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I don’t know about you, but I sure did miss there being a Bandcamp Friday last month! This month’s Bandcamp Friday falls on May 1, the day before the hallowed holiday Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day! Make sure you visit your local comic book shop! I hope to stop by my shop, The Outer Limits in Waltham, MA, where they often carry used CDs and vinyl.

I’m in love with Maybe Not Tonight by British outfit Lime Garden, released today on So Young Records. The music is upbeat, yet the vocals express a lethargy that I feel to my core. Recommended if you like Elastica and La Roux. Check out the banger “23.”

I devoured Candy Baby. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, whether she’s writing young adult, comics, or adult. Cherry Baby falls decidedly into the adult category. It can be deliciously spicy! And in this case, the spice includes a gorgeous, self-proclaimed fat girl, with an enviable wardrobe. Cherry’s life gets turned upside down when her husband’s webcomic becomes an international hit in print.

That’s right! Burned As Witches, the side project of Ash drummer Rick McMurray, has released a banging new single entitled “Hold Your Nerve.” It's from the forthcoming self-titled album due out April 17. For tour dates and to sign up for the mailing list, visit the Burned As Witches website. The video, directed by Anthony Neale, is a fun one with Ash's Mark Hamilton as "The Reaper Cop."

It’s another Bandcamp Friday! That means Bandcamp waives their revenue share and passes the funds directly to artists and labels. It’s one of the best ways to support those artists you love. According to Bandcamp, over $120 million has gone directly to labels and musicians since Bandcamp Friday’s inception in 2020. Here are my picks for this Bandcamp Friday: Black Cross Hotel - “

Elizabeth Eulberg knocks another one out of the park with Cruel Summer: The Taylors Version #2. Just like in Love Stories: The Taylors Version #1, this book has excellent character development. It’s fast-paced and filled with Swift Easter eggs. A must for fans of the first volume in this series. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m dealing with a refractory migraine and Ehlers Danlos syndrome flare, so this edition is simply my picks. It’s still early in the year, so most are pre-orders. Sunlight Echoes by Whitelands a short history of decay by nothing (pre-order) Ambiguous Desire by Arlo Parks (pre-order) Animal Style by Wynona Bleach (pre-order) Birdy by deary (pre-order) Lucky Now by Lande Hekt Creature of Habit by Courtney Barnett (pre-order) Highway to Heavenly by Heavenly (pre-order)

Art by neondemon.jpg My talented friend Luciano Oliveira, (AKA neondemon.jpg) has created this lovely portrait of my two cats and me! Includes nods to Hello Kitty, Lush, The National, Ash, The Smiths, and even my mobility aids! I love it. If you love it, too, you should check out his art portfolio or follow him on Instagram. He is open for commissions!

I liked Rumors of My Demise, by Evan Dando, but I don’t know if I’m biased because so much of it was nostalgia for the Boston music scene of my youth! Also, a lot of the book involves places and people from Boston/Cambridge/Martha’s Vineyard and I’m a born-and-raised Masshole! The first time I met Dando was at a Godstar show at Man Ray in Cambridge, MA.

An Excerpt of My Letterboxd Year In Review This past year, I watched 174 films. That’s down from the 216 I watched in 2024. Since I started using Letterboxd, my number of movies logged has gone down each year. Unfortunately, with a degenerative illness, I’m leaving the house less and less to go to the movies. At home, I’m more apt to choose watching a television show over a feature-length film.

Since I was a kid, I’ve loved learning about different cultures and places via postcards and pen pals. My first pen pal was Cédrine from Tarbes, France. Now, thanks to The Internet, I get to talk to folks all over the world! For several years now, I’ve spoken with my Brazilian “pen pal” Luciano almost every day. We joke that we’re “music twins” because we love so much of the same music.

In no particular order, my favorite television shows of 2025: Dept. Q (Netflix) Alien Earth (Hulu) Task (HBO Max) Andor (Disney+) Adolescence (Netflix) The White Lotus (HBO Max) Silo (Apple TV) Severance (Apple TV) The Last of Us (HBO Max) My Melody and Kuromi (Netflix) I also really enjoyed watching the Boston Red Sox on NESN. It was great when they made it to the playoffs, but I wasn’t impressed by the national network broadcasters.

Here are 50 favorite songs of 2025 that helped me get through the year, available on Apple Music and Spotify. A friendly reminder to anyone who didn’t read Liz Pelly’s excellent Mood Machine: Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist-if you find something you like, please support the artists by buying their music/merch and by seeing them in concert.

Ada Monroe Getting Into the Christmas Spirit | Photo by Amy Lordan-Tripp Looking for some tunes to add to your Christmas playlist? Check out my “Step Into Christmas” playlist on Apple Music and Spotify! It includes bangers from Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler, The Linda Lindas, and The Darkness. Plus classics from The Pogues (feat. Kirsty MacColl), Pearl Bailey, and Julie London.

Here's a slew of great releases that didn’t make it into my Top 25 Favorite Albums of 2025, but that I like quite a bit or am just falling for now. Here they are, listed alphabetically by release title. There are some fabulous EPs in there for good measure. If you’d rather just listen, check out my Best of ‘25 playlist on…

It was really hard to narrow down my favorite albums of this past year. Here's the cream of the crop! Stay tuned for my Honorable Mention list anon! 25. Billy Nomates - Metal Horse A solid release from Billy Nomades AKA Victoria Ann "Tor" Maries. Love “Dark Horse Friend,” which features Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers. 24. NewDad - Altar…

Here’s a quick roundup of Bandcamp Friday picks! SPC ECO album cover for Trust What You Love SPC ECO - Trust What You Love Maria Somerville - Luster Devendorf Lanz - Music from The Last Invention The Orielles - Only You Left (Pre-order) Acopia - Blush Response No Joy - Bugland TIFFY - 2 Circuit des Yeux - Halo On the Inside The Belair Lip Bombs - Again Jay Som - Belong Smerz - Big City Life

Ten years ago, I was interviewed about comic books by then journalism student Catherine Monroy for Zephyr, a publication of the New England High School Journalism Collaborative (NEHSJC). You can read the article below or here! Or you can enjoy this video she took of me reading from the incomparable comic book Sex Criminals!

If you were a fan of the fantastic, gorgeous Jem and the Holograms comics from BOOM! Studios, you're in luck: BOOM! Direct Reserve has launched the JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS: TRULY OUTRAGEOUS COMIC COLLECTION Kickstarter campaign. This will mark the first time that these fabulous comics will be collected in their entirety in deluxe hardcover editions. If you're a fan of the original cartoon series and missed out on the comics, now is your chance to reserve your copies.

This book is a must for Taylor Swift fans. I compulsively read Love Stories (The Taylors Version #1) because I was so consumed with the characters, the drama, and the Taylor Swift Easter eggs. There's even a nod to one of my favorite (non-Taylor) singers! Elizabeth Eulberg does an excellent job with the character’s individual voices. I’ve been using Love Stories…

Earlier this month, BOOM! Studios, in collaboration with Hasbro, announced that it has licensed the publishing rights to the fabulous '80s IP Jem and The Holograms! Here's what BOOM! Studios detailed in a press release: Fans can look forward to all-new stories with Jem and all her friends coming from BOOM! Studios in 2026, along with a BOOM! Direct Reserve Campaign collecting the historic run of JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS comics launching on Kickstarter this November.

L-R: Tim Wheeler, Rick McMurray, and Mark Hamilton of Ash / Photo courtesy of Ash Ad Astra opens strongly with “Zarathustra,” which gives off Queen/Flash Gordon score energy. Yes-it’s the Zarathustra of Richard Strauss and 2001: A Space Odyssey fame, and it’s a banger! Other standout tracks include “Which One Do You Want?”, which is my new bisexual anthem, and “Fun People”- a massive earworm that features Graham Coxon of Blur.

Hooray! It's Bandcamp Friday again! My favorite semi-monthly holiday. Here's what I'll be picking up: Sunlight Echoes (Pre-Order) by Whitelands - This album is scheduled for release on Sonic Cathedral in January 2026, which seems like forever away, but it's actually not! Backing vocals on their track "Sparklebaby" by Emma Anderson, formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing, make this album a must for me.

I'm heading west to Los Angeles next week, so I'm updating my "California Adventure" playlist. Following is my current list of songs about L.A. and/or California. Some popular songs are omitted because I'm just not a fan of the artist (Sorry, RHCP fans!) or I've heard them one too many times (i.e., "California Girls"). My playlist starts with "Intro," which is a bit of dialogue from the Gregg Araki film…

I love making playlists. I used to look forward to making "Best of ..." mix CDs for all my friends every December. And of course, I adored making mix tapes! I made mixes with various themes (sleepytime, vitamins, places). Recently, I sought to add to my already five-hour-long NYC playlist because the husband and I were driving down to see…

Over the past month and some change, Hotline TNT, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, and Xiu Xiu all announced that they’d be removing their music from Spotify, w...

A delicious spooky graphic novel for middle-grade readers who, like author Brian Gonsar, “want to read scary books, but not actually be scared.” Gonsar and illustrator Keenan Gaybba cre…

Image Comics recently announced that Paper Girls, by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Cliff Chiang, will be getting a new look with the compact release of “Backpack Editions.” Volume 1, collecting issues #1-10 of the five-time Eisner Award-winning series, will hit stores on Tuesday, November 11. Volume 2 will be released in 2026. These compact editions will feature new cover artwork by Chiang and will measure just 6x9 inches - the ideal size for sliding into your backpack! So hit up your local comic book shop or bookstore to place your preorder!

A wildfire burning near the Grand Canyon has grown into what experts call a 'megafire,' and it has even developed its own weather.

'Doctor Who' alum Ruth Madeley will portray disability rights activist Judy Heumann in Sian Heder's 'Being Heumann' for Apple Original Films.

YouTube video by Juliana Hatfield - Topic