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 It's funny that I mentioned how happy I was with New Tone ska in my last post, because last week a major thing in that genre happened when We Are the Union's singer Reade Wolcott came out as a trans woman. I've been a fan of We Are the Union for a long time, and even considered them my "favourite band" for a bit, so I was glad to see Reade feel comfortable enough to come out and live more comfortably as herself. My listening of the band has risen and dipped over the years, and I definitely prefer the old stuff, but I still listen to everything that comes out and will for sure always rep the band. The band always claimed ska through years when it was extremely uncool to do so in punk music* and will always have my utmost respect for that. Seeing them be a cornerstone of the new generation of ska bands warms my heart.

*They toured with A LOT of notable easycore/pop-punk bands who benefitted from their draw early on and then didn't return the favour later on. Jabronis, all of them.

The first single from their forthcoming album Ordinary Life, which will detail Reade's experience coming out, has been released and I've been listening to it a lot. Also, the moment when Jeremy reaches out and touches Reade's arm was very touching in an unexpected way?

I've been reading a lot of Stereogum this week and my favourite piece was this entry from their Number Ones series, which chronologically deep dives on #1 singles, on Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car". I love this song, mostly because of funny memories of it being the theme song to Matt, Brian, and I smoking weed in university, so it was fun to read about the creation process and context of it's release. Craziest of all is that it was produced by Mutt Lange, an arena rock producer most famous for AC ⚡ DC's Highway to Hell and Back in Black, as well as all of Def Leppard's big 80s records. That makes a lot of sense when you listen to the song, but it still doesn't make sense why a mix of 80s pop, arena rock, and New Jack Swing goes this hard. You never know!

Anyways, I will honour Lange by posting this song, which is and will always be an insanely sick jam

1. Pyromania is vastly better than Hysteria. Is it bad to say that bands was better when the drummer had both arms?
2. How high is Joe Elliot's union jack sleeveless shirt on the ranking of All-Time Rock Outfits?
3. Everyone associates the headset microphone with Britney Spears and *N'Sync, but I feel Def Leppard were the pioneers? They somehow had two members rocking them in the 80s. Two members who could have easily used mic stands!