Alphabet Soup Week 45: Artists Filed Under W

Some thoughts on how to move on from this week's election result along with a ten-pack of tracks from the W Artists

I really struggled with what to write about in the intro to this week's installment of Alphabet Soup. While I don't really want to get political on Substack, I also don't want to ignore the result of what may end up being the most consequential US election of my lifetime. Suffice it to say that I'm bitterly disappointed in the result, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone (the clue is in the name: Joy in the Journey). Despite all its flaws (and as has now been revealed, its naivety), the Democratic Party ran a campaign centered around hope and joy and one that set itself against hate (despite many who continued to denigrate the "stupidity" of their opponents' supporters). But now we're here; the election is over and Donald Trump has been unquestionably handed a mandate, both in the Electoral College and by the popular vote margin. For a believer in the hope and joy sold by the Democrats, what can be done? Read on for some thoughts.

If you're just here for the music and don't want any of the politics or commentary, which is understandable and totally fine, please feel free to head below the line and start reading/listening to this week's playlist of the W Artists.

I consider Donald Trump to be a deeply broken individual and I could never get behind the cruelty, bullying, and punching downwards nature of his campaigns. After winning in 2016 he was but a political neophyte and the choices he made around the structure of his administration reflected that. In November 2016, many people, including myself, had legitimate concerns around the rights and the safety of the many marginalized groups across the country. While those concerns were well-founded, there were individual members of that administration and a collection of (just about fit for purpose) institutional structures and norms that placed a ceiling on the damage that could be done (although adding three far right justices to the Supreme Court is probably the most consequential outcome of that term).

Things will be different this time around. Howard Lutkin, co-chair of Trump's transition team made it clear in a Newsmax interview that Trump will only be hiring Republicans that have a "fidelity" (fealty?) to him and his policies. Also, whether you believe Trump's repudiation of Project 2025 or not, there are clearly well-designed plans in place (whether they'll all come to pass is debatable) on how to hollow out the civil service and how to root out any resistance to Trump's policies and remove any checks on his influence. It's clear to me that Trump, in his second term, will cause more pain, damage more lives, engender more hate, and further inflame and divide an already divided country. He will almost certainly move the US in the direction of authoritarianism, although it's unclear how significant that shift will end up being.

Although I don't follow Questlove on social media, a friend recently shared his Instagram reel of a Rachel Maddow clip on how to respond to the results of the election. Much of the video deals with how institutions can make their own stands, thereby creating a bulwark against the slide into authoritarianism:

• the military can and should, in the coming weeks, assure the population that no military force will be used against civilian population

• the free press should unite, put aside their rivalries (yes, an extremely naive idea) and assure the public that they won't abrogate their responsibilities by becoming a state-sponsored media mouthpiece

• lawmakers should stand up to any challenges to article one of the constitution that threaten the power of Congress that might reduce it to a meaningless 'for show' institution

• the legal profession should fight any threats to article three of the constitution that defines the rule of law and the importance of an independent judiciary (the independence of the Supreme Court is already, de facto, debatable)

These are very abstract concepts and are limited to specific institutions, the membership of which is tiny relative to the entire population. Although they are meaningful and important actions, they are nonetheless relatively unactionable for much of the country. But Maddow devotes much of the final third of the video to what individuals can do in these parlous times through their participation in civil society, which she defines as: "all the organizations, membership groups, advocacy groups, professional associations, every voluntary group of every kind in the country, everything in organized American life and culture that is not business and not the government either".

Maddow's premise is that civil society can act as a brake against the slide into authoritarianism, and particularly into totalitarianism. In her words, a strong civil society "provides breathing room, a space for people to think for themselves, to organize in their own interests, to speak with the power of more than just one person." She goes on to say that civil society leaders should assure the American public that they aren't going anywhere (the ACLU has already clearly done this).

But again, what can the individual do? Maddow encourages viewers to "join something, participate in something" and to begin building connections to other Americans, whether that's through the rebuilding of burned bridges, reconnecting with people, or connecting with others for the first time.

To many I'm sure this all sounds a little hokey, and perhaps it is. Personally, and perhaps somewhat naively, I still believe in the power of community. But the reality is that building, preserving, or renewing community is hard work. It takes time and it takes effort, both of which are anathema to the quick fix, instant gratification culture in which we live. But community can be a force multiplier for institutional and systemic change and I've found the act of building community to be a personally enriching, rewarding and life changing process capable of bringing out the best in myself and others.

I'm not here to tell you not to feel angry or dejected, but I'd like to suggest that it's not healthy to live in those emotions for too long. If you're feeling helpless and paralyzed, like the end has now arrived and there's nothing to be done, I implore you to think again. Sure, take the necessary time to absorb, to digest, to heal. But also know that there are actions you can take every day to advocate for change. In the words of Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

In closing, I'll say the following: as a straight, cis, white male with economic independence who lives outside of the country, I have little to fear personally from Trump's presidency. And as a non-US citizen and someone with no deep connection to the country, people might expect me to "mind my own business". But I do know and love dozens of people who live in the US, many of whom I've come to know on Substack and who I'd be proud to call friends, who will be affected. And, as the saying goes, "when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold" so it's naive to think I'll be completely unaffected. Realistically, there is little I can do to influence what happens in the US. But inasmuch as it means anything, to those of you that are struggling with the results of the election and are feeling depressed, desperate, afraid, or overwhelmed, please know that you are in my thoughts and that I'm sending you Love and Light and hope for a brighter future.

On to the music...

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ALPHABET SOUP WEEK 45: Artists Filed Under W

This week’s selections:

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ARTIST: Warren G

TRACK: "Regulate" from Regulate CD Single (1994)

I only ever owned one CD from Warren G and it wasn't even a full album, it was a CD Single. Remember those?!? This was Mr. G's biggest hit, spending 18 weeks in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including three weeks at number 2. Although it can come off as a little cheesy, I always loved the intro, taken from the 1988 film Young Guns: "We regulate any stealing of his property - we're damn good too! ...But you can't be any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel, if you know what I mean, earn your keep."

When Warren G's smooth vocals begin, accompanied by the four bar sample of Michael McDonald's I Keep Forgettin', you know you're in for something special. While this song is firmly in the G-Funk wheelhouse, given the sample from the godfather of yacht rock, can we not at least refer to this song as yacht rap?!?

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ARTIST: Whodini

TRACK: "Escape (I Need A Break)" from Escape (1984)

Sticking with the hip hop genre we go back to a classic album, one that I owned initially on cassette and later on CD. This album was released in 1984, a year in which I'd begun dabbling in hip hop, having already purchased on vinyl the self-titled debut albums by both Run-D.M.C. and the Fat Boys. Fun fact: in '84 I considered myself a fairly competent beat boxer and an accomplished break dancer. A year later, at my first high school dance, I would learn that neither of those opinions bore any resemblance to reality.

Escape (I Need a Break) is one of my favorites from Whodini's second album and, despite the fact that it's essentially the title track, many would consider it one of the deeper cuts given the popularity and acclaim of their singles Friends, Five Minutes of Funk and The Freaks Come Out at Night. Whodini broke ground for the genre with this release as they were the first hip hop act to break into the top 40. After seeing their subsequent two albums both hit the top 40, the group would see their commercial success wane as neither of their final two albums charted in the Billboard 200.

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ARTIST: White Town

TRACK: "Your Woman" from Women In Technology (1997)

While researching this week's entries I was surprised to learn that British electronic producer Jyoti Prakash Mitra, who performs as White Town, has released eight albums and eight EPs over the last thirty years. As can often be the case with one hit wonders, I'd incorrectly assumed that this artist had stopped making music and faded into obscurity (not very charitable of me, I know). But Mitra still has 1.6m monthly listeners on Spotify; it's hard to say how many of those listeners are coming solely for this track, Your Woman from the 1997 album Women in Technology, but I was still surprised at the magnitude of the following. This track peaked at number one on the UK singles chart and made the top ten in over a dozen countries while making it to number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

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As you make your way through this week’s playlist, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do any of these tracks really stand out for you? What do you like? What don’t you like?

Please click the button below to leave a comment.

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ARTIST: Waldeck

TRACK: "The Night Garden" from The Night Garden (2001)

Way back in the early 2000s, when I was deep into my exploration of trip hop, I stumbled upon the Austrian electronic artist Klaus Waldeck, who performs as Waldeck. I'd come to own a handful of his albums over the years including The Night Garden, the title track of which is included in this week's playlist. Interestingly, Waldeck began his career as a lawyer who completed his doctoral thesis on the implications of sampling in 1994. After years of musical experimentation, Waldeck abandoned his legal career and threw himself into music, primarily the downtempo and trip hop sounds that were so popular in the late nineties and early noughties. He's since expanded his sound to incorporate electro swing, jazz, instrumental, country and Latin sounds. Waldeck has released over a dozen albums under the Waldeck stage name, three albums as Saint Privat, one as Waldeck Sextet and one as his soulful alter ego Soul Goodman.

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ARTIST: Washed Out

TRACK: "Eyes Be Closed" from Within and Without (2011)

Washed Out, the performing name of American singer, songwriter and producer Ernest Weatherly Green Jr, has been dubbed by Pitchfork as “the godfather of chillwave”. Wikipedia defines chillwave as "a music microgenre that emerged in the late 2000s . . . characterized by evoking the popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s while engaging with notions of memory and nostalgia. Common features include a faded or dreamy retro pop sound, escapist lyrics (frequent topics include the beach or summer), psychedelic or lo-fi aesthetics, mellow vocals, slow-to-moderate tempos, effects processing (especially reverb), and vintage synthesizers." A bit of a word salad if you ask me, but I certainly enjoy the sounds!

Within and Without, Washed Out's debut album, from which Eyes Be Closed is drawn, received generally positive reviews after debuting at number 26 on the Billboard 200 album chart. While the following album peaked at number 21 in the US, the subsequent three releases have seen limited success, charting only in the individual genre (Dance, Indie and Rock) charts.

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ARTIST: Wild Strawberries

TRACK: "Bet You Think I'm Lonely" from Wild Strawberries (1998)

Canadian pop rock band Wild Strawberries last appeared in Alphabet Soup in week 18 with I Don't Wanna Think About It from their fourth album, 1995's Heroine. This week I’ve chosen the title track from their third album, 1994's Bet You Think I'm Lonely. This was the band's most successful record to date and resulted in a Best New Artist nomination at the 1995 Juno Awards (justifiably won by Moist on the back of their phenomenal debut Silver). Wild Strawberries are still active, having released ten albums since 1991.

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ARTIST: The Wilderness of Manitoba

TRACK: "Leave Someone" from Between Colours (2014)

Another second appearance by another Canadian band, this time with a track from the Toronto indie-folk band The Wilderness of Manitoba. I owned two of the band's albums on CD, 2012's Island of Echoes and 2014's Between Colours from which Leave Someone is drawn. Although both releases made my AOTY list in those years, I haven't been overly enthusiastic about either of their last two albums.

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ARTIST: Wham!

TRACK: "Everything She Wants" from The Best of Wham! (1997)

When scrolling through my list of albums/songs from my digitized CDs for artists beginning with W, I came across Wham! and their greatest hits collection released in 1997. For so long I'd been used to enjoying George Michael as a solo artist that I didn't even remember that this was a Wham! track. I'd also forgotten just how good this song was. Everything She Wants was the fourth single (a double A-side in the UK with Last Christmas) from Wham!'s second studio album, 1984's Make It Big. This track, which George Michael considered to be his favorite Wham! track, was the band's third consecutive million-selling US number one single.

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ARTIST: The Wallflowers

TRACK: "Three Marlenas" from The Wallflowers (1996)

Bringing Down The Horse was a commercial and critical breakthrough for The Wallflowers, the band fronted by Bob Dylan's son Jakob. While the band's 1992 self-titled debut had received middling reviews, this 1996 follow-up received generally positive reviews and produced four hit singles. The album would peak at number four on the a Billboard 200 and go on to be certified quadruple platinum. I remember enjoying the entire album back in 1996 and rather than going with the two biggest singles, One Headlight and Sixth Avenue Heartache, I've chosen to go with Three Marlenas, the fourth single from the album. While I wouldn't consider it a deep cut, it was certainly the least commercially successful of the singles by a fairly wide margin.

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ARTIST: Weezer

TRACK: "Only In Dreams" from Weezer (Blue Album) (1994)

Many music lovers would consider 1994 to be one of the greatest years for music and it's hard to disagree. That year brought us fantastic albums from (to name a few): Live (Throwing Copper), Bush (Sixteen Stone), Cranberries (No Need To Argue), Smashing Pumpkins (Pisces Iscariot), Stone Temple Pilots (Purple), Veruca Salt (American Thighs), Liz Phair (Whip Smart), Offspring (Smash), Alice In Chains (Jar of Flies), Beck (Mellow Gold), Hole (Live Through This), Soundgarden (Superunknown), Nine Inch Nails (The Downward Spiral) and Green Day (Dookie). Add into the mix the soundtracks from Pulp Fiction, The Crow, and Reality Bites and Rick Rubin's incredible work with Johnny Cash on American Recordings and you have yourself quite a year!

And that brings us to the final track on this week's playlist, Only In Dreams, from Weezer's self-titled 1994 debut (the Blue Album), a release that would certainly make my top ten of the year if not my top five. This album is regarded by many as one of the greatest of the 90s and with good reason. The album produced three massive singles, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified 5x platinum in the US. I've decided to wrap up this week's playlist with Only In Dreams, the final song from the album and the band's longest ever track.

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A “Break” from Hiking

Earlier this week Tina and I wrapped up our 68-mile hike of the Borders Abbeys Way in Scotland and began the journey to Majorca where we’ll spend a week having some down time before visiting Madrid next week. When I say “down time” I’m using that term somewhat loosely. Given that we’re currently surrounded by beautiful mountains, and that we both love to get out on the trails, we’ll have to see what that looks like. I’m hoping for 2-3 days of rest with 2-3 days of walking. My Energizer Bunny of a wife likely has other ideas. We shall see!

Here are a few photos taken from our hotel just outside of Soller in the Tramuntana Mountains:

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Here’s the link to the running playlist which is updated on a weekly basis as each new installment is published:

ALPHABET SOUP RUNNING PLAYLIST

Tracks missing from the Spotify playlist:

• Allegory by Murray Attaway (Week 02)

• Face Me and Smile by The Lover Speaks (Week 12)

• From Your Mouth by God Lives Underwater (Week 13)

• This Can’t Go On! by The Lover Speaks (Week 23)

• Two for the Show by Trooper (Week 40)

• Twenty One by Marry Me Jane (Week 40)

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Thank you for reading Joy in the Journey, I appreciate you being here! If there’s someone in your life you think may enjoy this post, feel free to share it.