even loosing has its value.

Reading

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Hijab Butch Blues-

This was a book club pick for a public book group that I may or may not go to. But if America is falling apart, I might as well go talk to a bunch of strangers about books. Its time to be brave.

I am still finishing this one, but I am close to the end. It’s a memoir written by a muslim queer author discussing her life through lense of the Quaran. This book is about a lot of things- religion, feminism, being queer, but it’s also about America and what that dream means for many people.

There is a passage in the book that describes the day Lamya gets her papers denied to stay in America for her final semester term. Tired of the endless immigration bullshit, Lamya vows to return home.

She tells her friend on the phone her decision, and the friend just tells her no. She can’t. There is nowhere else to go for queer muslims. There is no where else for lots of different people to go. There are no utopias or countries free from strife and ya gotta work with what ya got.

And this is how I feel. When everyone is joking about moving to a farm in Ireland or border crossing into Canada, I know this isn’t what they are going to do. There is no other home then this, and it’s us who have to make it better bit by bit.

Ghost Fleet

One of my goals for this year was to finish up all (or at least most) of Daniel Warren Johnson’s literary catalog. This is one of the last books I have left and I finished it this month.

It's probably my least favorite of his books so far (to be fair it's his first traditionally published work), but I still liked it. The story is follows two secret service truckers who shuttle secrets across the US on indestructable big rigs. It's got monsters, explosions, and bisexual assass….. so basically everything on your Goodreads bucket list.  Here is my favorite highlight.

Let it be said, I think all families are valid. Even the furry ones.

And lastly this very short poem.

That’s it. Curious to know any of your recommendations for tough times. I’m sure I am going to need them.