Friday, December 12, 2025
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B Sides

B SidesFEATUREDMUSIC NEWS
Jason Shrum

There is an Assassinate Attempt Being Made on Public Media 

Several years ago, in Seattle I discovered Independent Radio (and yes, I am capitalizing because it’s important), funded by the listeners, and it changed my life for the better.  That radio station was KEXP and it became my everything.  DJs can play whatever they want, any theme, without algorithms or pay-to-play formats.  They are both educational and spin a heavy rotation of local music as well as classic indie gems. I had never heard anything like it before.  You might catch Public Enemy, followed by Joni Mitchell and then some small independent artist follows that track. Each radio host did their own thing as well.  John Richards was the host that I first caught onto, and his music knowledge floored me.  I like to think of myself as having a refined palate of sound logged in my craw, but this dude buried my grasp of music, and I learned so much from him.  I am forever indebted.  I got to meet him once and as I trembled terribly inside, I think I played it cool. 

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B SidesFEATUREDMUSIC NEWS
Jason Shrum

Record Store Day Returns in 2025

EXCLUSIVES: These titles are physically released only at indie record stores. 
RSD FIRST: These titles are found first at indie record stores but may be released to other retailers or webstores at some point in the future. 
SMALL RUN/REGIONAL TITLES: These titles are either regionally based and sold at specific stores, or are press runs under 1000, which means they may be much more difficult to find at record stores around the country. 

Many of these RSD titles are in “limited” variety, so that usually means waking up early to secure your place in line. I usually tend to get up around 6am to be in line be 7am depending on the store and their hours.  I strongly encourage contacting your local record store, or visiting their social media page or website, to see if they offer any guidance on how the queue will be operated. Most stores opt for a “first come, first served” basis and only allow a few people in the building at a time to cut down on the wildness of 1980’s Black Friday’s mayhem style.

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B SidesFEATURED
Jason Shrum

Sex Pistols rock secret show at 100 Club in London

The 2025 iteration of the Pistols includes Jones, Cook and Matlock but are now fronted by Frank Carter (of Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes) instead of Rotten and the group reconvened for a secret show at the same venue, with a now capacity of 300.  It was packed with devoted fans and stars such as Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, and Bobby Gillespie. Fans old and new were greeted with roaring renditions of classics like “Holidays In The Sun” and “God Save The Queen”. “This is where it all kicked off, really, all the punk,” says Cook. It was the band’s first performance at the iconic London venue in 50 years. The Sex Pistols performed under the pseudonym SPOTS, “Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly,” as they did in the late 70s to sidestep potential bans.  All accounts say the show was both nostalgic and energetic and that the bands performance was less violent and tighter. 

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B SidesFEATURED
Jason Shrum

Stick it to the Man

I love how clean this track is.  It is a true testament into their production value and the uptick that I have personally seen in their professionalism. The mixing of the song by engineer Steve Hardy is absolutely fantastic. This band hits hard and plays fast but there isn’t any fallout of chaos.  The song could quite easily fit into a movie soundtrack that is looking for a theme song.  I imagine the underdog protagonist fighting against the corporate entity, who is looking to capitalize on humanities willingness to overlook their wrong doings for a handful of dimes.

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B SidesFEATUREDLISTS
Jason Shrum

Kurt’s Kuotes

A lot of people loved Kurt Cobain.  I loved him.  However, it wasn’t the love he needed or necessarily wanted.  Fame comes at a price and for Kurt, that payment was his life.  The media liked to say that he was my generations John Lennon, but john got to be forty years old.  What would we have learned from Kurt and his music had he lived to be middle age, rather than taken from the light at age 27.  Some say he was just another member of that dumb club.  The “27 Club” which lifted the red velvet rope for Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix and more.  

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