Happy birthday to the love of my life @drhannahtate. I know things are tough right now with everything going on in the world, but there’s no one I’d rather go through it with than you.
socials
This website is supported in part by readers. Please consider becoming a supporting member. Oh, and I have a weekly newsletter.
SORTED BY: BLOG
Liner Notes (June 5th, 2020)
Some weeks feel like years. This was one of them. In this week’s newsletter, I look at music and entertainment I enjoyed last week, share a playlist of ten songs I liked, and all the other usual stuff. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (June 5th, 2020)”This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)
Ten Steps of Non-Optical Allyship
Great post from mireillecharper on Instagram.
Read More “Ten Steps of Non-Optical Allyship”What You See Are People Pushed to the Edge
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, writing at the LA Times:
Yes, protests often are used as an excuse for some to take advantage, just as when fans celebrating a hometown sports team championship burn cars and destroy storefronts. I don’t want to see stores looted or even buildings burn. But African Americans have been living in a burning building for many years, choking on the smoke as the flames burn closer and closer. Racism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible — even if you’re choking on it — until you let the sun in. Then you see it’s everywhere. As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands. But we have to stay vigilant, because it’s always still in the air.
The Militarization of the Police
Nick Baumann on the militarization of the American police:
“You create this world where you’re not just militarizing the police — you equip the police like soldiers, you train the police like soldiers. Why are you surprised when they act like soldiers?” Rizer, a former police officer and soldier, said. “The mission of the police is to protect and serve. But the premise of the soldier is to engage the enemy in close combat and destroy them. When you blur those lines together with statements like that … It’s an absolute breakdown of civil society.”
American police officers generally believe that carrying military equipment and wearing military gear makes them feel like they can do more, and that it makes them scarier, Rizer’s research has found. Officers even acknowledge that acting and dressing like soldiers could change how the public feels about them. But “they don’t care,” he said.
Research on How to Stop Police Violence
From Samuel Sinyangwe, a thread about solutions to stop police violence:
More restrictive state and local policies governing police use of force are associated with significantly lower rates of police shootings/killings by police. This is backed by 30+ years of research.
Demilitarization. Police depts that get more military weapons from the federal govt kill more people. You can stop that from happening through local and state policy. Montana (Red state) has gone the furthest on this.
Police Union Contracts. Every 4-6 years your police dept’s accountability system is re-negotiated. Purging misconduct records, reinstating fired officers, dept funding- it’s in the contract. Cities with worse contracts have higher police violence rates.
Liner Notes (May 29th, 2020)
This week’s newsletter has my early first impressions of Phoebe Bridgers’s new album, Punisher. You’ll also find more thoughts on all of the best of lists that hit the website this week and my plans for their future, and my usual commentary on music and entertainment I enjoyed this week. And, of course, there’s a playlist of ten songs I liked as well. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (May 29th, 2020)”This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)
Blast from the Past: My End of Year Lists from 2005-2015
Yesterday, I posted about finding and recreating all of the AbsolutePunk.net best of lists from 2005-2015. In an incredible turn of events, a reader actually had saved all of my personal best of lists and sent them to me. I didn’t have anything earlier than 2011 and I thought these were lost to time.1 I am extremely happy to be able to add them back into the Chorus.fm database for posterity.
These are a nostalgia trip. I’ll have to write more about my decision making process, from what I can remember of these eras, at some point, but for now I’m just happy to have them back on our “End of the Year” page.
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2005
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2006
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2007
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2008
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2009
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2010
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2011
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2012
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2013
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2014
- Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2015
The era before I was doing any kind of regular back-ups, let alone keeping everything I write in text files on my computer.↩
Liner Notes (May 22nd, 2020)
It’s a 1975 album release day, so let’s talk about that. In this week’s newsletter, you’ll find my thoughts on their new album and some random thoughts on other music and entertainment I consumed this week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved this week, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (May 22nd, 2020)”This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)
Liner Notes (May 15th, 2020)
I’m writing this week’s newsletter on not much sleep, but that doesn’t mean I’m short on opinions. In this week’s issue you’ll find thoughts on music and entertainment I enjoyed this week and a playlist of ten songs I loved. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (May 15th, 2020)”This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)
Happy Mother’s Day to the most amazing mom a kid could have ever asked for. You taught me strength, courage, the love of a good book paired with a sweet tooth, and so much more. 💙
Liner Notes (May 8th, 2020)
This week’s newsletter revisits Fall Out Boy’s discography after realizing it’s been fifteen years since the release of From Under the Cork Tree. I also share some things I enjoyed around the internet this week, as well as my thoughts on music and various entertainment I consumed. And, as always, there’s a playlist of ten songs I loved and your usual sarcasm and snark mixed within. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (May 8th, 2020)”
This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)
Liner Notes (May 1st, 2020)
In this week’s newsletter I offer my first thoughts on Hayley Williams’s debut solo album, share some articles around the internet and two-person board games I liked, and then go through my usual music and entertainment rundown of the past week. There’s also a playlist of ten songs I loved this week and some unfunny jokes. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (May 1st, 2020)”
This article is available exclusively to supporting members of our website. Join now for as little as $3 per month and get access to exclusive content and a variety of other great perks (like removing all ads and unlocking a dark mode theme). Plus, you'll be helping an independent publisher. Learn more here.
(Current members can log in here.)