Last night I put on my $10 Mares of Thrace hoodie and joined some friends at Minneapolis venue Zhora Darling for a show I've been looking forward to for months, Conan and Mares of Thrace. But, let's be honest: I was there for Mares of Thrace. As I wrote in the linked post, I checked out the Canadian sludge duo earlier this year for the first time and was immediately hooked. But does their live experience live up to their recorded works? Read on to find out!

Some weeks, I struggle to find new music to write about for my Friday post. This week has been an unusual one, in that there have been a steady stream of great new music all week. Hopefully, I'm not screwing myself by leaving nothing to write about on Friday, but I had to call out these great tunes. Hopefully this means Friday will be equally stacked!

It's been another hellish week in America as the bullet train rockets towards the last stop, Full Fascism. First Amendment? Fuck you, you're only allowed to talk about how much you love our Dear Leader. For now though, music is still legal. Enjoy these picks while you still can!

I'm pretty well back into my fitness groove - tomorrow will mark the end of four weeks of lifting five days a week, and I've added in several cardio sessions the last couple of days. When I get into my fitness grooves, it makes me want to keep adding more and more into my routine, and the new Athlean-X video has some good tips for exercises that can help fill out the rear end. Now, I'm not at full Hank Hill pancake ass level, but ya know, I could use some more filling out there. The video above has a lot of tips for targeting the Glute Medius, a part of the booty that's a little harder to train than the Glute Maximus. I plan on adding some of these moves into my routine ASAP, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who could benefit from these tips. 

I could have tried to come up with a clever headline, but why be anything other than direct? This post is about music making me happy. 

Last weekend, my wife and I went to see one of our favorite local artists, Charlie Parr, at The Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis. I opted not to do a concert recap, as he's a folk/Americana artist and thus outside the (admittedly very flexible) conceptual framework of this site. He was very good as he always is, and today I bought ticket to see him again in January. Anyway, on the way back to our car I saw this amazing piece of graffiti, and had to take a picture. 

I thought it was funny at the time. This week, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the supremely ugly reaction to his death, it seems more prescient. Is the end near? Some days it feels like it. For me (and likely for you if you bother to read this site), music and workouts remain blessings that help me get through my days. Here are a few things that worked for me this week, to various degrees

Today is the start of week 3 of my current workout plan, Jeff Nippard's Bodybuilding Transformation System. Actually, it's week 3 to the 3rd power, since it will be my third time making it to this point in the program. After the first time reaching this point, I messed up my back by being a big dummy. I made it back to this point again, and once again derailed from a combination of vacation and an especially busy time at work. 

This week, my goal is to make it to the gym all five days, complete week 3, and push on to week 4. Then week 5, week 6, and so on. This is it, the third time's a charm. I'll be making it through the program this time with no further breaks. 

I may have stumbled twice before, but I haven't given up. That's what counts. 

One of the first things I do every Friday morning is check the new release lists on some music sites. Some weeks, I find a treasure trove, with far more albums I want to check out in a day. Sometimes there are a handful. And other weeks... well, there's not much. This is one of those weeks that there simply aren't any albums that are really grabbing me. Fortunately, there are still a few singles that captured my attention this morning. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I just finished reading Geddy Lee's autobiography, My Effin' Life. I also mentioned that I've never been a particularly big Rush fan, but the book made me interested in spending more time with their music. This is just one of several rock biographies I've read in recent months, and I've compiled some thoughts on each below.

My header image says "Metal. Fitness. Miscellaneous Nonsense." I've delivered posts on both of the first two, and have yet to write anything that falls into the third category. Until now!